Page 20 of The Vampire's Hunter

Corbin smiled then, more relaxed and genuine than she’d seen in years. “Dani, only a fool would dare leave your side willingly. Tonight, you are mine, and I intend to ensure everyone knows it.”

Dani’s eyes widened. “With more public sex?” she nearly squeaked.

Corbin chuckled, smirking a little, before he gripped her hand, brushing a gentle kiss across it as they exited the vehicle. “Don’t tempt me, darling,” he whispered, “because tonight you’re mine, and the evening is young yet.”

Thus far,the party was far more manageable than Dani had anticipated, the hours passing by quickly in a blur of posh outfits, shimmering chandeliers, delicious hors d’oeuvres and glittering dances. For once, it was easy being there among the crowd, latched onto Corbin’s arm as he charmed his way through conversation after conversation.

He was undeniably good at this, at communicating, conversing, charming anyone and everyone in his wake, exactly as he’d urged her to do. So good that watching him for so long felt a little like she’d been staring into the sun for the whole of the evening. Given long enough, she could almost be singed by the sheer magnitude of it. Watching him made her forget herself.

What wonders could he accomplish if he chose to use those skills for the greater good?

The possibilities were endless, really.

By the time Dani was finally able to catch her breath, the evening was already halfway through, though they’d still yet to encounter Lucien. Not that she was looking forward to it.

Dani knew when the time came.

Corbin’s gaze flicked toward her, his dark eyes finding hers, where they stood together among the hallway’s glittering vestibules. “Brace yourself,” he whispered, giving her a moment to prepare.

As much as she could ever be prepared anyway.

There was no way for Dani to accurately describe how she felt in that moment, seeing the face of a man, a vampire who’d decided to rape her, who in a single act had chosen to wreak untold havoc and devastation in her life. Nausea, anxiety, panic, she’d experienced all that and more leading up to the months, the moments that had led her here. The mere notion of being in the same room as him made her feel physically ill. Terrified. Sick.

Her stomach flipped, revolting against her, and for a moment, it felt as if she’d been lifted out of her body, no more than a viewer at the stunned woman who stood below, a beautiful woman, an ethereal beauty she soon recognized as herself, but then, almost as quickly as the feeling overtook her, it was gone, replaced instead by a sudden warmth as Corbin whispered to her.

“Breathe, darling.”

Dani sucked in a harsh pull of air.

Without hesitation, Corbin swept her out of sight, to the far side of the room, hiding them both away where no one could see them. This time, nothing about his touch was meant for show. It wasn’t even sexual …

This was for and her alone.

For her reassurance. Her fortitude.

“Listen to me,” Corbin hissed, instantly commanding her attention. “There is no right or wrong way to respond to choosing to face someone who’s assaulted you, Dani,” he said, his voice caught between a heated whisper and a thinly veiled snarl at the thought of what’d happened to her, “and nothing I say can take away the pain, the panic or rage you may feel at seeing him in public like this.

“But you and you alone are in control of what happens next.Youget to choose how to respond, whether you will face him, brazen and confident as I know you can be, as you claim your revenge, or whether you will choose to cower in fear. That choice will never be his to make. Do I make myself clear?”

Dani nodded slightly, unable to bring herself to speak or look at him.

Corbin cupped her cheek gently. “I’ve asked too much of you, suggesting you come here. I see that clearly now. I apologize for not seeing it sooner. We need only—”

“No,” Dani said, inhaling a sharp breath, forcing herself to breathe through her fear. “No, I asked this of you. I…I need to do this.” She shook her head a little. “Iwantto do this,” she corrected herself. “To face him, to show him that he couldn’t break me.”

She glanced up at Corbin then.

It would have been easy to blame how she’d gotten here on her brother, or even on Corbin, for all the ways their personalities often and easily overtook hers. But neither had forced her hand or taken away her decision. Not as Cillian and Lucien did.

Tonight, the choice had been hers and hers alone.

She’d been the one who intended this.

And there was an…oddly satisfying power in that. In reclaiming this unusual, glittering life from which she’d been driven away. For better or worse.

Enough that for once, she felt she could be brave, despite her fear.

“I’m ready now,” she said, lifting her gaze to Corbin’s again. “I want to face him.”

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