Don't Forget Me (17 page)

Sudden Fire

S
tella couldn’t believe
her eyes as she saw Vuk try to attack the flames. She realized that he would not escape back into the woods, unless someone forced him to do so.

“Run, Stella, run! Get in the truck and get the hell out of here!” Jason cried.

“No, I can’t leave him… I won’t let him die in the fire,” she said resolutely, fisting Jason’s jacket and trying to shake off his grip.

“We’ll take care of him, Stella, you have to think of saving yourself, now get out of here fast!” Jason repeated.

Aaron continued, “The flames are soaring, Stella, the gas tanks will explode soon and blow everything sky high! You must go.” In the meantime Jason released her.

“Soon… So there’s still a chance,” she murmured, her eyes brightening suddenly as they fell on the high-pressure self-service car wash machine and she realized exactly what to do.

“Got a dollar or a quarter by any chance?” Stella asked Aaron.

Aaron threw a puzzled look to Jason as he handed her a quarter.

“Sure, but what are you going to do with it?”

“I’ll show you…” Stella ran over to the car wash, keeping as safe a distance as possible between her and the flames that were being fanned by the breeze that sallied through the station. She rammed the quarter into the machine and pressed start to activate the high-pressure water gun, targeting both the wall of fire and Vuk, the force of the jet hurling him back into the trees, where he landed on his back, far from the fire’s tongues.

“Your girl has some moxie, Jason,” Aaron observed, impressed.

“I wish she was still my girl…” Jason replied bitterly, watching Vuk wrestle with the powerful jet of water before it forced him to the ground in a sodden, bedraggled heap. He saw him get up again and lunge aggressively toward Stella, who again trained the jet of water on him, hitting him at the highest point of his arching leap, but still not stopping him.

Jason was there in a flash to defend her, and he punched Vuk in the ribcage before hurling him to the edge of the forest. He flipped open his visor and threateningly pierced the wolf with his dilated, coal-black eyes, but again Vuk tried to attack Stella, giving Jason no option but to unleash his own bloodthirsty instincts and grab the wolf’s neck with his hands, slamming his head hard against a tree trunk.

“Nooo!” cried Stella, realizing that Jason would kill Vuk if she didn’t do something.

Stella’s cry made Jason hesitate, giving Vuk the opening he needed. Lunging at the vampire, he tossed him against a post then loped off to conceal himself in the dark depths of the forest.

Stella let the water gun fall from her hands and looked around at the devastation, saw the flames licking the gas pumps but instead of sprinting for the pickup, she raced across to where J. was lying at the foot of the pole. She crouched slowly down beside him, gently lowering the visor of his helmet to honor his wish that she didn’t see his face.

“Thank you, whoever you are. I had to save him,” she smiled.

“I know… Now please go … That’s the best way to thank me…” he said sweetly. “Hurry, the whole place’s going to blow any second now.”

“Not without you.” She grasped his jacket to help him up, soaked and dripping from the ground.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be right behind you…” He watched her run to the pickup, swerving to avoid the flames that were already encroaching on the driver’s side to get in through the passenger door. Jason quickly joined Aaron and met Stella’s eyes one last time. She started the engine and waited hesitantly.

“Jason, don’t look at her, let her go. You’ll only keep her here with us otherwise!” Aaron cried in alarm, thumping Jason’s shoulder to make him avert his gaze.

A bewildered Stella reversed the truck, accelerated sharply toward the road, but stopped as her ears were assailed by the sound of a terrifying explosion, instantly followed by a second roaring boom. The powerful shock wave swept her in its violent embrace, shattering the back windows of the pickup as it lifted it into the air.

When the car bounced back down again to land with a violent shudder on all four tires, Stella, who in her crazy rush to escape had forgotten to latch the seatbelt, was caught in the brunt of the shockwave and thrown against the steering wheel, cutting her head open. She started to bleed and fell limply back against the seat. Then a surge of panic pushed her to bash her hand against the buckled door to force it open. When it finally sprang open, she slid out and sank to the ground where.

Her foggy vision revealed a surreal scene of profound silence, punctuated only by the hiss, crackle and spit of the angry flames that were spreading inexorably toward the still intact gas pumps.

Meanwhile, the inert figure of Aaron lay in the middle of the road. Opening his eyes and tilting his head, he prized off Jason’s motorbike that had fallen on him, pinning his hip to the tarmac. Then he saw the prone, motionless body of a bleeding Stella lying next to the pickup. He quickly jumped to his feet and dodged the flames to reach her.

