reason vampires didn't eat, and had difficulty believing it. How could anyone think food was boring?
Vincent chuckled at her reaction. "Yes."
"So you all stop eating eventually because of boredom?"
He hesitated, then said, "Some stop eating and some don't. My cousin Lucern was born two hundred years before me, during a time when size and strength were important. He was a warrior, large and muscular. It takes a lot to keep his muscle mass. He has always eaten as well as fed, and when he tires of eating, he continues to do so out of necessity, to keep his mass. On the other hand, my cousin Lissianna, as a woman, has no such concerns. When she tired of eating, she simply stopped... though, she has started eating again since meeting Gregory."
"And you weren't concerned about body mass?" Jackie asked.
Vincent grinned and held out his arms. "By the time I was born, skill was more important than strength in any battle one engaged in. We dueled with épées, or used pistols. I didn't need the same muscle mass Lucern did to wield his great sword and have never desired to have it. So, when I grew tired of food, I simply stopped eating."
Jackie tilted her head and eyed him. He made it sound like he was a skinny little guy, but he wasn't. He wasn't as muscle-bound as Schwarzenegger, but he had nice wide shoulders and a muscular physique all the same.
She shook her head. "I still find it hard to believe you could find food boring."
Vincent chuckled at her expression. "Lots of things become boring after a couple hundred years."
"Like what?"
Vincent raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"What else has become boring to you? What else have you stopped doing because it seems more trouble than it's worth?" she explained.
"Sex."
The answer startled her and Jackie felt herself blush in the darkness.
"Cat got your tongue?" Vincent teased when she remained silent.
"I don't know what to say," she admitted. "I guess I find that as surprising as that food could be boring."
"Yeah." He sighed. "I was pretty surprised myself. I used to enjoy sex a lot. I was good at it too."
Jackie really didn't know what to say to that. Vincent said it so nonchalantly, not bragging, just stating a fact like someone else might say they were good at crosswords. It was hard not to believe it was true. On the other hand, she supposed all men thought they were good at sex, whether they were or not.
Growing tired from treading water, Jackie gave up her position in the center of the pool and swam to the edge a little way down from him. She held on to the side of the pool like he was doing to give her arms and legs a rest as they talked.
"Enough about me," Vincent said suddenly. "I know your father started the detective agency. What about your mother? What did she do?"
"Mother died when I was four," Jackie admitted. "I don't recall much about her. She was a secretary in my father's company before and after I was born."
"So your father raised you?" When she nodded, Vincent asked, "So, were you a tomboy, or a girlie girl?"
Jackie smiled with amusement at the question, then blinked in surprise when he said, "I bet you were a tomboy."
"Why?" she asked warily.
Vincent shrugged. "You were an only child, raised by your father and probably eager for his attention. That usually leads the girl to try to be the son he never had to gain his approval."
Jackie scowled. She had been a tomboy, and she supposed she had tried to be the son he never had to gain her father's attention and approval. Perhaps she was still doing so despite his being dead, trying to be the son he would have wanted.
"Come." Vincent suddenly propelled himself up and out onto the tiles around the pool. Standing, he then bent to offer her a hand. "You're starting to shiver; time to get out of the water."
Jackie realized with surprise that he was right, she was shivering. Still, she almost refused his hand, but then sighed and reached up. Vincent caught her fingers and suddenly she was standing dripping wet on the patio tiles. He'd lifted her out one-handed and with no effort whatsoever. Almost before that realization had struck, he'd collected her towel and wrapped it around her.
Jackie shouldn't have been surprised, but always found it startling how strong and quick immortals really were. She'd decided long ago that most