Connor, however, didn’t react at all the way I thought he would. He didn’t smile or complain about the ribbing. He just stared at me, unblinking.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
Connor got off the couch and joined me in the kitchen with an unnatural agility.
The speed made my own slayer reflexes rear to life, and I had my metal spatula in my hand before I realized it. Stop it. This is Connor.
I scowled at myself, but Connor finally spoke. “I’m fine.” His voice wasn’t its usual lighthearted tone, but something smoother and richer. “I’d just forgotten that humans could be so… charming. And that you possess redeeming qualities.”
He wasn’t joking; the tone of his voice was too serious. Is he really okay? He’s not usually this serious. I looked up from my edible-but-still-incorrect Party Mix and met his gaze.
For a moment, something changed. It wasn’t that his vampire presence grew stronger—it was more subtle than that. There was something about his eyes, about the tired sincerity in his voice.
He wasn’t using vampire pheromones or anything, there was just a tiredness to him—the raw fatigue with life that the guy who’d been pretending to be a vampire had completely lacked.
It was something I’d noticed only in older vampires, and I was surprised to see it in Connor.
He held my gaze for a few long moments, which almost felt like years.
Then, as abruptly as the mood had settled, it was gone, with Connor flashing me a smile. “So, what blood types do you have?”
“You’ll have to check the fridge,” I said. “I only have four or five of them—I’ll get more, though.”
“How exciting—let’s see if I can find them.” Connor opened my fridge door and peered inside, rooting around my boxes of spinach, coffee creamer, tub of fresh apples, and the cartons of eggs for his pouches.
I studied his back—his shoulders were relaxed, his easy good humor was back, and there was no sign of the brief exhaustion he’d shown a flash of.
I’ve been off about him. He’s old. A lot older than I thought. I had no idea how he could hide it so well, but it also didn’t matter.
Vampires didn’t choose to live alone like Connor. Whatever he’d gone through, he had scars. But he’s also made it clear he didn’t want to talk about it. I knew firsthand he wasn’t harming anyone—there’s no way he’d be able to hide it from me if he was illegally feeding on humans.
He’s probably fine. Unless…he couldn’t be Considine…could he?
Considine Maledictus was vampire royalty. There was no way he’d be squatting in a human apartment building with no vampires on hand to cater to his whims.
But I had to consider it—it would be dangerous not to.
Their voices are a little alike, and they do have similar builds…
“Ah-hah!” Connor emerged from his expedition in my fridge, triumphantly holding up a blood pouch. “Behold: lunch!”
There’s no way. I thought as I stared at Connor. Absolutely no way. A vampire who was turned thousands of years ago wouldn’t act like this. It’s impossible.
He didn’t notice my scrutiny, and instead crowded my space.
“Congratulations.” I made myself set down my spatula. “I’m glad it makes you this happy.”
Connor flipped the blood pack around a few times, inspecting it, then jabbed the plastic straw in it. “How did you get these? Usually, you must register to get them—they don’t carry them in the supermarket.”
“There’s a couple of vending machines at the Curia Cloisters.” I picked up my marker and began labeling the last few bags. “I bought them there. I didn’t want to sign up for the delivery service because they only do bulk deliveries, and I’m pretty sure they’d expire before you could drink them all.”
Connor stopped sucking down his blood pack and set it down on the table. “You were thinking that much of me?
“You, and my wallet,” I said truthfully. “I had to take a cooler to work to transport them home. I figured they needed to be kept cold and it’s getting chilly outside, but it’s not that cold.” When I glanced over at Connor, he was staring at his blood pack.
He was clenching his jaw, and there was a slight furrow to his eyebrows. He looked like—as Nan would say—someone in need of some hugs and kisses.
I certainly wasn’t going to do the kisses part—we had a platonic friendship. But I could be brave enough to hug him. Connor was open to invading my space so he wouldn’t mind. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t come off as touchy-feely as Considine/Ruin.