My Vampire and I (5 page)

41
My Vampire and I
by J. P. Bowie

Oops. I'd said it. The 'L' word. He lay very still for a very long time, saying nothing, but not moving away from me either—thank God. At last, he turned to look at me.

"You love me?" His eyes searched mine. "After only a few short hours?"
"Yes. And what's more..." I must have really lost my senses, as the next words out of my mouth were, "I think you love me, too." One perfectly shaped eyebrow arched a fraction, and he sat up, staring at me for what seemed an eternity.

I couldn't stand the silence any longer. "You don't have to know someone for very long to know if you love him or not," I blurted, feeling tears burn the back of my eyes. Shit ... if he was going to reject me now...

 

He reached behind him and handed me my wineglass, filled to the brim.
Howdoes he do that?
I thought, taking the glass with a shaking hand.
Say something, please...

"Roger..."
"Yes?"
He smiled sadly then took a long sip of his wine. "Before you commit yourself to me, there are things you should know." "Like what? Staying out of the sun? I can do that—"
"Listen to me, Roger!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be flippant."
He nodded, his smile returning.
"Come here." He leaned back against the headboard and took me in the crook of his arm. "What passed between us this night was wonderful..." 42
My Vampire and I
by J. P. Bowie
I could hear the "but" coming a mile off. I remained quiet.

"But if you wish to become a part of my life, there are many things you would have to give up. Just for a start, that would mean your friends and family. I am not the kind of man you can take home to meet your parents. Are you prepared to never see them again?"

I stayed silent, and he seemed to take that as a "no", for he sighed and said, "I thought not. It is a lot to ask of one—
even one who professes to love you."
"I do love you," I protested. "And you didn't give me a chance to answer. Yes. The answer is
yes
. I would give everything up for you!"

He sighed again. "Roger ... after only a few hours of ecstasy, you are willing to give up all you have known for the past twenty-four years? Think of what you are saying."

 

"Does it make me sound shallow?" I asked, lifting my head to look at him. "Does it diminish me in your eyes?"

 

"No, it does not," he assured me. "I worry, though, that after you have made the decision to leave all behind you, to stay with a man you have not yet known a full day—a man who is not ... fully human—I worry that you will come to regret it, just as I did, centuries ago."

 

"Oh..." That hadn't occurred to me—that he regretted his rebirth. "But you were cast away. You told me he abandoned you. You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

 

"No, Roger, I would not."

 

He hugged me to him, causing me to slop some wine from my glass onto my chest. He leaned forward and licked at the wine, lapping at my nipple as he did so. I groaned, feeling my 43

My Vampire and I
by J. P. Bowie

cock harden again. Jesus, if he was trying to talk me out of this, he was going about it all the wrong way. With my free hand, I brought his face to mine and kissed his lips with a fervour I could not control.

 

"Tell me," I breathed into his mouth. "Tell me I'm not wrong for wanting this."

He returned my kiss, then said, "Let us make a bargain. I will return you to your friends tonight. They will know nothing of your departure—for them our dalliance has never happened. You will remember everything. Tomorrow night, meet me at Joe's Café on Sunset. Say around six. We will talk more of this then. It will give you time to think, time to rationalise, and perhaps, time to reconsider your decision."

"But I ...
Joe's Café
? Couldn't we do something a little better than that?"
"It's quiet ... informal. I like it."
"But I—"
He placed his forefinger on my lips. "Those are my conditions."
I snorted. "Some bargain! You get to make all the conditions. What do I get?"
"Time," he said gently. "Now, get dressed, and I will take you back to the party."
"But it's three in the morning," I said, looking at my watch on the nightstand. "Everyone will have gone home."
"You will be returned at the exact moment you left. I told you, no one will know of your leaving."
"How do you
do
this stuff?"
He smiled. "That is for me to know..."
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My Vampire and I
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"And me to find out ... yeah, I know that one. Well, maybe I just will find out, one of these days, Marcus."
"Get dressed."

"Wait." I grabbed his arm, pulling him close to me. "If no one's going to notice I've gone, there's no need to rush back, is there?" I kissed his lips, gently. "Let me stay a little longer."

