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Chapter 1
I sighed with relief as Jasper and I exited the plane. "The pilot flew so slowly," I grumbled. "We could've run here faster than that stupid airplane."
Jasper smiled, and squeezed my hand. "Aren't we impatient," he teased. Despite the light tone he used, his eyes smoldered as they ran restlessly up and down my body. I brushed imaginary lint off of the black silk Chinese-style dress that I had designed myself.
We decided to walk to the nearby hotel, instead of trying to drive through the crowded streets of Hong Kong. Jasper put his arm around me, and I slid my hand into his back pocket. Despite our unusual pallor, we looked like a normal American tourist couple.
A sudden vision besieged me. Jasper and I near a bed, his hand slowly unzipping my dress, gliding across the skin on my back…
I blinked, bringing myself back to the present. Although my eyes were seeing what was in front of me, my mind stayed focused on the scene that the vision had portrayed.
Then another, less pleasant vision swept through my mind's eye. Jasper, sinking his teeth into the throat of a small Asian girl, feeling the warmth of her blood glide across his throat…
I shook him sharply. "Jazz!" I said urgently. He looked down at me, his eyes slightly crazed. "Think about what's going to happen at the hotel tonight," I ordered him. Although the visions of us were very distracting, I could tolerate those more than I could tolerate the visions of him drinking a human's blood, draining them dry…
I shook my head to rid it of its morbid thoughts.
We finally arrived at our hotel. The clerk greeted us with heavily accented English. "Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Hale. So good to have you here. You are in the penthouse. Would you like a bellhop to help you with that bag, sir? No? Very good. Have a pleasant evening now."
Jasper and I stood in the empty elevator. I looked suspiciously at the camera in the corner. I was pretty sure that it was aimed directly at my face. I turned away to gaze at Jazz instead.
He looked down at me and smiled. "You're very…excited," he noted. He brushed his fingers lightly against my face.
"You think?" I asked, my voice slightly higher than usual. Anticipation made my stony skin extraordinarily sensitive, and I felt his light touch to my core.
Jasper and I barely made it through the door of our hotel room. I did my best to be careful with his shirt, but in the end, it ended up in strips on the floor.
I half expected my dress to end up the same way, but then I remembered my vision.
Sure enough, Jasper stood behind me, his breath wafting against the back of my neck. He slowly unzipped my dress, brushing his hands against the small of my back.
I gasped, and heard him laugh lightly.
I whirled around, crushing my mouth to his. He reeled back slightly, then caught himself. I ran my hands across his back, feeling him shudder slightly.
His left hand stroked up my side, while the other pressed me closer to him. We fell onto the bed, still kissing feverishly.
And thus our third honeymoon began.
Chapter 2
We were lying next to each other the next morning, staring at each other, when a sudden vision made me flinch. Jasper, massacring a group of small children, all to get to the one whose blood cried out to him, singing a siren song…
"No!" I cried out. I sat up abruptly. I felt a strange burning in my eyes. Jasper wouldn't fail. Couldn't fail. Why here? Why now?
It made no sense. Jasper had managed to be around Bella, and had only tried to attack her once. He could restrain himself then. Why not now?
Bella…I suddenly realized why. Of course. The way Bella had smelled to Edward…that was how this Asian girl would smell to Jasper. "La tua cantante," I whispered.
"What?" Jasper asked me urgently, shaking me gently. "Alice, what did you see?"
I shook my head slowly. "Nothing. Just…children dying. It could have been prevented so easily…" I kept my voice from wobbling and betraying my half-truth.
Jasper's worried eyes stayed on my face. "That doesn't seem to have much to do with singers," he noted. I winced. I had forgotten about that.
"It was a choir," I lied quickly, avoiding his eyes. I prayed he wouldn't notice.
I looked up to see his eyes still on me. I smiled. Touching my lips lightly to his, I forced myself to relax. I would not let him succumb.
I felt his reluctance to let go of the question, and trailed my lips along his jaw. "Witch," he said, laughing. I smiled again.
We had managed to keep the bed intact the last night, but I was worried that with my anxiety, it wouldn't manage another round.
His chest was already bare. I ran my hands lightly across it. Even after sixty years, his smooth, perfect muscles never ceased to amaze me. I traced my hands in light circles on his stomach.
