Two By kalejay

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6705392/1/

Chapter 1: The Spice of Life and Death

The fire cracked. Bright red and orange embers scattered upward then fizzled out
just before touching the ground. I took a long haul off my cigarette, finishing
what was left of it, then flicked the butt into the crackling blaze. My eyes focused
past the flames to the tent directly across it, and I narrowed them in contempt.
The sounds of grunting and moaning that came from beyond the canvas
enclosure was beginning to grate on my last nerve.

"Ohhh, Jasper... Yes! More. More!... Oh, Fuck... FUCK, YESSSSS!"

"Oh, baby... You're so warm... so wet... so... good..."

I rolled my eyes at the overlapping carnal blather and fished another cigarette
from the breast pocket of my jacket. I fired it up and sucked back a hard drag.

"Will you just get it over with, already?" I grumbled bitterly under my breath.
Smoke spilled from between my lips as I ranted, then I blew out what was left
from the side of my mouth.

I turned my head sideways and glanced at my own tent from the corner of my
eye. There was nothing but silence coming from it, and that appeased, yet
aggravated me at the same time. I scowled at the fact that I was out here all by
myself with nothing to do but listen to the sounds of my brother and his latest
conquest fucking like there was no tomorrow. Well, for one of them there
wouldn't be, but that was beside the point.

By the pitch of the bitch's moaning I gathered that my wish would be granted
shortly. The shriek that next escaped her mouth was so piercing it could have
sliced the black right off the night sky. Whether it was a cry of intense pleasure
or one of extreme pain I had yet to determine, but knowing better, it was
probably a mixture of both.

Then I smelled the blood. I instantly became hypnotized by its delectable aroma,
but the nuisance of my situation briskly shook me out of my momentary daze.

Inside the tent, I could hear Jasper sucking back his red wine. I seethed in
jealousy, for my own chalice had been already drained. Lifting my hand up to my
lips, I busied my mouth with my cigarette instead, and suffered through my envy
in silence.

A few moments later, the curved door flap of the tent zipped open and Jasper
emerged head first. Exiting the tent, he pushed off his knees and stood to his full
height. He was shirtless, wearing only faded blue jeans. His wavy blond hair was
a wild mess, tousled across his forehead, and blood stained his lips and both
sides of his face. He tongued the corner of his mouth, then licked the sticky
remains of his kill off the end of his thumb.

I narrowed my eyes at him when his gaze met mine, and I continued to nurse on
my cigarette. Jasper peered at me oddly and wiped his face clean. My hostility
confused him but he chose to dismiss it. Walking around the fire toward me, he
shook his head and pointed a thumb back toward his tent.

"There's no way that chick was a virgin before tonight," he said. "Not a chance,
unless she masturbated daily with a thermos-sized dildo or something."

He stopped walking a few paces short of where I sat, then stared off into
nothingness, distracted by his own thought. He grinned at the idea.

"Would you fucking stop thinking about that shit? I don't need to see it!" I
snapped, squeezing the inside corners of my eyes. My ability to see and hear
thoughts was just as much of a burden as it was an asset when it came to the
contents of Jasper's mind. It was a constant fucking porno in there.

He looked down at me and smirked. The red hue of his irises were amplified by
the glow of the fire. "You're just bitter 'cause yours didn't let you in her panties,"
he assumed.

Did I fuck the girl in my tent? No. Did I get what I ultimately wanted from her?
Fuck yes. Her veins were drained and my belly was full. Mission accomplished.
End of story. As far as I was concerned, anyway.

"She would have let me," I argued defensively, unsure why I even felt the need
to justify myself.

"Wait. So you didn't even try to fuck her first?" Jasper sighed with
disappointment. "Don't you like pussy, Cullen?" He grabbed the concert t-shirt he
had discarded earlier and slipped it back on. The Rolling Stones seemed to be
mocking me as well.

"That psycho Barbie would not stop blabbing! The only way to shut her mouth
was to rip it off."

"Uh... You didn't consider stuffing your cock in it first?"

I groaned in exasperation. "You're such a whore," I threw out. I didn't hold
resentment toward Jasper for it, I just didn't have the patience to prolong the
wait like he did to obtain what I craved most. Blood. Hot, succulent blood.

"And you're an impatient newborn!"

I rolled my eyes and flicked the ashes from my cigarette. True, I hadn't been a
vampire for very long. Jasper changed me into one only two years ago, but I was
far from acting like a newborn. I had already outgrown that stage. Newborns
were wild and undisciplined throughout the first year of their new life, and my

behavior had nothing to do with self control. I simply went after what I wanted
and didn't feel the need to waste my time with the preliminaries. Jasper, on the
other hand, was all about the extras. He craved sensation and he soaked it up as
often as he could.

"Can we just get out of here?" I huffed, standing up.

"Can you just have some fun, please?" Jasper countered, and stood directly in
front of me. "Edward Cullen, don't be sullen," Jasper's lip twitched at his
intentional rhyme.

"I'm not sullen."

Jasper gave me his best 'who are you trying to fool' look. There was no point in
lying. Jasper possessed the incredible ability to sense emotions as well as
manipulate them. He knew how I felt just as well as I knew what he was thinking.

He reached into my jacket and swiped a cigarette from my pack. After tucking it
between his lips he pulled a lighter from his back pocket, cupped his hands
around his mouth and lit his smoke.

"You're frustrated as fuck, man," Jasper observed. "When was the last time you
got laid? It's no wonder you're such a brooding bastard all the time," he accused
with a twisted grin stretching across his face.

"Get off my dick." I brushed him aside, shoving his shoulder with mine.

"Well, someone should be on it!" he threw back. He caught me by my elbow,
making me turn back to face him, then pointed at a large rock behind me. "Sit."

"I've already been sitting around forever waiting for you to finish up. I'm
leaving."

"Siiiiit, down!" he insisted, his tone bordering on aggression. He pushed his index
finger in the center of my chest and heaved me down onto the rock.

I glared up at him like an unwilling disgruntled child. It probably wasn't the best
way to negate his previous newborn comment, but whatever.

Jasper squatted down in front of me and clicked his tongue. The slight trace of
aggression vanished completely from his expression, and he peered at me like he
was an all-knowing genius that was preparing to bestow his wisdom unto me.
"Edward, little bro... I'm not a big fan of sushi," he said.

I shook my head, confused by his peculiar statement. "The fuck are you talking
about?"

"I prefer having my meal heated up before I eat it. Tell me, what do you think
happens when a chick gets horny?"

"You fuck her six ways to Sunday."

Jasper laughed. "It's simple biology, Cullen. Her heart pounds more quickly. Her
blood flows faster. It gets warmer. It gets... seasoned," he explained, then licked
his lips as though his words had placed flavor on them. "You gotta take your time
and play with her a little bit. Get her all riled up first. It'll make her taste hot and
spicy. Then tear her throat out. Learn a little patience, and as an appetizer you
get someone to play with your dick. Is that so terrible?"

I relaxed my frown, reluctantly allowing my irritation to turn to intrigue.

"You're pissed off because you know I'm right," Jasper continued. He reached
sideways and snatched one of the girls' backpacks and began to rummage
through it as he continued to speak. "I don't care what your mommy used to tell
you. You should play with your food before you eat it, and let it play with you,
too. Savor your meal for once instead of constantly swallowing it whole. That's all
I'm sayin'. Oh, Marlboro's! Sweet!" He pocketed the smokes he found, along with
some cash, then stood up and tossed the bag onto the campfire.

I had to admit, Jasper had a way with words. Vampire or not, I was still a guy,
and though I refused to admit it to him, Jasper had a good thing going. So maybe
I was frustrated, and yeah, maybe I had been my own cock-block lately. I never
really looked at it the way Jasper was describing, and the mention of hot
seasoned blood got me salivating again.

Jasper grinned smugly, sensing that I had surrendered to his advice. "Am I
turning you on, Edward?"

"Fuck off." A laugh escaped me despite myself. Shit.

Then he started to sing.

"I wanna kiss you all over..."

"Stop it."

"... and over again..."

"Jas..." I warned.

"I wanna kiss you all over. Till the night closes in."

"Get your face away from me!"

"TILL THE NIGHT CLOSES INNNNN!"

I sprang forward and tackled my brother, nearly sending us both into the fire.

"Ohhh, yeah! Come on baby, pour some sugar on me!" Jasper teased as we
wrestled, using an exaggerated version of his Texas drawl.

Within seconds he infected me with laughter, and both of us were howling as we
pummeled each other.

I gained the upper hand in our rumble, and with what was meant to be a playful
shove, I inadvertently sent us both slamming into the side of Jasper's car. His
laughter abruptly cut short and turned into a hostile snarl.

"Mother fucker!" he growled, pushing me off him. He spun around and smoothed
his palm across the shiny black metal, meticulously checking for any dents. If
there was anything Jasper loved more than blood and fucking girls to death, it
was his '67 Mustang Fastback.

He sighed in relief when he confirmed no damage had been done. Our bodies
were hard like stone so it really was a miracle that the impact had no ill effect on
his precious vehicle.

It was Jasper's turn to narrow his eyes at me. Holding his thumb and index finger
an inch apart, he indicated how close he came to losing his shit, and gave me a
threatening glare as he stood up. I felt a wave of his aggression from deep within
my chest like an invisible punch.

Fun time was over.

"Let's go," he said, opening the driver's side door. "Take care of that, will you?"
he added, pointing to the tents.

I picked up the kerosene lanterns and tossed one inside each tent. They both set
ablaze, and would eventually incinerate the evidence of our kills.

I made my way back to the Mustang and slumped myself into the passenger seat.
From the driver's side, Jasper slanted a look in my direction. A slow smile crept
back to his face and he shook his head, cursing me under his breath. With a turn
of his wrist the engine roared to life, and I watched the burning campsite in my
side view mirror until it disappeared into the distance.

Chapter 2: Blood Sugar Sex Magic

I hated it when Jasper was right. I really fucking did. He's a cocky smug bastard
who never hesitates to shove an I told you so in my face, but I had to admit, I
was really glad he was right about this...

A couple nights after his words of wisdom at the campsite, I found myself sitting
on the edge of a bed of a college sophomore girl's dorm room with my pants
around my ankles. Her head bobbed up and down between my legs as she
expertly swirled her tongue around my dick. Jasper was right. This was a good
way to shut them up. One less voice I had to listen to, the better.

The cute brunette (I had already forgotten her name) moaned as she reveled at
how incredibly hard I was.

Don't chip a tooth, honey, I thought, smiling down at the top of her head.

I'd been without sustenance since the campsite, and I was parched, but I was
curious enough about the recent advice I'd been given to want to entertain it. So
I held back the immediate urge to slake my thirst, and let the tramp work her
magic. I mean, wasting this girl's oral talent seemed like such a shame. Besides,
if I returned to Jasper empty-handed he'd certainly label me as a newborn prude
for eternity.

"Come up here," I beckoned, once I felt she was sufficiently warmed up. I needed
her closer to my mouth.

She climbed up off her knees and reached underneath her skirt to peel off her
panties, smiling wickedly as she did so. She straddled my hips, and I cupped her
bare ass, lowering her body down onto mine. She slid me deep inside of her and I
hissed in pleasure at the hot silk that surrounded me. I had nearly forgotten how
good it felt, even more so, since I experienced heat more intensely than when I
was human. Her warmth was appetizing. Every last inch of her body radiated
heat and it was driving me insane with hunger. I had to remind myself several
times to savor the moment, to prolong the desire.

She crossed her arms in front of herself and pulled her shirt up and over her
head, then tossed it away, giving me a full view of her surgically altered D-cups
that were barely contained inside a skimpy black bra. I let her bounce up and
down for a while, allowing her to exert herself. I took insane pleasure in her

riding me, but also in feeling her body grow more and more feverish by the
second.

When she tipped her head back to expose her throat to me, I completely lost it.
Snaking my arms up her back and behind her head, I pulled her closer to me and
lowered my mouth against her neck. I licked upward from her collarbone and
when I reached the pulse point underneath her jaw, I pulled my lips back over
my teeth and sank them ferociously into her flesh. A violent stream of blood
poured from the wound and into my mouth, spilling out around my lips. She
screamed and I secured her body more roughly against me. There was loud
music playing in the hallway and it was certain to have muffled the noise, and the
door was also locked, pending any complications.

Fisting the hair at the back of her head, I pulled sideways to arch her neck even
more, allowing me better access to my feast. Her body, slick with sweat, sex and
blood, writhed in panic, but she was no match against my strength. Her life
quickly slipped away and she finally grew limp in my arms. I finished the last of
her and sighed through a rush of air as I pulled my mouth away.

"Fucking hell!" I uttered in ecstasy, small droplets of blood spraying from my lips
onto the silicone twins. I couldn't remember the last time a kill tasted so
delicious.

I really fucking hated it when Jasper was right.

I pushed the body off me and it slumped heavily to the ground. I swept the back
of my hand across my bloody mouth and looked around for something better to
clean up with. I couldn't just walk out into the hallway looking like... well... like I
had just butchered someone. I found a large t-shirt folded across her pillow. The
scent of masculine cologne clung to it, and I imagined it belonged to her
boyfriend. I scoffed, and used it to wipe myself clean of her blood, then dropped
it over the corpse when I was done.

I stood up, got dressed and headed for the door. Upon second thought, I turned
around and snatched her panties from off the floor and stuffed them into my front
pocket.

"Thanks for showing me the light, babe," I sneered, then left the dorm
undetected. I could have dropped a match and burned the whole fucking place
down if I really wanted to, but Jasper and I would be out of town before the body
even got cold.

I found the Mustang parked a couple blocks down from campus, haloed by the
glow of a street lamp. Jasper was on his back sprawled across both front seats
with his crossed ankles hanging out the passenger side window. I bent to look
inside and he grinned up at me with a look of self satisfaction, his arms crossed
behind his head.

"I brought you a souvenir," I said. Digging the panties out of my pocket, I tossed
the lacy projectile at his face.

Jutting his fist out, Jasper caught it then sat upright.

"Shut up," I warned, anticipating his smugness.

"That good, huh?"

I couldn't wipe the growing smile off my face. "I said shut up," I repeated, then
opened the door and slid into shotgun.

I told you so, he gloated using his thoughts.

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't start singing again."

Something happened to me that night. Something clicked. I finally understood
what Jasper had been talking about all this time. Granted, I was still new in the
game. Jasper had spent nearly a century in this life before he pulled me into it,
and with all his experience, I saw no reason not to adhere to the way he lived. If
a little play and patience was in order to acquire the most palatable flavor, what
sense did it make to pass it up?

We became comrades. Two teammates playing the same game instead of two
individuals doing their own thing. We bonded closer. We were finally on the same
page. And because of that, the next twenty years that followed were delicious in
every way shape and form. I had to hand it to Jasper. He made hunting fun.

In the winter of early 2011, I'd spent a quarter of a century as a vampire. I'd
officially lived longer this way than I had as a human, and my immortal life was a
hell of a lot better than the piss poor one I left behind. I suffered a life of having
parents who cursed the day I was born; a life of working for an overbearing
employer who would constantly berate me; a life of living in a shit hole basement
apartment with bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling and nothing but week-old
take-out in the fridge. I wanted out of that life long before Jasper took it from
me. He had found me stumbling around drunk and dejected one night in an alley
behind a bar in Chicago, Illinois. That's where he shut my eyes to that world
forever, and I was never more grateful to have left it behind.

Jasper pulled me from a stagnant, unfulfilling mortal life, and thrust me into
immortality. As a vampire, I only really needed one thing. Blood. And it was mine
for the taking. I was strong. I was fast. I was powerful. I could finally enjoy life...
and I had a brother to share it with.

When Jasper changed me, he did so because he was looking for a companion.
He'd grown tired of solitude and was thirsting for excitement. Nothing seemed
more wild than a bloodthirsty newborn. And so he created me. My former boss
had the privilege of becoming my very first victim. I found poetic justice in killing
one of my oppressors, punctuating my distaste for my previous human life.

Once my newborn stage wore off, Jasper began to attempt luring me toward his
methods but I couldn't manage to understand them. I had been too accustomed
to immediately satisfying my bloodlust that I saw no use in prolonging the
process. I was stubborn in my ways in my early years, but I was glad that I
eventually gave in.

In short, Jasper never steered me wrong.

For all intents and purposes Jasper was my maker, my father, but our
relationship was more like two brothers than anything. Physically, we were very
much alike. Our human bodies were both twenty four years of age before they
became frozen by immortality. We were both tall, each standing at around six
foot two, though I topped Jasper by at least half an inch. Our build was the same
— lean with defined muscles, a stature that easily attracted members of the
opposite sex.

