The Descent
by Laura Spudzmom
Chapter 08
"The Red"
~ By Chevelle ~
They say freak,
When you're singled out,
The red, well it filters through.
So lay down, the threat is real,
When his sight goes red again.
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again.
This change, he won't contain,
Slip away, to clear your mind.
When asked, who made it show,
The truth, he gives in to most.
So lay down, the threat is real,
When his sight goes red again.
So lay down, the threat is real,
When his sight goes red again.
So lay down, the threat is real,
When his sight goes red again.
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again,
Seeing red...
They say freak...
When you're singled out.
The red, it filters through...
~o0o~
It took some time and some backtracking from wrong turns, but I finally found my way to the garage and to the car we'd driven to get here. "Don't know why I didn't just follow the scent trail," I grumbled to myself as I approached the car.
Yanking the passenger door open, I slid into the seat and slumped in relief at the sight of Jasper, reclined in the driver's seat.
Closing the door with a sigh, I took a moment to look at him. His eyes were closed, arms crossed over his chest and he'd yet to acknowledge me. He hadn't so much as twitched as Jimi Hendrix played quietly through the car's speakers.
"I recognize this," I murmured as I too settled back to listen. "You were playing it while I was changing. It was the first song I heard when I awoke."
His lips quirked into a wan smile, but still he made no comment until the song faded away and another took its place. "So, you've decided to leave here have ya?" he questioned quietly.
Turning my head enough to see him watching me, I nodded. "Yeah," I all but whispered as my heart clenched, my emotions choking off any further words I may have said.
With a nod, he sat up, started the car and pulled out. "Don't worry," he muttered. "It get's easier…until it ain't."
"What happens then?" I questioned as he tightened his grip on the wheel and accelerated onto the open road.
"You go back," he said simply as a muscle twitched in his jaw, his darkened eyes locked straight ahead.
We rode along in silence for a while with nothing but the music playing along with our thoughts. That was until I noticed we'd passed completely out of Volterra.
"Jasper?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are we going? I thought we still had the room back in Volterra?"
He glanced over, then back to the road. "I need a hunt and we can't do that in Volterra."
I nodded and studied my hands which were clasped in my lap. My gums were now aching at the thought of fresh blood and I could literally feel my body prepare for the hunt as my muscles tensed and a low growl vibrated up from my chest.
"Fuck," Japser muttered. "Rein it in Isabella. Think on somethin' else until it's time."
"Sorry," I mumbled as I turned to look out the window. "It's just hard now that you brought it up."
He sighed and an almost overwhelming wave of calm hit me. "It's my fault," he ground out as he pulled over and parked on an obscure street in the crappiest part of the city we'd entered. "I fuckin' well know better."
Cutting the engine, he flung the door open and swiftly stood from the car before ducking down to see me. "Let's go," he snapped as he patted the roof of the car before shutting the door.
I watched him pace away as my brow pinched in thought. I really hadn't contemplated it until now, being lost in my own thoughts as I'd been, but it was very obvious; something was eating at Jasper and I hadn't a clue what it was.
Surely it wasn't that I'd had sex with Caius? He'd seemed fine with it beforehand after all… With a shrug, I got out of the car and jogged to catch up. I'd think on it later if necessary. For now, we had a hunt to enjoy.
We walked the streets for a while until Jasper ducked into an alley and I followed. It wasn't dark yet, but the angle of the sun was blocked by cloud cover and buildings, the area he'd chosen rather deserted. If we were quick, no one would see a thing, or at least I hoped so.
"What's the plan?" I asked quietly and he smirked.
"It ain't complicated Isabella. We wait. When the opportunity presents itself, we take it. You first though seein' as how I doubt you'd have the control to wait for the second."
"I'm not that bad," I muttered with a sneer and he smirked at me.
"Empath, remember?" he drawled and I shot him a dark look, knowing I couldn't argue.
By this time, my fangs were fully engaged and bloodlust burned my throat while tensing my body to strike. What kind of protest could I put forth?
"Seriously though," I continued. "What am I hunting for? A bad guy?"
His smooth, quiet, humorless laugh drifted to me as he continued to watch the street. "You reckon ya got the control to wait for a bad guy Bella?" He turned to pierce me with a cold, red gaze and I shivered despite myself. "Nah," he said as he turned back to his watch. "I'm in the mood for a blonde myself sugar. I'll know her when I see her. You grab whatever ya want, 'long as it ain't a kid and ya get 'em outta sight before ya make the kill."
