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Interrogations

"Well?" Edward was waiting not a foot inside the door, just as I had suspected. He had stopped pacing as soon as I came in, his hands placed tensely on his hips as he awaited my response.

"Well?" I countered.

"What was that?"

"What was what, Edward?"

He sighed. He squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand, and supporting that arm by crossing the other across his chest. This was Edward's signature move – he was wound pretty tight.

"You go out – something all of us agreed was ill-advised – knowing full well there was a sick vampire out there, hunting you. You seem to have left with some comprehension of what that meant. Then you come home and you two are what, friends? What happened, Bella? He's dangerous, or have you forgotten that?"

"We talked. He's not so bad." Edward scoffed. "What? He isn't. He saw how upset I was when I got to Charlie's and realized he'd burned our dinner. I explained to him how I was changed – "

"Yes, I saw that."

Oh, right. Alice. "Well then you know that he was very understanding. He was genuinely interested in talking to me. Maybe you were wrong. He seems fine with just being friends – "

"He's not fine with it. You're doing exactly what he wants you to do right now. Can't you see why he was so interested in how you were changed?" I squinted at him. "I changed you against your will. He's using that to drive a wedge between us."

"I didn't even tell him it was you."

He exhaled deeply. "And what was all that about, 'should you ever have any more questions as to what will and won't be done with me, I'm the one you'll ask'?"

I was temporarily thrown by the fact that he'd quoted me verbatim, and in a very good impression of my voice. When I'd taken too long to reply, he raised his eyebrows pointedly.

"What about it?" His mouth literally popped open. "Oh, I see. You think you own me, Edward?" I sneered. "I saw the way you acted when James first came over. I thought you were trying to protect me. Protect me. But now I see – you thought you were just defending what was yours, didn't you?"

"That's not it, Bella. I do not see you that way." His voice was softer now. I took a deep breath to calm myself.

"Okay. Well if that's the case, you understand why I told him that. My choosing to be with you…it's my choice. If I ever made a different choice, that would be up to me. Not you." He looked like I'd slapped him. "Edward, I'm not saying I want that. I'm just saying – "

"I understand," he mumbled. "I'm going upstairs." I took a step forward to stop him, intending to reach out and touch his arm. I would tell him not to go, to stay with me and watch an old movie or something – anything but go to "bed" angry. But before I could move a muscle he was gone, and when the sound of his door slamming was accompanied by a few structural creaks, I decided against going after him.

I plopped down on the couch, willing one of my siblings to come down and rescue me. Like magic, Emmett was downstairs, turning on the flat-screen. Jasper was immediately at his side with the X-box.

"Tekken?" Jasper drawled, his voice soft.

"I'm Asuka," I said, by way of confirmation. I held my hand out for a controller, using the other one to brush the underside of my eyelid (I couldn't cry, but it was habit, and my eyes stung). Emmett plopped down next to me as the game keyed up. He leaned in to nudge me, then put his lips to my ear.

"I know it sucks," he whispered, only for me, "but you're right. I'm glad you stood up for yourself, li'l sis. He'll come around."

I sniffled, nudging him back. Jasper sat down on the other side of Emmett. I smiled, knowing this meant he expected me to win – to take Emmett's controller first. Emmett and I picked our characters and started round one of what promised to be a long night of video games.

Later that night (or rather, the next morning), Edward opened my bedroom door and came in while I was lying in bed, reading in the dark. Hoping to resolve our earlier talk, I put my book down on my nightstand. He took a few tentative steps toward my bed. Then, in a flash, he was on the bed with me, his body hovering just over mine.

"Edward?" My question was merely a whisper.

He didn't answer me with words.

My brain should have still been buzzing with our argument earlier. If it had been, it may have registered that perhaps Edward was still trying to mark his territory, just using another means. As it happened though, my brain was practically useless, my body humming with energy instead as Edward's firm, yet somehow soft lips moved with mine, his body slowly easing down until it pinned me to my bed.

I hadn't expected this from Edward. Though he didn't look it, he was about a hundred years older than I was. The customs and traditions of his time differed so much from mine, and though it wasn't too out of place in my time, a man of his time usually didn't get into this position with a woman into well later in their relationship.

