Illusion:The Vampire Destiny Book #2(32)

I complied, falling back into the sea, my hair floating in the water around me. He spread my legs and drew me closer to him, the salty water keeping me afloat. His fingers teased my pussy softly, occasionally plunging in, while his other hand caressed my nipples, rolling and making them pebble under his touch. I was filled longing, trembling under every expert touch of his hand.
"Please," I begged.
He smiled, his thoughts filled with delight that I had begged for him yet again. He took his cock in his hand and poised it at my entrance, pulling me slowly towards him until our bodies were completely joined together, both of us letting out a soft sigh of satisfaction.
"Stefan," my voice came out as a breathless whisper. I wasn't able to manage much more than that.
"I love you, vackra."
We made love slowly under the moon and the stars, our bodies moving easily through the water, with gentle thrusts and an easy rhythm that rocked me to my core. As he slid inside of me, my eyes traced the beads of water that was clinging to his arms and chest, hypnotized at watching the smooth, sinewy muscles ripple with his fluid movements.
When I fell over the edge, it pulled me gently, my body shaking with the aftershocks of my orgasm. He joined me, quietly crying out my name. He gathered me in his arms and I wrapped myself around him as the gentle waves splashed against us. Hugging him closer to me, I rested my cheek against his shoulder and pressed a kiss against his neck.
"I should be sad," I whispered. I knew he could hear me over the surf. "I'm not though. I've never been happier even with all of the bullshit."
"The bullshit will not be forever. It is a blip on the radar of our long lives," he responded. "Hold on."
Locking my legs around his waist, I held on as he walked us out of the ocean. Even though I was content in his arms, part of me wished I could see him striding naked out of the ocean. He had to look like some sort of Nordic god rising from the sea with his gleaming blond hair and glowing skin.
"You compared me to such the night we met if I am remembering it correctly," he teased as he let me slide from his arms to stand on the sand beside him.
"Hmm." I stood back and looked over him, from his thick wet hair, down over his broad shoulders and muscular chest. My eyes traced over the ridges of his toned abdomen to finally sweep over the length of his long, solid legs.
"Well?"
"Fucking beautiful." I used his words from our first night together; the night that forever changed my life.
"Min gudinna." He closed the distance between us and cradled my face in his hands. "You were worth the wait, vackra."
* * *

Anna stayed true to her word. She'd phoned early the next morning, agreeing to meet at my villa. She needed to take photographs and have me sign the necessary contracts giving her permission to represent me in the sale of my house. I'd snagged the keys to Stefan's car since my jeep had been donated to charity and been picked up the day before. Slipping behind the wheel of his Audi, I drove the familiar route to my house, anxious to get the paperwork signed and get back to catch our flight later in the afternoon.
As I pulled into the driveway, I was surprised to see Lukas with Anna, standing at the rear of Anna's car. Putting the Audi into park, I stepped out of the car and glanced between Anna and Lukas.
"Hey Anna," I hugged Anna briefly. "What are you doing here, Lukas?"
"I'm saying goodbye to Anna," Lukas replied abruptly. His ice blue eyes lacked their normal sparkle and he seemed reserved for Lukas. Normally, he'd find some way to sexually charge the conversation or tease me. He was reserved, standing uncomfortably between us.
"Alright, let's get this show on the road. I don't have much time."
Anna was prepared and made short work of snapping pictures around the house, leaving Lukas and I alone in the living room. He sat nervously on the edge of the couch, cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck from side to side.
"Is something wrong, Lukas?" I asked as I watched his odd behavior. He looked down at the floor and refused to meet my eyes.
"I hate to fly."
Lukas' behavior was peculiar, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what was different. He'd been very quiet and detached. He normally loved to be the center of attention, thriving on it.
"Ok, Josie. Get your ass in here and sign this contract so you can be on your way. Lucky bitch," Anna called out from the kitchen, her voice breaking through my mental musings about Lukas.
Making my way into meet her, I took the pen from Anna and signed in the appropriate places. I was handing Anna her pen back when her eyes widened and her mouth opened in a loud scream. I felt something heavy hit the back of my head and everything went black.

