There was also the issue of her disappearance. The cops hadn’t bought that she’d fallen on her way to her car and been picked up by someone and taken to the hospital. Of course they didn’t, there was no proof of any of it. But neither was there proof against it and since she was standing right in front of them, seemingly alive and well, they marked it case closed and moved on.
She was sure Lieutenant Martin suspected foul play, but he kept his opinion to himself and Maggie was all too happy to leave the station and never look back.
As for Anatoly, he had started to come around to the whole vampire thing. It had taken him a couple days to mourn the loss of what Maggie had been, but one night, she caught him looking at her just as he had used to. Now they were inseparable. They hunted together, lived together, existed together, and Maggie had never before felt so complete.
“Are you still looking at job classifieds?” Anatoly’s voice cut into her thoughts as he came into the living room fresh out of the shower.
Maggie was sitting in the recliner, laptop sitting on her thighs, perusing blackout curtains. She’d started out job hunting and gotten distracted.
“I’m thinking of redoing the living room,” she announced, tilting the screen so he could see the heavy drapes. “What do you think? Does burgundy scream too loudly that we’re vampires?”
He chuckled and adjusted the towel around his waist as he came to sit beside her. “Da, burgundy is very vampire.”
“Damn. Guess we’ll have to go with the hunter green,” she remarked, selecting the color and adding the curtains to her cart. “I’m thinking purple for the bedroom or should we go with mahogany?” She waggled her eyebrows.
Anatoly put an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “Is less bedroom for sleeping and more bedroom for love making, da? Burgundy is more passionate…”
“Ooo, yes,” Maggie agreed, clicking buttons. “Since we don’t need to sleep, we can just turn it into our sex dungeon. Excellent thinking.”
She saw him blush out of the corner of her eye and couldn’t help but grin. He might have been more than willing to have sex with her, but talking about it was still a sticking point for him. She figured he would grow out of it, just like she would grow into being a vampire.
While Maggie took the time to pick out her curtains, Anatoly stepped into the bedroom to get dressed. More and more of his clothes and belongings were making it over here but Maggie found she quite liked having pieces of him in her space. Really, the apartment was becoming their space.
“Maggie, may we talk?” he asked as he returned, his tone somber.
Maggie looked up from entering her card information and saw how serious he had become. Instantly, she closed the lid and set the laptop aside so she could hear him out: he clearly had something to say.
“What is it?”
Anatoly sat back in the recliner, guiding her into position nestled in the crook of his arm. Once they were settled, he finally spoke, “We have been through much together. First case, then abduction, now you becoming vampire…” He raised his hand, holding up a finger for each item he listed off. When he was done, he laid his palm over the back of her hand again.
“Now, I cannot imagine unlife without you,” he added, emotion thick in his voice. “You are better half, Maggie. I want to be with you forever…”
Maggie frowned, listening to what he was saying and following along, but not quite sure where he was going with it. “What are you saying, Anatoly?” she asked, searching his face for answers.
He didn’t respond right away. He leaned in and kissed her lips, softly, sweetly. She felt his hand leave hers, heard the rustle of something leaving his pants pocket and then he was pulling away.
“Maggie Boone, will you marry me?” In his fingers was a beautiful, simple ring with three small diamonds set into a gold band.
Maggie was speechless. She hadn’t been expecting this, even though she realized it was all she had ever wanted.
“Da!” she proclaimed, pulling him down into another passionate kiss even as he slid the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.
“It’s beautiful,” she told him when they had stopped kissing again. “When did you have the time to buy a ring? I’ve been with you…”
“Was mother’s ring,” he explained, looking a bit sheepish. “Do you truly like it? Is bit old fashioned, nyet?”
“Nyet! It’s just right.” Maggie leaned over and drew him into another kiss.
She didn’t know what lay ahead for them, but she knew whatever was coming, whatever path her career took, she and Anatoly would face it together as husband and wife.
Chapter Sixty-One
Maggie said yes. The thought kept repeating over and over again in Anatoly’s mind even as she drew him into another heated kiss. Their hands roamed each other with the familiarity of long time lovers and Anatoly let out a sigh of contentment as Maggie pulled back to slide her shirt off over her head.
“You are wearing pretty pink bra again,” Anatoly groaned at the sight of it, running his hands over the lacy fabric and being sure to give her breasts a light squeeze.
Maggie smiled demurely. “It’s my favorite.”
