A/N: I didn't realize that when I first started writing this story that it would be this long. Now, I'm up to what would've been Chapter 30 && nowhere near an ending. So I decided to just break it up into two stories rather one really long one :)) However, don't worry, I won't make you wait to read the second half. I will post it up just like how I would post a new chapter.

Now, without further adieu...

Thanks a bunch for reading! ^_^ Read, review, && enjoy!

Amy had designed me a full length black chiffon gown trimmed in glittering silver beads that highlights the low back, plunging V-neckline and Empire waist with fluttering ruffles trailing down the back.

It was the most beautiful gown I have ever seen and I was the lucky one to have a one of a kind design.

Best friend privileges.

Of course, she matched it with stilettos and a black and silver beaded masquerade mask.

Like she promised.

Amy on the other hand wore a full length off white silk gown with a gathered bodice and an inset Empire waist. Her stilettos had a gold trim and her masquerade mask was gold with gathered feathers on the left side.

"Okay…I wanted to tell you at Izzy's birthday party and then all that shit begin to happen." she grunted. "There was never the right time to do it, so I'm telling you now." she said with a huge smile on her face.

"You're pregnant?" I asked, pressing for the elevator.

"No." She laughed, "I'm seeing someone. His name is Brad and oh my god, he is the pick of the litter, let me tell you!" she squealed. "He is really tall. He actually makes me look like a kid when I stand next to him."

"Oh Amy, I'm so happy for you." I said, embracing her. "You deserve it."

"You're meeting him tonight at the party." she grinned. "It was his idea to invite you, actually."

I frowned, skeptical. "He knows about me?"

She shrugged, "You'll like him, I promise. He's of the supernatural world too, so that's a plus." she told me as we stepped into the elevator. "And sex with him is amazing." she said, growling that last word.

I was slightly curious what she found that was so amazing about him but I also knew her too well. She's the type that will get into the tiniest details.

You know, the parts that shouldn't be shared, not even with your closest friend.

"How long have you known him?" I asked instead.

She turned to me placing her hands on her hips, "Oh don't do that. He is really nice. In fact…" she paused. "…you know what? I want that small detail to be a surprise."

"I don't know…" I bit my lip, "I hate surprises."

Amy poked my arm, "Hey, will you stop that? You're ruining your lipstick. And for once, trust me on this one okay?" she groaned as she reached into her handbag. "He is nothing like Darrel. He is my dream guy. I think I want to marry him." she whispered as she fixed my lipstick.

Oh no…not again.

Walking into the room, I don't know what it was that I was expecting. I just hoped and prayed that this Brad guy was the real deal.

Not some psycho with a hidden agenda. I thought. Lord knows we have enough of those already.

"Bella, this is Brad." Amy said, gripping my arm firmly so that I couldn't run away. "Brad, love, this is Isabelle."

When Amy said that he was tall, I was thinking around six feet. I wasn't expecting him to be almost as tall as Cristiano.

When she said he makes her look like a kid, I think she meant toddler. I'm the one that looks like the child.

Immediately I shook his hand, "Nice to meet you."

He stepped forward, gripping my hand as he shook it. "Nice to finally meet you as well. I heard quite a great deal about you already."

I glanced down at Amy who put her hands up in defense. "Don't look at me."

Mmhmm…

"May I have this dance?" he asked me.

Amy released my arm as she gently pushed me towards him.

"Have fun!" she squealed as she sneaked away.

Although I couldn't fully see his face, I could tell that he was good looking.

I'm so going to kill her. I thought to myself as he lead me to the dance floor.

"I would agree with you but I love her too much."

I cocked my head to the side as he glided with me across the dance floor.

You can read minds too?

He smiled at me. "Yes I can. Maybe that's why she was attracted to me. She's familiar with this."

This is strange. I never had a conversation with someone else in my own head.

"Really?"

I nodded. Really. I mean, other than myself and Sookie. Never with a someone that I just met.

