Stephan had run around the town a couple of times, no one had noticed the huge black cat running circles in their neighborhood. He only stopped when he crossed Solara’s and Vincent’s scent and followed it to where he had left his car. He knew what he was doing was a risk but he was careful not to let anyone see him. Besides the speed, he was moving in all that they could see was a shadow. A huge black shadow and nothing else. He phased back to his human form and walked to the car. His nudity did not affect him, and he did not care if anyone saw him naked either.
He took the jeans Solara held out to him and pulled them on. “Did she get home ok?”
“She made it home but I would not say that she’s okay. She was in shock when she got home.” Solara informed him, he did not let him know that he knew his sister was what set him off. He decided that it was a matter that should not be revived for the sake of both of them.
“Let’s go.” They all got into the car and Stephan drove home like a mad man. He pulled into the driveway and stalled in the car for a while. He was thinking through what they had both said to each other. Although most of the words were spoken in anger he knew that there had to be some truth to them. One thing he could not deny was that Scarlet had been patient with him, she took everything that had happened these past months and had dealt with them. Kayla was still a sour issue with her and he had to understand what she was feeling.
He only came out of the car when he saw Kayla standing at the doorway, she seemed to be waiting for him. He walked up to her she was worried and concerned, and then she hugged him.
“She is sorry for what she said. She hadn’t stopped crying since she walked in here until she slept. And even then she keeps apologizing in her sleep. I know you guys will get through this, there is a reason you didn’t kill her at the peer.” She pulled back and had a smile on her face. Stephan was getting embarrassed, this was the same woman he almost drank from and now she was reassuring him. How could he think that she wouldn’t know she and Scarlet shared everything they had no secrets.
“Uh-huh! I know about that.” Kayla chuckled. “Right now we will call it even if you go to her. You are the only one who can make her feel better.”
Stephan walked into the house and headed up the stairs he only stopped when she called out to him giving him thumbs up on the fantastic abs. He went into the room he had shared with Scarlet the better part of the year. It was dark and yet he could see how she had folded herself into a fetal position on the bed. He lifted her to pull the covers down then tucked her in. She snored softly all the crying had given her a stuffy nose. He stood at the window and stared out, looking up at the moon their only witness. It was midnight the new day had begun he hoped it would be better than the previous one.
Stephan knew she was awake the tossing and snoring had stopped. He didn’t turn to look at her because he didn’t know what he would say. He knew at this point nothing he wanted to happen would matter, they both had to hash it out. Figure a way forward if there was one.
He turned to face her, she was sited on the bed with her legs crossed facing his direction. She was beautiful in the moonlight. Her eyes were red and swollen it disturbed him that she was hurting like this so he went to her. He sat next to her and opened his arms for her. She climbed on him wrapping her legs around his waist and cuddled into his chest. She loved being in his strong muscled arms, she felt nice but mostly because she always felt at home in his embrace. It was her safe place.
“Am sorry, I didn’t mean to throw Sotera in your face like that.” She was crying again.
“Hush! Don’t cry I know you didn’t mean it like that. I overreacted I now know what you meant to say.” Stephan was stroking her hair, it hurt him whenever she cried. He rocked to soothe her and hoped the slow movement would help her fall back to sleep. He couldn’t deal with the tears.
“You should go to sleep, you had a long day and a terrifying night. I’m sorry I know I scared you earlier on. It’s just when I lose my temper the beast in me takes over.” He tried to hold her to his chest when he felt her pull back but let her go.
“What was that with your eyes and the jaguar? It was a jaguar?” she wanted to know if these terrifying sides of him would appear every time they argued. She needed to understand them now all three sides of him. She remembered how his eyes had changed to a bloody color and how he looked at her after he turned into a beast. It was anger and a hint of pain that lingered in his eyes when he had stood before her like a beast.
“The jaguar is the beast side of me, the red eyes that is the vampire side of me. But these eyes, these silver-like grey eyes, are the side of me that I cherish the most. They are the eyes of the man you fell in love with. These eyes that almost resemble yours in color but could never be as beautiful.” He kissed the top of her forehead and weaved his fingers in her hair as he leaned in for a kiss.
“One thing you should always know Stephan Jeraldi is that I love you. Right now a lot of things are happening that my head is spinning. I just need time to take it all in, but I never want to be away from you. So yes you do love me enough, more than enough. Never doubt that.”
They spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms, soothing the pain they had caused each other. The night passed and the moon watched as they drowned in their love.
***
When she woke up in the morning she was still tired. This thanksgiving had been exhausting and Stephan had worn her out that night. Stephan was a passionate man and often got carried away by it. She had never felt so many emotions in one day.
Guilt, pain, loss, and love so when she finally fell asleep she was out cold. He was not there with her but she could hear the shower running. She walked into the bathroom and watched him. He stood under the little droplets in all his glory, his beautiful body amazed her every time she looked at him. Her stomach tightened as she thought about all the times her hands had the honor of roaming his body.
When he stretched his hand out in the invitation to join him in the shower she took a couple of steps back. She needed to get to work and this could be a good way to start her morning. But it would only distract her from the day’s event. Stephan was not a human he didn’t get worn out easily, he could go on forever. She always had to remind him that she was indeed human and needed a time out.
