Page 55 of The Donor’s Dilemma

“Tell me, Verity, do you waltz?” he asked.

A most unladylike snort escaped her lips and Verity shook her head. “When on earth would I have learnt to waltz?”

She turned to look at him, eyes level with his fang tipped smile as he said, “I’ll teach you, once we’ve made the rounds.”

Verity was about to protest when the bartender placed two glasses of champagne and two whiskeys in front of them. Liquid courage was one thing, but Theo had been deadly serious about not getting drunk.

He’d been deadly serious about a lot of things going as far as insisting on a safe word, seeing as the nose scratch had some obvious flaws. So, they settled on the word “coin”. He even made her practice a few phrases to ensure she’d be ready if need be. Two sides of the same coin, flip a coin, to coin a phrase.

“I’m not sure I should…” she said, pointing at the drinks and watching as Theo tipped one whiskey into the other and knocked them both back with a wink.

“Wow,” Verity said, reaching for her champagne. “That’s gross.”

“Gross?” Theo exclaimed, leading her away from the bar with a hand on the small of her back.

“I thought people only drank whiskey to get drunk. How can you drink that stuff with a straight face?”

“Because I’m a grown-up and I like it?” Theo said.

Verity hated whiskey, hated the burn, but the smell of it on his breath was different. Holding her close, his tongue curled around a fang as he tasted the alcohol on his lips and every thought evaporated from her head.

One thing they hadn't discuss was whether Theo planned on feeding tonight. After seeing so many vampires drinking from a partner’s neck, Verity was desperate to try. Her head tilted, exposing her bare neck to him. It was against regulations, of course, but would he do it anyway? If she asked?

His eyes trailed from hers to her lips, her neck. Maybe she wouldn’t need to ask, judging by the darkness enveloping his eyes maybe he would just take what he wanted.

He lowered his mouth to her ear but before he could speak a woman called out, “Theo!” A vampire threw her arms around him before kissing both cheeks. “I haven’t seen you in an age! How are you?”

The woman held him at arm’s length, drinking in the image of him, and Verity’s blood boiled. How dare this woman barge in like that? She wanted to slap her hands away but instead stood there like an idiot, waiting to be acknowledged.

“Hello Liz,” Theo smiled, only irritating Verity further, until his eyes caught hers and the woman turned to look at her and the scowl on her face.

“Oh gods,” she cried, pulling away and pushing Theo back towards Verity. “I’m sorry! Look at me taking you away from your valentine.”

Theo’s arm wrapped back around Verity as he looked down at her. “This is Verity. Verity, this is Liz.”

“Lovely to meet you,” Liz said but before she could reply another vampire appeared, shaking Theo’s hand, and then another and another and suddenly they were surrounded.

Theo gave her side a little squeeze as everyone talking over each other, vying for the Lord Mayor’s attention and Verity became all but invisible. She supposed it was easier that way, being ignored, no one expecting her to contribute to discussions about people and places she had never heard of.

“Have you been with Lord Chapel long?” a voice asked. Verity turned to find a human smiling at her - a short woman with a petal-pink bob.

“A couple of months,” she replied, sipping her champagne before extending her hand. “Verity.”

“Lois,” the woman said, taking her hand in a surprisingly strong grip. “I’ve been with Dr Smythe for three years. He isn’t normally a fan of SubRosa but said he’d treat me for Valentine’s.”

The Dr Smythe in question glanced at Verity from the corner of his eye and nodded before turning his attention back to the conversation. A severe-looking man with a face that looked unaccustomed to smiling. Verity wondered if she called him ‘Doctor’ in bed.

“I can think of more romantic ways to spend Valentine’s,” Verity commented, and Lois laughed.

“Agreed. Think I’ll be asking for a quiet night in next year.”

“Same,” she replied.

“Verity!” came a distant shout and Verity immediately knew who it was. Scanning the dance floor, she spotted Adam waving her over. “Come dance with us!”

“Friend of yours?” Lois asked.

“That’s Adam, we go to support group together.”