Mike called hike, and they all broke. Isabelle darted to the right, laughing as Aiden scrambled to keep up with her. She caught the ball easily, tucked it against her chest, and darted down the field. She crossed the spray painted line on the ground, and turned to hold the ball laughingly out as Aiden panted to a halt beside her.
He shot her a disgruntled look as he took the ball from her hands. “Slow poke,” she teased.
“Hmm,” he grunted.
The game went by quickly in a blur of laughter, and lighthearted banter. After a half an hour of play, Isabelle began to truly relax. She had been nowhere near Stefan throughout the whole game, and he seemed to be content to stay away from her. In truth, it somewhat aggravated her, but it was what she wanted after all, wasn’t it?
She shook the thought, and the confusion away, as half time was called. She gratefully trotted over to the cold water on the sidelines, drinking it eagerly down to ease the dryness in her throat. She stood between Ethan and Ian, feeling secure between their tall, solid bodies. She poked her head around them, her eyes instantly landing on Stefan as he talked with David. As if sensing her gaze, he turned slowly toward her.
His eyes sparkled mischievously as a soft smile curved his full mouth. Her eyes widened as she realized that she had been caught looking at him, and a dull heat began to stain her cheeks. She was never shy, and very rarely got embarrassed, but one look from him caused heat to suffuse her body, and her throat to close up. For a moment, she felt like a child who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
She quickly turned her gaze to less threatening things. Her mother and Kathleen still sat on the sidelines; her father was now by her mother’s side. Isabelle rolled her eyes as she looked away from them. She wasn’t going to be like them, she wasn’t going to let that happen to her. She refused too. She turned her gaze angrily toward Jess and Delia. They were sitting beside them, their eyes glued on Isabelle, and narrowed angrily. She was momentarily startled by the fierce hostility that radiated from the both of them. An anger that was directed solely at her. An uneasy feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. She had never been hated by anyone before, but she was certain that they both did hate her.
“I’ll be right back,” she said around the lump in her throat.
Ethan glanced quickly down at her. “Where are you going?”
“Inside for a minute.”
“Hurry up, the games going to restart soon,” he replied impatiently.
Isabelle hurried away from them and up the steps of the porch. She just needed some time to get her thoughts back together, and to shake off the lingering dread from Jess and Delia’s look. They truly hated her. The thought brought a tight knot to her stomach, and the hot sting of tears to her eyes. She batted them angrily back as she slipped into the cool comfort of the kitchen.
This was his fault too, she decided. Jess wasn’t stupid; she had to have noticed that something odd was happening. But it wasn’t Isabelle’s fault, it was all his. She had been going out of her way to avoid him. He was the one that was always there, always prodding at her. Why couldn’t Jess see that she should be mad at him, not her?
Isabelle locked herself in the bathroom and leaned against the door as she tried to steady her nerves. Sighing heavily, she walked over, turned on the cold water, and liberally doused her face with it. By the time she was done, her anger had grown. She was an idiot to get so upset over what Jess thought about her. What did she care what the girl thought, she didn’t even like her? Stefan was her boyfriend, and if she chose to be mad at Isabelle because he was a horny bastard, than that was her own damn fault, not Isabelle’s.
She turned the water off, determined not to let Jess bother her anymore. Stefan was an entirely different matter. No matter what she did, he bothered her. She avoided him physically, he invaded her dreams. She tried not to think about him, but he was constantly on her mind. One look at him caused her to tremble and heat. She didn’t know what to do about him, but she knew that she couldn’t stay hidden in the bathroom forever. Ethan and Aiden would come in and drag her out by her hair if she didn’t get back to the game soon.
She cast a quick glance at her reflection, and froze. She looked like hell. Her face was flushed from the game, her hair was in wild disarray, and there were dark smudges under her eyes from not sleeping. She suddenly realized that she didn’t want to look awful; she wanted to look at least somewhat presentable. She didn’t want to think about the reason why she wanted to look better, she knew why; she just didn’t want to admit it. Hurriedly, she pulled her hair into a neater ponytail. It didn’t do much for the overall effect, but at least it was a little improvement.
