All Just Glass - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes [56]
“I wasn’t …” Okay, she was worried, but only because her experience as a hunter had made her believe that there really was only one kind of bleeder in the world: the pathetic bash-bunny who didn’t care if he or she woke up or not. “I believe you that you’ll keep them safe, so I’m trying. But I don’t know how to … you know.”
Nikolas shook his head, chuckling. “Shall I demonstrate?”
She wanted to say no. She wanted not to be here.
She wanted not to be a vampire, but permanent death was the only alternative to her current state, and she had chosen not to take that route.
“Please?” she managed to say softly.
Nikolas was right that she needed to do this, but she still wasn’t sure if she could. He could show her how to pick a donor or instruct her in whatever technique went into the feeding, but how could he teach her how to forget the last eighteen years?
CHAPTER 18
SATURDAY, 4:57 P.M.
SARAH WATCHED NIKOLAS sweep the room with his black eyes. He narrated his thinking and his conclusions as he did so.
“There are people here who have no idea what we are, and others who come here specifically to meet us. The first trick is to figure out which is which.” His expression as he sized up the individuals in the crowd was serene, not predatory, despite his purpose. “There are a few obvious signs. The girl in the turtleneck sweater is probably not seeking one of us. Same for the Goth boy in the corner with the spiked dog collar. Most mortals who come here seeking each other look around. They examine other people, send flirtatious smiles, buy each other drinks. Some of them come here just for the atmosphere, in which case they are usually either attentive to the music or have brought something that clearly tells other humans they are not here to be picked up.”
He nodded to individuals as he spoke, drawing Sarah’s attention to the courtship rituals going on around her, as well as the obvious not interested signals some individuals were sending out.
Nikolas offered little further instruction. He focused on a young woman who was sitting in a corner booth, sipping a coffee and doodling in a notepad in front of her. Every now and then she looked around her, but she didn’t seem to focus on anyone or anything.
When Nikolas first approached, her expression was wary, which was unusual. Nikolas was handsome enough to turn heads in most situations. However, as he moved closer and she got a better look at him, it was as if she relaxed. She smiled a little shyly, and Sarah heard the human’s heart begin to beat faster.
Nikolas slid into the booth next to the girl as she moved aside to let him in. He ran fingers through her hair, and without any pressure from him she tilted her head to the side, baring her throat. There had been no words exchanged between them. As Nikolas had said, this girl already knew what she was seeking, and what Nikolas was seeking.
Sarah looked around, concerned. Wasn’t anyone else seeing this?
But no one else was looking. No one cared. Sarah had seen it a hundred times at the parties she had crashed; one human bled, and the rest were completely blind to it.
As she turned away she found a young man, no more than a year or two older than her, watching her. The instant Sarah looked toward him, he dropped his gaze. Then, when he realized she was still looking at him, he raised his eyes again. He stood but then hesitated, as if not certain whether to approach her.
He was attractive in a clean but scruffy way, with hair that was a little long—not as if it was intentionally styled that way, but as if he hadn’t had time for a haircut lately—and skin that would probably have benefited from spending more time in the sun. His eyes were a warm brown, questioning as he looked at her.
He looked like he was someone’s son or brother, the kind of person