He knew she was close when her thoughts entered his head. She was happy, ecstatic even, considering she had just lied to her husband…again and was on her way to tarnish their marriage…again. She was just down the hall and he still had not made up his mind. He had never been good at making such life altering decisions on his own without knowing the consequences ahead of time from his own personal crystal ball. This time should not have been any different, but it was.
The door opened and he heard her enter the living room of the small hotel room. He stayed motionless on the bed, trying to keep from making final decisions that she would see before he had a chance to talk to her. Her thoughts had changed. She was confused now because she could not get a vision of what was going to happen. He was still undecided.
"Edward?" Her voice echoed through the short hallway followed by the dull thud of her heels on the synthetic fiber of the carpet. "There you are." She walked over to where he sat on the edge of the bed, leaving her burgundy leather trench coat in her wake. She stepped out of her heels and sat down next to him. His posture was tense, head bent, fingers tightly gripping the mattress underneath the thin sheets of the Queen sized bed.
"What's wrong?" She asked, placing her small hand on his thigh. She immediately regretted the question when he finally turned to look at her. His expression was that of pain and anger. She removed her hand and looked away.
"If you were Jasper you would have known as soon as you walked in the door." He spat and watched with a slight sick satisfaction as she winced at the mention of her husband's name. She hated when he mentioned Jasper at times like this and he knew it. She rose from the bed and began to collect her coat and heels.
"I knew I shouldn't have come. When I didn't see anything I knew."
In a matter of seconds he was across the room, his fingers wrapping around her wrist.
"Alice, I'm sorry. I—"
"Why can't I see anything?!" Her voice was on the verge of hysterical. She was trying hard to hide her thoughts, but it was difficult to do when she was feeling such strong emotions. His grip on her wrist tightened at the realization, fury expelling all guilt he was feeling.
"Are you…scared?!" He asked incredulously, sifting through the thoughts running through her mind. She was afraid that he was going to tell, she was afraid that he was going to end it, she was afraid of what Jasper might think.
"Scared? I'm not scared! Maybe if you were Jasper you would know exactly what I was feeling."
The sound of his words being thrown back on him was painful, but he recovered quickly, using his grip on her wrist to steer her against the opposite wall, trapping her with his body and yanking her arm above her head.
"Now why would I want to be Jasper when he's obviously not who you want?" She attempted to move her head in order to avoid his gaze, but he held her chin roughly in place with his free hand. "Huh? If you're so in love with Jasper then why are you here with me? Why, despite your anger and fear, can you still find room in your mind to think of all the things I could do to you in this position?"
Alice broke out of his grasp and pushed him away from her, sending him clear across the room.
"Stay out of my head!"
"Why Alice?" Edward mocked, rising from the floor and brushing the woodchips from the chair he'd collided with off of his blazer. "You've never minded letting me in before." He emphasized the last part of his comment with uncharacteristic malice, letting the innuendo hang in the air. Alice seemed to instantly deflate, sheer hurt coloring her sharp features.
"What is wrong with you? Why are you being like this?" Her voice cracked and that was it. All it took for him to feel like a major jackass was for her to look at him as if he went around killing puppies and newborn babies. Moving closer he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his forehead against hers.
"I'm sorry. I just—I don't want to be the dirty little secret anymore. I'm tired of sitting on the couch watching you and Jasper cuddle like nothing is going on. Without you I'm alone."
"But you didn't have to be. You had Bella."
"And we all know how that turned out…"
"She only chose him over you because you made her feel like she was in the way. If you only paid more att—"
Edward gave a frustrated sigh and collapsed onto the bed, eyes closed.
"Please, Alice. Not now." He felt the bed give way under Alice's weight as she crawled up the length of his body to straddle his hips, but he did not move until he felt her lips on his. Edward reciprocated her movements instinctively, enjoying the familiarity of her lips and forgetting that he'd ever been mad at her. Tangling his hand in her short hair, he skimmed the skin of her neck with his teeth, eliciting a sharp gasp from her, which caused him to shiver and break the concentration he was using to keep from reading her thoughts.