I parted my legs without even thinking about it, if only to allow Edward to settle against me more comfortably. He kissed me deeply, surprising me further by running his hand from my knee to right below my bottom, his fingers splayed. He allowed his nails to slide along my leg (which was bare, as I was wearing a sleep shirt with Piglet of Winnie the Pooh on it, and panties) as his fingers traveled back down, grasping my knee in order to hitch my leg around his waist. I was completely lost in his touch, drowning in his sweet scent. He'd been keeping our kisses polite, however intimate, but I needed more. My teeth found his bottom lip and I pulled. He growled.

I took it as a sign of encouragement.

His lips parted now, I introduced his mouth to my tongue. I'd never done this before, and the invasion felt awkward and silly at first, until our tongues met. Then suddenly I understood the purpose perfectly. He tasted even better than he smelled, and I couldn't help biting down on his lip again. His reaction was a deeper growl. I released a little moan, something my body did without my permission. The leg around his waist tightened, leveraging my weight as I moved my hips against him, then away, and then back again. I had no idea what my body was doing, but it felt perfect to me, so I let it. Our kiss deepened and Edward unexpectedly took my top lip between his teeth, pulling gently. My hips reacted of their own accord, lifting enthusiastically off of the bed, somehow managing to find the angle that would drive his arousal against my sweet spot. Some odd combination of a moan and a gasp escaped me.

Edward's reaction was both instant and unexpected. He slid his hand forcefully up my leg and under my shirt, cupping my bottom with his hand. He lifted it off the bed, pulling my hips tightly against his as he ground into me, a low growl rumbling in his chest.

Too fast, my conscience warned me. I had never even kissed a boy before – what was I doing?

But then he moved his hips again, hitting that spot, and something tightened in my stomach.

"Ungh." The high pitched, breathy sound was so explicit; so animal. So unlike any noise I'd ever made before. I knew I should say or do something to stop whatever was happening, but my hips were in passionate disagreement. They rose again to meet Edward this time as he circled his toward me.

Oh, God. "Ah!" I cried. Something was happening. There was a building heat gathering in my fingers and toes, a tightening knot in my stomach. A very warm, very tense pressure on my…

Edward moved his hips again.

"Shit! Edward." This growl from him was the loudest yet. The hand that wasn't squeezing my ass for dear life ripped my panties clean off. I was so eager, so desperate for what would come next that I didn't think twice about what he'd done. I felt his fingers come to rest on my hip and felt myself shiver in response.

Just then, Edward stopped kissing me. His rhythmic grind against me came to a halt that was just as sudden. His hand around me loosened. He hovered over me panting, and I was his mirror image beneath him. Cautiously, I lifted my chin, nudging his nose with mine. He didn't move away, but his expression tightened as though he were in agony.

"Edward?" My voice was breathy and shaking. I was extremely aroused and terrified at the same time. Had I done something wrong? "What is it?"

He didn't answer. For a moment it was actually quiet – absolutely quiet. In the next moment I remembered where I was, and what I was.

"Jazz, I get it, but there hasn't been enough time for her to adjust. Just wait."

"I can't wait, Alice."

Oh, goodness. Their voices were so different from the way they sounded when they were speaking to me. It wasn't hard to imagine what was happening. And that wasn't helping my predicament any; Edward still hadn't moved.

"Jasper," Alice whispered, not sounding nearly as firm as she had a moment ago. "We can go somewhere. We can – "

She gasped. There was the unmistakable sound of tearing fabric, then sounds that, if I had heard them on TV, would have quickly made me change the channel.

"It's me," Edward said. I didn't respond. I had been so wrapped up in the noises coming from another part of the house.

"What?" I whispered.

"'What is it?' you asked. It's me. Taking advantage of you this way."

"What? Edward! You're not. I'm not…I've never…" I trailed off, not exactly sure how to say this. "I've never done this with anyone before," I started.

"Exactly," he said, his voice cold and barely audible.

"But I want to. So, so badly. Can't you tell?" I lifted my hips, hoping to seduce him into picking up where we'd left off, but he was frozen. He hadn't moved an inch.

"You're so young," he whispered, almost to himself.

"What are you talking about? I'm seventeen – you're seventeen."

"You're a newborn. This isn't you, Bella. This is instinct. Your body wants this – not you. A few more months and you may not feel the same. I couldn't do that to you."