"Yourself huh?" He chuckled, "Amethyst was right. You are one hell of a character."

Thank you…I think. I felt my eyebrow twitched. So is this your party?

"Not exactly. Its my parents annual masquerade ball."

Ah…

"What?"

Nothing.

He pulled me close, "What?"

Amy comes from money so its no surprise she meets another with money. I mean, I'm not saying that she's a gold digger. Fudge. This is coming out all wrong. I mentally groaned. Its just natural…I guess.

"And you don't care for this lifestyle?"

I shrugged. I'm here for her. But if you had to ask me, I would much rather be at home laying under the stars with my daughter.

"So who's Fae? Your mother? Father? And who's demon?"

I cleared my throat as if I was actually speaking out loud.

I would rather not talk about it.

He nodded. "Sorry I brought it up…" he smiled at me. "Heads up by the way."

Huh?

"Mind if I cut in?" a man with a deep voice asked from behind.

Um, yeah…I do.

"Don't worry. I know him. He don't bite." Brad told me just before turning me around and handing me off to a man behind a red and black masquerade mask.

"Is this what you do? Go around stealing other men's dance partners?" I whispered.

Something about him felt so familiar. The thickness of his body, the way his arms were curved in all the right places. Even his lips and those eyes…

Cristiano. I mentally groaned. I should've known.

"Only when I find something I like." he said, leaning in as he let his lips brush against my ear.

"So who's idea was this to get me here? Yours?" I asked.

He chuckled, "Bella, its not a conspiracy. Its a party." he told me, pulling me closer. "So for now. Just dance with me."

Humph. 'For now' my behind.

Just when I thought I would be free from this man's arms, Madonna's 'Crazy For You' began playing through the speakers, and he swept me further onto the dance floor.

"I have a surprise for you." he whispered.

Oh no.

I smiled as I shook my head at him, "That's not going to work on me big boy."

He chuckled, "Bella, you have such a dirty mind."

How can I not? I already know what this man is capable of.

I tiptoed to his ear, "Well…surprise me then."

"Okay…but we have to go up to my room in order for you to see it." he said, turning me around so that I had my back to him as he gripped my waist, swaying to the beat. "And its not what you're thinking."

Yeah right.

I glanced back at him, "Its not?"

Well if he's not referring to anything sexual, what the hell could it be?

"Just trust me." he whispered, resting his head on my shoulder. "Do you trust me?" he asked, looking for that reassurance.

I nodded, "Yes…"

And I did.

As we waited for the elevator, he had me remove my mask.

"Why?"

"I thought that you said that you trust me?" he asked with a smile bringing out dimples that I didn't even know he had.

"I do but-"

"I don't want you to ruin the surprise." he told me as he loosened his tie. "Just until we're in the room, I promise."

I reached behind and untied the mask, peeling it away from my face.

"This better not be a joke." I warned him. "If so, you're going to get it."

He laughed, "You're going to thank me later. Watch and see." he said, placing his tie over my eyes. "Let me know if its too tight."

"If you think this is a way to romance me, you better stop now. I don't do bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, or sadism and masochism."

He snorted out a short laugh, "What?"

"You know, that kinky shit." I said. "S&M?"

He shook his head, "Bella…like I said, its not what you think."

But what if I want it to be exactly what I think? Minus the whips and chains of course. But is that so wrong?

He lead me to his room with no damage to me physically.

I could feel butterflies in my stomach as I inched closer. I didn't know what was before the blindfold. I could only hope that this would be a good surprise.

Lord knows I'm liking surprises even less every year.

"Ready?" he asked as he slowly untied the blindfold.

No.

When my eyes fluttered opened, I nearly had a heart attack.

Oh my god.

I stood there, frozen for a moment as I looked at the bed.

I turned to him and smiled. "You're right. I wasn't expecting this." I whispered just before I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in for a hug. "Thank you so much Cris."

