her body could, she’d live up to her name and truly go mad.
A knock on the door made her sit up, her head turning in the direction of the sound.
“Tucker?”
“Yeah.” The floorboards groaned in the hallways. “Can I come in?”
Mary wet her lips, thighs rubbing together anxiously. “Yes.”
A creak was followed by boot steps coming closer, then the soft closing of the door. “My father has, uh…crashed for the night.” He sounded almost shy. “He’s not used to this much excitement.”
She smoothed her palm over the bedding beside her, determining that there was enough space for Tucker to sit down. He didn’t take the hint, however, making her frown. “Did you tell him?”
“Sure did. He took it better than I expected. Aliens, fine. Vampires, no problem. Who’d have thought it would be the existence of fairies that threw him for a loop?”
“Oh dear. I’ll have to make a good impression tomorrow.” She took a moment to marvel over that. “Tucker, why are you standing so far away?”
“You’re going to think this is crazy, but I think it’s being back in my old bedroom. It’s the first time I’ve had a girl in here.”
Pleasure trickled into her belly, spiking her already potent awareness. “Oh.”
“Look,” Tucker said. “I’m sure you’re still angry at me. You have every right to be. I should have told you the truth. Should have told you what—who—you are to me, Mary.” A beat passed. “I worried it might alter your decision…and you can’t do that. I’m not what’s best for you.”
A sharp wrench took place in her stomach. “Why?”
“Why?” He sounded incredulous. “Everything you’ve been dreaming about lies in the other direction. With someone else. I’m not going to be selfish with your future. That’s the thing about having a mate. Their happiness is the most important thing.”
“No. That’s the thing about having Tucker for a mate. Don’t talk as if everyone out there is just like you. Or like you’re operating under some universal code. It’s who you are.”
He said nothing, but the swell of his concentrated longing for her hung in the air.
It had been there all along. But it had a name now.
Mate.
I’m his mate.
And she was going to seduce him.
It was the only way he would accept the once-in-a-lifetime pleasure she represented.
Anticipation crackled in her nerve endings as she scooted to the edge of the bed, letting the dress ride up high on her thighs. “Will you tell me what your old room looks like?”
His voice came out sounding like a painted-over window being pried open. “Of course.” Floorboards groaned, but he moved farther away, not closer. “Well I told you before I look like a linebacker and once upon a time, I’ll have you know, all this cushioning wasn’t just for show. There are a couple of football trophies sitting on my dresser by the window. Regional champions 1999. On your left. There’s some Entourage DVDs stacked on a shelf to your right. Not too proud of that. Lot of muscle car posters.” He chuckled under his breath, but it faded away quickly. “There’s a ukulele in the corner that belonged to my mother.”
“Do you play it?”
“She taught me one song when I was eleven. There’s no way I remember it.” Mary was going to let him get away with that, but a twang of strings told her he’d picked up the instrument. A second later, he strummed it, releasing a series of dull notes into the room. “It’s old and out of tune, but, uh…”
It was during the second chorus of You Are My Sunshine that Mary realized she was in love with Tucker. His voice was deep and almost conversational, the way he spoke the lyrics, reminding her a little of the Johnny Cash she’d occasionally hear drifting up the stairs from Enders. Smoky and warm and Tucker, through and through. And she loved him. God, she did.
That compelling initial connection between them had turned to a bond that couldn’t be severed. Not by time or distance or marriage to another. But this love? It was separate from that. Perhaps it ran parallel, but it was based entirely on a deep, breathless appreciation for every single trait that comprised this vampire. His humble attitude, his loyalty, his heart. His voice, his guardian’s energy and the fact that he could admit when he was wrong.
I love you.
She ached to say those words out loud. Did she dare?
Yes, she’d started thinking in terms of if. If she married Hadrian. What if she