To him, it was completely obvious that she was jealous, and the realization greatly pleased him. Smiling smugly he folded his arms over his chest as he eyed her with obvious pleasure. “Could have fooled me.”
He thought she was going to start spitting with rage as her eyes flashed a dangerous shade of red. “Get out!” she hissed. “And stay the hell away from me!”
“That,Isabelle, is not going to happen,soget used to that fact right now,”he growled in warning.
“How dare you!?” she snapped.
He took a step closer to her, but she backed up quickly, shaking her head as she held up her handsto wardhim off. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me how long it has been since you last fed.”
Isabelle was shaking with frustration and anger. She couldn’t take much more of this. Her emotions were swinging wildly back and forth, and she felt as if she were being torn in ten million directions at once. “I told you I wouldn’t hurt her,” she whispered.
Stefan grit his jaw as a wave of fury swept through him. “And I told you that I don’t care about her!” he snapped. “Now answer me!”
Isabelle was rapidly batting back tears. She hadn’t cried since Ethan and Ian had cut off her hair, and she refused to cry now, especially in front of him. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of answering him, but she needed to get away from him.Sheneeded some space and distance,and if her answer would make him leave, than she would give it to him.
“Four or five days,”she answered softly.
His breath hissed out of him as he clenched his jaw. “Which is it, four or five?” he demandedfiercely.
Isabelle wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt toeasethe chill that was wracking her. “Five,” she muttered miserably.
His hands seized hold of her arms. She jumped in surprise;her gaze flewwildly to his as he glared down at her. “You will not do that again,” he commanded.
Isabelle’s eyes widened at the commanding, hostile tone of his voice, and her ire immediately surged to the forefront. “I told you that I wouldn’t hurt her!” she yelled, unable to stop the jealousy tearing through her.
His eyes narrowed dangerously as he brought her to within an inch of his face. “And I told you that I don’t care about her. If you had lost control and hurt Jess, you never would have forgiven yourself, would you?”
Isabelle swallowed the tight lump in her throat. “No,” she whispered.
He put her back down, unable to touch her anymore without wanting to take it all, to taste it all. “Now,” he grated through his teeth. “We are going to get a few things straight between us. Jess means nothing to me, if you want her gone, then I’ll toss her out right now...”
“No!” shecriedguilt and self loathing flowing through her.
Stefan’s eyes narrowed, but he forced himself not to argue with her. He was going to set the rules right now, and she was going to start obeying them. “Fine, she can stay if you want, but I think it will be a little awkward, because I plan on having you.”
Isabelle gaped at him;fury surgedthrough her veins as she took a quick step back to make sure that she was out of his reach. Not like it would do her much good, he moved faster than anything she had ever seen. He could easily grab her again if he wanted to. “You arrogant bastard! How dare you!? If you even remotely think that just because you say you’re going to have me, you will, than you are dead wrong!” she spat, rage causing her entire body to tremble.
“No Isabelle, I am very right. You can fight it all you want, but it is the simple truth. You want me, I want you, and I will have you.”
She sputtered in disbelief, unable to believe the full extent of his arrogance.“Get out!” she nearly screamed. “Get out now!”
He grabbed hold of her arms, dragging her against him as she struggled wildly within his grasp. He held her for a moment, waiting for her to settle down. Her eyes flashed red with rage as she ceased her useless struggles and stood trembling within his grasp. She looked so amazingly beautiful, and tempting, that it took all the restraint he had not to kiss her again. But he knew that if he did, he would not be satisfied with just one kiss, and he wanted Jess effectively out of his life before he took Isabelle. He knew that she would feel guilty afterward if Jesswasn’tgone, and he didn’t want that.
He realized with a start, that for the first time in his existence, he was actually putting someone else’s feelings ahead of his own. He didn’t know how she had managed to get to him so much, nor did he particularly care. Right now, he just wanted to get his point across.
“You’re going to stop fighting me Isabelle, and yourself. It will be goodbetween us, you’ll see.”
She gaped at him in astonishment as fear, and desire, seized hold of her. She should have been infuriated at his highhanded attitude, but suddenly all of her anger vanished and she couldn’t seem to regain it. She knew that it would be good between them, but she was so very afraid of just how good it would be. Of what it would mean. She didn’t want to think about it now, couldn’t think about it now. All she wanted was to be free of him for just a few moments.
“Go out through the storm doors,” she said softly.
“Are you going to stop fighting me?”
All of her frustration and anguish reached a boiling point. “Yes!” she criedin exasperation. “Nowplease go! If you don’t stop her, Ethan will have a nervous breakdown, he hates robots.”
Satisfaction gleamed in his black eyes as he smiled smugly. He dropped a quick kiss on her nose and set her on her feet. Isabelle instantly jumped back to put more distance between them. She had promised to stop fighting with him, she hadn’t promised to stay anywhere near him though. She kept her own smug satisfaction hidden from him as she met his gaze with an angry glare.
“Did you ever torture him with one of those?” he asked lightly.
