Blood: The Third Course

Chapter Thirty-Three

The sun had risen to a clear, bright, if cold, day. Carson parked the car a few blocks from the house and climbed out. On the other side of the car, Edeline closed the passenger door with a snap, digging her hands into her pockets and bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"You really need a new car," she said, peering through the window as if the very shell of the machine had offended her. "Unless you plan on moving to Ibiza, in which case, the heating wouldn't be a problem."

"Hey, I like my car, thank you very much. She's..."

"The car is an it, not a she," Edeline said, giving the car one final glare as he joined her on the pavement and pointing in the direction they were going.

"All vehicles are 'she'," Carson said. "Everyone knows that."

Edeline raised an eyebrow at him, giving him an amused pout.

"Well, what about when horses were the main mode of transport?" she asked.

Carson rolled his eyes.

"Well, then, obviously, they were both male and female, but—"

"Ha!" She pointed at him with a knowing grin. "So, it's not every means of getting around. It's ridiculous, anyway. We have enough of living things with personalities and genders. We don't need to be giving them to inanimate objects."

"Come on, she's hardly inanimate."

"It doesn't think, I can't hear what it's pondering about life. Therefore, inanimate."

"You can hear what dogs think?" Carson asked.

"Well, no... I mean, I've never really tried. But even if I did, I doubt I'd hear anything more than woof."

"Good point."

Carson slipped his arm across the front of her body as they came to a crossing. Edeline walked into his arm and looked down in surprise before stepping back again.

"You're very quiet today," she said, tapping her foot until Carson removed his arm and they set off again.

They'd driven out of the bustle of the city centre and, out in this area, the air almost smelled fresh. Not as fresh as at the farm, but it was closer than where he lived. Even from a block away, Carson could see the house at the end of the road, where he'd left soon after the sun had risen.

Carson turned, about to point it out to Edeline, when he realised that she was already picking up speed, striding ahead of him towards the house. Carson rolled his eyes and followed after her.

She stopped at the bottom of the steps outside the house, gazing up at it with an unreadable expression. Not for the first time, Carson wished he could read her the way she did him. Edeline carefully tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, chewing on her bottom lip. She took a small step away from the house, and Carson was sure he saw a shudder go down her body. He stepped close to her.

"This is what's best, Edie," he said gently. "Caine has promised that nobody will touch you, and yesterday I saw a vampire missing an arm after he went against Caine's orders."

Edeline didn't look away from the house. She nodded and tapped her fingers in an unheard rhythm against her thigh.

"I know it can't be easy, accepting this," Carson continued. "But I can't keep you at my apartment anymore. I don't know how much I can resist what Kaleb has demanded of me. It's already invading my head every minute."

Still, she didn't look at him. Carson gulped.

"You could always go back to your father," he suggested, a hint of nervous laughter on his breath. "You know, if you wanted."