Destined (Vampire Awakenings) (20 page)

   Abby and Vicky groaned;
Jess paused in the middle of applying her suntan lotion, while Delia frowned thoughtfully. Her mom was smiling happily as she slid into the chair next to Kathleen. “You two are unbelievable,” Kathleen said
to her
. “It’s like you’re still in college.”

   “Yep,” her mom said brightly.

   “Isabelle, come on!” Ethan yelled.

   Isabelle closed her eyes, she didn’t want to play, she didn’t want to go anywhere near that game, and Stefan. “Come on Isabelle.”

   She opened her eyes to look up at Aiden. He was grinning down at he
r, his hand stretched out
. “I don’t want to.”

  
He blinked at her in surp
rise; shock momentarily crossed
his face before he grinned brightly at her again
.
“You have to play, it’s my last game.”

  
Isabelle frowned at him as she shook her head.
“You’ll be back.”

   “But it won’t be the same, come on Isabelle, you love playing, and I want you too.”

   She couldn’t refuse the pleading look in his eyes, and the fake pout on his face. She sighed wearily and slipped her hand into his. He hauled her to her feet. She followed him slowly out to where everyone had gathered in the middle of the backyard. Mike and David were always the team captains, and the assigned teams
they usually played with
had already taken their positions. Jack, Ethan, and Julian stood by Mike, and she walked over to join them. David, her father, Ian, Aiden, and Doug stood opposite them, smiling smugly as David picked Stefan for his side. Mike immediately picked Kyle, who was being allowed to play for the first time. The remaining four humans were divided between them.

   She walked to her side of the field, feeling stiff, and wooden. Their football games could get rough and rowdy, her brother’s had no problem with slamming her into the ground, and neither did the stooges. That’s why she loved to play, but now...

   Isabelle was chewing nervously on her bottom lip as she glanced quickly over at Stefan. Would he tackle her? Would he touch her? She found herself shuddering with dread, and anticipation, at the thought. She listened half heartedly while Mike outlined their first play. The ball was coming to her, which she wasn’t at all surprised by. Mike was hoping that Aiden’s friends wouldn’t want to tackle her.

   They lined up, and her eyes instantly darted to Stefan. He was standing next to her father, and across from Ethan. She sighed in relief as she realized that he wouldn’t be anywhere near her. She turned her attention back to Aiden, who walked over to stand before her, grinning happily. Isabelle forced herself to smile back.

   “My friends refuse to tackle you,” he said happily.

   “Your friends wouldn’t be able to catch me
,
”
she retorted.

   “Hey!” one of them protested.

   Isabelle glanced quickly at hi
s friend
before turning her attention back to Aiden. His eyes darkened with worry as he stared at her. All of their special abilities were called off for their games because the stooges
,
and her father,
w
ere
stronger than her brothers, and her. Even without them though, Isabelle was the fastest. She didn’t have the physical strength of the others, but if she broke away, none of them could catch her. Her team loved her for it, while David’s team hated it. They usually flipped a coin to decide who would have to cover her. Aiden had obviously lost, and he didn’t look happy about it.

   Mike called hike, and they all broke. Isabelle darted to the right, laughing as Aiden scrambled to keep up with her. She caught the ball easily, tucked it against her chest, and darted down the field. She crossed the spray painted line on the ground, and turned to hold the ball laughingly out as Aiden panted to a halt beside her.

   He shot her a disgruntled look as he took the ball from her hands. “Slow poke,” she teased.

   “Hmm,” he grunted.

   The game went
by
quickly in a blur of laughter, and lighthearted banter. After a half an hour of play, Isabelle began to truly relax. She had been nowhere near Stefan throughout the whole game, and he seemed to be content to stay away from her. In truth, it somewhat aggravated her, but it was what she wanted after all, wasn’t it?

   She shook the thought, and the confusion away
,
as half time was called. She gratefully trotted over to the cold water on the sidelines, dr
i
nk
ing
it eagerly down to ease the dryness in her throat. She stood between Ethan and Ian, feeling secure between their tall, solid bodies. She poked her head around them, her eyes instantly landing on Stefan as he
t
alk
ed
with David. As if sensing her gaze, he turned slowly toward her.

   His eyes sparkled mischievously as a soft smile curved his full mouth. Her eyes widened as she realized that she had been caught looking at him, and a dull heat began to stain her cheeks. She was never shy, and very rarely got embarrassed, but one look from him caused heat to suffuse her body, and her throat to close up. For a moment, she felt like a child who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

   She quickly turned her gaze to less threatening things. Her mother and Kath
leen still sat on the sidelines;
her father
was
now by her mother’s side. Isabelle rolled her eyes as she looked away from them. She wasn’t going to be like them, she wasn’t going to let that happen to her. She refused too. She turned her gaze angrily toward Jess and Delia. They were sitting beside them, their eyes glued on Isabelle, and narrowed angrily. She was momentarily startled by the fierce
hostility
that radiated from the both of them. An anger that was directed solely at her. An uneasy feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. She had never been hated by anyone before, but she was certain that they both did
hate her
.

   “I’ll be right back,” she said around the lump in her throat.

   Ethan glanced quickly down at her. “Where are you going?”

   “I
nside for a minute.”

   “Hurry up, the games going to restart soon,” he replied impatiently.

   Isabelle hurried away from them and up the steps of the porch. She just needed some time to get her thoughts back together, and to shake off the lingering dread from Jess and Delia’s look. They truly hated her. The thought brought a tight knot to her stomach, and the hot sting of tears to her eyes. She batted them angrily back as she slipped into the cool comfort of the kitchen.

