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He cringed as random scraps of memory floated
around his mind. The feel of his tongue as it brushed back and
forth over long and dangerous canine teeth. The feel of soft skin
as his teeth punctured the hollow of a neck. He remembered spotting
the girl, so much like his Julie. He scraped his fingers through
Julie’s hair. He hadn’t chased that girl. That he was sure of.
Instead he’d followed Julie, unable to chance her being hurt.

“Trucker, you okay?”

Immediately his body temperature rose. His
torso radiated sultry heat through his clothes. He nuzzled the side
of her face, his lips brushed over her ear, and then he forcibly
pressed his lips against hers. He wrapped his arms achingly around
her midsection, lifting her tightly against him. She yielded to
him. Keeping his mouth against hers as he gentled his touch, he
mumbled, “I’ve wanted to kiss you like that since I woke up this
morning.”

Standing in the pouring rain, Julie was left
speechless again.

******

The rain was still steady when they pulled
into the lane leading to the pond. He hated the fact it was such a
dreary day, but all he could think of was getting her to the safest
place he knew of, the pond. He put the car in park and took a deep
breath. How he wished he could force her to stay close so he could
always protect her. He warned her that if sin knocks, don’t let it
in. How was she to know he was the greatest sin out there? He
caught her flipping her hair out of the corner of his eyes. He
might have been the epitome of sin, but there is no way he could’ve
ever caused her harm. Even if it killed him, he would keep her
safe.

Trucker opened the car door and Julie kicked
her foot around, letting it hang out the door. She wiggled her toes
in her flip flops as she scanned the mud caked around his shiny
dress shoes.

“Damn it, Julie Emison, even your toes are
cute.”

“Uh,” Julie said. She looked up at him with
big, innocent, doe eyes. He ran his hand through his hair and
before she had time to say another word, he had her slung over his
shoulders as though she were weightless.

Trucker had experienced things that most
people would only dream about, but the greatest surprise in his
life was having
her
pinch his behind. He twisted his head
around and caught the smile on her face. He nearly tripped over his
own two feet as shockwaves of feelings coursed through him.

“You shouldn’t have thrown me around like I
was a rag doll,” Julie said with a small laugh.

He growled at her, maybe a little too
lifelike before softly throwing her down in an off-road ATV and
fastened the seatbelt around her. “Hold on,” he explained with a
quick kiss and a sparkle in his eyes.

They rode through the field slinging mud, and
came upon the other side of the pond. Tucked under the old weeping
willow tree, a large sturdy tent stood. She stared at it.

“You didn’t think I was going to make you sit
out in the rain. Did you?” he asked, and came around to her side,
holding an umbrella. He threw her over his shoulder once again.
“Feel free to touch anything you find appealing.”

Julie slapped him across the back. He jumped
as if it hurt and gave a small, “Ow.” His laughter was infectious
as he carried her over to the tent. Opening up the front flap, he
crawled in and nestled up beside her. She started slowly nibbling
on her bottom lip, oblivious to what it did to him. He stared at
her with unfathomed emotions, and pulled at her lip with his thumb.
Her teeth released it. Then her lips formed his favorite grin.

“You’re driving me crazy, Angel,” he said
with a moan.

“Sorry.”

“I’m not,” he answered, and leaned into her
until their foreheads touched. “My beautiful Angel.” He sighed.

“Yes,” she replied, weaving their fingers
together.

“I’ll keep you safe. You believe that don’t
you?” he asked.

“Yeah, I do,” she answered, unable to look
him in the eyes.

His eyes blazed as he ran his tongue over the
edge of his blunt teeth. There were so many questions he had left
to ask, so many aspects of her life that were still unknown. He
wanted to know everything about the girl laying on his chest.

When he first saw her, he swore to himself he
would walk away and never bring her into a life she was not ready
for. But he simply couldn’t do it. He was drawn to her like a moth
to a flame. She was
his.
As much as he desired to protect
her from his life, he needed her. So, being the monster that he
was, he put her safety aside and opened the door to her new
destiny.

