Please Note: Alternating points of view—Bella/Edward/Bella

10. (I got) Time to kill

"Come on," Riley said. "Let's get you onto the couch where you'll be more comfortable."

Once again, I took his hand and allowed him to believe he was helping me up. He put an arm around my waist and walked me out to the main room, insisting I lie down on the couch.

He perched on the coffee table, shoving a pile of paperbacks to one side to do so. There were several more piles of books on the floor.

"You like to read." I said.

"Yes, I do. Science fiction and fantasy mostly. None of these are on my English syllabus. They're just for my own enjoyment."

"I like reading, but I haven't read anything in quite a while," I said wistfully.

"What sort of books do you like?"

"Classics, I think. I doubt I've read any of the books you have there."

"Would you like to?" I nodded enthusiastically, and he passed me a book from the pile on the table. "Shift over. We can sit and read together."

I realised my mistake when I caught him staring at me with his mouth wide open. I could have told him I was a fast reader, but I doubted that would convince him.

"I was just skimming through to see if I'd like it," I said, turning back to the first page and frowning at it.

After that, I timed my page turns to match his. Several chapters in, I went a fraction faster, but even then, it was frustrating having to wait for him to catch up.

"I've found a name for you," he said, breaking the long silence. He held his book up to show me the page, his index finger pointing to a word.

"Bree?" I asked.

"It's the settlement in Middle Earth where Frodo and Sam first meet Aragorn."

I had no feeling on the matter, so I said nothing. His mouth widened into a smile and his eyes twinkled. I just stared at him. His cheeks rose some more and his lips parted into a full blown grin. I couldn't resist it; I smiled back.

"You're very pretty," he said, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

My smile faltered, but whether that was because of some brief glimmer of a memory or from his wrist being in such close proximity to my mouth, I wasn't sure. I swallowed hard. "Um, thank you."

"You're welcome, Bree," he said, turning back to his book.

…

"I'm bored, Edward," Tanya said, coming into my room.

While I had been lying on my couch reading, she had been wandering through the house, making herself familiar with every corner of every room. A few choice words were uttered in Carlisle's study about the narrowness of the subject matter on his book shelves, and then some very colourful words were used to express her depth of feeling toward his old friends in Italy.

"Lift up," she said, picturing me in her mind with my head resting in her lap.

Carlisle had been quite clear that I should allow myself to enjoy physical contact, and perhaps it was time I seized an opportunity. I raised my head and shoulders so Tanya could squeeze in and sit down and then lowered myself back down.

Her fingers raked through my hair as I resumed my reading, sometimes tugging gently and occasionally scratching my scalp. Her thoughts were vague, flitting from one thing to another, much like someone does when staring out of the window of a train on a long journey.

"Read to me," she said, and so I did.

A ray of sunlight shone in through the window, catching on my hand every time I raised it to turn a page. I felt relaxed, like I was floating, as if I were in some kind of dream.

"Another," she said when I'd finished the last chapter. I set the book down on the floor beside the couch, picked up the second volume in the trilogy and carried on.

A few chapters in, she put her hand on my chest, her thumb resting at the base of my throat. I paused. "What are you doing?"

"I'm enjoying the sound of your voice," she said, "and the feeling of it reverberating through your chest."

"Oh," I replied, suddenly aware that she could probably also feel those reverberations through my upper back where it was resting on her thigh. I cleared my throat and continued. The fingers on my chest remained still, but those in my hair continued to move in a constant fluid motion.

Her scent began to change, and as I breathed it in, my body began to react to it. She couldn't have noticed, for I'm sure I would have known it if she had.

When I had to get up to fetch the third book from the shelf, she stood too.

"Let's hunt, Edward," she said, her voice a little lower than usual.

I scrubbed my hands over my face and willed my body to behave. "Okay."

…

It was getting dark outside and in. I could still clearly see the words on the page, but Riley wouldn't have been able to much longer. His stomach rumbled.

"If I make you something to eat, will you eat it?" he said, dropping his book onto the table with a thud.

I shook my head. "I'm on a special diet. You go ahead though."

He got up, made himself a sandwich and returned to the couch with it on a plate. Once he'd finished eating, he took his plate back to the kitchen and turned on the lights. "I have some college work to do. Are you okay reading while I get on with it?"

"Sure."

The book was really good, so I ignored him for some time. When I next looked up, he was sitting at the table with his laptop open, deep in concentration. I carried on reading at a slightly faster pace until I reached the end of the novel.

At some point, I must have relaxed and started breathing in air once more. I hadn't expected to be that easily distracted from the delicious scent of… human blood.

I turned my head sharply. Riley was fast asleep, slumped down in his chair with his head leaning to one side, exposing the side of his neck. That would hurt later, I thought. Or maybe sooner.

I stood slowly, inching my way toward the kitchen, certain that temptation was going to get the better of me. I ought to have grabbed my bag and left, but I could hear the blood flowing through his veins, and it was so close to the surface. If I could just sink my tee—

His eyes opened wide and caught my gaze. We watched each other in silence. Did he know how close he was to losing his life?

Eventually, he cricked his neck, brought his hands up and rubbed the corners of his eyes with his forefingers. "Sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you. I'll just get a blanket and a pillow for the couch, and then you can have the bed."

What? "No, no. I'm much shorter than you. I'll take the couch." And make a run for it while you are sleeping.

He stood up and stretched, and I may have watched him for longer than was decent. Then, while he fetched me some bedding, I made a pretence of using the shower room by flushing the toilet and running some water.

He offered me a T-Shirt to sleep in, but I refused it, saying I had something I could use in my backpack. I waited for him to fall asleep, picked up my bag, then cracked open the window near the couch.

The window faced out to the back of the building where was a fire escape, but I didn't need that kind of assistance. I dropped silently to the ground and ran through the back streets and alleys as fast as I could, heading for the forest.