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When he saw he had Kayla's attention, a slow smile spread across his face, deliberate and haunting. It wasn't a kind smile, nor one of reassurance—it was predatory. 

Narrowing her eyes she assessed him. He was being deliberate, trying to gain her attention. Vampires are predators who love to play. So, she ignored the vampire, turning her attention to the horizon where the last of the sunrays were fighting to linger as they surrendered to the encroaching night. 

On a second thought, she quickly weaved a barrier spell around me, not wanting to attract a hungry vampire if he was looking for an easy meal. 

"You shouldn't turn your back on a predator," his voice cut through the air, low and smooth, "It's dangerous." 

Kayla hadn't heard him move, hadn't felt his approach. The air around her seemed to shift, heavy with his presence, like a shadow stretching far beyond its natural reach. 

She took a deep breath to calm myself, realizing he was much closer than he had been just moments before. Even a small reaction from her and he will think she is someone he can play with. 

Slowly, she glanced over her shoulder, careful to keep her expression neutral. His pale features stood out starkly against the dimming light. His dark eyes held her, intense and unyielding, as if daring her to show even the smallest flicker of fear. 

"You shouldn't stare at strangers—it's creepy," Kayla fired back, her tone sharp and dismissive, not bothering to turn fully toward him. Releasing a deep sigh at being interrupted, she stood from her place, wanting to go back to my room. 

"You look like freshly spilled blood," the vampire murmured, each word curling in the air like smoke. His eyes traced the length of her, taking in the red dress she was wearing. He was right. Is that what sparked his interest in her, because she looked like a bag of food to him? "I wonder if you would taste just as fresh." 

Oh yeah, it is definitely because he's hungry. 

His gaze was scorching, a sharp contrast to the icy air around us. She could feel it, the way his eyes traced the side of her face, lingering just a moment too long before sliding down to her neck. It was as though his stare had substance, leaving a path of fire beneath my skin, even through the layers of fabric. 

She clenched my jaw, refusing to let the shiver creeping up my spine reach the surface. Even though she doesn't know what to do when encountering a hungry vampire, she knows not to show fear. The smell of the fear excites them, making them hungrier. But being in his close presence was unnerving her. 

His words were deliberate, calculated to unnerve her, but she has to hold out. And show him that she is not interested in playing games with him. 

Before she could take even a step, he was there—in front of her in the blink of an eye. The space he closed so effortlessly should have been impossible, but there he stood, impossibly close, teetering on the very edge of the roof. 

It was unsettling, watching him balance with an ease that defied logic. The wind tugged at his coat, his pale face illuminated by the last rays of the dying sun. Anyone else standing there would have looked vulnerable, on the brink of disaster. A single misstep, a wrong breath, and they'd plummet. 

But he wouldn't. And both of us are aware of the fact. 

As she really looked at him, Kayla realized that he was beautiful. The way every vampire was beautiful. Sometimes she wonders what sh would look like if she were a vampire, would she become more beautiful, or maybe she is the most perfect as she is right now. 

A sudden movement brought her back from her musing. It was his hand. 

He lifted his hand, his long fingers reaching out as if to touch her—no, not as if. He fully intended to touch her. The audacity. How dare he? 

Are all vampires this entitled? Did he not know any manners, or did his manners die with his heart? 

Kayla didn't flinch, didn't so much as shift an inch. Her glare met his smirk head-on, my expression colder than the frost clinging to the edges of the rooftop. She wasn't some fragile creature for him to toy with and she'd make that abundantly clear. 

His hand halted just an inch away from her, as it met the magical barrier, she weaved moments before. 

The shield shimmered faintly in the dying light, a subtle reminder of the boundary he would not cross. "The day I let a stranger touch me," Kayla said, my voice sharp and unyielding, "is the day I'll be dead."