The cold night air cascaded across my face, and I welcomed the feeling that it brings into my body. I closed my eyes, but could still feel the moonlight beat against my eyelids, begging for entrance. I let the thin barriers lift slowly.
There are so many times when I want to keep my eyes closed, because it seems as if the world that I have lived in for so long has transformed in front of my eyes too quickly for me to understand. A world where men do not respect woman anymore- where they do not respect themselves anymore.
My gaze swept over the beautiful landscape in front of me. This land, this deep green forest is still the place that I had discovered long ago, when I was a rogue. This was one of the few things that had helped me reinvent myself, become someone whom I wanted to be.
Fragmented memories washed over me. Innocent mortals- helpless humans- had been hurt and killed, under my hand. There was nothing that I could do; I couldn't take back what I had done. But as Carlisle and Esme had told me, I could move on and try to help the current human population.
Something disturbed the serene quietness of this night. My head turned the slightest at the sound of some animal coming into the small clearing of mine. I had found it several years ago when I was exploring this new area that my family and I would reside in for a couple of years. And like normal, we would end up leaving; because we were freaks of nature and could live forever, hear anything, crush or kill anything that we wanted.
A young woman stumbled into the clearing. She looked very surprised to see me, and I reciprocated her expression. She had hiking gear, a pack on, and a flashlight on her head. She smelled like she hadn't showered in a couple of days, and yet she had the most wonderful fragrance about her. I found myself inhaling deeply. Floral... Freesias.
The girl's expression changed and looked at me as if I were a surprisingly pleasant gift left on her doorstep. I turned to her, letting this small creature see me fully, truly. I almost laughed out loud at my own thoughts then, who would want to see me for who I really was? I was a monster, and this looked to be on of the most gentle and delicate little humans I had ever encountered.
"Who are you?" She called out, stepping closer. I smiled slightly and sped toward her inhumanly fast. "Who are you?" I asked, repeating her. She stumbled backwards, her human senses finally catching up to what was happening. She gasped and then glared at me.
"If you really must know, I am Isabella Swan. But who are you? Or... not to be rude, but what are you?" At this, I did laugh out loud. I couldn't help it; never before had I encountered such an interesting thing. This small fragile human had just witnessed one of the most fantastic things that was only written down in books and acted in movies, yet she had asked who I was, not running away, screaming bloody murder.
I decided to play her game. "I am Edward Cullen. A vampire. But unlike those that your race has fantasized about and dreamt of." I began circling Isabella, like a vulture waiting for the opportune moment to dive in and feast upon its prey.
"Oh? Then what kind of vampire are you, Edward Cullen?" She asked quietly, playfully. This only made me more obsessed with how this human's mind worked, what she would think of the real me.
"First," I stopped in front of her again. "What are you doing here, Isabella?" She inhaled, much like I had. Ah, the wonderful benefits of being a sadistic monster. Everything about me made her want to trust me, made her want me. "Bella." That simple, beautiful name made me take a step back.
I composed myself quickly. I could do this. "Bella. What are you doing here?" Bella straitened and looked me square in the eye. "Why do you care?" She said defiantly. My first reaction was to charge her and beat some sense into her. But I controlled myself and walked away, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"I... I was just trying to get away from.... from...." She tried to complete her sentence, but seemed unable to. I turned back to her, confused. "What were you trying to get away from Bella?" I asked her quietly, coming close to her and stroking the side of her arm. When she looked up at me, I saw that she had tears in her eyes.
Bella's voice shook as she spoke. "I was trying to get away from my problems... from my abusive boyfriend James.... from... everything! I can't stand it! It was too much. I thought that if I could disappear into this forest, then it would all go away..." Bella lurched into my arms, seeking comfort.
And I found myself all too eager to let her into the cocoon of my arms. It surprised me how easily she settled, how she tucked her forehead into the crook of my neck; like we were meant for each other. But there was something else that Bella surprised me with. She shifted her head slightly and planted a light kiss on my neck. I felt a wave of lust wash over me as she kept brushing her velvet lips over my diamond hard skin.
I drew in a breath that would be obvious to human ears to protest, to warn her that I could hurt her badly, but she shushed me. My eyebrows knit together in confusion, and I sat perfectly still, waiting to see what she would do next. Her hands inched under the hem of my shirt and wandered across the ridges of my stomach and chest. She inhaled deeply, her lips finally meeting mine.
I took in the air that she exhaled, smelling her natural perfume of freesias and a hint of strawberry shampoo. In that moment, I knew that my life would never be the same from now on. All because of this small beautiful little human that stumbled upon my sanctuary.
What was left of my human instincts took over my body and my tongue brushed over her bottom lip. She hesitated, but opened her mouth. My tongue launched into her mouth and I almost died. She tasted amazing; I was immersed in vanilla. Against my own will, I moaned loudly. Moments later, Bella pulled away, panting, her chest heaving up and down.
