Foxx sighed, pulling his arm back from Charity. “I still think it’s a horrible idea.”
“I don’t know how fast I’ll be able to get you registered, and we can only keep you two benched for so long without documented reasons,” Tony stated. “You’ll just have to keep him in check, Foxx.”
“Umm, in case there was any misconception, I’m not stronger than him. We are, in fact, almost evenly matched, with him being slightly stronger than me now when normal. But if he loses complete control and falls into blood burn again, like he did in that house…I’m not sure I have any way to stop him.” Foxx tugged the collar of his turtleneck down, showing his bite mark. “He almost drained me dry when he did this.”
“He almost drained you?!” Charity gasped.
Harlow grimaced, thirst pushed back as his self-disgust came, his hands clenching into fists. “I probably would have if I hadn’t recognized your scent.”
Foxx reached out and gripped one of his fists. “You didn’t do it on purpose. You weren’t mentally aware.”
“Doesn’t change what I almost did.” He sighed and slowly relaxed his hand, threading his fingers through Foxx’s.
“You two didn’t mention this until now, why?” Tony snapped.
“You didn’t ask,” they both said at the same time.
Charity giggled. Eyeing them oddly now, smiling even though her eyes were puffy and nose red. “So…does the hand holding mean something, or…?”
Foxx giggled. “Harlow asked me out.”
Charity let out a high-pitched squeal that had him flinching back as he cringed. “AWWW, you two look so cute together! I mean, I’ve been ignoring the fact you two were sleeping together because of work, but aww.”
“Moving back to the important discussion,” Tony said slowly. “What do you mean by ‘falls into blood burn’?”
“Well…he wasn’t himself when he grabbed me. He was out of his mind in a state called blood burn. And if I’m not wrong, at the time he likely was over consuming his blood supply, which in turn gave him more strength than normal. Him losing control would mean he'd fall into that state again. And even if it’s not infinite, I wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing to stop him, besides…maybe…talking to him, and trying to not get torn apart…or drained?”
“Okay…well, if he gets out of control, in whatever that blood burn state is…why don’t you…hmm…” Tony frowned before the man laughed and said, “Flash that ass he keeps trying to brag to me about, and use it to calm him the fuck down?”
Foxx and Charity gasped in clear outrage.
“I am not a dog,” Harlow growled.
“No, but I’m guessing a dhampir’s instincts are about as carnal as everyone else’s. It should at least be enough to distract you from the blood and violence.”
Harlow tried to muster up some offense at the suggestion, but he found none. He shrugged and conceded, “It…likely would work.”
Because it probably would…Foxx’s ass was… Harlow licked his lips.
“Men!” Foxx snorted in disgust as he pulled his hand free.
Meanwhile, Charity’s gaze was flicking back and forth between him and Tony, looking just as much, if not more disgusted than Foxx had sounded.
Tony sighed and stood. “Well, come on, Charity, I’m sure these two have a shit ton to discuss and plan.” The man added on, eyeing Harlow, “And…maybe a shower sometime in between.”
Harlow glanced down. Yeah, there were definitely some patches of dried blood here and there on his arms. But hey, considering he’d been drenched…the clean up job he’d done using just the sink wasn’t half bad.
Charity stood. “Right…it’s only been a few hours. I’m sure there is loads to discuss. Call me if you need anything, okay?” she said, eyes glancing from him to Foxx.
“Actually,” Foxx hesitated, before saying, “I left my car in the lot where I found Harlow’s, could you possibly have it towed here, or maybe brought here by someone?”
“Sure! Tony, you can drop me off and I’ll drive it back.”
Tony grunted in response.
“Thank you,” Foxx said as he handed his keys over to her.
Pocketing the keys, Charity looked to Tony, eyes narrowed. “Tony, I expect to be included in all the discussions from here on out,” she said stiffly.
