To dream about being this happy would onlyset her up for crushing disappointment when it was all ripped awayfrom her. This could all come crashing to an end, but she didn’tthink it would. Kyle wouldn’t break her heart.
In the distance, she heard the hum of thecity, but it was far more serene in the park as the glow from thelamps illuminated the walkway. They passed a few people, but forthe most part, they were alone.
Kyle draped his arms around her shoulders,and when he pulled her close, her heart melted. She’d tried to denyit, but she had no doubt she was falling in love with this man.
The idea of it scared her, but not as badlyas she’d believed it would. She had no idea what the future heldfor them, but she was incredibly glad to have him in her life.
“I don’t want you to leave,” he said. “I loveyou, Melanie.”
When she tilted her head back to look at him,her mouth went dry.Helovedher?
Melanie hadn’t ever expected to hear thosewords fromanyone, but now that she had, it was themostwonderful thingever. For a second, she feltlike a princess in a Disney movie, singing to the cartoonbirdies.
The image was so vivid and so absurd shenearly laughed out loud, but that was probablynotthe bestreaction to have after hearingIloveyouforthe first time.
She opened her mouth to tell him that sheloved him too, but a rustle in the bushes alerted her something wasthere, a second before a man burst out from between the trees. Herushed at them with an inhuman speed she recognized as a vampire,but she’d never seen one outside of the laboratory.
Her mind instinctively went to the stakes shestopped wearing when she and Kyle started pawing each otherregularly. Trying to explain that weapon wasnotsomethingshe could do, but she still had her mace in her pocket.
But she would never get to it in time. Andthen Kyle was pushing her behind him before turning to face themonstrosity head-on.
“No!” she blurted.
Kyle unleashed a punch that snapped thevampire’s head back and knocked the creature off its feet. Melaniehad only a second to register that shouldn’t be possible beforeanother vampire emerged.
CHAPTER 17
The rotten stench ofgarbage filled Kyle’s nose as the Savages descended. The first onehe punched was hitting the ground when the second launched itselfat him.
He grasped the creature’s arm as he twistedto the side and turned it over. Bones cracked as he bent itbackward and forced the Savage to the ground. The vamp’s howlfilled his ears and drowned out the distant noise of the city.
The first Savage was already regaining itsfeet and bounding toward them. Deciding that it preferred not todeal with him, it went for Melanie. Before it could get to her,Kyle spun and grasped it by the back of its shirt.
Yanking it back, Kyle ripped the vamp off itsfeet. He lifted the creature and flipped it over his head to smashit onto the sidewalk. When he stomped his foot down on the back ofits head, he ignored the sickening crunch.
Though badly maimed, the Savage wasn’t dead,but it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Kyle turned hisattention to the other one as it rose. Its eyes darted between himand Melanie.
He didn’t want Melanie to see this or learnwhat he was this way, but it was too late. However, he would dealwith the aftermath later. For now, he had to keep her safe.
When the vamp went for her, he shot out hishand and palmed its face. With a jerk to the right, he snapped itshead to the side. The crack reverberated throughout the park, asdid the wrenching sound of muscle giving way when Kyle took it downand tore its head from its shoulders.
Blood dripped onto the sidewalk in splattersthat sounded as loud as rain on a tin roof. Every one of thosedrops rebounded in his head until it was all he heard.
Taking a deep breath, he shut out thedrowning sound of blood and lowered his head. Then, he turned toface her.
The look on her face was worse than he couldhave imagined and would be forever etched into his mind. She gazedat him with revulsion and dismay. Everything inside him shrank fromthe disgust on her face, but why wasn’t she running away?
Melanie couldn’t understand what she wasseeing, but at the same time, she understoodeverything.Blood splattered Kyle’s handsome face, and his red eyes were morevibrant than any of the lamps around them. On the ground, thevampire he’d beaten moaned as its twitching fingers clawed at theearth.
Despite the noise it made, Melanie couldn’ttear her eyes away from Kyle to look at the creature. How was itpossible the monster standing across from her wasKyle?
No matter what her eyes said, this couldn’tbe real. He’d treated her with such kindness, tenderness, andprotectiveness. He’d made her laugh and held her close; he’d kissedher and done things to her that made her almost weep withpleasure.
He walked with her in the daytime and satacross from her at the dinner table. He’d drunk beer with her andintroduced her to his family.
She’d fallen in love with him, and though shehadn’t said it to him yet,he’dtoldherthat heloved her.
And all of it was… was….
