Page 76 of The Last Vampire
That’s when the guys look my way—and I lower the mask to reveal my face.
“Damn,Navarro,” says Trevor, like he’s only just noticing me. “You look good, girl.”
His compliment makes me self-conscious, and I feel ridiculous in my own body.
“That’s a stunning costume,” says Zach. The three of us pose, and he snaps a picture, then Tiffany gets a shot of the guys.
“I’ll take one of the four of you,” I offer.
“We should get someone to get the five of us,” says Salma.
“Where’s William?” asks Zach, and I register that he’s not using the nicknameWilltoday.
“He’s coming,” I say. “You guys go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”
“No, we can wait,” says Salma.
“I’m fine, seriously. I have to use the bathroom anyway.”
“You’ll need help with your dress—”
“I promise I can manage.” I look from her to Trevor. “Will you get her inside already, please?”
“All right, let’s give Lorena some privacy,” he says, and I’m glad when he offers Salma his arm.
She looks from him to me like she’s not sure what to do, and I say,“Go!”
So they finally get in line to enter the dining hall, and I step into a recessed entry where I can still keep an eye on my friends. I feel my classmates’ stares as they march past me on the red carpet, and I raise my mask again.
This was a stupid idea. Why the hell did I want the vampire to come with me to this dance in the first place?
“You look smashing!” I hear Minaro saying to Salma and Tiffany. After Ms. Floreville snaps their photo, it’s the guys’ turn.
Once they’re all inside, I step out from my hiding spot, mask held high to hide my face. I feel like a total fool for getting so dressed up and coming here, as if I actually had a date. The only thing I want to do now is get into comfy clothes and let down my hair and wash off Salma’s makeup.
I turn away from the dance, sweeping down the hall in my gown—
And I freeze at the sight of a silver mask.
CHAPTER 23william
William’s spine goes rigid. The only word that comes close to describing the feeling isstruck.
For a fraction of a second, he thinks he is experiencing a temporal shift and that he has been transported back to his time.
Then he realizes it is Lorena.
He does not even notice he has dropped his mask. When at last he picks it up and approaches her (slowly, at a mortal’s pace), he cannot take his eyes off her. Modeling that dress from his century, her curls corralled off her neck, those curves she usually conceals so inescapably on display—he might not be sure it is truly her behind the mask, if not for her scent.
It takes a great deal of effort to keep his gaze above her collarbone, and in truth, he does not fully manage it. Holding the silver mask over his face again, William says, “We look like Romeo and Juliet when they first meet at the masquerade ball.”
Her golden eyes nearly blend in with her mask. “That was the plan.”
She sounds guarded tonight, as if she has not quite forgiven him for what he said to Trevor. Yet the urge to prove her wrong is never far from his mind, and he offers her his arm, determined to charm his way into her good graces, if only for tonight.
Even though William has been vexed with her since she broke theiraccord, he has decided to give her a second chance. Lorena said if he showed up to this ball, she would submit to his fangs without resistance.
Soon he will know what her word is worth.
