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Kelly tapped her fingertips on the tabletop, her gazeto so She stared at the drink in her hand, so far untouched She hadn&039;t craved a drink while living with Edward, but for the past week it had been all she could think about Just one drink to help her forget, to ease her loneliness - her sense of having betrayed his

She lifted a hand to her neck, wondering rong with her that she should ely erotic, having him drink her blood Sheover her, hot not only with hunger but with desire He had wanted her She had known that froentleth of his arms around her No matter that he was a vampire, she had felt safe in his es, pills, booze They weren&039;t the answer to her proble and left the bar It was raining Gri, she crossed her ar she were closer to hoination, but then she heard it again, the sound of a heavy footstep She paused, as if she were tying her shoe, and glanced behind her but saw no one She wanted to run; instead, she walked briskly, her head up, her shoulders back Don&039;t look like a victi lot, she fished her car keys out of her purse

She was slipping the key in the lock when a hand fell on her shoulder and spun her around Before she could screa In the dark, that was her first and only i lot, sla Her stomach churned at the sour srabbed a handful of her hair and bent his head toward hers

Edward! Edward, help ain as her attacker forced her down to the ground, his hands hot and heavy at her throat

Ramsey whirled around, surprised when he didn&039;t see Kelly standing behind him Her voice had sounded so real, so near It took hi her cry for help in his head

He let his intended victi through the night with preternatural speed, his passing no more than a blur, a cool ripple in the air

He took in the scene at a glance: Kelly writhing on the ground, her shirt torn, one eye black, theher doith one hand at her throat while the other tugged at her jeans Rage consuht was to destroy the man who had dared attack his wo the ainst the wall There was a sickening crunch of bone as the man struck the wall, then landed in a puddle of rainwater He didn&039;t move The scent of blood filled Ramsey&039;s senses, but for once he had no desire to feed - kneould rather starve to death than touch a drop of the man&039;s blood

Kelly looked up at hi froasped, her voice raw "You caroaned when he scooped her up in his arms

Ramsey brushed a kiss across her brow "I&039;ently, he willed thehts ahead so that when they arrived, the lights were on, a fire burned in the hearth, a hot bath awaited her

When he would have put her down, she clung to him, her face buried in the hollow of his shoulder Great, shuddering sobs racked her body

"We need to get you out of these wet things,&039;&039; Ra aard and uncertain, torer she aroused in him, he dropped down into the easy chair beside the fire and held her close, one hand lightly stroking her hair

"Did he Kelly, did he ?" He could find no tactful way to ask if she had been raped

"No You got there before he before" Tears flooded her eyes, soaked his shirt

For the first tirateful to be a vaht, he had truly killed a ht, and it hadn&039;t been a vampire

He held her and rocked her until her tears subsided, and then he took her upstairs Keeping his gaze averted, he helped her out of her dao, she caught his hand "Stay with me"

"Kelly"

"Please I don&039;t want to be alone"

He glanced over his shoulder, relieved to see that bubbles covered her up to her shoulders Certain he was e of the tub, his hands clenched at his sides Did she knohat she was doing to hiht?" he asked

She nodded "I am now" She ran her hand over his shirtfront "You&039;re all wet"

He shrugged Rain, heat, cold: he was impervious to it all now

"How have you been, Edward?"

He frowned at her "How can you worry about ht?"

She lifted one hand to her face, winced when her fingertips touched the bruise on her left cheek "I don&039;t want to think about that Not now"

He looked at the bruises on her face, thought of what that ain that he had gotten there in tian to wash, he stood up and turned his back to her, but he couldn&039;t shut out the sound of the water sloshing around her, couldn&039;t keep his i it were his hand holding the cloth that wasover her body

"Edward?" she called softly "I need a towel"

He ju his back to her, he pulled a towel from the shelf and handed it back to her

She stood up, and he heard the water sluicing down her body An aching need pulsed through hi to drive him crazy?

He plucked his robe off the back of the door and offered it to her, again without looking at her

He cursed his preternatural hearing, which allowed him to hear each move she made, no matter how s over her skin as she slipped into his robe, hear her tying the sash around her waist Hear each breath He cursed the difference in their ages She was young and fresh, with her whole life shining before her He had been alht him across, and now he felt ancient, corrupted, a creature of the night whose soul was shrouded in blood and death and darkness

He went suddenly still at the touch of her hand on his back

"Thank you for saving me, Edward"

Slowly he turned to face her "I will always be here when you need aze intent upon his face "Always?"

Unspoken between theo on, that he had tried to end his existence and failed

"Kelly"