Author's note: Thank you so, so, so, so, soooooooooo much for the reviews, follows and favourites. I started jumping around my house like a monkey when I saw the status of my story. My mom probably had to wear ear-plugs because of my squealing. And let me tell you, I don't squeal. Ever. This may be the first time I did. Well, there's a first for everything.

Thank you so much for all the alerts and favs and reviews. You people are awesome. I am really sorry for the late reply to the reviews, but, there was some error and the page was not opening. Some reviewers had their PM messaging disabled, so, I was not able to send them a message.

And a big thank you to my guest reviewers.

Oof, that was a lot of rambling. Without further delay, I present * drums beating* the second chapter….

Chapter 2

I was fucked.

I could not stop staring at him. I would avert my gaze to my bare feet but every few seconds, it would go up to him again.

My eyes would feast on him like a man having his last supper before his death. Like a last drop of water during drought. Like the first drop of rain in a desert.

Stop, oh God, stop! This is wrong. This is my cousin. He shares my DNA. The same blood runs through our veins. He is family.

A throat clearing brought me out of my disgusting thoughts.

Edward.

He was looking at me with an amused smile. What? What did I do? Why is he laughing at me?

"I would think I was more interesting than the floor, but, given your reaction, I may be wrong", he teased me.

I was mortified. Great job, Bella. Make him feel unwelcome within five minutes of his arrival.

I looked at the collar of his shirt, unwilling to meet his gaze, knowing I would get lost if I happened to glance at those beautiful, piercing eyes of his.

A tug on my hand made my eyes flash to his. I had forgotten that my hand was still wrapped in his.

He was looking at me with barely concealed amusement.

I raised an eyebrow.

"May I know what is it that you find so funny?", I asked, snatching my hand back. Immediately, I wanted to put my hand back in his comforting one. But I didn't. I wanted to know what amused him so.

His goddamn crooked smirk did things to my …ahem…private area that I would rather not think about.

"Well, you see, I was wondering if I did something to offend you…" Say what? Offend me?

Seeing my look of confusion, he added, "What other reason would there be for you to make me stand outside in this heat instead of granting me entrance?" His smirk was now a full blown grin.

My face heated up to the point where I could feel the heat emanating from it.

Shit Bella, get a grip.

"Oh God, I am so sorry. You must be tired and exhausted and here I am making you stand here in this weather. My mom would kill me if she kne-"

Oh no, mom. Dad. What would they say if they come to know about what just happened?

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Okay, Bella, deep breaths. First things first.

I looked at Edward to see him looking concerned.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I am fine. Come in. I am sorry for making you stand outside for so long."

Yes, that's it. I would act indifferent to him. This thing between us would go nowhere. It is a foolish fantasy. Best to stop it before it takes root.

His brows furrowed, but he followed me in. I closed the door after him and turned to see that he was waiting for me.

"Ladies first", he said with a boyish grin on his handsome face.

I put my poker face on and led the way to where the sound of laughter was coming from.

We entered the living room to see our parents going over the old times.

Mom and dad looked up and a bright smile spread over their faces.

"Edward!", my mom exclaimed, getting up to give him a hug. "Oh my, you are so handsome. You must have a lot of trouble with the girls because of this beautiful face of yours", she laughed.

Uh mom? Really?

"Thank you, Mrs Swan. Your house is very beautiful. It reflects the owner's beautiful taste."

"A charmer, too", my mom grinned.

"Edward", my dad hugged him next. "It's wonderful to meet you. How is your school going?"

"It is wonderful to meet you too, Mr Swan. My school is going well. Thank you."

My mom spoke up. "Now, Edward, none of those stuffy Mrs and Mr. Call us Renee and Charlie or Aunt and Uncle, whichever you prefer."

"Yes, Renee", he grinned.

Seems like someone had impressed the hell out of my parents.

"Edward, dear, did you get the ice-cream?", Esme asked from her seat at the couch.

"Yes mom, I did. Renee, if you could show me the way to the kitchen I would put these in the freezer", Edward said holding up the bucket of ice-cream.

"Bella, put the ice-cream in the freezer"

Yes mom.

I went to take the bucket from Edward, but he held it out of my way.

"No, no, I insist. I will keep it. No need to take the trouble."

"What a gentleman. Bella, show him the kitchen, and then show him his room. I am sure he is tired".

I gritted my teeth and followed my mom's instructions.

Instructions? More like orders.

