“Yeah, why?”
“Because most Underveilers who have the gift can only teleport to places they’ve been before. I do not have this gift, so if you could please teleport us to Hobby after you get dressed, there’s a plane waiting to take us away. I arranged everything while you bathed.”
“So you already bought our tickets?”
“No. I bought a plane.”
“That’s a bit excessive, don’t you think?”
His grin was beautiful. “Not at all. I wanted a new plane, and this was a great excuse to add one I’d had my eye on.”
“Like a new pair of shoes.” She hoped her sarcasm came through loud and clear.
“Precisely. Go put some on.”
After grabbing up the stack of clothes, she headed to the bathroom, shaking her head. Good thing she was immortal because getting used to this kind of thing was going to take a long, long time.
Chapter Seventeen
Elena took another sip of her daiquiri and stared over the turquoise ocean. Stefan’s private island off the coast of the Dominican Republic was paradise. So beautiful, in fact, it didn’t seem real—but then, neither did anything that had happened to her since she’d been shot in that convenience store. Especially the moments she’d spent in Nikolai’s arms, which she was trying really hard not to think about.
Taking a deep breath, she reclined her lounge chair and closed her eyes, focusing on the soft sounds of the ocean lapping the shore and the sea birds overhead. No matter how hard she tried to empty her mind, she always saw the same thing: Nik, with his strong, hard body and brilliant smile. And his voice, and his words, and the way he…
Shit. No. Just, no. She wouldn’t allow herself to go there. He was an ass who had yanked her around like a dog on a leash. She could not be owned.
“Screw him!” she grumbled. Yeah, if only…
She’d slept for twenty hours after Stefan had introduced her to his staff, and then had done nothing for an entire week but lie around on the beach, but still she was tired and at the same time, restless. She constantly felt like she had lost something, but was too exhausted to look for it. Maybe it was the conversion into being a…whatever-she-was that had worn her out. Or maybe it was the fact Nikolai had starved and dehydrated her.
Or had he?
Maybe he just hadn’t known her needs. Her species was different than his. Maybe she should have been more vocal. He’d always tried to make her comfortable when he knew things weren’t right.
Stop it. Stop making excuses. She was done with him. Period. She’d hang out here until things settled down, and then she’d go back home and try to simply live a normal life—well, as normal as possible considering she was some kind of blood-powered freak of nature now. Obviously, after a couple of weeks of no-show, she’d lost her research job in the hematology department. Ha. She’d probably want to snack on the samples anyway. Her goofy grin at her own silliness faded. No. It would only appeal if it were Nik’s blood, wouldn’t it?
“Lovely sunset,” Stefan said, sliding into the lounge chair next to her. He wore linen slacks and a light cotton shirt rolled up at the sleeves, buttons open half way down his chest. The tangerine and magenta sunset tinted his skin, making him look like a bronze statue. So beautiful, yet, he did nothing for her. Only one man made her feel like her body was on fire, and no matter how hard she tried to douse it, the flames smoldered under the surface, waiting to be fanned. It was like she had to be near Nik in order to feel right, which was just…wrong. Surely the hunger would pass in a few more days. She just needed to wait it out.
“How are you feeling?” He tapped his bare feet on the side of his lounge chair to knock the sugary sand off.
“Much better,” she lied.
“Bridgette tells me you skipped breakfast and lunch today.”
She adjusted the back of the lounge chair so that she sat upright. She had been a little freaked out by his housekeeper’s intensity over the need for food. “Yeah, I really wasn’t hungry.”
He tilted his head and lifted an eyebrow. “Are you hungry now?”
She shook her head and watched a gull scoop something up from the water and took another sip of her drink.
He crossed his legs at the ankle. “I’ve been trying to sort out what exactly is going on, but am not able to get a clear picture. My sources have provided all the pieces of the puzzle with the exception of few crucial ones.”
Another gull snatched the prize away from the first and flew away screeching.