Kiss of Crimson by Samantha Coville (best love story novels in english txt) 📕

society. I did a final check of my hair and made the last minute decision to grab the lip gloss my sister had left behind and applied a quick coat.

Walking up to my door, I made the rash choice to throw it open. If my mother was somehow right outside I’d be done for even if I just cracked it so go big or go home. The hallway was empty and the sound of the ballroom music increased without the door blocking it out. I took in a deep breath and smelled the savory and sweet aromas of the assorted hors d’oeuvres that I would find downstairs.

I sauntered to the staircase and paused at the top. Already, if a guest were to look up, they’d see me. I gazed down at them and soaked in the different colored lady’s dresses and the finely fitted suits of the men. The staircases opened into the entryway of the house, but the entryway had a large open doorway into the ballroom, so the party inevitably spilled out into the entryway. The guests that stood outside the ballroom were leaning in for hushed whispers of conversation and I could spot one couple making out passionately behind one of the potted plants in the corner.

With one final deep breath to muster the courage I thought I had, I took my first step down the staircase. I’d walked those steps a thousand times before, but now they were both daunting and thrilling. I didn’t know whether to watch my feet to ensure I didn’t fall, because that would be my luck, or whether to watch the guests below me to see if they noticed my entrance.

As if on cue, one of the men below locked eyes with me. It was easy to surmise that he was a vampire client of my mother thanks to his pale tint of the skin from avoiding direct sunlight and the aura of intelligence and power that he exuded. As if that were not enough of a hint, his lips curled back in what I hoped was a grin and the sharpened points of his teeth peeked through.

He kept his gaze fixed on me and I gulped in nervousness. The male companion that stood with him looked up from the thick red drink in his hand, probably a sampling of my mother’s supplies of blood, and noticed me as well. They began to whisper something to each other, still looking in my direction, and I quickly turned my eyes away from them.

My feet found the solid ground, and a rush of energy came over me. I’d done it. I’d gone down the stairs during one of mother’s balls. It wasn’t much, but it was a first step toward my new found freedom. I glanced to my left and saw the opened double doors of the ballroom, saw the dozens of vampires who twirled in the middle of the room or tasted merrily from a blood fountain on the food table. An even larger number of the guests stood against the walls of the room having quiet conversations, probably brokering deals or making agreements regarding business.

I crossed the marble flooring, my heels clacking against the surface, and entered through the doors. It was like one of the fairytales I loved so much. The music, the food, the laughter, the dresses. I stood just inside the ballroom and soaked in all the details.

A woman next to me noticed I was idling there, and she smiled, a sound similar to a purr resonating deep within her. She was as elegant as any lady I imagined in my books, with her golden hair pulled half up and the rest cascading like a waterfall onto her baby blue gown. She looked no more than thirty-five, but that meant she was probably at least four hundred when it came to vampire years. Her sharpened teeth were glistening and white as she spoke cheerfully with me.

“Well, aren’t you a darling little thing. I did not realize Madame Leona had another daughter,” her voice was hypnotizing, and I instantly wanted to be this woman’s friend. I didn’t know if that was just her personality or an affect of her vampire biology.

“How did you know I was her daughter?”

This elicited a feminine laugh from her lips. I was concerned she would spill the drink in her hand, which would be disastrous for her dress considering I was fairly sure it was blood.

“Lovely, I can smell you’re a human as plain as day. And I don’t believe Madame Leona invites any humans to her parties.” She leaned in to pretend to whisper, but was still loud enough to be heard over the music. “Humans are far too high strung.”

I giggled with her, not sure if I was supposed to be insulted or not. Luckily, the woman turned back to the others that were with her and they struck up their conversation again. But one look around the room made it very evident that I had been noticed. Maybe it was the human scent, or maybe they could feel the nerves wafting off my skin. The butterflies in my stomach were going a mile a minute, and I hoped my cheeks were not flushed a matching red to the dress.

The sounds of murmuring multiplied as guests began to gossip about the new addition to the ball. Some couples ceased dancing, and some sipped away at their cups, staring me down from over the brim. The tension in the room was thick.

So I shouldn’t have been too surprised that my mother quickly gauged the change in the atmosphere. She was across the room, chatting away with a stately gentlemen who appeared to be a young twenty-five or around there, but whose refined manner of dress made me instantly think of the Victorian era. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped when she spotted me and I could see astonishment, fear, and then rage flash across her eyes one right after the other.

Her