Untamed (Vampire Awakenings, Book 3) (2 page)

The last woman he'd been seeing definitely
hadn't been the type that he would bring home to his mom, or
anywhere near his family for that matter. In fact, she had treaded
the fine line between becoming a brutal killer and maintaining her
control as a vampire. He'd been ashamed by the fact that he
completely understood how she felt, that he'd found that line
exciting too, and he'd enjoyed walking it with her. Hell, he'd been
walking it his entire life and he'd finally found someone that
understood him and the madness lurking just beneath the surface.
Not to mention the wildness within her had been something
irresistible and fascinating to him in bed.

Until the day she'd stepped over that line.
His murderous urges were something he was growing tired of
struggling with, and though he'd been tempted to go over the edge
with her, and finally give into the clamoring demands of his body
for blood and death, he knew that he couldn't. He had his family to
think of, his siblings would know immediately if he killed someone,
and he couldn't bring himself to let them down in such a way. He
was the one they all looked up to even though he was the one that
deserved their admiration the least.

If they knew what he truly was, there would
be no admiration from them, there would only be revulsion and
horror.

But then they would never know the depravity
that lurked within him, not if he had anything to say about it.
However, there were some days when he found the lure of blood and
death almost impossible to resist. Some days it took all he had not
to walk out of his home, slaughter the first human he came across
and finally ease the constant driving pressure within him to feed.
He'd been dealing with it for as long as he could remember, high
school had been an endless battle for him, but he had managed to
get himself through it. The intensity of the urge to kill had been
increasing steadily since he'd reached maturity though. If it
continued, he didn't know how he would be able to maintain his
control for an eternity. He was beginning to think he would welcome
death over that bleak prospect.

So he stayed away from the temptation of
humans as often as possible. The five women he'd been with since
he'd lost his virginity at sixteen had all been vampires, and women
he knew he couldn't accidentally injure. Women that he knew were
just as indifferent to him as he was to them.

The last woman was the first time that he'd
stayed with someone for any significant amount of time. It hadn't
been because he cared for her, but because of the enticing
immorality that had thrived within her. There had been nights that
he had relished in the agony and devastation she had unleashed upon
him with her claws, chains, and often with a whip that had flayed
his skin open more times than he could count. He had deserved
everything she'd done to him, but it still hadn't been enough to
drown the depravity within him.

The only things they didn't use to hurt each
other with were their fangs. He'd never exchanged blood with
another vampire and he never would unless that vampire was his
mate. With the way he was heading he highly doubted he'd ever find
his mate though, and God help her if she turned out to be a human.
He may just maul her to death before he ever had a chance to
establish any kind of bond with her.

Part of the reason he had agreed to come here
was because he was hoping that a change of scenery would help him
deal with what was inside of him. That maybe if he were somewhere
else, it would all ease a little. It didn't seem very likely but
right now he was willing to try anything, so when Isabelle had
suggested this trip he hadn't immediately shot her down.
Surprisingly, he'd found himself accepting her offer, even though
he knew it was going to suck to be around people for such an
extended period of time during the flights.

Stefan made a turn and drove up a hill that
wound through some of the most colorful homes he'd ever seen. At
the top of the hill they pulled into the driveway of a large,
sunshine yellow house that overlooked the harbor below it. "You can
see the ocean from every room," Isabelle said as she jumped out of
the front seat before Stefan even had the Jeep in park. Stefan
shook his head and scowled after her before shifting into park and
turning the vehicle off.

Isabelle took hold of Ethan's arm when he
climbed out and pulled him toward the house. She unlocked the front
door and flung it open to reveal an open floor plan that made his
eyebrows shoot into his hairline. White tile floors gleamed in the
sunlight spilling through the wall of windows across the way. The
three sofas within the massive, sunken living room were also white
and centered around a circular glass coffee table with golden legs.
Above the couch that was pushed against the wall was a painting of
the ocean at sunset. The oil paints were mostly blues, greens,
oranges and yellows and were the only vibrant color within the
room.

