My Vampire and I (12 page)

 

"Jesus..." I stared at Marcus with big eyes.

 

"I felt no remorse. Nor do I to this day. What he did was monstrous and his punishment was appropriate. He raped and beat a young, gentle, defenceless boy. I simply gave him a dose of his own medicine."

 

I couldn't really argue with that, but it showed me a side of Marcus I had not anticipated. While he was nothing but warm and loving to me, I had just been reminded that he could very well be a lethal enemy—cold and unfeeling—when wronged.

 

He must have seen this on my face or read my mind, for suddenly, he moved closer to me and took my hand in his.

 

"Don't ever be afraid of me, Roger," he said, his face full of concern. "I have sworn to you, I will never harm you. I will only protect you. You do believe that, don't you?"

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I nodded. "Yes, I believe you, Marcus. It was just my over active imagination visualising what he must gone through."
"It was worse than you could ever imagine. Three days later, I went back to see what was left of him."

The room was dark and still, save for the whimpering that came to my ears from a far corner by the fireplace. There, crouched in a huddled mass, was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen in my entire life.
It was as though his body had been turned inside out.

Instead of skin, veins and capillaries crisscrossed his bloated flesh like a putrefied web. Great pustules and open sores covered his body. His face, when he turned it to me, had dissolved into a mask of almost molten flesh, from which two tiny eyes, devoid of lids or lashes, glared with hatred at my shocked expression.

"
You did this to me," he said, his voice thick with the drool that escaped his lips and puddled on the floor. "Have you any conception of the hell you brought me to? Howam I to live like this? What will become of me? Oh dear God, help me."

I could not find it in my heart to feel even fleeting compassion for him. He had been a monster in his mortal life.
Nowhe looked the part.
"
All will shun you," I told him, my voice cold and unfeeling.

"And you will have many years in which to reflect upon what you did to a young and trusting boy. The God you cried to for help has renounced you, Gregory. He will not come to your aid."

What was left of his lips pulled back, baring his fangs in a terrible parody of a smile. "I will live to see you dead,
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Marcus," he snarled. "At my own hands, when I am strong enough."
I left him lying in his own filth. Andrewhad been avenged.

"He had been changed, not once, not just twice, but over and over, until he became the monster he had always been inside. One of the vampires told me—well, perhaps it is better you do not know all that they did to him. Suffice to say, he became grotesque, unfit to be seen by mortal eyes, and was condemned to lurk forever in the shadows of night."

I shivered involuntarily. "And he's out there somewhere?" I asked, shakily.
"I'm afraid so."

"But you haven't seen either of these guys for years and years, right? They've left you alone all this time. How do you know they're even still around? Maybe Kurt was just blowin'

smoke up my ass, trying to rain on my parade."
"Despite your quaint turns of phrase, Roger, I believe the danger to be real. But I will not let any harm come to you. I will deal with this." Oh, no. I didn't like the sound of that. "Marcus, please ...

why don't we just take off for a while until they get over whatever's got up their noses? I could take time off from the bank. We could fly off to one of your villas in London or Rome or—"

 

He silenced me with a finger on my lips. "I do not run.

 

Ever," he said, a glint of battle in his eye. Of course, he wouldn't. He'd been a Roman warrior, for crying out loud, and God knows what else in all the centuries he'd been alive. Just because I was scared shitless at the prospect of two undead 114

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monsters crawling over my windowsill in the middle of the night, he wasn't going to cut and run.
Okay, if my apartment was where we were safe for the night, I was going to make darned sure we both had the time of our lives.

"Did I ever tell you," I asked, attempting to make my voice sexy and husky, "that macho men are a total turn on for me?" I slipped my hands under his shirt, squirming with delight at the feel of his smooth, silky skin.

"No, I don't think you ever did tell me that," he replied. His voice was definitely sexy and husky, without even trying. He began to unbuckle my belt, reaching inside my fly and squeezing my already hard cock. "Mmm, but I love the effect it has on you." Those were the last words we said to each other for quite a while, as our mouths became busy doing other things.