Feeling a little better, and a little more in control, she straightened her shoulders and flung the door open. Stefan was standing before her an eyebrow raised questioningly, and a bright gleam in his dark eyes as he quickly surveyed her. Isabelle’s heart leapt into her throat as all of her new found composure vanished, and fire flashed through her body. His eyes came slowly back to hers; the gleam in them was gone as they darkened with a ravenous hunger. For a moment, her breath froze in her lungs, and the world around her vanished as his gaze burned into her soul. With heart stopping certainty, she knew that he was about ready to devour her, and she found herself welcoming it.
“I was sent to get you.” His voice was deep and husky with desire.
Isabelle forced herself not to shiver. “Okay,” she managed to say. She took a step forward, but he put an arm out, effectively blocking her exit. She looked back at him, determined not to let her fear, or her fierce longing for him, show. “I thought you were sent to get me?”
A small, predatory smile curved his full mouth as he took a step toward her. She took a step back, but he planted his other arm behind her, blocking her escape. Isabelle’s eyes widened in surprise as her mouth parted in anticipation. She turned to face him, her back pressed firmly against the doorway as he leaned closer.
“I was,” he said hoarsely. Isabelle swallowed nervously. Her whole body was aching and trembling. She just wanted to touch him, to feel him. She needed to with a desperate longing that shook her from head to toe. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
She wanted to lie, to deny it, but it would be pointless. She had been avoiding him; he knew it as well as she did. “I’ve been helping my mom,” she hedged.
“Ah, I see.” His finger brushed against her cheek, causing her to jump as a bolt of electricity, and need, sizzled through her. Isabelle couldn’t stop herself from turning her head into his gentle touch. He took a step closer as his hand wrapped around the back of her head. “You said you were going to stop fighting me Isabelle.”
She licked her lips nervously, instantly regretting the action as his eyes latched onto her mouth. The look of a starving man, who had just found food, came over his face. A small gasp of anticipation escaped as she realized his intent. His head bowed as he gently brushed a kiss against her quivering lips, lightly nibbling and teasing as her body began to tremble in response. His hand tightened upon her hair as the kiss deepened. His tongue thrust in to take possession of her mouth. She grasped hold of his shirt, clinging to him as her knees grew weak, and all of her senses were flooded with the taste, and feel of him.
Stefan reluctantly broke the kiss. He shouldn’t have come here, he knew that, but he had been so aggravated at her for avoiding him. He had needed to confront her on it. But the minute that he’d seen her, he’d had to touch her, to feel her. To remind her of the passion that so easily bloomed between them so that she would stop ignoring him, and driving him crazy. He had made the mistake of thinking that he would be able to control his own desires. He had been wrong. She was driving him damn near insane.
“You are going to stop avoiding me!” he ordered in a much harsher tone than he’d intended.
The passion faded from her clouded eyes as anger sparked forth. Her jaw clenched and her hands fisted in his shirt as she tilted her chin to glare at him. “Why don’t you jus
t leave me alone and go molest your girlfriend, you arrogant, unfaithful, horny bastard!” she spat.
Stefan almost laughed, would have laughed, if he hadn’t been so hard, and so aggravated with her. He almost told her that Jess wasn’t his girlfriend anymore, that he had ended it with her and was now sleeping on the couch, but he bit his tongue. He didn’t want Isabelle to know that she had any power over him, especially not as much as he did.
Something inside of him had changed, and he knew that it had everything to do with the woman standing across from him. He couldn’t seem to get her out of his head. Even when he slept, she haunted his dreams. Dreams that left him fully hard and completely aroused. Dreams that haunted him all day long. The things that he did, that she did in those dreams were enough to drive him insane.
