Ascend (The Vampire Destiny Series Book #4) (14 page)

Taking a deep breath, I chose to change the subject.  “I want to marry you.  And I don’t want to wait.”

In one of the few times since Stefan and I had been together, I’d stunned him speechless.

***

The smell of freesia and roses filled my nose.  Breathing deeply, I closed my eyes and smiled softly.

Hesitating in the doorway of the living room, I wasn't sure I'd ever seen anything so beautiful.  I'd seen Stefan so many ways: dressed up, completely nude, and seen him come to my rescue like an avenging angel, but never was his face this stunning.  Every bit of his nearly 1000 years faded away from the hard edge of his eyes and the tension in his shoulders. It left him relaxed, appearing so young and beautifully angelic.  His hair fell heavily over his forehead like a golden waterfall.  He was dressed from head to toe in black: an expensive black suit, a crisp black dress shirt and leather shoes.  It made his pale skin luminous, his blue eyes striking as he watched me walk towards him, stepping over blood red rose petals.

My ivory dress was the softest cashmere, the simple lines of the dress clinging to my curves.  My hair hung on loose waves over my shoulders.  My heels clicked over the wood floor softly.  Knowing he was waiting for me made it difficult to keep up the charade of being human.

It was the knowledge that my other half stood waiting at the fireplace that made me want to rush to him.  Even a moment away from him seemed too long.

Surrounded in an arch of flowers, I joined him and took his outstretched hands.  Our fingers wound together, the joy flooding the bond threatening to bring me to my knees.

"Stefan Lifsten and Josephine Anderson, you wish to be joined in marriage?"

Neither of our eyes faltered as we gazed at each other lovingly. Our voices rang out in unison, my clear alto blending with his deep lilting baritone.  "Yes."

Somehow, Stefan had managed to find a justice of the peace willing to marry us at a moments notice.  He'd arranged everything, making a spur of the moment dream a reality.  I’d woken up this morning to his absence and a note, followed by a steady stream of deliveries and strict instructions to avoid the living room until I received his signal.

Who said chivalry was dead?

"Before the witnesses in attendance, I ask Stefan.  Will you take Josephine to be your wife and love her in distress and pleasure?

"Yes," Stefan said.  He squeezed my fingers.  His blue eyes were soft in the late afternoon sunlight.

"Before the witnesses in attendance, I ask Josephine.  Will you take Stefan to be your husband and love him in distress and pleasure?

I didn't hesitate for a moment.  I'd never been more sure of anything in my life. "Yes."

"Mr. Lifsten said you'd recite your own vows.  Go ahead, Mr. Lifsten."

"I, Stefan Lifsten, take you, Josephine Anderson to be my wife.  I ask that you stand at my side during both joyful and sorrowful times.  I promise to devote myself to you until we are parted in death.” With those heartfelt words, his blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears.  He slid a plain, platinum band over my finger and his crooked smile of happiness nearly broke my heart.

 “And Josephine, it is your turn now.”  The justice of the peace nodded at me kindly.  He held out Stefan’s matching band and I took it with unsteady fingers.

Staring up into his handsome face, I took Stefan’s hand.  I took a deep breath and repeated the vows back to him. "I, Josephine Anderson take you, Stefan Lifsten to be my husband.  I promise to stand by you in good times and in bad, to love you and cherish you until death parts us.”

As my fingers pushed the ring over his long finger, my eyes met his again.  I'd never seen him so happy.  Pure joy radiated from his face.  If I had to pick a moment I wanted frozen in time, it would be this brief second that I’d want to capture to remember for an eternity.

"I now pronounce you man and wife.  You may kiss your wife."

The pride he felt at those two words was apparent when his hands reached for my face.  His soft lips met mine as my arms circled his neck.  He rose up and lifted me off my feet in his arms.  His tongue swept across my lower lip, tangling with mine.

I could have lost myself forever in that kiss.  The knowledge that we were tied together in every way possible way filled me with a happiness I thought was unimaginable.

It took the gentle cough of the justice of the peace and our witnesses for us to part.  We signed all of the necessary paperwork in record time.  Stefan was hurrying them along.  It seemed he was anxious to get me alone.

We followed them outside, waving our goodbyes.  We watched them disappear down the driveway in their sedan, waiting until their taillights disappeared into the distance.

In a blur, he had me in his arms.  I started to protest until I realized what he was doing.

He was carrying me across the threshold, honoring the human tradition of marriage.

Once inside, Stefan set me on my feet and cradled my face in his hands.  His lips were as light as feathers against mine.  I felt his fingers and lips travel down to my neck, caressing my skin softly.  My body trembled at each little kiss, relishing every touch…simply because each one touched my very soul and his love was evident in every kiss and in every move he made.

When I raised my hands to touch him, he immediately took ahold of them.  Struggling against him, his hold on me was gentle but firm.

"I have indulged your sexual appetite for far too long, Josephine.  It is something I mean to rectify from this moment on." A playfully wicked smile was on his lips, his painfully beautiful face sinister in the glow from the fireplace.

"Play nice, Mr. Lifsten." I whispered.  Ripples of his desire flitted over my skin and sank into me.

"Ah, you should know I never make promises.  Inga löften, vackra.  All I ask is that you hold on to your energy, draw out the release as long as you can." His lips were so close to mine, I felt each word as he spoke.  His fingers moved to unzip my dress, letting the fabric lay at my feet in a pool of white cashmere. "Will you try?"

