Loving a Vampire(20)

His friend slumped into her arms as Marianna collapsed and fell asleep.

She was tired from work. Her sleep was peaceful as a sigh left her lips.

“She’s asleep,” Gregory said. He was breathless as he pulled away from her body. Her arms rested above her head.

Marianna fell asleep with her body open. She fell asleep with a stranger and a vampire in the room.

“She’s perfect,” Augustus said.

He couldn’t find a single part of her wrong. When he’d started observing Marianna he never thought for a second he’d feel so complete with her in his life. Between Gregory’s companionship and Marianna’s love, he’d be happy with his life.

How could he turn both humans knowing what awaited them afterward?

Augustus had never heard of any vampire having control during the first few months of turning.

Were his actions merely selfish? He’d been alone a long time. Changing someone wasn’t a quick decision he was willing to make.

“You’re silent over there.”

“Clean the blood from her pussy and thighs,” Augustus said.

Gregory stared at him for several moments.

“What’s the problem?”

“I deal with your instructions because you’re my friend. Don’t start treating me like your slave. Marianna and I are not your slaves, Augustus. I know we mean more to you than simple slaves.”

“Do you think you can read my thoughts now?”

“No, I can’t read your thoughts. I can read your face. You’re tormented, and that look, looks the same on everyone. I’m not letting her go, Augustus. Donald will abuse his power over her. She’s too perfect to give back to their world. We need to keep her for us,” Gregory said.

“And how do you think we should do that? Shall we lock her in the basement or should I compel her to stay with us?”

“At least you’re admitting it’s us.”

Augustus turned away from him. Marianna lay curled up in his bed. Her red hair fell across his pillow like a burst of fire in his life. His bedroom was dark. Her pale skin and fiery hair brought a burst of colour into his life.

****

Gregory left the room to go to the bathroom. He didn’t go to Augustus’s personal bathroom and went to his own. Grabbing a cloth from the pile he kept in the far corner he rinsed it under the warm tap.

Anger consumed him from the way Augustus pushed him around. He was the vampire’s friend, but there were times when he thought Augustus forgot what it felt like to have a friend.

He walked back into the room to find Augustus sat on the bed stroking Marianna’s face.

“She’s so beautiful. I’m sorry for ordering you around. I forget what it means to have a friend.”

“You read my thoughts. Your apology doesn’t mean anything if you’re reading my thoughts prior to it,” Gregory said.

Pressing the damp cloth between her thighs, Gregory cleaned away the virgin blood. Augustus turned his head away from the scent, or at least that was what Gregory thought he was doing.

Still, he didn’t question the other man’s reasons for turning away.

“Reading your thoughts helps me to see my faults. You’re right either way. I made a mistake, and I shouldn’t talk to you the way I did.”

Gregory stared at his friend. “Apology accepted.”

He knew it was the best he was going to get as far as an apology. Augusts didn’t need to apologise to anyone.

“I turned away from the scent of her blood. Her blood, no matter how small, is still a temptation to me.”

“Yeah, she’d freak out if she was to wake up to you cleaning her.”

Gregory wiped away the last of the evidence before leaving the room. He took longer wringing out the cloth.

When he turned to exit the room he found Augustus stood naked in his doorway.

The first time he met Augustus he’d been nervous about being naked in front of the other man. Over time that nervousness disappeared. He was more comfortable in his own skin around a vampire than he was in the real world with humans.

Shaking his head, Gregory turned back to the sink.

“Why have you left her?”

“I need to come and see you.”

“You should stop reading my mind. It’s not fair to me for you to do that.”

“I told you it wasn’t a switch I could turn off. This is who I am. I can’t change who I am.”

Gregory understood that. “Change me, and we’ll both be in this together.”

“I can’t change you. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

“You keep saying that,” Gregory said. His anger got the better of him, and he threw the glass he kept for water across the room. The glass smashed and was the only sound in the room.