The Feeder By lindsay520

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6944236/1/

I glanced at my watch, 11:12 PM. It was time to head back to feed. It was
August 28, I had been feeding off of the human girl for exactly 3 weeks. For me,
most only lasted about three or four weeks, unlike my siblings, who shared a
feeder for at least six months to a year. Once the time came, we always helped
each other eliminate all traces of evidence afterward.

I remember I had picked up her scent last month while running through the
woods. She had a thick forest behind her house in Forks, Washington. I stopped
in my tracks when I caught her scent; it nearly knocked me off my feet. I had to
have her. I found her in her kitchen, putting dishes away. She was alone. I broke
in through the back door and flew through the house into the kitchen. She barely
had time to scream before I grabbed her. A glass fell from her hands, shattering
on the floor, and we were back out into the forest within 3 seconds. God did she
smell amazing. There was no way I could wait until we were back at my cabin. I
stopped in the middle of the forest and pinned her up against a large tree. Then I
sank my teeth into her neck, sucking until she was nearly unconscious. I knew
when to stop before she lost too much blood and I sealed the wound using the
venom on my tongue. Then I proceeded with her back to my cabin.

My footsteps echoed in the street against the buildings as I headed North through
a parking lot, towards the dense trees up ahead. This evening had been
uneventful. I met up with my brother Emmett and sister's husband Jasper in town
for a while and we hung out, stopped a few places, and talked for a while, but my
thoughts kept wandering back to the girl waiting for me in my cabin. Waiting was
not the appropriate word. She was probably dreading my return. There was
something about this one's blood that was so much different than other ones in
the past. It was so, enticing, so, irresistible. I swear I could smell her blood from
the tree line. None of the others had such a strong, desirable smell. Maybe I
could try to make her last longer? As I entered the forest, I broke into a run,
sailing over fallen trees and ducking under branches. About 7 miles in, my cabin
appeared in the distance.

I entered the front door and walked into the bedroom. She looked up at me, right
where I left her, her wrists tied to the bedpost. She had a tired and bored look on
her face. I suppose I could have left her the TV remote. I knew she was probably

expecting me as I normally gave in to my cravings around 11:00 PM. She sat up
a little, and sighed. I didn't speak to her, as usual. I kicked off my shoes and
walked over to her, untied the restraints, grasped her left wrist and led her to the
attached bathroom. She closed the door and I heard the toilet flush and the water
running. She opened the door and walked back to the bed, running her fingers
through her brown hair. She was barefoot, and wore bright green cotton shorts
and a white wife-beater, just a few of the 20 or so articles of clothing my sister
had dropped off amongst several other human necessities. Whenever I brought
home a new feeder, Alice simply needed an approximate height and weight, and
she gladly picked up everything they needed along with anything her and Jasper's
feeder needed. I estimated this one was about 5'3" and 110 pounds. It must be a
female thing, because Rose would shop for her and Emmett's feeder as well, and
they seemed to enjoy it.

I made a mental note to turn the air conditioner on before I left tomorrow. For a
human, it was pretty warm, hence the clothing she wore today, or lack thereof.
She robotically crawled to the middle of the bed and laid flat on her back. I guess
she knew the routine by now, after 3 weeks. 5 seconds went by and she lifted her
head up to look at me.

"Are you ready?" She asked softly.

I blinked. Never once, have I had a feeder give themselves up like she appeared
to be doing. The first week, I had to restrain her, hold her down, tune out her
screams as I drank from her. Like most feeders, she struggled. The second week,
she still struggled, but less, crying her eyes out as she pushed against my chest
until I took all I could before sealing the wound with my tongue. We've entered
the third week, and she gives up? Well, I wasn't going to complain, it made it
much easier.

I walked over to the bed and knelt between her legs, then leaned over her. My
face hovered over hers. Her eyes were closed. I grabbed her wrists and pinned
them above her head. She scrunched up her face and whimpered. I guess I really
didn't need to pin her arms, she wasn't struggling. I lifted her wrists and slowly
brought them back down to her sides. She opened her eyes in surprise and our
eyes met. Then, I bared my teeth and quickly bit into her neck, slicing open the
artery. She cried out and her body tensed. Her arms flew up and she pressed her
palms to my ribcage.

The warm blood flowed down my throat and I was again reminded of the amazing
difference her blood tasted compared to anyone else. It was beyond delicious, it
nearly drove me crazy. I swallowed once, twice, three times. I felt myself getting
hard, which always happened while feeding; it was an extremely heightening
experience for all my senses. As much as I would love to inflict friction on my
now hard as steel erection, I could never bring myself to sexually violating a
human girl. Drinking their blood was a survival need for me and I could meet my
sexual needs from any number of female vampires if I chose.

I knew I probably only had about another 30 to 60 seconds before she lost too
much blood. Just as I was about to seal the wound with my tongue, she did
something I never would have expected in the 109 years I have been in
existence. Before I knew what was happening, she had her right hand covering
the bulge in my pants. I quickly sealed the wound and held very still, my face still
buried in her neck, mouth agape, eyes wide open. She moved her hand, slid her
knees up around my hips and lifted her hips so that her center was pressed flush
up against the bulge. The friction was incredible, but what the fuck was she
doing? I couldn't think. The combination of the blood I had just consumed and my
arousal being acknowledged was overwhelming. I couldn't function. I stayed

frozen and silent in her neck, waiting. She started to move her hips slightly up
and down and I lost it. I flew up off of her and across the room in 1 second,
landing with both hands pressed up against the wall, my head down. I heard her
shuffling on the bed and turned my head around to look at her. She was still on
her back, knees lifted, but she had lifted herself up on her elbows. She looked
terrified.

"I'm sorry…I…don't know…what came over me." She stuttered nervously. She
looked scared, as if I would come over and finish her off. I couldn't form words to
say to her. Fuck, I didn't even know her name. We barley exchanged 10 words in
the 3 weeks I had held her captive, other than commands and telling her the
rules.

"I could have killed you." I said finally. She sat up, swung her legs over the edge
of the bed and stood up, but thought twice, and sat down.

"May I…please have a moment?" She asked quietly, gesturing to the bathroom. I
nodded. She quickly walked past me, her scent as powerful as I have ever
smelled her. She entered the bathroom and closed the door softly behind her.

I stayed frozen to my spot, both hands outstretched on the wall. My erection
hadn't subsided. I listened. She was crying softly, trying hard not to make a
sound, but of course I could hear through concrete walls, let alone a wooden
door. I heard her body slide down the wall and pictured her sitting with her arms
wrapped around her knees, hiding her face. A couple of minutes went by and my
pants were no longer straining to tear the seams. I sighed, then walked into the
bathroom. She was exactly how I had pictured her and abruptly looked up, a look
of pure terror on her face, again, as if I came in to murder her.

"Please, I'm sorry! I won't do anything like that ever again! Please don't!" She
sobbed, her back pressed firmly against the wall, pushing backwards as if she
was trying to get away from me. I walked over to her until I was standing directly
in front of her. She was squeezing her eyes shut. I bent down, slid my left arm
beneath her knees and my right arm behind her back and lifted her up. I walked
her back over to the bed and gently laid her down, placing her head on a pillow.

"Sleep." I said, then I walked out of the room.

I sat in my small living room for what seemed like about 3 hours. The TV flashed
brightly, but I had the sound turned all the way down. I stood up, clicked the TV
off, and walked back over to the bedroom. She was sound asleep. I quietly
walked up to the bed and stood over her, looking at the her. She lay curled up in
a ball. She looked about 20 or 21, long brown hair, brown eyes. She was actually
quite beautiful. I wondered what her name was. What the fuck am I thinking?
She's a human with whom I feed off of! I use her for her blood! She is nothing to
me other than a means to feed. My eyes stayed fixed on her.

By 7:33 AM, her heart rate changed and she began to stir. I knew she would
awake soon. I hadn't moved from my spot next to the bed, looking over her. She
uncurled from her position, and stretched out on her side. The wife-beater rode
up on her waist, exposing the skin on her side. The green shorts were also riding
up, and I could see the curve of her ass peeking out from the bottom of the
shorts. She stirred again and rolled onto her back. Her arms sli up above her
head onto the pillow. My eyes were drawn to her wife-beater inching upward,
now exposing her flat, tan stomach and little bellybutton. My eyes traveled up, oh
God, she wasn't wearing a bra. Her nipples were nearly visible beneath the thin
white cotton. I was hard again.

She slowly opened her eyes and gasped. She sat up and scurried backwards,
pinning herself up against the headboard. Well, naturally, who wouldn't be
freaked out if they awoke to someone standing over you, staring at you while you
slept? I felt like an idiot. I stood still, but turned my head away from her.

"I didn't intend to startle you." I said coldly. She was quiet. I looked back at her
and realized she had noticed my clearly visible erection through my pants. In 1
second, I turned myself around and flew out of the room, leaving her to herself.
I'm sure the fast, inhumane movements always made her uncomfortable, but
how could it get any worse now?

A few moments later, I ordered the girl to make herself something for breakfast.
She ate silently. I needed her to be well nourished so that I could continue to
drink from her. After breakfast, I tied her up as usual while I spent the afternoon
out. I stopped in, untying her so she could eat lunch, and allowed her to shower
and change clothing. Eventually, the sun began to set. I waited until she ate
dinner before I tied one wrist to the bed post. Before I left, I dropped the remote
to the bedroom TV beside her on the bed.

I couldn't wrap my head around what had happened the previous night and I was
driving myself crazy trying to make sense out of any of it, so I chose to avoid
thinking about it. I occupied myself by running into town and stopping a few
places, a book store, a music store. Then I simply walked through the streets
until everything was closed.

Well, by 11:55 PM, there was no more avoiding it. I needed to feed, badly. I
arrived home and entered the bedroom. The girl sat up. She had been dozing and
blinked the sleep from her eyes. I removed my shoes and routinely walked over
to her, untied her, led her to the bathroom, and silently waited. She exited the
bathroom and climbed onto the bed.

Tonight she wore a pair of white cotton shorts and another white wife-beater. Her
skin was tan against the white, it looked so smooth. It was about 80 degrees and
I realized I had forgotten to turn the AC on for her. I walked up to the bed and
knelt between her legs. She laid there, eyes closed, breathing heavily, waiting. I
leaned over her face and waited. She didn't open her eyes. I leaned down into
her neck and bit. Again, she cried out in brief pain and her hands instinctively
went up and pressed against my abdomen. She didn't push me away though,
really, there was no point, and she knew that.

I marveled in the thick warmth flowing down my throat and felt my body react,
my jeans beginning to tighten. My mind started to wander, and I thought of last
night...her hand pressed against my crotch, the friction, her hips, sliding...oh
God, I wanted it. I wanted her. I needed to feel it again.

I continued to drink. My knees started to slide down the bed, closer, closer, until
my groin came flush up against her center. My left hand started to move
downward, as if it had a mind of its own. It moved down her side, her hip, her
leg. My fingers curled underneath her knee and I lifted it up, bringing myself
tighter up against her. My hips started to glide in an upward and downward
movement, grinding against her core, pressing the bulge in my jeans all over her
white cotton shorts. I slid my tongue over her neck wound, sealing it, but still
kept my face buried in her neck. I could hear her heartbeat racing. Then I felt her
move. She lifted her other knee up and wrapped it around my hip, holding me
against her. Oh my God, was this actually happening?

I pressed my hardness into her center, reveling in the friction, if only my jeans
weren't restricting me. Then, as if she could read my mind, her hands started

moving. She slid them down my abdomen, and they grasped the top of my jeans,
her warm fingertips lying gently on my pelvis. I froze as she began unbuttoning
my jeans. I let out a half gasp half moan as I realized what was happening. She
started to push my jeans down. I helped, moving in inhumane speed to pull them
off and toss them on the floor, and was back above her before she could take
another breath, my face back up against her neck. With only my boxers
restricting me now, the friction was mind-blowing. Grinding up against her
center, I could feel the heat coming off of her. Her shorts were damp, I could
smell her arousal.

There was no use, I was gone. My hands started to feel her, moving up her sides,
underneath her wife-beater, along her ribcage. She let out a soft moan as my
cool hands found her small breasts, gently groping them. My palms slid over her
hardened nipples. I moved back down her body to them hem of her shorts. She
lifted her ass up off the bed giving me permission. I lifted my head up a little and
slowly peeled them off, she wasn't wearing anything underneath and I nearly
came at the realization. Then, she arched her back slightly off the bed and pulled
her wife-beater off, leaving herself fully exposed to me. She was perfect, other
than the scars I had left all over her neck. I pulled my t-shirt off and lay on top of
her warm body, her beautiful breasts pressing up against my cold, hard chest.
The only thing separating us was my boxers and my cock was begging to escape.
I continued to grind up against her. Then I heard her say, in the most erotic
whisper,

"What's your name?"

I lifted my head up above her face. Our eyes hadn't met at all this entire time
until now.

"Edward," I said, my black eyes burning into hers.

"Edward," she breathed, "please, I need this…it's been so long. I need you to fuck
me."

I'm surprised I didn't tear her in two. I ripped my boxers off and slammed into
her hot, wet center, hearing her yell,

"God yes!"

The way she said my name, whisperered it, pleaded for me to fuck her, was the
single hottest moment of my 109 years. I thrust in and out of her as she gasped
beneath me, her fists grasping the bed sheets. Her legs spread open wide. I eyed
her breasts jiggling up and down, up and down, with each thrust. I grabbed her
by her right shoulder and flipped her over, quickly grasping her hips and pulling
her back onto my cock. What a fucking beautiful ass on her, it jiggled slightly as I
pounded into her. I reached around and grabbed both breasts in my hands. She
was moaning loudly, it raw pleasure. Suddenly, she reached down in front of her
between her legs and cupped my balls. I was so far gone, curling my hips into
her, feral growls escaping my throat. Her heat, it was too much. I had never
fucked a human woman and the heat was absolutely indescribable. I couldn't get
enough. I found my hand sliding down her stomach, lower, lower, coming to rest
on her swollen clit. I applied the slightest pressure there, and she started to
quiver beneath me,

"Oh...oh God!" She screamed, I felt her pulse through her center and she started
convulsing from the inside, squeezing around my cock. I growled loudly and my
hips started to shake as I came. I continued to slide in and out of her until the
sensation subsided and I stopped, still inside of her. I couldn't get enough of that
heat, it was incredible. I had never felt this way before, it was sensory overload.

To fuck after feeding? And to fuck a warm human? Unlike the cold, dead, female
vampires I had been with, this was no comparison, she was no comparison.

I pulled out of her and fell next to her on the bed, as she lay down on her
stomach, panting and quivering. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I had
just fucked a human woman and didn't even kill her in the process. And it was
fucking amazing...fresh blood flowing through my body, a warm body beneath
me. She was nearly scalding hot to the touch, especially between her legs.

Then my brain started to function again...what the fuck was she thinking? I
kidnapped her, tied her up, used her, and practically tortured her. I couldn't take
it anymore, it was driving me crazy. I normally do not speak to feeders any more
than I have to, but this was unlike any other scenario.

I sat up in the blink of an eye, grabbed my pants off the floor and pulled them
on, fastening my belt. I left my T-shirt and torn boxers lying on the floor. She
saw me moving and took that moment to pull herself up and turn away from me.
She wrapped her arms around her torso, and hunched over slightly. I walked
around the bed, grabbed her wife-beater and shorts in one scoop and tossed
them to her. I walked to the other side of the room as she dressed and came to a
stop at the window, peering out into the night. I remained fixed there, arms
crossed, looking out into the darkness. Once I knew she was dressed, I spoke,

"Come here." I commanded. There was a slight hesitation, but I heard her slowly
stand up from the bed and walk towards me. She stopped beside me, to my
right, still keeping her distance. With my arms still crossed, I slowly turned my
head to look at her. She was scared. I could see it in her eyes. "What are you
called?" I asked. She got a confused look on her face. "Your name." I said
impatiently and a little louder than intended, "What is your name?" She
swallowed once,

"Bella" She said softly.

"Well...Bella," it was strange acknowledging a feeder by their name, "I don't
know whether you've lost your mind, or you are just stupid. Tell me...what is
wrong with you?" Her mouth dropped open slightly and her eyebrows turned
inward.

"Nothing is...wrong with me!" She argued, "...but, other than food and water,
humans have other needs too, you know!" She snapped loudly, frowning. I
grabbed her throat with one hand, not hard enough to choke her, but with
enough pressure to turn her around and pin her up against the glass window.

"Do not raise your voice at me!" I scolded her. Her hands flew up, and she tried
to remove my hand from around her neck. I let go after a second, my eyes still
burning into hers. Her eyes started welling up with tears and I looked away.

She spoke again, "Look...I...I know I am not going anywhere. I'm probably going
to be here until...until..." I knew what she was trying to say. Until I killed her.
She sighed, not completing the sentence. "I might as well...make the best out of
it." She said under her breath. If my hearing ability had been of a human, I
probably wouldn't have been able to hear that last sentence. She took a quivering
breath, and I turned back to face her. Two fat tears rolled down her cheeks. I
stood there, looking at her, for the next 10 seconds. She avoided my glare. Then
I reached towards her, causing her to flinch and back up against the window, but
I only cupped her face between both my hands, and used my thumbs to gently
wipe the tears from her eyes. Then I placed my left hand behind her onto the
small of her back, and led her back to the bed. She silently climbed in and lay
down.

"Rest now." I said, and turned. I started to walk out of the bedroom.

"Edward?" She said, causing me to stop in my tracks. Again, to be acknowledged
by name by a feeder was somewhat disturbing, it caught me off guard. I turned
to look at her. She sat up on her elbows, her eyes still watery.

"Why do you do that?" She asked. I stared blankly at her, "Why do you act as if
you want to hurt me or punish me, and then suddenly…you're kind to me? Like
yesterday, when you carried me to the bed, and then now, when you touched my
face like that. You were…gentle, and kind. I don't understand."

Hell, I didn't understand myself. This human confused me. She made me do
things without even thinking. Why was I kind to her like that? I shouldn't be. I
needed her to fear me. This is why, when I speak to her, I use aggression so that
she won't forget where she is and who she belongs to. She needs to realize that
she would be punished or hurt if she broke my rules. I suddenly realized, I didn't
want to hurt her. I couldn't explain it in my own head, let alone, to this girl. I
sighed and ran my fingers through my messy bronze hair.

"Just lie down now, you need to rest." I said, avoiding the question. As I walked
out the door and into the hallway, I quickly flipped the switch to the air
conditioner on.

~*~

I walked into my living room. My hands immediately flew up to my head, my
fingers grasping my messy hair. I paced back and forth. I needed to get a grip on
myself! So many thoughts were swimming through my head, and I desperately
needed to sort them out. I needed to go for a run. I did my best thinking while I
ran. I burst outside and took off through the thick, dark woods. I would have
been a blur to the human eye.

I knew of vampires who raped their victims, in fact, many of them did. My family
and I were not like that. We held them captive for long periods of time and used
them for their blood continuously so that we could minimize the number of
casualties involved within the city. The longer we prolonged our victim, the fewer
we would have to capture and eventually kill. Others would catch and drink from
their victims, immediately killing them, sometimes raping the females in the
process. Those were the true monsters. My family and I wouldn't dream of
forcing ourselves onto our victims sexually. Not that any of my family would want
to as each of them were married to each other. I was the only "single" one in our
group. Sex with a vampire was intense. This is why I always assumed committing
the act with a human would include killing the victim at the same time since a
vampire's strength would clearly overpower the human's. I guess I was wrong.

Shit, what have I done? Did I force myself onto her? No, I didn't.
She...she...wanted it. Oh God, why am I justifying this? This is ridiculous. It was
wrong, plain and simple. It never should have happened. Why did I even let it
happen? There was something, different, about this girl. Her blood, her smell, my
mind didn't work right around her. My judgment was clouded around her.

I ran until the sun began to rise. Bella would be waking soon. Oh great, I
suddenly realized, I forgot to tie her up. It wouldn't be difficult to track her scent
and bring her back, but if she reached town, it would be much more difficult
covering up the story to whomever she would speak to. Shit, I really didn't feel
like killing witnesses today.

A few miles from my cabin, her beautiful scent hit me like a ton of bricks. I
reached my cabin around 8:00 AM. Her scent was strong, so she couldn't have
gotten far. Unless...was she still asleep inside? I quickly entered my house and
stopped in my tracks. Bella sat on the sofa, freshly showered, in a pair of cut-off
denim shorts and yellow tank top. Her hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail.
She was flipping channels on the TV. When I burst through the door, she dropped
the remote, startled. She quickly stood up, froze, then sat back down.

"I...uh...hope it's OK that I showered." She said nervously, her fingers fumbling
around on her lap. I walked toward her, my footsteps thumping loudly on the
hardwood floor. She moved her hands to her sides, bracing herself against the
sofa cushions and biting into her bottom lip. She thought I was going to hurt her.
For what, for showering? I stopped directly in front of her, looking down at her.
She wouldn't meet my gaze. I reached toward her, placed my fingers lightly
under her chin, and gently tilted her face up to me. Her chocolate eyes finally met
my scarlet eyes. I took my thumb, touched it to her bottom lip, and gently pulled
it away from her teeth. She left teeth marks. I had the urge to run my thumb
back and fourth over that plump bottom lip, but I restrained myself.

"Why didn't you run away?" I asked her quietly, trying to ignore the sound of her
racing heart. She didn't respond,

I slowly crouched down to her level. She turned her head away from me and my
hand lost contact with her chin. I wanted it back, her warm skin on my cold skin.
It was strangely appealing. I still didn't understand though, every other human I
used to feed from was warm to the touch, but it never seemed to appeal to me,
until now, with her, Bella. She swallowed, then said,

"You told me, back when you...brought me here...that there was no use in
running because you would...track me down." She said, her voice quivering. She
was choosing her words very carefully, as if she was afraid of angering me. What
she said was correct, I explained this in the rules. I remember the conversation
very clearly. She had just woken up in my cabin from eventually losing
consciousness after my first feeding in the woods. I had her wrists tied to the bed
post. She was terrified, naturally, bursting into tears, desperately pleading for me
not to hurt her. It surprised me she was coherent enough to listen. It was the
same set of rules and explanations I recited to all of my feeders:

"This is where you will reside now. You will remain tied up when I am gone. When
I am present, I will untie you but do not bother trying to run away because I will
catch you. Do not underestimate a vampire's speed. If something occurs to cause
you to run without my immediate knowledge, I will track you by your scent and
find you. If you make contact with anybody, both you and they will be killed. You
are to remain well nourished as I will be taking your blood every evening."

As I sat there, crouched down in front of her, my front door opened and Alice
walked in carrying armfuls of grocery bags. Bella jumped.

"Time to restock!" Alice said cheerfully, lying the bags on my kitchen counter.
She turned toward us in the attached living room and frowned. She cleared her
throat,

"Um, can I talk to you outside, dear brother?" Alice and I knew not to call each
other by our first names in front of our human feeders. Little did she know, I had
already willingly given that information up to Bella the previous night. I followed
Alice outside.

"Edward, why are you staring at that girl as if you want to eat her alive?" She
asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

"I was asking her a question." I replied. I heard Bella shuffling around inside. It
sounded like she was putting the groceries away.

"She's lasted pretty long, this one. I mean, for you." She said, raising her
eyebrows. "I'm sure it won't be long now." She said turning to leave. I watched
her gain speed and disappear into the forest.

I looked up at the sky. The sun shone brightly and the temperature was steadily
increasing. There was still a slight breeze though. I'm sure the girl could use
some fresh air. I walked inside to find her rummaging through the refrigerator,
her back to me, making room for the new groceries. She was almost done. I
stood there silently behind her. She was barefoot, my eyes ran up her smooth,
toned legs, up to the edges of the cut-off shorts. Man, those were short shorts.
God, her ass was perfect, so tight. Jesus Edward, control your thoughts! She
finished, closed the refrigerator door, turned around and let out a short scream,
her hand covering her heart. I was standing right in front of her and she hadn't
even heard me come in.

"Put some shoes on, we're going outdoors." I said to her, and walked back
outside. She appeared a few minutes later wearing a pair of sporty white tennis
shoes. She walked onto the porch and stopped beside me, leaving about 4 feet of
distance between us. A few seconds went by and she hadn't moved.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" I said impatiently, gesturing out into the
clearing in front of my cabin.

"What should I do?" She asked, her palms turning upwards at her sides,

"What did you used to do outdoors? Walk, run, hike? Do what you want!" I said
rather loudly.

"Well, I always used to run. My ex-boyfriend was a trainer and got me interested
in lifting and running."

"So let's run." I said, stepping off the porch step and started into a slow jog. Her
eyes widened and she complied, following me. The pace was excruciatingly slow
for me, but she seemed comfortable with it. After about 15 minutes, I picked up
my pace from a jog to a run and she did the same. I listened to the crunching of
leaves and sticks beneath her feet, her breathing increasing, her heartbeat
quickening. About an hour later, she started to slow down. We came to a stop in
a large clearing sprinkled with wildflowers.

"I'm sorry..." She said, bending over, her hands on her knees, "It's been 3 weeks
since I've run, my stamina isn't what it used to be." She said, trying to catch her
breath. I stood still and watched her. She had tiny beads of sweat along her
forehead. She stayed bent at the waist trying to even her breathing. I walked
over to her and placed my hand on her back,

"Sit." I told her, seating myself down on the soft, mossy ground. She plopped
down to my left, finally getting some control of her breath. She looked up at the
sky and closed her eyes. The sunlight washed across her face. She started
running her hands over the moist ground, brushing her fingers through the long
grass blades. Then she leaned back and laid down, her hands behind her head.
She looked up at the sky.

"It's been a while since I could enjoy the sunlight." She said, closing her eyes. I
watched her, wondering what she was thinking about. She licked her lips. Damn
it, I should have thought to bring a water bottle along for her. I needed to get her
back to the cabin so she could drink and replenish.

"We need to get back, you need water." I said, grabbing her by her forearm and
standing us up. She grimaced at my tight grasp. I immediately released her arm.
What the fuck is the matter with me? I needed to be careful with her, she was
just a human. If I wasn't careful, I could break her.

"Wait," she said, her beautiful chocolate eyes melting into mine, "that's a long
run back, can't we rest longer?" God, those big doe eyes almost made my knees
weak. But she needed water, otherwise she may not be in very good condition for
me to feed off of her tonight.

"Come here," I said, reaching my arms out to her. She walked toward me,
reluctantly. I led her around my back and gently placed her arms around my
neck. I heard her breath hitch. Her hands splayed out on my chest over my T-
shirt. Then I crouched down slightly, swung my forearms around the backs of her
knees and lifted her up onto my back. Sensory overload. Her hands on my chest,
her legs wrapped around my waist, her breasts pressed up against my back, her
breath on the back of my neck. Stay in control Edward! Snap out of it!

"Hold on tight." I told her. Her arms gripped around me, and I took off at full
speed.

We were back at my cabin within minutes. I placed her softly on the ground,
disappointed in the loss of warm contact.

"Wow!" She breathed. I turned to look at her. Her hair was wind-blown, cheeks
pink. "That was...amazing!" I turned away from her and grinned.

Bella drank an entire bottle of water and made herself lunch. She spent the rest
of the afternoon doing laundry in my tiny laundry room at the back of the cabin.
As I sat in the armchair in my living room, flipping through a sports-car
magazine, she brought out a full laundry basket and started to fold it on the
couch. I noticed some of my clothes were included in the basket. As she was
neatly folding a pair of my gray boxer briefs, she noticed me staring at her.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind." She said, nodding toward the pile of T-shirts and
boxers, then grabbing out a pair of my jeans, "I needed a full load, so I added
yours."

"That's fine." I said. I couldn't stop staring at her. She daintily folded one thing
after another making a neat little pile of her own T-shirts, tanks, shorts, and
cotton underwear. She looked content. How can that be? She is trapped here,
with a monster that uses her for her blood, and will eventually kill her.

I watched her stack the clean laundry back into the basket and bend down to pick
it up. That ass, it was practically peeking out of those shorts. I felt something
tighten up in the pit of my stomach. She walked the basket into the bedroom
and, a few minutes later, I heard the shower turn on. 15 minutes later, she
appeared, this time wearing a pair of red cotton shorts and fitted pink T-shirt with
red print.

She made herself something to eat for dinner and I took that time to take a cool
shower myself. All I could think about while I was taking my shower, was her in
the shower, with hot soapy water running down her naked body. Have I lost my
mind? Why do I keep having these inappropriate thoughts about this girl? I
stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist, covering my
huge hard-on.

I walked to the bedroom, over to the dresser, and pulled out a pair of plaid, navy
blue lounge pants. I skipped the shirt, and walked barefoot into the living room.

Bella was curled up in a ball, asleep on the couch. The TV was on, the remote
dangling from her hand. It was 9:30 PM. I knew she had to be exhausted from
our run today. She had been cooped up for weeks, naturally she'd be worn out. I
walked over to her, carefully took the remote from her hand and placed it on the
end table. Then I gently scooped her up. Her warm cheek pressed against my
bare shoulder. I carried her to the bedroom, laid her down, and covered her up
with the comforter. She sighed and curled up onto her side, snuggling into the
pillow. I sat on the opposite end of the bedroom in a leather desk chair.

10:30 ticked by, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30. I let out a low growl. I was so goddamn
thirsty. I needed to drink, but I wanted to let her rest. Couldn't I give her one
night's worth of comfortable, uninterrupted sleep? I needed to try. I could go one
day without her blood, I'm not that weak. 2:30 passed. 2:35, 2:40, I stood up.
So, fucking, thirsty. I started to pace the bedroom.

I can do this, just leave her alone, let her sleep in peace for once. I needed to get
away from her scent. I walked into the hallway, the living room, the kitchen, my
hand hit the front doorknob. Can't. I turned and was back in the bedroom in a
flash, on the bed hovering over her sleeping form, my hands on either side of her
head, my knees on either side of her hips. She was deeply sound asleep. My
entire body shook, my teeth were bared. I couldn't even imagine how she
would've reacted if she had opened her eyes to the sight in front of her. Need it,
need it, need it, so thirsty, need it, need it, neeeeeeeeed it! My hands grabbed
her head, tilted it to the side, and my teeth sunk into her neck.

Her scream was ear-splitting. She was instantly awake and clawing at my chest,
kicking underneath me. My hands instinctively pinned her wrists down and my
legs tightened down on hers to stop the fight. I swallowed the warm blood, just
feeling the burning relief slide down my throat. Soooo good. She was crying
hysterically, her efforts to stop me subsiding. I swallowed and swallowed, my
mind beginning to revert back to its normal state. I was no longer consumed by
my thirst. I knew I had taken my limit and sealed the wound. My eyes widened,
what had I just done? I was frozen in the same position, above her body, pinning
her down, as she gasped for air in between cries. I was off of her in an instant,
and watched her frantically crawl off the bed and run to the opposite end of the
bedroom, backing up against the corner and sliding down into a sobbing ball. She
was in hysterics.

"Why...why did you...I don't," She choked out, "Couldn't you have...warned
me...or something?" She wailed. This was bad, I didn't like this. She was
terrified, I didn't like this at all. I didn't want her to feel this way, I didn't want to
hurt her. I didn't want to hurt her! I needed to change this. Before she could blink
her eyes again, I was kneeling down in front of her, gathering her in my arms.
She started to push against my chest, trying to get away from me. "No! Get away
from me! Get away!" She cried.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I'm sorry, please, I didn't mean to frighten you, please, come
here. I'm sorry." I said, my hands encircling her waist. She finally stopped
struggling and allowed me to pull her close to me. I held her against my bare
chest, feeling her tears falling on my skin. I smoothed her hair down and gently
cupped the back of her head, leaning my cheek up against the top of her head.
My other hand was around her waist, holding her to me. I whispered, "I'm sorry,
I'm sorry," over and over. We sat there, on the floor, until she stopped shaking,
and eventually, she pulled back and looked up at me, her eyes red and puffy from
crying.

"I'd like to sleep now." She said, her voice hoarse from crying. I released her
from my hold and allowed her to climb back into bed. I stood up and she turned
on her side, away from me. I was appalled with myself.

The next six days were a blur to me. Bella avoided me at all costs. She wouldn't
look at me or speak to me. She was on edge, startled at the slightest of my
movements. I didn't have to tie her up anymore. She wasn't going to try to
escape. I came and went, leaving her alone in the house, always returning to
feed before midnight. She was always anticipating it now, more than ever. And
she cried when I fed from her, just like she used to when I first brought her here.
She only let me hold her afterward on that one single night, when I was too weak
to resist her and took from her while she slept, traumatizing her. I was a coward.

After I'd drink from her, I'd try to comfort her, I'd want to comfort her. I wanted
to wrap my arms around her and apologize over and over, but she'd push me
away and go sit in the bathroom alone. I watched her sleep at night. She'd toss
and turn, sometimes talk. She'd call out in distress in her dreams. Once for her
mother, and once for someone named Jacob. But mostly just pleaded for me to
stop attacking her.

I couldn't take it anymore, I didn't know what to do. By now, I would have killed
my human feeder, and start over with a new one. I just couldn't bring myself to
do it. I didn't want to. I wanted her here with me. Not just to feed off of. I
wanted to make her smile, I wanted to hear her voice, look into her eyes, feel her
skin. God, I was so fucked up.

The next day, I decided I needed to clear my head of everything that was going
on. I had to get out of the house and focus my mind on something else for a
while. She was in the shower when I quickly changed clothes and took off running
full speed, North. I reached my destination in about 45 minutes. A cabin, similar
to mine, stood in a clearing.

"Emmett," I said in a normal speaking tone. A second later, the front door
opened, and my brother walked out.

"Little brother! To what do I owe the pleasure?" He said grinning, jogging up to
me and playfully punching me in the shoulder.

"I needed to get out of the house. Do you want to run to the beach?" I said. He
turned over his shoulder toward his house, and said,

"Hear that Rose? I'll be back later." He said, scooping up a football laying in his
yard, and we started to run West.

Once we arrived at the secluded stretch of beach along the Pacific Ocean, we
started to toss the football back and forth. We talked about Alice's "birthday"
party coming up in a few weeks and Emmett told me a story that Carlisle had told
him about involving an incident that had happened at the hospital where our
father works. Then Emmett told me about how Rose wanted to build an additional
bathroom in their cabin since their feeder needed to shower and she was sick of
sharing.

"Say, are you still on that same one?" Emmett asked, referring to Bella. I nodded.
"Wow, she's lasted longer than most, what's the deal?"

"I don't know man. She's...different."

"What do you mean" He asked, kicking over a piece of dead drift wood. God, I
really didn't want to go here right now. I needed to clear my mind of this! I
sighed,

"Her scent, her blood, it tastes...different...better, I guess." I mumbled. Emmett
raised one eyebrow. "Let's head back." I said quickly, avoiding that topic.

We ran back to his cabin and saw that Alice and Jasper had stopped by for a visit.
They lived closer to Rose and Emmett than I did. Alice and Rose were sitting on
the porch swing, Jasper was leaning up against the porch rail.

"Edward!" Said Alice, "What brings you to this neck of the woods?" She said
swinging her feet.

"Just needed to get out." I said.

"So what's new?" She asked cheerfully.

"Dude's still got that same girl back at his place, the brunette." Emmett said,
tossing the football onto the ground, same spot he found it earlier. I could have
punched him in the face.

"Seriously Edward?" Alice asked.

"That must be a new record for you." Rose said snidely.

"Good for you man." Jasper said.

"Edward says she tastes different." Emmett continued on. I clenched my fists, he
needed to shut the fuck up.