He had never been so sexually frustrated in his life, and yet he couldn’t seem to do anything to ease it. She wouldn’t get out of his dreams, wouldn’t get out of his head, and he had found himself completely unable to ease his fierce need with Jess. The idea of it had disgusted him so much that he’d had to end it with her.
Jess hadn’t taken it well at all, and she insisted upon staying in the house in the hope that they could work things out. He hadn’t spoken a word to her since then, and the tension in the house was almost palpable. But there was no way the little hellion before him could know that, because she had gone out of her way to avoid him, and the house. If she insisted upon being a stubborn, infuriating witch, than he wasn’t going to tell her about Jess. He didn’t owe her any explanations, he didn’t owe her anything. She was the one that should be offering explanations, not the other way around. The sooner she learned who was in charge, the happier they would both be. He had every intention of teaching her that very soon.
“And soon you will be calling me your lover.”
He thought that she was going to explode with fury. Her eyes turned violently red as her whole face suffused with color. He didn’t wait to hear what she was going to start yelling at him. He jerked her head forward and took fierce possession of her mouth. She shoved angrily at his chest, her mouth clamped shut as she squirmed to get free. He kept a firm hold on her as he licked and nibbled at her full, bottom lip. She would yield to him, and when she did, she would realize that it was useless to keep fighting him and what their bodies desperately wanted.
Isabelle was so angry, so irate, that she almost wanted to kill the egotistical, overbearing idiot. Almost, but not quite. She was fighting desperately to keep hold of her anger, but his mouth and his tongue were slowly melting her resolve. Slowly melting away all of the fury that was shaking her. She couldn’t yield to him; she wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. But even as she thought it, her traitorous body was responding to him. Starting to give him exactly what he wanted.
Her hands involuntarily dug into his shirt as she stopped shoving at his chest. Her breath escaped in a gasp that allowed him to invade her mouth. His tongue stroked over hers in a slow, passionate dance that left her weak and trembling, and in desperate need for more. What had started as a ferocious kiss on his part, turned into something slow, and sweet, and enticing as she leisurely matched him stroke for stroke.
Stefan wrapped his arm slowly around her waist; all satisfaction at making her bend vanished as he lost himself to her sweetness, and uninhibited response. He had started out to make her concede defeat, but he was beginning to realize that she could just as easily make him lose control of himself. And at the moment, he didn’t care.
“Isabelle! Issy! Where are you!?”
Isabelle groaned as Vicky and Abby’s voices penetrated through her very pleasant haze. Stefan pulled slowly away, his eyes dark and confused as he lightly stroked her cheek. She tried to recall her anger at him, but she couldn’t find the resolve to do it. Instead, she simply stared at him in dazed amazement. It wasn’t just desire, or hunger for him, she realized with a start, but she was truly beginning to like the man.
The realization caused a flurry of emotions to rip through her, all of them jumbled and confused. For a moment, she actually wanted to sit down and cry out her frustration and anguish, but she couldn’t do it. She refused to cry. He was already proving to her that she was weaker than she had ever known herself to be, she would not be even weaker by crying.
“Issy!” Abby shouted angrily.
“You had better go,” she whispered, licking her swollen lips nervously. His eyes instantly latched on her mouth and the fierce hunger in his gaze was enough to make her tremble all over again. “Go,” she whispered.
He nodded slowly, but the look of reluctance was obvious on his face, and in his eyes. “Till later,” he whispered, dropping a quick kiss on her mouth.
Isabelle stared dazedly after him as he slipped out the door and made a left toward the downstairs entry. She slumped against the door, trembling. Vicky and Abby popped up, identical looks of consternation on their pretty faces. “Here you are! Why didn’t you answer us?” Vicky demanded.
Isabelle stared at them for a moment as she tried to gather her scattered thoughts, and warring emotions. “I was washing my face,” she answered dully.
“Did Stefan find you?”
“No, I haven’t seen him,” she lied easily.
“That’s just as well,” Abby said.
Isabelle’s eyes narrowed as she focused her full attention on her sisters. “Why is that?” she demanded sharply.