My brows had climbed as he spoke and I stared in surprise for a moment before nodding with a shrug. I shouldn't be shocked. We're vampires after all; this is what we do.
Before too long, I could actually feel Jasper tense before he inclined his head toward the street. "You're up darlin. Don't fuck it up," he instructed as he leaned back against the building while lighting a cigarette. He propped a foot back against the bricks as he took a drag and tendrils of smoke curled past his narrowed gaze as he watched me closely.
"All right," I agreed as I walked out onto the sidewalk and into the path of a man who took one look at me and whistled lowly as he arched a brow. Yep, he was a dead man; he just didn't know it. I gave him what I'm sure was a seductive smile, being careful not to show any teeth as I peered up through my lashes. He was now babbling away in Italian and I had no clue what he said, but that really didn't matter. Beckoning with a smile and a crooked index finger was effective enough and the man eagerly followed me right back into the alley.
Once there, I spun on him and had him pinned against the building, not far from where Jasper stood watch. His eyes widened, probably at my show of speed and strength and he babbled some more, now sounding panicked.
"Shh," I soothed as I placed a finger over his lips. "We can't have any of that now can we handsome?" I crooned as I ran my nose from his collarbone up to his throbbing pulse and he quieted.
It really was a shame and a waste to kill him, I thought, because he really was handsome. All olive-skinned with artfully messy raven black hair and dark eyes; he was truly one of the finer examples of the local male population… however, my thirst was now a raging inferno that would not be denied.
I looked up into his puzzled face and smiled, this time wide enough for the full effect and covered his mouth with my hand just as his heart took off and he drew breath to shout. "Goodnight gorgeous," I muttered and bit him with a moan of satisfaction as the blood rushed over my tongue. He struggled in my hold, but there was no contest and he stilled with a whimper under my restrictive hand as I drained him.
When his heart had beat its last, I allowed him to drop to the ground and turned to Jasper who grabbed me and pulled me into a punishing kiss that both shocked me and took my breath away. "Fuck, that was hot," he growled as he sucked and nipped at my swollen lips while his hands roamed over my ass.
"Jesus, Jasper…" I moaned as he ground into my center before plundering my mouth with his lips and tongue again as I struggled just to keep up.
Next thing I knew though, my world spun as he set me away from him with an irritated hiss. "Ya smell too strongly of Caius," he growled and paced away before shooting a look back at me. "Sorry sugar, but I just…can't, 'least not until you've had a shower."
I nodded with a sigh and gestured toward my meal. "What do I do with him?"
He glanced back, as his cupped hands lit another cigarette and blew out smoke as he motioned toward the far dumpster. "Just toss him in there. The Italians aren't as inquisitive as Americans when it comes to shit like that so it won't matter 'long as we light it up before we leave." I nodded and did as he said as he went back to his quiet vigil.
Taking a seat next to where he stood, I waited silently for a while as several people passed by in the street, obviously none striking his fancy. This made me curious as I'd never seen him be this picky before. Our usual hunts prior to this had always been for the dregs of society, and had been an easy thing to accomplish. This was requiring patience and I found myself becoming bored.
Just as I was about to strike up conversation, I heard a low hiss come from him as he flipped his half-finished smoke into the dumpster, his black gaze fixed on the form of his prey as she approached.
She was beautiful. Taller than I, she probably stood at 5'9" with a slim but curvy figure and full breasts. Her hair was long and platinum-blonde and fell over her shoulders in gentle curls and her face…well, she had the face of an angel with full, pouty lips, almond shaped brown eyes framed by full dark lashes and delicately arched brows. She belonged in magazines or a master's paintings and a spike of jealously shot through me at the way he watched her. That was until I heard the low, malevolent growl coming from him…and then he struck.
He moved with blinding speed and grace, almost too fast for even me to see until he had her back in the alley and pinned to the wall. She still hadn't made a sound as everything had happened too quickly for her human mind to register but when she finally did…when she got a look at him, she gasped quietly as her widened eyes took him in.
He was staring at her, his expression as blank as I'd ever seen it with the exception of his eyes. Despite their darkness, they swirled with something like contempt as waves of pain emanated from him, so strong I had to resist the urge to clutch at my chest. 'What the hell?' was the question that looped in my mind at the sudden intensity of his emotions.
She'd now recovered enough of her senses for panic to set in and she began to struggle, as much as she could anyway as she pleaded in Italian for him to let her go, I was sure.
