Pasting a listless look on my face, I scan the room, which turns out to be a big mistake when I catch sight of the gorgeous blond guy we ran into in the hallway. He’s been watching me too, I think, but unlike the other two men, he grins when our eyes meet and starts walking over.
Fuck. Fucking fucking fuck.
So much for staying under the damn radar. I should’ve known I wouldn’t be able to make it through an entire meal without getting fed on by someone, but I really don’t know if I’m ready for this.
What’ll it be, blondie? a panicked voice in my mind whispers. Dark meat, or white?
The joke falls flat even in my own head, because of course it does. Everything in me is screaming at me to find a stake and shove it through the nearest blackened heart. My pulse picks up as he comes closer.
“Hi,” he says affably. “I’m Connor. We met in the hallway?”
“Right.” I give him a tight smile. Why is he talking to me like I’m his equal? “Darcy.”
He cocks his head to one side, his firelight eyes shining with enthusiasm. “Oh, like from Pride and Prejudice, right? Or, wait… wasn’t that the guy’s name? Not that that’s a bad thing. I like guy names for girls.”
I snort a laugh in spite of myself. He grins at me, clearly encouraged. Is he really trying to impress me right now? Must be a trendy vampire diet to hit on their food before taking a bite. Hell, maybe I’ll try it myself one of these days and give my tuna sandwich some hilarious one-liners before I eat it.
“Hey, would you like to dance?” he asks suddenly, jerking me out of my spiraling thoughts.
I blink at him, then glance out at the dance floor. It’s full of couples—vampire couples. All the tributes are busy snacking or being snacked on. Turning back to Connor, I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Is that even allowed? Us dancing together?”
His ears go a little pink as he follows my gaze out to the dance floor and around the room, then he shrugs. Those amber eyes of his darken ever so slightly as he shifts them back toward me. “It should be. It would be a crime not to ask a beautiful woman like you to dance. I’ve never been real good at crime.”
Ugh, that was cute. Dammit all to hell.
Monsters shouldn’t be allowed to be charming. They should be gross and scary and scaly, all teeth and bad breath, not baby-faced amateur comedians.
I should turn him down. Too much time with this one will have me questioning all of my concrete values. But vampires are competitive predators, and his attention has already lit me up like a beacon for those in search of an easy win. I can feel them circling me like wolves, waiting for their chance to strike.
Connor doesn’t seem to be all that hungry. Not for blood, anyway. If anything, he seems almost… lonely.
Goddammit, Mikka, I said stop humanizing him!
I have to think of this in terms of tactical advantage and practical measures. A dance with this vampire will keep me out of reach of the others. Besides, I could use the distraction. My nerves are all the way on edge, raw with the urge to act and having no outlet to do so.
“Sure.” I take a deep breath and then let it out, pushing my chair back to stand. “I’d love to dance.”
Chapter Nine
There are way more eyes on me now as Connor leads me to the dance floor. Some curious, some pissed off, some—like the prince’s—completely unreadable. I really wish Bastian would find something else to look at, he’s creeping me out. Either eat me or don’t, but quit salivating from afar. It’s creepy as fuck.
Same goes for the stone-faced bouncer guy. I think he’s still watching me too, but I don’t glance his way to get confirmation. Honestly, I’d rather not know. I’d rather not think about it at the moment.
A waltz begins just as Connor and I reach the edge of the dance floor. Graceful couples sweep by us in perfect synchronicity, not even deigning to grace us with a glance. I’m pretty sure Connor is going to get in trouble for this later. I can’t imagine what possessed him to ask me in the first place—but, shit, why do I care? It doesn’t matter to me if they tear him limb from limb. One less vampire in Baltimore is always a good thing.
“Oh, I should have warned you,” he says with a crooked little smile, looking at me out of the corners of his eyes. “I can’t really dance—not the waltz, anyway. I can do a mean running man, though! A little boogey, maybe. Anything you’d see at a forty-year-old dad’s barbecue, basically.”
“I’m sure that’ll go over well out here,” I reply, letting a little gentle sarcasm creep into my voice as I watch the deadly beauties before us move in perfect time.
He chuckles and leads me out onto the floor, then slides his left hand awkwardly around my waist and grabs my hand with his right. I shake my head at him, a small gesture meant only for his eyes.
“Other way around,” I whisper.
“Ah, fuck.”
He grimaces and switches hands, then stares at the feet of the couples around us as he starts manhandling me back and forth across the dance floor. He stumbles on my foot and turns his breathtaking eyes back to me.
“Shit. I’m so, so sorry. I suck at this. I shouldn’t have asked you to dance. I’m still getting used to all the vampire court customs. There are so many of them! I mean, they’re more than happy to teach me, but there’s so much to learn, and vampires don’t really have a sense of urgency, you know. Side effect of being immortal, I guess.”
My brows furrow as I listen to him, and
