The attraction she felt for him was officially over; she would not allow herself to be charmed by him ever again. No matter how he made her feel, no matter how much she wanted to respond to him. A flush started to creep up her cheeks as she recalled exactly how wantonly she had responded to him. She'd never imagined she could be so easily swept away by passion. She wanted to blame that on him too, but she couldn’t. She’d reveled in his kisses, in his caresses, and if she hadn't smelled Jess…
Isabelle closed the thought off as her face grew hotter. She didn't want to think about what could have happened, what she would have allowed if Jess's scent on him, and in him, hadn't assaulted her. It didn't matter anyway; it was never going to happen again. Isabelle closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. It was too freaking early in the morning to have to deal with Jess on top of everything else.
"Hi," Jess greeted coldly.
She opened her eyes to find Jess glowering at her as she stood with her hand on the handle of the fridge. For a horrifying second, Isabelle worried she still reeked of Stefan. It took her a minute to recall Jess was human and wouldn't be able to smell him on her. Sagging with relief, she sighed as her trepidation vanished. Jess's hostility had nothing to do with last night. For some reason, she simply didn't like Isabelle, and Isabelle didn't particularly care why.
"Hey," she forced herself to mumble in return.
Jess's blue eyes narrowed as Isabelle moved toward her. "Have you seen Stefan?"
A wave of guilt rushed through her. Not only had she acted like a wanton whore last night, but she’d done it with Jess's boyfriend. She may not particularly like Jess, and Stefan may not care about Jess's feelings, but Isabelle did. Never had she thought of herself as a careless, insensitive person, but her behavior last night proved she was. And that was his fault too!
"No," she managed to say. "Why?"
It took every ounce of control she had to keep her face as impassive as possible. Inside, she was a seething mass of guilt and horror. Jess finally turned away from her. "He wasn't in bed when I got up this morning. He usually doesn't get up until late."
"Hmm," Isabelle grunted in reply. Now she could add lazy to his ever-growing list of faults.
The scent of Jess's blood suddenly assaulted her, causing the fierce burning in her veins to become almost unbearable. She closed her eyes, willing the beast to go away as she leaned against the long counter, trying to get her breathing under control. She should never have gone this long without feeding, and she never would if she hadn’t been preoccupied with trying to avoid the idiot living with them.
In the past three days, he managed to turn her world entirely upside down. She fed the flames of her anger and resentment, determined to use them as weapons against him if he ever tried to come near her again.
Jess's startled cry caused her to jump, and her eyes to fly open.
"What is it?" Isabelle demanded.
Jess spun away from the fridge, her mouth was opening and closing, and her eyes were wide as she held up a bag of blood. Isabelle only had time to blink before Jess flung the bag across the room. Isabelle snatched it out of the air as Jess's cries echoed loudly in her ears.
"Jess, calm down! Just calm down!" she urged.
"What is that doing in the fridge?" she yelled hysterically.
Because they forgot there was a human in the house, Isabelle realized.
The smell of the blood suddenly wafted up to fill her nostrils. A wave of dizziness nearly knocked her off her feet. She stumbled back as her veins seemed to burst into flames, and a raging inferno of hunger encompassed her body. She doubled over, her arm wrapped around her stomach as the beast within burst forth. Panting heavily, her vision blurred as she spun to flee the room.
She slammed right into a massive chest and stumbled back from the impact. Hands grabbed her arms, quickly righting her and dragging her against a wall of flesh. Mewls of pain issued from her as the strong hands wrapped around her head and pressed her face firmly against the solid mass of warmth and comfort.
"Jess, it's all right, everything is fine. There is no problem. You saw nothing this morning, not me, or Isabelle. Now, make some pancakes for breakfast."
Shudders racked Isabelle as Stefan's voice washed over her and his hands soothed her hair. The power flowing from him, and into her, eased the fire burning through her veins as the demon gradually receded. The amount of powers she and the others possessed couldn't compare to his. They had to touch people to change their memories, but Jess was on the other side of the kitchen, and Isabelle could already hear her opening and closing cabinets as if nothing had happened.
Holding her firmly against his side, Stefan hurried her from the room. He could feel the weakness in her body, the tremors shaking her as he led her down the basement stairs. Gritting his teeth, he fought back the annoyance and unease growing in him as he crossed through the weight room to the door in the wall.
He thrust the door open and was enveloped with Isabelle's fresh scent. He inhaled deeply, savoring in the pleasant smell as he closed the door behind him and led her over to the bed. She slumped gratefully onto it, the pathetic bag of blood clutched in her trembling hands.
"Eat," he commanded.
She looked up at him, her eyes flashing rapidly between violet and red. "Could you please go away?" she asked tremulously.
Scowling at her, he planted his hands on his hips
