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The Singer Connection

Chapter 9

EPOV

"Bella, Carlisle would like to talk to us."

"Did he say why?"

"No, sorry, he's blocking his thoughts."

I think Bella was curious. She walked out of the room tugging lightly on my hand. Carlisle was sitting at his desk looking at some notes he had made. His thoughts were still hidden from me, so I would have to wait with Bella.

"Hello, how was school today, you two?"

"Good, you know the usual," Bella stated for both of us.

"Right, well okay, I wanted to wait until we were home to have this conversation. Eleazar did a reading on Bella before we left," stated Carlisle

"And what did he say?" Do I really want to know? Just one more reason to scare her off.

"Bella is a shield," Carlisle replied coolly.

"I'm a what?" she screeched loudly.

"A shield and since I can't read your mind, I'm going with a mental shield. Basically you have a 'force field' for lack of a better term around your mind protecting it from any outside influences like mine."

"So, what do I do about it, I mean can I shut it off?" Would she really want to?

"Well, with time and practice I think you maybe able to or even extend it a bit like bringing someone into your bubble for example," Carlisle said.

"And how do I practice?" Now she's curious, all I could do was shake my head.

"Well, you're going to spend a little time everyday working on it with Edward." Private Bella time!

"Okay… Edward, can I ask you something?"

"Of course anything?" Anything, except to let you go.

"Are you ok with this?" I couldn't help chuckling; she was always worried about me.

"Yes, and it's nice to know there's hope that one day, I may hear your thoughts and it's also a relief. Now, I won't have to worry about any vampires using their mental abilities on you." Amen to that!

"Okay, practice it is." God I love when she smiles at me like that.

"But...not right now, you're being paged to go out with the ladies; it would seem you need to go buy a dress for an upcoming event." I raised both my eyebrows and smiled at her.

"What about you?" Here comes the panic. So I shifted my body so she could feel me holding her and letting the connection reaffirm to her that I wasn't going anywhere without her.

"I will be with the boys at the mall just like you. Getting my tux for the same event."

She just nodded, saying, "Bye, Carlisle."

We made the ride to mall fun by betting on who would get there first. Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie took the M3 and Alice, Bella and I the Volvo. Listening to Alice giggling into back seat made me think we would probably win, and so we did. Our job was simple; Alice had already picked out our tuxedos, we just had to make sure they fit. Alice being Alice, had the ladies running from store to store. She would throw clothes, dresses, shoes and even bags at them. She was like the energizer bunny on speed. She could devour a stores' inventory in fifteen minutes flat. When we finally met up with them, she sent Emmett and Jasper to the car with their bags. I got to snuggle with Bella.

We raced again on the ride home, Rose won this time. Sam was in the yard when we got there, as he was every night, ready with his update on Jacob.

There was still no sign of him, not since Alaska, so maybe he had moved on, one could only hope. We decided that if there was no sign of him by the end of the week, we could cut back on the patrols around the house, which would suit me, just fine.

BPOV

Alice and Mall were like best friends. This little pixie was relentless. She had me and Rose trying on practically every dress there, so you could imagine my relief when she decided on a powder blue full-length fitted gown, with slits up each leg to my thighs for me. It really was beautiful; it had a scooped back that went to my waist and it was a little sexier then I would have bought, but there's no fighting her in this, I have learned from experience.

Thankfully, it only took four hours to complete the shopping marathon. It was fun watching Edward and Rosalie racing home. I had to fight off fits of laughter; it was too bad she won. After Edward's nightly update from the pack we decided to just turn in early.

The week passed quickly and before I knew it, it was Friday. Tonight was the 'Ladies Choice Dance'. This fact made Alice a very happy, hyper little pixie. As she called it, its 'Bella Barbie Time' oh yeah! Not really, I've never been one for dress up but if it makes Alice happy, I will endure it.

Of course, I did have to deal with pain of being separated from Edward. She took a whole hour doing my hair, make up and dressing me. We planned to meet down stairs when everyone was ready, but in true Bella form, I managed to catch my heel on the third step. As I braced for impact, I was amazed that Edward caught me again. I loved when he caught me; it saved me a lot of pain.

"Bella, you look absolutely stunning." And klutzy as ever!

"Right back at you, Edward," I giggled out.

We all drove together to the dance in the black stretch limo that Edward had rented. Leave it to Edward to pull out all the stops. I just shook my head when it pulled up. Being the gentleman that he is, Edward took my hand as I stepped out at school. This of course had the students who hadn't gone in yet, staring. I could hear Edward struggling to keep in his growl. I know that feeling it was becoming harder not to beat the pulp out of every girl who looked at Edward, which of course was half the school.

The decorations were beautiful and the music was upbeat, but we waited for something slower before we danced. We did manage to dance three times but only because I was standing on Edward's feet, and he ended every dance with dip and a kiss. Yay!

The dance was nearing the end and as I made a quick dash to the restroom Jessica and Lauren waylaid me. That's never a good thing!

"You know Edward just thinks you're a piece of ass," spattered Lauren.

