Author's Notes:

You guys should be thanking your lucky stars for writer's block. Sound insane? Yeah, it kinda is – I can't STAND writer's block, but it's pretty heavy right now (I wanna make up right na-na-na, I wanna make up right na-na-na…) sorry I quote songs for everything! Anyway, I really need to be updating Perception right now, but it just isn't working. It just sounds really… fake. I can't get Angela's character right now – it all seems so forced. Anyway, because I can't do that right (and because of multiple threats involving bodily harm/murder if I didn't update soon) I will be writing the new chapter early!

This will be in Emmett's POV. If you don't remember the end of chapter seven, I would go back and check it, because we will be picking up where it left off….

Hobey Ho, let's go! (totally stole that from the Pendragon series – they are one of my very favorites, check them out!)

Chapter Eight:

Vow

Emmett's POV

She was gripping me so tight it was a good thing I didn't need oxygen. Our arms were wrapped around each other's necks, and her mile-long legs were quick to entwine themselves around my waist. I couldn't think… the only sensation I registered was the feeling of her mouth on mine, in mine…

We were still underwater, in a once-calm spot on the river. It was deep enough that we were completely covered, heads and all. It somehow added to the experience – the new colors, the sensation of weightlessness.

My tongue was locked in a fierce grapple with Rosalie's – it was passionate and intense. But we didn't kiss with just our lips. I slid my hand under her sundress and pressed my palm to the small of her back, crushing her to me. Her back arched, and she moaned a little. The feeling of her mouth when she made that noise… her tongue writhed in a way that made me shudder in pleasure.

With her legs so tightly grasping my chest, her dress began to ride up… I could see her flimsy underclothes… I gasped at the dull glimmer her exposed thighs gave off while underwater. The reaction pulled my mouth away a little.

She wasn't having that.

Rosalie ran her hand through my curls, pushing them away from my forehead, but she didn't stop there. As I eagerly mashed my face to hers again, her hands raced up and down my back. I could sense her irritation with my interfering shirt, and she quickly tore it away. I groaned involuntarily… I wanted her…

Without ever stopping the passion flowing between our mouths, she traced her fingers over my back. They danced across my skin, leaving invisible patterns that flamed on my skin. Each touch only increased my already unbearable desire… I couldn't do this…

I wove my hand through our entangled bodies so I could reach the small buttons lining the back of her dress. I couldn't bear to take the time to undo them separately – I hooked my finger through the top of the high neckline and popped them all off.

I felt her stiffen. I froze as well – had I done something wrong? She quickly unwound her arms from around my neck, and she was suddenly out of the water.

I raced to the opposite bank where she was standing with conflict in her eyes. I dashed to her side and put my hand on her arm.

She looked at me with things in her eyes like apologies… conflict… desire… that mysterious pain…. "Emmett, I –"

I cut her off – I couldn't stand to see her hurting. "I'm sorry, Rosalie. I never meant to do that. I… I don't know what happened… I couldn't think with you there…"

"I'm sorry." She closed her eyes. "I can't do that. I'm not ready. I can't" She shuddered, and the pain returned to her eyes.

"Rosalie, that was me. Of course you can't do that yet. I shouldn't have ever tried to do anything like that with a woman besides my wife. I'm so sorry. I never meant for that to happen."

Of course I understood what she was saying. She wanted to wait until marriage. I had, too. I couldn't bear the thought that I had put her through any type of pain. I pulled her to my chest, and she laid her head on my shoulder and vibrated with dry sobs. I thought back on what Edward had said on not being able to cry. Is this all we could do, then? Just shake until the pain subsided?

For the first time, I felt some resentment toward this new life. Not for myself, but for my angel. If she was in pain, she had the right to sob until it eased. It irked me that she couldn't have everything the universe should have given her. Everything she should have.

Everything she should have.

It hit me then. The pain always present in the backdrop of her eyes. The resentment that sometimes showed in the set of her mouth. The anger that would explode through her countenance without warning. I suddenly knew why.

She was angry at the universe, too. I wasn't sure why, but I was convinced it was related to her change. Rosalie… she had been human once. Had she been happy? Had she been mad at the world for taking things from her with her change. What could she possibly have had that caused her this much pain to lose?

I stroked her hair as she leaned against me, breathing unevenly. She needed me, I realized. She needed me to help her work through the pain. And I vowed once again to figure out the cause of her pain.

I would help my angel.

Author's Notes:

i know this is incredibly short, but i really want to do the next chapter in Rosalie's POV. It will be up ASAP! Plus, i wrote this really fast - i started today and wrote whenever i had time!

So, Emmett's epiphany... what do you guys think? This chapter was short and seemingly fluffy, but think about it - a first kiss, and Emmett is getting closer to unraveling Rosalie's mystery. Good enough make-out scenes for you, Sam Eve?

The next chapter will be much longer and heavier. Rosalie will have an event that really tears her up, and she'll talk it over with Emmett... intense!

As always, Lane Farell is the best! Oodles of thanks to her - she is amazing! When the UNBELIEVABLE novel she is working on is on shelves, you all without a doubt need to read it! And i've also got to thank Jack's Mannequin, professional writer's block cure-ers. The Academy Is... has also been heavy in my playlists!

Reviews make me even happier than my pointy-toed stiletto boots - please?