Destined (Vampire Awakenings) (38 page)

    A loud bellow filled the room as Stefan came forward, his eyes blazing with violence. Jess spun toward him, her mouth gaping in shock. He seized hold of her arms, lifting her easily off the ground as he
pulled
her forward. Jess cried out in surprise, her feet kicking wildly in the air. Isabelle leapt forward, grasping hold of his arm, certain that he was going to kill her. “Stefan
no!”

   The fury that radiated from every inch of him
filled
the room,
it
slamm
ed
through her, and sh
oo
k her to the marrow of her bones. Jess whimpered as she squirmed wildly in his grasp. “You’re hurting me!”

   “I’ll kill you if you ever lay a hand on her again! If you ever look at her again!” he roared vehemently. Jess went limp in his grasp, her eyes wide as tears of panic filled her eyes. “Do you hear me?” he snapped, shaking her forcefully.

   Jess whimpered again. “Stefan, please don’t,” Isabelle begged, pulling uselessly on his arm. She had about as much effect on him as a flea would have.

   “Do you hear me?” he bellowed.

   Isabelle jumped in surprise, her heart leap
t
into her throat. “Yes!” Jess cried. “Yes!”

   He stood for a moment longer, trembling with fury, before he finally released her. Jess stumbled back, her knees buckling she slumped to the floor before staggering quickly back up. Isabelle took a step toward her, meaning to help, but Stefan grabbed hold of her arm, his fingers digging painfully into her skin as he pulled her back. Jess cast them a wild, frantic look, before rac
ing
from the room.

   “Are you okay?” he demanded.

   Isabelle whirled toward him, tears filling her eyes as she ripped her arm free of his grasp. “No!” she yelled. “No, I’m not!”

   His face softened as he took a step toward her, but she backed rapidly up, shaking her head as she held up her hands
to ward
him off. “Isabelle...”

   “Stay away from me!”

   Stefan’s anger blazed back to life as his jaw clenched forcefully. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around herself, trembling uncontrollably. Her beautiful cheek was reddened, and guaranteed to
bruise;
blood dotted her split lip,
it
trickl
ed
down her trembling chin. The smell of it, sweet and metallic, surged through him, causing something primitive and wild to surge forth. He fisted his hands as he desperately tried to bring it under control, to reign in his wild need to drink from her.

   He had been dying to taste her, to have her taste him, to fill her in every way, but he had continued to hold back. He was no longer afraid of what it would mean, but he had seen the fear that filled her eyes whenever he looked at her neck. That fear had kept him at bay, but it was becoming increasingly harder every
day, every time he touched her, not to take her.

   Now, smelling her, seeing it on her, he was damn close to losing all control and forcing it upon her. He knew that it was the final step, the one thing that would bind them forever, and that they would have to do it, but he had thought that he had time for it. He knew now that he was wrong. The urge was becoming stronger as their bond grew stronger.

   She absently wiped the blood from her mouth. Stefan’s eyes fastened on it, blazing with the sudden hunger that rocked him. Isabelle whimpered softly. He looked bac
k at her as she stared at him w
arily, her eyes bright with tears, and fear. “No,” she said softly, her hand flying to her split lip.

   A muscle jumped in his cheek as he fought against the demon inside him. “Let
’
s go.”

   She shook her head fiercely. Stefan fought against his mounting frustration as he forced himself to take a deep, calming breath. “I need to be alone. I need to think!”

   His eyes snapped with fury as they latched onto her. “There is nothing to think about!” he nearly roared.

   She jumped in surprise
;
her eyes dart
ed
anxiously toward the doorway. He was terrifying her at the moment. She had seen the fierce hunger in his gaze when he
saw
her blood, had felt the need that had ripped through him. Isabelle clearly recalled the pain of the last time that someone had drunk from her. It was seared permanently into her nerve endings, into her brain, and she was never going to let it happen again.

   His hunger, on top of what had just happened with Jess, was more than she could stand. She was still shaking from Jess’s brutal attack, and Stefan’s overwhelming fury. She needed to be alone, needed time to think. She was much too rattled for this right now.

   “I just need a few minutes,” she mumbled, trying to stall for time, trying to get a hold on her shaking body.

   “For what?” he hissed.

   “She hates me!” she cried. He took a step closer to her. Isabelle’s eyes widened as she took another one back, her heel connecting with the wall. She had effectively trapped herself. He took another step toward her. “Because of you!”

   Rage snapped and blazed through him. “There is nothing that I can do about that!”

   “Just give me time to think!”

   “Think about what?”

   “To sort things out!”

   He was before her, his arms pinned to the wall beside her head, before she even saw him move. His eyes blazed with a fire so fierce that an involuntary cry of fear ripped from her. “I cannot undo my past Isabelle,” he hissed.

   “Don’t hurt me.”

   Her whispered plea managed to rip through his fury as her hand
fluttered
over her mouth. The terror in her gaze and the trembling in her body seized hold of him. Self hatred, and disgust, rolled forth as he slumped toward her. “I’ll never hurt you Isabelle,” he promised. “I’m sorry about Jess, I truly am, but I can’t do anything to change it. She’ll be gone soon, and I swear that I won’t let her hurt you again.”

   She bit down on her bottom lip to repress a sob, and instantly regretted the action as a flash of pain shook her. His eyes flashed onto the blood that flowed forth again. Terror, fierce and mind shattering, flared within her. “No!” she screamed, shoving against him.

   For a moment, Stefan was knocked off balance by the strength behind her sudden thrust. Regaining his balance, he seized hold of her arm before she could bolt from the room. She spun wildly, lashing out in panic. He
grabbed
hold of her hand before she could claw into his face. Isabelle sobbed and
jerked
at her arm, frantically trying to break the iron hold on her wrist. He
took
hold of her other arm, pinning it to her side as he held her firmly.

