Authors: L.R. Potter

Blood Haze (30 page)

“When
she found out… what I am. She killed herself. I couldn’t take that risk with
you… not with you. You were too precious to me. I didn’t want this for you,” he
said sorrowfully.

She
leaned her forehead against his as sorrow at his pain ripped into her heart,
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

He
gave her a small smile before pressing his lips against her forehead. A fist
inside his chest squeezed his heart until he gasped at the pain. Here she was,
dealing with the scariest thing in her life – because of him - and she was
feeling sympathy for
him
. “It was a
long time ago. But I wanted you to live your life not knowing about the
monsters like me… like the vampire who’d attacked you.”

“Oh,
God! He’s still out there,” she cried fearfully.

He
wrapped his other hand around the nape of her neck. “No, he’s not. I destroyed
him that day in the morgue. You don’t ever have to fear him ever again.”

She
sat back heavily in her chair and stared into his tortured and anguished face.
Her lips began to tremble and with a hand that shook, she lifted it to
tentatively touch him. She brushed her thumb against his lips – those
magnificent lips which had kissed her so gently; had seared her body with such
passion. Now it was gone. All the beauty they’d shared, gone… vaporized into
nothingness. Her vision blurred once more as tears coursed down her cheeks.

“You
were my soul-mate… the other half of me. I felt it… I was so sure. I… I dreamt
of you,” she whispered on a heaving breath. “How can this be true? I don’t know
what to do. What do I do?”

His
chest expanded as pain tore through him. Sometimes knowing what had to be done
didn’t make it easier. “You go out there and live the best damned life
imaginable,” he said softly.

“I
don’t think I can. I don’t know how… not without you,” she sobbed as she threw
her crudely-wrapped arms around his neck.

He
sucked in a breath at this torture. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed
as tight as he could. He pressed his lips repeatedly against her head. “You are
the bravest person I know. You deserve a wonderful life. I love you so much… so
damned much! You are my heart… my soul.”

“Is
this goodbye?” she cried against his ear, her body quaking with harsh sobs.

He
closed his eyes tightly as his chest burned with what he was about to do. He
pressed another kiss against her head before pulling back. He reached behind
his neck and unfastened the chain suspended there. He’d not removed it since
his mother had given it to him. He pressed a kiss against the pendant before carefully
fastening it around her neck. “Do you remember the story I told you about this
pendant, the crescent moon?”

Her
chin wobbled. “Your mom gave it to you so you would remember that life changes.”

He
nodded and once again cupped her tear-streaked face. He swallowed at the lump
in his throat. “That’s right. And now, I want you to have it. Now you’ll always
remember that life ebbs and flows. It will get better… with time. I promise.”
He struggled to clear his throat. Raggedly he said, “I want to kiss you, okay?”

With
a catch in her voice, she replied, “Yes.”

Slowly,
he lowered his mouth to hers and pressed his lips gently against her trembling ones.
He swallowed the sob which passed through her lips, trying to absorb her pain.
With one last, lingering kiss, he drew back shakily. He smiled tenderly at her,
and one last time whispered, “Arabella, my Arabella.”

Then
he raised his thumbs up to her temples and stared intently into her eyes. She
held his gaze so trustingly, it felt like someone was reaching into his chest
and ripping his heart out. Slowly, her eyes lost their focus and her body began
to go limp and finally she slumped into his arms, staring up blankly toward the
ceiling. He continued to stare into her eyes until every last memory of him was
wiped from her mind. She would not remember anything from right before they’d
met that night at the Night Owl.

He
gathered her limp body against his own as harsh, racking sobs tore from his
chest and he howled against the agony. He’d not had a choice. Hazing her was
the best thing for her… the only thing. While she would never remember him, he
knew he’d never, ever forget her.

~ The End ~

Dear Readers: I hope
you’ve enjoyed Blood Haze. Rest assured the story is not over. Look for its
amazing continuation in Blood Havoc due out May 2014. For questions or
comments, please email at
[email protected]
or on Facebook. Keep a look out for my Website page which should be available
soon!

~~Other books by LR Potter~~

The Hourglass Killer Trilogy:

Dwindling Sands

Shifting Sands

Cascading Sands

The Hourglass Killer Trilogy – All three books together

The Color of Snow Series: (Paranormal)

Snow Blind

Snow Flurry

Memory Lapse – A Slater Vance Novel

Flawed Beauty

The Rush Series: