A/N: Wow, I am blown away by the response so far! Thanks so much for your reviews!

Disclaimer- I own nothing but the story line. Characters all belong to Stephenie Meyer, and I sure as hell ain't her!

Hey Girl- Chapter 2

Bella didn't realize the truck had stopped until Peter reached over and gently touched her hand. She jerked back reflexively and glanced over to see him wipe a hurt look off his face before he looked back to the front. "I ain't gonna hurt you, girl. I just wanna talk," he quietly drawled.

Her brow furrowed in confusion; she was so sure he brought her out here to make her his next meal, and she was just hoping to spare her friends by drawing him away from them. Was there really more to this vampire than she originally thought?

He sighed, looking out his own window, chuckling darkly, "Yeah, I guess I can't blame you for not trusting me. You obviously know what I am, I just want to know how? And who gave you that fuckin bite?'

She sucked in a sharp breath when his cold hand gently grabbed her wrist, thumb carefully grazing the bite without touching her tattoo. The small show of respect was enough to drop her guard a bit. Enough to give him a little information, "I dated a vampire when I was in high school."

Her quiet words set off alarm bells in his head, but he was too distracted by her sweet scent to make the obvious connection. There weren't exactly an over-abundance of vampires that went to high school, after all.

Using every ounce of restraint he had, he kept his voice low and even, non-threatening, as he inquired about the source of the bite that had piqued his curiosity the first time he saw it. "And did this vampire you dated bite you?"

She snorted a laugh that completely lacked humor, "No, the vampire I dated sucked the venom out. He liked me better as a fragile, fragrant human."

Peter very nearly took the door off his truck with his need to protect his mate from himself. He jumped out of the truck and ran a short distance away, letting out a loud, anguished roar. She had confirmed his worst suspicions, and given him a worthy target for his unbridled rage. A vampire, one of his kind, had kept his beautiful mate as a pet.

He spent several minutes cursing the barren desert landscape, wishing for some trees to punch, before he settled on pulverizing the boulders littering the side of the highway. The far-off lights of an approaching vehicle finally pulled him from his rage, and he turned to stalk back toward the truck, and Bella.

She whimpered when he opened the door, and he turned in shock to see her cowering against the far side of the truck. His eyes widened as he took in her trembling form, tear-streaked face, and the sharp scent of fear that tainted her heady fragrance. His mate was afraid of him.

His vampire brain processed several things at once. First, despite her fear, she hadn't tried running from the predator that he was. She obviously had more experience in that particular area than he was comfortable with. Second, while she had seemed almost resigned before, the sudden surge of adrenaline had given her a bit of fight, and he could see it there in her eyes.

Finally, she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His dead heart broke a little when she cringed away from his dark gaze, and he held his hands up to show her he still wasn't a threat to her.

Her eyes narrowed against the glare of the passing car, but she made no attempt to escape from his truck. Peter's curiosity finally got the best of him and he asked, "Why didn't you run if you're so scared?"

She looked at him with those huge eyes, blinking guilelessly against his sharp stare. Shaking her head in confusion, she answered, "You would have chased me...?"

He couldn't hold back a short laugh; he would never understand this woman.

Bella kept her eyes on the strange vampire, watching every move with fear and trepidation. She had just started to relax when he jumped out of the car and had his little roadside fit, but now she was back on high alert. He was still thirsty, and now he was angry about something, and in her experience that was a lethal combination.

Being in Phoenix with a blonde human-drinking vampire, she couldn't help but think about James. His feral eyes, the way he moved with inhuman grace and speed, the careless manner in which he broke her body as if she were no more than a small twig. He had stepped so casually on her leg after he tossed her across the room like a rag doll. It was a much better demonstration of vampire strength than Edward's little sparkly disco ball and tree-throwing show.

And of course, there was Edward. Edward who loved her blood so much he cursed her to this half-life of hide and seek, mourning those she lost to Victoria's evil ways. Edward, who was so worried about her safety that he pushed her into a glass table in a room full of vampires. Good old Edward.

"Hey!" Peter's voice was louder, and much closer than she expected. Her eyes flew open and met his worried burgundy ones less than a foot away from her face. She must have been lost in her memories for longer than she thought. "Iz, what's wrong?"

He was terrified that she was losing her mind somehow. She was curled in on herself, rubbing that tattoo almost frantically, with her eyes clenched tightly shut until he finally got through to her. What horrors haunted this girl? What could she have seen in such a short human life?