He crushed me to him. "When you look at me like that, how can I refuse you?"
* * * *
I was standing on Mark's patio gazing up at the stars, a little smile on my lips, when Mark came bustling out.
"Are you going to stand out here all night?" he demanded.
"This party is in your honour, don't forget."
"Sorry," I mumbled, moving towards him.
"Where'd your friend go?"
"Uh ... he had to leave."
"Too bad. Well, come on in. You have to blow out the candles. Everyone's waiting."

I followed him back into the living room and went through the motions of laughing and chatting, and all the proper stuff, but I was just dying to get out of there. I wanted to be alone with the memory of what had happened earlier.

It had happened, hadn't it?
Now, looking around at my friends' smiling, slightly tipsy faces, I began to wonder if it had all been a wild hallucination. Marcus had said no one here would have noticed my disappearance, yet, I would remember everything, just as it 45
My Vampire and I
by J. P. Bowie

had happened—and I did. Every single, soul-searing, sensuous moment. I couldn't wait for the promised repeat performance, if I kept my date with him the following night.

As if I wouldn't...
"Go on Roger, blow it out!"
"Huh?"

Kevin, pounding on my shoulder, brought me back to earth, and I looked down at the cake. It was shaped to resemble a skull. A single black candle sprouted from the top amid a sea of red icing, meant to represent blood, I presumed.

"Oh, it's great," I muttered, making a silent wish. The second one of the evening.
"What d'you wish for?" Mark yelled into my face.
"For it to be tomorrow night."
"What?" He looked at me, pouting. "After all I've been through."
"No, no..." I took his arm and led him away from the crowd. "The guy I was with earlier? We have a date tomorrow night." "Jeez, that was fast," Mark said, obviously impressed. "You were only with him a few minutes."
"Yeah, well, he had to rush, but he said he wanted to see me again, so naturally..."
"You said, 'how soon'?"
"Something like that."
"Lucky you."
I crossed my fingers, hoping he was right.
* * * *

46
My Vampire and I
by J. P. Bowie

After I had taken Roger back to the company of his friends, I returned home and stood outside, looking down at the lights of the city far below me. A feeling of loneliness enveloped me and I had to admit to myself I already missed him.
He'd said he loved me, and I believe he meant every word.
Of course, I love him in return. He was the one I have waited for. Yet, I could not let him make the decision to be my forever companion, without him knowing all the consequences of that action.
He was so filled with the emotional rush of our first evening together ... he needed time to think this through, to understand the full meaning of what his life would be, should we make life's journey together.

That was why I tried to hold his feelings in check, to make him really consider all that he would lose if committed to me. There was nothing I desired more than to have him in my life forever, but he needed to come to me completely aware of all that it entails.

I thought back across the centuries to the moment when Polonius had made me the offer of immortality. He had withheld so many of the aspects of vampirism from me. I'd really had no conception as to what was to happen to me. To this day, I retain some bitterness for what I perceived then to be his betrayal. Of course, I was foolish to have believed a total stranger's lies.

But, that was why I would not allowRoger to enter into this life-changing relationship without him being fully apprised
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by J. P. Bowie
of what would be expected of him. I hoped he understood that my reticence to accept his declaration of love was in his best interests.

* * * *
Later, driving home with Kevin, I guess I was strangely quiet, my mind filled with the intoxicating thoughts of what had happened earlier. "Whatcha thinking 'bout?" he asked after a while.
"The party. It was fun, wasn't it?"
"It was okay. That guy, the one who dumped you, and took off—"

"Excuse me?" My tone was decidedly cool. "He did not dump me, Kevin. As a matter of fact we have a date for tomorrow night." Consciously, I brought a mental image of Marcus's face into focus, his smile, his eyes. Oh, those eyes...

