Page 14 of Lessons with the Mothman

"What?" I snapped.

Rafe sighed. "Projecting. You decided you want to try falling in love. You find a reasonably attractive woman?—"

"Reasonably," I scoffed.

"—who is reserved enough to present a bit of a challenge, which you like, in getting to know her. I mean, would youwantit to take five days?"

I frowned. I didn't know—that was the point of experiencing love in the first place. Victoria did fascinate me, and in spite of Rafe's concern, I did understand that didn't equate to romance.

"So you're saying itshouldtake longer for me?" I asked.

Rafe's mouth hung open for a moment, and then he let out a heaving breath, falling forward and placing his face in his hands. "Oh dear."

"Consuminga lover's blood is very sensual, just as most demonstrations of physical trust with a lover are sensual. But the act itself can be as mundane as eating a sandwich in mundane spaces," Andre offered with a shrug. "Sex itself is a slightly heightened version of the human experience, from what I can recall. And that's if I'm well-fed. If I haven't had blood in a while, it can be muted, or even sluggish or impossible."

"You rely on blood for arousal," Victoria said, looking up from her notes.

"In the same manner a human requires basic nutritional maintenance."

Victoria blinked, head tilted, and then hummed in acknowledgement. It was almost dawn, the sky the color of a thick layer of dust, and the conversation with Andre had been circling toward its conclusion for at least an hour. Every time Victoria seemed prepared to call it a night—or a nearly morning—another small detail was introduced and she followed the thread with inexhaustible curiosity.

"Another necessity for vampires is, of course, avoiding daylight," Andre said smoothly with a glance at the windows.

Victoria stared blankly back at him for a moment, her head no doubt filling with new questions, and then she followed the line of his stare, startling. "Oh! Of course. I'm so sorry?—"

"Not at all. I live very close by, and I was enjoying your attention too much to interrupt you."

I was surprised to see a spreading blush on Victoria's cheeks at the compliment.

I stood, and Andre did the same with a smile, dipping his head to me. "Good day, Elias."

"Good day. I owe you a favor," I said.

The young vampire paused, as still as a statue for a moment. "I should accept, but...no, you really don't."

"A very small one then," I offered, shrugging, impressed that he would even consider refusing.

"If you insist," he said. Victoria had risen to join us, and she shook hands in parting with Andre, offering him a faint smile, perfectly formed and serene in spite of the tired red that had crept in around her eyes.

"I'll be in touch," she said as Andre moved to the back door of the bar.

I'd turned off all the lights in the bar after closing, and the three of us had tucked ourselves into a sheltered booth, well out of sight. Andre lived in an industrial styled garden unit just down the alley and would be home within minutes. Victoria, on the other hand...

Her eyes focused into the far distance, past the walls of the bar, and she swayed slightly in place, her body exhausted even if her mind refused to settle.

"Would you like to get breakfast?" I asked. It was too early for anywhere but a twenty-four-hour diner to be open, but Rafe swore by the hashbrowns of those sorts of places.

"Coffee," Victoria murmured, and then blinked, looking surprised to see me at her side. I tried not to be too offended that she'd apparently forgotten my existence while interviewing Andre. "You offered him a favor. And if I understood the context, that wasn't lightly done?"

"Not amongst fae, no," I admitted.

Victoria wet her lips and then started gathering up her things, checking the recorder she'd been using, skimming through her notes. "You can't indebt yourself to every interview subject you find me. It isn't practical. And I suppose it muddles their motives for speaking with me."

"Fair enough. But this was useful?"

"Three interviews in one night? Yes, Elias, this was very useful," she said. There was that unshuttering again, humor and familiarity and softness in her expression. I wanted to catch her face before it turned away, and I had to tuck my fingers into my pockets to resist.

"I hadn't considered what a difference it might make to those who were born human," she said.

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