"But you'd do this to me?" I countered, referring to my arousal, trying my best to sound sexy. I immediately regretted my word choice. His face went from slightly chagrined to full on anguished in an eighth of a second. Determined, I grabbed his wrist, pushing his hand down off of my hip…lower.

"Bella, stop," he breathed, but I ignored him. He fought to pull away, but my being a newborn was good for something. Finally I'd gotten his fingertips where I'd needed them to be and, slowly, cautiously, let him feel what I was referring to. He hissed.

"That," I whispered, then grazed his earlobe with my teeth. Another hiss from Edward. "Please. I want – "

"You're so wet." I let go of his wrist, because Edward swirled his fingertip around my entrance once, then began dipping it inside a little at a time. "Jesus, Bella."

"Please," I whimpered. "Please Edward, I want you." I reached between us, getting a good grip on what I wanted. Oh, my.

But Edward froze.

"No, Bella, I can't. Not tonight." His finger was still primed at my entrance. I pushed my hips off the bed, letting him slide inside me. We both gasped. "Fuck, Bella."

"Mmmmm," I said aloud. "He curses."

"Bella," he almost whined, positively exasperated. "This isn't right. It's much too soon." But he was sliding his finger in and out of me, even as he protested.

"I can curse too, Edward," I breathed. "Want to hear?" I didn't have to work now to sound sexy. I was gasping and moaning out every word.

"Bella, please. I just want it to be right. I want it to be worthy of you. Of what you mean to me…" I felt my muscles clenching around him. I was getting closer to what I'd been feeling before, and wasn't listening to a word he was saying.

"You know what I want, Edward, don't you?"

"Bella – "

"I want you to fuck me."

"Oh, shit," Emmett chuckled from somewhere downstairs, sounding amused and impressed.

Edward hissed, sliding another finger inside me. "Ah!" I cried. His thumb began circling my clit furiously, even as he hovered over me, panting, still clearly struggling with himself.

"You don't mean that." His voice was a labored rasp.

"Ungh. Don't I?" I breathed, grinding my hips into his hand.

"You're only saying this because you're – "

"Ungh!"

"Because I'm – "

"Ah! Edward!"

"Because… Fuck!" He sucked in a breath. "You're coming."

"Oh, God!" I was shaking, clinging to Edward with every body part I had while heat rolled through my body. I felt my juices flowing out of me at a rate that was unprecedented. Edward's hand must be soaked.

He continued to circle my clit with his thumb, as though to soothe me, as I continued to shake, my nails dug into his shoulders as I clung for dear life. Every now and then a feeling almost as intense as the first would rock me, and my hips would buck against his hand. After a few minutes my body began to relax…almost too much. I let go of him, my limbs sinking into the bed as though I weighed…well…depending who you asked I might really seem to weigh a ton.

"Bella," Edward whispered. He kissed my cheek gently, then my neck, then my collarbone as I lay there, just panting. The circles on my sweet spot had stopped. "Feeling better, love?"

And just like that I was alert again.

"What?" Though my voice was just a breath, my alarm was still apparent.

"Are you feeling better? Now that you've – "

"No," I said. "I mean – yes. I feel…but no, I wasn't talking about that." Edward's brow furrowed. "What did you call me?"

His eyes went wide.

"You called me love…didn't you?"

"Yes," he whispered.

Neither of us spoke. I didn't dare breathe, afraid to interrupt him while he was apparently in deep thought. He seemed to be debating something, staring at me without really seeing. I could tell when he was truly looking at me again. His eyes met mine, and I knew. I knew what he would say before the words left his lips; I knew that I'd repeat them right back.

"Finally," Alice breathed from downstairs. I ignored her.

"Bella I…" Edward removed his hands from all places on my body that one could deem inappropriate. His hands found my face, and he gently brushed my hair back toward the pillows. "I love you," he said, slowly and deliberately, his eyes never leaving mine.

"I know," I whispered, at about the same moment I realized that I wasn't surprised, but relieved that I was finally hearing what I must have known somehow for months. "Edward," – I smiled at him – "I love you, too."

"So?" Emmett nudged me suggestively while I picked out my jewelry. I felt more relaxed than I had…ever…and had felt secure enough to wear a dress today. I chose a black turtle neck (so I could tuck the family crest safely away) to wear underneath a sleeveless grey dress, black tights, and black suede ankle boots. There was no denying that Alice was an infectious disease. Goodbye, holey sweats; hello La Perla.

