Awakening (The Vampire Destiny Series Book #3) (10 page)

“Aidan!”  I admonished.

"No, let me finish.  Allow me to translate for you.  I said you are a smug little fucker.  As for what Josie sees in me, you would need to ask her.  I am sure I make up for all of your shortcomings," Stefan said condescendingly, glancing over Aidan’s much smaller frame.  He lowered his head to press a kiss against my temple.  "I will wait for you outside.  My good-nature is waning and my temper cannot handle your friend.  Take your time and finish your drink.  I will be waiting for you."

He pushed away from the table and swaggered through the bar, disappearing out of the bar door in a flash of blond and black.  Sighing heavily, I pushed my glass around in small circles on the table, leaving wet rings behind.

"Here’s the thing, Aidan.  I only met you tonight to be nice.  I’d like to keep you as a friend, but I’m not sure exactly how that’s going to work since you just insulted my boyfriend, who happens to have more intelligence than you obviously possess.  I thought I’d explained that I'm with Stefan now.  You and I went on a few awkward dates and had horrible sex one time.  Did you think I would be willing to give up Stefan for that?  Really?"  I drained my drink and stood up to leave.  Aidan's hand on mine stopped me.  Hadn’t he embarrassed himself enough for one night?

"Josie...hold on."

"No.  Aidan, I'm calling Belinda tomorrow.  I want a new editor," I said, plucking my hand from his. Standing up from the table, I rushed across the bar to the exit.  I'd made it to the door when I was halted by Aidan's arms.  They wrapped around me and before I could protest,  his lips covered mine.  I frantically pushed against him as he attempted to tighten his hold on me.  Giving him a final shove, I was able to disentangle myself from him.  Unluckily for him, he had the unfortunate pleasure of colliding into the solid wall of Stefan's broad chest.

Staggering backwards, I scrubbed my hand across my lips as if I could wipe away the offending memory of his lips on mine away.  It didn't work.

Even more upsetting was the fact that he had caught me completely unaware.  The 'gift' I'd complained about, lamented over and blamed for all of my problems was gone.  But I didn't have time to mourn its loss right now.  Stefan had grabbed Aidan by the shirt, lifting him off the floor by at least three inches.  Before I could fully comprehend what had happened, Stefan had him out of the bar and up the steps to the street above.

Clamoring after them, I scurried to catch up.  Stefan had Aidan pressed against the bricks, his face twisted in a murderous grimace.

"Did you ask for him to kiss you?" Stefan directed the question to me but his eyes never left Aidan.

"No.  I was walking out to meet you and he grabbed me," I replied softly.  "Stefan, let's go.  It's not worth it."

The rage that Stefan was feeling flared between us.  His blue eyes flashed furiously when he fixed them on me.

"It is worth it to me.  He offends me, he insults my heritage and then he adds insult to injury by attempting to reconcile with my mate.  He knows we are together, yet he forced himself on you in the bar below."  He shoved Aidan harder against the building.  "Please do not insult me by suggesting it is not worth it. 
You
are worth it. 
Our
relationship is worth it."

"You can't kill him, Stefan,"
  I thought to him.  Aloud, my voice was barely audible.  "I didn't mean it like that.  He's just not worth getting this angry over."

He turned his irate gaze back to Aidan, his scowl marring his beautiful face.  "Even now, she defends you.  She begged me to be nice to you.  I did my best to be agreeable."  Stefan's hand once again pushed him harder against the brick.  I heard Aidan let out a soft grunt as his back made impact with the wall yet again.

Stefan let out a soft growl as he leaned even closer to Aidan.  "And this is me being nice.  I could snap your neck and feel little remorse.  You are lucky, Aidan.  Another time, a darker alley...I digress.  Tell Josephine you are sorry and it will never happen again."

Aidan swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously.  He opened his mouth but no sound came out.

Stefan slammed him into the brick again.  Through clenched teeth, he accented each word.  "Tell her."

His glasses were crooked on his face when he met my wide-eyed stare. "I'm sor-sorry.  I just wanted… I mean, I wasn't thinking.  Call Belinda and request a new editor.  I can't work with you anymore, Josie.  It was difficult enough when you were 20 hours away.  But seeing you and knowing you’re with him is going to be too hard."

Sighing, I knew I should feel sorry for Aidan.  I should have never agreed to meet him outside of work, let alone with Stefan with me.  I assumed Aidan would be on his best behavior once he saw him and understood that we were a couple.  Instead, he turned into a bitter man that held on to his imagined hope of a reconciliation that would never happen.

I wanted to go home and forget about him, my conversation with Nikolaus...hell, I wanted to forget this entire night.

"Whatever, Aidan."  I walked closer and put my hand on Stefan's arm.  "Can we go home?"

Stefan's wild eyes met mine.  His anger had turned them into a bright, aqua blue.  He released Aidan and he slumped to the sidewalk.

He squatted down, lowering his voice so it was barely louder than a whisper.  "If she tells me you attempt this without her permission again, I will not be as pleasant the next time we speak."

He stood and stared down at Aidan before turning to drill me with his unblinking stare, opening his mind fully to allow me to  have access to his thoughts.  He’d wanted to drain him dry of every drop of blood in his body.  His jealousy urged him to destroy what had threatened to take his mate away from him.  The final layer to his emotions were the most difficult for me to handle.  Even though he wanted to mark me as his again, he was attempting to reign himself under control.  He was worried he’d upset me.  He was concerned that I’d run again.  Would he ever lose that fear?  Would this still worry him a hundred years from now?