                       
       
           



       Chapter 10  –  Wrong Until You Make It Right

When the room started to come back into focus, the first thing I felt was the back of my head throbbing. Attempting a groan, it was muffled, my mouth gagged, a cloth shoved between my lips. And my hands and feet … they were numb from the tight cord that had them bound, tied behind my back and strapped to a chair in the kitchen. The events leading up to this started to come back to me, flooding my brain in an overload of information. The last thing I remembered was seeing Anna's eyes widen in surprise and feeling the impact of the blow when everything went dark.
Anna and Lukas! Where were they?!? I instantly lost the last of the grogginess that was fogging my brain and forced myself to think. Bringing down my shields, I concentrated on trying to sense her emotions. Immediately I was bombarded with her overwhelming fear, her panic mixing with my own, amplifying and intensifying my own terror. Attempting to free my hands from my restraints, I heard a deep, condescending laugh from behind me. Struggling even harder, a male voice spoke, heavily accentuated with a Southern accent.
"You can't get away and you're wasting your time and energy. Are you looking for this?"
Derek stepped into my line of vision, gripping Anna by the back of her neck. Her hands were tied in front of her and as he thrust her ahead of him, I noticed that her face was streaked with tears and blood was running from one side of her nose, her cheek bruised and swollen.
"We meet again, Josephine. I'll remove your gag as long as your promise to remain quiet. One shout, one scream, and your friend dies. Got it?"
Glancing from Derek to Anna, a solitary tear escaped from my eye and ran down my face as I nodded to him.
Derek reached and yanked the rag from my mouth. I wearily watched Derek as he stepped back, still holding on to Anna tightly.
"Good girl." He forcefully shoved Anna to the kitchen floor and she fell at my feet, her muffled cries of fear and pain renewing my efforts to get myself free. I frantically twisted and turned my wrists until they burned and I could feel the wetness of my blood trickle down my wrists.
"Humans are so easy to fool. Even half-breeds like you and your idiotic brother aren't much better." Derek's voice distracted me for a moment, my eyes scrutinizing him as he wandered around the the room, stopping to pick up random items. As I observed him, the thought crossed my mind that if he wasn't such an arrogant, evil psychopath he'd be handsome with his dark hair and gray eyes.
I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to push my shield out to see if I could wrap it around Derek. Either I needed my hands to control it, or I was too frightened. My numerous attempts to direct it seemed useless. Sighing in defeat, I opened my eyes to resume watching him as he leisurely strolled around the kitchen.
Derek pulled another chair across the floor, the legs scraping loudly across the wood floor as he pushed it to sit directly in front of me. He leaned back, his gray eyes cold as steel as they looked over me. He then let his cold stare flicker to Anna, who was trying to hide behind my legs the best she could with her hands restrained.
"What exactly do you want, Derek?" I rasped. My throat was parched and dry from the gag that had been shoved in my mouth.
"What do I want? I'd enjoy this more if Stefan was here beside you. Unfortunately for your friend, she happened to be in the right place at the wrong time."
He laughed again, his head falling backwards against the chair, his grating cackle echoing throughout the villa. He was still snickering as reached over and grabbed Anna by her hair and pulled her between his legs, his fangs at her neck. Her eyes went wide with fear and her entire body trembled as he let his fangs drag across her skin.
Derek wanted me, not Anna. She was a pawn in this sick game he was playing. A desperate mixture of dread and terror settled over me as I fully realized the seriousness of the situation we were in. "Anna, I'm so sorry."
"Save your sorries. I've been sent to do a job. I was supposed to bring you back. I've decided that I'm going to say I had no choice but to kill you both." He released Anna's hair and she dropped back to the floor. I repeatedly pulled at my restraints, wincing as the cord dug deeper into my wrists.
"Who sent you, Derek? And where is Lukas?" I asked, trying to keep him talking. The longer I could keep him occupied with conversation, the more time it kept us breathing.
Derek picked up an old magazine from the table and flipped through the pages, not really focusing on any of the articles. Without looking up, he snorted. "Like I'm going to tell you anything. You don't know what my ability is, do you? Lukas was never here, I simply took on his form. I can shift into any vampire I choose. It's a handy talent to have since you both bought it."