"Okay, so I went around town and found four different types of blood sausage for you to try. You can see which one you like best. Irish, Korean, Spanish, and French. I tried a bite of each on my way here, and I think Korean is my favorite, but—"

Liam stopped short after kicking off his shoes in her doorway, gawking at the piles of old books and scattered papers around Katie at her dining room table, his girlfriend hunched over her research despite having called out sick from work that morning.

She hadn't been feeling well since her meeting with Connor Darven, where she had hoped for a more straightforward answer about her marking, but all the Darven heir had given her were more questions. The stress, on top of her refusal to try blood, despite her new need for it, had caused her to wake up dizzy and with an upset stomach, forcing her to call out for the day.

Liam immediately insisted on bringing her some food during his lunch break, brainstorming ways to help her ease into her new dietary needs, and Katie was sure he expected to see her miserable in a ball on her couch.

It probably would be better for her if she were to relax a bit...but she also wanted to use this opportunity to do some research on vampire marking off hours and freeing herself from the unnecessary paperwork and the smaller distractions of lesser cases that would otherwise distract her at the precinct. Katie had dug out all her old vampire books and even managed to stumble to her car to pick up some holds at the library for extra research materials.

"I don't know what looks worse, the state of your kitchen, or you, Katie," Liam huffed, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Wow, the most romantic thing you have ever said to me, Liam," Katie grumbled, rubbing a palm against her forehead to massage the lingering ache.

Liam laughed, searching her counters for a free area to unpack his food wares. He carefully pushed aside some loose papers, organizing them into a small stack before unloading six tall take-out boxes.

"Sorry, I meant to say I have seen a mess look so beautiful—"

"Sure, sure," Katie chuckled, carefully standing to her feet to weakly paddle over to where Liam stood, throwing herself against his back to wrap her arms around his waist as he plated some blood sausages and their sides for the two of them to try.

"Do you like blood sausage?" She murmured against his back.

"Eh, sometimes," Liam laughed, "I used to hate it when I was little, but now that I'm older and have tried more, I admit they've grown on me. My grandma used to make Black Pudding, and I despised it." He pulled out a box and waved it at her, "Now I think she might have just been bad at making black pudding."

Katie let out a weak laugh and lightly hit him on the back, "I am pretty sure you are not supposed to say stuff like that about your grandma's cooking. You should be saying she made the best Black Pudding that you have ever tasted, and nothing will ever compare."

Liam just hummed in response. "Nothing will ever compare," he muttered with a laugh, giving her a sidelong glance. "Vampire or not, Katie, I can't believe you have never tried any blood sausages."

Katie sighed, "I guess I was just waiting for you to come into my life before I tried any." She said, lightly kissing him on the shoulder through his police-station gray quarter-zip.

At the touch, he turned to face her, lightly putting his hands on her face as he gave her a lingering kiss on her lips.

Katie smiled as he pulled from her. His kisses were always gentle, considerate, and so warm. They never failed to send butterflies through her chest. No matter how many times he kissed her, it always felt like the first time.

He was being extra gentle with her now, and she could feel it in his touch... a fact that made her fall in love with him further...if that was even possible.

"Are you feeling well enough to feed yourself, or will you need me to do it?" he murmured, his face still hovering close to hers, his mouth twitching into a teasing smile.

Katie let out a weak laugh as she poked his nose, causing him to scrunch it at her while he picked up their plates to bring them to her table, carefully moving around her books and papers to create space for both of them to eat.

Katie weakly settled beside him, stealing the fork from him as he jokingly started feeding her.

The two ate in near silence as Katie scrutinized the food he had brought. The Black Pudding was savory and full of earthy spices, surprising her with the taste. The Boudin Noir tasted similarly, yet was slightly sweeter, and she wasn't sure she liked it as much.

As she ate the blood sausages, she noticed her headache had finally subsided and her energy returned with each bite. Helping her push past any second thoughts on the taste.

She was excited to dig into the Korean Sundae when Liam's voice broke through her thoughts once more.

"What are you looking into?" He asked through bites of his food, his eyes wandering across her research that had spread across her kitchen table.

"Vampire Markings... and their colors."

Liam's brows rose in surprise as he swallowed his food, "Colors?"

"Yeah, I... met someone the other day who had a marking like mine, but it was blue."

Liam's brows scrunched as he watched her carefully.

"A blue mark?"

"Right? All evidence points to them being red—"

"Are you sure it wasn't a tattoo?"

