Page 11 of An Acquired Taste

My face must be nearly as red as my dress. “What do your notes say?”

“‘Sweet and fruit-forward, with a velvety mouthfeel,’” the woman quotes without glancing at hers.

“I’m ‘savory, earthy, and decadent,’” the man says with a smirk to match his friend’s.

“Well, best of luck tonight,” the woman says as she hands back my blood card. “You’re going to need it.” And then she drifts away with her companion, both of them concealing laughter behind their hands.

I stare down at my blood card, heart sinking again with the reminder that I’m not cut out for this world for more reasons than one. Their tasting notes sounded appealing, but mine… wouldnotbe a description that would entice me to buy a bottle of wine. The more I read it, the more I think about Benjamin’s puckered expression after the first time he tasted my blood. Honestly, the description is just a fancy way to write “tastes like a steaming pile of shit.” So why did Benjamin bring me here? Am I being paid thousands of dollars to be publicly humiliated?

The shreds of my self-worth are screaming at me to leave. But I’m already here. The worst that could happen is that no one wants to try me, and I get paid for nothing. Right? Benjamin and Lissa assured me there was no actual danger here, and I can handle a bit of humiliation.

“Amelia.” I look up to find Benjamin standing over me. “Thank you for waiting.” He scrutinizes me, and then follows my glance at the still-giggling valentines who are now gossiping with a small crowd. He frowns. “Some of the valentines get unnecessarily competitive about these events. Don’t let them get to you.” He offers an arm. “Please, come with me, I’d like to make some introductions.”

I bite my cheek but nod, and force myself to rise and take his arm.

Being paraded around the room feels worse than sitting in the corner. Benjamin introduces me to a few different vampires. Each time I curtsy and greet them, I feel more like a show animal putting on a performance. All of them are shockingly beautiful and dressed to the nines, and each makes the same confused face while reading my blood card. None of them offer to tasteme, and Benjamin always politely excuses us after a few minutes of uncomfortable conversation.

Uncomfortable for me, at least. Benjamin slides smoothly from circle to circle, always seeming to know the right thing to say or ask, but soon I’m embarrassed and sweating like a pig under this expensive fabric. I fan myself with my blood card.

“Too early to call it a night?” I half-joke, but Benjamin ignores the comment and continues on with the same unshakable confidence.

Next, he approaches a stunning woman who is lounging on a black leather couch in the corner. She’s surrounded by a circle of both human and vampire admirers. Some of them are kneeling on the marble floor just for a chance to be near her. And I can see why.

She’s strikingly beautiful, with blue eyes so pale, they’re nearly colorless, fair hair cropped into an elegant pixie cut, and legs for days. She must be atleastsix feet tall, and her elegant black dress fits her perfectly. But almost as striking is the human draped over her lap like an accessory. He’s wearing a deep red velvet suit with a black heart pin displayed proudly on his chest, and has almost the same ethereal beauty as the woman he’s with.

When he turns to face me as I approach on Benjamin’s arm, I realize with a jolt that I recognize this man’s striking green eyes and perfect bone structure. He’s the model from the ad that gave me this idea in the first place. Jonah Montgomery, the valentine poster boy. He’s even more beautiful in person, his hair elegantly mussed and a hint of stubble on his sharp jawline.

“Lady Viktoria de Camelia,” Benjamin says, bowing to the vampire who I assume is Jonah’s patron. “May I present Amelia Burton?”

The vampire’s pale eyes shift from him to me. So do Jonah’s, but though Lady Viktoria’s gaze feels curious, Jonah practically burns a hole in my cheek with his glowering. I shift from footto foot and glance down, working on committing the name to memory. Camelia. Right, the roses. Roses and daggers, beauty and strength. It makes sense for these two heartthrobs and the fawning mob around them.

“Who are you?” the vampire asks—directed not at me, but at Benjamin.

“Lord Benjamin Acharya,” he introduces himself.

She gives him a once-over. “My, my. I thought courtless vampires were extinct. How on Earth did you secure an invitation?”

Her tone makes me squirm, but Benjamin is as unflappable as ever.

“Courtless does not mean friendless,” he says. “And I could not miss an opportunity to offer this lovely delicacy.” He places a hand on my lower back, and I try not to wither as the vampire’s piercing attention falls upon me.

“I have no desire or need for a new valentine,” Viktoria says.

“Oh, please be certain, I have no intent to replace your dear Jonah, if such a thing were possible,” says Benjamin. “All I am offering is a taste. I think you will find it… refreshingly novel.”

Viktoria’s lips twitch in amusement. “I’m three hundred years old. I’ve given up on novelty.” Still, she holds out one delicate, long-fingered hand.

Benjamin clears his throat and nudges me. I finally realize what she wants, and flush as I hand over my blood card.

Her eyebrows lift as she snaps the fan open and reads the notes about me. She lowers it, looks up at me, and taps the tasting card against the arm of her chaise. “Very well,” she says, after a moment. “May I, dove?” She speaks directly to me for the first time, stunning me with the intensity of her pale gaze. I nod, unable to muster up words. She grabs the pen attached to the card and writes her name in the first slot with a flourish. “Move aside, please, my love.”

Jonah sighs and sits up, glaring daggers at me as he perches on the edge of the couch, as though he can’t bear moving any further from his patron. I think of him as a cranky shih tzu removed from his owner’s lap and have to suppress a giggle.

His isn’t the only gaze on me. Viktoria’s entire fan club is watching: some vampires with thinly veiled interest in their eyes, other humans almost as sulky and jealous as Jonah. I swallow a nervous joke and sit on the couch near Viktoria. She grabs me and pulls me onto her lap instead; after a darting glance at Benjamin, I let myself be situated there. The vampire moves me all too easily, an iron strength in her deceptively slender arms.

My pulse leaps, my body reacting to being so close to a vampire. Still, it doesn’t feel so bad to be held by her like this. It feels pretty good, actually, and I can’t fight the stir of interest deep in my belly. Her mouth is close enough to my neck to make me shiver, but as I recall Benjamin’s warning, I hold up a wrist in offering instead. She grips it with cold, pale fingers and brings it to her mouth.

She bites like a snake, a quick, darting moment, two needle-thin pinpricks of pain flaring to life on my wrist only to die just as quickly as that heady pleasure sinks in. But it barely lasts a second before she pushes my wrist away.

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