He chuckled darkly and answered her in fluent Italian as his fingertips traced her delicate features with reverence, despite the contemptuous curl of his upper lip when he finished speaking.
She whimpered piteously.
He smiled… and it was chilling, even to me.
It was then that he struck without warning, biting into her neck with such force the blood sprayed everywhere as his growls and snarls filled the alley. She cried out and he allowed it, almost as though he wanted to hear it; to hear her terror and pain and she delivered if that was his goal.
This worried me as I was almost sure it would draw unwanted attention and I was right as a man came running into the alley, his eyes going comically wide as he took in the bloody, horrifying scene before him.
Again, there was the frantic babbling in Italian and I rolled my eyes as he drew in breath to scream for help, I was sure. Well, we couldn't have that now could we? God knows we didn't need the whole damn city converging on us, so, giving Jasper and his play-thing a wide berth, I grabbed the guy and began to drink while muffling his protests.
Before his heart had even begun to slow, a blood drenched Jasper approached and circled me in his arms as he bit into the other side of the guy's neck. I couldn't help it—I moaned at the feel of him wrapped so securely around me as we drank together. He was calmer now, I could feel that through the sire bond and I reached back, pulling his hips snug to my ass as a deep purr sounded in his chest as he obliged and ground himself against me.
When the guy's heart stopped, I dropped him and turned in Jasper's arms. I'm not sure who initiated the kiss, but it was wild and desperate as we nipped and sucked and growled, our hands buried in the other's hair where we pulled and pawed as we devoured each other. It was raw and primal and I needed him to fuck me like I'd never needed or wanted anything before.
As usual with him, words weren't needed and he stripped me of my pants within seconds and pinned me face first against the wall where he held me by the back of my neck and entered me swiftly.
I snarled and pushed back and his only response was a dark chuckle as his fangs sank into my neck, his thrusts increasing in both speed and strength.
My eyes closed, my mouth falling open as I widened my stance and braced against the onslaught. This was bordering on brutal but truth be told, I reveled in it. "Harder god damn you, fuck me harder," I demanded with a snarl and he growled.
"Ya think ya can handle me baby girl?" he questioned between strokes of his cock already so hard each one jolted my whole body.
"Fuck yes I can," I hissed and before I knew it, I found myself on hands and knees while he held my hips and pounded me mercilessly. All I could do at this point was cry out and toss my head as I babbled his name… "Jasper, Jasper, Jasper…oh god…oh god…fuck!"
"That's right baby girl," he growled out between thrusts and grunts and hisses. "You go ahead and let the world know who's fuckin' ya—who really owns ya."
I growled and whimpered and mewled as the coil in my center grew impossibly tight. It was then I realized in the back of my fuck-addled mind, he was holding off my orgasm.
It was ecstasy… It was torture… and I fuckin' loved it.
With a deep growl and hiss, I bucked against him and he laughed richly as he slapped my ass which curiously served to spin me up even further.
"So ya like that do ya?" he gritted out with his efforts. "Good to know… Now come for me Isabella! You come now, 'cause I'm gonna pump you so full you're never gonna smell like anyone else ever again, ya got that? Come now!"
And come I did, like I never had before. "Jassssper!" I screamed as I damn near passed out, almost missing his explosion of an orgasm as his hold tightened and he filled me with a deep, guttural growl.
"Damn," he muttered as he pulled out and buttoned up. "You all right there sugar?" he asked as I lifted my head to look at him, the ends of my hair dragging through a small puddle of blood as I came down from my high.
"Fuck," I said with an incredulous chuckle. "Yeah, I think so."
He grinned and handed me my pants. "Good. Get dressed. We need to clean up and get the fuck outta here."
I slipped into my jeans and shoes as we eyed each other for a moment before we both began laughing. "God, that was fun," I said as he nodded. I tilted my head. "So, what now Jay? Italy was my bright idea so now I leave it up to you."
After tossing the other bodies in the dumpster and lighting it, he threw his arm around my shoulders as we traversed the dark alleys back toward the car. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head and finally made a suggestion. "I say we head back to the good ol' USA." He looked down at me with a smirk. "Who knows what kinda shit you can get us in there." I flipped him off and he grinned. "Should be fun darlin'," he murmured while pulling me close. "Should be all kinds a' fun…"
"The Red"
~ By Chevelle ~
They say freak,
When you're singled out,
The red, well it filters through.
