Chapter 1 The Viking

Kat POV

I pressed my ear to the door of the suite on the third floor of the Palazzo Hotel, hearing the steady breathing of the occupant inside. He must be fast asleep - just how I wanted him.

"This should be easy," I whispered to myself as I pulled the lock picks from where I had hidden them in my hair.

The hotel had been deserted as I had made my way through the foyer and hallways, as it should be at 3am. Only a sleepy looking desk clerk had possibly seen me, but I think the man was too busy scrolling through reels on his phone to even realise that I had snuck in.

Not exactly the kind of service you would expect to find at a five star hotel, but I was glad for it.

Within a few seconds, I had the door unlocked. With a slightly proud smile, I slipped off my shoes and pushed the door quietly open before I snuck inside. The room was lavishly decorated and my bare feet sunk into the thick carpet. Exquisite paintings hung on almost every wall and I had to stop myself from pulling one off the wall and cutting it from its frame.

One of those would earn me a bonus for sure, but I had to find the necklace first.

I moved slowly and quietly, grateful for the dim moonlight streaming in through the open windows and my ability to see well in the darkness.

"If I had a diamond necklace, where would I put it?" I mouthed, not daring to whisper in case I woke up the sleeping Castello man.

The man in question snored loudly and rolled over, facing the bedside table - and the large, velvet box which sat there.

"It had to be next to his bed, didn't it?" I thought to myself as I padded closer.

My eyes fell on the Castello, his sleeping face making him seem peaceful - well, almost peaceful. The scar which ran across his eye belied the peacefulness of his expression, making him seem like a Viking from the olden days. I could imagine him leading a group of fellow Vikings on a raid, the wind blowing in his dark hair which was slightly longer than the length I usually liked, but it suited him more than short hair would have.

My eyes trailed down his muscular torso, barely covered by the duvet and I bit my lower lip. "A sexy Viking at that," I thought.

It was a damned shame that the Castellos were the enemy. They had been at war with the Milano family for years, and I guess that meant he was supposed to be my rival too. It should be a crime to lust after a man who would probably smile as he slit your throat - but there I was, imagining what it would be like to feel his naked body against mine.

I may have still been a virgin, but I knew enough about the birds and the bees from Giulia. She was extremely open about her work as a prostitute. I just had no desire to launch myself at the Milano men who hung around the house, but that didn't stop me from imagining what sort of man I would like to be with. And the Viking was damned close.

I tore my eyes from the sexy Viking and edged closer to the velvet box. I picked it up and opened it carefully, my eyes watching the man's face for any signs that my close presence had awoken him, but he was still fast asleep.

I almost dropped the box when I looked down at the contents, the diamond necklace shining brightly even in the dim light. The necklace seemed familiar somehow with its zig-zag rows of diamonds encompassing the entire piece of jewellery, but I guess it wasn't so unusual to arrange jewels in that manner. I'm sure I had walked past dozens of jewellery stores and seen that same kind of necklace in the displays.

I lifted the necklace from the box, feeling its weight in my hand as I tried to figure out where the heck to put the piece. I had initially planned to string it around my neck beside my own necklace, but there was no way I could walk back to Mother's house wearing that thing. I would be robbed of it the second I walked through the Palazzo's front doors.

Without a second thought, I pulled the necklace from the box, closed the velvet covered casing and set it back down in the exact location I had found it. I was about to tuck the necklace into my bra - the only option of a hiding place that I had in the tight dress - when I felt something snake around my waist.

My eyes widened with panic as I stared down at the Castello man, his green eyes watching me closely. Before I could blink, he flung me onto the bed beside him, my face inches away from mine.

"Mine," he said in a voice that I can only describe as a growl, before he kissed me.

A strange warmth flooded me, and I found myself pressing into his kiss as his hands cupped my face. I closed my eyes as his tongue swept inside my mouth, igniting a passion inside of me I had never experienced before.

His hand ran down my body and I shivered at the contact, a soft groan tearing from my lips.

The sound was strange to my own ears, and it took me a few seconds to realise that it had come from me. That realisation was like a bucket of ice cold water poured on the flame of passion I was experiencing.

Panic surged through me and I pulled away frantically, rolling off the bed on the opposite side of the man. The necklace dangled from my fist, glinting in the moonlight and I could see the moment he noticed it. The passionate haze in his eyes turned ice cold and he lashed out, grabbing the other end of the necklace. He tugged hard on it, but I resisted, pulling in the opposite direction.

There was an audible snap as the necklace broke in two. The look of horror on the man's face was unmistakable, but I didn't wait around to see his reaction. I ran as fast as I could, escaping through the door as fast as I could. The roar of anger behind me told me that the man was following me, so I darted down the hallway toward the door which had a picture of stairs on it, choosing the stairs over having to wait for the elevator and risk getting caught by the Castello.

I heard the ping of the elevator opening and knew that he was planning to catch me in the foyer - something I could definitely not afford to have happen. It spurred me on, bursting out of the stairwell as fast as I could before I dashed through the foyer. I heard the desk clerk shout out in surprise seconds before I heard the elevator open. But it was too late, and I shot through the front door and darted into the darkness of the night.

I didn't stop running until Mother's house came into sight, my heart hammering loudly against my ribcage. Leaning against a nearby tree, I bent down to catch my breath and saw the strand of diamonds still in my fist.

"Darnit! Mother will be pissed if she sees that I destroyed her cousin's necklace," I swore to myself.

I looked down and noticed my bare feet and groaned. In my haste to run away, I had left my shoes behind.

The entire assignment had been a failure. And what was worse was the knowledge that I now had a Castello after me.