"Famished," he answered honestly. Like most Dark-Hunters he usually ate three meals a night. One not long after he awoke at sunset, another around ten or eleven at night, and the third one around three or four in the morning. Since he'd been wounded fairly early, he'd only eaten one meal last night.
"Okay, I have a well-stocked kitchen. What would you like?"
"Something Italian."
She nodded. "Sounds good. Go ahead and get dressed and I'll meet you downstairs. The kitchen is the door on the left. Don't open the one on the right that has a Bio-hazard sticker on it. That one leads to my shop and it's nothing but daylight in there."
She started to pull the door closed behind her, then stopped. "By the way, you might want to put your coat in my closet until you leave. Marla-"
"Acheron already warned me."
"Ah, good. See you in a few."
Valerius waited until she was gone before he went to dress. As he hung his coat in her closet, he was struck by the fact that she owned as much black as he did. The only color in her closet was a bright pink satin dress that stood out harshly amidst the sea of darkness. That and a red plaid miniskirt.
It was the miniskirt that held his attention as an unwanted image of Tabitha in it went through him and he wondered if she had nice legs.
He'd always appreciated a pair of shapely, soft feminine legs. Especially when they were wrapped around him.
His body hardened instantly with that thought. Valerius grimaced as he felt suddenly like a pervert standing in her closet, daydreaming about her.
He shut the closet door instantly and left the room. The hallway was painted a bright yellow shade that was a bit harsh on his sensitive Dark-Hunter eyes. There was a room across the hall that had the door opened to display a well-kept, tastefully decorated bedroom. He saw a silver sequined dress lying across the antique bed and an ornate brunette wig resting on a foam head beside it.
"Oh, hi, cutie," Marla said as she left what must have been a bathroom. She was wearing a turban on her apparently bald head and a pink bathrobe. "Tabby's downstairs."
"Thank you," he said, inclining his head to her.
"Ooo, manners. What a nice change for Tabby. Most of the men she drags home are all crude ruffians. Except for that Ash Parthenopaeus who is remarkably well-mannered. But he's odd, too. Have you ever met him?"
"I am acquainted with him, yes."
She visibly shivered. "Ooo, I like the way you say 'acquainted,' shug. That's some accent you have there. Now you better go on before I take up any more of your time. God knows, I'll talk your ears off if you let me."
Smiling at her flamboyant gestures as she shooed him away, Valerius bid her adieu, then closed her door. There was something oddly charming about Marla.
He made his way down the beautiful cherry staircase that led to a small landing. He frowned at the Biohazard sticker that was right where Tabitha had said. He turned to the left where two French doors that could use a bit of repair led to a small dining room. Inside were an old brown-and-white farmer's table and ladder-back chairs that had seen better days.
The walls were painted a harsh white and held framed black-and-white posters of European landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Stonehenge, and the Coliseum. Black plantation shutters had been pulled closed over the windows to block out the daylight for him. And a black buffet was set against the far wall. The top of it was littered with pictures and collectible plates, including ones of Elvis and Elvira. Two large, antique silver candelabrums stood at each end of it.
But what amazed him was an 8 x 10 picture in the center of the buffet of what appeared to be Tabitha in a wedding dress standing beside a man whose face was covered by a small cut-out picture of Russell Crowe's head.
He reached out to remove the picture.
"There you are," Tabitha said from behind him.
Valerius straightened instantly. "You're married?" he asked.
She frowned until she saw the picture. "Oh, good grief, no. That's my sister Amanda at her wedding. The baby girl in the picture next to it is her daughter, Marissa."
Valerius studied the wedding picture. There was really no difference between the women except for the scar. "You have a twin sister?"
"Yes."
"And why is your sister married to Russell Crowe?"
Tabitha laughed. "Ah, it's a goof on my brother-in-law, the self-righteous, proselytizing schlemiel."
He gave her an arch look. "I take it you don't care for the man."