Isabelle stared silently back at him, her heart hammering as she struggled to breathe normally. She was acutely aware of how awful she looked, especially compared to Jess, and for somestrangereason that fact bothered her. She didn’t want him to see her looking like this. Silently, she cursed herself for behaving like an idiot. She didn’t care what he thought of her, or how she looked, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, or his bitch of a girlfriend.
There was a gleam in his eyes though, a gleam that left her breathless and trembling. A gleam that told her that he didn’t think she looked as awful as she felt. In fact, he looked as if she was the most desirable woman in the world, as if he wanted to devour her. A fierce shiver made its way down her spine,itcausedher to tighten, and harden, in places that she had never felt sensitive in before. Part of her desperately wanted to be devoured by him, while the other part, the saner part, wanted to run screaming for help and never look back.
“You look tired Stefan, why don’t you take a break?” Jess’s voice dripped with so much ice that it was able to tear Isabelle’s gaze away fromStefan.
Apprehension filled her as she turned slowly to look at Jess. Her gaze was focused on Stefan, but the amusement was gone asJessstared at him with narrowed eyes and a locked jaw. Then she glanced at Isabelle, Jess’seyes flashedbrightly with malice before she turned back to him. Isabelle bit into her lip as she took a step to the side, eager to get away from all of them.
“I have to get the laundry,” she said quickly, desperate to escape.
“Why don’t you wait, I’m sure that Jess will help you,” Stefan said coldly.
“I offered, but Isabelle said that she didn’t need my help,”Jess replied sweetly.
Isabelle’s mouth gaped open in disbelief as she spun back around. Jess was smiling sweetly up at Stefan, batting her lashes as if she were the most innocent thing in the world. Exasperation blazed to life in Isabelle as her eyes narrowed and her hands fisted at her sides. “The hell I did!” she snapped, unable to keep her temper under control for a moment longer. It usually took a lot to truly annoy her, but when she did blow, she could put MountVesuviusto shame with the force of her explosion. Jess’s lie, on top of everything else that was going on, was the final straw.
Stefan’seyebrowliftedin surprise as he tried to suppress a smile of amusement. It was quiteobvious to him that the teddybear Doug had described was gone, and the grizzly bear had leapt forward. He had seen her sister subtly tell her to keep her mouth shut before, and had felt Isabelle trying to control her anger at Jess, but it seemed as if her control had snapped. The fire in her eyes, and her rigid stance, were both fetching and interesting.
“Of course I did,” Jess lied easily.
Stefan found his amusement fading as she persisted in the lie. Vicky and Abby leapt to their feet, pushing at Isabelle. Her jaw clenched tightly and her nostrils flared as she took a deep breath to try and calm herself. “Come onIssy, we’ll help you,” Vicky said softly, pulling at her arm.
Isabelle shrugged them angrily off, determined to bring Jess’s lie to the forefront, and wipe that smirk off of her face. “Mom,” Abby whispered so softly that Stefan barely heard her, and he knew that Jess and Delia didnot.
Isabelle closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she struggled for control. She longed to lash out at Jess, to put her in her place, but she couldn’t. She just couldn’t do anything to hurt her mother. Jess wasn’t worth it. She turned quickly on her heel, determined to put as much distance between herself, and Jess, as possible.
“See that proves that I’m right,” Jess said victoriously.
Stefan’s anger continued to mount as he turned back to her. She smiled seductively up at him as she leaned victoriously back in the chair, stretching her arms behind her head in a gesture meant to make her breasts more alluring. She failed miserably. “We both know that you’re lying.”
Her eyes narrowed as she leaned forward in the chair, her blatant attempt at seduction forgotten. “You would believe her over me?” she demanded haughtily.
He smiled coldly as he nodded. “Yes, I do.” He didn’t wait for her reply as he turned and headed back to the house, her anger beat against his back as he moved swiftly across the ground.
CHAPTER 6
Stefan leaned back in his chair, casually surveying the group of people surrounding him. The dining room was exceptionally large, but it seemed minuscule with everyone crammed into it. Ethan, Ian, Aiden, and Doug were sitting on the left side of the large, mahogany table, casually sprawled in their chairs. Mike sat across from him at the head of the table while David, Jack, and Jess took up the right side.
Jess’s hand rested lightly on his thigh as she teasingly rubbed his leg, drifting toward his crotch and then back down again, her earlier ire at himseemed to have been forgotten. He seized hold of her hand, and for the fifth time, dropped it back down. Even if she wasn’t still mad about what had happened earlier, he was, and he was also more than a little disgusted with her. She shot him an angry look, but he turned his attention away from her as he listened to Ethan argue with Aiden, and Ian, over the best way to finish off the last bathroom in the new house.
“You’re not going to be living there!” Ethan announced.
“We will when we come home for vacations!” Aiden snapped.
“Why are you guys even arguing about this? You know that Isabelle is going to be the one that decides what color tile you use. Otherwiseyou’ll never hear the end of it!” Mike interrupted.
The two sides scowled at each other, but they quit squabbling over blue verses green. “Where is Isabelle?” Doug asked, suddenly noticing that she wasn’t present.
Stefan had been wondering the same exact thing. “Finishing the laundry,” Ethan answeredabsently.
“We really are going tosmelllike a girl,” Jack mutteredmiserably.
“This room looks pretty good, and it smells like lemons, instead of flowers” David defended. “Did you know that those curtains were blue?”
“I’d forgotten,” Doug replied laughingly.
“It is nice to have the place clean again, but if my laundry comes back smelling like flowers, or perfume, I am not going to be happy,” Jack said.
“Trust me Jack, perfume won’t help you.”
