by Dani April
“So now you’re rich?”
“No, just well-off.”
“I guess the proudest moment in my life was when I graduated from nurses’ college,” Marty told him, sensing it was her turn. “My dad was there and all of my friends from school. As I recall, there was even a boy I liked who was in the audience, but I can’t remember what his name was. When I walked across that stage and took the certification out of the dean’s hand, I felt like I had really accomplished something with my life.”
“What year was that?”
Marty had to think about it for a moment. She coughed into her hand and muffled her voice when she told him. “Nineteen sixty-five.”
Derrick continued as if she had said nothing out of place. That was what was drawing her to him. Now that he had decided to accept her, he was one hundred percent accepting. She could read his thoughts and knew he was honest.
“I wasn’t even born yet in nineteen sixty-five.” He looked down at her. “Do you know when I first met you, I worried I might be too old for you.”
Marty had to laugh at this. Another score for Derrick. She hadn’t really laughed in so long. She couldn’t even remember when it had been. Probably before she became a vampire.
She looked down at her watch and twitched nervously. There was still plenty of time left before the sun rose in the morning. She felt relieved.
“Why do you keep doing that? You check your watch every three minutes. Don’t you like my company?” he teased her.
“It’s a bad habit of my condition. I always have to know how much time I have before morning. There have been a few occasions at the hospital when I’ve had to abandon my shift early. I almost lost my job over it. Just another challenge of my life.”
“Do you mind if I make some changes to your house?” he asked, changing the subject.
“What sort of changes?”
“I want to have the electricity put back on, for one thing, and maybe mow the lawn.”
“Derrick you don’t have to…”
He stopped her with a motion. “I know I don’t have to.”
“It isn’t that I don’t have the money. I make a living working at the hospital. There are just certain things that have to be done in the light of day when normal people are conducting business.”
“Well, I can take care of those daytime chores for you.”
“Are you sure you want to get involved with a vampire?”
“No, not really.” He gave her a smile. “But I’m already involved with a vampire, so what the hell am I going to do.”
He made her laugh again. She was enjoying this walk and this evening more than any she’d had since becoming a vampire. Derrick made her feel almost human again.
“You know, Derrick, there isn’t any future for us if you do get involved with me.”
“I don’t entirely agree.” She was amazed at how good-natured he was about everything. “I think we’d have the same future as anyone else. We just might have a few more unique problems to deal with.”
“Why do you want me?”
“Because you’re special, Marty.”
“Of course I’m special. You’re not going to ever meet another one like me.”
“I mean you’re special aside from being a vampire. I don’t know of any other woman or man who could have lived as long as you have with this secret. I think most people would have just dug a hole in the ground and crawled in. But not you. You don’t give up. I admire that spirit of fight in you. That’s the person I want to have a relationship with.”
She thought about that for a moment. She reached out to read his mind to be certain he was leveling with her. Her newfound mental powers did have some good uses. When she entered his mind, she found that he really did believe she was special. She could barely keep the smile off her face. Then she quickly sobered when the next thought came to her.
“But we can’t have sex,” she told him.
“As I recall, we already did that once.”
“We can’t do it again.”
“Why not?”
“Because if we do, I’ll kill you.”
He sighed, and she could read his thoughts becoming troubled because he halfway agreed with her on this point. “So you know who did this to you?” he finally asked.
“I know it was a man I knew in the nineteen sixties. I think I must have been in love with him. But I don’t know his name or his face. When I first met you at the concert I was hoping maybe it was you.”
“Do I look like a vampire?”
“Sort of.” She laughed at him. “You have that pale quality and black definitely suites you. Even your bike is black.”
“I wish I was a vampire. That would definitely make things a lot easier for us.”
She tugged at his arm and got his attention, becoming suddenly serious. “But, Derrick, when I meet my maker, I will still love him. Meeting him is my goal. I love being with you and with Barry. I even like Aaron, but there can only be one man in the end for me, and none of you are him.”
“Have you ever considered that this guy—your maker—may be a complete jerk?”
“That’s all I do is think about him. And no, I don’t believe he is anything but perfect for me.”
“But, Marty, this vampire made you like this, and then he left you alone to fend for yourself and live like you were when I first met you. You might be in love with him, but do you think he loves you?”
“I think he must. Otherwise, why would he have turned me?”
“If he loves you then why did he leave you? He’s had years to come back to you, and yet here you are still alone.”
She shook her head. She didn’t want to listen anymore. On some level, she knew he was making a valid point, but she couldn’t live without the hope that her future meeting with her maker inspired in her.
Suddenly his words had made her feel cold, and vampires weren’t even supposed to feel that much. No other man in the world would ever be able to truly take care of her except her vampire maker. These other men were just temporary relationships. She had to find her maker. Somewhere out there in the night he was waiting for her.
When he came back there would be big changes.
