Destined (Vampire Awakenings) (30 page)

   She broke off, unable to speak through her sobs. She buried her head in her mother’s shoulder as she continued to gently stroke her hair. “It’s a wonderful thing Isabelle,” she whispered. “It’s frightening, and it’s scary, but it is truly wonderful. What you have discovered is something magical, something that m
ost
people never find. Something that your sisters, your brothers, and the stooges may never find.”

  
Isabelle shuddered;
agony t
o
r
e
through her as she felt
Stefan’s
loss deep in her bones.
“It doesn’t matter, he’s gone, and it hurts so
much
,” she whispered.

  
Her mom
sighed gently, her hand stilled
on Isabelle’s hair.
“You could try and find him.”

   Isabelle shook her head. “He doesn’t want me. He doesn’t love me, otherwise he wouldn’t have left.”

   “Do you love him?”

  
Isabelle closed her eyes as she thought over her mother’s question.
“I don’t know. I didn’t even like him, but he made me feel things I’ve never felt before, made me feel complete, and whole, and safe, and so many other things,” she finished shyly.

   Her mom chuckled softly. “I understand,” she assured her.

   Isabelle knew that she did, but it didn’t help to ease the awful pain that twisted her entire being. “Do you think that he really is my soul mate?” she asked softly.

   “Yes.”
   “Why?”
   She sighed softly and gently pushed the swing back. “You didn’t see him when you were hurt Isabelle. He wanted to attack everyone that came near you, including your father. He
did
atta
ck Ethan.” Isabelle shuddered at
t
he thought
of
what could have happened to Ethan
,
if David hadn’t stopped Stefan. It would have killed her if Ethan had been seriously hurt. “He was losing control of himself. I think that’s why he went away. It
’
s a very frightening thing. I remember when your father went through it. He was confused, and angry, and scared that he would hurt everyone, including me.”

   “Daddy would never hurt you,
”
Isabelle whispered.

   “He would have then. He wouldn’t have meant too, but he would have
if I had insisted on staying
human. It
i
s confusing Isabelle, and it
i
s frightening, but it is worth it. I promise you that much.”
   “What do I do?” she whispered forlornly.

   “I don’t know sweetie.”

   Isabelle grew silent as she allowed herself to be somewhat comforted by her mother’s warm embrace, but it wasn’t enough. She needed him, she knew that now, but it was too late. She had fought him so hard, and he had left because of it. Now all she wanted was to have him back. She wouldn’t fight him now, if he would just come back. She wished that there was some way that she could bring him back, some way that she could reach him and tell him to come back. Tears slid silently down her cheeks as she closed her eyes.

   The air was warm and still, not even a breeze stirred it, and yet, something did. Isabelle sat up quickly, her gaze dart
ed
toward the woods.

   “Isabelle,” her mom said softly.

   Her legs dropped to the ground as she stood slowly. She saw him then, standing at the edge of the forest, his eyes as dark as the night enveloping him. Her heart leapt into her throat as happiness burst through her. For the first time in days, her body wasn’t burning, wasn’t dying, and she was able to breathe without dif
ficulty. He took a step forward;
the moonlight spill
ed
over the hard set of his jaw, and illuminat
ed
the fierce hunger in his gaze. A small cry escaped as her paralysis broke. She raced across the small distance separating them
;
she
thr
e
w her arms around his neck as tears of joy spilled down her cheeks.

CHAPTER 15

   Stefan envelop
ed her tightly;
a low growl of pleasure escaped him
as he pulled her against him. All of the tense anger, and burning fire that had been searing through him for the last three days, evaporated the moment that he touched her. Everything was finally right again, everything finally made sense again. Sera stood, nodded to him, and slipped silently away.

  He w
rapped his hand tightly into Isabelle’s
hair, pulled her face out of his shoulder, and savagely seized hold of her mouth. She whimpered softly against the brutality of his kiss, but he couldn’t stop himself, couldn’t ease it. He needed her like a drowning man needed air. Needed her with a longing so fierce that it snapped the tenuous thread of control he had just barely managed to hold on to for the past three days.

   Her mouth parted beneath his and he thrust his tongue inside to ferociously taste her, taking and demanding everything that she had. His control slowly began to come back to him as her sweetness washed over him, enveloped him. It caused the fierce wildness within him to diminish by degrees as she eased the torment that had been haunting his soul for centuries.
She e
ased the darkness that had been clawing to break free, and had grown almost uncontrollable over the past three days.

   Her hands wrapped tightly around his neck as she pressed herself firmly against him, returning his kiss with an urgency that matched his own. He released her hair and seized hold of her waist
,
lift
ing
her
easily
up. She gasped in surprise as he settled her on his waist, her long legs instinctively wrapp
ed
tightly around him.

   She gazed down at him, tears slid silently down her cheeks
as
her violet eyes smolder
ed
with passion. She scanned his face, looking at him as if she were afraid to believe that he was actually here. Something inside of him changed, something different began to come forth, something that he had never experienced before, or had ever thought too. He cared for her more than any other person he had ever met,
he
had missed her, and
he
had come to realize that he actually liked her infuriating ways. He liked her laughter, her smile, her independence, her strength, her determination, and her courage. He even liked the little vindictive streak she exhibited with her brothers.

