He crouched down beside of me, his blue eyes softening. “Do not be sorry and you cannot worry about the what if’s now. You loved your friend and wanted to save her. I understand. We will deal with the consequences of this together.”
Stefan stood, offering me his outstretched hand. “Come with me, vackra. I started the shower for us,”
“Should I stay with her?” I asked. I wanted to go with him, but I was hesitant to leave her unattended.
“Josephine, she is fine. We still have a plane to catch. We just have an extra passenger now.” Stefan uttered softly. “Shower with me.”
Letting go of Anna’s hand, I reached for his. I followed him into the bathroom and watched him as he tore his bloody, ruined clothing from his body. When he was finished, he faced me and his blue eyes bored into mine.
“I want to see you,” Stefan murmured. He stepped closer and took my arms in his hand, inspecting the angry, red marks that still encircled my wrists. His eyes closed for a moment and he inhaled a shaky, unnecessary breath as his fingers gingerly traced the welts on my skin.
His beautiful blue eyes reopened and he swallowed unevenly. As if he was convincing himself to continue, he licked his lips and nodded, his hand releasing my wrists. He raised his hand to brush his thumb over the bruise that was forming on my cheekbone, his fingers trailing down the side of my face.
“Stefan, sweetheart. It’s over.” I cupped my hand against his stubbled cheek. “You can’t kill him again.”
He swallowed again and pressed his face against my hand. He said nothing, his blue eyes unblinking.
“Stefan? You have to talk to me,” I said softly. His mind was still closed to me and his silence, both mental and verbal, was unnerving.
He shook his head and his jaw clenched. He stood taller and simply stared down into my eyes, his expression one I’d never seen before. He looked ancient and flinty, the lines of his face severe.
“If you won’t let me see what you’re thinking you have to tell me.”
The corner of his lip flinched. When he finally spoke, his voice was deep and filled with bitterness. “You saw what and who I am today. I want him to meet a thousand deaths for what he did to you. I longed to torture him for days, punishing him for touching you. Is that what you wished to hear me say?
“What you did today isn’t you. It’s only part of who you are,” I retorted softly. “Will holding on to this change what he did, Stefan?”
“No.” He chuckled and his eyes traced along my discolored cheekbone. “However, it would satisfy the selfish part of me that wants vengeance.”
My hand lowered from his face to rest against his silent chest, placing my hand over where his heart would be beating if he was still alive. “You have to let this go, Stefan. Let this go for you, for me. For us. He’s dead and you saved me.”
“You watched as I savagely killed a creature in front of you. I tell you how I wanted him to suffer more and it is you that soothes me. You have to see the absurdity in this,” Stefan marveled. He gathered my shirt and ripped it up the middle, dropping the scraps of material to the bathroom floor. He made short work of removing my jeans, tossing them to join the growing pile of destroyed clothing.
He lifted me into the shower with him and the spray of the hot water ran over us, the water dripping red trails down his chest as it ran over his tangled, bloody hair.
“Sit down. Let me wash your hair.” I pointed to the seat in the corner. I could wash away the blood and the gore, yet I ached to have to power to wash away his all-consuming anger and need for revenge.
He obeyed and sat on the small bench, his large frame filling the entire corner of the shower. He closed his eyes as I lathered his hair with shampoo, a purring sound grumbling in his chest as my nails scratched over his scalp. Grabbing the handheld attachment, I rinsed his hair and watched as the pink suds disappeared, revealing his shiny blond hair. Reaching for the bar of soap, I washed him, my slick, bubbly hands running over every curve and muscle of his body. When I finished, I lowered my lips to his soft mouth. My hand gripped the back of his neck, pulling him closer to me. My tongue slipped between his lips, seeking out his. When they met, he moaned into my mouth, his fingers running through my hair.
He pulled me onto his lap, our embrace never breaking. I only raised my lips from his for a moment to catch my breath and he buried his head between my breasts, leaving me to wrap my arms around him and hold him as he breathed deeply against my wet skin.
“You saw me at my darkest moment, yet somehow you still manage to love me.”
I pressed my cheek against his damp hair. “I’ll always love all of you. Everything was wrong until you made it right.”
