Don't Forget Me (7 page)

And So It All Began

D
rake cruised to
the side of the road, switching off the engine. He watched Stella get out of the car and run into the house to quickly change her clothes and leave the house again immediately. Her eyes popped in disbelief when she saw Drake in the middle of the street, clearly waiting for her. She flew to her car but suddenly lost sight of him and, sinking into her seat, anxiously looked round not wanting to be taken by surprise. She turned automatically to hook her finger over the seat belt and fasten it across her body, remembering the time Donn had slid it over her, intent on her safety. But her thoughts were shattered abruptly when she saw Drake standing in the middle of the garden in front of her. Stella instantly locked the car doors but when she looked up again, Drake had disappeared.

She let her head fall back against the headrest and tried to calm her nerves. Then she started the engine, turned on the lights and drove quickly towards The Pats, not realizing that Drake had leaped onto his motorbike and was close behind.

Drake knew he could seize her any time he wanted, but she had aroused his hunter’s instinct, spurring him to initiate a perverse and twisted game in which he was the hunter and she the prey.

Stella parked swiftly next to Vuk’s pickup and ran into the bar. She nodded to Scott, who was waiting tables, and paused for a moment at the bar near Bryan, who suddenly came up to her and planted a passionate kiss on the corner of her mouth.

“Hey, Stella! Now don’t get me wrong, I’m real pleased to see you, but what the hell are you doing here on your day off?”

Stella propped her elbow on the bar and looked at him pensively, noting the gleam of desire in his eyes.

“Is it me you’re looking for? If so, I’ll stop working right now. I don’t care if I get into trouble!” he said, tightening his fingers around her hipbone.

“I’m here with Vuk.” Stella pointed to him at the table and saw him look the other way, smiling happily, a telltale sign that he was listening to the conversation.

“Well, if you change your mind, I’ll be here waiting, ready to skip work to spend the night with you…” he whispered into her ear, leaning sensually toward her.

“Yeah, sure… Can you get me a beer now?”

“Comin’ right up,” he said. “You guys even have the same taste in alcohol. He ordered the same thing,” he commented stroking her hand.

“See you later, Bryan.” Stella, embarrassed, ended their conversation. She pulled the bottle smoothly out of his hands, feeling his eyes on her as she walked over to Vuk’s table.

“Hi again, Vuk, now where were we?” she asked, pretending she wasn’t late and that only minutes had passed since they last spoke.

“Where were we when?” Vuk replied, surprised, as she brushed his cheek with her soft lips and sat down in front of him.

“Earlier, on the phone, of course,” she said, seeing his eyes glint fiercely as his lips closed suggestively around the neck of the bottle to take a small sip of beer.

“Hey, is that library a time machine, Stella? Every time you go in there you seem to lose track of it,” he rejoined, his eyes lighting up with fiery flashes, the corners of his mouth twitching with an amused smile.

“Um… but it’s you we should be talking about, Vuk, you can’t fool me… So spill, I know something’s up.” She looked deeply into his eyes, while holding his face between her hands.

“It’s you, kid, I want you so much it’s killing me…” He couldn’t help screwing up his face in embarrassment, really wishing she’d stop asking questions he couldn’t give a credible false answer to. He hated to have to lie to her but there was no way he could tell her about Drake.

“Vuk, you can fool anyone else, but…”

Vuk interrupted her: “But not you, Stella. You’re the only person capable of boxing me into a corner. But you already know that.” He took another sip of beer and returned her gaze with a look so piercing, so mesmerizing that she gasped, it was like there was fire dancing in his eyes.

“Yeah, sure, I just love how I can do that,” she said, feeling his eyes hypnotize her, unable to tear hers from him, even for an instant.

Vuk put his arm around her, guiding her to the exit, his hand clasping her hip.

“Let’s go, it’s too crowded in here,” he murmured, throwing Bryan a black look when he waved to Stella from behind the bar, a lovesick expression on his face. He held the door open to let her pass first.

“Don’t say anything once we’re outside, Stella, we’ll go to your place, ok?”, he walked her to her car, which was parked next to his truck, when he suddenly saw Drake and two other werewolves nearby.

“Is your heart beating so fast for me, Stella?” he asked her reassuringly.

“Is it that loud?” she replied, watching Drake advance towards them on the street. She felt Vuk tense up protectively next to her.

“Well, I can hear it. You ever seen any of those guys before by any chance, Stella?”

