Here you all go, an update! YAY!!! I worked really hard on this tonight. I hope you enjoy. As for the next chapter hopefully we'll be meeting the Family!!! Enjoy and review!

And in case anyone is curious, the songs that inspired this section were, Death Cab for Cutie - I will follow you into the Dark, Rob Pattinson - Never Think, Bella's Lullaby, Blue October - 18th floor Balcony, and Mandy Moore - Crush, Linkin Park - Leave out all the rest, Random I know, but its what was on my shuffle. :)

"But honestly," Bella happily sighed. "For that to bother you, after I have to hear that Rosalie – Rosalie, the incarnation of pure beauty, Rosalie – was meant for you. Emmett or no Emmett, how can I compete with that?" Rosalie couldn't hold a candle to Bella's beauty and charm. There was no comparison.

"There's no competition." I informed her with a sweet smile. I pulled her arms around me and her body to my chest. Her warm skin ignited my fire. She kept very still, breathing slowly and cautiously, her chest slowly rising and falling against mine. I must find a way to convince her she had nothing to fear from me, even if I was unsure of it myself.

"I know there's no competition." She mumbled as she nestled her face into my chest. "That's the problem." Her statement baffled me. What was so wrong with the security of knowing that I only had eyes for her?

"Of course Rosalie is beautiful in her own way," Only on the outside, the inside was as venomous as a black widow, I thought to myself. I took the opportunity to stress the truth of my words and I looked deep into her eyes and continued, "But even if she wasn't like a sister to me, even if Emmett didn't belong with her, she could never have one tenth, no, one hundredth of the attraction you hold for me." Bella's face flooded with a warm rose color. I wished she was beginning to understand that my sun rose and set with her. I took her hot hand in mine, like vines our fingers intertwined; I looked down at our affectionate hands. "For almost ninety years I've walked among my kind, and yours… all the time thinking I was complete myself, not realizing what I was seeking. And not finding anything, because you weren't alive yet."

"It hardly seems fair." She whispered, her face still pressed against my chest, our hands still linked. "I haven't had to wait at all. Why should I get off so easily?" I couldn't help but smile at her humility. She was so selfless.

"You're right," I quipped with a crooked smile. "I should make this harder for you, definitely." With that I freed my hand, gathering her wrists into my other hand and turning her carefully to face me. I softly ran my hands through her long auburn hair. It was still wet from the shower and with each stroke of my hand I stirred up her luscious scent. The smell of freesia tickled my senses, but I was in control, keeping my inner demon at bay. "You only have to risk your life every second you spend with me, that's surely not much." I over exaggerated and rolled my eyes playfully. "You only have to turn your back on nature, on humanity… what's that worth?"

"Very little – I don't feel deprived of anything." She answered coyly.

"Not yet." My mind wandered to all the things I felt deprived of for the past hundred years. I watched my friends and family pass away, leaving their existence a faded memory. I had to keep my distance from others and we moved frequently to keep them from becoming suspicious. I had many other disappointments I chose not to dwell further on because I had Bella now, and she knew my secrets - and she still loved me. No sooner had I stopped wallowing, I heard Charlie contemplating a quick bed check. Bella began to move away from me, I pulled her close and still, startling her I'm sure.

"What –." She began before I silenced her with my awareness. I heard Charlie make his way towards her room. She is so busted, he thought. Without hesitation, I released her and disappeared beneath her bed.

"Lie down!" I shushed, hearing her clumsily fall onto her bed, rolling up in the blankets. I laid there silently, listening to Bella's heart race with excitement. If Charlie could hear her heartbeat, he would have surely known something was up. I listened to Charlie crack the door and peer in. Good kid, he thought finding Bella safely in her own bed. I listened to Bella breathe. She was over exaggerating, taking deeper than usual breaths, most likely trying to make if obvious she was asleep. Charlie closed the door and I slipped a cool arm around her slender waist and slid under the covers next to her.

"You are a terrible actress," I smiled into her ear. "I'd say that career path is out for you."

"Darn it." She breathed. My muse plucked my inspiration chord and I began to hum the lullaby I had written for her.

"Should I sing you to sleep?" I asked.

"Right, like I could sleep with you in here!"

"You do it all the time."

"But I didn't know you were here." She replied with a hint of frost in her voice.

"If you don't want to sleep..." I ignored her.

"If I don't want to sleep…?" She questioned my ulterior motives.

"What do you want to do then?" I laughed.

She didn't answer me a first. I was sure I had surprised her with my innuendo.

"I'm not sure."