His shoulders shook in response to my words. All I could do was hold him to me and let him have this moment, absently stroking his hair while the shower rained down on us.
* * *
Somehow we managed to make it to Denpasar Internation Airport in time to catch our flight. Stefan had a final hushed phone conversation with Nigel during the trip to the airport. As we sped towards our plane, I noticed a black car parked near the hangar. A stocky vampire in a dark suit stood with his arms crossed in front of him, waiting for our arrival.
Stefan parked the car and unfolded himself from the car, his tall frame approaching the much shorter man and placed a key ring in his outstretched hand. The dark haired vampire inclined his head and disappeared into the black sedan, driving off into the early evening Bali night. I could only assume he was the one responsible for cleaning up the mess that we left behind at my villa.
Opening my car door, I stepped out onto the concrete, inhaling the humid air. Stefan popped the trunk and began setting luggage beside his car. Lukas carefully picked up Anna’s slack body and carried her up the steps, disappearing inside of the plane.
“Get settled inside, vackra. I will need to talk to the crew and I will join you in a moment.”
“Please hurry.”
His blue eyes were somber as he glanced my way and nodded, turning his attention to two men that were waiting for his instructions. Climbing up into the plane, I ducked inside and looked around, my eyes stopping as they focused on Anna lying on the couch. Lukas had placed a blanket over her and if I didn’t know better, I would assume she was sleeping. If only…
“I’m sorry.” Lukas’ soft voice beside of me pulled me out of my thoughts.
Turning to face him, I reached out and pulled him to me in a gentle hug. Obviously caught off guard by my burst of emotion, he awkwardly patted my back. I released him and looked into his blue eyes, holding each side of his face in my hands. “Don’t be sorry, Lukas. You were honest.”
Lukas smiled weakly and walked to stand at the edge of the couch, shifting his eyes to examine Anna for a moment. “She’ll be fine with this, Josie. If she wakes up to her new life, she won’t hate you if you’re worried about that.” His voice wavered as he moved to sit by her on the couch. He glanced at the floor before fixing his searching gaze on me. “Did he really look like me?”
Between to hearing the big ‘if’ of Anna’s fate and the mere thought of Derek made an icy finger of dread run down the length of my spine. “Yes. He looked exactly like you and even sounded like you. He couldn’t pull off the mannerisms though.”
He pursed his lips for a moment. “What do you mean?”
I wanted to roll my eyes at him. “The lip pursing and whole fists on your hip thing you do. He didn’t know your mannerisms.”
Lukas stood up with his hands on his hips when Stefan’s presence in the place brought our conversation to a halt. He lowered himself into one of the leather upholstered seats and held out his hand for me to join him. Crossing the small plane, I went to sit in the seat beside of him. He stretched his long arm over to me and my hands automatically closed over his wrist, my thumbs running over the raised veins.
“Thank god for laptops and headphones,” Lukas muttered as he moved from the couch and found his own seat, up two rows from where we w
ere sitting.
I leaned over to peek out the window of the plane, saying goodbye to the place where my life truly began. I continued to stroke small lines across his wrist, enjoying the feeling of his satiny skin under my fingertips.
“My life began that night I saw you across the restaurant, vackra.”
He’d been reading my mind again. I swiveled in the chair to face him, a small smile across my lips.
“It’s not fair to cut your mind off from me and still freely pick through mine, you know?” I asked.
A ghost of a smile graced his face for the briefest of moment. He watched my fingers as they stroked his skin. “I never claimed to play fair, Josephine.”
“Stefan, let me in.” My mind brushed against his, missing our mental connection. His eyes snapped up to mine and he slowly let his thoughts flow, his presence a gentle hum in the back of my mind again.
Happy to have the connection back, I rested my head against the seat and simply continued stroking his wrist and admiring the vampire sitting next to me. He looked exhausted, his face drawn and heavy, the usual quirk to his lips had been replaced with a slight frown.
“I heard you, Josephine. You called for me and I heard you. All the miles between us and I heard your voice. You were like a beacon, calling me to you,” Stefan softly mused. “I could only hear you say my name, over and over. It was maddening, hearing your cries and being so close, yet so far away. I knew as long as I heard you, you were still alive. That was my only consolation.”
