“It’s rare, but it has happened. But you’ll almost never find a vampire raised by a clan outside his own tribe.”
“Wow. That explains so much.”
He joined her at the counter. “How so?”
“It explains why vampires are so mean. You don’t have any softness in your lives.” She flushed. “Although I don’t mean to be sexist. Men can be soft too, I suppose.”
“Not vampires.”
Fascinated, she had so much more to ask. “What about relationships with people not vampire?”
“Lesser beings?” At her frown, he gave a chagrined apology. “Sorry. But that’s what we’ve always called non-vamps.”
“What about the mates living in the Night Bloode? I’m pretty sure they’re not lesser.”
“Kind of. Well, not to their mates. Varu would kill anyone who hurt his mate. But she’s fae, and she’s not offended by much. Not like your sister.” He huffed. “Our Bloode Witch takes compliments as insults. I told her she was crazy mad, and she zapped me. I mean, crazy mad is great where I’m from.”
She bit her lip not to laugh.
“She’s fierce. She would have given her life to save Duncan. Non-kin never do that.” He pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. “They’d rather look for weaknesses to obliterate my kind.”
He wasn’t wrong. She’d heard her roommates talk about what a problem vampires were. That the many worlds would be better off if vampires ceased to exist. She wondered if he knew that, and if he did, if that ever hurt his feelings. It would surely hurt hers. Bad enough people thought sea nymphs were nothing but empty-headed skanks too stupid to realize when they were being insulted.
“Can I ask another question?”
“Sure.” He watched her.
“Well, if mates aren’t supposed to live with clans, how is it Macy and Fara live with you guys?”
He paused. “Well, neither’s given birth yet. Though both Varu and Duncan seem enamored enough I don’t think babies will matter. It’s odd. But then, we’re a clan of six different tribes, and that’s unheard of. Plus, we have a dusk elf living with us who’s not mated. Not Fara, but her brother.”
“Really? I’ve never seen an elf before.”
“You’re not missing much. Onvyr’s an asshole. He’s fine one minute, trying to lop your head off the next. I guess he’s got issues from his time spent in a master vampire’s torture chamber. But I mean, get over it already. Pain is fleeting, right?”
“Have you ever been tortured?” It seemed like vampires thrived on battle and bloodshed.
“A few times. You battle with an enemy vryko or stray upir clan, mages who refuse to tithe. It happens. You get captured, tortured, then you break out and kill as many as you can. You go home and the clan plans revenge, and the cycle continues. Eh. Been there done that.” His expression darkened. “Or you piss off your kin and they throw you and your best friend to the enemy, daring you to escape and get back on your own or die trying.”
She put her hand on his knee. “That’s terrible.”
He covered her hand with his. “You know what’s the worst though?”
“No, what?”
“Having a mate so close yet you can’t even get her to kiss you.”
“Orion.” She tried to tug her hand away, but he wouldn’t let her. She knew she could tell him to let her go, but she’d been trying not to order him around.
“Just one kiss, Kaia. Being near you makes everything right. What can one kiss hurt?”
“The last time you one-kissed me, you put your hand down my pants.”
His slow smile heated her right up. “And you came so sweetly over my fingers.” He lifted her hand to kiss it. “Have you ever come before?”
She couldn’t talk about this. “Orion.”
“Come on. Tell me.”
“It’s embarrassing.”
“So that’s a no, then.”
“Yes, I have.” She wasn’t that pathetic.
“With someone else or just by yourself?”
“By myself,” she mumbled, looking at her feet. “It’s not easy being a sea nymph. Men always expect more, and they don’t like it when I tell them no. Or that I have a brain in my head and am useful for things other than sex.” She glanced up at him. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to be considered inferior unless you’re naked and on your back?”
CHAPTER
TEN
Orion didn’t like the pain in her eyes. “Who hurt you?”
“Not one person specifically. There have been a few.” Kaia sighed but let him pull her in for a hug. “My last boyfriend was special. He didn’t push the issue of sex, and he was a genuinely sweet man.”
Orion contained a growl.
“Too sweet. I was kind of ready for more than a few kisses after our seventh date. But I don’t think I was what he needed. We broke up. Mutually. Then my mom invited him to her house on some pretext of trying to get us back together. She tried to kill him.”
“Whoa. That’s harsh.”
“No kidding.” She growled. “Sometimes—a lot of the time—I don’t like my mom. And then she’ll try to help me or be nice, and I feel bad for being a bad daughter.”
He rubbed her back and rested his chin on her head, smelling the fresh innocence, the allure of someone who wanted good things in life for others. “I think dislike and hate can be good. Hate and the drive for revenge can power you to great feats. But then, I deal in violence on a daily basis.”
She nuzzled his chest, and he felt a warmth he wasn’t used to, one he hadn’t realized he was missing. “Do you ever deal in affection, Orion? Is there anyone you do like? People you would want to protect?”
“Besides you?”
She nodded.
“Well, I’m pretty fond of Smoky. He’s the cutest little gray cat we rescued from the house of a dead sorceress. He’s an animage, actually. Your sister once tried to steal him.” He scowled. “But I stopped that. Now she uses his brother to aid in her magic.”
“You have a kitten.”
He couldn’t explain why the little gray cat meant so much to him. “I do. Maybe it’s as you’ve pointed out. I don’t have much softness in my life. Smoky makes up for that.”
“That’s nice.” She remained tucked against him and patted his chest, making him feel as if she cared. “What about Kraft? You mentioned him a few times. Is he your friend?”
“I suppose. Vampires, we’re not like you magir. Trust is hard to come by, and bloode ties that should mean everything sometimes bite you in the ass. Spiro and Nikkos are the two kin I left behind that I miss.” He paused. “Spiro was the one who got kicked out with me when we annoyed my patriarch one too many times. He didn’t make it back.” Annoyed that his kin’s passing still made him grieve, he shrugged off the sentiment. “But such is life for death-bringers. We don’t always bring death for others. Sometimes we bring it for ourselves. Spiro could make me laugh. I think maybe Kraft reminds me of him.”