Page 111 of Red Masquerade

But Dixon would kill me. I might lose her, if she knew.

“What about the two of you?” Flora rolled over on her side, facing me. Propped herself up on her elbow. A small smile pulled at her lips. “Will you two marry?” She had asked me the same thing about Adam, all those years ago. Back when courting was for fun; when she was the only one that knew about our relationship.

“I don’t know.” I tried to imagine it. Me, wearing the most beautiful white dress, the most luxurious that money could buy, and him, dressed in a priceless suit, standing at an altar, making vows for forever. The only ones in attendance, the vampires that lived here—Flora, if I could invite her, and maybe Dixon, if she dragged him along. A small wedding on this very shore, the house miniscule in the background, just as dusk was beginning to blanket the Sound.

And they would all drink from their crystal glasses a deep, rich blood, and Flora wouldn’t notice the peculiarity. And—would he have to change me then? Could a vampire even wed a human? And if his life wasextended, as Sinclair had revealed, what did that mean for me, if I never changed?

Vince had yet to put his teeth into me. Had yet to drink my blood. I still didn’t quite understand who he was, why he kept so much from me. So many secrets that were still locked deep within him. And though tonight he promised to reveal it all to me, to show meeverything, I still worried—that he would never open himself up to me, that there would always be little truths hidden away, truths I’d need to uncover.

And if I were a vampire, did I want an existence such as that for the rest of my years?

I wanted a simple life. A simple love. Just me and him.

But nothing about us was simple. It never had been.

“Whatever you decide,” Flora said, smoothing hair away from my face, “I’ll be your maid of honor.”

I smiled at her. “I would have no one else.”

Thirty-Eight

Istood before the mirror, in nothing but a deep red robe which brushed the floor, my hair unbound, rubies dangling from my ears, heavy and shining. I was unsettled, my movements jittery, unable to keep my bare feet still.

It was the same robe Sinclair had worn that night, a night that felt so long ago now. The same dark maroon, crushed velvet, with only a single sash around my waist to keep my modesty.

My stomach fluttered, butterflies brushing their wings against the bars of their cage.

Vince had given the robe to me after Flora left. Instructed me to remain bare—no clothes, no makeup.

I pushed my hair behind my ear, staring at the girl in the mirror. My hips swelled, my figure difficult to hide beneath the fabric of the robe, revealing a scandalous amount of cleavage. No worse than the dress I’d worn the other night, I supposed.

And yet I still wondered what Mother would think—how likely she was to curse me and call me a whore, just like Lucas would, if they saw me now.

That one million dollar reward was not for concern—it was because Lucas wanted me back, wanted me under control again, to move around and play with as he pleased. And he was willing to do anything, pay any price.

I took a breath.

This was the evening. I would watch the bloodletting tonight,reallywatch it. My fingers crept up to my neck, as though to guard the spot I’d seen where the others were bitten. The tender flesh of my neck.

Would Vince let me participate?Would he want me to participate?

What was it like to have your blood sucked out of you? To be bitten—truly bitten, through the skin—on the neck, your flesh parting around razor-sharp teeth, and your life-force pulled from you? What was it to offer such a part of yourself to someone?

The only fangs I wanted in my flesh were Vince’s, and even then, I was not sure if I was prepared.

Howdoesone prepare?

How do you ready yourself to be in a room full of monsters that could eat you? Thatwantto eat you?

I took a steadying breath, letting everything roll off me in waves. Lucas’ message. Flora’s worry.Myfears.

Vince had me. He’d catch me if I fell.

I didn’t know what to expect. That nervousness grew in my belly, a fear that radiated out of my muscles. But there was also curiosity there, else I wouldn’t have donned the robe.

Were not prey drawn to their predators in nature?

And I was in love with one of them, the only creatures that preyed on human beings.