“Go!” she yelled.
He grinned at her as he strolled by, tugging on a piece of her hair. She jumped further back, her eyes wild with anger as she glared at him. He turned away from her, smiling happily as he ascended the stairs and opened the door. “Oh, Isabelle!” he called back.
“What?” she snapped.
“Change your shirt before you come up.”
He laughed softly as her curses followed him out the door.
Somehow, even though she’d had to change her shirt (his mouth had left a wet mark right over her nipple), she still beat him up the stairs and into the kitchen. She shoved her way through Ethan and Aiden to the counter, and froze. Jess was walking back and forth in the kitchen, pouring batter into frying pans, and flipping them over.Isabelle’seyes widenedat the sightofthe stack of pancakes filling the plates, overflowing the counters, and slipping onto the floor. In the short time that they had been gone, Jess had managed to make at least fifty or so pancakes.
“Wow,” she breathed as Jess flipped another pancake onto an already overflowing plate.
“What the hell happened?” Ethan demanded.
Isabelle snapped her mouth shut as she turned to look at him. He was the only one that wasn’t highlyamused;everyone else was wearing grins as they watched the endless pancake assembly line. “I uh... well... I, oh I’ll explain later,” she finished lamely.
The front door banged open and Stefan came striding in. Although she still felt flustered from their encounter, and more than a little embarrassed, and angry, he looked cool, poised, and anything but effected by it. Isabelle scowled as she turned her gaze forcefully away from his, with a haughty tilt to her nose and chin. His arm brushed against her back as he passed her, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin as a bolt of desire pierced through her.
“What did you do to her?” Jack asked with a bright smile.
“I told her to make breakfast.”
Jack started to laugh. “For an army?”
Stefan cast him a grin as he moved around the counter toward where Jess was pouring more batter into a pan. “She probably thinks you’re growing boys.”
“She’d have us be exploding boys,” Ian replied.
Everyone but Isabelle, and Ethan, found this to be extremely hilarious. Stefan grabbed hold of Jess’s arms and turned her toward him. Jealousy suddenly exploded through her, causing bright lights of anger to burst before her eyes. She turned quickly awaysoshe couldn’tsee anymore.Heading out the door,she hurriedtoward her parent’s house.
CHAPTER 9
Isabelle somehow managed to avoid him for the next two days. She spent all of her time at her parent’s house, helping her mother plan Aiden’s going away party. She was irritable, snippy, tired, and achy from sleeping on the couch. Her mother questioned her bad mood, and why she was crashing on the couch, but Isabelle simply told her that she was too tired to go home at night. She knew her mother didn’t believe her for a second, but she let it slideand didn’t push Isabelle.
There were a few times that Isabelle almost poured her heartout aboutall of her frustrations about the infuriating man. But, she bit her tongue, and somehow managed not too. She was too frightened that her mother would confirm her worst fear, and that was the last thing that she wanted to have happen. So, she stayed silent, and miserable.
It didn’t help that she found herself constantly thinking about him throughout the day.Found her mind wandering to him, and what he was doing, and withwhom. Although, she knew what he was doing, and who he was doing it with. The thought always caused a surge of jealously,and anger to spurt through her, which made her dislike him even more.
He had done this to her. If he had just stayed away she wouldn’t be unhappy, she wouldn’t be sleeping on a couch, and she sure as hell wouldn’t be having the awful dreams that she had every night. Well, the dreams weren’t awful, they were actually kind of pleasant, but they caused her to wake up feeling edgy, and out of sorts,unfulfilled,and even madder at him, and the worldfor upsetting her life this way.
She simply didn’t know what to do anymore. She longed for the day that he left, and at the same time the idea of him leaving caused her to feel even more miserable, and irritable. It opened a pit of loss in her chest. A loss that she was sure would go away just as soon as he got out of her home, and out of her life. It was simpleattraction;thatwas all.She would have feltitwith other men, if she had only spent more time around them. Hell, there were probably even a few humans that she would feel attracted tooif shegave them a chance.
She hadn’t liked anyone in high school because they had all been immature idiots. If she actually went out, and spent time with men, she was certain that she would find a few that she liked. Her brothers, and the stooges, were attracted to human women all the time, and it never meant anything. Vicky and Abby had an endless parade of admirers that they were always going out with. What she was feeling for Stefan meantnothing;shecould find someone else she felt the same way about. At least that’s what she told herself during the day, over and over again, but at night, her mind, andherbody, betrayed her. She hated both of them for it.
“Isabelle, will you bring out the lemonade?”
She glanced up as her mother came strolling into the kitchen, blinking in surprise as she was torn from her morose thoughts. She glanced down at the spoon in her hand, and the big jug of lemonade she had been stirring for... ah hell, she didn’t know how long she had been stirring it for. She tossed the spoon angrily aside. It was his fault that she couldn’t concentrate either.
“Yeah,” she muttered.
Her mother glanced up at her, her violet blue eyes dark as she studied her. “Are you ready to tell me what’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong.”
Her mother raised a delicateeyebrow but refrained from saying anythingmore. Her eyes took on the distant look they got whenever she was communicating with her father. Isabelle almost sighed in disgust. What she used to find wonderful, and reassuring, now made her feel even edgier and out of sorts.
“Well, come on,” her mom said, grabbing a plate of hamburger patties.