"How so?" Jasper asked. All three of them were staring at me. I rubbed the back
of my neck, not quite knowing what to say. I wouldn't meet any of their gazes.

"Look...I don't know...just drop it, okay?" I said irritably. They were all silent,
staring at me, frowning. "I've got to get going." I said, turning away from their
glaring red eyes.

"Edward." Rose said sternly. I turned to look at her. She stood up from the porch
swing, walked down the steps, and directly up to me. She was almost as tall as
me and we stood face to face, mere inches apart. Her eyes burned into mine,
"You wouldn't?" She whispered.

Alice gasped, standing up from the swing, realizing what Rose was insinuating. A
second later, something clicked in both guys' heads and Emmett took a step
closer to me,

"Dude," he started, his eyes wide, "are you hittin' that?" He asked at last, saying
what was clearly on everybody's minds. I didn't respond immediately, but after
two many seconds of uncomfortable silence, all I could say to Emmett was,

"Fuck you."

Before I knew it, I was on the ground, blond hair hanging directly in my face, a
hand wrapped tightly around my throat. Rose had knocked me off my feet,
pinning me to the ground. I swung my right arm around, grabbed the arm she
held me with, and violently yanked her off of me. Emmett quickly interfered,
wrapping his big arms around his wife's arms so that she couldn't go after me
again.

"Wait wait wait." Said Alice, quickly running down the steps and up to me as I
stood up, "Is that even possible, without killing the girl?" She asked, not directly
to me, but to the group in general. I started to brush the dirt off my jeans. I
could feel Rose's burning glare. Then, Jasper stepped up,

"It actually is possible." He said calmly. Jasper was older than all of us, and had
the most knowledge of our kind. We all turned to look at him. "If a vampire has
consumed blood, he is satiated, he is in control. If he is thirsty, he is weak,
almost powerless to control his urges, and there would be no way. The thirst
would overpower the mind, therefore, giving in to all strength control." This made
sense to me. I had fed off of her right before...things took a turn. My mind was
aware of what I was doing, and, subconsciously, I maintained enough control to
avoid hurting, or killing her. All four of their heads turned to look at me at the
same time.

"Edward," Alice started, "did you take advantage of that girl?" Alice asked me in a
stern voice. I heard Rose let out a low growl, Emmett tightened his hold on her. I
closed my eyes. After a long pause, I finally spoke,

"You wouldn't understand."

"Edward, how could you?" Rose yelled, "We're not like that! We aren't monsters
like the rest of them! You disgust me!" She finally broke free of Emmett's grip
and stormed into her house, slamming the door behind her. We all knew Rose's
sensitivity to the sexual assault of women. It happened to her when she was
human, traumatizing her to this day. Alice stood, a hand covering her mouth,
staring at me. Jasper stared at the ground. Emmett just shook his head, then
said,

"Dude, we're not done here." Then he jogged into his cabin to find Rose. I
blocked out the sound of their talking inside. Alice turned to Jasper,

"Jasper, I need a moment with my brother. I'll meet you at home later." She said
gesturing me to follow her into the woods. I didn't know what else to do, so I
followed her.

~*~

We ran a few minutes South, then stopped in the middle of a large cluster of pine
trees.

"What's going on Edward?" Alice asked, concern in her voice. I couldn't avoid it
any longer. I crouched down to the ground, head down, and sighed. Both hands
went into my hair. How do I even start? I trusted my sister, and I knew she
wouldn't judge me, but it didn't make this any easier. Alice waited patiently for
me to collect my thoughts.

"It happened just over a week ago." I started quietly, my hands still buried in my
hair. Alice remained silent, waiting for me to continue. I lifted my head up and
looked at her,

"Alice, she messed my head up." I said a little louder, and slightly frantic. Alice
narrowed her eyes.

"What happened?" Sshe asked, kneeling down beside me on the ground. I could
tell by Alice's face, she was wracking her brain trying to figure it out. I let out
another long sigh,

"She...did something." I paused, not quite sure how to describe it. After all, Alice
was my sister, I didn't want to get into too much detail. There's nothing like
having your sister hear 'she grabbed my raging hard-on while I drank from her
and then we screwed like rabbits the following day'. It's not really something a
sibling wants to picture in their head. "She...provoked me...and I...reciprocated."
I said at last. Alice stared at me.

"She provoked you?' Alice asked, "Why would she do that?"

"I don't know!" I yelled, standing up. I wasn't yelling at Alice, but at my state of
confusion over the whole ordeal. "All I know is that I never should have let it
happen! The second she...showed what she was interested in...I lost my mind! I
can't think straight around her now!"

"So...it happened?" Alice asked, trying to confirm what she was already thinking.

"Yes, it happened!" I said standing up, "Right after I drank from her, and it was
fucking amazing." Shit, I didn't mean to say that last part out loud.

"But she...provoked you? Like...she instigated it? So it was mutual, you didn't
force her?"

"No, I didn't force her. But I let it happen, and I cannot fucking deal with it now."
I said, starting to pace back and forth. Alice walked up to me, stopping me in my
tracks.

"Edward," she started, putting her hands on both my shoulders, "you need to
give yourself a break." I wouldn't look at her. "These feeders are in a very
vulnerable position when we capture them. Both their minds and their bodies."
That actually made sense. I listened closely to her.

"Think about the life you took her away from. I'm sure she had a family, maybe a
boyfriend, a job. She probably had a fulfilling life. Then, instantly, it's all taken
away from her, and all she has...is you."

She was right. I was the only one Bella had now. Whatever Bella's needs were, I
provided.

By the time I arrived home, the sun was starting to set. I entered my house to
find Bella standing at the kitchen sink, washing the dishes from her dinner. She
had already changed into her sleep clothes, a black cotton night dress. It had thin
straps and a little lace modestly trimmed the bottom hem which touched just
above her knees. She wore black crew socks. Her hair was pulled up loosely,
some of it falling out around her face.

She jumped when I walked through the doorway, but didn't say anything, just
finished placing the last dish on the rack to dry. She dried her hands on a towel
and started to walk toward the bedroom.

"Bella," I said to her, stopping her in her tracks, "please come here." She slowly
turned and walked into the living room where I stood. She stood directly in front
of me, about three feet away. I stared at her, she stared at the floor. Then, I
dropped down onto both my knees and I heard a brief gasp escape her lips. I
quickly grabbed both her hands,

"Bella, I need you to listen to me. I need you to understand something. Last
week, when you were asleep, and I...woke you up..." I couldn't bring myself to
revisit the details, "That will never happen again. OK? I will never ever let that
happen again. I swear to you. Please understand that...please. Tell me you
understand. Tell me you believe me."

She looked down at me on the floor, a look of disbelief on her face.

"Why?" She said softly. I didn't know what she was questioning.

"Why what?" I asked her.

"Why does it even matter? You can take my blood whenever and however you
want. I don't have a choice. If you want my blood in the middle of the night, and
I am asleep, you'll take it." She said in a powerless tone.

"No." I said sternly, rising from the floor and leading us both to the white leather
couch. I sat beside her, facing her. Her warm hands were still in mine. "I don't
want it to be like that. I want to make this as easy as possible for you. This is
your life now and I want to make it comfortable for you. I took everything away
from you when I brought you here. So, I want to give you anything I can to make
this new life...tolerable for you."

She frowned at me. "I don't understand. Why would you want to do that?" She
asked. I reached forward and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She
shivered slightly.

"Bella..." I started, "I think..." I couldn't quite believe I was going to admit this,
"I think...I need you." She stared at me, her eyes darting back and forth between
both my red eyes, "There's something...different about you. Your smell, the taste
of your blood...I am obsessed by it, I crave it. I want it, always. And the desire is
only getting stronger. I need you to be here with me, to provide to me. In return,
I want to provide for you."

She swallowed, her eyes wide.

"I want us to have an understanding. Since you will be providing me with your
blood, you must tell me what I can do for you to make your life here bearable.
And I am not just speaking of food, water, shelter...I want you to tell me what I
can provide to bring you...happiness." Her eyes started to well up with tears. I
brought my left hand up to cup her face and she pressed her cheek into my palm.
"Do you understand what I am telling you?" I asked her softly. She nodded her
head, a tear spilled over and dripped down my hand.

Bella sat on the living room sofa for the rest of the evening. She leaned against
the black and white print throw pillow reading a book she had found on my
bookshelf in the bedroom. I took a shower, put on a pair of black basketball
shorts and a white t-shirt, then sat on the living room armchair with a magazine.
By 10:00 PM, Bella was yawning. I glanced over my magazine at her and saw her
put her book down on the end table. She straightened up and started to fidget.

"Um...before I go to sleep...can you...?" She didn't finish, but I was up instantly
and beside her on the sofa. She wanted me to feed from her now, so she
wouldn't have to stay awake. It was somewhat early, and my thirst was
admissible, but I was certainly not opposed to compromising, and starting earlier.
Bella looked around, then leaned back against the leather sofa, "Is here OK?" She
wondered. I nodded, and started to feel my body react to the anticipation of her
blood hitting the back of my throat. She adjusted herself comfortably on the
backrest, and closed her eyes.

I shifted toward her and her body immediately tensed up, her eyes squeezing
tight. I hated that I caused her so much fear. I placed the palm of my hand softly
on the side of her scarred neck, then ran it over her collarbone, down her
shoulder and arm, and rested it on her clenched fist. I took both my hands and
lifted her hand, gently prying her fingers open. Then I brought it up to my face
and placed it tenderly on my forehead, and ran it down over the bridge of my
nose, then over across my cheek bone, and across my jaw. I wanted her to be
comfortable with me, to get to know me. If I would be so close in proximity to
her, I wanted there to be no surprises. She needed familiarity to help eliminate
the tension I caused her. She opened her eyes and I felt her move her fingers.

I dropped my hands and she continued to explore the structure of my face with
her hand, bringing her other hand up to join it. The warmth on my cold skin was
soothing. I closed my eyes and felt her fingertips glide over my eyebrows, across
my forehead, then down my temples and jawline. I let my mouth part slightly as
the tips of her fingers touched my lips with caution. Then, she bravely used her
pointer and middle finger to graze over my bottom teeth. She was curious, I
could tell. I opened my mouth wider for her, baring my teeth. They were shaped
normally, no obnoxious fangs, but extremely sharp. In fact, I didn't want her to
cut herself accidentally,

"Be careful." I murmured, tenderly grasped her wrists and bringing them down.
She blushed and I suddenly got a powerful urge to sink my teeth into her. Her
blood, God, it smelled so divine. It was calling to me, I had to have it. Take it
easy Edward! Do not attack her! I licked my lips and leaned forward. I heard her
heartbeat speed up. She closed her eyes and swallowed, as my face went into her
neck.

I bit into her flesh, and she cried out in pain, her hands rising up to my chest,
initially trying to push me away, but then just settling onto the fabric of my t-
shirt. The blood was amazing, I wanted to devour every drop I could. I felt my
hands come up and grasp her by her shoulders, pulling her tighter to my mouth.
Then I felt myself shifting my weight, to provide myself more leverage. I had her
pressed up against the back of the couch. I swallowed and swallowed, deep
growls escaping my throat as I became completely engrossed. I needed to stop
soon, or she would lose too much. I took 30 more seconds to lap up all I could,
and then closed the wound and pulled away from her.

She quickly sat forward on the couch. Her cheeks were wet with tears. Then I
noticed the red marks on both her bare shoulders. I had been grabbing onto her
too tightly without even realized it. Damn it Edward!

"Are you OK?" I asked bringing my hands up to her shoulders. She flinched away
from me. I couldn't accept this. She needed consolation, obviously, she was
upset. But she wouldn't accept it from me. There was nobody else that could give
it to her, so she would have to accept it from me, for her own well-being. I
reached out to her again and carefully placed my cool hands on top of the red
hand-prints I had left there. I lightly caressed them.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. She stared at the floor. Her face was somber. I hated
that she was hurting. I brought my hands up to her damp cheeks and held her
face in them. I leaned forward so that my face was directly in front of hers, and
softly pressed my forehead against her forehead. "I'm sorry." I whispered again,
tilting my chin inward, and placing a delicate kiss directly on her lips. She gasped
and her eyes opened wide. I quickly backed away from her. I don't know what
came over me. What would cause me to do that? Get a grip on yourself Edward,
you're acting stupidly again, doing things without thinking!

"I'm sorry," I said for a third time, "I wasn't thinking...I'm sorry." I stuttered.

"It's...it's OK." She responded. She stood up and took a few steps toward the
bedroom. Then turned over her shoulder toward me and said, "Goodnight
Edward."

I looked at her, marveling in the warmth that still lingered on my lips, and said
"Goodnight Bella."

An hour went by, and I could still hear her tossing and turning in bed. I stood up
from my spot on the sofa and walked down the hallway to the bedroom.

"Bella, are you OK?" I asked, standing in the doorway.

"Yes." I heard her say meekly. I didn't believe her. She couldn't sleep, something
was bothering her.

"What can I do to help you sleep?" I asked taking a few steps into the room,
approaching the bed where she lay. I looked over her slight form, noticing the
marks on her arms had developed into blue bruises.

"Bella, your arms. Do they hurt?" I asked, sitting down beside her. She sat up in
bed.

"A little." She admitted, wrapping her arms around herself. Great fucking job
Edward. I thought to myself. "Do you have any ibuprofen?" She asked, turning to
face me.

"No, but I can go get some. The grocery store in town is open 24 hours."

"No no, I don't want you to have to go all the way to town in the middle of the
night."

"Bella, it's no problem, really." I said standing up. She grabbed my hand and
pulled me back down, sitting on the bed. Oh my God, her touch, her warmth, it
astonished me, it practically made me delirious.

"No, just stay." She said. Was she telling me to stay here and not go to the store,
or stay by her, near her? This girl sent my mind spinning.

"What can I do to help?" I asked her, bringing my hand up to her shoulder, gently
tracing my fingertips around the bruises. She still held my other hand in hers.
She shivered. I didn't mean to cause her chills.

"Do you have a heating pad?" She asked. I shook my head, no. I made a mental
note to pick up both ibuprofen and a heating pad first thing tomorrow morning.
Bella sighed. "I'll be OK." She said, releasing my hand and laying back down on
the pillow.

"No, let me do something." I said urgently, trying to think of something. She
thought heating it would help..."What if you took a hot shower?" I suggested. She
looked at me, with those big brown eyes.

"I'm pretty tired. Maybe a bath instead?" She said, starting to sit up again.

"Of course, but let me." I told her, standing up and walking to the bathroom. I
turned on the faucet and filled the porcelain tub with hot water. I didn't have any
bath bubbles. I added this to my growing mental shopping list. Maybe I could
take Bella along to the store so that she could choose her favorite scent. Wait!
What am I talking about? I can't take her out! That would be a huge risk. She

could try to signal for help somehow, or someone would recognize her and then I
would have to murder someone. Jesus Edward, start thinking logically! I scolded
myself.

I walked out of the bathroom and stopped in my tracks. Bella was standing next
to the window, in front of the closet, her back to me, holding a bathrobe,
completely naked. The contour of her ass was stunning in the moonlit room. The
taught muscles in her back moved and stretched, her hair sweeping along her
shoulder blades as she slipped the robe on, tying it closed. She turned around
and froze when she saw me staring at her. She blushed again, and I nearly
pounced on her. I flew across the room with the intention of tearing the robe off
her body and groping every inch of her nakedness. But I stopped abruptly,
directly in front of her. I was shaking from head to toe.

"Edward, are you OK?" She asked, startled at my sudden maneuver. I quickly
turned away from her, hiding my growing hardness underneath my thin lounge
shorts. My hands flew up to my hair. Stay in control Edward, cool it!

"Yes, I'm OK. I'm sorry for startling you." I managed to say, still facing away
from her. "The bath is ready."

"Thank you." She said, stepping around me and walking into the bathroom, softly
shutting the door behind her.

I burst into the living room, pacing frantically. What the fuck is going on with me?
This girl was consuming every part of me. She was in control of my mind and my
body, and I don't even think she realizes it. What the fuck am I supposed to do? I
am losing control! I stormed outside, picking up a fallen tree branch and hurling it
across the forest, hearing it tear through the brush and land several yards away.
A heard a few animals scampering off in the distance at the sudden disturbance. I
took off running.

I ran and ran, ignoring the fact that I was barefoot, it didn't matter. I had no idea
what direction I was running in. I focused on the moonlit tree-trunks whipping
past me, the snapping of sticks and brush beneath my feet, the wind violently
blowing through my hair. I wasn't paying attention to how long I ran, but before I
knew it, I was standing in front of a cabin. Emmett and Rose's house.

"Shit." I breathed, bending over, leaning my hands against my knees. Why I
ended up here, I had no idea.

"I hear ya brother." Said Emmett, walking out, and down the porch steps. "Talk
to me man."

Emmett and I ran East into town and walked through the city. I was still barefoot
and got some strange looks from the few people that were still out this late at
night. I told Emmett everything. From the night Bella touched me, to the
following night when I let things go too far, to the night I terrorized her in her
sleep, to tonight, when I nearly ravaged her. I also told him what Alice had said
about the situation.

"Alice knows her shit man. She should, she has a Master's in Psychology." He
said, "I wish I could tell you what to do, but I really don't know. All I know is, I
remember my head getting messed up like that after I met Rose." I raised my
eyebrows at him. "I hate to say it man, but you have some serious feelings for
this girl. Human or not, you're falling for her." I stared at my brother, turning
that around in my head. Jesus fucking Christ. Emmett wasn't done yet,

"Hey, I want to ask you one thing, but I will fucking kill you if you ever mention
this to Rose." I nodded my head. "What was it like man...with a human? How
would you describe that shit?" He asked.

All I could say was, "There are no words man...there are no words." I replied,
slowing shaking my head, not bothering to wipe the huge grin from my face.

~*~

By the time I had arrived home, it was 3:00 AM and Bella was sound asleep. I
took a quick shower since my feet were blackened from running around barefoot.
I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked over to the dresser. I found a pair
of black boxers and a white t-shirt. I glanced back at Bella's sleeping form, then
quickly dropped the towel and put the clothes on.

I walked over to the edge of the bed and looked her over. She had changed into
new pajamas after her bath. She wore an over-sized sleep t-shirt, white, with red
sleeves, a big number 9 printed in red on the front. I gently touched the edge of
each sleeve and peeked at her shoulders underneath. They were still blue, but
the hot bath must have helped alleviate the pain since she was able to fall asleep.

Why did I have a strange urge to lie down in bed beside her? Certainly, if she
woke up and saw me there, she would be frightened. I couldn't forgive myself if I
frightened her again. But I could usually tell when she was starting to wake up,
her heart rate and breathing would change. Maybe I could get away with it.

I walked to the other end of the king size bed, and crawled on top of the
comforter. I lay down on my left side, facing her. I watched her breathing
steadily. She looked so peaceful, it made me feel good. I bet she was so warm
under those sheets. I wanted to feel the warmth from her body heat beneath
those sheets. I carefully lifted the comforter and sheet and pulled it down with
the intention of crawling underneath and covering myself up. Bad idea. I saw her
bare legs, so smooth. The night shirt was hiked up around her hips, showing her
pink cotton panties, a tiny bow at the top. Her stomach peeked out from beneath
the shirt, exposing the very bottom of her bellybutton.

A low groan came from somewhere within my throat. I was hardening at each
inch I looked at her. It didn't help that when I was aroused, her smell was about
ten times as potent. Venom filled my mouth. Oh God, I needed to stay in control.
I covered her body back up with the blankets and stayed above the covers,
hindering the temptation.

I watched her sleeping until the sun rose and her heart-rate started to change
around 8:00 AM. She would awake soon. I carefully sat up and swung my legs
over the side of the bed to get out.

"Edward?" I heard behind me. I stood up and whipped around to face her. She
sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her hair was a tangled mess all
around her face, she squinted at me. "Were you...sleeping?" She asked, groggily.
I shook my head, no. I think she knew that vampire's did not sleep. She was
obviously confused seeing me getting out of bed. "Were you resting? I didn't
know you used the bed for resting, I would've offered to sleep on the couch..."

"Bella," I stopped her, "I was...resting. But there is no need to give up the bed
for me. You need the bed more than I do." She started to stretch, her arms

raising high above her head, then she stopped and winced in pain. I was beside
her in a flash.

"Is it your shoulders? I was just about to run to the store to get those things you
asked for." She pushed up the sleeve on her right shoulder, examining the
bruises, then looked up at me timidly.

"That would be nice...if it's not too much trouble." She said submissively.

"Not at all, I'll be back in 30 minutes." I said walking toward the bedroom door.

"Edward?" She called out. I turned around. "Are you planning to go to the store in
your boxers?" I looked down, then back up at Bella. Then I quickly walked over to
the dresser, pulled out a pair of jeans and pulled them on over my black boxers. I
slipped on some shoes and walked out of the bedroom, delighting in the sound of
Bella's soft laughter behind me.

I stopped at a drug store and picked up the ibuprofen, heating pad, and bubble
bath, along with a refillable water bottle, and bottle of sunscreen. I was back in
less than 30 minutes. As I was walking up my front porch steps, Alice appeared
out of the dense trees, carrying 3 big plastic bags.

"Hi!" She said cheerfully. "Whatcha got there?" She said, noticing the plastic bag
in my hand.

"Just some things for Bella." I said, gesturing towards the house.

"Hey, I thought I was designated shopper here!" She said playfully.

We walked inside the house and Bella walked out of the bedroom, barefoot,
dressed in a pair of dark blue, fitted denim shorts and a white and orange striped
knit tank top that criss-crossed in the back. It was a V-neck cut with two little
buttons attached on the front. The detail drew my attention directly to the center
of her breasts. I blinked twice and forced myself to look away. Alice was staring
at me, then turned back to Bella. I saw her eyes glance down at her shoulders,
noticing the bruises. Then she spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

"That one was on sale." She said, referring to Bella's top, "I bought the same one
for myself in blue."

Bella smiled complacently. I could tell she was very nervous around my sister.
Alice hoisted the three heavy bags up onto the kitchen counter.

"Time to restock on food, and, I bought some things to help pass the time." She
gestured for Bella to come over to her. Bella walked up to my sister hesitantly. I
wanted to take her by her hands and tell her not to be afraid, that we were not
monsters. She had nothing to be afraid of, especially with Alice, Alice wouldn't
hurt a fly.

I resisted my urge and allowed Alice to show her the things she brought. Alice
pulled out several books from a series she thought Bella would like. She also
pulled out a black Ipod and sound dock, telling Bella that she had filled it with a
variety of music.

"Hopefully you like some of it." Said Alice, crunching up the plastic bags. She
turned toward the door to leave, waving at me.

"Um, excuse me?" Bella said, stopping Alice. "I want to thank you...for everything
you've gotten me. I really appreciate it."

Alice smiled brightly, "You're very welcome! Just tell my brother what you need
and he can tell me what else I can pick up for you for the next time." And she
left.

After the groceries were put away, I handed Bella the ibuprofen and a glass of
water. Shortly after, Bella ate lunch and as she was cleaning up, I approached
her.

"Would you like to go outside today?"

Her eyes lit up. "Yes, I would love to." She grabbed her shoes from the bedroom
and walked out pulling her hair up into a messy bun. I filled her water bottle and
we stepped outside. It was unusually hot out for early September, probably 90
degrees. The sun was blinding.

"Hold on a second." I said, jogging back into the house. I grabbed the sunscreen
and shoved it in my back pocket, then headed back outside. Bella and I jogged
slowly for about half and hour. We stopped so she could take a drink of water and
jogged for another 15 minutes.

I could hear bubbling and trickling in the distance. "Come over this way." I said,
pointing toward a group of thinning trees up ahead. We walked a few more
minutes and a brook appeared. We followed it for a few more minutes and it
widened into a stream, about waist deep.

"It's beautiful!" Bella gushed, crouching down to touch the water. "It feels so
nice." Then she turned to face me, "Go in with me!" She had a huge smile on her
face and I couldn't help but smile back at her. "It's really hot out here, wouldn't it
feel amazing to cool off?" Of course I was permanently a cool temperature, but I
could remember the hot summer days from my human years. I walked to the
edge of the stream and crouched down beside her, dipping my hand in the water.

"We didn't bring bathing suits." I realized, looking into the crystal clear water.

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "We'll go in our underwear."

I nearly fell into the stream. Was she serious? She kicked off her shoes and
started to unbutton her shorts. Ho-ly shit. She dropped her shorts, unveiling a
pair of gray boy-shorts. She crossed her arms in front of her, grabbing the hem
of her top and lifted her tank top up over her head. She wore a beige strapless
bra. She pulled her hair out of the bun, letting it fall all around her shoulders and
started to wade into the water. Oh my God, her body was beautiful. The curve of
her waist, her flat stomach, her perfectly shaped ass.

I wasn't sure if I could move. I could only stare at her. She reached the deepest
point, which came to just above her bellybutton.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" She called out. Then, she playfully flicked the
back of her hand through the water, splashing me. I took a second to compose
myself, then slowly stood up and pulled my t-shirt over my head. I glanced over
at Bella, her eyes were fixed on me. I stepped out of my shoes and slowly undid
my jeans, letting them fall around my ankles. I stood in my black boxers. I could
see Bella's eyes traveling up and down my body. I took a few steps into the
water, then leaned forward into the depth and dove underneath. I surfaced and
shook my head, my messy hair flinging water in every direction. Bella chuckled,
wiping the water from her face. I smiled.

We floated around and waded along the banks for about half an hour. There
wasn't a cloud in the sky, and Bella looked like she was truly enjoying herself. As
she floated past me, I noticed her cheeks and nose were starting to get pink.

"Bella, you're getting sunburnt." I told her, rising out of the water. She stood up
and looked down at herself."

"You're right," She said.

I walked out of the water and over to wear my clothes lie. I crouched down to
grab the sunscreen out of my back pocket. Bella waded through the water and up
onto shore. Water dripped down her body, her bra and panties clung to her. Jesus
she was sexy. She walked right up to me and turned around, grasping her wet
hair and pulling it off to the side. I couldn't move. My eyes traveled down her
neck, her back, her ass. Oh my God, her ass in those boy-shorts. I wanted to
grab it so badly, or slap it, I couldn't decide. She was fucking driving me crazy. I
was instantly hard, my wet boxers hardly leaving anything to the imagination.

I quickly removed the cap of the sunscreen and poured some into my palm. I
touched my hands to her shoulder blades. Her skin was very hot against my cool
hands. I slowly ran them over her shoulders, taking extra care over the bruises I
had left, and up her scarred neck, then down the middle of her back, stopping
just above her bra strap, and back up again. I watched my fingers press into her
skin, and felt her muscles underneath. Her skin was so smooth.

When her whole back was covered, she turned around, her eyes closed. I gulped,
pouring more lotion into my palm. I pressed my palm up against her chest, slowly
spreading it around. Across her collarbone, the front of her shoulders, back
across her collarbone, then down the middle of her chest, and over the tops of
her breasts. I marveled in the way my fingers sunk into her skin. The sunscreen
was all rubbed in, but I couldn't help but rub my hands across her chest for a few
extra seconds. Then I poured a little bit more out and dabbed some on her nose
and cheeks. This caused her to laugh and she shifted forward a little, her stomach
coming into contact with my erection. She looked down and gasped. Fuck. No
way to hide that. I just stood there silently. She averted her eyes, then burst into
a fit of giggles.

"I'm sorry!" She managed to get out in between laughs, "It's just...surely I'm not
the first girl you've laid hands on!" I couldn't believe it, she was poking fun at
me! She was insinuating that I excited easily. I watched her walk over to her pile
of clothes and pull her shorts on. I quickly gathered my jeans and pulled them
on, doing my best to cover the protruding bulge.

"You're not." I confirmed, my eyes never leaving her face. "But you are the first
human." I told her. She paused, her top halfway on, but didn't respond. Then she
adjusting her tank and slipped her shoes on.

We didn't speak much on the way back to my cabin. When we got back, the sun
was beginning to set and Bella took a shower. She stepped out of the bedroom
wearing a white wife-beater and navy cotton shorts. Tonight she wore white
socks pulled up to her knees. I wondered if her feet were cold and turned down
the air conditioner by a few degrees. She started to fix herself something for
dinner and I took a shower too, washing off any dirt from swimming in the
stream. I put on a pair of blue plaid lounge pants and my own white wife-beater.
When I exited the bedroom, Bella had already cleaned up her dinner and was
sitting on the leather sofa with a cup of tea, her knees curled beneath her. She
was looking through the Ipod Alice gave her.

I walked to the other end of the sofa and sat down, grabbing a magazine off the
end table. We sat for a while, and then Bella put the Ipod down on the end table
and grabbed the remote.

"Do you want to watch something?" She asked me. I nodded, lying my magazine
down. She found a Seinfeld marathon and we watched for a few hours. I couldn't
tell you what a single episode was about, I barely tore my eyes away from Bella
the entire time. She chuckled at the jokes and was relaxed against the sofa. I
loved to see her comfortable within my presence and I absolutely loved to see
her laugh. I wanted to make her happy, because she made me happy.

By 11:30, Bella was yawning, and my throat was burning. I stood up from the
sofa and walked over to her. She looked up at me sleepily and clicked the TV off
with the remote. She stood up and we stood there facing each other for a
moment, inches apart. Then, she turned and started walking towards the
bedroom. I could see the sunburn on her shoulders and back were starting to
turn tan. Her skin didn't seem to be hurting her. I was glad.

I followed her into the bedroom and watched her take an ibuprofen from the
bedside table and climb onto the bed. Her bruised shoulders were still hurting
her. I hoped the ibuprofen would help and that she wouldn't lose sleep tonight. I
was still very angry with myself for letting that happen.

She lay on her back in the center of the bed, waiting. I approached the bed and
knelt on the edge, looking at her. She had her eyes closed. Her heart-rate had
picked up speed in anticipation of the feeding she knew was coming. I saw the
pulse point in her neck throbbing and my mouth filled with venom. I climbed over
her, placing my hands on either side of her shoulders, my knees on either side of
her hips. She turned her head slightly to the left and squeezed her eyes tight.

I leaned down to her neck and looked at the scars I had left previously. I placed
my lips on her skin, on top of the scars, but then slowly trailed my mouth down
lower. I trailed my mouth lightly down the length of her neck, then traced it
around her neck, under her chin, pausing briefly in the center of her throat, and
back up the other side of her neck, finding the pulse on the opposite side. Bella
was practically panting beneath me, her breaths coming out in short gasps.

I opened my mouth and finally sunk my teeth into her flesh, her blood hitting my
tongue, extinguishing the burning inside my mouth. I sucked on her neck, every
inch of my body beginning to tighten as the smell and taste of her filled my
senses. I swear, she tasted better each time I drank from her. I could feel her
hands on me. One pressed on my chest, the other on my shoulder, her fingers
digging into my skin. She wasn't pushing me away.

I was harder than steel, there was no hiding it under my thin lounge pants, it was
very obvious. I needed to stay in control, there was no way I was going to
jeopardize the trust I had gained back from her now. But God did I want it from
her. Something, anything. My hips trembled in eagerness, but I had to hold
myself back. I sucked and swallowed over and over until I knew I had reached
her limit, sealing the opening with my tongue.

She was squirming beneath me. I quickly lifted my face above hers. Her eyes
were still closed, her breathing rapid. Then it hit me, the smell of her arousal. It
nearly blinded me, fucking Christ, this girl was going to kill me. I was still in
position above her. I sat perfectly still. She opened her big brown eyes and
looked into mine. We stayed focused on each others eyes for probably 15 to 20
seconds. I didn't want to alarm her, so I finally shifted upward and climbed off of
her, sitting on the edge of the bed, my back to her. I waited for my erection to

subside. I stayed facing away from her, I didn't want to freak her out even more.
I knew that she knew, because it happened during every feeding, but I wanted to
reserve some sense of subtlety.

I heard Bella sit up behind me. She climbed out of bed and walked to the
bathroom. Did I upset her? She closed the door behind her and I listened. She
was quiet. She wasn't crying, that was a good thing. 15 minutes past and I
walked up to the bathroom door.

"Bella? Are you OK?" I asked through the door. She cleared her throat,

"Yes." She responded. Then the door opened and she stopped short as I was in
the way. "I'm sorry." she said.

"What are you sorry for?" I wondered, stepping aside. She walked back over to
the bed and crawled in, covering herself up with the comforter. I walked back up
to the edge of the bed and looked down at her.

"I'm sorry for disappearing like that. I just needed a moment to...collect my
thoughts." She said avoiding my gaze. I sat down.

"Tell me...what types of thoughts did you collect?" I asked her, genuinely curious.
She shook her head.

"It's nothing." She said quickly.

"Bella, I hope I didn't upset you tonight. I really don't want you to be in agony
when I have to feed."

"No no, you didn't upset me!" She said shaking her head. "Really, you
were...fine...tonight." She said. I reached forward and gently ran the backs of my
fingers along the scars on her neck.

"I don't want to hurt you." I admitted. Wow, I just said that out loud to my
feeder. What the fuck?

"Edward," she started, sitting up on her elbows, "I know that you need to eat.
You cannot help that you need human blood. I realize that I am just a source of
food for you. You have to do what you have to do."

She lay back down and turned on her side, away from me, snuggling under the
covers. "Good night Edward."

"Good night Bella." I said after a moment. I stood up and walked toward the
bedroom door. I stopped and turned back toward her. "Bella?" I called out,

"Yes?" I heard her say quietly.

"You are not just a source of food for me." I said, and I walked out.

~*~

I sat in the living room until I heard Bella's breathing and heart-rate steady and I
knew she had fallen asleep. I walked back into the bedroom and crawled onto the
bed, lying down beside her. Then, I squeezed my eyes shut and quickly slipped
beneath the covers.

Oh, the warmth was heavenly. I knew I could stay in control, I just had to be
prepared. I lay beside her, relishing in the warmth radiating from her body
beneath the covers. I wished I could touch her. I pictured myself running my
hand up her smooth leg, her thigh, over her shorts. I wondered if she wore
panties beneath. Don't torture yourself Edward! I pictured my hand traveling up
over her shorts, slipping under the wife-beater, up her flat stomach, in between
her breasts. Stop! Stop it! I quickly tore the covers off of myself and sat up, my
hardness pushing my pants out yet again. I forced myself to get up and walk to
the other end of the bedroom, sitting down in the leather chair. Why did I do this
to myself?

I let Bella sleep soundly, keeping myself fixed in the chair. It was only when I
started to hear her breathing and heart-rate change drastically when I stood up
and went to investigate. It was 3:30 AM, she wouldn't wake up for another four
hours or so. She started to toss and turn and I could tell she was dreaming. I
watched her. She was restless, kicking the covers off herself. Her heart was
racing and she had a pained expression on her face. Then, she started to
mumble,

"No...no." She said quietly, "Please don't." My hands clenched into fists. She was
distressed. "Stop...please stop!" She said a little louder. Was she dreaming about
me, hurting her? I sat down on the bed beside her. I couldn't stand it. Should I
wake her? No, she would be too afraid to wake up to me if she was having a
nightmare about me. What do I do? "No! Please don't!" She was thrashing
around, and tears started to squeeze out from the corners of her closed eyes.

"Bella?" I said urgently. Oh God, she's going to freak out if she sees me! What
am I supposed to do? Finally, her eyes opened. Before I knew it, she had thrown
herself into my arms, sobbing. I wrapped my arms around her and held her
tightly. "Shhhh, it's OK. You're safe. You're safe. It was just a bad dream." I
reassured her, relieved that she didn't deteriorate in fear when she saw me. She
was shaking and I held her firmly against me, trying to steady her.

