Huntress Ch. 05

"How long was I out?" She asked, after she recovered.

"One day. You recover very quickly." Rhys made an effort to go over and touch her neck, to point out that the purple tinge that had decorated it before was already fading, but she brought the knife up quickly.

"Put 'em away or I'll take 'em." Rhys tucked his fingers into his palm and let it fall to his side.

"Where are my clothes?" Was her next question.

"I had them thrown out. There are new ones for you on the couch."

"What?" Her voice cracked as she did her best to yell at him. "Why the fuck did you toss my clothes?"

"When you were being attacked...you—" Rhys paused. He should have expected that she would ask, but he hadn't really been thinking about how he would let her know.

"I what? Spit it out."

"You emptied your bladder."

Humiliation was one of the many emotions that Sage never allowed herself to feel. It was a weak and mundane. Two things she prided herself on never being limited to. Humiliation was for people that cared too damn much about the small things. Remove yourself from the situation, and you never had to worry about what people think and what people say. Sage lived by this rule. Don't give a shit. Plain and simple.

So the burning sensation in her face was definitely new.

He had said it so nonchalantly. She had wet herself. She had fucking pissed herself.

No, no, no, no. Stop repeating it.But she couldn't. She had wet herself. And he had noticed it. Probably smelled it, and had decided it best that she not get into his bed with her stinky piss clothes.

Yeah, this was definitely embarrassment. Sage pulled back for a second and took a surreptitious deep breath. She couldn't smell herself, but she wouldn't doubt if the vamp was doing his best to control his gag reflex.

"Oh," was all she could manage.

Who cares?That was the question that was running through her head. She had no idea why it mattered to her suddenly, but it did.

"It's perfectly normal, you know," the vamp said to her. Sage felt angry at the fact that he was trying to console her. What did he know? He probably hadn't taken a piss in two hundred years. "Your body was panicking. It did what it had to."

"Yeah, I know," she snapped at him. She didn't need a dead doctor to tell her what the body does on the verge of total shut down.

"You are welcome to take a shower, if you like." Sage glanced at him, trying to read him.

Was that guy speaking for 'I'm sorry, I'm having a hard time being anywhere near you. Please shower'?

He was leaned up against the stove with his arms folded across his chest, and one eyebrow raised at her. His look annoyed her. Everything about him annoyed her. That pretentious accent that sounded borderline Irish, the soft shine of his straight short brown hair. The way they complemented his matching eye brows. Those light brown eyes that could almost be hazel. The way his shirt stretched tightly along his chest, outlining muscles that she had no business noticing on a vamp.

His whole persona made her want to punch him in his face, and she let him know. "Stop looking at me like that." It sounded childish. Sage could hear one of her nephews saying that to his brother. It seemed to startle vamp as much as it did herself.

"I'm merely making sure you're okay." His voice was sincere. Christ, this vamp was way too nice.

"Don't worry about me, vamp. I'll live." Her sneer seemed to take him aback and she took pride in that. "Get my clothes so I can go."

Vamp shook his head. "I'm unable to do that. I had them thrown away, like I said before. I had other clothes dropped off. They are on the couch."

Sage glanced passed the island, into the living room. It was an impressive room, with a flat screen HD television big enough to take up almost an entire wall, and a black leather wrap around couch. A large black coffee table was in the middle of the room and on it a number of different remotes were laid out. Towards the end of the couch two black and white folded piles had been placed.

"How do you know my size?" She asked.

"A guess. Size five, am I right?"

Sage nodded, and the vamp made his way over to the clothing. When his back was turned, Sage lunged for the bowl of pasta that had been staring her down. She didn't bother to wrap the noodles around the fork. Instead she stabbed into them murderously, picking up a mouthful and putting it in its place. The instant the white sauce fell on her tongue, Sage could swear she had died and gone to heaven.

"Holy shit," she said though her mouthful. Vamp turned back to look at her, and she could only imagine how unladylike she looked. Mouth full and covered in white sauce, noodles dripping out of her mouth carelessly. Sage used her tongue to press the spare noodles against her top teeth and let them fall out of her mouth. She took a few minutes to swallow before glancing up at Vamp, who held the pile of clothing out to her, being careful not to come to close. Even though she had put the knife down, it was still within arms length. It made Sage happy to know that he at least feared her enough not to try and make a move. When Sage didn't take the clothes, he set them down near the knife.

"Where did you buy this pasta sauce from? I gotta get myself some."

Vamp placed his hands in his pocket and let his hip lean on to the island. The sides of his mouth quirked in an almost smile, and she took a few more obnoxious bites of her food before answering; "I cooked it myself. From scratch."

Sage stared for a second, then burst out laughing

"I was human once, despite what you might believe." He answered. "I can still remember what certain foods taste like. Which spices are good together and which are not. What dishes are preferable to others? I may not be able to eat them, but I still can cook them."

Sage did her best to hide her shock at his answer. She had never taken the time to speak to a vamp. It was against her rules. Against all the girl's rules but, she was sure that none of them, had she actually taken the time to hear their life story before taking off their heads, would admit to being a secret Rachel Ray.

She was beginning to feel full so the next time Sage went to dive into the noodles she took the time wrap her noodles around her fork and took another bite, savoring the creaminess of the sauce. Monster breathing down her neck, Sage could have easily imagined herself at a five star restaurant. The pasta was slightly al dente, but perfect for the dish. The spices weren't overpowering and the sauce not so think as to over power the noodles.

Within a few bites more, Sage finished the dish. She stared down at the place longingly, not knowing if she wanted more or if she just wanted to look the damn place clean. The entire time she had eaten, Vamp had watched her intently. She placed her fork down lightly and picked the butcher knife back up.

Vamp sighed. "By now, you should realize that you do not need that." He used his chin to motion to the knife. Yes, she knew. But she wasn't going to risk it. He might have been a nice vamp, but he was one none the less.

"I'm going to go change." She backed out of the kitchen slowly, and without even checking her footing, rounded the corner. When she came back, they were definitely going to discuss what he expected of her for saving her from the invisible hand.