Isabelle frowned as she studied him. “What?”
He laughed softly at the bafflement in her voice. Swinging his legs down,he sat up, his gaze never leaving hers. “They do get uncomfortable.”
“Then go to bed,” she replied crisply.
“Is that an invitation?”
Isabelle’s mouth gaped open as her heartrate accelerated. She took a small step back, shaking her head in denial, while her entire body was tense with want, and need. He stood slowly, tall and dangerous in the moonlight, his broad shoulders blockedout the window. “Don’t,” she whispered, holding her shoes out to ward him off.
“Then go to bed Isabelle.”
She found herself unable to move, unable to blink as a hard lump formed in her throat. She wanted this, wanted him, but she couldn’t, sheshouldn’t. He took a step toward her, and all reason, and logic, fled out the window. Her shoes fell numbly to the floor as she began to tremble with anticipation. All she wanted was to feel him again, to touch him, to have his hands and mouth on her. His eyes gleamed ferociously as she took a step toward him, not caring about the consequences of what she wanted.
“Stefan?” The soft voice jerked both of their heads around. Reality slammed down on her as she took a step into the shadows. “Stefan, are you down here?”
His eyes flashed dangerously as they remained locked on Isabelle’s. For a moment she was more shocked by the loss of control that his red eyes revealed than she was by Jess’s interruption. Then, the full reality of Jess’s interruption slammed down on her, and anger blazed forth. She slipped further into the shadows, hiding herself behind the screen in the corner as the kitchen lights flicked on.
“Why do you insist upon sleeping down here?” Jess demanded.
Isabelle’s blood was boiling as she swung her leg silently over the banister, desperate to escape from this awful situation. Her gaze landed upon her discarded sneakers, and she froze. The last thing she needed was for Jess to see those sneakers. Gritting her teeth, she tried to decide if she could grab them without drawing any attention to herself.
“You know why Jess!” he snapped.
Stefan studiedJess as she stood in the doorway of the kitchen,her arms folded over her chest as she glared at him.But his entire body was focusedupon Isabelle behind the screen. He knew she had to be angry, and as soon as he got rid of Jess he was going to have to deal with that anger, and explain what was going on. As much as he hated to admit it, he supposed that he would have to tell her the truth. “You’ve slept down here for the past three nights.”
Isabelle forgot about her sneakers as she turned her head in surprise. She could see his shadow through the screen, he hadn’t moved an inch. Herforeheadfurrowed as she puzzled over Jess’s words. He had been sleeping on the couch for the past three nights? She swallowed down the lump of hope that suddenly formed in her throat. Why would he do that?
“Jess, go back to sleep,” he said impatiently.
“I’ll stay down here with you.” Isabelle’s breath froze as Jess’s shadow appeared before the screen, her hips swinging seductively. “I’ve missed you.”
She threw her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. Isabelle’s temper flash boiled as her eyes narrowed. A bolt of jealousy, so fierce that it took her breath away, ripped through her. For an emotion that she had never experienced before she met him, she was becoming all too familiar with its clawing effects.
“I haven’t missed you, now go upstairs,” Stefan grated.
Isabelle didn’t care if he was getting rid of Jess, didn’t care if he had slept on the couch for the past three nights. All she cared about was what he had managed to turn her into. A whore. He was dallying with her on the side, while keeping a girlfriend that he obviously had no intention of breaking it off with. She had never thought of herself as immoral, but she realized now that was exactly what he had made her, and she hated it. She hated herself for allowing him to keep on doing this to her over and over again.
She had been blaming him for this mess, for the way that he made her feel, but it washerfault. She was the one that continuously allowed it to keep happening. She was an absolute idiot. A fool. She had been about to give herself to a man that had his girlfriend in the same house as her! What the hell had she been thinking? What the hell was the matter with her? Self loathing and disgust crashed through her in waves that left her nauseous and drained. She needed to get out of here, now.
“Stefan, come on,” Jess whined.
He winced as her voice grated over his nerves. She ground suggestively against him causing the erection he had experienced with Isabelle to vanish instantly. He grabbed hold of her arms and lifted her away from him. “Go upstairs Jess,” he grated. “I told you that itisover.”
Her eyes narrowed with anger as she planted her hands on her hips. “It’s Isabelle, isn’t it? She’s why you don’t want to be with me anymore! You just want to add another conquest to your listbyscrewingher!” Stefan winced inwardly as his eyes darted toward the screen. Isabelle had to be truly seethingby now, but at least he wouldn’t have to tell her that it was over between him and Jess. This conversation was ample proof of that.
“Jess...”
“Don’t you Jess me!” she yelled. “I can’t believe that you would screw that slut!”
The anger that seized him was swift and violent;itcausedhim to react before he could think as he seized hold of her arms. “Don’t talk about her like that!” he hissed, drawing her up so that her eyes were even with his. Jess’s eyes widened in surprise,and fear as she stared at him,Stefan clenched his jaw and forced himself to release her. “Be out of this house tomorrow.”
Jess’s eyes filled with tears as she spun on her heel and raced out of the room. “Fine!” she shouted over her shoulder as she pounded up the stairs.
Stefan stood silently, his eyes resting on the screen. He suddenly didn’t want to go anywhere near it, anywhere near her.Shit,what had she done to him? The anger that had just seized him was so unexpected, so out of character, that he was absolutely stunned. For a moment he had been ready to rip Jess’s throat out just because of what she had said.
He took a deep breath to steady himself before striding over to the screen and ripping it back. She was gone. For a moment he contemplated going after her, finding her, talking to her, and muchmuchmore. Then, he changed his mind. He needed time to think, time to sort through his jumbled mess of emotions. He was beginning to realize that it was much more than a desire toonlyhave her in his bed, but something more, something that he wasn’t sure he wanted. He was actually beginning to care about the infuriating witch.
It was the first time he had allowed himself to care about anyone since he had been a child. He had vowed never to let it happen again, but now, somehow she had managed to wedge her way under his defenses. Maybe she had the right ofit;maybe they should just stay away from each other. His entire existence had been nothing but death and destruction. An existence that Isabelle could not even begin to fathom,that didn’t even come close to the happy peacefulness of her life. His had been an existence that he had every intention of never letting her know about. Growing closer to her may just be the biggest mistake he ever made, but something about her kept drawing him to her, something about her made him determined to posses her.
