EPOV

When I spotted those vultures around my car, I began to panic. They had followed me. I stood protectively in front of Bella as my mind raced, looking for an escape. I winced as I imagined them finding her here with me and I feared for her. I didn't want her to have a life like mine...stripped of privacy and personal freedoms, constantly under a microscope.

I had been perfectly blissful all afternoon beside this girl. I was beginning to truly know her. She was letting me inside her head, sharing pieces of her life with me. And now, I was constantly craving more, addicted to her very presence.

As we stood hiding at the edge of the woods, reality came crashing down on me. I was being so selfish. It wasn't until now that I had allowed myself to stop and think. This indescribable connection, this magnetic pull between us... it may cost me nothing. But it could cost Bella everything. I looked down into her sweet, chocolate brown eyes and saw in them nothing but trust. Guilt overwhelmed me.

The flash of a camera caught brought me quickly to the present as a camera man shot a picture of my rental car. My mind was in overdrive. My number one priority now was to get Bella out of here, to keep her safe.

"What should we do?" she whispered, her eyes filled with concern. I could see then in her eyes that she was afraid for me. I would never get used to Bella's selflessness. My heart ached as I looked at her, knowing I had put her in harms way. I needed to get her out of here.

"Come on," I answered. "Follow me."

We took off into the woods, my hand never letting go of hers. Lost in the rain and in my own frustration we trudged further through the wet forest. My body started to stiffen as I walked, my mind refusing to wrap around the fact that this... thing...this beautiful, unexpected feeling I had for Bella...I would have to swallow it and let her go just to keep her safe.

I was consumed with anger, sadness and frustration. It was so unfair. Every fiber of my being was rebelling against this cruel reality. Letting go was never something I was good at.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked, worried.

"It won't be much farther." I promised. I could see the road ahead now. I knew we were close. I had wanted to bring her to the house earlier, but I had decided against it. I didn't want her to get the wrong impression of me. But now, we didn't have much of a choice. Both of us were soaked to the bone. We needed warm, we needed dry, we needed a place to hide. I found Emmet's old trail from the meadow to the house and took it.

I checked over my shoulder, cursing to myself. The mood of the day had changed so drastically in minutes. I was missing my spot on the flannel blanket beside Bella in the meadow. Neither of us had a care in the world this afternoon. For a minute, both of us had been free. There was no Hollywood, there was no paparazzi. There was no work for Bella, no one who needed her help and attention. There was only us.

My feet hit the gravel road and I pulled Bella along in the direction of the house. Suddenly I felt her come to a halt behind me. I turned to face her, and before she could even speak, apologies tumbled from my mouth. I wished I could tell her, I wished I could make her understand the complexity of the emotions running through me.

"Edward."

At the sound of her voice I felt peace. It lasted only for a moment, but it surrounded me completely. It diminished my ability to worry. It captured me and held me prisoner.

Bella came closer to me, closer than we had ever been. Her hands caressed my face, erasing my worries and resting on my cheeks.

"Its ok." she whispered. She sparkled in the rain. Her wet hair fell around her perfect face, her brown eyes a haven in the storm.

"You're safe. Remember?"

And with those words, she closed the gap between us, bringing her lips to rest on mine. God, Bella. I was immersed in her kiss. The gentleness of her mouth, the sweetness of her taste on my lips. The passion that both of us had held back for each other had manifested itself in this moment. All of our walls were gone. How had I become so lucky?

As we pulled away from each other, and I rested my head against hers, I knew I couldn't let her go. I didn't have the strength. I was in too deep.

"Safe." I repeated, feeling the impact of her words and of her touch. She was glowing.

Kissing her hand gently, we turned towards the house. Our stride was no longer hurried or frantic. She had put me at ease.

Though I knew there were many obstacles still awaiting us, I could feel nothing but hope as my lips tingled in remembrance of hers. I knew I was selfish. I knew this would be a challenge. But Bella's hand in mine did not allow room for worry. And her kiss had sealed my fate. There was no erasing her from my life now. I couldn't bear it. And from the way she held my hand - urgently, afraid I would disappear if she let me go - I knew she couldn't bear it either.

Coming to the front door of the house, I felt Bella tremble beside me with the cold and rain. I quickly unlocked the door and brought her inside. An automatic relief washed over me. We truly were safe now. Protected by these walls of my childhood and the legal gifts of private property laws. I let out a long breath of relief as we slipped off our wet shoes.

"Edward," Bella gasped. "This place...it's beautiful."