As he awaited my answer, he moved on to the task of unbuttoning his dress shirt. It fell open, exposing his broad, muscular chest.  He smiled his sexy, crooked smile, shrugging his jacket and shirt off over his shoulders and down his arms, throwing them to the side in a heap on the floor.

The heat from the fire raging through my body made me feel as if I were blushing all over.  His blue eyes stopped roaming when they locked onto mine.  The passion reflected in his swirling sea blue eyes made him look as if he were burning inside.  And there it was.  It was the look, the smile that Stefan only gave me.  It was the feeling I was waiting for.  It barreled through the bond and if I was human, I'd never have survived it.

His unbridled lust hit me with a force I'd never felt from him before. His hands were a blur on my waist, moving upward slowly against the soft planes of my stomach. His hungry eyes strolled longingly over my body. As his hands reached my breasts, he ran his thumbs gently back and forth over the lacy fabric, my nipples pebbling under his firm touch.  All my muscles seemed to contract within me, sending waves of lightning shooting through my veins, but I held it back as he had requested.

His mouth was on mine, as if he couldn't kiss me deep enough, hard enough or long enough.  There was no way I would be able to hold the intense energy inside much longer. When I thought I couldn't take another second, his mouth was gone and I was left gasping for breath.

"Stefan, please!  Du spelar inte rättvist." I leaned into him trying to recapture his mouth, but he pulled away, his only response his infuriatingly beautiful smile. He enjoyed my easy transition to pulling his native tongue from his mind and relished my futile attempts to break him.

"Ah, Josephine.  I never play fair.  You have destroyed me with your love.  I shamelessly covet it.  One day in the next century you will accept that fact." He smiled again softly as one of his hands released me.  I heard the sound of his belt unbuckling, sliding through the fabric and falling to the carpet.

Finally.

"Close your eyes, vackra.  If you open your beautiful eyes I will stop."  His voice was pure sex, lilting and husky.  "And I do not want to stop."

Reluctantly obeying his request, I was suddenly swept off my feet and on my back of the thick rug in front of the fireplace.  Closing my eyes, I heard the unmistakable sounds of rustling fabric.  My breath hitched in impatient gasps until I felt his naked legs against my own. His rough fingers grasped my silky panties and with a gentle tug they were ripped, pulled from under me in one swift movement.

Kissing his way up from my stomach to my breasts, I arched my back and wrapped my legs around his.  My hands slid smoothly down his velvet skin to rest upon his ass.  He teased me unmercifully.  He would touch me, pressing his powerful body against mine.  He'd come so close and then at the last moment, would retreat.  I tried to pull him closer, but he was much stronger in strength and sheer will.

"Stefan," I moaned.  I was pleading and desperate.  "Please! I can't…"

"I need you as I have never needed you before."  His voice was smooth like honey, causing an icy shiver to move down my spine.  His mouth feathered kisses over my cheek and down my neck, eagerly kissing and licking his way down my throat until his mouth touched the crook of my neck.  I gasped at the sudden icy feeling that swept through me.

"You miss the human part of me don't you?" My voice wavered.  I frantically searched his mind for his answer before he spoke.  Rage built inside of him, his face contorting in his fury.

His flashing eyes met mine.  His powerful fingers gripped my chin, trapping my face so I couldn't look away.  "Why would I miss something that made you fragile? I have you for an eternity. Why would I regret having the other part of my soul forever?  Foolish woman.  You are the love of my life.  I merely existed prior to meeting you.  When will you understand?"

His angry lips devoured mine, as if his kiss alone could prove the depth of his conviction.  His fingers slid into my hair and he wound them into the thick waves.  His tongue was relentless as it swirled inside, entangling with mine.

One of his hands traveled the length of my leg, placing it in the crook of his arm.  Silently and effortlessly, he slid inside of me.  We'd made love more times than I could count, but the sheer size of him never ceased to take my breath away.

"Let your shield go.  Now."  
His mental voice commanded me.

I released the barrier that held the energy back.  It blasted him, his arms shaking from the sheer power as it coursed between us.  We were wrapped in a bubble of energy, entirely encasing us from the real world.  The speed of his thrusts increased, his lust and need overtaking any lucid thought he had left.  His blue eyes were now onyx, his handsome face one of an animal intent on claiming his mate.

I was no better.  I welcomed each of his thrusts with impatient rolls of my hips, answering them with wild abandon, spurring him on with my loud moans and raking fingernails.  The only sounds were the crackle of the fireplace, our wanton cries of pleasure and the sound of our immortal skin meeting in our haste to satisfy our hunger for one another.

I flipped Stefan to his back with the strength of my shield.  It wrapped around him like invisible tethers, holding his wrists and ankles immobile.  His inky eyes furiously met mine, his teeth snapping at me angrily.

"See, you're not the only one that doesn't play fair.  I'm going to fuck you now," I whispered in his ear.  My tongue snaked out and traced a path along his ear, down the sharp line of his jaw until finally, I reached his mouth.  Ghosting tiny kisses along his tense lips, I felt them relax under my touch until they were soft again and I could see some of the blue eclipsing the black.

It didn't stop his arms and legs from tugging at his invisible bonds.  He didn't like to be helpless.  It went against his very nature.

He was equally furious and ecstatic that he'd met his match.  My mental power was stronger than his physical strength and it equally thrilled and frustrated him.