Fated (19 page)

“I love you, Josephine,” Stefan said, his voice thick.  His troubled blue eyes closed slowly and he lowered his forehead to rest against mine.  I lightly stroked the side of his face and my fingertips traced the curve of his lips.

“I love you.”  I pressed closer against him, our bodies fitting together perfectly as if they were made for one another.  “Stefan, look at me.”

He raised his head, his blue eyes boring into mine. “I am angry at myself, Josephine.  I lost control and I could have hurt you.  All I could think of was fucking you and your…”

“Blood.”  I finished for him.  I ran my fingers across his lower back, brushing against his taut ass. “I'm not going to lie, Stefan.  For a moment I was scared, but I knew even when I'd lost you for a moment that you wouldn't hurt me.  You're a vampire and you're going to be focused on blood.  I don't think I helped things out by offering my neck to you either...”

Stefan froze as my words sank in.  He was a blur as he sat up, grabbing my head and turning it to the left to look for the marks from his fangs.  He dropped his hand slowly, his face confused and his eyes blank.

I tried to focus on his thoughts.  Unless he was directing them to me or he was distracted, they were similar to watching a movie on fast-forward.  They tumbled over each other as he considered a new idea, discarding it to move to the next.

Quickly sitting up beside of him, a shiver of panic coursed through me. “Stefan.  What's wrong?  You need to start talking.”

He sat motionless, the air between us growing tight as his mind continued to race.

"Stefan, please talk to me."
 I pled with him mentally.  A cold knot began to grow in the pit of my stomach.  If he was quiet this long, it couldn't be good.  I didn't know what was going on but he needed to explain before I really started to panic.

His cool fingers reached up again to stroke the skin on my neck.  His jaw was clenched and his eyes slightly narrowed.

“There are no bite marks, Josephine.  They are gone.”  Stefan's voice was tense with anxiety, the muscles in his broad shoulders tight.

“What do you mean they're gone?  You bit me.  Believe me, I felt it in a good way,” I said, my fingers absently moving to run over my own neck.  I felt nothing but my smooth skin under my fingertips.  It was if he had never bitten me.

“Where did they go?  Bite marks just don't disappear, right?”

Stefan was quiet for a moment, the tense lines on his face deepening. “No.  Bites do not just disappear.  I do not have an explanation, only an opinion.”

I swallowed roughly.  "What's your opinion?"

 “I am going to make the assumption that you healed from the blood you have taken from me. You have bitten me twice.  My blood possesses healing properties, Josephine.  It could be as simple as that.”

Taking a quick inventory of my body, I looked for his fang marks. He had bitten me many times on my breasts and once or twice on my inner thigh.  My eyes roamed to both places, looking for any lingering bite marks.

All of them had disappeared.  Every single one was gone.

My voice didn't sound like my own when I spoke again. “They're all gone, Stefan.  Is this bad?”

“That I do not know.  I have only shared my blood with one other human and he is now a vampire,” Stefan answered thoughtfully, his voice quiet. “I can call one of my friends on the Council.  He may have answers for us.”

“I'm not turning into a vampire am I?” I questioned softly.  I felt my hands twisting nervously in my lap, my eyes wide as they searched his face.

A brilliant smile broke over his face.  He lowered his head to lightly kiss my forehead, my nose and then brushed his lips against mine. “No.  You do not have fangs and you do not want blood.  We just require answers.  Perhaps contacting my friend would be a good thing.  If nothing else it will put both of our minds at ease, yes?”

I nodded and my shoulders relaxed in obvious relief.

“Let us go inside.  I have a bathtub I want to explore with you.”  Stefan winked, standing up and offering me his hand.  I took it and he led us up the steps into the house.  We walked through the spacious living area, climbing up another staircase that led to the master suite.  The bedroom was huge, decorated in neutral colors and faced another wall of windows that overlooked the ocean.

