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"Eddie?" He swore softly "No one has ever called ain"

"No, no, I like it" He stared at her, blinked, and blinked again "What did you say?"

"I love you"

"Kelly!" He shook his head "You can&039;t"

"But I do" Tears burned her eyes "You&039;re still in love with Marisa, aren&039;t you? She&039;s beautiful I had lunch with her today"

"You did?"

She had shocked him this time; she could see it in his eyes "Yes We had a nice visit"

"What did you talk about?" he asked, his voice wary

"What do you think?"

"That&039;s what I was afraid of" He shook his head "And you&039;re still here"

"She told me there&039;s a vampire hunter in town Why didn&039;t you tell me?"

"I didn&039;t want to worry you"

"That&039;s what she said Is it someone you know, from before?"

Raether in the past"

"Does he know? Did you tell him?"

"Hell, no He probably would have staked me on the spot"

"But you said he&039;s your friend!"

"He hen I was human He would be my enemy now, as I would have been his if the situation were reversed"

"I&039;m sorry, Eddie"

"Kelly" His hand stroked her cheek, slid around to cup the back of her head, slowly drew her closer

Her eyelids fluttered down as he kissed her His kiss arm and tender She felt his need, his desire His loneliness Once again, she heard Marisa&039;s voice in the back of her mind Don&039;t be afraid to love Edward He needs it more than anyone I&039;ve ever known

Almost as if she could read his mind, she kneas true, knew he had been lonely most of his life He had dedicated his heart and soul to destroying those he considered evil, and now, in a cruel twist of fate, he had beco, and the loneliness, the e him alive

She put her arainst his, her handsrestlessly over his back, under his sweater His skin felt warertips Her blood had done that

She was breathless when they drew apart She gazed into his eyes aover his lower lip He gasped, his ar her close

"Eddie"

"Kelly, I we shouldn&039;t"

"Don&039;t stop," she whispered "Please don&039;t stop"

"Have you ever you know?"

She titled her head to the side, a question in her eyes "Made love, you mean?"

He nodded

"Of course Haven&039;t you?"

"Just once," he admitted And then wondered if Marisa had told her about Khira Girl talk! He was in uncharted waters in every direction "Well twice," he a at him tenderly "You still remember how, don&039;t you?"

"It doesn&039;t matter"

"Why not? Oh!" Her cheeks turned scarlet "You can&039;t, can you? That&039;s why Marisa can&039;t have children Oh, Eddie, I&039;ape And then he laughed "Is that what you think? That I&039;ht Marisa said"

"Vampires are sterile, Kelly The dead cannot create life" His arms fell to his sides, and he stood up "This will never work"

She reached for his hand, pressed it to her breast "It doesn&039;twoman with your whole life ahead of you You deserve a ive you children, one who can share your whole life, not just half of it"

"It doesn&039;t matter None of that matters"

"Damn it, Kelly"

"It&039;s true I love you, Eddie, for better or worse You said you loved me before Did you mean it? If you don&039;t, say so, and I&039;ll leave, but if you do, then at least give us a chance Please give us a chance"

He dropped to his knees in front of her "I do love you, may heaven help us both I love you more than I have ever loved anyone And I need you, ine" His knuckles stroked her cheek "And not just your blood But I&039;ertips over his mouth "Don&039;t be"

He took her hand froer "You&039;re the one who should be afraid," he er, he stood in one convulsive movement, lifted her into his arms, and carried her up the stairs

As soon as they entered her bedrooain "Are you sure about this, Kelly?"

She nodded "I&039; that naer, carefree He lowered her to the bed, sat down beside her, and drew her into his arer, nervous and unsure of himself

Kelly wrapped her arms around him "Kiss me, Eddie"

Her lips arhter, afraid to let her go for fear she ht vanish Shethrough every fiber of his being She leaned into hiue danced with his Desire blazed within hi hell that surely awaited hiroaned, the ache of his need painful in its intensity

His senses came alive at her touch His nostrils filled with her scent: shampoo and toothpaste, the soap she had bathed with, the chicken she&039;d had for dinner, a hint of smoke fro scent of her blood His tongue stroked her lips, her neck, the taste of her skinthan wine He listened to the sound of her breathing, the beat of her heart, the soft sounds of pleasure rising in her throat His hands slid under her sweater Her skin was satin-sertips, ith life

He sed a gasp of surprise when she took his hand and placed it over her breast

"Kelly" Her naroan, a plea

Her clever hands reed out of her blouse; his hands were tre visibly when he removed her bra

"You are beautiful," he murmured "So very beautiful"

He drew her into his arainst the coolness of his own Desire pounded through hiue

He pressed her down on theboth of hers over her head

She gazed up at hi for control, he took a deep breath The scent of her blood aroused his hunger The beast roared to life, de to be released

He opened his eyes, and for a moment he didn&039;t see Kelly; all he saas a way to end his pain, satisfy his hunger

"I love you, Eddie," she whispered "No matter what, I love you"

He closed his eyes, his whole body treer It was a battle he could not lose Doing soa measure of happiness in the hell that was his life

"Let me," he whispered

She turned her head to the side and closed her eyes, but not before he saw the tears tre he had ever seen anyone do

He released her hands and slowly bent his head toward her Murue over her skin, felt his fangs prick the tender flesh of her neck

Her blood, the sweetest nectar in all the world It soothed hier, freed his natural senses to respond to her own need She was reaching for hi restlessly "Please, Eddie"

"Kelly Kelly"

He had taken her blood, and it had forged a link between them that could not be broken He whispered her naain as he drew her back into his ar her as he claimed her at last - claimed not only her body but her passion and her love Joined flesh to flesh, her thoughts beca, what she was thinking What she wanted He granted her desires before she could utter them, pleasured her as no other man ever would

He had heard that people in love considered themselves two halves of the same whole, two souls but one flesh He knehat that meant, knew it in ways that mere mortals would never know

It was an experience like no other He was in his own body and in hers, experiencing everything she felt Every sense was heightened, sharpened She was his now, mind and body and soul, and he would love her and protect her as long as he had the power to do so