He caught my hands and looked at me with a dangerous look in his eyes. "Don't test me," he warned. I laughed.
"Or what?" I said, batting my eyelashes. I kissed his jaw, trailing my lips down the side of his neck, straying to his collarbone. His breathing hitched. "You'll torture me mercilessly?"
He snarled lightly, teasingly. "Of course," he countered. He suddenly flipped over, trapping me underneath him. I felt every smooth contour of his body against mine. He pressed his lips to my forehead. One arm snaked around my waist, and he sat up, so that I was perched on his lap. "I have my own ways of torture," he murmured.
He ran his hand from my shoulder down my waist, pausing there slightly before continuing to slide his hand down to my thigh. I shivered, though of course I wasn't cold.
Suddenly, Jasper and I stopped. We heard quick footsteps, and a throbbing heartbeat approaching.
And then the scent hit us.
Chapter 3
The scent was mouthwatering, like vanilla and citrus, with an edge like dried pine needles and laced through with the sharp odor of mint. I saw red for a moment, and then I controlled myself
Jasper's eyes were blank, his face twisted in a feral snarl as he pushed me away. I grabbed his arm. "Jasper, no!" I told him. "Jasper!"
It was no use. With a dismissive shove that nearly made me stumble Jasper moved to the door.
I knew I didn't have much time before the human girl was at our door, and her life was ended. I pounced, and landed on Jasper's back. His defensive mechanisms kicked in, and he whirled around in an attempt to throw me off. When that didn't work, he reached around and grabbed me. I allowed him to handle me roughly, knowing that his attention was now focused only on eliminating that threat.
When I was standing in front of him, his eyes still crazed, I slapped him soundly. It couldn't have hurt him, but he blinked. I helped him some more by picking him up and throwing him out onto the balcony. Luckily, the French doors leading to it were already open. He landed neatly on the railing, looking like a statue of a Greek god.
The balmy air drove the girl's scent out of Jasper's nose. He looked at me with recognition in his eyes, horrified. "Stay out there," I ordered him. He nodded.
There was a knock on the door. In a second, I had wrapped myself in a robe and unlocked the door. And then I gasped in shock.
There was a young Asian girl standing before me, though that wasn't a surprise. What was surprising was that she was shockingly, devastatingly beautiful. Almost as beautiful as a vampire.
She had long, silky black hair, and almond shaped hazel eyes. Her golden skin glowed, and her lips were pink and full. When she smiled politely at me, I could see that her teeth were white and even. She had a lush, curving body that my boyish figure couldn't compare to, and she was taller than me by about five inches.
"Mrs. Hale?"
I nodded.
"I have an order of flowers here for you, from your husband."
I looked, and saw that she did, indeed, have flowers with her. Blood-red roses, bright blue morning glories, and delicate baby's breath, in a crystal vase.
"Yes, thank you." My voice was cold, and I tried to moderate the chill with a smile.
From the look of fear on the girl's face, it didn't work.
"Do I need to pay you?"
She shook her head. "No, Mrs. Hale. Your husband has, of course, paid already. I hope you like them!" She scurried away, her heart beating quickly. I felt the venom in my mouth and quickly swallowed it down.
I shut the door and leaned with my back against it, still holding the vase of flowers.
Jasper was at my side in a blink, cradling my face. "Don't be jealous," he murmured. "She has nothing I want."
I swallowed the bitter taste again, knowing now that it wasn't venom, but envy.
"Except blood in her veins," I said bitterly.
Jasper kissed me softly. "Nothing," he repeated.
My voice grew constricted. "Bella and Edward…"
"What happened between Bella and Edward was a once in a millennia event. You are mine, Alice. And I am sure as hell yours." He kissed me in earnest now, showing all of his desire and love as his mouth moved with mine, our tongues intertwining.
I didn't bother to disguise my panic as I kissed him back, dropping the vase as I intertwined my fingers in his hair.
Jasper gently slid my robe off, and his hands were immediately traveling over my body, lighting small fires in their wake.
We weren't going to make it to the bed. I could see that clearly, even through the haze of desire that fogged my mind's eye. Jasper was going to make slow, tender love to me, his hands and lips everywhere, and it was going to happen right here, on the thick, luxurious carpet.
