Page 12 of Ballad of Nightmares

She’d not moved ten steps when a hand latched onto hers. The person didn’t pull her, just entwined their fingers, and her heart skipped when she found Sam simply looking sidelong at her.

The right corner of his lip quirked when she raised an expectant brow.

“Walk with me?” he asked.

She hesitated, eager to say yes in the hopes that he intended to pull her into some dark corner and fuck her sideways. But she looked toward the bar and then back to him. “You’ve not brought anything to bargain with,” she said. “Why would I say yes?”

A quiet laugh left him, making his hair fall into his face. “Drink. Dance. I believe you’re in my debt,” he countered.

“On the contrary, I believe I have gifted you with my presence,” she said. “Or was it not you that called me a goddess earlier?”

His eyes brightened with her tease, and she wondered if it had been a long while since he’d last played such games. “Okay, temptress,” he gave in. “Another drink, and you entertain me with a walk.”

Ana paused in fake consideration, unwilling to pull her eyes away from him. The fire swirled in the bottom of his pupils, enticing her with every passing breath.

“Okay.”

CHAPTER FIVE

SAM COULDN’T BELIEVE his luck.

The dance had been a last-minute thought. She’d been so fucking cute playing innocent dancing with those other men that he’d been unable to resist seeing what she would do in the presence of a formal dance.

Deianira hadn’t disappointed.

Ana. He nearly laughed at the name she’d chosen to concoct from her true one. It would be easy enough to remember, at least. He’d heard of the others she’d used in previous realms. Diana. Nita. All of them seemed like a different woman. But Ana…

Ana was his to play with.

And what a wonderful game it would be.

He told himself he was enjoying it too much. Feeling her dancing against him had nearly spiraled his mind. The way she moved and pressed and matched his every step. It was cosmic and debilitating. The only reason he’d let her go was that he’d found himself sinking into her depths, becoming mesmerized by those bright green eyes, the indulgence of her hair and body.

He’d used his powers to mute some of the surrounding sounds and push a few visions into her mind, and he’d nearly forgotten to mask his face when he saw her eyes closing with a few of them.

Such perfection.

He wondered if she would also allow him a glimpse into her mind as well.

New drinks in hands, Sam led her down the sidewalk by the cemetery. A couple of his friends ran up to him, their masks on full display or face painted similar to his. Sam chuckled but didn’t stop to talk to them, and the others simply skipped on about their night.

She noticed something about the smiles and soft laughs he gave the others. Barely alive laughs, like he was afraid to let amusement dance within his soul. Something seemed vacant from his being, and it intrigued her more than she already was.

“Do you not enjoy the festival?” she asked him.

Sam’s head jerked so quickly in her direction that it caught her off guard. His brows and eyes narrowed like she’d said some spell and turned him to stone.

“Why would you think that?” he asked.

“Something tells me that’s the first time you’ve danced in a long while,” she said.

“Maybe I don’t dance with just anyone,” he replied.

“So I should feel special?”

He glanced down at her, clearly confused by the conversation, but he took another sip of his drink and simply said, “What do you do, Ana?”

Ana resisted smiling outright, loving that she’d gotten under his skin. “In this world?” she asked. “Ah… I think I’ll be a curator in this one.”