“Why?”
“Sangamar are feared around the world,” Kroven explained. “We’re the only species that have to consume the blood of another in order to survive. Of course, some creatures devour others to defend themselves or simply because they want to, butonly sangamar will die without doing so. We have a bit of a terrifying reputation.”
“You don’t scare me, Kroven.” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t think anything about you is scary.”
This caused another grin to bloom on his face. “And for that, I think you are my new favorite human I have happened upon, Bas.”
He dropped his voice when he said my name and I was going to be done for if I didn’t get out of that room. “Well, um, about scheduling. Did you want me to add you to my appointments going forward?”
Kroven smiled wide, showing me his fangs which retracted until they looked just like human teeth. I managed to keep the shock from my face as I spotted the hint of his purple tongue hiding behind them, and I gulped with want. “That would be wonderful.”
Chapter 4
“Hey stranger.”
Thayer’s voice pulled me from my iPad, looking up to see him from my table at the diner I’d walked to for my lunch break. I was laughing lightly as he slid into the booth opposite me and he pried a fry from my lukewarm lunch.
“What are you doing here?”
He usually slept through most of the day because of his long nights dancing at the club so it was really rare for him to be up and about before noon, let alone during my lunch break.
Combing his fingers through his perfectly messy black hair, Thayer chuckled. “I got up early for a coffee date with this really hot girl that came into the club last night.”
I rolled my eyes. I should have known only sex or the potential for future sex would cause Thayer to retreat from his usual routine.
“Of course.” I shook my head. “Where are you meeting her?”
“Here, naturally.” Thayer smiled. “I just noticed you on the way in and thought I’d join you for a second.”
“How nice of you.” I said, closing my iPad so that we couldtalk. I took another bite of my cheeseburger as he picked out another fry to consume.
“How’s the new position at work treating you?” Thayer asked, both of us on opposing schedules now that I was working on the Orb wing.
I’d been staying a little later recently to familiarize myself with the different logging system on the Orb wing, so he’d usually been gone from work by the time I got home. And since I left for work in the mornings while he was sleeping, we hadn’t seen much of each other since I started working with Orbs.
“It’s good!” I told him honestly. “I haven’t exactly made friends with any of my new co-workers yet but I’m sure that’ll come eventually.”
“And the Orbs?” Thayer eyed me evenly. “Are they giving you any trouble?” When I gave him a look that told him I didn’t like that he was implying that they were troublemakers, he added, “Hey, I know how handsy they get. I’m just saying, from experience.”
“They’re not getting handsy at the blood center, but thank you for your concern,” I said with a laugh. Thoughts of Kroven wormed their way through my memory and I hid the smile wanting to brighten my face. I was nowhere near ready to discuss the feelings I’d been having about Kroven with Thayer. Hell, I hadn’t really taken the time to decipher them by myself. “It’s good though. They’re so interesting. And all of them have been really nice.”
Some of them are even nicelooking, I thought to myself.
“Glad to hear it.” Thayer grinned.
The door to the diner dinged open and a beautiful blonde in a flowy red dress stood at the entrance, looking around. Thayer turned his head and cleared his throat, getting out of the booth. “That’s my date.”
I chuckled as he smoothed out the Nirvana t-shirt against his frame. “Good luck.”
“Thanks, man.”
He flashed me his smirking smile and proceeded to greet the blonde by the diner entrance. I finished my meal chuckling to myself as they got a different booth on the other side of the diner.
When I got back from lunch, I was able to finish a few appointments before Kroven's name was next on my list. I'd been excited to see him again, telling myself that I was just looking forward to the conversations we’d end up having. It was getting harder and harder to believe that.
Still that's what I told myself by the time I had seen Kroven to an empty consumption room and handed him the tray with the pair of blood pouches on it. He seemed rather reserved today but he still asked me to sit down next to him for more of our usual inquiries about each other.
Before he could prompt me to ask a question, I said. “How about you ask me something first this time.” I felt bad that I had ended up steering the conversation the past times he’d been in and I usually commandeered the questions to revolve around him instead of it feeling like a truly mutual thing.