Jasper felt all of my emotions as I saw what he would do to me, and he smiled.
His hands drifted over my back, settling on my bottom, and he hauled me more fully against him, until all of me was pressed to him. I could feel his erection, and it soothed me a bit. He still wanted me, still loved me.
He swiftly undressed, and then brought me down to the floor, kissing me gently now. His lips were lazy, almost soft, and I closed my eyes. This was what mattered. Not some pretty Asian girl who smelled even more delicious that she looked. This, right now, as he entered me slowly, carefully, was what mattered.
All thoughts of caution were swiftly thrown to the wind as our desire heightened. I lifted my hips, and he ground into me, making me gasp. His long, slow strokes were a torment, and I pleaded with him with soft whimpers and moans.
"I love you, Alice," he murmured, his voice ragged as his tempo increased. "I am yours, and I love you. God, please, just tell me you know that. Nothing will ever come between us. Tell me you know that. Tell me."
I couldn't say anything, couldn't speak as he impaled me with swift, furious thrusts, making the shade on the lamp vibrate. I wrapped my legs around him, urging him deeper as his lips found mine, and he ravished my mouth with his tongue.
"Tell me," he commanded.
"I know," I gasped. "I know, Jasper, please just—"
The rest of my words were cut off as he buried himself inside me and I climaxed violently, my cries stifled against his throat.
My body was shattering, spinning out into a million pieces as lights pulsed beneath my eyelids. Distantly, I could feel Jasper shudder as he came as well.
When the last waves of ecstasy had washed over me, I stroked Jasper's hair as his head rested on my bare chest. His breathing was slow and easy, and if I hadn't known better, I would have assumed he was asleep.
"I love you," I whispered. He looked up at me, a fierce look in his eyes.
"I love you, Alice. I don't just want you. I'm not just intrigued by you. I love you. Even la tua cantante can't keep me away from you. She's okay, I suppose, but she's definitely not like Bella."
I smiled, and kissed him gently. "I know," I told him.
But inside, I was still distressed. I was remembering my vision of Jasper and the children. I shuddered, and held him more tightly to me.
Chapter 4
"We're going shopping," I informed Jasper. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Yes, we are," I said, knowing that the gesture was a challenge.
Without waiting for another reply, I went to the suitcase and pulled out one of my favorite dresses. I had made it back in Forks, laughing and talking with Bella as she combed Renesmee's hair and played games with her. Jasper hadn't seen me in it yet.
In mere seconds I was in the bathroom, dressed, and looking at myself in the mirror.
The dress was a burgundy silk halter, the hem of which ended about mid-thigh and was lined with opals. I put on my gold lace-up sandals, and curled my hair, softening the edgy look to it.
I walked out of the bathroom and twirled around. "What do you think?" I asked, very pleased with myself.
Jasper cleared his throat. "You look beautiful," he told me. He was still undressed, and the rough edge to his voice and the predatory look in his eyes made me shiver with pleasure. Yet another erotic vision swept through my mind, leaving me gasping.
Jasper could feel my desire, and it made his eyes darken. In a flash he was in front of me, his hands at my hips. "Do you still want to go shopping?" he asked in a husky voice.
I took a step back. "Yes. Let's go."
I turned around. I couldn't watch him get dressed, or we wouldn't leave this hotel room anytime tonight.
Jasper had been against staying in Hong Kong, saying that there was a reason we preferred small towns farther north. I knew it was a temptation, with all these humans here, but this was a place we'd never been before, and I wanted to see what it was like.
We walked out of the hotel hand in hand. I drank in the sights and smells, careful to check for any whiff of the Asian girl. All I could smell was fish, sweat, and smoke.
The place where I wanted to go required a cab. Jasper hailed one (I'd never quite gotten the hang of it), and we slid into the back seat. We told the driver the address, and he nodded. "Yes, yes, I know that shop. Madame Fung has very good, how you say, merchandise." He chattered on as he wove through the crowded streets.
Jaspers hand slid up my thigh underneath my dress. I shot him a look, but he only smiled as his hand traveled farther and farther up.
"We're in a cab!" I murmured, too low for the driver to hear.
Jasper shrugged.
Then he realized I wasn't wearing underwear.
His eyes widened, and he looked at me in surprise. I winked at him.
