“You stopped at different times?” he asked in surprise.
They both shrugged, but Isabelle was grinning happily. Apparently it was a bit of a sore subject with Ethan that his younger sister had reached maturity before him.“Yeah, we don’t know exactly how it works, or whatmakes our bodiesdecidetostop aging, but Isabelle did before me.”
“How did you know you were done?”Stefan asked, turning toward her.
She met his gaze hesitantly, shrugging slightly.“I just knew. There’s no other way to explain it, except that I justknew.”
“Yeah,” Ethan answered. “I woke up six months ago, and knew. At first I had thought that Isabelle was lying to me about it, to torment me.” They exchanged quick smiles. “But that is the way it works. There is no way to know when we’ll stop, only when we do. Our powers develop more quickly afterward.”
“You don’t have any powers until you mature?” he asked in disbelief.
“We have some, we can alter memories a little, but it’s extremely draining. If I hadn’t been there to help Isabelle with Ralph, she never would have been able to do it herself. We were faster and stronger than humans, but not by much. It isn’t until we fully mature that our speed increases, our power of memory erasure becomesstronger, and we can really see and hear a lot better.”
“Amazing,” he muttered. And it wasamazing;the whole situation was amazing to him.
“How old were you when you became a vampire?” Isabelle asked softly. She hadn’t meant to ask the question, she didn’t want to know anymore about him, but she found herself oddly curious about him, and she hadn’t been able to stop herself from asking.
He looked over at her, pleased that she was showing an interest in him, and his life. A little too pleased, he realized with an inward grimace. The girl asked one question about his life and he instantly began to wonder if he could get her into his bed tonight. Then, with an inward groan, he remembered Jess, and his hope evaporated. Maybe, he could get intoherbed. The direction of his thoughts startled him, as well as aroused him to a very uncomfortable state. For crying out loud, she had only asked one stupid question and he immediately leapt to the thought that he could take her to bed. He was acting like a damn idiot.
It was then that he realized they were both looking at him expectantly. He pulledhimself out of his lustful thoughts and forced his attention back to the conversation. “Twenty eight,” he answered.
She nodded as she slid back in her chair, her gaze dartedto the clock in the corner. She was tired, and hungry, and she really needed to get away fromStefanbefore she found herself even more curious, and attracted to him. Before she lost all resolve to stay away from him completely. “I’m going to go to bed.”
She stood suddenly, her chair skidding back with the force of her abrupt movement. “You don’t want to wait for them?” Ethan askedin surprise.
“No, I’m tired.”
“Good night,” Stefansaidhis voice deep and husky.
Isabelle couldn’t suppress the shiver that raced down her spine as his voice seemed to caress, and envelop her.“Good night,” she replied as she quickly made her way out the door.
When she left, Stefan was surprised by the odd sense of loss that filled him. If Ethan hadn’t been sitting beside him, he knew that he would have gone after her, that he would have stopped her. But he didn’t think that Ethan would takekindlyto the idea of Stefan hauling his sister down the stairs and ravishing her. There would be other nights, and better times,to ease his lust.
CHAPTER 7
Stefan was still awake two hours later, sitting in the dark dining room. He couldn’t seem to find the energy, or the drive, to go back upstairs and crawl into bed next to Jess. The thought alone caused a cold knot of disgust to form in his stomach. It was past time to end it with her. He had grown tired of the relationship a couple of weeks ago, but today had been the final straw. He had only stayed around as long as he had because she was extremely good in bed, and he hadn’t found any other options. But now he had another option set firmly in his head, and he was intent on pursuing it.
Besides being tired of her, he could sense the fanciful thoughts that were starting to run through Jess’s head.Fanciful thoughts of marriage,and children,that were never going to come true. He thought that he might like to have thatkind of lifeone day, but definitely not with Jess. She had been fun, and easy, when he had first met her three months ago, but she had long since become a bore, and she was starting to hope that their nice, casual relationship, might turn into something more. That was never going to happen.
In his old age, he found it nicer to have a woman constantly around, and had started adopting girlfriends for short periods of time, instead of one night stands. He had kept Jess around a little longer than most of the others, but it was time to cut the strings. Hell, the only reason he had come up here was to drop her off with her mom, and leave. He had been thinking about heading up to Canada to explore the wilderness. It had only been the fact that he had run into his own kind, and Isabelle, that had made him stay. He could stay now, and get rid of Jess.
He was not looking forward to the scene that was sure to follow, or the angry environment that it would cause. Maybe it would be better if he waited untilJesswent back to school. Then, he thought better of it. He couldn’t stand being around her now, let alone another two weeks. It would be better to get it over and done with as soon as possible.
He leaned back in his chair as he stared into the dark room. To him, it was as well lit as it had been when all of the lights were on, and he could easily make out every detail. He liked this home, and to his surprise, he actually liked the whole atmosphere of the warm, family environment. He had never stayed with his own kind for long periods of time, except for Brian, but Brian was part of his past, and he had no intention of seeing him again.The thoughtbrought back memories that he preferred to forget, memories of what he had been, andwould never be again.
It was easier to forget about it when he was here. He had never settled down anywhere before, but when he saw how close and secure everyone was, he almost longed to have a place like it for himself. He enjoyed the laughter, the warm familiarity, and the stories. There were bonds of lovewoventhroughout the entire place that would never be broken. Bonds he found himself a little jealous of.
He understood why David, Doug, Jack, and Mike stayed here, even though they were freerthan the others to leave. He didn’t understand why Ethan and Isabelle seemed determined to stay so faraway from the outside world though. They would always have a place to come home too, even if they did go out and see the world, like their siblings. However, it wasn’t his place to say anything, and he was certain that they had their reasons, he just couldn’t figure out what they could be.
Then again, he had seen everything that there was to see, and been everywhere. Yet, he had never felt as at peace, and as comfortable, as he felt here. He was glad that he had found it. One day he might even set up a home of his own somewhere, and settle down for a little while. Although, it would probably be lonely with just him, and he’d probably be bored within a month. But at least he would have a home base to go back to when his wanderlust dimmed again.
Then again, his wanderlust had been dimmed for awhile now. For the last fifty years or so, ever since he had killed Brenda, he had felt oddly detached, without a purpose, and tired of traveling the world. His entire existence had revolved around destroying her, and once she was gone,there had been no reason for him to continue on. At first he had at least had Brian, but when Brian had changed, become something else, he had lost Brian’s friendship too.
He had only been going through the motions of surviving for awhile now. He just hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself. Now, he had a place where he could stay, a place that he actually liked, aplace that hefelt a little alive in again. David had asked him to stay for as long as he wanted, and Sera andLiamhad insisted upon it. At first he had refused their offer, but after tonight, he had changed his mind. For the first time in awhile he didn’t feel as oddly detached, or lonely.
It would be fun to stay here, listening to stories, helping with the house, and getting to know Isabelle better. Alotbetter. There was something about her that utterly captivated, and intrigued, him. He would enjoy taking the time to figure her out, and he would truly enjoy bedding her. There was no doubt in his mind that he would get her into his bed, he hadn’t met a woman yet that had refused him, he just didn’t know how long it would take. She was very hesitant around him, and for some reason she truly seemed to fear him. Once he got past those two obstacles, he would be home free. He didn’t even consider Jess as a possible obstacle, as far as he was concerned, she was already gone.
A small thud in the kitchen drew his attention. Instantly he knew who it was, and his pulseacceleratedwith the small thrill that traveled through him. Planting his chair back on the ground, he climbed swiftly to his feet. Moving silently through the darkened dining room, and hallway, he stepped into the doorway of the large, open kitchen.