"Tell me when you decide." I told her. Her appeal was overwhelming. I lightly began tracing the graceful curvature of her neckline with the tip of my nose, inhaling her aroma. It was intoxicating every part of me. I wanted her, I could not deny that. But I wanted her in a much different capacity. Not in the way that a predator wants prey, in the way a man would want a woman.

"I thought you were desensitized." She said, her heart pounding like it might leap from her chest and take flight.

"Just because I'm resisting the wine doesn't mean I can't appreciate the bouquet." I whispered, my lips barely grazing her soft collar as I spoke. "You have a very floral smell, like lavender… or freesia. It's mouthwatering." Seriously, again with the whole eating thing, I cringed slightly.

"Yeah, it's an off day when I don't get somebody telling me how edible I smell." She rolled her eyes. I laughed at her exaggerated gesture and sighed in relief.

"I've decided what I want to do," She informed me. "I want to hear more about you."

"Ask me anything."

She was quiet for a moment, no doubt trying to gather her thoughts. I used my free hand to gently move her hair away from her face and prop myself up slightly so I could get a better view of her features. She was beautiful, soft and fragile; I could sit for an eternity staring at her. It would be so easy. I laid back down behind her, my arm still around her waist and my face nestled in her soft brunette hair.

"Why do you do it? I still don't understand how you can work so hard to resist what you… are." She got to the point, baffling me in the process. "Please don't misunderstand, of course I'm glad that you do. I just don't see why you would bother in the first place." She had definitely caught me off guard with this one. I had expected a question about my family, my gift, or my past, not quite a question about my whole belief system. I took a minute to think it through, choosing my words wisely.

"That's a good question, and you are not the first one to ask it. The others- the majority of our kind who are quite content with our lot – they, too, wonder at how we live. But you see, just because we've been … dealt a certain hand … it doesn't mean that we can't choose to rise above – to conquer the boundaries of a destiny none of us wanted. To try to retain whatever essential humanity we can." Good job Edward, no allusions to eating or food, I mentally patted myself on the back. She laid with her back to me, very still for a moment, almost too still, like I may have put her to sleep.

"Did you fall asleep?" I whispered.

"No."

"Is that all you were curious about?" I asked. It sure was a good question, and frankly if they were going to get any harder, I wasn't sure if I was ready for her to ask anymore either.

"Not quite." She rolled her eyes and smiled at me.

"What else do you want to know?"

"Why can you read minds – why only you? And Alice, seeing the future… why does that happen?" I was expecting this one, I could handle it. Mostly because there wasn't much to tell.

"We don't really know," I shrugged. "Carlisle has a theory… he believes that we all bring something of our strongest human traits with us into the next life, where they are intensified- like our minds, and our senses. He thinks I must have already been very sensitive to the thoughts of those around me. And that Alice had some precognition, wherever she was." I explained.

"What did he bring into the next life, and the others?"

"Carlisle brought his compassion. Esme brought her ability to love passionately. Emmett brought his strength, Rosalie her" Choose your words carefully Edward, my mind told me. Rosalie's beauty was most definitely intensified, but so was her ability to be a royal pain and her selfishness. "Tenacity. Or you could call it pigheadedness." I laughed. I hit the nail right on the head with that one. "Jasper is very interesting. He was quite charismatic in his first life, able to influence those around him to see things his way. Now he is able to manipulate the emotions of those around him – calm down a room of angry people, for example, or excite a lethargic crowd, conversely. It's a very subtle gift." She sat in solitude for a moment, digesting all of the information I had just given her. I waited patiently, tracing her forearm with my finger tip.

"So where did it all start? I mean, Carlisle changed you, and then someone must have changed him, and so on…" She was full of so many questions.

"Well, where did you come from? Evolution? Creation? Couldn't we have evolved in the same way as other species, predator and prey? Or, if you don't believe that all this world could have just happened on it own, which is hard for me to accept myself, is it so hard to believe that the same force that created the delicate angelfish with the shark, the baby seal with the killer whale, could create both our kinds together?"

"Let me get this straight," she said, "I'm the baby seal, right?"

"Right," I laughed and lightly kissed her hair. She was hesitant for a moment. I could tell she wanted to do or say something, but she relaxed, seemingly changing her mind.

"Are you ready to sleep?" I asked her. "Or do you have any more questions?"

"Only a million or two." She snickered inaudibly.

"We have tomorrow, and the next day, and the next…" I reminded her, feeling her sigh in relief and her body relax further.

"Are you sure you won't vanish in the morning?" She teased. "You are mythical after all."

"I won't leave you." I promised.

"One more, then, tonight…" she said stuttering. I could feel her body heat up, I was sure she was blushing. I wanted to hear this question.