His fingers lightly stroked me, and then delved deeper, making me gasp. Against my will, my hips shifted.
The driver wasn't talking anymore, but had instead turned on a loud radio station. The voices were singing in Chinese, and I had no clue what they were saying.
Jasper's clever fingers found the sensitive nub in my folds and stroked lightly. "Oh!" My hips jerked, and I dug my fingers into his arm, willing him to stop.
"You can't," I whispered.
Jasper raised an eyebrow at me. "I can, and I will."
Those were the last words between us as he lightly thrust into me with his fingers. I lifted my hips, gasping for air as my inner muscles tightened around him. He rubbed against my clitoris in counterpoint with his thrusts, and the pleasure of it nearly drove me insane.
Then he kissed me. That was the last straw, and I climaxed, opening my mouth, but unable to make a sound. He purred in my ear as I shuddered, clinging tightly to his cashmere sweater.
Dazed, I looked into the rearview mirror to see the taxi driver watching me curiously. I didn't think he'd seen anything other than the kiss, but it was still a bit mortifying.
Jasper slowly withdrew his hand, making my breath catch; the pleasure was nearly as great as when he was moving his fingers inside of me.
"Do you still think we should go shopping?" he murmured, nuzzling my neck. "I can think of better things to do with our time." He nipped me lightly, and I jumped, but he was already soothing the area, laving it with his tongue.
"Stop it," I ordered him. "I can't think straight, and I'm going to be making a Halloween costume for Renesmee with what I'm buying."
He kissed my throat lightly, then sat back, though he kept hold of my hand. He splayed our fingers together, and I smiled at the difference in size. His fingers were nearly an inch longer than mine, slender but strong. I rested my head against his shoulder, breathing in the scent of him—seawater, pine resin, and leather. Those were the closest associations I could make.
Jasper stroked my hair, humming one of my favorite songs deep in his throat. I snuggled closer, and closed my eyes to watch the visions clamoring for my attention.
Bella and Edward were going to separate from the rest of the family in a few months. It made me sad to watch them say farewell to their daughter. I wondered why they were leaving Renesmee with us, but then I remembered Jacob.
Em and Rose would go hunting and make love in the woods. I flipped away from that vision. I never cared to see the details.
The last one made my heart stop (metaphorically, I mean). Jasper, with his lips gliding down the throat of the pretty Asian girl, his golden eyes soft and alluring. She lay limp and passive in his arms.
Despite the fact that I knew this was a seduction of a different sort, jealousy rose in my throat like bile, choking me. I watched as she moaned, and intertwined her fingers in his hair.
Jasper sank his teeth deep, and I could see the gentleness desert his eyes, leaving only an animal craving for blood.
She gasped and tried to push away, but it was too late. Jasper held her tight against him, drinking deeply. Slowly, her resistance lessened, and the life drained away from her eyes.
I wanted to get away from this vision. I didn't want to see this. It wouldn't happen. It couldn't happen.
Jasper shook me. "Alice, what's wrong?" He looked concerned, staring deep into my eyes. "Alice?"
I took a deep shuddering breath. "Maybe you're right," I said, forcing cheer into my voice. "We should just go back. Driver?"
The taxi man looked at me. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry, can you just turn around and take us back to where we were?"
"Yes. Hold on!" He executed a sharp U-turn, causing Jasper and I to swerve to the side.
Jasper grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. I could feel the panic in my face, and tried to erase it from my expression.
"It was me, wasn't it? Nothing else makes you like this." His voice was hard, with a bitter edge.
I looked away,
"I think you were right," I said dully. "We should go somewhere else for the remainder of our honeymoon."
Jasper and I didn't speak until we got to the hotel. I was sure he could sense my desperation to hold on to him, to keep him from making mistakes.
When we reached our hotel room, Jasper whirled around, his eyes fierce, his expression hard. "We're not leaving." He glared at me. "If Edward can do it, with Bella bleeding before him, then I can do it with some random flower carrier."
With that, he crushed his lips to mine. I surrendered to his rough handling. He couldn't hurt me.
His sweater was soon in tatters, and I felt a brief twinge of regret for the ripped and mangled remains of my beautiful dress, but the fire between us grew hotter, igniting everything.