One last time, I swear. This is the last time. Her thoughts rang clear in his head. She was going to end it. He flipped them over abruptly.
"So this is it? You're going to end it after you get off one last time?"
Alice's eyes sprang open and he could tell that she was mad he had invaded her thoughts again.
"You have no right to be angry." He hissed, "You were going to walk out of here and go back to Jasper like nothing happened while I'm forced to watch him touch you, hear him make love to you, and dodge questions about why I feel angry and jealous whenever he walks into the room."
Alice sighed, choosing to take the calm route instead of getting angry again. "You had to have known that this wouldn't last forever."
Edward gave a bitter laugh and began to unbutton Alice's black silk blouse. "If this is the last time, we'd better make it memorable."
Alice lifted her body slightly for Edward to remove her blouse then assisted him in removing his t-shirt. When he kissed her again it was as if electricity flowed through every part of his body that touched hers. Her fingers expertly unbuckled, unbuttoned, and unzipped his pants before sliding past the denim of his jeans and the elastic of his briefs to grip him firmly. His hips impulsively rocked against hers. Pushing him away softly to regain her position on top, Alice removed his jeans and briefs and proceeded to slide down the length of his body leaving a trail of light almost apologetic kisses. It was as if he could feel her guilt every time her lips ghosted across his skin. This would be the last time he would touch her, kiss her, hold her. Alice would walk out of this room today and go curl up in the arms of the man she'd promised to spend eternity with, leaving him to heal his broken heart alone. The swipe of Alice's tongue across the tip of his hardness brought him back to the present.
"I knew that would get your attention." She smiled and he found himself smiling back. There was no reason he couldn't enjoy this. He moved into a seated position, back against the headboard, and pulled Alice onto his lap. It made it seem as she were taller than him and put him face to face with the red lace La Perla bra she was wearing. He'd always hated red until he saw it on Alice. The bra hugged her breasts in the most enticing way and emphasized her pallid complexion. He assumed her panties would match and tugging down the zipper on the side of her skirt proved his assumption true. Alice hated when things didn't match. She lifted one knee at a time as he removed her skirt and panties.
"We're even now." Alice whispered, referring to the fact that Edward had been the first to be completely naked. Edward said nothing, letting one of his hands glide up her stomach to cup one of her breasts. Rubbing his thumb over her already hardened nipple he blankly watched her reaction. Alice gave a content sigh as her eyes fell closed and her lips parted slightly. He placed slow, deliberate kisses down her neck and was rewarded with the stinging feel of her nails digging into his skin when he pressed his lips against the sensitive area near her collarbone. She rose on her knees hovering above him teasingly, before allowing him to grasp her hips and push her brusquely down onto him. Both inhaled harshly at the sensation of their bodies meeting. Alice was the first to move, starting a quick, desperate rhythm, which was soon interrupted when Edward changed their position with lightening speed. He pressed her into the mattress, hands slowing the motion of her hips to match the torturous pace of his own.
"You will not rush this." He said through clenched teeth, pulling out of her completely and thrusting back in painfully slow.
"Edward. Bastard." She gasped.
"Terms of endearment, my love. If only I had such a fitting name for you." He scraped his teeth down her throat. "I could bite you right now. He'd wonder where it came from."
"You could bite me, but you won't. Right now you're going to start moving." She pressed her heels into the backs of his thighs urging him forward. Edward began to move again, never increasing his speed. Alice was breathless beneath him. Then her phone rang. The Flamingos' "I Only Have Eyes for You" sounded through the hallway from Alice's purse in the other room. In an instant he was gone, pants on, lean body resting on the railing of the balcony. She watched him through the glass for a second before wrapping the sheet around her and taking off to answer her phone. Edward clutched the railing of the balcony so hard it gave in, forming to the shape of his fingers. He knew it was Jasper calling; that was his ringtone. He listened as she laughed and talked to him about her day of shopping and as she rushed him off the phone saying there was a sale she was interested in that she had to catch before it got away from her. Partly true. He didn't turn around until he heard the sound of the glass sliding door open behind him. His stance was defeated, but his rage was given away by the flare of his eyes and clenched jaw.
