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interested.
    This was such shit. Again.
    He didn’t want to be a vampire’s mate. There was too much life change involved. He still lived in the apartment he’d taken when his ex-wife threw him out of his own house. And he was fond of daylight. Loved the warmth of it. Sunbathing out on a nice beach with the water lapping at the shore was his idea of mini-heaven. He spent a lot of time in Bora Bora getting this tan. And he liked bacon and eggs. Fries. A thick, grilled steak. A cold beer. Sleeping in on his days off. All the human stuff.
    There was more.
    The list of what he’d lose was endless.
    Then again... at some point in this life, vampirism might be a viable option. He didn’t want to deal with all the age-related losses: hair, hearing, vision, memory... bone. Muscle tissue degeneration. And he mustn’t forget the other issues, like hemorrhoids, arthritic joints, enlarged prostate problems, bladder control issues, erectile dysfunction... that sounded most unfair. He rather liked his willy exactly where it was and working exactly like it did. Old age sounded like shit. Becoming a vampire might actually be a good idea about then. Or maybe...before his sack started sagging.
    All of which was years away at the moment. Lots of time to make heavy duty decisions like turning into a blood sucking entity. Hell. He hadn’t even started a retirement portfolio yet.
    Then there was the huge possibility that he’d screw up. His ex-wife had been his high school sweetheart. They’d wed right out of school just before he entered basic. It lasted three years, mainly because he was on active duty the entire time. When he got back and tried to play house, he found out how ill-equipped he was for love and relationships. He didn’t know how a woman’s mind worked, and what he was supposed to say and when. He was clueless that when she asked if she looked fat, she didn’t want the truth. He always said the wrong thing. And just why did the one thing a woman found charming and funny in him become the same thing she ended up hating, anyway? Women didn’t remotely make sense. So, he was sarcastic and a smartass. It wasn’t hidden. They knew that going in.
    Tassanee was almost his equal at both, though. She had a mouth and a quick wit, and was one hell of an opponent in a debate. So... maybe, just maybe... he was looking at this wrong. Maybe he should ask her if the vampirism part of this mating thing could wait. See if she’d considered a trial run and wait for him to decide. That might work out. Or she might get pissed off at him and that would be the end of that. And him.
    His last relationship had lasted six weeks. Six weeks. And potential death at the end of it. Hmm. It might be worth it.
    “Can I sit here?”
    He lolled his head her direction. Blinked. That was stupid. It moved his lids over his eyes with a feeling like sandpaper on wood. His eyes watered in defense, blurring everything for a bit. It didn’t change, though. Tassanee was still standing, poised at the seat beside him, waiting. And behind her he could just make out the door to the cockpit. Someone had stuck what looked like the handle of a safety ax through it, effectively locking it. From this side.
    Great. She wanted privacy. There wasn’t anyone around to buffer this. And he wasn’t in any condition to fight. But at least, she’d asked. He licked his lips again. Yep. Still chapped. He should have found a lip balm.
    “I promise not to touch you,” she continued.
    “Wow. You’re really doing a number on my machismo, babe.”
    “Your what?”
    “It’s a term. For how we guys look at ourselves. I guess the better phrase would be how we project ourselves. You know. To the world.”
    “Oh.”
    She wrinkled her forehead slightly. That was cute. She didn’t look convinced. She didn’t even look like she understood. Len sighed a little soft sound. Damn. He couldn’t even get his lungs to expand for a big breath. That was going to be awkward.
    “Sit