“Is that why he listens to you?” I questioned as we resumed our walk again.
“He has no choice in the matter, Josephine. I am his sire. He is compelled to listen.”
“So as his sire he has to listen to you? He has no choice? And what about your sire?” I asked, my words coming out in a jumbled rush. This was one of those moments where I wished my internal dialogue had to go through some sort of filter before it actually verbalized.
“I never know what is going to come out of your beautiful mouth, vackra.” He laughed dryly. “Lukas thrives being a vampire and I do not force him to do anything unpleasant. He is a trusted friend, Josephine. As for my sire, she is dead.”
“She's dead? I'm so sorry.” I felt horrible for even bringing the topic up and grilling him about it.
“Do not be sorry, Josephine. I am glad she is dead. She was beautiful but completely insane. She was turning humans into vampires and leaving them to wipe out entire villages. That is also considered a 'no-no' by the Council.”
“I think I need an 'Idiot's Guide to Understanding Vampires' book. Or some kind of cheat sheet.” I shook my head to try to organize my thoughts. I was quiet for a moment before I asked my next question. “Stefan, do you want to turn me?”
“What do you want me to say, Josephine?” His voice was deceptively calm and his body was tense as we continued walking. It was obvious that this was another conversation Stefan did not want to have with me.
Swallowing hard, I fought to keep my voice steady as I answered him. “The truth would be nice.”
“Then I will answer you honestly. I want an eternity with you, Josephine. For two centuries I waited to find you. It took me 200 long years to find you and I do not want to let you go,” Stefan's voice cracked with emotion. “Vackra, it is your decision. I will never force you to change for me. You will tell me when and what you decide, yes?”
I nodded slowly. “I know that I want to be with you, Stefan. I just can't make that kind of decision right now. My brain is on overload right now.”
“You have time to decide. I am happy just being here with you, Josephine. I love you. The rest is minor details.” Stefan made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “We need to turn around and head back.”
Our heavy conversation over, we turned around and started the walk back towards his house. A few times Stefan would pick me up, playfully threatening to toss me in the water. I would squeal and try to get away from him in mock fear. Stefan tossed me over his shoulder as we headed up the path to the gate that led to his house. I playfully smacked his tight ass and his shoulders shook with laughter in response to my weak swats.
“I am sure you are hungry. Let us go inside.” He closed the gate behind us, still carrying me upside down across the patio and up the steps to the upper deck.
“Stefan, you can put me down. I can walk." I smacked his ass again. "When did you have time to get food?"
“I did not do anything. I sent Lukas out to shop for you. It is one of the many ways I can get back at him for being mercurial.”
We walked into the kitchen and he set me down on my feet. I slowly headed to the refrigerator and looked inside. It was filled with different fruits, containers of various meats and bags of cheese.
“Did he buy the entire store? I can't eat all of this.” I motioned irritably to the open refrigerator with one hand.
He chuckled, raising his eyebrows as he observed the packed refrigerator. “This is how Lukas thinks, vackra. He is almost like a child and he does everything to the extreme.”
Busying myself in the kitchen, I made a sandwich and focused on cutting up fruit to hide my frustration. I sat down at the breakfast bar in the kitchen and started to eat. Stefan leaned against the opposite side of the counter with his chin resting on his hand, contentedly watching me as I ate.
The house was quiet as I picked at my food. Stefan stood motionless, his eyes tracing my face. Occasionally he would smile, causing the lines of his face to soften. It was easy for me to see how he managed to blend in with humans. Stefan was able to appear vulnerable and put people at ease with the humanity he was able to maintain.
“You make me self-conscious when you watch me like that, especially when I'm eating,” I said as I popped the last bite of sandwich in my mouth. He walked around the bar to stand in front of me, his finger lightly tracing my lips as I swallowed.
“Why? I find your mouth sexy and watching you eat excites me. Leave your plate and come with me, vackra.”
He took my hand and led us back down the steps to one of the lounge chairs on the sun deck. I sat down on the edge of the chair, pulling my legs up on the seat. He walked to the edge of the pool and pushed the blue board shorts he was wearing down over his narrow hips. He took wide strides to walk to the deep end of the pool, gracefully diving into the water.