"I love you, Alice." It was the first time he had ever told her and he wished it could have been under better circumstances. She looked so surprised, lips moving without sound trying to come up with words for the situation.
"I love you." He repeated with more force, then smiling, "But you only have eyes for him. " He gave a cynical chuckle before his expression turned to stone, eyes shifting to the ground. Several seconds passed in silence.
"I'm going to leave." Upon hearing her thoughts about seeing him later at home he added, "For good." As soon as the words left his mouth, her eyes went distant, looking past him. She was having a vision. Through Alice's thoughts Edward saw himself surround by cold, gray stone, pale body enveloped in black cloth, eyes a searing red. Someone was calling him. He turned toward the source of the voice to see Aro.
"Did you enjoy the gift I sent you last night?" Aro asked, white teeth gleaming in the dim light of the lair.
"I did." Edward answered, "She looked just like her."
"I wonder if she tasted just like her."
Edward raised an eyebrow, giving a smirk as his only answer. Both men turned and walked off towards a dark hallway, their laughter bouncing off the stone. The vision faded.
When Alice returned from her haze her expression was horrified.
"Edward, no. You can't – why would you…?" She trailed off.
Edward walked over to her slowly and cradled her cheek in his hand. She leaned into his palm waiting for him to convince her that something like that could never happen. He simply leaned in and kissed her softly.
"So it is written." He whispered and walked past her back into the bedroom.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She screamed going after him. "You can't possibly be thinking of…joining them."
"You saw it, Alice! I made the decision and then you saw it!"
"I see a lot of things! It doesn't mean that you have to go off and make any of them come true." He made a move for his shirt, but she was there before him. "Edward…please." They stared at each other, both tired of having the same fight. Edward took a few steps back and leaned against the wall, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. Sensing he was close to giving in Alice stepped forward, dropping the sheet and placing a hand on either side of his face. She ran her tongue along his bottom lip trying to arouse him from his current catatonic state.
"Kiss me, Edward." She mumbled against his lips. He yielded to her touch and responded, tangling one hand in her hair, wrapping the other around her slender waist. She felt him harden again through his jeans and she pressed her body closer to him. Soon his pants were gone and it was her back against the wall. He pressed his fingers into the backs of her thighs, lifting her off of the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist, gasping when she felt his hardness settle between her legs. Positioning himself at her entrance, he pushed into her swiftly. His motions were frantic and it made her wish for the slow movements of their previous encounter, but she wasn't one to protest. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, unable to bear staring her straight in the face. His right hand moved from her hip to caress her breast. Alice moaned in his ear, giving him breathy orders, which urged him forward. Their pace increased and at Alice's command his thrusts became harder until the room was filled with the eerie sound of the wall behind her cracking, chunks of plaster dropping to the floor. Edward moved his hand between her thighs and dragged his thumb along the sensitive surface of her clit. She fell apart against the wall, repeatedly murmuring his name. He came a minute later, silently. Afterward he finally gained the courage to look at her. If she could cry her cheeks would have been drenched with her tears.
"Stay with me." She begged.
"Tell me you love me."
"Wha-what?"
"Tell me you love me."
"I can't. Edward, you have to understand this wasn't supposed to—"
"To last forever, I know." He untangled her legs from around his waist and dropped her back to the floor. They were both silent as Edward got dressed. He pulled on his blazer and went for the door.
"I love you!" Alice blurted desperately.
Edward gave her a small smile. "If they ask why I left tell them it was because of Bella."
"But I said it! I told you I love you."
"I know." He whispered and then he was gone.
