“Vaguely.”
Vincent scoffed. “Anyway. He told me that at first he didn’t care for her, found her irritating. Being the whore he was, he was determined to bed her, however. She wouldn’t give him the time of day.” He laughed. “One day, a few months later, he said he saw her being hassled by some guys, ran to her aid, and something in his chest came alive.”
“His heart?” I snorted. “Unlikely.”
Vincent raised a brow. “He said it was as if her life became his, and he felt his heart beating for the first time in hundreds of years. When I spoke with him a few years ago, he informed me that even after turning her, he still feels it beating.”
I looked at the couple again, obviously in love. “Sounds like fairy tales, Vincent.”
“Fairy tales have often been thought to be magic.” He squeezed my shoulder. “And you know there’s magic in our world, old friend. Don’t be so daft and ignore it.”
I glanced to where Sam and Amanda were filling their plates and laughing. I had no use for humans, and I certainly had none for magic. There was no way Vincent was right about this. Sam was nice, a light for sure, and he’d made things more tolerable lately. I highly doubted he was some fairy tale that would rescue me from my rancid existence.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Sam
“It’s a watermelon radish taco.Lukas, how do they come up with these things?” I was enjoying the hell out of the food at the gala.
Lukas wandered off a few times, claiming he’d been nibbling here and there. Perhaps his food sensitivity was giving him issues. I didn’t want to pressure him to eat; he was a big boy.
He introduced me to a few people, and I was damn proud of myself for not embarrassing him. Some of the guests were odd, though. As if they were fresh out of a Victorian painting or something. Others were in amazement just like me. It was an entertaining mix.
“It looks like art.” Amanda was so sweet. We’d bonded over everything at the gala from the chandelier to the food.
“Right?”
Lukas was talking with Vincent and another man who was in serious need of sun. His skin was almost translucent. I didn’t want to be rude—he could be ill. I’d hated how others would lookat me when I was sick, so I silently smacked myself and returned to eating my food.
“Amanda, dear, would you like to dance?” Vincent held out his hand, she beamed, and I watched as they walked to the floor.
The music was lovely, slow, like a cascade of notes pouring around them as they flawlessly danced. They were a stunning couple. Her red hair fell in curls down her back, her purple dress accentuating her curves. She was beautiful. Vincent had a refined lumberjack thing going on. His brown hair was down to his shoulders, not tied but brushed, he had a well-trimmed beard, and I could see the muscles under the suit. I wondered if Lukas was into dancing. I waited until he was done talking, swallowed my nerves, and turned to him.
“Lukas?”
“Hmm?”
“Would you like to dance with me?”
He stared at my extended hand, then my eyes. “Seriously?”
Oh my God, I was an idiot. Of course he didn’t want to be that close to me. He probably thought I’d embarrass him out there.
“Uh…it’s, never mind.”
I was about to pick up my lobster tart to eat it, and Lukas gently took my hand.
“I’d be honored to dance with you, Sam.”
Fuck food.He was honored.I smiled and followed him onto the dance floor. It was quickly apparent that the man knew how to move. He set one hand against my lower back and pushed me closer to him. With his other he clasped mine and pressed them to his chest.
There was an intensity in his gaze as we swayed and spun. I felt light and carefree in a way I never had before. He turned us in time with the music, and it was as if I were simply one with the breeze, like the tips of a weeping willow dancing lightly over the water, a happy slave to nature’s breath.
I couldn’t say how long we danced, but it was the greatest time of my life. Lukas and I never spoke and yet oddly, it was as if we said so much just by looking at each other. Did he feel the shift like I did…was I just delusional?
As the night wore on, dancing continued, a lot of laughter, and amazing food. At one point my eyes caught on to three people who were watching me kind of creepily. I inched closer to Lukas.
“What’s the matter?” he questioned.
