Prologue

This is wrong. I shouldn't be doing this, Bella thought with a frown. She rested her head against Edward's chest and sighed quietly. Against what her heart was trying to tell her, her mind was what managed to overpower her in that moment of time. Pulling away from Edward, Bella backed away from him, needing to put a few feet in between the two of them.

Hesitantly, Bella looked up at him. His expression was one of confusion as he took a slow step towards her. Though it killed her to do it, Bella took another step back, knowing that if he got too close she would be unable to say what was currently on her mind.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Edward asked, a frown making its way to his usually smiling face. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest when his voice made its way to her ears. His soft and normally soothing voice sounded so broken and unsure.

"We can't do this," she told him reluctantly, unable to look him in the eye as she spoke. "Rosalie," Bella gently reminded him. "Rosalie is the reason why we can't do this. She's one of my best friends, Edward. Rosalie told Alice and me on her first day here that she doesn't want any of her friends dating her brother. She said that she didn't want to be put in the middle if the relationship didn't last. I'm sorry Edward, but this just isn't going to work."

"Please, Bella," Edward pleaded.

The pain was audible in his voice and it made tears well up in her brown eyes. Bella bit down hard on her bottom lip and squeezed her eyes shut, willing them to not fall.

"I don't want to hurt her," Bella responded in a whimper as a tear slid down her face. "I don't want to betray her."

"Rose doesn't have to know. We can wait until she's more comfortable with the idea of us together."

"I don't know, Edward," she mumbled.

She really didn't. Her mind was telling her that Rosalie would hate her if she ever found out, while her heart was screaming at her that she would never find anyone else that made her as happy as she was whenever she was around Edward.

"I don't know," Bella repeated, her voice cracking in the middle of her sentence.

"Bella, tell me that you don't feel this," he challenged, his voice both determined and pleading.

Slowly, he stepped towards her. When he was once again standing in front of her, Edward lifted the back of his hand and brushed it against Bella's cheek. Each one of his movements was slow and hesitant, and Bella assumed it was because he didn't want her to back away from him again. Edward held his hand to her cheek, moving so that it was his palm that was touching her face, molding it to fit the shape of her cheekbone.

"Tell me that you don't feel this and I promise that I'll leave you alone. I'll never bother you ever again." The familiar burning fire flared inside of Bella's body at the feeling of Edward's skin touching hers. Her heart rate began accelerating, pounding against her ribcage. She didn't know how to feel, not knowing why such a simple touch of the hand made her feel so . . . adored. When her lungs started burning, she instinctively sucked in a ragged breath.

From the first moment they had met, Bella knew that there was something different about Edward. Every time he touched her, he always left a roaring fire in his wake. Bella had never felt anything like it before. Her mind was at war with her heart, and the new, unfamiliar emotions were beginning to scare her.

Any thought that was at the front of her mind about how Rosalie would react if she ever found out, how it would affect their friendship, and what could happen to her relationship with Edward left her mind the moment that Edward ducked his head and gently brushed his lips against hers.

Bella gasped at the feeling. She hated how much she enjoyed it. She hated the fact that she was out in the courtyard, past curfew, kissing her best friend's twin brother. Guilt began making her stomach churn. Taking a step back, she pushed gently on his chest, hoping that the distance would help to clear the fog in her head. Bella needed to be able to think.

"No," Edward growled, stepping with her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and pulled her to his chest. "I'm not going to let you over think this, Bella. I care too much about you to let you go. Call me selfish; I don't care. I'm tired of acting like I don't care about you whenever people are around. I'm tired of holding back whenever we're hanging out with Rose."

Bella stared up at him, her eyes wide. She didn't know what to do and she hated it. Bella knew how Edward felt. Every second she spent with him she had butterflies in her stomach. Every second she spent with him she always had to hold back from throwing herself at him. Bella let her mind run wild for a moment as she thought about kissing him, holding his hand, touching him without feeling the need to hide or feel guilty about it. She had to admit, she liked the idea.

Rosalie. His twin sister's name popped back up in her mind. Bella wanted to groan loudly and pull her hair out. Why did Rosalie have to say it? Why did Rosalie want to keep her from Edward? If Bella had been thinking clearly, she would have realized that Rosalie wasn't trying to keep her specifically away from Edward. All she was doing was trying to protect her brother and herself.

Too lost in her thoughts, Bella almost didn't notice when Edward lowered his head and began placing soft kisses on her neck.

"Stop thinking, Bella," Edward pleaded, his warm breath sending chills down her spine.

When had Bella ever done anything for herself? As she thought about it, she couldn't remember. She had spent her entire life trying to be the good girl, the good friend, the trustful sister, and the perfect daughter. For once, she wanted to do what she wanted to do, not what anyone expected of her.

Bella leaned her neck slightly to the side, allowing Edward better to her neck. Shoving all thoughts out of her head, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to give into the strange, foreign fire that was beginning to fill and warm her body.

Hesitantly, Bella pushed Edward away from her neck. The look on his face broke her heart. He looked disappointed and dejected, pained and hurt. As she stared into his green eyes, she saw that they were dark with frustration.

Sucking in a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, Bella wrapped her arms around Edward's neck and pulled him down so that she didn't have to look up in order to see his face. Surprise replaced Edward's hurt expression, and Bella had to hold back a laugh. Before her mind could run wild with reasons of why what she was doing was wrong, Bella kissed him hard on the mouth. She could feel Edward's lips turning up into a smile as he tightened his arms around her waist.

As she kissed him, Bella couldn't help but think, Rosalie is going to hate us when she finds out. She wasn't stupid. Bella knew that her friend would eventually stumble upon their new, dirty little secret. Pushing the guilty feelings aside, Bella tangled her fingers into Edward's dark hair. She couldn't find it in herself to care about Rosalie or about anything else, because in that moment of time, she was in Edward's arms, and when she was in his arms, nothing else in the world seemed to matter.