Kelly tapped her fingertips on the tabletop, her gaze moving restlessly over the crowd. Several couples were dancing to some sad country song. She stared at the drink in her hand, so far untouched. She hadn'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 him, failed him. As she had failed at so many things.

She lifted a hand to her neck, wondering what was wrong with her that she should miss his teeth at her throat It had been strangely erotic, having him drink her blood. She missed his dry humor, the touch of his gaze moving over her, hot not only with hunger but with desire. He had wanted her. She had known that from the first, yet he had ever been a gentleman. She remembered his kisses, the strength of his arms around her. No matter that he was a vampire, she had felt safe in his embrace. Protected.

Loved.

She pushed the drink away. Drugs, pills, booze. They weren't the answer to her problems. They never had been.

Rising, she picked up her handbag and left the bar. It was raining. Grimacing, she crossed her arms over her breasts and hurried down the street, wishing she were closer to home.

At first, she thought it was just her imagination, 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't look like a victim. Moving around the corner to the parking 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 scream, he clapped his other hand over her mouth.

He was big. In the dark, that was her first and only impression. He dragged her toward the back of the parking lot, slammed her up against the wall of a building. Her stomach churned at the sour smell of his breath, roiled with fear as he grabbed a handful of her hair and bent his head toward hers.

Edward! Edward, help me!

She repeated the words over and over again as her attacker forced her down to the ground, his hands hot and heavy at her throat...

Ramsey whirled around, surprised when he didn't see Kelly standing behind him. Her voice had sounded so real, so near. It took him a moment to realize he was hearing her cry for help in his head.

He let his intended victim fall to the ground untouched. Seconds later, he was moving 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, the man pinning her down with one hand at her throat while the other tugged at her jeans. Rage consumed him, filled him, enveloped him, until his only thought was to destroy the man who had dared attack his woman.

Silent as death itself, he struck. Lifting the man as though he weighed nothing at all, he hurled him against the wall. There was a sickening crunch of bone as the man struck the wall, then landed in a puddle of rainwater. He didn't move. The scent of blood filled Ramsey's senses, but for once he had no desire to feed -  knew he would rather starve to death than touch a drop of the man's blood.

Kelly looked up at him, dazed, a trickle of blood oozing from her lower lip. "Edward," she gasped, her voice raw. "You came."

She groaned when he scooped her up in his arms.

Ramsey brushed a kiss across her brow. "I'm sorry.' Holding her gently, he willed them to his house.

He sent his thoughts 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,'' Ramsey said.

"Not now; just hold me, please."

Feeling awkward and uncertain, tormented by her nearness, by the hunger 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 time since Chiavari had given him the Dark Gift, Ramsey was grateful to be a vampire, grateful for the power that came with it. This night, he had truly killed a monster, he thought, and it hadn'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 damp clothes, lifted her into the tub.

When he turned to go, she caught his hand. "Stay with me."

"Kelly..."

"Please. I don't want to be alone."

He glanced over his shoulder, relieved to see that bubbles covered her up to her shoulders. Certain he was making a mistake, he sat on the edge of the tub, his hands clenched at his sides. Did she know what she was doing to him?

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked.

She nodded. "I am now." She ran her hand over his shirtfront. "You'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 me after what happened to you tonight?"

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

He looked at the bruises on her face, thought of what that monster would have done to her, and was glad all over again that he had gotten there in time.

When she began to wash, he stood up and turned his back to her, but he couldn't shut out the sound of the water sloshing around her, couldn't keep his imagination from going wild, couldn't help wishing it were his hand holding the cloth that was moving over her body.

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

He jumped as though scalded. Keeping 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 him. He swore softly. Was she deliberately trying 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 small or how quiet. He could hear the cloth whispering 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 almost twice her age when Chiavari brought 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 me, Kelly."

She looked up at him, her gaze intent upon his face. "Always?"

Unspoken between them was the knowledge that he did not want his life to go on, that he had tried to end his existence and failed.

"Kelly..."

"Always, Edward? Can you promise me always?"

"Will you stay with me this time, Kelly, no matter what happens?"

"Yes."

"Then I promise I will be here for you for as long as you wish it. You are the only light left for me," he said, his voice thick. "I don't think I am strong enough to go on without you. Promise me you'll never leave me again."

Her hand cupped his cheek, "I promise." She tilted her head to one side, a faint smile curving her mouth. "Do you think we should seal our vows with a kiss?"

He slid his arms around her waist and slowly drew her toward him. "Kelly..."

Rising on her tiptoes, she put her arms around him and murmured, "Kiss me, Edward."

The press of her body against his, the whisper of her breath across his face, filled him with an aching tenderness the likes of which he had never known. He drew her closer, crushing her breasts against his chest. Sweet, so sweet. He kissed her tenderly at first, afraid to hurt her, afraid that he would somehow repulse her, that she would change her mind and pull away.

He was startled when he felt her hips move against his groin, felt her hands slide down to cup his buttocks, felt the tip of her tongue brush his lower lip.

"Kelly..." He gasped her name as desire flared within him, hot and bright as Fourth of July firecrackers.

She opened her eyes and smiled up at him, a lazy seductive smile. "Yes, Edward?"

He cleared his throat. "What are you doing?"

"What does it feel like I'm doing, silly? I'm kissing you. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yes, but..."

"But?"

"Before when we kissed... that time on the beach... you said..." He was almost stammering. "I mean, you said we needed to slow down."

"Well, that was then," she said softly. "And this is now. A girl can change her mind, can't she? And I've changed my mind." She looked up at him, her eyes shining. "Have you?"

"I..." He felt his breath catch in his throat. He had hunted dangerous vampires, looked death in the face, but nothing had ever frightened him quite so much as his attraction to the woman gazing up at him through the thick veil of her lashes.

"What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong? You want me. I know you do."

"More than I have ever wanted anything," he admitted. "But I can't. Not now."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid I am not in control." The violence earlier, the smell of blood from his victim, the rush of the kill, the musky scent rising from Kelly: all called to the beast within him. Hunger clawed at his vitals, squeezing tighter, tighter, until the pain was unbearable.

She moved toward him, one hand outstretched.

He drew back. "Don't!"

Her arm fell to her side. "Should I leave?"

He shook his head miserably, afraid she had misunderstood. "I need - that is... oh, Kelly."

Damn it, it was humiliating to need her like this, to have to ask her for that which no one should take.

But he didn't have to ask. Seeing the torment in his eyes, she lifted the hair from her neck, turned her head to one side. "Take what you need, Edward."

"Damn it, Kelly..."

"Just do it, Edward," she said, her voice thick. "I want you to..."

A low growl rose in his throat as he lowered his head, the beast stretching its claws, coming to life, rejoicing in what he was about to do. He felt his fangs lengthen, heard the increased beat of her heart, smelled her fear and her excitement as his hands curved over her shoulders, holding her firmly in place.

"Do it," she urged gently. She was trembling. "Do it. I want you to, Edward... but don't hurt me, please."

He drew back. Took a deep breath. This was Kelly. He needed her. She trusted him. Exerting every ounce of self-control he possessed, he lowered his head again. Ran his tongue over her neck in a loving caress.

Groaned softly as he took what she offered.

Wept, as he felt her hand caress his cheek.

"It's all right, Edward," she said with a sigh. "It's all right."

Closing his eyes, he let her sweetness assuage his unnatural hunger even as her nearness fanned the flames of his desire.