Anatoly was relieved that Maggie’s first hunt had gone so well, but he didn’t relax until they were back home in her apartment afterward. She was ecstatic though, talking almost non-stop on the way home.
She told him about the kiss in the bathroom, sounding uncertain and abashed, but he didn’t mind. She had made the best out of the situation, utilized her skills at reading people, and overall done a great job. The girl might have her feelings hurt that Maggie didn’t stick around, but otherwise, Anatoly was certain she’d be fine.
Maggie locked the door to her apartment the second they were inside and then turned to Anatoly with an impish grin on her face. “What’s next?” she asked. “I bet sex is amazing as a vampire…”
He nearly choked when she said it. Not that he was opposed to making love to Maggie, but her jovial attitude toward the whole thing was worrying him. “There has been enough excitement for one night,” he tried to say, but Maggie had moved closer to him and the look in her eyes was hot and stubborn.
“Maybe next time I kiss a woman, you can watch,” she whispered huskily and pressed against him.
Her touch was reassuring, but his heart wasn’t in the moment. “I killed man tonight, Maggie,” he said, pushing her to arm’s length. “I realize blood has put you in good mood, but I am worried for you.”
“Don’t be worried,” she replied, taking his hands in both of hers. “I’m fine, Anatoly. Better than fine. I feel more alive than ever before!”
“You are not alive. You are undead. Damned. When reality sets in, I fear?—”
Maggie didn’t let him finish; she tugged him into a fiery kiss that made his head spin. He wanted to get lost in her, to rejoice that she was safe and with him still, but something was holding him back. He pulled away from her, putting distance between them like he had that first night when she’d discovered what he was.
“Sun will soon rise,” he announced, his back to her. “May I stay over?”
“Of course, Anatoly. You don’t even have to ask…” She sounded hurt, confused. “What’s wrong? Why won’t you look at me?”
Guilt lashed at his insides. He released a sigh, imagining that it was tension leaving his body, and made himself face her again. “I love you, Maggie,” he started, “but I am concerned you are not yourself.”
She gave him an incredulous look. “I’m not. I cheated death and became a vampire all in one night. My mind is racing and I’m trying desperately not to think too hard about what I did in that bar tonight…” Her expression shifted and beneath the ecstasy he saw her fear.
Immediately, he went to her, regretting having pushed her away. He just didn’t want to take advantage of her. It was like she was drunk on the rush of feeding, and he didn’t think it was a good idea to put more strain on her, even if she clearly wanted him.
“You need rest, not action,” he said softly, touching her pale cheek. His heart ached as he missed her warmth. “No sex. Not today.”
Her eyebrow quirked. “Then what? I don’t want to be in my head right now, Anatoly.”
To that, he finally smiled. He could tell she was being honest with him and that made him feel infinitely better. “Perhaps we snuggle, watch movie, talk,” he suggested. “I want to give support, but sex is not support. It is not dealing with issues. It is running away.”
“Okay,” she relented with a nod and her old smile touched her lips. The one that reached her eyes and made them glow. “I like the sound of that, actually.”
He did too, but he had one more matter on his mind before they could relax together. “We need to make apartment safe first. Sunlight is deadly to vampires.”
She bit her bottom lip in thought, then snapped her fingers. “I’ve got tinfoil and tape if you think the curtains aren’t enough.”
“Da, that will be best,” he agreed. “Curtains are mostly sufficient, but if this is to be properly safe, it should have better protections.”
As they set to work, Anatoly kept a close eye on Maggie. He wasn’t sure what he expected her to do, if anything, but he just couldn’t shake the bad feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach. Perhaps it was the result of having killed someone or the shock of his girlfriend being forced to become a vampire. The night had been harrowing and he too needed time to recover psychologically from the ordeals it had presented.
Once finished, the pair of them snuggled up on Maggie’s couch in front of the little TV she had and turned on a romantic comedy that Maggie said was her favorite.
Anatoly barely watched; he was too preoccupied trying to figure out where to go from here. Never once had he considered turning Maggie himself; it was out of the question. Her soul had been pure, of that he was certain, and now she was every bit as damned as he was.
He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, missing the days that she had fallen asleep beside him. Never again would she doze off after sex or need to eat one of his homecooked meals.
Reed had taken something from them. He had destroyed Maggie’s mortality and forced her into an existence of unliving. It made Anatoly angry as much as it made him sad. He knew in time he would find a way to get past it, but for tonight, he allowed himself the time to grieve.
Chapter Sixty
The worst part of being a vampire was the limited number of jobs available. Maggie had been pouring over classifieds and internet job platforms in the week since quitting and found nothing she would consider doing. She had to be strictly indoors during the day or work solely at night even though Anatoly kept telling her they would find another way to survive. She truly felt that she needed to find something.
Going from a detective to a security guard felt like ass and even though she knew she could do it, the idea of it made her blood boil. There was nothing wrong with being a guard, but it wasn’t what she had set out to do with her life: now unlife.
She could just hear her mother’s voice in her ear telling her what a failure she was, how she had blown up her career, and nothing she thought, nothing Anatoly said, was dislodging that notion from where it had wedged itself.
