CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
~
“Here,” Lex said, catching Faith off guard when he tossed a fresh blood bag at her. She effortlessly snatched it from the air and turned back to look down at the beach. “Interesting.”
“Me?” Faith asked, turning back to him.
“Well, not the scenery, even though it does look good from where I’m standing,” he said, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows with a grin that just wouldn’t stop.
Faith folded her arms, tucking the blood bag against her elbow and kicked out a hip. “Was there a point in there somewhere?” she asked in a droll tone that made him smile harder.
“Keep denying yourself … me, it only hurts … you,” Lex said with a wink.
“Bored now,” Faith said, feigning a yawn.
“Have it your own way,” he said, leaning his back against the open boot of the car and reaching for another bag of blood to satisfy his craving, even if that craving wasn’t for donated blood but for her.
“Fine,” Faith said, feeling slightly irritable. “What is interesting?”
Lex shrugged. “A normal newbie, that is, every newbie I have ever known, would have ripped off the top of that bag and been sucking it dry the moment they had it in their hand, but you…” He left that open-ended.
Faith looked down at the bag. While she had a desire to feed, she wasn’t exactly ravenous and could take it or leave it. “I have other things on my mind right now.”
“Exactly,” Lex said, shrugging. “Your instinct should be screaming at you to feed – a need that burns bright…”
“Maybe I just don’t like blood,” she said, shrugging.
“You’re a vampire – that would be awkward,” Lex said. “Don’t you think?”
“I’m trying not to think,” Faith said, turning back to the beach at the sound of the last car pulling out of the lot. It was Hope, and Drew was sitting in the driver’s seat. “I wonder what Amy would say if I arrived at her doorstep and asked her to invite me into my own house?” A small smile of mischief played on her lips.
“Oh, I think we both know how that would go,” Lex said. “Not thirsty yet?”
“No,” Faith said, tossing the bag at him. He caught out of the air before it hit his head. “And stop trying to goad me into filling up; I’m not a car.”
“I’m impressed,” Lex said.
Faith scowled. “At what?”
“You and the transition between witch to vampire, so far.”
“So far so good,” Faith said, shrugging.
“I wonder if it’s because you had something else to concentrate on or because the Others were inside of you?” He took a moment to ponder that thought.
“That’s nice, but hush up,” Faith said, holding her hand up before she surprised him by taking off as if her life depended on it.
“Ugh! Spoke too soon,” he bit out, tossing the bag into the boot and taking off after her.
~
“It’s not much…” Zeke said, motioning around his living room. “But we can fix it up.”
Darcy checked out her surroundings. The sofa was leather, battered and scratched, and had seen better days. The coffee table was practical; a large lamp sat in the corner, and what looked like a battered but comfortable armchair sat by the window. There was a large television with gaming gear beneath it and a satellite box, and she wasn’t surprised. “It’s a man cave,” she said with a shrug.
Zeke moved to the doorway of a darkened room. “Kitchen’s through here,” he said, motioning, but he held up his hand when she took a couple of steps. “You might not want to go in there just yet.”
Darcy grinned. “Man, kitchen?”
“Yep,” Zeke said, hanging his head in shame. “I like to go through every pan, cup and plate before I fill the dishwasher.”
“Eco-friendly, saving water, I like that,” Darcy said with a teasing smile.
Zeke pursed his lips as he considered it for a moment. “Sure, we can go with that.” He moved swiftly to the backdoor. “Garden, brick-built barbecue for…”
“Man cooking,” Darcy teased.
Zeke grinned. “Man cooks with fire…”
“Gets tasty grub,” Darcy added before she hooked a thumb over her shoulder at the staircase. “Bedrooms upstairs, toilet to be located.”
Zeke cleared his throat. “I’m just gonna go clean up the bathroom…”
“Man bathroom, towels on the floor?” Darcy asked, chuckling.
Zeke stopped in his tracks. “Let me get you a beer…”
“It’s going to take that long?” Darcy asked, plopping onto the sofa before discovering the lump beneath her backside was the remote control. She yanked it out and placed it beside her as Zeke returned with a cold beer.
“That and putting fresh sheets on the bed…”
“Wow!” Darcy announced, raising her eyebrows.
“What?” Zeke asked, confused.
“Presumption runs strong in this one,” she said, snatching the bottle he was absenting waving in front of her face.
