Kiss of Crimson Samantha Coville (best short books to read .TXT) 📖

“There are a few vampires like him who think treating humans like cattle is the future of the business. Fortunately, only a handful of minor traders agree with them. As long as I am running my empire, it won’t come to pass.”

She brushed a hand through my hair and pulled me close. I had to force myself not to cry as she held me. And there were about a dozen reasons why. I couldn’t let the vampires see me like that. I couldn’t let my mother think I’d broken so quickly. And for heaven’s sake, I was determined to still find at least one damned vampire that wasn’t an asshole.

Clearly, the older vampires were not the way to go. They may be refined and dignified and as wealthy as any human millionaire, but they had no regard for human life. They saw themselves as a higher race and had hundreds of years of being pricks in their veins.

That meant I’d have to try and befriend one of the younger vampires. They didn’t have the charm or charisma of their elder counterparts. They dressed like modern humans and didn’t have the same presence about them. But maybe they still remembered their human days more fondly.

The front door opened, and I pulled away from my mother, wiping the back of my hand across my face to remove any trace of what had happened. Then my eyes rolled like a teenage girl.

It was him. That investor vampire from the first ball. And, of course, he looked as falsely confident in himself as ever. His hair was pulled back, and he wore a suit, which was fitting for the event. But he neglected a tie this time. His suit jacket was even unbuttoned, which I knew would drive my mother crazy. He spotted me and smirked.

“Lady Hart, long time no see. Fancy meeting you here.”

He was trying to be funny, but I wanted with everything in me not to laugh. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. He wasn’t prince charming by a long shot. He didn’t have the refinement or grace to pull that off. Or the money.

But I was unsure for a moment as he smiled at me in the entryway. It felt a little bit too much like fate that he would walk in and find me there at the same exact moment as I had decided I needed to get to know a younger vampire. He fit the bill. Was it a sign?

He had such confidence as he sauntered up to me and gave a quick but sloppy bow to my mother. His attention was quickly back on me and I could feel he was turning on the charm.

“You turned me down last time and I have to admit it hurt my feelings.” He placed a hand on his heart and gave a fake pouty face. “Would you care for another dance and maybe give me another chance?”

He held out his hand and I could sense my mother laughing next to me. She was probably pleased to see a less powerful and less threatening vampire take an interest in me. Though I knew that if she had her way, there still wouldn’t be any vampires involved at all.

I stared at his hand with uncertainty. Butterflies started to flutter in my stomach and I cursed myself for feeling them. He was a nobody in the vampire sense of the world. But maybe my fairytale required an underdog?

My hand found his and I couldn’t tell if he was surprised or pleased or both. My mother was definitely trying to hide her feelings regarding the turn of events.

Arden led me back into the ballroom and I shied away from the eyes of the vampires inside. They had probably been in the middle of gossiping about the outburst on my part and kicking out Jerith on my mother’s part.

Then Arden was blocking my view. He stood in front of me, his body shielding me. I looked at his face, my eyes wide. His smile was soft and felt more genuine this time. He grabbed both of my hands and pulled me onto the dance floor, walking backward kind of hazardously.

His hand found my hip and before I could grasp what was happening, we were twirling. It felt different than it had with Jerith. It was more spirited, but also careful not to drag me along.

“What are you doing?” I whispered breathlessly.

“I have enough experience to know when the room is talking about you behind your back. Just block them out. You’re mine for this dance.”

The music picked up the tempo, and we whirled around and around. The world around us became a dizzying blur. I held on tight to the young vampire for support and he was strong in providing stability for the both of us.

“Why were you so determined to dance with me again?” The words were hard to form as I had started to giggle from the feeling of euphoria.

He shrugged and couldn’t meet my gaze. “Something told me I had to take you for just one more dance. I try not to overthink things.”

It was a strange answer, but it wasn’t any stranger than my idea of fate. Maybe something really was pulling us together, no matter how much we fought it. But I shook the thought from my head. I refused to fall for him, at least not that quickly. I wouldn’t be a fool for the third time.

I think he could tell I was beginning to get light-headed because we stopped. The couples around us continued their dance, but we stood there in the very middle of the room. His hand was still on my waist and I noticed it more starkly than before. I was glad to see he was breathing just as heavily as I.

It would have been proper for him to lead me off the dance floor, but he stumbled out his next request before he could even do that. “Would you join me for