A/N: Well, here we are. Sorry it took so long, Liyorah and I had a bit of trouble with this chapter, but this is where all the action really begins. Liyorah's Victoria POV will be up in a few hours (we're literally on different sides of the world) so make sure you check that one out when it appears. So, here we go with James POV. Oh, a quick warning, two people die in this chapter, but, after all, this is James.
Chapter Three
The big, black luxury car carrying a suited human businessman and his wife skidded to a stop in front of me as I stepped out onto the deserted back road.
"What's the matter with you?!" the human rolled down his window to yell at me and I surveyed him through the pair of sunglasses I'd stolen from a car that had been quite nice, but hadn't had tinted windows. I needed a car with tinted windows, and a car that would be able to handle driving at my preferred speed.
I didn't like cars much, no car was as fast as I was and I hated to be restricted by walls, any kind of walls. That was why I was a nomad.
"I need a ride" I told him, coming up to the open window. I probably looked like an absolute fool to the human couple but the damned sun had decided to show its face which left me no choice but to wear my current attire. Boots, a long coat, a broad brimmed hat, sunglasses and a pair of gloves to keep the sun from revealing my true nature to the humans. But it also drew attention to me and attention was something I could do without. The sunglasses were also serving another purpose, my eyes were still noticeably red up close and I couldn't afford for anyone to notice that I had red eyes.
"Well, go and get one off someone else!" the man yelled at me, his face turning a rather ugly purple and I leaned in close to the window, deciding that nobody would miss the short tempered men and his docile wife.
"I insist, good sir, that you give me a ride" I whispered in my deadliest voice and the man shuddered slightly before drawing himself up in his seat and saying "Are you threatening me, sir?!"
I removed my sunglasses and the man recoiled and his wife gave a started squeak "I don't threaten" I told him "I act. Now, I tell you one more time..."
"You think I'm scared of a pair of contacts?!" he demanded and I sighed. No, nobody would miss this one.
I reached in to the car through the open window and the man gave an angry human approximation of a snarl "Get your hand out of..."
I wrapped my fingers around his neck, compressing his vocal cords and cutting off his oxygen. He gasped and tried to struggle from my grip and his wife watched me with wide eyed terror, seeming frozen to her seat.
I continued to squeeze the man's throat until I heard the bones of his neck crunch and he fell lifeless against the steering wheel. His wife screamed and began to fumble with her seatbelt. I didn't kill her as slowly; I simply caught her throat and snapped her neck before disposing of both bodies. By the time they were found they would have decomposed beyond recognition and the humans would need all their fancy technologies to find out who they were. The question would be how on earth their necks had been broken.
Hmm, I might have to do something about that. Once those bodies were found that would bring the number of deaths in the area up to three in a relativity short space of time and I didn't want the Volturi showing up and ruining what fun I was going to have with my pet.
I could fake a car accident, but I needed the car for myself. I thought for a moment, before deciding I'd have to burn the bodies and scatter the ashes. I sighed, annoyed. Burning human bodies took time and time was not something I wanted to waste idly burning bodies. But I had no choice, it was burn the bodies or risk the Volturi paying a visit and disposing of me.
The bodies took hours to burn. By the time I'd scattered the ashes it was well into the afternoon and I was worried that I was going to have to withhold my plans. I was intending on kidnapping Victoria today or, if necessary, tonight. I wanted her to come with me willingly, so I intended to ask her out. The only hurdle I could see was if she was loyal to her boyfriend, that could prevent my plan from taking shape... well, actually, it wouldn't. It would simply mean I had to take her by force and, if possible, I wanted to avoid that. It wasn't that I didn't want to hurt her, I just wanted to see the look on her face when she realised she was being kidnapped and she'd willingly got into the car with her captor.
I went back to the car and smiled before sliding into the front seat. I threw off the sunglasses, coat and gloves and kicked off the boots. I undid all the buttons of my shirt and laughed at the feeling of being free from my constraints.
Humans were good for some things, I decided and the red needle shot across to the far right of the speedometer as I touched the accelerator.
* * *
An hour later I was driving much slower than I was accustomed, lower than the speed limit, with all the windows down while I followed Victoria's scent towards Cornell University. I had to drive slowly, despite the fact that I hated it, because driving at the speeds I preferred when I had to drive would mean I would probably kill a few useless humans. Not that I minded killing useless humans, but Victoria was unlikely to get into a car with blood dripping from the hood.
I followed her scent into the university complex and found her jogging along 34th near the university library. From what I'd seen of her at the club and the information I'd been gathering over the past few days I wouldn't be surprised if all the librarians in there knew what Victoria had for breakfast every morning!
I slowed a little, making a face at the music she was listening too. She, on the other hand, laughed, obviously liking what was pouring into her ears. She began to pick up her pace; obviously she had neither seen nor heard me. I went to grab the sunglasses before deciding that she wouldn't be close enough to see my red eyes. I beeped the horn at her.