Our eyes changed color from crimson red to jet black when we were hungry. The
only real discernible feature between us was that Jasper was blond and my hair
was copper. He wore his longer than mine, with shags that fell down over his
forehead close to his eyes. I kept mine shorter and away from my face.

And of course, we shared a favorite past time. Hunting.

We were surreptitious and never caused a scene. We were about having fun, not
drawing attention to ourselves, but we kept it fresh and interesting. Years on end,
we drove across the country, coming up with creative ways to set the table. Sure,
when our options were low we just killed some unsuspecting person, but they
were fast food compared to the gourmet meals we took effort in preparing for
ourselves. Being immortal, we had all the time in the world, so we opted to have
a little creative fun as often as we could manage.

We used our lures to our advantage. Our good looks were premium bait and our
shared abilities dropped the traps over our victims. Of course they were oblivious
to the cages they had been led into until it was too late. By the time they realized
the danger they were in we were already feasting on their arteries.

Arousal. Adrenaline. Fear. Those were the elements we played with. Instilling any
one, or a combination of the three insured a really fuckin' tasty snack. Making our
prey horny was definitely the easiest strategy, and the one we most often used. I
could understand why it was Jasper's preferred method. He absorbed his prey's
sexual sensations and it amplified his own. I was pretty easy, though. Anything
that accelerated their hearts worked wonders for me.

In the end, we were basically living like Gods. We did what we wanted, took what
we wanted and we were having a hell of a time doing it. Life was good. Life was
fun. And the two of us were unstoppable.

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Chapter 3: Cashing Out

The soles of our shoes tapped confidently across the polished floor as we made
our way through the lobby of the Borgata hotel in Atlantic City. We came to a
stop at the lip of the entrance of the casino and peered through the forest of
white ceramic columns beneath spider-webbed arches that trimmed the domed
ceilings. The vast open area buzzed with patrons, coins dropping, and a
cacophony of musical arpeggios of various gaming machines.

These were extravagant hunting grounds. Risky, to say the least. Normally, we
wouldn't have even considered coming into a place like this. There were too many
eyes here for our comfort and it was the furthest we could have been from
assuming a low profile. But we weren't here to hunt. Not for the time being,
anyway. However thrilling it may have been to flirt with our limits, our objective
here was to win some cash. Robbing our victims only got us so far. That, and
Jasper wanted an excuse to suit up.

Dressed to the nines, we walked in the direction of the card tables. Jasper winked
at his reflection as we passed a mirror-lined wall and I couldn't help but smile.
Yeah, we looked damn good.

We split up and claimed separate tables. A couple hours later, I fanned out my
last hand across the green velvet table, and a pile of chips were pushed in my
direction. I gathered my winnings then stood to leave. I had accumulated a
decent amount of money, but not so much that it became cause for unwanted
attention. We could have racked it up if we really wanted to, but we didn't want

to be stupid about it. We each pulled in a modest couple grand and called it a
night.

I was cashing in my chips when Jasper met back up with me. A toothpick dangled
from the corner of his mouth and he leaned his hip against the counter. He cast a
flirtatious look at the woman behind the glass counting out my bills, and tongued
at the small wooden stick between his lips. She attempted to resist a smile but
failed miserably and had to restart counting out my winnings.

"I'm hungry. Let's check out the buffet," Jasper said, turning his attention to me.

"Fine. Let me just get my money, okay?" I looked at him pointedly. He held both
hands up in surrender and spun on his heels, then kissed the air at the teller
before retreating toward one of the casino's bars. I was going to suggest that we
leave the Borgata before hunting down our dinner, but he was already gone
before I could bring it up.

When I finally joined him at the bar two minutes later, he was already engaged in
a conversation with a cute redhead at a tall pedestal table at one side of the
room. They were sitting very close, turned toward each other on their seats.
Jasper leaned close and rolled the edge of a hundred dollar chip up her arm. She
giggled as it made its way over her shoulder and back down her collarbone,
where he then laid it flat and tucked it under her shirt, wedging it beneath her
bra strap.

The speed at which Jasper managed to secure his prey did not surprise me. Once
he turned on his charm it wasn't long before the women became puddles at his
feet.

I abandoned the urge to argue with him and made a quick scan of the
surroundings. The room was dimly lit in a deep purple glow, creating a
mysterious and seductive ambiance. Slow moving turquoise light projections
glided along the side walls. The main bar was encircled by a large oval counter in
the center of the room, directly beneath a sunken ceiling that glowed with golden
light. That's where I found my next target.

Facing me from the opposite side of the bar, a woman in her mid-thirties was
sitting by herself, sipping her drink from a heavy crystal tumbler. She stared into
nothingness, lost in her own thoughts, a pensive frown just barely wrinkling her
brow. She was very attractive. Her dark blond hair was twisted up in a loose knot
at the crown of her head, revealing her neck that was elongated by a plunging
neckline. I couldn't help but stare at her throat for a few moments before I made
my move. I stole a glance into her thoughts to determine that she was in fact
alone before I approached, then rounded the bar and casually took the liberty of
claiming the empty seat to her left.

"Scotch on the rocks," I told the bartender. I had no intention of consuming my
drink, but it was easier to blend in with a glass in hand like everyone else, and
two fingers of liquor gave the illusion that I was drinking better than a full bottle
of beer did.

My conquest turned her head toward me and smiled. "That's what I'm having."

I know.

I returned a friendly smile. "You have good taste..."

"Kerrin," she offered.

"I'm Edward."

I picked up my glass just as the bartender poured the last drop, and motioned it
toward hers. She brought her glass to mine and they met in a musical clink.
Essentially, it was the sound of my dinner bell.

We slipped into a conversation easily. I found out she was on a business trip, one
of dozens in the past few months to be exact. Months of a mundane schedule had
taken a toll on her, but mostly, she was plagued by insecurities over the husband
she left back home on the west coast. She didn't tell me that part directly. It was
a nagging image in her thoughts that clued me in. A scene of her husband
fucking his secretary on top of his office desk was playing on repeat in her mind.
It was the epitome of cliché in all its glory. The angry thoughts that veiled her
subconscious were enough to tell me it was a memory rather than just a paranoid
thought, and I bided my time to use my discovery to my advantage.

I let her catch me looking at her wedding ring, but I didn't say a word about it.
She tucked her hand under the counter top and pretended I hadn't seen it. The
action alone spoke a thousand words. As far as she was concerned, her husband
didn't exist to me, and to some extent, he didn't exist for her either.

Personal drama. I thrived on it. It made my job a hell of a lot easier when all I
had to do was serve as a source of comfort. She relied on me to remove her from
reality. Little did she know I was planning to grant the request quite literally.

I knew exactly what she needed to hear. I wove my words to meet her specific
needs, subtly personalizing them so she felt a deep connection with me. It was a
practiced art I'd perfected over the years, but being able to look into her mind
made it easy. I knew what she was going to say before she moved her lips to
form the words. I used anything I could that would lead me to my desired end
result in this game. But I didn't come across as predatory. I held back until she
made the first move. And I knew she would.

She was craving attention and seeking revenge, and I was on a quest for an easy
kill. It was a match made in heaven.

I tipped back my glass and let the contents brush over my lips. I parted them
just enough to allow the liquor to lightly flavor my lips and tongue, then I set the
tumbler back down on its coaster.

"What you need is a little excitement," I suggested after listening to her drone on
about her plain-vanilla life. "Break the mundane cycle with something thrilling."

"Like what?" she gazed at me with intrigue.

"I know a few things that can get your heart racing."

"Oh?" A glint of mischief sparkled in her bright blue eyes and her pulse was
already pounding more quickly over my subtle innuendo.

To tease her further I kept my suggestions modest. "Yeah, you know, sky diving,
bungee jumping... skinny dipping."

"Well, I'm afraid of heights... but I do like the getting naked idea," Kerrin said.

There we go.

I lifted one side of my mouth up in a calculative grin. "You should do something
that would totally freak out your husband if he found out about it."

She flustered a bit at my mention of her husband who had not been previously
addressed. She quickly recovered and grinned. "It's like you're inside my head,"
she said. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

"I'm psychic," I shrugged. "Go on. Try me."

She narrowed her eyes skeptically and bit the maraschino cherry off the end of
her cocktail umbrella, then dropped the little accessory back into her empty
glass. She spotted a stray deck of playing cards that adorned the counter
between us and slid the top card from the pack with her middle finger. "Okay... If
you're so psychic, what card am I holding?" she challenged playfully, holding the
card toward herself.

I grinned. If she was looking to be impressed, she was making this way too easy
for me. "Seven of diamonds," I said without hesitation.

Kerrin looked at me in amazement then she pulled the next card from the pack
and watched me expectantly.

"Two of hearts."

"Holy shit!" she laughed and looked at the back of the card, wondering if there
was some way I could have seen through it. She might as well have plucked a
king and a joker from the deck instead. That would have perfectly depicted our
situation.

"Okay, Edward..." She set the cards back down on the counter top and looked at
me with a look that emanated seduction. "What am I thinking, right... now...?"

You want me to plow you right here on top of the bar.

Ironically, a slot machine from somewhere in the room cashed out with its
musical jackpot siren at that very moment, and I could nearly taste her sweet
blood on my tongue.

Suddenly I felt a presence approaching me from behind.

"Hey, Cassanova. Can I talk to you for a sec?" Jasper's voice poured cold water
all over me.

I spun around to face him. "What?" I bit with annoyance.

"Trade with me."

"What? No!"

"I don't want mine anymore. She's too wasted. Her blood smells like pure vodka."

"So find someone else, then!"

Kerrin leaned back in her stool. "Um, is everything okay?" she wondered, then
looked at Jasper with curiosity.

"We're fine," I replied.

Jasper shot her a seductive smile. "Hi, I'm Jasper."

Kerrin returned one with obvious interest. Shit. She was already falling under
Jasper's spell.

"Back off!" I hissed under my breath. "Get your fucking hooks out of my catch."

"Is that any way to talk to your big brother?" he replied in voice purposely loud
enough for Kerrin to hear.

"You're brothers? Wow, good genes!" she chimed in, looking at us with
fascination.

"Jasper was just leaving," I informed, looking at him pointedly.

"Aw, but you just got here," she said looking at Jasper. "I'm Kerrin," she supplied
and held her hand out toward him. Jasper slipped it into his own and smiled
smugly at me.

I knew Jasper was influencing Kerrin's behavior. She wanted me, but now she
wanted Jasper too. And that pissed me off.

I stood up from my seat and stepped a couple paces away from Kerrin, taking
Jasper with me. "Jas, back off, will you? You're going to make her leave!" I
snarled.

"I seriously doubt that," he replied confidently, looking over my shoulder to shoot
Kerrin a salacious look.

The worst part was that I knew he was right. I had the awful feeling that my
efforts in talking this woman up were going to be wasted and I was going to lose
her to Jasper entirely. Fucking Jasper and his ability to make women
spontaneously combust in orgasm just by looking at them. Jackass.

"There's a whole fucking room full of people here. Why are you so hell-bent on
hijacking mine?"

"Because. I'm bored and I need a thrill," he cocked his eyebrow. Jasper had
clearly overheard Kerrin's and my conversation and was being a total prick about
it.

I frowned and turned my head toward the bar again to look at Kerrin. She was
watching us curiously, and apart from the fact that we were plotting her death, it
was obvious that she was privy to that fact we were arguing over her. However,
instead of being insulted she was actually getting off on it. It seemed that she
was lacking attention in her marriage more than I had originally assumed.

Kerrin stood up from her seat and made her way toward us. Stepping between
Jasper and I, she ran her palms down both our chests as she gingerly pushed her
way past us. She looked from me to Jasper with a false timid smile. "As flattering
as it is to be in the middle of this tug of war, I'd rather not be torn to pieces in
the process," she said. "I'm going upstairs. Room 1209. If you're interested, you
boys can share, instead. There's plenty of me to go around."

I felt a rush of lust followed by images of Kerrin panting and moaning as she
reached orgasm. I wasn't sure if the erotic imagery was coming from her or from
Jasper, but it was possible that it was even my own.

She turned and left the bar without another look behind her. We watched her
walk to the elevators in the lobby and neither of us said a word until she got in
and the doors slid shut.

"You're welcome!" Jasper said, seemingly not surprised by the turn of events.
"You want heads or tails? Actually, you take heads. I don't want another one
gagging on me when I deep throat her."

"I really hate you sometimes, you know."

"Threesome, Cullen. Three-some. Of course, I prefer two girls instead, but you're
pretty like a girl."

"Touch me, and I kill you," I warned.

Jasper hooked my neck in the bend of his elbow and planted a kiss on my cheek
before I could shove him away. He was giddy like a fucking kid at Christmas.
"Threesome!"

In reality, Kerrin really didn't care which one of us showed up at her door tonight,
as long as one of us did, if not both. She was only interested in getting even with
her husband, but as long as I was going to be drinking her blood in the end, it
didn't make a difference how I obtained it. I wasn't particularly fond of sharing,
but I wasn't about to relinquish her completely to Jasper, and there was no way
in hell he was going to walk away from her racy offer. So, I swallowed my pride
and went upstairs with Jasper to room 1209. At least this way I got to eat.

Chapter 4: Sinking the Eight

It was past midnight and we were driving north along I87. The mess we left in
Kerrin's hotel room insured that we would never be showing our faces in Atlantic
City ever again. Not that I cared. I preferred less conspicuous settings, anyway. A
light snowfall accompanied our drive out of the metropolis and we found
ourselves alone on the long dark stretch of highway. Jasper cranked the volume
and sang along with the radio as the miles fell behind us.

He sighed when the last song ended. "I'm still hungry."

I turned to look at him. "Well, that's what you get for insisting on sharing a
meal."

He smiled. "Oh, please. You can't tell me that wasn't fun for you."

"I could have done without you high-fiving me over her ass..."

A pair of flashing red tail lights suddenly came into view on the shoulder a few
hundred yards down the highway, which thankfully distracted Jasper from our
current topic of conversation.

"Oh! Fast food!" he exclaimed.

He slowed down as we drew nearer, and we discovered a middle-aged man
kneeling down beside the front tire of his station wagon. No one else was in the
vehicle.

"You take him. I'm good," I said. I'd had my fill of sharing for the night, even if it
wasn't going to require foreplay. I could hold out a while, for my own kill.

Jasper patted my shoulder in appreciation. "Such a generous brother I have."

He pulled the Mustang onto the shoulder in front of the station wagon and put it
into park. Keeping the car running idle, he stepped out and walked back to the
stranded vehicle behind us. I rolled my window down a crack, semi-curious about
the exchange that was about to take place.

"Hey, there. You need a hand?"

"No, I'm alright. Just fixing my flat tire here. Thanks for stopping though, that
was very kind of—"

The sound of a tire iron hitting the pavement cut the man off and reverberated in
the air. The night fell quiet until the body slumped to the ground once Jasper was
finished with it. He really gave a whole new meaning to the term, "having a
quickie".

Not even bothering to dispose of the corpse, Jasper returned to the car with a
satisfied sigh and we continued on our way.

The snow lasted a couple of hours and by early morning there wasn't a single
cloud in the sky. So, we decided to lay low and stay in the shade. The winter sun
wasn't as strong as it was the rest of the year, but it still felt like being stuck
under a heat lamp to us. We could tolerate it if we had to, but after a few
minutes of exposure it would start to get really uncomfortable. We tended to
avoid direct sunlight whenever possible, and since we never slept, we made up
for lost time through the late hours of the night.

In the summer it was easy to stalk a crowded college beach party at night and
lure some random drunk girl away to kill, but in the winter it was a bit harder to
find people just hanging around outside in the North-East. We were limited to
hunting in random bars for the most part. On the plus side, there were always
plenty of eager women willing to offer themselves to us in those places.

After we ate, we would keep driving, like we always had. We didn't have a plan
on where to venture, we never really did. We drove where the road took us and
we were happy with that.

One bar we found along the way, much to Jasper's delight, ended up having a
karaoke night. He gave a sexually charged rendition of "You Can Leave Your Hat
On", and had the nerve to purposely mass infect everyone sitting in the first few
row of tables with his charm. The thoughts I picked up from that section were so
filthy, I think even Jasper would cringe at them. It was pretty funny though,
because Jasper even got all the men in the audience horny for him. Their utter
confusion about their unexpected desire made them question their sexuality. It
was fucking priceless.