Peter knew all about horror. He was born into this life under the most sadistic vampires in the western hemisphere. Maria and her Major gave him a crash course in vampire warfare all before his first feeding. He'd seen his own body parts that most people had trouble seeing in a mirror, first hand. Dismemberment always was the quickest way to get a newborn's attention.

Blind luck was pretty much the only way he survived that first year; that, and his relatively calm emotional state. Jasper tolerated his presence and his valuable tactical mind, promoting him to captain when the rest of his group was destroyed. Of course, he had to pay his dues in Maria's bed, something Jasper foisted off on him every chance he could get. Peter was pretty sure that was the main reason his life was spared- to give Jasper an escape from the bitch's lair.

Looking at his little mate, he could see the same pain in her eyes that he had lived with for almost a century. She was locked in his gaze, unable to look away, even if she wanted to. It was a different sensation from when Edward would "dazzle" her, and still different from the hunter's lure that James and Laurent used. Those techniques all left her disoriented and confused, while Peter made her feel... safe? No that couldn't be right. He was a vampire.

He reached out slowly and tucked a wayward strand of hair back behind her ear with the lightest of touches. She closed her eyes and shook her head a bit, trying to shake off the foreign sensations, but without her sight his touch seemed even more powerful than his eyes were alone.

"You feel it, don't you?" he murmured quietly, afraid to raise his voice and scare her once again. "You feel the pull? The connection?"

Her eyes flew open at his words and she stared at him in shock. What on earth was he talking about? Pull? Connection? That sounded like-

"NO!" She jerked back from his touch, banging her head on the window in the process. "No! You can't pull that mating shit with me. I've heard it all before. If you're going to eat me, just get it over with. If you're not, I'll just walk from here, ok? Ok... bye..."

She was out the door and at least five steps down the road before he processed her words and jumped out to stop her. He moved faster when she began to fall back on the pavement, grabbing her waist and pulling her close to his body. Damn, she smelled too good.

"FUCK! Don't jump out at people like that! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Her fear was clearly gone and the anger he was more familiar with had returned with a vengeance. He filed that thought away for future reference- surprising her was different from scaring her, and it seemed to be directly connected to her temper.

Instead of answering her, he gave in to the desire that had been building all night. He left one hand on her tiny waist, fingers drifting down to that firm little ass he already loved. His other hand moved up her back, feeling the heat of her skin through her thin t-shirt, finally gripping the back of her neck and tilting her face up to his.

With both hands, he pulled her close and bent her over backwards enough that he could press his nose to that pulsing vein in her slender neck, growling softly as he inhaled deeply. His tongue slipped out to trace a cool line from her collarbone up to her ear, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

She gasped in a strange combination of fear and arousal, caught off guard to find her death suddenly near. Her pulse was pounding loud enough she thought she could hear it herself, and she closed her eyes when she felt his lips against the same sensitive spot that Jake always favored- just under her ear, behind her jawbone. He always claimed her scent was concentrated there and he would spend hours sucking and biting while they made love.

She focused on the sweet memories of Jacob as she prepared to join him in whatever afterlife awaited her. She wasn't sure she deserved heaven, but she knew that Jake definitely did, and she thought he would want her there with him. If she concentrated hard enough she could remember the feel of his warm hands holding her tight, his sweet taste as his lips caressed hers, his thick tongue staking a claim on every square inch of her mouth-

Her eyes flew open in shock when she realized the hands holding her and the lips kissing her were cold, not hot. The flavor was still sweet, but she never expected to kiss another vampire after Edward, and she certainly didn't think a human drinker would have the control needed to stick his tongue down her throat.

She pulled away as best she could, pushing against his stone chest futilely. He yielded to her wishes and pulled his face back, still holding her tight, unable to let her go completely. "What's wrong?" his voice sounded strained, husky even, and nothing like a typical vampire.

Trying to catch up with the past few minutes, she wracked her brain for an answer. She didn't feel right telling him she was imagining he was her dead werewolf boyfriend, or asking him why he was kissing her instead of biting her neck. Based on what she could feel pressed against her hip he was obviously enjoying their kiss, and she felt a little bad that she was not altogether present for it, but the only thought that moved from her brain to her mouth was, "I don't even know your name!"

