Just One Touch (10 page)

His body
froze, and beside him, Ben grabbed his arm with a falcon claw grip,
ready to teleport them out.

But no
eyes stared in their direction. When the enraged yelling started,
it wasn’t at either of them.

One of
the waiters had dropped his tray, and one of the older vamps in a
penguin tail suit, was bent over him, yelling as the poor creature
scrambled to collect the broken glass.

“
Idiot! Worthless were-fool! That crystal is older than your
grandparents!”

There
were collective nods throughout the room. The waiter sputtered his
apologies, but the yelling only seemed to make his hands clumsy,
knocking away the broken shards when he meant to pick them up. The
ladies put their sharp noses in the air while some of the males
smirked at the show. Nearly everyone whispered amongst themselves
as they watched.

Wow, and
he’d been thinking about fucking one of these snobs.

“
Jesus, let’s just go,” Ben muttered.

Cedric
was a hair away from agreeing before the next scene unfolded.
“Wait.”

Another
vampire, similar in appearance to the first but for the modern
style of his black Armani suit and more youthful features, came and
put his hand on the older vamp’s shoulder. The shouting stopped,
and the younger vampire motioned with his fingers for two more
servants with rags and brooms to enter the ballroom. They scuttled
in quick succession toward their fallen coworker before quickly and
efficiently helping him with the shattered crystal.

Cedric’s
eyes went back to the vamp responsible for the tiny
mercy.

Whoa
.
Hello
.

His dark
hair was just long enough to produce a bit of a wave, framing a
pale face with high cheekbones, a strong nose and square chin. He
stood tall, proud, and serious, an eagle amongst a flight of
pigeons. Cedric kept his eyes locked on him, not wanting to lose
sight of the man should he disappear as quickly as he’d
come.

Whoever
he was, he addressed the room with authority. His clear voice
carried easily and wrapped around Cedric like a blanket fresh from
the dryer. “Ladies and gentlemen, please accept an apology from my
parents and myself for the intrusion on your night.” His mouth
broke into a wide grin, revealing teeth that were perfect—even with
the inclusion of pointed fangs—and as white as his skin.

With a
start, Cedric realized this was the vampire the party was being
held for. The son of the lord of the house.

The
great and honorable Lord Silus Wiktor Veturious...was defending a
servant? Better still, this was the vampire Cedric wanted to take
to bed.

Oh.
Shit.

“
I bid you all please resume your entertainments, and more
food, drink, and music will be available until well beyond
sunup.”

Several
vamps lifted their blood glasses in a toast while others, mostly
the males, clapped their hands and cheered.

Ben, who
had somehow obtained his own flute of blood without Cedric
noticing, lifted it to his lips.

Cedric
raised an eye at him.

“
I’m not going to drink the whole thing. And it’ll help me keep
up appearances until we can get out of here.”

That
really meant, until Cedric gave up and decided to go
home.

“
I’ve made my decision.”

It was
only the tiniest of sips that Ben took, but he still choked on it,
coughing up just enough blood to put some of the nasty droplets
onto his chin. He wiped them away with the sleeve of his suit,
ruining it. “What did you say?”

Cedric
nodded toward Silus, who accepted the occasional handshake, or
celebratory slap on the back, whether for his centennial, or for
his smooth handling of the scene, Cedric couldn’t tell. Didn’t
matter.

He’d
chosen the vampire he wanted to spend his last hours as a free man
fucking.

As if he
heard his thoughts, Silus turned his head, and his black eyes met
Cedric’s golden ones.

Cedric
grinned and thought wicked, wicked thoughts. “I want Silus
Veturious.”

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About the Author:

Mandy
lives as a hermit with her cat and dog, and works, in Ottawa,
Ontario. Every once in a while she peels herself from her computer
chair to shuffle out into the sun and talk with real
people.