and she wasn’t sure why. “Mr. Treffen, it’s very nice to meet you.”
“You as well. Are you enjoying my party?”
“I am.”
“Sarah’s told me a lot about you,” he said. “She speaks highly of your intelligence.”
“That’s nice of her.”
“Not at all. I suspect it’s just true. I wanted to tell you, if you’re ever looking for a job that might complement the classes you’re taking, I always have things available here for bright young women.”
Flattery warred with a strange, sinking sensation. She wasn’t sure why the sinking sensation. Maybe just because of the way things had been going with Sarah. She should be flattered. Jason Treffen would be a valuable name on her résumé. A letter of recommendation from him would get her places.
“Thank you so much,” she said, “I’m honored. When school starts back up again, I’ll reevaluate my schedule and come see you.”
He patted her arm, his smile paternal, but the feeling his touch left behind...very not. She wasn’t sure what to make of him. “You do that. Please.”
He turned and walked away then, stopping at the next group of people, smiling, greeting everyone by name. He was a force, no question about that. Regardless of her slight, weird and baseless misgivings, people seemed to like him and the value in the connection could not be overstated.
“You look lost in thought. Or are you simply in awe of your surroundings?”
She turned toward the sound of Travis’s voice and caught a hint of his scent—clean skin and fresh aftershave. And she let herself have a moment where his sheer beauty took her breath away. She’d known Travis since he was a boy, but at the age of twenty-two he was very much a man now.
His shoulders and chest were broader, the softness long gone from his face, replaced with a chiseled edge that made him look both beautiful and a little dangerous. His eyes were the same. That light sky-blue that seemed to promise her the world every time he looked at her.
And his lips...well, they were the same, but they were much more distracting than they’d been when they were younger. Of that she was certain. Until recently she’d never been quite so aware of the shape of them. Or that they looked vaguely sinful.
But that could also be because she had been boyfriend-less, and ergo, sexless, since sophomore year, when her one-and-only boyfriend had broken things off with her to move on to more WASP-ish pastures. She’d been too busy studying and generally trying to prove that she absolutely belonged, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to do anything about her love life.
“Just pondering things,” she said.
He snagged two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and held one out to her, which she took gratefully. “Pondering what things? You’re on break, remember? You aren’t supposed to be thinking about school or studying or your political ambitions.”
“I didn’t get here based on lineage, Travis. I’m here because I work hard. The only thing that’s blue in my family lineage are the collars. The blood is just red.”
He arched a brow. “Don’t ever bleed around these people and they’ll never know.”
“That’s my plan.”
“Do you want a dessert to go with your champagne?”
“Do you have to ask?”
He smiled and shook his head, moving in the direction of the balcony, where the table with the chocolate cake was set up.
She watched him for a moment, sipping on her fizzy drink. He really was very handsome. His tux was custom-fitted to his physique. And yeah, you could tell.
Suddenly a scream shattered the music. “Silent Night” broke into a million pieces as more screams followed the first and people began rushing to the balcony, to the windows.
Sydney froze, watching the commotion, watching as Travis set his cake down and moved closer to the windows before taking two stumbling steps backward and then turning to face her, his skin waxen, his lips pressed into a thin line.
“What
“You as well. Are you enjoying my party?”
“I am.”
“Sarah’s told me a lot about you,” he said. “She speaks highly of your intelligence.”
“That’s nice of her.”
“Not at all. I suspect it’s just true. I wanted to tell you, if you’re ever looking for a job that might complement the classes you’re taking, I always have things available here for bright young women.”
Flattery warred with a strange, sinking sensation. She wasn’t sure why the sinking sensation. Maybe just because of the way things had been going with Sarah. She should be flattered. Jason Treffen would be a valuable name on her résumé. A letter of recommendation from him would get her places.
“Thank you so much,” she said, “I’m honored. When school starts back up again, I’ll reevaluate my schedule and come see you.”
He patted her arm, his smile paternal, but the feeling his touch left behind...very not. She wasn’t sure what to make of him. “You do that. Please.”
He turned and walked away then, stopping at the next group of people, smiling, greeting everyone by name. He was a force, no question about that. Regardless of her slight, weird and baseless misgivings, people seemed to like him and the value in the connection could not be overstated.
“You look lost in thought. Or are you simply in awe of your surroundings?”
She turned toward the sound of Travis’s voice and caught a hint of his scent—clean skin and fresh aftershave. And she let herself have a moment where his sheer beauty took her breath away. She’d known Travis since he was a boy, but at the age of twenty-two he was very much a man now.
His shoulders and chest were broader, the softness long gone from his face, replaced with a chiseled edge that made him look both beautiful and a little dangerous. His eyes were the same. That light sky-blue that seemed to promise her the world every time he looked at her.
And his lips...well, they were the same, but they were much more distracting than they’d been when they were younger. Of that she was certain. Until recently she’d never been quite so aware of the shape of them. Or that they looked vaguely sinful.
But that could also be because she had been boyfriend-less, and ergo, sexless, since sophomore year, when her one-and-only boyfriend had broken things off with her to move on to more WASP-ish pastures. She’d been too busy studying and generally trying to prove that she absolutely belonged, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to do anything about her love life.
“Just pondering things,” she said.
He snagged two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and held one out to her, which she took gratefully. “Pondering what things? You’re on break, remember? You aren’t supposed to be thinking about school or studying or your political ambitions.”
“I didn’t get here based on lineage, Travis. I’m here because I work hard. The only thing that’s blue in my family lineage are the collars. The blood is just red.”
He arched a brow. “Don’t ever bleed around these people and they’ll never know.”
“That’s my plan.”
“Do you want a dessert to go with your champagne?”
“Do you have to ask?”
He smiled and shook his head, moving in the direction of the balcony, where the table with the chocolate cake was set up.
She watched him for a moment, sipping on her fizzy drink. He really was very handsome. His tux was custom-fitted to his physique. And yeah, you could tell.
Suddenly a scream shattered the music. “Silent Night” broke into a million pieces as more screams followed the first and people began rushing to the balcony, to the windows.
Sydney froze, watching the commotion, watching as Travis set his cake down and moved closer to the windows before taking two stumbling steps backward and then turning to face her, his skin waxen, his lips pressed into a thin line.
“What
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