Free Beloved Monster by Karyn Gerrard

spoke to me again.” Astounding how fresh the hurt stung after all this time. Regardless, she dismissed it immediately.
    Reed clasped her arms; meeting her gaze, he held it. “Listen to me. The creature in there is not Ravenswood. Do not allow foolish, feminine, romantic ideals to cloud your judgment. I thought you smarter than most females. Is there any woman in the area who has not fallen for Ravenswood’s so-called considerable charms? My own cousin.” He stepped away, lips curled in disgust.
    Embarrassment covered her. She had fallen for the viscount’s considerable charms. “I apologize for being human and flawed. And feminine romantic ideals are not foolish. At least women possess the courage to acknowledge deeper emotions. I am not an automaton like you.” Glenna was sorry for the words as soon as she said them, for a look of such agonized hurt crossed Reed’s face, she hugged him tight. Something they had not done before. “Forgive me, Reed. I did not mean it.”
    Instead of pushing her away, he returned the comforting embrace. “I loved once, Glenna, when in my early twenties. The young lady threw me over for a title. My small fortune was not enough to lure her to my side. Since then, I have immersed myself in science. I know what is said about me: The mad man who lurks in his cellar involved in all sorts of unnatural things. It turns out the talk is accurate. I no longer care. This is my life and I accept it. But what I cannot accept is you harboring a tendre for Ravenswood in whatever incarnation. It is not to be borne.”
    Glenna stepped back. “I feel compassion for Luke. And from what little I have observed, he is nothing like Ravenswood. Nothing. They are two separate beings.” Reed shook his head in disbelief, weariness plain on his face. “Listen to me, Luke figured out he died; he just doesn’t know for how long. He shed a few tears, Reed. Is that not proof enough he feels ?”
    “It very well could be, and that is all fine and good, but what will we do with him? I hardly slept last night for the worry. He cannot take up his old life. My God, look at him. Can you stand there and tell me you could harbor feelings for…that? Him, the way he is?”
    Glenna’s head began to ache. A slow rolling wave of pain settled behind her eyes. For she also did not receive any sleep the previous night for much the same reasons as Reed. The future lay before them with a decided uncertainty. And her attraction to Luke grew in intensity while every encounter made her heart ache with yearning. How to explain it? She couldn’t. If she was sure of one thing, she was long over Ravenswood and the heartbreak he caused. The unfortunate episode lay firmly in her past.
    Regardless what Reed thought or claimed, she knew her own mind. Nor was she trying to recreate her infatuation with Ravenswood through Luke. In fact, her feelings for Luke were different and certainly based more in reality unlike her previous dreamy fantasies for the viscount. “It is true, he is not quite as handsome as he once was, but what does that matter? Considering you told me earlier he used the privy in the back of the laboratory shows he has bodily functions. He eats and is regaining his strength with each passing hour. His speech is improving. And he is experiencing real emotions. What additional proof do you require that he is alive?”
    Reed took two steps forward until he was mere inches from her face. “Since he is experiencing all you mentioned, it means he will also feel base lust, extreme rage, and I am beginning to suspect, tremendous strength and healing abilities.” Reed’s raspy whisper sounded tense. “We are not sure he will be able to control those impulses. He may be a danger to himself and others. To us.”
    Glenna clutched her throat. In danger? No. “Then we will teach him to be in command of his actions and reactions.”
    Reed walked away, his breath blowing out in exasperation. Glenna believed with all her heart