He wrapped his arms around me, "I told you so." he chuckled. "And here you thought I was here to seduce you."

I released him and laughed softly, nudging him. "Hey…that's not fair." I whispered.

He shoved his hands in his pocket, "I'll leave you with them." he said, walking towards the door to the right. "I got these rooms because they are conjoining. If you need me, I'm only a doorway away."

"Thank you." I whispered as I watched him leave the room, closing the door behind him.

Then I turned to the bed and crawled between Elena and Elizabeth. Moving the hair from their faces, I kissed their warm cheeks. Something that I've been wanting to do ever since I left them behind.

Now we're complete.

"Are you going to get in trouble for bringing them here?" I asked, closing the door behind me.

Cristiano was sitting at the bar, "I've had it worse before."

"So no one knows they're here." I stated as I took a seat next to him, turning in his direction. "Thank you for doing all of this. I owe you big time."

Especially if he's going to catch hell for doing this.

He looked down at his drink, "No you don't."

I sighed, "Yes, I do. You've done so much for me and after everything that happened, you continue-"

His jaw retracted. "Don't." he whispered just before drinking the rest of his drink in one large gulp.

Shut up. Don't do it. You'll ruin a perfect-

I cleared my throat, "I'm sorry. I was a fool to leave that night, the way that I did. I should've stayed…with you." I blurted like uncontrollable vomit.

Fudge.

He stood up, "Bella, stop." he said, glaring out at the city lights.

But I couldn't stop no matter how much my mind argued otherwise. He was going to hear it whether he wanted to or not.

Liquid courage.

I reached for the tequila and poured me a shot.

"I didn't know at the time, but I was already pregnant with Lizzy." I told him just before taking the shot. "I know that you would never use this information against me. And believe me, it will feel better telling the truth for once. I couldn't even get myself to trust Amy…isn't that sad?"

"I had to bring her back to you. She was beginning to believe that you were never coming to get her." he said, trying his best to change the subject.

Ignoring him, I continued. "I time traveled to Eric's past to fulfill another's vision. And while there…things-" I couldn't finish that sentence. "I'm sorry."

He glanced back at me, "Why are you apologizing to me?"

I stood up, slowly walking over to him, "Because I owe you one. Hell, I owe you a few."

Before I could reach him, he cut across the room, clearly trying to avoid me being near him.

"You don't know what you want or what you're saying." he groaned.

"I do know what I want and I know exactly what I'm saying." I told him. "Get mad at me." I demanded. "I deserve it for being such a stupid bitch." I said, running my finger along the back of the sofa.

He shook his head, "Bella, maybe you should sleep this off." he suggested as he tried to keep the distance between us.

"I'm not drunk damn it. I had one lousy shot." I shouted. "Now get pissed at me! Fly something at me!" I yelled, throwing the pillows at him. "Call me every name that you can think of!"

"No. I could never hate you enough to even attempt such a ridiculous thing." he scoffed, "Why would you want me to-"

I used my mind to fly the fern that sat to the left of the balcony doors at him. Of course it just bounced off of him and landed on the ground. The ceramic pot shattering to pieces as the dirt spilled across the floor.

If he doesn't hate me…

"You want me." I said to him as I unzipped the dress. "You know I want you too…" I whispered, slipping off of the dress and placing it nicely over the arm chair.

Amy will kill me if I ruined this dress.

I stood there topless in my garter belt, laced panties, stockings, and stilettos.

"No Bella." he shouted as he ran over to the balcony and closed the doors, afraid the people of New York might catch a free show.

I walked up behind him, wrapping my hands around his waist.

"I promise I wont leave you." I whispered, resting my head against his back. "Not this time."

He gently grabbed my hands, "Bella stop." he whispered, prying my arms loose. "You have to stop this, now."

"Why? What's changed?" I demanded, brows furrowed.

He walked across the room, creating distance between us again.

When he didn't answer, I walked over to the small end table and threw it at him.

