Xander heard her declaration of it being her last day. Until she got what she wanted, she'd continue to come back. Until he got what he wanted, he'd be sure to string her along.
His first night without a woman was awful. He forgot how bad of a mood not eating or fucking put him in. The sip from Jessi was satisfying but not nearly enough. He waited for the Guardian to arrive, entertained by the idea that Jessi denied him verbally while yielding to him physically.
He was whittling down her resistance. This much he sensed. Dressed in shorts and a snug T-shirt, Jessi shot him a glare as she led his guests in. Her bronze curls were captured in a ponytail, her face flushed from his bite and her gray eyes glittering with anger that made him want to sweep her up and kiss her until the dazed look returned.
"X," Jule said as he entered the living area. "You remember Charles."
Xander looked twice at Charles. "The former vamp," he said.
Charles bared his teeth in a look of extreme displeasure. Xander watched them both as they sat across from him in the spacious living area. A peek into the former vamp's mind revealed that two of Damian's sisters-in-law had managed to turn a full vamp back into a disgruntled Natural. Xander was impressed.
"Coffee, Jessi."
"We're out," she replied.
"I just made a new pot."
She said nothing. He had no idea if she'd respond or not; he did it more to irritate her than because he was thirsty.
"Watch," Xander said. As soon as Jessi crossed outside of three feet, she disappeared from his senses.
Jule jerked visibly. Charles, however, was unaffected.
"Can you sense her?" Xander asked Charles.
"Of course, ikir. She has Watchers' blood," was the short reply.
"You're kidding. How much?" Jule was gazing at the former vamp hard.
"I do not know how much without tasting her," Charles said then looked intently at Xander. "Will you turn me back, ikir?"
"Always happy to vamp someone," Xander replied. "What would a … Watcher taste like?" He sneered as he said the word.
Charles was quiet, pensive. He tapped his head finally, which Xander took as a request to look. He did, experiencing Charles' memory of tasting the blood of a Watcher. Not as sweet as human blood, the Watcher's flavor had depth and conveyed more than life.
Xander realized it wasn't his magic that pulled her emotions from her when he drank. It was her strange magic that carried her feelings through her blood. She was unwittingly sharing herself with him. He smiled to himself.