Illusion (5 page)

Damn Stefan and his vampire memory!  I hated to admit that he was right.  I had told him when we were still in Bali that we had to be honest with each other.

“Alright, I’ll tell you.  When I blacked out, I was afraid everything was a dream or a fragment of my imagination.  I couldn’t move or communicate and I would have flashes of memories.  You were by my side the whole time and your presence in my mind is what kept me here.  I was scared I’d wake up and you’d be gone.”  I sighed in defeat.  “Are you happy now, Mr. Total Disclosure?”

He frowned and shook his head.  “No, I am not happy to know that you are frightened.”  He rolled back on his side and paused for a moment, running his fingertips across my lips.  “Would you like to know what I was thinking as I watched you lay on that fucking couch?  For the first time in my existence, I felt helpless… I wanted nothing more than to see your green eyes staring back at me.  I searched for centuries for you and you were lost to me.  I can protect your body.  How can I fight off the demons in your mind?”

He was off the bed and darted to the window, pushing the motorized curtains open.  The lights of New York twinkled in the background and he stood with his back to me, frozen in front of the window, as beautiful as a finely-sculpted statue.

I rolled over on my stomach and rested my chin in my hands.  “You can’t protect me from everything, silly.  And you’re making a mountain out of a mole hill.”

He whirled around to face me, his face was terrifyingly stunning in his anger.  “As your mate it is my job to protect you.  Everyone else is meaningless to me, Josephine.  If I were to lose you now my life is forfeit.”

“Don’t talk that way.  If something would happen to me, I want you to be happy,” I whispered, shivering at the thought of Stefan just giving up and asking to be killed if something were to happen to me.

He darted back to the bed, his chest heaving with emotion.  “You do not get it, do you?  I only existed on this earth prior to meeting you.  You have made me feel more than I did even during my human life.”

His cell phone rang, shrill in the quietness of the bedroom.  He ignored it, still focused on me.  Hoping to change the subject, I glanced at his phone on the dresser.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?”

His eyes unfocused and he spoke in a monotone voice.  “It is Nigel.  He wants to arrange to see us.  He has information for you.  Is that phone call more important to you than our conversation?” Stefan pulled away from me and stalked naked out of the bedroom.  I heard the door slam to his office and I pulled the pillow over my head, groaning loudly.  Leave it to me to fuck up a heart-to-heart conversation when the love of my life offered me his heart on his sleeve.

Wrapping the sheet around me, I walked out of the bedroom and hesitated outside of his office door.  Taking a deep breath, I nervously turned the doorknob and pushed open the door to his office.

“Stefan?”

His back was to me at his desk, his shoulders tight as he flipped through e-mail after e-mail.  He ignored me and continued tapping away at his computer.

I held the sheet with one hand and walked to his side of the desk.  I sat down on the edge of the desk and scooted between Stefan and the laptop.

“Hey.” I brushed my fingers through his hair.  His sea blue eyes shifted to meet mine.  He didn’t move, but he was at least acknowledging me.  “I’m sorry.  You know how I feel about you.  You’re everything to me.  I’m just not good at this relationship stuff, Stefan.  I’m still learning.”

He nodded and buried his face against my chest, wrapping his long arms around my waist.  We sat like this for a long time, his face pressed between my breasts as I methodically stroked his hair.

Finally breaking the silence, I spoke quietly.  “Come back to bed.  All of this can wait.”

He pulled away from me and stood, offering me his hand.  Taking it, I followed him back to the bedroom, watching as he spread his lean body across the king sized bed and stretched his arms out for me to join him.  I unwrapped myself from the sheet and snuggled beside of him.  Smiling gently, I reached behind me and turned off the light.  Stefan’s eyes met mine in the darkness of the room, his eyes filled with unspoken questions.

“I’m not afraid anymore.  I have you to protect me.”

A beautiful smile broke across his face.  He slid down the bed, once again wrapping his muscular arms around my waist.  His head rested above my stomach and he clung to me, softly humming against my skin.

“I have to leave you for a few hours tomorrow.  I do not want to; however while I am here in the US there are things I need to attend to,” Stefan murmured.  “I will be back by evening.”

