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“That’s not true!” Keena blurted out. She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. “I don’t believe that, Mirabelle. He doesn’t love me. He lusted after me, but that can be replaced with the next woman. I’m sure if you give him time, he’ll get over it.”
“Are you getting over it?” she asked.
Keena didn’t answer.
“I know you love him, sweetie. I saw it in your eyes so many times when you looked at him, but I told myself it wouldn’t last, that you were just like all those other women that throw themselves at him, even the married ones sometimes. But watching you two together, it was like no one existed in the world but you and him. From the moment he saw you, and vice versa, you couldn’t stay apart. You were drawn to him as much as he was to you.”
Keena muffled a cry and sniffled. “No, you’re wrong. He-He just used his power on me. I felt it at different times.”
“He wouldn’t do that. That other one taught him how, told him he could control people, but Ryan said he wouldn’t do that. That other one said he was an idiot for not taking advantage of all they could do. You see why we love Ryan? He’s still a good man, like he always was. He does have something special, always did.”
Keena remembered that first time they were going to make love, Ryan drew back when he felt his power take control of her, push her to give herself to him. She’d had to seduce him to make him go all the way. What Mirabelle said about that was true, but it didn’t change what happened with Jade.
“You don’t understand, Mirabelle. This is a big deal. All of you said he was better off alone, that he had to bear this burden by himself. And besides that . . .” She didn’t want to say what destroyed her more than knowing what he was.
“You’re talking about Jade. If that dirty woman wasn’t Jeb’s daughter, I’d have skinned her long ago. Well, before he disappeared in his room, Ryan told Jeb she’s never allowed on his property again. If he wants to see her, he’ll have to go down to Denver to see her himself. Jeb told me later what Jade told him. She was blubbering all over the place because Ryan laid into her. He told her she was the most heartless, despicable person he’d ever met, and it was because of her making you think they slept together that his life had been destroyed all over again. He told her he hated the sight of her, and he never wanted her to set foot at his ranch again, or he’d give her nightmares she would never recover from.”
Keena put a hand to her chest, her eyes widening. “Oh my goodness, he said that? But why, I thought he . . . She made me think he had . . . Why?”
“You know why, Keena. Now what are you going to do about it?” With that, Mirabelle ended the call, leaving Keena to sit there and review all that she said.
* * * *
Keena shook from head to toe. She used the wall for support and nodded to Jeb to leave her alone outside of Ryan’s door. As soon as he was out of sight, a thump sounded from the other side of the door, but it didn’t open.
“Why, Keena?” Ryan asked on the other side. “Why are you here?”
She gasped. “How did you know?”
“I know your scent, the sound of your walk.” He uttered a cry of anguish that ripped at her heart. “I even hear your pulse racing. You’re afraid, afraid of me. Why are you here?”
She moved closer to the door and rested her hands on the cool panel. She imagined him on the other side doing the same. Tears slid down her cheeks at the loneliness, the isolation he must feel, like no matter what he did life would never be better. “I love you, Ryan.”
He didn’t answer.
“Did you hear me? I said I love you, and I don’t want you to hurt yourself because of me.”
The bitterness in his tone was obvious. “Don’t worry. I cannot die anymore. Even if I don’t feed, I go on existing, just a husk of my former self.”
She cried harder. “Have I made a mistake thinking you love me too?”
“It’s not about love. Of course I love you. I loved you from the second I saw you, and it terrified me, but I couldn’t stay away. I followed you everywhere like a silly lost puppy. And you with your kind heart let me do it. You became my lover, and I stupidly thought I could find a way for us to continue like that, in a way where you wouldn’t find out my secret.”
“You never eat and don’t seem to sleep. You move like lightning, and from the hardness of your body, I suspect you could have taken that bear with ease.”
“I won’t kill anyone, even animals. I was distracted thinking about saving you but at the same time keeping you from knowing what I was. I was stupid. Keena, about Jade—”
“Mirabelle told me the truth. I admit I was ready to believe the worst.” She tested the doorknob, but it remained locked. “I got a note to come to your cabin by someone who didn’t sign. You always come to me, and you’ve never shown the slightest interest in her. On some level, I knew you loved me by the way you looked at me, by the way you seemed to come alive when I was around. That made me feel amazing. It healed my broken heart.” She gathered her courage. “Ryan, I want to be with you. I want to be like you. Make me a vampire so we can always be together.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying! This is a curse.”
“I know that I can’t live without you, Ryan. Tell me you love me. Tell me if you can go on without me.”
“Keena,” he said with a sob.
“Tell me, Ryan.”
“I love you more than life or death, more than blood. I can’t bear to be without you, and it’s killing me all over again to be apart from you.”