“Who is it? No! Get away from me,” Stella stuttered as she saw a shadowy figure approach her.

“It’s ok, Stella, it’s me, …” Aaron slowed his run to a walk and opened his arms wide to reassure her.

“Nooo… Don’t come nearer, get away!” She repeated in a total panic, unable to make out who it was.

“Stella, it’s me… Aaron,” he repeated, trying to soothe her as he removed his helmet and bent over her, his expression devastated as he saw her bleeding face. His features, partly illuminated by the flames and partly obscured by the surrounding darkness, were even more dramatic than when she had first seen him that day at Warren Towers.

“Aaron… Oh thank God, what happened?” she asked. She slowly sat up against the truck, her pounding head slumping to the side.

“Some genius had the bright idea of blowing up the gas station,” he whispered in her ear, his sweetly smiling mouth brushing her cheek, working its way down to her chin.

“Ohmigod, no…” Stella exhaled in a rush. Then it all came flooding back to her. “Jeez, some bright idea that was…” she added wryly and raised her head to reveal lips glistening red with blood.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up, it was a great show…Come on, let’s get you out of here,” he added softly, putting his arms around her to help her to her feet before heading for the cover of the woods. Suddenly, another destructive blast rocked the gas station, reducing the entire structure to a flame-streaked cloud of dust, a world gone mad. The shock wave smashed them against the pickup.

Jason, who had been knocked out and was lying on the ground, regained consciousness and turned to his side to take off his helmet, his eyes widening in disbelief as he saw Stella lying unconscious on the street next to the truck. Forcing himself to his feet, he stumbled over to her and cradled her bleeding body in his arms. Stella felt the velvety touch of his hands caress her face and hair and started to come to.

“It’s me, Stella, I’m here for you, my darling,” he whispered, his lips close to hers as he held her tightly. She started to recover, her eyes still closed. Then he took her in his arms, bringing her to the pickup. Placing her gently on the driver’s seat, he leaned in protectively.

“Oh, J., it’s you…” she murmured, her body shooting with pain, a faint sigh escaping her lips as she felt his hands cup her waist and her neck.

“I wish I’d been smarter, whisked you away before things got out of hand… I’ll never forgive myself for not sparing you all this,” he said, torturing himself with guilt, caressing her bleeding lip.

Stella’s eyes flickered open into narrow slits, her lids still terribly heavy, and she stared into the luminous darkness of the night, the scene before her a blur of confusion.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked faintly.

“For you, only you!” he exclaimed, his body filling with burning love.

She reached out with blood-stained fingers to gently touch his face. She felt her eyelids inexplicably weighed down, she couldn’t believe how weak she felt. She was trying to seek solace from the persistent hum in her ears, the tight band of pain that seemed to be crushing her head..

“No, Stella, don’t… Stop, no closer,” he implored, his breath growing ragged, struggling desperately against his craving to taste her blood. He felt his desire unfurl into ecstatic anticipation and completely shatter his reason. His lip curled up instinctively from the untamable bloodlust that that was pushing him closer to the abyss of insanity, tormenting him, leaving him to sway perilously over the edge.

Jason, now almost out of control, was about to bite her hand and kiss her lips, but Aaron’s commanding voice slicing through the air halted him.

“Control yourself J., don’t give in… Lock it down, force yourself, come on, I know you can beat it!” he cried in alarm as he lifted his head from the tarmac. He got back on his feet and ran to him. He threw his arms around his friend, dragging him off Stella into the middle of the road. Overwhelmed by the sheer effort of it all, Stella closed her eyes and felt herself go limp in the driver’s seat.

Icy Breath on Her Neck

S
tella opened her
eyes, saw the pick-up slanted across both lanes, blocking the road, and turned her head slightly. She could make out J. standing with his back to her. He was trying to calm his instincts, talking to Aaron. Then she saw Vuk approach from down the road.

“Oh my God, he’s back! Vuk’s here!” she cried in terror, struggling to prop herself up in the seat. But Vuk instantly slunk into the forest to conceal himself among the dark, shadowy vegetation.

“Where is he?” Aaron asked, cautiously looking around.

“Right behind you, a second ago,” she replied uneasily, feeling the blood from the cut on her head meander thickly down her face.

Aaron turned to Stella to ask her if she was still good to drive.

“Sure,” she said, showing no hesitation at all.

“Okay, then get going and we’ll follow you from the woods. You won’t see us but we’ll be there. If we stay off the road we can protect you better.”