We were driving through rural parts of New York state one night a few days after
we left Atlantic City. It had been a while since we saw any form of life, but we did
manage to come across a pair of hitchhikers to snack on. Jasper thought it was
funny to prop them up against each other afterwards and position their thumbs
as though they were still hitching for a ride. I laughed at his sick sense of humor.

Around midnight, we found a sleepy town off the highway and stopped at the gas
station, thinking it would be a while until we had the chance to fill up again.

"...and remember, Valentine's Day is just a few days away, so don't forget to let
that special someone in your life know how much they mean to you." The radio
DJ yammered on. "I'm opening the lines right now, so why don't you call in and
tell me about about the love of your life!"

Jasper killed the engine, silencing the broadcast. "My love is feisty, growls when I
turn her on, and she loves taking me for a ride," he grinned, and stroked the
steering wheel.

"Cute. Too bad Alice isn't an actual woman. Though, I wouldn't put it past you to
fuck the car if you could," I teased.

"She knows I love her."

I got out of the car and went inside the convenience store to buy some smokes
while Jasper filled up the tank. On my way back out I nodded toward the small
bar just up the street. It was a small single story building with a red neon sign
that read, 'Sharks'. "You wanna stop in that dive and see what's going on?" I
asked my brother. I wasn't hungry, just more bored than anything, and also a
little curious about what people who lived in butt-fuck-nowhere did for fun.

"Yeah, why not?" Jasper agreed, and hung up the gas nozzle.

After paying for the tank we drove a couple miles down the road to park the
Mustang, then walked back to the bar. With such an identifiable car it was always
safer to just leave it out of sight. That, and Jasper wanted to avoid having any
drunken idiots knocking up against it. Hell, sometimes he gave me dirty looks
just for shutting the door too strongly, I could only imagine what he'd do if it got
a couple scratches on the paint.

As I pulled open the thick wooden front door, we were met with the typical
soundtrack of a common bar; classic rock music, buzz of conversation, the hiss of
bottle caps being twisted off. It was more crowded than I had originally
anticipated, but then again it may have just been an illusion from the dim lighting
and small size of the room. It wasn't very big inside at all. A few dozen small
round tables were scattered haphazardly across the unpolished wooden floor with
a bar that spanned the entire back wall. Red paper cutout hearts were taped to
the walls for the upcoming holiday. There was one pool table, a dartboard and a
twenty inch boxy television that was suspended in the corner ceiling above the
bar showing a hockey game. It was a real dive. It smelled like cedar and whiskey
but to my surprise, there was something else in the air that actually made my
mouth water.

"Oh man, you smell that? It's incredible," I said to Jasper.

"Hugo Boss," he replied, lifting his wrist to my nose. I slapped it away. "I sprayed
some on my crotch, too. The ladies love it."

I ignored Jasper's comment and breathed in deeply again, but I couldn't pinpoint
the exact source. Whatever it was, I wanted to find it.

The crack of pool balls colliding into each other distracted my attention to the
other side of the room. A pair of Native American boys were standing around the
pool table acting like they were all that. I peered at them with scrutiny. They
were around twenty-one or twenty-two years old, and looked like they lived at
the gym. One of them actually wore a muscle tee that said "LaPush Body
Builders" on the front. They were huge, but their egos were even bigger. They
also had matching buzz cuts, probably to give more room to their fat heads. I
despised them instantly. They may have looked intimidating by human standards,
but their apparent strength was a fucking joke to us. We could have broken them
like toothpicks with one hand if we wanted to, and to be honest, I kinda already
did.

Gym shirt guy belched loudly as he pulled his mug of beer away from his mouth.
"Nice shot," he said, congratulating his friend on his awesomeness.

"I've been practicing," the other guy replied.

Jasper and I both looked at each other. I bet he has, Jasper thought at me, then
made a fist and pumped it up and down like he was jerking off.

I grinned and we made our way to the nearest table. Sitting back in my chair, I
stretched my legs out in front of me. I pulled off my knit cap and stuffed it in my
jacket pocket, then raked a hand through my hair as I looked around. I was still
curious about what smelled so good. Whatever it was, wasn't far away, and
despite my full stomach, I began to hunger for it like nothing I'd ever craved
before.

The jackasses by the pool table suddenly started howling like wolves, causing
everyone in the bar to turn and look their way.

"What a shot! Did you see that, baby? Wooooooo-ow-ow-aaaoooooo!" one of
them howled obnoxiously.

"Ugh! What's with those two? There should be a fee for being that irritating,"
Jasper said, sitting forward to rest his forearms on his knees. I was glad that he
matched my sentiment.

"The one in the gym shirt just cashed his paycheck. He's got at least five hundred
bucks on him," I offered.

Jasper cocked an eyebrow with intrigue. "You wanna play 'em?"

"Eh," I shrugged non-commitally, not particularly fond of interacting with those
morons. I was more interested in solving my own private mystery.

"Come on, I'm bored and I want their money," Jasper said, and stood up, already
having made the decision for us both. He was on his way over to the pool table
before I could object, so I stood up and followed as though I was in on the plan.

Jasper placed a small stack of quarters down on the edge of the table. "We're
taking the table next. Unless you guys wanna stick around and make it
interesting?"

They peered at us curiously.

"How interesting?" Gym shirt guy said, scrubbing the end of his cue with a cube
of chalk.

Jasper reached into his pocket and pulled out a crisp hundred dollar bill, then with
a flip of his fingers, another hundred fanned out from behind the first. "One for
each of you. You boys game?" Jasper raised an eyebrow with question.

The obnoxious duo glanced at each other then they both nodded, accepting the
challenge.

Fine. I'd play along. I was the one that wanted to come in this bar in the first
place so I couldn't really complain. Jasper handed me a pool cue from off the rack
on the wall and we made quick introductions.

Gym shirt guy was called Paul, and he broke, claiming solids for him and his
friend, Jake. He sank three of them before he missed, then it was my turn. I sank
two of our stripes effortlessly. I called my next shot and just as I pulled my arm
back, I caught a stronger whiff of that amazing scent again. I lifted my eyes to
the room and made a sloppy shot.

Jasper scowled at me when I missed. Dude, what the hell? That sucked.

I paid him no attention. Instead, I kept my eyes trained on the very pretty girl
with long brown hair and big brown eyes that was walking our way. As she

approached, there was no mistake about it that she was the owner of that mouth
watering aroma.

She stopped beside Jake and looked between him and Paul. "Guys, your tab is
still open. If you want anything else Lauren will take care of you," she said,
pointing to the waitress a few tables away. She then flipped the hood of her
winter coat up over her head, sending a rush of air over in my direction. Holy
hell, she smelled so fucking amazing! It took everything in me not to jump over
the pool table maul her right then. I clenched my jaws and pretended to be
indifferent to her presence.

"Aw, don't leave yet, Bella. How 'bout another beer, first?" Jake said giving her a
slimy smile. I narrowed my eyes at him feeling oddly possessive of the girl.

"Sorry, I'm done for the night. Ask Lauren, 'kay? I'm going home," she replied,
pulling on a pair of leather gloves as she spoke. She gave Jake a polite parting
smile.

"But it tastes so much better when you bring it to me," Jake answered with an
annoying exaggerated pout.

Bella ignored him and started to walk away, but Jake reached out and clamped
his hand around her wrist to stop her. Her body lightly jerked as he pulled her
back toward him. "Come on baby, just one more?"

A light gasp escaped her and the scent of her fear screamed to me, causing me
to salivate.

"Hey!" I barked at Jake from over the table. Both Jake and Bella startled at my
voice and turned to look at me. That's mine, I was tempted to say... "She said
she's done!"

Bella yanked her arm free from Jake's grip, and she looked back at me for a quick
moment before she hurried away, cursing under her breath. She pushed her way
through the crowd and I watched as she disappeared out the door.

I didn't know what had come over me. I never played the knight in shining armor
before without being able to use it against the girl. I was normally the one to eat
the princess, not protect her from the big bad wolf. Whatever. I shrugged off the
fleeting moment. What pissed me off more than anything was that the stinking
mongrel touched my food, and that it got away before I could have a taste,
myself.

Jake set both his hands on the edge of the pool table and leaned toward me. "You
have a problem, pretty boy?" he spat.

"Yeah, stop stalling and play your fucking turn!" I bit back, staring him down.

The daggers in his eyes cut through mine as he peered at me with malicious
intent. Normally, I would have been amused by his false notions that he could
actually take me, but I was too annoyed about having lost my chance at what
might have been the most delicious meal I could have ever experienced. I felt like
hauling him outside and ending him, but the thought of biting him made my
stomach turn. I'd rather suck on a used maxi pad than bring my mouth against
his stinking flesh.

Jasper picked up on my irritation, but he didn't make the connection to the girl.
These guys were annoying enough on their own, they didn't need reasons to be
more so. I was so damned worked up about Bella, but I tried to put it behind me,

so I channeled my frustrations into the game. Jasper and I kicked ass, and we
won the cash. Paul and Jake bet double or nothing, which we ended up collecting
as well.

Take that, jackasses. I shared a smirk with Jasper at our awesomeness as he
counted out our winnings.

Paul's temper steamed with his shattered pride but Jake looked as though he was
ready to give up and leave.

"You guys played a decent game. I feel bad taking your money," Jasper said,
laying the sarcasm on real thick.

Paul huffed then produced a small ring of keys from his pocket and removed one
from the clip. He tossed it onto the red felted table top.

"It belongs to a cherry 2004 Honda Civic Coupe. You win the next game and she's
yours."

Jasper looked at the key with disgust. "Please! Your car could suck your cock and
it still wouldn't compare to my ride. There's no chance in hell I'd put my classic
Mustang up against that piece of shit!" he said, picking up Paul's key and
throwing it back at him. "Stop embarrassing yourself. You lost, little doggie. Take
it like a man or walk away with your tail between your legs."

As if that wasn't enough, Jasper egged him on further by starting to bark at him.

I couldn't help myself. I just starting laughing. That shit was funny.

Paul's fist tightened around his pool cue. I thought that he might actually explode
or something by how he started shaking with rage. It was pretty funny to
witness, and our humored expressions only fueled him further. Before we could
find out if he was actually going to Hulk out, he stormed off.

"Let's get out of here," he told Jake in passing, still clutching to his pool cue. His
hand may have been permanently fused to it for all I knew.

Jake followed him but not without giving me a dirty look first. The fucking coward
didn't have the balls to say what he was thinking of me out loud, but I gave him a
look that told him I knew what he was thinking, anyway. Asshole. Fuck him.

"That was fun!" Jasper exclaimed when they were gone. "Did you see how angry
he was? I'm still buzzing off it!"

"Yeah. Fun."

I sniffed the air in hopes of finding a lingering trace of Bella's scent, but it had
already completely disappeared. I guess I just had to forget about her.

A few minutes later, we left the bar, and casually walked back up the road toward
the car, leaving civilization behind us in a matter of just a few steps. It had
started snowing again and the muffled sound of music coming from inside the bar
faded gradually as we left it behind. It was silent as death for a few moments,
then the sound of breaking glass made Jasper's spine stiffen.

"Alice!" he uttered with fear.

We both ran.

We found Jasper's Mustang completely totaled. Her tires were slashed, every
window was busted out, the body was dented to shit. The hood was popped open
and a pool cue was sticking out of the engine like a sword ran it through.

"Oh, fuck," I breathed and looked at Jasper. He had no words, but I felt his
lividity as though it were my own.

Across the street, Paul and Jake were just getting back into the Civic. They were
both sitting inside when they noticed us, but they barely had time to react before
Jasper decided to inflict his wrath. After pulling the pool cue out from the
Mustang's engine, Jasper barreled toward the Civic and jumped on the hood like a
wild animal. He wound his arm back then violently thrust forward, spearing the
pool cue through the windshield. It stabbed straight through Paul's shoulder and
buried deep into the driver's seat behind him. Paul screamed. Jake freaked out
and scrambled to open his door, then he stumbled out, landing ass first in the
snow.

"Holy fucking hell!" Jake yelled as he stood up, watching Jasper push the pool
stick deeper. Jake turned to run but I moved quickly and stood directly in front of
him. He collided into my chest and whatever breath he had left was knocked out
of him. I smiled sardonically as he watched me with a baffled expression,
wondering where I had materialized from. I grabbed both his wrists, crushing his
bones instantly within my grasp. He screamed in agony, and I yanked downward,
separating his shoulders from the sockets. I pushed him onto his back on the
ground and stepped on his chest with one foot just to hold him in place while he
writhed in pain beneath me. I looked up and saw Jasper lean forward through the
windshield and he fisted the front of Paul's jacket in both hands. Paul was still
screaming in pain and he turned his head sideways to look at me, searching for
my aid and sympathy.

"Help me," he pleaded pathetically, his eyes glistening with shock and fear.

"You went too far, asshole," I said, addressing Paul as well as the piece of shit
beneath my boot. And with that, I stepped down harder, plunging my foot right
through Jake's ribcage with a loud crack, killing him instantly.

Jasper ripped Paul violently through the windshield, allowing the glass to slice him
to shit. His body slid up along the pool cue like he was a piece of meat on a shish
kabob. Jasper turned Paul onto his back and slammed him across the hood of the
car so hard it dented inward a foot or so. He slid backward until he was standing
on the ground, then lowered his face over Paul's, meeting his eyes square in an
upside-down view.

Paul coughed blood and cried. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he sputtered and groaned.

Enraged that Paul was daring to speak, Jasper dug his fingers into the gaping
wound in Paul's shoulder, and tore sideways, creating a gash so deep that Paul's
arm was barely hanging on by the skin. He wailed in torment and pissed himself.
His blood poured rivers down the hood.

"Please. Please don't kill me!" Paul begged.

Fed up of Paul's voice, Jasper finally crushed his skull then threw his body from
the car, followed by a scream that punctuated his acquired vengeance. It clung in
the air for a moment before silence enveloped us again, and I was left staring at
Jasper with wonder as he attempted to calm himself.

Paul totally deserved Jasper's wrath for wrecking his car. I had no pity
whatsoever for the asshole, but the way my brother acted showed a whole new

shade of darkness I'd never seen from him before. He was like a crazed hell
hound and I wasn't sure whether to be freaked out or exhilarated by it. Even the
snow seemed to be falling more slowly, like the air was holding its breath to see
what Jasper would do next.

When Jasper finally lifted his eyes to meet mine, a twisted grin formed on his face
and he actually began to laugh in a maniacal fashion. "My car still looks better
than his!" he said, then stuck a cigarette between his lips. It took a couple tries
before his bloody fingers managed to ignite his lighter, and he cursed Paul's
remains for continuing to annoy him even after his death. "I think I saw a garage
back near the gas station," he recalled, staring at his wounded Mustang as he
blew smoke from the side of his mouth.

It looked like we were staying in town for at least a few days. Despite the fact
that we were stranded in nowheresville, I was kind of selfishly happy about it,
because it gave me an excuse to return to Sharks. If I played my cards just right,
I knew I could persuade the princess to serve me her last drink...

Chapter 5: Hushabye, Baby

It was three o'clock in the morning. Jasper and I walked back toward the quiet
little town, each of us with a large duffle bag slung over our shoulder. They
contained all our belongings; mainly clothes, our cash and some toiletries.
Thankfully, they had remained undiscovered by Paul and Jake in the trunk, and
undamaged from their attack. We had pushed the Civic containing their corpses
onto the tracks, and allowed a freight train to take the blame for their eviscerated
bodies.

We changed out of our bloodied clothes before we reached what passed for
civilization, then waited for the garage to open. Jasper didn't say much to me all
night. He busied himself by replaying Paul's death in his mind. Usually when
Jasper had something on repeat, it was to hide some underlying thought from
me, but this time, I think it was more a form of therapy for him. He must have
killed Paul five-hundred times or so in the span of a few hours, and each time he
replayed it became more bloody and intricate as he thought up creative ways to
disembowel him. I kept my mouth shut and let him play out his fantasy in peace.

At seven, the owner of the garage showed up and got a tow truck to pick up the
Mustang. Technically, we could have just gotten another car if we really wanted
to get out of here, but Alice was Jasper's baby. He'd had her since before I even
knew him. Driving another car would be like cheating on her, and I knew better
than to even suggest it. After Jasper had repeatedly insisted that his car be
treated with the best of care, we booked a room at the motel a couple blocks
down the street. It would be a few days, at least, before the repairs would be
complete.

I turned the key to unlock room 2A and we dumped our bags on the floor. I sat
down on the double bed farthest from the door, then looked at Jasper. He was on
take six-hundred and twelve of Paul's death and still had yet to speak to me. He
shut the door and walked between the beds, taking a seat on the other one, so
we directly faced each other.

