Page 82 of Blood as Sweet as Roses

But a soft voice distracts me.

“Thanks for calling me back, Miles,” Paige whispers into her cellphone. She’s down the hallway, in the front foyer of the mansion, with her back to me. Tonight she wears a dress printed with blue flowers, simple but stunning on her curvy frame. “I just wanted to see how you’re doing. I know this day can be hard.”

She pauses, and I hear the electronic buzz of the voice on the otherline. I wait, not wanting to interrupt her conversation.

“I’m all right, Mi,” she says, her voice brave but gentle. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just…having a quiet night at home.”

Her fingers fiddle with a strand of her long hair. I wonder who she’s lying to. Why they would be worried about her.

“Yes, I think it’s a great thing to mention to your therapist. Maybe we can talk about it next week. Will you be ok until then?” she says, concerned.

A strong, protective feeling rises up in me. I don’t know who she’s speaking with, but suddenly I have an urge to discover who it is and send a full vampire guard there to ensure their safety. To dissolve all of her fears.

But then she nods. Apparently the other person on the line has reassured her sufficiently. “That’s good, Mi. If you need anyone to talk to, remember, I’m just a phone call away, ok? Yes, all night…” she laughs. It’s a little tight, but the sound rings like music to my ears. I want to make her laugh like that. “I know, I’ve been staying up late, working the evening shift at the coffeeshop…but you should get some sleep. You need your rest…goodnight, Mi.”

She hangs up the phone, and her smile instantly dips, replaced by an expression of deep tiredness. As though she holds everything together for the people she loves, but it’s becoming heavy. It makes me want to take the burden from her shoulders. To hold it all for her. For just a moment, I get to witness the beauty of her bare vulnerability.

Then she sees me, and jumps.

“Oh!” she gasps, her fingers tightening over her cellphone. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t realize you were there.”

“My apologies for startling you,” I tell her, moving closer. “And for listening in. I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation.”

“That’s all right,” she says, a delicious flush of red across her cheeks. “It’s just my brother. Usually I call him before sunset, but he was busy, and I wanted to make sure I spoke with him today.”

“Why today?” I ask, finding myself curious about her. I recall that she mentioned she had a brother, but I don’t know much more about her or her family.

“It’s…it’s nothing,” she replies, unzipping her small clutch to put her phone away. Before I can press further, she steps toward me, so I can feel the warmth radiate from her skin. She blinks up at me shyly. “Iwas hoping to see you tonight.”

I’m drawn in by the way she gazes up at me with her soft brown eyes, by the timid flutter of her heartbeat. Is it possible that we’re both distracting ourselves from our problems?

I know I shouldn’t drink from her again, but I don’t have the will to return to the lounge, to find another breather. And Iamdistracting myself. But I don’t care.

I offer her my arm. “Come walk with me. Out to the gardens.”

Her eyes light up, and she carefully wraps her arm under mine. Her soft pulse beats a delicate rhythm against my skin. It’s calming, peaceful.

“You don’t want to go to the lounge?” she asks.

“No,” I sigh, glancing toward the festivities with a grim expression. “The night has been long enough already. I’d like some peace and quiet, for a change.”

“It can’t be easy, managing a whole clan of vampires,” Paige says thoughtfully.

“You have no idea,” I mutter bitterly, thinking of the exchange I just had.

“Well…I’dliketo hear about it, if you want to talk.” She tugs at my arm a little, looking up at me hopefully.

For a split second, I’m suspicious. Why would she care about what I’m going through? The breathers I drink from never ask me questions like this. They’re with me to fulfill their darkest desires, not to learn about the complex world of magical politics.

But I can smell the sweet scent of her interest, pure and true, hear the steady beat of her heart. She’s not trying to deceive me, at least I don’t have any reason to believe so.

I wave a hand to open the door to the gardens. It swings out in a flash of deep blue.

Paige’s eyes widen. “Is it…is it actuallymagic?” she whispers with awe.

“Do you think vampires can’t perform magic?” I ask, with a raised eyebrow, as we step out into the black night. “We’re just as capable as witches.”

“I didn’t even know witches were real!” she says with a shake of her head. “Not until I started working here. I’d heard about vampires,of course, lots of people in Midnight City know about your clan. But…I suppose I hadn’t realized it was so…well,magical, I guess. Did you really go to a magicschool?”