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Chapter Forty Two
In the next few days Anna went from sympathy for Jack to loathing him above all things. It seemed that since he hadn't been able to talk sense into his sons he was determined to make her as miserable as possible. She knew he was pissing her off for what he considered her own good, but knowing his motives didn't make it more tolerable. It was a constant verbal assault from morning until night.
She sat on the motel bed frowning so hard she could actually feel the corners of her mouth pulling downward. Just the idea of seeing him at breakfast made her want to break something other than her fast. Like his face. No, just his mouth, in fact she could karate chop him in the throat that might put his infuriating voice box out of commission for a while.
Josh came out of the bathroom and looked at her sympathetically. "He--
She looked at him sharply, "If you make one more excuse for that horrible son of a bitch I will kick you in the balls."
Josh shut his mouth and moved his hands in front of his crotch protectively while Will, who had appeared to be sleeping, doubled over the side of the bed his shoulders shaking with laughter.
"It's not funny!" Anna insisted, but felt the corner of her mouth tug. Had she actually just threatened poor Josh's balls? She started to giggle and stomped her foot. "Damn it, I was reveling in my bad mood!"
Josh grinned, "Are my "boys" safe now?"
Anna giggled harder and Will choked.
"Oh shit Anna, you are a trip sometimes." Will got it together and swiped at his eyes. "I have to hand it to you for having the patience of a saint. If someone did to me what my dad's been doing to you, no part of their anatomy would be safe from my ass whooping. Seriously though," he covered his crotch, "he has the best of intentions."
Anna shot him a warning look, then dropped her shoulders and sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I don't think I can deal with him this morning though, I'm just gonna order in."
"I don't know, I think you should brave it, if you avoid him he'll think he's getting somewhere and turn up the heat. But if you persist eventually he's got to tire out. It's a battle of wills and he thinks he'll win." Will jumped to his feet and headed to the bathroom.
Josh came over and put an arm around her shoulder and she hugged him.
She looked up at his face, "Has he been giving you any more crap about it?"
He shook his head, "He thinks we're both in love with you and that he's better off aiming his attack in your direction."
"That's good, it would be a lot harder if it was putting strain on your relationship with him. I can deal with it as long as that's not the case."
Will came out of the bathroom, "So you coming?"
She blew air out of her mouth in irritation and started to nod when a hot flash snaked up her body making her feel a little dizzy.
"What's that smell?" Will said. "It's like honey and vanilla, you have a new perfume or something?"
Anna pulled away from Josh and sat on the bed.
"Are you okay?" Josh's brows furrowed. "Anna?"
Another hot flash made her lay down and both boys came to her side in concern.
"I don't feel so good all of a sudden." She noticed the honey and vanilla scent as well, it seemed like it was coming from her pores.
"You don't get sick sweetheart, but avoid dad if you want to."
She glared at Will, "I'm not faking, I feel odd."
"You just fed last night."
"It's not that, I don't know what it is." Another hot flash, but this time it seemed to go from her thighs to her belly.
Will stood up, unconvinced. "Well I'm hungry so I'm going downstairs." He saluted them and went out the door.
"Josh, I swear I'm not pretending, if I didn't want to go I'd just say so. I'm not worried about looking like a wuss."
"I know, but maybe you're reacting to the stress of what he's putting you through, you know like an anxiety attack."
Anna looked at him and frowned uncertainly. "Maybe…yeah, that makes sense I guess. Still, I just wanna lie here until it passes. You go, I'll be fine."
"You sure?"
"Definitely, go." Her stomach felt odd, kind of like the butterflies, but also a little like she felt when she used to get hot and bothered with Austin. Which didn’t make sense at all.
Josh stood, "Call me if you need me."
"I will."
After a bit it subsided. She got up, took a shower, and once she was dressed she felt more like herself. Maybe it had been an anxiety attack. She frowned and pictured facing Jack, and though it annoyed her it wasn’t enough to make her panic. Whatever, best go and deal, she thought.
When she got to the hotel restaurant she didn't see them so she called Josh.
"You okay?" he answered.
"Yeah fine, I'm at the restaurant, where’d you go?"
"We’re meeting a couple of friends of dad’s, we're on our way to a casino."