His mouth was a thing of wonder to me. His lips, so full and soft, so perfectly shaped, were by themselves, enough to inflame me with lust. I always wanted to feel them on mine, either pressing gently in long sweet kisses or taking me with unsurpassed passion. I curled my arm around his neck, pulling those luscious lips closer and flicking at them with the point of my tongue. I gasped as he caught my tongue between his teeth then sucked it slowly into his mouth, his lips closing about mine, making me a willing prisoner of our mutual desire.

His arms encircled me, pulling me into an embrace that was at once tender and yet demanding. A sensual growl escaped his lips, sending rivers of goose bumps over my bare 115

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skin. I clung to him, completely giving myself over to his sheer masculine power.
Do anything you want with me,
I thought.
I am yours and always will be
.
All I want is your love,
was the reply that came to my mind like a soft, sweet murmur in my ear.

Later, as we lay contented in each other's arms, he murmured, "Sleep now. This is my time of wakefulness. I will watch over you and keep you safe."

 

Just who hasn't wanted to hear those loving words whispered in his ear? With a feeling of utter happiness, I snuggled into his arms and closed my eyes, almost instantly falling into a deep sleep.

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Chapter Nine
I awoke to a thunderous knocking at my door.

 

"Who the hell?" I mumbled, rolling out of bed and stumbling, bleary-eyed across my bedroom. As I stepped into the hall, the knocking became even louder.

 

"I'm coming," I yelled. "Keep your hair on!"

 

Totally pissed off, I swung the door open and gaped in horror at what stood glaring back at me. Kurt, his face a mask of hatred, leered at me, baring teeth long and as sharp teeth.

Beside him stood a tall, sliver-haired man, who at any other time, I'm sure I would have described as handsome.
Right then, however, his face was filled with an animal hatred that sent shivers of shock through me. But it was the other ...
thing
that totally freaked me out.
Huge, misshapen, bulbous, grotesque—fucking
ugly
—was all I could see. And believe me, I didn't want to see any of it. It pushed the others aside and stepped towards me, its breath rancid upon my face. As it reached for me, its overpowering stench filled my nostrils. I screamed and screamed.
"Roger ... Roger!"
From out of the darkness, hands held me, arms enfolded me, and I struggled with all my might to free myself.
"No!" I shrieked. "You can't come in!"
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Instantly, the room was flooded with light. I was still in bed. Strong arms held me. Warm lips were pressed to my neck.
"Roger. It's me. Marcus. You were dreaming. You're all right now. I'm here."
I collapsed into his embrace. "Oh thank God," I whispered, hugging him to me. "They were all outside my door, waiting for me."

"It was just a dream. They cannot harm you here." He smoothed back the hair from my brow and kissed me tenderly. "I'm sorry, so sorry that I have brought this terror into your life."

 

"It's okay," I gulped, holding him tight. "I've had nightmares before. My mom always said I had an overactive imagination. It was just that ...
thing
that was there. Jesus, I don't know how I could've dreamed up something so hellish."

Marcus was quiet for a moment, thinking, then he said,
"D'Arcy may have managed to imprint images in your mind.

He is very powerful. I have no doubt he is going to try to use you to get to me. He sees you as my weakness." He smiled and kissed my cheek. "He obviously does not know you very well, yet."

"Kurt was there too, but he looked ... different."
"If they have really reached Kurt, then there is nothing we can do for him."
"But it was just a dream," I reminded him. "That's what you said, remember?"
I could tell from the way he tightened his arms around me he knew it was much more than that. He was just trying to 118 My Vampire and I
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calm me down. "Kurt could be a big help to them, couldn't he?" I asked.
"Yes," he replied. "I'm afraid so. Young Kurt is filled with the need for revenge. He's the perfect target for d'Arcy's mind manipulation." "So, what do we do now?"
"
You
will do nothing except what you would normally do in the daytime—go to work. The Comte cannot wander the streets of Los Angeles in the

daylight. He has never conquered the effects of sunlight on his body. Besides, Gregory cannot be in Los Angeles. He cannot fly, and even if he could, his appearance makes him useless in the light—any kind of light. He would clear a room in two seconds flat."

