Isabelle was standing in front of the refrigerator, silhouetted against its dim light. The light blue night gown she wore ended at mid thigh. His mouth went dry and his loins ached painfully as he savored the sight of her long,shapely legs. The way she was bent allowed him a tempting view of a pair of black, lacepanties. He shifted uncomfortably as his hardened cock jumped eagerly in his pants. She was the most tempting thing he had ever seen. He was certain that even the Goddess Venus could not compare to the lovely vision before him.
She stiffened suddenly, slamming the door shut as her back became ramrod straight. “Don’t you sleep?” she asked coldly.
Stefan forced himself to take a deep breath before answering her. “I could ask the same of you.”
She turned toward him, her violet eyes bright in the dark. The gold streaks in her hair shimmered and danced in the moonlight, while the dark of it blended into the shadows. It caused a startling effect that highlighted her enchanting beauty. “I was hoping that they had returned.”
“Hungry?”
Her eyes flashed dangerously as she tilted her delicate chin. “Not all of us have a ready supply available,” she retortedfiercely.
“By all means, enjoy Jess.” He nearly snarled the comment, but he couldn’t help it.She had him as hard as a rock, and her haughtydemeanor, and cold look wasinfuriating the hell out of him.
Her exquisite mouth parted as she gaped at him in surprise. “What an awful thing tosay! Don’t you have any respect?”
Stefan shifted uncomfortably as he leaned his hip against the large counter dividing the kitchen from the tiled entry way. “I wouldn’t want to see you go hungry, when there’s a ready supply available.”
It took her a moment to realize that he was mocking her. When she did, her eyes snapped with fury and her hands fisted at her sides. “Are you always such an ass?” she demandedfiercely.
He grinned cockily at her, his white teeth flashedin the dark, his onyx eyes gleamedwith the hunger that she was becoming uncomfortably familiar with.A hunger that sparked the strange tighteningin her, no matter howhardshe tried to fightagainstit. “Most women find me charming.”
“I find you infuriating.”
“So I’ve noticed, and trust me, the feeling is mutual.”
She blinked at him in surprise. Was it possible that she affected him in the same odd way that he affected her? She quickly shook the thought off. He looked too unperturbed by her presence to be feeling any amount of the desire that was burning through her. Even standing a good ten feet away from him, she could feel the heat of his presence, the force of his power. It burned through her, made her heart hammer, and caused her legs to tremble no matter how hard she tried to fight it. She didn’t wantthis;she didn’t wantanyof this.
Her eyes darted toward the narrow opening. All she wanted wastorun from the kitchen, and back to the safety of her room. However, she would be within inches of him if she left, and she didn’t want to be that close to him, ever. She had been so certain that he would be in his bed by now, with Jess, and that it would be safe to come out again. She was firmly kicking herself in the ass for her stupidity. After earlier she should have realized that there was never a safe time to come out of her room.
“So, what is it that you don’t like about me Isabelle?”
His husky voice sent shivers down her spine. Suddenly she was seized by the insane urge to cry. This was so unfair, everything was so unfair. She had locked herself away to avoid this, and he had walked right into her yard, right into her home for crying out loud! And the absolute worst part of it was that he didn’t feel anything like she felt. She had seen the hunger in his eyes a few times, but he didn’t seem at all upset by her presence at the moment, not like she wasbyhis.
Maybe she was wrong, she thought hopefully. Maybe he wasn’t her soul mate. If he was, than surely he would feel something too. Her parents couldn’t keep their hands off of each other, and both of them had told her that there had been an instant connection, even if they hadn’t realized it at first. But if Stefan wasn’t feeling anything,thenmaybe he wassimplyjust the first man that she had ever been attracted too, and she was wrong about everything else.
Surely she could be attracted to a man, and not have to give her life over to him. Her sisters were forever falling in, and out of, love. Just because she had never felt anything for anyone before didn’t mean that she couldn’t feel it now. That made perfect sense, she decided. He was good looking, amazingly built, and the first vampire she had met outside of her family. Of course she would be attracted to him, but it didn’t mean anything, it was only a simple attraction.
“I don’t dislike you,” she finally answered, and she didn’t, he just scared the hell out of her.
“Could have fooled me,”he retorted, his voice chillingly cold.
“I um, Ineed to go to sleep. I’m tired,”she managed to stammer out.
“Spent all of your energy cleaning?” The taunting tone of his voice raised her hackles, and her temper. “You should have let Jess help you.”
He hadn’t meant togoadher, but her obvious need to escape from him as quickly as possibleaggravated the hell out of him. Her eyes turned a deeper shade of violet as anger flared through her. At least when she was angry she wasn’t looking at him as if he were the wolf, and she was the rabbit that was about to be devoured. When she was angry at him, she didn’t look absolutely petrified to be around him. Instead she looked as if she wanted to kill him, and he found that he preferred it. He hated the idea that she was scared of him, and if he had to anger her in order to get rid of it,thenso be it.
Isabelle clenched her jaw, fully infuriated by the arrogant jerk before her. He completely deserved Jess, they were perfect for each other,she decided as she tilted her chin to glare at him. “I didn’t want to interrupt her important tanning, I’m sure that you wouldn’t want her to have any unseemly lines!” she snapped, fully aware of the ugly jealousy that colored her words. She only hoped that he didn’t notice it.
Anger flared through him. He had baited her, he had brought out herire, but he hadn’t expected her to turn it back on him.He had expected her to tell him the truth;that Jess had refused to help her, not to have her go along with the lie, and not to have her blatantly remind him of his relationship with Jess. It took all he had not to reply in kind, not to grab her and shake some sense into her. Not to grab her and kiss the fury from her.
Instead, he decided to change tactics. “Why are you scared of me?”
The question had the effect that he wanted as her eyes widened, and her luscious mouth partedin surprise. The anger radiating from her diminished,shock blazed forth. “I’m not scared of anyone!” she cried.
He found that very easy to believe, but something about him truly upset her. While something about her was causing him to damn near burst out of his jeans. He shifted uncomfortably again and moved to the back of the counter in an attempt to try and ease the fierce pressure. He forced himself to keep his gaze focused on her face, and not on the thin nightgown she wore.Anightgown that emphasized her delicate curves, and bared her creamy thighs. Thighs he was very tempted to touch, to feel, to taste, to have wrapped around him as he buried himself deeply within her.
He groaned inwardly as he became unbearably hard, and forced his gaze back to her face. He hadn’t thought it was possible, he sure as hell hadn’t seen it yet, but she looked aroused. Her lips were parted slightly, her breathing had become quicker and shallower, and hereyes had grown darker as they warily met his. He smiled softly as he finally deduced the source of her fear. She was as attracted to him as he was to her, but for some reason she didn’t like the feeling, and it frightened her. For some reason, instead of giving into her urges like any sane woman would, she was determined to fight him every step of the way.