What a suck-up my cousin is. Seems like it won't be hard to keep my distance, if he kept behaving the way he did. The attraction I had felt was fast disappearing.

Thank God.

I started walking towards the kitchen, not looking back to see if he was following. I paused in front of the refrigerator, turning around to see Edward standing at the entryway of the kitchen.

There was something raw in his gaze which made me shiver. He slowly walked toward me, keeping his eyes on mine. I felt naked. His eyes ran over me as if he could see what lay under my clothes.

A wave of lust washed over me.I could feel my body reacting to his heated gaze. I take back what I said earlier. No, the attraction was there. The temperature was now high. Hot. It was sizzling hot. And I was burning.

As if hearing my thoughts, he opened the freezer and put in the tub of ice-cream.

My nipples puckered, reacting to the cool air. I cursed myself for not wearing a bra.

Edward closed the freezer and turned to me. His eyes immediately darkened. The emerald green was now black, the green barely visible.

His gaze was fixed to my chest, no doubt seeing my nipples.

I was embarrassed by my body's reaction.

My cousin saw my nipples. My cousin saw my nipples.

I had to fix this situation before it went too far.

"Um, would you like to see your room now?" My voice trembled towards the end.

"Yes Bella, I would like to see my room now. Please lead the way." He waved towards the doorway with a flourish of his hand.

I came out of the kitchen and started walking up the stairs. The sound of our parents' voices and laughter floated over to us.

"It seems like they are having fun", I said. Anything to break the uncomfortable silence.

I looked at Edward to see him looking at me.

He smirked. "Yes, they are. Don't worry. We will too. I am sure we will get along very nicely."

Was it just me or was there an innuendo hidden in that sentence?

I cleared my throat. "So Edward, which school do you go to?"

"I attend St. Andrew's . It's in Alaska. Tell me something about yourself, Bella."

My name fell smoothly from his lips.

"Um, there's nothing much to say about me."

"I disagree. I think you are a very intriguing person, Bella Swan", he said with a crooked smile. That smile made him look ten times more attractive. It enhanced his already perfect features, making him look like a model on the cover of Vogue magazine. His bronze strands standing up in all directions, messy as if he ran his hand through it all the time…

Cousin. Cousin. He's my cousin. I chanted to myself.

"Well, here we are. This is the third floor, which has your room and mine. Our parents are there on the second floor. The bathroom is there in your room. My room is at the end of the corridor and….here is yours."

I stopped in front of his room.

Hearing no reply from Edward, I turned around. He was standing in the middle of the hallway, his fists clenched. His brows were furrowed as if he was thinking hard about something.

"Edward?"

My voice seemed to break through his thoughts. He glanced up. His eyes were swirling with emotions I couldn't recognize. His face held a tortured expression.

"Edward? Are you okay?", I asked hesitatingly.

He continued to look at me with that heartbreaking expression on his face. I wanted to run my fingers through his hair, sooth him, ask what the matter was.

I was about to go to him as his behaviour was seriously making me concerned, when he murmured, "Fuck it".

What?

He started moving towards me, his eyes burning with an emotion I didn't dare name.

He took one step towards me, I took one step back.

One step forward, one step back. One step forward, one step back.

His eyes were on mine and I did not dare to look away.

One step bac-

Thump.

I hit the wall. There was no place for me to move…and Edward was still moving towards me. My heart was thrumming like a hummingbird's wings, my breathing fast.

He slowly reached me and placed his arms on either side of me. I was trapped .

"E-Edward? What are you doing?" My voice wavered due to his closeness.

He did not answer me. He leaned in slowly, his black eyes burning with an undefined emotion, with lust. My nipples were steel hard. My chest was touching his as I took each breath. I could that feel my panties were wet. My breath started coming in pants.

Edward was not deterred. He leaned in until his lips were inches away from me. I could feel his cool breath on my lips. Sweet, addicting….my eyes fluttered close, awaiting the kiss, to feel the union of our lips…

The kiss never came.

My eyes flashed open on feeling his lips against my neck. My clit was throbbing, panties soaked through. His hands, which were previously trapping me, now encircled my waist, pulling me closer, closer to him.

I could feel every inch of his body, the hard planes of his chest lay against my breasts. His lips sucked the skin on my neck, nuzzling and biting it, soothing the sting with his tongue. I could feel his lust, knew he wanted me. It swirled in the air around us, the evidence against my thigh.

Edward spoke only one word.

My name.

