Night Unbound(85)

Zach received one of the same proportions.
Lisette carried a pitcher of tea and three glasses to the table, then joined them with her own gargantuan sandwich. “What?” she asked when the two males shared a look full of amusement.
Seth shook his head. “I just love a woman with a healthy appetite.”
Zach nodded. “As do I.”
Lisette shrugged. “Fighting vampires burns a lot of calories.” She cast Zach a sly glance. “As do certain other activities.”
He winked.
Each of them took a big bite and chewed in happy silence.
This is nice, Lisette thought to them.
Both nodded, mouths full, though there remained some reticence between them.
“Down With The Sickness” filled the kitchen once more.
Frowning, Zach retrieved the phone and answered. “What?”
Lisette stared. This time, he had altered his voice so that it had sounded exactly like Seth’s.
“My Second is down,” a distraught immortal male said. “He’ll bleed out before I can get him to the network.”
Zach dropped his sandwich and vanished.
“I admit,” Seth mentioned, “that I thought at one point you and Tanner might get together.”
Tanner had been Bastien’s Second since his vampire leader days and had warmed up to Lisette faster than he had to the others when he and Bastien had joined their ranks.
She shook her head. “Tanner and I are just friends. We both love sports and . . .” She shrugged. “We flirt and tease, but Tanner’s a wounded soul. I don’t think he’s ready to allow himself to be happy again.”
Seth nodded. “He thinks, because he was unable to save his son from the horrible end he met, that he doesn’t deserve to be happy.”
“And, after my own past, I just couldn’t let myself fall in love with a human.”
“I understand.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes.
“Would you like to sleep here, Seth?” Lisette asked, feeling closer to him than she ever had. Ironic, considering she had feared he might kill her not so long ago.
“I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“You wouldn’t be. Tracy is still staying at David’s. Zach and I will be gone most of the time. And we can be extra quiet while we’re here.”
“I suspect, once I close my eyes, I’ll be dead to the world and won’t hear a thing anyway,” he replied with a wry smile.
“Then do it. I know you’ll worry if you aren’t nearby. And you won’t get any rest at David’s.”
After a moment, he nodded. “Thank you. I think I will.”
“Good.”
He took another bite of his sandwich.
He looked so damned weary it broke Lisette’s heart. “Do you need blood?”
“No, thank you. I’ll be fine with a little rest.”
She took a bite of her sandwich and studied him while she chewed. It just wasn’t normal for an immortal to evince so many symptoms of fatigue.
Krysta had mentioned once that Seth’s aura didn’t look like theirs. Instead of being a swirling mixture of white and purple, she said his was just blindingly white.
“Do you ever need blood?” Lisette asked before she could stop herself.
His chewing slowed. “I’m an immortal. What do you think?”
“I think I’ve never seen you infuse yourself before. I’ve never seen you infuse anyone else either. And I’ve never known an elder immortal to . . .”
“To what?”
“To look so tired,” she finished apologetically. “Blood and the virus usually keep us from showing signs of weariness.”
“I look that bad, do I?”
“Not bad,” she answered honestly. “Just in need of sleep.”
Zach reappeared, both hands bloody. Crossing to the sink, he washed his arms up to the elbows, then returned to the table and sank into his chair. He eyed the two of them as he took a big bite. Chewed. Swallowed. “Why so serious? What did I miss?”
Lisette produced a smile. “Me asking questions that Seth can’t answer.”
Zach looked at Seth. “I hate keeping things from her.”
“But you understand the necessity of it.”
Zach nodded.
“I do, too,” Lisette said with a sigh. Half a sandwich later, she asked Seth, “Is there anything you can tell me about Zach?”
Mischief entered her leader’s eyes. “I can tell you that Zach isn’t short for Zachary. It’s short for Zachariah.”
Zach grimaced. “I didn’t like the name when it was popular, and I don’t like it now.”
“It’s not that bad,” Lisette teased with a grin. Leaning toward him, she said in low, sultry tones, “Kiss me, Zachariah. I need you, Zachariah. I want you, Zachariah.” Wrinkling her nose, she straightened. “I see your point. Doesn’t really work, does it?”