"I thought it might be too, but I was assured it was real."

Liam let out a long breath as his eyes held hers, before he broke eye contact with a shake of his head, his eyes scanning the pages on the table once more.

"I don't know Katie... He was probably lying—"

"I know, but also why lie? Even if it was a tattoo, I want to know what it means. I had never heard of a blue marking tattoo—"

"Where did you meet him?" Liam interupted, scratching his chin, his brows pinched in worry. "What would someone like that be doing near you? Did the Darvens try to attack you again after—"

"No, No." Katie hurriedly assured him, " I just... ran into him."

Liam watched her with a disbelieving frown.

"And he showed you his mark?"

"No... I just happened to see it." Katie lied.

"So you don't know if it's a tattoo or not."

"He said it wasn't."

"You asked?"

"Of course! I wanted to know!"

"And what did he tell you about it?"

"He just said that it was real, but wouldn't explain why his was different."

"Katie," Liam murmured with a sigh, rubbing his hands across his face, "Do you know how dangerous that could have been? He was probably a part of the  Darven group, and if he was  caught following you, he—"

"Dangerous?" Katie scoffed, "Why? Do you know what the blue mark means?" She countered.

This is why she hadn't wanted to tell Liam in the first place about going to see the Darven group's heir; he had always been worried about her and this case, and now, his anxiety seemed to have grown tenfold after the incident in the warehouse.

"No, I don't..." He grunted, his face still buried in his palms, " But anyone in that world is dangerous. You need to be more careful."

"Well, I am marked now, so that makes me part of that world, too...and just as dangerous." Katie countered with a laugh, trying to ease the mood as she dramatically chomped on her blood sausage, attempting to make him smile.

Liam glanced at her through his fingers as he gave a defeated chuckle. After a moment, he heaved a sigh as he continued eating his food.

"I am just worried about you, Katie..." Liam admitted," and I don't like someone with a strange mark hanging around you, and you approaching them—"

"He wasn't hanging around me, I just—"

"Still, if you see him, or anyone else with a strange marking, just let me know so I can come with you before you approach them. I might not be able to do much, but I feel more comfortable if you weren't alone facing these guys."

"Well, Sam was there too."

"Okay, I would rather you not be alone, with your only backup being a child."

"That child could outshoot you in a second," Katie said with a laugh. "And what could you do? Charm them out of harming me?"

Liam's warm smile crept back up his face as he laughed. "What, you don't think I am intimidating?" He asked, puffing out his chest with a stern expression, his smile twitching at his lips.

"That's a great point," Kaie hummed, " How could anyone hurt a guy like you?"

Grabbing his faux glowering face in her hands, she stood from her chair as she brought his lips to hers.

Smiling against her lips, Liam wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her to his lap as he kissed her deeper, the taste of lunch lingering on his lips and tongue.

Katie agreed with him; she felt the taste begin to grow on her, too.

"Now, listen, " Liam said firmly, pulling back from her, with his mock firm expression. "I am only here to bring you lunch, so you can't convince me to stay any longer, or the precinct might get suspicious." He said with one last quick kiss on her lips. "So don't distract me from my meal and make me lose track of time."

"That eager to get back to work, huh?" Katie huffed, reluctantly crawling off him and returning to her seat.

"Only eager for the work day to end... so I can hurry back here without worrying about any time restrictions," he said with a knowing smile,  shoveling more of his food into his mouth as he finished his plate.

Katie let out a shy giggle, her cheeks heating up at his suggestion as he rose to give her a quick kiss on the head, his eyes glancing to her kitchen clock as he rinsed his plate in her sink.

"Well, thank goodness you brought me such a thoughtful meal. I admit I feel healed." Katie replied, watching him with her chin in her palm. "Now, I'll be eager for the work day to end, too."

Liam gave her one last wide smile as he pulled on his coat and slipped back into his shoes.

"Don't wear yourself out with research in the meantime, Katie. Promise?"

Katie rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she snorted.

"No promises."

Liam stopped in the doorway, puffing up his chest as he crossed his arms, giving her a firm glare as he reenacted his 'intimidating' presence from earlier.

Katie laughed and waved her hand at him.

"Oh goodness, put that away, you are scaring me!" She giggled. "Fine, I promise."

Liam opened her door and gave her a wink before slipping out.

Leaving Katie alone with the piles of research...

...and just enough energy to break her promise and hide any of the evidence.