A shriek came from Tina, whose eyes glowed with excitement. “Tell me everything.”
“His name isn’t Mark. It’s Tyton.”
“Tyton… wow that sounds very Nmannish.”
“Just like Mark in the book, Tyton runs a large family business overseeing their estate with its fields and woods.”
“Is he a landscape architect like Mark?”
“No, I just made that up because Tyton likes to garden and he’s outside a lot.”
The heaviness in my chest lifted a little just from speaking about my deep secret. “Things happened much like in the book except it was his sister, Wilma, who threw over a letter and her that I began corresponding with.”
I told Tina how I’d believed Wilma was in danger and how I’d gone to save her.
“Oh, Wind and Water, you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met. Weren’t you scared?”
“Terrified!”
“So, what happened?”
“I tapped on what I thought was Wilma’s window and out of nowhere, Tyton attacked me from behind and carried me to a hay barn. I tried to get away from him, but he thought I was a danger to his family, so he was furious. He assumed I was a boy and wanted me to explain myself.” I didn’t tell Tina how Tyton had thrown me around and punched me.
She had her hands to her mouth and her eyes fixed on me as I told all the other details from that night.
“Why didn’t you get on his bike?”
“Because I didn’t know him!”
“Yeah, but if he was anything like Mark, he would have protected you.”
“You’re only saying that because you read my book, but to me, Tyton was a large and very scary Nman.”
Tina’s eyes lowered to my abdomen and a small triangle formed between her eyebrows. “Be honest. Did he rape you?”
“Nooo!!!”
She smiled. “Did he give you a book of tantra sex? Is that what happened? Like Mark did to Deidra in the book.”
“No, that part was all fiction and written by Tyton.”
“What?!”
“How would I know how to write sensual scenes like that? In the beginning he did it to mess with me but then we worked together to create a romance between a Motlander and a Northlander.”
“That’s crazy. I can’t believe that you wrote the book with a real Nman.”
“Yup.”
“And when did you fall in love with him?”
I jerked my head back. Tyton and I had never spoken the words that we loved each other. At least not out loud.
“I mean you must have made love to him at some point.”
I placed a hand on my belly. “The last time I was there, he took me home and stayed for the night.”
Tina’s voice sank to a whisper. “Was it as good as you described it in the book?”