"Bella!" he growled.

"Fight me!" I bellowed. "Stop trying to avoid me and fucking fight me! You know you want to! Just say something, anything!"

He looked at me and shook his head, walking towards the doors to my far left.

"We aren't doing this right now." he said, opening the French doors. "Just go to sleep."

I followed him, closing the doors behind me. "You're going to face me whether you want to or not."

Before I could turn around and face him, Cristiano pinned me against the doors.

"Is this what you want?" he growled, grabbing my hands, slamming them against the doors as he gripped my wrists tightly.

I laughed at him, "You hate me don't you?"

"I don't hate you Bella. But you're really trying to get on my bad side." he said, pressing harder. "I cant do this." he whispered suddenly against my hair.

I glanced back at him as I pushed my butt against his body. "Why not?"

He flipped me over and pinned me against the doors again by my arms, "Stop that."

I giggled, "Why? Afraid you might like it?" I asked, breaking out of his grip long enough to pull at his neck. I bit onto his lip and latched onto it, "Fuck me…" I whispered.

I could tell he was trying to hold back. But I knew I was getting to him.

"This isn't right."

I caressed his lips with the tip of my tongue, "It feels right to me."

He grinded his jaw, "Damn it Bella…"

"Fuck it."

Less than a second later, his mouth came down hard onto mine, forceful, hungry kisses. My hands found his shirt and tore it apart as the buttons snapped off, trying desperately to release his warm body from the fabric.

Fuck…

As soon as his shirt fell off his arms, he turned me around, pinning my hands above my head again. His teeth bit into my right shoulder as his free hand gripped my panties. In one quick motion, he ripped them right off.

The first time we made love, it was new and we were unsure, almost like strangers. We held each other gently, afraid of hurting one another, only aiming to please and be pleased. Slow but steady love making, drawing each other in with each stroke. Soft, tender kisses and heated breaths.

Like a delicate flower just starting to bloom in the spring.

But this time, he knew me and I knew him. This time, we weren't afraid of being too intense with one another or even too rough. This time we weren't trying to hold back all that built up passion that stood between us. This time we would let our need to feel one another overflow and it was going to be hot and heavy. Wild, untamable sex that is long overdue.

And I am ready and willing. I thought. Oh fuck me…like now!

I felt my insides moisten knowing what was coming next. My chest, rising and falling with every breath as the sound of him fumbling with his pants, anticipating what was inches away.

"Now…" I begged.

He bent me slightly forward just before forcing himself into me. I clawed into the door as he gripped my waist, hitting me hard with each thrust. With his left leg, he spreaded my legs wider as he continued his angry thrusts. Suddenly, he reached around the front of me, spreading apart my folds, he began playing with my clit. I screamed at the intense pressure he was adding which got him notches above horny.

I cant believe I waited this long!

He pulled out long enough to turn me around. He bent down, grabbing my thighs forcefully and lifted me against the door, thrusting upwards into me. My hands tucked under his arms as I gripped onto him, pulling his body closer to mine. He nestled his face into my neck as I clawed his back, moaning out his name.

"Harder…" I begged as I released him, now throwing my arms over my head.

He straightened up, wrapping one arm around my waist while the other grabbed a hold of my thigh. He carried me over to the bed where he placed me in the middle.

With no time to waste, he slammed into me harder. Lifting my legs to open me even wider.

"Harder…" I begged again.

I could feel myself edging closer and closer and with him in tune with my body, we toppled over. He continued his shivering thrusts before coming to a full stop. I reached up, cupping his face as I kissed him, hungry for the taste of him. Then as he pulled away, he kissed the tip of my nose.

"You're bad…" he said grinning as he collapsed next to me.

I stood up and turned around, "You know you liked it." I told him, bringing my left leg up to remove the stilettos.

I could feel his eyes on me as I tossed the stiletto to the side and unhooked my stockings. As I rolled the stockings down my leg, I watched him, biting at my bottom lip.

