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XXX"If I may have the honor, Miss Romanov?" Daniel asks. He keeps his distance despite being pressed against Nina's body. Somehow he manages to disregard the proximity and seem like he's poised in the other room, layers of mortar and brick wedged between them. It frustrates Nina in a way it hasn't before. Or perhaps it has always aggravated her.
XXXNever has a man been so immune to her charms. It doesn't make sense. She'd wondered for a time if he might be gay, although it was always out of curiosity rather than for her own peace of mind. She'd never seen him in that way. She'd never seen anyone that way. Not since... Not since that night.
XXXWhy would he want you? the voice hisses.
XXXHer hand tightens involuntarily against Daniel's shoulder. She flinches at the way he seems to retreat from her advances - albeit subtlety - and his deadpan expression no matter how erotically she moves to the music. She feels the eyes on them, on her, roving along the curves and lines of her body like hungry vultures. Still Daniel looks at her as he might a necklace or a watch.
XXXNina lifts her chin and stares at Daniel head on. She studies the dark brown of his eyes and something in them riles in her a fierce determination. Shut up, she tells the voice mocking her. The corners of her lips lift in a smile and her lashes drop in a deceptively timid gesture.
XXX"Daniel," she murmurs against his neck. His name rolls from her tongue like smoke from a cigarette, heady with something rich but wispy in the way smoke is. Untouchable. Fleeting. Hidden beneath her normally minty breath - from an excessively obsessive grooming routine - is the muted warmth of alcohol, the musty hint of smoke and the sharp tang of something that is difficult to place, though certainly illegal.
XXXHer fingers trail along the curve of Daniel's ear to follow the hard line of his jaw. They're manicured and painted a deep maroon. "For the bodies I have buried them in," she'd told Daniel once.
XXXHer pupils are dilated as she looks into Daniel's eyes. They chase away the pale aqua of her irises. They are a shade so light, they almost seem colourless. In contrast, Daniel's are so dark, they could be black. Instead of being windows to his soul, they reflect only the person who sees into them. Always turning his enemies against themselves. It's a gift Nina appreciates when he's the General of her army. Not so much when what she needs is
XXX"Daniel," she whispers, a tinge of desperation in the faint Russian lilt of her voice. As if saying his name again and again might make the man himself easier to understand. Her lips are inches from his. "See me."
XXXThe whirl of a familiar blonde head jerks Nina's head. She stares at Erin's twirling form as a boy with light, messy hair spins her around. Anthony Carraway. 16. Powerful. The information comes to her mind automatically and already her mind whirls with plots and plans to destroy, destroy, destroy.
XXXShe kept the Queen at bay for all of two minutes.
XXXNina clenches her teeth and forces her gaze away from Erin. But in the other direction, she sees Sterling. His lips are pressed to a girl's shoulder. Christine Garner. 16. Powerful. One of his own kind. A strand of platinum blonde hair falls into his eyes in a way she used to love. The world swims. Tilts. She wrenches her eyes away, fuming, shaking, eyes wild and throat dry. Desperate for the burn of alcohol and the sting of a rolled joint. But most of all, her skin itches. Tingles. She buries her nails in her palms.
XXXSomething else. Anything else.
XXX"He knew my name," she says, her voice cold and devoid of inflection. She jerks her head in the direction of the way they left. "The boy who spoke Korean." She doesn't mention that he also spoke Russian. She only looks over Daniel's shoulder, not meeting his gaze. "Suppose it isn't unusual." Nina smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "Should I be flattered?"