* * *
They madeit back to Sorley’s as the last vestiges of night were losing the fight against the dawn. Sorley hugged Melody tightly, then stiffened slightly but allowed Baxter to envelop him in an embrace. Locking the door behind them, he unlaced his shoes and sighed.
“I know Baxter will look after her. And it’s not like Melody’s a slouch herself, but I don’t want to leave her. Fucking Dalziel.” He glanced up the stairs. “I should freshen up. Then I suppose I’d better pack — again.”
Gethin followed him upstairs. “I didn’t unpack,” he confessed, “but I definitely need a shower.”
When Sorley headed back downstairs, he found Gethin had cleaned the kitchen.
“I have a cleaner to do that.”
Gethin rolled his eyes. “And? I’m not leaving it mucky. It didn’t take long.” He paused with a cloth in his hand. “This is the part where you thank me, Sorley.”
Sorley bristled, but immediately asked himself why he was being an arse. “Thanks,” he muttered. “Looks nice.” He looked in the fridge. “Do you need to eat again?”
Gethin grinned, apparently forgiving of Sorley’s pissy mood. “I always need to eat. I’ll whip up some scrambled eggs. Then you’d better tire me out so I sleep well for my transformation into a creature of the night.”
It was Sorley’s turn for an eyeroll. “You think that’s the way to get me naked?”
Crack, crack, crack.Three eggs went into a bowl.Tsk, tsk, tsk.A fork did time as a whisk. Gethin looked through the cupboards, laughed to himself, then ferreted in the cool bag, pulling out two tiny paper sachets. Against his better judgment, Sorley leaned in.
“What’s that?”
“Salt and pepper. I always take ’em from service stations for exactly this kind of thing. Well, not exactly this. I don’t make a habit of cooking in vampires’ homes, but it’s amazing how often people don’t have basic condiments.”
“I hadn’t considered that.” He watched as the shifter beat the eggs to a froth, slid bread under the grill, pulled butter from the fridge. “You really don’t like to starve, do you?”
“I’m a wolf. I know I look human in this form, but I need loads more fuel than a human my size. The wolf demands it.”
“Because?”
“Who knows? Same way as you’re technically not alive but your heart beats, you exist on blood, and you can fake breathing enough to fool humans. We’re magical, outside the understanding of humankind, and frankly often a mystery to our own species. Somehow we work, and in my case I run on a lot of food.” He nodded at the cupboard. “Grab us a plate, would you please?”
Sorley kept watching as Gethin ate. “It’s weird,” he said at last. “I know I must have eaten eggs, and I definitely know I’ve had my share of toast, but I can’t remember the taste of either. Obviously I can smell them, but they have an aroma that turns me off the thought of trying them. I can’t even explain it, but it’s not that they smell bad. Just…”
“Dangerous?”
“Aye, could be. Maybe it’s not a human ability.”
“I don’t suppose we’ll ever know. Not like vampirism is reversible.” Gethin eyed him keenly. “Would you take a cure, a reversal, if it was available?”
“No. And I’ll tell you why. Because this is what I know. I had a mere twenty-eight years as a human, and it ended brutally, with pain. Who’d be able to guarantee me any longer if I had a second chance? Thisismy second chance.” He felt his sluggish heart thump a beat and pressed his palm over his chest. “It’s not perfect, but I like being me. Mostly.” He eyed the shifter keenly. “What about you?”
“It’s not the same, I’m not immortal. But no, I wouldn’t want to be human. I’m mostly content to be who I am.” He laid his cutlery neatly on the plate and his eyes were thoughtful as he looked up. “I’m not particularly looking forward to ageing, but that’s the price I pay for being born mortal.” An expression passed over his face that Sorley couldn’t read. “I’m vain, I suppose. I’m at my peak physical fitness, and I like it. I like being strong, and fast, and I love my wolf.”
Your wolf is gorgeous.But he wasn’t about to admit that out loud. Gethin might get the wrong idea. Instead Sorley said mildly, “All good reasons to stay the age you are right now.”
“Hmm.” Gethin stood and took the evidence of his meal to the sink to wash it by hand. “Except, of course, that the only way for me to achieve that would be to get myself turned into a vampire. Can’t really see that happening, can you?” He found a teatowel and slung it at Sorley. “You can dry.”
“Oh no you don’t! You can’t drop something like that on me and not expect me to react. Have you thought about taking the bite? Can a wolf even be turned?” Sorley once again felt he was missing something important, but he didn’t feel able to ask. How could he ask if he didn’t know what the question was? “Wouldn’t you miss food?”Fucking hell, what a stupid thing to say!
Gethin shook his head as he wiped the bowl out. “You don’t miss food. Why would I if it would make me sick? Vampires are genetically programmed to exist on blood. That’s a daft question. Anyway, it wasn’t a serious statement. Yes, it’s apparently possible for a wolf to be turned, but why would I want to be a vampire? I’d need a bloody big incentive to do something so drastic. It’s hardly as inconsequential as switching your electricity provider.” He made a last swipe around the sink. “Have you packed? We should be resting. Except I’m not exactly tired — yet.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Sorley, recognising a subject change when it hit him over the head, slid a hand inside his silk pyjama trousers and struck a pose. “Oops, I’m nearly naked. Whatever could we do to pass the time?”
He made a run for the stairs with the wolf hot on his heels.
19
