“Thank God for that.”
Hans smiled. “Indeed.”
There was something that glowed deep underneath the bright green of his eyes, and I couldn’t place it.Spirit? Soul? Belief?I didn’t know, but it gave me another fresh new sensation, striking a chord in my chest. My brain spun, trying to understand, but failing. I was growing weary of the confusion, and much more needy of the basics. I needed… time. I needed–
“We can pick up questioning tomorrow if you’d prefer,” Hans said. “I’d strongly recommend you leave your mind to catch up and work things through. There has been a lot of revelation in a very short space of time.”
I nodded. I’d trust Hans to guide me from here on in. I felt like a loved child at his side, which was a new one for me. A happy place to be.
“You need sustenance before I drink more blood from you,” he said. “Let me get you some dinner. What do you like?”
I laughed, surprisingly light hearted. “You mean you don’t already know? Jam on toast, please.”
He laughed along with me. “Of course. I should have known that. I’m afraid I don’t have any jam. I’ll make sure to get some in for you.”
He stood up from the sofa and held out a hand. He pulled me to my feet so easily.
“How about a nice, rare steak, Katherine? That’s always good fuel to feed the fire.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten steak, but the idea sounded a good one. My stomach rumbled at the mention.
“Wonderful,” he said.
He guided me through to the kitchen, which was another impressive room with high ceilings. This one had rich terracotta floor tiles and black marble counters. Hans opened one of the thick oak cupboard doors and an inbuilt fridge appeared. Quite a contrast to the antique decor.
“Do you eat food? As in food, food?” I asked, and Hans shrugged.
“Very, very rarely, and usually only as a token display when in public. I don’t enjoy it, and usually spit it out again as soon as I’m out of view. My appetite for blood soon wiped out my appetite for almost every other food in creation. Blood is my only necessity. It’s like being an addicted wine connoisseur with a million different bottles of red to sample. Everything else pales into insignificance.” He smiled. “And that’s putting it mildly.”
I took a seat at the kitchen island as Hans took a steak from the fridge. A huge piece that looked like rump.
“Did you get that in especially?” I asked. “Did you know I’d be coming?”
“Yes on both counts.”
“Thank you.”
He had heavy steel pans and lit one up and seasoned the steak like a master. Very confident and skilled for someone who rarely ate anything.
I grinned. “Were you a chef in a past life?”
He smirked back. “I enjoyed cooking food in a very distant part of this one. It’s a hobby I’ve kept alive in the background. If not for myself, then for other people.”
“Do you have many non-vampire friends to cook for?”
He shot me a glance full of humour.
“I thought we were done with questions for this evening, but since you asked. No, I do not. I have many non-vampire acquaintances, but not many I’d call friends. A life passes by in a finger click. Broken bonds can hurt for a lot longer.”
I sighed at my own stupidity for asking, another round ofwhat, what, whatsrunning riot in my head.
“I really am going to stop asking questions now,” I told him. “Every answer you give me leads to a thousand more questions.”
“I’m sure that will be the case for a long time to come.”
I got a fresh tingle.A long time to come.
“Yes,” he said. “I’m hoping we will be acquainted for a long time to come. I wouldn’t have introduced myself if I didn’t.”