Chapter Nine
Marty awoke to another night. She turned over in the crawl space and propped up a pillow behind her head. The tiny space beneath the floor was actually her real home, and unlike the rest of her house, she had kept it in good shape. She had soft, fluffy pillows, clean blankets, a comfortable mattress, and a blue backrest in case she felt like sitting upright and reading. There were no cobwebs or spiders down here, as she vacuumed the space twice per evening. Of course, there was no light beneath the floorboards, but since she could see in the dark that was never an issue.
When she rolled to her side she discovered she was not alone. Barry was asleep next to her. Her heart turned over in her chest at the sight of him. In all the years she had been sleeping down here, no one had ever been inside with her.
She moved her knee up to change her position on the mattress, and it grazed the hard muscle of his erection. He was naked and sleeping peacefully on his back at her side. He looked so perfect. The phrase “Good enough to eat” ran through her sleep-addled mind. Running a hand through her hair, she quickly pushed that thought out.
To awaken him, she thumped him on his shoulder. He opened his eyes but could barely see her in the dark. That was just as well since she had only been sleeping in her panties. From the feel of his hard cock, he didn’t need any visual stimulation to provoke his lust.
“What are you doing down here with me?” Her voice was not kind.
“Hey, Marty, you’re awake.” His voice was thick from sleep.
“You idiot!” She was angry. “Don’t you know you’re risking your life to enter the lair of a vampire? Especially one that’s just waking up for the night.”
“It’s been ten days since we were together,” he reminded, ignoring her wrath.
“I’m well aware of that
. I’m also starting to feel hungry again. That’s another reason why you shouldn’t be down here.”
“That’s exactly the reason I came down here.” He reached out and took her in his powerful arms. He felt so good, she let him take ahold of her, and gave up on the anger. “We’ve never slept together or woken up together,” he reminded her.
“Barry, unless you’re feeling suicidal tonight, it really isn’t a good idea to get me horny.”
He caressed her face in one of his large palms. “I want you to bite me again.”
She knew he was sincere, and it took every ounce of self-control she had to resist when all she wanted to do was surrender to him. She could feel the fires inside her body starting to light and the saliva pooling in her mouth from hunger. Her teeth had even started to grow.
“I can’t,” she said, pulling away from him across the mattress.
“I don’t want you to get weak again, Marty.” He was trying to reason with her. “You need my blood, and I need your pussy. It’s a fair exchange.”
“Dummy, my shift at the hospital starts in a couple hours. I’ll be late.” She tried to throw his reasoning right back at him. Though it was so hard because all she wanted was to feel his hands on her, feel his mouth on her nipples, his cock teasing her clit, and her teeth on his neck.
She pushed him away and sat up, throwing back the floor planks overhead that protected her in the daylight. “You may have lost your job,” she reminded him, “but I can’t afford to lose mine. I’ve got to go.”
She climbed out of the hole in the floor and picked up her watch from the coffee table that sat just above it. Her bad habit of worrying over the time was in full, aggravating force tonight. She actually had closer to three hours before her shift started, so she would have plenty of time to get ready and catch her bus.
Barry was leaning up out of the hole in the floor and watching her as she got ready. He looked ridiculous down there, peering up at her from the vampire lair. Though, she had to admit, since he wasn’t wearing a shirt he kind of looked cute.
“What are you, in training to be a vampire now?” she teased him as she sorted through her bath towels, getting ready for her shower.
“Hey, that’s not a bad idea.” She had really put her foot in it now. He actually liked the idea. “Could you make me into a vampire like you, Marty?”
She wrapped a towel around her body and cast a frown over her shoulder at him. “Don’t be stupid.”
“I’m serious. I’ve always wanted to be a vampire. You could be my vampire bride. I think we would be fantastic together.”
“If you want to kill yourself then go jump off a bridge.” She headed into the bathroom and turned on the cold water from the shower. Setting aside the towel, she stepped under the spray and enjoyed the feel of the cold water hitting her skin. Before she had a chance to reach for the shampoo, Barry was in the room with her.
“I don’t want to kill myself, Marty.” He was still pleading his case. “Vampires don’t die. When you think about it, it’s actually a pretty reasonable request.”
She pulled back the shower curtain to hide her body from him but continued the conversation anyway against her better judgment. “Even if I wanted to turn you into a vampire—which I don’t, by the way—I couldn’t do it.”
“How come?”
“Because I don’t know how. I still don’t know very much about being a vampire. Believe me, Barry, you don’t want to be one. It’s not what you think it is.”
“I still want to be one.” Barry was not giving up. “When you find out, let me know.”
Marty laughed at the thought. “I can barely take care of myself as a vampire. If there were two of us, I can guarantee you we wouldn’t make it.”
He pulled back the shower curtain and stepped over the edge of the tub, entering the shower with her. His cock was still half-hard and dangling between his legs. Marty took a deep breath and tried to hold her lust in check. He was sure making things hard for her tonight.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked.