His lips were at my breast, and I moaned slightly. While his tongue played over one tight bud, his fingers were stroking me, just as they had in the car.
I backed him into the bed and we toppled down on it. I giggled.
My knees were on either side of his waist, and his warm breath caressed my nipple. "You know," he said conversationally, stroking my back, "You haven't been on top in a long time."
I shivered at his light touch. "Yeah? I hadn't noticed." I honestly hadn't. Each time we made love, the previous times were wiped from my memory in the bliss, lodged in a dark corner of my mind, where I kept them locked up for the sake of my sanity.
Jasper lifted me slightly, and then brought me down slowly on his erection. I sighed, and sank deeper.
Jasper groaned, and I took advantage of his vulnerability. I kissed him tenderly, moving my hips oh so slightly, reveling in his obvious desire.
"Alice," he sighed.
I rose up, and sank down again. He jerked, and I lost control of myself.
I rode him roughly, digging my fingers into his shoulder. The erotic slide of him inside of me stopped my breath.
I could feel his muscles tense, could feel the claws of desire sinking deep into my belly.
One touch of his finger on my clitoris, and we both jumped over the edge. His cock jumped inside of me as my muscles clenched. As the ecstasy inside us imploded, I heard him growl "I love you" in my ear.
Chapter 5
As I rested on top of him, satisfied for the moment, I thought about right and wrong. I knew in my heart it was wrong to kill humans. I knew that. I knew that preserving their lives was right.
I knew that. But did Jasper?
"Jazz?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you think we do the right thing, drinking from animals instead of humans?"
He was quiet for a long time.
"Yes." He finally spoke, his voice heavy. "But…" he stopped.
I lifted my head to look at him. "What?"
"I don't always want to do the right thing." His voice was fast, like he was admitting a wrongdoing.
I traced my fingers on his chest. "Neither do I, sometimes," I confessed. "Sometimes I want to go on a wild rampage and drink my fill of whatever I want. But we can't, Jazz. We have to push on, even when we don't want to."
He caught my hand and brought it to his lips. "I know," he said. "And I will. That's why we're staying here. What are the odds we'll see her again anyway?"
I stiffened. "Speaking of which, why did we see her today? You never get me flowers."
Jasper sat up, cradling me in his arms. His eyes were confused. "What are you talking about? Those flowers weren't from me."
We both looked to the spot where the vase had fallen this morning. It was gone, of course; the maids had probably wondered why it was lying on the floor.
My brow wrinkled as I frowned. "But the girl said they were from my husband…"
"Maybe she had the wrong Mrs. Hale," Jasper suggested.
I nodded absently.
We sat there for a while, thinking our own thoughts. After a few hours of silence and peace, I turned my face to kiss him. His response was immediate and gratifying. His lips eased mine open, and his slid his tongue inside, swallowing my shallow breaths.
It amazing how this desire could flare up at the slightest provocation. Already, I was aching for him.
Jasper could feel this, and it made him grin.
His mouth wandered lazily over my skin. I closed my eyes and let him do as he wished, knowing that my time would come…and wishing it would hurry up.
Suddenly, he flipped me over so that I rested on my stomach. I turned my face to the side so I could breath in the salty tang that our scents had acquired in the heat of our lovemaking.
Jasper brushed his lips down my spine, and I shuddered at the delicate touch.
Finally, when he had me gasping and pleading for him to soothe my frazzled nerves, he entered me from behind, gently, until he was sheathed to the hilt inside of me. He braced himself with his arms, and moved slowly.
Given our position, I couldn't do much but wait as he tormented by bringing me closer and closer to the breaking point, withdrawing, teasing me, and then sliding in again, until, finally, he pushed me over the edge. My back arched, and my eyes rolled back. My shudders shook the bed frame.
Jasper held still and eased me down, stroking my cheek and peppering the back of my neck with kisses.
Then he began to move again, more fiercely this time, and I realized that he hadn't climaxed yet. Impossibly, I was scaling the heights to ecstasy again. We rocked together, me pushing up to bring him deeper, and him thrusting down.
He came with a roar that he stifled in the pillows, and I followed him, crying out his name.
We were both gasping for breath, when I realized that there was plaster in my hair. I looked up and saw that there were small cracks in the ceiling.
