Odyssey (The Vampire Destiny Series Companion Book 1) (53 page)

BOOK: Odyssey (The Vampire Destiny Series Companion Book 1)

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I stopped to rest my hand on her shoulder, rubbing it in comfort. I was still on the phone but my voice had slowed to a normal pace. “We need to delay our takeoff time by two hours. Something unexpected happened and you need to make the necessary changes to the itinerary.” I ended the call without saying a goodbye and closed my eyes, attempting to run my fingers through the dried blood in my hair.

“Stefan, I’m sorry. I…”

Shaking my head, I held up my hand to stop her words. “Vackra, I only wanted to turn one other person in my life. You.” I let out a resigned sigh. “Plans change. Anna will have to adjust to this life and she may not be happy if and when she awakes. You must prepare yourself for that.”

Rubbing her forehead with her palm, she rested her head against her hand. “So she’ll hate me for begging you to change her. And then she’ll hate you for doing it.”

I crouched down beside of her and my expression softened. “Do not be sorry and you cannot worry about the what-if’s now. You love your friend and wanted to save her. I understand. We will deal with the consequences of this together.”

I stood, offering her my outstretched hand. “Come with me, vackra. I started the shower for us.”

“Should I stay with her?” Josephine asked. She wanted to go with me, but she was hesitant to leave her friend unattended.

“Josephine, she is fine. We still have a plane to catch. We just have an extra passenger now,” I uttered softly. “Shower with me.”

Letting go of Anna’s hand, she reached for mine. She followed me into the bathroom and watched as I tore my bloody, ruined clothing from my body. When I was finished, I faced her and my eyes peered into hers.

“I want to see you,” I murmured. I stepped closer and took her arms in my hand, inspecting the angry, red marks that still encircled her wrists. My eyes closed for a moment and I inhaled a shaky, unnecessary breath as my fingers gingerly traced the welts on her skin. I wanted to torture Derek all over again for hurting her. I should have never let her come here alone.

My eyes reopened and I swallowed unevenly. Gathering my resolve, I licked my lips and nodded, my hand releasing her arms. I raised my hand to brush my thumb over the bruise that was forming on her cheekbone, letting the backs of my fingers trail down the side of her face.

“Stefan, sweetheart. It’s over.” She cupped her hand against my rough cheek. “You can’t kill him again.”

I swallowed again and pressed my face against her hand. I said nothing, my eyes unblinking.

“Stefan? You have to talk to me,” she said softly.

I shook my head and my jaw clenched. I stood taller and simply stared down into her eyes. How could she love me after everything she had seen? I had killed a creature in front of her eyes without any remorse or second thought.

“If you won’t let me see what you’re thinking you have to tell me.”

The corner of my lip flinched. When I finally spoke, my 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,” she retorted softly. “Will holding on to this change what he did, Stefan?”

“No.” I grunted and my eyes traced along her discolored cheekbone. “However, it would satisfy the selfish part of me that wants vengeance.”

Her hand lowered from my face to rest against my silent chest, placing her hand over where my heart would be beating if I were 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,” I marveled. I gathered up her shirt and ripped it up the middle, dropping the scraps of material to the bathroom floor. I made short work of removing her jeans, tossing them to join the growing pile of destroyed clothing.

I lifted her into the shower with me and the spray of hot water ran over us, the water dripping red trails down my chest as it ran over my tangled, bloody hair.

“Sit down. Let me wash your hair.” She pointed to the seat in the corner.

I wordlessly obeyed and sat on the small bench, my large frame filling the entire corner of the shower. I closed my eyes as she lathered my hair with shampoo, and a purring sound grumbled in my chest as her nails scratched over my scalp. Grabbing the handheld attachment, she rinsed my hair and watched as the pink suds disappeared, revealing my clean hair. Reaching for the bar of soap, she washed me, her slick, bubbly hands running over every curve and muscle of my body. When she finished, she lowered her lips to my mouth. Her hand gripped the back of my neck, pulling my lips to hers. Her tongue slipped between my lips, seeking out mine. When they met, I moaned into her mouth, my fingers running through her hair.

I dragged her onto my lap, our embrace never breaking. She only raised her lips from mine for a moment to catch her breath and I buried my head between her breasts, leaving her to wrap her arms around me and hold me as I breathed in deeply against her wet skin.

“You saw me at my darkest moment, yet somehow you still manage to love me.”

She pressed her cheek against my damp hair. “I’ll always love all of you. Everything was wrong until you made it right.”

My shoulders shook in response to her words. All she could do was hold me to her and let me have this moment while the shower rained down on us.

***

We managed to make it to Denpasar International Airport in time to catch our flight. I had a final 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.

I parked the car and unfolded myself from the car, my tall frame approaching the much shorter man. I placed a key ring in his outstretched hand and the dark-haired vampire inclined his head and disappeared into the black sedan, driving off into the early-evening Bali night. This man would be responsible for cleaning up the carnage left behind at her villa. I would prefer it be burned to the ground, but that would attract unnecessary attention.

Opening my car door, she stepped out onto the concrete, inhaling the tropical air. I popped the trunk and began setting luggage beside the 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.”

I nodded and gave the crew our instructions. We were not to be bothered, unless it was a dire emergency. I supervised the transfer of our luggage, sighing heavily as I squinted up at the plane.

My mind was chaos. Two children to be responsible for…and there would be a hearing to justify my hand in Derek’s killing. And then there was Kian and my worry for Josephine…

I climbed the steps to the plane, ducking inside. My presence in the place brought their conversation to a halt. I lowered myself into one of the leather seats and held out my hand for her to join me. Crossing the small plane, she went to sit in the seat beside of me. I stretched my arm over to her and her hands automatically closed over my wrist, her 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 were sitting.

She leaned over to peek out the window of the plane, continuing to stroke small lines across my wrist.

“My life began that night I saw you across the restaurant, vackra.”

She swiveled in the chair to face me, a small smile across her lips.

“It’s not fair to cut your mind off from me and still freely pick through mine, you know?” she asked.

A ghost of a smile graced my face for the briefest of moments. I watched her fingers as they stroked my skin. “I never claimed to play fair, Josephine.”

“Stefan, let me in.”
Her mind brushed against mine, missing our mental connection. My eyes snapped up to hers and I slowly let my thoughts flow, my presence a gentle hum in the back of her mind again.

She seemed happy to have the connection back. She rested her head against the seat and simply continued stroking my wrist and staring at me observantly.

“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,” I softly mused. “Not only could I hear you say my name, over and over, I could feel your fear. 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.”