Fool!

She scolded herself.

A polished man had paid her a little attention, and she was swooning like a maid.

But no, she felt more than swoons. He had allowed her to let out the pain, to speak… and he had listened.

Well, he was probably three villages away by now. As she had recovered from death, she could recover from a few moments of vivid life. She just needed time.

So she busied herself by scrubbing the kitchen floor and preparing some loaves of bread to bake. The sun set and dusk fell. She tried to eat some leftover mutton stew but made sure she left enough for Seamus. Hopefully, he would be home soon tonight with a new colt or two. It was always pleasant to watch him begin a fresh round of training.

She was just settling down by the fire to mend one of his shirts when a knock sounded on the door.

Who could that be? To the best of her knowledge, none of the pregnant village women, even in the outlying areas, were close to their time yet. She hoped someone was not delivering early, and she ran to the door.

Her breath caught when she saw who was standing on the other side.

Edward Claymore.

He and Rose were the same height, so she could look directly into his eyes. His brown hair was windblown, as if he had been traveling, but his expression held her attention the most: confused, even desperate.

"Rose," he began in a familiar manner, as if he had known her a good deal longer than one night. "Forgive me. I…" He stopped.

Her heart pounded in disbelief. He was here. She stepped back and opened the door. "It's all right."

He walked past her, not even looking about at the pleasantly furnished sitting room. "I left, but I had to come back. I wanted to see you again."

"And why is that?"

"I don't know."

His voice held no music or charm tonight, and her skin did not tingle at his words, but she preferred him like this, as if he was showing her a side of himself he shared with no one else. Could this be real? Did she affect him as he affected her?

She had no idea what to say. Words had never been her strength.

"Are you hungry," she asked lamely. "Would you like to sit by the fire?"

"Why am I here?" he whispered, and he did not seem to be speaking to her. The confusion on his face spread, only now he seemed alarmed as well.

She feared he would leave, and she had no idea how to make him stay.

"Last night," he said, looking at her hair. "You made me feel as I haven't felt in a long time. You made me forget."

She did affect him the same way! Is this why people married each other? Did they meet someone who caused turbulence in their stomachs and chests, and then feel a need to make a permanent bond?

"Edward," she said, reaching out and grasping his pale hand, drawing him over to a low couch by the fire. Words were wasted now. She did not know what to do but believed that he did. Pulling him to sit beside her, she touched his face.

To her surprise, he grabbed her hand and stopped her. His grip was strong. "Don't," he said as if warning her.

But he was wrong. And if he would not act, then she would. She moved closer to him, and this time, he did not stop her but simply watched her with fascinated green eyes. She leaned over to kiss him, wondering what his mouth would taste like. He remained frozen for a few seconds and then began to kiss her back, letting go of her hand and holding on to the small of her back.

His mouth opened slightly, moving against hers, softly first and then harder. She responded, running her hands up his chest, finally understanding why women risked so much to experience these moments. She never wanted this to end.

He pushed her back against a thick pillow, and she tried to hold him closer, to kiss him harder, but she could feel something building in his tense body, in the fierce movement of his mouth.

He took his lips off hers and buried his face in her throat.

She had never experienced anything like this. Why had so much time passed before they found each other?

"Edward," she whispered.

Everything would be different now. She knew it.

The tension in his tight body was still building, and she wanted to help him.

"What do I do?" she whispered. "Tell me what to do."

He didn't answer, and then he made a sound she'd never heard from a man, almost a snarl.

She tried to shift beneath him to see his face, but he grabbed her shoulders, held her down, and drove his teeth into her neck. The pain was shocking as she felt her flesh and sinews ripping.

He was drinking, swallowing her blood.

She didn't scream but bucked wildly to throw him off. His hands were impossibly strong, and terror passed through her as she began to grow weak from blood loss.

"Edward!" she cried.

He stopped, frozen. Then he pulled back, and his face twisted into horror. "Oh. Rose, I didn't mean to… I didn't come here to…"

His mouth was smeared in dark red, and her blood was soaking the pillow beneath her head, running from her torn throat in a steady stream.

She was dying. She did not feel fear or rage, only sorrow that her visions of Edward had been an illusion. He was a monster-not a lover, not a husband.

The front door opened, and Seamus walked in.

"Rose?"

He stopped, as if unable to take the scene before him. Then he cried out in anguish, pulling a knife from the sheath at his belt and rushing forward.

"No," she tried to say. "Seamus, don't!" But the words were too soft and gurgling.

Even in her weakened state, Rose never did understand why Edward hesitated, but he didn't move until Seamus was upon him, slashing at him.

The world was dimming, but she could hear Seamus cursing and slashing. Allowing her head to loll, she saw Edward moving at lightning speed, grabbing Seamus' knife hand, turning it, and plunging the blade into his chest.

Seamus' eyes grew wide, and then he collapsed onto the floor, gasping a few times, and then no more. His eyes were still open.

Edward staggered backward, staring at Rose and Seamus in shock, as if he could not believe what had just happened.

But neither could Rose.

She thought she had found love, and she'd let a killer into their house, and now her Seamus was gone.

Blood running from her throat, Rose pushed herself off the couch, falling next to Seamus. At least she could die beside him.

Edward knelt beside her. "I didn't mean for this to-"

"Get away from her!" a voice boomed.

Rose looked up to see Seamus standing over them. He was alive! Whole. But then she realized she could see through him, and his body was still on the floor.

"Oh, no," she whispered. This time, her words were clear.

He had died a violent death and come back instantly in the fire of passion as a ghost, tied to the house or tied to her, and she was dying by inches. What if she did not come back as well?

"Edward," she whispered. "Don't let me die. Don't let me leave him all alone. Please. He's lost everyone. Don't let me die!"

Seamus took a swing at Edward, but his fist passed through Edward's body. Seamus cried out and swung again; this time realization was dawning on his face as he saw his own body on the floor.

Edward looked at the door and back to Rose.

"Don't let me leave him all alone," she begged again, her words almost inaudible. But he could not save her, and she knew it. She cursed herself for letting him into the house.

His face twisted in anger, and then suddenly, he tore the veins of his own wrist with his teeth and shoved his wrist into her mouth. "Drink it," he said, his mouth close to her ear. "Take it all back, and you won't die."

Seamus screamed in rage and helpless frustration.

The grotesque nature of Rose's actions did not dawn until later. She could only think of Seamus, and she drew down, sucking dark fluid from Edward's wrist as the macabre scene in her sitting room grew even darker.