Cassandra closed her eyes, leaning her head to one side. This was better than the ecstasy, she decided. It was human, gentle, and in no way supernatural. Which was the way these things were supposed to go. Anything else felt wrong.

"Handsome?" she repeated in a murmur. "Handsome is what you would call an old woman, in her forties, after eight children."

It was a little surprising, to hear him joking about biting. He had been so...angry. Yes, that was the proper word. He had been furious after that incident. Not for the bite so much as the fact that she hadn't...what? What had she done wrong? She couldn't really say for certain. All she knew was that she had felt something for him, when he was angry. He had come alive for her, seemed human. Which is why everything that had happened had happened, she supposed.

"I wouldn't bite you again," she said quietly.