Maggie gulped as she recalled how out ofcontrol he’d been when she’d first seen him. “You’ve pulledyourself back every time.”
Without her, he didn’t know if he could keeppulling himself back anymore. “A mate is very special to a vampire,Maggie.”
“Yes, you’ve told me, and I saw how closeAbby and Brian are.”
“The mate bond is eternal, and to completeit, both individuals have to be a vampire.”
Maggie gripped the comforter closer as hiswords sank in. “Both?”
“Yes.”
“You want to make me a… a vampire?” shecroaked.
“Yes.”
“And bind me to you forever?”
“Yes.”
Maggie’s throat went dry. She’d always beenin over her head with him, but suddenly she felt like she wassinking faster than the Titanic. She’d seen how wild he could be,how brutal his life was. She didn’t know if she could be everythinghe needed, or if shewantedto be bound to him foreternity. Moving in together seemed like far too large of acommitment given the amount of time they’d known each other, nevermind being bound together forever!
“You already crave blood,” he said. “I willfeed enough for the both of us, so you’ll only ever have to drinkfrom me if you want.”
“I see.”
“You’ll live as an immortal, with me.”
“We barely know each other. I like you, alot, I won’t deny it. But you’re suggesting binding ourselves toeach other for an eternity, and this is only the fifth day we’veknown one another. What if I drive you nuts in a week? What if in amonth or a hundred years from now, you start regretting yourdecision to make me a vampire? What if you end up hating me?”
“I could never hate you.”
“You don’t know that!” she insisted. “Whatif, after fifty years, my snoring makes you wish you could stakeme. Or what ifIstart hatingyou? What if I decidethe way you put your toothbrush back makes me want to stab you withit?”
He smiled grimly as he leaned back in thechair. “I’m sure you’ll want to stab me often over the years, butas long as it’s not through the heart, I can take it.”
“I'm serious.”
“I know you are, but these are all things wewill deal with together. When you’re a vampire, you’ll understandhow intense this bond is.”
Terror tore through Maggie. She recalled howpathetic she’d felt sitting at the bar last night, waiting for himto come back, and how annoyed with herself she’d been because ofit. She’d spent the first twelve years of her life with onlyherself to rely on. Then, she’d had A.J. for such a brief time, andnow she had Roger.
She cared for Aiden, but she didn’t know ifshe could count on him too. She believed she could, but she hadn’tknown him long enough to be certain. She didn’t like uncertainty.And Aiden was talking about eternity, a commitmentmuchlarger than any she’d ever experienced before, and it didn’t soundas if he were giving her much choice on it either.
“WhenI’m a vampire? Have I alreadyagreed to this, or do I simply have no choice?” she asked.
The acid dripping from her voice made himrealize he’d said the wrong thing. “Of course, you have achoice.”
“What about my life? My career? My friends?What happens to all those things? Am I supposed to toss them asidefor a life with no guarantees if it all blows up in my face?”
“Even if this blows up between us, which itwon’t, I promise you’ll be taken care of.”
“I don’t need you to take care of me!”
Aiden took a deep breath as he tried tofigure out how to proceed. Fiercely independent, Maggie wouldn’tembrace relying on someone else more often. “We can find a way foryou to keep your job if you prefer. You would probably have to takesome time off from work in the beginning. Newly turned vampires areoften in control of themselves, but with what you do and the bloodyou’ll be around, it could be more difficult.”
“Yeah, eating the patients would bebad.”
He gave her a wan smile. “Yes.”