Suddenly, it was like a switch flipped inside him. He reached over, grabbed the
lamp from the bedside table and threw it across the room. It shattered to pieces
against the wall.

I stared at the broken remains on the floor. "I know the lamp was tacky, but it's
not like we're staying at the Borgata or anything," I joked, hoping to lighten the
mood.

"This is all your fault," Jasper growled venomously.

I looked at him incredulously. "My fault?"

Jasper stood back up and began to pace in front of me. "Let me give you a
lesson, Cullen. It's called, The difference between a good idea and a bad idea."

I narrowed my eyes at him. I wasn't liking his belligerence.

"A good idea, was going to a casino in Atlantic City," he continued. "That was
mine, by the way. Now, what did we get out of that idea? Let me think..." He held
his chin as he pretended trying to remember the outcome. "Oh, right. About four
grand and a fucking threesome! A bad idea — your idea — was going to a shitty,
blood-bag infested dive in the middle of fucking nowhere, that led to my car to
getting murdered!" he shouted, and glared at me in accusation.

I stood up in front of him in defiance. "That's bullshit! I didn't even want to play
those guys!" I yelled back indignantly.

"All that money we won? Gone! 'Cause now we have to use it to pay for your
mistake!" he said, disregarding my defense. "That's the last time I listen to you!"

Jasper's irrational anger fueled mine, and even though I sincerely felt bad about
Alice being totaled, I couldn't find it in me to bite my tongue. "What the fuck,
Jas? If you hadn't bragged about your car, Alice would still be in one piece. And
I'm pretty sure barking at those guys didn't help your case. Don't put that shit on
me!"

"Whatever, Cullen. Why don't you go enjoy this bustling metropolis of shit you've
got us stuck in. I'm sick of arguing about this. Say hi to the rednecks for me," he
fumed and turned away dismissively.

I didn't need this bullshit. I took his advice and left the motel room without
another word so he could sulk by himself. It was much easier to deal with Jasper
when he was being an irritating dick just to get a rise out of me. When he got
genuinely upset over something it was like the end of the world — the one that
apparently revolved around him.

I pulled my hood over my head and buried my hands deep into my coat pockets
as I took to the street. I needed something to distract myself with but it didn't
take long to realize that there really wasn't anything to fucking do around here.
After watching the sign for the price of gas get changed and two crows fighting
over half a donut, I was ready to add this town to my list of places never to set
foot in again.

I focused on the only good thing to come out of this situation, which was having
the opportunity to run into Bella again. The mere thought of it caused me to
salivate. I'd been having more quick kills than usual lately and I was hankering
for some seasoned blood. She was cute. I really wouldn't mind having a piece of
that ass, either. Yeah, she'd be a hell of a lot of fun to play with...

I was lost in my thoughts about what I would do to Bella when I started to feel
warm. I noticed the shape of my own shadow on the ground in front of me and
realized that the sun had broken through the clouds. I turned and looked at the
sky to discover there weren't any more clouds to shelter me. I weighed my

options. Melting under the sun seemed a hell of a lot more pleasant than being
Jasper's punching bag, but I wasn't about to let his temper tantrum make me
suffer more than I had to. If he didn't want me near him then he could go bake in
the sun himself. Fuck that shit. Hopefully the hour or so that I was gone was
enough to have allowed Jasper to cool down.

Ducking my head, I turned around and walked back toward the motel, attempting
to shield as much sun from my face as I could manage. When I entered our
room, I was prepared for more arguing, but instead I found Jasper hanging
upside-down off the end of the couch watching TV with a goofy smile plastered to
his face.

"You know what's better than Plinko?" he said without even looking at me.
"Upside-down Plinko!"

He motioned for me to join him. After a moment of hesitation I made my way
over to the couch and sat down beside him. I swiveled myself around, propped
my legs up against the wall and tilted my head backward just like my moronic
brother.

We watched the round plastic disk bounce around the game board on screen,
seemingly defying gravity from our point of view. When it came to a stop, Jasper
looked at me in expectation.

After a beat of silence, we both erupted in together, and just like that, things
were good between us again. I decided not to look the gift horse in the mouth. I
was just thankful that Jasper decided to take his head out of his ass. And I had to
admit... upside-down Plinko was pretty cool.

After calling the garage for an update on Alice's status, we fucked around the
motel room trying to find ways of keeping ourselves entertained until the sun
went down. Around eight o'clock we were both getting quite hungry and since
there was really only one place to go to acquire seasoned food, we headed back
to Sharks for the second time. Being there again was strange in it's own, since
we never revisited places we'd been before. It was like Groundhog Day. The same
kind of music was playing, same buzz of conversation... only this time my spirits
dropped, because the only thing I smelled was the cedar and whiskey. No Bella.

Though he didn't tell me to my face, Jasper intended to keep his actions limited
to those least likely to backfire on him. Thankfully, he had completely vented all
of his frustrations and we were back to being best friends again, though he was
still sulking at the absence of his car. You'd think someone had cut off his dick or
something.

I squeezed his shoulders then took a seat beside him at the bar. He needed a
pick-me-up, but on a completely selfish note, I also just wanted to occupy him
with someone else before he decided to snag the girl I wanted to go after again...
wherever she was.

"You need something to make you feel better," I told him as I eyed the crowd.
"What about her?" I nodded toward a young blond woman sitting at the far end of
the bar. She sat cross-legged on her stool facing outward, and we both stole a
shameless glance at her ruby red panties that peeked out from beneath the hem
of her short dress.

Jasper's interest was instantly piqued and he easily fell back into his usual
routine. With his elbow propped up on the counter, he rested his chin in his palm
and watched the girl intently. When her eyes fell in line with his, he lifted two of

his fingers up in front of his mouth and lewdly pushed his tongue between them
in a sexually suggestive manner.

The girl gave him a look of complete disgust and spun herself to face away from
him.

I chuckled quietly at her reaction. "That's probably not the best approach to reel
her in, Jas," I said.

"Maybe not, but now I've got her imagining my head between her thighs."

I sighed dismissively, wondering if I would ever understand the way Jasper
worked.

"Tell me I'm wrong!" Jasper challenged with a smirk.

I stole a glance at the young woman again and peered into her mind. Granted, I
could have done without the visual. My lack of reply was all the confirmation
Jasper needed.

His grin widened smugly. "The power of suggestion."

At least Jasper had a project to keep himself occupied for the night. My mission
was accomplished. Well, half of it, anyway. About thirty minutes later I was
beginning to lose my hopes that Bella was working tonight. I was tempted to ask
if she was going to be in, but it would have been stupid to call myself out like
that. So, I waited. It's not like there was anything else to do. Jasper had since
then sat down next to the blond girl and managed to get her to warm up to him. I
was alone at the bar, pretending to sip my drink, really not interested in hunting
down an alternate. I couldn't get Bella's scent out of my head.

Luckily for me, Bella's name made an appearance in the disgruntled thoughts of
the bartender as he wondered when his employee would show up. Apparently,
she was late coming in, and I smiled to myself as I waited just as eagerly for her
arrival.

A few short minutes later, Bella casually walked through the door. Her glorious
aroma ravaged my senses once again, nearly making me undone. She was like a
concentrated dose of pure pleasure and it was making me fucking high. I was
already addicted, and I wouldn't give up until I'd savored her completely. I
wanted her blood more badly than anyone's I'd ever craved, and the idea that I
could amplify my sensation even more by playing with her was like icing on the
cake.

She joined her boss behind the counter. He watched her like a hawk as she
shrugged out of her coat and hung it on a rack on the wall, then he walked up
close to her to speak so the bar patrons couldn't hear... but I could...

"That's three days in a row that you're late, Bella. I'm taking it out of your tips.
Now get your skinny ass to work," he growled, then turned away from her.

Bella glared at him as he retreated to what I assumed was the back office. Her
eyes were full of fire and contempt but what surprised me was that was all I saw.
If I was her I would be thinking of how much I'd want to crack a beer bottle over
my boss's head, or at the very least I'd be throwing every profanity I knew at
him, but her thoughts were completely silent.

The buzz of voices inside the bar made it harder to listen in on individual
thoughts, but when I forced myself to concentrate, I definitely wasn't getting

anything from her mind, and that completely threw me for a loop. I had never
come across that situation before and it just made me more intrigued with her
than I originally had been.

A trio of middle-aged truckers sitting at the bar directly in front Bella didn't waste
any time ordering from her, and she had her hands full filling pitchers of beer for
them while I stayed focused on trying to read her thoughts. She wore a friendly
smile despite her confrontation with her boss only moments ago and even though
I couldn't hear them, I imagined her thoughts were still sour. She wore her mask
well though, and gave off a friendly and even flirtatious vibe as she worked. It
stumped me as to why I couldn't get anything from her. I could still read the
minds of everyone else around me, but for some reason I wasn't able to break
into hers.

When she finished filling the truckers' orders, she made her way down the bar in
my direction and stopped in front of me. She looked just as good as she smelled.
Her long dark hair was tied into a ponytail that fell forward over her left shoulder.
The ends of it brushed just above the word 'Sharks' that was embroidered in red
across her black t-shirt just above her breast. My gaze lingered there a little
longer before I lifted it back up to her face. Her eyes were rimmed with black
eyeliner and dark shadows that gave her a sexy edge without being too dramatic.
I smiled in approval of the encompassing details of her entire being. Fuck, I
wanted to have her. So. Fucking. Badly.

"Hi," I greeted suavely when her eyes fell in line with mine.

She gave me a look of recognition as she smiled back. "Hey... You were in here
yesterday," she noted.

"You remember."

"It would be hard to forget a face like yours," she said cutely, though I had to
wonder if she was saying it just to get me to buy more drinks. "I'm more
impressed that you decided to come back here. This place isn't exactly a hot
tourist spot."

"My car broke down," I said, slightly bending the truth. "I'm kinda stuck in town
for a little while."

"Wow. Talk about your bad luck."

"I wouldn't say that. The sights might be lame but the view in here is lovely," I
said, giving her a little flirtatious smile. That got me a little grin out of her, but it
seemed a bit cynical. And that was just the thing... I couldn't know for sure if she
thought what I said was charming, or if she was rolling her eyes at me inside her
head. I wasn't accustomed to being uncertain where I stood with my prey, and it
made me a little uneasy. I was going to have to play this game with a different
set of rules.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Edward."

"I'm Bella." She placed two empty shot glasses down in front of me and filled
them up with Jack Daniels. "Here. I hope your luck turns around soon," she said,
and lifted one of the glasses to me. "On the house."

I smiled and took it from her. She brought the other to her mouth and quickly
knocked it back. I watched her head tilt back and eyed the column of her throat
for the half-second it was exposed to me.

When she placed the shot glass back down on the counter, she raised her
eyebrows at me. "What? You don't like Jack?" she said, noting the fact that I
hadn't drank my shot. "Would you prefer something pink instead? Maybe with a
little umbrella?" she teased. At least I hoped she was fucking teasing and not
actually insulting me. Fuck, it was strange not knowing for sure. She was right
about one thing though. I did want something pink. I smirked then downed my
shot.

"You need a chaser?" she goaded again, probably having caught my ill attempt at
masking my distaste for the alcoholic flavor. I actually could have used one, but
it's not like they bottled O neg.

"I'm good," I insisted. Man, this girl liked to ride me. I just hoped it would be in
another context as well. "So, straight whiskey, huh?" I commented on her drink
of choice.

"It takes the strong stuff to help me tolerate this place," she said quietly with a
knowing smile. "But you're helping a little, too. Most guys who come in here look
like...that..." She turned her eyes to the end of the bar where the truckers were
gathered and scrunched up her nose in disgust. Their long greasy hair stuck out
from underneath knit hats and it looked like they hadn't shaved in years. Their
pungent body odor was barely masked by the liquor they consumed and their
yellowed smiles even gave me the creeps. Her hatred of her job reminded me of
a life I left behind and I could understand her need to dull the reality of having to
work here.

Bella then leaned forward and rested her hips against the bar, leaning her
forearms across the counter top. I couldn't help but let my gaze travel down the
front of her shirt again. She was close enough that I could lean forward and taste
her mouth if I wanted to, and she grinned as though she was reading my
thoughts.

"Gotta say, Edward, you're easy on the eyes. I'm a bit selfishly happy that your
car broke down..." she added boldly, looking at me with her big brown eyes.

Wow. It was my turn to raise my eyebrows. It was completely new for me to be
genuinely surprised by what someone said. It was intriguing. She was a little flirt,
alright, and if what she was saying was really sincere, this was going to be a lot
easier than I thought.

"Bella!" her boss suddenly called to her in a stern voice. Bella backed off the
counter to look at him, then back to me.

"Gimme a sec?"

I nodded, then watched as she approached her boss, appreciating how nice her
ass looked in her cute short denim skirt. I narrowed my eyes as I eavesdropped
on their conversation.

"Do I look like a pimp?" her boss snapped at her.

"What?"

"Stop acting like a fucking hooker. We serve beer here, not lap dances."

"Marcus, I wasn't—"

"I pay you to serve drinks not flirt with customers. Keep the chit chat to a
minimum, hear me? People can't buy their booze if you're not around to serve
them. Do your fucking job or get the fuck out. You think it's hard for me to find
someone to replace you? You're working on my last nerve, Bella!"

"Alright. I'm sorry," Bella relented.

"Take Lauren's section," he commanded, sending Bella to wait on the tables at
the opposite end of the room.

Bella turned from him and gave me a defeated look then shook her head
apologetically. I watched as she made her way around to the other tables. Her
demeanor was visibly beaten down. Every so often she'd look my way, but only
for a split second. I don't know why I cared so much, but it pissed me off that her
boss stole her spirit. I felt the urge to spare Bella from the same bullshit I once
shared, but it was a fleeting thought. What difference would it make since I was
planning to kill her, anyway?

I glanced across the room to see how Jasper was faring with his prey. He was still
talking with her, and she was picturing the same thought that she had about him
earlier. I figured it wouldn't be long before Jasper was going to be eating his
dinner, and I wondered how long it would be before I could enjoy mine.

A little while later, Bella disappeared in back and I stood up and pulled my jacket
on. I went out the front door and rounded the building to the rear. Just as I
suspected, I found Bella standing outside by herself taking a smoke break. Her
hood was pulled up over her head and she bounced her knees lightly as she tried
to keep warm. Her bare legs were covered in goosebumps as the cold wind licked
her skin. Funny. I never thought I'd ever be jealous of wind.

As I walked closer, I smirked as I wondered what other parts of her must have
become perky.

"So, your boss is kind of a dick," I offered.

She lifted her head at the sound of my voice and smiled. The fur lining of her
hood shook in the cold wind.

"I guess I'm just prone to abusive relationships."

I frowned. "Oh, is he your..."

"Ew! God, no! I just meant that assholes seem to gravitate toward me."

Her statement caused me to stop walking short. I took a few steps backward and
she laughed. That was a good sign.

"I didn't mean you. Marcus is always a dick, and of course there was that guy last
night who grabbed me." She sucked on her cigarette and rolled her eyes as she
exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Thanks for that by the way. I mean, I was gonna
knee him in the balls if you hadn't said anything, but I doubt he had anything
between his legs, anyway."

I laughed then leaned casually against the side of the dumpster next to her and
lit my own cigarette.

"I don't think he'll be bothering you anymore," I said as I pictured Jake's bloody
corpse beneath my foot.

She just shrugged.

I adjusted my hat and looked around, realizing that I could easily drink from her
right now if I wanted to. We were completely secluded, but I was too curious
what she could offer me in a more intimate setting, and by the way she was
acting with me earlier I was pretty sure I would be able to obtain it.

"So, is it a habit of yours to stalk girls in dark alleys or am I just the lucky first?"
she wondered.

I smiled around my cigarette. "I usually don't go to such efforts," I replied. And it
wasn't even a lie. Most of my kills naturally flocked toward me, but Bella was
more than worth the chase if that's what it came down to. She was a puzzle for
me. A challenge. A new toy. I wanted to solve the riddle then reap the rewards.

"A guy that goes for what he wants. I like that."

We became trapped in a silent stare. I had a feeling she was trying to figure me
out just as much as I was her.

"That's my story..." I admitted after a moment. "What's yours?" I asked.

Why can't I read your thoughts?

"That's a loaded question. Let's see," she said, and took another drag from her
cigarette before she continued. "I'm twenty-three, virgo, only child. My parent's
divorced when I was still in Pull-Ups. I put hot sauce on pretty much everything
and I only sleep well when I'm completely naked. Anything else you wanna
know?" she grinned.

I returned one coated with a suggestive look. "Maybe a couple more things..."

