Page 12 of An Acquired Taste

I stiffen and half turn to see Viktoria grabbing the wineglass she set aside. She brings it to her mouth and spits out a mouthful of my blood.

Judging from the shocked silence, this is unusual. I slide uncertainly off her lap as she sets the wineglass aside. Viktoria doesn’t even look at me, but up at Benjamin instead, disgust plain on her face.

Then she tosses her head back and laughs. Her mouth is still stained red with my blood. “Aunique flavor, indeed! God, what a prank.” She presses the back of her hand to her mouth,shoulders shaking with amusement, as she glances around at the onlookers. “Apologies for the manners, but trust me, you’d do the same. I’ve never tasted anything quite so abhorrent.”

Abhorrent. The insult hits me like a fist to the stomach, and it’s all I can do to hold back tears as I get to my feet. Vampires and humans alike are glancing at me, chuckling, whispering behind their hands. Jonah is smirking at me from the couch like he’s won something.

“My precious, come here, help me get that taste out of my mouth,” Viktoria calls, and he moves over to her. She pulls him against her in a sensual embrace; the sound he makes when she bites his neck borders on obscene.

The display would fascinate me if it weren’t only heightening my humiliation. I turn away from them, seeking out Benjamin, who looks at me with sympathy and not a hint of surprise.

I take his proffered arm with a bit more force than necessary, squeezing myself tight against his side as he leads me away from Viktoria.

“You knew that was going to happen,” I hiss at him. “Why put me through that?”

He places a hand on my arm and gives me an apologetic look. “Look around and see.”

Huffing out an annoyed breath, I glance around. But that anger soon shifts to surprise as I notice all eyes on me. Heads turn to follow our slow progression through the party.

“Viktoria made you a spectacle,” Benjamin murmurs, low in my ear. “And vampireslovea spectacle. Trust me, Amelia: the night has only just begun.”

* * *

Benjamin turns out to be entirely goddamn right.

It takes all of two minutes for another vampire to approach us, this one a gorgeous Black man in an all-white suit.He politely requests to take the next spot on my blood card, two hours from now, and leaves only to be replaced by another: a pretty blonde valentine with a black heart pin, asking for the third spot on behalf of her patron.

“I don’t understand,” I mutter, beelining to the buffet table as soon as I get a chance. Benjamin grasps me by the elbow and steers me away from the one I was aiming for—which I realize, on second glance, must be the blood-infused desserts for vampires—and toward another. “Viktoria made it very clear that I taste disgusting.”

The food is as dazzling as everything else. Platters of candied fruit arranged like a work of art, golden serving trays piled high with tea cakes and bite-sized tarts. Right now, I desperately need some sugar to get the bitter taste of humiliation out of my mouth.

“Imagine being hundreds of years old and hearing that you could experience something entirelynewfor the first time. Wouldn’t you be tempted, even if it wasn’t a pleasant experience?” Benjamin pauses to side-eye me as I shove an entire pink cupcake into my mouth. He sighs, grabs a porcelain dish, and fills it with a few choice options from the table before shoving it at me. “Beef carpaccio, spinach, potatoes,” he tells me. “You need iron and b-vitamins, not sugar.”

“Everyone else is eating sugar,” I retort. All around me are hopeful valentines snacking on delicate pastries, and chocolate-covered strawberries, and pretty little fruit tarts.

“Everyone else is aiming forsweet,” he says with a roll of his eyes. “Because they do not have the benefit of your distinctive flavor.” I’m about to tell him exactly how much I value thisdistinctiveflavor and what it’s gotten me when his tone softens and he adds, “And they don’t have someone looking after them.”

I hate that it gets to me. It’s like a knee-jerk response for my heart to go all warm and melty whenever someone shows me the slightest bit of care. I don’t think I realized how long I had spent clinging to scraps of affection with Declan.

But that softness has never gotten me anything but trouble. “Aw, thanks, Daddy,” I tell him with as much sarcasm as I can muster. I take the plate and pop a thin slice of meat into my mouth with my fingers.

After rolling his eyes at me, Benjamin leads me on a spin around the dance floor, and I surprise myself by only stepping on his feet a couple times A few others ask to dance as well: a very serious man in a slim-cut suit, a shy woman with big blue eyes and a puffy dress to match, a gorgeous vampire of indiscernible gender wearing some kind of tuxedo-and-cape outfit I can’t make heads or tails of. Just when I’m starting to have fun, the time comes for my next blood appointment.

As I sit on the chaise and offer my wrist to the Black gentleman who took the slot on my card, I can’t help but notice that a small crowd of onlookers has gathered. The vampire is all gentility and softness as he takes my hand, and I barely feel the bite. But Idofeel the sting when he pulls back, his expression puckering in a way that stands at stark odds with his usual politeness. He manages to compose himself and thanks me for the taste, but I’m beet red as he pulls away, especially when I notice the tittering of the onlookers behind their hands.

Feeling lightheaded either from the blood loss or the embarrassment, I spend the next couple of hours lounging while Benjamin fusses over me and brings me food.

All too soon, my next appointment arrives, and the crowd is even bigger this time.

I dislike the look of this smirking vampire with his dark hair slicked back, but I’ve already agreed, so I politely offer my wrist and a thin smile. He bites into me hard enough that I wince, and then pulls back just as quickly, letting out a theatrical sound of disgust and leaving blood spurting from my wrist. Benjamin is at my side quickly, dabbing at me with vampire blood to heal the wound, but that can’t take away the embarrassment.

The crowd laughs as I bleed. Louder this time, emboldened by the vampire’s mockery of me as he pretends to gag and retch. He slinks into the crowd without another glance, loudly describing thefoultaste of my blood to anyone who will listen.

I suck in a breath and will myself not to let despair show on my expression. I will not let these people see that they’re hurting me. And there’s no need to be hurt, not really. It’s not like I can control it. And I’m getting paid either way. So why do I feel this way? Why does it feel like the sharp sting of rejection, over and over again, bringing me back to that door slamming in my face as I left Declan’s apartment?

I shut my eyes, fighting back tears. Benjamin touches my shoulder. At first, I think he’s offering polite comfort, but when I open my eyes again, I see that he’s also getting my attention because two more vampires are coming my way to politely inquire about my blood card.

I force my head up and plaster on a smile. If nothing else, at least I am a novelty.

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