Awakening (The Vampire Destiny Series Book #3) (13 page)

"This is it," I replied.  Feeling pleased with myself,  I picked up my coffee cup and took a drink.

"It's enough for me."  Lukas muttered, obviously shaken by my display. "I'll be next door if you need me."

He almost ripped the door off the hinges to get out of the apartment.  It slammed behind him, a testament to his thinly disguised anger.

"I should go check on him," Anna said.  She walked to the door and hesitated with her hand on the knob.  "There's more to you than just being half-human and half-vampire.  I can feel it.  I've always known there was more to you than meets the eye, Josie." With those words, she left the apartment, leaving me alone with my coffee and the silence of the now empty apartment.

***

He'd only been gone for less than 12 hours and I was slowly climbing the walls awaiting his return.  I realized the hard way today that the drawback to our bond was when we were apart, we mourned the separation from the other.  The broken ties reached out for the other, their tendrils desperate to reconnect.

This had to be why so few vampires mated.  It crippled them, exposed their vulnerabilities.  From my crash course in being with vampires, they don’t like to appear vulnerable or weak.

I’d spent the day alone, napping and lounging on the couch, staring out the window.  Really, I’d tried to avoid anything that required thinking.  I’d thought enough about my father, Council meeting and vampires to last me a lifetime.

It was nearly eight o’clock when I heard his key in the door to the apartment.  He pushed open the door and dropped a bag on the floor.  Bounding off the couch, I leaped into his open arms, burying my nose in his neck.  I inhaled the woody, familiar smell of him and instantly relaxed as I felt the strength of his arms wrap around me.  My fingers instinctively fanned into the depths of his thick, golden hair.

"It appears I was missed."
  His mental voice was amused at my enthusiastic display.  He gently released me to cup my face in his hands to kiss me.  The bond between us hummed happily at its reconnection, the electrical-like currents flaring between us as we touched.

Smiling shyly, I rubbed my nose against his. “You were.  I enjoyed the quiet but I’m glad you’re back.”

Stefan still had my face in his hands.   He ran his thumbs over my cheeks softly, letting out a heavy sigh.  “There are things we need to discuss.  Come with me.”

Stefan released my face and grabbed his keys.  He took my hand and led me out the apartment towards the elevator.

“Stefan!  I’m in a nightgown.  Where are we going?” I protested as we hurried along.  I glanced down at my gown.  It was more like strategically placed lace over satin than a nightgown.  I hadn’t planned on wearing it for long.

“No one will see you.  Come.”  He veered towards the stairwell, guiding me up two flights of stairs.  We came to the rooftop entrance and he pulled out his keys, unlocking the door.  A small patio was on the roof, scattered lounge chairs and tables arranged on a cobblestone path.

I looked around and then back at Stefan.  “Are we supposed to be up here?”

He smiled arrogantly.  “Ah, you forget we own the building.  This is our space.  We are completely alone.”

Placing my hands on my hips, I giggled.  “Stefan,
you
own the buildings.  I appreciate you including me, but it’s yours.”

“Yet another thing we need to discuss.” He frowned and irritation darkened his features.   “Come sit with me and tell me about your day.”

He lowered himself into a lounge chair, stretching out his long legs.  He opened his arms wide, an enticing invitation to join him.  I sat down and he pulled me along side of him, wrapping me in his embrace.

“Let’s see.  I spoke with Georgia this morning,” I began reciting my day, quickly ticking things off.  I’d save the worst for last and would rush through it as quickly as possible. “I had a long talk with Anna and I used my shield on Lukas.”

He stiffened beside of me.  “I told you not to tell anyone of that ability.  Even Lukas.”

“I know.  He aggravated me and it kind of happened.”  I hadn’t intended on using my shield on Lukas.  I was only stretching the truth a little.

“Are you forgetting I know when you lie?  Not only are you are horrible at it, but I can feel the dishonesty,” Stefan murmured.  “Lukas is frustrating so I understand why you did it.  What was his reaction?

I chuckled softly as I remembered Lukas’ unhappy reaction to my ability.  “I scared him.  Anna thinks I’m more than a hybrid.  What else could I be?”

Stefan smoothed his cheek against my hair.  “Did anything else happen?”

Shaking my head, I glanced up at him.  It didn’t escape my notice that he’d avoided my question. “I have nothing.  Now,what did you want to tell me about?”

I felt his dread creep into our tie.  He didn’t want to talk about any of the things he had to discuss.  He knew they’d be upsetting to me, which in turn would be upsetting to him.

“The Council Meeting is on Friday.  We are all required to attend.  We will all be required to testify,” Stefan said, his voice almost robotic.  He sounded like he was reading off from a prepared statement.  His expression turned sullen as he pulled me closer to him.

My panic rose.  I knew about the meeting.  Knowing that I’d be testifying was daunting.  “We?  What if..”

"There is no reason to worry about Friday, vackra.  It will be fine."

My eyes went skyward for a moment and a deep sigh escaped.  "We're testifying in front of the Council to explain Derek's death.  My father will be there.  You can't expect me not to worry a little."

He tipped my chin up with his index finger and smiled me, exposing his even teeth in a wicked grin.  He tapped the side of his temple with the tip of his index finger lightly.