She snuffed out her cigarette on the brick wall then peered at me
contemplatively. "I have about a minute left before Marcus loses his shit and
comes after me," she said, then licked over her bottom lip. "I lock up tonight...
The place should be empty by three. You can ask me then. I'll leave this door
open for you."

Bella pulled open the heavy metal door and stepped back inside before waiting
for my answer. Was she cocky enough to assume I would accept her proposal, or
did she even care either way? The ambiguity of it was unnerving yet equally
tantalizing. This girl wanted to play games? Well, so did I, and I always won. I
would accept her invitation to return later, and that's when I'd collect my prize.

I walked back to the motel but paused just outside the door of our room. There
were noises coming from inside and I knew Jasper was in there... and he wasn't
alone. It seemed as though he was enjoying the live version of what I had
already witnessed in his prey's mind earlier.

I retreated one step before I heard Jasper's voice in my mind. The walls are thin.
Someone will hear her scream. Get in here and help me out, Jasper said to me
with his thoughts. He was right, though. A person didn't need super hearing to
hear this woman moaning from just outside the door. Luckily for me I was in a
good mood, so I wasn't even annoyed at his request. The idea that I would be
enjoying Bella later kept me in a perpetual high.

I quietly opened the door and found the young blond woman laying on her back
sideways across one of the beds with her dress shrugged up to her waist. Jasper
was kneeling on the floor at the edge of the mattress with his head planted right

between her parted thighs. She moaned encouragingly as she bucked her hips
rhythmically against his mouth.

As I closed the door and the lock clicked, the girl opened her eyes and they
landed on mine. However, instead of showing embarrassment, she seemed
excited by my being there. I walked over slowly and she blinked lazily at me,
licking her lips and watching me with anticipation. She tilted her head back
against the mattress, panting hard as Jasper worked on her. I knelt down on the
floor behind her and she kept her eyes trained on mine. They were glazed over
with lust and intoxication. With a devilish grin, I brought my pinky finger to her
lips and lightly traced the contour of her open mouth. First her top lip, then the
lower, slowly gliding along the warm, wet flesh. I snuck the tip of my finger past
the edge of her mouth and let her suck on it a bit, just long enough to enjoy her
thoughts of putting her mouth around my cock.

In my mind, Jasper started counting down from ten, warning me how much time
was left before he was going to make a meal out of her femoral artery. I removed
my finger and placed my palm flat against the girl's mouth and my other hand
down on her shoulder to keep her in place. Her eyes adopted a look of confusion,
then got wide when Jasper sank his teeth into her flesh. Her muffled screams
fought to escape from behind my palm as I held her down. She passed out from
fear and pain before her heart stopped and I released my hold and stood back
up.

I slumped down onto the couch as Jasper ate his second course. Despite my own
pang of hunger that surfaced by watching Jasper feed, I held back the urge to
steal a taste. Not that he would have let me if I tried. Even though I helped
silence his kill, he wasn't willing to share the meal with me, but I didn't give a
shit this time. I had something more appetizing waiting in the wings, and if there
ever was a time that I was willing to hold back to appreciate the best possible
flavor, it was now.

Something told me I was in for the best tasting feast ever known to me, and the
anticipation itself was making me as high as Bella's scent had. I couldn't wait to
see how it would be once I got her all worked up.

Jasper sat back on his heels when he was done. He was a bloody mess. Sticky
strands of ruddied hair laid plastered to his face. "Simply delicious," he said, and
smiled at me with ruby painted teeth.

My thoughts exactly.

Chapter 6: Bella and the Beast

Time never played much importance to me since I was bestowed with an eternity
of it, but the hours until I was to see Bella again seemed to drag on relentlessly. I
couldn't help but mull over the possibilities of our upcoming encounter as the
time ticked by. To distract myself from the torturous anticipation, I helped Jasper
clean up the mess he made with his last kill. I revealed my plans to meet up with
Bella, however, I didn't divulge just exactly how much I was looking forward to it.
The last thing I wanted was for him to sabotage it in some way. I simply told him
that I had hit it off with a waitress at Sharks and was returning at closing time for
a late dinner. He didn't interrogate me further, and for that I was grateful. He
sensed that I was famished, but he just left it at that.

At five minutes to three, I left the motel and walked down the street to Sharks. I
lit up a cigarette on my way there and listened to the snow crunch beneath my

steps. The parking lot was empty except for Bella's car. At least I assumed it was
hers. I made my way around the building to the back entrance and flicked the
rest of my cigarette into the snow next to the door. I had been paranoid of the
possibility that Bella might have been bluffing about her intentions of leaving the
back door open for me, but when I pulled on the handle I was pleased to discover
that she had kept to her promise.

The door opened into a short, narrow hallway, about twelve feet long. Directly at
the end of it was the door that lead into the bar. Beyond it, I could hear Bella
walking around, possibly collecting lingering beer bottles or whatever it was she
had to do. Instead of going out there to meet her, I peered into the second room
to my right. The door was slightly ajar and I pushed it open just enough so I
could slip inside. It was an office that I assumed belonged to her boss, Marcus.
The small room was dark except for the sliver of fluorescent light that filtered in
from the hallway. There was a desk opposite the door with a leather chair tucked
underneath it. A tall filing cabinet sat next to it with a Sports-Illustrated calendar
taped to the side. Directly to the right of the entrance was a long couch. I
shrugged out of my coat and dropped it there, then took a seat on the far end
and leaned back, casually stretching my legs out in front of me. I chuckled a bit
to myself because it kind of felt like I was in a waiting room. I had to admit, this
was the most anticipated appointment I'd ever taken.

Just then, I heard the door that connected to the bar swing open, and Bella's
footsteps approached from the hallway. She accidentally bumped her hip against
the doorknob as she walked into the office where I was sitting. A ring of keys fell
to the ground and she cursed as she bent down to retrieve them. I leered
shamelessly as her short skirt rode up the back of her thighs. When she stood up,
she was completely still as though listening for something. Her back was facing
me and I remained silent, curious of her next movements.

When she turned around a moment later, she discovered my presence, but she
looked as though she wasn't surprised to see me sitting there. I was kind of
looking forward to jump-starting her heart rate by startling her, but apparently I
wouldn't be enjoying that bonus.

"Hello, Edward," she said with a smile. "Been here long?"

"Just got here," I replied, maintaining my casual pose on the couch.

"I didn't hear you come in."

"I'm good like that."

Bella tossed the ring of keys onto the desk and stood with arms akimbo.
"Apparently so."

I eyed her once up and down. She had nice slender figure and the way she was
standing really showed it off. Man, this girl had a wild effect on me, and the fact
that I couldn't read her mind drove me crazy. She was definitely going to be a
challenge.

"You're a puzzling thing, you know that?" I remarked, voicing my thoughts to her.

"Oh?"

I nodded. "I've been wondering about you all night, actually," I said in a hushed
voice. "You really intrigue me."

Bella cocked her head. "I do?" I noted that she hadn't moved from where she
stood since the moment she discovered my presence.

"Mm-hm. I mean, look at you... All alone in the dark... with a stranger you just
met..." I spoke slowly. "You're not at all worried that something bad might
happen to you?"

She narrowed her eyes playfully. "Did you come back to kill me, Edward?"

I blinked, but gave nothing away in my expression.

Bella seemed unaffected by my ambiguity. She shrugged. "Hmm, well if you did,
at least something would be happening to me. Nothing ever happens here. Good
or bad, you think I give I a shit?" she said.

I cocked an eyebrow at her lack of self preservation and wondered if she was just
trying to look brave. She couldn't seriously have been so indifferent about losing
her life. She mustn't have felt like she was in any real danger. I was tempted to
change my game and scare her blood hot just to see if she'd beg for her life, but
fucking the girl seemed a lot more enjoyable, so I abandoned the idea quickly.

"Why did you ask me to come here, Bella?" I asked her.

Bella adopted an amused expression and looked at me like the answer should
have been obvious. "A girl's gotta make her own excitement around here. Let's
just cut to the chase, Edward. I asked you to come 'cause I'm bored, and you
looked like fun," she admitted with another cute shrug. She finally broke her pose
and walked toward me until both her legs stood on either side of my right thigh.
"At least as fun as the vibe I keep in my night stand," she added.

My need to seduce this girl was apparently non-existent. She was making it easy
for me to get what I wanted from her. All she wanted was a lay, and I had
absolutely no problem with giving her one. The side of my mouth ticked upward
into a sly grin and I tilted my leg until it touched hers.

"So, why did you come back?" Bella wondered.

I leaned forward off the backrest and looked up into her eyes. "I was curious."

"About what?" she whispered.

"About what you taste like."

Bella just looked at me, and hint of a smile played on her lips. I could hear her
heart quickening, and a familiar yearning began to brew up inside me. She
already smelled even more incredible and it was difficult to keep myself from just
tearing her to pieces. I almost felt like a newborn again with the way my urges
screamed so intensely within me.

But I wanted a bigger payoff... and I wasn't going to lie... I really wanted to be
inside of her before I tore her insides out.

I licked my lip and brought my palm to her inner thigh just above her knee.
Goosebumps rose across her flesh but she quickly became accustomed to my
touch as my hand absorbed the warmth of her skin. She rested her hand on my
shoulder and leaned a bit toward me, urging me to continue. I slid my hand
upward along her leg and crept it beneath the hem of her skirt. I kept going until
my fingers met the soft cotton material of her panties at the apex of her thighs.

Bella's breath caught and she sucked her bottom lip under her teeth as I rubbed
her over her panties. After a bit of teasing, I slid my fingers underneath the
elastic band then buried two of them into her inviting warmth as far as her body
would allow. She made soft breathy noises as I rhythmically repeated the
movement, all the while keeping my eyes locked on hers. I secured my other
hand at the back of her thigh where her leg met the bottom of her ass, and she
began to rock her hips, countering my touch.

It had been a long time since I pleasured a girl without her thoughts guiding me
on how to touch her. Girls in the past were amazed at how I'd known exactly how
and where to touch, to lick, how much pressure to use and how fast to go. Sure, I
was cheating, but it's not like they ever complained. Though I didn't have the
same luxury with Bella, I'd learned a thing or two on how to touch a woman to
make her moan, and by the sound of her shallow rapid breathing I was pretty
confident I was on the right track.

Without meaning to, I realized that I had added extra levels in this game I was
playing with Bella. Not only did I just want to drink her blood anymore, but it
became a personal goal to get her off first by my own accord. To be completely
honest, I wanted to get off by her too. I wanted her to keep surprising me. I was
beginning to really love the feeling of it. Or maybe the feeling I was focused on
was the warm, wet one surrounding my fingers. Either way, it was fucking
awesome.

Bella balled her fists tightly around my shirt and I could feel her body beginning
to climb toward orgasm. But just because I'm cruel, I removed my fingers before
she could reach it. She gasped at the loss of contact and groaned in response to
my action, clearly wanting more from me.

I brought my hand to my mouth, and licked the fingertips that had been inside of
her. That seemed to distract her from her train of thought, and she watched with
intrigue as I grinned at her. She probably thought I'd been satisfied to discover
how she tasted, when in reality, it was another flavor that truly intrigued me.

Bella then took a couple steps back and reached under her skirt to pull down her
panties. "What else are you curious about?" she prompted.

I stood up and grabbed her hips, bringing my chest right up against hers, then
walked against her until her body met the desk. Turning her around, I set my
hands on either side of her on the desktop, and pressed my pelvis up against her
ass. My fingers twisted into her ponytail and slowly pulled the elastic band off to
release her hair. It fell back over her shoulders and set free a fresh wave of her
appetizing scent. I swept her hair off her neck and brought my nose to the back
of her ear, then breathed in deeply. Her blood hummed just beneath the surface
of her skin. "Fuck, you smell so good," I uttered hungrily, and teased her skin
with the tip of my tongue.

She shivered. "You're a little intense, aren't you?" she noted, and tilted her head
more sideways for me.

I wanted to be inside her. Right now.

I unzipped my jeans and bent her over the desk, then lifted her skirt up to rest
against her lower back, only to find the words "Kiss me" tattooed in cursive
writing on her left ass cheek.

"I could say the same about you," I replied, with a smile in my words.

With that, I thrust myself into her, and Bella treated me to the sexiest moan I'd
ever heard in my entire existence. Her arms fanned out at her sides and she
grabbed the edge of the desk with both hands for support. Her fingers curled
underneath the lip and I even heard her nails scratch along the wood. She
wanted to get right to the point? Well, I gave it to her. I gave it to her over and
over, and fuck, she felt so nice around my dick. I uttered a drawn out groan of
pleasure at the feeling and squeezed at her hips.

Bella dropped her right arm from the edge of the desk and pushed it between her
legs to play with herself as I thrust back and forth inside her. Fuck, it was so hot
knowing she was touching herself, but I also felt quite unnerved by it. Moving my
hand over hers, I encircled her wrist and pulled it away from her body. Then I
whispered into her ear, "I don't need your help to make you come," I promised.

She turned her head to look at me from the corner of her eye. "Yeah? Prove it,"
she panted in challenge.

I growled and pulled out of her, then spun her around forcefully to face me. I
took her face in my palms, tilting her head up to mine, and crashed my mouth
against hers in our first kiss. The hunger in her lips nearly matched my own as
she sucked on my mouth as though she were starved.

I picked her up and pressed her against the wall perpendicular to the desk. Her
legs wrapped around my waist and I dug my fingers hard into her thighs as I held
her up. I slid myself back inside her hot, slick body and we cursed in unison as I
continued to fuck her. Her arms tangled behind my head, her fingers raked wildly
through my hair as her mouth continued to ravage mine.

Her heart was racing, her body was burning hot. She was definitely as seasoned
as much as she could possibly be, yet I kept waiting for a more perfect moment
to taste her. I wanted to savor her blood so badly, but something kept pulling
back on my leash. I became greedy. I was convinced that Bella was growing
more flavorful with each fucking thrust and I just couldn't find it in me to cut the
game short. I gnashed my teeth together and took her more aggressively in
response to my desires.

Then it happened. She came. And she fucking came hard. She swore like a
fucking sailor as she rode out her orgasm, and that made me come undone,
myself. I lowered my face into the crook of her neck as she fisted the hair at the
back of my head, and again, I still waited for the perfect moment to sink my
teeth into her flesh.

"Edward?" she said, breathlessly after an extended moment of silence.

"What?" I said, my lips brushing against her neck as I spoke.

"You can kill me now if you want to."

And with her permission, I bared my lips off my teeth.

Chapter 7: On Borrowed Time

I faltered. For the first time ever, I fucking hesitated to seize my kill.

My mouth was at her pulse. Her heartbeat thrummed wildly against my lips. Just
one scrape of my teeth would break her skin and spill her blood over my tongue,
but my body forbade the action. I didn't want to kill her.

Yet.

One hit wasn't enough. I wanted more. The high I got from Bella was so fucking
incredible, and I was hooked. Her scent, her body, my inexplicable need to figure
her out... All of it. I wasn't ready to let go... just yet.

I had a fun new toy and wanted to play with it a little longer. By her last
statement, I was positive that it wouldn't be hard to convince her to let me. As
unnerving as it was not being able to see into her mind, it was equally as
intriguing to discover what was underneath the surface.

And speaking of underneath the surface, I couldn't possibly kill her before I saw
her naked...

I licked her neck where I had intended to bite instead, then brought my lips to
her ear.

"We're doing this again." I declared.

"Shit, Edward. Let me catch my breath first."

Bringing my face in front of hers, I grasped her bottom lip in my mouth and
sucked gently before releasing it. "Not now. Tomorrow. Go home. Sleep. I'm not
nearly finished with you yet."

"That's ambitious of you," she replied.

"I don't hear you refusing me."

Before I set her down on the floor, I pushed my hips forward, driving myself
deeper inside of her one last time. Her breath hitched at the sensation and I
grinned smugly as I put her back on her feet again.

"Show off," she said, adjusting her skirt.

"So, what do you say, princess?" I said, zipping my jeans back up.

Bella rested back against the wall and tongued the corner of her mouth. "Are you
asking for a second date? 'Cause I don't do relationships."

"Who said anything about a relationship? We're having fun here, right? I just
want some more of it," I said honestly, peering into her eyes. "I'll be out of here
in a few days, anyway. Why not have a little excitement until then?"

She looked so delicious the way she sucked her lip between her teeth while she
deliberated. Her body heat radiated between us and I subconsciously moved
closer to her, wanting to feel the warmth.