“You’re not alone, Stella, and never will be, I promise you,” Jason added. Stella started the pickup and off she went.

Aaron stepped in front of his friend to block her view of him and watched the girl drive away. Then, they blended into the thick trees not far away from the vehicle.

Stella stopped the truck a few miles down the road thinking she’d been deserted by her two guardian angels. Peering into the dark wall of trees where nothing moved, not even a leaf, the only thing she could hear was the cry of a nocturnal bird of prey and the leaves whispering, rustled by the cool breeze that fanned her hair and made her shiver.

From the cover of the trees, Jason caught a glimpse of despair in her eyes. Moving from tree to tree, he rested his hand on each to peer curiously at her and shuffle the leaves below his feet in an attempt to send her a reassuring sign of his presence. He skimmed a stone across the road. Only then did he see her slowly turn in his direction. After a couple of seconds, she looked back firmly to the road ahead and started driving again, a hint of a smile curving her lips.

She didn’t get very far before Vuk dashed into the road, looming in the truck’s headlights. In a flash, J. broke his cover and intercepted him. Stella wrenched the steering wheel to avoid hitting both and swerved onto the shoulder before wrenching the vehicle back onto the tarmac and speeding off. A few moments later, she heard another pebble hit the hood and almost collapsed with relief at the knowledge that J. was still out there guarding her.

But the werewolf was relentless and danced tauntingly back in front of her again a few hundred yards ahead. Stella mashed the accelerator to drive him away but knew it was hopeless and deftly switched lanes, she really didn’t want to hurt him. He’d be back to his charming, loving self tomorrow, she just had to buy time. Seeing him replicate her maneuver, she returned to her lane and eased her foot off the pedal, wondering what the hell to do now.

Jason, running alongside the truck, hooked his elbow over the edge of the open back window as it rolled past and hauled himself in, landing on the seat behind her, startling Stella half to death. Her head jerked round and he immediately clasped her temples to hold her still and stop her from seeing him.

“Don’t turn around, watch where you’re going,” he cautioned, his voice low, his breath icy on her neck. He was straining to disguise his voice from her, since he had taken off his helmet.

“It’s you, J. …” she murmured, her breath catching as she set her eyes firmly on the dark road ahead of her, feeling her body tremble uncontrollably.

“Yes… Scared?” he asked, grabbing her arm and feeling an icy shiver run through her, one that ran the length of her body, right to the very core of her most private parts.

“When, now or before?” She tried to make her voice sound lazily casual.

“Why, there’s a difference?” he asked her in a silky voice, a tiny smile curving his lips.

“No, I guess not,” she exhaled and then held her breath deep in her lungs, her hands clenching the steering wheel as she felt his icy breath flutter across her cheek. Stella brushed her lips against his arm and felt him tremor, as if she were driving him crazy.

“Why did you slow down?” he asked, moving his hand further down and feeling her jump with fright. Her body tensed as his hands moved down to her nipple. His thumb rubbed her nipple and he felt it harden under his touch. Stella withheld a moan of pleasure and arched her neck as his hand continued its journey down her body.

“Because I don’t see him anymore,” she said, her voice raw, her breathing splintered. Jason slid his hands around her hips, his thumbs digging into her buttocks, and pulled her sharply back against the seat just above her butt.

“Don’t slow down, keep your speed steady”. She gripped the steering wheel.

“But I could end up killing him if this carries on,” Stella cried, now beside herself. She opened her legs slightly, and he took this as a sensual invitation.

“Highly improbable, believe me,” he said in a voice threaded with irony, letting his hands wander towards her intimate parts, which he cupped passionately. But Jason could go no further. A quiver ran down her legs and she let a sign escape her lips.

“I don’t care, I won’t risk hurting him,” she replied. She snapped her thighs shut, blocking Jason’s hands. Her shivers excited Jason’s even more, but he withdrew his hands, feeling her resistance.

At that very moment, Vuk dashed into the middle of the road just ahead of them, and a smile unfurled on Jason’s lips. He glanced at Aaron, who was riding in the wood alongside them, then turned back to Stella.

“Let’s play a little game, shall we? It’s called ‘Who trusts who’. It’s fun, ever played?” his silky golden voice whispered in her ear. Stella felt a tingle run deliciously up her spine.

“So now you want to play games with me?” she asked teasingly, trying to stay focused on her driving and not lose sight of Vuk.

“Looks that way…” he murmured seductively, seeing her cheekbones rise even higher in a smile. He wanted her so much, he thought he would go crazy.

