Good. He gave her a bowl of warm water sprinkled with more holy essence. The small silver cross he kept for such purposes soaked in the bottom of it. She smiled her thanks, but wariness lingered in her eyes, and she still clutched the coat like a fur stole around her bare shoulders. The blood had been mostly washed away by the rush of holy water, and a bolt of heat roared through him as he noticed the curve of her collarbones. With her head of full, unruly hair baring a long, elegant neck and those full lips, she suddenly had him thinking all sorts of untenable thoughts.
Putting the cloth and shirt on the table next to her, he turned to give her privacy, himself a breather-and to find something for them to eat.
And drink.
He wondered if Macey would deign to sip a whiskey if he poured one for her, after her ordeal. She sure as hell earned it.
"I know you're a young Venator, but you did a very stupid thing. " He cracked an egg forcefully into a bowl. Then followed four more, and, after consideration, a fifth and sixth. He was damn hungry-he'd anticipated eating dinner before having to slay vampires.
"No, I didn't. "
Her cool, steady response made him furious for a variety of reasons, and the anger he'd managed to contain beneath concern and efficiency burst forth harshly. "What the hell do you-"
"I did several-no, many stupid things in the last two days. " She raised her voice even louder. Old St. Patrick's Churchpa blood
He couldn't argue with that. From evading him last night and trying the same again tonight-fortunately, unsuccessfully-to letting herself get dragged into a damn limousine by Nicholas Iscariot. What the hell had she been thinking?
Chas drew in a deep breath and gritted his teeth.
She'd turned away on the sofa, but the coat was gone and so were the remnants of her clothing. He could see the titillating shape of her white back, the curve of her shoulders and flare of her hips, and the delicate bumps of her spine and scapulae. From the rear, you'd never know she'd been assaulted by one of the most powerful vampires in the world. . . except for the single dark wound that showed just over the back of her shoulder. And unfortunately, he had a very good idea what the front of her looked like. Watching Wayren insert the vis bulla in the intimate area of her belly had only been the beginning.
"You're damn right. " He added milk, salt, and pepper to the bowl. "I was being kind when I said a stupid thing. " He whisked with more violence than necessary.
Chas actually heard her snort at that. So unladylike from such a feminine creature-who was, he reminded himself, a warrior in training. "Kind is not a word that comes to mind when I think of you. "
He grinned in spite of himself. "You and everyone else, lulu. " He poured the eggs into the pan he'd heated and slipped a couple of pieces of bread in the oven to toast. "I didn't realize you'd left the library yesterday until it was much too late-you made certain not to leave via your normal route, which I hadn't expected. Because why the hell would you avoid me when you knew we had work to do?" His jaw cracked as he ground his teeth.
"Because you commanded me to wear something that showed off my legs, you. . . you goon. I'm not your damn moll. "
"You have excellent gams, and they're a good distraction-"
She made a furious sound and turned. Fortunately, she was buttoning up the shirt she'd just pulled on and there was nothing to see except a disappearing shadowy vee. "I have no desire to distract you-"
"Not me, lulu. The undead. Gangsters. A bouncer at a club or the doorman at a speakeasy. Whoever needed to be distracted. " He bared his teeth at her in a knowing smile. She made an angry sound and flattened her lips into a hard line.
And just as quickly, the last bit of levity evaporated from his mood. Anger blazed through him when he was reminded of her folly, her brazen stupidity. "And then you made a point of trying to do it again tonight. Good God, Macey. I thought you had more sense than that. And I had a hell of a time tracking you down. You're damn lucky I had the skills and desire to do so. " He hoped like hell she'd learned her lesson.
She rose from the sofa and came over, showing those shapely legst occurred to her sly and nothing else beneath his loose shirt. "You irritated me when you made the assumption I was going to be at your beck and call last night-or ever-and you made it even worse when you told me what to wear. As if I was nothing more than a showpiece to be on your arm. "
"I told you to bring a stake. " He plopped a spoonful of eggs onto a plate with more force than necessary.
"I did. Tonight, anyway. "
What the hell did that mean? He made no effort to hide his anger. "You nearly got yourself marked, Macey. Your pride and stubbornness almost removed you from the picture completely. You're a damned Venator. There is no fucking room for pride or bruised feelings or willfulness. " He shoved the plate with the smaller portion across the counter toward her. "Eat. "
She glared up at him, her expression mutinous. "I worked hard all week. And for the last month! I wanted a night out with my friends last night, and tonight-well, yes, I should have been more prepared, I should have had my stake in a more handy place than the bottom of my pocketbook-and I've learned my lesson about that. I just wanted a break. A night out for some fun after three weeks of training. Is that too much to ask?"
He gave her a cold, flat smile. "Your only nights out now are going to be with me and a stake. You've got a job to do. We've got a job to do. And every night you stay home, every night you shirk that duty, Macey, someone else will die. Many someones. Do you understand that? We don't get fucking nights off. We don't have the luxury of sleeping in a comfortable bed, resting after a long day, or going dancing with friends. . . because when you're sleeping at night, or when you're flirting and giggling and gossiping, someone in this city is being mauled and torn apart and fed upon. "
That shut her up.
She drew in a breath that shook visibly, turned her eyes downward, and let her fork clatter gently to the counter.
He took a bite of eggs, and they tasted like dust. Dammit to hell. He clenched his jaw and kept his mouth shut and chewed. Took another tasteless bite. There was no sense in sugarcoating the truth. She needed to know what she'd signed up for, that people relied on her, that her calling was a vocation.
"Look-"
"They took Chelle. My friend. I'm pretty certain she was. . . she's. . . " Macey shook her head and looked up at him. Ferocity mingled with grief and shame in her expressive eyes. "He knew she was my friend. It wasn't an accident. It wasn't random. "