Then, with a creak and a groan, our bed collapsed. We were still lying on it, and the jolt didn't hurt us, but I had no doubt that it had produced a spectacular thump that had alarmed the other hotel residents. Whoops.
Jasper stroked my cheek.
"What will the downstairs neighbors think?" I wondered, giggling.
He smiled wryly. "What indeed?"
Chapter 6
When we went downstairs later that night, we apologized to the hotel manager. "We forgot we weren't little kids anymore, and we started jumping on the bed," I said abashedly. "Our combined weight and gravity were just too much for the structure. We'll pay for it, of course."
Jasper handed over a thick wad of bills, and pulled me out the door. We walked along the sidewalk, occasionally jostled by the crowd.
We hadn't done anything in this city really, aside from making love. I wanted to explore. And shop. Mostly shop, but what the hey?
With Jasper at my side, I loitered at the stalls of various vendors. I bought a beautiful black and silver fan for Bella, a sapphire dragon pendant for Rose, and a nunchuk for Emmett. Esme would receive a gold and copper embroidered Chinese-style dress, and Carlisle would get a rice paper manuscript that had something to do with happiness and peace written on it in Chinese. Edward was harder to shop for. I finally found a picture that reminded me of his precious meadow.
Jasper took all my bags, despite my protests. He reminded me that it would look odd for someone as small as me to carry a huge load while he carried nothing.
I led us to the harbor, and we sat on an abandoned dock, our fingers intertwined. The moon silvered the crests of the miniature waves, and my sharp ears could hear the chattering of alarmed porpoises as they sensed our presence.
"Jazz, what do you think causes la tua cantante? What made Bella appeal to Edward so strongly? What makes this girl appeal to you so strongly?"
Jasper looked down at me with half a smile on his face. "Does it matter? Hong Kong is a huge city. We won't see her again, I'm sure of it."
I persisted. "But what is it, do you think?"
He shrugged. "I never thought about it."
"Well, I think someone is throwing these people across our path on purpose." It was a notion that had been forming in my mind since the day before.
"People?"
"There were those two that Emmett met. Then there was Bella, and now there's this girl. It can't be coincidence. Vampires go their entire existence without meeting their special prey, but the Cullens have had four in the last thirty years."
Jasper rolled his eyes. "Alice, do you have any idea how powerful a vampire would have to be to be able to influence events like that?"
"Who said it was a vampire?"
He looked at me incredulously. "Surely you can't think it was a human!"
I shook my head. "No. I don't think it's a vampire or a human. I think it's something greater than both."
Jasper laughed. "You think its God doing this?"
I shrugged. "Why not?"
He stopped laughing when he realized I was serious. "Alice, I think He—assuming He exists—has better things to do with his time than screw with the lives of a vampire coven."
His skepticism stung, even though I'd seen it already. "He's not doing it to mess with us. I think He's doing it to test our resolve, to see if we can resist temptation. To make us stronger. Maybe…to atone for what we are, what we've done."
"You're reading too much into this, Alice."
It was clear that he wasn't willing to compromise on this issue, or even give it a little thought. He assumed that we Cullens were simply always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Maybe," I answered, but I didn't mean it, and he knew it. He rolled his eyes.
"Don't patronize me, Alice," he said. "You still think you're right, don't you?"
I shrugged.
This was as close as we'd come to a fight (aside from this morning, of course) in a long time. It felt strange, being at odds with Jasper. I didn't like it.
"Alice—"
"Jasper," I interrupted. "It's okay. I honestly don't mind." I smiled brilliantly at him.
We snuggled for a little while, admiring the two moons—one in the water and one in the sky—that illuminated the night.
It was clear that he wasn't willing to compromise on this issue, or even give it a little thought. He assumed that we Cullens were simply always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Maybe," I answered, but I didn't mean it, and he knew it. He rolled his eyes.
"Don't patronize me, Alice," he said. "You still think you're right, don't you?"
I shrugged.
This was as close as we'd come to a fight (aside from this morning, of course) in a long time. It felt strange, being at odds with Jasper. I didn't like it.
"Alice—"
"Jasper," I interrupted. "It's okay. I honestly don't mind." I smiled brilliantly at him.
We snuggled for a little while, admiring the two moons—one in the water and one in the sky—that illuminated the night.
