She shrugged. "I've seen your kind drink from bottles."

"Then ye know we're different from the Malcontents."

Her knuckles whitened as she suddenly gripped the banister hard. Then she released it and ascended more stairs. "I gather your noble nature is somewhat new. Before the invention of synthetic blood, you must have attacked people for food."

He gritted his teeth. "I never used violence."

She reached the landing and whirled around to glare at him. "Did you use mind control?"

He flinched. "Ye doona understand."

"Oh, I think I do. Mind control made it easy for you to manipulate people." Her eyes narrowed. "But they were still victims, and you were still violating them."

"We were never like the Malcontents. Those bastards are murderers. We never killed for food."

"Okay. You weren't killers. You were just parasites." She turned to continue up the stairs.

He grabbed her arm to stop her. "If ye hate us, why have ye taken a job to protect us?"

She pulled away and started ascending the stairs. "I don't hate you. And I have my reasons."

"What reasons?" He stumbled on a step with his new size thirteen feet.

She glanced back. "Why are you following me? Don't you need to go to the basement and…die?"

"I'm no' sleeping there."

"But I've seen your coffin down there." She gave him a wry look. "It looks so cozy."

"Then ye sleep in it."

"Over my dead body. Oh, wait a minute. It's your dead body. In about five minutes. So I'd better hurry." She jogged up the rest of the stairs.

Smart ass. His gaze slid down to her round, firm rump, so deliciously defined in black spandex. It was enough to turn him back into a biter. He followed her, watching her hips sway as she strode down the hall. She stopped at a door on the right.

He paused beside her. "I outgrew it."