Zeke winced. “I like to be prepared…”
“And yet, you don’t change your sheets…”
“I do, just not this week,” he said with a grimace. Then he held up his hands. “No pressure,” he said, shaking his head.
“That’s good, as a kick to the balls often offends,” Darcy replied, shooing him away. “Go do what a man has to do, or are you expecting me to…?”
“No!” Zeke said, thinking of the disaster area, which was his bedroom. “You relax and watch TV; the remote is somewhere around here.”
“Already sat on it,” she said, nodding. “I know how to take care of myself. You go do you, and I’ll do me.”
Zeke headed for the door. “And then we can do us,” he said over his shoulder.
“If you’re a good boy, we can,” she said, babying him.
Zeke winced. “Right,” he said, unsure what he was doing, thrown by her comment. “I’ll be right back.”
“What are the odds?” she said, chuckling to herself before she dived into that cold beer – god, it tasted good.
~
“Gotcha!” Faith yelled loud enough that Serendipity shot off the cool brick garden wall she’d been enjoying lying on and misplaced her paws, landing awkwardly and rolling onto her side on the grass.
“Faith!” Serendipity said, picking herself up and shaking down her body as her fur stood on end like a fancy toilet brush.
Faith dusted off her hands like they were covered in flour. “I think I won that one, fluffy.”
“Step away from the cat,” Lex said in a bored tone that cut through the air and drew the cat’s attention.
“Can you not control your minion?” Serendipity hissed, making a plan for which way she would run and how fast she could get to the bushes before Faith caught up.
“Minion?” Faith said, screwing up her face and eyeing her kitty with disdain. “Take that back.”
“Don’t want to,” Serendipity said, half turning to show Faith her backside.
“Seriously, that’s your stance when my boot could just power you onto the roof without much effort?” Faith demanded, scowling at the cat.
“Take a big whiff,” Serendipity said, goading her into trying something. She was ready – whether she was fast enough to escape was anyone’s guess, but she liked to live on the edge, and she still had a few lives left to play with.
“If you eat the cat, Jennifer will never forgive you,” Lex reminded Faith.
Faith turned a scowl on him. “Dippy went to live on a farm; pets do that; how would she know?”
“Might figure it out if she sees you picking fur from your fangs,” Lex said.
“She’s not here,” Faith said, motioning around the area for good measure.
“She’s not going to eat me,” Serendipity said, walking over to Faith and wrapping herself around her ankles in a figure of eight.
Faith reached down and scooped the cat up, holding her out and eyeing her like a tasty treat. “Don’t count your chickens…”
“Why, did you eat them too?” Serendipity asked, and Faith was sure she saw a smile on the cat’s lips.
“Actually, she did, and there is a sheep somewhere over there in a field that she found very tasty,” Lex lied, but he did it well, so well that he was sure he could hear the cat swallow hard.
“But cats…”
“Taste like chicken,” Faith whispered; a slow grin spread her lips, and the moonlight sparkled off her fangs.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” Serendipity hissed.
“Funny, fluffy, I was thinking the exact same thing,” Faith said. “For all those times you thought it was funny to spring onto my head and wake me up in the morning…”
“It was done with love,” Serendipity rushed out.
“I will say this,” Faith said. “Watch your back, fluff.” She placed the cat back on the wall and eyed her for a long moment.
“I knew you weren’t going to kill me,” Serendipity said. “And don’t forget I know where the bodies are buried.”
“Bodies?” Lex asked, interested. “Do tell?”
“Metaphorical bodies,” Faith said.
Serendipity peered around Faith to Lex. “Don’t count on it, bat boy; watch your back.”
“You are an evil ball of fluff,” Faith said, placing her hands on her hips.
“Takes one to know one,” Serendipity replied.
“I’m going to count to three…” Faith warned her, but the cat was already off on fast paws. She jumped from the wall, ran the length of the grass, and was inside the newly installed cat flat in the front door before Faith chuckled. Faith turned to Lex. “My job here is done – next?”
“Home,” Lex said. “I think you’ve caused enough mischief and mayhem for one night, and if anything unnatural happens to that cat…”
“Define unnatural because animals are made to be tasty…”
“Faith…” Lex lowered his chin and eyed her for a long moment.
“Fine,” Faith said, tossing up her hands. “No more playing with the pussy…” she said, walking by him.
Lex turned in place, took a deep breath, and sighed it back out. “I wouldn’t go that far,” he muttered, following her up the hill.
Faith turned a wicked grin over her shoulder at him. “Ooo, dirty.”