"You're wrong; now get out of my way!" God! I could just punch her.

"I think not," Jessica bit back.

"Yeah, he's told everyone you suck in bed," snickered Lauren.

"No, he hasn't!" Not that I knew if I was good or not.

"That's what he told me," laughed Lauren.

I was furious. I knew I was ready to seriously hurt this girl. I was fighting for control against the connection and the connection was winning.

"Look Jess, she's so scared of us she's shaking." You really don't want to go there!

"This is your last chance to get out of my way or I'm going to hurt you!" I growled out.

I could see the fear starting to creep across their faces. I pushed them aside and ran from the bathroom straight out the cafeteria doors and into the parking lot. I couldn't stop the tears that were freely flowing now. I had my face in my hands, sobbing when I felt myself being pulled into tight, cold and loving hug.

"Bella, you know they were lying right?"

"Yes," was all I could sob out.

"Edward, is she okay?"

"Yes, Rose, she'll be fine," he said for me.

"Okay, well, me and Alice are going to make sure they know what happens when you go after a Cullen." Did she just call me a Cullen?

The fact that Rosalie was going to stand up for me shocked me. When I was finally calm enough, we went back in for one last dance, before calling it a night. When we got home all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball with Edward holding me, so that's what we did.

I was ready when I woke alone. Yes, the pain was there, but the poor man needed to eat. Therefore, I made my way to the bathroom for a long quite human moment. As I was filling the tub, I got undressed and that's when I saw it. There was no mistaking it a small red spot on my panties.

I knew what it meant, so I called out to the family, "CODE RED!"

Everyone in the family knew what that meant. Carlisle was in charge sending everyone who was home scrambling. Rosalie went to watch for Edward, who would know instinctively to come running. At least that's what Sebastian said would happen. Alice went to retrieve a box she had compiled and labeled 'code red'. Esme was hugging my shoulders, she really was a good mom and Carlisle was noting the date and time in a ledger, he was going to track the 'code reds' to anticipate upcoming events as he called it. As Alice emptied the box on the counter, Carlisle went into teaching me what was what, and when to use them.

He also talked to me about a little rubber cup that was in the box this was not something I had ever seen before. Its actual use was for pregnancy protection but since Vampires cannot have children, he proposed a new idea, if it was something Edward wanted to try. It was basically simple, invert the cup so instead of keeping things out it would keep it in for later use. I honestly didn't know how I felt about that; that was something I would definitely have to think over.

EPOV

Shortly after sunrise, I swept light kisses across her forehead and let her know I'd be back; I was going hunting with the boys. I hated the pain involved in leaving Bella, and even though it was a necessity, I still didn't like it. Jasper and Emmett no longer harassed me about wearing a shirt saturated in Bella's scent, now it was quite the opposite, they usually checked to see if I had it before left, like one would check for their wallet. This was going to be a quick hunt, a few hours was about all I could stand before Emmett would be forced to carry me back.

The pain, which according to Sebastian was supposed to be better by now, didn't diminish as quickly as it did for them. I thought about this a lot and I think it's different because the connection seemed to give us what we needed without us knowing about. So my theory was we weren't ready for too much distance between us. This could be because of my one and only attempt to run, or maybe I still needed to be close to her.

It's only been a week since we had become intimate, and we've been taking that slow so not to overwhelm Bella. Believe me if I had it my way we'd never breathe fresh air again. I could definitely lock us in our room for days. I had just drained my second mountain lion when an overwhelming urge washed over me. I was growling out for Bella. I had just caught a scent that was Bella's, yet it had an edge to it. I could feel the connection demanding I go back to Bella. Now! And, before I could stop myself, I was running at top speed to get to her. I could hear my brothers giving chase, but I was always the fastest.

I ran straight through the house and found Bella in Carlisle's office surrounded by the women of our family and Carlisle. I don't know what came over me, but I didn't want him near her! Even though he was my father, the connection saw him as a threat to what was mine, and she's mine! Why were they keeping her from me? I was snarling and crouched, ready to fight to get her.

Carlisle and my brothers moved quickly to restrain me. I was struggling to get to her. She was crying as she watched on quietly mumbling 'I'm sorry'. What was she sorry for? What was that edge to her scent? Then she slowly inched forward to me. It wasn't until she reached me that I knew what it was and why I couldn't control myself. I dropped to my knees in front of her and I couldn't stop myself from sniffing and nuzzling her lower abdomen. So the cycle of life had begun, her cycle had begun. Carlisle released my arms and I wrapped them protectively around her stomach. Everyone left the room once they knew; I didn't want to hurt Bella. I wanted to mate with Bella. I pulled her down with me and before I knew what I was doing, I was already in her begging to go deeper. I was growling and snarling; I was an animal in heat, but not once did I hurt her. I did pleasure her repeatedly along with myself. We didn't leave Carlisle's office for hours. As I held her, all could do was say, "I'm sorry" over and over. She just held me, rubbing small circles in my back telling me "It's all right" repeatedly. Would she always forgive me?

