41. VAMPIRE KISS
LEESA WATCHED IN HORROR as Edwina’s fangs inched inexorably toward Cali’s neck. She knew Edwina was moving so slowly to torment her but was helpless to do anything about it.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dark blur flashed across the grass and smashed into Edwina, knocking her away from Cali. Leesa watched in startled amazement as the two figures tumbled across the ground, growling and yelping like two wild animals going at each other. She hoped the pain-filled moans were all coming from Edwina. The battle turned out to be no contest. In less than a minute a black clad figure stood up over Edwina’s motionless form, blood dripping from his mouth.
“Stefan!” Leesa cried. Her eyes flew back and forth from Stefan to Edwina. A grisly wound gaped from the right side of Edwina’s neck. No blood flowed from the wound though, which made the ragged gash look even more ghastly. Leesa wondered about the blood on Stefan’s lips.
Stefan wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Hello, Leesa,” he said. Amazingly, he didn’t seem to be breathing hard.
Leesa scrambled to her feet and threw her arms around him. Even through her parka, she could feel the chill from his body. She didn’t care. Stefan had saved Cali from a horrible fate. She didn’t know how and she didn’t know why, but Stefan had sided against one of his own kind for her.
“Thank you, Stefan,” she said. “Thank you.”
Stefan returned Leesa’s hug for a brief moment, then eased back out of her embrace.
“What happened just before I got here?” he asked. “Something sent Edwina sprawling, but I saw nothing. What was it?”
“I don’t know,” Leesa said. She wasn’t lying—she really did not know—but she wasn’t telling the complete truth, either. She saw no need to reveal to Stefan that she might have done it with a power she did not understand and could not control.
Stefan’s black eyes, so like bottomless pools now, bored into hers, as if he was looking for something deep inside her soul. Leesa didn’t know if he found what he was looking for, but after a moment, his eyes became black mirrors once again, completely unreadable.
“Edwina disobeyed my direct order,” he said, answering Leesa’s unasked question of why he had done what he did. “Such behavior must be punished.”
Leesa looked down at Edwina’s prostrate form. “Is she dead?”
Stefan’s lips curved into a wry smile. “My kind are all dead,” he said. “And yet we are not, of course. But no, she is not dead, not in the way you mean. But she will never bother you—or any other human—again. I promise you that.”
“Hey,” Cali called from behind them. “What does a girl have to do to get a little help around here?” Her voice was remarkably lighthearted for someone who had just gone through what she had endured.
Leesa laughed, the tension finally draining out of her. Stefan moved to Cali’s side and ripped apart the ropes holding her as if they were strands of thread. Cali pulled the loose pieces from her arms and began rubbing her wrists, which were red and chafed from her efforts to free herself.
“Thank you, Stefan,” she said. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Cali.” She held out her hand.
Stefan looked at Leesa, a bemused smile on his lips. Leesa shook her head in amused resignation and shrugged. Cali was just being Cali.
Stefan took Cali’s extended hand and kissed it lightly.
“Wow,” Cali said. “Kissed by a vampire!”
“Ha! Down, girl,” Leesa said. “You know you can never tell anyone about this.”
Cali sighed. “Yeah, don’t worry, I won’t. But I know it happened, and that’s what counts.”
Leesa turned back to Stefan. “How did you know what was happening?” she asked. “And manage to get here just in time?”
“Edwina acted very suspiciously the last time she returned from the outside,” Stefan replied. “She has been angry with me for taking your brother, and I guessed that she would be blaming you as well. I gave her specific orders to stay away from you, but I did not trust her. So when she left our caverns this time, I followed her trail.”
Leesa had never been quite sure how she felt about Stefan. He had asked a terrible price to rescue her brother, but when he had been unable to complete her transformation, he still kept his part of the bargain. She was a little bit afraid of him, but she admired him for his honor—honor as he saw it, anyhow. And she could not deny the sensual pull she felt toward him on some deep, primitive level.
Now he had saved Cali, so Leesa owed him double. Still, she wouldn’t mind if she never saw him again, but she was awfully glad he had been here today.
“I’m sure glad you followed her,” she said. “Thank you again.”
“I only did what was necessary,” Stefan said. “Besides, I have not completely given up.”
Not completely given up? Leesa wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but the words struck a distinctly uncomfortable chord in her head.
Once again, Stefan’s eyes bored into hers. Leesa felt the pull, but this time she forced her eyes away from his. After a moment, the feeling vanished. She thought Stefan looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead he bent and lifted Edwina’s limp body effortlessly over his shoulder.
“Be safe, Leesa,” he said.
Stefan turned and loped off into the trees without another word. Leesa watched him disappear into the shadows.
“Wow,” Cali said. “How cool was that?”
Leesa stared at her friend in amazement and disbelief.
“Cool? I was scared out of my mind.”
“Well, me too,” Cali said. “But then Stefan ripped into that bitch Edwina and everything was fine.” She looked down at the back of her hand. “And I got my hand kissed by a vampire,” she added, grinning. “Have I told you lately that you are the coolest best friend ever?”
Leesa shook her head, but couldn’t help smiling. “What am I going to do with you?” she said.