Her arms were wound tightly around my neck. I held her silently as her sobs died
down to shaky breaths. She loosened her grip from around my neck and slowly
leaned back. I allowed her to pull away, but still kept my hands on both her
elbows, supporting her. Her cheeks were damp from tears and she looked into
my eyes.

"Was it...because of me?" I asked, dreading the answer. She shook her head.

"No," she said, never breaking eye contact with me, "it wasn't at all." I closed my
eyes, relieved, and leaned my forehead up against hers. I sighed. We sat there
like that for at least a minute. Bella was calming down.

Finally, I leaned back and looked into her eyes. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

She shook her head. "No, not now," she got a distant look in her eyes, "some
other time."

"What can I do to help?" I asked her, sliding my hands from holding her elbows
to her hands. She looked at me with her big beautiful eyes. Then said,

"Would you...lie down with me?" She asked softly. "Just until I fall back asleep,
you don't have to stay until morning..." She said quickly, as if she would be
burdening me.

"Bella," I said, lightly squeezing her hands in mine, "of course I will lie down with
you. For as long as you need me to, I don't care if it is until morning. I don't care

if you want me to lie down with you tomorrow night, or the next either." I told
her. Her lips turned up into a bashful grin and she averted her eyes from mine.
She was adorable. She didn't even know how badly I wanted to lie with her all
night, every night. I brought my hand up to her chin and softly lifted it up to look
at me.

"Remember our talk. Whatever you need, just tell me. I want to provide for you.
Anything that will make this life easier for you, I will do whatever I can." I
reminded her. She nodded slowly. Then she shifted back to her spot on the bed
and lay down. I crawled over next to her and lay on top of the covers.

"Edward," she said. I turned and saw her lifting the blankets up, inviting me
underneath, "you're always so cold, cover yourself up." She told me. I definitely
wasn't going to argue. The warmth from her body was wonderful, I just needed
to stay in control. We both lay on our sides, facing each other. The moon shone
brightly through the bedroom window. I watched Bella's eyes traveling all over
my face. After a few minutes, she yawned, and her eyes started to look heavy.
Then she said, very sleepily, "Do you know how beautiful you are?"

Did I just hear her right? "What do you mean Bella?" I asked, grinning, watching
her struggle to keep her eyes open.

"You're beautiful." She repeated herself, half asleep, "Your face...your body...you
could be...a model...you're perfect..." She barely uttered the last word before she
was asleep. I was completely enthralled with this girl.

Bella slept peacefully until morning. I didn't move from my spot next to her. I
could tell she was waking up and I smiled when her eyes finally fluttered open.
We both sat up and she stretched, her arms reaching high up above her head.
Her wife-beater shifted upward, exposing her stomach, her chest pushed forward.
I tried not to gawk. God, that material was thin.

"Thank you for staying." She said after her stretch. She ran her fingers through
her messy hair.

"You're welcome." I said. I looked her over and noticed the bruises on her
shoulders were still blue, but not nearly as dark as yesterday. "How do your
shoulders feel?" She looked down at each of them.

"Just a little tender, but not too bad." She responded, shrugging them. She
climbed out of bed and I followed. I watched her make the bed, pulling up the
sheets and comforter, smoothing it all out. I tried to avoid staring at the way her
ass looked every time she bent over, but it was very difficult. She walked over to
the dresser, crossed her arms in front of her and grabbed the bottom hem of her
wife-beater, then stopped and turned to look at me.

"Oh, sorry." I said, realizing she wanted to get dressed. I quickly stepped out of
the bedroom and closed the door behind me, giving her privacy. I walked into the
kitchen and found myself disappointed that I didn't know how to cook anything. I
would have liked to prepare her breakfast. The stainless steel coffee maker
caught my eye. I think I could figure out how to make a pot of coffee. I've seen it
enough times on TV and movies. I grabbed a new package of ground coffee from
the cabinet and read the directions. Easy.

The coffee was brewing as Bella came walking out of the bedroom. She wore a
baggy pink shirt, 3/4 length sleeves, that hung off of one shoulder and I was
surprised to see in her in jeans. She stopped in the hallway and I saw her switch
off the air conditioner.

"I cracked the window, it seems like it cooled off outside." She said walking into
the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks. "Is that...coffee I smell?" She asked, her
eyes lighting up. I nodded. She clasped her hands together and smiled big. She
practically skipped to the cabinet and pulled out a large blue coffee mug, then
filled it up to the brim. "Wow," she said, after taking a sip, "who knew you could
brew a good cup of coffee?" She said, grinning. Success.

Bella wanted to sit out on the porch to drink her coffee and I joined her. It had
cooled off. Yesterday's heat was rare for early September, today was more
typical. The sun still shone brightly, but the temperature had dropped and there
was a steady breeze. We didn't talk too much, Bella seemed deep in thought.
Around 10:00 AM, I heard something in the distance. Somebody was approaching
my cabin. Actually, several people were approaching my cabin. I abruptly stood
up, Bella turned toward me. They were too fast to be human. It could be my
siblings, but they normally slowed down before approaching my cabin to avoid
causing any alarm. I turned toward Bella,

"Go inside." I told her. Her face dropped,

"Edward, what's wrong?"

"Go inside! Do as I say!" I ordered her, stepping down off the porch in
anticipation of my vampire visitors. Just as she stood up, six people appeared
from the trees. She saw them, her eyes widened in fear, then she quickly went
inside.

I recognized three of them. Frederick, Josephine, and Garrett, They were
acquaintances in which I was on good terms with. Two more men and one woman
accompanied them. Frederick was tall and slim, with sandy blond hair, swept to
the side. He was about 30 years old when he turned. Josephine had long, wavy
blond hair. She was about 5"10", closer to 22 or 23 when she turned. She
dressed provocatively, her breasts nearly falling out of her low-cut top. Garrett
had shoulder-length dark brown hair and was around 25. He was shorter, but
broad-shouldered and muscular. The other woman was very tall and had straight
black hair, she looked about 26 or 27. The man beside her had slick blond hair,
combed back, about the same age. The last man was medium-build, had long
blond hair, past his shoulders. He had it pulled back into a ponytail. I guessed
him to be about 25.

"Edward! How do you do?" Asked Frederick with a smile.

"Fine, thank you."

"Edward, may I introduce Ivetta, Theo, and James. I believe you already know
Josephine and Garrett?" Frederick said.

"Yes. Pleased to meet you. What can I do for you?" I asked.

"We came to invite you to a party, hosted by my dear friends, Ivetta and Theo."
Said Frederick, gesturing to the striking black-haired woman to his left who stood
beside the man with the slick combed blond hair. "They, along with the company
of us and a few other friends, will be gathering tonight to, share interests." He
said, grinning. The others grinned as well.

I knew what that meant. It would be a party to share feeders. I had attended a
few in the past. A group of us would gather someplace and drink from one
another's feeders according to ones liking. Many of the human feeders would die
in the process because more than one vampire would take a liking to a human's
blood and they would end up draining them. Most vampires found this normal.

Most wouldn't try to reserve a feeder like my family and I did. They would take all
they wanted, end up killing the person, then find a new one the following week.
The amount of blood they'd consume would last them much longer, at least a
week. Because my family and I reserved our feeders, we had to drink much less,
more often. I in particular, needed it every day.

I remembered the last party I attended. It was about a year ago. It was hosted
by some different friends of Frederick. Josephine and Garrett were both there
along with several others. It was a wild night with a lot of blood coursing through
everybody's systems. After feeding from two humans, I had hooked up with
Josephine and another vampire named Ingrid, at the same time. Most parties
ended with sex, and not just between vampires. I had nothing to do with the sex
involving the humans. When my siblings had found out that I had attended some
of these parties, they were furious with me. They hated that I would even
associate with such a crowd.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I won't be able to attend this time." I told them.

The black-haired woman stepped forward, "That girl inside is your feeder, no?"
Ivetta asked in a thick Russian accent, gesturing toward my house.

"Correct." I responded.

"Ooh, I think many would like her." She said, giving me a flirtatious smile. That
was the problem, I thought to myself. A couple of the other men in the group
chuckled. The one they call James licked his lips. I wanted to tear his head off.
Stay calm Edward.

"I'm sorry, I already have a commitment for tonight, but thank you for the
invitation." I said coolly. I noticed James take a step forward.

"Does your commitment involve hittin' that tight little ass you've got inside?" He
said in a raspy, menacing voice. I was off the porch and in front of him instantly.
The entire group stared at us.

"What's the matter?" He said slowly, staring directly into my eyes, "Don't want to
share?" Our faces were mere inches apart.

"I strongly suggest you leave my property...now." I told him between clenched
teeth, trying to control my temper. The blond man stepped between us, causing
James to take a few steps back.

"Now, now James. I'm sure there will be plenty as similar to chose from tonight."
He said gesturing for the group to leave.

They each walked past me, back toward the way they came.

Josephine trailed a long red fingernail along my shoulder and across my chest. "If
you change your mind...we'll be at Hawks Point." She said seductively, kissing
her pointer finger and pressing it against my lips. They all disappeared into the
trees. I waited until I couldn't hear their footsteps anymore, then turned and
entered my cabin.

I could see Bella down the hallway and through the bedroom door entrance. She
was sitting in the leather chair at the far end of the bedroom She stood up when
she saw me. Her eyes were wide, she looked very nervous. I walked over and
stood in front of her.

"I'm sorry for being harsh with you. Those were not people you should be
around." I told her.

"I understand." She said softly, looking up at me.

I didn't speak much to Bella for the rest of the day. She did nothing wrong, but I
had other things on my mind. The way James had acted this morning did not sit
well with me. I denied him something that he obviously wanted, and I sensed
that he would not just accept "no" for an answer. He would be back. So I would
have to stop him before he could try. Since I knew where he would be tonight, it
was my only chance to find him and put a stop to it.

Evening fell and Bella had showered and changed into her sleep clothes, a fitted
white scoop-neck t-shirt and a pair of green cotton pajama pants. She was
walking around the house barefoot, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, listening
to her Ipod through the attached earbuds. I could hear the Erin MCarley song,
Lovesick Mistake playing from it.

By 10:00 PM, Bella had just settled down on the couch and reached for the book
on the end table. I walked up to her, reached out, and placed my hand over the
top of hers and the book. She pulled out the earbuds and looked up at me.

"You'll have to read later, I will need to feed now." I told her, my tone serious.

"Edward, is everything alright? You haven't been yourself all afternoon." She said.

"Everything is fine." I said, turning toward the bedroom and starting to walk
down the hallway. "I just need to take care of something later tonight." I heard
her stand up from the sofa and follow me into the bedroom.

"You mean, you're leaving...after?" She asked, stopping in the doorway to the
bedroom. Shit, I told her last night, after her nightmare, that I would lie in bed
with her until she fell asleep if she needed me to. I turned to face her. Her face
was solemn. I walked straight up to her and softly cupped her face in my hands.

"Bella, I want nothing more than to lie with you tonight, all night if I could. You
have no idea." I said that last part quietly, nearly inaudible, "But I need to take
care of something important. I need to do this, to protect you." I explained to
her.

"See, something is wrong, I knew it." She said, starting to become alarmed. I
took her hand and led her to the bed, we sat down on the edge.

"Bella, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You are safe with me." I told
her, tucking a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "I will be back as soon as
I can." I searched her eyes for some sign of reassurance, but found none. She
sighed, then scooted to the middle of the bed and lay down. I crawled on top of
her and held my face above hers. We looked into each others eyes. I couldn't
seem to tear my eyes away from her.

"Bella, can I...try something?" I asked her. Her eyes shifted back and forth
between mine. She nodded. I swallowed once, then slowly leaned in and pressed
my lips to hers, closing my eyes. The warm, soft feeling of her lips on mine was
pure bliss. I had kissed her just once before, but very briefly and innocently. This
time, she reciprocated. I felt her mouth moving over mine, deepening the kiss.
One kiss turned into two, then three, then I lost count, losing myself in the
feeling of her mouth, her breath, the smell of her skin, her blood, the sound of
her heart racing.

Several minutes had passed and I forced myself to break contact with her mouth,
leaning my forehead up against hers. She was breathing heavily beneath me, her
eyes closed.

"Bella, I'm sorry, I don't want to stop, but I have to."

"OK." She managed to say quietly.

"Do you think...I mean...can we continue this...later?" I asked her. Wow, I have
no idea where this side of me was coming from. I was taking some huge risks
here. Maybe I wasn't in my right state of mind. Or maybe I was exactly in the
right state of mind. Bella nodded her head slowly, her eyes half-open.

I brought my face to the side of Bella's neck, placed one long kiss under her jaw,
then bit into her.

~*~

Once Bella was tucked comfortably into bed, I slipped out of the house and took
off running North. Luckily, my plan to involve Emmett fit in perfectly as his house
was just a few miles West of Hawks Point.

I called Emmett out of his house and explained what had happened that morning
with James. We took off running. We arrived at our destination around 11:30 PM.
We had to climb steep bluffs to reach the top of the cliffs. Once we reached the
top, a familiar scene lay before me.

A huge bonfire crackled in a clearing. I heard music thumping loudly and
recognized it as American Trash by Innerpartysystem. The clearing was full of
vampires, probably about 20. Various humans were pinned up against trees,
laying on the ground, sprawled over boulders, all with vampires on top of them,
sucking from their necks. Most of them were women, but their were a few men
too with vampire women on top of them. They lay, frightened, some of them
crying, some of them still, hopeless. A few were unconscious.

It was still early in the evening, so luckily we didn't have to see any of the horror
that unfolded at the very end. However, some of the vampires were getting an
early start on each other. I saw one man with black hair and a petite blond
vampire making out beside the fire, the woman was topless. They were eagerly
groping each other. Another couple, a built young man with brown, wavy hair,
and a porcelain skinned red head were going at it near the edge of the cliff, the
woman was riding him, her breasts bouncing wildly. I noticed Josephine, bent
over a fallen tree, the man named Theo taking her from behind, his pants around
his ankles. Josephine's skirt was pushed up around her hips, and this time, her
breasts really were falling out of her low-cut top.

Emmett turned to me.

"Where is this fucker?" He asked, scowling. I scanned the crowd, searching for
him. Just then, Garrett noticed me and staggered up to us with a grin. I could tell
that he had consumed a fair amount of blood already. When consumed in
moderation, a vampire was controlled, restrained. In very large quantities, it
could be compared to a state of drunkenness for most vampires.

"You made it. Good to see you man. Hey, I've got a little hottie over there by
those bushes I think you'd like. Damn, her blood's like candy, and she's got quite
the set of tits on her..." I cut him short.

"Where is James?" I asked abruptly. Garrett paused, then got a thoughtful look
on his face.

"He left a few minutes ago. Man, that guy doesn't know what he's missing!"
Garrett didn't even get the last sentence out before Emmett and I had taken off
in full speed, back in the direction we came from.

I knew he only had a few minutes of a head start, so I focused on catching up to
him and ending him before he even had a chance to reach Bella. But part of me
was panicking. What could he do with those few extra minutes if we didn't catch
up in time? The run back was agonizing. Please God let us catch up. I would
fucking murder an entire city if I lost Bella. I couldn't lose her!

We were getting very close to my cabin, I strained to hear something,
anything...no, fuck! He had gotten there! Emmett was listening too because I
heard him growl, running beside me. Bella was screaming,

"No! Get away from me! No! Ow! Let go! Let go! No!"

Then we heard James' raspy voice,

"You are a tempting little one, aren't you? Gimme a taste, get over here!" He
growled at her. I heard a struggle, but there was no overpowering a vampire's
strength, Bella would only hurt herself trying. I heard clothing ripping.

"No, pleeeeease!" Bella screamed. More clothing ripping. Bella was screaming in
terror and pain.

My cabin appeared and Emmett and I burst inside to find James over Bella on the
bedroom floor, his pants around his knees. Her clothing was ripped to shreds, her
body exposed. James heard us and immediately bit into Bella's neck before we
could reach him. I reached James first and threw him off Bella, across the room.
He crashed through the glass window, landing outside. Blood flowed out of Bella's
neck wound and ran down her collarbone and over her breast. Emmett quickly
ran to Bella and I saw him lean down and seal her neck wound with his venom.

I flew through the window's opening and landed on top of James. He didn't have
a chance. Normally, our strength would probably be equal, and we could have
fought a decent match. But I swear, my strength was doubled, even tripled, with
the fury he had caused by hurting my Bella. I tore him apart within seconds,
pulling out the lighter I had placed in my pocket earlier and lighting his remains
on fire. Then, I climbed back inside through the broken window's opening,
desperate to find Bella.

She was huddled in the far corner of the bedroom. Emmett was kneeling over
her, gently running his huge hand over her head, smoothing her hair. I saw that
he had removed his own t-shirt and had pulled it over Bella's head, to cover up
her bare skin. The shirt was covered in blood spots. He was trying to comfort her,
but she wanted nothing to do with him. She pressing herself as hard as she could
into the wall away from him. I heard him trying to tell her he wasn't going to hurt
her. I was very thankful for my brother in that moment.

"Bella!" I said, running up to her. She saw me and threw herself into my arms.
Emmett's eyes widened in surprise. She was crying convulsively. "Bella, I'm here.
I'm here. You're safe now. He's gone. He can't hurt you anymore. You're safe
now." I whispered to her, holding her to me tightly. In between sobs, I heard her
gasping in pain. Emmett spoke up.

"Edward, he bit her. Not just her neck...other places too." He said, gesturing
toward his chest area. "The wounds need venom, or they won't heal and the
burning is going to torture her." He told me. "Help her man, she wouldn't let me
touch her. I'll be outside if you need me." And he walked out of the room.

"Bella, Bella, I need to see where you're hurt. Will you let me look at you?" I
asked her, gently peeling her off of my chest. She allowed me to lift Emmett's
blood-soaked shirt up to look at her body underneath. She had four bite marks on
her body, one on her shoulder, one on her bicep, one on her left breast, just
above her nipple, and the last one underneath her right breast. The wounds were
bleeding and appeared to be burning around the edges.

I carefully pulled the big t-shirt up and off over her head, throwing it on the floor
beside us. She sat there, practically naked, her pajama pants were barely clinging
to her in tatters. "Edward, they hurt, they hurt so bad! They burn! Make it stop!
Please!" She cried hysterically, looking down at her arm and chest. He hurt her,
and I wanted to kill him all over again. I knelt down in front of her, then took her
face in my hands.

"Bella, I need to give you my venom. These bite marks will start to heal once my
venom touches them. Will you let me do that?" She nodded frantically, tears still
streaming from her eyes.

I let go of her face and leaned down to the bite mark in her shoulder. I traced my
tongue around the wound, sealing it, then leaned down to the one in her arm,
licking my tongue over the gash. I quickly glanced up at Bella's face trying to
measure her sense of panic, and then moved to her left breast, licking around the
bite mark, coating it in my venom, my chin grazing her nipple. Bella's sobbing
was lessening. I moved to the other breast, glossing over the wound, my nose
brushing across the front of her breast. When I was done, I pulled her to me,
wrapping my arms around her bare torso. She took a shaky breath and settled
into me.

After a few minutes, I lifted her up off the floor and carried her to the bathroom.
She washed herself up and I laid out a new pair of pajama pants from the
dresser. I couldn't find where she kept her sleep tops, so I just brought out one
of my big t-shirts for her to put on.

Since the bedroom window was broken, I moved the blankets and pillows to the
sofa in the living room. I would replace the glass first thing tomorrow. Bella got
dressed and came into the living room to lay on the sofa. I knelt beside her,
reassuring her that I wouldn't leave her, that I would be just outside talking to
my brother. I would sit on the floor beside her as she slept and she would see me
as soon as she woke up.

I walked out onto the porch. Emmett stood there, still shirtless, his hands in his
jeans pockets. He was looking out at the dark forest.

"Emmett," I said, walking up beside him, "thank you."

He nodded, "Any time little brother, any time. Glad I could help. Did you get her
taken care of?" He asked me. I nodded.

"Good." He said. We stood there for a few minutes in silence. "So," he started,
"have you told her yet?"

I turned to look straight at him. "Told her what?" I asked.

"Have you told her that you love her?" He asked. I just stared at him. "C'mon,
man, don't try to tell me you're not in love with the girl. I can tell. I'm no
stranger to it you know. I have Rose, I know how it is."

I was silent. "We're your family you know, we wouldn't judge you." He took a
step down off the porch, then turned back to face me, "And you know man, from
the way she responds to you...I think she might even love you back." He said,
then turned and jogged off.

Bella was very sore the next morning. I hated to invade her privacy, but I needed
to look at the bite wounds to ensure they were healing properly. She lifted the t-
shirt up so that I could see underneath. Her beautiful body was covered in
bruises. Her ribs had distinct hand-print bruises all over them. Her arms had well-
defined black and blue fingerprints covering them where he had grabbed her. He
was not gentle with her. It made me absolutely livid.

I ran a bath for Bella, pouring in the bubbles I had gotten her. While she was in
the bathtub, I measured the bedroom window and ran into town, stopping at a
large home repair warehouse to buy glass to replace the broken window. When I
got back, she was asleep on the living room sofa, wrapped in her fluffy white
bathrobe. The heating pad lay over the robe, covering her ribs. I knelt down
beside her, and looked at her. God she was so beautiful. I leaned forward and
kissed her on the forehead. Then I went to the bedroom to replace the glass.

I heard Bella starting to wake up a couple of hours later. I was beside her
instantly. Her eyes opened and she smiled when she saw me. She sat up on the
sofa, grimacing in paid. I sat beside her, placing my hand on her knee over the
bathrobe.

"Can I do anything for you?" I asked her. She turned to look at me.

"You can talk to me for a minute." She said.

"Of course." I said, looking into her eyes.

"Edward," she started, "I want to thank you. You saved my life last night." She
said, "And not just my life, but you saved me from him...hurting me...in other
ways too." She said looking down at the floor. I took both of her hands in mine.

"Bella, I don't know what I would have done if I had shown up just a few minutes
later."

"I don't know what I would have done either." She said, her eyes tearing up. "I
couldn't handle something like that again." Her voice cracked.

I sat up straighter, "Bella...again?" She wouldn't look at me. No, no, no, no, she
couldn't mean me. I couldn't handle causing her any more pain! Had I violated
her that night? No, I didn't. Oh God, maybe I interpreted her signals wrong.
"Bella, I don't know what to say. If I forced myself onto you, please understand, I
didn't..."

"No!" Bella said, popping up onto her knees and putting her hands on my
shoulders. "No, Edward, not you! That's not what I was talking about!" She said,
bringing her face in front of mine. "Edward, you've been...wonderful." She said,
quickly wiping a tear from her cheek. "I know things were hard in the
beginning...when you first brought me here. But Edward, you've changed since
then. You've changed so much. You take care of me. You make me feel
comfortable. You make me feel...happy."

I pulled her to me, embracing her in a gentle hug. Her arms wrapped around my
neck and she pressed her warm face into my neck. I made her happy. She said I
made her happy. She was sitting on my lap now, and I relished in the warmth
surrounding me.

"Bella," I said as she pulled her face back to look at me, "if it wasn't me, what
were you talking about then?" I asked her, not moving my arms from around her
waist. She got a dismal look on her face. It took a moment for her to respond.

"I used to live in Phoenix with my mother." She started. "When I was 17, I
was...attacked, by my step-father." She paused. I listened, silently. "He raped
me." She said at last. I closed my eyes. I wanted to kill this man. I wanted to
hunt him down, and murder him in the most torturous, painful way. She kept
going, "After that happened, it's like it changed me. I wasn't the same girl
anymore."

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"My mother stayed with him, he told her that I came on to him and she believed
him. She disowned me. I lived with friends, whoever would take me in. My grades
dropped in school, I started to become, well, promiscuous with guys. I was
miserable. I had nightmares, I still do. It wasn't until I turned 19 when things
started to change. I met Jacob, and he became my boyfriend. We dated for 2
years. My life was starting to get back on track. When we broke up 2 months
ago, I had nothing left in Phoenix worth staying for. So I packed up and left. I
ended up in Washington, and I had just started renting the house in Forks. I was
in the house for a week...and then I was here."

"Bella..." I started, but she pressed her fingers against my lips.

"Edward...I had nothing back in Forks. I had nothing anywhere. My life had no
purpose," she said, slowly dropping her hand from my lips, "but here...with
you...I feel like I have a purpose."

I could only stare at her. She absolutely captivated me. And in that moment, I
could finally admit to myself, I was entirely, without a question, unconditionally in
love with this girl.

I was still staring at her. I couldn't find words to form. She looked away from me
then and started to fidget.

"I'm probably not making any sense...I'm sorry, that was a stupid..." but I cut
her off by closing in on her mouth and pressing my lips against hers, my hands
gently grasping under her jaws, pulling her face to mine. Her arms whipped
around my neck, holding me tightly. We kissed over and over, eagerly. In
between kisses, I tried to tell her,

"Bella...you make...perfect...sense," but our kisses consumed us and there was
no more talking. She was still on my lap and she leaned into me. I leaned back
against the back of the sofa. She shifted around on my lap so that her knees bent
comfortably around my hips and she was straddling me. We kissed hungrily, our
tongues meeting, sliding over each others. She tasted unbelievable. I was losing
myself in her.

One of my hands went behind her head, pressing her closer to my mouth. My
fingers slid through her hair. My other hand started to trail down, over the
bathrobe, along her side. She suddenly broke the kiss, letting out a gasp in pain
and I quickly released my hands and opened my eyes. She leaned her forehead
against mine, her eyes still closed, her hands on my shoulders.

"Bella, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." I said urgently, realizing I had
pressed against her bruised ribs.

"Edward," she started, "you didn't hurt me." She said softly, placing one more
long kiss on my lips. Mmm, her lips were so soft and warm. She pulled her face
back to look at me. I took her hands in mine and placed a kiss on the tops of her
knuckles.

"Bella, you should rest," I forced myself to say, with extreme disappointment,
"you need to heal." As much as hated to stop this, I knew she needed to take it
easy for a while.

She sighed, but didn't move from my lap. "The bite marks are getting much
better, see." She told me, grabbing the collar of the bathrobe and pulling it down,
exposing her bare shoulder. My pants got tighter as I realized she was naked
underneath the robe. Oh God.

She showed me the one on her shoulder, then pulled it down lower, careful not to
expose her entire breast, but enough so that I could see the wound. They were
healing nicely. I stared at the curve of her breast until she adjusted the robe back
in place. Then I suddenly became keenly aware of how she was sitting on me,
straddling me, with nothing beneath the robe draped over her legs. Thank God
my jeans were sturdy enough to contain my erection. Oh God...the lack of layers
separating us...this was unbearable. Shit, stay in control Edward! Think of
something else, fast! I scrambled to collect my thoughts.

"I better eat something." Said Bella, carefully swinging her leg over and off my
lap, standing up. I quickly adjusted myself inside my pants as Bella walked to the
kitchen.

As evening approached, I took a shower and changed into a white t-shirt and
light blue striped pajama pants. As I was dressing, I heard music playing in the
living room. I walked out barefoot and saw that Bella had set up the sound dock
with her Ipod. She had Priscilla Ahn's Dreamplaying and was flipping through a
magazine, kicking her foot up and down. She had since changed into black cotton
shorts and a little black and gray striped t-shirt. It was 10:00 PM.

I walked over to the couch. She looked up at me and cracked an adorable smile.
Then she put her magazine down.

"What if we went for walk?" She said, out of the blue. I looked at her, surprised.
"I had a long nap this afternoon, I'm full of energy." She said, "It's such a nice
night, the moon is full and beautiful, wouldn't it be amazing to walk under the
stars?"

"Yes. It would be." I said to her. "Let me go get some shoes." I went to the
bedroom and put my shoes on, then I quickly rummaged through the closet and
found a gray zip-up sweatshirt for Bella. When I walked back out, she had gotten
her shoes on and was waiting in the front doorway, facing away from me. I
approached her from behind and gently wrapped the sweatshirt around her
shoulders. She leaned back into me.

"It's cooled off out there," I murmured into her ear, "I don't want you to get
cold." She turned around in my arms and looked up into my eyes. I could drown
in those eyes.

"Thank you." She said softly, holding my gaze. Then we stepped out into the
moonlit forest.

~*~

The forest was illuminated. The moon was magnificent. We walked through the
brush. I saw Bella gather the sweatshirt around her shoulders, her hair blew
around her forehead. I hoped she was warm enough. We walked in silence except
for the snapping and crunching beneath our feet.

After about 30 minutes, Bella stopped in a clearing. I turned to face her. She was
looking up at the moon. Then, to my surprise, she knelt down on the ground and
lay down on the mossy forest floor. She brought her arms up behind her head,
then grimaced in pain and brought them back down. After a moment, I knelt
down and lay down on my back beside her. We laid in silence, staring up at the
sky.

"Can I ask you a question?" She suddenly asked.

"Yes." I said.

She shifted a little beside me and bent one knee up. "How old are you?" She
asked.

I paused, not exactly sure how I should answer that, "I...turned when I was 24."
I decided to say. There was a long moment of silence. Then she said,

"How long ago was that?"

"85 years ago." I replied.

We laid in silence for quite a while. I listened to her steady breathing beside me. I
wondered what she was thinking about. I loved the warmth radiating from her
beside me. The breeze picked up a little and I noticed the clouds beginning to
move in front of the moon. A flash of lightening lit up the sky and Bella gasped,
sitting up.

"It's going to storm, we need to get back home." She said urgently, turning to
me. Home. She called it her home.

Just as we stood up, it started to sprinkle. We took off running. We had only been
running for about 2 minutes when there was a loud crack of thunder and it
started to pour. I looked over at Bella running beside me, she had a huge smile
on her face. I smiled and quickly grabbed her around the waist and pulled us
underneath the overhang of a large rock bluff. We were both soaked to the skin.
Bella was laughing, and I couldn't stop grinning at her light-heartedness.

"Just our luck!" She chuckled, squeezing out her hair and peeling off the
sweatshirt, shaking it out. The rain was loud pounding down around us. I reached
forward and pushed a few strands of wet hair from off her forehead.

She looked at me and laughed again, "Look at your shirt! It's drenched!' She
said, pulling at my t-shirt, only to see it immediately cling back to my chest. She
got quiet and I saw her eyes traveling up and down my chest and stomach. She
licked her lips. Then she looked into my eyes and realized I had seen her looking.
Her cheeks turned red and she was about to turn away, but I was instantly in
front of her, both my hands against the small of her back, pressing the front of
her body against mine. I didn't know whether I wanted to kiss her or bite into
her, so I paused in front of her face trying to regain some sense of control. But I
barely had 2 seconds before Bella dropped her sweatshirt on the ground, grasped

the collar of my wet t-shirt and yanked me forward, her mouth crashing into
mine.

We kissed over and over, opening our mouths, our tongues colliding. Bella's hand
slid up my shoulder, up the back of my neck, and into my wet hair. Her other arm
wrapped around my neck. She let out a moan, nearly inaudible over the rain, but
not to me. I backed us up against the bluff, finding a smooth spot amongst the
rocks. I pressed Bella carefully against the bluff, the rain pouring in sheets down
the rocky overhang, creating a curtain between us and the storm.

Her tongue ran over mine, our lips moved in perfect rhythm and she pressed her
body tightly against mine. My arms were around her, sliding over her back and
down over her hips. Bella eventually broke the kiss to catch her breath, but I
couldn't stop. I started to kiss and suck at her jaw and down her neck. I ran my
tongue over her neck, the smell of her arousal and the blood under her skin
tormenting me. My erection pressed firmly against her stomach. She moaned
again.

I paused, my teeth exposed. The desire for her blood was so overpowering in that
moment that I'm surprised I had any sense to hesitate. I think I started to
tremble as venom dripped from my mouth.

"Edward," Bella whispered over the rain, her eyes closed "do you want to drink?"
She asked me. Her voice was the most sensual thing I have ever heard. I couldn't
form words to respond, but she didn't need an answer. She leaned her head
back, exposing her entire neck to me. "Do it." She whispered, and I sunk my
teeth into her, moaning loudly in raw pleasure. I heard her gasp and felt her
briefly tense up.

I was totally consumed. The combination of my desire and my thirst made me
ravenous for her. I sucked vigorously, the warm blood filling my mouth, coating
my throat. Deep reverberating sounds were escaping me as I held her body
against mine by her hips, my mouth attached to her neck. I pressed my groin up
against her, her pelvis coming flush up against my hardness. She started to move
her hips, grinding herself up against me. I felt her hands moving over my body,
her nails scraping over my shirt. My right hand started to move down, over her
rain soaked shorts, over the curve of her bottom and I grabbed her where her
thigh and ass met, causing her to thrust forward, intensifying the pressure where
our hips were connected. Holy fucking shit, it was a feeling of vertigo.

Need to stop. Stop Edward. You'll take too much. She's at her limit. Stop, stop,
STOP! I quickly sealed the opening and pulled away from her, our wet bodies
pulling apart. She leaned against the bluff, breathless, her chest heaving, her
eyes closed. Then I noticed the healing bite mark still on her bicep and I was
brought back to reality. Oh God, what was happening? We couldn't do this now.
She was in no shape to be doing this with me, what is wrong with you Edward?
My hands were in my hair and I crouched down to the ground. I noticed Bella had
also crouched down to the ground, her elbows on her knees, fingertips pressed to
her forehead. We sat like that for at least 3 minutes, regaining our composure,
listening to the rain and thunder booming around us.

Finally, I lifted my head up.

"Bella..." is all I said, reaching forward and tracing my finger around the wound
on her arm and up to her shoulder where the other bite mark lay underneath the
sleeve of her t-shirt. She slowly wrapped her arms around her midsection, and
nodded, acknowledging that she understood. She needed to get better. I crawled
over next to her, sitting down on the ground and leaning my back up against the

rock bluff. She straightened her legs out from beneath her and sat down as well.
We sat in silence as the rain continued to pour. It was late, Bella started to yawn.
Then I felt her head on my shoulder, and I leaned my head down to rest on top of
hers and closed my eyes, never wanting to move from this exact spot.

The rain finally let up about an hour and a half later. Bella had been dozing on my
shoulder. I carefully shifted my arms around to pick her up, but she woke up as
soon as I stepped out from under the bluff, the cool night breeze swirling around
us. She grasped around my neck and held on tight as I ran us back to the cabin.

We each changed out of our damp clothes and into dry pajamas. I went into the
bathroom to change into a clean blue t-shirt and black boxers. I walked back into
the bedroom to find Bella in a baggy black t-shirt and fitted gray leggings. She
was climbing into bed. She lay down and I walked up to the side of the bed and
knelt down to her level. I swept my hand over her forehead, lightly pushing her
hair away from her face, I realized it was becoming a habit of mine.

"Some night, huh?" She said. I grinned, looking into her eyes. "Thanks for taking
a walk with me, and sorry we got soaked."

I chuckled softly, "I didn't mind." I told her. "How are you feeling?"

She sighed. "OK, a little sore." She said. Then she shifted a little and I saw her
eyes dart over to the bedroom window. "Edward, could you...close the blinds?"
She asked me. I could tell she was still uneasy about last night's ordeal. I was
instantly up and in front of the blinds, pulling them closed, then was back next to
the bed in the blink of an eye.

"Damn you're fast." She said smiling. I smiled back, then knelt back down.

"Would you like me to lay with you?" I asked her.

She breathed a sigh of relief, "Yes. I would like that very much. I hate to be a
bother, I'm sure you have a ton of other things you could be doing..."

"Bella," I stopped her, "you are not a bother in the slightest. I want you to feel
safe, and if that means I lay beside you every night, then consider it done." I
walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed in, covering myself up
and turning to face her. The heat beneath the sheets was glorious. She smiled at
me and my insides felt like they were about to melt.

