Loving a Vampire(24)

“She could still turn. How long will we know if she turned?” he asked.

“Tonight. She’d rise tonight after the sun goes down.”

“Then we need to get her prepared for tonight.” Gregory lifted her into his arms. “Clean this mess up. I’ll be down as soon as I’ve cleaned her to help you.”

Feeling in control for once, Gregory carried her upstairs. He didn’t take her to Augustus’s room. He took her to his room. Going through to his personal bathroom he put the shower on and settled her underneath. She was icy cold to the touch.

Gregory kept thinking about her being passed out. He couldn’t handle the thought of carrying her lifeless body. It was too much for him to deal with. He didn’t handle dead bodies.

Marianna is dead.

No, she’s going to be a vampire. She can’t be dead.

I won’t allow it.

Ignoring the blue tinge to her skin, he washed the blood from her body and hair. When she was cleaned he dried her body, placed a shirt to cover her nakedness and placed her in the bed.

Walking downstairs he found Augustus scrubbing the floors and sides. “I never knew there was so much blood,” Gregory said.

His friend turned to him.

“I shouldn’t have sat with her. This is all my fault.”

Gregory didn’t say a word. He grabbed a scrubbing brush and got to work on cleaning the mess. His anger was so acute that he could taste it. All he wished to do was hurt Augustus. He was angry at Marianna being dead, but he was angry at the fact she was getting what he’d wanted last night.

Last night he’d have given anything to be turned by Augustus. Seeing the mess and feeling the sun on his skin, Gregory was having second thoughts.

“I didn’t change her on purpose, Gregory. I fed her my blood in the hope she’d come back. I never wanted to kill her.”

“I know. You’re the vampire who hunts to feed not to kill.” Gregory cleaned the rest of the kitchen in silence. He had nothing to say to his friend.

Pretending the blood was tomato soup helped. If he saw Marianna’s blood then he’d lose it. Attacking Augustus wasn’t in his best interests.

When everything was cleared away Gregory found his friend in the basement. Augustus’s head was in his hands, and the sounds of grief coming from him startled Gregory.

“I never meant to hurt or change her. She cut herself, and the scent of blood and her arousal was too much.”

“Why can’t you gain control of it?” Gregory asked, taking a seat beside him.

“I’m in control of it, Gregory. Do you think there would be anything left of her if I was a recently turned vampire?” Augustus turned toward him. “If someone else had done it there would be nothing left. My control came with the fact I turned her rather than slaughtered her.”

“What happens now?” Gregory asked. He didn’t want to think of all the blood he’d cleaned up or the deathly pale beauty lying on his bed.

“We wait until the sun goes down. There is nothing more for us to do.”

Running fingers through his hair Gregory let out a sigh. “I can’t deal with this. When Marianna wakes up she’s going to be a vampire. I don’t know what to do or how to deal with it. I’m not totally sure what the fuck is going on, and it scares me.”

“She’ll be confused when she wakes. It will be best for her if you’re around. She’ll still be her same old self for the first few hours until the thirst for blood takes over.”

Gregory shook his head. “How did this all get fucked up?”

“I trusted myself around her. I shouldn’t have let her come down to the basement. This is all my fault.”

He couldn’t think of what to say to make Augustus feel better. The woman he’d fallen in love with lay dead on his bed.

“I need to take a shower.”





Chapter Nine



Marianna’s skin was burning. Everything inside her hurt, and when she opened her eyes she struggled to breathe. Nothing made sense to her. She heard everything, and yet nothing was filtered as it came to her ears.

“She’s panicking,” Augustus said.

“What’s happening to me?”

She opened her eyes fully to see Gregory and Augustus in the room. In one swift movement, Augustus pressed his bloody wrist against her mouth. “Drink.” The order came from his lips.

Shaking her head, she turned away from the offending wrist.

Gregory sat next to her. “You have to drink, Marianna. You’re dying.”

Tears filled her eyes. Why was he saying such horrid things to her? She’d done nothing to him, and yet he was being mean to her. Why?

“Please, trust me, drink.” The sadness in his eyes cut her deep.