“Yeah, no problem.”
“Goodnight, William.”
“Night.”
She tried to focus on her book for thirty minutes, but all she could think about was the sexy vampire reading next to her and sharing her bed. She closed the book, frustrated, willing herself to go to sleep. It wasn’t until William moved closer to her, putting an arm around her waist, that she felt calmer, her mind at peace. She turned off the bedroom light, and they were both asleep in a matter of minutes.
MARIE WOKE UP BEFORE the sun set that evening. She stayed in bed a few minutes longer to appreciate William’s warm body by her side. She wanted to just look at him a little longer, but she knew it wasn’t a good idea. She was starting to fall for him as it were. She shouldn’t try to make things worse. Still, he looked at peace when he slept.
Marie’s heart went out to him. She threw the blanket off in frustration of their situation and threw a sweater over her nightgown before tiptoeing out of the bedroom to make a full pot of coffee.
When she walked back into the bedroom to finish packing, William turned on his side and opened one eye. “It’s still light out,” he said, looking incredibly sexy in her bed. William reached out for Marie. “Come on, come back to bed. Just another thirty-minutes.”
“You know we had to wake up early this morning.”
“I know, but now that it’s here, I don’t want to.” He held out a hand for her.
“William, you are such a brat,” she said, a smile on her face as she gave into his request. “Five minutes.”
“Am I a brat for wanting some more time in bed, next to a beautiful woman?” he asked, as she crawled under the covers with him. “I guess I realize how little time I have left, and this may be the happiest I’ve ever been,” he said, half-asleep still.
Marie let him fall back to sleep before she said the words in a whisper. “Me, too.” What was happening? Marie lay in his arms, loving every inch of his body as it lay next to hers, their legs tangled around each other.
Chapter Eight
They arrived at Vegas at ten p.m., having gained three hours. Marie called her mom and was told that she was busy with clients until three in the morning, when she closed up her shop. So, Marie and William had some time to kill.
William hailed a cab, deciding they’d go to the strip for some sight-seeing. When the cab passed a wedding chapel, William nudged Marie and pointed. She turned at what he was looking at and smiled.
“You want to make a slight detour?” he asked, his smile growing.
“We’ll be here for a few days, there’s no rush,” she said, though her heart was reacting to the idea. She bit her lip.
William noticed the change in her heartbeat and knew he must act at once. He raised his voice so that the cab driver could hear them. “Hey, it’s not too late to apply for a marriage license, is it?”
“Place closes at midnight. You guys still have time,” the cab driver, a middle-aged woman, replied.
William looked at Marie, an eyebrow raised. “Your call, sweetheart.”
Marie nodded. She couldn’t believe she was agreeing to this, but deep down she knew why. She was in love with the vampire next to her, more than she had ever been with any other man she had been with.
After an hour of waiting to get their marriage license, they walked out into the night air. William took her hand in his. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do. Thanks so much for letting me have this moment before I go,” he said. “I’m really glad it’s with someone like you.” He stopped and turned to her. “Marie, you’ve given me a whole different perspective on this life of mine. And maybe I am a dramatic brat, but I’m a brat who feels incredibly lucky to have met you.”
Marie looked away. “I don’t know what to say,” she admitted, deciding to leave out the fact that she was falling in love with him. Now just didn’t seem like the right time to bring it up. But she knew she had to. Soon. She just didn’t know how.
“Just say you’ll marry me. Inherit everything I have. This way my life won’t be in vain.” He put a hand on her face.
Marie placed a hand over his. She nodded as she searched his eyes. “Come on, let’s go find a chapel.”
He smiled. “Now you’re talking.”
Marie got a car through a rideshare app and found the closest chapel within minutes. William asked her for her wedding band, and she took it off and gave it back to him.
“We’re going to need this for the ceremony,” he remembered.
Once they got to the chapel, the actual ceremony took longer than Marie had expected. She thought that they were going to be in and out, but it had been sweet nonetheless.
When the marriage officiant deemed them husband and wife, William smiled.
“You may kiss the bride,” she said.
William opened his arms wide as if to say, “Hey, we did it.” But he smoothly wrapped those arms around her and leaned in to kiss her passionately on the mouth, seeming to devour her.
All Marie could think at the time was, “Holy crap, am I really making out and married to a vampire?” The thrill of it excited her. William was right, she was a bit twisted. The thought of it made her smile, and William released her from his grasp. He looked excited and laughed as he let go.
“Well, crossed that off my bucket list,” he said.
Marie only smiled, afraid to say more. Once they left the chapel, he stopped and turned to her. “We really did it, didn’t we?” he asked, beaming.
She nodded, smiling with him, but William could tell something was off.
His face quickly grew serious. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. “Don’t worry, we’ll get everything sorted out before I—” he trailed off.
“That’s not why I did it,” she started to say, daring herself to speak the truth.
He looked at her confused. “What do you mean?”
Marie shook her head and took his hand. She wasn’t ready to tell him how she felt yet. She wasn’t sure how he’d react and didn’t want to freak him out or upset him. “Never mind, forget it.” She pressed his hand tightly. “Come on, let’s go celebrate. How do you feel about dancing?”
William laughed. “Not sure. Depends on how much it’s changed in the last sixty years.”
“Oh, it’s changed.”
It wasn’t long before they found two dance clubs across from one another. One was advertising a “Day of the Dead” theme. William pointed to that one.
“Hey, I think that one is speaking to us,” he said.
Marie shook her head and led him away, heading towards the other one. “It’s a bit inappropriate. The Day of the Dead matter is a big deal to a lot of people, and it shouldn’t be a theme at a dance club. Let’s stick with classy tonight,” she said.
The second club had a line, and everyone was dressed to the nines. Thankfully, both William and Marie were also dressed to impress. William was wearing the dark blue button-down shirt Marie had gotten him, with slacks that he had previously owned which fit him really well.
Marie was wearing a silk silver camisole underneath her sweater and tight slacks. She took off her sweater when they got inside of the club and checked it, along with an oversized bag for their overnight stay.