He pressed his face into her mass of tightly
rounded curls and breathed her scent into his lungs. He had never
had such a strong reaction to anyone, stronger than any he’d ever
known. But it was more. He liked her, too. She was headstrong,
forgiving, playful, and
his.
One day they would go their
separate ways. He felt certain that when she finally learned the
truth of what he really was, what they wanted him to be. She would
leave him at a speed so quickly; that it would baffle even him. His
other side balked at the thought.

The monster in him grew increasingly agitated
every time he shoved the inevitable fact in its face. Trucker’s
more sensible side told him there was no way around it. He didn’t
get to keep her. Though there was no doubt in his mind she was
meant to be his. No one had ever called to his very being like she
did, but chances of it lasting were slim.

“Trucker, are you in la-la land?” Julie
asked.

The sound of her voice jerked him from his
most recent and disturbing thoughts, tugging him back to the moment
at hand. The thought of leaving her side for just a moment put
cracks in his long lost, frozen heart. But he needed to talk to the
only normal person in his life. He had to get his head together
before he showed his kind what was the most important in his life:
not them, their plans, but her.

“Baby, I need to get you home. I have to meet
my mom and baby sister. I haven’t seen them since classes
started.”

“What?” Julie asked. “I didn’t know you had a
little sister or for that matter that you didn’t live with your
mom.”

Trucker noticed the hurt in her eyes at the
knowledge of how little she did knew about him. “Baby, my sister is
three and is a beautiful princess like you. My mom and she are
staying in Nashville until they finish the house in Promise
Land.”

“Why didn’t you stay with them?”

“I have my reasons.” He winked. “Aren’t you
lucky too? If I haven’t, you wouldn’t have met me.”

She reached over to touch his face and his
breath hissed. Her pure aura wrapped around him with a piercing
jolt. He fought back a lopsided smile while he leaned forward and
snagged her lower lip with his teeth. She tangled his hair through
her fingers and kissed him. His teeth burned in his gums, eager to
draw a drop of her delectable blood. She moaned as one fang
descended into her tongue causing her blood to pool in his mouth.
He was about to go to a place he could never come back from. He
jerked back. She grabbed her tongue.

“Crap, do you have a retainer or something?”
she asked as she examined the blood from her tongue on her fingers.
“I didn’t even feel it.”

“Something,” he said as he started kissing
her again. He flicked his tongue over the bite until he could no
longer taste the blood. He pulled back, afraid to go further.
Reaching for her tongue, she noticed the sore had ceased bleeding.
“Mouth wounds heal quickly,” Trucker explained.

He had to clear his mind. The taste of
her
coated his mouth and throat. For her safety, he had to
get as far from her as rapidly as he could manage.

Chapter 7

Julie heard Tiffany and Tori chattering away,
but she didn’t hear what they were saying. She was too busy putting
one foot in front of another and trying to remember why she even
cared. She was sure Trucker would be waiting for her in the parking
lot. His car was there, but he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she
was wrong. Maybe he was bored and she was the weekend’s amusement.
He did leave rather abruptly the day before.

As Julie, Tiffany, and Tori turned the corner
headed to class, her eyes met his. Trucker’s arms were folded
tightly against his chest, accentuating the firm curves of his
biceps. An orange button up shirt clung to him. He had on a
University of Tennessee baseball hat, orange and black plaid tennis
shoes, and a smile that would light up heaven. Her heart fell in
her stomach when she realized he was leaning against her wall
waiting for her. He held up his finger and motioned for her to come
to him.

“Good morning, my Angel.” He reached for her
hand, locking his pinky around hers. He nodded over to Tori and
Tiffany. “Good morning, ladies.” His voice was irresistible. He
turned his eyes on them and suddenly they were tongue-tied.

“Uh, hey, um good morning.” Tori tried to
gather her words but no words would come, so just turned and
left.

“Bye, Julie, see you around.” Tiffany waved
as she stumbled off, eyeing Trucker from head to toe.

People passed by Julie and Trucker on their
way to class; they stared, pointed, and gossiped, but neither Julie
nor Trucker seemed to care. Shifting his body, Trucker tapped a box
lying at his feet.

