"she was the type of person who'd explain how she was going to stab you in the front before she actually shoved the knife in... and you'd let her.
she'd probably even pass the knife to you so you can shove it in your own chest...and you would."
tom...
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t o m f e l t every inch of Evelyn as if she were lying bare against him. He knew that he would never get the taste of her off his tongue. Never unhear the tiny gasps of pleasure he had wrenched out of her. If he were a better man, he would stop thinking. Focus his attention on the party before them, but even as they strode toward the Malfoy Manor, he replayed the kiss over and over in his head. Evelyn, oblivious or as hyper aware of him as he was of her, stayed mostly silent. They strode, barely touching except for a slight brush of their knuckles.
The Malfoys' home was smaller than the Maeve manor, but no less decadent. They had spared no expense in decorating for their end-of-summer ball. Evelyn let out a small laugh as she spotted the white peacocks that strode atop the hedges that lined the lantern-lit walkway.
"How pompous these Malfoys are," Evelyn mocked, and Tom silently agreed.
It was apparent that the Malfoys enjoyed showing off their wealth and had spent it entirely differently from that of the Maeves. Evelyn's family had focused more on the power of the bloodline than its money. Ironic that now, when only one capable Maeve was left standing.
Tom imagined the Maeve manor lit up from the inside. Warm and festive for a ball, like the Malfoys' was now. He wondered if he had attended a ball when the Maeves were flourishing in their high society lavishness, if the house would have ever been welcoming. He didn't have to ask that Evelyn's answer to his thoughts would be a resounding no.
The dark walls of the house did not look worn and aged as the place he had just left. The Malfoys' walls and floors were made of polished obsidian that was so clean Tom could see his own reflection in it. The house was lit up with warm, rich light and noise from hundreds of different conversations. When they entered the ballroom following the crowd of latecomers, Tom could see that the dance floor itself looked to be made of solid gold. Evelyn barely glanced at the grandeur of it all.
Tom looked towards the columns that held the great ceiling above. Decorations of black, green velvet, and gold wrapped around them. Tom had a strong suspicion that Evelyn had purposefully dressed them to match. When his eyes roamed to the ceiling itself, he was surprised to see that it was a dome of glass, so that the party was dancing under the night sky.
It wasn't until Tom stopped his observation of the room did he notice how quiet it had become, how everyone had stopped whatever meaningless conversation to look at the two newcomers.
Tom's eyes watched everyone as they all watched Evelyn. Tom wanted to snap his teeth at anyone who glanced her way. Wanted to show them all that she was with him. And yet he knew even if he did claim her, it would be rather difficult for anyone to believe him. For even though he stood at her side, her dainty hand had come to rest in the crevice of his elbow. Though he glided her through the ballroom with his hand on the small of her back, they all still stared.