Their eyes widened at the hostility in her voice, but they chose to ignore it. “Issy, we need to talk to you,” Vicky said urgently.
Isabelle recognized her melodramatic look instantly, and couldn’t help but wonder what new “tragedy” had occurred. “Can’t it wait till later, I’m sure the game is about to start again.”
“It is, but they can wait two more minutes, we have to talk to you!” Abby gushed.
Isabelle shoved herself away from the wall and headed out of the bathroom. “Talk while we walk,” she said over her shoulder.
They scurried to catch up with her on the back porch. “Jess thinks you’re trying to steal Stefan!” Abby blurted.
Isabelle grit her teeth, forcing herself not to let her step falter as she swiftly descended the steps. She wasn’t after Stefan, it was the other way around, but if she was honest with herself, she didn’t really put up much of a fight when he was near. In fact, she turned into a quivering mass of Jell-O that he could bend and mold however he liked. She was more than a little disgusted with herself for not being able to put up a stronger fight against him, but he was so irresistible, and the way that he made her feel...
Isabelle shut the thought off before her knees gave out on her. “That’s ridiculous,” she told them as she reached the ground.
They exchanged a quick look that infuriated her. “Is it?” Vicky asked softly.
“Yes!” Isabelle nearly shouted in exasperation.
“Isabelle, come on!” Ethan yelled across the yard.
She glanced over to find everyone gathered together, including Stefan. Her gaze darted involuntarily to Jess, who was glowering at her with a look of absolute hatred. Her eyes widened slightly, and to her amazement, she looked back at Stefan, instinctively searching him out for some sort of protection, or help. The realization of what she had just done rocked her so hard that she stopped moving. He was looking at Jess, his face cold and hard, his eyes narrowed in hostility. Isabelle’s breath froze as his gaze swung toward her, his features softening as he cast a small smile at her.
“Is it really?” Abby asked triumphantly.
Isabelle scowled angrily at her. “Yes it is!” she snapped.
The identical, knowing grins on their faces were enough to make her want to scream. She clenched her jaw, fisted her hands, and stormed over to join the group in the middle of the field. “It’s about time!” Ethan snapped.
She shot him a withering look as she stepped into the huddle, barely listening to Mike’s plan. “You get it again Isabelle.”
“Fine,” she mumbled angrily.
She had scored two of the five touchdowns they had, but she really wasn’t in the mood to play anymore. However, the game was tied, and her team needed this win. They kept track of all the games they played, and at the moment they were one down from David’s team. She would be letting everyone down if she didn’t keep playing, and they would probably kill her.
“Let’s go.”
Isabelle moved back to the line. She froze as her eyes landed on Stefan. He stood casually across from her, smiling softly, his black eyes twinkled mischievously. For a moment she was unable to move, unable to breathe. Then she drew in a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She would appear as completely unaffected by their brief encounter, as he seemed to be. She would be damned if she let him know how much he had affected her.
“Lose the coin toss?” she asked haughtily.
He grinned at her. “Volunteered, someone has to catch you.”
“And you think that you can?” she retorted.
His eyes darkened as they leisurely traveled over her. Her body quickened in response, but she refused to let it show. “I know I can, and I will.”
Excitement coursed through her at the promise in his words. She smiled back at him as she lifted an eyebrow. The hell he would! she decided fiercely. She had been taking it easy on Aiden because she had seen no need to stress herself. Now, she would. Mike yelled hike, and she took off, darting easily through the crowd of bodies. She knew where the ball was going and she headed straight for it. She snagged it easily out of the air and ran as if the hounds of hell were on her heels, which he was.
She could hear him behind her. He was close, so very close. Determination and adrenaline burst through her as she tucked her head down and pushed herself to run faster. A gasp of relief rushed out of her as she triumphantly crossed the goal line. She turned, grinning brightly as she tossed him the ball. “I would rethink what you can, and cannot, do,” she said brightly.
Destined (Vampire Awakenings) Page 13