My eyes widened as I realized what I had done, what I could have done. "Whatever you're thinking of saying, don't...." She looked at me sternly, and I closed my mouth, shutting off my apologies. She looked me up and down. "Edward, what are you doing here?" She set her pack down on the ground and sat down cross-legged.
I mimicked her and looked her strait in the eye. "I'm here to try and figure out what I am supposed to do in this world." I said, completely serious. Bella sighed and scooted forward so that she was directly in front of me, and I could feel the heat rolling off of her.
"Can you stop figuring yourself out, so you can spend tonight with me?" She asked. I was reminded of a toddler bargaining with her mother. I shook my head, and almost immediately, Bella brushed her lips on mine. And not a second after her rosy lips touched mine did I push my tongue into her mouth, moaning yet again. Bella crawled onto my lap, and I gripped her hips tightly in response. I had to try my hardest not to bite her, and not to crush her delicate bones.
My hands were moving of their own accord; they slipped underneath Bella's shirt and cupped her breasts. At this, I was rewarded with the most beautiful sound I had ever heard: Bella moaning. She pushed on my shoulders, until I got the message that she wanted me to lie down. As soon as she was settled, I ripped her shirt off and gazed at her full breasts. I faintly heard a breathy giggle and realized it was Bella. "Impatient are we?" She asked.
I playfully growled and rolled us over so that I was straddling her now. I unclasped her lacey bra and tucked it in my back pocket. "I'm keeping that." I murmured as I ducked my head to ravish her chest. My mouth took in her entire right breast, and my tongue swirled around her already pebbled nipple. Bella moaned again, and I felt like the happiest man on earth.
Never before had I thought that I would be rewarded with such a beautiful creature, especially after all of the monstrous things that I had done before this night. I was pulled out of my thoughts as Bella laced her fingers in my hair and tried to tug my head away from her chest. I sat up quickly and as her fingers fell away from my scalp, I missed the warmth that was there. "What? What did I do? Did I hurt-" Her finger on my lips silenced my apologies.
"Calm down Edward. I just wanted to do this..." Bella pushed me backwards so that I was lying down and crawled on top of me, laying her head on my chest. When I realized that her ear was right where my dormant heart should have been beating, I winced. "Edward..." She trailed off, lifting her head to look at me.
I could not look at her though; it was too much to look at the beautiful face of the one that I knew I would be losing in a matter of moments. When she realized that I wasn't human, that I was a monster, then she would run from me. And there would be nothing I could do about it. She slid her hand up my chest, and cupped my jaw softly. She pulled, but I did not move my head.
"Edward... Edward, look at me.... Please, look at me." Bella pleaded. I decided that I should try and please the one person that would make me happiest one last time. My eyes shifted first, and then my head. Bella had tears in her eyes. "What... Why isn't you're...?" She tried to form impossible questions. My dead heart went out to her; she must have been so confused and scared.
I sat up; making sure Bella was seated on the ground now. Before I said anything, I thought that she might be more comfortable with something to cover up her breasts- since we obviously weren't continuing. I pulled her bra out of my back pocket and offered it to her; she slightly blushed and took it, quickly putting it on.
She cleared her throat and looked me square in the eye. "What exactly... Um... How do I say this without being rude? Edward..." She scooted close to me, putting her hand on my thigh and rubbing slight circles. She didn't meet my eyes for a long time. Finally, she looked at me again. I was surprised when I didn't see fear.
"I don't mean to be rude when I say this, but uh, what exactly... are you?" Her voice was quiet and timid. There was the fear that I was waiting for. I slipped her hand into mine, and brought the knuckles to my lips. I lowered our hands back onto my thigh. "Edward, please tell me. I won't run away." Bella said pleadingly.
I exhaled, trying to savor the moments that I had left with her. "You want to know what I am? I am not human; something that you would only dream of before meeting me. I..." I chuckled and looked away from her face, it was almost too much. But I had to tell her. Even if we were more involved than this one-night-fling, she would find out eventually. "I'm a monster... A vampire."
Bella gasped, but didn't pull her hand from mine. "That's... interesting. But it's kind of... Uh. Never mind." I could smell her arousal, and looked up at her in surprise. "You like that?" I asked, dumbfounded. She blushed. "Well, I've kind of... Always found mythical characters sexy. I... I'm sorry; I'll just go now. I don't want to tempt you."
Before she could get up, I held her by the wrist, immobilizing her. She met my eyes, and I could see the lust there, but I also saw love instead of the fear that I expected. I pulled her into my lap and kissed her forcefully, trying to show her that I loved her as much as she loved me. Her hands tangled in my hair, massaging my scalp, pushing me closer to her.