I watched her expectantly, waiting for her answer. I had nothing to lose. If she
really didn't want to see me again then I would cut my losses and just bleed her
dry right here and now. However, I was encouraged by the way lips curled
upward with interest, and I was certain that I'd be hearing her moan my name
again in the very near future.

"Alright," she nodded. "But I don't work tomorrow. You got a room somewhere?"

"At the motel a few blocks down. But it's no good. My brother will be there."

"Okay, then. We'll go to my place. I'll pick you up around noon," she said, then
put her hand on my chest and lightly pushed me back. "Just don't go falling in

love with me. I don't want to have to break your heart." She walked to the couch
and picked up my coat.

I grinned. "Oh, I dunno. I think when the time comes for me to leave you'll be
the one begging me to stay."

"Wow. You're so fucking cocky," she jested, and handed me my coat.

I put it on, then pulled my knit cap from the pocket and slipped it over my sex-
messed hair. "Say that word again."

"What? Cocky?"

"Yeah... I really like that word in your mouth."

Bella tugged on my hat until it covered my eyes. "Get out of here before I change
my mind."

Jasper was sitting on the couch (right side up this time) watching TV when I
returned to the motel room. He barely glanced at me as I walked in, but it was
enough for him to realize something was off with me.

"Didn't you go screw that waitress?" Jasper frowned in confusion over my eyes
still looking black.

I sighed and sat down on one of the beds. I thought it was smarter to hold my
motive for keeping Bella alive to myself, so I made something up to keep Jasper
from interrogating me. "I did, but her boss walked in on us, so I couldn't finish
her. It really wasn't worth the hassle to slaughter them both, so I just took off," I
lied.

"That's rough," Jasper replied apathetically. His attention had been drawn to the
infomercial playing on TV. "Hey, does OxiClean work on blood? That last chick
ruined my favorite shirt."

"I think so," I answered offhandedly, then sprawled on my back and stared at the
ceiling.

It felt strange lying to Jasper. We usually bragged about our victims and the
methods we'd used to ensnare them, but the thing was, Bella didn't feel like just
a random kill to me. She was definitely something different, something new and
exciting, and if Jasper knew that he'd be more than likely to fuck with me. The
last thing I wanted was for him to pull his usual shit and steal her from me, and
there was no fucking way I was going to share her in a threesome. Bella was
mine. And mine only.

"So you couldn't find anything else to eat on the way back?" Jasper finally said
after the commercial ended, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I turned my head to look at him. "Nah, but it's cool. I'm seeing her tomorrow to
finish what we started."

"Well played, Cullen. You have fun with that. I'm gonna hang out at the garage
tomorrow and keep an eye on Alice," he said, pulling both hands through his hair.
"Who knows what these small-town dicks are really doing to my baby. I swear if
she comes out of there looking less than perfect I'm going to knock out what's
left of their teeth with a crescent wrench."

"Good idea," I said. I gave an internal sigh of relief at knowing that Jasper would
be preoccupied tomorrow. I really didn't want him and Bella to cross paths.

Jasper was gone by nine in the morning. The clouds had invaded the sky again,
making a thick cover that didn't appear to break any time soon. It was even
supposed to snow later in the day, so I was pleased that I wouldn't have to worry
about being uncomfortable outdoors. I tried to ignore the growing hollow in my
stomach as I waited anxiously for noon to come around.

I grinned in satisfaction when Bella's car pulled up in front of my room at quarter-
to. Apparently she was just as eager about our encounter as I was. Just as I
stepped out of the room and shut the door, Bella killed the engine. I started to
approach and was a little surprised when she got out of the car and slammed her
door.

"That stupid mother-fucking son-of-a-bitch!" she shouted as she walked toward
me.

My eyes went wide and I wondered what I had done wrong. Well, that she would
have found out about, anyway.

"Um... Are we still... Do you wanna..." I pointed to her car, unsure how to
proceed. I had no clue what she was going on about.

"I can't drive right now. Can we walk for a bit? I need to just walk. And scream...
And break something," Bella griped, and walked right past me. I turned and
followed her as she stormed down along the motel passing rooms 3, 4 and 5.

"What happened?" I wondered, genuinely curious about what I had to thank for
boiling her blood. Her scent was extra sweet as she drifted by.

"Marcus just called me," she said. Well that explained her pissy mood. "I let my
phone go to voicemail 'cause I figured he was going to ask me to work tonight.
But when I checked it..." Bella trailed off and pulled her phone out of her coat
pocket. She dialed up her voicemail and put it on speakerphone for me to hear.

Marcus' voice played in the message: "Bella, why is my office a fucking mess?
The stuff on my desk is all over the place. You touched my shit? I told you to
make the cash drop in the safe and that's it. If I find out that anything is gone, if
a single dollar is missing, you're fired. The next time you go in my office it better
be to get on your knees under my desk."

Bella stuffed her phone back into her coat and exhaled loudly in irritation, making
a cloud of vapor swirl through the cold air in front of her face.

I felt a sharp stab of possessiveness at Marcus' sexual derisive comment, just like
I did when Jake touched her. I didn't like it one fucking bit.

"Want me to off him for you?" I said. "It's what I do, remember?"

She mustered a tiny grin. "That's generous of you, but I think I'd rather kill the
bastard myself." Bella walked briskly with her hands stuffed in her pockets, and
only started to slow her paces as we rounded the corner of the street. "That
fucking jackass is intent on ruining my life. The guy is like herpes. I can't get rid
of him. Even on my day off he has to annoy the shit out of me. I bet he gets off
on being a dick..."

I just let Bella go off on a rant without interrupting. Despite what she was saying
about Marcus, I liked the feistiness that resulted in her. She was fascinating to
watch and listen to, and though I was anxious to get her back to her apartment, I
continued to bide my time. There was plenty of time to play before dinner. In the
meantime, I wove the web that would eventually entangle her.

"I would fucking love it if he'd just keel over and die," she continued, kicking a
lump of snow on the sidewalk. "Then I'd bring him back to life just so I can kill
him again. Over and over in every way possible. First, I'd shoot him, then
strangle him, then stab him repeatedly..."

"You could drown him, run him over with your car, set him on fire..." I chimed in
with a few other possibilities.

She grinned at my suggestions. "I could bash his skull in with a bottle of Jack, or
cut the breaks to his car."

"Throw him in front of a train, put rat poison in his coffee, kidnap a lion from the
zoo and put it in his living room..."

Bella laughed, looking positively murderous and loving every minute of it. It was
highly amusing. "We'd make a deadly pair of assassins, you and I," she
commented, and gave me a conniving grin. "Speaking of trains, a car was hit by
one a couple nights ago not too far from here. Did you hear about that?"

"I did."

"Exciting, huh? Maybe we can go hunting for severed limbs later."

"Whatever turns you on, princess."

This girl never failed to surprise me. Bella was doing a hell of a good job giving
me reasons to let her keep her breathing a little longer. The words that came out
of her mouth were entertaining to say the least. I was also quite curious of other
ways she could entertain me with her lips.

Just then, Bella's cell-phone chimed. She dug it out of her pocket again and
scowled as she read the text message aloud. "By the way, if you didn't have tits
you would be fucking useless!" She fumed. Bella unbuttoned her coat and zipped
down her fly. I watched her curiously as she dropped her pants and circled her
arm behind her to point the camera on her phone at her bare ass. She took a
picture of her tattoo then did her jeans back up again. "Kiss my ass, Marcus," she
said, and sent the image of her lovely bare tattooed ass to her — now, former —
shit-head boss.

I started laughing hilariously.

"That felt really good," Bella exclaimed, then she turned to me and fisted the
front of my jacket. She pulled me toward her, bringing her mouth against mine.
She kissed me fervently and I returned it just the same. If her scent didn't turn
me on, her fucking spunk did it for me.

I cupped her face, securing it to mine. I really loved kissing her. Maybe that
made me sound like a pussy, but my reason for it was nothing romantic. The lips
had the thinnest skin covering them than anywhere else on the human body. By
kissing them, sucking on them, I could manage to acquire a faint taste of what
was encased underneath... what made them nice and plump and pink. Kissing
Bella was the best appetizer. I loved the feeling of it.

When she pulled away I could still taste her on my lips. "Let's get back to my
place," she urged with a tug to my sleeve.

About ten minutes later, we pulled into a reserved parking spot to a three-story
apartment complex. Bella guided me to the basement apartment and shut the
door behind us. She draped her coat over the top of a chair and kicked off her

boots. Turning around to face me, she reached inside my coat to lift the hem of
my sweater. Digging her finger underneath my belt buckle, she easily unhooked it
then lowered my fly.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" I commented.

"Life is short. What's the point?"

Chapter 8: Encore! Encore!

It didn't take long for my notion of how Bella's lips could entertain me to be
realized. As soon as we got inside her apartment, she lowered my jeans and
dropped to her knees in front of me. Taking my dick in one hand and gripping my
hip with the other, she took me into her mouth and just started going to town. I
think my eyes literally rolled back inside my head. As I clung to one side of the
doorframe, the wood splintered inside my grasp. Thankfully, Bella was too
involved with her task to have noticed the cracking sound.

This was completely new to me. Not getting a blow job per se, but being
completely silenced to the girl's inner thoughts as she was sucking me off. To
have a girl go down on me and hear nothing but the sound of her breath and soft
moans was nearly bliss in itself. Bella was playing with me like a toy of her own
and her mouth felt so good that I was having trouble picturing how I wanted to
go about killing her. All I could concentrate on was her tongue... and her lips...
on my... oh, God...

She scratched her fingernails downward along my thigh and shifted her grasp to
behind my knee. I couldn't just stand there anymore. I wanted to touch her. I
wanted to put my mouth on her body, too. I wanted to tease her flesh with my
tongue until the blood underneath screamed for me to taste it.

I allowed myself to enjoy a few more moments of her mouth around my dick
before I interrupted her. "Let's go to your bedroom," I said.

Bella got up off her knees and gave me a little grin as she wiped her lower lip
with her fingers. She then turned to walk down her hallway, peeling her shirt up
and over her head. She dropped it to the floor then unhooked her bra and tossed
that aside as well. I just barely caught sight of the side of her bare breast as she
disappeared into the last room on her left. Her jeans flew through the air and
landed in the hallway, shortly followed by a sock, then another. Finally, a pair of
pink panties topped the pile of discarded clothing.

Bella was waiting for me in her bedroom. Buck. Fucking. Naked.

Dinner had been served. I could smell her appetizing fragrance like a gourmet
dish that had been revealed from beneath its serving platter. It was simply
mouthwatering.

I dropped my coat to the floor and removed my boots and socks, then hiked up
my jeans again, loosely re-fastening them as I walked to her room. As I appeared
in her doorway, I found Bella sitting on the edge of her bed with her hands on the
mattress at either side of her body, wearing nothing but a seductive smile.

"Delicious," I whispered, and surveyed her naked body like a lavish buffet. So
many choices. Where to start first... Where to finish up for desert... Her neck?
Her inner thigh? Her hip? I felt completely drunk with desire.

Bella stood up and came at me eagerly, lifting my sweater up over my head then
dropping it to the floor. She ran a palm down the front of my chest to the
waistband of my jeans. "I thought I took these off," she grumbled with mock
annoyance as she lowered my pants and boxers at the same time. I stepped out
of them and she kicked them aside. We were now entirely naked, with nothing to
get off but each other.

Bella reached to kiss me, but I pulled my head back and grabbed her shoulders,
then spun her around in my arms. I leaned my mouth to her ear. "Patience," I
murmured, urging her to slow her pace. I smoothed my hands down along her
arms then locked them around her wrists, holding them firmly against her sides.
"The anticipation is the fun part," I teased, and licked the skin behind her ear. If I
was going to postpone what I wanted most, then she was going to as well.

"That didn't seem to be your mantra last night," she said, pushing the back of her
naked body back against the front of mine.

I groaned at the warmth of her skin. "Trust me, it was... Now, just stay very still.
Don't move."

I released her right wrist and slid my palm in front of her body, feeling the
smooth skin of her stomach. Bella remained still, having surrendered to my
command. I moved my hand slowly upward across her ribs and cupped the swell
of her breast, then continued my journey upward. Bella moaned softly as my
hand passed over her nipple, then I resumed my path across her collarbone and
her throat until my fingers landed beneath her jaw. I relished the sensation of
every excited beat of her pulse that vibrated against my hand. With my thumb
and fingers on either side of her chin, I turned her head to the left and leaned
over her shoulder to put my mouth on hers. She parted her lips for me and I
pushed my tongue between them to taste her heavenly kiss.

I felt her body sink a quarter of an inch as her knees gave way slightly. She
kissed me back slowly. Once. Twice. Again and again. Really tasting my mouth as
I was hers. I finally slackened my grip on her other wrist and allowed her to turn
back around to face me. Bella encircled my neck with her arms and kept kissing
me as I guided her backward to her bed and lowered her onto her back. I
followed on top of her and rested between her parted thighs. She reached
between us in an attempt to put me inside of her, but I took her wrists and
pinned them to the mattress above her head. She gasped.

"Patience, princess," I repeated, with a wicked grin. "I want to take my time
enjoying you."

Bella groaned, and squeezed her legs against my hips. "You are fucking cruel,
Edward," she moaned, yet the smile on her face convinced me she appreciated
my game. She arched her back and writhed beneath me as she got more and
more turned on.

I stared hungrily at her beautiful rosy flesh that kept warming further with each
passing moment. I growled in yearning and lowered my face to her throat, feeling
the heat of her skin on the bridge of my nose as I nudged her head upward with
it. She purred my name, begging me to explore her further. I lingered my mouth
against the pulse on her throat, then I began my journey south.

I traced her collarbone with my tongue, and kissed her breasts...

Downward...

Licked her stomach and tasted her hips ...

Downward...

I brushed my mouth along her inner thighs...

... and upward...

"Ungh!" Bella moaned, twisting her fingers through my hair as I generously
tongued her where she wanted me to most.

I pushed against the back of her thigh, and slung it over my shoulder to rest
against my upper back. It wasn't long before her body quivered with pleasure,
and she cried out in lustful delight while asking for more of me.

I didn't hesitate this time to yield to her request. I maneuvered myself above her
again and pushed my hips against hers, driving myself inside her. Her
surrounding warmth nearly did me in on the spot. She hooked her legs around
my lower back as I thrust where my tongue had previously delved. Bella had just
barely recovered from her first orgasm and she was already seeking furiously to
uncover her second.

Her mouth attacked mine, her hands were everywhere at once. She pulled at me
urgently, clawing at my back, arching her body upward against mine, searching
for more. More. More!

The heat between us was incredible as we both clearly yearned for gratification.

"I might regret saying this, but..." Bella began. Her lips barely left mine as she
spoke. "I just can't get enough of you," she continued breathily between kisses.
"I don't... want this to stop..."

I could definitely relate.

I groaned in agreement against her mouth, and granted her as much of myself as
I could offer. I pushed deep into her, and reeled in moan after moan of her
ecstasy. I reveled in the sound as much as I enjoyed her sweet scent and burning
hot flesh. I was fucking buzzing. Everywhere I touched and kissed, her pulse sang
to me. Without our clothes in the way between us, as they had been the first
time, I could feel the warmth of her flesh at every point her body connected with
mine. I could feel her blood rushing back and forth beneath her skin and the
overall sensation intoxicated me. Even without having tasted her blood yet, the
effect she had on me was simply euphoric.

My high was at the brink of reaching its peak and I ached to quench my thirst. By
the sounds Bella was making I knew she was going to come any second, too. She
was ripe and ready for me to devour. All I had to do was just bite down to attain
her sweet nectar.

And so... I did. I sank my teeth in hard and fast... but instead of her flesh, it was
through polyester and cotton filling. Rather than biting Bella's throat, I had
succeeded in decapitating the stuffed animal that rested against her headboard.

I never wanted a human's blood so much in my life, but I still wasn't willing to kill
her just yet. It was official. I was a complete junkie for her. Her scent was like a
drug to me and I needed my fix. If I killed her now, I'd never experience it again.

Bella moaned as she reached her orgasm, tilting her head back against her pillow
with closed eyes. I gnashed my teeth together and rode out my own wave while
Bella panted beneath me. When her muscles relaxed she exhaled a pleasurable
sigh, then opened her eyes.

"Edward... You destroyed Mrs. Fluffykins!"

I raised an eyebrow and looked down between her legs.

"Not that!" She slapped the top of my head. "My teddy bear!"

I looked back into her eyes. "Sorry. It was either the bear or you."

Bella grinned and lifted her hand to my lip to remove a white piece of fluff from
the corner of my mouth. "I enjoy a little biting too, you know."

"I'll remember that for next time."

