Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

Hi guys
First of all thank you for all the great reviews! I'm so happy you like my story.
You literally make my day by doing this.
One of you gave me some advice on how to format a conversation in the story and I tried to heed your advice. I hope I got it right.
So, here's the next chapter for you all.
Love
XX

Shadows of the past

She was kissing him. Just like that. And he was kissing her back, holding her tight to his body. Anna felt the butterflies in her stomach going crazy. Caius lips moved surprisingly soft against hers. This was crazy. But it felt so right.
As they broke apart he leaned his forehead against hers and then a smile broke over his face. It was the very first time she'd ever seen him smile like he really meant it. His whole face lit up as he looked down at her still holding her in her arms. Anna just stared at him for a moment then she bit her lower lip and smiled back shyly.
"What?" he asked her.
"Nothing. I've just never seen you smile before." He laughed huskily.
"I think you will see a lot more of it in the next days", he said before capturing her lips again.

She did. The day went by as usual with the only exception that Caius now was much closer to her than ever before. It felt strange but in a good way. He even insisted upon cooking her dinner to what Anna agreed hesitantly but she kept a careful eye on him while he was working in the kitchen. After all she didn't want him to set himself nor the kitchen on fire. In the end he didn't though.
He leaned on his usual spot at the counter and watched her eating. "This smells disgusting." he commented after a while.
"Actually I was about to compliment you for it but if you say so"
He smiled a crooked smile at her. "Human food doesn't smell or look very appealing to vampires."
"It doesn't?"
"No. And we can't eat it either." he explained further.
"What would happen if you did?"
"I would have to choke it up again afterwards."
Anna grimaced at him "Now, that's gross. But it'd explain why the Cullens never touched their food back in High School. What a waste."
"Do you miss it?" he asked her suddenly.
"Missing what?"
"Going to university."
Anna paused. Her heart stung a bit. "Sometimes" she said quietly. But that wasn't quite true. In fact she missed it a lot. She missed her friends and the campus and she was disappointed in herself. She had worked so hard for her scholarship and now... Caius must have sensed that she wasn't completely honest. "You could go back if you want. To finish your studies. But you would have to come back to Volterra afterwards." "to me" but he didn't say that out loud.
Anna looked at him her eyes huge. "You would do that for me?"
"If it makes you happy." She beamed at him. Then she got up, rounded the counter and flung her arms around his neck. "Thank you." she whispered against the crook of his neck.

That night, when Anna emerged from the bathroom in yet another one of Jane's so called 'night-gowns' Caius smirked at her. "You do hate Jane for this, don't you?"
"Oh, she's so gonna pay for this." Anna said through her teeth.
"Here", he said pulling one of his shirts around her shoulders. "So you won't get cold lying so close to me all night." He hesitated for a moment. "It is a shame though. You do look sexy in those." he added kissing the corner of her lips. Anna felt her face flush badly. She tugged the shirt tighter around her. It was much too big for her petite body. She could have easily used it as a dress. But it felt nice to wear something she felt comfortable in for a change. "And it smells like him", she thought smiling as she climbed into bed and curled up against Caius.

When she woke up the next morning Caius was gone. She felt it before she opened her eyes. For one it was a lot warmer in the bed and she couldn't feel his weight beside her. As she turned over she saw that he had left a note on his cushion.

Dear Anna
I have gone hunting on the mainland.
I will be back by the evening.
Love Caius

She smiled. So many things had happened in the last days she hadn't even noticed his eyes becoming darker. Yawning she laid back to get some more sleep but a ringing noise barred her from it. She sat upright again. Was that a phone? Her brows furrowed. No, there was no phone here. But the sound lasted. Puzzled she got up, still wearing Caius shirt, and went to look where the noise came from.
It really was a phone, stationed in the large living room. Reluctantly Anna answered it. "Hello?"
"Anna?" a familiar voice trilled.
"Alice?" Where the hell did the pixie know where she was? And more important, why did she call? She spoke the last question out loud but Alice ignored her, asking one question after another. "How are you? Where are you? I had a vision but this can't be right, can it? Did you?"
"Alice, Alice! Calm down. Breathe. I'll tell you everything, okay? But stop asking so many questions."
"Okay. Yes, you're right. I'm sorry. It's just that.. where are you?" she asked somewhat calmer.
Anna took a deep breath and sat down on the sofa. "I don't know where I am. Not exactly at least. Somewhere in South America I guess."
"South America?", Alice sounded a bit shocked.
"Yeah, well, Aro thought it'd be a good idea for me and Caius to spend some time alone."
"You are alone with him?", now she really sounded alarmed.
"Yes?", Anna said carefully.
"Oh Anna! Are you out of your mind? Do you know how dangerous this is?" Anna thought about that for a second. The last days certainly hadn't felt dangerous to her. Besides, Alice had been the one who had dragged her into this in the first place.
"Alice, relax. It's actually very nice here and Caius..."
"Did you really kiss him?" Now, this came out of nowhere.
"I...", Anna started, looking for the right words.
"Did you?", Alice voice got a bit louder.
"I might have?", Alice moaned. The girl bit her lower lip. She didn't want to tell Alice the whole story. It was her special moment and she wasn't ready to share it with anyone.
Finally Alice recovered. "Anna what were you thinking?"
How dared she? She was old enough to make her own decisions and she wouldn't let Alice ruin her memories. "Actually I wasn't thinking anything. It just happened and I was very happy about it until now", she snapped at her friend.
Alice sighed. "I can imagine it made you very happy but... I think there's something you should know about Caius."

