I will not feed on you.
“The honor thing is getting really old and tired now.” She yanked down her sleeve. “I keep some bloodwine in the fridge for Sam. I’ll get you a glass.” She stalked out.
Jamys stood and looked at his face in the mirror. Luce’s blade had hacked off most of the hair on the side of his head; he was lucky not to have lost an ear. He searched through the kit until he found a small pair of scissors and went to work on the rest. By the time Chris returned with the bloodwine, he had filled her small trash can with cuttings.
“I liked it better long.” She handed him the glass and took the scissors. Shadowed crescents rimmed her eyes, and he could almost feel how exhausted she was. “Sit down and let me do the back.”
Jamys sat and sipped from the glass, closing his eyes as the rejuvenating warmth of the bloodwine spread through him. His head felt oddly light without the length of his hair, and the gentle brush of Chris’s fingers soothed him.
“It’ll probably grow back in a day,” she said as she snipped. “I wish mine would. Last year I went blond, huge mistake, and then I tried to dye it over with this gorgeous purple color. It ended up the color of sewer sludge.”
He drained the glass and set it aside, but the taste lingered on his lips. He needed to leave and hunt, but Chris’s luscious scent filled his head. When she came around to stand in front of him, he latched on to her wrist.
“Ouch.” She grimaced. “Little sore there.”
He turned her wrist over and saw the stained bandage she’d wrapped around it, and then looked at her pale face. What have you done?
“I kinda lied to you. I don’t keep any bloodwine in the fridge for Sam.” She tried to smile. “It’s okay. I’ve got plenty, and you needed the boost.”
She’d bled herself for him. If he could have cursed, he would have. He lifted her into his arms and carried her out, looking this way and that until he found the room where she slept.
“This is nice,” Chris murmured as he placed her on her bed. “Just like in the movies.” When he tried to straighten, she tugged on his shirt. “I’m cold.”
He wasn’t, not with the force of her blood coursing through him. He eased down beside her, gathering her close and pulling the black-and-white geometric bedspread over her shivering body.
“I’d really love to have sex with you,” she whispered, “but I think I’m going to be criminally stupid and pass out now.” Her eyelids slowly closed, and her body relaxed.
He checked her bandage to make sure she hadn’t cut herself too deeply, then rose from the bed to stand at the window. Sunrise was only a few minutes away.
He glanced at the telephone on the bedside table. He needed to warn Lucan about the Kyn who had come here, but even if he could speak, he doubted they would believe what he told them.
Behind him, Chris whimpered, and Jamys went to her. He placed a hand on her forehead. All will be well, my little friend, he lied to her. Forget what has happened tonight and rest now.
Jamys woke from the dream slowly, roused by the setting of the sun. He could hear the sound of water splashing from Christian’s shower, and glanced at the empty space beside him before he rose and left the bedroom. She would want privacy to dress and groom herself, and as much as he would have liked to help her, he doubted her clothes would stay on for very long.
Thanks to her he had rested in a deep state for the entire day; now he felt ready to begin the search for the emeralds in earnest. He would have to speak to Lucan about taking Christian with him, but he expected no difficulty in obtaining the suzerain’s permission.
Nothing seemed impossible now.
Chris had called him her friend, but she had saved his e-mails as if they were treasures. She did care for him and, he suspected, not only as a friend. It made him feel hope as he never before had.
He found a bottle of bloodwine in her refrigerator, and drank a glass as he rummaged about in the kitchen. When Chris emerged from the bedroom, he had a pot of tea and a plate of fruit, cheese, and bread waiting for her.
“Hey.” She surveyed the table. “You didn’t have to make me food.”
“You need to eat.” She smelled of citrus and flowers, and damp tendrils of her hair curled all around her face. “I would have prepared a hot meal, but I have never cooked.”
“I mostly nuke stuff anyway. This is really nice.” She nodded toward the bedroom. “Do you want to use the shower before we head out?”
He wanted to sweep her off her feet and carry her back to the bed, this time not to sleep. “Yes, thank you.”
Once Jamys had showered and dressed, Lucan’s private car had arrived downstairs, and took them back to the stronghold.