"Edward," she said. Why did I love the way my name sounded coming from her
lips? "Thank you. For everything." And she brought her warm hand up to my face
and ran it over my temple and down my cheek, her fingertips lightly brushing
across my chin. Now my insides were a complete puddle. She started to bring her
hand back towards her, but I grabbed it gently and kissed her palm, then settled
both our hands between us, mine on top of hers, and watched her as she drifted
off to sleep.

Over the next three days, I focused on keeping Bella comfortable so that she
could heal. I did my best to keep my feedings very low-key and easy for her. I
continued to lie beside her at night while she slept. By the third day, her ribs
were feeling much better, the bruises were faded and the bite wounds on her arm
and shoulder were nearly gone altogether. I didn't ask to see the others bite
marks, mostly out of respect for her privacy, but also because it would only turn
me on in the most inappropriate way.

Bella was sitting on the front porch bench that afternoon reading a book, a cup of
steaming tea beside her. The fall weather was in full force now. Bella wore jeans

and a brown, long-sleeved v-neck cotton shirt with a little red icon embroidered
into the top corner. Her hair was down and she'd run her fingers through it,
pushing it up over her forehead. I stepped out onto the porch and next to Bella.
She looked up at me from her book and smiled, my stomach quivered. She was
so incredibly beautiful. She scooted over a couple of inches and I sat down beside
her. We were silent. She read, and I listened to her heartbeat, and the sound of
the breeze stirring up the leaves that were already falling from the trees.

After about 20 minutes, she closed her book and set it beside her now empty cup
of tea. She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her forearms across
them. She turned to look at me. I looked at her from the corner of my eyes and
gave her a crooked grin. She chuckled light-heartedly.

"What?" She asked grinning.

"What you?" I shot back playfully. She chuckled again and we sat in a somewhat
awkward silence for a few seconds.

"Hey, I have a question for you." She started. I turned my head to face her
directly. "Do you have a last name?" she asked,

"Yes, why?"

"Just curious." Sshe answered shrugging her shoulders.

"How do I know you won't use it against me?" I asked her grinning. Her mouth
dropped open and she gave me a playful punch in the shoulder. I laughed.

"Cullen." I told her. She nodded once. "What about you?" I asked leaning
forward, my elbows on the tops of my legs, clasping my hands together.

"Swan," she responded, "Isabella Swan." She said, revealing her full, formal
name. Then we both burst into laughter as we realized at the same time that she
had just unintentionally impersonated the infamous line from James Bond. Our
laughter died down but then she let one more giggle slip and we started to laugh
all over again. Wow, I haven't genuinely laughed like that in...I can't even
remember.

"Wow," she said, "I didn't know you had a sense of humor! And a tasteful one for
that matter!"

"Wow, I didn't know you were a comedian, and a cute one for that matter." I said
back to her.

"Edward Cullen are you flirting with me?" She asked, looking at me from the
corners of her eyes. I didn't respond, just quickly looked forward, a huge smile
across my face.

Later that evening, I took a shower while Bella made herself dinner. I changed
into a white t-shirt and black and gray plaid sleep pants. When I walked out of
the bedroom, it was 8:00 PM. Bella was washing the dishes at the sink. She must
have changed into her pajamas while I was in the shower. She wore a fitted v-
neck pink and gray striped sleep shirt that buttoned half-way down the front. It
had 3/4 length sleeves and hit just above her knees. She was barefoot and her
hair was pulled up into a messy bun.

I stood behind her, watching her, she didn't see me. The shirt fabric clung to her,
and my eyes took in the way her waist narrowed and then expanded slightly at

her hips. It hugged her ass. God she had the most perfectly shaped ass I've ever
seen.

Suddenly, she turned around and gasped, dropping the soapy drinking glass she
had been washing. I immediately flashed forward and grabbed it before it hit the
floor.

"Edward! Don't sneak up on me like that!" She said looking up at me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." I said placing the glass on the counter
behind her.

"Nice catch." She said, cracking a grin. I grinned back at her. "I was just finishing
up these dishes. What are you doing tonight?" She asked drying her hands on a
dish towel. We walked to the living room, I sat on the chair, she sat on the couch.

"What would you like to do?" I asked her.

"Hmmm. Well, it's a little cold out to go for a walk. There's nothing good on TV
tonight..." she brought her pointer finger up to the front of her lips, "Do you have
any playing cards?"

"I do. Somewhere." I said, recalling Emmett, Jasper and I getting together to
play poker a few times in the past. I stood up and walked to the bedroom, over
to the desk in the corner. I started rummaging through it, pulling open drawers
and pushing things around. I heard Bella walking around in the living room
behind me. I knew I had some somewhere. Aha! I spotted them toward the back
of the bottom drawer. I pulled them out, slammed the drawer and turned around.
Bella stood directly in front of me.

I stopped in my tracks. She was smiling, but then it quickly turned into a pout.

"I didn't scare you?"She said crossing her arms in front of her. She was trying to
get me back for startling her in the kitchen! She was playing with me! I grabbed
her around the waist with both arms and threw her over my shoulder. She
squealed.

I marched us into the living room and said, "Edward Cullen doesn't get scared
Bella." She was laughing and lightly punching my back with her fists. I flopped
her down on the sofa and she lunged forward pushing me onto my back on the
cushions. Obviously she wasn't strong enough to actually overpower me, I was
allowing it, and enjoying it. She was above me, laughing, trying to push me off
the couch. We wrestled back and forth, Bella in a fit of giggles.

I was very aware of every movement and touch between us. I couldn't help it.
Her warm hands were sliding over my chest and arms, her bare legs tangled with
mine. The edge of her sleep shirt kept inching up her thighs, getting dangerously
close to revealing what was beneath. As she leaned over me, I could see down
her shirt, I tried hard not to look, I tried. Our hands were grasping each other all
over the place and I was starting to get seriously turned on.

By the time we started to slow down, she was partially straddling me, my right
hand had ended up resting on the back of her thigh and her night shirt was
bunched up around my hand. My other hand was entwined with hers. We were
both smiling, Bella was out of breath. We fell silent and Bella's eyes fluttered
down, toward my hand on her leg. I removed my hand and her pajama shirt
straightened out over her leg. She shifted off of me and we both sat up on the
couch.

"Has anyone ever told you you kind of fight like a girl?" She teased. My mouth
dropped open.

"Oh if you only knew..." I said narrowing my eyes at her, smiling. She laughed.
She knew.

I leaned down, and picked up the deck of playing cards that had fallen to the floor
during our wrestling match. I shuffled and dealt the cards while Bella hooked her
Ipod up to her sound dock. The song Use Somebody by Kings of Leon started to
play from the speakers.

We played several games of Go Fish and then I was about to teach Bella how to
play Rummy, but she held up a finger, stood up, and walked over to the kitchen.
She stood on her tiptoes and pulled a dark bottle out of the top cabinet. It was a
bottle of wine.

She caught my glance and smiled shyly, "Your sister bought this for me on her
last grocery run. She said she thought I'd like it after dinner once in a while." She
poured herself a glass and walked back into the living room with it. "Ok, teach me
how to play Rummy so I can kick your ass in it." How could I not love this girl?

After our third game, and Bella's second glass of wine, I started to feel the
burning in my throat. Bella was shuffling the cards to start another game. I was
staring at the pulsing in her throat. She looked up and caught me staring. Then
she set the cards down.

"Is it time?" She asked. God she was incredible. Not only beautiful, but patient,
understanding, compassionate. She amazed me.

"Soon." I responded, gazing into her deep brown eyes.

"Can I ask you a question?" She said, starting to tuck the playing cards back into
their box.

"Of course." I said.

"I was just curious about something..." She started, standing up, carrying her
empty glass to the kitchen and placing it in the sink. As she turned to walk back
to the living room, she asked,

"Is my neck the only spot you can...drink from?"

Her curiosity amused me.

"No, but that is my spot of preference." I answered. I continued, "There is also an
artery in the wrist, ankle, and thigh."

"Oh." Said Bella, swallowing once. I felt the venom forming in my throat. I stood
up. Bella understood. We both turned, and I followed her into the bedroom.

~*~

We walked into the bedroom, leaving the lights off, the lamp from the living room
shedding a soft glow down the hall and into the room. Bella's Ipod continued to
play on the sound dock, the song switching over to Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love.
The irony was undeniable.

Bella and I walked to the edge of the bed. She turned to face me and looked up
into my eyes. I brought my hand up and used the back of my fingers to touch her
cheek. I brushed them down her jaw, over her chin and down her neck, stopping
at her collarbone. She shivered.

"Why don't you lay down this time." she whispered to me. I looked at her, not
quite sure I understood what she was getting at. "Go ahead, lay down." she
murmured, gesturing toward the center of the bed. I hesitated, but complied,
crawling to the center and laying on my back. Bella knelt down on the bed in
front of me, then slowly crawled over my body, straddling my waist, placing her
hands on either side of my head. We looked into each others eyes. "Are you OK
with drinking...like this?" she whispered. Was I OK with this? Was I fucking OK
with it? This was the hottest position Bella could be in, and I was about to drink
from her like this. I had never taken blood from a human in this position, and this
was Bella! Oh God, oh God. I answered her by nodded, almost frantically.

She slowly slid her hands forward, bringing her arms flat against the bed beside
my head, her face centimeters from mine. Her chest pressed into my chest and I
could feel her nipples through the thin material. I was painfully hard and
practically drooling. Then she turned her face to the left, offering her neck to me.
She was willingly giving herself to me, in the most vulnerable way, putting all her
trust in me. It was impossible to comprehend the magnitude of love I felt for this
girl. I loved her and needed her so badly, in so many ways.

My lips pulled back over my teeth and I bit into her, grasping her by her hips as
she softly cried out. The warm blood drizzled down into my mouth, gravity
causing it to flow straight down my throat. My hands were trembling on her hips.
It was a totally new, intense, and amazing experience. Not to mention sexy as
hell. I hardly had to suck, I just held my mouth to her neck feeling the trickling
over my tongue.

This position allowed the experience to last longer too, the blood flowed out on its
own, verses me sucking the blood out too quickly.

God she tasted amazing. I let out a low throaty moan. Bella was breathing
heavily on top of me, her chest moving up and down on top of my chest. I
imagined her topless, her naked breasts pressing into me. Now my hips started
to tremble, my erection begging for contact. Oh God, she was so close to it, her
legs spread out just inches above it. Oh shit, she was going to kill me, I needed
her, I needed to be inside of her.

My hands started to slide down her hips, to the bottom hem of her night shirt, my
fingertips brushing the smooth warm skin on the backs of her thighs. Her skin
was so smooth, the muscles along her thighs taught. I curled my fingers under
the fabric of her shirt, and held them there. Her breathing hitched. Oh my God,
did she want it? Did she want me to...shit, I didn't know, I didn't want to assume.

I tested my luck, I slowly started to slide my hands up the backs of her thighs,
pushing the shirt up at the same time, exposing her bare legs. Bella's heartbeat
was racing. I continued to swallow the sweet, delicious blood, knowing her limit
was soon approaching. My fingers reached the bottom of her panties under her
ass. I kept going. I slid my hands and her shirt over the white cotton panties,
feeling the beautiful tightness of her ass. Her shirt was now pushed all the way
up over her hips.

I slowly licked my tongue over her neck, closing the gash. The smell of her blood
and arousal permeated the room. I moved both my hands down, over the entire
curve of her ass, oh so tight, so fucking hot. I heard her breath, "Oh God." She

still lay on top of me, her face still beside my head, my face in her neck. My
hands moved over her ass, dipping down in between her open thighs and over
the burning hot center that was calling to me, and I felt the wetness soaking
through her panties.

"Fuck Bella." I realized I had whispered out loud. Her breath hitched again and I
could feel each beat of her racing heart through my own chest. Then I slipped
one finger underneath the wet spot on her panties and she cried out softly in my
ear as my finger slid into her wet folds.

Holy fuck, the heat, she felt like fire against my cold skin. My finger glided
through her slickness, to her opening. Little whimpers were escaping Bella and
she was beginning to writhe and squirm above me. I paused on top of her
opening, waiting for her reaction. Finally, she lifted her head and looked into my
eyes,

"Yes, Edward, please." she whispered, and I slid my finger inside of her as she
crashed her lips into mine, devouring my mouth. My other hand grabbed the
center of her panties, pulling them aside to give me better access, but I heard
fabric tearing and realized I had torn them right off her. Her entire bottom half
was naked now and I grabbed her ass with my free hand while adding a second
finger inside of her. She moaned into my mouth.

Then, Bella pulled her mouth from mine and brought her hand up behind her
head, grabbing her shirt, and pulling it clean up and over her head, tossing it
beside us on the bed. She was completely naked on top of me. Oh my fucking
God. I couldn't take it, I pulled my fingers out of her and rolled us over. I yanked
my shirt off throwing it aside and paused, sitting back on my heels, looking at her
lying in front of me.

I drank in the sight in front me, her perfect breasts moving up and down with her
rapid breathing, her flat stomach rising and falling with every breath she took,
her beautiful smooth legs slightly bent at the knees. She was looking directly into
my eyes. Then, she sat up in front of me, and before I knew it, her hand was
down my pants, wrapped around my cock.

"Oh God!" I growled, my hands coming up, grasping Bella's shoulders. She
started to stoke it up and down. Oh my God, I was going to lose control, it was
too much. Then she used her other hand to push the top of my pants down
around my hips. I lifted myself up a little and helped her push my pants down
around my knees. I think I was shaking all over. She sat in front of me, her
knees bent, legs wide open, her feet on either side of my hips. Her warm hand
continued to move up and down along my shaft. I fucking wanted her so bad. I
couldn't take it anymore.

In one quick move, I grabbed Bella by the wrists, pulled her forward so that her
breasts pressed into my chest, threw her arm around my neck, and wrapped my
arm around her back. Then groaned loudly as I felt her sink onto my cock. She
let out a gasp followed by a long moan.

I sat back on my heels, feeling her completely sheathed around my cock. My
other hand cupped her ass cheek and I started to lift her up and down on my lap.
She matched my movements, and we were soon eagerly moving up and down
against each others momentum. Her breasts were bouncing and rubbing against
my chest. She threw her head back, her eyes closed and I started placing long
open-mouthed kisses along the front of her throat. She was crying out and
moaning, and some of the language I heard her using was seriously driving me to
the edge.

"Oh...fuck Edward...oh my God," She said it quietly, barely audible, but it was
loud and clear to me, "Yes...oh God...feels so fucking good..." She'd gasp out in
between breaths.

Oh my God it was the hottest thing anyone could ever imagine and I was gone,
completely gone. I lunged forward, Bella landing on her back on the bed and
gripped her waist, slamming my hips into her, my thrusts desperate and avid.
She wrapped her legs around me and gripped my biceps, arching her back off the
bed. I started to growl, then watched as Bella locked eyes with me, her mouth
opening up wide. She got very silent as her orgasm built up, then let out a long,
loud moan as she climaxed with me, digging her heels into my back and her nails
into my arms. If I would have been human, she would have drawn blood. After
my orgasm peaked, my thrusting began to slow and I gave one last push into her
as I felt her warm walls constrict around me one more time.

Bella slowly lowered her back down to the bed and I sank forward on top of her,
gently pressing our naked chests together, my face settling into her neck. I was
still inside of her and I wanted to stay there forever. She let her knees fall open
around me, relaxed. Her heart was pounding fast and I felt it in my own chest, it
made me feel alive. She made me feel alive. I would do anything for her,
anything. She was my entire life now. Did she know that? I loved her more than
anything. I wanted her to know that.

I lifted my head up to look at her. She opened her eyes and looked into my
blackened eyes.

"Bella..." I started. Tell her you love her, tell her she is your entire world, tell her
you cannot be without her, "Bella..." I said again. She gazed into my eyes.

"Yes Edward?"

But I could only stare into her eyes. I couldn't say it. I was too afraid she'd be
embarrassed, upset, or...disgusted. I was just a monster to her. There was no
way she could love me back, and I didn't deserve to love her. She was too
beautiful, too wonderful, too good for me. She would reject me. I was scared, I
just couldn't say it to her.

Well what do you know, I guess Edward Cullen does get scared after all.

Bella fell asleep soon after and I carefully rolled off of her. I pulled my pajama
pants back up around my waist, not bothering to find wear my shirt had landed. I
walked into the living room to turn the lights and music off, then back to the
bedroom and crawled in bed beside her. She had rolled over onto her stomach,
her arms bent up over her head on the pillow. I could see the side of her breast
where she lay against the mattress. The bedsheet lay across her very lower back
just above the curve of her bottom. Her skin was glowing in the moonlight
shining through the window, so perfect and smooth. She was more beautiful than
anything I've ever seen. I wanted to run my hand down and across her smooth
bare back, but didn't want to wake her with my cool touch. I watched her back
rise and fall with her steady breathing.

Before I realized it, the sun was rising and Bella's breathing and heart-rate was
beginning to change. My lips turned up into a grin in anticipation of her waking.
Her eyes finally opened and she smiled at me. My insides turned to mush.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked her.

"Better than I have in a while." she responded. She reached down to grab the
sheet, then sat up and pulled it up over her naked chest at the same time,

tucking it under her arms. Her hair was a beautiful mess. It had fallen out of its
messy bun from last night and was in disarray around her face. I sat up also, my
eyes still fixed on her. She looked at me, her eyes scanning over my bare chest,
then cocked her head to the side.

"Coffee sounds reeeally good right about now." she hinted, grinning at me. I
chuckled softly and leaned forward, placing a peck on her forehead,

"Consider it done." and I was off to the kitchen, full of pride, knowing I was
capable of brewing a mean pot of coffee for my girl.

Bella showered and walked out wearing jeans and a navy blue v-neck sweater,
just a hint of cleavage showing at its center point. Her hair was down and it was
still damp from her shower. I poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her.
She took it from me and smiled, taking a long whiff before bringing it to her lips.
I followed her out onto the porch and sat beside her on the bench.

"Bella?" I said after about 15 minutes of silence. She turned to look at me. "How
would you like to go into town with me today?" I asked her. She raised her
eyebrows. "I need to go shopping for my sister's birthday present. Her party is
next weekend and I thought you might enjoy helping pick something out for her."

"I would love to, but, are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes." I said, and I was sure. I had been thinking about it last night while she
slept. I trusted Bella. She called this her home now. I didn't think she would try
to run away or signal for help. And Bella told me herself, she was new to
Washington, had only lived in Forks for a week before I found her. So the
chances of anyone recognizing her were slim to none.

I took a quick shower and walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped
around my waist. Bella was sitting on the edge of the bed, a little compact mirror
in her hands, applying a little make-up to her eyes. She paused when she saw
me, her eyes traveling up and down my body. I grinned at her and walked over
to the dresser. I pulled out a pair of black boxers, a long sleeved burgundy t-shirt
and dark jeans. I was facing away from her when I dropped the towel and I heard
her compact drop to the floor. I swear the grin on my face was becoming a
permanent fixture there.

We walked out the door of the cabin and I turned to Bella. She looked pretty with
a subtle amount of makeup on. She wore a little eyeliner, mascara and just a hint
of blush. I also realized that she had added concealer to her neck to cover up the
scars. Although I felt a pang of guilt in my gut, it was probably a smart idea,
otherwise it would draw a lot of attention. Alice was very thoughtful to buy her
makeup and other random things that I would never have thought of providing.
This was exactly why I wanted to get Alice something special for her birthday.
She was so thoughtful of everyone around her.

I pulled a cell phone out of my jeans pocket. I turned the power on. I hardly ever
used the thing, it usually just sat in a small wall-safe in my house. I called the
storage facility where one of my cars was located. I decided to bring out my
Volvo S60R. They knew me and my family by name and were very
accommodating. They agreed to have my car waiting at a business parking lot
just outside the forest line.

"Here, hop on." I told Bella turning my back towards her. She giggled and I felt
her warm arms wrap around my neck. I hoisted her up, loving the feeling of her
legs wrapped around me and those gorgeous perfect breasts pressing into my
back. Off we went.

The trees thinned out and I slowed down, letting Bella down off my back so that
we could walk out of the forest together. My car was waiting, two skinny young
men standing beside it holding the keys. I slipped each of them a $50 and
watched them get into their van and drive off. I walked around the car and
opened the passenger side door for Bella. She got in and I walked back around
and got in the drivers side, revving the engine up and taking off.

We arrived at a long strip of shops lining a cobblestone road. I found a parking
spot and we started to walk. Bella was beaming. Her eyes lit up at every shop
window we passed.

I spoke up, "Bella, please tell me if you see anything you want."

"Oh no no. I don't need anything. Everything I have at home is plenty." she said
shaking her head. I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk turning to Bella.

"Bella," I said taking her hand in mine, "if there is anything you want, it's yours. I
know we are shopping for Alice, but you are welcome to anything you see that
you like, I insist. In fact, we won't leave here today unless you find at
least...three things that you want."

Her eyes widened. "Edward, I couldn't..."

"Shh, yes you can love." I responded quickly then kept her hand in mine and
continued to walk down the street. What did I just call her? Ok Edward, there you
go again, saying things without thinking. I glanced down at her walking next to
me. She was looking at me out of the corners of her eyes, a beautiful, genuine
grin on her face. I gently squeezed her hand, relieved I didn't scare her with my
term of endearment slip.

We shopped all afternoon. I was able to convince Bella to pick out a few DVDs at
an electronics store. We moved onto some clothing stores and Bella saw two
scarves that she liked. I bought them for her along with a brown jacket she was
eying even though she was trying to convince me it was too expensive.

We moved onto a store full of flashy accessories. There were shoes, belts,
sunglasses, purses, jewelry. Bella told me that she thought Alice would like a
hand bag, one of the big name brands that most girls like. I had no idea, so I told
her to pick one. She listed off a variety of big names, but warned me that they
would be pretty expensive. She was so cute, by now she must realize that money
is not a concern. I told her to choose a Coach purse for Alice and she was thrilled.
She looked amongst a wide selection and settled on a style they called the
'Madison Leather Sophia Satchel' in a silver lilac color because she noticed that
Alice wore purple a lot when she stopped by and said it would match most of her
outfits. She was very observant.

Bella used the store restroom and I quickly found a small brown and tan bag
labeled 'Coach Op Art Hippie'. The colors matched her new jacket and I wanted
her to have something to carry her things in when we left the house. The cashier
was flirting shamelessly with me while I paid, writing her name and phone
number on the receipt, Aimee, with a heart dotting the letter i. Bella exited the
bathroom and found me at the cash register.

"There she is..." I said, leaning down and placing a sweet kiss on her lips. The
cashier handed me the large paper shopping bag with both bags inside, a scowl
on her face. I grabbed Bella's hand, our fingers entwining and we walked out.

"What was that all about?" Bella asked smiling as we walked away from the store.

"I think that cashier needed to know which girl I was interested in, because it
definitely wasn't her."

"Much to her disappointment as I saw." Bella said chuckling, gripping my hand
tighter.

We stopped to get a burger and a soda for Bella. We sat at an outdoor table and I
watched her smiling as she took in her surroundings. She looked at all the people
walking by, the airplanes passing overhead, the cars driving by. When she was
finished eating, I pulled out the purse I had purchased for her.

"This is for you." I said handing it to her.

"Edward! This is too much, I can't take this!" she said grabbing the purse, turning
it over in her hands.

"Yes you can. I want you to have it." I told her.

"Oh my God, Edward. I've never had anything this nice before. What if I get it
dirty?"

I laughed, she was so incredibly adorable. "Then I'll get you a new one. Why
don't you carry it around now?" I suggested.

"I would, but I'd feel silly carrying an empty bag. I'll wait until we get home and I
can put something in it."

"Here," I said pulling five 20 dollar bills out of my wallet and placing them in the
zippered compartment in the purse. Then I grabbed my car keys out of my
pocket and added them to the bag, "and you can keep my car keys safe. Now you
have something to carry around."

"Edward! I'll keep this money safe, but you're getting it right back when we get
home tonight."

I smiled and slowly shook my head. I loved this girl more and more every day.

~*~

We arrived home around 8:00 PM. I had gotten Bella dinner while we were out so
she didn't have to cook or cleanup at home. She wanted to watch one of her new
DVDs tonight. She walked out of the bedroom barefoot, her hair loosely pulled up
on top of her head. She had changed into comfortable sleep clothes, a pair of
black leggings and a baggy black vintage t-shirt with a music band graphic
printed on the front. I recognized it as one of my old t-shirts. She knelt down in
front of my dusty DVD player and started to unwrap the DVDs. I also changed
into comfortable clothes, a pair of black basketball shorts and a white t-shirt.
When I walked out of the bedroom, Bella had found a throw blanket and was
sitting on the couch, her lap covered by the blanket, a cup of steaming tea in her
hands.

I sat beside her on the couch and she started the movie. It was Gran Torino with
Clint Eastwood. It was quite good, but all of the fresh air today must have wiped
Bella out because she fell asleep 15 minutes before it ended, her head leaning
against my shoulder. I shifted slightly and guided Bella's head down to rest on
my lap in a more comfortable position. I rubbed her shoulder gently, she looked
so peaceful and content. The credits rolled across the screen and eventually the
picture turned blue. It was 11:00.

11:45...12:45...1:45. Shit. The amount of venom I had swallowed back was
enough to turn a human for Christ sake. It kept flooding my mouth in anticipation
of feeding. Goddammit Edward, one night, just one night. You can't go without it
for one fucking night? I needed to try. I was too close to her, so I carefully picked
her up and carried her to the bedroom, pulling the sheets back and laying her
down. I covered her up and forced myself to walk out of the room. She smelled
so fucking good.

I paced my living room, 2:15. Shit, shit, shit.

"Get a fucking hold of yourself Edward." I said out loud, my teeth gritting
together, my hands going into my hair. Still pacing. 2:30, 2:45. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I staggered to the front door, my hand reaching for the door handle, trembling
violently. I gripped onto it and turned. A loud clang pierced the silence. The
handle broke off and landed on the porch outside. I flew out onto the porch,
grabbing the first thing that I saw, the bench, and hurled it out into the forest,
hearing it break into a hundred pieces as it crashed onto the ground. I dropped to
my knees, my hand coming up to grab hold of the porch railing, but the wood
broke beneath my grip. I lifted my fist and crashed it down through the wood
floor planks.

Suddenly, she was there on the porch. Kneeling in front of me, pulling my face to
her neck. I automatically bit into her, crying out in desperate relief as her blood
filled my mouth.

"It's OK, it's OK, I'm here. I'm here Edward." I heard her say. I moaned loudly,
bringing my arms around her, hugging her tightly to me as I swallowed and
swallowed, feeling the burning sensation start to diminish. She had one hand
behind my head, her fingers in my hair, the other hand around the back of my
neck, pulling me to her. "Shhh, shhh, it's OK Edward, I'm here." she murmured
over and over as I drank from her. My head slowly started to clear. I was
becoming rational again and I realized what had just unfolded. She came to me. I
needed her and she came to me.

I knew I was at her limit, so I took one last gulp, then sealed her neck, and
brought both my hands up to cup her face and pressed my forehead against hers.

"Bella...Bella..." We sat there on our knees, clinging to each other, in the middle
of the night, on the front porch surrounded by broken wood splinters.
"Bella...you...you came to me." I stuttered, my voice a mixture of relief and
astonishment.

"You needed me Edward." she whispered. Oh my God, this girl. Did she know just
how much I needed her? She continued, "I heard a loud noise and woke up. Then
I realized what time it was and what was happening. Edward, I'm sorry I fell
asleep." She said bringing her hands up to cover mine.

"Bella, you shouldn't be the one to apologize. I'm the one who should be sorry."

"Why didn't you come wake me up?" she asked.

"I didn't want to disturb you." I said, pulling my face back slowly to look at her.

"But you need to drink." she said, bringing her warm hand up to my forehead and
slowly sliding her palm over my temple, down my cheek and under my jaw. I
could only gaze into her eyes. She never stopped captivating me. Everything
about her made me love her more and more. Everything she did, everything she
said, every look, every touch.

She took my hands and we stood up and walked back into the house. She led me
to the bedroom and we crawled into bed, lying on our sides, facing each other.

"Bella, I wanted to try to go one night without it." I admitted to her.

"Why?" she asked.

I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes. "Bella...what I do to you...you don't
deserve it. You don't deserve to be used. I hate that I take your blood. I hate
that I'm not strong enough to be without it."

I felt her scoot closer to me, her legs brushing against mine

"Edward, nothing I ever did mattered to anyone before."

I turned back on my side to face her. "How can that be Bella? You matter to me
more than anything."

"Exactly," she said, grabbing my wrist and pulling my arm over her shoulder. She
snuggled into my chest and I pulled her into me. She fell asleep, my arms
wrapped around her.

Bella slept in the next morning. I was glad, she needed her rest after the
interruption I had caused in the night. I showered and got dressed in jeans and a
dark gray sweater. I had coffee brewing by the time she came walking out of the
bedroom squinting her eyes, one side of her leggings hiked up to her knee, her
hair sticking up in every direction. I laughed quietly, she couldn't be any cuter.

I leaned over the kitchen counter, resting my forearms on the granite top and
watched Bella prepare herself a bagel with cream cheese. I poured her a cup of
coffee and she took it from me with a grin, her mouth full of bagel. Because I had
broken the porch floor and railing, Bella sat in the living room and drank her
coffee. I planned to fix the damages today.

After breakfast, Bella took a shower. She walked out of the bedroom dressed in a
long sleeved white t-shirt and a pair of light blue jeans. They were the kind of
jeans that came with a few torn distressed spots to add flare. She had one of the
new scarves I bought her knotted around her neck and hanging down her front. It
had various blue, gray, and silver stripes. Her hair was pulled back into a smooth
ponytail. She carried a basket full of clean laundry and sat down on the sofa to
start folding.

I decided to go into town for supplies to fix the porch, picking up enough stuff to
also rebuild the bench I had thrownand destroyed. Bella was cleaning up her
lunch dishes when I got back. She asked if she could go for a run while I worked
on the porch.

"Of course you can love." I said walking over to her and giving her a kiss on top
of her head. I filled up her water bottle while she changed into her running
clothes and shoes. She smiled warmly at me when I held it out to her, then put
her earbuds in and started the music on her Ipod. I heard Nelly Furtado's "Say it
Right" start up. She took off jogging.

I had the floorboards fixed and was about halfway done rebuilding a new bench
when Bella came jogging up. Her forehead was sweaty and her hair wind-blown.
She stopped and unscrewed the lid to her water bottle, tilting her head back and
pouring the final drink of water into her mouth.

"Whew! That was a nice run, I feel really good." she said smiling. She walked up
the steps onto the porch, "Edward, this looks great, I can't believe you fixed that
so fast. It looks perfect!" she said admiring my work. I smiled and watched her
walk into the house, those tight running pants hugging her ass, God was she
sexy.

I finished the bench and walked inside, heading for the bedroom. As I walked
down the hallway, I took off my flannel button-down and reached back over my
head pulling off my white t-shirt. I walked through the bedroom doorway and
there was Bella, standing in just her bra and panties, getting ready to walk into
the attached bathroom.

I stopped short and Bella let out a soft gasp, stopping in front of the bathroom
door. I respectfully averted my eyes.

"I'm sorry Bella, I didn't know you were changing."

She laughed softly, "That's OK, um, sorry...didn't mean to parade around half-
naked. Guess it's nothing you haven't seen though."

I smiled. I could see her out of my peripheral vision, still standing in the same
spot. She wasn't moving, so I slowly turned my head to face her. She bit into her
bottom lip and looked up at me with those big deep brown eyes. I couldn't control
myself, I looked her up and down. She had let her hair down, and it lay scattered
across her shoulders and halfway down her chest. God...that body. Her small,
perky breasts teased me from beneath her black bra. I wanted to wrap my hands
around that slim waist and tight stomach of hers and pull her to me. I wanted to
touch those black panties...no I wanted to bethose black panties. Fuck it...I
wanted those black panties on the floor.

Shit, I was rock hard now. Bella's lips turned up. "Edward Cullen, don't you know
it's rude to stare?" she said in a teasing tone. I forced myself to look away, but I
had a huge grin plastered across my face. I brought my hand up to my head and
ran my fingers nervously through my messy hair. She slowly walked up to me
and took the flannel and white t-shirt out of my hands, tossing them onto the
bed. "Were you planning on taking a shower?" I nodded, turning back to her and
fixing my eyes on hers. "Me too." she said, her eyes never leaving mine. Then,
she gently grasped my hand and started leading me to the bathroom.

Holy shit, was this really happening? I stood there, frozen like a statue as I
watched Bella bend over the side of the tub and turn the water on. I could see
her ass cheeks from around the edges of her panties. She turned around to face
me, looking up into my eyes.

"Is this OK with you Edward?" she asked cautiously. I couldn't speak, all I could
do was nod my head. Then, never breaking eye contact, she reached forward and
popped the button of my jeans open. She slowly slid the zipper down and I
grabbed her hand.

"Bella..." I whispered. She was still staring into my eyes. "I...I haven't had blood
since last night...I'm not sure..." She brought her hand up to my face, touching
my cheek.

"We'll just shower Edward." she murmured, nodding her head. Just shower, OK, I
can handle that. I couldn't risk losing control otherwise. OK, I can do this, just
shower. I nodded my head in response and released her hand. She slowly pushed
my jeans and boxers down over my hips. They fell to the floor, my erection
standing out in full force. I stepped out of my pants. OK, here goes nothing. I
brought my hands up to Bella's shoulders and ran them over and down her back,

finding the release to her bra and undoing the clasp. The straps rolled off her
shoulders and down her arms, it dropped to the floor. Then I touched her hips
with both of my hands, slipping both pointer fingers beneath the top of her
panties. I paused. She closed her eyes and waited. I gradually inched them down
her hips, bending slightly at my waist, and pushing them over her ass and down
her legs. They dropped to the floor and she stepped out of them. I took her in.
She was a fucking work of art.

Bella turned around and turned the shower head on, then grabbed my hand and
stepped in. I followed, the spray of the water hitting my chest. I closed the
shower curtain and watched Bella step under the stream. Fuuuck me. The hot
water ran over her body, her wet skin glistening. I think my mouth dropped open.
She ran her hands through her wet hair, closing her eyes under the stream. Then
she stepped aside and I stepped under the water. She lathered herself up with
soap, then handed me the bar and turned around,

"Would you mind?" she asked, looking over her shoulder. I lathered my hands up
and slid them down her back. I ran them over her neck and across her shoulder
blades. "That feels nice." she said, looking back over her shoulder at me. I
continued to slide my hands up and down her back, then she turned around. The
soap dripped down her body, little droplets of water trailing over her skin. She
took the soap from my hands and lathered her hands up. Then she touched my
chest and started to rub her hands all over me. Jesus, she was going to kill me.
Her warm hands traveled over my shoulders, down my chest, down my stomach,
and stopped just below my belly button. She inched a little lower, then looked up
at me.

"Edward, I want to do something for you," she said quietly, her voice full of lust. I
swallowed and stared into her eyes. "You do so much for me, I want to do
something for you, to make you...feel good." Oh my God, oh my God, I was
going to fucking lose it. "Will you let me?" I swallowed again, the venom
continuing to fill my mouth, "It will be OK, you won't be able to hurt me." That
voice, she was going to kill me with that innocent sexy voice. I closed my eyes
and nodded my head.

