Roe was a prick, but then a lot of the upper class had their la-di-dah noses stuck so far up their asses it was miraculous they couldn’t smell the shit they were spreading.
I hated that we had to stay the night here and the way Roe was blocking us didn’t bode well for us wrapping up this part of the investigation quickly. I’d hoped for a single night here at most, questioning staff and poking into corners, then us getting the fuck out of here. The longer we stayed, the more likely Roe was going to get annoyed and he and the rest of the council would start sticking their fingers into the investigation, getting in the way and causing even more hassle than they already had by sending for the Hunter.
The very same Hunter who now stood in the open doorway between my bedroom and the bathroom, a perplexed look on his face.
“I thought you were being sarcastic when you told Roe you might explain the plumbing to me. I understand the basics with the sink and the shower and the larger tub, but why is there a smaller basin filled with water?”
I gaped at him. Was he serious? “Don’t you guys have toilets?” I asked, trying to keep my tone even.
He chuckled. “Gotcha! Though why your people waste water instead of using vacuum-fed digestion tanks, I don’t understand.”
“Expense,” I told him. “That’s your tech and we’d have to pay you for materials, installation, repair, training to do those last two things ourselves, and all that.”
He grunted. “It’s environmentally unfriendly, so it’s something our people should sit down and seriously talk about.”
“Glad to know you’re concerned about humans damaging the planet in our teeny tiny corner of the world. Meanwhile, someone is killing us off.”
He held up two hands placatingly. “Just taking notes on things that might help improve relations between us.”
Improve relations, huh?
Roe hadn’t been completely wrong. The Hunter was tying me up in knots and not just over things relating to our job at hand. He was damned beautiful and now that we were inside, I was being treated to the play of light over his inky hair and pale skin. I found myself wanting to unbind his hair and run my fingers through it, see if it was as silky as it looked. I fantasized about seeing my darker skin contrasting against his own alabaster as I gripped his hips and slid myself in. Would he bruise from my hold, and if he did, were the rumors true and he'd heal up in front of my eyes like magic if he took a few sips of blood?
It was a dangerous path for my mind to take and I had to rein myself in. No good would come of me getting infatuated with him.
“Kelly?” he asked, tilting his head to one side as he observed me.
“It’s late,” I blurted out. “I need to at least take a nap before helping you tonight. I mean, tomorrow night.”
“It’s the earliest part of the morning, so tonight is accurate.” He grinned at me, flashing a bit of fang.
Damn it, that shouldn’t be sexy. He’s a predator who can literally drain you dry if he chose to, I reminded myself.
Not that he was likely to. In fact, I’d never heard of any of his people doing that. Still, he could do it, if he set his mind to it. “Yeah. So, um, a nap.”
“Sure. It’s almost my normal sleep time anyway.” He spun on his heel, going back through the small bathroom to go to his own room. I waited to hear his door click shut, then closed my own, locking it from my side. I didn’t want him wandering in to wake me up himself or anything. I rubbed a hand down my face. Now that the idea of sleep had been broached, it’s all I could think of.
“Bed time it is,” I mumbled, making for the bed with its folded down coverlet and fluffy pillows.
Here’s hoping my sudden attraction doesn’t follow me into my dreams.