Chapter Three
In the month that had passed since Tanya had left the small town, Jesse had found himself more and more restless. Even hunting lost it's appeal, though he still did it to sustain himself. It was strange to him. He had met her once, talked to her only once, besides that horrible telephone call, and yet she was all he could think of. He didn't understand why. What was it about this one woman that was driving him crazy as no other woman before her had? With that thought, he threw a bag over his shoulder, locked up the house and went to uncover the Viper. Tossing the bag in the back, he got behind the wheel and started the engine. The purr gave him some satisfaction as he slowly drove around the front of the house and maneuvered onto the road. He didn't know where he was going, at least not consciously, and he didn't care at the moment, all he cared about was the road ahead.
He had played the hang up game several more times in the past month. He had never been this much of a coward over a woman either. Of course, most women just threw themselves at him and he never had to work for it. But Tanya, she had challenged him from that first moment, demanding his life's story, not even returning the favor. Jesse told himself that this was why he was so intrigued by her. He had told her something of himself and she hadn't told him what he wanted to know. That was a valid reason to be obsessed with a woman, right?
Jesse drove on, and was surprised to find himself already halfway across the country. Had he really been driving that long? Not that it took that long in this car, going top speed, but it had passed much faster than he had expected. Not being able to deny anymore where he was going, he reached over to the seat next to him where he had tossed his cell phone. He picked it up and ran his thumb lightly over the outside of it, debating. Maybe she would take it better if he just showed up. Maybe if he called she'd tell him not to come. What if he got there and she wasn't even there? He wasn't entirely sure where she even lived, he only knew her sister lived in Alaska normally and he thought that they lived together. What did he really hope to accomplish by seeing her? He already couldn't stop thinking of her. It's like a drug, you have a little and suddenly you can't get enough. Another glimpse of her would send him over the edge. And what for? He didn't even know her!
The miles wore on and he still hadn't called. The phone was clutched in his hand, though he was careful not to crush it. When he realized he was in the state of Washington he couldn't put it off any longer. He flipped the phone open and dialed the number he had memorized the one and only time she had called him.
-
Tanya stared miserably out the window of her plush bedroom. Kate and Garrett still were away on their honeymoon, and though Tanya tried to be sociable with Carmen and Eleazar, she was failing miserably. They knew about Jesse, of course, but only that he had saved her life from the tracker sent by Caius. They didn't know the depth of feeling she had for him, if you could call it feeling. She didn't know what to think of him. For some strange reason, she missed him, and she couldn't understand why. And if she didn't understand it, how was she to explain it to someone else? Tanya had become almost worse to live with then she had been after Irina's death, except this time she had confined herself to her room.
Being unable to sleep left a lot of hours to be miserable. Sure, once or twice she had picked up the phone with the intention of dialing Jesse's number, but she always stopped before she could hit the send button. Why was this one man so important to her? One logical answer presented itself, but Tanya could hardly bring herself to acknowledge it. You love him, the voice said. But how could she? She didn't know anything about him other than he was handsome, came from Australia and had that dreamy accent. That gift he had was something else too. She wondered idly if Aro knew of him. She could see Aro wanting to trade up from Renata if he could get his hands on Jesse.
That thought filled her with inexplicable rage. She would die before she would see Aro or Caius have their greedy hands on Jesse! But what was she thinking? He wasn't hers, and had probably forgotten about her by now. He hadn't called. He was probably entertaining himself with his other conquests. Clenching her fists together, Tanya pushed herself off the bed and strode to the window, opening it. September in Alaska was already cooling off, but she gulped in great breaths of the cleansing air. She didn't know how long she had stood there like that, sucking in the scents of the forest beyond, when her phone started ringing. Whirling in surprise she grabbed it quickly and opened it, pressing it to her ear lightly.
"Hello?" her voice sounded breathless even to her ears.
"Tanya?"
Oh. My. God. She sank to her knees at the sound of that accented voice caressing her name. "Jesse. What... How are you?" Tanya struggled to maintain her composure.
"I'm... fine," he replied. Was she imagining the nervousness in his voice? "I... well..." he was struggling for the words, which Tanya found strangely endearing. Any other man who had been a stuttering fool she would have left immediately. "How are you Tanya?" he finally asked her.
"I'm... good," she lied. Liar! You have been miserable since you left him outside your apartment in Maine! her mind screamed at her.
