Page 46 of Blood and Bonbons

“Next question, and please make it one that doesn’t insult Vena. Women have fought hard for the independence we have. I can’t deal with an angry Vena before breakfast.”

“Do you have a manservant that could dress me appropriately?”

I glanced at his cave clothes and agreed he would need a wardrobe change to blend in. Even though his clothing looked like it had once been expensive and fashionable, age had ruined them.

With a grin that worried me, Vena turned from making the coffee. “We don’t have a manservant to pamper your lordliness, but I have the perfect outfit for you.”

“You do?” I asked.

“Oh, yes. Allow me to fetch it, my lord chauvinist.” She bowed like a deranged jester and spirited away, yelling, “Don’t you dare pull your fangs out on Everly, or I’ll kill you with pleasure.”

He raised a brow at her departure.

That was it.

A brow.

Definitely not a cold-blooded killer.

I poured the batter even though the pan wasn’t as hot as I would have preferred. But to prolong breakfast and this encounter sounded like its own version of hell.

“I have a question for you,” I said.

“That is not in our agreement.”

“But helping you is, and I need to understand how to best help you.”

“Very well.”

“Why were you in the cave?”

“I should have thought it obvious.”

“It’s not obvious to me.”

“Your blood smells of confectionery,” he said, changing the subject. “It is sweet like those bonbons you left for me.”

“If you don’t want to answer the question, say so.”

“I do not wish to answer.”

“Okay. If you won’t tell me why you were in the cave, will you at least tell me why you aren’t drinking blood to gain knowledge? Why pester me for it when you can easily sip and learn?”

“Are you offering?”

“No.” I flipped the first pancake and faced him again. “I’m asking why a creature with the ability to learn a lifetime of knowledge within minutes would choose to ask tedious questions?”

“I find the term “creature” offensive.”

“Noted.”

“I first walked the Earth as a human, not a vampire. I am a man, born and raised like any other.”

“Got it. So do you have an eating disorder? Is that why you were in the cave? Maybe you can’t bring yourself to drink blood? I don’t blame you. It makes me nauseous to look at it.”

He was on me an instant later, his eyes pitch black and the skin around them pale and darkly veined. The edge of the counter dug into my back as he loomed over me.

I felt regret and panic pooling in my middle. Why had I thought he wasn’t a murderous killer? He sure looked like it now.

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