 

We chuckled together at that, and I glanced at my watch.

 

Almost six. "It's time for me to shower and get ready for work, if that's what you want me to do." My hand strayed to his crotch, stroking the warm flesh I found there. I smiled slyly at him as I felt him harden under my touch.

"You are incorrigible," he murmured, kissing me.
"Time for a quickie?" I teased him
"I hate quickies," he said, his smile full of mischief.
"Remember, I can make time stand still."
"Oh boy," I cooed, rolling him onto his back and planting a wet one on his lips. I don't know if time stood still or not. I was way too busy to notice.

* * * *
Banking can be downright boring at times, and after the events of the past few days, I just couldn't concentrate on the 119 My Vampire and I
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humdrum pain-in-the-ass job I'd been stuck with for the past two years. I kept thinking about Marcus, alone in my apartment, hopefully catching up on his sleep. I knew vampires slept in the daytime, but I also knew his mind would be on hyper-drive, trying to work out some way of getting us out of the mess we'd found ourselves in.

I've always had a tendency to blame myself when things go wrong. Like when Mark and I split up, I was racked with feelings of inadequacy. What had I done wrong? Hadn't I done enough? That kind of thing. Now, Marcus was in danger because of me. Granted, I hadn't asked him to fall in love with me, although I was very happy that he had, but now, because of that, Ugly and Uglier were after him ... and me. I glanced out the glass exit doors, and my heart jumped into my mouth. Kurt the Bitch was standing outside, talking to my best friend, Mark.

"Oh no," I muttered, leaving my post and dashing to the doors, one of which I yanked open so hard, it struck the tiled wall with a mighty crash. Both Kurt and Mark jumped, startled by my overly dramatic appearance.

"Mark," I yelled. "What're you doing?"
"Wow." He gave me a dumb smile. "You took my advice—
getting all butch on us."

"Why are talkin' to this guy?" I shouted, jerking a thumb at Kurt, who was giving me that old smirk again. "Stay away from my friends," I yelled at him, stepping towards him.

"Roger, for goodness sake, what's wrong with you?" Mark looked at me as if I was demented, which at that moment I 120 My Vampire and I
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was. "Kurt and I were just shooting the breeze while I waited for you. We're having lunch, remember?"
I didn't remember.
Jeez
, I thought,
if it doesn't directly concern Marcus, I don't remember anything.

"Well," I said. "Fine. Come on in and wait for me. Don't hang around out here with ... with ... him." I pulled Mark inside the bank and slammed the door in Kurt's grinning face.

God, but I hated that guy.
"Roger?" Mark looked at me with concern. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. How'd you know that guy?" I asked accusingly.

"I don't know him. He was standing outside and said 'hi'. I thought he looked nice, so I said 'hi' back, then we started talking. That's all." He peered at me. "How do
you
know him?"

 

"Goin' to lunch," I yelled at one of my fellow tellers then grabbed Mark's arm and marched him out the door. Kurt had gone. I breathed a sigh of relief, but I still didn't like the fact that he'd been hanging around. I liked it even less that he'd struck up a conversation with my best friend. "Okay," I said, as Mark and I headed for our favourite Mexican diner. "That guy, Kurt, is a creep. He gave me a bad time at the gym the other day over the fact that I'm dating Marcus."

"So, how's it goin' with you and Marcus?"
"Great, but there's a problem."
"The one I just met?"
"Yeah." This is all Mark needed to know, really. I mean, how could I tell him the man I loved was a vampire and the 121
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guy he'd just been talking to outside the bank was probably in league with a monster out to kill Marcus and me? I almost laughed out loud, as I imagined the expression on Mark's face if I'd told him all of that.

"Yeah," I said, again. "He's being a real bitch about it. We got into a fight in the gym."
"Wow." I could tell Mark was impressed. "Well, from what I remember, Marcus is a hottie. When do I get to meet him properly?"

We had reached the La Rosa diner. I played for time, opening the door for Mark then pretending to look at the specials board I knew by heart. "So, what'd you do over the weekend?" I asked him.