"You need to stop underestimating me.  I have not lived centuries by being wrong.  It will be fine."

Scowling, I could only stare at his cocky grin with a mixture of aggravation and amazement.

"I don't underestimate you.  My father..." I began.

"Is unreadable.  I know," he admitted.  His lip curled back in a sneer at the mention of my father.  "Trust me.  This is not the first time nor will it be the last time I will face the Council to testify to report a death."

His normally expressive blue eyes glazed over, his mind flickering quickly through his memories of numerous faces like a photo album, assessing each image.  They were all vampires that met their end at his hands.  I lost track of how many as his mind became a fast-moving blur.  The images took on a much different meaning with the knowledge that many were innocent, a sacrifice for my father's agenda.

"You have to face them each time?"

He released a loud exhale.  "More or less."

He was being extremely vague.  I crossed my arms and watched him intently.  When I spoke, my voice was tense.  "More or less?  Stefan, this is me you're talking to, not a stranger.  What does that mean?"

"There are times I do have to testify.  Other times I do not.  This time is different.  Derek not only attempted to kill Anna, vackra.  He was sent to kill you.  As my mate, you are my property.  Therefore his life was mine to dispose of.  I need to explain my actions," Stefan paused.  "Anna has been required to tell her side of the story since his course of action caused her change."

My mind drifted back to the night she'd died her human death, an icy chill causing me to shiver.  I'd watched her life slip away as she lay in my arms, my pleas to Stefan still too fresh in my mind.  Anna had been beautiful as a human with her riot of brown curls and chocolate eyes.  As a vampire she was flawless, her olive skin slightly darker than Lukas or Stefan.  From the moment she awoken, she'd accepted her new life with a quiet acceptance.

As she said, she didn't have a choice.  I snapped back to the present.

"You know I hate the whole 'I'm your property' thing.  As far as Anna is concerned, I think she’ll be ready.  She doesn’t regret this life.”

"Josephine, I do not consider you my property.  Vampire law does."  He looked at me pointedly.  "Anna will always remember the night if her death.  As I told you, other human memories fade, yet that memory remains."

"Speaking of Anna, is something going on with Anna and Nikolaus?"

"It is not my story to tell.  They will tell us if and when they are ready,"  Stefan replied as his fingertips crept over the lace inserts in my gown.  "Not everyone has a happily ever after.  Anna and Nikolaus both have never settled down and they may choose not to.  You need to understand that what we have is a rarity."

“I know.  I know something is going on between them.  I just want them to be happy.”  I snuggled closer to him and my body aligned perfectly with his, my head resting on his chest.  His arm wrapped around my waist while his other hand rested on my hip.  We were silent, watching the city lights twinkle and listening to the steady hum of traffic.  For a moment, there was no Council appearance hanging over us, no Lukas, no Anna, no Kian.  It was just Stefan and me.

We were alone, our minds melding together into a tapestry of contentment and love.  The force of the emotions in his thoughts was indescribable.  It was all-consuming, almost threatening to drown me.  How I'd survived so long without him was a mystery to me.  Overcome with the sudden fear of losing him,  I leaned my head back, exposing my neck to him.

"Drink from me," I whispered.  My voice had cracked by the time I had gotten to the end of my sentence.

His long fingers clasped my face and his blue eyes drilled into mine.  "Why?"

"I don't want to think about anything but you and me right now."  I blinked back tears.  “When you drink from me, all I can think of is you and me.”

His eyes narrowed as he studied my face.  "You do not trust me when I tell you it will be fine?"

I swallowed, the lump in my throat threatening to strangle me.  "I trust you.  I don't trust them."

His handsome face softened, his impossibly pretty mouth relaxing into the gentlest of smiles.  He lowered his lips to my neck, his nose nuzzling against my skin.

"I love you."  His lips tickled as they whispered across my throat.  He pressed a kiss over the spot he chose, the soft click of his fangs unleashing a warmth in the pit of my stomach.

"You are everything."  He bit down so gently that I was surprised when I felt his reaction to the taste of my blood.  He'd been so precise that I hadn't felt his bite.  He took a long draw, drinking only enough to keep the wound open.

Crooning his name, I let pleasure wash over me every time he suckled.  My head fell into the cradle of his arm, my body losing all tension.  Everything disappeared except us and the feeling of being consumed.  Lust spiked between us and I knew we'd both want more than a simple blood exchange.

His hand had started to rub slow, deliberate circles on my hip.  My gown rode up slowly with each pass.  His body was returning my warmth in equal measure.  I felt his cock, rock hard and seeking, pressed against me, begging for attention.  I cupped his hip, languidly pulling him forward just as I pushed closer to him.

"Steafedn," I hummed.  The feeling of being in his arms while he drank from me was erotic, almost hypnotic.

He jolted at hearing me speak his given name, breaking suction and hissing out a warning.  "You risk my control, vackra.  Do not tempt me."

I let out a soft laugh and rubbed into his cock harder.  "Are you incapable of making love gently when I talk like that?"

"Very few of the emotions I have for you are gentle.  I struggle to not let them destroy me."

Shocked at his statement, I turned my head, my blood trickling down my neck as I did.  I focused on his darkened eyes as my fingers worked nimbly on the button of his jeans.  "Show me how gentle you can be.  Here, under the stars."