“It’s not even midnight.” She didn’t often scold me, but she knew I regretted overindulging by morning.
“Are you alright, Charlotte?” I met Olivia’s giant, worried, doe eyes.
And I thought about her question. Maybe I wasn’t. Because I didn’t know why I kept drinking without a second thought. Perhaps I was overwhelmed. And I couldn’t answer her question. There was so much I couldn’t answer. No, I was not alright.
“Well, we’re here now, might as well make the most of it.” Pari grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the swarm of dancing guests. I grabbed another glass of champagne and quickly downed half of it before James snatched it away.
Pari and I twirled around together, and I spun with the room. I was laughing and smiling, and everything felt so much lighter. I hadn’t realized how hard it was to breathe. But as my mind left along with the tension in my muscles, so did the weight that held me down.
I spun round and round until I spun right into a wall. At the abrupt stop, I drifted to the side. Strong arms halted my descent, holding me firmly upright. I looked up to a face made of stone carved by artists. He was so beautiful it hurt. Before I knew it, I was running a clumsy finger down his straight nose. His expression remained blank. It was so empty, devoid of all feeling. And I couldn’t focus on his eyes where I usually tried to search for something more as my own began to feel heavy.
My fingers trailed over to his eyebrows, lifting one slightly. Then they trailed down, a shaky finger tracing the edge of his bottom lip. And then over to the side, pushing up slightly as if I was forcing him to smile. I realized I was pawing at his face trying to meld it like clay, and he was letting me. Until I brought my other hand up, and he grabbed me by the wrist. A small gasp left me at his strong grip.
Heat trailed down my center, and I suddenly, dangerously, forgot the whole room. I inched closer to him, my free hand releasing his face and resting on his shoulder to stabilize myself. His other hand snaked around my waist and held firm. Tingles erupted beneath his touch, and memories of his mouth on me flooded my head. It felt like we were dancing now, but it likely looked like he was just trying to keep my upright.
“I like it when you touch me.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them, and my cheeks flushed instantly. The champagnewas a bad idea. If I wasn’t careful, all of my secrets would soon spill from my lips.
He cocked his head to the side slightly, and his grip on my waist tightened. His thumb began to move against me in slow circles. I melted in his arms. His warmth bled into me as I pressed my chest into his. A soft groan rumbled through him. His eyes darkened. My hand moved from his shoulder to wrap around the back of his neck as I nearly collapsed to the ground. It was becoming difficult to stand, my legs numbing by the second. I should have eaten more. He pressed me closer into him, and as I slid down, he yanked me back up. The friction strangled a gasp out of me that sounded painfully too close to a moan.
He leaned down. His lips grazed my ear as he spoke in a low voice. I shivered as his breath draped around my neck. “If you keep grinding against my cock, I’m going to have to take you to your room.” His tone was thick and laced with warning. And as I processed his words my eyes widened.Was that what I was doing?
The room and all the people in it came screaming back to me. I didn’t look around as I couldn’t bear to know if anyone saw. I needed to get away from him before I climbed atop him. I reared back, pushing him away from me a little too roughly, though he barely moved, but he took a step away from me.
“Um, I’ll be right back.” I turned to leave but was tugged back as he held on to my wrist.
“Are you sure you can stay upright?”
“Yes.” I rolled my eyes which caused a poorly timed stumble.
“Are you running away from me?”
“Yes.” I snatched my wrist away and disappeared within the throng of twirling guests before he could respond.
The celebration grew quieter behind me as I made my way down the empty hall to the bathroom. My legs moved as if I was walking through water. I definitely overdid it this year. But the water feltso smooth, like wading through velvet. I glided down the hall with uneven steps as I flung my arms around, reveling in the feeling of weightlessness.
The disturbance of pinpricks across my skin elicited a dramatic scowl across my face. I stopped dead in my tracks swinging my head around to survey my surroundings. I was glad no one was around to see me clearly becoming undone, but it was hard to care at the moment. And there was one annoying presence in attendance.
I supposed I had turned my head too quickly as I crashed into the wall. I couldn’t regain my balance, so I submitted to sliding down to the floor, wincing at the ornate moldings that bit into my back on the way down.
“You only show yourself when I’m alone.” My voice came out annoyed and bitter. The alcohol was clearly making me bold.
I knew he was here. I could feel it.
The hall filled with a chill that did not seep in from the windows. It was not the crisp air of autumn, the cool air that my lungs ached to breathe in. No, this was a chill to the bone, a cold meant to claim and take. The touch of death. What usually filled me with dread, which was certainly within me somewhere, but at present I was just annoyed.
“If I knew any better, I’d say you were scared,” I taunted.
I flopped to the side, resting on my hip as I swung my legs across the floor haphazardly, trying to get them underneath myself to stand. I paused a moment to take a break. When had I become out of breath? I managed to get onto my hands and knees, but my heel caught on my dress as I attempted to stand causing me to fall flat on my stomach. I laid there a moment.
And just to poke the bear a bit further. “Only a coward hides in the shadows.” My voice was muffled against the marble.
Once I finally managed to get to my feet, which I will never admit to how long that took, I made my way to the bathroom andthen back to the ball. And as my head was already far from me to maintain any sort of sense, I was already gulping down more champagne before I could realize.
I meandered along the edge of the room since there weren’t as many people for me to run into. Literally. I had already run straight into two people. I hadn’t seen them at all, and I couldn’t risk running into another. Regret was looming on the horizon and would rise with the morning sun.
It happened so quickly I could barely process it. I probably appeared as dumbfounded as I was.
The massive floor-to-ceiling window right beside me completely shattered. The shards shimmered with the golden candlelight as they rained down. The music halted with a clumsy screech, and gasps erupted through the crowd like a passing wave. I hadn’t realized what had crashed through the window until Alaric was standing right beside me. He appeared completely unscathed as he brushed glass from his crisp tailcoat as if it was an innocent piece of lint.
