“I know that!” Penny pouted. “Well, Isort ofknew that. I just... I kinda stopped thinking of you as a demon in the last hour or so and started thinking of you as simply Brax, my partner in solving problems and adjusting body temperature. Besides, you’re not frozen anymore. And blood-drinking? Ew, no. That would suck. And if you believe all the vampire flicks, wouldn’t I get turned into one of the fangy undead?” Penny glared at him, then doubled up laughing. “Sucks! Vampires suck blood, get it? Ha!”
Brax rolled his eyes. “Yes, Pen, you’re a laugh riot. It’s no problem for me to get good and frozen again.”All right. Painful,but it was worth the pain to heal her. To save people. Okay, mainly to heal her.
“But it hurts you. And frozen blood? Does it even flow? Can you bleed?”
“We’ll find out.”
“That’s going to hurt you.” Penny shook her head, frowning.
“That doesn’t matter. You could get better. You could save this town. Your parents.”
“Brax is right. The pain will be temporary, and the results are worth it.” Mr. Mingeold’s tone was firm.
Penny gave him a sorrowful, confused look. “But... I don’t want to hurt him anymore. I don’t want to hurt someone I like. He took a long time to get warm, and he can’t even die from it, he’ll just keep suffering. I don’t want that, the suffering. Why do I have to hurt him? I promised him I wouldn’t hurt him. It’s in writing! How am I supposed to—”
“I’ll handle things,” Brax said firmly.Why’s she so worked up? A nick with a knife? A bite, if I can get one. A bit of a sting, and the throbbing afterward, pulses that race under your skin, make you pound like you’re still alive. Mm. All part of the joys of being a vampire.
She nodded mutely, eyes glossy in a whole new way.
“Oh, Pen. C’mere. Fix those sad eyes.”
“I promised I wouldn’t hurt you.”
“I promised not to hurt you, either. I keep the promises I make, Penny. Look, when something is for you, it doesn’t hurt a bit.”
She smiled at him, eyes gleaming and glowing with something like... hope and happiness, and maybe that undefined thing that he dare not believe in too much. “Promise?”
“I promise, baby. I promise.” He wrapped his arms around her as hers locked around him.
His phone clunked to the floor, and they ignored the soft, distant voice on the other end as it murmured, “Call me back soon. I’ll... I’ll give you some privacy...”
Chapter Seven
“You’re not frozen. This won’t work.”I shouldwantthis to work. But some part of her was balking.Save the world, sure. Don’t hurt the lover.
Lover? Don’t you have to love someone for him to be a lover? Or make love? We had some sex. We need to finish that. We got interrupted. Where did I put my phone?
“Yeah, well...” Brax caught Penny as her head swiveled in a woozy circle, confusion clouding her expression. “You’re heating back up.”
“There’s the phone.”
“That’s my phone, God knows where you threw yours. Ah, there it is.” Brax grabbed it off the floor and thrust it into your hand. “I’ll be back. Where’s my coat?”
“Whoa, whoa! Where are you going?”
