Page 67 of After Darkness Falls

"Why the last?" Chloe couldn't help questioning.

The troll shrugged. "’Cause I have no interest in ladies. One doesn't reproduce when they prefer balls to lady bits."

Well, that made sense.

"Besides, I don't like children. And there are plenty of us in other worlds."

She had so many questions. Chloe had just opened her mouth, ready to spout them all out, when a familiar voice interrupted her.

"Chloe."

She turned and grimaced. Levi stood beside his flashy car and close to the now-open gate.

"I thought you might want a lift up the hill."

She sighed. "Until next time, then, Billevern."

She waved, and the troll waved back.

To her surprise, Levi circled the car to open the passenger door for her. He was old, but she wouldn't have thought of him as old-fashioned.

"Thanks."

She slid onto the leather seat; he'd shut the door and regained his place behind the wheel before she could tie her belt.

"Bill likes you."

She smiled. "He seemed nice enough."

"To you," Levi insisted. "He growls and bares his teeth at the rest of us. I think only a handful of people get a smile."

Chloe beamed. "That'd be because I'm polite. You're just annoying."

Levi's laugh was a low rumble. "Annoying that troll would be suicidal. He was trained alongside the slayers of old. His kind decide their likes and dislikes in a primal way. You either smell the right way, have pheromones he likes, or you don't. The human bullshit is just details."

She gave that statement a bit of thought. "So, wait, if I wear perfume, he might change his mind and dislike me?"

Levi shook his head as the car flew farther up the hill. She was glad he was driving her after all; if she'd had to hike all the way up, she might have arrived to training exhausted.

"Perfume just masks the surface. Most sups can still smellyouunderneath."

Interesting.

"What do I smell like?"

Levi's lips curved in a wicked smile. "Dessert."

She couldn’t help herself: she laughed.

"Are we talking train macaroons or bread and butter pudding?"

He glanced at her, chuckling. "You want to know if you're appetizing?"

She shrugged. "If I'm food, I want to be out-of-this-world, orgasmic food, at least."

Levi shook his head, remaining silent.

"It's bread and butter pudding, isn't it?"

---