I watched her carefully, observing her face as she walked slowly around the living room. I followed her silently, watching her look at old family photos hanging on the walls. I had only ever brought one girl to this house. Tanya had been the longest relationship I'd ever been in. I remembered her reaction to this house after living in LA for so long. She'd been polite with my family, but her sincerity was shallow. She engaged my mother in conversation by asking about the brand names of the furniture and the decor. Bella, on the other hand, went straight to these old pictures, eager to know my history instead.

I flipped on lights and got the heater going. I heard her giggle behind me.

"No kicking and banging?" she laughed. I laughed and smiled softly as joined her again in front of the wall of photographs, slipping my hand around hers with the need to touch her overwhelming me again. I peeked at her as she kept her eyes forward on the picture frames, noticing her smile at my touch.

"Is this you?" she asked, pointing at a picture of me with my brother Emmett and my sister Alice. I nodded. I was about twelve in this photo. We were on the beach. Emmet had a bear grip on me and Alice stood beside us giggling. She had on my mother's white, wide brimmed summer hat. Even then she was concerned with fashion.

I showed Bella quickly around the house, knowing we both needed to get dry. I led her upstairs and carefully into my room. I was suddenly nervous. I didn't want her to think I expected anything from her. That didn't stop me from wanting to make love to her right then and there. But I was trying really hard to do this the right way. For her.

"Here's the bathroom...There's towels in this cabinet" I said to her, pulling down thick terry cloth towels and wrapping one around her. She looked up at me lovingly and our eyes lingered on each others. I touched her cheek lightly. Her nose was pink with the cold and wet. Her clothes clung to her body, tempting me by further revealing her shape. She was incredibly sexy.

I wanted to kiss her. I wanted her in my arms. I wanted to feel her skin on mine.

Thunder cracked above the house, shaking me from my trance. Bella jumped, startled, then started to laugh, embarrassed.

I reached into my drawers and pulled out some old clothes.

"All I have here at the house are summer clothes," I explained as I handed her one of my T-shirts and a pair of basketball shorts. "But there's plenty of blankets downstairs."

"Okay," she said warmly. "I'll meet you down there."

I changed into my dry clothes and raced downstairs to wait for her, starting up the fireplace in the living room. I put on a pot of coffee and looked out the kitchen window into the woods. The rain was still coming down hard. Good old Forks.

I heard the stairs squeak and turned around to see Bella, swimming in my clothes and yet...looking as though they belonged on her. She joined me in the kitchen smiled thankfully as I poured her a hot cup of coffee.

Wrapped in blankets we sat down in front of the fire. Now we were closer than we had been on our blanket in the meadow, the hesitance to be physically close had diminished.

"What are you going to do about your car?" she asked, taking a sip of coffee.

"Probably call the rental place and have them pick it up. I still can't believe those guys found us."

"It was kind of exciting really," Bella said with a soft laugh. I knew she was trying to make me feel better. I could barely smile back as I imagined what would have happened if they had found us. Bella read my face immediately.

"What is it?" she asked gently.

"I feel so incredibly stupid." I admitted. "I didn't think first. They would have been all over you, Bella. All over you. One shot is all it takes and the world suddenly takes hold of everything. No privacy, no secrets, no escape from the media...."

She listened to me intently, scanning my face, eyes laced with concern for me. For me. I reached up to touch her sweet face, watching in delight as my fingertips set her cheek aflame.

"I couldn't let them do that to you, Bella. Just being around me is dangerous for you." I explained. I saw a flicker of panic in her eyes. I realized that to her, my words were leading to a goodbye. A goodbye neither of us were ready for.

I laughed, trying to break the tension in the air. "Maybe you are a magnet for bad luck. Look what I've done in only three days." She did not laugh, but her gaze never left my face.

My breath hitched in my throat as she moved closer to me, her face inches from mine.

"I don't know how I could ever consider you bad luck, Edward Cullen." Her eyes searched mine . Those big, brown eyes hypnotizing me. "It's too soon to explain how I feel about you Edward, I still can't figure it out myself." She smiled and reached up to cup my face in her hand.

"All I know is that I want to figure it out. With you." she breathed. "Please...don't disappear yet."

My heart swelled in my chest, trying to burst from my rib cage. My hand reached out to rest on the soft curve of her neck, our faces slowly closing the distance between us. Her lips were warm and so soft, gently touching mine. We kissed slowly, sensually, the passion building gradually. As our lips danced, my tongue traced her bottom lip, begging to kiss her deeper, and truer. I wrapped my arms around her, needing to feel her close to me, to feel her warmth. One of her hands tangled itself in my hair, the other rested over my heart. The heart that was racing, threatening to pound its way out of my chest.

Bella...Her name was pulsing through me. In this moment there was nothing in the world but her.

Hope everybody had a happy holiday! Will update again soon. In the mean time, check out the song Better Man by James Morrison. So Edward. R&R :)