“You may not,” I blurt.
Both vampires blink at me. Benjamin looks appalled by my behavior, Claude rather wounded.
“A moment, please,” Benjamin says before Claude can answer, and leads me into the nearby corner, glancing over his shoulder to ensure that Claude isn’t following us. “What is this about?” he asks me in a low voice.
I fan myself; my face is still hot from our encounter in the gallery, and the last thing I want to do is recount it to Benjamin. “I can’t explain it. Just… anyone but him. Please.”
“Do you believe him to be dangerous?” he asks, studying my face.
I shake my head. “No, it’s not that.”
“Has he given some offense?”
“Well… no.” I blow out a frustrated breath. “I think I may have offendedhim.”
Benjamin’s eyebrows rise. “So you intend to rectify this by… further insulting him?”
“I…” I open my mouth, shut it, shake my head in frustration. “He’s apainter. I made my feelings quite clear, didn’t I?”
“It’s just a taste of your blood, you’re making no commitment,” Benjamin says. “It may help attract other suitors, if they see Lord Claude take an interest in you. He usually spends these parties…” He glances over my shoulder, and inclines his chin. “Well, like that.”
I turn to see Claude standing by the window and staring out at the grounds, his mouth downturned and his brow furrowed in an expression of picture-perfect broodiness.
“This is exactly what I mean,” I hiss, turning back to Benjamin. “What’s hisdeal?”
“Well…” Benjamin leans in, lowering his voice. “They used to call him a prodigy. He was an incredibly gifted painter in life, and so the Vulpe Court was eager to offer him the bite and welcome him into their ranks. But they say he hasn’t picked up a paintbrush since, much to the displeasure of his court.” He shrugs. “That’s all I know. Rumors, mostly.”
I bite my lip, cursing myself for my blunder once more. Of course I would manage to insult not only a sensitive artist, but a famouslytorturedartist.
“That doesn’t mean he has to be so melodramatic about it,” I grumble, trying to fight back the wave of guilt as I think back to that sorrowful look in his eyes.
One corner of Benjamin’s lips rises before he tamps it back down.
“This isn’t funny!”
“Yes, well…” He shrugs, glancing again at Claude and then back to me. “It’s your choice, Nora, but I truly can’t see any harm in giving him your time. By all accounts, he’s a perfect gentleman, not someone you need to be worried about.”
Anois ready on my lips, but I hesitate. Curiosity drives me to glance over my shoulder at Claude again, studying the sharp angle of his jaw from the side, the perfect tousle of his curls.
That’sthe harm, I realize. That’s why I’m worried: because even a glance at him has my stomach fluttering with girlish nerves. Even when he’s being theatrically sulky like he is now, I can’t deny my attraction to him. If only he weren’t so… so…
He glances over, catches my gaze, and straightens from his melancholy slouch, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
I turn back to Benjamin and sigh. “I guess I do owe him after insulting his painting.”
“Good lord, Nora,” he mutters with a shake of his head. Then he leads me back over to the vampire now leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. Is heposing? I believe he might be.
I force a thin-lipped smile and hold out my blood card in invitation. Claude holds my gaze as he reaches out to take it from me, one cold finger nudging against mine as he slides the fan out of my grip. I watch him write his name in my next slot, and drop my gaze as soon as he looks up at me.
“Thank you for reconsidering,” he says, holding out my blood card. He forces me to reach out to take it, and our eyes meet again, sending a bolt of heat through my body. He smiles like heknows exactly what effect he’s having on me. “I’ll see you in…” He checks his watch. “An hour and a half.”
* * *
As time meanders by, I begin to think that I was overreacting. There is no shortage of beautiful people at this party. Surely I’m exaggerating the effect that Claude had on me because the idea frightened me. What I felt was nerves and embarrassment after insulting him, notbutterflieslike I’m some hapless schoolgirl with her first crush.
I’ve nearly managed to convince myself it’s true by the time Benjamin is leading me to our meeting place with Lord Claude. Then my eyes find him across the room, where he lounges in that damnably casual-but-poised way of his, and my heart starts to beat double time. By the time I sink onto the couch beside him, the goddamn butterflies are back in full force.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, I chastise myself, taking my time smoothing out my skirts to avoid looking at him. I knew this was a mistake. I should’ve insisted on staying away from him. Something about him makes my brain go all fuzzy, and I can’t afford that right now.
