Odyssey (The Vampire Destiny Series Companion Book 1) (50 page)

Georgia was never going to stop trying to convince us to change her and she would resort to drastic measures if necessary.  Josephine needed to realize that it was time for immediate action before Georgia cost us all our lives.

Josephine turned towards me, her green eyes heavy. 
“You’re going to have to wipe her memory.  That’s the only way now.”

I nodded in agreement. 
“I know.  Once again, I am sorry.”

Exhaling a deep breath of frustration, she met my apologetic gaze. 
“Are you serious?  You’re sorry?  This is her fault, Stefan.  Her mess for you to fix and you’re sorry?  Incredible.”

Standing tall, I glided across the room to squat in front of Georgia.  Josephine still gripped her wrist and now she tugged it against her.  She placed one of her hands up, pushing her shield around her, effectively ceasing her struggle.  Her squirming stopped and fury burned in her dark blue eyes as she looked from Josephine to me.

“What the hell are you gonna do to me?”

“Release your hold on her, vackra.”
  I mentally commanded her.

She dropped her hand and the shield retracted.  I was able to easily manipulate Georgia now.

“Georgia, I am going to do what I should have done last night.  I am going to erase your memories of what we are,” I said calmly.  I leaned closer and held Georgia’s chin in my hand, turning her eyes away from Josephine.  I smiled serenely and my eyes bored into hers.  I knew the exact moment that she had fallen under my spell.  Her blue eyes glazed over and her mouth gaped.

“You will forget what we are, Georgia.  We are humans, just as you are.  We are moving to New York for business,” I murmured to her softly.  “Georgia, what are we?”

“Humans.  Just like me.”  She sounded robotic with no inflection in her voice.

“What did you see last night?” I asked in the same soft tenor.

She paused, her eyes staring blankly into his piercing blue ones.  “I don’t know.”

“You watched a movie and then you went to bed.”

“I watched a movie and went to bed,” she repeated woodenly.

“Why are we moving back to the US, Georgia?”

“For business.”

My gaze never left Georgia’s as I reached for her arm, gently pulling the towel away, revealing the small gash on the inside of her arm.  I bent and licked her skin, my nose wrinkling in distaste at her blood.  The wound stopped bleeding and I placed her arm back at her side.

“You received that injury while doing housework.  You will not remember harming yourself.”  My smile faded and I sat back on my heels.  I began releasing her from my will and it was easy to see the life come back into her eyes.  She blinked a few times and looked at the three of us in confusion.

“What am I doing here?”  Georgia asked.  “I don’t even remember coming over here.”

“We were planning a going-away get-together, Georgia.  Don’t you remember?”  Lukas reminded her, lightly poking her side with his finger.

I had to give Lukas credit.  For being as irritated as he was with her, he was pulling this off superbly.  There were award-winning actors that could not have done a better job.

“A party!”  Georgia bounced excitedly.  “I’ll call Anna and we’ll plan everything!”

She jumped to her feet, hurrying to the door.  She gripped the doorknob and looked confused.  “Wait a second.  You’re going to Stefan’s house now, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, we’re getting ready to leave now,” she said cautiously.  We were waiting for Georgia to remember something, anything that would trigger an outburst from her.

“Then I’ll call your cell phone when I have details,” she decided.  “See ya later!”

The door slammed behind her and I was still waiting for the bottom to fall out.

“Well, that worked better than I thought.  I figured she’d find a way to trump you wiping her memory,” Lukas mused, standing up and brushing his hands together, as if wiping the events from the day away.  “Let’s get out of here before she comes back.”

For once, neither Josephine nor I could argue with him.  Grabbing the bloody towel, Josephine threw it in the trashcan and followed me to the front door.  She paused for a moment, her eyes sweeping over the villa for a final time.

“Are you ready?” I asked, moving to stand at her side as she glanced over the house she had called home for over a year.

The situation with Georgia had driven home the fact it was time for us to move on.  My arm wrapped around her shoulders and as she glanced up at me, I knew she had no regrets and nothing to lose.

Nudging me with her shoulder, she pressed closer against me.  “Let’s go.”

