Easy breaths, Scotty. You can do this.
After maneuvering through humans and vampires alike, I reached the kitchen. The white granite countertops gleamed, completely spotless and devoid of clutter. In fact, there was such a lack of clutter that the kitchen looked like it wasn't used at all. Currently the marble island in the center was being used for, er, other purposes. I tried not to make eye contact with the "human" actor writhing around in glee as the "vampire" attacked his neck.
My heart beat faster. The idea of it excited me, sure, but was I sure I could actually go through with this with a stranger? Once again I wished Spencer hadn't abandoned me. He knew way more about the kink scene than I did.
In my hurry to evacuate the kitchen, I nearly bumped into someone. He caught himself at the last second so we wouldn't collide.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said, my cheeks turning hot with shame.
When I looked up at his face, my heart skipped a beat.
With his pale skin and long jet-black hair, the man was clearly one of the vampire roleplayers. He wasbeyondhandsome. Nobody I'd ever seen came close to his ethereal beauty. He looked like an airbrushed model who'd just stepped out of a photo shoot, except he was flesh and blood.
But his eyes weren't like the other roleplayers. Instead of blazing red, his irises were a washed-out pink, almost like he was unwell.
His strange eyes didn't detract from his beauty, though. I couldn't stop staring at him. His sharp nose, his high cheekbones, his porcelain-smooth skin...
And I was definitely embarrassing myself.
The man didn't speak after I'd apologized. He stared down at me, probably waiting for me to disappear. Shame bubbled up inside me like shaken soda fizzing out of the can. I left before I could embarrass myself further.
This was a huge mistake,I berated myself.I shouldn't have come here. What the hell was I thinking? Brayden was right, I'm too much of a loser to try something as crazy as this!
I ran wildly, trying to reach the front door and escape, but there were too many people in the way. As I searched for an exit route, I felt a hand on my arm. A vampire roleplayer smiled at me as he removed his hand. He was handsome, but he wasn't quite as attractive to me after bumping into that mysterious silent vampire in the kitchen.
"You look lost, handsome," he purred. "Do you need help finding your way?"
"Um, maybe," I confessed. He probably knew the floor plan better than me.
He took my wrist gently. "Sure. Come along, little lamb."
As the roleplayer led me away from the crowd, I glanced over my shoulder as if the mysterious vampire would be there. But he wasn't. Why would he be followingmeof all people?He was just another beautiful face in this wild club, and I was a naive guy two seconds from having a public meltdown.
Thanks a lot, Spencer.
2
Malachi
I hated vampires.
All right, fine. Perhaps that was a dramatic generalization. To say I hatedallvampires would have included myself, given that I was also a vampire, but I was never maladjusted, never suffered from confidence issues or internalized self-hatred. I thought rather highly of myself, actually.
Then I suppose to say thatI hated vampireswould not quite qualify as an accurate statement. Would it have been more precise to say that I hated the practices that vampires participate in? The blood-drinking, in particular? Yes, I think that hit the nail on the head.
So why, pray tell, was I standing in the middle of a vampire club with mind-rotting, floor-thumping "music" surrounded by vampires engaging in the very blood-sucking practice I despised?
Because my sister demanded I attend. And despite our shared hundred years or so of existence, I was still her older brother and she was my younger sister. I felt the need to supervise her antics and make sure she didn't get into any trouble.
Even though she owned the god-forsaken place.
"Malachi! Isn't this awesome?"
Speak of the devil. Mallory appeared out of nowhere, a puff of black smoke manifesting into a human-shaped woman with red eyes and pointed fangs. My sister grinned as she clapped me on the shoulder with undue force. She was a little blood-drunk. I tried not to gag on the coppery smell.
"Whatever are you referring to?" I asked, wrinkling my nose.
"The party!" Mallory clarified. "The club's popped off before, but this turnout is insane!"
