I didn't need my heart anyway, I guess it's safe enough in his pocket.

When they walked into the dining room Meryn was sitting on Aiden's lap laughing and holding up a square pastry to his mouth. The three other men stood.

Gavriel walked her to their seats and pulled out her chair. She sat and he scooted her in. He sat down as Meryn continued to fuss at her mate. The men sat down and watched Meryn and their commander.

"No way! You know the rules, if you pick it out, you have to eat it." She swung the pastry back and forth in front of his mouth.

Aiden frowned at his mate. "But I didn't smell the wasabi until it was under my nose. You know I hate that stuff, baby." He looked up at Meryn with liquid brown eyes.

Meryn sighed. "Fine, I'll eat it. But if I get one I don't like, you have to eat it." She took a bite and smiled.

Aiden turned to them. "Just in time for the fun." His attention turned to Meryn when she started to wave a hand in front of her mouth. He picked up a glass of water and brought it up to her lips. She took the glass and downed the contents then sat back against his chest.

"Hey Bunny, did you have a good nap?" she asked.

Elizabeth looked around the room and made eye contact with the men whose mouths were twitching. She gave them the same look she used to give Magnus's erroneous aides.

"She can get away with it, you, cannot." The men gulped and nodded.

Ryuu walked in and placed two tall glasses of blood in front of Gavriel.

"Thank you, Ryuu." Gavriel lifted a glass and began to drink. Elizabeth was unfazed. Growing up in Noctem Falls she was used to seeing blood being served at meals, but if Meryn's reaction was anything to go by Gavriel didn't drink his blood at the table often. She watched him in rapt fascination as he drained the first glass. When she began fidgeting, Elizabeth knew that something was about to pop out of her mouth, poor Meryn looked like she was about to implode from keeping whatever she wanted to say in.

"Do you always drink from a glass?" she finally exploded.

Gavriel shook his head. "Over my lifetime I have fed in nearly every way imaginable. Drinking from a glass is tame in comparison."

Meryn started to grin. "Would you drink from a man?"

Gavriel nodded.

"Would you drink in a van?" she asked her eyes dancing.

"I don't see why not," he replied.

Elizabeth stared at Meryn as she continued.

"Would you drink from an actor?"

Again Gavriel nodded.

Laughing Elizabeth shook her head at Meryn.

"Would you drink on a tractor?" Meryn could barely get the words out she was laughing so hard.

Gavriel frowned. "Maybe from a farmer if the need were dire."

Her mate's serious answers to Meryn's macabre Dr. Seuss questioning made the scene all the more hilarious.

"Don't, please, Meryn." Elizabeth gasped.

The men were staring at them as if they were crazy. When they had both caught their breaths, Aiden frowned down at his mate.

"I can never understand what you say," he complained.

Meryn shrugged. "That's not my fault, I tried to indoctrinate you into the wonderful world of the gamer geek, but it's like you have some sort sci-fi/fantasy narcolepsy. It's weird. The second I try to show you something you fall asleep."

Aiden grimaced. "I can't help it, it makes me tired."

Meryn looked back to Gavriel. "What does that taste like?" she asked.

Colton laughed and Darian groaned before reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. He took out a twenty and passed it to Colton.

Colton shook his head and tucked it into his shirt pocket. "I told you she would ask."

Darian scowled at his friend. "I should have known better."

Gavriel regarded Meryn, his eyes kind. Elizabeth knew her mate wasn't mad. Meryn wasn't asking to be rude, she just wanted to know. She had no idea what a huge breech of etiquette it was to ask a vampire about blood.

"It has the viscosity of thick cherry syrup, the intoxicating jolt of your morning cappuccino and the comforting savory taste of a hearty winter stew," Gavriel held up his glass and winked at Meryn.

She licked her lips. "Can I try?"

Aiden shook his head. "No Meryn, it wouldn't taste the same for you. You've licked a cut finger before right?" he asked. She nodded. "To us blood simply tastes like meat or hamburger, it's nowhere near as enticing as it is for a vampire," he explained.

She blinked at him. "Wait. Your blood tastes like hamburgers? How is that fair? When I lick a cut on my finger all I taste is copper." She frowned down at her finger.

Aiden looked around the table. "Blood tastes like hamburgers to you guys, right?" he asked.

Elizabeth nodded, as did Colton. Keelan and Darian shook their heads.

"To me, blood tastes like earth." Darian was now frowning at his own finger.

"It tastes like ozone to me, the way ozone smells anyway," Keelan contributed.

Elizabeth glanced around the table. Now all the men except Gavriel were staring at their fingers. "How did we not know that? I always assumed it tasted the same for everyone," she asked.

Ryuu walked in and set a platter of fresh pastries in front of them. "That's because our people are so concerned with being proper that they forgot how to be curious. Meryn has no preconceived notions of etiquette so when she wants to know something she asks. Curiosity is valued and encouraged amongst humans, whereas we value tradition and status." Ryuu's explanation seemed to weigh the room down. Finally Meryn broke the silence.