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scar there that marred my back. A reminder of what had
transpired. His fingers traced the jagged skin that slashed across
my spine and came to rest on my left buttock. It was sheer luck not
to have been permanently damaged from it.
 How did you get this?
 Five years ago, I dated a man named Mark Cooper. We went
out for two years. We were happy. Then things went to shit. I
started working late. I thought things were good, but he accused
me of having an affair with my boss. He was jealous of other guys,
but he wasn t controlling or abusive or anything. My boss was
going through a lot of personal problems, and the company was
restructuring so I was helping him out. If it all worked out I
would ve gotten a really great promotion.
 Anyway, one night I got home past ten. Mark had mentioned
that he wanted to do dinner, but I had completely forgotten about
it. When I arrived, I saw the candles and how they had burned
down. The plates of cold food. I felt bad. I walked into the
bedroom, and he was sitting on the bed. He had tears in his eyes
and a ring lying on the bed. An empty bottle of wine stood on the
nightstand. Mark said that he d had enough and that he was going
to leave. I tugged on his arm, nearly dragging him back into the
bedroom. He shoved me into the wall. I lost it. I ran after him and
clutched his arm again. We were in the living room.
 He said he found evidence. Receipts for hotels and dinners,
but those were from the clients I had handled for my boss. Mark
thought it was all part of me trying to hide the affair. I was
distraught. I grabbed one of the vases and threw it at him. He
dodged it. He d been drinking and pushed me backward. I
stumbled and landed back first into the glass coffee table. He tried
to help me up, but lost his footing and fell down into a shard of
glass. It went straight through his chest. The phone had been
knocked down near me. I called the cops. They broke the door
down. I was taken to the hospital and was questioned. The courts
ruled it was an accident. Ever since, it s weighed on my conscience.
I ve pushed the memories down, hoping to forget them.
 I almost had. I d resigned myself to being alone for the rest of
my life. And then you come along and become my vampire in
shining armor.
 What happened was an accident. There is no curse. You
deserve to be happy. You ve suffered long enough. Forgive
yourself.
I sniffled and nodded.  I ve told myself that many times. But it
never happens. I ve gone out on dates before, but they all end
badly. One guy, while crossing the street to meet me, was run over
by a bus. Another one fell onto the third rail of the subway and was
electrocuted while I watched. I could tell you more horror stories,
but I m sure you don t want to hear about them.
He smoothed my hair and hugged me.  I can understand why
you think you re cursed. But you ve just had a run of bad luck.
Very bad luck.
 But I don t want it to rub off on you. I don t want you to get
hurt because of the evil cloud that hovers over me.
Keaton smiled.  I won t. I m over two thousand years old. I can
take care of myself.
 Yeah, but what if now that you ve met me, the curtains fall
down and you go up in flames. Or Ivan beheads you. Someone
follows me here and stakes you. I couldn t bear it.
 Nothing like that is going to happen. I swear.
 You can t be sure of that. I  
He placed a finger to my lips.  Hush. I can take care of us. You
are my life now. Don t you know that?
I shook my head barely believing what I was hearing from him.
He was willing to take care of me. He didn t believe that I was
cursed. Neither had Stephania. She had said all I had to do was tell
Keaton and he would understand. It seemed that he did.
He took another tissue and dabbed my eyes with it before
handing it to me. Keaton swiped his thumbs across my cheeks
taking away the excess moisture and smiled. I saw the absolute
love in his gaze. He saw me as a jewel. It was evident in the way
that he handled me. In the way that he loved me.
 I don t see how you could. I backed away and blew my nose
before taking another tissue.
Keaton chuckled.  Madison, you re beautiful, intelligent, and
so full of passion that it burns inside of you. You ve dampened the
flame so much that you haven t let yourself experience it for a long [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]