"Because even though there is now no pressing need for us to get married, I would still very much like to marry you. But I need you to be sure of this, my little love. I know that you've never been with a man before, and I don't want to rush you into anything you may regret."
I was flooded with relief at his words. Ha! As if I could regret that. Sometimes it was all I could do not to throw myself at him. The only thing that had saved him from my lustful advances over the past few days was all the kidnapping and fighting and killing that had been going on. And now we were headed straight for the airport to fetch Mark, who, much as I loved him, would be a serious hindrance to my intentions.
"Forget it, buddy," I told Angus. "You're stuck with me. We could postpone the wedding a couple of days if we have to, but you're not wiggling your way out of this one."
He smiled at me and reached out to take my hand, and we sat like that, our fingers twined together, for most of the rest of the journey, while we spoke of inconsequential and important things, and I tried not to wonder what the rest of his skin felt like. Epic fail.
Eventually we pulled up outside the vet where Mina was incarcerated. She seemed very pleased to see us, but had obviously not suffered any serious deprivation. Her fur was sleek and her belly distended. I watched as my powerful vampire tickled the little cat's chin, and I smiled at the incongruity. The receptionist smiled too, but for a different reason. Angus was a tall, dark and breathtakingly handsome man. I wondered if knowing that he was a vampire would change that smile. Oh, yes, I thought wryly, it would probably make it a lot bigger.
I watched as he smiled back and paid the cat's bill. He was probably aware of what she was thinking too. That had freaked me out a bit, discovering that he could sense people's thoughts. I had been horrified for a few seconds until he had told me that he had refrained from reading mine. I would have hated to know that he could sense my deep and abiding lustfulness for him.
We drove back to Angus' place with Mina wailing indignantly in her carrier. She did seem pleased, however, when she was eventually released into the sitting room, and she wandered off to reacquaint herself with various parts of the house. A short shower and a change of clothes, and we were back on the road heading south towards Heathrow. I was looking forward to seeing Mark again. I was also wondering how he would be feeling about the news that he, too, would eventually be metabolising iron like the rest of us.