   This was
his fault too, she decided. Jess wasn’t
stupid;
she had to have noticed that something odd was happening. But it wasn’t Isabelle’s fault, it was all his. She had been going out of her way to avoid him. He was the one that was always there, always prodding at her. Why couldn’t Jess see that she should be mad at him, not her?

   Isabelle locked herself in the bathroom and leaned against the door as she tried to steady her nerves. Sighing heavily, she walked over, turned on the cold water, and liberally doused her face with it. By the time she was done, her anger had grown. She was an idiot to get so upset over what Jess thought about her. What did she care what the girl thought, she didn’t even like her? Stefan was her boyfriend, and if she chose to be mad at Isabelle because he was a horny bastard, than that was her own damn fault, not Isabelle’s.

   She turned the water off, determined not to let Jess bother her anymore. Stefan was an entirely different matter. No matter what she did, he bothered her. She avoided him physically, he invaded her dreams. She tried not to think about him, but he was constantly on her mind. One look at him caused her to tremble and heat. She didn’t know what to do about him, but she knew that she couldn’t stay hidden
in the bathroom
forever. Ethan and Aiden would come in and drag her out by her hair if she didn’t get back to the game soon.

   She cast a quick glance at her reflection, and froze. She looked like hell. Her face was flushed from the game, her hair
was
in wild disarray, and there were dark smudges under her eyes from not sleeping. She suddenly realized that she didn’t want to look
awful;
she wanted to look at least somewhat presentable.
She didn’t want to think about the reason why she wanted to look better, she knew why; she
just didn’t want to admit it.
Hurriedly, she pulled her hair into a neater ponytail. It didn’t do much for the overall ef
fect, but at least it was a little improvement
.

   Feeling a little better, and a little more in control, she straightened her shoulders and flung the door open. Stefan was standing before
her
a
n
eye
brow raised questioningly,
and
a bright gleam in his dark eyes as he quickly surveyed her. Isabelle’s heart leapt into her throat as all of her new found composure vanished, and fire flashed through her body. His eyes came slowly back to
hers;
the gleam in them was gone as they darkened with a ravenous hunger. For a moment, her breath froze in her lungs, and the world around her vanished as his gaze burned into her soul. With heart stopping certainty, she knew that he was about ready to devour her, and she found herself welcoming it.

   “I was sent to get you.” His voice was deep and husky with desire.

   Isabelle forced herself not to shiver. “Okay,” she managed to say. She took a step forward, but he put an arm out,
effectively
blocking her exit. She looked back at him, determined not to let her fear, or her fierce longing for him, show. “I thought you were sent to get me?”

   A small, predatory smile curved his full mouth as he took a step toward her. She took a step back, but he planted his other arm behind her, blocking her escape. Isabelle’s eyes widened in surprise as her mouth parted in anticipation. She turned to face him, her back pressed firmly against the doorway as he leaned closer.

   “I was,” he said hoarsely. Isabelle swallowed nervously. Her whole body was aching and trembling. She just wanted to touch him, to feel him. She needed to with a desperate longing that shook her from head to toe. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

   She wanted to lie, to deny it, but it would be pointless. She had been avoiding
him;
he knew it as well as she did. “I’ve been helping my mom,” she hedged.

   “Ah, I see.” His finger brushed against her cheek, causing her to jump as a bolt of electricity, and need, sizzled through her. Isabelle couldn’t stop herself from turning her head into his gentle touch. He took a step closer
as
his hand wrapp
ed
around the back of her head. “You said you were going to stop fighting me Isabelle.”

   She licked her lips nervously, instantly regretting the action as his eyes latched onto her mouth. The look of a starving man, who had just found food, came over his face. A small gasp of anticipation escaped as she realized his intent. His head bowed as he gently brushed a kiss against her quivering lips, lightly nibbling and teasing as her body began to tremble in response. His hand tightened upon her hair as the kiss deepened. His tongue thrust in to take possession of her mouth. She grasped hold of his shirt, clinging to him as her knees grew weak, and all of her senses were flooded with the taste, and feel of him.

   Stefan reluctantly broke the kiss. He shouldn’t have come here, he knew that, but he had been so aggravated at her for avoiding him. He had needed to confront her on it. But the minute that he
’
d seen her, he’d had to touch her, to feel her. To remind her of the passion that
so easily bloomed between them
so that she would stop ignoring him, and driving him crazy. He had made the mistake of thinking that he would be able to control his own desires
.
H
e had been wrong. She w
as driving him damn near insane.

   “You are going to stop avoiding me!” he ordered in a much harsher tone than he
’
d intended.

   The passion faded from her clouded eyes as anger sparked forth. Her jaw clenched and her hands fisted in his shirt as she tilted her chin to glare at him. “Why don’t you just leave me alone and go molest your girlfriend, you arrogant, unfaithful, horny bastard!” she spat.

   Stefan almost laughed, would have laughed, if he hadn’t been so hard, and so aggravated
with her
. He almost told her that Jess wasn’t his girlfriend anymore, that he had ended it with her and was now sleeping on the couch, but he bit his tongue. He didn’t want
Isabelle
to know that she had
any
power over him
, especially not as much as he did
.

   Something inside of him had changed, and he knew that it had everything to do with the woman standing across from him. He couldn’t seem to get her out of his head. Even when he slept, she haunted his dreams. Dreams that left him fully
hard
and
completely
aroused. Dreams that haunted him
all day long
. The things that he did, that
she
did in those dreams were enough to drive him insane.