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“Try me.”
“I dated a vampire for a while.” Understatement. She nearly married one, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.
For a moment she thought his mouth tightened, then he laughed. “Is that why you took me to those gods-awful places, because of your vampire connections?”
“No, not at all. That’s just what’s available at the high end of the market. Besides, I don’t have vampire connections anymore. I regret ever dating him.”
“How come?” he asked softly.
“Let’s just say he wanted things I wasn’t prepared to give.”
“Did he hurt you?” he growled, almost fiercely.
Her eyes flew to his. There was thunder in their depths, brows drawn down across the wide bridge of his nose.
“N-no,” she stuttered.
He stared at her, eyes narrowed, nostrils slightly flared until she found herself elaborating. “I guess… he could have. But no, I left him before that.”
He gave a harsh grunt. “Didn’t offer to unfang for you, I bet.”
“No.” She laughed thinly. “That’s quite rare. I’m surprised you know about that practice.”
“My sister Katrina is engaged to a vampire. Lucia unfanged for her.”
“Wow! That’s commitment. It was a one-way street with Matteus. Let’s just say he, um, wanted me to join his world—completely.”
“Shit.” Now his face was dark, murderous almost. “Do you mean what I think you mean?”
She nodded, gulping hard.
“What a bastard.”
“Mmmm, it would have been bad. I probably wouldn’t have been able to see my parents again without, you know, the risk of me biting them.”
“You made the right decision,” he said softly. And something in his eyes made her think he’d almost added, “Because otherwise we would never have met.” But that was just her stupid imagination playing tricks again.
What he did say, his voice quiet and serious, was, “Thank you for confiding in me. I feel honored.”
“Honored?” Shona smirked, her color rising.
“Yeah, when a gifted and beautiful woman confides in you, it’s an honor.”
“Oh.” She spluttered into her straw so hard it blew bubbles into her drink. She really was losing all control of her manners.
A sudden awkwardness descended and they finished their drinks in silence, Shona careful not to make any slurping sounds, Tor seemingly unworried that he did. Then Tor glanced at his watch.
“It’s probably time to go get on the boat.”
Shona’s eyes descended to the thick iridescent chain band on his wrist. It was stunning, blue and silver prisms of light flashing off it in the sunlight.
“That watch is amazing,” she said admiringly. “What’s it made of?”
“Plutark,” he replied.
You had to give it to him. For an orc, his sense of style was magnificent.
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