“You’ve not known me for long, baby.”
“I feel like I’ve known you a lifetime.” She cupped his cheek, kissing his lips.
He accepted her affection. His heart hammered inside his chest.
“I only ask one thing,” Gregory said.
“What is it?” Marianna asked.
“I want Augustus to do it, and I want it to be tonight. Now.”
There was no need to wait for a decision. Gregory had spent the whole day thinking it through. He’d spent the last five years thinking it over.
“All right. We need to move this upstairs. The bathroom would be easier to clean up,” Augustus said after staring at him for a few minutes
“Clean up? Are you expecting messy work?” Marianna asked. She didn’t even remember the state the kitchen was in when she turned.
Blood and mess were inevitable in turning a vampire.
“It could be that way. I’ll need you there Marianna in case it goes messy,” Augustus said, standing. The vampire was naked, and Gregory couldn’t help but look down the length of his body.
“I hope that erection isn’t for me,” he said, joking.
“No, it’s not. I’ll get some shorts on. Marianna, will you take Gregory up to the bathroom?”
“Okay,” she said.
Gregory took her hand, and together they made their way up to the bathroom.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Marianna asked.
He cupped her cheeks and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. This is what I want to do. I’ll be with you and Augustus. You two are my future.”
She smiled. Her hands covered his, and she moved them away from her face. “I didn’t get a choice in this. If I wasn’t a vampire I’d be dead. You have a choice.”
“I don’t have a choice, Marianna. I either become a vampire or I die. I don’t want to die. Augustus is my best friend, and you’re my woman.” Tilting her head back he kissed her deeply. “I’m not risking anything to be away from you.”
“Aren’t you a little afraid?” she asked.
He looked down at the floor. “The truth is I’m terrified. I don’t want to die. Being a drug user messed with my head. Vampires shouldn’t exist, but they do, and tonight, I’m more thankful than I’ve ever been.”
Gregory kissed the top of her head. “Tonight, I’ll be with you and Augustus for eternity. It’s what I want more than anything.”
“I wish there was something I could say to make you change your mind or show you another way, but there isn’t, is there? You’re dying anyway, and I don’t mean from being a human. The drug use is killing you.”
“Augustus’s blood sustains me. It’s not curing me.”
She ran her fingers down his chest. The small touch made him hard. “Tell me what to do,” she said.
“It’s going to get messy. I’m going to strip down to just my underwear. Are you okay with that?”
He saw her nod. “What are you thinking?” he asked.
“I’m wondering if I can keep myself in check. Sex seems to always be on my mind. It gets a little boring after a while.”
Gregory chuckled. “Another reason I need to turn. As a vampire I should be able to keep up with you. Being human, I can’t.”
“What do you think you’ll be like?”
“I don’t know. If I’m lucky I’ll be like you, always thinking about sex.” He chuckled even though he doubted it. With his past filled with addiction he could only see the thirst for blood in his future.
“Tomorrow night you’ll wake up a vampire.”
“Yes, and then there will be no getting rid of me.”
Chapter Twelve
Augustus washed his hands and splashed water onto his face. He needed to get his mind into the game. If he wasn’t careful tonight he could kill his friend, and killing Gregory was not an option.
“You can do this,” he said.
When he’d turned Marianna he hadn’t been planning on changing her. Her heart had been on the last few beats when he’d given her his blood.
Closing his eyes he counted in his mind trying to calm himself.
Once he was done pacing himself, he walked up the stairs to the bathroom where Gregory was waiting for him. Marianna sat between the other man’s legs stroking her hands up and down his thighs.
“I love them both.”
Gregory’s thoughts calmed him. He cleared his throat making Marianna jump. “Are you ready?” he asked.
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
“I’ll stay by the door in case you need me,” she said, standing up. They passed, and Augustus reached out to her.