“Exactly. You’re sick, properly ill, even if it’s from some wonky spell. You’ve got muscle aches and all. Even if you put it in writing, if I lie down with you, you’re gonna hate me.”Especially if you’re wearing nothing but a pair of panties.
Penny stubbornly refused to put on the pants he held out, plucking nervously at the sheets that were already starting to grow damp with sweat. She stared at the painfully chilled vampire, standing stiff, blue and black veins visible under skin that was snow white. “I know! You can take yours off, too?”
“No! That doesn’t solve anything.” Brax refused to entertain the idea, at least out loud. It would be worth standing naked in a blizzard if this pretty little beauty was going to slide her body up and down his. And consequently end up all hot and bothered in a way that would later end up lethal, signed bit of paper or not.“What in the world is the matter with you?” he demanded, half to himself, half to the figure practically gyrating on the mattress.
She suddenly burst into tears. “I don’t know!”
Oh, hell.
He was used to people crying—but maybe he’d forgotten how to ignore it. He couldn’t ignore this kind of sobbing, this confused, helpless sobbing—especially not when he felt like his fingers might snap off at any second, and she was a warm oasis in a world of ice.
He crossed the room in two strides and wrapped his arms around her, rocking her. “I don’t know, precious, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Shouldn’t have said anything. Nothing is wrong with you but a nasty fever. You do whatever you want to make you feel comfy. I’ll take my coat off. Boots off,” he spoke as he followed through on his words, still feeling as though ice was painted across his skin.
Penny nodded gratefully, wiping her eyes. “You know, I know I’m not nice to you—but that’s because... That’s because it’s stupid not to be scared of things that can kill you. You don’t treat mean things trying to kill you like buddies. That’s not smart.”
“You’ve got a point. But I’m scared of you, too, sweetie. You can stake me anytime you want, and I can’t fight back without hurting myself. If I fought back, I’d just be giving you more advantages.”
“That sucks. Not being able to defend yourself.” Penny snuggled into his arms.
“Tell me about it.”
“Well, don’t you realize that’s what humans feel when you kill them? Vampires are strong, fast, and really hard to kill—if all that stuff in books is true.”
“It’s pretty accurate.”
“So, if you don’t like not being able to fight back, why hunt and kill humans?”
“Because I... Because the demon was always in control. But he’s gotten quieter the longer I haven’t killed. Things are different than they used to be,” Brax mused aloud, realizations soaking into him.
“Would you go back to killing if you got un-cursed?”
He would love that. In a heartbeat, he wanted to say.
Except for the curious impact of her heart beating hard against his silent chest.
And a little voice whispering, “If you killed again, you’d lose this chance. This girl. You’d just be a lonely creature—again. You can live off animal blood. You can never go ‘home’ again. Marietta will find you, eventually, and make you pay. You could have something nice for a little while—for the first time in a century.”
“I don’t want to be lonely again,” Brax whispered. In New Orleans, Miami, and all the places he hid, he never maderealfriends. He might make a casual acquaintance, he realized, but here— here people tried to get to know him. Asked him over. Made him uncomfortable, made him think.
Made him a man again, instead of a demon.
“It’s hard to think of trading power for something softer,” he whispered.
“Yeah. I bet.”
“I don’t know what to do with myself in a place like this.”
She nodded, head under his chin.
“I’m supposed to be some tough demon, and all I want... All I want at this second is to stay curled up and warm with the beautiful girl who lives next door, who never gives me a smile, barely speaks to me. But tonight... things are different. I feel different. I kind of want it to last. Penny? Do you think it might last?”
There was a long pause as body temperatures adjusted for the better, hers dropping and his rising. Brax was just thinkingthat the arrangement was oddly nice when her head lolled back, and the form in his arms started to slide down. “Penny!”
“I’ll get it!” Penny gasped, waking up. “Did I fall asleep?”
“For a second.”
“My head is too big. So much too big. How does my hair still fit?”