Bella didn't even question my presumption, and I felt satisfied knowing that we
both wanted more from each other. What I was doing with Bella was completely
gluttonous, which was ironic, considering I was still famished. This game was
different with her than with anyone else. Her scent was so potent and intoxicating
and she was just so much... fun. I wanted to keep playing as long as I could
manage.

I rolled off her and rested beside her on the bed. We spent a few moments in
silence catching our breath (even though mine was just for show) and then I sat
up and put my bare feet on the floor. I turned my head back and looked at her
with a roused curiosity as she peered back at me with her big brown eyes. What
I'd give to know what she was thinking.

This girl had cheated death twice now — because I let her live — and I wasn't
normally one to release my catch. Perhaps it was just my greed that was keeping
her alive, but maybe it was something else. It's like this girl had some kind of
protective shield around her. It would certainly explain why I couldn't read her
mind. The mystery of it all was part of what kept me so intrigued. Whether it was
for personal satisfaction or it was an invisible force, I supposed it really didn't
make a difference. Either way, my hunger would eventually put an end to my
game. The only question was how much time I had until that happened. But when
the time came around, I was more than certain that Bella's flavor would make all
my efforts worthwhile.

Bella propped herself up with her arms and rested back against the headboard.
"Let me wash up a bit and I'll take you back to your motel," she said. "You'll have
to give me a few minutes though. To be honest I don't think I could stand up
right now."

I grinned smugly. "Rest up. I'll walk," I said, and stood up. I needed the fresh air,
anyway. I wasn't convinced that I wouldn't change my mind and give in to my
craving if I spent any more time around her right now. My hunger was still
growing and seeing her sprawled out on her bed with every inch of her body
exposed to me was quickly breaking down my resistance.

I gathered my clothes and slipped them back on, then raked my fingers through
my hair in a feeble attempt to tame it.

"You can find your way back?" she asked.

"I'll manage." I nodded. "Stay warm," I said in parting, and walked toward the
hall.

"Hey, Edward?" she called. I turned around in the doorway and looked back at
her. "Sharpen those teeth for me. I won't be satisfied unless I have bite marks to
remember you by."

I flashed a smile. "You got it, princess."

Chapter 9: Under My Roof

It took me a half hour to walk back to the motel. I could have walked it in less
but I wasn't in any kind of hurry. The room was empty upon my return and I
could tell that Jasper hadn't been there since he had left that morning. It didn't
surprise me that he was keeping watch over his car the entire time. I wondered if
he was playing it cool with the workers or simply being downright threatening to
ensure his car got the treatment he thought it deserved.

I went straight to the bathroom and stripped down to take a shower. As I stepped
underneath the hot water, the warming sensation on my skin immediately turned
my thoughts toward Bella, and my stomach growled. It had only been a couple
days since I'd last eaten but it felt like much longer. It was like my thirst to figure
her out had amplified my desire for satisfaction. I needed to decide what to do
about her. I hungered for her in every possible way, but instead of sating my
appetite — which I had complete ability to do — I stifled it for the rush. It was
absolutely masochistic.

I remained beneath the hot shower and leeched its warmth until the water ran
cold. After getting into a change of clothes, I ruffled a towel back and forth
through my wet hair. I was just about to brush my teeth when I heard Jasper
come through the door. I stepped out of the bathroom with the toothbrush
hanging from my mouth and watched Jasper slam the door behind him, muttering
to himself about how much he hated this place.

Jasper took one look at me and saw that I clearly hadn't killed my prey. He
narrowed his eyes in aggravation and walked over to me, snatched the
toothbrush from my mouth, then dropped it to the floor. "You know, blood works
better than Colgate if you wanna get rid of that pussy-breath smell. But I guess
you'd know that if you actually drank it after you face-fucked the bitch."

I stepped around him without saying a word, glaring at him as I wiped my mouth
clean. I knew what Jasper was doing. He wanted his whipping boy. He was
picking a fight because he was upset, but there was no way I was going to let
him screw with me. I wasn't one of his bitches.

"What the hell are you doing, Cullen?" Jasper said as I passed beside him. "Why
is she still alive? And don't tell me her boss walked in on you again."

I shrugged. "I'm just biding my time... Trying something new."

"What? Starvation? Apparently you've been feeding from your common sense,
instead," Jasper barbed.

I rolled my eyes dismissively and sat down on the couch. "I'll see her again. I'm
not going anywhere for the time being and neither is she," I justified.

Jasper took a seat on the edge of the bed across from me and pulled his Zippo
lighter from his pocket. "So, let me see if I understand you correctly," he said,
then lit a cigarette. "You fucked this girl... then you let her live... just so you can
hit it again." He raised an eyebrow in question and flipped the cap of his Zippo
open and closed repeatedly, purposely trying to annoy me with the metallic
clicking sound.

"Uh-huh," I said, trying to seem nonchalant.

Jasper peered at me with scrutiny then shook his head. He took a long drag from
his cigarette and slowly blew out a thin wisp of smoke as he contemplated me,
then put his lighter away. "I might not be able to read your mind, Cullen, but I
can tell you're keeping something from me," he said. "You've never been one to
favor sex over blood, so it can't just be about the pussy... There's something
special about her, isn't there? There's a reason you're keeping her alive and I
want to know what it is."

Fuck. Jasper was figuring it out, and quickly. I was beginning to feel threatened
that my secret treasure was about to be uncovered by a pirate.

He leaned forward and glared into my eyes. "You're holding out on me, Cullen,"
Jasper prodded. "Tell me. What's so great about her?"

"Jas, it's nothing. She's a good time and I'm getting the most out of her. I'm just
playing with my food," I insisted, but I knew that Jasper was picking up on my
deviance.

"It's not a meal if you don't eat it!" he snapped. "You fucked her twice and she's
still breathing! That chick is way past her expiration date. Just kill her, already!"

I groaned in annoyance. "I will! I will!" I stood up and walked around him again,
trying to brush him off.

"What the fuck are you waiting for, a written invitation? What kind of vampire are
you, anyway?"

I spun back around to face him. My aggravation was amplified by his own. "Why
do you even care? I'm just having some fun while we're stuck here. Why are you
being so fucking bitchy about it?" I snapped, irritated with his tone.

"Oh... Oh, you're having fun! You had a fun day today, did you?" Jasper said, and
stood up as well. "You wanna know what kind of fun I had today? My fun, was
having to watch inept, small-town morons bend over my Mustang and play with
her insides like she's some cheap hooker. And I'm bitchy because while I'm
making sure we get out of this shit-hole as soon as fucking possible, you're
jerking off playing some kind of fucked up asinine game!"

I glared defiantly into his cold obsidian stare as he continued with his rant and
became more livid with each word he spoke.

"I'm fed up with your stupid ideas, Cullen," he yelled. "You're oh-for-two now and
I'm putting an end to it. You're the one that got me into this mess, so you don't
get to have any fun. Playtime is over. Kill the bitch, or I'll have my own fun and
do it myself!"

I was consumed by possessiveness at the very thought of Jasper touching my girl
and I immediately regretted that I allowed myself to feel that way. It only took
that one unguarded moment for Jasper to pick up on my emotions, and now he
knew just how much Bella meant to me. Jasper smiled sardonically, knowing that
he had me by the balls. The fucking bastard had manipulated me into showing
my hand.

Then, like a fucking schizophrenic, his face suddenly adopted a friendly
expression and he patted me on the shoulder. "Play nice, Cullen. Okay? Let's
just... get along," he said, and gave my arm a squeeze. "Now go check on Alice
before the place closes. Make sure they're not screwing me over. If I see another
sweaty ass crack on a mechanic I'm going to murder everyone in that garage and
then we'll never get out of here."

Jasper turned from me and sat lengthwise along the couch. He kicked his legs out
in front of him and crossed his ankles over the armrest. Picking up the remote, he
flipped on the TV and turned the volume up high, essentially putting an end to
our discussion.

I stood there fuming for a few seconds.

"Go!" Jasper commanded without even looking at me.

So, I went... if not only to get the fuck away from the dictating jackass. I grabbed
my coat and slipped outside, but not without having heard Jasper call me an
insubordinate bastard just as I closed the door behind me.

The snow fell in heavy wet flakes as I went down the street toward the garage. I
was tempted to blow off Jasper's command to go check on his car, but it was just
easier to appease him with a quick visit to the garage than to suffer through
another round of his bitching. I didn't know how I was going to avoid his
tantrums if I kept putting off killing Bella, but I refused to let Jasper boss me into
killing her before I was ready to. The only problem was that I knew he wasn't
bullshitting about threatening to take matters into his own hands, so I had to
ensure their paths would never cross.

I got to the garage in record time. It was only a few blocks away to begin with,
but I guess my irritation over everything had hurried my strides. The double glass
roll-up doors were lowered because of the snow and cold weather, so I entered
the premises through the main entrance. A chiming bell signaled my arrival and
the owner turned to look at me from beyond the glass wall that separated the
garage area from the front desk. He recognized me and signaled that I join him
where he was currently working on repairing the Mustang.

As I approached I was able to get a better look at the car and I was shocked to
see the progress that had been done in just two days. Physically, the car looked
nearly pristine. The tires and windows had all been replaced and the dents were
completely gone. Basically, the only repairs left were whatever had been
damaged in the engine.

The owner was the only person around. It seemed that the other employees had
left for the day. The room reeked of sweat and engine grease and I was eager to
obtain the information I required as quickly as possible so that I could escape the
putrid stench.

"Hello, Phil," I greeted, taking his name from the embroidery on the front of his
coveralls. I stood by his side. The man was in his mid- to late forties with a stalky
build and grey hairs streaking his temples. He had dark circles and tired lines
around his eyes which I suspected had been partly, if not entirely, contributed by
Jasper's unrelenting presence.

"Hey, there. She's had a real number done on her," Phil said regretfully, shaking
his head as he peered into the Mustang's engine. "Like I told your brother, we're
doing our best to fix her up as soon as we can," he ensured. He gave me an
apologetic smile and swiveled his Yankees ball cap to face backward on his head.
He seemed genuine enough and his thoughts backed him up. If anything he was
just hoping that I wasn't going to stick around to breathe down his neck like
Jasper had. Luckily for him I didn't care how long the repairs took. I was in no
hurry to leave just yet.

Phil turned to face me and dug his hand into the pocket of his coveralls to pull
something out. He tossed a small item at me and I reflexively lifted my arm up to

catch it. I opened my hand to reveal a Hershey's Kiss wrapped in pink foil at the
center of my palm.

"Don't think I'm hittin' on ya or anything. One of the guys' girlfriends brought a
bag of these over to 'sweeten our day'," he said, popping a candy into his own
mouth. "Your brother hasn't been making our lives easy today, let me tell you,"
he said in confidence, then returned to continue with the repairs.

I tossed the chocolate away as soon as he turned his attention from me. "Sorry
about that. You're not the only ones," I uttered, not even bothering to make
excuses for Jasper.

Phil sighed. "I mean, I get it. Nice car like this getting all banged up... I'd
probably be the same way." He continued to talk as he worked but I tuned him
out as he yammered on and on. I wasn't interested in what he was saying. I was
only there to kill some time and to get away from Jasper. My mind wandered until
the tone in his voice suddenly brightened.

"Hey, listen. I have some good news for you," he said, nudging my arm with his
elbow.

His statement snapped me back in focus.

"I decided to pull in some extra hours this evening and finish up the rest of the
repairs overnight," he declared without taking his eyes off his work. "I know this
isn't the most exciting town to get stuck in and you guys wanna get out of here,
so I'm gonna do what I can to let you leave. I mean, I'll be sad to see this beauty
go. It's not every day I get to work on a '67 Mustang. On the other hand, one
less day I gotta deal with your brother, the better. No offense. I mean you seem
like a nice guy and all... but... Anyway, come back tomorrow morning around
eight o'clock and she'll be as good as new. Hand me that socket wrench from
over there, will ya?" he concluded, pointing to a tray littered with tools behind
me.

My hand moved toward it in a dream-like state as I processed what he had just
told me. The news would have made Jasper ecstatic, but it only made me
overcome with resentment. Everything that I just heard translated into one thing:
I had a deadline. A deadline that, in that instant, I realized I refused to meet. It
was enough that I had Jasper telling me to get rid of Bella, but now I had some
piss-ant mechanic telling me I had a time limit as well?

Fuck that shit.

I picked the wrench up off the tray and tightened it in my fist. I glared with
malice at the back of Phil's head and suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to
bring the heavy tool down over his skull. I wasn't finished here. I would leave
when I was ready to and not a fucking minute sooner. Fuck anyone who told me
otherwise.

Phil turned around when I failed to produce the wrench quickly enough. He
looked at me strangely when he noticed how tightly I was grasping it in my hand.
I stared at him numbly. I couldn't even hear his thoughts. All I could hear was
the clock ticking the time away.

"What's going on? You alright?" His voice sounded like I was hearing it from
underwater.

I set the wrench heavily back down on the tray again and turned away from Phil
before the bloodbath in my mind became a reality. I stormed out of the garage,

knocking the damn bell straight off the door as I pushed my way through it. I had
to get out of there. I wanted Bella. She was mine and mine alone and no person
or amount of time would steal her from me. Only I would decide what to do with
her and when it would be done.

I groaned in aggravation and made my way back down the street. What started
as a toy had quickly become a torture. Maybe I should just kill Bella now and get
it over with. If anything she was complicating things; making me second guess
the world I mastered. This girl had infiltrated every fiber of my being, making me
yearn for her until it hurt. She was creating a chaos inside me like I'd never
experienced before, driving a spike so far deep into my reality that it was toppling
over onto itself. Fuck, this girl was dangerous. And fuck if I was going to let that
go just yet.

I was so far lost in my thoughts that it surprised me when I caught a strong whiff
of the scent that had been plaguing me for the last couple of days. I looked up
and realized that I was just across the street from the motel again, then froze
when I saw Bella's vacant car parked directly in front of my room.

Chapter 10: Checkmate

Bella was inside... with Jasper. I felt sick with dread at the possibilities of what
could be happening in there right now... or worse... if I was too late to stop it. I
ran over and shoved open the door, knocking it right off its hinges. But instead of
discovering what I feared I would find, I was met with an empty room. My relief
was only short-lived. Bella wasn't there, but she was very close... and so was
Jasper.

I had some fun while you were gone.

I tensed at the sound of Jasper's voice in my head, and spun around in search of
him, but found nothing.

Come up to the roof, Cullen, he called to me. I have a surprise for you.

A dizzying array of sinister thoughts flashed through my mind and filled me with
panic. But this time, they weren't simply my own paranoid suspicions; they were
the content of Jasper's warped mind. He made it clear to me that Bella was in his
possession, and I groaned in anguish when I caught the unmistakable scent of
her blood. He forced me to watch as he had dragged her into the snow where he
brutally defiled her, then finally ripped her body apart after having feasted on her
veins.

"NO!" I growled in rage. I tried to shut out the vile scene Jasper so intricately
depicted for me, but he wouldn't allow it. He had every intention of twisting the
knife in my gut. Looping the horror, he played her screams in my ears and killed
her over and over until it was too much for me to stand.

I was too late. She was gone... except for her desecrated carcass that Jasper was
eager to present me with.

I'm waiting...

I stormed back outside and rounded the motel. I found the entrance to the
stairwell that lead to the roof and climbed upwards, preparing myself to find
Bella's bloody corpse wasting away beneath a thin blanket of snow. As I rammed

open the metal door at the top, there I found her, about thirty feet away from me
near the edge of the roof.

She turned at the noise of the door opening, and smiled at me.

I could only stand there and stare at her, dumbfounded by what I was seeing.
She was... alive... and unharmed.

An image from my mind of her dead body overlapped on top of her like
cellophane, and Jasper's malevolent laughter echoed throughout my head. As the
door to the roof swung back, Jasper was revealed beside me. "Surprise," he said
at my discovery of finding Bella alive. A snakelike grin stretched across his face.
"You should see your face right now. Fucking priceless."

"You're insane," I growled venomously.

"Really, Cullen, you should know the difference between reality and fantasy by
now. I'm disappointed in you," he said, shaking his head. "You know what your
problem is? You're letting your emotions play tricks on you," he sneered.

It was all just a fucking ruse; a fucking scare tactic to show me that if I ever
crossed him, he would take everything I cared about and turn it to dust. He might
have kept Bella alive but something told me he wasn't going to allow her get off
the roof that way. I glared at Jasper, disgusted with the way he'd played me. He
hadn't been treating me like his teammate, lately. Instead of being a player, I
had become a pawn his own personal game.

