The act of Luke sizing up Christian brought a genuine smile to his face. The squeeze to his hand only brought a sparkle to Christian’s eye before he released Luke’s hand. Christian found it amusing that Luke was trying to determine what kind of person he was during this quick interaction. 

[i]If only he knew…[/i]

Of course, the actual truth would probably kill Luke. Or just make him think Christian was some crazy person, which wasn’t the first impression Christian wanted to make. While Christian continued to find the male ego fascinating, he felt the air around Penny shift into something darker, and looked to her, alarmed. 

[i]Christian won’t beat me.[/i] 

Christian stepped closer to Penny, resting his hand lightly in the middle of her back. He didn’t want to come across as if he were crowding her, but he wanted to know she had his support with whatever was going on here. There wasn’t much time to ensure Penny was okay before Luke seemed to deflate and led them to the truck they were here for. Christian dropped his hand while they walked, but remained close to Penny, feeling rather protective of the human he had grown attached to. 

While Peny examined the truck from the inside, Christian walked around it, looking for dents and scratches and trying to look like he knew what he was doing. Once the deal was made, with the incentive of staying for something to eat, Christian followed Penny into the house. The continued silence started to worry him, and he frowned at the back of Penny’s head until they were inside and she addressed him. 

The frown instantly dropped when Penny apologized to him, replaced by a horrified expression that she felt the need to apologize.

[color=#B0E0E6]”I think the girl who survived a den of vampires can handle a little family dinner and drama,”[/color] Christian said, attempting to joke. But not wanting Penny to think he was trying to make light of the situation, Christian pulled Penny in for a hug, tucking her head under his chin and held her. [color=#B0E0E6]”Do you want to discuss it?”[/color] His tone was gentle and open, wanting to give Penny the space she needed to express herself.