"I didn't." He indicated her with a tilt of his head. "Kat did."
Zakar turned back toward her. "Thank you."
She inclined her head to him. "Anytime. How do you feel?"
He gave a short laugh, but the smile on his face didn't reach his eyes. "Free."
That could be a good thing or a really bad thing. If Kytara was to be believed, it was really, really bad.
"Are you hungry?" Sin asked.
"No, but I'd kill for something to drink."
That wasn't exactly something Kat wanted to hear coming out of his mouth given the nature of the gallu and the warnings of Kytara.
"Wine?" Sin asked as if unfazed by his brother's words.
Zakar nodded.
Kat stepped forward as Sin went to the bar to get his brother a glass. Not moving from his bed, Zakar turned toward her with a taunting grin. "You have a problem with me?"
"Nope. I'm just thinking."
"About?"
She narrowed her eyes on his neck, which, courtesy of her, no longer held a single trace of the bite marks that had once marred the tanned flesh. "Blood exchanges."
"And what do you know about them?" His tone couldn't have been more patronizing had the man been a militant kindergarten teacher asking a student to define the Hobbesian State of Nature.
"A lot more than I care to," she said, duplicating his snotty tone. "For one thing, they usually link the participants together."
"What are you saying, Kat?" Sin asked as he rejoined them.
She didn't know why, but she took comfort in his presence. "It's never the enemy without that destroys. It's the one from within."
She expected Sin to argue, but he didn't. He simply handed the glass to Zakar and remained uncharacteristically quiet. There was something in his demeanor that made her think he might have used that phrase himself a time or two.
Zakar sat up and downed all the contents in a single gulp. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before returning the glass to Sin.
Zakar then cast that gimlet glare back at her. "You don't trust me."
"I don't know you."
He smiled a smile that was so familiar and at the same time alien. Looking at him, he was identical to Sin, except for the scars that marred Sin's body. Yet she didn't react to Zakar's presence at all. There was no heart racing, no clammy hands. No desire to jump on top of him... nothing. It was just like looking at any handsome naked man. It left her cold and reminded her why the other handmaidens had often called her frigid.
Zakar tilted his head to look around her to where Sin was standing. "I don't believe your woman thinks much of me, Brother."
Sin gave her a devilish wink that managed to warm her. "Don't feel bad, she doesn't think much of anyone including me most days."
"True," she agreed. "People are basically irritating. Myself included."
Sin's cell phone started ringing. He excused himself and went to answer it.
Zakar leaned back against the back of the sofa and draped an arm along the top. His gaze stayed focused on Kat, who didn't flinch under his intense scrutiny. Rather, she duplicated it, letting him know that she wasn't the least bit intimidated by him.
Finally he broke the silence. "You want to say something to me, don't you?"
"Not really. Just chillin'." She glanced over to where Sin was moving to stand outside on the balcony while he talked. What was going on?