Rosalie had already teased me earlier, coming in on the pretense of pulling my hair into an artful bun on top of my head. "A little treat from back in my day," she'd said, before commenting that I apparently needed no help with some things. Hardy-har.

Alice had come in insisting on doing my make-up, but during she'd apologized for not leaving the house with Jasper last night. Apparently everyone had been sneaking to the woods to have their…relations…since I'd moved in, not wanting to make me uncomfortable. Who knew I'd be the first to break the rule.

I pretended to have no idea what Emmett was talking about as I picked up a small velvet box that hadn't been on my dresser when I'd taken a shower. Edward, what have you done?

"Oh, c'mon, you're not gonna try and play coy now? My li'l sis is a tiger!" Emmett nudged me again. "Who knew?"

"Emmett!" I whined, popping the box open. Oh, God. "Oh, wow," I breathed.

"Damn." Emmett's voice was breathy as well. Inside the box were two large diamond studs. I had studs in my jewelry box already, but these were on a completely different level. One might cover my whole earlobe when I put it on – would have probably made them sag eventually if I was still human. I tilted the box this way and that, watching the muted light from outside reflect on them. Surely they couldn't be…

"You don't think they're…they can't be…" Real was the word I was searching for. Emmett raised his eyebrow and I could practically hear him thinking, 'c'mon.'

"They were my mother's," Edward said, his soft voice coming in from the doorway. "Like them?"

"They're exquisite." I couldn't bring myself to touch them. They were too… "Edward," – I turned to face him – "I couldn't. They're too much. And they were your mother's?"

"She would've loved you," he said, suddenly in front of me and taking out a diamond while I held the box helplessly. He placed it on my ear before I could object, then had the other one in place before I could think of the words to stop him. "Gorgeous," he said. Somehow I knew he didn't just mean the earrings.

"Edward, this is…" I started to tell him it was really too much, that I just couldn't accept, but the joy on his face stopped me. "Thank you," I whispered. He kissed me.

"It took Rose a long time to do her hair, ya' know," Emmett said, taking his exit.

"Emmett," Edward growled, through lips that were still kissing mine.

"I'm just sayin'. Don't mess it up."

"Emmett," I scolded. He shut my door, but his laughter remained just as audible. I couldn't help giggling too.

Edward's lips moved to try and kiss my neck, but my turtleneck got in the way. He growled, protesting at the offensive fabric. "Are you wearing this today deliberately to torture me?"

I laughed. "The crest is easier to hide in high collar shirts."

"It's a pity no one can see your necklace," he purred. His voice made me freeze. There was a little trace of suggestion there that I was beginning to recognize.

"Edward, no. You've already – " He silenced me with a kiss.

"Those were your birthday presents. Your first vampiric birthday demanded something special. But after last night…" he trailed off, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a thin chain, with a large, heart shaped crystal hanging from it. He gently turned me toward my mirror. I'd seen enough old movies to know that this was the part where I held up my hair, and wouldn't have done it to give myself time to protest, but thanks to Rosalie my hair was already off my shoulders. Edward reached around and secured the necklace. It was almost a choker, but somehow was just loose enough that it fit around my turtleneck. "A symbol of how much you mean to me," he whispered, kissing my ear when he was finished speaking into it.

My eyes were stinging. The eyes in my reflection got lighter and lighter as the excess venom burned through my contacts. I would need to put another pair in before school.

"We're different from humans, you know. Not just physically, but emotionally too." Apparently Edward was taking full advantage of my time without contacts. If I had been human, I'd have tears streaming down my face, destroying the makeup Alice had artfully applied. "Humans can fall in and out of love. There are the rare cases of unrequited love that some of them never quite get over, but time heals all wounds for them. As time goes on their memories fade, and with those memories, their feelings – out of sight, out of mind, as they say. Life goes on.

"This is different. I will never forget what it felt like to kiss you for the first time. I will never forget the sound of your voice, whispering my name as I touched you." I wouldn't forget either; I shivered at the memory. "I will never forget the details of your face, when you…" he trailed off suggestively, biting my earlobe. Oh, Christ. "I'll always remember the first time you said you loved me."

Thank God I couldn't cry.

"I love you, Edward," I whispered, my voice shaking.

