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“Well, it would certainly keep her busy, trying to trace Mara’s ancestry back to the time of the pharaohs.”
“Does it ever just boggle your mind that she’s so old? I can’t even comprehend it.”
“She’s like a force of nature,” Derek said, opening the car door. “You just have to hope you don’t get in her way.”
Sheree slid into the passenger seat. Sometimes it was hard to imagine that Derek’s mother was a vampire. She was easily the most beautiful woman Sheree had ever seen, elegant and graceful. And deadly. For the first time, she wondered how many people Mara had killed. The number was probably in the thousands, considering how old she was.
Derek looked at Sheree, one brow arched in amusement as he started the car. “Thousands?”
She flushed with the realization that he was reading her thoughts, though why it continued to surprise her, she didn’t know. “Too many? Not enough?”
“I have no idea, but I’m sure the number is considerable.”
“She seems so nice.”
“Nice?” Derek laughed as he pulled out of the parking lot. His mother was a lot of things, but he’d never thought of her as nice.
“Well, she’s been nice to me.”
He couldn’t argue with that. Mara had taken a definite liking to Sheree. “So, where do you want to go tonight?”
“I don’t know.” Home was out of the question. Her mother would be there soon, and she just wasn’t up to listening to Meredith quiz Derek about his family. She wasn’t in the mood to go to the movies. She wasn’t hungry. . . . She slid a glance at Derek. Well, not for food.
His gaze met hers, and the next thing she knew, they were pulling into a motel. She waited in the car while he registered, a million butterflies chasing each other in the pit of her stomach. She knew she was blushing when he got back into the car and drove them to their room.
“You okay with this?” Derek cut the engine, then got out of the car and opened her door. “It’s just a place to talk. I promise not to seduce you,” he said solemnly. “Unless you ask me to.”
If she hadn’t been blushing before, she was now.
Speechless, she followed him inside. It was a lovely room, Sheree noted, but it was Derek who held her attention as he drew the drapes, shutting out the rest of the world.
She stood in the middle of the floor, acutely aware of the double bed behind her. And the tall, dark man standing in front of her.
“We can leave if you want,” he said quietly.
She shook her head vigorously, wondering why being alone in a motel room seemed far more dangerous than being alone with Derek in her own home.
“Perhaps because no one knows where you are,” he said, obviously reading her thoughts again.
He didn’t move toward her, just stood there, watching her.
Predator and prey. The unwanted thought skittered through her mind.
“I think this was a bad idea,” he said, moving toward the door. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”
Her instincts told her to flee while she could. Instead, she grabbed his arm. “I don’t want to go home.”
“Don’t you?”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
His gaze moved over her, his expression wry. “We’ve known each other only a short time,” he remarked. “In spite of the strong attraction between us, we’re still strangers to each other in many ways. Add to that the fact that I’m a vampire, and recently a werewolf, and I’d say you have every right to be uneasy.” He trailed his knuckles along her cheek. “I know it upsets you that I can read your mind, but maybe it’s a good thing.”
“I don’t think so.”
He shrugged. “I need to know what you’re thinking, especially when you don’t want to tell me.”
Sheree rested her cheek against his chest. How could he be so strong, so invincible, and so vulnerable at the same time? She should be afraid of him, yet all she wanted to do was protect him, comfort him. Love him.
She sighed when his arms slipped around her waist, closed her eyes when his lips brushed the top of her head. Right or wrong, dangerous or not, this was where she wanted to be.
He held her for a long time, then his thumb lifted her chin and he kissed her, slowly, deeply, as if he had all the time in the world.
Which he did, she thought as she kissed him back. She went up on her tiptoes, her arms twining around his neck as she pressed her body closer to his. He might have centuries, but she had only a few years, and she wanted to spend them all in his arms, legally and lawfully.
“Legally?” He whispered the word against her lips.
She drew back so she could see his face. “Will you marry me?”
He stared at her. Once again, she had surprised him.
“Will you?”
It was wrong on so many levels. Foolish to even consider. Dangerous for her in ways she couldn’t imagine. And for him, too, because if he hurt her it would destroy him. But how could he refuse when he wanted her, needed her, more than his next breath? “When?”
“Now. Tonight.”
He raked a hand through his hair. He had never considered marriage, but one thing he knew, most mortal females wanted a big wedding, a fancy dress, bridesmaids and parties. “Are you sure?”
She nodded, her gaze intent upon his face, her cheeks faintly pink. She looked beautiful and uncertain, and at that moment, he loved her beyond words.
Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her lightly. “I’d be honored to have you as my wife.”
It took only a few minutes of searching on his cell phone to locate a place that performed same-day weddings. The requirements were few: the couple must both be over eighteen and produce a valid photo ID. A marriage license could be obtained on the premises, the wedding performed immediately.
“Are you still sure you want to do this?” Derek asked.
“Yes.”
“You won’t be sorry later that we didn’t get married in a church surrounded by your friends and family?”
“We can always get married with all the hoopla later,” Sheree said. “But I want to do this now, before you change your mind.”
As promised, there was no waiting. They filled out the license, showed their ID, and five minutes later they were standing in a small chapel decorated in green and white.
The officiator—she didn’t know if he was a minister or not—entered the room moments later. He wore a dark suit and a striped tie. And a toupee that was slightly askew and kept slipping sideways until she was sure it was going to land on the floor in front of her. It was all Sheree could do to keep from giggling as she and Derek exchanged vows.
