Odyssey (The Vampire Destiny Series Companion Book 1) (47 page)

Blanching more, she forgot about the note.  “Werewolves?  Are there werewolves?”

Of course she would want to know about those wretched creatures.  Rolling my eyes, I shook my head at her innocence.  “Are there vampires!?  Yes, there are a scarce amount of werewolves in the world.”  I waved my hand and pointed at the note to get her back on task.  “Read.”

She sat slack-jawed for a moment.  Her mind had spiraled off, wondering about other mythical creatures.  I could see her envisioning Tinkerbell-type fairies and even Bigfoot made an appearance.  The most humorous was her imagining a unicorn.

I reached over and closed her mouth.  “Josephine, focus.  Werewolves are mainly in Europe.  I assure you we are safe.  As for the other creatures, even I do not know.  Now stop stalling and read the letter.”

Her hands were trembling as she opened the delicate paper.  Gnawing at her lip, she still had not read the letter.

I tapped the paper again, drawing her attention back to the letter and she finally began to read.

After a few moments she finished and handed the note to me.  I opened the letter and read her adoptive father’s words for myself.

Josephine,

If you are reading this letter, it is well after my death and you have either found out about your true parents, or will soon.  You cannot begin to understand how difficult it was for us not to tell you the truth about your birth parents, even when you begged us to do so.  It will always be my deepest regret. 

Your birth mother, Armes, was my younger sister.  She disappeared soon after your birth, and your father and his representatives showed up on our doorstep with demands for us to take you in and raise you.  We fell in love with you at first sight and agreed to their terms to never disclose who your true parents were.  We were silenced by our fear, their threats and money, I am ashamed to admit.  You were well provided for, so I can only say that did alleviate some of the guilt which has plagued me for many years.

If your birth father, Kian, has already approached you, tread with extreme caution.  I fear my sister met her end at his hands and your father is a dangerous man.  If he has not yet found you or approached you, know that he will at some point.  Look beyond his words to find the truth.

As I watched you grow, you reminded me of your mother and made her loss from my life a little easier to accept.  Having you in my life was one of the greatest joys of my life, Josephine.  You share the same gift as your mother, and I know that she would be proud to see what a beautiful, intelligent woman you are sure to become.

With much love,

Dad

When I looked up, she was rubbing her face with her hands.  My long-dead heart ached for her. Over the span of a week, she discovered her father is a powerful vampire, her mother was killed by him, she has a long-lost brother and now she could add another revelation.  Her adoptive father was really her Uncle.

“Interesting,” I muttered after reading the note and handing it back to her.  “Josephine?”

She scratched her head.  “I’m at a loss for words.  What are your thoughts, because I know you have more to say than just
interesting
.”

It was my turn to rub my hand over my face, my eyes serious.  “Your adoptive father knew Kian was someone to be concerned about 28 years ago.  He then took the time and the risk to write you a letter 15 years ago and place it in an obscure book about Napoleon.  To me, that is telling.”

She bent over the books and grabbed my arms to get my full attention.  “Go on.  You think there’s more, don’t you?”

“Possibly.  Napoleon was a very successful leader for many years.  He was cunning and intelligent, however his thirst for power led to his political demise and his imprisonment and exile in 1815,” I theorized, thinking back to Napoleon’s reign. “Your adoptive father chose this book for a reason, Josephine.  Tell me about him.”

“His name was Garrett Anderson.  I thought he was an only child, but that doesn’t seem to be the case,” she said, turning her head to the side as she sorted through her memories of the man she had called Dad for so many years.  She shared flashes of him laughing, helping her with her homework, and watching her graduate high school.  “He was a librarian at the University where I grew up.  He loved books, collecting antiques and rare books.  He considered himself to be an amateur historian.  He was a wonderful man and an even better father.”

“He was obviously intelligent enough to have figured Kian out as well.”  I took the book from her and closed it, placing my hand on the cover.  “What do you want to do with this?”

A shockingly evil smile spread across her face.  “Put that in our carry-on bag.  I’m taking it back to New York and sending it to Kian as a thank you gift for the painting he sent to me.”

I cocked my eyebrow at her plans.  “I thought you were sending the painting back to him?  What are you planning?”

“He lived during the time that Napoleon ruled.  Maybe he needs a reminder what happens to tiny men with gigantic egos.”

