TALL DARK AND HUNGRY Page 0,83

the event.

"I wouldn't enjoy witnessing such an event now, any more than I did then, cousin," Vincent said qui-etly, obviously reading his thoughts. "Besides, I don't see this ending the same way. Terri isn't Josephine."

Bastien shifted with irritation. He picked up his glass of blood and drank some of the thick liquid. He really needed to remember to guard his thoughts bet¬ter. He was so distracted by the uproar Terri was causing him emotionally, and all without her even trying, that he was leaving his thoughts open for just anyone to read.

"Terri's different. She won't react like Josephine," Vincent insisted.

"How do you know?" Bastien knew he sounded angry, but really his tone was to cover the hope that was trying to grow inside him. He wanted to believe his cousin was right, but he was afraid.

"This is a different era. Josephine thought you were a monster, an abomination. Terri is a modern woman, with enough intelligence to understand the science of it," Vincent argued. "And consider the benefits to her should she join us. Forever young and beautiful, and forever strong and healthy? Few would pass that up."

"She could still turn away," Bastien argued. "Not everyone wants to live forever."

"You're right, of course," the actor agreed. "She might not. So why risk it? Give her up and forget about her."

Bastien gave him a speaking glance.

"No, huh?" Vincent arched an eyebrow. "Then I guess you'll have to risk it, won't you? Every day is a risk, everything we do. Would you really give this up willingly, or bypass it altogether, to avoid possible pain later--pain that might never come?"

The answer to that was simple enough: No. Bastien couldn't willingly give her up had he wanted. She was like a drug and he a drug addict; he was con¬stantly jonesing for a Terri fix. No, he couldn't give her up. He had known that for a while. What he was experiencing now was worth any price later. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to fret about what would come.

"Well, hell," Vincent snapped, reading Bastien's thoughts. "You mean to say you didn't need me to try to talk you into this? Why did you let me ramble on about it, if you already knew you were going to go for it?"

"I like talking about her," Bastien said. He shrugged. "I like being with her better, but the next best thing is talking about her. And it's always nice to have your hopes bolstered."

Vincent made a sound of disgust and turned to¬ward the door. "I'm out of here."

"When will you be back?" Bastien asked, follow¬ing him out into the entry to await the elevator.

"Late Sunday night or early Monday morning," he answered, then quirked an eyebrow as the elevator ar¬rived and the doors slid open. "You know what that means, don't you?"

"No. What does it mean?" Bastien asked curiously.

"You have the entire penthouse--and Terri--to yourself for the whole weekend." Vincent stepped onto the elevator. "You can make love to her in any room you want, any time of the day or night, and not worry how loud she gets. She does get loud, cousin," he added as he turned and hit the button for the ground floor. "You must be doing something right."

Bastien grinned.

"Heck, you can even make love to her in the eleva¬tor." Vincent waggled his eyebrows as the doors started to close. "Catch it on tape, maybe, and keep it for posterity."

Bastien couldn't tell Vincent what he thought of that idea; the doors were already closed. But he'd never do that to Terri... unless she knew and wanted to. They could catch it on film and watch it later and... He shook his head at the idea. Too risky.

He didn't want personal tapes of Terri floating around. What if something happened and it got away from him? But he could make love to her in any room in the penthouse now. They'd already made love in the living room, on the couch, but they hadn't tried the bar. Or the pool table. Or the floor. Then there was the kitchen, the-- A nice soak in the Jacuzzi with her would be nice, too. Of course they could have done that anyway, since the Jacuzzi was in the master suite, but...

Realizing that he was standing in the entryway thinking about making love to Terri, when he could be actually doing it, Bastien gave himself a shake. He started down the hall to the bedroom, realized he still carried the now empty glass,