I felt her fingertips trail down my pelvis, and then her fingers wrapped around my
cock. I let out a hiss and grabbed her hips. She started to stoke it up and down
and I slowly opened my eyes. She was looking up at me, her eyes burning into
mine. She licked her lips. I leaned down and claimed her lips with mine, letting
out a low "Mmmm." She was still lathered in soap and her hand slid easily over
my hardness.

Our lips moved against each others. I felt her tongue in my mouth and met hers
with mine. I brought my hands up to hold her face and we continued to kiss
under the warm spray of water. Her hand felt amazing running up and down my
shaft, so fucking hot. Our kisses grew more intense and Bella started to stroke
me at a quicker pace. I started to form dangerous images in my mind. I wanted
to grab her under her thighs and lift her up, wrap her legs around my waist and
slide inside of her. I wanted to press her up against the shower wall and push
deep inside of her over and over.

Suddenly my hands were on her ass, sliding down her thighs. No! I can't! It's too
dangerous! I forced myself to remove my hands from her body. Instead, I
brought them above Bella's head and pressed them against the shower wall
behind her. Her strokes were fast and I was shaking and moaning. Then Bella's
other hand found my balls and she gently started to knead them. I broke our
kiss,

"Fuck Bella!" I groaned, squeezing my eyes closed, "Oh God," My whole body was
trembling, and I came, covering Bella's hand and stomach in venom. She stroked
me through it, then slowed down, her delicate hand remaining wrapped around
me until the very end.

I brought my hands down from the tile wall and wrapped my arms around Bella,
pulling her to me. She wound her arms around my waist and pressed her cheek
to me chest. We hugged under the water stream while my composure returned. I
leaned back and tilted Bella's chin up, placing a long, deep kiss on her lips.

After our shower, we got dressed, Bella in a pair of dark jeans and a green scoop-
neck sweater, me in relaxed-fit blue jeans and gray t-shirt. It was still early in the
evening, so after Bella ate dinner, we decided to go for a walk.

The air was crisp. Bella wore her new jacket I bought her. We headed to the
same clearing we found the night we got caught in the storm. We approached the
same rock bluff that we found shelter beneath and my lips turned up into a grin
when I remembered the night Bella had offered her blood to me and how
incredibly hot things had gotten between us. I glanced over at Bella to see if she
recognized it. Her eyes were traveling up and down the rocky overhang. As we
passed it, she turned and looked up at me, then looped her arm through mine,
and leaned her head up against my shoulder. She recognized it. We walked arm
in arm the rest of the way to the clearing.

We arrived at the clearing and sat down on the mossy ground. Bella pulled the
jacket closer around her.

"Are you cold?" I asked her, a little concerned.

"I'm just not used to cool weather," she said, "Phoenix in September is usually 80
degrees or more." Then she fell silent for a moment. "What day is it today?"

"September 15." I told her. She suddenly stood up. "Bella?" I stood up and
looked at her face. Her eyes were quickly filling with tears and her breathing and
heartbeat had suddenly become very rapid. "Bella, what's wrong love?" I asked
urgently, taking both of her hands in mine. She closed her eyes, the tears
dripping out and rolling down her cheeks. She opened her mouth, but no words
came out. "Bella, please, say something, what's wrong?" I asked with alarm. She
started to sway, and I grabbed hold of her, pulling her to me. She was
hyperventilating, but why?

"It's OK Bella, it's OK," I said, hugging her to me, "You're OK, I'm here with you.
You're safe, I won't let anything happen to you." I reassured her, hoping it would
help calm her down. After a few minutes, I could hear her heart-rate start to
return back to normal and she seemed steadier on her feet. I leaned back to look
at her face, still firmly holding onto the backs of her arms.

"I'm...sorry." She said, still trying to catch her breath.

"Don't be sorry Bella." I told her, pulling her to me again. She hugged me back
and took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly, her breathing gradually
becoming steadier. "Do you want to sit down?" I asked her, my hand rubbing her
back. She nodded and I lowered us both to the grass, gathering her onto my lap.
She leaned her head on my shoulder.

"It was...exactly four years ago today." She said at last, and I knew she was
talking about her step-father. My insides started to boil as I thought of the man
who caused so much pain, fear, and anxiety for my Bella. She continued, "Certain

things will...remind me...bring me back to that day. And then I re-live it all over
again."

My fingers entwined with hers and I listened as she let it all out, "I remember the
date, September 15, 2007. I remember the clothes I was wearing, Candies khaki
shorts and an Old Navy red tank top. I remember the song that was playing on
my bedroom cd player, "Umbrella" by Rihanna. It was a Saturday afternoon. My
mother was out shopping and I was in my room listening to music and organizing
my closet. When I turned around, he was standing there in my doorway, his hand
behind his back, a scary, crazy look in his eyes. He closed the door and told me
to lie down on the bed. I started to scream at him to get out of my room, but it
only made him mad and he ran at me, tackling me down on my bed and pulling
the knife out from behind his back. He held it to my neck and told me he'd cut
my throat if I screamed."

A soft sob escaped Bella and she brought her hand up to wipe her eyes.

"Bella..." I whispered, but she stopped me.

"No...I have to tell somebody this. I've kept it in for so long, I just need to tell
somebody." she said, sitting up straighter in my arms. "I remember it all so
clearly. His sweaty hand under my shirt, the exact spot on the floor where my
shorts landed when he yanked them off of me, the clanging sound of his belt
buckle being undone."

She paused and took a deep shaky breath, "I felt...everything...stretching,
pinching, and then I blacked out. I must have been out for 10 or 15 minutes. He
was gone when I woke up. I locked myself in the bathroom. I remember seeing
blood. I remember sitting in the empty bathtub, crying so hard I could hardly
breathe." She stopped and I squeezed her against me, she turned her face into
my neck and cried quietly.

Eventually, she stopped crying and pulled her face back to look at me. "Edward,
I've never told anyone that before." she admitted to me, "None of my friends in
Phoenix, not even Jacob. One time, something triggered a memory of it while I
was with Jacob, and I passed out. I never told him what caused it though. I
couldn't. Edward, telling you this...it makes me feel...better, relieved. I think I'm
OK."

I wasn't.

"Bella listen to me," I started, locking eyes with her, "I'm going to find this man.
I'm going to hunt him down, and end his life." she swallowed and stared intensely
into my eyes. This man deserved to die, in the most torturous, savage way
possible...and I needed to be the one to kill him.

~*~

I knew I was going to need some time. I had to plan the trip to Phoenix, I had to
locate him, I had to learn his everyday schedule, and I had to figure out the best
way to complete the kill. I also had my Bella to think of.

I knew the talk in the forest had affected Bella because she had nightmares over
the next several nights. I always stayed by her side while she slept, being there
to hold her when she woke up in tears. I made sure my feedings were subdued
and early in the evening since I knew Bella wasn't sleeping well at night.

By the following Friday, the nightmares died down and Bella slept soundly for the
first night in over a week. I was smiling when she opened her eyes Saturday
morning, bringing my hand to gently brush along her cheek. "How did you sleep
love?" I asked her. Her lips turned up into a sweet grin.

"I slept wonderfully," she said sitting up and stretching, her little gray t-shirt
riding up on her tummy, her belly-button peeking out. I sat up beside her, placed
my hand under her chin and lifted her face up slightly, giving her a soft kiss on
the lips.

I climbed out of bed, and walked into the kitchen in my blue boxers and white t-
shirt heading over to the coffee maker. Bella followed close behind, straightening
out her hot pink cotton shorts. She hopped up onto the kitchen counter next to
the coffee maker, swinging her legs. I poured the water into the coffee maker
and started measuring out the coffee grounds.

"So tonight's Alice's birthday party?" she asked. I nodded. "Make sure you tell her
that I picked out her gift." she said smiling. I turned to look at her.

"Why don't you tell her yourself?" I said. She frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you'll be there when she opens it, why don't you tell her yourself?"

"Wait, I'm coming along?" she asked surprised. I flipped the switch to the coffee
maker on, then walked in front of Bella sitting on the counter, gently pushing her
knees apart and leaning my waist against the counter between them. I wrapped
my arms around her waist. Her body was so warm.

"Of course you're coming along." I answered, looking into her sparkling brown
eyes.

"Edward, are you sure? I mean, is it...safe? Won't there be...others there? I
wouldn't want to..." I cut her short, bringing my hand up and pressing my pointer
finger against her lips.

"You have nothing to worry about. I will be with you the entire time, I will keep
you safe. Besides, the friends and family that will be there are all respectable,
trustworthy individuals. My family does not associate with anyone dangerous." I
reassured her. Her eyes darted back and forth between my eyes. "So, what do
you say, will you come to Alice's party with me?"

She threw her arms around my neck, "Of course I will! I would love to!" she said.
I laughed, relating our little exchange to a couple of teenagers finding a date to
the prom.

The party didn't start until midnight, so I suggested Bella take a nap in the
afternoon so she wouldn't be tired arriving at the party. She napped from 2:00-
4:00 PM and was a ball of energy when she woke up. She went for a run, then
came back and cleaned the entire cabin from top to bottom, then decided to re-
organize the pantry in the kitchen. While she was in the shower, I went into the
bedroom and sat on the bed. She walked out in her white bathrobe and headed
over to the closet.

"I have no idea what I am going to wear." she said, pushing hangers aside one by
one. I walked up behind her and placed my hands on her shoulders.

"Bella," she turned around and looked up at me. "why don't you come sit down
for a few minutes?" Bella sighed and followed me over to the bed sitting down. I
remember listening to a conversation Jasper and Emmett were having one time
about certain things you should never say to a girl. One was, you should never
tell a girl to 'relax'.

"Lay down on your stomach." I told her. Her eyes widened a little, but she
listened to me, lying flat on her stomach, turning her head to her left, her arms
at her sides. I leaned over her and grasped the soft collar of her robe, then slowly
started to pull it down. I heard a soft gasp escape Bella's lips. I pulled it down
over her shoulders and down her back, exposing her smooth bare skin, stopping
just above the two little dimples in her lower back. Then I carefully swung my leg
over her legs and knelt on either side of her thighs, trying hard to ignore the fact
that she was now almost completely naked, with just a small section of robe
covering her bottom.

I touched the center of her back with my palms and started to slide them up and
down her skin. Bella took a deep breath in, her back rising slightly, then let it out
in with a slow, relaxed "Mmmmm".

I watched my fingers create brief indentations in her skin, as I trailed them over
her shoulder blades, and down the center of her spine. I slid my hands apart at
her very lower back, moving them back up her sides, feeling each individual rib
beneath her warm skin. I continued to rub my hands over her back with the
slightest of pressure, over and over again, until I felt her muscles begin to relax.
Then I softened my touch and used the very tips of my fingers to lightly graze
over her entire back.

I leaned down and placed a long open-mouthed kiss right in between her
shoulder blades. She sighed loudly. Then I slid the robe back up over her
shoulders, covering her up. She shifted around, slipping her arms back into the
sleeves and rolled over onto her back, pulling the robe closed in front of her. Her
eyes were half-open.

"Oh Edward." she said very slowly. "That felt absolutely wonderful." I leaned
down on my elbow next to her.

"Are you feeling better now?" I asked her.

"Yes. I'm sorry, I'm just...nervous I guess." she said.

"Why are you nervous?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm worried about what everyone will think of me."

"Bella, the only people there who truly matter, are my family. And I know they
will not judge." I told her. She nodded slowly.

"Can you tell me what to expect?" she asked.

"Alice is having the party at my parent's house. They live just outside of town.
You'll meet my parents. You'll meet Alice's husband Jasper. My brother Emmett
and his wife Rose." Bella cut in,

"Is Emmett, the one who...helped me that night?"

"Yes." I said softly. She nodded again, her face serious. "Those are my immediate
family, and everybody else will be friends or distant family members." She was

quiet, her eyes distant. I brought my hand up to cup her cheek. "It will be OK
love." She sighed and leaned into my hand, closing her eyes.

It was 9:00 PM. I took a shower and Bella went into the kitchen to make a snack.
I wore a fitted short-sleeve military style button down in charcoal gray and a
distressed straight leg blue jean. I never did much with my hair, just ran my
fingers through it a bunch of times hoping it would fall somewhat into place. I
walked out of the bedroom to see Bella, still in her bathrobe, sitting on the sofa,
an almost empty glass of wine in her hands. Her Ipod was connected to her
sound dock, the song switched over to Nine Inch Nails We're in this Together. I
walked over to her.

"I found my snack." she said, a goofy grin on her face.

I chuckled, "How many glasses have you had?" She leaned back on the couch,
tipping the glass up to her lips.

"This is my third. Takes the edge off, you know?"

She was definitely buzzed, I could tell by her voice alone. Silly girl.

She stood up, and turned to me, "Damn. You clean up nice." she said, her lips
turning up. They were a slight shade of red from the wine.

I licked my lips and stared into her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that...you'll make my panties wet. Oh wait...I'm not
wearing any." she said, looking down at her bathrobe. Oh wow, I was amused
and turned on at the same time. This was quite a different side of Bella I was
seeing, and I was strangely intrigued.

"Edward, are you gonna drink before we go?" she asked seriously, and somewhat
slurred. I nodded my head. She set the empty wine glass down on the end table
and took my hand, leading me to the bedroom.

She crawled to the center of the bed and lay on her back. I stood there for a
moment looking at her. She lay with one leg slightly bent, the other straight, the
bathrobe draped carelessly over the middle of her thighs. Her arms were at her
sides, her chest rose steadily with every breath she took. Her hair was spread out
all around her on the bed in soft waves. Her eyes were closed. I knelt on the bed
then crawled over her, my knees on either side of her hips.

Then I felt her hand on my chest, applying the slightest of pressure.

"Edward..." she murmured, her eyes still closed, "Wanna try something
different?"

I sat back on my heels and looked at her, venom starting to fill my mouth with
anticipation. She slowly sat up on her elbows, the light from the living room
casting an eerily beautiful shadow across her face. She brought her hand up to
her lap, grabbed the hem of her bathrobe and slowly slid it up her thighs stopping
just centimeters from the innermost area that sent my mind spinning. She
started to spread her legs apart painstakingly slow. Oh shit.

"Do you want to try drinking...from here?" She asked, touching her inner thigh,
the lewdness in her voice turning me on almost as much as her body laid out in
front of me. Yes, I wanted to. I wasn't going to deny that.

"Mmm, Bella, are you sure it's not the wine asking me that question?" I asked,
pointing out her rather bold preposition. She slowly shook her head 'no'. I stared
at her, my erection becoming painful under my jeans. My throat was on fire.

I brought my hands out and placed them on each of her knees. Then I slowly slid
them up her legs and lowered myself down at the same time, resting on my
stomach between her knees. Bella's heartbeat had picked up speed. She was still
propped up on her elbows, watching me. I looked at her legs, trying as hard as
possible to ignore the enticing smell of her arousal directly in front of me. I slid
my hand up her right inner thigh, feeling the blood pulsing through her artery.
She was breathing heavily, her heart racing. I looked up at her from between her
legs, she had lowered herself down on her back. She closed her eyes and was
beginning to squirm, her hips moving in a slightly circular pattern. I leaned my
head down and touched my mouth to her thigh. She gasped softly. I moved my
face along her skin, up higher, higher, my nose and lips trailing over her warm,
smooth thigh, my forehead coming into contact with the bottom of the bathrobe.
Oh God, so fucking close. I found where the strongest pulse point was.

I glanced up at Bella one last time, then wrapped my hand around her right
thigh, opened my mouth wide, leaned down, and sunk my teeth into her flesh.
She arched her back and cried out, a mixture of pain and want within her voice.
The blood flowed without delay, filling my mouth completely. I was taken aback
by the new and different approach, indulging in the instant gratification, closing
my eyes as the warm, thick blood flowed down my throat. I heard myself
moaning against her thigh, felt her hips gyrating just above my forehead, and my
other hand started to move on its own. It moved up the front of her left thigh,
and crept under the bathrobe, over her bare hipbone. I slid it higher, rubbing
over her smooth, flat stomach.

Suddenly, Bella's hands were in front of her, grabbing the ties of the bathrobe
and quickly pulling them apart. She opened the robe, revealing her entire naked
body. I cried out against her thigh and quickly slid my tongue over the wound,
sealing it. I had taken plenty.

"Fuck Bella, you're going to kill me." I groaned. So fucking sexy. I shifting up,
propping up on my fists, hovering over her. She looked at me through her
eyelashes.

"Mmm, Edward, your mouth down there...oh God, it was driving me crazy." she
whispered, her hips still moving around. I needed no further invitation. I lowered
back down to the bed and started to kiss and suck along her thighs. "Oh God, oh
God Edward," she whispered. Oh fuck I wanted to taste every part of her. I
reached the apex of her thighs and took in the beautiful sight in front of me. The
heat from her center and smell of her arousal was intoxicating. I brought my face
to her center and slowly slid my tongue over the outside, up the middle. She was
gasping, her hands grabbing the comforter tightly in her fists. Mmm, her skin
there tasted divine. So soft and smooth on my tongue. Then I dipped my tongue
in between her folds, licking up the center again, gliding through her wetness.
I've never tasted anything so sweet. "Oh fuck Edward, it's too much!" she said
frantically, shaking her head back and forth.

"Shhh..." I said against those lips, "just let it go love." and I pressed my tongue
flat against her, into her folds. Her hips rose up off the bed and she yelled out an
expletive. I fluttered my tongue back and forth and she lost it. She
screamed...loud. I grabbed her hips as she came, holding her against my mouth,
feeling the pulsing start within her, my tongue pressed firmly against the
sensitive bundle of nerves that caused her to lose all control. I kept my mouth
there until she finally brought her hips back down onto the bed. Then I shifted

upward, placing a kiss on her pelvis, her belly-button, between her breasts, and
under her jaw.

I leaned onto my elbow beside her, facing her. I watched her face as she started
to come down from her high. She was absolutely breath-taking in every single
way. She was the center of my universe and all I wanted was to please her like
that again and again and again.

~*~

Bella got dressed for the party. She finally decided on an off-white cotton halter
dress with a little ruffled edge along the scoop-neck collar. The bottom of the
dress touched just above her knee. She paired it with a turquoise bead and stone
drop necklace and a pair of tan wedge shoes that tied around her ankle. All from
Alice's shopping excursions throughout the past several weeks.

I watched her from the bedroom. She stood in the attached bathroom wrapping
thick strands of hair around a large curling iron barrel. The end result was pretty
natural-looking waves that hung down her back and shoulders. She applied a
little make-up to her face and also covered the scars on her neck.

She walked out of the bathroom and over to the nightstand, picking up her Coach
purse and placing the concealer inside. I saw that it was filled with various other
things too and was glad she was using my gift to her. Then she walked over to
the closet and found a little tan shrug. She didn't put it on, just draped it over her
arm to take along. I was glad, because it was pretty cool outside, and sadly,
there was no way I could keep her warm.

The digital clock on the nightstand said 11:30 PM.

"Bella," I said, standing up from where I was sitting on the bed, "you are
stunning." She smiled and blushed. I was in front of her instantly, my arms
around her waist. "I'll have to avoid doing that to you while we are at the party
tonight." I said, bringing the back of my hand up to lightly rub against her pink
cheek.

"Oh...sorry." she said, looking down.

"Don't be sorry love," I said, tilting her chin back up to look at me. I leaned in
and kissed her mouth. She kissed me back and we pulled apart briefly, staring
into each others eyes. Then we both leaned in and started to kiss again, tenderly
at first, and then with more urgency. Her hands moved over my shirt, up my
chest and over my shoulders. I kept one hand wrapped around her lower back,
and moved my other hand up her back, neck, and into her hair, pulling her face
against mine. Mmm, her tongue was meant for my mouth. It moved against me
with such perfect ease. She tasted incredible, every single part of her.

We gradually slowed down and finally pulled apart. Her lips were pink from
moving against my mouth and I thought it was incredibly hot.

"Time to go?" she asked.

"Time to go." I confirmed, taking her hand and leading her out of the bedroom.
She grabbed Alice's gift off the kitchen counter, and we walked out of the cabin.

We emerged from the forest and walked to the same business lot where they
brought my Volvo last week. This time, my black 2010 Camero SS was waiting
for me.

The drive to my parents' house was about 30 minutes. Bella was nervously
twisting her fingers in her lap the whole ride there. I couldn't be sure if it was
because she was nervous about the party or because of how fast I was driving. I
let off the gas a little.

We pulled up to the house a little after 12:00. It was tucked back in a wooded
area secluded from the main road and surrounded by thick trees. Vehicles lined
the entire twisting road leading up to the house. I pulled up the driveway and into
one of the garages. Emmett's Jeep was already inside and I parked next to him.
Music thumped loudly from inside the house, I recognized it as some Usher song.
Alice liked a variety of pop, R&B, and hip-hop music.

Bella decided to leave her purse and shrug in the car. We walked in from the
attached garage and the kitchen was packed full of vampires standing around,
talking. All red eyes immediately turned to Bella, but I ignored everybody,
leading her by her hand through the crowd and into the dining room in search of
my siblings. Alice was standing in the middle talking and smiling, surrounded by
friends. She wore a gold sequined mini dress with a variety of gold bracelets
lining her arms and sky-high black peep-toes. Her dark hair was gelled and spiky,
framing her face. She spotted us instantly and raised her eyebrows, grinning. She
excused herself and walked over to us.

"Hi Bella, hi Edward! Bella, I wasn't sure if you were coming or not." she said
over the loud music.

"Where is everybody else?" I asked Alice, referring to our other family members.

"Jasper's our DJ, he should be in the living room, and I last saw Em and Rose in
the den. Mom and Dad are hiding out in the basement rec room." she turned to
Bella and smiled, "Very cute outfit Bella, I love those wedges with that dress!"
she said. Bella smiled and thanked her. Then she held the box out to Alice. It was
wrapped in silver polka-dot wrapping paper and had a red bow attached to the
top.

"This is for you. Happy Birthday." said Bella.

"Oh you guys! You didn't have to get me a gift! I'm turning 22 for the 85th time
for goodness sake!" she said chuckling. She tore the paper off and opened the
box. Her eyes lit up. "Shut up! Edward, you shouldn't have!" she squealed,
pulling the bag out and gawking at it.

"It was all Bella." I said grinning. Bella was beaming, and I absolutely loved it.

We walked through the living room. It was packed full of people dancing to Black
Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow". I spotted Jasper, in a black polo shirt and dark
jeans. He noticed us and nodded, grabbing one of his buddies to take over the DJ
position. He followed us into the den where we found Emmett and Rose sitting on
one of the black leather sofas talking to a group. Rose wore a short one-shoulder
black lace dress. Her lips were scarlet and her long blond hair was parted down
the middle and flat-ironed straight. Emmett wore a forest green short-sleeved
button down, his biceps testing the sleeves limits, and dark gray slacks. Emmett
smiled when he saw us walk in, then abruptly stood up and grabbed Rose's hand
leading her away from their group of friends and walking over to us.

"He did bring her!" Emmett boomed cheerfully, grabbing my hand and bumping
his shoulder into me in a half-hug. "Remember me brown-eyes?" he asked Bella
nudging her gently in the shoulder with a big, friendly grin. She nodded, smiling
warmly. "Bella, I'd like you to meet my wife, Rose. Rose, this is Bella." I watched
Rose's reaction. She had a worried expression on her face, almost nervous. Then
she quickly forced a smile and held out her hand to shake Bella's. Bella shook
Rose's hand with a smile. Then Jasper stepped forward and extended his hand.

"I'm Jasper, Alice's other half." he said.

Bella said, "Nice to meet you. Nice to meet everyone."

Then Alice came walking up. "Hey Edward, can I steal Bella away for just a
moment?" My eyes widened. No! I wanted to yell. I needed to be with her, I
needed to protect her. I told her I would be with her the entire time. I looked at
Bella. She was smiling up at me. We had a silent exchange of sorts. Bella nodded
her head, telling me she would be OK if she went with Alice. I nodded slowly back
at her. I knew she'd be safe with Alice. Alice grabbed Bella's hand and I watched
as she led her out of the den, away from me.

Jasper started to lead me back to the living room to introduce me to a few
friends. Emmett and Rose stayed in the den. Names and hand-shakes were being
exchanged, but my focus was on listening to what Rose was saying to Emmett
back in the den. It was hard to hear over the loud music and everyone talking,
but I could just make it out.

"Wow," said Rose, "You said he was in deep, but I didn't realize he was in this
deep. Did you see how he was looking at her? He didn't want her to leave his
sight." said Rose.

"Yeah, I called it, he's really in love with the girl."

"Do you think he's told her yet?" Rose wondered.

"That he loves her?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah." said Rose.

"I don't know, but he should. I think she loves him back."

"Wow." said Rose. "I cannot believe it. I never thought I'd see the day."

I snapped out of their conversation when a tall blond came crashing into my
chest, her arms wrapping around my neck.

"Edward! It's been too long!" she squealed, pulling back and jumping up and
down. "How have you been?" she asked.

"Hi Tanya. I've been fine." I said blandly. She wore a second-skin plunging silver
dress and silver stilettos.

"So what have you been up to? Did you bring the Camero? Hey, did you hear
there's a human here? People are saying she's a guest, not a feeder. Hey, do you
still talk to Garrett?" she asked excitedly, barely pausing in between sentences.

"Uh, not much. Look, I'll catch up with you later." I said stepping away from her
and heading down the hallway in search of Alice and Bella. I needed to find her, it
was driving me crazy not knowing where she was. Her scent led me up the stairs,
down the hallway and into the bedroom that used to be Alice's when we all lived

there. I walked in to find Alice and Bella giggling, a shot glass in Bella's hand and
a bottle of expensive Vodka in Alice's.

"Hey Edward!" Alice said, turning to me. "I picked up something special for Bella
in case she showed up with you tonight." she said, holding the bottle up to show
me. "She looked like she needed a little something to calm her nerves, you know,
loosen her up a bit."

I couldn't hold my grin back. That was Alice, always thinking of others.

"Um, wow. That was...nice of you, I think." I said to her, eying Bella sitting on
my sister's old bed. She held up three fingers, reading my mind. Ok, three shots
for someone as small as Bella was going to go a long way. I walked up to her and
sat beside her.

"You want to come back out there with me?" I asked her softly. She smiled.

"I'll be fine with Alice. Go mingle with your friends. Besides, I'm enjoying hearing
all the embarrassing stories about you." she said giving me a teasing jab with her
elbow. I rolled my eyes at Alice then locked eyes with her having a second silent
exchange for tonight. Alice was assuring me that she would take good care of
Bella. I nodded, then grasped Bella's hand, lifted it to my mouth and kissed her
knuckles. I walked out and headed for the far North end of the house. The crowd
thinned out as I reached the back of the house. I found the doorway to the
basement and headed downstairs.

The rec room downstairs was elaborate. Plush, burgundy carpeting covered the
floor. A 50" TV hung on the wall with surround sound speakers surrounding the
brown leather sectional sofa and recliners. Candles covered the solid oak end
tables and coffee table. A pool table sat just beyond the sofa, and various pin ball
machines lined the walls along the back of the room. Classic movie posters were
framed and hanging along the walls.

The table lamps were on and my parents sat side by side on the sofa, my dad
flipping through channels on the TV. They were dressed comfortably. They always
stayed out of sight during any of our parties, as if they thought they'd embarrass
us. They wouldn't. They both looked up and smiled when they saw me, their
golden eyes lighting up. I walked over to my mom and bent down, giving her a
kiss on the cheek.

I sat down on the chair beside the sofa, but was silent.

"So..." my dad said.

"So..." I said back to him.

"Let me get you started," my dad said, "So, her name is Bella and...take it away"
he said, gesturing toward me with his hand. My mother chuckled softly.

I groaned, "Emmett and Alice have big mouths."

"Well, let's hear it from you son." he said, muting the TV.

I leaned forward, pressing my elbows into my knees and brought my hands up to
my hair. I took a moment to collect my thoughts, then leaned back into the chair
and proceeded to pour everything out, editing many of the details to a PG
rating...they were my parents after all. The only thing I left out was my plans to
hunt down Bella's step-father.

I looked up at them when I was done, waiting for a reaction.

"Well Edward," my mother started, "as delighted as I am that you have found
happiness, it is certainly...complicated." she said, choosing that last word
carefully.

"She's right Edward. There are many things to consider here." my dad said,
leaning forward on his elbows, just as I had a few moments ago. "A human does
not live forever. As your feeder, she will eventually die. A human can only give so
much blood for so long." he paused. I looked away from them. He continued,
"You may not want to hear these things, but you need to face them son." I
wouldn't meet their gaze. I just brought my hand up to my face, and pinched the
bridge of my nose.

I heard my mother get up from her spot on the sofa. She leaned over me in my
chair and took my hand in hers. Her other hand came up to rub over my cheek.

"My sweet Edward. I can tell this hurts you. You are in love with her." she said
softly. I squeezed my eyes shut, a little glad I wasn't capable of producing tears.

"Mom..." I said, my voice cracking, and I leaned forward into her arms. She
hugged me, rubbing circles on my back.

"Shh, sweetie, it's going to be OK." she said, her voice comforting.

"What am I going to do?" I asked, surprised at how childish my voice sounded
when it was so full of emotion. She pulled back and led me by my hand over to
the sofa. I sat down in the middle, my parents on either side of me.

"Let's talk to dad." she said, nodding in his direction. I turned toward my dad. His
face was empathetic.

"Edward," dad started, "you do have some options. Your mother and I have been
through all of them, and we know none of them will be easy." I nodded,
acknowledging him. "In the past, your mother and I have kept feeders alive for
many years. I'm sure you remember some of them. But as I said, a human can
only give so much blood. Unfortunate things happen, they lose too much blood,
or they become sick, or they commit suicide, or they simply die of natural causes.
You and your siblings are familiar with this. You've dealt with this for many
years."

He was right. I was very familiar with it. Out of anybody in my family, I went
through the most feeders. And out of anybody in my family, I've had the most
feeders take their own lives.

My father paused again, thinking about what he would say next, "Edward, there
are only two ways to keep Bella alive, and only one will be eternal. One, you turn
her...or two, you make the transition, as your mother and I have, to alternative
blood."

I understood what he was telling me. My mother and father had accomplished the
extremely difficult task of transitioning from human blood to animal blood. Not
many vampires could successfully make the transition. It took a tremendous
amount of courage, strength and commitment.

My father continued, "Edward, you are not the only one to fall in love with a
human. Your mother and I fell in love with you, Alice, and Emmett, as our
children. We made the decision to turn the three of you when we found you dying
in the hospital."

I was familiar with the story. It was Christmas day. Our family had gathered
together for our traditional Christmas dinner. Then...as we joined hands to say
grace, three men with guns raided our home, robbing us clean. Our biological
parents were killed and Alice, Emmett, and I were dying of gunshot wounds.

Esme and Carlisle were married and worked as a doctor and nurse in the hospital
we were taken to. Esme was heartbroken that we had lost our parents. All we
had left was each other, no other family. Esme had lost a sibling she was close to
when she was our age, and it crushed her. Esme was also devastated that she
couldn't bare children as a vampire, so she convinced Carlisle to turn us, and they
adopted us.

The five of us all used feeders for many years. Carlisle hated kidnapping people
and taking them away from their families and lives. When they died, we started
all over again with new ones. Carlisle called it a 'vicious cycle'.

When Alice met Jasper and Emmett met Rose, they married and moved out of
our parents' house. I was ready to be on my own as well, so I moved out shortly
after as well. We all helped each other build our cabins.

After us kids moved out, Carlisle decided it was time to make the transition, and
commit to 'alternative blood'. Esme joined him. The timing was right because the
temptation of having human blood in their home was gone now that the three of
us kids moved out, taking our feeders with us. It took Carlisle over 6 years to
fully commit, and over 7 years for Esme. In the beginning, they each strayed
from the path on a few occasions, but have now lived on animal blood alone, for
the past 52 years.

They never forced any of us kids to make the change. They always said that they
accepted us for who we were and were understanding of the choices we made in
life. I think Carlisle always secretly hoped that his children would eventually come
to him, asking for help in making the transition. One time, about 20 years ago, I
asked my mother if that's what dad wanted from us some day. She didn't say yes
or no. She just told me that it takes a very mature vampire to have the stamina
to achieve such a feat, and my siblings and I were still very young. Carlisle and
Esme had over 200 years of experience under their belt whereas my siblings and
I had only about 65 at the time. I think she was telling us that we wouldn't be
ready to make such a major commitment. She was probably right.

Carlisle continued, "Edward, I have never turned a human against their will. I
made the decision to turn you and your brother and sister because you were
dying. There was no hope for your survival otherwise. Making the decision to turn
Bella will take a lot of consideration, and it won't be an easy decision. Likewise,
deciding to commit to animal blood will also come with difficulty, more than you
can even imagine. It doesn't happen in a year, or even 2 or 3. It will take time,
and an enormous amount of strength and dedication. It's not easy, I'm not going
to lie to you. It will be the most difficult thing you will ever experience. And even
when you do fully transition, it still will not keep Bella alive forever. It will only
draw out the time you have with her before...it happens on its own."

Death. I knew what he meant. Bella would die eventually. She would grow old, or
get sick, or a freak accident would take her away from me. Regardless of how it
happened, I would eventually lose her if she remained human.

I nodded, acknowledging my father's words. After a few moments of silence, my
dad finally leaned back and said, "I hope we've given you plenty to think about
Edward. Whatever decision you make, your mother and I will support it." My

mother's hand was still holding mine. She squeezed it gently. Then she leaned in
closer to me.

"So will we have the pleasure of meeting this wonderful girl?" she asked smiling,
her voice, just above a whisper. My lips turned up into a grin.

"I would love for you to meet her, but a little later tonight...you seethe birthday
girl thought it would be a good idea to offer Bella some shots of vodka to help
ease her nerves. I'd rather you meet her when she sobers up. Which reminds me,
I better get upstairs to check on her."

I walked up the steps, listening to my parents' soft laughter behind me.

~*~

I walked back through the house until I picked up Bella's scent near the kitchen.
The music was blaring Pussycat Dolls' "Buttons" throughout the house. I found
Bella in the kitchen next to Alice and a couple of other girls. She was laughing
and talking. People had stopped blatantly staring, but everyone was still very
aware of the human mixed amongst us. I could tell by the way they kept
randomly looking over their shoulders in her direction.

Bella noticed me and grinned, breaking away from the group and moseying over
to me.

"Hi." she said, giving me a mischievous grin.

"Hi. How are you feeling?" I asked her, trying hard not to smile but failing.

"I feel...fan-tastic." she said, grabbing a strand of her hair off her shoulder and
twirling it around her finger, her eyes never leaving mine. She was swaying
slightly, her eyes heavy. She was definitely a little drunk. Then she said, "I have
an idea. Show me your old room. I saw Alice's, I wanna see yours now!"

I smiled, then took her by the hand, quickly glancing at Alice, giving her a wave
to say 'thanks, I've got her now' then lead Bella through the house, and up the
stairs to the empty second level.

We walked to the end of the long hallway and I opened the door, flicking the light
on and turning to face Bella. Before I knew what was happening, Bella had closed
the door behind her, dropped to her knees and quickly started un-doing my belt
and unbuttoning my jeans.

"Holy shit, Bella, what is this?" I asked, utterly shocked.

"I'm re-paying you for earlier at home." she said, grinning up at me. Oh boy, get
a few drinks in this girl and you never know what she's capable of!

"Bella, someone could hear us." I said, knowing the chances were slim with so
much activity and noise going on downstairs.

"I don't care, let them hear. Let them hear and get jealous that they can't have a
warm human mouth around their dick."

Fuck. I almost came in my pants. Then she pushed my jeans and boxers down
around my ankles, and before I even had a chance to respond to that sexy as
fuck comment, her lips were wrapped around my cock and I let out a dangerously
loud moan.

