Ava believed him incapable of love, though his affectionate whispers always found her ears.  They haunted her.  His last gentle touch, soft on her warm skin, still made her tremble.  And the one passionate kiss they shared lingered on her lips, never to be forgotten.

            She despised him for preying on her mind this night.  Though it’d been months since their last meeting, he was still in her heart imploring her not to leave.  Candles spread throughout the room, soft music playing in her ears, and he’d knelt down on his knees with pleading eyes—pathetically beautiful.

            For the first time in the months they’d been apart, tears welled in her eyes.  Mingling with the downpour of rain, it became difficult to see where she was going.  Lightning sporadically streaking across the dark sky lit her way to a small shelter at the edge of the park.

“I picked a wonderful night to go out walking,” she cried as she sat down on the dry bench and watched the torrential rain through solemn eyes, unaware of another set watching her.

“Good evening.”

The deep, intoxicating voice startled her, sending a dance of fingers grimly across her skin and up her spine.  She stood fast wiping her eyes with her trembling hand so she could see the man who spoke to her.

“William?” she whispered in an apprehensive voice.

“It’s me,” he replied softly.

He grinned, though his lips remained motionless.  Concealed in dark clothes as if he wore the night, his appearance played the part perfectly—a man of darkness, wicked intentions of stealing the essence from his human foes.  She again remembered why she left him.  And though he oddly showed kindness in him, they could never be together.

The light at the end of the park reflected dimly on the pale skin of his face chiseled flawless, strong and absolutely striking.  And the wet curls of his hair, tucked beautifully around his ears, showed he hadn’t been there for very long.

 “What are you doing here?” she asked, finding her confident voice, though she hid the weakness in her knees.

“I had to see you.”  His voice lightened as he moved closer to her.  “Yet, I can sense your fear of me now.”

“Just don’t,” she said as she took a step back.  “Don’t come any closer.”

Lightning flashed.  In the fraction of the moment, his appearance was clear.  And the weakness in her knees became unbearable.

“I’ve missed you,” he spoke softly as he stopped just before her.  He gently palmed her uncertain face.  “Three years you were by my side suppressing my loneliness for a friend.  You were the light in my darkness.”

“Don’t say such things,” she insisted, shaking her head in disappointment.  “If I was your friend, you would have told me what you are from the beginning.”

He dropped his hand from her face and stood rigid.  “You wouldn’t have believed me,” he retorted.  “Vampires don’t exist, and neither do I.”  He turned away from her regretful eyes.  “Isn’t that what you told me before you left?”

Remembering her last words to him, she sighed in remorse, but the memory still pained her, lingering fresh in her mind.

“I was so confused when I saw you with that woman, the way you held her in your arms.  And when I saw what you were doing to her…”

She closed her eyes, trying desperately to get the image out of her head.  His sharp canines had quickly left the woman’s neck as he turned his vicious eyes on her.  Blood dripped down his chin onto his muscular chest, bare and against hers.  And the woman gnashed her fangs.

The gentle touch of William’s hand brought her back to the shelter, and she opened her eyes to find him kneeling before her.  Tears streamed her cheeks, but it wasn’t fear of him making her cry.  These were tears of heartbreak.

“I didn’t mean for you to see…” he pleaded in a soothing voice.  “Only pure breeds are the true undead with a need for human blood.  But there are many like me, half-breeds, part vampire and part human.  We can live off each other without taking innocent lives.  That was all you were seeing, but you left before I could explain.”

He stood up and walked to the edge of the shelter.  And as he leaned against the banister, he sighed in shame.

“I love you, Ava, more than anything,” he confessed, emphasizing his voice over the thunder.  “It broke my heart when you left me.”

“Don’t talk to me about a broken heart,” she demanded, quickly standing on her feet, ready to run away into the pouring rain, but instead she found herself walking toward him.  “It took six months to get you out of my mind!  But I can’t seem to get you out of my heart.”  Tears streamed her cheeks when he turned his somber eyes to hers.  “That night I came to your house, I wanted to tell you.  But when I found you in her arms, baring this new look I had never seen, I was horrified.”

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, daring to continue his apology, but was silenced by the soft touch of her finger against his lips.

She tucked a stray curl behind his ear and then palmed his cheek.  “You gave me time I needed to realize that it wasn’t you I was afraid of.”  She slid her arms around his neck and pulled him down to meet her eyes.  “I was afraid of losing you to someone else.”

He slid his arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet, and for a moment gazed into her eyes.  His lips curved upward into a generous grin as he slowly parted his lips over hers, embracing the moment in their second electrifying kiss, and one she hoped would lead to more.