"I'm glad you are doing okay," he said, and he sounded as if he sincerely meant that. "Look, the reason I called is because I have found myself three thousand miles from home." His voice sounded a bit more confident, now that she hadn't hung up on him in the first two minutes on the phone. "And I was wondering if it would be okay... to see... you?" And now he was back to sounding nervous.
Tanya, who hadn't picked herself up off the floor from the shock of the voice she'd been daydreaming of for the past month, lay back against the plush carpet and closed her eyes. "You're... in... Alaska?"
She heard him chuckle. "Not yet, I'm actually in Washington. By the time I got this far, I couldn't deny where I was going to myself anymore. But I didn't want to show up on your front step without giving you a heads up. First because I was afraid you would just slam that door in my face, and second, because I have no idea where you even live!" The words tumbled out faster than normal, and if she hadn't had vampire senses she probably wouldn't have caught all of that.
Tanya thought of Carmen and Eleazar. They would probably be happy to see her exit her room for some reason other than hunting, though she hadn't been doing much of that either. "I... suppose you can stop by." because I've been dreaming of this day since I left you. she didn't add.
There seemed to be a tinge of triumph in his voice. "Just tell me how to get there!"
Tanya gave him directions to the house and when she hung up she looked at herself in the mirror for the first time in what seemed like forever. There were dark bruises under her black eyes, and her normally shiny strawberry blond hair hung limply about her shoulders. She brushed a finger across her cheek under the bruise of one eye and sighed. Hunting first, then cleaning up. She found her shoes in the closet an put them on, then headed downstairs. She wasn't aware of it, but both Carmen and Eleazar were sitting in the living area when she walked through on her way out the door to the woods. They glanced at each other and raised matching jet black brows as they took in the sudden change in demeanor of their adopted sister.
-
After she had hunted, Tanya came back to the house sporting some new leaves and twigs in her hair. Irritably, she pulled them out quickly in front of the full length mirror in her spacious bathroom. Her eyes were now a brilliant golden color, and the angry purple bruises under her eyes had disappeared. She started the shower, and stepped in, letting the hot water relax her. She washed her hair with green apple scented shampoo and her body with something fruity smelling as well. When she finally felt more human, and at this she giggled to herself at the analogy, for she hadn't been human in over one thousand years, she turned the water off and stepped out, wrapping her dripping hair in one fluffy towel, and her body in another.
Sitting down at the vanity in her bedroom she gently pulled a wide toothed comb through her tangled hair, she smoothed it into submission. Quickly braiding it into a French braid, she discarded her towel and started digging through her clothes and then laughed at herself. Was she really trying to impress him? Giving up on the pretense, she admitted that yes, she was, and dug out a pair of well fitting designer jeans that showed off her ass just right, and a one shouldered blouse in a cream color that showed off her skin and eyes. She glanced at the time and then at her feet. Wiggling her toes at herself she went back to the vanity and grabbed some light pink nail polish, painting her toenails quickly. With a last satisfied sweep of the brush she finished and closed the bottle.
Waiting for her toes to dry, she cursed the fact that nail polish hadn't caught up to vampire speed. She leafed through a book, but was too restless to read. After what seemed to be hours, but was probably about fifteen minutes, the quick drying polish was sufficiently dry enough to slip her narrow feet into open toed heels in a white patent leather. Taking in her appearance once more in the mirror she was happy to see that she looked beautiful. Smiling once, she released her gaze in the mirror and headed out the door.
As she nearly bounced down the stairs, Carmen and Eleazar looked up and their gazes showed their surprise at her sudden change in appearance. Tanya gave them a blinding smile and came to sit down in one of the overstuffed arm chairs.
"Wow, Tanya, you look... happy," Carmen said gently.
"Thank you. I feel much better," Tanya replied.
-
While the hours passed, Tanya finally filled Carmen and Eleazar in somewhat on what had happened and how she had been feeling. They exchanged knowing looks with each other. Tanya rolled her eyes, but it was all in good fun. Nothing much could have spoiled her mood. When the doorbell rang at the front door Tanya was up out of the chair, and to the door in the blink of an eye. She threw the door open, and while the other two looked on, she drank in the sight of the tall, lanky frame of Jesse. His hair still needed a comb, and his eyes were still a brilliant red. She idly wondered if he had fed in the area but pushed the thought out of her head. He was dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt and expensive skate shoes. Her smile with met with an answering one just as wide.
"Jesse," she said. "Come in."