Kevin bumped my arm. "Where'd you go?"
"What do you mean?" I gave a guilty start. "I didn't go anywhere with him. That's tomorrow night."
"I mean, right then. You were talkin', then you went quiet again."
"Oh, just thinking of him. He's so hot."
"This means it's all over between you and me then, I guess?"
I looked at him, startled. "What?"
"Just kidding. But if he stands you up, you've got my cell number."
"Thanks Kevin. I'll remember that. How did you do?" I felt I should ask. "Get any dates?"
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"I was fighting them off as usual. One look at Mr. Big, and they were like putty in my hands."
I smiled, and said nothing, but I knew all about Mr. Big.
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49
My Vampire and I
by J. P. Bowie

Chapter Four
The following day, Sunday, was the longest of my entire life. It was always a slow day anyway and one on which I generally sleep in till noon. Except, of course, on this particular Sunday, I awoke at the crack of dawn. The first thought that popped into my mind was of meeting Marcus at six. Six! That was a whole twelve hours away.

Well, there's plenty to do,
I thought, lying in bed looking up at the ceiling. There was the apartment's once weekly spritz, the laundry, the gym—oh yeah, I had to work out really hard today—and my Mom to call. Before you know it, it would be time to get all gussied up and go off to meet the man of my dreams. Wait...

The man of my dreams? Had it all been a dream? I mean, there I was, lying in bed, the morning after a rather unbelievable night in which I'd been spirited away from a party in my honour and made love to by a vampire.

Of
course,
it had only been a dream. What was I thinking?
A dream...
Okay, wait again. What about our date at Joe's Café?

Surely, I hadn't dreamed up that part? I hadn't dreamed up any part of it. It
had
all happened, just as I remembered. My hand strayed to my crotch as I thought of him, every gorgeous inch of that smooth, sleekly muscled body, every nuance of his finely chiselled, noble face. Those hypnotic 50

My Vampire and I
by J. P. Bowie
eyes, that sensuous smile, those luscious lips, that intoxicating scent.
Jeez, I was as hard as a rock...

No,
I thought.
Save it all for him. Don't waste a drop.
I rolled out of bed and walked over to the window. The sun was just coming up, bathing my balcony in its cool, early morning light.

 

Where are you, Marcus?
I wondered.
Where did you take me last night?
Nowhere around here, I was certain of that.

Had he transported me to somewhere in the Carpathian Mountains? To some secret fortress, high as an eagle's nest, where no man could reach us? His words of warning came back to me then, and I had to admit, severing all contact with my friends and family would be more difficult than I had first thought in that heated rush of emotions last night. That, of course, was why he'd given me the time to think it all through, and innately I knew, he would give me all the time I asked before changing me—if he ever did.

Walking into the kitchen to fix some coffee, I couldn't help but shiver with apprehension at how it might feel. To be drained of my blood, to drink vampire blood and have it course through my veins, to see the world and everyone in it through vampire eyes. To live forever. Okay, there were definitely some obstacles to overcome here. Numero uno—

fear. Yet, Marcus didn't frighten me. I was in awe of him, but not afraid. The fact that he had made me this offer, proved him to be a man—or rather, a vampire—of honour. I was sure he would be gentle with me when it came time to change me, 51

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but I had read enough vampire stories to know fangs in the jugular hurt like hell.
Maybe he could do it with a syringe...?

* * * *
Despite my anxieties, I found myself enjoying the day.

Just the thought of seeing Marcus again, kept me going in the gym. I fantasised about him as I worked up a sweat on the treadmill, on the biceps curl machine, working my abs—
really
working those—and torturing my glutes—
really
wanted those to stand out. All through those exercises, I let my mind roam to all that we had done the night before. I could almost feel his lips on mine, his hands on my body, caressing, teasing. I was hard again. I glanced at my watch. Three o'clock.
Yeah

... won't be long now.
Time to go home and shower. I stood up, holding my towel discreetly in front of me to cover the bulge in my shorts. "Hi, there."

I looked around to find a good-looking young guy standing behind me. Slightly taller and heavier than me, with a shock of thick, reddish blond hair, he was very attractive in a self-absorbed kind of way. He was smiling, but there was something cold behind it.

"Hi," I said. "What's up?"
"You're Roger, Marcus's new friend, right?"
"Uh..." I was a little taken aback. "Well, yes, I guess. I met him last night."
"Last night, eh?" He frowned at me. "You should know something."
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My Vampire and I
by J. P. Bowie
"Know what?"
"I'm Kurt, by the way."