“I haven’t taken a shower all day. This seemed like a good time.”
She pulled back to the other side of the spray just as he was reaching out for one of her breasts. “I told you we can’t have sex anymore. I meant it, too.”
“That’s going to be a hard rule to live with.”
“Then maybe you should move out.”
“You need someone to live with you, Marty.” He took the shampoo out of her hand and began to lather up his own hair. Then he reached for a new bar of soap lying in the tub holder and began to wash the rest of his body. “I was the one who bought this soap and shampoo. I even called up the electric company and asked them how much your bill was. Come on, Marty, you need someone to live here with you, someone who can run the daytime errands.”
“Then start behaving yourself.”
“I will.” He became serious for the first time. “Only, I think it’s just a matter of time before you need me again. I know you hate that hospital blood, and I don’t blame you. I’m not even a vampire, and I think it looks like shit in those plastic bags. I can’t even imagine trying to drink the stuff.”
“I lived on that stuff for a long time. I can do it again.”
“You didn’t live very well.” He reached across the spray and pulled her into his arms. Their soap-lathered bodies met. All he did was to hug her to him. He didn’t try taking them any further. “I’m here for you, Marty. Whenever you feel like it, you can drink my blood.”
Even though it felt good to be held against his body, she shivered. She knew that she could not resist him forever and knew she did not have the strength to throw him out. Sooner or later, they would have intercourse again, and the next time, she would kill him.
Chapter Ten
Marty walked to the bus stop. This was not a lovely night as many others had been recently. The sky was overcast and threatened rain. In the distance, she thought she could make out a rumble of thunder. She hoped she could make it to the hospital before the skies opened up.
Overhead, the streetlamp that normally lit half the suburban block the bus stop was located on had burned out. Occasionally, a car on the street would speed past, its headlights breaking the dark momentarily and throwing playful shadows around. The bus stop was cast in gloom, and Marty had to use her night vision to see.
The steady breeze picked up out of the direction of the pending storm. It rattled an overhanging tree branch against the green-and-white street sign on the corner. The din it made sounded like the wings of night birds flapping overhead.
Her bus was late. She kept checking her watch. Five minutes late now and counting, but with the punctual bus lines running from the suburbs, this was unusual.
This would be her first night back to work since the near tragedy with Barry. Returning to work after time off was always tough. She was certain no one at the hospital knew about her relationship with Barry, but even so, she knew she would probably feel some paranoia when she first went back. Of course, she had the advantage of being able to read their minds if she wanted to check on their thoughts.
As she waited, she worried over her situation with Barry and her other situation with Derrick. Both men wanted her and were willing to be her partners in sex and bloodletting. She was becoming weak from lack of feeding again, and it would not be long now before she gave in to the men and in to her dangerous passions for them.
She had made up her mind as she waited for her bus that she was not going to see Derrick anymore, and when she got off work she was going to tell Barry he would have to leave her home. She had determined to be strong and do the right thing. Her newfound resolve made her feel good. She was even contemplating taking some blood from the lab tonight.
There was a woman next to her on the curb. Where had that woman come from? Marty could have sworn she had not been there a mere second before. She appeared to be about the same age as Marty’s human age, perhaps in her midtwenties. Obviously she w
as waiting on the late arriving bus, too. Marty had never seen her before, and she knew all of the regulars on the bus route.
“Looks like a storm,” the mysterious woman commented, looking up at the sky.
“Yes, it does.” Somehow Marty felt out of place with this woman.
“Do you ride the bus often?” When the woman looked over at her, she realized she was beautiful. She must have been a model or an actress.
“I ride it every night to work.”
“You work at a hospital?”
“University Hospital.” Her profession was easy enough to determine since she was wearing her nurses’ whites. The woman was making small talk, yet somehow it seemed like it was more.
“Do you like working there?”
“Yes. I’m an RN. It’s a good job.”
“You always work the night shift?”
“I prefer it.” Marty was becoming uncomfortable and hoped the bus would arrive soon.
The woman smiled. Her smile was like ice. “Looks like the bus isn’t going to make it tonight.”
“I’m sure it will. It’s just late. Normally it’s always on time.”
“But tonight it’s not.” The woman smiled again. Frozen and cold, and devoid of any feeling was what the smile told Marty.
Marty looked up the dark street in the direction the bus should be coming from. The wind blew in her face and made her hair crazy. She felt a shiver. The first drop of rain fell out of the sky against her skin.
“Let me give you a ride,” the woman told her. Marty looked about. Something was wrong with the woman’s proposition, because she didn’t have a car to offer a ride.
When Marty turned back, a long stretch limousine had pulled up to the curb where the bus should have been. It was black and ugly and somehow very frightening. A sixth sense in the back of her mind told her it was as evil as the woman.
The woman was already holding the door open for her. “Get inside.” It wasn’t a request, but a command.
