Chapter Eight
Babs put the sandwich on the table. This had all been too good to be true. She knew it. Something was odd here and she needed to know before she packed her bag. That had been blood on his face, but he didn’t have a cut.
And someone had paid off her credit card.
She sat on the edge of a leather wing back chair. “Go ahead.”
He sat across from her, his fingers twitchy. I do have something to tell you.”
“You paid off my credit card. Why?”
“I did. All of this is going to sound nuts.”
“Try me.”
He took a visible breath. “I’m very rich. Like I’ll never spend all of this money rich. My interest makes interest so I paid off your card.”
“Why?”
“Because, and this won’t be the strangest thing you hear today, I love you.”
Her heart leapt because she was in love with him. What else was there? Wasn’t that crazy enough? She wanted to jump into his arms and profess her love. Wasn’t that nuts?
“What else?”
“You did wipe blood off of me. It wasn’t mine.”
“Whose was it?”
Was he doing human sacrifice in his basement? She shuddered. That would be a deal breaker.
“I don’t know. I get it from the blood bank. In bags.”
In bags? She tried to hide her surprise. “What exactly are you telling me.”
“That I’m a vampire.”
So the long canines she’d been seeing? They were real. She digested all this. A vampire was in love with her. No, Elias, an amazing lover and sweet man was in love with her. That he was a vampire was secondary. Guess that ruled out kids, but she wasn’t sure she wanted them anyway.
“Show me your teeth.”
He smiled and there they were. The long canines she’d been glimpsing.
“You haven’t run screaming from the house. I’m going to take that as a good sign.”
She smiled. “Can I touch them?”
“Be careful they are sharp.”
She reached out and ran her finger along the top, not the sharp part. “Do you feed on humans?”
“No, I find that distasteful. Much easier to get from the blood bank. They think I’m a private hospital.”
She laughed. In this day of the Internet it would be easy to set that up. “So what happened next?”
“What do you mean? Next? Are you going to stay?”
“Yes. I love you, Elias.”
He smiled. No canines this time. “You love me?”
“Yes. What do we do next?”
“I don’t understand?”
“Well if we’re to be together forever, don’t I need to be a vampire?”
She couldn’t imagine living with him, knowing that she would die and he’d have to grieve for her. That wasn’t fair.
“You want me to turn you?”
“Of course. I’m not going to find anyone better and frankly I have nothing to lose.”
He straightened. “I’m going to give you some time to think about it. Meanwhile, I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing in the lab.”
***
Elias led her downstairs. To the part of the house that he’d forbidden her to see. He only had a few lab animals in cages. The rest was equipment he used to mix up formulas that will one day cure him.
“I’m researching a cure for vampirism.”
She looked around, stuck her finger in a cage to pet a rat. “How close are you?”
“Not close at all, sadly. I have even more reason now to be cured.”
“Me?”
“Of course, Babs. I want to be human so we can be married. And have a normal life.”
“But I’m willing to be turned.”
“I know, but I think you should think that through.”
“Tell me the downside,” she said, sitting on a stool.
“The process isn’t fun. It hurts for a day or so. Then you’ll need to feed. A lot. If you don’t feed on a human then you’ll never get the taste for them. The bags of blood will do.”
“What else?”
“You can’t go out in the sun. I can because I’m old.”
“How old are you?”
He hesitated, but he wasn’t going to lie to her. “Three hundred and fifty years old.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I can’t do in the sun anyway. Look at my red hair and pale skin. I’m a night person. Not a morning person.”
“Think about this, Babs. Unless I find a cure, this is permanent.”
He wanted her to know that he would change this if he could. He’d love not to be a vampire so he could give her a normal life. A family if she wanted. As it is, he couldn’t do that. Not in his present state.
“I understand. Look at the benefits. I get you. Forever. And a very long forever, not just fifty years. Five hundred years.”
She was sure. She didn’t blink. Her gaze did not waver from his.
“What’s next?”
“I have to bite you, but we’ll do this in my bed. You’ll be more comfortable and I can close the curtains to keep out the sun.”
He led her upstairs. He was excited and worried. He didn’t want her to resent him a few hundred years down the line. She held his hand firmly. Her pulse was normal. As if he were leading her to see a picture instead of what he was leading her to.
“Lay down.”
She did, on the bed. She smiled up at him. “I love you, Elias.”
“I love you, Babs. You are my soulmate. I know it.”
“You are mine.”
“You ready?”
“Sure.”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. He’d never loved anyone as much as he loved her at this very moment. He took her hand as he lay down next to her.
“It’s going to pinch and sting a little. And it will be a little arousing.”
She laughed. “Just do it, Elias. Let’s start our life together.”
He leaned her head to one side, exposing her pale, white neck. Then he sunk his fangs into her. She didn’t even gasp. No, she let out a Rebel yell.
THE END