Having lived on this Earth for over two centuries now, it wasn’t difficult for Vail to read human emotions anymore. He had come to learn that many of their kind tended to wear their hearts on their sleeves, whether intentionally or not. Right now, the Lady Victoria didn’t even bother to hide the fact that she was suspicious of him. Part of him wondered what he’d done to arouse her distrust, but overall he found that he didn’t care one way or the other if she believed him. It wasn’t like they would ever cross paths again, after all. He had just come to her birthday party as an excuse to get out of the Hygrace manor for a few hours. As soon as it was over, they would be parting ways for good, since he had no intention of returning to her family’s manor ever again.

When Victoria winced, Vail knew he’d said the wrong thing again. Although that didn’t matter much either, he supposed. Even if she wasn’t dangerous, he didn’t enjoy lingering around a Crest any longer than he had to. The sooner she dismissed him, the better; and luckily, it appeared he didn’t have to wait very long.

“Thank you. I intend to,” he nodded his head courteously, relieved when she finally concluded the brief conversation between them. But that wasn’t the end of it. Apparently she wanted him to save her a dance later. “Perhaps I could,” he offered her a polite smile, though inwardly he knew he wasn’t going to honor the request. There was so much happening at the party. If he let enough time pass, he felt sure she would get caught up in the festivities and forget about the stranger she had run into toward the beginning of it all. He could slip out with the other guests at the end of the night, and it would all be over.

As she turned away, Vail did as well, making his way through the crowd toward another table across the ballroom. Once he was further away, he let out a sigh that was inaudible behind the elegant music playing for the dancers. So far, the night hadn’t turned out quite like he’d hoped but, choosing to remain optimistic, he still intended to enjoy himself, just as he’d told Lady Victoria he would. All he had to do was avoid one person for the length of the party. How hard could that be?

Apparently very hard indeed.

He had only made it about halfway to the target table when a sudden, pungent odor of blood made him freeze in his tracks. It was as strong as if the source had been directly beneath his nose and tantalizing in a way he’d never experienced before. He was thankful he’d had the foresight to feed the night before the party, or else he very well could have lost his composure right then and there.

Bewildered as to where such a powerful scent could be coming from, Vail began discreetly looking over the people around him. He was careful to keep his wandering eyes from being too obvious though. This was the Crest family manor, after all. The vampire hunters could have arranged some sort of trap to draw his kind out of hiding, and he didn’t want to give himself away. However, that didn’t seem to be the case when his gaze landed on the Lady Victoria, who had her finger in her mouth as she seemed to nurse a cut.

[i]It’s coming from her?[/i] He marveled, licking his lips as his body began to salivate involuntarily. It was surprising to him that such a small wound could give off a smell as strong as this. He’d never seen the likes of it before. Even though he had fed just twenty-four hours prior, he found it difficult to fight the urge to approach her. He wondered what such enticing blood might taste like, what it might [i]feel[/i] like to feed on just a drop…

Vail took a slow breath. It didn’t matter what it would be like, since he couldn’t lay a finger on the Crest heiress in the middle of her own family’s manor. Doing so would have been practically suicidal. As tempting as it was, he had to stick to his original plan and keep his distance from the woman.

He was just about to turn away from her again when a second, fainter scent made him bristle. There was a Wynter at this party after all.

Suspecting he already knew where to locate the member of the rival clan, he glanced once more at the Lady Victoria, who had been approached by another Lord—the same one who had greeted her at the base of the staircase earlier. He narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t sure what a Wynter would have to gain from getting close to a member of the Crest family, but he didn’t trust any of them well enough to wait and find out.

Without taking the time to make a real plan, Vail cut back through the crowd and walked up behind Victoria, speaking at a slightly raised volume to get her attention, “You know, I’ve thought about it, and there’s no time like the present. I think I’d like to have that dance now.” He stopped abruptly, his hazel eyes flicking from Lady to Lord with a hint of surprise. “I’m sorry. Am I interrupting something?”