Page 135 of Vampire's Choice
At her look, he arched a brow. “Have I said something wrong?”
“No. I’m just…courtship hasn’t really been our thing.”
“I don’t believe that’s true. I’ve been courting you all along. We’ve just been doing it in a more violent fashion. But you do like romantic gestures, at least when we’re alone.”
“Don’t let anyone know. Particularly Adan. I’ll never live it down.”
Merc flashed her his no-promises smile, with the sexy touch of demon to it, and they were in the air. When they landed, they came through the door into the living area, where the bar was located.
As Merc moved behind it and scanned the options, she slid onto a stool and watched him, bemused. He pulled two bottles off of the well-stocked shelves, rummaged through the mini fridge and retrieved a bucket of ice, a bottle of sparkling rose wine, and a small tub of raspberries.
“Did you moonlight as a bartender? I know you can cloak your wings, but how do you keep them from knocking glassware off the shelves?”
“There are different cloaking methods. One simply hides the wings. The other dissipates them materially, so that if you passed your hand behind me, you would feel a sense of energy, but not actual matter. Right now, they’re not cloaked for you, but no one else can see them, and I have made them immaterial.”
He showed her, sweeping his wing across a shelf. The feathers passed through the glass like a ghost wing. “Cool,” she said. “And I like that ‘cloaking for thee and not for me’ thing. Can you do that at the Circus, on performance nights? I would prefer to be able to see them all the time.”
“I’ll try to remember. If I don’t have more pressing matters than spoiling you.”
She shot him a rude gesture, but he caught her wrist and kissed the tip of the finger with heated lips. She shifted on the bar stool. “Can you still feel them when they’re…not material to others?”
“Yes. I have to act and move as if they are not there. It takes practice.”
The bottles he’d chosen were Chambord and chocolate liqueur. He put one of the crystal glasses on the bar, added the liqueur and the Chambord, and removed the smaller knife from its hidden scabbard to make a shallow cut on his forearm.
In the aftermath of the violent climax, she’d forgotten her need to feed, but he hadn’t. Hunger surged through her, but she stayed still as he positioned his wrist over the glass, the heel of his hand resting on the lip. The blood trickled into the glass, mingling with the two alcohols.
“You’ve fed your Master,” he said. “I’ll feed you now.”
Ice went in next, and he splashed the wine over it, filling the glass and adding the raspberries, speared on a long toothpick. He slid the drink across to her. “This is called a Bachelor Rose. It’s an older drink. Yvette had Gundar make it for her one night. She has a fondness for them.”
Ruth inhaled the scent before she sipped. Her eyes brightened with appreciation. “The different tastes don’t overpower one another. They mix the right way.” His blood also gave it the richness and fortification she needed.
He removed an import beer from the fridge, twisting off the top and taking a swallow from the bottle. “Too girly for you?” She gestured with her drink.
“Too sweet. I like some bitterness and bite.”
She smiled against the glass’s rim. “Explaining your attraction to prickly female vampires. Did Yvette have Gundar make one of these for you?”
“No. I saw him do it. From a distance.”
She tapped his hand, braced on the bar. “I think it’s time to let more people at the Circus get to know you.”
“There’s a benefit to being on the outside.”
“Less expectations of good behavior.”
“Perhaps.” He gave her that wicked smile, but she could tell he was thinking about what she said. Considering it.
“I would prefer it if…Medusa’s snakes didn’t dislike me. They try to bite me when I get too close to her.”
“If she feels she can trust you, I’m betting that will change.”
“I see you found the bar.”
At Garron’s comment, Ruth turned and lifted a glass. “He made me a Bachelor Rose. Do you want one?”
Though a slight smile touched the servant’s lips, the watchfulness was still there. Probably because as soon as they’d detected him approaching, that Merc danger feeling had increased.