"She's dangerous. Very dangerous."

"You're dangerous." he admitted verbally.

I smiled, slinging the stocking at him. "Oh don't worry Cristiano baby, the night is still young." I said, bringing up my left leg to remove the stiletto.

The night is dangerously young. I thought to myself as I tossed the stiletto next to the other.

As I unhooked my stockings from the garter belt, I watched him with heavy eyes. We were still fucking even though we weren't as one.

"Let me do that." he offered.

Cristiano sat up, moving closer to me. Both of his hands caressed my thighs while his right hand brushed against my moistened folds.

You can bet your bottom dollar that I was ready for round two.

As I laid there in his arms, tracing his chest, I listened to his heartbeat. It was in tune with mine. I wanted to stay like this, in his arms, feeling him beneath me…with him forever.

And never let you go.

I knew at that moment that I loved him. Truly, madly, and very deeply kind of love. Maybe I always have but was too blinded, I don't know. But as the veil has been lifted, revealing the one man I should've never let go, I came to terms with what I wanted.

Him.

I fell in love a few times before. Two of the three, I actually believed it was love. I mean, having to truly love only once, I was no expert. I cared for all of them deeply.

But to say that I loved them the way that I had loved Ryan, it would be a total lie.

I cant keep putting him up on a pedestal, but how else can I define my relationships? Ryan was like the only experience I had up until just recently.

Pathetic, I know.

With Nick, I was beginning to develop feelings for him, but then he disappeared.

Almost without a trace.

Sharing a daughter together creates a connection. So, yeah…I cared for him deeply. Still do. If we gave it another shot, maybe I could actually love him.

But that's all it is.

And then there's human Eric versus innocent vampire Eric and, of course, asshole Eric. Confused and vulnerable left me unsure with how to deal with the three different Eric's. I cared for two of the three and hated the other, eventually hating both. But in reality, they are all Eric and I will never truly know that what we had was really love. I mean now that I think about it, its stupid to love one side of him more than the other. That doesn't make any sense.

Believe me, I've had lots of time to think that one through.

But with Cristiano. We always had a connection, deeper than any man I thought to love or even cared for.

More than the connection I shared with Ryan.

Now when I think back at everything, I noticed things that I never noticed before. From day one, I could feel him and yet I didn't even know him. His soul was calling out to mine just as mine was to his.

The kiss in the graveyard, I believed it was my power, but it wasn't. It was something different. Its as if our souls, our auras, our bodies molded together. For a moment in time, we got lost within each other and yet opening up to one another. It was surreal.

Or when he was dying in the alley, I could feel a pull leading me directly to him. A direct line or a magnet or even a compass of some sort.

It was always him.

But what really made me realize we had something special was the moment that I stepped into Alcaeus. It was like a bolt of energy, his energy, entered me. And when I left, I felt like a part of me was somehow missing.

And it was…he was.

Then a few nights ago, I felt that energy again. A pull, like a magnetic force or something. Like when he approached me on the dance floor just hours earlier. I knew it was him even before I turned around, before he spoke.

Our souls had been calling out to each other and it took years for me to see things this clearly.

"How do you feel?" he asked me.

Beautiful…?

I loved him. I knew I did and that this time, it was real. I just didn't know if he felt the same way about me as I do about him. I could only hope that this time, he meets me halfway.

Not that I deserve such thing. But a girl can dream.

I kissed his chest before looking up at him. "With you, I don't have to hide who I am. You know me, you accept me, you've helped me be me…you let me be me." I whispered as I sat up. "With you, I know I don't have to keep any secrets from you because this thing that we share, it has no secrets." I said, kissing the tip of his nose. "With you…you make me feel…free." I admitted.

He laced his fingers with mine. "You do realize you're still here with me right?" he said, grinning at me.

I bit my bottom lip as I nodded, "I wont run from you…not this time."

Or ever again.