Regal Renegades

Chapter 3

-Caroline-

I came here tonight for a few reasons.

I snuck away from my parents, from their broken, non-official, mess of a building clan they were shoving down my throat with a few goals in mind.

Let loose, finally enjoy myself with some like-minded people, some careless people without a worry or responsibility to be seen. To let myself live these experiences I've only ever been able to hear about in stories. These parties, this liveliness, this fun, and these people... I couldn't find that where I lived.

To be free, just for a bit, and find myself something good to focus on in the meantime.

Something that'll help distract me from the hell I was sure to run into as soon as I returned home. The earful and punishments I knew I was going to ensue from disobeying my family.

But, that was future me's problem. Right now, well, I had someone else in my hands to deal with, who had been successfully helping me reach these goals all night.

I reached my hand back into that soft hair of his, leaning into where he stood behind me, hands guiding my waist in time with the bouncing music.

He'd gone ahead and tucked my hair that I'm sure was a mess by now off of one shoulder that his chin and occasional lips now occupied.

I'll admit he was handsome, in a he-didn't-quite-know-what-to-do-with-it sort of way.

Handsome enough for me to forgive and let him make up for that rather immediate inclination he said himself that he wanted to sleep with me. Though his body temperature hadn't returned back to normal since then.

Still, I let it slide.

I was very good at reading people. Vampire's especially. It was the one thing I could put my strange childhood to use for—some savagery used for good.

I knew my instinct was a little more honed and controllable than the rest of the vampires here, and with that, I could often get a good read on others.

Get a very basic idea of who they were at their core. If I even wanted to associate with them. If I thought that they could handle me or were even worthy of my time during this night I'd wanted to slip away and experience for years.

His was different. It was intimidating to the point where I nearly regretted checking and backed away. But his face and his actions didn't match that, so instead, he became an interest.

He was someone who could handle me, I just knew it.

That, and he'd kept his promise to me thus far. He'd kept the night fun.

He'd gotten me drinks and then shoved water in my hands like we were humans in our early twenties and not vampires who can cure these kinds of things on our own.

I got a tad annoyed when he motioned me off the party floor and dragged me to the other side to snag some food.

It was greasy and messy and nothing like the raw food at home but dammit it was delicious so I forgave him.

It was nice. He was civil and respectful. A lot more so than I originally gave him credit for.

A man who knew what he wanted, but was unwilling to cross lines to get there.

I'd seen him hesitate a few times, then furrow his brows as if confused by it. As if it wasn't something he typically did. I could only smile under the assumption that I was the cause of it, regardless if that was the truth or not.

He'd even tied my jacket around his waist after I took it off for being too hot.

It looked ridiculous, we both knew it, but we both just laughed it off and carried on with the night.