Rory’s Mate (The Vampire Coalition #2)(11)
Author: J.S. Scott

He was all she really needed. All of the lonely, sad days seemed to slip into the past, unable to hurt her anymore. The love of one good man…or one good vampire…was better than the adoration of many. Maybe she had intentionally closed herself off, looking for excuses, waiting for this man.

"Oh, Rory. I don’t understand how you could not know how special you are." She stroked his hair as she wiped her tears. Her crying days were over.

He pulled back and looked at her. "I’m a twin. The twin of a very powerful healer. I love Liam. I would die for him. But sometimes I felt like I walked in his shadow. I never had my own talent that made me stand out. He was always special. I was just…his twin."

Her heart ached. She suddenly understood that Liam had gotten a lot of attention because he was a powerful healer and Rory was left in the background. Kind, sweet Rory, who brought sunshine to everyone’s day with his smile. The man who liked to make other people happy just because it pleased him. Was there any better man?

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly. When she finished she looked him in the eye and told him solemnly, "You have your own talents and your own personality, Rory. You have traits that Liam doesn’t. You’re twins…but very different. You’re separate, each having your own strengths. You are very special. I could never have fallen in love with Liam."

He tightened his grip, pulling her tighter against him as he answered in a possessive tone, "It’s a good thing you didn’t or I would have had to commit fratricide. And I actually would rather keep Liam around."

She laughed. She couldn’t help it. Rory made her happier than she had ever been in her life. He took away the pain of her past and made her realize that she hadn’t really been rejected. She just hadn’t let herself live a life free of guilt, self-blame and depression. She had closed herself off from the world because she felt rejected.

"It wasn’t you, Callie. It was your parents. I don’t know why they left you, but it was their problem, not yours." Rory spoke to her as though he had heard her thoughts. Maybe he had.

"I know. Although my life was unstable it may have been better than living with drug addicts or worse. I can see that. It could have been worse." She answered sincerely. She was starting to believe in fate. Some things happened for a reason.

"It could have been a hell of a lot better, too. I’ll make it up to you, Callie. I’ll give you everything you need and more. You are mating with a very rich vampire thanks to Nathan and his hobby of building all of our investments." He shot her a wicked grin. "I’m loaded. And I’m a vampire. I can buy or make anything that you want."

She burst into laughter. He might have insecurities at times, but he still had a touch of the Hale arrogance. "You forgot handsome and very well endowed."

He puffed his chest out. "Yep. That too. I have it on very good authority that I’m the best looking of the Hale brothers."

She couldn’t argue with that. "Yes you are, Rory. You definitely are," she told him with laughter still in her voice.

His face changed, becoming serious and intense. He lifted his hand, making a fist and closed his eyes. He was concentrating hard. When he opened them he asked in a hopeful voice, "Does that mean you’ll have me, Callie? Will you mate with me? Will you marry me?"

Her eyes filled with tears again. Damn it. Rory could make her laugh and cry in the same breath. She guessed her crying days weren’t quite over…but at least they were tears of joy. "I wouldn’t have anyone else, Rory."

He opened his fist and in his hand was a beautiful ring. He moved back to slide it onto her finger. It fit perfectly. She knew he had made it for her, visualizing in his mind what he wanted and what she might want. It was gorgeous, everything she would have wanted in a ring given with love. Two tiny hearts entwined, decorated with perfect diamonds. One large stone in the middle bringing the hearts together and other smaller ones around and in the middle of the hearts. It was enchanting.

"It’s beautiful," she breathed out softly.

"Never as beautiful as the woman wearing it." He quipped back, smiling broadly.

"If you keep saying those things I’m going to have to make you a banana cream pie." She told him, smiling up at him, her eyes still glistening with tears.

His smile turned seductive and he breathed into her ear, "I could think of something better than a banana cream pie. Would you like to swap a little blood?"

She shivered as his warm words caressed her ear. She could think of all kinds of things she would like to do for this man. "Absolutely not, Rory. You need to heal."

He licked her ear and traveled slowly to her neck. Damn it. She had to toughen her resolve. "Rory, we are not doing this right now."

"I feel fabulous, Callie." His voice was like velvet, sliding over her body and making her shiver.

Yeah…he felt fabulous. She could feel his warm, hard member pressing against her thigh.

She protested.

He seduced.

He won her over to his way of thinking, making her forget all about the banana cream pie.

Chapter 7

One week later Rory woke from his day sleep, reaching for his mate. He sat up, recognition dawning that this was his mating night. He had taken Callie to the vamp headquarters before returning home and collapsing into his day sleep.

The shudders opened, letting in the smells and sounds of the night.

He and Callie’s time had finally come. They would be joined eternally after tonight.

The last week had been the happiest of his life. He could only imagine what life would be like spending it forever with Callie. His mate had taken a leave of absence from her job, telling him she would eventually go back part-time. She couldn’t imagine not being a chef at all. They had traveled the world. (When she could manage to pull him out of bed.) He had watched her excitement as he showed her places like the Taj Mahal in India and the Pyramids of Egypt. She had shown such childlike delight that he had enjoyed sharing her emotions. It was almost like seeing these things for the first time himself. No…it was even better. He was sharing them with his mate.

His brothers teased him without mercy. Ethan was the worst, giving back what he had been given by Rory when he was mating with Brianna. Rory hated anyone touching his mate right now and his brothers knew it. They hugged her, smacked her on the cheek, put an arm around her every chance they could. They smirked when Rory frowned or his face became volatile. Rory had no doubt that they adored Callie as much as they did Brianna, but they also loved to torment him. The bastards!

Rory rolled out of bed, wanting to reach for Callie, but knowing he should not. His friend Adare and Ethan had both warned him not to mind speak. It made his desire to possess her even greater.