   She tried to struggle free of him, tried desperately to escape, but his hold was like a steel vice upon her. She went limp, sobbing softly over the futility of her struggles. He was ten times stronger than her, fierce
r
, and more determined. There would be no getting free of
him;
he would do whatever he wanted to her.

   “You said you wouldn’t hurt me!” she cried.

   Stefan closed his eyes against the tumult of emotions rocking through him. Her terror was tangible as it beat against him in pulsating waves. It was the only thing keeping the demon in him at bay, the only thing keeping him somewhat in control. Her words about needing time to think things out, and her attempt to get away from him, had nearly shattered every ounce of restraint he had. It had brought the demon bursting instantly forth.

   She was his, and he was growing tired of holding himself back from possessing her in every way. He was growing tired of the fight that she still waged against him, even if she didn’t realize that she was doing it. She was afraid of what would happen if he drank from her, but it was something that needed to be done, needed to be completed. Otherwise, he would snap, and force it on her, and she would never forgive him if he did. He would never forgive himself. But it was going to happen soon. Very soon, whether she was willing, or not.

   “I don’t
want
to hurt you Isabelle.”

   “I can see Stefan! I can see what you want!”

   His eyes flew open, blazing into hers. “It’s what I
need
!” he hissed. Her eyes, shining with tears, widened. “You are mine Isabelle.”

   “I...” she broke off, swallowing heavily as tears slid slowly down her cheeks. “I know that.”

   He took a deep breath as he
clenched
his jaw. He knew that she didn’t understand what he was trying to tell her. He forced himself to release her arms, she was scared enough without being trapped by him. He walked over and picked up the box, determined to show her that he wasn’t going to force anything on her. Not yet anyway. If she kept fighting him, than he didn’t know what would happen. He knew that it would hurt again, if she resisted him, but if she didn’t...

   He actually didn’t know how it would feel if she didn’t resist him. All the humans he had fed from had never known because he had blocked it from their minds, and memories. The only
person
who had ever fed off of him, except Kyle, was the woman that had changed him and it had been the most excruciating experience of his life. He knew why Isabelle feared it, recalled the agony that had seized him, but he also knew that this was something that he
wanted, something that he
needed
with every ounce of his heart, and soul.

   “Let
’
s talk about this later.”

   He hefted the box and turned
to face her. She watched him w
arily, the tears on her cheeks drying slowly. “Stefan...”

   “Later Isabelle.”

   She wanted to fight with him, wanted to protest his highhanded, commanding manner, but she instinctively knew that he would became enraged again. There was something wrong with him, something bothering him
.
S
he didn’t know what it was, and he didn’t seem willing to tell her at the moment. She wasn’t entirely sure that she wanted to know. She had seen the fury that had consumed him, seen the near loss of control that had seized him, and she was scared that it would happen again, and this time he wouldn’t come back.

   Isabelle shuddered as she wrapped her arms around herself. She knew what he wanted from her, but she also knew that she could not give it
to him
.

CHAPTER 19

   “I can’t believe that bitch slapped you!”

   “Abigail
!” her mother said sharply.

   Abby sent her a rueful look, but her eyes were full of fire as she turned back to Isabelle. Isabelle shrugged as she added more paint to the roller. “You should have hit her back!”

  
“She has a right to be mad Abby,
”
Isabelle said softly.

   “She does not!” Vicky yelled.

   Isabelle closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she prayed for patience. She didn’t need her sisters ranting and raving on top of everything else on her mind. All things considered
, the day was totaling up to a bad one
. It didn’t help that Stefan had given her the time that she’d requested, and gone with her father, and David, to feed. Her body longed for his return. It was beginning to become almost intolerable.

   She slapped the roller against the wall as she grit her teeth against the clawing ache in her body. “I’m glad she’s leaving tomorrow. I don’t know how Kathleen has such a miserable bi
…
witch for a daughter,” Abby continued, catching herself just in time as her mother shot her a warning look.

   “I don’t know what Stefan saw in her in the first place. I mean, how could he be with someone like that?” Isabelle
’s jaw clenched as a f
ierce jealousy seized her. For a moment, the room was shaded in a haze of red as her hands tightened in a death grip upon the roller handle. “He could have his choice of women, what...”

   “Vicky!” Isabelle yelled, throwing her roller down and spinning to face her sisters.

 
“What?” she asked in confusion
.

   “Enough!”
Isabelle snapped.

   “I was just saying...”

   “Why don’t you girls go on home,” her mother interrupted as she turned to face them. Her eyes focused questioningly on Isabelle. “It’s getting late.”

   They looked about ready to protest, but seemed to decide better as they looked back at Isabelle. “Okay,” Vicky mumbled.

   “We’ll see you tomorrow,” Abby said.

   Isabelle sighed wearily as she rubbed tiredly at her eyes. “Care to tell me what’s wrong?” her mother asked softly.

   “What isn’t wrong,” she muttered.

   “Isabelle...”

   She held up a hand, needing a few moments to gather her thoughts. Everything inside of her was a mess. She needed Stefan with her. She had wanted him to go away, to give her time to
think;
now all she wanted was for him to come back. It hurt when he was gone. She couldn’t think, hell she could barely even function, and now jealousy was clawing at her insides again. He had gone to feed. He would be feeding off of women, and she couldn’t help but wonder what else he would be doing with them. The thought brought the vampire in her surging to the forefront. She trembled as she struggled to draw it back, to keep it under reign.