There was a flash of something in his eyes—desperation, I thought—but it was gone before I could be sure.
“Will you share a drink with me?” he asked.
I hesitated, Isaac’s paranoid warnings suddenly leaping into my head, but those brief glimpses of strangeness in this stranger’s eyes were not enough to overcome the heat I felt at his touch, or the recklessness I’d already decided to indulge. Besides, what harm could there be in sharing a drink with a man in a room full of people?
“Of course,” I told him. “If you don’t mind listening to more of my rambling.”
That earned me a half-smile from him, and he squeezed my fingers where he still held them.
“I don’t mind rambling,” he said. “It’s your silence that I fear.”
4
Her First Taste
It’syoursilencethatI fear.Those words sent a chill through me that was entirely different from the tremor I felt at his touch, or even the strangeshivery-ness caused by the mask. No, this was cold and edged in apprehension.
But if the stranger currently felt any of the fear he’d mentioned, he didn’t show it. His smiled as he turned me and led me back across the room, and even that bleakness I’d seen in his eyes had disappeared, leaving only warmth and charm.
He guided us to an empty spot along the far wall, stopping beneath a pastoral painting of a shepherd protecting his flock from a wolf.
Instantly, a member of the burgundy-clad waitstaff was beside us, a tray of those crystal goblets in hand. I gladly accepted one, as did the man.
The drink was just as crisp and heavenly the second time, the floral sweetness lingering on my tongue even after I swallowed.
“Whatever this is, it’s damn good,” I said. “And definitely dangerous.”
“Dangerous?”
“Because it’s so delicious,” I explained. “And clearlyveryalcoholic. That makes it very easy to accidentally get drunk.”And Isaac would kill me if I let myself get wasted at this party.
“Ah.” The man looked down at his goblet, swirling the liquid inside. For the first time, I noticed that his drink was faintly pink, not gold like mine. “I believe many people here would consider that an asset of the drink, not a flaw.”
I glanced around, unsurprised to see many of the guests happily drinking away.
“I understand that an event like this might be overwhelming,” he went on, his voice rolling like the waves against the cliff below. “But this night is an invitation to indulge our senses—an opportunity to truly see and feel and taste. A chance to remind ourselves of life’s little pleasures.”
“That’s a lovely way to see it.” And perhaps a risky one, for a girl on her own and out of her depth. “I’ll give you this—whatever’s in this glass is definitely pleasurable.”
“It’s called Nectar,” he replied, then lifted his glass, letting the clear pink liquid catch the light. “This one is Ruby Nectar.”
“Ruby Nectar.” I repeated the name as if the words themselves had flavor.
“Would you like to taste it?”
“Yes,” I confessed.
He took another sip, and then I expected him to pass the goblet to me—or maybe wave down a member of the staff to get me one of my own—but instead, he leaned toward me.
He’s going to kiss me.
My heart leaped into my throat. I wasn‘t usually the sort of girl who kissed strangers, but then again, I wasn’t usually the sort of girl who went to masquerade balls in billionaires’ mansions and danced with men in velvet suits.
Besides, what harm is a kiss?
He didn’t do it, though. He leaned down until he was only a couple of inches away, his mouth just shy of mine, and then he stopped.
He’s making me do it.He was forcing me to make the final decision, to consciously choose to leap into the realm of pleasure.
