A Midsummer Night's Demon(25)

He had attempted to see her, called her numerous times, and she denied him each time, refusing to allow him to talk to her. For weeks after the incident in the park, her fear kept her from returning his calls. She wanted to have her normal, sane life back. Now she found herself wondering what sane was.

Was it sane to believe every vampire to be the personification of evil? Not all demons acted the same, so why should she assume all vampires did?

Ky didn’t seem evil. Deadly, yes. She’d seen that with her own eyes. But she didn’t think of him as evil. And she’d spent a lot of time thinking about him, replaying their time together in her mind.

He had been nothing but good to her, treating her with tenderness, and taking care of her injuries. He could have taken advantage of her while she stayed in his home, but he had not. Instead he’d been a perfect gentleman.

There had been depth to their passion that went beyond anything she had ever experienced before. She wanted him in a way she’d never wanted any other man. Had Ky somehow influenced her into wanting him, like the vampires in the movies did?

She didn’t think so. If he’d been controlling her mind, he would have continued doing so after she refused to see him. He had been very persistent in his pursuit of her since that night in the park.

Every few days she arrived home to find a message on her machine requesting she allow him to explain. Had he been controlling her mind, he could have forced her to contact him or let him inside any of the times he’d knocked on her door.

Life seemed so empty without him. Every time she heard his voice she struggled not to call. Well, not at first. The first few weeks after the incident, she had been angry and upset. Ky had made an easy target for her pique at the time and that wasn’t fair.

In the past couple of weeks, she’d come to realize the fault lay with her attacker. He deserved her anger, her hatred. She now blamed Raziel for what happened to her, not Ky.

Lyn looked across the table at the empty chair. It taunted her, reminding her of her loneliness. She’d given up the one man in her life she thought she could love. A tear of regret rolled down her cheek at the loss. The loss of her normal world. The loss of passion.

The loss of him.

****

Two months later

Lyn rolled over in her bed, and kicked the covers from her body. She turned her head to look at the clock. Three in the morning and all was not well.

Ky had stopped calling. It hurt worse than she could have imagined. She had not realized how much she loved the sound of his voice. In a strange way, his messages seemed as if she were coming home to him. Hearing his voice, knowing he still wanted to see her had kept her heart light.

Weeks had passed since his last message. He must have given up on her ever calling back, and she could not blame him. For over six weeks, she’d ignored his pursuit. He probably thought she hated him.

Funny, but it was herself she hated. She chastised herself for not realizing sooner how much she cared about him. It took his complete absence from her life to realize she needed him. She didn’t want to live without him. Without hearing his voice. Without knowing he cared.

Daelyn realized she loved him. And the time had come to admit it, to both herself and him.

Her hand went to her throat, her fingers traced the faint scar. Could she live with him being a vampire? Did she feel safe with him?

YES, her mind screamed.

She had never been surer of anything in her entire life. It had taken time, but she now realized Ky, the man, and Ky, the vampire, were one in the same. He had never hurt her, just the opposite, in fact. He’d been kind and tender. He had stirred a fiery passion within her that melted her bones. He was everything she wanted in a man.

Handsome, sweet, and he put her needs before his own. The way Ky looked at her, as if she was the only woman in the world, touched her heart. He opened doors for her, and saw to her comfort. She could spend the rest of her life loving a guy like Ky.

The rest of my life. She looked at the ceiling of her bedroom. I wonder how we could be together.

Demons lived a long time, often more than two centuries. If the movies could be believed, then Ky would live a very long time. Being mated to a vampire wouldn’t be so bad if her mate came with a long life, superhuman strength and speed. While not keen about the drinking blood part, she decided she could handle it, if it meant several lifetimes with a man like Ky.

And for all she knew vampires didn’t drink blood. In their time together, she never saw Ky consume anything that looked like blood. Since she had not given him a chance to explain about himself, she couldn’t be sure blood drinking came with the territory.