The Amazon

Chapter 8 - James

“Problem?”

Her melodic voice is full of mirth as she eyes my furious expression. What is wrong with this girl? Everyone else who has ever been met with this expression has quailed before me, but she looks as though she is trying her best not to collapse laughing. And the thing about being faced with a new situation is that you have no idea how to react. So instead of unleashing a vicious barb, I stand there like a fool, glaring at her ineffectually, still half expecting her knees to start shaking.

“Uh… No, no problem, well not apart from you anyways,” I give a mental sigh of relief as my brain finally starts to function again, all things granted it wasn’t my wittiest come-back but at that point just about anything was welcome. She smirks slightly, almost as though she was aware of just how much she affects me with her wild, auburn hair and luminescent eyes, not to mention her translucent skin. Dragging my eyes away from her mesmerising features I stride into my room, reaching behind me to slam the door shut, only to have my hand collide with something considerably softer than polished wood. I hear the door close quietly behind me, she’s tough I cant help but admit that – the force behind my inadvertent blow was large and she didn’t even gasp. I look over my shoulder at her diminutive form and find myself caught in her bottomless eyes. The world seems to fade around me, my room blurring to nothing as I fall deep into their emerald depths. She’s saying something, soft words meet my ears, as if from an eternity away but I ignore them; too deep to even consider rescue. The words come again, louder this time and I blink, freeing myself from this sirens enchantment. I shake my head something and force my expression into one of cool detachment while my insides tremble with the electricity of that one look.

“James? Hello? James?” My brain finally starts to process the words and I focus.

“Yes.” The word is flat, uninterested – acknowledging the fact that she spoke but by no means encouraging her to continue, even if a small part of my brain was silently begging her to continue, anything to hear her sweet voice.

Her voice is cold as she speaks, and the sense of loss I feel as she looks at me with deadened eyes is indescribable.

“Well since you invited,” she places a strange inflection on the word “me here, I figured you had something to say. But maybe you are just a spoiled brat who likes to have his own way, if the latter is the case then I shall be leaving – I have know time for people like you.” This time the disgust in her voice is clear. My temper flares at the tone, my pride objecting to her judgmental summary of me as a rich brat. If only she knew the half of it.

“Yes I did invite you, but perhaps I was mistaken in thinking you mature enough to handle the information I had planned to impart upon you.” I keep my tone of one of disdain, as though she were far beneath my notice, when in reality she is anything but. Her eyes narrow and I know that my dig at her maturity is bang on target, and I decide to take it one step further, if only to reassert myself in her presence. “Oh, have I touched a nerve?” This time I force my voice into one of innocent concern. Her jaw juts forward as she looks at me, rage burning in her jade eyes and I can honestly say I have never seen anyone so beautiful in my entire life as she does right now with her wild hair around her face and dark eyes focussed upon me with a frightening intensity.

Strangely when she speaks it is in a level voice and I cant help but admire her control, I dread to think about what could have happened to this girl to result in such control during clear emotional unrest.

“Well you will either tell me or you wont, but if you continue to gawk at me in that, oh so attractive, fashion than neither of us will get what we want.” And now it’s my turn to feel the frustration rise to the surface.

“I guess I’d better get on with it then, before little miss hard-done-by gets her knickers in a twist.” I pause, watching her face for some show of emotion, and finding none I continue; “I thought that, given your little drama in the forest, during which you attempted to track a group of so called poachers single handed and without any form of weapon,” she opens her mouth to speak so I jump in, “honey, your hair does not count as a weapon, even if it is currently blinding me.” That one almost gets a rise out of her. “Anyway where was I? Oh yes telling you about what I’ve recently discovered; that there is in fact a strange boat trawling up and down this stretch of rive-”

“I knew it!”

“Wait just one second, did I say it was a poachers boat? No I don’t believe I did. All I said is that I didn’t recognise it as one of the locals. That does not immediately make it a poaching boat.” I watch her face as she processes this new information – a slight frown creases her usually smooth brow and her nose scrunches a little as the stares at the door contemplatively. When she eventually meets my gaze I can see determination burning in the depths of her green eyes, and shake my head – there would be no stopping this girl and my raining on her parade had only made her all the more indomitable.

“Well I have plans for an enjoyable evening that definitely don’t involve you, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” 

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Hey guys so here is the next update as promised. Next update within 3 days of getting 15 votes or next sunday. Thanks for the support to the few of you following this :)