Walking into his arms now would mean she had to miss a whole day’s work. She went back to her room and waited for him to be done with his shower so that she could take hers. She decided to make herself some coffee, she needed a pick me up. In the kitchen, she found a note from Kayla. The three of them had gone to the diner, and that Vincent had volunteered to cover her shift. She was relieved that she didn’t have to rush but was worried about Kayla. She hadn’t been in the diner for a while she wondered how she would handle human contact. Considering she had been the only contact she had had the past couple of weeks.
She imagined Kayla ripping Joany’s head off in the event she gave her lip. That could be amusing since she always gave the girls at the diner hell. She went back to her room with her mug of coffee in her hand. Stephan was still in the bathroom but wasn’t in the shower anymore. She tossed a couple of clothing choices on the bed, it was chilly and she needed something warm to last the day.
Stephan stepped into the room with nothing but a towel around his waist. Scarlet gave his body a once over and swallowed hard. He had an amused grin on his face as he took slow steps towards her. Stephan was very confident about his looks but he never thought much about it until now. He loved the way she looked at him and how her body reacted to his. One of the benefits of being a powerful immortal was his heightened sense of smell, so he knew when her body yearned for his.
Scarlet held a hanger up to his chest. She didn’t want him anywhere near her, he was already driving her crazy from where he stood. She put the coffee on the dresser before she leaped on the bed and made a run for the bathroom door. It was a bit foolish because he was a million times faster than she was, he stood at the bathroom door his shameless grin on his face.
“Stephan please I need to get to work and this… you are not helping the situation right now.” She was relieved when he took a step to the side and gave her way into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her, not trusting him with it open. Although he could easily break it down she knew he wouldn’t.
When she went to the room to change he was nowhere to be seen. She assumed that he took the hint and was waiting downstairs to drive her to work.
“I made you a new cup, the one you had got cold. Hurry up so that we can get going.” He held out the cup to her when she joined him in the kitchen.
She had always noticed that he clad in two colors black and white T-shirts, she had never thought to ask until now. “Stephan, may I ask you something?”
“I will tell you anything you want to know.”
“What have you got against all the other colors of the world? You are always in black or white.” She was walking around him now Stephan followed her with his head.
He thought her question was ridiculous. Of all the things she could ask she was curious about his dress code.
“I just don’t like bright colors and shopping for white and black t-shirts is a lot faster. I need something that I can easily get into and out of.” His lips curved to a grin and a cheeky look lingered in his eyes. “These types of clothes are easier for me especially when I have to phase.”
She thought of what a waste it would be if he had to phase when clad in Armani or Hugo. It would be a painful waste. She now understood the logic behind his outfit. She had begun to tell him how he would need a sweater because of how chilly it was but stopped. Considering his body did not run like a human he would not feel the drop in temperature.
When they got to the diner, Kayla was bussing a table it was as if she had never left. She seemed to be fine around people. It didn’t bother her at all. Scarlet went to the back to put on her apron, she relieved Vincent after thanking him. This system seemed to work very well for them, although they had insisted he refused to take a cut of their paycheck. Scarlet felt like they had turned him into their go-to guy and thought that they were taking advantage of his good nature.
“Guys as much as I love your girls you need to find someone else to play waitress especially since you are the only ones benefiting from this arrangement. You guys get lucky while I get unlucky. I don’t know what’s worse, Marcie lusting after me or Joany bossing me around. One day I will toss her across the parking lot then we will see if she won’t control that lip.” Solara and Stephan laughed at his misery.
“You guys want to go hunting tonight I need to power up. I hope Kayla won’t mind taking care of Scarlet for me.”
“Sure but we can’t go for more than a day. We get back tomorrow evening so that I can take Kayla out too. She needs to learn how to do it. This whole time she has been feeding on a cup she needs to learn how to do it herself,” Solara said.
Stephan waved the two girls to their table he didn’t want to spend the night away from her but he needed to feed. “The guys and I are going hunting tonight. We will be back tomorrow evening. Solara needs to take Kayla out to teach her how to hunt. Are you guys going to be ok on your own?” he was directing the question to Kayla, he needed to be sure she wouldn’t snack on her best friend.
“Sure don’t worry about it. Finally some girl time. A break from all the testosterone.” Kayla pretended to wipe sweat from her forehead. She gave Solara a quick wink before going back to the table she was waiting on.
“Hurry back.” Scarlet was not comfortable with him being away from her for that long but there was nothing she could do about it. Tonight she would have her friend all to herself without any interruptions. Stephan and Solara dropped them home before they left. They parked the cars in the driveway, they had decided to run to and from the forest to save on time. Stephan had changed into a pair of stretch pants, he was going to go shirtless. He said something about running low on clothes and that he didn’t need to destroy anymore.
Scarlet and Kayla decided to watch the chick flicks that they had brought with them. Scarlet cuddled a cup of drinking chocolate to warm her up, she envied Kayla because she was unable to feel the biting cold. They had fun and it reminded her how it had been the two of them in their home. Now they had men in their lives, men they loved and who loved them back.
When she got tired Kayla went with her to the room, she promised to sit there with her as she slept. Apart from that one time she had banished Stephan from her room Scarlet had never spent the night alone. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow she couldn’t keep up with her friend. Kayla decided to watch the rest of the movies from her laptop in the darkness of Scarlet’s room.
Kayla’s attention was disrupted by voices outside Scarlet’s window. She walked around the bed and checked on her friend first. She was fast asleep snoring lightly. She then walked to the window and peeped outside. Four men stood on the driveway.