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"Little girl, you have no idea how to function in the world you are now part of. There are rules, ways in which you behave. You will not disrespect me. "
"Disrespect you? I don't even like you. Whose fault is it that I know nothing about what I am? I found out less than a week ago I'm not even fully human," I hissed. "Now take your fucking hands off of me. "
His hand flinched away like I burned him, his mouth twisting into a sneer. He leaned so close that I could feel his cold breath on my face. "You are so much like your mother. Willful and determined. Those two traits will either save you or destroy you. "
Thoughts of my mother drifted through my mind. She'd stood up to him, but at what cost? "Is that a threat, Kian? If I don't bow down to you, what are you going to do? Threaten me?" I questioned. Turning my head slightly to the side, I appraised him with contempt. "You seem to be the type. Smooth on the outside, covering up the ugly inside. If you can't control me, what happens next?"
Kian glanced around the gallery uneasily, smoothing his hand over his neatly styled bright copper hair. "I think you have me all wrong, my dear. Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. "
It was almost comical to watch him back pedal, seeing his obvious regret that he had shown the side of him that he tried to keep hidden away. He was scrambling, trying to salvage what was left of our relationship and his crumbling fa?ade.
"Wrong answer. I think I have you figured out, Kian. You're a megalomaniac that just revealed how truly disturbed you are. I'm finished with this conversation, Kian. " I backed away from him, my heels clicking on the concrete floor of the gallery. When I pushed through the gallery doors, I walked calmly to the end of the block before breaking into a sprint, running two city blocks in my high-heeled boots. When I saw our apartment building I almost cried in relief. The doorman opened the door for me and I rushed past him, hurrying for the elevator while pulling out my cell phone. Quickly dialing the number, I didn't offer any greeting, just a breathless request.
"Please come home. I need you. "
The elevator ride seemed to take forever. I nervously paced from one side to the other, growing agitated as it slowly moved through the floors. Lukas was the first thing I saw when the doors opened.
He was waiting for me when I stepped out of the elevator. His patrician, handsome face was lined with concern. His thin lips, normally pursed were now set in a thin line of worry.
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder in comfort as he ushered me towards the apartment. "He's on his way. Sweetheart, what the hell happened?"
"Inside," I muttered, unlocking the door and pulled Lukas with me. My hands flew over the locks, sliding deadbolts closed and rattling the doorknob. Peeling my leather jacket off, I was still winded from my impromptu run. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, opening it and taking deep swallows.
"Josie, please start talking. "
I sat the water down on the counter and had just opened my mouth to speak when the locks on the door began turning. Stefan burst into the room, looking around the anxiously until he found me standing in the kit
chen. He didn't acknowledge Lukas' presence. He rushed to my side and jerked me in his arms, muttering inaudibly against my hair. I clutched at him, my fingers twisting in his shirt. The adrenaline rush that had propelled me to run had disappeared and I began sobbing, my knees giving out on me. Stefan sank to the floor with me, rocking me tightly against him.
"Lukas? What happened?" Stefan demanded harshly.
"I don't know. She hadn't had the chance to tell me anything. "
"Kian," I sputtered. "Stefan, let me show you. "
Giving him access to my memories, I replayed my confrontation with my father for him. Stefan stiffened against me and I looked up at his face. His blond eyebrows were angry slashes over his glacial blue eyes. His lips were pulled tightly back, exposing his teeth.
"What?!? Will someone tell me what's going on?" Lukas asked, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Josephine had an argument with her father. He apparently followed her and confronted her," Stefan said, placing a kiss against the top of my head.
Lukas was on the floor beside us before I even realized he'd moved. His fangs had dropped and he looked terrifying, so unlike the sweet Lukas I knew. "If that bastard even thinks he's going to mess with her, I'll end him, Stefan. "
Stefan let out a resigned sigh. He reached to place a hand on Lukas' shoulder. "No one is ending anyone, Lukas. Only the game has changed. We knew it would happen eventually. " He focused his attention back on me, smoothing my hair back from my tear-stained face. "Vackra, did he harm you?"
"No. But he's a monster. "
"You are safe now. " He nodded towards Lukas, who stroked my arm gently before rising gracefully to his feet and leaving the apartment.
Stefan scooped me up in his arms and carried me into the bedroom, sitting me down carefully on the bed. He motioned for me to lay down and he sat next to me. He removed my ankle boots, placing them on the floor beside the bed. He laid down beside of me, collecting me in the strong embrace of his arms, whispering against my temple. "Han kommer aldrig att r?ra dig. Om det ?r det sista jag g?r p? denna jord, kommer jag att d? skydda dig. Du ?r mitt liv, min k?rlek. "
I let out a shaky sigh as I breathed in the comforting smell of his skin. "When you speak in your native tongue, it sounds so beautiful. What did you just say?"
"You will not be happy with what I said. "
I pushed against his chest. "I'm already unhappy. Unless you just told me we're over, I think I can deal with whatever you said. "
Stefan let out a weary sigh. "I used to be a much stronger vampire. I give in to every whim, every request you have. " He smiled ruefully and rested his face against my hair. "I told you that he will never touch you. If it is the last thing I do on this earth, I will die protecting you. You are my life, my love. "