She was my equal counterpart, cunning and smart.  I pushed the books aside and pulled her on my lap so she was facing me.  I wrapped my arms around her and leaned to kiss her passionately.  When I pulled away, a smirk graced my face.  “As I have said before, you are my match in every way, vackra.”

***

I was waiting for her to join me in bed.  Josephine was packing up her final boxes after a long day of sorting, packing and discoveries.  I heard the soft pad of her feet as she headed down the hallway into the bedroom.  She seemed surprised to see me propped up in bed, flipping through the book I had chosen to stow away in my carry-on bag for our return flight.

Walking to my side, she snatched the book from my hands, marking my spot and placing it on the table beside the bed.  I regarded her with wonder, my eyes darkening as I watched her boldly strip off her tight t-shirt and panties.  It was unusual for her to be so aggressive; normally she was one to let me take control.  However, tonight she stood naked before me, relishing in the heat from my burning gaze.

It was impossible to look away from her.  She was a heady combination of sex and innocence, graced with the flawless beauty of immortality and the allure of human blood.

“You are fucking beautiful, Josephine.  Min enda kärlek.”

She pulled back the covers and a moan escaped from her lips when she found out that I was naked underneath against the sheets.  Leaping to the bed, she climbed astride me, her hands pressed against my chest as she seized my lips in a lingering, soft kiss.  My hands drifted up her arms to grip them lightly as I deepened the kiss, my tongue slipping into her mouth and meeting hers, tangling together in an unhurried, sensual dance.  One of my hands laced in the waves of her hair, pulling her closer.  When she reluctantly lifted her mouth from mine, she could not hide the look of longing in her eyes.

“Stefan,” she breathed.

That was all it took.  A simple utterance of my name would suffice.

In a blur, she was underneath me.  My large body was suspended over her, my hard shaft surging into her hip.  She was a temptress.

Her wet tongue met my skin, and ripples of desire coursed through me.  Josephine was on fire, her mouth and teeth dragging over my flesh.  She found my nipple, her tongue laving it before her lips closed around it, lightly sucking until she made me moan in pure pleasure.  Her teeth nipped and bit until I could take no more.

"Ah, vackra.  Bite.  Hard."
   My mental voice sounded strained as I pushed my plea to her.

She did not disappoint.  Her teeth sank into the soft skin around my nipple and I growled deep in my chest.  Encouraged by my response and wanting more, they scraped across my flesh, drawing blood.  My back arched off the mattress as she lapped at the drops of blood that seeped to the surface.  She suckled me relentlessly, opening up the wound each time it healed over.

She licked her lips and her lips attached themselves to my neck.  “I want you to drink from me.”  Her voice was barely audible against my neck, her warm breath fanning across my skin.

Descending down her body, I stopped when my mouth drifted over her pulse point.  I could see the rush of blood through the vein; see the throb of her pulse under her skin.  When my fangs entered her, I barely broke the skin.  I wanted to enjoy drinking from her and I only opened her flesh enough so a trickle seeped into my mouth.

She moaned softly as I drank, soft purring timbres emanating from her as I swallowed her blood in greedy sips.  We were wrapped around each other, lost in our communion together.  Every emotion we felt was amplified, stronger.

We were oblivious, lost.  In fact, neither of us heard her until it was much too late.

“What in the fuck is going on?”

Chapter Seventeen- You’ve Lost Your Mind

We had cocooned ourselves in bliss, completely unaware of our surroundings.  Georgia, being her normal inquisitive self with no boundaries, had stumbled upon more than she had bargained for.  Her intrusion was unexpected and startling, causing immediate chaos.

I withdrew my fangs from Josephine’s neck and went into attack mode, streaking from the bed with my bloody teeth bared, grabbing Georgia by the throat.  She struggled helplessly against me, her dark blue eyes large and filled with unshed tears.  My grip never faltered as I held her in place.

Josephine frantically dove from the bed to calm the sudden commotion.  She wormed her way between myself and Georgia, attempting to get my attention.

"Stefan, let her go.  It's Georgia," she tried to reason with me, her voice getting louder as she spoke.  She snapped her fingers in front of my face, and yelled loudly, shaking me.  "Stefan!"

My eyes darted between Georgia and Josephine.  Josephine had blood running down her neck with a sheet draped around her. As I gradually regained control, my fingers loosened their grasp on Georgia and she staggered backwards, clutching her neck where my hand had been.  Her head bobbed back and forth between us, her mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out.