To his left was a kitchen that was about half
the size of the living room, and filled with new, stainless steel
appliances. Blue marble countertops ran beneath the numerous white
cabinets and an island was in the center of the kitchen. Dividing
the two rooms was a breakfast bar with four stools lined up along
its counter that faced into the kitchen.

He descended the two steps to the massive
living room and placed his bag down on the floor. Isabelle's
sandals tapped on the floor as she strode across the room and
opened the French doors. Ethan walked over to join her and stared
out at the clear, shimmering water of the pool. An outdoor kitchen
and an elaborate bar made out of gray stone sat at the far end of
the patio. A table and a dozen lounge chairs were spread out around
the rectangle shaped pool.

Ethan crossed the patio to peer over the edge
of the three-foot high rock wall surrounding the pool area. A
hundred feet down the small hill beneath them was about thirty feet
of sand. Beyond that, the ocean rolled in and out in a steady
rhythm. At the bottom of the hill, a hundred foot wooden dock
stretched into the sea. A white, Sea Ray Sundancer boat gleamed in
the sun as it bobbed in the water at the end of the dock. He didn't
know much about boats, but he did know that one looked like a good
time.

"This is the life," he muttered.

"I could definitely call it home," Isabelle
agreed.

"Whose boat is that?"

"The owner of the house," Stefan answered as
he stepped onto the patio and shaded his eyes against the sun. "We
can take it out whenever we want though."

"Now?" Ethan asked.

Isabelle laughed as she looped her arm
through his again. "It's getting a little late, but we'll take it
out soon. We haven't tried it yet either. Come on, I'll show you to
your room. We found this great little place on the beach where we
can have a couple of drinks if you feel up to it later. You'll love
it."

"I'm up for it," he assured her.

He grabbed his bag before she began to walk
him down a hallway. "Bathroom," she said and pointed at one of the
doors. "I figure these two bedrooms can go to Ian and Aiden." She
nodded toward two more closed doors. "They're smaller and those two
are still young and won't mind the lack of space."

He laughed at the mischievous gleam in her
eyes. "I knew there was a reason why you're my favorite
sibling."

"I won't tell the others if you won't."

"I won't," he assured her as she stopped
before another room.

"And this is yours. Ours is at the end of the
hall. I'll let you unpack now."

He gave her a brief nod before opening the
door on a sundrenched room. His gaze ran admiringly over the large
room as he stepped into it. He placed his bag on the four-poster
California King bed that was draped in translucent white fabric.
The room was far larger than his room at home but it didn't contain
as much furniture. A fifty-two inch flat screen TV hung on the wall
across from the bed; there was a dark mahogany dresser beneath it.
The only other pieces of furniture were a baby blue upholstered
chair in the corner on the opposite side of the room and two
nightstands, one on each side of the bed. The floor beneath his
feet was more of the white tiling that he'd seen throughout the
house. Even though the room was sparse and the color austere, there
was something inviting about it.

His gaze drifted to the glass doors and
balcony on the other side of the room. He left his bag on the bed
as he was irresistibly drawn toward the doors. Opening them, he
stepped onto the balcony and inhaled the ocean-scented air as he
savored the view and the sound of the water crashing onto the sand
below. Yes, he could definitely get used to this.

Emma leaned back in her chair to study the
ocean as it rolled against the shore. Lifting her glass, she took a
sip of her margarita and watched the die-hard sunbathers still
trying to soak up the fading rays of sun. Calypso music played in
the background and she found herself feeling almost drowsy as she
began to lose herself to the music and the tequila.

"Emma, woo hoo, earth to Emma." She blinked
as a hand waved in front of her face, drawing her attention to her
friend, Jill. "There you are!" Jill declared with a smile. "What
were you thinking about?"

"Nothing," Emma answered honestly. "And it
was great."