"Oh God Bella!"

She held onto it with her right hand, her other hand resting against the front of
my thigh and bobbed up and down along the shaft. The heat and wetness inside
her mouth was indescribable. Almost as good as being inside her body. She
pulled her mouth off every few moments, running her tongue up and down it and
around the tip, then plunged back down onto it with her mouth. I stood there,
ready to lose my mind. I'd lean my head back and close my eyes, then jerk it
back up with a hiss every time I felt the tip hit the back of her throat. I didn't
think it could feel any better. I was wrong. She closed her fist around my shaft
just below her lips and started to stoke her hand along the same path as her
mouth, the moisture from her saliva causing her hand to glide smoothly over my
skin.

I was swearing and groaning as quietly as possible. Bella's hand came around
and she pressed her hand against my ass cheek, pushing me further into her
mouth. I couldn't hold back any longer,

"Shit, Bella, I'm coming." I half-whispered, giving her the opportunity to move
away if she wanted. She kept me in her mouth and continued to bob up and
down on me as my hips started to shake and I climaxed hard, coated the back of
her throat with venom.

"Oh fuck...oh fuck." was all I could say as I started to come down from my mind-
blowing orgasm. After a few moments, she slowly pulled her mouth back,
releasing me with a 'pop', and licked her lips.

A few seconds later, I carelessly bent down to pull my pants up, yanking them
lazily around my waist, not bothering to button up just yet, and took a few steps
backward, falling back onto my bed. Then I heard Bella's seductive little voice,

"I'll let you compose yourself. See you downstairs." And like that, she was gone,
closing the door behind her.

What the fuck just happened? She sucks me off, then leaves me here in a dazed
stupor? Ok, this side of Bella was beyond exciting. I needed to get that bottle of
Vodka from Alice and bring it home with us.

I laid there for about 10 minutes, listening to the muffled thumping of music
below me. Then I sat up, ran my fingers through my hair a couple of times, and
stood up, zipping my fly and fastening my belt. I walked out of my old bedroom
and headed for the stairs. That's when I heard it. The chatter downstairs
suddenly picked up. Something was happening. Then I heard my brother
Emmett's loud booming voice over the crowd.

"Edward! Where the fuck are you man! It's Bella!" he yelled with urgency.

I tore down those stairs and flew into the living room where a crowd was
gathered, all huddled together.

"Move!" I yelled, shoving people out of my way, making my way to the center.
There I saw Bella, lying on the floor, Alice and Rose kneeling beside her, Rose
cradling Bella's head in her lap. I rushed to her side, leaning down to her. I could
still hear her heart beating and noticed the rise and fall of her chest as she
breathed. Oh thank God she was OK.

"What happened?" I shouted at them over the loud music. Alice looked up at me,
panic in her eyes.

"I don't know Edward. She was laughing and dancing with us for a couple of
songs, then she started to freak out at something, like, hyperventilating, and she
passed out." Alice explained as calmly as possible.

I couldn't think straight over the blaring music. All I heard was, "ella ella ella, eh
eh eh..."

Wait. "STOP THE FUCKING MUSIC!" I yelled so loud, I swear the windows rattled.
The crowd went completely silent, followed by the music skipping once, then
cutting out completely. You could hear a pin drop. The song. It was the song.
"Umbrella" by Rihanna. She was having a flash-back.

I scooped her up into my arms, holding her face against my neck, and quickly
took her back through the house and upstairs. Alice and Rose were following
close behind. We entered my old bedroom and I gently laid her down on my bed.
I could hear the crowd begin to chatter again back downstairs and the music
eventually started back up, a different song playing this time.

"That song," I explained to my sisters. "it triggered a flashback." Alice and Rose
looked at each other, worried expressions on their face. "How do I wake her up?"
I asked frantically, leaning over her. I grasped her shoulder and gently shook her.
She didn't wake up.

"Let me." said Rose, kneeling on the bed beside her. I backed off. Rose placed
one of her palms gently on Bella's forehead, the other on her cheek. Then slowly
slid her hands around and switched positions, her cool touch causing Bella to stir.
Bella's eyelids slowly lifted, then she jerked up and scurried backwards up against
the headboard, crying out "NO!" in terror.

"Bella, Bella, I'm here. You're safe." I said quickly, moving toward her. She
turned in my direction, and rushed forward into my arms. She started to cry
violently against my shoulder. "You're OK, I'm here love. Shh shh." I spoke to
her, my arms wrapped tightly around her.

Alice and Rose stood a few feet away, staring at us. Then Alice grabbed Rose's
hand and led her out of the room, closing the door behind them.

It took Bella about a half hour to calm down. When the tears stopped falling and
her shaking subsided, I walked over to the dresser and found one of my t-shirts I
kept here. I helped Bella out of her dress and pulled the shirt down over her
head. Then I knelt down and untied the straps from around her ankles and slid
her shoes off. I pulled the blankets back on the bed and she lay down. I tucked
the sheets around her and she fell asleep almost instantly.

I walked out of my bedroom and found Alice and Rose, two doors down, sitting in
Alice's room on her bed.

Alice stood up. "Is she OK Edward?"

I nodded, my face serious. I walked around her bed and sat down on the yellow
floral comforter.

Rose spoke up. "Edward, what was that all about? If you could have seen her
face downstairs, she looked...terrified. Rose paused, "I know that look, Edward.
She looked like she was being hurt, or...violated."

I nodded, confirming Rose's thought. "She was." I said. "Four years ago."

Rose closed her eyes and turned her face away from us. Alice sat down again,
grabbing Rose's hand in hers.

"She told you this?" Rose said, her voice cracking.

"Yes." I said.

"She really trusts you, doesn't she?" Rose murmured, turning back to face me. I
hesitated, but nodded my head yes. Then Rose looked into my eyes. "You love
her Edward, don't you?"

I stared back at her. We were all quiet, the only sound was the muffled thumping
of music from downstairs. Finally I responded, "Yes."

After a few moments of silence, Alice jumped up and hugged me. "Oh Edward!
I'm so happy for you!" Then she clasped her hands against my cheeks and spoke
directly to my face, "You've been alone for too long, you deserve to have
someone, you deserve to love someone!" She leaned in and placed a big kiss on
my forehead, her lips making a loud 'smack' noise. "Well, I need to get back
down to my party, but seriously Edward, Bella is amazing, and I'm so happy for
you." she slipped out of her room.

Rose stood up and slowly turned to me. "Alice is right you know. You do deserve
someone." I stayed quiet. She went on, "Have you told her that you love her?" I
slowly shook my head no. "You should tell her Edward. She needs that. I know
she needs that." and she walked out of the room leaving me to my thoughts.

I didn't bother going back down to the party. I went back to my room, stripped
down to my boxers and wife-beater and crawled in bed beside Bella. Thankfully,
she didn't have any nightmares. I assumed the alcohol had helped knock her out.
I watched her sleep until the sun rose, casting a bright patch of light across the
bed and over her beautiful face. When she finally opened her eyes, she sat up
abruptly, looking around. I sat up and took her hand. She saw me, and her face
relaxed.

"I forgot where I was." she said quietly, her voice full of sleep. She looked down
at the shirt she wore, it had a picture of a 70s Rock band on it. "You still keep
clothes at your parents' house?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, we all still keep a few sets of clothes here." I told her, rubbing
my thumb over the top of her hand.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and Alice's little voice rung out,
"Good morning?"

"Come in Alice." I said. Alice walked in wearing gray leggings and an oversized
red sweater hanging off one shoulder. She had a fresh pile of clothes in her
hands. "I thought you might want to change clothes Bella." and she walked over
to the dresser and sat the pile on top. "You can borrow some of mine. We're
about the same size. How are you feeling this morning?"

"I feel fine. Thank you Alice." Alice smiled and walked toward the door. Bella
spoke up, "Alice?" she turned, "I'm sorry about last night. I'm sorry for
interrupting your party."

"Don't be silly Bella. The party was fun, you were amazing, and I'm so glad you
came." Alice said, then she walked out.

Bella went into the bathroom, and I changed into a different pair of jeans and a
green and white t-shirt. She came out wearing Alice's purple long-sleeved scoop
neck shirt and blue jeans. I took her hand and we walked downstairs together.

The house was much more peaceful without all of the noisy party-goers. The only
sound we heard was some clinking and clanging coming from the kitchen. We
walked in to find Carlisle and Jasper sitting on stools at the kitchen counter. Alice
was pulling a carton of orange juice out of the refrigerator, and Esme was
standing over the stove, flipping eggs in a pan.

"Good morning Edward! And this must be Bella!" my mother said, turning the
heat down on the stove and extending her hand out. Bella smiled and shook her
hand. "I'm Esme, Edward's mother, and this is his father, Carlisle." she said
gesturing over to my dad. Carlisle stood up with a smile and extended his hand.

"Glad to meet you Bella." he said.

"Where did this food come from?" I asked.

"Oh," mom started, "Jasper was nice enough to run out to the store early this
morning. I didn't know we would have a guest overnight otherwise I would have
gladly had something ahead of time." she said with a warm smile.

We hadn't planned on spending the night. Frankly, I was surprised to see Alice
and Jasper still there.

"Emmett and Rose leave already?" I asked.

"Yes, they left a few hours ago." Alice answered, pouring a glass of orange juice
and handing it to Bella.

"Thank you," said Bella, "And thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, for letting me stay
here overnight."

"It's our pleasure Bella." my mom said, scooping the eggs onto a plate and
setting them on the kitchen counter. Jasper stood up and offered Bella his stool.
She sat and began to eat. While she ate, my family chatted with each other about
the party, and about our friends that were there and what was new with
everybody. Bella finished eating and my mom turned to her.

"How were the eggs dear? I haven't cooked in years, so I hope I didn't lose my
touch."

"Oh they were delicious! Thank you so much for making them, you didn't lose
your touch!" she said with enthusiasm. I smiled.

"So Bella," my mom said, "has my son been treating you kindly?" she asked,
raising her eyebrows and looking at me from the corners of her eyes.

"Yes he has. He has been absolutely wonderful. More than I could ever ask for."
she said looking at me, a softness in her eyes. I gazed back at her, drowning in
those deep brown eyes. God, I was so lucky to have her.

A short while later, Alice and Jasper decided to head back home. Alice gave Bella
a hug and Jasper gave her a polite wave from over Alice's shoulder. I pulled Alice
aside,

"Thanks for watching over her last night, and thanks for staying this morning." I
told her.

"Of course Edward. I wanted to make sure she was alright."

"Happy Birthday." I told her. She smiled and gave me a quick hug, "Alice?" I
asked, "Do you still have that bottle of Vodka?"

Alice laughed, "Yes Edward, it's in mom and dad's refrigerator." Then she walked
off, shaking her head in amusement.

~*~

Bella and I got ready to leave my parents house. We said our goodbyes and my
father pulled me aside.

"Edward, I want you to carefully consider everything we spoke about last night.
This will be a difficult decision for you, but you are strong, I know you can do it."

I nodded. He gave me a sturdy pat on the back. My mother came up and gave
me a hug.

"She is lovely Edward. Absolutely lovely." she whispered to me during our hug.

"I know mom." I murmured back with a smile.

The drive home was quiet. I was deep in thought about everything my father had
discussed with me and I also had our trip to Phoenix weighing heavily on my
mind.

It was 1:00 PM when we got home and Bella made herself lunch. I decided to go
for a run by myself.

I decided we should leave for Phoenix tomorrow. No use in wasting any more
time. Once I tracked him down, I wanted to spend at least one to two weeks
learning his everyday schedule.

I had my cell phone with me and made several calls. I arranged for my white
2009 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class SUV to be waiting for us tomorrow morning.
Although it wasn't the best vehicle for gas mileage, it would be the most spacious
and comfortable for Bella during our road trip. I found a nice Phoenix hotel and
reserved a 3 week stay, booking the entire top floor to ourselves to ensure our
privacy.

I ran into town and stopped at the public library. Bella had told me her step-
father's name shortly after our talk in the forest last week. I researched Philip
Dwyer on the Internet. He had a suspended driver's license from a prior drunk
driving offense. He had an open court case with the Department of Workforce
Development, and an open case with a local Phoenix credit union, along with
several other previous closed cases. I found his address by doing a simple online
whitepages search. He was listed with Renee, Bella's mother. They were still
together.

After the library, I stopped at a few stores to pick up some things I thought Bella
might like for the drive there. I bought various snacks and drinks, a small cooler,
a few magazines, and some crosswords puzzles and word search booklets to help
pass the time. Then I picked up a couple of duffel bags at a hunting and camping
store, along with a Benchmade Osborne Axis folder knife. It had a 3 1/2 inch
stainless steel blade with a slender aluminum black handle. I paid for everything
with cash.

I arrived home around 6:00 PM. Bella was out sitting on the bench I had built
wrapped in a white fleece blanket.

"It's cold out love. Why are you sitting outside?"

"Just waiting for you." she said, looking up at me with a smile.

"Did you miss me?" I asked playfully.

"Yes." she said, her gorgeous brown eyes melting into mine. God I loved her.

"What is all that?" she asked, referring to all of the bags I was carrying.

We went inside and sat on the couch. I told Bella that we would leave tomorrow
for Phoenix. She listened, her face serious. She nodded and acknowledged me as
I told her the plans I had set up. She asked if Phil and Renee were still on Fern
Street. I told her they were, according to my Internet search.

"It's the same address. That's were I lived." she said, a distant look in her eyes.
After our discussion, Bella went into the bedroom to change. She put on that
black cotton night dress. The one with thin straps and a little lace around the
hem. I liked that on her.

While she made herself dinner, she listened to her Ipod on its sound dock.
Lifehouse started playing the acoustic version of Broken. I took a shower, a long
shower. I couldn't stop thinking about what my father had talked to me about.
His words echoed in my mind: "A human does not live forever. As your feeder,
she will eventually die. A human can only give so much blood for so long."

I stood under the hot stream of water, pressed my hands up against the tile
shower wall and hung my head. I squeezed my eyes closed, letting the water run
over my head and down my face. How much longer would Bella last? I took
nearly a pint of blood from her every single day. A human body replaces that
blood within 24 to 48 hours. But every single day? It couldn't be healthy. Why did
I need it so often, why? It angered me.

Why couldn't I be more like my siblings? They could go 4 or 5 days at a time
without feeding, on the same amount of blood! It was an obvious difference
between me and my family. I've spoken to them about it in the past. The same
amount of blood that I consumed every day would fill them up for much longer.
Therefore, their feeders lasted much longer. Why didn't it fill me up for that long?

Sure, it wouldn't solve my problem, but it would at least give me a little more
time to figure this all out. Solve my problem. What was my problem? Losing
Bella. I would eventually lose Bella. Whether it be in a few months or in a few
years. Either way, she was a ticking time bomb. One day, any day, she would
reach her limit. I would take too much blood from her, or her health would
diminish. I would eventually lose her. Unless I turned her.

This was too much. I sunk down to my knees in the bathtub. The water pounded
on the back of my shoulders. I leaned forward on my hands and knees. I couldn't
do this. I couldn't lose her. I needed her. Not just her blood, I needed her. It
wasn't about her blood anymore. It was about her, my Bella. If I lost her, I
couldn't go on. She was my entire world. If I turned her, I would be dooming her
existence. For eternity. She would never forgive me for that.

I turned and sat down on the tub floor, leaning my back up against the tile. I
buried my head in my arms and sat there under the water until it turned ice cold.

I'm not quite sure how long I sat there. An hour, maybe two? I heard a soft
knock on the bathroom door and lifted my head up.

"Edward? You've been in there a while, are you OK?" Bella's voice called out from
the other side. I slowly reached over my shoulder and turned the water off.

"Yes." I said, my voice almost sounded hoarse.

I changed into some black sleep pants and a gray t-shirt. I walked out into the
living room to find Bella sitting on the couch, watching TV. I looked at her, my
face solemn. I couldn't imagine my life without her now. There she sat, on the
couch, her heart beating, her chest rising and falling as she breathed. Then, one
day, she would be gone. My life would be empty.

I silently walked up and sat down beside her. Her warm, delicate hand
automatically reached out and took mine. She held my hand as she watched the
lights and scenes of the television show flash and change across the screen. I
heard no sound. I was only focused on the girl sitting beside me. She was
peaceful, content, unaware. Unaware of her fate. Unaware of the torment that
was consuming my mind, my heart. My heart didn't beat. It lay dead in my chest,
but somehow, this dead organ still managed to cause so much agony for me.

About an hour and a half later, Bella picked up the remote and clicked the TV off.
The house went black. I felt the flame in my throat ignite. I clenched my fist.
Damn this thirst...this need. I was a coward for needing it. I hated myself for
needing it.

Bella stood up from the couch, and I followed, my hand still in hers. She led me
to the bedroom and crawled onto the bed. The moon shone through the window,
creating just enough light for me to see her. She knelt upright in the middle of
the bed. I knelt in front of her, taking her face in my hands. She brought her
hands up and gently grasped my forearms. I slowly brought my face to her neck,
pressing my lips against her skin. We stayed kneeling upright, chest to chest. I
opened my mouth, squeezed my eyes shut, and bit into her flesh. She tensed up
in brief pain.

I sucked and swallowed, the burn leaving, replaced by shame and self-hate. The
warm blood slid down my throat, gratifying the craving I knew would return in
just 24 short hours. With every swallow I took, I thought of Bella's cold, lifeless
body. Pale skin, blue lips, scarred neck. My body started to tremble, my emotions
consuming me. I cried out against her neck.

I heard Bella, "Edward?"

I took one final swallow and closed the wound, pulling her tight against my chest,
still on our knees in the middle of the bed.

"Edward, you're shaking." Bella said with concern. "What's wrong?"

"Bella..." I choked out. I pulled back to look at her face, her eyes darted between
mine. They were glassy, troubled.

"Bella...you are my entire world...I...I love you." I said, my voice quivering. I
grabbed her hands, bringing them up to my chest, between us. "I love you and I
need you. I need you more than anything." I just let it out all out. There was no
more avoiding it, I couldn't avoid it. She made it impossible to avoid. Her
breathing hitched and I watched as tears filled her eyes.

"Bella, you're crying?" I asked urgently.

"I'm not upset." she responded, "I love you too Edward." her voice tender and
genuine. "You have no idea how much I love you and need you. I need you just
as much as you need me, if not more." I started to shake my head. "No, Edward,
I do." Her eyes never left mine. "You've changed everything I thought I knew
about my entire life. You gave me a purpose, you gave me happiness." Her voice
cracked and new tears filled her eyes, falling down her cheeks. "I didn't think it
was possible for anyone to love me. To know that you love me...it's all I need
Edward. You're all I need."

Then my lips were on hers, kissing her with passion and urgency. She wound her
arms around my neck, and was kissing me back. I felt her tears on my face. I
needed nothing more than to be with her right then and there. My hands started
to move down the sides of her body and I felt the bottom hem of the cotton
dress. I grabbed it and started to pull it up. We broke our kiss for a moment, and
Bella lifted her arms up, allowing me to pull the garment up and off of her. I
dropped it beside us. She wore nothing but a pair of black panties. She was so
incredibly beautiful. She reached forward and pulled desperately at my t-shirt,
yanking it off of me. Our mouths met again, our lips and tongues moving against
each others. Our bare chests pressed together, arms wrapped around each other,
warm skin on cool skin. Her hand moved down in between us, over the bulge in
my pants, stroking her palm over the hardness on top of the cotton material.

I groaned and grabbed hold of her, lowering us down onto the bed, lying Bella on
her back. I lay carefully on top of her, my chest gently pressing against her
breasts, our stomachs flat up against each others. My erection pressed against
the top of her cotton underwear. She opened her legs, allowing me to settle
between her thighs, my hardness lying over her panties, flush against her warm,
damp center. I pressed against her. She matched my movement, pressing her
hips into me.

We kissed hungrily, Bella's hands were traveling all over my back, up my neck,
and into my hair, pressing my face to hers. Never removing my mouth from hers,
I moved my hands down her sides, slipping my fingers under the cotton
underwear, pushing them down. She lifted her ass up off the bed and allowed me
to peel them off of her. Then she found the waistband of my pants and shoved
them down my hips, bringing her feet up, using them to slide the pants the rest
of the way down my legs. I helped her get them over my feet and they fell off the
bed onto the floor. With nothing between us now, my cock lay against her center,
her moisture coating my shaft.

We lay, our hips moving, sliding against each other. I finally broke our kiss and
moved my mouth to her jaw and then to her neck. I kissed over her scars, then
moved down under her chin. She tilted her head back and I licked and kissed her
throat. I moved back up the other side of her neck and placed several more
tender kisses along the scars on the other side. I started to move down her body.
A little cry escaped Bella when I moved down, losing contact between her thighs.
Now, my stomach pressed against her wet center.

I kissed down the center of her chest, then over her right breast, closing my
mouth around her hardened nipple. She gasped, pressing her chest toward me. I
moved my tongue around her nipple. She tasted so sweet, so wonderful. I
brought my hand up to her other breast, grabbing it, her soft fullness filling my
palm. Then I brought my mouth over to the other breast, placing kisses around
it, the scar above her nipple faint, but visible. I licked over her nipple, gently
sucking it into my mouth. She cried out, thrusting her chest against me.

She raised her legs around me, grinding her center harder against my stomach,
her wetness spreading over my cool skin. With her nipple still in my mouth, I

slowly slid my hand down in between our bodies, into the middle of her thighs. I
slid my fingers through her wetness, listening to her gasp and cry out. I found
her opening with my middle finger and slid it inside of her. I pulled it out, and slid
it back in, then pulled it out again, this time adding a second finger, pushing
inside of her. I slowly moved my fingers in and out of her body, the warmth and
wetness surrounding me. I released her nipple and looked up at her. She was
panting and gasping, her eyes closed, her head tilted upward.

I continued to slide my fingers in and out of her, then started kissing lower down
her body. I kissed along her ribs, over her belly-button, then on top of her hip
bones. I slowly pulled my fingers out of her, they were glistening with her
moisture. Then I grasped her under her knees and started to kiss and lick up and
down her thighs. I kissed over the scar I had left on her right side. Then I
brought my mouth to her center and licked through her folds. I've never tasted
anything so wonderful. I slid my tongue through her, up and down, then pressed
my mouth against her beautifully swollen clit, creating little circular motions with
my tongue. She started to scream out and I quickly pulled my mouth off of her,
climbing back up her body. I hovered over her, our eyes locking.

My tip was touching her opening. We stared into each others eyes, then I brought
my face down to hers, placed a deep kiss on her mouth, then slid completely
inside of her. She gasped in and I moaned against her lips. We started to move
together, kissing each others mouths, and necks. I moved in and out of her,
making love to her with every emotion in my body. I ran my hand up and down
her leg, pulling it close up against my hip. Her hand moved up the back of my
neck and into my hair, her other hand grasped my bicep. I thrust in and out of
her for several long minutes, never wanting to leave her body.

Then I rolled us over, still inside of her. I lay on my back and she started to ride
me, moving up and down, her hands pressing into my chest. I watched her close
her eyes and lean her head back, her mouth slightly open. I ran my hands along
the front of her thighs and around to cup her ass. I helped lift her up and down
on top of me. Her breathing was becoming rapid and she was gasping and
moaning.

"Oh God Edward, oh God, please..." she whispered.

She started to rock against me, and I felt myself hitting places inside of her that
would cause her to clench up or lurch forward slightly. She was crying out,
approaching her climax. She leaned forward, her nipples brushing against my
chest, her hair falling down around her face. She grabbed my shoulders hard. I
grabbed her ass and pushed deep inside of her, my hips shaking. She clamped
her knees around my hips. I growled out and felt my orgasm explode, venom
spilling out inside of her. She lowered herself onto my chest, her face going into
my neck. Her whole body was trembling, and her walls were pulsing around me.
She gasped over and over against my neck. I heard and felt her heartbeat racing.
I was so deep inside of her I felt like I was a part of her. I felt alive.

We must have stayed connected for the next half-hour, Bella lay on top of me. I
just held her, rubbing her back lightly. She was awake, and I wondered what she
was thinking. She let out a long, deep sigh.

Then she spoke in a whisper, "I really do love you Edward."

I swear I felt warmth spread throughout my entire body. I rolled us over so that
she was on her back and I leaned over her, my face directly above hers. I stared
into her eyes and was silent for at least 10 seconds. Then I whispered to her, "I
love you so much Bella. There is not a single thing in this world that can change

that. You mean everything to me and I never want to be without you. I will never
stop loving you Bella."

~*~

The next morning was Monday. Bella was awake and showered by 7:30 AM. We
packed our things into the duffel bags I had purchased for us and were ready to
go by 8:00 AM. We both dressed comfortably for the long drive. Bella wore her
black running pants, a bright green tank top and a black zip-up sweatshirt. She
had pulled her hair half up with a little clip. I wore relaxed-fit jeans with a white
t-shirt and a dark gray hoodie.

I calculated our drive to Phoenix would take about 2 full days. I could drive
straight through the night and get there in just over a day, but I wasn't going to
make Bella sleep in the SUV. I wanted her to get a good nights rest and also
planned to stop for occasional breaks so Bella could eat and use the restroom
when needed. So I planned to drive us about 13 hours straight to a city called
Willows, California. Book a hotel for the night. Then drive the remaining 14 hours
to Phoenix on Tuesday.

We chatted for a while in the SUV, listened to music, Bella read, then drifted off
and napped for a while. She woke up around 1:00 PM and I stopped to get her
lunch. She ordered a turkey club sandwich and an ice tea. We were back on the
road and Bella began flipping through a magazine. I stopped again at 6:00 and
Bella ordered a Cesar salad and a soda.

We pulled up to the hotel around 11:00 PM. Bella was yawning as we entered our
room. I placed our duffel bags on the floor then turned and took her in my arms.
We stood and hugged each other for a few moments, then I lifted her up and
carried her to the bed, pulling the sheets back. Before laying her down, I pulled
both of her shoes off and kicked mine off to the side.

I lay her down and crawled in beside her. She reached for me, wrapping her arms
around my neck and bringing her face to mine. We kissed, tenderly.

"I love you Bella." I whispered to her. It felt amazing to be able to say that out
loud now. I had thought it so many times, but was too afraid to speak it. But she
loved me back, and it seemed impossible, but it was real.

"I love you too Edward." she said back to me, pressing her mouth to mine again.
After several more kisses, Bella's hands went into my hair and she pulled my face
down to her neck. I kissed her skin slowly, then curled my lips back and bit into
her.

The next morning, Bella showered and changed into a comfortable pair of jeans
and a fitted light blue t-shirt with a v-neck collar. She left her hair down, letting it
air-dry. She went down to the lobby to eat breakfast while I showered. I changed
into jeans and a black t-shirt. We were back on the road at 8:00 AM.

A few hours away from Phoenix, I noticed Bella was starting to get a little fidgety.
She was staring out the window and was very quiet.

"What's on your mind love?" I asked her, reaching over and taking her hand in
mine. She sighed.

"It's going to be weird..." she started, softly, still staring out the window,
"...being back in Phoenix. I always said I would never go back there, ever. Too

many terrible memories. Between Renee and Phil, the crowd I hung around, and
Jacob."

She went silent again. After a few minutes, I spoke up,

"Bella?"

"Hm?" she said, turning to me.

"How did he let someone as wonderful as you get away?" I asked. She looked
down. She knew I was talking about Jacob.

"One day, he just told me...I wasn't 'the one' for him." She sighed, shaking her
head, "I was so stupid. I actually thought he loved me."

"Bella...I think he was right though." I said, rubbing my thumb over her hand.
Then I lifted her hand to my mouth and placed a kiss on it. She looked at me, a
beautiful smile on her face.

"I think he was right too." she said.

We pulled up to the hotel around 10:30 PM. It was a very nice hotel. The
manager stayed late to greet us and make sure our check-in process went
smoothly. He even accompanied us up to the top level and offered to give us a
tour of the floor I had booked.

"Not tonight." I told him, declining the tour. Bella needed to rest. I slipped him a
few 20s and we entered our room.

It was more of an apartment than a room. Plush navy colored carpeting led us
past a coat closet and into a spacious living room with a 50" TV hanging above a
fireplace. There was a cream colored sofa and loveseat positioned in front of and
next to the TV. There was a wrought-iron coffee table with a glass top in front of
the sofa and matching end tables on either side of the sofa and loveseat. Unique,
curvy lamps with square shades sat on each of the end tables. There was a door
on either side of the living room, each leading to its respectable master
bedrooms. The corner of the living room had a workstation, complete with
rectangular desk, leather chair on wheels, and a black desk lamp.

Separating the living room and the kitchen was a full bar, L-shaped with 6 stools,
sunken into the floor behind the black granite counter with a stainless steel
refrigerator and sink. Just beyond the bar, there was a full kitchen, also with
shiny stainless steel appliances and black granite counters. The black granite
glistened. There was a slight shimmer embedded in the hard material.

We walked into the bedroom to the left of the living room. The carpeting was tan
and fluffy. There was a four-poster king sized bed with a brown and cream
striped comforter and four big pillows with cream-colored pillowcases. An end
table with a digital clock sat beside the bed. A fireplace was along the opposite
wall of the bed, a 42" TV hung above it. On the wall opposite the door was a huge
mirror that touched floor to ceiling. A dresser sat to the left of the mirror and a
closet was to the right. A few feet beside the door was the attached bathroom.
The floor was blue and gray slate tile. There were his and hers sinks, and a large
standing shower stall. It was made of blue and gray marble, with a glass shower
door, and complete with dual shower heads.

We walked across to the other bedroom and found it to be almost identical except
for a navy blue and cream colored striped comforter on the bed and a whirlpool
tub in the bathroom instead of a standing shower.

Bella walked back into the bedroom on the left to change into sleep clothes. I sat
down on the sofa. She walked out in white cotton shorts and a pink tank top. She
walked over to the bar and leaned forward over the countertop, looking down at
what was behind, her feet lifted a few inches off the floor. Oh God, her ass in
those shorts. They barely covered her. I stared at her bent over the edge and had
a very dirty image enter my mind. Me taking her from behind, as she leaned
naked over the granite countertop, her breasts pressed into the hard surface.

She shifted back down onto the floor and walked around the bar. Then she placed
a glass on the counter and filled it a quarter full of dark liquid, then cracked open
a can of Coke and filled the rest. She looked up at me.

"There's no way I'll be able to fall asleep right away. I need something to take my
mind off of being here, back in this city." Then she took a long sip of her drink
and walked back around and over to the sofa. She sat beside me, placing her
glass on the coffee table. She had a hair band around her wrist and lifted her
arms up to wrap her hair up into a messy bun. The tank top clung to her, the
material thin. She was so sexy and she wasn't even trying. I wanted her so bad,
my dick stirring under my jeans. I wouldn't try anything tonight though. She was
in a sensitive state of mind right now, being back in Phoenix. I understood that.

I knew I wanted to go out and find Renee and Phil's house tonight, while it was
dark. I planned to familiarize myself with the neighborhood and their yard, and
look for discreet areas I could stand, unnoticed during the day while watching and
listening. I knew I should drink before heading out so I scooted closer to Bella
and took her hand.

"Bella, I should drink now. I have a few things I need to do tonight. Bella nodded,
then reached for her drink and took another sip. Then she shifted over, turned,
and swung her leg over my lap, straddling me.

"Oh God." I said quietly. Bella looked at me, surprised.

"Oh, I'm sorry, is this OK? Would you rather we lie down?" she asked innocently,
starting to bring her leg back over and off my lap. I grabbed her thigh, gently
pulling her back down on my lap. She really had no idea how sexy she was or
how much she was turning me on.

"No. This is fine love. This is fine." I said, swallowing back the venom that was
filling my mouth. She settled back down on me, her ass pressing down onto my
hardness. I hoped she didn't notice through my jeans. She brought her arms
around my neck and pressed into me, hugging me. I hugged her back.

"Love you." she whispered, turning her head and placing a kiss on my neck.

"Mmm, my Bella...I love you too." I said back to her, rubbing my hand along her
lower back. She leaned back slightly and placed a sweet kiss on my mouth, then
turned her head to the left, exposing her neck to me.

I leaned in and bit her, her fingers gripping my shoulders a little tighter. The
warm blood ran over my tongue and I swallowed it down. I held one hand to her
lower back and the other against the back of her neck, holding her to me. She
kept still, thankfully. Any brief movement from where she sat on me would be
extremely difficult to ignore. She was already killing me wearing those tiny-ass
shorts, sitting on top of me with her nipples brushing against my chest through
her shirt.

After a few moments, I knew I had reached her limit and I sealed the wound. She
sighed, then leaned back into me, hugging me tightly. I loved having her so close
to me like this. I just sat and held her to me, soaking up every second.

I told Bella I would be back in a few hours and said she should try to get some
sleep. It was a little after 11:00 PM. I had already looked at a map online while
doing my research and easily found the neighborhood. About 20 minutes later, I
pulled onto Fern Street and located the house. I parked a block away and walked
through the neighborhood. There were no people out. Dim street lamps lined the
road. The houses were spaced about an acre or two apart from each other. It was
a quiet neighborhood. An occasional dog would bark once or twice. I heard a
couple of people talking inside their homes as I passed by. Most were in bed or
preparing for bed.

Phil and Renee's house was medium sized. It was a ranch house with a large bay
window in the living room. It was quiet inside. No lights were on. I crept around
the outside of the house, listening, and heard no noise. It appeared that no one
was home. I walked across the sandy, rocky backyard and found a tool shed in
back. I walked around the back of it and stood against it, waiting in the dark.

Minutes later, I heard a car pull up. I peered around the side of the shed and saw
a blue Chevy Malibu pulling up the driveway and into the attached garage. Renee
entered the house. She turned on the lights and I heard her grumbling. Then, she
was on her cell phone.

"Phil, where are you?" she snapped.

The talking on the other end of the cell phone was extremely faint from across
the yard, but I could just make it out.

"Over at the Hickory, havin' a beer with Dave." Phil said. His voice made my skin
crawl. I closed my eyes and heard that voice speaking to my Bella: "Scream and
I'll cut your throat." Piece of fucking shit, he had no fucking clue what he was in
for.

Renee started to complain. "You know Phil, I've been working a lot of double
shifts since you've been out of work. I haven't been home all day. It would be
nice if I could come home and see you. Don't you ever get sick of that place? I
swear you're there every night!"

"Yeah, OK, I'll be home in a little bit." he said. I heard her snap the phone closed.
An hour later, a red pickup truck pulled into the driveway. The fury started to
build up inside of me. Phil climbed out of the truck's cab, burped, then started
walking up the path to the side of the house. I clenched my fists and realized I
was shaking. He was right there, so close. I could run up and break his neck in an
instant if I wanted to. But no, I needed to do this right. I needed to follow my
plan. I watched him reach his hand out toward the side patio door handle and an
image of his sweaty hand underneath Bella's shirt flashed through my mind. I felt
a snarl in the back of my throat form but forced it down.

Renee clicked the TV off and they started to argue.

"How many beers have you had?" she asked him.

"I don't know, a few." he grumbled back.

"Phil, you are in no shape to drive! And your license is suspended, what if you
would've gotten pulled over?"

"I didn't, did I?"

"But what if you had?" said Renee. They argued back and forth for a few minutes
and then Renee gave up and decided to go to bed. Phil found something to eat in
the kitchen, scarfed it down, then walked to a different part of the house. I heard
typing and clicking. He was on the computer and I heard him pull up an Internet
porn website. I heard the clanging sound of him un-doing his belt buckle, and my
mind was flooded with images of him holding Bella down while he used his other
hand to unfasten his belt. I was going to make him suffer. He had a painful,
torturous death ahead of him. He masturbated to the pornography, used the
bathroom, and then made his way to the bedroom and went to bed.