“That was what I wanted to talk to you about…”

“Which one, Stella?” He looked at her, his stance stiffening.

“The guy with the leather jacket and the auburn hair. His name is Drake.”

“You know his name?” Vuk asked, his face creasing in puzzlement.

“Yeah, he creeped me out in the library today.”

“Don’t say anything, leave it to me, Stella, and make sure you stay right by my side.”

The three menacing werewolves were now standing in front of them.

“Well, look who it is, guys, it’s Vuk. My, what a coincidence! Such a small world…” Drake quipped, overemphasizing his courteous tone while letting his voice drip with sarcasm, his tongue piercing clicking against his teeth.

“Yeah, even too small at times, Drake, and I somehow doubt it’s purely a coincidence that you’re in the vicinity of the bar where Stella works,” Vuk sneered.

“But what a pleasant surprise it is seeing you here tonight, Vuk. Hey Stella!” He greeted her chummily.

“Well, let’s get the niceties over and done with… Ian Ward on my left and Nathan Aiden on my right,” Drake swept his hand to introduce them, watching Stella carefully.

“If they’re anything like you, Drake, it’s no pleasure to meet them…” Stella snapped drily.

“Stella, I asked you to let me do the talking.” Drake frowned, bewildered.

“Hey, what moxie, eh Vuk, knew you always had a penchant for girls with a bit of spark and spirit,” he said, seeing his brother’s eyes flare with fury and irritation.

“Cut it out, what do you want from her?”

“It’s really simple, Vuk, her…”

“What the hell’s that mean?” Vuk stepped in front of Stella to protect her.

“Some people in high places want her, it seems.”

“Not before you take me, though, Drake… You won’t have her.”

“Take a chill pill, Vuk, the last thing I want is for you to get upset… Can’t have you losing control.” He knew that his brother had not yet totally mastered his instincts. Vuk stared icily at him, his glare deflating Drake’s swagger.

“Come on, Stella, let’s get out of here,” he said, glaring ominously at the wolves, forcing them to let him and Stella through. He kept his arm tightly wrapped round her as he walked her straight to the Corvette.

“Leave them,” Drake whispered to the other two, thinking it would be better to seize the girl when Vuk had removed himself from the picture.

“Stella, get in the car.” Vuk opened the door and made her sit in the driver’s seat. “Keep the engine running, lock yourself in and don’t open the door, no matter what.” Vuk then headed for his truck, and after shooting a last threatening look at Ian and Nathan, made a sign to Stella to take the lead. He had no intention of losing sight of her on the drive home.

In The Back Of The Pickup

S
tella parked the
Corvette in front of her house, jumped out of the car and ran to Vuk, leaning against his pickup, with his hands in his pockets, an impenetrable look on his face.
Wonderwall
by Oasis drifted out of the lowered windows.

“Vuk, who were those guys?” she asked him.

“I only know Drake, not the other two, just that they’re werewolves too.”

“Why do they want
me
?” she yelled.

“I’ve no damn idea. Look, why don’t we grab a beer and stretch out in the back of my truck? I think you should try to relax…” He let his hand slide down her arm and his fingers entwined with hers. He raised them to his lips, covering them with warm sighs and tender kisses. He gently stroked her face, lingering on her lips, arousing her desire. Stella yielded to his touch and for the first time opened her lips spontaneously to kiss him, anticipating his move. Astonished, Vuk’s eyes grew wider and his mouth gasped as he sank deeply into her.

Stella raised her hands to caress his chest, then threw them around his neck. Vuk seized the flesh on her hips and pushed her flat against the back of the pickup, pressing his body close to hers. He drew back for an instant and Stella’s lips hesitated as if in protest. Vuk lifted her onto the back of the vehicle, making space for himself between her legs, while his lips, warm and soft, rested on her once more.

“Don’t move, I’ll be right back,” he whispered in her ear in between kisses. He ran into the back of the house to grab a couple of beers from the fridge.

Vuk stretched out next to Stella in the back of the truck and handed her a beer.

“What do we drink to, kiddo?”
Save Tonight
by Eagle-Eye Cherry rang out from the car stereo.

“The full moon?” Stella suggested as she fitted her body snuggly next to his and rested her head on his shoulder. Vuk leant his head to one side, his lips turning up into his usual sly, crooked smile.

“To the night after next, then.” He clinked his bottle against hers, took a slug of beer and looked at her pensively. “Stella, this time I don’t know if I can manage to keep my distance from you when I transform, but I really need to protect you from Drake.”