Jill laughed as she pulled the yellow
umbrella from her Pina Colada. The braids she'd had put into her
mahogany brown hair today clicked together when she moved. Emma
found she actually enjoyed the noise of the dozens of multicolored
beads at the bottom of the braids; they were almost musical
sounding. The chunks of platinum blond hair Jill had recently
streaked through her hair stood out amongst the braids. Her sable
colored eyes were warm as she leaned back in her chair and
stretched her long, deeply tanned legs before her. A tan that she
had earned while growing up in San Francisco and had somehow
managed to retain even through the endless, Pennsylvania winters
while at college.

At five eleven, Jill was one of the tallest
females Emma knew. Jill's height had come in handy for the
volleyball scholarship that had helped to put her through college,
as had her lean physique, and amazing athletic ability. Jill hoped
to get a job as a PE teacher or volleyball coach now that she was
out of school; Emma knew she would be great at either job, or both
of them.

"We're free girls," Jill said happily and
lifted her glass over the center of the table.

Emma leaned forward to clink her glass
against Jill and Mandy's. Being free was the best feeling in the
world, Emma decided. She was free from college, free from
Tristan... She hastily shut all thoughts of Tristan down. Memories
of her ex had no place in this beautiful paradise with her two best
friends.

"Well you two are free," Mandy said. "Some of
us will be returning to college in the fall."

"You're the one
insisting
upon going to medical school and trying
to save the world," Jill teased.

Mandy smiled as she shifted in her chair. A
blue bandanna was wrapped around her head, covering the black hair
that had been cut into a bob just below her earlobes. Mandy's mocha
colored skin gleamed in the fading light of the sun that was
setting just over her bare shoulder. Her deep brown eyes were
thoughtful as she fiddled with the straw in her drink.

"I don't know what else I would do with
myself," Mandy admitted. "If I'm not able to become a
doctor..."

Her voice trailed off as her gaze turned to
the window. Emma was well aware of the fact that the only thing
Mandy had ever dreamed of being was a doctor, and she had spent
their four years in college studying her ass off to attain that
goal. When Mandy had been only five years old, her parents were
killed in a car crash. Mandy had been lucky enough to survive the
crash but her right leg had been crushed so severely that it had to
be amputated. She was so adept at using her prosthetic that anyone
who didn't know her, would never realize that her leg was fake if
she was wearing jeans.

After the accident, Mandy had spent a lot of
time in hospitals and rehab. She'd once told Emma that the only
thing that had gotten her through those depressing and pain filled
days, were the doctors and nurses that had saved her life, and the
unwavering love and support of her grandparents. Mandy had sworn
all those years ago that one day she would become a doctor so that
she could save children too.

"You will," Emma assured her. "You aced the
MCATs."

"Yeah well, that was just a test; Stanford is
going to be a whole different ball game."

"Only you would think that the MCAT's are
just
a test," Jill muttered as she
stabbed her straw repeatedly into her frozen drink. "I barely
passed my finals."

"To be fair that's because you were out till
two every morning of finals week," Mandy reminded her.

"I was simply taking the edge off," Jill said
with a laugh.

Emma leaned forward and squeezed Mandy's arm.
"You're going to do great Mandy, believe me."

Mandy forced a smile. "Well that's still two
months away. Right now I've got the whole month to enjoy with you
two lovely ladies."

"Damn right!" Jill declared. "And then we
all
have to return to the real
world." Jill downed the rest of her drink. She waved at a passing
waitress, asked for another one, and three shots of tequila.

Emma wasn't entirely sure what the real world
was anymore. She'd spent her entire life in school, now she didn't
know what to do with it. She had a bachelor's degree in history;
one that she had been intending to use to become a history teacher,
though she would probably have to get her master's too. When she'd
started her college life, she'd been certain that teaching was
something she would enjoy doing for the rest of her life. Halfway
through this year she'd suddenly realized that the last thing she
felt like doing was spending the rest of her life inside a school
building. By then it had been too late to change her major or
figure out a different plan. She wouldn't mind working in a museum,
or some other historically oriented place, but she knew how
difficult it was to come by those jobs and again she would probably
have to get her master's.