Pausing to take in the enormous bed that faced the windows, my thoughts were moving at a frantic pace.  My shields were changing and bite marks were disappearing from my body within minutes.  I felt like I was on the cusp of a major change, I just had no idea what that change was going to be or if I was ready for it.  I gave up trying to be normal when I chose to be in a relationship with a vampire, a creature of legends.

Leave it to me to push the proverbial envelope.

Hearing water start to run in the adjoining bathroom, I padded across the plush carpet to lean against the doorway of the bathroom, watching him adjust the temperature of the water that was filling a large bathtub.  The smell of sandalwood drifted from the steaming water, filling the room with the delicious scent.  I unconsciously exhaled a deep sigh of contentment as I breathed in the fragrant air. 

It smelled like Stefan and home.

“Ah, there you are, vackra.  Come.”  Stefan said, turning to face me.  His large hand beckoned for me to join him.

I quickly moved across the cool, white tile to stand beside of him.  He leaned to effortlessly lift me in his arms, stepping into the bathtub and lowering us both into the fragrant water to face each other.  The water brushed lightly against the tops of my breasts.

He twisted slightly to turn off the taps and then turned back around to face me again.  His eyes swept over my face intently, a play of emotions running across his handsome face.

“You are truly breathtaking, Josephine.  There are moments that it seems as if I am seeing you for the first time.” His hands moved under the water to pull me closer to him, moving my legs to rest lightly on the tops of his thighs.  We sat close together, our skin making contact intimately.  His hand emerged from the water and he ran his wet fingertips over my hardened nipple.

“Stefan....”

“Shh.  I want to just be with you right now.  I want to hear your heart as it beats.  I want to feel your skin against my skin.” He traced a wet fingertip across my lips and his eyes darkened with emotion.  “
You think too much, Josephine.  There are times you need to let yourself feel.”

His hands moved to wet my hair, reaching for the shampoo to lather my hair.  My eyes closed and I concentrated on the feeling of his gentle fingers rubbing my scalp and the quiet sound of his breath, slow and steady as it fanned across my face.  Warm water flowed over my head and shampoo suds ran over my shoulders.  His hands, slick with soap, ran over the length of my arms and moved to slip around the fullness of my breasts.

“You need to stand up, vackra.”   
Stefan's mental voice nudged tenderly into my thoughts.

Pressing my hands against his shoulders, I moved to stand in the bathtub.  His soapy hands continued their downward descent, running across my stomach and exploring the wet skin of my hips and thighs.  Stefan's hands glided down each of my legs and his hands brushed between my thighs.

“Beautiful.  Sit down, Josephine.”

My heavy-lidded eyes met his, my pulse quickening from his touch.  I could see the emotion burning in
his eyes as he watched me sit back down to face him, the warmth from the water rushing against the heat of my flushed skin.

He leaned to kiss me and his lips were gentle and searching.  My hand moved to cup the back of his neck, pulling his head closer to deepen the kiss.  He teasingly pulled his lips away and his eyes glittered devilishly.

“Just feel, vackra." 
His mental voice was a seductive whisper.
  “
Now wash me.”

Swallowing nervously, I bit my lip. I washed his hair, using my hands to spread the shampoo through his thick, silky blond hair.  I used my nails to lightly scratch along his scalp and let my fingertips
lightly graze against the back of his neck.  His chest rumbled slightly in pleasure, his eyes closing and his long eyelashes casting light shadows on his cheeks.

I lathered my shaky hands with the bar of soap and rubbed them across the broad expanse of his muscled chest.  Moving to spread my soap covered hands down the length of his lean arms, my fingertips lovingly kneading the skin over his sinewy muscles.

“It's your turn to stand up, Romeo.”

My eyes drank in the perfection of his body as he rose to his full height.  Taking a deep breath, I rubbed more soap into my hands.  They slid against the planes of his finely sculpted abdomen and over
the small of his back, lingering as they caressed the cheeks of his taut ass.  I couldn't resist the urge to lightly stroke his hard cock with my soap covered hands, feeling it twitch as my fingers moved over his thick shaft.  A tortured moan fell from his lips as I continued to softly caress him from base to tip.

