Illusion (8 page)

Tightening my legs around him, I pulled him to me.  “I still want you.”

Grinning lazily, his hips began to move, much slower than before.  His forearms rested on each side of my head and his mouth closed over mine, pressing open mouthed kisses against my lips.

“Att vara inuti dig är sublime.  Du är mitt hjärta, min själ.  Min enda kärlek.”
  His thoughts drifted into my mind.  I couldn’t understand him, but it didn’t matter.  Just the sound of his heavily accented voice caused desire to course through my body and I cried out in completion, tumbling over the edge of ecstasy.  Stefan plunged faster inside of me until I felt him swell and pulse, bellowing as he came inside of me.

His big body curved protectively, commandingly around me.  Our eyes met, and when I gazed into his eyes, I could see the future so clearly.  This beautiful man, this immortal vampire was my other half, the missing puzzle piece that finally completed me.

Reading my thoughts, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against mine.  “Ah, now you finally understand.”

* * *

I lounged on the couch, trying to concentrate on reading a book while nursing a cup of coffee.  Stefan sat with my feet in his lap as he scanned his e-mails on his iPhone, occasionally sighing or tightening his lips in aggravation as he would read and then quickly type out a response.  It was just another moment that made me realize how truly lucky I was.  His golden hair gleamed in the sunlight, his pale skin almost appearing dewy.  He was dressed only in tight, faded jeans and was shirtless and barefoot.  He felt my eyes on him and he smiled, not looking up from his phone.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?”  I asked, wiggling my feet on his lap.

“What is it you say to me?”  He looked up and tapped a finger on his chin.  “Ah, you are biased.”

Snorting softly, I nudged him with my foot.  He resumed tapping away on his phone for a few minutes until he suddenly stopped,  glancing up from his phone and raising an eyebrow.  “Nigel is here.”

Seconds later a knock sounded on the door.  Tossing my book on the ottoman, I jumped up to answer it.  Nigel stood on the other side, looking embarrassed.  If a vampire could blush, he would be.  He averted his hazel eyes to look at something over my left shoulder to avoid my gaze.

“Come in, Nigel.”  I fully opened the door to let him enter.  He nodded and entered, standing silently with his hands clasped.  I pushed the door closed and leaned against it for a moment.  Suddenly I was a bundle of nerves as I anticipated what information he had about my mother.

I watched his obvious discomfort grow when he saw Stefan reclining on the sofa, his long legs stretched out in front of him, his ankles crossed casually.

“Come sit with me, vackra.”  He patted his lap with his large hands in an enticing invitation.

I crossed the room to rejoin him on the couch, curling up in his lap and resting my head against his shoulder.  Stefan’s finger ran up languidly up and down my spine, causing me to shiver and settle closer against him.

“Nigel.”  Stefan greeted him with a slight nod of his head.

“Stefan.  Josephine.  I apologize for the earlier interruption.  Your progeny assured me you were only sleeping.”

Stefan waved his hand in dismissal.  “Lukas is impetuous and makes it his mission to annoy me, and in extension Josephine.  It is one of his gifts.”  He motioned towards the chair across from him.  “Please sit.  You have information for Josephine about her birth mother, yes?”

Nigel nodded and ran a hand through his tousled, shoulder length brown hair.  “Before I go any further, I need your assurance that this information will not leave this room.”

Stefan glanced down at me, giving me a knowing look. 
“He is risking everything coming to us with this information.”

I gave him a swift nod.  In other words, Nigel would meet the final death if Kian found out he spilled the beans.

“Consider our lips sealed,”  Stefan assured him.

Nigel took a deep, unnecessary breath.  His heavy Australian accent was hypnotizing to listen to.  “I met your mother 40 years ago.  She was barely 16 and was newly married to your father.  I was captivated by her gentleness and beauty.  I admired her from afar.”

“What was her name?” I questioned, my voice coming out as a high-pitched squeak.

His face went blank as he lost himself further in his memories.  “Her name was Armes.  She had long brown hair that hung in waves.  Her eyes were the deepest blue I’d ever seen.  She was very much in love with Kian then…”

Stefan’s fingers twitched against my back as he interrupted Nigel.  “Armes.  Prophetess in Welsh.  Did she have any abilities?”

“Yes.  She could see the future and read minds.”

Gasping, I covered my mouth with my hand.  No wonder Kian had watched me from afar for so many years.  I had the same ability as my mother and would be a valuable asset to him.  Stefan patted my leg and gestured for Nigel to continue.

“Kian coveted her abilities.  It only took 10 years for Armes to tire of him and his manipulations and games.  He flaunted others in front of her,” Nigel swallowed, his Adams’s apple bobbing in his throat.  “One day she came to me and I will admit that didn’t refuse her advances.  I loved her and had been in love her for many years.  We made plans to disappear and she confronted Kian.  I never saw her again after that day.”

You could have heard a pin drop in the room.  I didn’t breathe until Nigel began talking again.

“Kian informed all of the Council that Armes had left him and abandoned her family.  You were just a baby, Josephine.  He thought it best if you were raised by a human family.  He claimed he wanted you to have a chance at a normal life.”

“Where do you think my mother is, Nigel?” I whispered hoarsely.

“I do not know.  I continue to look for her.  I hold on to the hope that she’s alive and content, even if that happiness comes from a man other than me.”

“Do you truly think she left Kian on her own and disappeared?” Stefan questioned. 