“Ok.  Be safe and come back to me,” I replied, mimicking his lilting voice.

Stefan snickered.  “That is my line, vackra.  I love you.”

Not another word was spoken the rest of the night.  We lay together in silence, holding each other and watching the night sky change from shades of gray, morphing into light blue as morning broke over the New York skyline.

Stefan finally pulled himself away from me to shower.  I listened to the water running and lightly dozed off, the sound of the shower lulling me to sleep.  The feel of Stefan’s lips pressing against mine awakened me.  I opened my eyes to see his face inches above mine, the smell of his expensive cologne, woodsy and sensous, filling my nose.

“I am leaving, Josephine.  I love you.”

Stifling a yawn, I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.  “As I love you.  Hurry home.”

He stood, towering over the bed.  He was smartly dressed in an expensive black suit and white shirt, unbuttoned at the collar.  His blond hair was still damp and finger combed away from his face.  A red silk tie hung over his broad shoulder.  He closed the curtains and headed for the door, looking back at me and winking.  I listened as the apartment door closed and the locks slid into place.  Snuggling into my pillow, I fell asleep dreaming of Stefan and the possibilities of what we could do with that red tie.

* * *

Papers rustling loudly was the first thing I heard.  Sinking my head deeper into the pillow, I tried to slip back into sleep.  It was quiet for a moment and then I heard a bored sigh and the paper crackled again.  Turning over, I gasped when I saw Lukas propped up on the pillows next to me, flipping through a magazine.  His thin lips were pursed and his pale, aristocratic face was twisted in annoyance.

“Lukas! What are you doing here?” I screeched, pulling the covers higher to cover my breasts.

“Reading this month’s Cosmo and waiting for you to wake up.  I was reading the article on the top 10 ways to blow your lover’s mind.  Been there, done that.”  He gave an exaggerated yawn.  He closed the magazine, placing it on his lap and flashed me a dazzling smile.  “Josie, darling.  I missed you.”

“Lukas, what are you doing here?” I repeated.  I could hear the aggravation creeping into my voice.  It was way too early for Lukas.

He stuck out his lip in a pout.  “You wound me.  You’re awfully grouchy, Josie.  Are you missing Stefan’s massive throbbing cock this morning?”

“Lukas!” I groaned.  I felt a blush spread over my face and chest.

“Fine, fine.  I’m here to babysit you for a little while.  And to take you shopping.  We’re in New York City, baby.” Lukas clapped his hands and bounced up from the bed.  He went to a bag and pulled out a pair of jeans, a black tank top and a black cardigan sweater.  “This will have to do until we can get you some better clothes.”

“Babysit?  Stefan made you fly all the way from Indonesia to babysit me?”  I was fuming at Stefan.  I didn’t need a babysitter.  I was a 28 year-old woman. 
Half-immortal woman
, I mentally corrected myself.

He sat back down on the bed and clasped my chin, forcing me to meet his icy stare.  “First things first, Josie.  Stefan didn’t make me do anything.  You just had some scary shit happen, girlfriend.  Stefan thought it would be better if you weren’t alone and I agree with him.  You shouldn’t be by yourself right now.  Besides, we’re neighbors.  My flight got in last night and I heard the two of you christen the living room.  I didn’t think you had it in you.”  He fanned himself with his hand.

Lukas’ reasoning made the indignation about being watched fly out the window.  Stefan was being proactive by having Lukas here in his absence.  Shaking my head and laughing in spite of myself, I pulled the covers even higher.  “Can you give me a little privacy so I can get ready?”

“I’ll be in the living room picking up your clothes.  You know, the clothes that are strewn all over the living room from your sexcapades.”  Lukas grabbed his issue of Cosmo, grinned impishly and blurred out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Pulling myself from the bed, I padded into the bathroom and turned on the shower.  I jumped in and lathered up with Stefan’s soap and took an extra few minutes to wash and condition my hair.  I hurried out of the shower and dried off.  Plugging in the hair dryer, I blew my hair out straight and dabbed on some lip gloss.  I dressed quickly in the outfit Lukas chose for me headed out into the kitchen, immediately noticing the smell of coffee hanging in the air.  Searching for the source, I saw a Starbucks coffee cup sitting on the counter along with a blueberry muffin.  I felt some of my earlier aggravation at Lukas drift away.