“Josephine, you need to stop.  You are making it difficult not to fuck you.”

Stefan grabbed the hand held attachment for the shower and turned on the water to let the spray wash the soap from his body, the suds running down the length of his body in soapy rivulets.  He shut the water off, moving to sit back down with his back against the wall of the tub.

“Come and sit with me.”

Stefan turned me in the tub and pulled me against him, the back of my head resting against his solid chest.  His large hands cupped both of my breasts, his fingertips lightly fondling my nipples.  His hands continued to softly drift over my body as he softly hummed.

“I think I could get used to this,” I sighed with pleasure as my head rested in the crook of his neck. 

His chest began to shake as he laughed at my words.  “Tell me Josephine, was it the bathtub that convinced you?  Not my sexual prowess?”

“The sexual prowess stuff is great but I think this bathtub was the deal breaker,” I retorted saucily, a small laugh bursting out as he sighed deeply in response.

Stefan shook his head as he stepped out of the bathtub, opening the drain to let the water out.  He lifted me out of the tub, wrapping a bath towel around me and quickly rubbed me dry.

Walking naked into the bedroom, I eyed the large bed with apprehension.  This was Stefan's bed.  Did I just hop in and act nonchalant about it?  Or did I need to wait for him to invite me to join him? I rolled my eyes at the absurdity of my thought process.  I'd had sex with him six ways from Sunday and now I'm scared of his bed?  There has to be something wrong with the way my mind works.

“What is wrong?  Why are you looking at the bed as if it will bite you?” Stefan questioned as his eyes moved between me and the bed, his eyes sparkling with humor as he observed my obvious discomfort.

“Stefan, I'm not used to all of this.  I've never slept over at a man's house before.  This is one of those situations where I'm struggling to catch up,”  I said, lowering my gaze to look at the floor.

Stefan pulled the dark brown duvet down and crisp white sheet down the bed.  He sat down on the bed and rolled over onto his side, crossing his legs at his ankles, looking like temptation  personified.   He rubbed the bed provocatively with his large hand.  His eyebrows waggled as he watched me stand nervously at the side of the bed.

“Josephine, just get into bed.  I promise not to bite.  Unless you ask nicely,” Stefan snapped his teeth at me, his fangs peeking out of the sexy smile that had curved his lips.

Rolling my eyes at him in annoyance, I sat down on the bed.  His arms moved fluidly to gather me in his arms as he curled against my back.  I felt one arm move to turn the bedside lamp off and to pull the covers over us.  He snuggled against me, his head lowering to place kisses on the top of my shoulders.

“Was that so difficult, vackra?” 
His mental voice had a teasing tone to it.

“I'm sorry I'm like this, Stefan,”  I whispered, my body melting against him. His nose ran against the side of my neck, his lips pressing a soft kiss against the skin there.

“Never apologize for how you feel.  I have had plenty of time to adjust to our relationship.  You have had only weeks,”  Stefan murmured against my shoulder, his lips cool against my warm skin. “You cannot imagine what it was like knowing I would find you someday, only to be faced with centuries of being alone. Your face haunted me when I was awake and when I slept.  I was always looking for you everywhere.  It was frustrating and I was beginning to lose my patience.”

He opened his mind to me and I let out a gasp when I saw the vivid picture of myself flicker in his mind.  I appeared almost ethereally beautiful in his thoughts, my reddish blond hair falling in waves over my shoulders, framing my delicate oval face.  My luminous eyes were green and large, shadowed with fringe of thick eyelashes.  My cheekbones were high and delicate, my lips pouty as they curved up into a brilliant smile.  I was slender and willowy with long and shapely legs.

Is this how I looked to him?

“
Now you know how exquisitely beautiful you are to me, Josephine.  Du är en gudinna.  You are a goddess.”