“Vuk, I’ll stay with you all night, nothing will happen, I know you won’t hurt me,” Stella assured him as she let herself nestle into his strong, muscular arms as he kissed her forehead.

“You can’t say that for sure, Stella.” He sipped his beer again, tense.

“Yes I can. Your feelings for me are stronger than your hunter’s instinct, I’m sure of that,” she replied confidently, touching his sculpted chest with her fingers.

“The state I’m in on those nights eclipses every shred of human feeling and emotion, Stella, and I can’t fight it.” He stroked her lips with his thumb.

“Well, I could ask Donn to stay with me that night… If I happen to see him again, that is,” she suggested innocently, slowly raising her head from where it lay against his shoulder.

Vuk’s thoughts drifted away and the image of her at Donn’s side on the night of the full moon tormented him. Devoured by jealousy, his mood changed, fear of losing her to the vampire consuming his soul.

“Stella, I don’t need any help from a vampire to protect you!” he retorted, his hand anxiously gripping her leg.

“There are too many of them for you to take on by yourself, Vuk. I won’t let you get hurt.” She felt his hand run up her thigh and almost graze her between the legs before he managed to rein himself in.

“But I’ll go crazy if you spend the night of the full moon with him.”

Stella blushed, recoiling again beneath the harsh reproof of his stare. Vuk put a hand under her chin and raised her face, gazing into her eyes, his jaws tightening, his eyes fiery and full of desire.

“It’s settled, then, Vuk, I’ll stay with you,” murmured Stella. She leaned back against his chest, nibbling on her lip and resting her face on the side of his neck. The stereo began playing
Time Stands Still
by All American Rejects
.
Vuk lowered his head towards her.

“You’re driving me mad, babe, you know that, don’t you?”

He bent down to kiss her and pressed his tongue into her mouth with such desire in his eyes that her legs began to tremble. He sucked her lower lip and moved his tongue deep inside her mouth. He pushed her back, letting his own body fall on top of hers onto the back of the pickup. Stella’s eyes twinkled consentingly, and he could not stop himself from kissing her again, taking possession of her mouth and savoring every part of her to the full. He parted her legs and thrust his body close against hers, suddenly ardent with desire. He grunted with clenched teeth and his whole body trembled; he clasped one hand against her breast and squeezed her buttocks with the other. Stella gasped and pulled his knees against her sides. Vuk kissed her lips, her face, her throat, seizing her hair, reveling in her groans of pleasure. He pressed her face between his hands, holding it still, and kissed her with even more conviction than before, pushing his tongue as far as he could to let her taste his excitement. Suddenly, though, they heard sounds in the street and the neighbors’ dogs began to bark. Stella, frightened of encountering Drake, sat up with a jump. After a few embarrassing moments, fleeting glances and unspoken words exchanged between them, Stella shook her head in confusion and ran a hand through her hair, kissing Vuk on the mouth and twisting her fingers through his unruly locks. “Goodnight,” she gasped, her lips quivering.

“Goodnight, Stella,” murmured Vuk, returning her kiss. He stood up and took her in his arms. He pressed the girl’s hips against his waist and then leapt down from the pickup, placing her delicately on the ground. He leant against her forehead with his eyes closed, kissed her one last time, then opened his eyes and felt her slip away slowly from his embrace. He watched her enter the house and stop disconcertedly at the entrance.

Vuk leaned his magnificent body against the pickup and sipped his beer pensively. He saw the light go on in her room, her figure silhouetted against the wispy curtains as she started to undress, first her jeans, then her top, saw her reach for her skimpy pajamas and put them on.

Once he was sure she’d fallen asleep, he slipped through the back door and padded softly through the living room to join her in her room. He bent across her, gently raised her arm and retrieved the remote to turn off the TV. Letting his fingertips glide over her neck, he inhaled the smell of her skin, consumed by an immense yearning to kiss her deeply, hungrily, forever. He tried to resist by covering her with soft, fluttery kisses, first her face, then her long brown hair, groaning inwardly as he found himself surrendering to the sensual promise of her mouth, putting his tantalizingly close to hers and feeling her lips part slightly at the softness of his touch.

Feeling how cold she still was, he lay down next to her, snuggling his entire body against hers to envelop her in his warmth. Alarmed by the arrival of Drake, he’d already decided to keep to watch over her that night… Hours later, as the silvery gray and mauve streaks of dawn started to chase away the darkness of night, he finally relaxed his guard and let sleep carry him away.