“I didn’t know what you wanted.  It’s black coffee.  There’s coffee creamer in the refrigerator and sugar in the cabinet.” Lukas said.  He was sitting on the couch, flipping through his magazine again.

“Thanks.  Sorry I was so grouchy earlier.”

“No worries, sweet cheeks.  Anna and Georgia are worried about you, by the way.  I told them you were vacationing with Stefan,”  Lukas replied, not looking up from the pages.

“Shit!  I should have called them.  Things happened so fast I didn’t think to let Anna or Georgia know I was leaving.  Did they buy it?”  I nervously bit my lip.

“No doesn’t begin to cover it,”  Lukas shrugged, glancing at me.  He was quiet for a moment.  “Have you given any thoughts about moving away from Bali?”

“Moving away?”  I echoed, opening the lid of the coffee cup and adding sugar and half & half.  I opened a few drawers until I found the silverware and stirred my coffee with a spoon.  I took a deep drink and sighed in relief.

“You can’t stay in Bali forever, Josie.  You won’t be aging anymore.  Anna and Georgia are both smart enough to figure out something isn’t right.  Unless you plan on telling them… or changing them.”

Lukas voiced my biggest concern and further drove the point home to how problematic my life had become.  I knew when I decided to be with Stefan, it would complicate things.  The knowledge of my new found immortality made the complex situation even more precarious.

“Talk to Stefan, Josie.  He only came to Bali to find you,” Lukas said.  “I know him well enough that he’d live in an igloo in Alaska if that’s what you wanted.  He’s pussy whipped.”

Lukas threw down his magazine and stood up to cross the room to the island, his clever eyes noticing the folder of paperwork Stefan had presented me with last night.  He cocked an eyebrow at me and opened it to peek inside, reaching in to retrieve the three credit cards with my name on them, laying them out across the granite counter.  He walked to his messenger bag and pulled out a pen.  He zipped back over to me and held the pen out to me.

“What do you want me to do with that?”  I asked curiously.

“Sign the back of the cards so we can go shopping.  Stop avoiding what you are and who you are going to be.  You’re involved with one of the richest vampires I know.  If you fight him on this, it’s only going to accomplish two things: piss him off and hurt his feelings.  Neither is pleasant, believe me.”

“I know.  It just seems like I’m giving up.”  My shoulders drooping in defeat, I grabbed the pen from his hands and signed my name on the back of all three cards.  As I opened my purse to put the cards inside of my wallet, a thought popped into my head.  “The name of his company is LM Holdings.  If the L if for Lifsten, what does the M stand for?”

Lukas smiled sweetly at me as he linked arms with me, leading me to the door.  “Sweetheart, you aren’t giving up.  You’re being smart.  And the M stands for Meijer.  I’m his business partner.”

* * *

Spending the day shopping with Lukas was like running a marathon.  He was a non-stop bundle of energy, dragging me from store to store.  The advantage to shopping at upscale stores is that when you spend enough money, they are more than willing to deliver your packages to you without a blink of an eye.  By the time we made it home, it was late afternoon and Lukas thoroughly checked out every room of the apartment before leaving me to go next door.  I had just plopped down on the couch when my cell phone rang.

Georgia.

Grimacing, I knew I couldn’t avoid this phone call forever.  I’d listened to 10 voice mails from Georgia and Anna, their messages becoming increasingly more snappish and curt as they received no response from me.

“Hello, Georgia.”

There was silence on the line for a moment.  “Well, hello to you Josie.  I’m glad you finally decided to answer your phone.  Some of us have been worried about you.”

Stifling a sigh, I gripped the phone tightly.  “We’ve been traveling and I just turned my phone back on today.  How’s Bali?”

“How’s Bali?!?
How’s Bali?!
  That’s all you have to say?  Anna and I have been worried sick about you and you ask how Bali is?”  Georgia’s voice was getting louder and the tone of her voice was climbing in anger.