Untamed (Vampire Awakenings, Book 3) (13 page)

"We got caught in the rain," Emma told her as
she bit into a piece of bacon.

"Oh, I bet," Mandy said as Emma settled onto
the stool next to her.

She grabbed a handful of bacon and dropped it
onto her plate. "We did!" she protested.

"You are going to be telling us much more
than that!" Jill declared as she danced away to get more eggs. "You
had better spill."

"Jill..."

"Not the disgusting details but give us
something
here Emma."

She shook her head at Jill and dove into her
eggs. Their eyes bored into her as she ate, she knew she was going
to have to tell them something, but she really had to put some food
in her belly if she was going to have the strength to deal with
them. With her stomach full, and their patience fraying, she
finally wiped her mouth with her napkin and lifted her head to meet
their inquisitive gazes.

"It was the best night of my life," she told
them honestly.

"Well that's definitely something," Mandy
said with a laugh.

***

Ethan wasn't surprised to find Isabelle
waiting to pounce on him when he returned to the living room after
showering and changing. Her arms were crossed firmly over her
chest; her foot was tapping on the floor as her eyes locked on his.
"Where were you last night?" she demanded as she followed him to
the fridge.

He pulled the door on the fridge open and
grabbed a bag of blood from it. "I was out," he answered
absently.

"I was concerned about you Ethan."

"I'm a grown man Isabelle," he said as he
tore the top of the bag off with his teeth.

"Damn it Ethan!" she yelled as she stomped
her foot. "You're a grown man but I'd still like to know that
you're safe and alive!"

He took a deep breath as he leaned against
the island. He hadn't meant to worry her, he simply hadn't even
thought of her while he'd been with Emma. Looking at her now
though, guilt tugged at him as she rang her hands before her. "I'm
sorry, but I didn't think mom was here." She wasn't at all amused
by his teasing words or his playful tug on her hair. "Come on Issy,
you can't stay mad at me. You know it's impossible."

Some of the unease went out of her as she
finally gave him a smile. "That's true. Were you with
her
?"

Ethan paused in the middle of drinking the
blood; he brought his head back down to look at her. The relaxed,
good-natured temperament he'd been experiencing vanished as
unreasonable hostility began to take its place. "
She
has a name and it would be better if you used
it."

He was a little perplexed when Isabelle
didn't become riled up by his tone. She simply tilted her head to
the side to study him. "I meant no offense," she told him. Movement
drew his attention to the patio doors when Stefan stepped through
them. Stefan's gaze searched the two of them as he strode
gracefully across the floor toward the kitchen. "Were you with
Emma?"

Ethan finished the bag of blood off and
dumped it into the trashcan, normally one satisfied him but it
wasn't going to be enough today. "I was."

"You really like her." Isabelle stepped aside
when he opened the fridge. He lifted his head to look at her as she
began to ring her hands again and shifted from foot to foot.
Isabelle wasn't nervous by nature, in fact she was one of the most
steadfast vampires he'd ever known, but something had her extremely
agitated right now.

"I do," he admitted as he closed the
fridge.

"She's human Ethan," she said as if it were
some big secret.

"She is," he agreed as he tore the top off
the bag.

Stefan stopped behind Isabelle and rested his
hands on her shoulders. "I've never seen you spend this much time
with a human before. I uh... are you ok?"

He grinned at her, consumed the bag and
tossed it into the trash. "I've never been better Iss; you have
nothing to worry about."

"Ethan..."

"I know what you're thinking so just stop."
Ethan tapped his fingers on the counter as he thought over what
Isabelle had been about to say and the reality that was growing
within him. "Truth be told, I've thought it too."

She inhaled sharply and even Stefan's
eyebrows shot up at that one. "You're being really calm about this
for someone who never wanted to be mated," she muttered as her
doubtful eyes ran over him.

How did he tell her that the idea of being
mated had been a far less concern to him than it had been to her?
He was more concerned by the fact that he would rip a human's
throat out and drain every drop of their blood than he was that he
would find someone to spend eternity with. Isabelle was never going
to know about what he harbored inside of him though, she could
never understand, not with her tender heart, but Stefan would.

They'd butted heads more than a few times
when things had been unraveling between Stefan and Isabelle, but
Stefan was the only one that would understand any of what he
secretly dealt with day after day. Stefan was far older than the
rest of them, wiser, and a killer. Ethan lifted his gaze from his
sister to the man standing behind her. Stefan's brow furrowed as
his eyes searched him. Ethan remained unmoving while he waited for
Stefan's gaze to come back to his. Those onyx eyes were filled with
dawning understanding when they latched onto him again and Stefan
gave him a brief bow of his head.

"I was never as terrified of it as you were
Issy, I just didn't like being around humans," he told her.

She folded her arms over her chest. "But you
said you didn't want it."

"And I didn't," he said. "And I'm not even
sure if she is my mate or not. It's only been a week, I enjoy
spending time with her, but you're talking about something that
might not even be."

"If she is your mate than her being human
adds a whole new layer of complication to something that is already
complicated."

He knew she was only looking out for him but
he could feel his patience beginning to wear thin. He wasn't a
child, he'd heard the stories of what had happened between his
parents; he'd seen firsthand what had unfolded between her and
Stefan. "I know that Isabelle."

"What are you going to do if she is?" she
demanded.

"I'll figure that out when the time
comes."

"Ethan..."

"That's enough Isabelle," Stefan interrupted
kindly. "Ethan is well aware of what being mated entails,
if
that's even what this is.
There's no reason to harp on it until he knows for sure."

Ethan gave Stefan a grateful nod before
focusing on his sister again. "See, there's nothing to be concerned
about." It wasn't exactly the truth, but her worry wasn't going to
do any of them any good. He stepped forward and squeezed her
shoulder. "I'll see you later."

