Dark Obsession (Vampire Royals of New York #3) - Sarah Piper Page 0,47
her.
But she needed to get this off her chest first. Needed him to know what she truly wanted—and to hear his real answer—before things got all tangled up in the heat of their insatiable cravings.
She wouldn’t blur those lines. Not with this.
It was too damn important.
Charley rolled onto her hip beside him, and he turned to face her, propping his head up on his elbow, patiently waiting for her to continue.
“I told you how Sasha is obsessed with vampires, right?” she said. “But there’s one thing that’s always bothered me about all those books and movies.”
“Only one thing?” Dorian laughed. “I could write a dissertation on the factual errors alone, not to mention the sodding fools they cast in those roles. They wouldn’t last a day against a real vampire.”
“Agreed, but more importantly…” She blew out a breath, still trying to find the words to express her desires. “The girl—the human—hardly ever gets to choose.”
“Not true! What about that whole kerfuffle between the sparkly vampire and the teen wolf with the abs? It was practically a national sport. Team Sodding Fool or Team Bloody Idiot… I’m certain Aiden had the T-shirt. Utter embarrassment, if you ask me.”
“I’m not talking about choosing a boyfriend, Dorian. I’m talking about choosing whether to become a vampire.”
“But the human never has to choose in those stories. Someone always turns her in the end.”
“That’s my point. They turn her because she’s on the brink of death and there’s no other option. Or the enemy turns her against her will. Me? I’d rather have the choice.”
His eyes turned serious, and he threaded a hand into her hair, gently stroking her head. “I won’t let it come to that, love. No one will bring death to your doorstep.”
“How can you make that promise?”
“I… Well, that is to say… I mean…” Dorian opened and closed his mouth a dozen times to answer, but there was no answer. Not for this.
“I want a choice, Dorian. Not when I’m taking my last breath. Not when I’m being chased by some insane enemy, whether it’s a gray or a demon or even my own flesh and blood. I want the choice right now.” Charley rose from the bed, her nervous energy making it impossible for her to stay still. “And I’ve already made it. Adapt or die, right? I’m choosing to adapt. I always adapt.”
Dorian sat up in bed and met her gaze, but his thoughts were guarded. “Adapt to what, exactly?”
He knew what she was asking. He had to know. But he was going to make her say it out loud.
He was going to make her be brave.
Charley took a deep, steadying breath and got on her knees before him, taking his hands and lacing their fingers together. She knew that once she said the words, she wouldn’t be able to take them back.
Whether he agreed with it or not, her desire would be out there in the ether.
Voiced.
In so many ways, confessing it out loud felt like blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, and both of them held their breath, waiting for it.
I wish, I wish, I wish…
“I want to become a vampire,” Charley finally admitted. “I want you to turn me.”
He stared at her, unblinking, the intensity in his eyes boring deep into her soul. He was silent and motionless for so long her knees started to ache, but Charley didn’t dare move.
In all their late-night conversations, the whispers in the dark, the declarations and promises, this was the one thing they’d managed to avoid talking about. The one thing that probably mattered more than anything else.
It carried the risk of death and the promise of eternity in equal measure, and it was terrifying and life-altering, miraculous and impossible.
The night Silas assaulted her, Charley had said she was afraid to let the vampires heal her with their blood—afraid it might turn her. But deep down, she wasn’t afraid of turning.
She was afraid Dorian wouldn’t want her to turn. That he’d see her as this eternal burden—an immortal commitment he’d never signed up for.
But she knew—her heart knew—that wasn’t the case. Whatever the reasons for his silence now, it wasn’t because he didn’t love her.
For however bloody long eternity lasts…
When Dorian finally spoke again, his voice was low and dark. “There’s a human saying,” he said. “Something about how it’s only in the worst hours of our lives that we discover who we truly are.”
“I’m familiar with it.”
“It’s bullshit, Charlotte. The worst hours utterly shatter who we