I do not own any of the characters from Southern Vampire Mysteries. They all belong to Charlaine Harris. Bless her for sharing them with us. Mattie is my very own.

Chapter 1

Thanks in part to Victor, I had a whole week off to myself. Of course I had work to do at Fangtasia, but that was fun. Pam and I screwed around and bugged Eric most of the time. Bill and I had been cooped up in the house for the last 48 hours (hehe) so I really needed to get out. I had been on a steady diet of Bill's blood and crappy food from our practically non-existent pantry. Bill said that I was starting to taste anemic. I really needed a cheeseburger.

It was Karaoke night at Merlotte's. When you get a big group of supes together, it's kind of a kick. Everyone in town was out tonight, cutting loose. We all had a really good time. I was fairly far gone, much to Bill's chagrin.

Most of the residents of Bon Temps had accepted "us" with calm aplomb. There were more supernatural creatures in this town than one would expect. We had Vampires, Shifters, Witches, Fairies, Slayers, Werewolves. Was that it? That's probably enough. My family alone was a cornucopia.

I had always been a bit of a showman and I LOVED Karaoke. I was really excited when Sam told me he was getting one. Most of the drunk residents had taken their turn and it was a turn for the worse. I was kind of in the mood to shake things up a bit. Did I ever mention that I can sing?

Poor Bill. He really hates when I make a spectacle of myself or of him for that matter, but I had been indulging his fantasies for nights (literally) and I deserved to goof off. I made sure to choose a song that would show off my vocal abilities without embarrassing him too much. (Maybe) I took the stage.

HEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

I could feel it from the start

Couldn't stand to be apart

Something 'bout you caught my eye

Something moved me deep inside

Don't know what you did boy, but you had it

And I been hooked ever since

Told my mother, my brother, my sister, and my friends

Told the others, my lovers both past and present tense

That every time I see you everything starts making sense

Ain't no other man, can stand up next to you

Ain't no other man, on the planet knows what you do

You're the kinda guy, a girl finds in a blue moon

You've got soul, you've got class, you've style, think you're bad ass

Ain't no other man it's true

Ain't no other man but you!

If Vampires had the ability to blush I was certain Bill would have been. I was moving through the crowd while I was singing. I made my way over to him, gyrating around. He sat totally still with the exception of one noticeable part. He shifted in his seat, crossing his legs, masking it the best he could.

When I was through with my song, I sauntered back over to him placing myself in his lap.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it."

"You are not sorry."

"You're right, I'm not. I meant every word. You're sexy!"

Boy was I drunk. Oh well, what the hell! I was having a good time. Amelia started belting out "I Kissed a Girl". I grabbed Pam and started bumping and grinding with her. I looked over at Bill and mouthed the words,

Hope my boyfriend don't mind it

before planting one on Pam.

"I'm fairly certain he wouldn't" was the response I got from Bill.

When the song was over, I cozied back up to him and snacked on some fries. It was still pretty busy and Sookie was running around from table to table. Bill needed a refill so he decided to go grab it at the bar. I watched him walk away. I simply couldn't take my eyes off of him. I'm not sure if it was the beer talking or just the truth, but I yelled out rather loudly.

"My God Pam! He has such a cute butt!"

Bill looked back and rolled his eyes at me. I should be used to that by now. He was leaning against the bar waiting for his bottle of blood when a woman came up and threw her arms around him.

"Hi Bill, How are you? You look great!"

I looked over at Pam.

"Who the hell is she?"

Bill looked slightly unnerved, but that wasn't enough for me. I jumped out of our booth and streaked over to him. He saw me coming with a distinct look of dread on his face.

"And just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

I squawked at her as I rubbed myself against Bill. I had become increasingly more possessive of him the more we had exchanged blood. I was becoming one of them, I just wasn't aware of it yet.

"Sweetheart, this is Selah. Selah, this is Mattie. She is my..."

I was curious to see how Bill would finish that sentence. Girlfriend? Mate? Bonded? Personal blood donor? Sex slave?

"She is mine."

I could live with that. I laughed a bit as I spoke to her.

"Oh, Selah. Hello. I've heard absolutely nothing about you aside from your name."

I was clearly in no mood to be nice. Bill had in fact told me a small amount about her. Sookie had filled me in on the rest. She had gotten off on the fact that she was dating a Vampire. She couldn't have cared less who he was. In my opinion, Bill was too special to take for granted and I resented her deeply for that.

She wasn't at all the way I had imagined her. She looked rather prim and proper, with a tight bun in her hair and a tailored suit, somebody who needed to pull the stick out of her...well, you get the picture.

"It's nice to meet you."

She was lying, it was written all over her snooty face. She said she had come back into town to arrange a land deal for a friend. I assumed she thought she could get a little something on the side for old time sake.

"I should probably go. I just thought I'd pop in and see if anyone was around to visit with."

Yep, that had been exactly what she was looking for. I am so smart. From what Sookie had said, nobody else in town knew her as anything more than Bill's date. I cringed at the sound of that.

"Yeah, see ya."

I planted a nice big kiss on Bill's stony face before striding back over to our table triumphantly.

I scootched into the booth next to Pam.

"What was that all about? What did she want from him?"

I was still explaining the situation to Pam when Bill returned.

"Mattie, you needn't have been so rude to her. She was merely being friendly to me."

"Sure she was. She was hoping to get a little friendlier with you I think."

"You're overreacting completely."

I waved my hand at him dismissively.

"Fine whatever Bill. You wouldn't understand. I don't have exes to parade around in front of your face."

I realize that I was being slightly unfair, but it was aggravating. If the tables had been turned, I could only imagine how Mr. Possessive would have reacted.

Jason was in the booth behind us clearly eavesdropping. He refilled my beer from his pitcher.

"She's getting crabby. This should do the trick."

He was right. I took a gulp and moved over to Bill's side of the booth.

"I'm sorry baby. It isn't your fault, but what did you see in her anyway?"

His lips were in a thin line. When he made that face, I knew not to push the issue.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

"WHERE R U?"

"MERLOTTE'S"

"VICTOR WANTS TO TALK"

"WHERE"

"FANGTASIA, BRING PAM"

"OMW"

I looked over at Pam and we both got up to leave. I leaned over to Bill, trying to explain without really explaining anything at all. I knew if I looked disappointed, he'd think it was work related. Which it was. Sort of.

"I have to go baby. Eric needs my help. I won't be long, I promise. I love you."

I kissed Bill on the cheek and smiled at him. He seemed to be accepting of my explanatation, but still gave me a concerned look.

"Relax" I said pointing to Pam. "I'll let her drive."