Page 34 of Unholy Gambit: Checkmate in Blood
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Aury stumbled a little on the steps into the boot store, and Axel did the thing where she wasn’t having to support all her weight again.
“No. Don’tdothat. I’m okay. A lifetime of stopping and being super-careful on steps, and I just went too fast. I have to think about walking up to them and coordinating the step up with having to slow down. I’m way better at it than I was, but it still doesn’t always work exactly right.”
He slowly pulled his help away instead of doing it all at once, and she said, “Thank you.”
At the door, he opened it for her, and a wave of heat spilled from the store.
“You know how your knee is holding up and what you need,” he said. “I trust you not to tell me you’re fine when you’re not.”
“Trust is important to me,” she told him.
“Me too. We’re figuring it out, right?”
She arrowed straight to the brown boots, since that’s what Rip mostly wears, but Axel gravitated to a black crocodile pair, and she had to admit those fit his personality better.
He tried them on, declared them comfortable, paid, and asked her what bar they were going to when he opened the door for them to leave.
“I was going to say the Frazier Five and Dime, since it’s just down the street from Ruby’s place, but since we’re out here,maybe Malone’s?” She considered their options and said, “Do you play pool? We aren’t far from TBC.”
“It’s pitting us against each other, but if neither of us is an expert, I think billiards could be fun while we talk. We might need to telepath, depending upon how close other patrons are.”
“I mean, I can hold my own, but it isn’t like I compete at it.”
“Same, so yes, billiards sounds nice.” He put her into the passenger side, made sure her seatbelt was secure, and told her, “I need to handle a quick text before we leave.”
He stood at the back of the car long enough to send a quick text, and then he was sliding into the driver’s seat, sexy asfuck.
“Problems at home? Was it okay for you to just pick up and leave the country without planning it ahead of time?”
“It was fine. The text was to the local Master Vampire, and I’m sorry I’m not at liberty to tell you more.”
“I want to say I’m sorry for being snarky about that before, but I’m really not.”
He chuckled. “I like that you have claws. Do you know the way to the billiard club, or should I put the address into the car?”
“I know the way. Go back out to the main road and turn right. It’s just a couple of turns from here, but it’s on the other side of the interstate.”
“I know you ate, but they have appetizers if you want to snack.”
“I might order some of their fried pickles, but my biggest decision is whether I want margaritas tonight, or mojitos.”
“You’re leaning towards the latter.”
“Yes. What will you drink?”
“I doubt they have Stagg, but they’re likely to have either Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, Knob Creek or, if all else fails, Maker’s Mark.”
That surprised her. “Whiskey. I expected tequila or something similar, since you were born in either Central or South America.”
“I was born in Italy.”
She shook her head. “But you were bitten by a spider native to Brazil.”
“Ah, I see the confusion. The spider I was bitten by is extinct, but my research tells me it’s closely related to the Brazilian Wandering Spider. Looks nearly identical, venom seems to work the same. It’s easiest to just name the one people know of now, rather than explaining it’s extinct.”
“How does a spider go extinct? It isn’t like people can overhunt them.”