“At first, I was in shock.  I didn’t want to believe she’d leave without saying goodbye.  Now I’m unsure, Stefan.”  Nigel folded his hands in his lap.  “She may have wanted to leave the world of vampires behind.  I could understand why she would.”

“Do you know anything else about her?”  I was desperate for information.  I wanted to know everything I could find out about her.

“Nothing else that will be helpful at this junction.  I wish I could tell you more.”  Nigel stood up and made his way to the door.  He turned and looked back at us, a wistful look on his face.

“I meant what I said the other day.  Your mother was almost as beautiful as you.”  He looked at the floor before looking at us both.  “Cherish every moment you have with her, Stefan.  Take nothing for granted.”

Inclining his head, he slipped out the door, pulling it closed quietly behind him.  I sat unmoving on Stefan’s lap, focusing on his fingers running up and down my back.

“What do you think, Stefan?”

He sighed heavily.  “Are you sure you want to know what I am thinking?”

“Of course.  You know more about this vampire stuff than I do.”

“I think your father is much more dangerous than I originally thought.  We must be on our guard at all times.  He will view you as a valuable tool in his arsenal.”  Stefan’s face hardened as he spoke.  “Do not meet him alone. 
Ever
.”

“What are we going to do?”

Stefan wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against the coolness of his hard chest.  “We go about our lives as normal.  We are heading back to Indonesia in two days to prepare to come back here to live.  I can better keep my eye on what he is planning if I am closer to the Council members.”

I had unwittingly dragged him deeper into the ‘vampire bullshit’ he despised so much.  How much more was it going to take until he said enough was enough and left?

“I will never leave you, Josephine.  These are minor details, remember?”  I pulled back slightly and observed his face.  I could see his mind moving quickly, making calculations and playing out scenarios in his mind.  He was planning strategy, engaging in a complicated game of mental Chess.  I wouldn’t want to be a pawn in a game that he played.

He toyed with the necklace he had given me for a moment before meeting my eyes.  A roguish smile softened his face.  “You would never be a pawn.  You would be my Queen.”

“Sweet talker.  Don’t try to seduce me with your sexy talk.” I slapped at his chest playfully.

“I speak only the truth.”  He kissed me softly before gently moving me off of his lap.  “I need to talk to Lukas.”

He stalked across the room and pulled open the door, the muscles in his back stretching as he moved.

“Stefan?”
I mentally called to him.

He turned to face me with one hand on the door, his face filled with curiosity as he stared back at me.

“Thank you.  For keeping me safe.  For loving me.  For risking your life.”

A grin broke over his devastingly handsome face. 
“Ah, I would do anything for you, vackra.  I will be back in a bit.”

He waggled his eyebrows and shut the door behind him.  I fell back against the couch, covering my face with my hands as my mind tried to absorb all of the information I’d learned.

Things just became extremely serious and potentially dangerous.

Chapter 4 - There’s a Time to Run

With our time ticking down in New York before we started our journey back to Bali, I found myself in a melancholy sort of mood.  As much as I loved the green lushness of Indonesia, I’d seen another side of Stefan here in New York.  He seemed more alive and relaxed since we’d been here.  Maybe it was the anonymity of the city, the ability to fade into the obscurity of a crowd of people.  As I pictured him swaggering through my thoughts, I inwardly laughed.  Stefan always stood out; his inhuman beauty and grace always drew attention to him wherever we went.  It was hard to ignore the longing stares and feel the lust that followed him, as normal and natural as breathing.

Stefan had left early in the morning to attend to errands and business issues.  With my mind still reeling from Nigel’s confession and his information from my mother, I’d wandered out to peruse the numerous art galleries within walking distance of our apartment.

I was standing in front of a painting, admiring the abstract shapes and bright splashes of color.  Shades of red and blue tangled together and it was fascinating.  Lost in the patterns, I jumped as a voice pulled me out of my musings.

“It is a beautiful painting.”

I froze in place and my throat went dry.  Kian.  My father stood beside me and Stefan’s words rang out in my head like an alarm bell.  Do not meet him alone.  Ever.

Keeping my eyes locked on the painting, I shoved my hands into the back pockets of my jeans.  “Yes it is.”

Walking to the next painting, I did my best to hide my growing discomfort.  Kian strolled behind me and stopped at my side again.  He brushed the arms of his expensive, Italian suit and adjusted his tie before slightly rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

I was quickly losing my patience at the way he was following along behind me, like we were a happy little family and this was a fun little outing.  “Is there something you want from me, Kian?

“I’m just a father that is attempting to get to know his only daughter, my dear.”

Right.  Grimacing, I clenched my teeth together.  “I think you gave up that right a long time ago.”

“As I said before, I had no choice.  I could not raise an infant in a house filled with vampires.  I was abandoned and devastated when your mother left,” Kian said.  He attempted to arrange his features into a look of sorrow, yet it was obvious there was no real emotion behind his expression.  It made his words sound even more hollow to me.

Internally rolling my eyes, I had to bite my tongue.  This little story he spun sounded rehearsed and contrived.  I think he enjoyed the romanticism of being the martyr in his warped version of the truth.  Turning to face him, I crinkled my nose in disgust.  “I know you mean well but I can’t do this with you.  I can’t pretend to care about you when I don’t have it in me to do it.  If you knew anything about me at all you’d understand.”

He reached out to stroke my arm.  “Give it time, Josephine.  You will come to love me.”