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“Ah, shit,” River said, jumping off his stool. “That’ll be Claude, he never does knock.”
Tight panic gripped my chest again, but River added, “He’s a little mad, but he’s a good egg,” and the bizarreness of that statement startled me out of the terror with a laugh.
River couldn’t be as old as I’d expected. There was no way a hundred year old vampire would use the phrasegood egg. No way.
“Roxana?” a rushed, manic voice called from the hall, somewhere between a whisper and a growl.
“Hi,” I said, rushing from the kitchen into the entryway to meet my second suitor—and blinking fast. It was the only sign of surprise I allowed myself to give.
The man rushing down my hall more fit my mental image of a vampire suitor than River, with chin-length silver hair swept back from his high forehead, his tall, wiry body clad in a moth-eaten jacket and black trousers, and a frilly shirt peeking out the top along with a cravat. The scent of violets clung to him, filling my senses.
But it was his face, the expression on it, that made me jolt inside. He was beautiful, and even more so for the slight lines around his eyes, signs of his age, his irises so dark a red they were practically black. Blood—this man drank alotof blood to have eyes that dark. His features were set in such a fearsome, menacing expression that my heart almost stopped, but the second he laid eyes on me, it split into a huge grin, his dark eyes alight as he rushed towards me with deadly fast movements.
A little mad, River had said.
Alittle.
“There you are,” Claude rushed out, sounding as panicked as I felt. He fell to his knees before me, knees thudding the rug, and I jumped in surprise.
I stared, frozen, as Claude took my hand, pressing a surprisingly gentle kiss to my knuckles.
“My lady.”
What … the hell? “Um. You’re Claude?”
“Claude Angelo,” he introduced himself quickly, his voice raspy and faint but urgent. “It is beyond an honour to meet you, Roxana.”
“Roxie,” I corrected. “I—I go by Roxie.”
“Roxie,” Claude breathed ardently, staring up at me with dark eyes as if I’d given him a gift and not just my name.
He pressed another lingering kiss to my knuckles, and heat shivered through my body, waking up certain areas I’d have preferred to stay sleeping.
“My Roxie. Yes, I like the sound of it,” he murmured.
I swallowed, wondering if it was rude to tell him I was probably going to pick River, who was gentle and warm and didn’t set my heart stuttering like this man did. But there was such adoration on Claude’s face that I felt bad letting him down.
He rose as swiftly as he’d sank to his knees, and I gasped, jumping back a step at the blurring movement.
“Careful, Claudey,” River said warmly, strolling down the hall with his hands in the pockets of his sweats. “You’re spooking her.”
Claude’s face fell, such anguish on his face that my heart panged. Whatever emotion showed on his face, it was always to the extreme, as if he felt everything more severely than everyone else.
“I’m sorry, my Roxie,” he breathed miserably.
“No, you’re fine,” I replied, my smile brighter than before. It was sympathy that made me gentle. “You didn’t mean to scare me.”
“Yet, I did scare you,” he countered, so sad it made my heart hurt worse. “I’ll leave,” he said hurriedly, taking two steps backward—slower this time. “You won’t choose me, anyway.”
“No, wait,” I called as he turned, halfway down the hall before I’d even blinked. “Claude,stay.”
He paused by the door, looking back at me, forlorn. I couldn’t explain what it was, but something about him called to me, squeezed my heart tight. I didn’t want him to leave before I’d even gotten to know him. He was my suitor, and now I’d met him, I found I didn’t want to let him go.
I still thought I’d choose River, but Claude was supposed to stay for three days. I wanted him to stay. His sad, dark eyes would haunt me forever if he left.
“Don’t give up already, Claudey,” River urged, coming to stand beside me, his presence a comfort. “Come have a drink, at least.”
He seemed to know exactly what to say to get Claude to take his hand off the door and approach us, more slowly this time.