"Don't you fucking touch her," I rasped.

"Well, that's entirely up to you," he answered back, then turned his head to smile
at Bella who had started walking toward us.

"There you are. Your brother told me you'd be up on the roof," she said. She
clearly hadn't heard any of Jasper's and my exchange. "Looks like someone
grows their own pot up here," she remarked, pointing to the small greenhouse at
the center of the roof. "I'm definitely coming back in the summer to steal some of
it."

Suddenly, the shock of seeing Bella alive was overpowered by the potent scent of
freshly spilled blood in the air. Hers...

That much of Jasper's gory display was actually true.

My gaze traveled down to her right hand where I noticed that several raw scrapes
graced the center of her palm. Her blood stained the fresh wound and the
powerful scent ravaged me.

She stopped walking when she noticed my unsettled reaction to it, and closed her
fist. "Oh... The stupid handrail in the stairwell cut me," she said with a huff. "I'll
probably need a tetanus shot now. It better not leave a fucking scar. The blood
doesn't make you queasy, does it?"

I swallowed back my sudden rush of desire and shook my head in response to her
question, unable to answer her verbally. I was a slave to spilled blood. Every
vampire was. It took extreme discipline to resist it and the fact that Jasper had
not already attacked Bella because of it was a mystery in its own.

Jasper leaned in close and rested his forearm on my shoulder. "Tempting, huh?"
he said, speaking lowly so that Bella could not hear. We both got caught in a

momentary trance as we stared at her hand. "It actually hurts to keep from
mauling her, doesn't it? Go ahead, Cullen. You're starving. Take a bite."

I blinked. I shrugged out from under him and cut him a glare of hatred. So that
was it. He was using her as bait; purposely dangling her in front of me like a
piece of bloody meat for a hungry lion. As far as Jasper was concerned, my
procrastination with killing her had gone too far. My actions had gone against his
almighty rule book and now he was intent on bitch slapping me with it.

I forced myself to resist breathing in the scent of the blood so I could suppress
my innate desire to attack her. I wasn't going to let Jasper get his way. Killing
Bella would be on my timetable, not his.

Jasper noted my reluctance with a sigh. He casually sauntered out in front of me
and stood between Bella and I who were still separated by about fifteen feet.
"Beautiful evening, isn't it?" He came to a stand-still and turned his face to the
sky. He smiled as the snow fell down around him. "A rooftop at twilight, snow
falling, hormones raging..." His eyes lowered to meet my glare. "It's the perfect
setting for a romantic dinner, wouldn't you say, Cullen?" Jasper goaded. "Why
wait for Valentine's Day to stop a girl's heart?"

I ignored him and set my jaws tightly, turning my attention to Bella. She wore a
confused expression, not knowing what to make of Jasper's comment. "What are
you doing here?" I asked her.

She took another step closer but Jasper stealthily retained his position directly
between her and I. "I just wanted to see you," she replied with a shrug. Jesus,
her fucking timing was disastrous.

Jasper grinned, amused with her reply. How cute, he thought. She really meant,
'do you'. That chick is so wet right now I can taste her cunt from here.

I growled in warning, despising where his thoughts had headed. All I wanted was
to place myself between him and Bella, but I knew the second I attempted it,
Jasper would pull the trigger and end her for good. It was like walking in a mine
field. One wrong move would set him off.

Even without breathing it, Bella's blood was tempting me. Just knowing it was out
there was fucking with my brain. I seriously needed to get it together and find a
solution to get her away from Jasper.

Don't even think about it, Jasper thought, sensing my apprehension. If you try
getting her off this roof, I'll rip her throat out.

"Okay, what's this weirdness going on between you two?" Bella wondered. "You
kinda look like you want to kill each other."

"You shouldn't have come here, Bella," I said, still glaring at Jasper. I didn't dare
take my eyes off him for one second.

"Why not?"

Jasper turned to look at her. "Edward is worried that I'm going to steal you away
from him," he spoke casually. "I'm not going to lie, though. If he hadn't shown up
I'd already be inside you making you scream."

Bella froze and her smile vanished completely with Jasper's remark. "Hello,
Creepy," she uttered in disgust then looked at me. "Is this guy for real?"

"But that is what you came here for, right?" Jasper continued before I could say
anything. "To sit on some cock?"

"Jas! Back, the fuck, OFF!" I snarled.

He spun back around to face me again. "Why? I say we give her what she came
for. What do you say, Cullen? Heads or tails? I'll even let you chose this time."

I clenched my teeth together. "Bella, go back downstairs!" I ordered her.

"Nobody is going anywhere!" Jasper insisted aggressively, staring me down.

I picked up on the elevated tempo of Bella's heartbeats. She was playing tough
but inside she was definitely quaking. Her heart was drumming wildly in her chest
and more than a small part of me relished in the sound of it. I had to shake
myself back into focus. "Bella, GO!" I demanded a second time.

Bella heeded to my command and began to walk around us toward the stairwell.
But Jasper moved quickly to block her escape and was directly in front of her in a
flash. Startled by the impossibility of his quick movements, Bella slipped and lost
her footing, landing on her ass in the snow. She looked up at him, perplexed.

Jasper inhaled a deep breath as he grinned back down at her. "Mmm, you smell
that, Cullen? Fear. You're right, she does smell delicious."

"I believe what you're smelling is my complete and utter repulsion, you fucking
jackass!" Bella spat.

Jasper laughed wholeheartedly. "Ooh, I like her! She's a feisty one! I bet she's a
wildcat in bed. Aren't you, darlin'?"

"Fuck you!"

"With pleasure."

Bella backed away from him and managed to find her footing again, and I rushed
to put myself between them. "I said, don't fucking touch her!" I lunged to grab
Jasper's throat, but he blocked me and knocked my arm aside. Instead, he
caught my collar in his fist and twisted my shirt, bringing my face closer to his.

"Watch yourself, boy. You're skating on thin ice," Jasper growled through
gnashed teeth.

He then forcefully shoved me backwards, sending me careening straight into
Bella. The impact knocked her about ten feet back, right up against the low wall
that surrounded the edge of the roof. The back of her head struck hard against
the bricks and she slumped unconsciously to the ground.

I turned toward her and discovered that she was still breathing, then turned back
around to shield her from Jasper. He was still standing at a distance, peering at
me through the curtain of falling snow with a hatred in his eyes that mirrored my
sentiment.

"You piece of sh—"

"Shut it!," Jasper cut me off, uninterested with my opinion of him. He shook his
head and continued to glare at me with disapproval. "I don't even recognize you
anymore... Edward Cullen... From impatient newborn who would do anything for
blood, to an impotent fool who refuses to feed. This goes way beyond playing
with your food, Cullen. It's not healthy."

"I appreciate your concern for my well-being. It's really touching," I replied
sarcastically.

Jasper cocked his head and glowered. "You know what that girl over there is?" he
asked, pointing behind me at Bella. "She's poison. She's messing with your mind.
She already has you starving yourself, and for what? So you can keep using her
as a masturbation aid? Get your head out of your ass, Cullen and kill her already.
Yoko's got you pussy-whipped!"

"You sound like a fucking lunatic."

"How long were you planning on keeping this up, huh? What exactly did you plan
to do with her? Keep her as your pet?" Jasper shouted. Then his expression
lightened as an idea crossed his mind. "Although... maybe you're onto something.
I kind of like that idea. Yeah... We can keep her in the trunk... take turns fucking
her..."

Jasper assaulted my mind with an image of him fucking Bella over the hood of his
Mustang, making her moan his name until I cringed.

"I'm not sharing her," I asserted, trying to force the images from my mind.

He grinned in amusement and took a step forward. I instinctively backed up a
pace as well to protect what was mine.

Jasper scoffed. "Relax, Cullen. I'm not going to kill her... You are," he said
matter-of-factly, and took another step my way. "Because I said so."

"I'm sick of your fucking bullshit, Jas. You don't own me. You can force all the
bitches you want into submission but I'm not one of them."

Jasper's lip twisted upward. "That's cute," he patronized.

Then suddenly, he sprung at me and I was face-down in the snow before I could
react. I struggled with him but he kept me pinned, digging his knee between my
shoulders. Jasper grabbed a fistful of my hair to lift my head, and he pointed my
face toward Bella who was only a few feet away. Her limp right arm rested beside
her with her wounded hand splayed open in invitation right before me.

"I don't think you're hearing me properly, Cullen," he rasped, his voice loud next
to my ear. "Wake the fuck up and remember who fucking made you. Me. My
game. My rules. I get what I want, and I want her gone. NOW!"

My anger reached its boiling point, but just as I was about to channel my rage to
throw him off me, my fury unnaturally dissipated. It was like I was shot with a
high dose of valium and I instantly felt myself becoming calm. Jasper was trying
another angle by tranquilizing me with his ability. It was a dirty move, I knew
that much before I suddenly wasn't even sure that I cared. The relief from the
tension was oddly therapeutic and I even found myself inhaling a deep soothing
breath... and with it, I took in the intoxicating aroma of Bella's blood.

Tricked again. I stared at her open hand, bloody and delicious... my mouth
watering.

Jasper felt my submission and loosened his hold around me. "Take her," he spoke
calmly. "You want her so badly, I can feel it. Surrender to it, Cullen. You're only
torturing yourself by refusing her."

It had felt like torture. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing for Jasper to insist that I
kill her now. Maybe this was just the perfect time to seize the innevitable. I

always knew that Bella was going to die by my hand eventually. Better now, this
way, than to have Jasper get his hands on her.

I felt my body edge forward, unable to resist the magnetic pull.

"That's it..." Jasper said, satisfied with my reaction. He released me completely
and I slid out from beneath him, then stalked toward my prey on my hands and
knees until my face was right above it.

I breathed in another deep breath and felt the pain of my hunger and desire like
a sharp sword tear through my stomach. I didn't want to resist her any longer.

"Do it," Jasper urged in anticipation.

Jasper could make of it what he wanted, but I was ultimately following my desire,
not his. It was her blood that was my undoing, and I would never let her escape
my grasp.

I knelt down next to Bella and lifted her arm. Bringing her hand to my mouth, I
curled her fingers back and licked the center of her palm, finally tasting the flavor
I had craved since I first captured her irresistible aroma. I uttered a groan of
pleasure and lapped at the blood again. Slowly and meticulously, I swept my
tongue across her wound, enjoying the taste of what warmed her veins. That's
when Bella began to stir awake. My saliva on her open wound had created a
stinging fire that was quickly spreading throughout her entire body as it infected
her blood. She whimpered in pain before her eyes even opened.

"My hand..." she cried softly and her eyes finally fluttered open. Her pulse picked
up considerably with fear at the discovery of her intense discomfort. She closed
her fist as the hurt intensified and peered confusedly into my eyes. "What's
happening?" she said, nearly breathless from the pain.

I released her hand to push the hair away from her neck, and gave her a drunken
smile. "I'm giving you your bite marks," I replied, then lowered my mouth to her
throat and finally sank my teeth through her flesh without further hesitation. At
long last, I drew her blood into my mouth and swallowed with a groan as its
warmth coated my throat. The euphoria was astounding. My suspicions had been
right. Her flavor surpassed anything I'd ever experienced before.

Bella tightened her bloody fist at the front of my coat, and pulled me toward
herself. Her cries resembled the ones she had previously uttered in pleasure. She
arched upward against my chest and I slung my arm behind her back to hold her
closer against me. I lifted my mouth from her neck and tilted my head to the
other side, then I placed an identical bite to the opposite side of her throat and
savored her once again.

I felt her fingers comb into the hair at the back of my head, and I pulled back to
look into her eyes. I licked the sticky remnants from my lips and watched as she
trembled. She puzzled me again by giving me a quizzical smile despite her pain.

I got caught in a trance staring into her brown eyes. She was dying. Her life was
slipping away and I was still struggling with the desire to keep her.

This was ridiculous... It had to end.

Curious about why I had stalled, Jasper approach from behind. He had been
enjoying the show and was now salivating for the climax.

"Finish it!" he urged, his tone full of expectation.

Jasper was right. The torment had gone on long enough. It was time to put an
end to it.

Quicker than I'd ever moved before, I released Bella from my arms, spun around,
and launched myself at Jasper. Before he could even realize I had attacked him, I
bit into his throat so deeply that his head separated right from his body. His limp
frame dropped heavily to the ground. I fell down over it and violently slashed
away at it until there was nothing left to dismember.

"MINE!" I growled as I obliterated him.

Jasper was gone for good. He was unable to dictate my actions any further. I was
able to perfectly feel my own emotions again, and my vengeance was just as
sweet as Bella's blood. I was determined to keep her. I refused to let her go. No
one would ever take her from me... even myself.

I found Jasper's Zippo in the snow and I palmed it inside my hand, then sat
down. Reaching inside my coat, I found my cigarettes and set one ablaze, then
tossed the flaming Zippo onto Jasper's scattered remains.

I turned my head back toward Bella who was still writing in pain. Her eyes were
shut tightly and her whimpers were subdued despite the agony I knew she was
in. I sucked on my cigarette and blew the smoke out slowly, a twinge of a smile
crossing my face. I had obtained what I ultimately craved from her, but it
wouldn't be the end. Bella's transformation had begun the moment I licked her
wound, and I had not drunk enough of her to kill her. Eventually her heart would
stop, but she would continue to live... like me. No amount of time could ever take
her from me now. Until the day she should decide to kill me, herself... Bella was
mine to enjoy.

Epilogue

Three days later...

The fluorescent light bar flickered above my head. It hummed and popped
sporadically for a few more minutes until it finally died, leaving the room dark
except for the white moonlight that shined through the window. A stream of
blood inched across the cheap linoleum floor toward me and I took a step back
before it could stain my boot. Bella, on the other hand, hadn't been concerned in
the least with getting blood on herself.

"You're a mess," I commented, humored and aroused by the sight her. She knelt
on the floor with blood smeared across practically every inch of her face, neck,
arms and hands. Human or vampire alike, it seemed that every newborn looked
the same after enjoying their first meal.

She stood to her feet and smiled wickedly. "Now, that was fun!" she remarked,
licking the blood from the tips her fingers.

I nodded, remembering how I felt when I killed my own boss. "Refreshing, right?"

"Mm-hm," she replied. "That dick-head should have thought twice before
suggesting I suck him dry." She peered down at Marcus' corpse with a quizzical
expression. "So, is he going to be a vampire too, now?" she asked me.

I stifled a laugh. "Uh, no. You already stopped his heart... wherever it is," I
answered, noting the empty cavity in Marcus' chest.

"Pity. I was really looking forward to killing him again," Bella pouted, tucking a
lock of bloodied hair behind her ear. "Then again, I still know a lot of assholes
begging for payback... This vamp thing is going to come in handy!" she noted,
cunningly.

I released a chuckle and paused for a moment to simply look at her. I grinned in
admiration at the beautiful creature I had created. I'd never seen anything so
fucking sexy in my entire life. She was fun before her transformation... as a
vampire, Bella was proving to be even more entertaining than I could have ever
imagined. She accepted her new life with open arms, and to watch her relish in
the benefits was highly satisfying.

I took a step to close the distance between us and grasped her hips. "What do
you want to do now, princess?"

Bella lifted her hands and placed them on either side of my face over my temples.
She peered deeply into my eyes as a devilish grin crossed her face.

I want to fuck your brains out, I heard her voice in my mind for the first time.

I startled at the sound. Bella didn't seem aware that anything peculiar had even
happened and continued with her train of thought as she stared at my mouth.

I want you to lick my...

As she dragged her fingers slowly downward along my face, my ability to see
further into her mind vanished.

It seemed I had a way to see into her mind after all... The game was far from
over. I grinned with guile at my new discovery. Bella constantly kept surprising
me, without fail. She remained a complicated puzzle that I was compelled to
figure out, and my curiosity, among other things, were very much peaked.

As her hands slid closer to my lips, I turned my head to catch one of her bloody
fingers in my mouth and I sucked it clean of Marcus' remains. I then buried my
face in the crook of her neck and licked off more of the blood that had painted
her skin.

She held me close and sighed softly with pleasure as she twisted her fingers
through my hair. "You're hungry," she commented on the voraciousness of my
kiss. "Let's find you someone to eat, too."

"If you don't mind, I think I'll start with you, first," I growled, and lowered my
hands to cup her ass. I pulled Bella down to the floor with me and we had our
way with each other right in the pool of Marcus' blood.

It was round two. The team was even again. The playing field was level. What
happened with Jasper was unfortunate, but it needed to be done. I wanted a
partner in the game, not a commander, and I knew that playing with Bella would
be the most fun I would ever have.

The End.