Carlisle approached me while Bella was in the bathroom cleaning herself up.

"Edward, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just feeling really embarrassed about my behavior. I was warned what it would be like, but having my animal side take over so completely just felt wrong. I feel like I should have had some kind of control. Even right now I want to do nothing, except to keep mating with her." Repeatedly!

"Don't be embarrassed Edward, we all knew it was coming. We all have our own animal instincts to battle, even Bella. Your connection just makes yours stronger. Can I ask how it happened? How did you know?"

I told him every detail. He was shocked to discover I was a hundred miles away when it hit me. He told me about what happened when Bella called the 'code red' and about the rubber cup. That was something I had never thought about but would speak to Bella about. When Bella came back out of the bathroom, she looked a little frazzled but said nothing. She just took my hand and led the way to our room. She plopped down on the bed and with one sentence, I understood.

"I feel like an idiot, I can't make heads or tails of all that stuff in there." Oh, she was embarrassed.

"I thought Carlisle explained it all." He said he did.

"Yeah, well being told and doing it are too different things." Ohhh!

"Well I'll be honest I have no idea how to use them, but I'll give it a try with you if you want, of course it will probably involve a little more playtime." Please, please, please!

"Okay...but if you laugh at me, I'm throwing you out." I'd like to see her try.

So, we went back to the bathroom and I looked everything over. Thank God, I went through medical school for Carlisle, so he could continue to work. I took each item placed them in her hand, guided by my hand, and showed her how each one was to be used. We saved the cup for last because I had an idea I wanted to try.

Once we successfully had the cup in place, I was right it lessened the smell of her blood in the air; I had to take a snack break. After placing Bella on the counter, I kissed my way down to the source of my hunger, dropping myself to my knees and grabbing her hips. I took my first lick and found heaven. I have never experience such a profound moment in my life; it tasted truly amazing. The combination of Bella's sweet nectar and her blood had me begging for more and she never let me down. I held on tight as she bucked her hips to my eager tongue. Grabbing my hair, she tugged and wiggled until she reached her peak and begged me to stop. God, she had me licking my lips.

One problem with the cup in place, I couldn't relieve the pressure now growing in my pants. I couldn't suppress my groan as my pants became uncomfortably tight. I tried to move it to a better position by rubbing it with my hand but Bella's reaction stopped me in my tracks.

"Mine!" she screeched and lunged at me.

Happily, I caught her as she straddled my hips. I figured if she wanted me as bad as I wanted her, I had better let her have whatever she wanted. After she licked her lips and stared at my problem, I got it. She wanted to try her own snack time.

Well, that would be a first for both of us. To make it easier for her I stood up and she stayed on the floor looking eagerly at pants. When she didn't move after a second, I wasn't sure if I was reading her motions right. Therefore, I slowly released my problem from my pants to see what she would do. Once she saw it, I watched her eyes light up in anticipation; she took it in her hands and started rubbing it.

God, she knew how I liked it. Then like trying any new food, she leaned in and gave it a small light lick. I think she liked it because she put it in her mouth and started suckling it, lightly at first then, as she grew more confident, so did her mouth movements. My mind was officially blown, who knew such a sensation existed. Watching her do that to me had me in utter awe. Unfortunately, I couldn't hold myself together for long. It was over the moment her teeth raked across my problem. Ever hear the expression problem solved!

I pulled her up into my embrace and held her tight, marking her forehead as always with light kisses. While she was looking down, she asked a question that could only have come from her confrontation last night.

"Edward, tell me the truth… Did I do it right?" she asked so shyly.

"Yes, Bella, you did it perfectly. Bella when it comes to loving me you always do it right."

"That's because you make it easy to love you." I loved that she giggled.

"Bella, I'd like to take you somewhere special to me, tomorrow if that's okay."

"I want to very much but isn't going to be sunny tomorrow?" Yes, that's the point.

"That's why I want us to go; I want you to see me in sun." Lord don't let her think I'm a monster.

We finally made it back downstairs to make Bella dinner and hang out with the rest of the family. We watched Jasper beat Emmett at chess three times and Emmett beat Jasper twice before Bella started to look tired.

"Edward, it's time to get ready for bed." Oohhh, time to try the cup.

I led Bella back to the bathroom with her pajamas in hand. I wasn't so sure this would be something we wanted to do, but I respected Carlisle's advice. I'll admit I was nervous, Bella leaned back against the counter and I slid my hand up her skirt, into her panties and up into her center to remove the cup. I was careful no to spill it. Bella waited while I held the cup just looking at. Honestly, I don't know if I could do it. I closed my eyes and took a very small sip chanting "its just blood" And it was, it was smooth, warm, and tasted like deliciously Bella, like if I took a quick bite in her neck. I kept my eyes closed and swallowed the contents of the cup like a shot glass of whiskey, and instantly I wanted to make love to her. Okay I can do this.

"Wow just wow, that's something I can get use to." One day, I would tell her every detail.

"Then consider this my gift to you, my vampire," she said as she stroked my face.