It was 1:00 AM. I headed back to my car. I drove into the city and quickly found
a bustling strip of bars. There were various neon lights in windows displaying
brands of popular beer, and people stood outside smoking and talking. I pulled up
to a small group of men standing in front of a door.

"Can you tell me where the Hickory is?" I asked them.

"About three blocks down that way." A tall man said, pointing up ahead. I nodded
at him thanking him and drove a few blocks North. A large wooden sign that said
Hickory Inn was fixed to an old building on a corner. I turned around and drove
back to Fern Street. It was a 10 minute drive.

Tonight was a start. I discovered that Phil was out of work and Renee worked first
and second shifts. And I found a bar he visited frequently. I planned to return
back to their house in the morning. For now, I wanted to get back to Bella.

I walked back into the hotel room at 2:00 AM.

A table lamp was on and Bella turned around from her spot on the sofa. Her
cheeks were streaked with tears.

"I had a nightmare." she whispered, her voice hoarse. I rushed over to her,
dropping down to my knees in front of her and taking her in my arms.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here." I whispered to her. I felt her shake her head against
my neck.

"Don't be sorry Edward. You weren't here, but you were out there. Finding him.
Thank you for being so brave for me Edward." she said. I squeezed my eyes
closed. This girl amazed me every day. I loved her so much I could hardly stand
it.

~*~

I stayed by Bella's side while she slept. About 30 minutes before she normally
woke up, I took a shower and changed clothes. I wore a lightweight army green
t-shirt and tan cargo shorts. I normally only wore shorts around the house, but
this was Arizona. I didn't want to draw attention by wearing pants in 80 degree
weather.

I was slipping my shoes on when I noticed Bella waking up. I leaned down beside
her and waited for her to open her eyes.

"Good morning." I said softly as her eyes met mine. She rubbed her eyes and
smiled. I reached forward and swept a few strands of hair off her forehead. "I
ordered you room service for 8:00. Pancakes, sausage, orange juice, and coffee."

Her mouth dropped open. "I can't believe you did that for me."

I leaned forward and kissed her lips. "I don't want to leave but I need to get an
early start today."

She nodded and sat up, looking at the clock. It was 7:30 AM. "Well I'm going to
hop in the shower before breakfast. Do you know what time you'll be back?"

"I'm sorry love, I don't know."

"That's OK. I'll find stuff to do. I'll probably do some exploring of the hotel and
check out their fitness room and the pool." She hopped out of bed and walked
toward the bathroom. She looked over her shoulder at me and smiled. "Love
you."

I smiled back, "I love you too Bella." Then she gave me a quick wave as she
walked into the bathroom.

I spent the next few days simply watching, listening, and following. I learned
Renee and Phil's daily schedules which was exactly my intention. Renee worked a
lot. She worked double shifts at a nursing home, 7:00 to 3:00 and 3:00-11:00.
She was off on Fridays and Mondays. Phil did not work. Supposedly he had a back
injury, but it didn't stop him from functioning normally throughout the day.

He spent his mornings sleeping in until about 11:00. He spent most of his
afternoons playing video games in the living room. Around 6:00 every evening,
he would get ready to go out to the bar, but would always masturbate to Internet
porn before leaving the house. I followed him to the bar and listened to his
conversations. One evening, he left the bar around midnight and found a
prostitute to give him a blow job in his truck for $60.00.

On that first Friday, he took Renee out to a fish fry and I used that evening to
explore and familiarize myself with the house.

I easily crept in through an unlocked window and started to walk through each of
the rooms. The kitchen was small, with white appliances, sunflowers on the
wallpaper, and yellow window valances. There was a half bathroom between the
living room and kitchen full of garden gnome decor.

A blue sofa and loveseat sat in the living room across from a 40" TV and
elaborate gaming system. I walked down the hall to find the master bedroom.
Laundry lay all over the floor and on the unmade queen size bed with peach
comforter and pillows. I walked further down the hall and found the full
bathroom. The walls were sponge painted in a sky blue color. The toilet and sink
were positioned on the left side and the bathtub sat along the far wall, a sky blue
shower curtain with pictures of tropical birds hung around the tub.

I walked across the bathroom and pulled the shower curtain open. The empty
white tub stared back at me. An image of Bella appeared in the empty tub,
crying, her hair tangled, sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, half naked.
I snarled loudly, my fists clenched, then whipped around and flew out of the
bathroom, before I smashed something.

I entered the last room at the end of the hall. A purple bedspread with flowers
covered the queen sized bed. Bella's room. A dresser sat to the left. I walked
over to it and opened the top drawer. I lifted out a small pink tank top, a little
lace lined the collar. I looked at it, then gently folded it back inside. Other than
the bed and dresser, all of her personal artifacts were gone. The room was full of
boxes and clutter. They had turned it into a storage room. Boxes covered the top

of the dresser. An old tube TV sat on the floor in the corner. Old tablecloths and
curtains were folded and stacked in a pile on the corner of the bed.

Beside the bedroom door sat a chair and small table. This is where Phil kept his
desktop computer. I walked up to it and shook the mouse, waking it from sleep
mode. I clicked on the Internet history and found nothing but porn sites. I saw
disturbing titles such as 'Tempting Teens', 'Barely Legal', and 'Teenage Sluts'. I
wanted to pick the thing up and throw it through the fucking window. My hands
flew into my hair and I squeezed my eyes closed.

"Piece of fucking shit." I said to myself through clenched teeth, "Just wait until
you meet me fucker. Just wait."

By the following Thursday I had spent just over a week tracking Phil's every
move. I felt I had obtained enough familiarity. Renee would be off the next day,
and I needed Phil alone, so I would make my final visit on Saturday while she
worked. My final visit.

I was excited to spend all day Friday with Bella. She was thrilled. It was 10:00
AM. After we each showered, I changed into a pair of gray board shorts and a
navy blue t-shirt. Bella wore a tiny pair of denim shorts and a fitted white
spaghetti strap tank top with a scoop neck. God her body was sexy. I silently
wished that nobody but me would see her, but she wanted to leave our room and
show me the hotel and some of the places, around the hotel. We both slipped on
a pair of flip-flops and walked out of our room.

"You're never going to believe it, the top floor has its own pool." she said, tugging
at my hand, pulling me down the hallway. We came to a panel of windows and a
large kidney shaped pool sat in the middle of a wide, spacious room with a hot
tub positioned off to the right. "Will you go swimming with me later?" Bella
asked.

"Of course." I said. We proceeded to the elevators and Bella showed me the
fitness room on the 2nd floor.

"This is the best fitness room I've seen in a hotel. There are so many machines
and a nice TV." We walked in just as a young man with a towel around his
shoulders walked out.

"Hey, Bella, right?" he said. He was blond, about 26 or 27, muscular. He wore a
white wife-beater and red basketball shorts.

"Yes." said Bella.

"Brandon, remember, we met Monday? I'm the guy here on business from New
York." he said, his eyes quickly glancing down at her chest, then back up. It was
hardly noticeable, but I saw it.

"Yes, I remember." Bella said, smiling politely.

"I warmed your treadmill up for you." he said, jokingly, pointing to a row of 5
treadmills sitting along the wall. "Oh hey, sorry man, Brandon," he said,
extending his hand to me, introducing himself. I paused, then took his hand in a
tight, firm shake.

"Edward." I said.

"And you are...?" he had the nerve to ask.

"Bella's boyfriend." I said after a brief pause. I kind of hated that term because it
sounded so childish, but what other term could I use to tell him 'she's taken'? I
guess 'boyfriend' would have to do.

He nodded, then smiled at Bella and started to walk away. He turned back around
and called out,

"Bella, my colleagues and I are still waiting to see you down at Selig's Bar, first
floor. Stop by sometime, we leave Monday morning!" Then he disappeared
around the corner.

"Anyway," Bella said, walking into the fitness room. There were about 5 other
people using the equipment. "Take a look at this place. It's so nice. I ran for over
an hour on the treadmill yesterday watching that huge TV."

I smiled at her. "It is nice. I'm glad you are enjoying the hotel." I said to her. We
walked out and took the elevator down to the first floor. We stepped out and I
saw a sign to the left that said Selig's Bar. Bella started to walk past it to the
lobby but I had her hand and started to lead her toward the bar. She looked up at
me.

"Just want to take a look." I said to her grinning. We stepped through a doorway
and looked at the huge bar. It was empty this early in the day. "So this is where
all those big important New York business men meet every night?"

"I guess. I haven't been here to find out though." Bella squeezed my hand. "He
just offered to buy me a drink the other day. No big deal." Bella told me. She
knew it was bothering me. I loved that she knew that. I leaned down and kissed
her. She smiled and looked up at me when I pulled back, those gorgeous brown
eyes making my knees weak.

We walked outside and Bella started to tell me about the places around the hotel.
I looked across the street and saw a line of various buildings. Signs identified
them as a book store, an organic grocery store, a funeral home, a dental office, a
hair salon, a music store, and a travel agency. Beside the hotel and down the
block was a cafe, a sandwich shop, a shoe store and a men's suit shop.

Bella and I walked across the busy street to the organic grocery store. A few days
after we had arrived at the hotel, Bella was growing tired of room service food
and decided to fill the room's refrigerator with groceries from this same store.
She was starting to run low on a few things and wanted to stock up. I didn't
bother to tell Bella that we would only be there for about one more day. It would
only cause her more anxiety knowing what I was about to do the very next day.
The less she knew the better. I let her fill the shopping cart with whatever she
wanted.

I pushed the cart as Bella found things she wanted. We turned down a new aisle.
An enormous, tan, dark-haired guy, about 22 years old stopped in his tracks. His
muscles were obnoxiously huge, bursting out of his black sleeveless shirt.

"Bella?" he asked, sounding shocked. Bella looked up.

"Jacob." she said quietly.

"Oh my God Bella!" he said, quickly setting his basket down and running up to
Bella. He scooped her up into a hug, lifting her feet off the ground. "How are you?
I haven't been able to reach you!"

I felt my hands close into fists. He was touching her. His chest pressed against
her chest, his big hands pressed into the small of her back while he hugged her,
causing her tank top to ride up, exposing her skin. He finally set her back down
on the floor but then took her hands in his.

"People said you moved away, I couldn't reach you on your cell phone, you just
disappeared!" he said. I stared at his hands holding hers, imagining how it would
feel to crumble the bones in his fingers. "Bella, I thought we agreed to stay in
touch, what happened?"

"Uh, I'm sorry Jacob, I just...got busy." Bella responded.

Jacob looked at her. I saw his eyes traveling up and down her body and I had an
extremely strong urge to grab him by his thick neck and throw him into the
pyramid of canned green tea on display beside us.

"You've been running haven't you? That's my girl. I taught you well. You look
good...really good."

That's my girl? Ok, who the fuck did this guy think he was?

"I'm Edward, Bella's boyfriend. Pleasure to meet you Jacob." I said cold and
sarcastically, not bothering to extend my hand. He looked up at me but didn't say
a word. Our eyes locked and then he started to look me up and down.

Fuck you man, you think you can take me, you have no idea. I'd break every
bone in your body in 30 seconds dickhead, I thought to myself.

He looked back at Bella.

"Bella, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" He asked her. Bella turned to look at
me.

"I'll be right back Edward." she said to me, holding my gaze. She was trying to
tell me she would be OK, I didn't have to worry. They walked about two aisles
down. Of course I could hear them clear as day.

"Bella, who is this guy? We've only been broken up for a few months and you're
already exclusive with someone else? You know, I tried keeping in touch. Your
phone number is out of service. I figured we'd still get together and, well, you
know...have a little fun here and there." he said suggestively. I grabbed a soup
can off the shelf and squeezed it in, the top popping, its contents spilling over the
sides.

"Jacob..." Bella started, but he cut her off.

"C'mon Bella, you and I both know we had some pretty hot times. Why waste
such talent between two people? I thought we'd get together every so often.
Where did you disappear off to?"

"Jacob. You told me yourself, I wasn't 'the one' for you. Did you actually expect
me to stick around just in case you needed a booty call? Get real."

That's my girl. My girl, not yours asshole.

"So what, now you're with this jerk?" Jacob asked.

"He's not a jerk, he's absolutely wonderful. And yes, I am with him." Bella said. I
heard her footsteps as she started to walk away.

"Bella, where are you living now? Can I get your new number?" Jacob called out.

"Florida. And no." Bella called out back to him. She appeared around my aisle and
grabbed my hand.

Yeah, that's my girl.

~*~

Bella and I returned back to the hotel room and I leaned against the kitchen
counter watching her fill the refrigerator with new groceries. My eyes ran up her
body and I licked my lips. Those calves, they were so smooth and defined. Her
thighs, God, I wanted to grab hold of them and spread them apart. Her ass,
Jesus, her ass couldn't be more perfect. Those little shorts touched just below her
cheeks, teasing me. I found myself having the reoccurring fantasy of bending her
over that hotel bar beside the kitchen and taking her from behind.

We hadn't made love since back at home and I found myself getting hard every
time I looked at her. And when I drank from her...well, it was hopeless to hide.
But I knew being in this city caused great anxiety for Bella and I didn't want to
push anything.

After lunch, Bella walked into the bedroom and came out in a white bikini.

"How about that swim?" she asked, a big smile on her face. I chuckled, then
changed into my black swim trunks.

The pool room smelled of chlorine and was warm compared to the rest of the air
conditioned hotel. Bella walked to the edge and dipped her toes in the water.

"A little cool, not too bad." She said. Then, I charged forward, grabbed her
around the waist and launched us both into the deep end of the pool. She
screamed, we hit the water, and when we burst back up over the surface, she
was laughing and yelling.

"Edward! I can't believe you!" she squealed swimming over to me and dunking
me under the water. While under water, I grabbed her by her knees and pulled
her under with me. When we rose back out of the water, we were both laughing
uncontrollably. We made our way into slightly more shallow water, just so my
feet could touch. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her to me. Our
laughing softened. She wrapped her arms around my neck and we kissed slowly
and deeply, once, twice, three, and four times. Those lips, I could kiss them all
day and night. When our lips broke apart, I pressed my forehead against hers.

"I love you so much Bella." I said to her, my eyes closed.

"I love you too Edward, more than anything." She said. We kissed a few more
times and continued to swim around our private pool.

"Hey, remember when we swam in the creek back home?" Bella said as she
floated past me on her back.

"How could I forget?" I said. Bella smiled.

"You know," Bella started, "I have to admit, I had it pretty bad for you. When I
saw you take your clothes off...damn." She said, a slightly embarrassed smile on
her face.

My mouth dropped open. "You had it pretty bad, you? Bella, you made me rub
sunscreen all over your body, in your underwear!" I said swimming over to her
and grabbing her into my arms. She wrapped her legs around my waist.

"And it felt damn good too!" She said with a laugh, hugging me. I kissed her, our
tongues touched. "Edward, you had no idea how badly I wanted your hands on
me." She said softly in my ear. I felt my groin tighten in response to her words.

"Bella, you had no idea how badly I wanted my hands on you. Ever since that
first night when you touched me. You sent my mind...spinning in circles. I was
crazy for you. I still am, I always will be." I told her against her ear, placing a
kiss on her earlobe.

We swam for a few hours, then headed back to our room. Bella quickly tied her
wet hair up into a messy bun and threw on a big t-shirt over her damp bathing
suit.

She made herself a quick dinner as I got dressed in jeans and a short sleeved,
dark gray button-down shirt.

It was 8:00 PM. "Get dressed my love. We're going downstairs for a drink." I told
her after she had cleaned her dinner up.

"What?" Bella asked, raising her eyebrows.

"You heard me," I said in a teasing voice, "I want to buy you a drink." I told her,
giving her my best lop-sided grin.

"I haven't even showered yet!" She said looking down at herself.

"Just throw some clothes on, you look beautiful. You can shower when we get
back." I told her.

She took 5 minutes to make herself, "presentable" in her words. She applied
makeup to her neck and a little to her eyes. She quickly redid her damp swim
hair, piling it up in waves, leaving a few strands falling down around her ears and
chin. She put on a pair of white cuffed shorts and a strapless black top that tied
in the back, leaving most of her back exposed. She slipped on a pair of black t-
strap sandals with tiny rhinestones.

We walked into Selig's Bar which was already bustling with people. Music played
loudly through the speakers. The crowd was young, mostly people in there 20s. A
group of about 10 girls wearing matching pink leis sat at the end of the bar, a
bachelorette party, given the one in the veil. A couple of them were giggling and
hovering around the glowing jukebox built into the wall, trying to pick a series of
songs.

There were a few couples sitting next to each other looking into their drinks and
talking to each other. About 3 or 4 groups of guys sat throughout the bar talking
and laughing with beers in hand. Opposite the jukebox was a dartboard with a
mixed group of guys and girls playing a game. A pool table sat toward the back of
the room with two men setting up a new game.

All of the barstools were taken but a middle-aged couple was just leaving as we
arrived and we took their stools. I placed a 20 on the counter and one of the
bartenders came up for our order. He was a very tall, slender man, with a long
nose and neatly combed black hair. Luckily he didn't ID her since I hadn't thought
to have one made for her. Bella ordered herself a double whiskey sweet and I
declined ordering a drink as I wouldn't touch it anyway.

Bella and I chatted with each other for a while and then Bella struck up a
conversation with a young woman sitting beside her. About an hour later, Bella
was halfway through her second drink when I noticed a group of 4 men walk in.
They wore suits. A couple of them had their jackets in hand and their ties
loosened. I recognized the one man as Brandon from this morning. They found an
available table across from the bar and sat down. A woman came up and took
their drink orders.

Bella downed the last of the drink in her glass and turned to look at me, her
cheeks flushed from the alcohol. "Why the serious face? Aren't you having fun?"
She asked.

"Of course I am." I said smiling at her. "Are you?"

"Yes. I like coming out with you. Thank you for the drinks." She said grinning. A
few minutes later, Bella hopped off the stool and walked across the bar to the
ladies room. Brandon caught glimpse of her as she walked by. I tuned out the
music and chatter around me and focused on listening to his group at the table.

"Mmm, remember that hot little brunette I was telling you guys about? The one I
met Monday in the fitness room? She's here." Brandon said.

Another guy spoke up, "Treadmill girl?"

"Yeah, she's always on the treadmill and I'm always on the elliptical directly
behind her...perfect view." Brandon said.

The three other men chuckled. My jaw clenched and I forced myself to remain
still.

"Where is she?" One of the other men asked.

"I'll show you when she gets back, she just walked over to the bathrooms."

"You met Monday? Why haven't you hit that yet?" Another guy asked.

I felt a growl form in my throat but swallowed it back.

"Just found out she's got a boyfriend, that guy right over there." Brandon said,
clearly gesturing toward me. I kept my eyes fixed on a random table across the
room.

"So?" One guy said.

I saw Brandon shrug his shoulders out of the corner of my eye.

Another guy spoke up. "Shit man, the guy's straight off the pages of GQ
magazine."

Brandon spoke up again. "I'll tell her my salary, then let her choose." He said
with a chuckle. I let out a soft chuckle myself. Bella came walking back just then.

"There she is, in the white shorts." said Brandon.

"Mmmm, yeah, I'd hit that. Don't tell my wife." One guy said with a laugh.

"C'mon Brandon, you need to get on that! We're only here 2 more nights man!"
Another guy said.

I quickly put on a calm face for Bella. She slid onto her stool and smiled at me. I
saw Brandon stand and approach us from my peripheral vision.

"Bella! You made it! How are you doing?" Brandon said, touching her shoulder
briefly. He was very lucky he dropped his hand because I would have snapped his
wrist. He gave me a quick glance. "Oh, hey Evan."

"Edward." Bella corrected him. Oh my sweet girl. "His name is Edward."

"So what do you think of Selig's? This is where we hang every night. My
colleagues are right over there." He said, pointing to his table. Bella nodded and
gave a tight-lipped smile. "What are you drinking? I still owe you one." He said.

"No, you don't owe me anything, but thank you for offering." Bella said.

"Oh c'mon," he started, "one drink."

I spoke up. "Tell you what Brandon. How about if you turn around, go back and
take your seat, and I'll buy you and your little friends a round."

I could tell by his expression that he was furious. Then his face changed and he
said, "We'd love a round. We'll each take a single malt scotch on the rocks." He
said smugly, clearly ordering a very expensive drink for each of them.

"You got it." I said, pulling out my thick moneyclip of cash and gesturing for the
bartender. Brandon's eyes widened slightly, then he turned, and I heard him say
'shit' under his breath as he walked back to his table.

Bella ordered another drink and then decided to order a small plate of wings. She
was starting to get a little drunk and I enjoyed watching her loosen up. She kept
touching me as she talked to me, her hand resting on my knee. When she
laughed at something I said, she leaned forward and touched my chest. Brandon
kept looking at us and I slid my hand up Bella's knee and rested it on top of her
thigh.

The bartender brought Bella her order of wings. She finished her third drink just
as she was eating her last wing. A moment later, the bartender placed a shot in
front of her.

"A shot of Suave 35 tequila from the gentleman over at that table." The
bartender said gesturing toward Brandon. Bella turned around and Brandon gave
her a sly wave and a smile. She lifted the shot toward him, tilted her head back
and downed it. Brandon stood up and started to walk over.

"Watch this." Bella said under her breath to me.

He came up and leaned both his arms on the bar beside her. "How did that go
down sweetie?" He asked, referring to the shot.

Sweetie? I thought to myself, but was distracted when I felt Bella tap her foot
gently against my calf.

"Went down pretty smooth. How did you know it was my favorite?" She asked in
a sexy, flirtatious voice.

I watched his eyes light up. "Lucky guess." Brandon said. I watched, on edge, but
curious.

"You know, there's just something about tequila that gets me...all riled up." Bella
said slowly, and seductively. She noticed she had gotten a little barbeque sauce

on her knuckle. She brought her pointer finger to her lips, opened her mouth, and
put her entire finger inside. Then she slowly pulled it out, licking it clean. Brandon
licked his lips.

He leaned in closer to her as if I wasn't even there. "All riled up, huh?" Brandon
asked in a low, suggestive voice.

"Oh yeah. I tend to get a little wild after having tequila. So I want to thank you in
advance..." Bella started. She stood up from her stool and pulled our hotel card
key out of her back pocket. Then she grabbed my hand, "...or maybe I should
thank you on Edward's behalf." Then she led me out of the bar and toward the
elevators, leaving Brandon standing alone next to our empty barstools.

"Little bitch." I heard him say, to himself behind us.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. As we stepped over the threshold,
Bella said to me, "I wasn't lying you know." The doors closed and Bella pushed
me up against the elevator wall...

~*~

The doors closed and Bella pushed me up against the elevator wall, her mouth
slamming into mine. She grabbed onto my hair and held my face to hers. I let out
a growl and reached around her legs, grabbing her by her thighs. I lifted her up,
wrapping her legs around my waist. She moaned against my mouth and our
tongues started to collide. I could taste the alcohol on her breath. My hands slid
underneath her ass and she began to grind her pelvis against my waist, wiggling
her ass in my hands.

She let go of my hair and grabbed at my shirt quickly popping the buttons,
pulling it open and pushing it halfway down my shoulders. The elevator reached
the 18th floor and dinged as the doors opened. Bella started to kiss and suck
along my neck and shoulders now. I carried her down the vacant hallway to our
door. I pressed her up against the door, claiming her mouth again, and thrusting
my hips against her. The friction was unbelievable, it had been too long.

When we finally burst through the door into our hotel room, Bella wriggled out of
my grip and down to the floor. She reached around and violently yanked my shirt
the rest of the way down my arms throwing it down on the floor. Then she
grabbed me by the waist of my jeans and started to pull me towards the
bedroom. There was absolutely nothing hotter than Bella pushing me around and
taking charge.

She led us around the bedroom door and into the attached bathroom. She turned
the dual shower heads on and then turned to face me. She lifted her arms and let
her hair down, shaking it out. It fell down over her shoulders. Then she reached
down and popped the button on her shorts.

"I'm really really dirty from swimming. Will you help me wash up?" She asked,
peering up at me with a helpless look in her eyes, her voice full of play-innocence
and sex. I stared at her for a half second, then grabbed her roughly around her
head and pulled her face to mine, our lips almost touching.

"What if I want you dirty?" I whispered directly in her face. She paused for just a
second, then leaned in a centimeter further and sucked my bottom lip into her
mouth. Then she bit down on it and I lost it. In three seconds flat, I had torn all
of her clothes off and ripped off my own jeans. We burst into the shower and I

lifted her up again, but this time turned her around and pressed her against the
marble shower wall. The hot water sprayed us from both sides, the bathroom
quickly filling up with steam. Our bodies were wet and slippery as we devoured
each others mouths, gasping and groaning. She had her hands back in my hair
and I had one hand on her ass, the other grabbing at her leg around my hip
pulling her against me.

My cock slid up against her center and she started to writhe against it. Her mouth
broke away from mine and she leaned her head back against the shower wall, her
eyes closed.

"Jesus Edward, I fucking need you so bad right now." She moaned.

"Oh God, Bella...I haven't...shit...I haven't had any blood yet. I need to drink." I
groaned thrusting up against her wet body.

"Edward, can't it wait? I need you right now. I can't wait any longer." She said,
her voice desperate. She crashed her lips into mine again. After a few seconds,
her mouth broke from mine and she began licking and sucking along my jaw line.

"I just...I haven't..." I let out another growl. I was so turned on I couldn't form
words, "I need blood first, otherwise..." I trailed off as I felt her clench her ass in
my hand.

"Mmm, Edward, are you sure?" Her voice full of want. "Are you sure you can't
fuck me?" She whispered, tightening her legs around my waist, pressing against
me even harder. Oh fuck! She was going to kill me. I couldn't take this! I fucking
needed her so bad. She continued to slide and grind her body against mine, her
breasts pressing against my chest. We slid a few inches to the side, out of the
direct line of water pounding down on us.

"Fuck, Bella, I want to so bad, you have no idea...but I could hurt you." I said.
She brought her face in front of mine.

"But I want you to hurt me." She murmured, her mouth claiming mine again. I
cried out an expletive into her mouth.

WHAT WAS THIS GIRL DOING TO ME? My head felt like it was detached from my
body. We were both so turned on we were no longer rational. She reached
around her back and grabbed my dick from between us, guiding my tip above her
opening.

Our mouths broke apart again, "Oh God, Bella, oh my fucking God..." I said
trying to form words to say. There was no use.

"Do it Edward. Fucking do it, now." She said. And before I could form another
thought, I was inside of her, thrusting in an almost inhumane speed.

"Yes! Oh God, yes!" She screamed, clawing at my back. "Harder, do it harder."
She begged me, biting down into my shoulder.

Fuuuuuck! Any harder and I would hurt her for sure. I needed some control back,
fast. I was losing it. I was losing it! Then, without any warning, I snarled loudly
and bit into her neck.

She screamed out in a mixture of shock, pain, and pleasure. Then she started to
murmur, "Yes, take it, take it, it's yours. I'm all yours Edward, oh God."

I gasped as she said that, breaking the suction for a second, a drizzle of blood
sliding down her neck, over her collarbone, and down the center of her breasts. I
continued to thrust into her as I drank from her, my control beginning to return.

Holy fucking shit, I was drinking and fucking at the same time. Nothing on Earth
compared to this feeling, nothing. It was raw, uninhibited, total-mind and body
pleasure overload. Every sense in my body was alive and magnified in that
moment.

A few moments later, I knew I had taken enough blood and I ran my tongue over
the bite wound. Bella was bouncing up and down in my arms desperate for more
and I turned us around and carried her out of the shower, leaving the water on
and the shower door open. I sat her ass on the edge of the marble counter
between the two sinks and began pushing into her with controlled force. She was
gasping and groaning. She leaned back and placed her arms behind her on the
counter, propping herself up and creating leverage for herself. We locked eyes
and I grabbed her beneath her knees and held her legs up and open as I pushed
into her over and over again. I took in the view in front of me, her naked body
spread out, breasts jiggling with every thrust. I wanted to burn the image into
my head because it was the hottest most erotic thing I have ever seen. And it
was mine, she was mine.

I eyed the drizzle of blood that had escaped her wound a few moments ago. I
leaned forward and ran my tongue up the center of her breasts, over her collar
bone and up her neck, licking up the blood trail.

"Oh shit!" Bella gasped, throwing her head back. I fucking loved it when she
cursed like that. I grabbed her arms and pulled her against me, lifting her off the
counter. In a flash, we were out of the bathroom and across the living room at
the bar. I turned her around and bent her over the bar's counter top just as I had
fantasized about over and over again since we arrived here.

I grabbed her hips and slammed into her from behind.

"Oh yes!" She yelled out, pressing her hands flat against the granite top. Her
breasts pressed into the hard surface. We were still dripping with water from the
shower, the carpet around us getting wet.

I felt her spread her legs a little wider causing me to push even deeper inside of
her. I slid my hand over her ass and grabbed it. She pushed her ass against me
and started to tremble.

"Oh God, Edward, oh GOD!" She screamed, and I felt the throbbing begin.

"Fuck Bella!" I yelled out as I came inside of her. I pushed deep inside of her one
last time, closing my eyes and gripping her hips. The pulsing inside of her was
fast and strong. It must have lasted a full minute. Just as I thought it was over, I
felt it throb around me one more time and I heard her sigh in complete
satisfaction. Still gripping her hips, I leaned over her and pressed my forehead to
the middle of her back. She was breathing hard and her heart was pounding fast
and loud. Finally, I pulled out of her.

Bella started to stand up, but as soon as she was upright, her knees buckled and
I quickly caught her before she fell. She laughed softly. She was pretty drunk and
I couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt for giving in to the temptation. But God
damn, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't worth it. I'd never seen a sexier, wilder side
of Bella and it was fucking hot as hell.

I helped her back into the shower, and this time we did wash the chlorine off of
each other from our earlier swim. I helped Bella wash her hair and when we were
finished, I laid towels out on the bathroom floor to prevent her from slipping since
everything was covered in water from earlier.

I threw on some blue striped boxers and Bella fumbled around the room half-
wrapped in a towel until she found the first t-shirt she saw. I laughed at her
drunken state. She pulled a white t-shirt over her head, it was backwards. It was
my t-shirt and it hung down to her knees. I helped her out to the sofa and used
the microwave to heat some water and make her tea. I wanted to make her
something to eat to help sober her up but the only thing I knew how to make was
toast. I made her two slices of toast with butter and she drank the tea and ate
her snack beside me on the couch. We lounged on the sofa and watched several
re-runs of The Sopranos on HBO.

Around 1:00 AM, Bella clicked the TV off and turned to me.

"How do you feel love?" I asked her grinning.

"Wonderful." She said with a smile. I could tell she was back to herself. I grabbed
her hands and pulled her toward me. She laid her head against my stomach. We
were quiet, the room was quiet. It was dark. The only light was coming from
above the stove in the kitchen across the room. I closed my eyes.

"I want to be like you Edward." She said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What?" I said, opening my eyes.

"I want to be like you. I want you to turn me. Soon." She said lifting her head
from my stomach and looking into my eyes.

"Bella...do you know what you're saying?" I said, staring into her deep, endless
eyes. She nodded her head. "Bella...this lifestyle...it may not be what you think it
is."

"Edward, it means I can be with you, and that's what I want."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This was coming from a girl whom I
kidnapped, used, practically tortured...how could she ever want to be like me?

"Bella, listen to what you're saying. Think about how this all started." I said to
her, taking her hands in mine.

"Edward, when you...took me...it changed everything. I was devastated. I
thought you were going to hurt me, rape me, kill me, or...all of the above," She
said, and I started to shake my head. "...but you, saved me." She said softly,
"Edward, without you, my life was empty, meaningless. I had no one, and now I
have you, and your amazing family. I want to be a part of that. I want to have a
family."

"Bella...look how I've treated you..."

She cut me off, "I'm not going to pretend like it wasn't awful in the beginning. If
you want to hear me say it I will. You were mean, you were rough, you hurt me,
you scared me..."

I closed my eyes in shame, but opened them when I felt her pull her hands out of
mine and place them on my face.

"...but something changed you." She whispered.

"You." I said to her. We stared into each others eyes.

"All I want, is to be with you," She said, "Every minute that passes is a minute
closer to my death...and it never mattered to me before, but now that I have
you, I don't ever want it to end. Change me Edward. Make time stop for me...for
us."

I was silent as I thought about what she had just said. Then I spoke up, "Bella,
listen to me. This is serious, it's permanent. It's not reversible. It's not something
you can just take back if you decide it's not what you wanted. I could never live
with myself if you ended up regretting it." I told her, taking her hands again.

"Edward, at this point, it's not possible. I've fallen in love with you. Don't you
realize that I had nothing before you? Nothing. It's either you or nothing and I
choose you."

I could only stare at her. I was speechless. Her eyes were filling with tears now.
"Edward, please don't tell me you won't do it. Please don't tell me you don't feel
the same way! I can't hear that, I can't!" She said frantically, starting to get up
from my lap, the tears spilling over.

"Bella, come here." I said pulling her back towards me.

"No!" She yelled, starting to sob, "I can't hear that you won't want me. I can't
hear that I'm not 'the one' all over again! Because if I'm not the one for you, I'm
not the one for anybody!"

"Bella, Bella!" I said, holding her face in my hands. "You are the one. You are the
only one. I will never stop loving you, do you understand me? I will neverever
stop loving you!" I closed the space between us and kissed her. Her body relaxed
against mine and we sank down onto the couch. Before we knew it, we were
making love, our bodies and mouths melding together.

"Tell me you'll change me Edward." She whispered to me, as I moved inside of
her. She looked into my eyes. "I need you Edward. You are my life now. I never
want to be without you."

"You won't be Bella." I whispered to her. Her mouth opened and her eyes darted
back and forth between mine. "Soon...I will change you."

~*~

As Bella slept, I went over the plan in my head for the next day. Once Phil was
gone, Bella would finally have a sense of closure and then we could move on with
the next step in our lives. The biggest battle in changing Bella, for me, was when
to do it. I couldn't even bear to think about it right now. I needed to focus on
ending Phil before I attempted to go there with my thoughts.

It was 6:00 AM. Bella was still asleep. I dressed in dark jeans and a black t-shirt.
I stepped out onto the room's balcony and looked over the city. The sun would be
rising soon. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my knife. I gripped the
aluminum handle tightly, flipped it open and looked at it. I ran my finger along its
stainless steel blade.

I went back inside and found a pen and pad of paper inside one of the end table
drawers. The hotel's logo was stamped on the top center. I wrote,

My love, had to leave early, see you tonight. I love you, Edward

I left it on the bedside table. I leaned over Bella's fragile sleeping form. I gazed at
her and softly rubbed my hand over her hair. She was my whole world. I was
doing this for her. She wasn't able to fight back, she couldn't stop him, but I
could. This was for Bella. I leaned down and placed a long kiss on her forehead,
then slipped out.

6:35 AM, I arrived at the house and positioned myself behind the tool shed. I
didn't plan to make my move until much later in the day, but I wanted to be
there, to watch and listen, just in case his daily routine would change at the last
minute.

6:44 AM, Renee left for work.

11:06 AM, Phil wakes up and positions self on couch to play video games.

1:25 PM, Phil orders a pizza to be delivered, eats, takes a nap.

4:10 PM, Phil wakes up, plays more video games.

6:00 PM, Phil goes into garage, cracks a side window, smokes a joint.

6:15 PM, Phil takes shower.

It was time.