“Open it. I have a surprise for you.”

“What?” she asked, both confused and
curious.

“Just open it.” His face lit up, and he
pointed his head toward the box.

Kneeling, she lifted up the lid to find a
daylily with a beautiful blue ribbon tied to it and his first
edition book of Walt Whitman poems.

“What’s this for?” she asked, stunned. She
picked up the flower with one hand and the book with the other.

He knelt down beside her. “I wanted to give
you something to thank you for an amazing weekend. If I remember
correctly, your favorite flower is a daylily, and your favorite
color is blue.” He stroked the blue ribbon, but all she noticed was
the blue of his eyes. “The book is because . . . well . . . because
I can.”

“I can’t accept this,” she said. Holding her
head down, she traced the corners of the book.

He cupped his hand around her chin and lifted
her head until their eyes met. “Why not?” he asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s too much.
I’m just another girl. You’ll want it back.”

“You’re not just another girl . . . you’re my
girl.” An electrical current seemed to be emanating from somewhere
deep in his body and shooting right through her. All at once, her
doubts vanished; she threw her arms around his neck. He flinched
and jumped to his feet.

“I’m sorry.” She blushed and looked around,
unsure of herself and them.

He scooped her up in a crushing hug, smashing
the book between them. “I’m not. It’s just hard to believe you’re
finally mine.”

Every eye in the school was on them. He
snatched the textbooks out of her arms and took her hand in his.
Walking in the crowded hallway hand in hand with Trucker, she felt
like she was standing center stage. Everyone stared and a few even
gasped. She scanned his body from the top of his head to the tip of
his toes and couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact he was this
happy to be with her. He looked perfect from his amazing hair to
his plaid shoes. “Plaid shoes?”

“Of course.” He had a mischievous grin on his
face. “I love plaid. They take two colors that don’t belong
together and turn it into a beautiful pattern.” He brushed her
arms. She knew they didn’t belong together, but they did make an
unusual pattern.

Their classes passed in a blur. Too fast in
Julie’s opinion. She dreaded lunch. She didn’t know what to expect
considering they ran in two totally different circles.

“Come, my beautiful Angel.” He took her hand
and led her to the back of the school.

“Where are we going?” Julie asked.

Trucker tapped his pointer finger over his
mouth and smiled. She could tell from his excitement he was up to
something. He escorted her down a back alleyway. She thought she
had seen every nook and cranny of the school, but she had never
been in that passageway. She started to question him when they
rounded a corner and she saw it. He had a picnic set up under the
bleachers on the football field. Bewildered, she stood there and
took it in. A pristine white blanket was thrown carefully over the
ground and two picnic baskets were placed on top. What really
grabbed her attention were two lit candles. He had not left her
side once that day.
How? Why?

“Join me,” he said as he gracefully laid back
on the blanket.

“Nobody has ever done anything like this for
me,” Julie said as she took a seat beside him.

“What, get your lunch?”

“Think of me.”

Trucker tilted her head up and smoothed the
pad of his thumbs over her cheeks. “All I do is think of you.”

Julie heard a few boys causing trouble on the
bleachers above them, but all she cared about was the boy eating
beside her. A delicious meal of peanut butter and grape jelly minus
the crust sandwiches, artichoke dip and chips from The Chop House,
and to top it off, homemade peanut butter cups; Trucker’s all-time
favorites from his childhood.

He told her about Ruby, the lady who helped
raise him. How one of his favorite pastimes was playing tricks on
her. Her heart sank when his voice cracked. She watched him. He
flexed his hand as a wave of tension emanated from him. Julie
wanted to touch him, to ease the obvious distress he was in. But
she curled her fingers around the tips of her shoes and just
listened. She did notice the sparkle in his eyes as he told her
about his little sister. It was clear she turned his world upside
down. How furious he was about his move to Promise Land and laughed
when he said it turned out to be the greatest thing to ever happen
to him. Because he found her. He was letting her into his life. It
didn’t take a lot to realize that was not a place he let many
people go. He played with her hair. It seemed to pacify him. His
breathing eased, and the shaking in his hand lessened.