****
Gregory couldn’t believe how well Marianna was handling the situation. He expected her to have run away screaming by now. Instead, she sat in the sitting room, drinking tea and eating a scone all the while staring at Augustus. Every now and then she glanced his way.
He didn’t want to think about the thrill riding through his body whenever she turned her gaze toward him. His cock was unbearably thick, and the jeans he wore felt too tight against his skin.
Augustus presented his wrist to him. Gregory took the sustenance without even thinking. Her eyes widened as he watched her.
“He needs to take my blood, Marianna.”
“How come?” she asked. Her words sounded a little breathless to him. Was the sight of him feeding from Augustus turning her on?
Only his friend would know. The bra and shirt she wore hid her nipples from view. If they were hard he couldn’t see them.
“Without a regular supply of my blood Gregory would die.”
“I thought vampires had blood that healed.”
“The movies have filled your head with lies,” Gregory said, wiping his mouth. Tonight Augustus had tasted like lemons. It had been a long time since his friend had tasted of anything refreshing. “Augustus has a lot of skills, but vampire blood can only sustain us for a short amount of time. His blood to another vampire could cure another vampire. It doesn’t work that way with us.”
“How come?” Marianna asked.
“My blood is pretty much dead. When a human takes my blood they’re getting the live source, but it only lasts for so long. During the digestion throughout the body, my blood starts to die, and the effects wear off. In the body of another vampire, the vampire has the same blood. It lasts longer, and so the true healing begins,” Augustus said.
“So, Gregory is in fact dying.”
“Every day.” He spoke for himself. If Augustus missed a feeding then he’d simply start to die in the way his friend found him. The thought of something happening to Augustus terrified Gregory. He loved his friend dearly, and he cherished the life he led, even if it was mostly lived in the dark.
“Don’t you want to be turned?”
“I do. I’ve asked him to turn me into a vampire a thousand times, maybe more.”
“On my last count, Gregory, it was nine hundred and ninety eight,” Augustus said.
“But my friend won’t turn me.”
Marianna looked between the two of them. The confusion was clear to see on her face.
“How do you live with knowing you’re dying?” she asked.
“I live with it and hope Augustus doesn’t forget me.”
The tension in the room built. He watched as Marianna took a bite out of her scone.
“Wow, so much to know.”
Gregory glanced at his friend. Augustus was checking out Marianna. He saw the interest on his friend’s face and the subtle change of need in his eyes.
“If you want to go out and feed then I’ll keep her company until you get back.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“What’s going on?” Marianna asked.
“He needs to feed but won’t,” Gregory said.
“I shouldn’t leave you two alone.”
“I don’t mind. I can spend time with Gregory.” Marianna smiled at him, and Gregory’s cock thickened in his pants.
Augustus turned back to him. “Are you sure?”
“You need to feed. The holy water I gave you last night is no doubt the cause of your need.”
“I can always count on you knocking me out,” Augustus said. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
By the time Gregory blinked, his friend was gone.
“I don’t know how you do it,” Marianna said.
“How I do what?”
“Live like this.” She raised her hands in the air gesturing around her at the whole house.
He smiled. “Without Augustus, I’d be dead. I was a drug addict that fucked my way to my next score. I didn’t care about anything or anyone.”
Marianna gasped.
“You seem surprised.”
“You don’t seem like the drug addict type,” she said, lowering her gaze. He moved in front of her and lifted her chin so he could look her in the eye.
“There is no type, Marianna. I hit a bad spot in my life. I failed everything. I lost my job because of this fucking economy, and I used. Once I started using, I loved the buzz, but I hated the come down. Augustus found me.”
“You can’t say, ‘before it was too late’ ‘cause without him it is too late for you.”
“There’s nothing I can do about it now. I am who I am.”
“Do you still use?” Marianna asked.
“I tried. There are only so many hits from Augustus a human can take. No, he helped with my recovery. I’ve not touched a single drug in years. I’m clean. The only thing I want is to be with Augustus for forever.”