   The past few days had been nothing but hell for him. He had been unable to do anything but think about her. He had barely been able to function. He had felt as if he
was
on fire, and his veins had burned with her absence. The demon within him had constantly been at the forefront, and his sanity had been a tenuous thread that had come close to snapping completely. He hadn’t slept in three days, had been unable to settle down long enough to let his body relax
enough for sleep
, and he hadn’t fed.

 
He had nearly killed a man in a bar because
t
he
man
had accidentally bumped into him, causing him to turn violent. Fortunately, he had regained control of himself in time, but never had he lost it like that. Not even
with
Ethan.

   He had picked up a woman, taken her back to her place, determined to try and ease the anger, and burning in his body. Disgust had filled him the moment that he had touched her, the moment that she had touched him. He had felt nothing for her, had experienced no sense of arousal. He had been so enraged, so shaken up, that he hadn’t even fed off her because he knew that he would kill her if he did.

   After that, he had decided that he needed to come back here, needed to see her. He had to sort everything out, had to know if she hated him for what he had done to her brother, what he would have done to her father. Needed to know if she could forgive him for causing her
to be
hurt
at the club
. He had been determined to see her, to touch her, to ease his torment.

   When she had run to him all of the misery of the past three days had vanished instantly. She had forgiven him, and he knew that she would no longer fight him, that she had been going through the same torture he had. He had felt her pain and anguish far down the road, had sensed her misery, and it had driven him faster, harder. He had become desperate to ease her suffering, desperate for her to never hurt again.

   Seeing her, touching her, he knew that this was where he belonged. That she was the only thing that could ease the torment he had been experiencing. Ease the torment of his entire existence. He didn’t know why, and at the moment he didn’t care. He just needed her, now.

   He seized hold of her mouth again, his hands tighten
ed
in her thick hair as he carried her swiftly out of the woods and across the field. She met his hunger with her own as she moaned softly, her hands curl
ed
into his back, her tears dr
ied
. He was so hard that it hurt, and he was throbbing painfully. She wiggled against his erection, moaning softly as she pressed herself more firmly against him. He groaned in pleasurable agony as she lifted herself up and slid gingerly down again.

   He almost spilled himself then as a fierce tremor racked his body. If she didn’t stop, he was going to lay her down and take her in the middle of the field. He ripped her shirt up, his hand skimming over her flat stomach, and delicate ribcage before seizing upon her breast. She moaned and ground harder against him, biting into his lower lip. He grunted impatiently as he ripped her bra down, determined to feel her flesh against his. Her hardened nipple seared into the palm of his hand as he rubbed and kneaded her.

   “Stefan!” she gasped, her head falling back.

   The passion in her voice only served to urge him faster. He was in a near frenzy by the time he reached the storm doors. He bent, flung a door open, and slipped swiftly down the stairs. He paused only long enough to throw it closed before striding across the room to the bed. Laying her down, he fell on top of her, unable to part with her for even a moment. He seized hold of her lips again, driving his tongue into the sweet recesses of her mouth with deep, forceful thrusts that imitated what was to come
as he
savor
ed
the wonderful taste, and feel of her.

   She tugged eagerly at his shirt, needing to feel his skin, needing to feel
him
. Her hands skimmed over his warm, hard flesh
.
A
tremor of delight rip
ped
through her as he pulled slightly back, allowing her to pull his shirt free, giving her access to what she desperately sought, desperately needed. Her breath froze in her lungs as she took in the broad magnificence of his hard chest. Black hair curled across it, encircling his small nipples, before narrowing down his hard stomach. Her mouth went dry as she lightly ran her hands across him, shuddering with desire, and anticipation.

   He bent back to her, seizing hold of her mouth and ravishing her until she was breathless, and shaking. She moaned softly as her hands wrapped around his back, digging into his flesh. His muscles bunched and flexed beneath her touch as she clung to him
.
She was
frantic to get closer to him, to feel more of him, all of him. Her body was burning with want, aching and trembling as she pressed herself as tightly to him as she could.

   Stefan couldn’t take anymore, couldn’t slow down, no matter how much he wanted too. He had been away from her for too long, had been denying himself for too long. She had denied him for too long. He had to have her, now. He ripped her shorts off, heedless of the cry of surprise that she issued. He met her gaze for a moment, but there was no fear in her eyes like he had expected, only a fierce need that seemed to match his own. He pulled her shirt quickly off
.
U
nable to take the time to bother with her bra hooks, he tore it free, determined to expose her full breasts, and luscious body.

   He took only a brief moment to savor the sight of her as she lay beneath him, panting slightly. Her delicious lips were swollen from his kisses
.
H
er beautiful breasts, with their inviting strawberry buds, heaved as she trembled and quivered beneath him, arching her loins against his. A shudder tore through him as he bent his head and seized hold of her nipple, licking and nipping at the hardened bud
.
He
relish
ed
in the feel of her as she bucked and moaned beneath him, her hands d
u
g
into his hair
as she
pull
ed
him tighter against her.