“Why do Vampires have such beautiful skin?”
He peeked at me from the corner of his eye. “Our maker’s blood purifies our own, and I guess it goes back to its natural state. Whatever skin color you were born with—including moles and marks—are yours to keep. We still retain natural lines in the face from frowning and laughing, but all the sun damage goes away. Maybe we should talk about the weather before someone overhears this curious conversation.”
I looked around to see if anyone was listening, but most people had their earphones on and were either watching TV or sleeping.
Christian noisily wadded up a candy wrapper and stuffed it into his pants pocket.
“It’s a good thing you can’t get cavities,” I said.
He shifted the candy around in his mouth. “I like my sweets. Occasionally I might indulge in eating, but I prefer to avoid it. Comes with that infernal habit of going to the toilet. Candy doesn’t have that effect.”
“I’ll make a note of that.”
“You still haven’t told me what you want if you win the bet.”
I smirked. “Planning on losing?”
“It depends if you want to flatten me.”
“I don’t even know what that means, but if it’s sexual, you’ll have to find another victim.”
He slowly pulled the candy out of his mouth and held it in front of his lips. “If that sassy stewardess walks by one more time and bends over, I just might.”
I threaded my hair away from my face. “How about you owe me a favor?”
Christian abruptly opened his window shade. “Do you see any pigs flying up here?”
“I’m serious. Not a big one; I promise I won’t ask for anything unreasonable. Just a favor you’ll owe me at some point. If you’ve got enough willpower, you shouldn’t have any problem agreeing to this. And let’s define the rules a little since you’ll find ways to bend them. No sexual acts—and that includes oral sex, nudity, touching, phone sex, and blood sharing.”
He snorted with laughter. “Blood?”
“I’ve heard it turns some of you on. I knowallabout stroking the arteries.”
He closed the shade and removed his glasses. “And what on earth could you be scheming in that head of yours to come up with such a bet?”
Something I’d been thinking about for a while. Christian wouldn’t understand, so I didn’t mention it, but the guilt of having left my father without a good-bye had been weighing heavily on my mind. I didn’t have the ability to charm people or scrub their memories, but Christian did. After the close call with Darius threatening to harm my father, I’d decided to cut ties once and for all. But I knew I’d never be able to live with myself until I saw him one last time. I wasn’t sure when—or if—I’d be ready for that to happen, but if Christian could safely scrub his memory of our meeting, it would give me a chance to say what I needed to say. To tell him I loved him, even if he wouldn’t remember it. God, my heart needed that so badly. He thought I was dead, so I couldn’t anticipate what would happen, especially from a guy like Crush. But having Christian make me that promise would give me the choice to make peace with the decisions I’d made. Or not. But at least I’d have closure.
I played with a loose thread on my shirt. “Well? Yes or no.”
“Aye, I’ll play your little game. Then maybe I won’t have to hear your whining about all the women who are throwing themselves at me, like that stewardess up there who looks like she wants to show off those lovely knockers.”
I waved at the blond flight attendant Christian had his eye on. “Excuse me.”
“Yes? Is there something I can get for you?”
“Do you have an ice pack on board? My friend’s on his way to a special hospital in Washington to have someone look at his…” I reduced my voice to a whisper. “Genital rash. It’s burning, and ice usually helps reduce the swelling.”
When she disappeared, Christian gave me a baleful stare. “I suppose you think you’re hysterical. If you really wanted to win, you wouldn’t be so quick to shoo them away.”
I shrugged.
“Miss!” he called out. “I don’t have a venereal disease.”
Half the plane turned to look, and I scooted down, smothering my laughter.
Christian flew back in his seat and grumbled.
“You’re right,” I said, switching on the TV in front of him. “Let’s just enjoy the rest of our flight.”
