“Thanks for washing this, by the way.” She plucked at the fraying edge of her sleeve. “It was crusty and gross.”
“Yes, I know.” He gave a delicate shudder.
“It’s my most protective work clothing, but it doesn’t shield my neck at all. Do you have anything that might? Like, a metal piece from a suit of armor or something?”
It was a valid question. Also a nosy one. While Max clearly wasn’t in his early twenties after all, she had no clue how old he might actually be. If he owned an original suit of armor…well, she’d know more, wouldn’t she?
His forehead creased in thought. “A gorget? No, unfortunately, I decided to—” He cut himself off. “No. I don’t have one.”
Aha! A clue at last!
“But you used to have one.” She bounced on her toes.“Because you’re a super-old, immortal vampire with firsthand knowledge of armor and buboes and witch burning. And chamber pots! Oh wow, you must have used chamber pots!”
“I’m immortal, yes.” Glaring at her, he drew himself up to his full height. “But notsuper old.”
“So what would constitute super oldness to you, then?”
No answer.
“Did you use chamber pots or not?”
No answer.
Fine, fine. She’d let it drop if he wanted to be a spoilsport about it. “I should grab my knives from my house when we stop there for food. I know you have the one you used last night, but do you need another? I could lend you one. Or do you have another weapon of your own?”
His lips pressed together. After grumbling unintelligibly for a moment, he reached between his shoulder blades and under his newly cleaned black leather hoodie and produced…a sword.
A giant, shiny fuckingsword.
Yeah, Max was totallysuper old. Daaaaamn.
“You went with theWonder Womandesign option for storing that sword, huh? Do you have an incredibly hot blue dress under there too?” She tilted her head, trying to get a better look beneath his hoodie. “Because if so, I want to see it.”
She could only make out jeans and some sort of dark shirt, sadly. At least he’d traded in those cloven shoes for shiny but clearly well-worn boots. Much more practical and much less hideous.
He rolled his eyes at her, sheathed his sword in one swift motion, and returned to her earlier question. “Anything short of a gorget, the creatures’ teeth and claws would be able to pierce.Unless you know of a nearby armorer, human, we’ll simply have to ensure we keep our necks as far from the creatures as possible.”
She laughed. “I mean, that was kind of always my plan.”
“How’s your ankle?” He’d been silently studying how she moved all morning, and now she knew why. “Still sore? Do you need to take more medication or wrap it?”
“Good as new.”
Well, moregently used, but that would have to be sufficient.
He narrowed his eyes at her but finally blew out a breath and nodded. Presenting her with his back, he removed half a dozen blood bags from his refrigerator and tucked them into his enormous pack. Luckily, the chill outside should keep them fresh for at least a couple of days, so he wouldn’t need to sate his hunger in…other ways.
Although that could be interesting too, now that she considered the matter.
“Ready?” His hands were as steady as his eyes on her.
She was…until a sudden surge of anxiety pinned her in place. He might be immortal, but he could still be killed, and for all his bluster about ensuring his source of sustenance didn’t go extinct, she knew he was only leaving his secure home for her sake.
If he died accompanying her on what he considered a stupid mission, how would that feel? Should she go it alone, as she’d originally intended?
“It’s going to be dangerous,” she said slowly. “Are you sure you want to risk your life for—”
“Oh for fuck’s sake, come on.”