My fingers stopped moving over his wrist and I leaned out of chair to search out his downcast eyes. “You heard me? How?”
A slight smile pulled at the side of his mouth as his sea blue eyes glinting as they flickered up to meet mine. “We are one now.”
###
Swedish to English Translations
Translations for Chapter 1
Vackra. = Beautiful.
Translations for Chapter 2
De saker du gör för mig och vacker. = The things you do to me, beautiful one.
Älskling Sweetheart
Du kommer att vara död för mig. = You will be the death of me.
Aldrig! = Never!
Jag kommer att älska dig för evigt, Josephine. En evighet är inte tillräckligt lång för oss. = I will love you forever, Josephine. An eternity is not long enough for us.
Jag älskar dig. = I love you.
Translations for Chapter 3
För evigt. = Forever.
Kan inte få nog av dig. Din hud, din beröring. Jag vill äta upp dig levande. = Cannot get enough of you. Your skin, your touch. I want to eat you alive.
Att vara inuti dig är sublime. Du är mitt hjärta, min själ. Min enda kärlek. = To be inside of you is sublime. You are my heart, my soul. My only love.
Translations for Chapter 4
Han kommer aldrig att röra dig. Om det är det sista jag gör på denna jord, kommer jag att dö skydda dig. Du är mitt liv, min kärlek. = He will never touch you. If it is the last thing I do on this earth, I will die protecting you. You are my life, my love.
Hur bevisar jag min hängivenhet till dig? Du har mig i bojor, din villig fånge. = How do I prove my devotion to you? You have me in shackles, your willing prisoner.
Translations for Chapter 6
“I liten Reck ... för att nå henne riskerade jag mitt liv ofta ...Fast jag dräpas inom armar min älskade, Sova i Sif-of-siden-klänningar "omfattar: För den blonda kvinnan känner jag älskar ändlösa.”= “I little reck... to reach her risked I have my life oft. Though I be slain within the arms of my beloved, sleeping in the Sif-of-silken-gowns' embraces: for the fair-haired woman feel I love unending.”
Jävla människor och deras små säten! = Damn humans and their tiny seats!
Translations for Chapter 7
Min enda kärlek. = My only love.
Translations for Chapter 8
Att ha din kärlek är en välsignelse. Du är min älskare, min vän och min kära kompis. Jag älskar dig. = To have your love is a blessing. You are my lover, my friend and my cherished mate. I love you.
Jag älskar dig, min man. = I love you, my man.
Translations for Chapter 9
Du vänder mig, Josephine. = You turn me on, Josephine.
Vi är ett evigt. = We are one forever.
Jag kommer att titta på dem drabbas på mina händer och njuta i deras smärta. = I will watch them suffer at my hands and relish in their pain.
Min gudinna. = My goddess.
Translations for Chapter 10
Må gudarna skicka dig direkt till helvetet. = May the gods send you straight to hell.
Contact Alexandra Anthony
Email me at alexandraanthony80 at gmail dot com and share your impressions of this story. Thanks for your interest in the Vampire Destiny series!
Coming Soon!
Visit my website at www.alexandra-anthony.com to learn more about the next book in the Vampire Destiny series.
About the Author
Alexandra Anthony loves all things vampire and enjoys writing romantic/erotic stories combining vampires and the paranormal, the idea of good happily ever after story and the possibility that there could be a supernatural Prince Charming lurking out there.
Alexandra lives in the Midwest with her husband and daughter. She is currently writing the The Vampire Destiny series in which Josephine Anderson, a Psychic Empath, meets the undead man of her dreams.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1 – Say Hello to Daddy
Chapter 2 – Total Disclosure
Chapter 3 - Suitably Wooed
Chapter 4 - There’s a Time to Run
Chapter 5 - Brother, Who Art Thou?
Chapter 6 – Give and Take
Chapter 7 - You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover
Chapter 8 – To Know is to Forget
Chapter 9 – Method Acting
Chapter 10 – Wrong Until You Make It Right
Illusion Page 19