"Oh."
With flustered haste she dodged around him, a faint flush touching her cheeks.
Viper pulled out a container of blood and swiftly emptied it. Then he reached for the numerous bags that had been left by his housekeeper. He set them on the counter and began to open them.
"I didn't know what you preferred so I had my housekeeper order out. There's a bit of everything. Chinese, Italian, Mexican, and the more mundane fried chicken. Take what you want."
"You already had this ordered?" Her eyes widened as she glanced over the bounty spread across the counter. "How could you possibly know you would be able to outbid everyone at the auction?"
Viper glanced down her slender body, a tantalizing heat pooling in his lower body. "I always get what I want. Sooner or later."
The golden eyes flashed with fire. "Spoken like a true vampire."
His bloodlust sated, if not his physical lust, Viper leaned against the cabinets.
"That's quite a chip you have on your shoulder, pet." He folded his arms over his chest. "Why do you hate vampires?"
She reached to pluck an egg roll from a nearby carton. "Beyond the fact they have tried to drain me since the day I was born?"
"Vampires aren't the only demons who crave your blood. Your dislike seems a bit more personal."
Silence descended as she ate the egg roll and then a wonton. Viper remained silent, simply waiting for her to confess the truth.
Another egg roll disappeared before she at last heaved a sigh and regarded him with a hostile frown.
"Vampires killed my father."
Bones of the saints. That certainly explained her aggressive dislike. And placed another hurdle directly in his path to seduction.
"I am sorry."
She gave a restless shrug. "It was a long time ago."
"You were raised by your mother?"
"Yes."
"A human?"
"Yes."
She was deliberately keeping her emotions hidden, but Viper had been reading the body language of his prey for centuries. It was what predators did best.
"She kept you hidden from the demon world?"
"As much as she was able."
"Did you pass as a human?"
It didn't take skill to read the anger that rippled over her beautiful features.
"You asked me why I hated vampires and I told you. Now, can we change the subject?"
Viper smiled as he straightened from the counter. He had an eternity to explore Shay's secrets.
It was just one of many explorations he intended to conduct.
"Eat your dinner. I have a few phone calls to make before dawn."