So lay down, the threat is real,
When his sight goes red again.
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again.
This change, he won't contain,
Slip away, to clear your mind.
When asked, who made it show,
The truth, he gives in to most.
So lay down, the threat is real,
When his sight goes red again.
So lay down, the threat is real,
When his sight goes red again.
So lay down, the threat is real,
When his sight goes red again.
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again,
Seeing red...
They say freak...
When you're singled out.
The red, it filters through...
~o0o~
It took some time and some backtracking from wrong turns, but I finally found my way to the garage and to the car we'd driven to get here. "Don't know why I didn't just follow the scent trail," I grumbled to myself as I approached the car.
Yanking the passenger door open, I slid into the seat and slumped in relief at the sight of Jasper, reclined in the driver's seat.
Closing the door with a sigh, I took a moment to look at him. His eyes were closed, arms crossed over his chest and he'd yet to acknowledge me. He hadn't so much as twitched as Jimi Hendrix played quietly through the car's speakers.
"I recognize this," I murmured as I too settled back to listen. "You were playing it while I was changing. It was the first song I heard when I awoke."
His lips quirked into a wan smile, but still he made no comment until the song faded away and another took its place. "So, you've decided to leave here have ya?" he questioned quietly.
Turning my head enough to see him watching me, I nodded. "Yeah," I all but whispered as my heart clenched, my emotions choking off any further words I may have said.
With a nod, he sat up, started the car and pulled out. "Don't worry," he muttered. "It get's easier…until it ain't."
"What happens then?" I questioned as he tightened his grip on the wheel and accelerated onto the open road.
"You go back," he said simply as a muscle twitched in his jaw, his darkened eyes locked straight ahead.
We rode along in silence for a while with nothing but the music playing along with our thoughts. That was until I noticed we'd passed completely out of Volterra.
"Jasper?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are we going? I thought we still had the room back in Volterra?"
He glanced over, then back to the road. "I need a hunt and we can't do that in Volterra."
I nodded and studied my hands which were clasped in my lap. My gums were now aching at the thought of fresh blood and I could literally feel my body prepare for the hunt as my muscles tensed and a low growl vibrated up from my chest.
"Fuck," Japser muttered. "Rein it in Isabella. Think on somethin' else until it's time."
"Sorry," I mumbled as I turned to look out the window. "It's just hard now that you brought it up."
He sighed and an almost overwhelming wave of calm hit me. "It's my fault," he ground out as he pulled over and parked on an obscure street in the crappiest part of the city we'd entered. "I fuckin' well know better."
Cutting the engine, he flung the door open and swiftly stood from the car before ducking down to see me. "Let's go," he snapped as he patted the roof of the car before shutting the door.
I watched him pace away as my brow pinched in thought. I really hadn't contemplated it until now, being lost in my own thoughts as I'd been, but it was very obvious; something was eating at Jasper and I hadn't a clue what it was.
Surely it wasn't that I'd had sex with Caius? He'd seemed fine with it beforehand after all… With a shrug, I got out of the car and jogged to catch up. I'd think on it later if necessary. For now, we had a hunt to enjoy.
We walked the streets for a while until Jasper ducked into an alley and I followed. It wasn't dark yet, but the angle of the sun was blocked by cloud cover and buildings, the area he'd chosen rather deserted. If we were quick, no one would see a thing, or at least I hoped so.
"What's the plan?" I asked quietly and he smirked.
"It ain't complicated Isabella. We wait. When the opportunity presents itself, we take it. You first though seein' as how I doubt you'd have the control to wait for the second."
"I'm not that bad," I muttered with a sneer and he smirked at me.
"Empath, remember?" he drawled and I shot him a dark look, knowing I couldn't argue.
By this time, my fangs were fully engaged and bloodlust burned my throat while tensing my body to strike. What kind of protest could I put forth?
"Seriously though," I continued. "What am I hunting for? A bad guy?"
His smooth, quiet, humorless laugh drifted to me as he continued to watch the street. "You reckon ya got the control to wait for a bad guy Bella?" He turned to pierce me with a cold, red gaze and I shivered despite myself. "Nah," he said as he turned back to his watch. "I'm in the mood for a blonde myself sugar. I'll know her when I see her. You grab whatever ya want, 'long as it ain't a kid and ya get 'em outta sight before ya make the kill."