She fell and I instantly stopped breathing, had she cut herself? I took a tentative breath and was relieved when I couldn't smell fresh blood, just her tantalizing scent. Venom pooled in my mouth and I swallowed back. Control, I reminded myself. Control.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" she blasphemed, yanking her earphones out of her ears "What?!"
I rolled down the window and couldn't help but look over her like she was a horse I wanted to purchase. Well, perhaps that was a good analogy, after all, horses needed to be broken...
"Um... hi, James" she called sounding awkward and I put on my being-friendly-to-the-bottom-of-the-food-chain smile.
"Hello, Victoria" I said to her and she nodded and I felt a little frustrated, she hadn't seemed awkward when I'd danced with her at the club! Had she had a drink? No, she'd told me she didn't drink.
"Er, fancy running into you here" she said trying to make conversation and I decided to tell what little of the truth I could "Actually, Victoria, I was looking for you"
She eyed me warily and I inwardly cursed myself. Now she'd be worried. Damn this accursed century for teaching women the danger of men who went looking for them! There had been a time when a woman was flattered if a man went out of his way to look for her.
"I was wondering" I continued, throwing out all my charms designed to lure in prey "If you would perhaps like to go to the movies with me?"
She would say yes, I was irresistible to my weak human prey.
"No. Thank you, James, but no"
What did she just say to me?! Did she just defy me?! Insolence even before I kidnapped her! Oh, she was a treasure!
"Victoria" I said, trying to sound a little hurt while on the inside I glowed "I am..." I hesitated for a moment, as if trying to find the right words and Victoria interrupted.
"Look, James. I'm sure you're really..." she hesitated for a moment. Not long enough for a human to notice but I heard it "...nice, but, I already have a boyfriend"
The mention of her boyfriend caused the possessive urges I'd been feeling for the past few days to build up to the point of exploding and I took a deep breath, realised my mistake and let it out again quickly before more venom could pool. Quite suddenly I didn't feel like playing the heart broken suitor anymore.
"And he really loves me" she went on and my vision took on a red tinge, perhaps I'd kill lover-boy before I took her. I could drink him in front of her! Oh the idea was tempting... but no. He would be one of the first people to notice that she was missing and I wanted people to notice she was missing.
That didn't mean I was any less angry, however.
"And, I'll be honest with you James, I just don't feel comfortable going out with you"
You have no idea.
"But, thank you anyway. Maybe I'll see you around?" her voice was tentative as she offered me an olive branch, she seemed quite desperate for me to take it.
I could hardly control my rage.
"Alright" I said, more to myself than her but she may very well have heard "Alright then, we'll do this the hard way"
I rolled the window up and sped away, driving at a speed that I preferred. Pedestrians leapt out of my way, drivers beeped horns and raised fingers at me and I all but caused an accident at an intersection when I didn't stop for the red light.
I dumped the car back near where I'd scattered the ashes of the man and his wife - I wished I'd left them alive I could do with a game or two right now - and ran back into town, keeping to the shadows lest someone see a glitter of diamonds and glance my way.
I scaled Victoria's apartment building, making sure that there were no humans in sight and went in through the window where I'd been seen by my pet's Eurasian friend the night I'd met her.
I moved too softly for their security system to pick up that anybody had entered and I disabled it before I did something that might set it off. Once that was done I went into Victoria's room and slid into her wardrobe, closing the door softly behind me before I became still. I didn't breathe because the whole place was saturated in her scent and I didn't want to lose control early nor did I want to become accustomed to her fragrance.
When she came back a few hours later her friend and boyfriend were with her. When they came in her friend started babbling about the security system and that the window was open. I heard Victoria sigh and then call out that she was taking a shower. It then occurred to me that she would need to come into her wardrobe to change after her shower. As soon as the water was running and Victoria's friend and boyfriend were talking I slipped from the wardrobe and lay under the bed. These were going to be a long few hours.
Finally - finally - after what felt like centuries (and I knew what centuries felt like) I heard Victoria's friends say that they were going to get DVDs from the store and that she was going to take a break from studying for her 'lit test', whatever that was.
I waited until the pair had left, arguing about what movie to get before I came out from under Victoria's bed. I moved soundlessly into the living room of her apartment until I was standing right behind her. She paused and I watched the hairs stand up on the back of her neck as she realised that someone, or something, was behind her.
She began to turn her head but I was quicker. I grabbed her, putting one hand tightly over her mouth and pinching her nose with the other.
She twisted and squirmed in my suffocating grip, clawing at my hands. I was glad I wasn't a human male attempting this; if I was, I would have no skin left on my hands. Eventually, her struggles started to weaken and I put my lips to her ear and murmured "Don't be frightened sweetheart, it's alright now. Master's here, master's come. Don't be scared, master's finally come to take his precious pet"
She went limp in my arms.
A/N: Oh no! A cliff-hanger! Don't worry, the next chapter will be out as soon as possible. Don't forget, me and Liyorah need to coordinate, which is why updates can be slow. Also, please review! I'm so glad people are faving both mine and Liyorah's versions of this story but a little review goes a long way. Even a simple 'This is great' or 'This sucks' works fine for me.