Much like he had done back in the bar, she was kicking herself for the ridiculous comment, regardless of its truth, when she was so connected to him physically. For his part, he looked properly abashed, wondering how on earth he forgot to introduce himself to his mate. Charlotte would have slapped him upside the head for that one.

Quickly shutting down his thoughts of his past love, he focused on his mate in his arms. Pulling out his most charming smile, he looked at those deep brown eyes and said, "Peter Whitlock, ma'am. Pleased to meet you."

Her mouth dropped open slightly at his sparkling eyes and soft grin, but his name pricked at her memory, trying to pull something forward she had buried down deep. Shaking her head to clear the fuzziness, she offered, "I'm Bella Swan, but around here I go by Izzy Black. I would say it's nice to meet you, but I'm still trying to figure that part out."

His delighted laughter rang out deep and loud, echoing in the night air. She smiled a little at the pleasant sound and studied his face a little more carefully. Though he had no human signs of aging, he still looked older than the Cullens in a way, more mature somehow. She guessed he was probably well into his 20's when he was changed, maybe even pushing 30. His hat was pushed back on his head, and one lock of blonde hair had slipped down over his right eyebrow.

Moving slowly, almost tentatively, she reached up and brushed the hair aside, before looking back at his slowly darkening eyes. With a forgotten gesture, she traced the dark circle under his eye and let out a quiet, "Hmmm."

Peter was frozen as she explored his face, never having been touched by a human so intimately. The fact that she had her fragrant wrist directly in front of his teeth seemed to completely escape her notice. Desperate for a distraction, he asked, "What? What's wrong?"

She smiled and pulled her hand back, "You're still thirsty. I interrupted your hunt earlier."

He was shocked that she would discuss his diet so casually when she had been so opinionated before, but he quickly shook off her concerns. "It's ok. I have a couple of bags at home to tide me over, and I'll just hunt when we come back to town. Do you work tomorrow?"

Her eyes widened at his question, and she looked like she had to actually think about the answer. "Well, yeah, I'm supposed to. I just thought, I mean, when we left-"

Pulling her close again, he tucked her head under his chin and stroked her hair softly, "I'm sorry I didn't make myself clearer. I never want you to fear me, you have no reason. I will never hurt you, and I will do everything in my power to keep anyone else from hurting you either."

They stayed like that for several minutes until he felt her sag against him a little as she yawned. Looking down at her sleepy face, he took her hand to lead her back to his truck. "We can talk more tomorrow when you wake up, but I'd like to get you home now, ok?"

With her fears temporarily eased, the loss of adrenaline left her exhausted and she went with him without arguing. Less than a mile down the road she leaning against the window, sound asleep. Peter waited until he was sure she was out, then he reached over and pulled her down to stretch out on the seat.

He wanted to rest her head on his thigh, but knew he was too hard to be comfortable. Instead, he spread her hair over his lap, spending the rest of his drive combing through the tangled strands.

Her scent surrounded him, but seemed to bring him clarity for once. He didn't know her story, but he knew his part in it. He would have to change her to save both their lives, as the Volturi would love nothing more than to destroy them for the knowledge she possessed. Not to mention what would happen if Caius knew who had killed his little pet, Maria.

Peter had killed more than his fair share of vampires over the years, but the most satisfying was when he finally took out the bitch that made his life hell and destroyed his lover, Charlotte.

Jasper hadn't spoken to Peter in almost ten years, since Charlotte was killed by some of Maria's scouts in New Mexico. Alice had answered Peter's call then, telling him that his former brother wanted nothing to do with him, since he had failed so miserably at protecting their Charlotte.

Peter was alone, and completely miserable, so he headed down to Maria's territory, ready to end things once and for all. He caught her just after culling time, when her new soldiers were still changing. Two of his old allies knew immediately why he was there, and they joined him in his fight.

He was sure to make a conscious decision before ripping off Maria's head, hoping that Alice would see and tell her mate his sire was now dead. Peter's vengeance hadn't helped things, though, and Jasper still didn't want to see him.

Peter hated to bother his brother, but he didn't know who else to turn to. He had no idea what kind of newborn Iz would be, but extra hands would always help. As he thought of the Cullens, his brain made the final leap and he nearly ran his truck off the road.

Looking down at his mate, he shook his head in disbelief. She knew the Cullens? She dated... Edward?!

AN: (Yes, another one. Sorry!)

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