Chapter Eighteen- A Bond Is Forged

I had been on edge since I had been forced to erase Georgia’s memory.  I had no choice.  She was a danger not only to herself, but to us as well.  My mind flickered back to the women that had been enslaved at Derek’s club.  They had been so stripped of memories that they were no longer capable of independent thought.  Likely, Sofia had disposed of them.

It was the most humane thing for them.  They would have no real life, likely forced to be institutionalized.

“You’re awfully quiet over there.  What’s going on in that head of yours?” Josephine asked, reaching for the next item to pack away.  “You’ve closed your mind to me or I wouldn’t have to ask.”

I turned to face her and my eyebrows were furrowed.  “Do you need to ask?” I snorted.  “I had no choice but to erase a huge portion of your friend’s memory and we are heading back to New York tomorrow.  I am worried about Georgia’s state of mind and your safety once we return to the US.”

Exhaling a deep breath, she simply nodded in agreement.  She knew the risks of returning to the US.  Her father was hanging over us, a continued threat as long as he had a skilled tracker such as Adolfo on the Council.  And Josephine would have to stay in contact with Georgia to monitor her state of mind even after we left.  Our lives depended on it.

“Georgia seemed fine when she left.  We’ll be able to watch her tonight.  As for Kian… maybe my shield will work on him.  Nikolaus can work around his power, maybe I can too.”  She resumed folding clothes and sighed.  “I can’t let him control my life, Stefan.  I refuse to do it.”

“That we are in agreement, vackra.  I refuse to let him control you and what we have.  I am also unwilling to let you be a guinea pig and test your shield.  We cannot assume your mind works the same simply because he can thwart Kian’s ability.”  My voice had a sharp, cutting edge to it, like the blade of a newly-sharpened knife.

Josephine seemed to be taking it in stride that if necessary, I would kill her father.  He had been foolish and impatient, and all that accomplished was Josephine running further away from him and straight into my arms.  If his plan was to bully her into joining him, he had chosen the wrong person.

Zipping up the suitcase, she turned and carried it to stand by its mate at the closet door, her hands on my hips. I watched as she glanced up at the windows where I had been standing only moments ago to find that not only had I moved to stretch my body across the bed, I had also ridded myself of my clothes as well.  I was reclining on my back, my long arms behind my head.

Her breathing shifted into rapid pants and her hands moved of their own accord to undress, letting her discarded clothes fall behind her, unwanted and unneeded as she approached the bed.

I smiled one of my crooked smiles I knew she loved and my arms reached out to tug her to the bed beside of me.  I pushed her to her back, opening her legs wide and moving to settle between them, simply staring at the wetness that glistened between her thighs.  My fangs were fully out, my eyes heavily lidded with need as I knelt before her.

It was incredible that she seemed to be in a constant state of arousal when we were together.  Perhaps it was the link between us, the effects of our shared blood. It was exhilarating to see her writhing and arching her back off the bed as she yearned for me to touch her.

“Always so impatient, Josephine.”

My nostrils flared as I smelled her excitement in the air between us, and my fangs retracted slowly. I wanted her body first, not her blood.

I parted her folds with my fingers, burying my face between her thighs.  The sweet, tart taste of her filled my mouth as my tongue traced a slow line from her wet pussy to coil around her swollen clit, then returned to delve deep inside of her.  I released a deep rumble of pleasure, my thumb rubbing over her clit as I alternately sucked and licked.

I raised my head and hovered over her.  My eyes searched hers and desire gripped me tightly.  My entire being ached for her.

“Beg.”

She blinked twice, her eyes filled with astonishment.  I sat back on my heels and began stroking my shaft with long, languid strokes.  I was still staring at her, silently imploring her to yield to me.

“Beg,” I repeated.  My tongue slipped out to lick across my lower lip eagerly.

“Please,” she whimpered.  She rose up on her elbows, peering at me with lustful eyes.

“Please, what?  What exactly do you want me to do, Josephine?”

I was playing dirty, making her tell me what she wanted merely to hear her plead.

“Please, Stefan.  I need you…” She attempted to make her voice low and sultry, thinking that would tempt me.