Page 63 of Born Reckless
There are a dozen tables lined up against the side walls on each side. They’re decorated with black tablecloths and elaborate centerpieces that look like they have to cost thousands each. Flowers and sashes of fabric hang and are woven around the chandeliers. A string quartet is set up at the front of the room, each musician dressed lavishly.
It’s kind of awe inspiring.
“My oh my,” a smooth voice says as it approaches. I look to the side to see Doctor Sebastian Vincent walking up. He’s dressed in a mostly white tuxedo, and he looks like an incubus and an angel had a siren of a baby. “Juliet Doe. You’re leaving no survivors tonight, are you?”
“Sebastian,” I say with a somewhat tight smile and the bob of my head. I’m on my own for the first time with this man. Mason and Elena are rushing around, making sure everything is ready. “You’re looking very… immortal, tonight.”
His brows furrow and he gives a smile before chuckling. “Not quite sure how to take that. How are you adjusting?”
I shrug and look at all the busywork going on. “Fine. I guess. Not sure how anyone is really supposed to measure the adjustment to their new, undead life.”
He chuckles again and people-watches with me for a moment. He’s in charge of this party too, but his job must be done. I get the feeling that he is a very punctual and organized person.
“I’m looking forward to you starting your apprenticeship,” he says. “We’re understaffed at the hospital. We could use someone like you. Someone who’s… not afraid of difficult circumstances.”
I wonder what he knows about me that made him say what he’s saying.
“Soon,” I say, feeling a little uneasy. “I’ll be ready soon.”
“I hope so,” Sebastian says, and there’s a smile on his face and he glances at me with what I swear is a blush. “I’ve got a nice apartment set up for you, just a block from the hospital.”
I hadn’t thought about that part. That once I was working an actual job and not just pretending to be a bodyguard for the sake of Roman letting me stay, that there would be no reason for me to keep living with Mason.
My eyes slide across the room, and I see him there.
And something in me knows. My time with Mason is ticking down. Things will not be able to continue on as they have.
“That’s kind of you,” I say flatly.
“You don’t like me very much,” Sebastian says, and his words rip my eyes to his. His brows are furrowed, and I’m actually surprised at the saddened sincerity in his tone. “And I’m not sure why.”
“I don’t know you,” I say honestly. And I feel kind of bad, and I rarely feel bad. “I’m not the kind that trusts easily. So, don’t take it personally. I don’t like the vast majority of people on this planet.”
Sebastian chuckles at that. “Your candor is refreshing, Miss Doe. I look forward to the opportunities we will have in the future to get to know each other better. Perhaps we’ll find some common ground. Excuse me.”
And he steps away to go do whatever a Night Council member does during a gala.
As I watch him go, I see the last person I want to see step through the doors.
Roman De Luca looks like the devil if the devil were made of beauty and darkness.
His hair is just as wildly styled as ever. His gaze looks more intense than I’ve ever seen it. He’s dressed from head to toe in black, of course. And damn him, that tuxedo is perfectly tailored to that body.
I don’t move when those icy eyes slide over to me. The teeny tiny smile that curls on his lips tells me he caught me staring. And without shame, without hiding it, his eyes drop down the length of me.
I saved his life last week. I killed two other vampires because otherwise, they would have killed him.
I’d walked back to the club afterward and Elena had freaked out. I was covered in blood after all, and it was smeared down the front of my very expensive dress. I’d explained what had happened to the group. In very simple terms.
No one seemed to know what to think of it. I’d saved a Night Council member’s life. No one knew how that might impact things, my future. So, we’d all left it alone and never spoken of it since.
And here the man is, staring at me across the ballroom, and every primal survival instinct in me screamsrun, predator.
I should have let them kill him.
Okay, not really. But why did I take it upon myself to save his life when I despise him so much?
“You look magnificent, my darling.” I look over my shoulder to see Sigrid walking up.