“Stefan, c’mon.”  This time it was me that extended my outstretched hand to him.

He shook himself, engulfing my fingers in his large hands.  He brought it to his lips, pressing his mouth against my palms.  “Take me home.”

Leading us to the street, it was my turn to hail us a cab.  As we pulled away, I glanced back at Aidan.  He was staring at us, his torn shirt and crooked glasses a testimony to what would could happen if you touched the mate of a vampire.  He didn’t understand what a huge faux paux he’d committed, but I’m sure it wasn’t something he’d try again anytime soon.

***

We made the short taxi ride home in relative silence.  Stefan was lost in his thoughts, his mind whirring at a remarkable speed.  I’d given up even trying to follow it.  Instead, I focused only on our bond.  He was remarkably calm considering he came close to draining a man dry in Chelsea.  He was flooding our tie with his love until it’s all I could feel.

Once home, I headed straight to the bathroom.  I stripped and headed to the shower, wanting to wash away the lingering smell of the bar and Aidan from my skin.  The sensation of his unwanted mouth on mine still remained, almost sickening me as the scenario replayed in my mind.

Washing myself quickly, I dried off and grabbed a hairbrush.  I was running it through my long hair as I entered the bedroom, surprised to see Stefan stretched across the bed.  He was watching my every move as I stood naked at the foot of the bed.

"You’re still dressed?" I asked.  I could tell he’d been monitoring my thoughts and was worried my reaction to the earlier verbal and physical altercation, so I assumed he’d be naked and hell bent on trying to get me into bed the moment I stepped out of the shower.  Once again, he’d surprised me.

“I am,” he replied smoothly, the deep tenor of his voice lingering over those two words.

Heat rushed over me, starting from my cheeks and flushing down my body at an alarmingly fast rate.  My pulse increased and I instinctively licked my lips in response.

“Are you going to take off your clothes?” I questioned, my voice coming out in an excited rush.

“Perhaps I should.”  And then he smiled.  And not just one of his typical smiles either.  This one was mischievous, wicked and extremely sexy.

Stefan rose languidly from the bed, making a production of removing each article of clothing as slowly and deliberately as he could.  He yanked at the bottom of his sweater, slowly dragging it over the ragged muscles of his stomach.  He finally pulled it over his head and it fell back against the bed, his chiseled chest on display for me to fully admire.

I watched him with eager, lustful eyes.  He raised an eyebrow as he unbuckled and removed his belt, one loop at a time, tossing it on the bed, adding it to the to the growing pile of his discarded clothing.  Making sure he still had my full attention, his handsome face became devilish, a smirk curling his lips.  His hands were unhurried as they flicked the button open and he unzipped his jeans, his leer deepening at my sudden loud intake of breath.

He’d gone commando again.

My hands tightened into fists as I swallowed back the moan that threatened to fall from my lips.  If he was trying to kill me with his impromptu striptease, he was well on his way.

Stefan was taking his time pushing the denim over his narrow hips and long, muscular legs until he stepped out of them and stood before me, magnificently naked.

“Tell me what you see.”

My mouth was dry, my voice a husky whisper.  “I see you, Stefan.  The only man I’ll ever love.”

He rolled his sea blue eyes in mock frustration.  “Tell me what you really see, vackra.  I can read your thoughts, yet I long to hear you describe to me what you see when you look at me.”

Nervously tucking my damp hair behind my ear, my eyes swept over him.  I approached him carefully and knelt before him, placing my hands on his ankles and moving them upward slowly, delicately.  “Your legs.  They’re long and muscular.”  My fingers gripped his thighs, palming them tightly.  “I love to see the way your jeans cling to your thighs.”

“Go on,” his voice was clipped as I glanced up at him.  His eyes were impassive and he had on his familiar poker face.

Feeling bolder, my hands moved to his ass, fondling the tight cheeks lovingly.  “Your ass.  I love to see you coming, but I love to watch you walk away.  This,” I pinched his ass. “Is one of my favorite things to look at.”

Standing up, I let my hands glide up his the smooth planes of his back, my hands drifting across each one of his broad shoulders to circle around his hard, solid chest.

“Your shoulders.  I love to watch them move when you fuck me, every muscle flexing…”  I exhaled softly, blowing my breath against his skin.  “And your chest… I want to lick every inch of it.”  My fingertips barely were touching him as I pressed my mouth against one of his pale pink nipples, deliberately arching away so only my hands and lips were touching him.

He swallowed roughly and flinched, but his face remained inscrutable.  Only his eyes betrayed him.  They were growing heavy-lidded and dark, the pupils eclipsing the pale blue.

I didn’t stop.  I couldn’t if I tried.  Bending slightly, my tongue flickered out to lick small trails down his torso until I reached his stomach.  My tongue caressed each rippled muscle, my teeth nibbling and scraping across them.  They involuntarily contacted under my touch, leaving me to smile against his satiny skin.  I let the pads of my fingers run over the sharp V muscles that dipped to his hips, noticing out of the corner of my eye how his hands repeatedly clenched and unclenched, yet he didn’t say or a word or make any other effort to move.

Reaching out and stroking his hard cock, I let my fingernails lightly graze over his impressive length.  “Oh, and this.  This is one of my favorite things.  I love to feel this buried inside of me.  Do you like to feel your cock buried inside of me, Stefan?”

He drew in a harsh breath, his heavy cock twitching in my hand.  The rest of his body remained immobile.

Standing to my full height, I took a chance meeting his scorching gaze.  Smiling smugly, I feigned a look of surprise.  Making my voice a purr, I leaned closer.  “Cat got your tongue?”