Free Half in Love [Willie Krenshaw] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Lea Barrymire Page A

windows in the hallway, but the window in the kitchen would keep him out.
    The folktales of vampires burning up in the sun were completely false, but they did react very quickly to sunlight. The virus that turned humans into vampires destroyed their ability to make melanin, the pigment in the skin that protected the skin from damage. Without melanin, the skin burned quickly. He could enter the kitchen, but would be uncomfortable even with the UV protection from the glass. With age, though, came a reduction in the sensitivity. She didn’t know why, but that is one of the things Robert told her when they were unsure what traits she would inherit from her partial change.
    She waited for him to come find her, but she heard him walk into the bathroom instead. Well, maybe he would go back to the basement after using the facilities. She hadn’t even thought about that last night when she locked him in the room. She sure wasn’t a good hostess. Well, shit, he was a vampire. He shouldn’t have had to use the bathroom. She still felt guilty for locking him in a room when he obviously needed something.
    Another quirk in vampire bodies was their loss of digestive enzymes. They could consume regular food in normal quantities, but their bodies couldn’t digest it any longer once the change was complete. They could eat, but their systems just passed it through like fiber for a human. So, he’d obviously eaten food within the last day or so if he needed to use the bathroom. Disgusting habit, in her opinion, but she understood the reason behind it. How else to blend into the surroundings when your prey was human?
    She would have to get Nick a meal soon, especially after his body fought through the sedative last night. She could order pizza for herself. The delivery person would make a nice snack for Nick. She giggled at that thought. Take-out for two. Maybe they could order in Chinese food and a pizza. The smirk fell from her face when she turned to find a rumpled and sexy Nick standing in the doorway.
    His hair was still wet from the shower he obviously just took, but his clothes had seen better days. Still, rumpled and wrinkled looked good on him. His green eyes flashed with amusement at surprising her. He sauntered into the kitchen and took the coffee cup from next to the sink, and poured himself a cup. He turned and faced Willie and grinned.
    “So, how’d you sleep?” he asked her and watched her over the rim of the cup as he sipped the coffee. He was in full sun standing at the sink and didn’t even flinch. What the hell? How fucking old was he? As if hearing her questions, he tilted his head and laughed. “You have excellent windows in this house. The UV coming through them is almost completely eliminated. And, well, I can withstand more than most.”
    “Huh, I’ll have to remember that when I go to sell the place.” She humpfed as she placed her plate in the dishwasher. Then she remembered what she’d been thinking about when he interrupted her. She smiled. “So, I was just thinking about ordering some dinner in. Do you want pizza or Chinese?”
    “Um, you do realize that I can eat but can’t use real food, right? Someone along the way explained that part to you?” For a second he almost looked embarrassed, but it passed and his normal calm descended.
    “Yeah, I know that. So, the delivery person is a snack for you and the food is for me. I want you as strong as you can be when we leave here in case we run into your friends again.” She grabbed her phone book and flipped through to the restaurant section. Maybe Italian sounded better. She could go for a good chicken parm. She jumped when he chuckled right in her ear. How the hell did he keep sneaking up on her? Her hearing was fantastic, but he was like a ghost. She hastily moved away from him and glared when he chuckled again. “Stop doing that. I don’t like having you that close to me.”
    He put his hands up in a gesture of surrender and backed away a few