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  "How did I get here?"

  "Where are we?"

  Questions surrounded him, and he managed to avoid them by breaking free and stumbling across the street to where Bettia performed first aid on his wife. She was so pale. "How is she?" He coughed out the words.

  "I don't know. We need to get her to a hospital. She needs blood."

  "Can't we just get her a bag to drink?" Anthony was confused. Had they lied about being able to drink bagged blood?

  "No. Dyanna has a pulse. It's weak, but I think she's human again. My spell worked. I didn't tell her, but I think I was able to save her because she never took a life. You're

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  not dead; you never killed?"

  "No, I never killed anyone. Dyanna never gave me a chance, but I found a way to control the vampire needs. I never asked for this either. I just didn't want to lose her."

  Anthony flagged down one of the first responders.

  Soon his wife was on a gurney, on the way to the hospital.

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  EPILOGUE

  Nondescript Apartment Building on Chicago's North Side

  Bettia left the apartment to go to work. They'd both gotten a fresh start after the fire. Joanie still hadn't completely forgiven her for being MIA for a year and refusing any sort of explanation. They'd decided on Chicago because Bettia had secured the job quickly after applying online. She was a surgical nurse at Rush University Medical Center.

  Dyanna didn't have to go into the café, since it was a day she wasn't scheduled. She looked at the messy apartment. It was definitely time to clean. Going to the closet, she pulled out the broom and her furniture polish. A knock sounded loudly at the door, and she walked over to see who it was. Looking out the peephole, all she could see was the profile of a man. Cautiously, she opened the door without releasing the chain lock.

  "Can I help you?"

  "Yes, you can, by forgiving me." Anthony's voice sounded contrite.

  Pulling the door open, Dyanna gazed up at her very

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  mortal husband. "I thought you were dead." Her voice was cold and emotionless, not betraying the joy in her heart.

  "When the news reported on the fire, your name was on the list of the people who died. I'm still shocked the authorities never figured out the truth about the vampires. Darius was smart to have built his family from people he'd found across the country."

  "He also never let anyone stay in the clan more than a decade before killing them. I think he was afraid someone would recognize a long lost family member who hadn't aged at some point. The bastard made a lot of enemies."

  She hadn't seen him after the fire. She'd woken up in the hospital with Bettia and Joanie at her side, but no Anthony. He'd disappeared; they'd assumed he'd died from injuries, or maybe the spell. Yet, here he stood, alive.

  "I'm sorry." He looked like hell.

  "For what, killing me, or saving me?"

  "Never for saving you. I love you, Dy. I didn't know how to apologize, what to say." He ran his hand through his hair. "I've tried to live without you, but I can't. I know you can't forgive me, but I can't stay away anymore. Honestly, I've been building up the courage to find you since the fire, but when I thought about the look in your eyes… I never want to see you look at me like that again."

  "That's a pretty shitty excuse." Bitterness laced her

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  words with vehement.

  "I know. Dyanna, God, you're so damn beautiful."

  He pushed into the apartment, enveloping her in his arms.

  His lips found hers with a blinding desperation that stole her breath. She clung to him. She'd missed how he tasted, how he held her. Despite her anger, it felt unbelievably good to be in his arms again.

  He pulled back to look deeply into her eyes. "I never want to lose you again. I don't want to live without you."

  "I know." She felt the same way. She was angry—

  bitter, but she loved him. No matter how big a bastard he'd been, he was the only man she'd ever loved. Dy wanted to kick herself in the ass.

  "Will you be with me, Dy? Give me another chance?"

  He was asking a lot of her, too much. "I don't know.

  I need time, lots of time. I'm not going to tell you that I never want to see you again, but I honestly don't know if I can ever forgive you."

  He crushed her to him in a kiss that told her just how much he wanted that second try at happiness.

  "You are my salvation, Dyanna. I'll be the man you deserve."

  "I hope so." She meant it, something profound had

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  changed in him, but she needed to take it slow.

  "I'll take whatever you can give me. I didn't know how to say how sorry I am."

  "You just did. See? It wasn't so hard."

  His eyes became hard. "I haven't been the kind of husband I want to be, but that's going to change. I'm so pissed at myself for what I did to you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me, honey. Can I take you out on Friday night, just like old times?"

  "Yes." It was a start, and Dyanna felt her heart lift for the first time in over a year. "I'm not going to promise you we can ever really be a couple again, but I'm willing to see where things go."

  "Thank you," he whispered. She could see gratitude in his expression.

  "Just don't expect too much," she told him quietly before looking away so he wouldn't see how much she still longed for him.

  "Every moment you're willing to give me is a gift, Dy. I won't push you. You have the best heart of anyone I've ever known. I don't deserve a second chance."

  "I know," she replied. "This is just dinner."

  He nodded, and she could see how much her hesitant forgiveness meant to him.

  "Whatever this is, it's more than I have the right to.

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  Thank you, sweetheart. I love you, Dyanna."

  Once she'd loved him with her whole heart. They'd both changed, suffered. She touched his face gently. "The old Anthony betrayed me. I'm willing to get to know who you've become."

  He pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I'm going to be a better man for you, Dy."

  She tried not to cry, but felt her eyes misting. "I hope so." She pulled back and looked up into his handsome, albeit tortured, face. As Dyanna gazed into Anthony's eyes, she realized the man he could become was worth fighting for.

  The End

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Ashlynn Monroe has been dreaming up stories all her life.

  She started to put them on paper at thirteen, but it wasn't until she was thirty that she decided to share them with others. She's a busy mom with a full-time job, fantastic friends, and a unique sense of humor. She's just a regular girl who's in love with the idea of happily-ever-after. She's honored to be multi-published by some of the best electronic publishers in the industry. Ashlynn survives each day by dreaming up her next tale of romance.

  Adult Website:

  http://ashlynnmonroe.com/

  Young Adult Website:

  http://ashlynnmonroeya.webs.com/

  Facebook:

  www.facebook.com/ashlynn.monroe

  Twitter:

  twitter.com/ashlynn_monroe

  Blog:

  www.ashlynnmonroe.com/apps/blog

  Email:

  [email protected]

  ALSO BY ASHLYNN MONROE

  Available at Silver Publishing: Passion's Escape

  Lost Hearts

  Just One Night

  Wish

  Vampires and Mistletoe

  "One Night in Aphrodite's Panties" in Captured… Heart and Sou
l

  A Daddy for Christmas

  Betrayal

  Available at Wild Horse Press: Blood and Bondage

  Hidden Magic

  Dark Miracle

  Wild Hearts

  My Soul to Keep

  Kiss Me, Kill Me, Bite Me

  Reality Stinks

  Available at Knight Romance Publishing: The Clockwork Hearts Series

  Available at Cobblestone Press: Chemical Lust

  Available at Evernight Publishing: Fallen Angels

  Protector Mine

  Available at Changeling Press: Star Prince

  Beauty

  Available at Beachwalk Press: Slave to his Desires

  Available at Decadent Publishing: The Vengeance Series

  Back in the Saddle

  Available at Keith Publications: Blood Kin

  The Templar Vampire Series (coming soon)

  Available at Willow Moon Publishing: Dream Mists

  Young Adult Available at Wild Horse Press: MIRAGE HIGH

  Mirage

  Images

  Reflection

  Oasis

  Haven

  Sanctuary

  Asylum

  Refuge

  Freedom

  Liberty

  Table of Contents

  PART ONE

  PART TWO

  EPILOGUE