The sun had almost vanished into the ocean when Caius came back. Strangely all the lights in the house where out. Was Anna already asleep? But no, the bed was unmade but empty. Although he could hear her heartbeat from somewhere near. He turned to the window and there she was, her back to him, leaning against the balustrade of the porch. She was still wearing his shirt. Slowly he went outside. "Anna? Are you alright?"
She didn't turn around. Her shoulders trembled. Was she crying? His heart dropped. "Love, what's wrong?"
Finally she turned around. Her eyes were red like she'd in fact been crying all day and her arms were crossed tightly across her chest.
"Alice Cullen called me today.", she said in a quiet voice, "She told me something about your ex-wife Athenodora. At first I didn't want to believe it so I'm gonna ask you. Is it true? Did you kill your wife?"
"Oh, that damn Cullen." First he didn't move. Then he nodded slowly.
Anna pressed her lips into a tight line before she spoke again. "And what about the two years after? She told me that after you'd killed her you had several other girls. You'd separate them from the tourist group, you lure into the castle for feeding, and you'd seduce them and... ", her voice faltered, "...have fun with them. Just to kill them afterwards. Is that also true?" Tears were glistening in her eyes. Caius felt a pinch in his heart.
"Yes it is." he whispered.
She pressed his lips together again and nodded. "So that's what I am to you? Just another toy you get rid of once you get bored? Were you just playing around with me? Because if that's..." His lips sealed hers before she could say anything else. When he broke away he carefully took her face into his palms. "No you are not. Yes, it is true that I have killed Athenodora. I caught her cheating on me. She promised it would never happen again and I trusted her. But it happened again and I got angry because she betrayed my trust.
As for the other girls; yes, everything you have been told is also true but I am not playing with you. You aren't anything like these girls or like Athenodora. You make me feel like I haven't felt in a very long time.
I don't get you out of my head as much as I tried. It hurts to be separated from you.
I showed you my black soul and the darkest side of me and you didn't back away. Instead you showed me that you care, genuinely care about me.
You have brought light into my poisoned heart and I am grateful.
I need you. I need you and I love you." He kissed her again, more passionate this time.
Anna threw her arms around his neck. He lifted her up so she was sitting on the balustrade. Their lips parted. She was now eye-to-eye with him and examined his face. One of his hands was still on her face, his fingers gently stroking her cheek. His ruby eyes looked into hers in a way that she'd always wished a man would look at her. He wasn't lying. She leaned in again. "Okay", she whispered against his lips before she kissed him again. One of her hands tangled in his silky blond hair. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he lifted her from her sitting position and carried her inside while they were still kissing.
Carefully he laid her down on the bed. His lips moved to kiss her jaw line and his hand slipped under the shirt she was still wearing.
"Caius wait." His lips left her skin and he looked at her. "Wait. I'm... I'm not... I don't want this. Not yet..." she searched for the right words to tell him but he only kissed the tip of her nose. "Alright. We'll wait." He rolled off her and pulled her to his chest.
"Aren't you cold?"
"A bit." she admitted.
"How about a warm bath?" She raised her eyebrows at him. "Just for you." he added hastily. She chuckled at him. "Sounds great."
He whisked her up in his arms and carried her to the bathroom.
"You know, I could have walked."
"I know." he put her on her feet and started the water. Anna interlaced her fingers awkwardly. "Um... could you...?" she gestured to the door.
He grinned at her as he made his way over. She hit his side playfully. "Stop smiling like that. I know what you're thinking."
He laughed huskily. "Is that so?"
"Yes. And you're gonna have to wait."
"Too bad.", he said sounding a bit disappointed before kissing her lightly on the lips " Alright. I will be right back."
After he'd left the bathroom Anna got out of her clothes and climbed into the water. The warmth felt so good. She'd spent the whole day sitting on that couch talking to Alice and then standing on the porch thinking about everything. Her neck felt stiff and her feet were freezing. Now she sighed happily as her muscles started to relax. For a while she played with the foam until Caius knocked at the door. She laughed. "Come in."
He walked over to the bathtub and kneeled next to it. "I have just called Aro." he said while he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I told him we would stay a few more days."
"Oh. What did he say?"
"He wasn't exactly thrilled but he will have to live with it." he leaned in to kiss her lips. "I don't want you to think we'd have to rush anything. Take it slowly. We have all the time in the world."

I hope you liked it so far. Now, I know it's pretty early to ask this and don't worry, the story is not gonna end very soon, but I'd like to know from you would want me to write a sequel.
I've been playing around with some ideas for future chapters and I'd really like to use all of them but doing so would probably result in a sequel.
Let me know what you think ;-)