Page 21 of The Vampire's Hunter

The look Corbin gave her was one filled with respect. “You have more courage than anyone gives you credit for, Dani, and I think,” Corbin shook his head a little, like it killed him to admit it, “I think that blasted brother of yours may have seen that from the start.” Corbin extended his arm toward her. “Shall we?”

Dani took hold of him, gently bringing him close. “After you.”

Corbin led her forward, steering her in the direction of an adjacent crowd, as if he hoped to buy her more time, give her a reprieve to gather herself for a moment more, but Dani took a harsher hold on him, surprised when the vampire allowed her to lead them both.

“I need to get this over with,” she whispered.

The second time she laid eyes on Lucien wasn’t as jarring at the first, but if she’d thought she had conquered her queasiness, the sight of the human woman leashed like a dog at his feet immediately corrected her misassumption. She’d once been treated the same with Cillian.

Her stomach plummeted.

“I think I might be sick,” she whispered to Corbin, just before Lucien stepped forward.

“Then I’d recommend you aim for his godawful excuse of a suit,” Corbin muttered, forcing her to let out an unladylike snort.

“Corbin, so good of you to come,” Lucien purred.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Corbin said, his manners perfectly intact, but there was an…underlying maliciousness in his tone that Dani wasn’t certain anyone else could hear. Not unless they dared to look for it.

Corbin’s disdain for Lucien was clear.

So clear that, if Dani didn’t know better, she would have said Corbin’s dislike of Lucien was personal. More than a hate between two feuding mafia bosses. More than the protective instinct he might feel for Lucien’s victims, or for her as a friend, if that’s even what they could be considered. No, the lust for violence in Corbin’s eyes wasn’t even slightly circumstantial.

It was intimate, ancient, fierce.

Fueled by a hatred birthed long, long ago.

Longer than she’d ever have a chance to live.

The difference between them struck her starkly then, making her suddenly aware of who and what he was. She wasn’t certain how she hadn’t seen it before.

EvenifCorbin had offered her more than one night, made her sweet promises, Corbin Blackwell was as beautiful of a being as he was old, a creature meant to outlast her. He was ancient, unchanging, and as twisted as he was fierce, frozen in time like a film reel. Moving, and yet, not fully alive either.

Not breathing. Not flesh as she was.

Not human.

And yet, she wanted that kind of power, the power that came with an unending existence.

Isthatwhat had always brought her here? To this glittering world? A search for power? For immortality? Along with the revenge she now wished.

And if so, what kind of monster did that make her?

Dani swallowed hard, her tongue instantly dry and thick. Maybe Quinn was right. Maybe shehadturned her back on humanity.

She reached for the long chain of her necklace, cradled between her breasts. She pulled it from her decolletage, fingering the skeleton key there for strength. At the sight of it, Corbin’s eyes went wide, his nostrils flaring, but Dani didn’t have time to question it, before the fleeting look was gone in an instant.

She blinked, vaguely aware that Lucien was now talking to her. “I’m sorry. Were you saying something?” she said, turning down her nose at him.

She couldn’t help but notice Corbin’s smirk at the corner of her eye as Lucien sneered.

“Perhaps you’d prefer to put your pet on a leash,” Lucien said to Corbin whilst staring straight through her. “Then she might be better trained.”

Corbin’s look of feigned boredom was an immediate dismissal. “I don’t need to keep my companions on a leash in order to tame them, Lucien. Personally, I find they are more than eager to return of their own free will.” Corbin placed a hand on her lower back, drawing her to him, protecting her once more.

“Why bother to amuse them when you can simply take?” Lucien said, his disgusting gaze raking over her.

Adrenaline shot through Dani, making her unable to stop herself. “A man only steals what he cannot win fairly.” She turned her attention toward Corbin then, forcing more than a little admiration into her gaze. Gently, she reached out, cradling his cheek. “Stealing is beneath you. It’s the tactic of the poor and desperate.” She turned her gaze toward Lucien then. She stepped back a little. “Lovely party. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

---