Chapter Nine

Ok conversation time. Enjoy!

Bella's POV

Silence reigned in the car, as we drove home. I was achingly aware of the mute presence beside me, as if a wall of ice had sprung up around him, impenetrable. My lips still burned from his kiss, and my skin tingled. I couldn't believe I had just kissed him like that, without thought or conscious decision. It had been spontaneous, totally unplanned, seductive.

As the Mercedes effortlessly drove over the potholes in the roads, I had to admit it was better than my old truck. Not that I would tell him that.

In my mind, I went over the questions I needed to ask, determined to get their answers. I wasn't going to let him wriggle out of it.

The dark presence beside me was annoyingly silent and uncommunicative, looking ahead. Several time I glanced at his face, before taking a deep breath and I opened my mouth.

"Don't bother, Bella," he cut me off, and my mouth shut obediently. After a second I glared at him and tried again.

"What happened back at school? How did you get over to me so fast?" I asked, quietly despite the urge to shout at him just to break that calm façade. Aro sighed, and continued to look straight ahead, but I refused to give up.

"Bella, I don't know what you're talking about. I was standing right beside you," he said in reply, at last. I stared at him, aghast.

How stupid did he think I was?

"No you weren't, Aro. You were standing beside your car, with the Cullens and your niece and nephew. Don't treat me like some idiot kid," I told him, my voice coming out harshly. I saw his hands tighten on the wheel, and I was reminded of that hand-sized dent in the side of Tyler's van. "How did you stop that van?"

"Bella, you hit your head. I think you might be suffering from concussion, perhaps I should take you back to the hos-" Aro started to say, and I exploded.

"Just shut up! I KNOW what I saw!" I yelled, and inwardly I winced at my tone. But his slightly patronising words just sent me over the edge. Shaking my head, I looked out the window, biting my thumb, trying to calm down.

Silence descended again, as we slowly pulled up to my house, and braked. As soon as the car stopped, I repeated my last words, albeit calmly this time.

"I know what I saw," I murmured, almost blinking away frustrated tears.

"And what did you see?" Aro asked me, quiet and calmer than I had ever seen him, as I turned to face him, and the sight frightened me. The sense of sitting next to something dangerous, something barely contained and just controlled, grew as our eyes met.

His eyes were black again.

"You stopped the van. You pushed it away with your hand. You crushed the fender like a tin can!"

"Such artistic imagery," Aro muttered under his breath, and that last really made me have enough. I needed to get away from him, before I lost control. Angrily, I unclipped my belt and opened the door.

"Thanks for the ride," I muttered, before sliding from the car. Outside it was almost night, and I hurried towards my house.

Suddenly I felt my arm taken in an iron grip, as I was swung against the wall of my porch. Looking up into Aro's coal-black eyes.

"You're not getting away that easily, mia cara," he almost snarled, and the sound sent shivers down my spine. I sank against him, crushed between his body and the wall, unconsciously stretching up my toes to bring my lips closer to his.

"For the last time I'm not your dear!" I muttered back defiantly, "And no matter what you say, I know what I saw today."

"No one will be believe you, Bella, so…." he trailed off, as my eyes widened. Did he really think I was one of those girls that would just go sprouting their mouths off?

After a shocked moment, I managed to respond. "Then I guess you don't know me at all because…I wasn't going to tell anyone."

"Why do you need to know? Why can't you just let this go, and trust me when I say it's better you don't know?" Aro replied tersely, and I frowned at him.

"Thank you for saving me, but I'm not going to let this go," I told him, at my words I felt his grip on me loosen, as we stood a few inches apart now, eyes locked.

My breathing suspended, I couldn't move from under his gaze, he almost walked me back into the wall. Memories of his kiss surfaced, and I needed his lips against my own again. I'd never felt like this, this all-consuming feeling, and I was slowly growing addictive.

The fact he was my teacher, that he wasn't quite…ordinary, and that he was refusing to tell me the truth had long since disappeared from my mind.

Aro towered over me, his hands settling around my waist as I shivered, and felt my eyelids begin to fall.

"You…are…without doubt…the most…stubborn…woman I have ever met," he whispered, as he slowly leant in so his breath, his fragrant cold breath, brushed my lips. My eyes flicked up to his, and my brain and my body was so detached I was barely aware the words left my mouth.

"Why have your eyes changed colour? Why are you so cold?" I asked him, my voice hoarsening. A second later, I mentally slapped myself on the forehead.

Way to go to spoil the mood, Bells!

Aro's face hardened, as he straightened. "You're not going to let this pass, are you?"

"No," I replied firmly, as I pushed him away enough to slide from between him and the wall. I could feel his black gaze on me as I moved towards the door. Just before I got the door open, I felt him take hold of my elbow once more and spin me around to face him. His lips came down on mine like an avalanche, and I moaned into his mouth, as I opened mine to his aggressive onslaught. His hands slid into my hair, as I hauled him closer to me, crushing myself against him. Pervasive heat filled me, and I needed to get closer. Now, if not sooner.

He backed me against the screen door of my porch, and I gasped anew at the feel of his body against mine, plastered from hip to chest. Suddenly his hands left my waist, and were supported either side of my shoulders on the screen. He left my lips, as I gasped for breath, and leaned his forehead on mine. His own breathing was as heavy as mine, his voice hoarse and husky as he spoke.

"Bella, I'm begging you. Don't do this," he breathed against my lips, as I shuddered, my eyes closed.

Blindly I felt behind my back for the door, but felt, to my surprise; Aro's hand opening it for me. He sighed as I opened my eyes.

He was allowing me to escape.

Gradually I moved back, away from him, amazed anew by the sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I need to know," I whispered, pain tugging at my heart as I moved back from him. His hand reached out to touch my face, and it did with the most glancing of caresses, before the screen door separated us.

I escaped inside.

More soon, I promise. It's going to get a little hot in the next chapter….but not too hot. R&R!