"That's the nineteenth time since you said it that first time." I smiled at his gentle teasing. "I've never felt anything like this before. You've changed me, and, because of what I am, it's permanent. I know you feel strange about the gifts." I nodded. "Don't. Bella, you are my life now. What's a few diamonds compared to what you've given me?"

I gasped, touching the enormous heart hanging from my neck. Another diamond? "My biological father must have been very generous. My biological mother – her jewelry box was just full of them when I came to collect our family keepsakes. One day, perhaps…" He trailed off, as though deciding whether to say what he'd been thinking. Then, "Perhaps I'll present you with the most important one."

And then he was gone, and I was staring in the mirror, overwhelmed and glistening in jewels that had been cut and set before my grandparents were born.

...

I climbed into the passenger seat of the silver Volvo, placing my black leather bag on my lap. Edward shut my door, then zipped around to let himself into the driver's seat. He put the key in the ignition and started to press the switch in the car that opened the automatic garage door. He paused when he saw me.

"You aren't wearing anything over that?" I looked down. Crap. I'd forgotten a coat. He snickered when he registered my shock. "Honestly, Bella, are you the only forgetful vampire?"

"You distracted me," I whined, already opening the car door to run upstairs. I placed my bag on the seat, left the door open, and sped upstairs to my closet, already knowing which leather jacket I'd choose.

"No hat, Bella," Rosalie yelled, as Emmett's jeep pulled away with the rest of my siblings inside.

"Okay, okay." I donned the jacket as I tried to consider an alternative. It was getting chillier – that is, I'd noticed my classmates wearing fall/winter accessories. Maybe earmuffs?

There was a tap on my window.

I looked over to see James perched outside. I waved him in, if only so he wouldn't lose his footing and end up damaging the roof (though I knew that was impossible).

"What are you doing?" I hissed, reaching into one of the compartments in my closet (it was a big closet) and finding some black, furry earmuffs.

"I came to see you before school," he said innocently.

I laughed. "Obviously. I meant why? And why through the window?"

"I figured, you know…with Edward – "

"It's not like he doesn't know you're here, James. He can hear you." He knew what I meant by hear. "And if he didn't know you were at my bedroom window before, he knew the moment you saw me."

"True," he said. "So why hasn't he come to stop me?"

"Stop you from doing what?"

James shrugged. "I don't know. He's not…you know…jealous?"

I smirked involuntarily, images of last night flashing through my mind. "He doesn't have any reason to be." I could practically hear Edward smiling from the garage.

"I see why that might be. You sounded pretty pleased last night."

I gasped, turning to glare at him. "What? You heard?"

"I linger." My immediate reaction had been disgust, but James made a kind of innocent face and shrugged, and I felt myself laugh. It wasn't that big of a deal, was it? After all, hadn't the whole house heard? "I only stuck around in case he yelled at you for walking home with me. In case things got ugly."

I raised an eyebrow. "You were going to come to my rescue?"

"Apparently you had more than enough assistance last night."

Edward revved the engine.

"Goodbye, James." My voice was heavy with sarcasm as I turned to leave at a human pace.

"If I were him," he whispered just for me, as though Edward wasn't still hearing his thoughts, "I would have given you what you wanted." I froze, whipping around to look at him with shock. "He was a fool to say no."

The engine revved again. Fuck human speed. I sped downstairs, got into the Volvo, and slammed the door unnecessarily hard. I hadn't bothered to ask James to leave my room. What was the worse he could do…besides rifle through my underwear drawer?

I cringed.

Edward had been right all along, and I had been naïve. James had only been softening me up last night, but his goal was still the same. He wanted to get between me and Edward.

Apparently, he wanted to get between more than that.

Edward sped out of the garage and onto the winding road that led to Forks. I didn't remind him about the speed limit the way I usually did. I played with the strap of my leather bag until the car came to a screeching halt at the first available spot in the parking lot. As soon as the engine cut, Edward was opening my door. His actions were no less gentlemanly than usual. He offered his hand to help me out of the car; his arm was slung around me as he escorted me to my first class. His face was tense the entire time, however, and his hold around me seemed tighter than usual. We stopped when we'd reached my classroom, and Edward turned me to face him, his hands gently resting on my shoulders. Nowhere near the warmth he had shown me earlier, he placed a chaste kiss on my forehead before heading in the direction of his own class.

Neither of us spoke.