My brows had climbed as he spoke and I stared in surprise for a moment before nodding with a shrug. I shouldn't be shocked. We're vampires after all; this is what we do.
Before too long, I could actually feel Jasper tense before he inclined his head toward the street. "You're up darlin. Don't fuck it up," he instructed as he leaned back against the building while lighting a cigarette. He propped a foot back against the bricks as he took a drag and tendrils of smoke curled past his narrowed gaze as he watched me closely.
"All right," I agreed as I walked out onto the sidewalk and into the path of a man who took one look at me and whistled lowly as he arched a brow. Yep, he was a dead man; he just didn't know it. I gave him what I'm sure was a seductive smile, being careful not to show any teeth as I peered up through my lashes. He was now babbling away in Italian and I had no clue what he said, but that really didn't matter. Beckoning with a smile and a crooked index finger was effective enough and the man eagerly followed me right back into the alley.
Once there, I spun on him and had him pinned against the building, not far from where Jasper stood watch. His eyes widened, probably at my show of speed and strength and he babbled some more, now sounding panicked.
"Shh," I soothed as I placed a finger over his lips. "We can't have any of that now can we handsome?" I crooned as I ran my nose from his collarbone up to his throbbing pulse and he quieted.
It really was a shame and a waste to kill him, I thought, because he really was handsome. All olive-skinned with artfully messy raven black hair and dark eyes; he was truly one of the finer examples of the local male population… however, my thirst was now a raging inferno that would not be denied.
I looked up into his puzzled face and smiled, this time wide enough for the full effect and covered his mouth with my hand just as his heart took off and he drew breath to shout. "Goodnight gorgeous," I muttered and bit him with a moan of satisfaction as the blood rushed over my tongue. He struggled in my hold, but there was no contest and he stilled with a whimper under my restrictive hand as I drained him.
When his heart had beat its last, I allowed him to drop to the ground and turned to Jasper who grabbed me and pulled me into a punishing kiss that both shocked me and took my breath away. "Fuck, that was hot," he growled as he sucked and nipped at my swollen lips while his hands roamed over my ass.
"Jesus, Jasper…" I moaned as he ground into my center before plundering my mouth with his lips and tongue again as I struggled just to keep up.
Next thing I knew though, my world spun as he set me away from him with an irritated hiss. "Ya smell too strongly of Caius," he growled and paced away before shooting a look back at me. "Sorry sugar, but I just…can't, 'least not until you've had a shower."
I nodded with a sigh and gestured toward my meal. "What do I do with him?"
He glanced back, as his cupped hands lit another cigarette and blew out smoke as he motioned toward the far dumpster. "Just toss him in there. The Italians aren't as inquisitive as Americans when it comes to shit like that so it won't matter 'long as we light it up before we leave." I nodded and did as he said as he went back to his quiet vigil.
Taking a seat next to where he stood, I waited silently for a while as several people passed by in the street, obviously none striking his fancy. This made me curious as I'd never seen him be this picky before. Our usual hunts prior to this had always been for the dregs of society, and had been an easy thing to accomplish. This was requiring patience and I found myself becoming bored.
Just as I was about to strike up conversation, I heard a low hiss come from him as he flipped his half-finished smoke into the dumpster, his black gaze fixed on the form of his prey as she approached.
She was beautiful. Taller than I, she probably stood at 5'9" with a slim but curvy figure and full breasts. Her hair was long and platinum-blonde and fell over her shoulders in gentle curls and her face…well, she had the face of an angel with full, pouty lips, almond shaped brown eyes framed by full dark lashes and delicately arched brows. She belonged in magazines or a master's paintings and a spike of jealously shot through me at the way he watched her. That was until I heard the low, malevolent growl coming from him…and then he struck.
He moved with blinding speed and grace, almost too fast for even me to see until he had her back in the alley and pinned to the wall. She still hadn't made a sound as everything had happened too quickly for her human mind to register but when she finally did…when she got a look at him, she gasped quietly as her widened eyes took him in.
He was staring at her, his expression as blank as I'd ever seen it with the exception of his eyes. Despite their darkness, they swirled with something like contempt as waves of pain emanated from him, so strong I had to resist the urge to clutch at my chest. 'What the hell?' was the question that looped in my mind at the sudden intensity of his emotions.
She'd now recovered enough of her senses for panic to set in and she began to struggle, as much as she could anyway as she pleaded in Italian for him to let her go, I was sure.