When she started to pull away, I suckled the pulse point on her neck while she caught her breath. I stopped momentarily when I felt her shaky hands trying to undo my belt, but I went back to leaving my mark on her neck. After a good five minutes, I couldn't help but chuckle at her attempts.
"Need any help with that?" I gently pushed her hands away and undid my belt, zipper, and button, taking off my pants but leaving my boxers on. I didn't know how she would react, and I also didn't want to scare her away... although, I wasn't sure what could scare Bella away at this point.
Her eyes flitted back to mine, and then her hand skirted across the bulge that was poking out against my boxers. I threw my head back and reduced the growl that longed to escape me to a low, guttural moan. Bella's hand slipped inside my boxers and touched my manhood. My eyes flew open and looked right at hers.
"You don't have to do this Bella. You shouldn't even be in this position... I'm so sorry that I forced this onto you, I shouldn't have even let you get near me, I could hurt you so terribly-" Her warm finger on my icy lips stopped my babbling.
"Do you think that I would let you do this to me if I didn't want to? And what's more, do you think that I would be touching you at all if I didn't want to do this? Now shut up, kiss me, and let me touch you." The sudden authority made me obey immediately. This was definitely the most interesting human I had come across.
With the final coherent words of the night, I took her there. All of her clothes were gone, ripped from her body in a matter of seconds. I reminded myself that I needed to control myself, or I could seriously hurt Bella. With as gentle of a thrust as I could manage, I broke Bella's barrier.
We both gasped at the same time. I could tell that she was in pain, but all I could feel were the tsunamis of pleasure that overtook my body for a spilt second. But, as I heard Bella's whimpers of pain, I controlled myself and stroked the side of her face. I moved experimentally back and forth, and she moaned this time, instead of the whimper that I half expected.
Without thinking I growled and said, "Now we can have the fun." She shivered, and I couldn't tell if it was from fear or from pleasure. I pulled my member out of her hot wet core, but immediately thrust back in. It would seem forceful to her, but I never really let myself completely let go of my control.
When Bella arched her back so that her breasts touched my chest, I nearly went insane with sensory overload. As Bella continued to moan and whisper my name, I pumped my member in and out of her as hard as I thought her body could take it.
I could feel myself nearing my orgasm, and as Bella's wandering hands ran through my hair, and she kissed me passionately, I was pushed over the edge. But I was determined to take her with me, so I roughly grabbed one of Bella's breasts in my left hand, and the other in my mouth. I nipped at her nipple, and that did it. "EDWARD!" She screamed as we both fell into our powerful orgasms.
I dropped myself next to Bella's naked body. She rolled onto her side and looked me in the eyes, penetrating my soul... If I even had one. "What are you thinking?" She interrupted my thoughts. I chuckled; "Wondering what you were thinking." She smiled. "Trade?" I nodded, pointing to her, signaling for her to go first.
Bella sighed heavily and looked up at the star-littered sky. I kept my eyes on her face, wishing that she couldn't block my power. Finally, Bella looked back to me. "I was just wondering if a vampire could impregnate a woman." This caught completely caught me off guard.
I cleared my throat, stalling, trying to think of a way to get out of this one.
"Ummm. That wouldn't be possible, at least, that's what my- um, Carlisle and I think." I cleared my throat again, becoming slightly uncomfortable. Bella shifted, and I think she was becoming a little uncomfortable as well. I tried to lighten the mood.
"So, uh, good news for you! You can go back to your normal life, and you don't have to live with any consequences." Suddenly Bella radiated anger, but I couldn't understand why she would become so angry. I sat up and looked down at her, a worried expression on my face.
"Why wouldn't I want to live with the consequences? For one Edward, you're the most beautiful thing on this planet- and not just because you're a vampire. And for two, I don't want to go back to my life! It sucks, and I'm sure any life with you would be a whole lot better!" She got up and went to her pack, rummaging around for something.
I stood up behind her and quickly dressed. Giving Bella space, I averted my eyes, as she got dressed. "Look at me." And I did, and I couldn't believe that she had said that she would trade her life for one with me.
"I'm going to start a new life." I was about to give her my congratulations, but her next words caused the words to hang onto my tongue. "I have waited my whole life for a moment like this. For that special someone to come along.... For my Edward." Her eyes twinkled with fantasies and pleasant dreams that I could only imagine.
"I want you, Edward... and there's nothing you can do about it." She took a step toward me, but I closed the distance between us. She jumped into my arms, and I twirled us in a circle, enjoying every second that I was close to my angel.
"Bella?" I pulled back slightly, but didn't let go of her waist. Bella looked deep into my eyes. "You're right." A confused look flashed across her face before I explained. "You've been waiting for your Edward, and I've been waiting for my Bella. I've been waiting for a moment like this."