The music crests and fades, transitioning into a new song. I lower her into a dip, then draw her back up, expecting this to be our parting move.
But she only tucks in closer, so close I’m certain she can feel the pounding of my heart.
“You never answered my question,” she says softly.
I laugh. “You’ll need to be more specific. You arefullof questions.”
Her gaze sweeps my face, lingering a moment on my mouth before returning to my eyes. “Why did you ask me to dance tonight, Merrick?”
Stripped beneath the intensity of her gaze, the sincerity of her question, I am utterly exposed.
In this fragile, intimate moment, I can not lie to her.
I lean in close, grazing the shell of her ear with my lips. “I suppose I wanted an excuse to hold you. And to have you hold me back.”
Shivering, she tightens her hold on me.
She is sunshine in my hands. Warmth and joy and every good thing it means to be a human with a beating heart, with a soul, with a finite chance to make the most of every bloody moment. Immortality and condemnation have stolen that from me, but right now, just for tonight, she’s given it back.
“I’ve imagined how this would feel so many times,” I whisper, “but none of them have even come close.”
“How does it feel?”
I press a lock of her golden hair to my nose and draw in a deep breath, my eyes drifting closed. “Like trying to capture a memory I know I’m cursed to forget.”
“Merrick…” Her breath is hot and soft against my neck, and when I open my eyes, I find her gazing up at me, desire burning in her eyes, and I lean closer, pressing our bodies together until I imagine there’s no air, no light left between us.
“How is it I’ve been alive for over a century, across continents and realms, yet feel as though I never even existed before you came into my life?” I touch my forehead to hers, breathing her in. “Tell me this is real. Tell me I’ve not somehow stumbled into a dream.”
“If it’s a dream, we’re in it together.” She trails her fingers up the back of my neck, casting shivers down my spine. By the time the music fades, I’m dizzy and intoxicated with the sensations. With her.
We finally break apart, but she’s still holding my hand, and my heart is a raging storm, and I can’t stop staring at her mouth.
“What are you thinking about?” she whispers, and because we’re still lingering in our momentary fiction, where she’s givenme life and a soul and a second chance upon which I know the clock is ticking, I decide to lead with honesty one more time.
“I’m thinking I’d really like to kiss you. Which is both shocking and revelatory, and completely new territory for me, and if I’d brought my field journal, I’d be recording these observations for later analysis, but…” A soft chuckle. “Sorry. Allow me to attempt to stay on topic. May I?”
She laughs. “Stay on topic?”
“Kiss you.” I cup her face. Trace my thumb along the corner of her mouth. “I fear if I don’t, my heart mightliterallyburst. And you know I’m not one for hyperbole.”
“No, I suppose not.” Her smile fades. She closes her eyes, turns into my touch. “Merrick, I?—”
“Everyone, if I may have your attention?” The call rings throughout the ballroom, accompanied by the clinking of silverware on crystal. Perched on the stage with the band, Nathan Killroy holds court like a king bestowing false blessings upon his simpering nobility. “The auction will begin momentarily!”
The band plays a jaunty riff. Cheers ensue.
“Kindly start making your way to the auction room with your dates, a beverage of your choosing, and the most important accessory—your checkbooks!”
Another riff. A wave of high, false laughter.
“We’ll get underway in just a few moments. And folks, we’ve got averyspecial surprise in store tonight—one you won’t want to miss. Here’s to a positivelyenchantedevening!“ He lifts his crystal goblet, and the masses follow suit, catcalling and whistling.
The noise finally settles, and the crowd begins to clear the dance floor, jostling us as they pass. Elizabeth glances up at me, her smile shy, eyes filled with regret.
Our moment, it seems, has passed.
“Showtime,” she whispers, and together we slip into the shadows, moving away from the direction of the crowd.
