Once more silence descends. Both girls are bursting with questions, but they are intimidated by the fact that he's a vampire. The last thing they want to do is tick him off.

Finally Samantha gets the courage up to ask a question she didn't think would upset him. "What's it like being a vampire?"

Nikolai gives her a smile showing his approval of her question. "It's different from being human. Differences in temperature don't really affect us. Weather doesn't affect us. If it's extremely cold it might slow us down a bit, but other than that we don't really notice it. Sunlight doesn't kill us, but for some it makes them very uncomfortable. The older a vampire the less effect it has on us. That also makes it easier for us to fit in of course.

"The inhuman strength and speed is there like the books and movies portray. Beauty, dark and deadly helps us draw in those to feed us. We do have better than human hearing and sight. We have some mind powers and some of us have other abilities.

"Samantha experienced that a little bit. Sebastian put her to sleep while waiting for Natalia and I to return."

"So," Natalia says trying to wrap her mind around things, "do you have any of these other abilities?"

Nikolai smiles at Natalia, "Yes, but I'm not going to tell you what they are. Nobody knows what they are, not even my father. It's safer that way for you and me."

Natalia moves around a bit so that she can see Nikolai's face, "I heard you say that you will have to pay a price for your actions this night. I don't understand."

Nikolai sighs, "There are two kinds of humans according to the vampire. Those that are claimed by marking and those unclaimed. You and Samantha are under my protection, however you aren't marked. Technically that makes you free game for any vampire. At least as long as he follows the rules.

"The fact that I was protecting you as if you are marked my property against my father means that I have to pay a price to my father. Unfortunately now that you and Samantha have been made known to the vampires you will also have to pay a price.

"What price I will have to pay is unknown, but the price you and Samantha will have to pay is be marked by me." Nikolai finishes and waits for their reaction so he knows how to deal with it.

There is silence.

"What does the marking mean, and how does it work?" Samantha breaks the silence.

"For Natalia the marking will be one of being my mate, mates are strictly off limits to other vampires. For Samantha the marking will be one that vampires call pets. Those are expected to be shared by other vampires at least upon occasion.

"As for the marking itself, I bite the person willing my mark to come on them. For it to be permanent, it has to take place during sex." If Nikolai had thought there was silence earlier then he was wrong. Now there in such profound silence that the heart beat of both girls thunders in the room like a drum line was performing.

"I was going to ask Natalia to be my mate anyway, but I'd never thought of making Samantha my pet."

Nikolai looks to Natalia, "If you don't wish it, I won't make Samantha my pet." If not he'll call Sebastian over and have him take her for his. He knows Sebastian will take care of her.

"You would allow me to decide her fate?" Natalia isn't sure if she should be happy or not about this.

"I'm not going to force this on you. If you don't wish to take my mark, don't wish to be my mate then I will erase this night from your memories. Your's and Samantha's and tomorrow you'll disappear. I won't be able to save you from whatever fate my father has in store, being his pet or being sold at auction."

"I love you, Nikolai, so being your mate isn't going to be a problem. My problem is that you're letting me decide the fate of my best friend."

"Nikolai, what does being a pet entail?" Samantha asks nervously.

"I will be drinking your blood. After taking a pet, blood from other humans doesn't taste so good. I'll need to take other pets to keep from drinking you dry. Also, you'll be sharing my bed at times." This last part he watches Natalia. She's taking this way too well.

"What about when you share me with other vampires?" Samantha's voice brings his attention back to her.

"I will be giving them limitations, on blood or sex, but yes, you will be expected to share their beds as well. But since I don't like to share what is mine, I won't share you very much and when I do it will mostly be when you tell me you desire it." His words seem to make Samantha relax a bit, but not Natalia.

He whispers to her, "If you don't wish me to take her as a pet, I'll have Sebastian come and do so. He told me he wouldn't be averse to doing it. He would take care of her, knowing how much she means to both of us."

"Would you still take her to bed?"

"Natalia, you know that Samantha and I have been lovers for years. Are you jealous of the thought of me doing this now?"

Natalia shakes her head. "No, I'm not jealous, I just need to know."

Nikolai sighs. There is no right answer here and she's not going to like what he has to say. "If Sebastian takes her as pet, then yes, I'd still take her to bed. He would be expected to share her and most wouldn't take care of how they treated her."

"But if you took her, then what?"

"She'd be my mistress. She'd have more control over who shared her bed. I would have final say, though. I'd only let one or two vampires share her. Sebastian and if I can find someone else that I could trust with her. But mostly she'd be sharing my bed."

"Then what about me?" Natalia says looking hurt.

"You would always take precedence, Natalia. If at any time you choose for me to get rid of one of my pets I would. Yes that would include Samantha. It will be you giving me permission to make new ones as well."

"You mean-"

"Tell me what you want me to do tonight." Nikolai states to the shell shocked girl on his lap.

Natalia looks from Nikolai to Samantha. Samantha has a resigned look. She doesn't think that she has much of a future at this point. "Make Samantha your pet."

Her words have both Samantha and Nikolai looking at her. Samantha in shock and Nikolai smiling a small secret smile.

"I want to watch," she says once more to the two in the room.

Nikolai's smile turns into a frown and Samantha starts laughing.

"Are you sure, Natalia? I could put you to sleep." He's done so in the past when he's spent the night with Samantha.

"No, I-I want to see how it's done."

"Shit, you're a fucking virgin." Now Nikolai is shocked. He's watched over Natalia for some time before he became her boyfriend. He's watched her date boys, most didn't stay around for long but a few made months and one even made it a full year. He thought for sure that at least that one slept with her.

"Is that a bad thing, Nikolai?" Natalia says now a little scared and flinching away from him.

"No," Nikolai brings her in closer to him, holding her tight. "It's not a bad thing, I just wasn't expecting it is all." 

"Nikolai, how old are you?" Natalia asks. He looks just a few years older than her. Twenty-three or twenty-four perhaps.

"I'm old, Natalia. I'm older than this country. Hell I'm older than the Magna Carta." When she doesn't do anything more than continue looking at him he sighs, "I'm a thousand years old, more or less."

Natalia looks a bit sick at that. "Why in the hell would you want me?"

"Vampires find the darker emotions easy. Hunger, fear, terror, many don't look beyond those, but the other emotions still exist for us.

"To answer your question, I love you, Natalia." He looks over to Samantha, "I'm in love with you and I love Samantha. That is why I was willing to put my life on the line for you both."

He smiles at Samantha and Samantha smiles at him in return. It's good that they won't have to hide any more. Not that they really did. Natalia was aware that Samantha and Nikolai were lovers. Nikolai pays for the apartment after all.