"What is it?"

"No, forget it. I changed my mind."

"Bella, you can ask me anything."

She laid there silent, and the silence was frustrating. I've always known what others were thinking, practically before they did. I groaned with aggravation.

"I keep thinking it will get less frustrating, not hearing your thoughts. But it gets worse and worse." I explained myself.

"I'm glad you can't read my thoughts. It's bad enough that you eavesdrop on my sleep-talking." She tried to reassure me.

"Please?" I practically begged; the desperation was blatant in my voice.

She shook her head.

"If you don't tell me, I'll just assume it's something much worse than it actually is." I informed her of my undying pessimism. "Please?" I pleaded a last time.

"Well," she began, stalling.

"Yes?"

"You said that Rosalie and Emmett will get married soon." I felt her flush red hot again. "Is that… marriage… the same as it is for humans?"

I laughed, relieved it was not something much more complicated.

"Is that what you're getting at?" I felt her squirm, embarrassed. "Yes, I suppose it is much the same," I smiled. "I told you, most of the human desires are there, just hidden behind more powerful ones."

"Oh."

"Was there a purpose behind your curiosity?" I inquired, desiring to know what she was thinking, or dreaming about.

"Well, I did wonder…" She rolled over to face me; her heart began to run a marathon. "About you and me… someday…" Her voice trailed off. My head was spinning; if my heart could beat it would beat faster than hers. For a century, I longed to have someone to call my own, a true love. I often lived envious of Carlisle and Esme, Alice and Jasper, even Rosalie and Emmett, though most of the time I despised their displays of affection. If only I had known I would find her, one hundred years into my future, and she would be a human, of all things. The worst part of it was that she was human, which made our union, virtually impossible in another capacity other than what we had now. My still heart shattered into a million pieces.

"I don't think that… that… would be possible for us." I barely spoke.

"Because it would be too hard for you, if I were that… close?" Bella choked out, her heart obviously hurting from my answer.

"That's certainly a problem. But that's not what I was thinking of. It's just that you are so soft, so fragile. I have to mind my actions every moment that we're together so that I don't hurt you. I could kill you quite easily, Bella, simply by accident." I stifled. I could hardly speak to her my heart was so broken. I carefully laid my cool palm against her warm cheek. "If I was too hasty… if for even one second I wasn't paying enough attention, I could reach out, meaning to touch your face, and crush your skull by mistake. You don't realize how breakable you are. I can never, never afford to lose any kind of control when I'm with you."

I waited for her response, but she only sat quietly, pondering. Perhaps she was realizing that we had no real future; that it was best to get out now before I did hurt her, or worse. Why couldn't I hear what she was thinking? The silence was maddening.

"Are you scared?" I asked her, disrupting the stillness.

"No, I'm fine." She was fine? How could she be fine? How could she be fine with the idea that next time we're in bed, I could reach out for her and her life would be over. That she would never get to experience anything other than respectful pecks on the cheek or the lips. I don't know about her, but she had such an effect on me I longed for passion. I wanted to hold her close, pull her in for deep meaningful kisses that lasted for more than a singular second. Perhaps she had already experienced these things? She did have a life before me; possibly she had other men in her life before me.

"I'm curious now, though," I inquired of her, unsure if I wanted to know the truth. "Have you ever…?" My voice trailed off. What was I going to say? I was as embarrassed as she was, sans the rosy red color in my skin.

"Of course not." She reddened even more. "I told you I've never felt like this about anyone before, not even close." Relief washed over me, I was not the only inexperienced one in this room.

"I know. It's just that I know other people's thoughts. I know love and lust don't always keep the same company."

"They do for me." She said matter of factly. "Now, anyway, that they exist for me at all." She sighed.

"That's nice. We have that one thing in common, at least." It was my backwards way of telling her we were both in virgin territory.

"Your human instincts…" She stopped, unsure of how to ask her question. I waited patiently, if I had learned one thing about Bella, she would speak when she was good and ready. "Well, do you find me attractive, in that way, at all?"

I chuckled at her query and scrunched her nearly dry tendrils.

"I may not be human, but I am a man." I assured her. She yawned reluctantly. I took that as a sign she was up much past her bedtime. "I've answered your questions, now you should sleep."

"I'm not sure if I can." She fought.

"Do you want me to leave?" I scolded her playfully.

"No!" she squealed loudly causing me to laugh at the look of surprise the volume caused her features to take on. I began to hum her lullaby softly into her ear, holding her in my arms, her heat warming my cool skin, even through the blankets she had wrapped around her. More tired than she would have admitted, she quickly drifted off to sleep, dreaming of me again, I hoped.