“I don’t even know your full name and you want me to play with you?” she challenged him unnerved, trying to peek at him in the rearview mirror.

“The game rules don’t specify name giving, angel. If I asked you to accelerate so as to hit Vuk, would you do it?” Jason asked darkly, enveloping her once more in his frosty embrace. “He’s getting closer, he’s right ahead of us! Decision time, Stella, trust me.”

Her foot crushed the pedal instantly. Jason watched Aaron’s perfect timing as he leapt into action and shoved Vuk beyond the edge of the road into the trees. Jason knew that Aaron would have been listening to him telling Stella to accelerate from outside in the woods.

“So you decided to trust me, why?” he asked her curiously, watching her reflection in the rearview mirror as he shielded his face behind the headrest.

“Your voice, your touch, your smell, even your breath, everything about you…” she said, feeling his seductive gaze on her, the constant caress of his eyes.

“As well as the sensations that I send rippling through your body?” he teased, brushing his lips across her ear, feeling her cheeks plump into a sweet smile.

“Those especially… And the way you’re always trying to protect me. It really turns me on,” she admitted.

“You turn me on, too, you’ve no idea how much,” he exhaled icily. The blood coursing through her veins aroused his thirst. He longed to drink that sweetest of nectars, her blood. Suddenly, Stella felt his lips part on her jugular vein. But he maintained control, kissing her neck with passion.

“My God, what are you doing J.?” she gasped in alarm.

“Nervous?” he asked, seeing her shrink from him.

“Obviously, it’s hard to pretend otherwise,” she said uncomfortably.

“I’d know anyhow,” he replied, suddenly troubled, almost sullen. Jason abruptly turned surly, trying with all his might to fight the thirst he felt inside. Stella again tried to make out his features in the rearview mirror.

“I do feel I can trust you
sometimes
,” she said, feeling the shivering tingle of his icy breath on her neck.

“But not this time, right?” he asked, angling his head toward her mouth.

“No, not this time,” she replied tensely.

“I can sense your fear,” he said flatly, reading her mind.

“What do you want?” she asked, floundering in the dark.

“If a stranger were to whisper his wishes in your ear, would you believe them?” he asked, his breath a frosty caress on her neck.

“If the stranger was you, yes,” she replied firmly.

“So it would only be the sound of my voice that persuades you?” he asked in a voice so silky sweet it veered on the angelic.

“No, even though I find your voice irresistible, I’d believe you simply because I saw you risk your life for me,” she said, overcome at the thought of what he’d done for her but trying to mask the fact that she was attracted to him.

“I don’t think that’s true for a minute…” he replied sarcastically, his mouth twisting into a tight, bitter smile.

After a tense, silent pause, Jason started to release her reluctantly from his arms, his eyes fixed on the black depths of the night.

“If Vuk turns up again, I’d like…” he said, not even finishing before Stella, no longer feeling the reassurance of his firm hands on her, interrupted him.

“Will you let me see your face after tonight’s heroic exploit is over?”

“You’re not calling me a hero, are you?” he asked, his face d
arkening in vexation. Then sensing her dismay at no longer feeling him close to her, he slid his arms reassuringly around her once more.

“Yes, I am,” she said, relieved to feel him one with her again.

“Wrong, I’m not, I’m usually described as something else entirely,” he exhaled in a rush of despair.

“You mean you’re the bad guy?” she asked, exhaling tensely, softly.

“Probably,” he whispered, running his fingers over her bare skin, under her t-shirt.

“You don’t sound like a bad guy to me,” she said, shaking her head incredulously.

“But I can be,” he continued darkly, increasing the pressure of his arms to pull her further into the seat and keep her close to him.

“I don’t believe you,” she argued, fascinated by this dark and mysterious side of him.

“Then why are you so tense?” Jason waited for her reply, but Stella just gripped the steering wheel and did not utter a word. He brushed her hair back behind her shoulder and whispered in her ear.

“Blood is what I live for now, the only reason you haven’t seen me for what I am is because I hold myself back… and I can’t tell you how fucking hard it is with you.” He brushed her jaw with his mouth to transmit his sensual desire, inhaling her scent.

“Are you craving my blood right now?” Stella was starting to feel anxious.

“I’m trying to control it.”

“How powerful is it?”

“Rapacious, ravaging, your blood is so sweetly appetizing.” He furrowed his brow, a mesmerizing gleam in h
is eyes as his soft lips tantalized her neck, seduced by the inner flow of her blood and her heady perfume.