“What?”
Gideon laughed softly. “Like I told you, Sarah. I had a nap. You drew your own jealous conclusions. No, Veronique truly believes her intervening in my plans means she has some say in the outcome. I, however, disagree.”
“Sarah,” Veronique said softly. “What are you doing? I thought you were in love with my husband.”
… Thierry…
“I swear, if you call him your husband one more time I’m going to punch you in the nose.”
A cold smile curled up the sides of my mouth. “What the hell are you doing here if you don’t approve, then?”
She raised her chin. “Perhaps I am here to stop Gideon from going any further.”
“Actually,” Gideon said, “you’re here for a much more important reason, Veronique.”
Her eyebrows went up. “Oh, and what is that?”
His gaze shifted to that of a predator. “After the ritual, both Sarah and myself may need to eat something nutritious.” A flick of his hand. “Steven.”
I glanced at Steven in time to see a red flash of fire enter his eyes. The next moment
Veronique was frozen in place, unable to move or talk.
“She does go on, doesn’t she?” Gideon said.
I moved to stand in front of her with a hand on my hip. “Huh. I think this is the longest
I’ve been in her presence without hearing her talk about herself. It’s like a record, or something.”
Then I turned my back on her. Rather a symbolic gesture, if I do say so myself.
There was a slight problem, though. Her mere presence reminded me of Thierry. And the image of him of ate away at the corners of my mind.
I love you, Thierry. I’m sorry I screwed up so bad.
“Oh, shut up,” I snapped.
Gideon looked at me strangely. “Everything okay?”
I smiled at him. “Never better.”
His jaw tightened. “We need to get started now.”
It was so different to see through the eyes of a full nightwalker and still feel in control. It didn’t matter to me who died tonight. Well, actually it did matter—I didn’t want to die.
I’d lived twenty-eight years trying to be a good person and what had it gotten me? Squat.
But now I knew behind that heavy blanket of doubt and guilt, I could have so much more fun.
With Gideon.
Yeah, we could have a whole lot of immortal fun together.
I’d never sired any vampires before. Hell, I’d never bitten anybody on purpose when I’d been completely in control of myself. That was kind of odd, now that I thought about it.
What kind of a vampire didn’t bite people? It was like being a vegan mosquito.
“What will Steven do?” I asked.
“When I drink from you he will use his magic to help push your power into me. A mystical nudge.”
“Works for me.”
The light from the full moon shone on the small patch of cemetery Gideon had chosen for the ritual. Steven was so quiet that I glanced over at him just to make sure he was still there. He was. His eyes were red and glowing in the darkness.
“It’s time,” Gideon said, and there was a strain now to his voice. “Sire me, Sarah. Please.”
I slid a finger down the line of his throat. “Well, since you asked so nicely.”
I put my hands on either of his shoulders then, and with a little force he sank to his knees in front of me. Better position that way for someone as tall as him. Then I leaned over a little and without thinking any more about it, I sank my fangs into his skin.
No hesitation. No doubt. Just instinct.
He gasped.
Gideon’s throat was warm and the blood flowed immediately. I felt him try to push me away for a moment—a subconscious survival instinct all on its own. But then he relaxed and let me do my thing. After all, he’d asked for this.
Be careful what you wish for.
Three minutes. That’s how long I needed to feed shallowly from Gideon in order to transfer the right amount of virus to him to turn him. One hundred and eighty seconds. If it were possible for the change to happen any quicker than that, any casual little nibble might result in a new vampire. No, it had to be a conscious decision on the sire’s part to create a fledgling. After all, there was no going back.
My eradication. I should have gone through with it no matter what the side effects were.
Gideon can’t become a vampire. He’s too dangerous…
I ignored my guilt-ridden inner voice. Talk about a buzz kill.
So Gideon would be turned into a vampire by this act. His healing, however, would take place only when he drank from me. Thierry had been the first vampire I’d drunk from—
although at the time his blood had been administered to me diluted in a glass of water.
Gideon would be getting the full meal deal tonight.
Thierry…
No, I wouldn’t think about him. I wouldn’t think about anything except the man I currently had my fangs stuck in. Only seemed fair, really.