He chuckled darkly and answered her in fluent Italian as his fingertips traced her delicate features with reverence, despite the contemptuous curl of his upper lip when he finished speaking.
She whimpered piteously.
He smiled… and it was chilling, even to me.
It was then that he struck without warning, biting into her neck with such force the blood sprayed everywhere as his growls and snarls filled the alley. She cried out and he allowed it, almost as though he wanted to hear it; to hear her terror and pain and she delivered if that was his goal.
This worried me as I was almost sure it would draw unwanted attention and I was right as a man came running into the alley, his eyes going comically wide as he took in the bloody, horrifying scene before him.
Again, there was the frantic babbling in Italian and I rolled my eyes as he drew in breath to scream for help, I was sure. Well, we couldn't have that now could we? God knows we didn't need the whole damn city converging on us, so, giving Jasper and his play-thing a wide berth, I grabbed the guy and began to drink while muffling his protests.
Before his heart had even begun to slow, a blood drenched Jasper approached and circled me in his arms as he bit into the other side of the guy's neck. I couldn't help it—I moaned at the feel of him wrapped so securely around me as we drank together. He was calmer now, I could feel that through the sire bond and I reached back, pulling his hips snug to my ass as a deep purr sounded in his chest as he obliged and ground himself against me.
When the guy's heart stopped, I dropped him and turned in Jasper's arms. I'm not sure who initiated the kiss, but it was wild and desperate as we nipped and sucked and growled, our hands buried in the other's hair where we pulled and pawed as we devoured each other. It was raw and primal and I needed him to fuck me like I'd never needed or wanted anything before.
As usual with him, words weren't needed and he stripped me of my pants within seconds and pinned me face first against the wall where he held me by the back of my neck and entered me swiftly.
I snarled and pushed back and his only response was a dark chuckle as his fangs sank into my neck, his thrusts increasing in both speed and strength.
My eyes closed, my mouth falling open as I widened my stance and braced against the onslaught. This was bordering on brutal but truth be told, I reveled in it. "Harder god damn you, fuck me harder," I demanded with a snarl and he growled.
"Ya think ya can handle me baby girl?" he questioned between strokes of his cock already so hard each one jolted my whole body.
"Fuck yes I can," I hissed and before I knew it, I found myself on hands and knees while he held my hips and pounded me mercilessly. All I could do at this point was cry out and toss my head as I babbled his name… "Jasper, Jasper, Jasper…oh god…oh god…fuck!"
"That's right baby girl," he growled out between thrusts and grunts and hisses. "You go ahead and let the world know who's fuckin' ya—who really owns ya."
I growled and whimpered and mewled as the coil in my center grew impossibly tight. It was then I realized in the back of my fuck-addled mind, he was holding off my orgasm.
It was ecstasy… It was torture… and I fuckin' loved it.
With a deep growl and hiss, I bucked against him and he laughed richly as he slapped my ass which curiously served to spin me up even further.
"So ya like that do ya?" he gritted out with his efforts. "Good to know… Now come for me Isabella! You come now, 'cause I'm gonna pump you so full you're never gonna smell like anyone else ever again, ya got that? Come now!"
And come I did, like I never had before. "Jassssper!" I screamed as I damn near passed out, almost missing his explosion of an orgasm as his hold tightened and he filled me with a deep, guttural growl.
"Damn," he muttered as he pulled out and buttoned up. "You all right there sugar?" he asked as I lifted my head to look at him, the ends of my hair dragging through a small puddle of blood as I came down from my high.
"Fuck," I said with an incredulous chuckle. "Yeah, I think so."
He grinned and handed me my pants. "Good. Get dressed. We need to clean up and get the fuck outta here."
I slipped into my jeans and shoes as we eyed each other for a moment before we both began laughing. "God, that was fun," I said as he nodded. I tilted my head. "So, what now Jay? Italy was my bright idea so now I leave it up to you."
After tossing the other bodies in the dumpster and lighting it, he threw his arm around my shoulders as we traversed the dark alleys back toward the car. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head and finally made a suggestion. "I say we head back to the good ol' USA." He looked down at me with a smirk. "Who knows what kinda shit you can get us in there." I flipped him off and he grinned. "Should be fun darlin'," he murmured while pulling me close. "Should be all kinds a' fun…"
DISCLAIMER: Twilight and its inclusive material is copyright to Stephenie Meyer. Original creation, including but not limited to plot and characters, is copyright to the respective authors of each story. No copyright infringement is intended.