"Bella, Bella"

My arms were drawn to the hair at the nape of his neck. I lightly scratched my nails against his scalp. Edward let out a low moan against my throat. The vibrations did nothing to stop the wetness that had now soaked my white shorts. I wanted to rub my thighs together, desperate for friction, anything to stop the throbbing in my clit…but, Edward's leg in between mine prevented that. I was so turned on.

My eyes were drawn to his neck, seeing a hint of ink. I moved the collar out of my way to see the swirling black writing.

Cold water washed over me, soaked me, numbed me with it's iciness.

Cullen.

Edward Cullen. Son of Carlisle and Esme Cullen. Nephew of Charlie and Renee Swan. Cousin of Bella Swan.

Cousin.

No.

The fog of lust cleared allowing me to look clearly for the first time.

No.

My hands which were pulling him towards me, were now pushing him away.

"No, no, no, this is wrong. This is wrong. Move Edward. No, no, no. Move, move" I could barely get the words out through my tears. I was choked with guilt and self-hate. This was incest. A taboo. A sin.

My arms pushed Edward away. I was sure I couldn't have moved him had he resisted. But, he didn't. He moved on my forceful shoving.

His face showed confusion at my words, then looked horrified on seeing my tears. I tried to stop the tears from falling, I really did, but it seemed my tear ducts were working overtime.

"Bella?"

His voice calling my name gently made the tears come down faster.

"No, Edward. What happened just now was wrong. You and I", I waved my hand between us "we can never be. There is no us. There will never be. This has to stop. What happened here and earlier will never happen again."

"No, Bella", Edward spoke up, his face looked tormented on hearing my declaration. "No, I won't allow this. We are meant to be together. Can't you feel it? The spark, the attraction, the…the…I can feel you, Bella. I can feel you over here." He put his hand over his heart "And I know, I know you can also feel me in your heart. My body awaits your touch, wanting to intertwine our hearts together for all eternity. So no, Bella. I won't let you push me away just because you are afraid of taking a plunge, a risk. I won't let you push away something so wonderful. I won't", he swore, his face a mask of determination, his beautiful green eyes burning with an unspoken promise.

God help me. I shouldn't, but I felt a twinge of happiness in my heart when he swore to fight for me.

But, if we fought for us, it would result in heartache. It would be the destruction of two families, of two siblings, my mom and uncle. Society would never approve, my parents will be humiliated because of me. No, I cannot allow this to pass. My parents will not suffer because of my foolish actions. Not now, not ever.

Family comes first.

"No, Edward" My voice was firm, determined and colder than steel. My tears had stopped and there was no expression on my face.

"No Edward, you will let me go. You will let this go. Forget this. This was a mistake. I regret this." My heart protested as the false words left my lips.

It swirled in the air around us, making the air thick with tension.

Edward's face became unreadable with my words. He shut down in front of my eyes.

I wanted to cry out, but somehow managed to keep a hold on my emotions.

But when he spoke, my heart cried out.

"I won't respect your wishes, Bella. Because I know that is not what you want. I will wait for you. I will fight for you. Because you will be mine. Mine. It's you and me against the world, baby. And I will make sure that we win."

I froze at his words. I couldn't move, couldn't speak. My brain cried out 'no' while my heart pulled me forward towards him.

Brain or heart. A battle went on inside me.

Edward slowly approached me. I prepared myself for his next words, prepared myself for the fight, but was silenced when his smooth lips touched my forehead.

A kiss. A promise. A promise of something more.

He leaned down, looked into my wide brown eyes.

"You will be mine, Bella. And I will be waiting, waiting for you to come to me."

His eyes flashed with determination, a devious smirk greeted his lips.

He had never looked more sexier or more sinful. He was Lucifer, tempting me with an apple. And the apple was red. Red and filled with the world's sweetest juice.

This would be our fall. This would be our beginning.

We would burn, we would rise. We would take down everyone with us.

A sin.

Never had hell looked so promising.

With the devious smirk on his angelic face, he crossed the hallway and entered his room, shutting the door softly behind him.

I was still standing there, in that exact spot, staring at his closed door, long after he had gone in.

A/N: Umm…..soooo? Did you like the chapter? *chewing my nails*

Please review. Like it? Hate it? Cursing me? *hides behind a chair*

On another note, did you see Captain America? I just downloaded it. Damnnn….can't wait to watch it.

Please review. It will make my day. Give some love to the new author, people. Come on. Review. More reviews, inspiration strikes faster, faster updates. Soooooo…...yeah...you get my point?

I am so evil *sighs in disappointment*

Until next time,

Dream.