"Where are you going now?" she inquired.

"You do realize you are the
younger
sibling right?" he reminded her.

"Just a question."

"I'm taking Emma away for the day, I've found
a place on the island that I think she'll enjoy."

"Oh ok," she muttered but she didn't look at
all appeased.

Ethan slapped Stefan on the arm as he walked
out of the kitchen. He grabbed the helmets that were sitting next
to the door and hurried down to the motorcycle parked against the
curb. Stefan had told him it was in the garage a couple of days
ago, and since he knew traffic was often congested on the island,
he'd decided to grab it for today. He hoped Emma didn't have a
problem with riding on a bike, but if she did they could always
come back for the Jeep or even rent a scooter. The idea of having
her hold onto him as he drove through the island had been too
tempting to refuse though.

Emma eyed the motorcycle warily as she
stepped out the door with Ethan. She'd never ridden on one before
and though it had always looked like fun, she'd never really
pictured herself doing it. However, until she'd met Ethan there was
a lot she'd never really pictured herself doing before but would be
willing to try now, including riding a bike.

"Are you going to be alright on this?" he
inquired when they stopped beside the bike.

She took the deep blue helmet from his hands
and settled it on her head. It was probably going to give her some
major helmet head but it would be worth it to ride behind him.
"I've never done it before but it looks like fun and it can't be
much different than a four wheeler."

He nudged her hands aside when she fumbled
with the strap and buckled it under her chin. "I think your friends
are watching us," he told her as he made sure the strap was
tight.

"Oh I'd bet on it!"

"Are they trying to make sure you're
safe?"

"Nope, they're just nosy, but I love
them."

He chuckled as he tapped the sides of the
helmet. She looked adorable with the large helmet on her head and
her hair curling out around the sides of it. He briefly
contemplated forgoing the trip and taking her back inside to spend
the rest of the day in bed, but he wanted to take her somewhere
that they could be alone, have some fun, and do something she might
like.

"All set," he told her and stepped away. He
put on a red helmet before settling onto the seat. He held his hand
out to her and she took hold of it. "Swing your leg over." Emma was
careful not to kick the bike as she swung her leg up and over it.
It was taller than she had expected, but with Ethan's help she was
able to settle herself onto the seat behind him. "Wrap your arms
around me."

Emma moved a little closer to him and slid
her arms around his waist. She gasped when he grabbed hold of her
arms and tugged her forward until she was snug against his back.
"I'll only bite if you ask me too," he told her with a wink.

That wink, and the images his words conjured
in her mind, caused her heart to do a strange little flutter in her
chest that the heat of his body against hers did nothing to ease.
She realized if she didn't watch herself here she could fall head
over heels for this magnificent man as she continued to hold his
amused gaze.

"I'll have to remember that," she told him
and forced herself to relax against his back.

"Please do." Ethan heard the hoarseness of
his voice but he couldn't help it. Not when thoughts of biting her
and tasting her were churning through his mind.

"Where are we going?" she asked him.

"It's a surprise," he told her.

She continued to hold his gaze until he
turned away to start the bike. A delicious shiver worked its way
through her as her breasts pressed firmly against the muscles of
his back. They strained against her as he fired up the bike and
pulled away from the curb. He kept his speed under the thirty-five
kilometer speed limit as they drove down the road on the left hand
side. She was glad she wasn't driving as even watching him do it
was disconcerting to her; she had to fight the urge to jerk him
back to the other side of the road when cars and scooters
approached.

Even at their relatively slow speed, the wind
rushing around her and blowing her hair back gave her a sense of
freedom that she found enthralling. It was taking everything she
had not to release his waist and throw her arms out to the side as
he weaved expertly in and out of traffic. She couldn't stop the
laugh that escaped her as they hit an open expanse of road and he
opened the bike up a little more.

Over his shoulder, she watched as the world
rushed by in a blur that made her eyes water but she still wished
that they could go even faster. The motorcycle eased back as they
came to a highly congested area of traffic. Though she wanted the
speed again she found she wasn't disappointed as she nestled closer
to him and rested her cheek against his back. He smelled of Irish
Spring soap and the fresh ocean air that had just been blowing
around them. Coming to a complete stop behind a line of vehicles,
he put his foot down. His hand rested against her joined ones on
his waist while he waited for traffic to start moving again.

Yes, she could most certainly lose her heart
to him she thought as a feeling of peace and security stole through
her.

It took some time but eventually he found a
parking spot and stopped the bike. Emma reluctantly slid her arms
away from his waist and climbed off of the bike to examine the
area. She pulled the helmet off and shook out her hair before
trying to finger comb out the helmet hair she knew she had to have.
It didn't matter; she would take a bad hair day every day for the
rest of the year if it meant she got to climb onto that bike, with
him, again.

"Have fun?" he asked as he settled the
helmets onto the back of the bike and locked them into place with a
chain.

"I could do that every day," she said
honestly.

"I'll have to remember that."

She wasn't entirely sure how to take that but
she wasn't going to spend all day trying to puzzle it out either.
With him, she could simply just
be
and that was exactly what she intended to do as they walked down
the street together. "Can you tell me where we're going now?" she
inquired.

He pointed up the hill to a large house set
in the center of an open green field, surrounded by a massive
stonewall that overlooked the ocean. Large cannons were positioned
to face the sea on the hill around the house. It was an old
military fort, she realized. "It's the Bermuda Maritime Museum," he
explained. "I thought you'd like to look around it."

Emma couldn't find her voice for a minute as
tears suddenly began to burn her eyes. The urge to cry was silly
but he'd remembered her love of history. It was one of the sweetest
and most thoughtful things anyone had ever done for her. She
blinked back the tears as she focused upon him once more. "I'd love
to," she said honestly.