"Oh. You know that's good actually. Since he's probably already got it in his head that I’m avoiding him I might as well take the day off from his delightful company."
Josh snickered. "Yeah, I think you're right, you should go do something fun."
"Okay, I'll see you guys later."
She hung up and chewed on her lip. Fun? What fun could she have by herself? Well there was a new romantic comedy in the theaters and she hadn't been to the movies in forever. She went back to the room and looked up the show times on her laptop. First matinee was at 12:10, three hours away. She decided to go for a walk and see Vegas in the daytime.
As she walked around the corner away from the hotel, thoughts of Jack dominated her brain. If she were totally honest with herself, she’d have to admit that his determination to make her ‘get lost’ was hurting more than her pride. When she was listening in on his conversations, or watching him from across a room…he was just so primal male. Arrogant, sure of himself, and drop dead gorgeous to boot, she wanted him to look at her as a woman and not a child. Which was completely ridiculous, he was Will and Josh’s father for fuck sake, nothing could ever go on between them. Didn’t stop her from crushing on him though.
She sighed and shook the thought away, determined to make the most of her alone time. It was definitely a different city without all the lights and she was just beginning to relax and enjoy herself when another hot flash brought her to her knees. The scent of honey and vanilla filled the air around her. What is that? She thought. She forced herself to her feet and hailed a cab.
Once she was back in the room she climbed under the covers and turned on the television. She had no idea what could be happening to her, but it was a little scary. She put on a movie and fell asleep halfway through it.
She opened her eyes to a man hovering over her, brushing his lips against her forehead. He pulled back and she knew his handsome face. "Jack," she whispered. He smiled, his beautiful green eyes filled with lust, and trailed kisses down her face causing her to shift in the bed, silk sheets caressing her naked body and sending tremors through her. She felt his lips on her breasts and she gasped and arched towards him.
A delicious feeling pooled in her lower belly and moved between her legs. She moaned and undulated under the feeling of his trailing fingers as he took her mouth pushing his tongue inside.
Oh God, she wanted him, needed him desperately...
She woke and sat straight up in the bed, heart beating frantically. What the hell? Her body was tingling all over and the feeling she'd had in her dream was still with her. She was HORNY.
She jumped out of bed and went in the bathroom. She was shaking and the scent of honey and vanilla was clogging her nose. She turned on the sink and splashed water in her face then looked up at the mirror. Her eyes were exuding amber light and she stared at them in fearful fascination.
She heard the door to the room open and Josh's voice, "Anna, you here?"
She would've liked to answer but a tingling sensation started moving up her calves and it felt sooo good as it made its way up her thighs. Phantom fingers stroked her. "Unng." She was breathing rapidly. I'm being fingered by a ghost, she thought incoherently, a gifted spectral figure, Ohh Godddd.
Just when she thought she might experience her first orgasm the fingers left her. She sank to the floor with a mixture of relief and sexual frustration. I think I just got a taste of blue balls. She laughed shakily.
A knock on the door startled her, "Anna are you in there?"
"Yeah," she squeaked then cleared her throat, "Yes I'll be right out."
She washed her face one last time and emerged with a forced smile.
"You okay, you were in there awhile."
"Oh yeah, no, I mean yeah I'm fine."
Josh arched his brow. "Is that a real yes?"
She took a breath and let it out slowly. "Where's Jack and Will?"
"At the bar downstairs."
She nodded and sunk into the armchair.
"Spill it, what's going on, same as this morning?"
She chewed on her lip and met his intense gaze. "I don't know exactly." She attempted to describe what had just happened to her in the bathroom.
His brows had drawn together while she spoke and now he looked as if something had dawned on him.
"What? You know something, tell me!"
"No, I'm not sure. Will would be a better person to ask, he'd be more likely to know about a vampire's sexuality."
"I don't know if I'm comfortable describing this to him." She frowned, for some reason it was different with Josh. "In fact it seems to have gone away, so let's not recruit his opinion too hastily, deal?"
"Yeah, deal, but if it happens again...."
"Okay."
"You gonna hang here or come downstairs?"
"I'll go with you, I've been cooped up all day." She made a face when she realized she'd have to endure Jack at his most abhorrent. But she might as well get it over with or she'd just have to go through it tomorrow.
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