Page 18 of To Love a Vampire
The idea of Kaino moving his hips, arms or feet for any purpose besides warfare seems unrealistic to me but I say nothing.
“I would but you haven’t asked me yet,” Gabriel says shrugging his shoulders at her.
An unsure smirk pulls at Luca’s full lips as she eyes the hybrid, taken aback by his reply.
“Are you flirting with me, hybrid?” she asks, raising her head higher to meet his empty, white irises. A flicker of fiery curiosity ignites her eyes.
“Absolutely.”
She steps closer to him. He doesn’t move but I can see his breath falter slightly from her nearness, his wide chest hesitant to breathe around her. He stands tall, maybe an inch taller than Luca, his muscle tone is even and strong but not overbearing, more lengthy than bulky.
“Why?” she asks in a speculating tone, tilting her head at him, a soft line creasing her brows.
Why?Is she serious? She’s a bit intimidating sure, but she’s beautiful. Not that Gabriel knows that, I suppose.
“I’d be an idiot not to.”
“How do you know I’m not hideous?” she says, studying him up and down, taking her time appraising the unseeing hybrid.
“Are you?”
He smiles at her, his teeth a brilliant slash of bright white and Luca leans into him at the sight of his kind smile.
A few moments pass between them, the beat of the drums counting each second.
“Of course not,” she says confidently, pushing her bronze shoulders back straighter.
“I’d have to be more than blind not to know that, Beautiful.”
Her usual glaring eyes and tight set lips break into a genuine smile at his words. Asher’s eyebrows rise over his cup as he takes another long drink. He steals a glance at me and I can’t help but smirk at the situation that’s unfolding around us. Even Kaino isn’t scowling… For the moment at least.
“Do you want to dance?” Gabriel asks, touching her arm lightly, his fingers lingering against her caramel skin.
She wastes no time, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the mass of people, disappearing from sight.
And I’m alone. With Kaino and Asher. The two mystics I avoid as if my life depends on it.
Perfect.
A silence stretches around us. Asher stands between us, his eyes drifting between Kaino and myself, waiting with a smirk to see which one of us will break first. It’s a game to him, one he can easily win. His years of experience within the compound makes silence a friend to him.
Why did I come with Luca tonight?
I take a deep breath, my feet shifting nervously on their own accord.
“You look pretty tonight,” Kaino says without emotion, waving a wide hand vaguely in my direction.
If he’s being honest, I don’t believe it. Kaino looks about attracted to me as a mouse is to a napping cat.
I roll my eyes at him as a laugh bubbles over Asher’s lips.
Asher bumps his elbow into Kaino’s arm. “You didn’t tell me you were such a charmer. Got to give a guy warning before you use a line like that.” Dimples mar his beautiful face as he winks at the stunned commander and casually walks away, brushing his chest against my arm as he weaves around me. His skin is against mine for mere seconds. The lost look in his eyes as he stares down at me breaks my heart, his eyes dip to my mouth as he swallows hard and in an instant he disappears into the crowd. Leaving me out of breath and alone with Prince Charming himself.
What a jerk.
* * *
Hours pass, the dawn threatening to overtake the skyline, and finally with reluctance, I decide I should go to bed. Night terrors have consumed my dreams for the past several nights. I wake sweating and shaking, wishing badly that Asher was there with me… If only I had the nerve to talk to him publicly, to find that closeness we once had.