I walked up to the opposite side of the house, quietly climbed in through the
kitchen window and crept through the house. I paused at the closed bathroom
door, listening to Phil's movements behind it. He turned the water off and I heard
the shower curtain slide open. I made my way to Bella's old bedroom and stood
in position behind the bedroom door.

6:32 PM, Phil exits bathroom and finds boxer shorts and t-shirt in master
bedroom.

6:35 PM, Phil makes way to spare bedroom, sits down in front of computer, starts
to surf porn sites.

I stepped around the door. Phil's back was to me. Images of naked young women
in vulgar positions flashed across the screen in front of him. I stood behind him,
silent. Then I pulled the knife out of my pocket and silently flipped it open. I
reached forward with my left hand and grabbed him by his hair, yanking his head
back and holding the knife to his neck.

"Scream and I'll cut your throat." I said to him, barely recognizing my own voice.
It was deep, and threatening. Phil gasped and grunted, his arms flailing out
beside him, almost tipping back on the chair. He immediately brought his hands
up to my arm and I leaned down and bit a chunk out of his skin spitting it off to
the side. He pulled his arms away screaming out in pain. I pressed the side of the
blade tighter against his throat. "Scream and I'll cut your throat. Sound familiar?"
I asked him through gritted teeth.

"What the fuck do you want?" He sputtered out. I pulled him off the chair and
spun him around. He stumbled and I grabbed him by his shirt collar. Then I
closed my hand around his throat and lifted him off the ground, pressing him up
against the bedroom wall. I held the knife in his face. He looked down at me,
terrified, his feet dangling. He brought his hands up to his throat and I brought
my face forward, bit a chunk of skin out of his hand, and spit it out of my mouth.
His squeezed his eyes closed and tried to scream but his airway was constricted
by my hand.

"Sound familiar, Phil?" I asked him again, my eyes burning into his. By now, the
bite wound on his arm was starting to blacken slightly around the edges and the
one on his hand would soon follow. I whipped him around and slammed him
down onto Bella's old bed.

"How about now?" I asked him, as he lay flat on his back on the purple
bedspread. I knelt across both of his legs with my knee and had him pinned by
his chest with one hand. My other hand gripped the knife tightly. "Ringing any
bells Phil?" I hissed, pressing him even harder against the bed. I felt his heart
pounding very fast against my hand. I leaned my face down and bit through his
shirt into his shoulder, spitting the fabric and skin out of my mouth. The other
two bite wounds were stinging and burning him now. The look his his eyes was of
absolute pain and fear.

I brought the knife up to his face and pressed the tip into his cheek. Not hard
enough to puncture his skin quite yet. "Who could I be speaking of Phil?" I asked
him.

He shook his head, sputtering. His hands were clenched into fits and he squeezed
his eyes closed in pain.

"What's the matter Phil? Does it burn?" I asked him slowly, running the knife
down his cheek, over the side of his neck, and down to the to the bite wound in
his arm. I slowly drug the knife over the blackening wound, the pointed tip
pressing into the broken flesh. He screamed out in pain, squeezing his eyes
closed tightly.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" He cried out, lifting up his bitten hand. He was
shaking and the edges of his skin were beginning to curl back and blister. I
brought the knife back up to his cheek and pressed the tip against him.

"I asked you a question." I said, ignoring his plaintive cry, "Who am I speaking
of? I'll give you a hint," I said, "she was 17, a child, a virgin." I enunciated each
word slowly, and clearly. "I'm only going to ask you one...more...time. Do you
know who I am speaking of?" I said, enunciating each word slowly and clearly,
my voice full of rage.

Between gasps and cries, he nodded his head, yes.

"I thought you would know." I said snidely, "Tell me her name Phil." I said to
him, bringing the knife down to the wound in his shoulder. I held it just beside
the blackening skin.

"TELL ME HER NAME!" I screamed out, losing my patience, bringing my face
inches from his and baring my teeth.

"Isa...Isabella." He stuttered out, a look of pure terror in his eyes.

I squeezed the knife's handle in my hand. "That's right Phil." I said, shifting off of
him. He didn't dare attempt to move. He stared at me, remaining frozen on his
back against the purple floral comforter, his eyes wide with horror, face twisted in
pain.

"I have a message from Isabella." I said to him. Then I raised the knife above my
head and stabbed it down through his shorts into his genitals. He let out an
agonizing scream and his face contorted in pain and shock. He tried to curl over
onto his side but I reached forward and held him on his back. I yanked the knife
out of his body, and then slashed it diagonal across his groin cutting through the
organs, shredding the shorts, and nicking the artery in his thigh. Blood started to

pour out of him. The blood was not appealing in the slightest. It smelled putrid
and tainted to me.

I stepped back and watched him. His eyes kept rolling into the back of his head
and he was struggling to remain conscious. His whole body was trembling and the
skin around his bite wounds was corroding and discoloring. His tattered boxers
were blood-soaked.

Soon, his gasping subsided and his breathing became shallow. I heard his heart
rate begin to slow as he went into shock. The blood continued to hemorrhage
from the huge gash across his genitals and thigh.

After about 6 or 7 minutes, I walked up to him. Blood covered the bed and ran
down the side. It was collecting in pools on the hardwood floor. He struggled to
keep his eyes open but met my gaze. I stared directly into his blood-shot eyes
watching him suffer.

"Goodbye Phil." I said to him as he took his last breath and his heart stopped
beating. Then I turned and walked away, leaving him lying in a pool of his own
blood.

I opened the door to our hotel room at 7:45 PM. Bella was sitting on the loveseat
listening to the song "Konstantine" by Something Corporate on her Ipod sound
dock. She turned around from the loveseat and smiled warmly. I didn't move
from the doorway. I only stared at her, silent, my face serious. She stood up, the
color draining from her face.

"Edward?" She said, worry in her voice. I slowly walked over to where she was
standing and stood in front of her. She looked up at me, her eyes frantic. I
dropped to me knees and wrapped my arms around her middle, hugging her to
me, my head against her stomach. Her heart started to race. I leaned back and
looked up at her.

"It's over, he's gone." I said quietly. A sob escaped her and she sunk down to the
floor, falling into me. I held onto her tightly and she cried softly into my neck. We
sat on our knees in the middle of the hotel room, wrapped in each others arms
until Bella stopped shaking and she pulled her face back to look at me. Her
cheeks were tear-streaked.

She took a deep, shaky breath. "Edward, you fought for me tonight when I wasn't
able to fight for myself four years ago." She said, her eyes darting back and forth
between mine, "I know there is no way I will ever be able to repay you for what
you did for me tonight..." She brought both her hands up to cup my face in her
hands, "...but I want to spend forever trying."

I squeezed my eyes closed, overcome with emotion, and pulled her back against
my chest hugging her to me, and never wanting to let her go.

~*~

The next morning, we each showered and dressed. Bella in a pair of navy blue
shorts and a white halter top and me in black board shorts and a bright green
band t-shirt. We packed our bags up and headed down to the lobby around 10:00
AM. Bella grabbed a muffin from the breakfast bar next to the check-in counter
as I waited in line.

"I'm going to walk across the street real quick to that grocery store and grab a
couple of sodas for the road." Bella said.

I grinned and handed her two $20s. "Pick out whatever you'd like love." I told
her. She stood on her tip-toes and kissed my lips with a smile, then turned and
walked out the doors.

After check-out, valet pulled my SUV up to the front and the concierge loaded our
bags into the back. Bella was still in the store. I pulled the SUV out from the
building's overhang and parked it, leaving the engine running. I got out and
leaned against the side, looking across the street, waiting for her.

Bella walked out of the grocery store, a paper sack in hand. Just as she got to the
middle of the parking lot, my eyes were suddenly drawn to a woman exiting the
building directly beside the small grocery store. The funeral home. She was
dressed in black. Her make-up was smeared and her eyes were red and puffy.
Her face was forlorn and she had wads of tissue bunched up in both hands. It was
Renee.

The two buildings shared a parking lot and Renee walked toward her blue Malibu
which was parked at the very end of the lot. Bella approached the end of the lot
heading in my direction.

I took a step forward, not quite sure what to do. Too late. Renee stopped in her
tracks and her mouth formed into an O shape. In a hoarse voice, she called out,

"Bella?"

Bella stopped and turned.

No.

I took another step forward.

Bella's eye's met her mothers and her face fell.

Her mother took a step toward her. They were about 30 feet apart. Her mouth
was turned down, and there was a mixture of anger and grief in her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Renee called out angrily. I heard Bella start to gasp
for air as she began hyperventilating. Renee called out again, this time shrill,
"What are you doing here!"

Bella's shoulders started to heave and she took a step back, stepping onto the
street curb.

"Why are you here? Now? Why now Bella?" Renee demanded, her voice laced
with hurt and sorrow. "Phil is dead Bella!" She shrieked, "Did you hear me? HE'S
DEAD GODDAMMIT!" Renee screamed at the top of her lungs, stepping closer to
Bella.

Bella started to shake her head and took another step back, terrified.

That's when all sound stopped for me and everything moved in slow-motion. I
saw Renee's twisted face, screaming at Bella, but no longer heard any words. I
saw Bella shaking her head, trembling and backing away from her crazed mother.
Then Bella stepped off the street curb and right into the line of traffic, just as a
big, white town-car came speeding by.

It hit her on her right side. She slid across the hood of the car and into the
windshield, cracking it. The driver slammed on his brakes and she slid off the
hood, hit the ground, and rolled six times across the pavement coming to a stop
face-down in the middle of the street. The paper bag lay torn in the street, its
contents scattered all over the road.

I was screaming, but couldn't hear myself. I was running, but couldn't feel my
legs. Renee's face had changed from angry to horrified. She had fallen to her
knees and was screaming at the top of her lungs, although I couldn't hear a
sound. Traffic stopped, people climbed out of cars. Bella lay motionless.

Before I knew it, she was in my arms and I was back across the street, laying her
across the back seat of my SUV. Then I was speeding.

I grabbed my cell phone from my pocket and dialed. My hands were covered in
her blood, but all of my senses were muted in that moment. I was screaming into
the phone, desperate to hear my father's instructions on the other end, but all I
heard was high-pitched ringing in my ears, like a dog whistle. I continued to
scream into the cell phone. Finally, his muffled voice penetrated through my
hysteria.

"Edward...Edward...Edward, you need to stop. You need to listen..." Carlisle's
voice echoed inside my head. I gripped the phone with one hand and the steering
wheel with the other. The gas pedal was touching the floor. I was already passing
the 'Welcome to California' state border sign. Carlisle's voice echoed in my head
again, "Edward. I need you to pull over. We need to determine if you can treat
her wounds with venom."

I pulled over on the side of the freeway and was in the back seat in the blink of
an eye. Bella lay unconscious. Her arms and legs were streaked with road-rash
and gravel stuck to her wounds. She was missing her shoes and her clothing was
torn and splattered with blood. Her face was smeared with blood and gravel.
Blood covered the white leather seats beneath her. Her heartbeat was slow and
her breathing was shallow. I put the cell on speakerphone.

"Edward, tell me where she is hurt." Carlisle's said.

"Her head, her head..." Is all I could say at first. The worst injury was on the
back of her head where it hit the windshield. My eyes ran over her limp body, and
I sputtered out, "Her face, her arms, her legs, everywhere..."

"OK, son, listen to me. There are too many wounds to try to treat with venom. If
you try, you will give her too much, and the changing process will begin. So
wherever she is bleeding from, find something to wrap it in. A towel, a shirt,
whatever you can find. Place something beneath her feet to elevate them."
Carlisle said calmly.

I yanked my t-shirt up over my head and tied it around Bella's head. Then I
reached over the seat and unzipped my duffel bag. I pulled out another t-shirt
and tore it in two. I used each half to tie up large bloody gashes on her knees. I
found another t-shirt, tore it in half, and wrapped it around her elbows. I placed a
duffel bag under her feet to raise them.

Carlisle's voice rung out again, "Drive here quickly Edward. I will be waiting here
for you. You may have a difficult decision to make son, but you are strong."

I arrived at my parents' house a little past midnight. My entire family was waiting
for us. I carried Bella inside and up to my room, laying her across my bed. My
mother grabbed my hands and tried to lead me out of the room.

"NO!" I yelled.

"Edward, your father wants to take a look at her." My mom said softly.

"I don't care! I'm staying!" I shouted. "Everyone else, get the fuck out!" I
screamed at my siblings. They all quickly stepped out into the hallway, leaving
me and my father alone with Bella.

Carlisle examined her entire body. He unwrapped her bleeding wounds and
looked at them, then re-wrapped them back up in the same bloody t-shirts. He
carefully bent her arms and legs, feeling the bones inside. I could already tell that
both her legs were broken. We could both hear her heartbeat and it was even
slower than it had been earlier. Her breathing was still shallow. My father turned
to me.

"She's suffered a major head injury son." Carlisle said to me gravely, "She's also
lost a lot of blood."

My hands were in my hair and I wouldn't meet his gaze.

"I'm sorry Edward, she cannot be saved..." He confirmed, "...unless she is
changed."

I wasn't ready for this. I wasn't ready yet. I was supposed to have more time. It's
too soon.

"Fuck." I said, running my hands down my face. Her blood was dried all over my
hands and as I touched my face, I felt a burning in my throat. Fuck me, and now
I needed to drink.

Carlisle walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "She still has a little
time, probably a few hours. Do you want to take some time to think about it?" He
asked.

"There's nothing to think about," I said to him monotonously, "I'm changing her."

We were silent for a moment, and then Carlisle spoke again, "Son, how much
have you really thought about this? Will Bella..."

"I'm changing her!" I snapped loudly, cutting him off, "It's what she wants. Bella
and I already discussed it."

Carlisle nodded slowly in response.

I continued, "Right now, I need to figure out what I'm going to do to drink
tonight." I said looking away from him with a scowl. Damn this thirst. If I were
like anyone else in my family, I would have at least a couple of days before I
needed it. What the fuck was wrong with me? Just then, my mother knocked
softly and walked in. I was certain she was listening.

"Edward, why don't you let Rose stay with Bella and you come with us for a
moment. Your father and I have something we want to show you."

I closed my eyes and my hands were in my hair again. Then I felt my mother's
hand on my back and I allowed her and my father to lead me out of the room.
We walked downstairs and toward the back of the house. We walked out the back
door and the rest of my family stood in the dark backyard, minus Rose who was
upstairs with Bella. The moon lit up everyone's faces. They all stared at me.

"Edward," Carlisle started, "do you remember the conversation your mother and I
had with you in the basement at Alice's party?" I nodded solemnly. "Well, your
mother and I discussed it further after you had left and we want to propose
something to you."

Then he walked to the tree line, and disappeared into the darkness for a moment.
He reappeared dragging a dead elk behind him. "Your mother killed this just
before you arrived here tonight." He said, dropping it at my feet.

I stared at him. He continued, "Edward, we're your family, and we are all aware
of the struggle you face every day with your thirst, and I wish we could
empathize. Your mother and I knew you would be faced with a dilemma as soon
as Bella's life was jeopardized."

He paused, waiting for my reaction. I didn't have one. "Edward, I'm giving you an
opportunity to take the first step toward alternative blood...if you choose. If you
want to try, it's yours." He said, gesturing down at the elk.

I stared at the huge creature. Its neck was clearly broken and it lay limp on the
grass, its eyes open. I didn't have many options. I knew my siblings would allow
me to drink from one of their feeders tonight if I needed to, but the thought
sickened me. In fact, the thought of drinking from any human sickened me now.
No blood, no human, would ever compare to Bella.

Esme spoke up, "Whatever you decide Edward, we support you."

Alice took a step forward, "What would Bella want you to do?" She said softly.

I looked at my sister, then dropped to my knees in front of the elk. I reached
forward and grabbed onto its thick neck. I guess I have to start somewhere...I
paused for a moment, preparing myself for the repulsive taste that was about to
come, then I sunk my teeth into its neck, breaking through the fur and skin. The
blood filled my mouth and I took my first swallow. The blood was still warm as it
slid down my throat. My head quickly snapped back up and I stared down at the
opening as blood drizzled out.

The taste...it wasn't repulsive, it was...pleasing.

More, I needed more. I lunged forward and started to devour the blood. I drank
with urgency, taking in all I could possibly take. Soon I was exceeding the limit I
would normally take from a human to keep them alive. Within a few short
minutes, the burning in my throat was gone, completely. I was full. Really full.

I was full? I dropped the elk and stood up in shock, my hands flying up to my
throat. I stared at the elk in disbelief. I felt ten eyes staring at me.

"Edward?" My mother said, her voice confused, "How..how do you feel?"

My mouth was open and I realized I was shaking my head. "I'm...I'm..." I
couldn't finish the sentence and I couldn't tear my eyes away from the creature
lying in front of me. How can this be? I thought to myself. I'm full. I'm satisfied.
How can this be? My reaction was obvious.

I finally looked up from the animal, "Mom, Dad?" I said in a desperate attempt for
some type of answer. My eyes darted back and forth between my parents. Esme
and Carlisle looked at each other, bewilderment in their eyes. They started to talk
frantically between each other as did my siblings, but I could only comprehend
bits and pieces,

"...shouldn't be this easy..."

"...takes years of practice..."

"...reaction to the taste..."

"...amount to fill him up..."

"...something is different..."

Then Jasper's voice pierced through the night, echoing from every direction,
"WAAAIT!"

Everyone went completely silent and turned to face the normally soft-spoken
Jasper. He walked up to me, stopped directly in front of my face, then shook his
head slowly in disbelief.

"Why didn't I see it before?" He said, staring directly into my eyes. Everyone
waited anxiously for what he was about to say. Then, in an unfamiliar language
and accent, he said, "...blod fra dyr."

I had studied many different languages over the past 85 years. Spanish, German,
French, Italian, Russian. I even knew some Finnish and Portuguese. This term
was completely foreign to me.

My parents stepped forward. "What, Jasper?" My father asked.

Alice squinted at her husband, "Was that...Norwegian?" She asked.

"Yes." He said to Alice. "The term, 'blod fra dyr' literally means 'animal blood' in
Norwegian. The term was created thousands of years ago, before Norway was
even established as a country, after the rare discovery of a vampire...who thrived
on animal blood instead of human blood. Later, it was shortened to just 'dyr'."

Jasper's voice echoed in my head over and over again, "after the rare discovery
of a vampire...who thrived on animal blood..." What...the...fuck. It couldn't be
true? It couldn't be.

Jasper was the oldest vampire among us. Although he was stuck in a 24 year old
body, he was a couple hundred years older than even Carlisle.

Jasper continued, "A 'dyr' is extremely rare. There is probably only one created
every 1000 years. I have never met one. They are so rare, that most of our kind
do not even know they exist. I myself, have only heard occasional stories about
them."

He turned back to look at me, "I don't know why I didn't see the signs. They were
right in front of my face. Never being full. Your thirst never being fully satisfied
on human blood. Needing to drink so much more often. You see, even if a 'dyr' is
created, most won't ever realize it as they will never consume animal blood to
find out. Just as you never had."

"How is one created?" Carlisle asked.

"There are only two ways." Jasper started, "One is completely random. It is
suspected that a chemical imbalance inside the human may cause it during the
transformation process. This is the case for Edward." He turned to Carlisle, "There
was no way to know this during Edward's turn."

"What is the other way?" My mother asked.

"The only other way, is if a 'dyr' changes a human with their own venom. That
human will become a 'dyr' as a vampire."

My knees nearly buckled. I reached forward and grabbed Jasper by his shoulders.
"Wh...what are you telling me? If I...change Bella..." He looked into my eyes and
nodded.

"She will be like you Edward." He said, gesturing down toward the drained elk,
"Bella...will be like you."

My mother turned and flung her arms around Carlisle, hugging him tightly.
Carlisle closed his eyes. Alice had both her hands covering her mouth and
Emmett was shaking his head in disbelief.

~*~

The transformation process had begun. I had distributed my venom throughout
Bella's body as my father stood beside me, guiding me through. I had never
changed a human before and Bella would be the one and only I ever did.

When I finished, I knelt over the bed, and buried my face in my arms,
overwhelmed by emotion. I felt my father's hands on my shoulders. Then I heard
my mother's soft voice beside my ear,

"My sweet Edward."

I turned and leaned into my mom's arms, letting her hold me.

Carlisle said it would take about 3 full days. I stayed by Bella's side. Little by
little, her wounds began to heal. I noticed her heartbeat becoming very irregular.
Carlisle assured me that this was normal.

At the end of the first day, I sent my family out of the room except for Alice. Alice
brought in a bowl filled with warm soapy water and a washcloth and she helped
me clean Bella up. We removed the bloody t-shirts from around her wounds. We
washed the dried blood and gravel from her skin. Alice also brought in a new set
of clothing, a long sleeved cotton shirt, black with a scoop-neck and a soft pair of
gray pants. She helped me remove the torn, blood-soaked clothes from Bella and
we carefully put the new ones on her limp body. Then my sister proceeded to
brush out Bella's hair.

It was 2:00 AM on the second day when it hit me...I wasn't thirsty. I had
absolutely no urge to drink. The elk blood from last night left me completely
satisfied. I felt like I could go three or four more days before needing it again. I
couldn't believe it. This must be how everyone else felt. To think, if I had know
this earlier...but I quickly shook the thought from my head. If I had known this
earlier, then I wouldn't have Bella.

I sat on the bed beside Bella's changing body. I hardly tore my eyes away from
her. On the evening of the second day, Carlisle came in to examine her. He
looked at her head wound first, then began bending her arms and legs, feeling
her bones. He opened each eyelid and shined a light into each eye. I noticed her
deep brown eyes had turned to a hazy gray color. He took her temperature and
nodded his head.

"She's healing beautifully. The transformation process is moving along suitably."
Carlisle said, looking up at me. I was silent, my face as still as stone. "Edward,

maybe you should allow someone else to sit with her for a while, give yourself a
break."

"I'm fine." I said, taking Bella's cool hand. Carlisle walked out and moments later,
Alice and Rose walked in. They each sat on an end of the bed and looked at Bella.
Rose reached forward and placed a hand on Bella's forehead. It reminded me of
the time she had done so after Bella's panic attack at the party, only this time,
Bella didn't stir.

Then Alice spoke, "Come with me for a minute Edward."

I stayed fixed to my spot on the bed.

"Come on, I won't take you far, just across the hall." She said. After a moment, I
brought Bella's hand up to my mouth and kissed her fingers. Then I stood up and
looked at Rose.

"I'll be right here with her." Rose assured me softly.

Alice led me across the hall and into the bathroom, "Take a look at your eyes."
She said pointing at the mirror. I looked at my reflection and flinched. My eyes
were bright gold.

We stood in silence, staring at my reflection for a few minutes.

"I envy you Edward." Alice said, "We all do."

I looked into my sister's dark red eyes, "I always envied all of you." I said quietly.

I looked back at my reflection. My hair was all over the place and I could use a
change of clothes. Alice went back to sit with Bella and I took a shower. I
wrapped a towel around my waist and went back to my room. Alice and Rose left
me alone to change. I threw on some black boxer-briefs, a white t-shirt and a
clean pair of jeans. I opened my dresser and found a light blue, knit sweater and
pulled it on over my t-shirt.

It was sleeting outside. Icy raindrops pounded noisily against the bedroom
window. I walked back over to the side of the bed and looked over Bella. I
wondered if she could feel or hear anything. Carlisle said she would have no
memory of the change. I leaned down and kissed her forehead. Then I whispered
into her ear, "It's me Bella, Edward. I'm right here. I love you."

Around noon on the third day, I couldn't stop pacing the bedroom. Each one of
my family members came in and tried talking to me to distract me, but there was
no use. I was a wreck in anticipation of her waking. How would she react? Would
she be frightened? Would she recognize me right away? I was nervous about
touching her. She would no longer be fragile or breakable. Would she feel the
same in my arms?

Around 10:00 PM, Carlisle came in with a kitchen chair from downstairs and
positioned himself next to the bed.

"It could be anywhere from one to four hours now." He told me. My hands flew
into my hair, and I continued to pace. "Tell me what's on your mind son?"

"I...I just...I want to know..." I struggled to form a sentence. Dad stood up and
walked in front of me. I stopped pacing and he placed his hands on my shoulders.

"She's going to be fine son. Just stay by her side and you will be the first thing
she sees when she opens her eyes." He told me.

"Will she...recognize me?" I asked.

"Of course she will." Carlisle said.

"How is she going to feel?" I asked.

Carlisle smiled, "I supposed your memory is a little fuzzy after 85 years." Carlisle
said walking back over to his chair and sitting down. "Well, she's probably going
to be a little confused. Actually, probably very confused." He said, crossing one
leg over the other. "Just be there for her, reassure her, answer her questions.
She's also going to be thirsty. I just came back from hunting down two deer for
the two of you. You will need to show her how to drink...and then you will both
need to learn how to hunt."

I raised my eyebrows at my father.

"Your mother and I will show you how. I'm sure it will come very naturally, you
will catch on quickly."

I thought about that for a second, then said, "No...don't show us."

Carlisle frowned slightly.

"I'd like Bella and me to learn that together, on our own." I said. This was going
to be a new life for the both of us and I wanted to share this new experience with
her and her alone.

"As you wish son." Carlisle said, nodding with a proud grin.

It was 12:15 AM the morning of October 11. Carlisle had been checking Bella's
eyes and temperature every half hour. Her heartbeat had stopped a little after
midnight and Carlisle told me she would awaken at any moment now. Carlisle
asked me if the rest of the family could come in. At first I wasn't sure, but I knew
it would comfort Bella to be surrounded by everyone. They were her family now.
All seven of us stood around the bed.

12:20 AM, 12:22 AM, 12:25 AM.

She stirred. I grabbed her cool hand.

"Bella? It's Edward, I'm here love." I said to her. I saw my mother take my
father's hand out of the corner of my eye.

Her eyes opened. They were as black as night. Her eyes moved from one face to
the next, and then they landed on mine.

"Edward." She whispered.

"Yes, it's me, it's me, don't be scared." I said, rubbing circles over her hand with
my thumb.

"Your eyes..." She said. Then she slowly sat up and looked down at her body.

"I feel so... so different." She said. I sat down on the bed beside her and took her
other hand in mine.

"You're like me Bella...like us." I told her, gesturing around at my family.

Her eyes widened and she turned to look at me. "Really?"

I heard my mother and Alice stifle a giggle.

I smiled at her, "Yes."

She let go of my hands and brought her hands up to her throat. "My throat burns
so bad." She said.

"You need to drink love. Let's go downstairs and I'll explain more."

My family filed out of the room and Bella and I stood up from the bed.

"Bella," I whispered, taking her face in my hands. She looked up into my eyes.
Then I felt her hands slide around my waist. I leaned down and we kissed. At first
softly, then deeper. Oh those lips...they were still meant for me. After our kiss, I
leaned my forehead against hers, my eyes closed.

"You changed me Edward. You changed me. I love you so much Edward." She
whispered to me.

"I love you too Bella, always." I whispered back to her.

Bella was absolutely stunned to learn about her accident and of the discovery we
made while she was out. She wouldn't stop asking a million questions.
Eventually, the thirst became too difficult to ignore and she stopped talking so
she could drink. We fed from the deer and I couldn't have been more proud of
Bella. She wasn't intimidated at all. She faced it head-on with courage and
confidence.

My family watched, smiles across everyone's faces. Emmett gave me a firm pat
on the back as Bella looked up at me with a smile, her beautiful light gold eyes
sparkling.

After feeding, Bella took a shower upstairs. When she came back down, I told my
family we were heading home and promised that we would be in touch very soon.
I was eager to get Bella alone.

"Have fun!" Emmett said, punching me playfully in the stomach.

Rose stepped up to Bella, "Take it easy on him." She said with a wink. Bella
smiled.

We said our goodbyes and climbed into my Volvo. Emmett had my Volvo
delivered to my parent's house and arranged for my SUV to be re-upholstered. It
was currently in the shop. We drove to the business parking lot just outside the
forest, got out and walked to the tree line.

"Race you home?" Bella asked, smiling.

"You're on." I said, gripping our duffel bags tightly and giving her a sexy grin.

Within minutes we were in front of our cabin. "Wow!" Bella said turning to me,
her eyes wide. "What a rush!"

I grinned at her, she was incredibly fast now. I was impressed and considerably
turned on. We walked inside.

"Home." Bella sighed, kicking her shoes off. I left my shoes at the door and she
followed me into the bedroom. I set our bags down on the floor. Bella was staring
at the bed.

"I just realized something," she started, "this bed is no longer used for sleeping."

I turned and stepped in front of her, then tilted her face up to mine and kissed
her. She leaned into the kiss and I felt her bring her tongue out to meet mine.
Soon we were grasping at each others clothing. Bella lifted my shirt up and over
my head and began kissing down my neck and over my shoulders. I grabbed the
bottom of her shirt and she lifted her arms, allowing me to pull it off of her. She
ran her fingers down my chest and over my stomach. She unbuttoned my jeans
and pulled the zipper down, then reached back and unclasped her bra. She let it
slide down her arms and fall to the floor.

I pulled her to me and she brought her arms up and around my neck. Our bare
chests pressed together. All of my fears about her feeling different were gone.
She was cool to the touch, but she was still my amazing, wonderful, beautiful
Bella and I was overflowing with love for her.

We kissed hungrily, our arms wrapped around each other. Mmm, her skin was
still as smooth as ever. I slid my hands down her back and slipped my fingers
beneath the waist of her pants. I ran my hands over her ass and she moaned
softly. Oh God, her ass was still incredible, nothing changed about that.

I started to kiss along her jaw and moved down to her neck. Her neck was
smooth, flawless. The scars were gone after the transformation. I kissed up and
down her neck, then across her throat and up the other side. Her fingers raked
down my back and then she trailed her hands around my waist and slipped a
hand inside my pants. I gasped as I felt her hand close around me. I brought my
hands to the waistband of her pants and started to inch them down over her hips.
I pushed them, along with her panties over the curve of her ass and they fell to
the floor around her ankles. She stepped out of them, and was completely naked.

She moved her hand out of my pants and started to push my jeans down, placing
kisses all over my chest. Once my pants were off, I stood in my boxers, and Bella
stroked my erection over my boxers.

"Make love to me Edward." She whispered, then pressed her lips against mine. I
brought my hands up to cup her face as we kissed, then laid Bella down on the
bed and climbed over her, my mouth never leaving hers.

I lay on top of her, our chest and stomachs meeting, and settled my legs
between hers. Bella's hands traveled over my hips and boxers.

"I want to try something..." She whispered, bringing her lips to mine again. Then,
as she kissed me, she curled her fingers into the fabric of my shorts and tore
them clean off of me with a loud rip, dropping the torn boxers off the side of the
bed. Both our lips turned up into a grin and we kissed and smiled against each
others mouths.

I ran my hand down her side, grabbed the back of her thigh, and lifted her leg
around my hip, pressing against her center. She was wet and I wanted to feel it.
I moved my hand in between her thighs and touched her. She broke our kiss and
gasped, arching her back. I felt the wetness and spread the venom around her
crevices.

"Mmmm." She moaned out slowly.

I slowly slid a finger inside of her and she groaned out. Although she was no
longer burning hot to the touch, she was still soft and moist inside and still all
distinctly Bella...sexier than hell. I licked my lips and needed to taste her. I pulled
my finger out and made my way down her body. She had her head tilted up and
her eyes closed.

I settled between her legs and bent her knees up. I placed a soft kiss on her
outer lips then dipped my tongue into her folds. She raised her hips off the bed
and hissed. Oh God, she tasted the same, fucking amazing. I licked her up and
down and pressed against her clit until she was so built up, I knew she would
release in the very next moment, so I stopped. I crawled back up her body and
positioned my tip at her opening.

"Oh God." She said in anticipation.

"Are you ready love?" I asked her. I couldn't believe it, but I was nervous. This
was our first time making love as...the same.

"Yes," she said, looking directly into my eyes, "I'm ready."

I pushed inside of her with a low groan. Everything felt the same and the
familiarity was comforting, sensual, amazing, and beautiful all at the same time. I
started to thrust into her and she matched my movements, pressing her hips into
mine. I leaned down and kissed her. She brought her tongue out to meet mine. I
grabbed her leg and she wrapped it tightly around me.

Eventually, we rolled over and Bella started to ride me. Her movements steadily
became more intense. She pressed her hands into my chest and I closed my
eyes, just feeling and listening to her every movement and sound. Sometimes
she would lean back slightly and gasp out each time I slid into her. God I was
deep inside of her. Deeper than I had ever dared to try before. I opened my eyes
and watched her. She was more beautiful than I had ever seen her. I didn't think
her body could get any more perfect, but somehow it had. I ran my hands up her
stomach and over her breasts and she tilted her head back with a groan.

It felt like we made love for hours. We probably rolled over every inch of the bed.
I ended up on top of Bella again and soon my thrusting became hard and fast.

"Yes! Oh God Edward, do it harder!" She cried out. "I want to feel you, all of
you."

I growled out and started to pound into her with force and she took it, screaming
out in pleasure. I leaned my head down and started to kiss below her ear. Then I
took her earlobe into my mouth and bit down on it. Her whole body tensed up,
she shrieked out, and I felt her climaxing around me.

"Oh fuuuuck!" I yelled, exploding in my own orgasm, releasing everything I had
into her with a final, powerful thrust. Then I collapsed onto her, resting my head
on her chest. We laid and came down from our high together, our bodies
gradually relaxing. Bella's hands started to move up and down my back and I
closed my eyes, my cheek still pressed between her breasts.

Eventually, I rolled off of her and we faced each other. Bella was smiling in
complete contentment and I couldn't help but smile just as big.

"I didn't think it could get any better." Bella said, "All of my senses
are...heightened. That was incredible."

I brought my hand to her face and brushed a few strands of hair over her ear.
"You are incredible Bella." I said, leaning in and kissing her lips tenderly, "I love
you."

"I love you too." She said back to me, her eyes melting into mine.

Bella and I married the following August. Our wedding was just a few days shy of
the one year anniversary in which we entered into each others lives.

It took 11 years for the rest of the family to make the commitment to animal
blood. My mother and Bella worked diligently with Rose and Alice while my dad
and I coached and supported Emmett and Jasper. There were many emotional,
painful, and angry nights. We received countless panicked phone calls in the
middle of the night and would always drop what we were doing and run to assist
when needed. There were more than a few relapses and a few punches were
thrown between brothers.

During one especially difficult evening for Emmett, following a relapse, Bella took
him aside and talked to him. They sat on Emmett's front porch. Emmett was
hunched over, his head buried in his arms in shame. I listened to Bella recap the
night when Emmett and I came to her rescue while she was being attacked by
James, the September before she was changed.

"Do you remember that night Emmett? You were there for me. You gave me the
shirt off your back...literally. You were there to support me, to comfort me. I will
never ever forget that. Now it's my turn. I want to be here for you." She said,
placing a hand on his shoulder. "You can do this." She told him. They talked for
over an hour. That evening was his last relapse and he had successfully
committed by the end of that year.

Bella and I will never forget the agony we each had to endure in our lives. Neither
of us had anything worth living for before we had each other. Bella's traumatizing
past turned her life upside-down, and the memories followed her wherever she
went, haunting her. She had no one to turn to and no one to love her. The
struggle I faced with my thirst made my life miserable, and watching my family
thrive with their lives and their loves devastated me. The battles Bella and I faced
after we met were unique. It was a journey filled with emotional turmoil and self-
discovery that changed us both forever. There is no doubt in either of our minds,
that each of our experiences, before and after our lives collided, helped mold and
strengthen us as the individuals we are today and as the couple we will be
forever.

The End.