~/\~

~x~

~x~

~x~

Chapter 10

Acceptance.

It hung thick and sweet in the air around me. Around us. I could feel it, could taste it, could almost reach out and grasp it…and I wanted to. I wanted to take it, to hold it in my hands and cling to it, much like the way I was clinging to her. The way that we were clinging to each other.

It wasn't that I knew Bella would accept me, because I didn't. I didn't know for sure. Even though everything about her was telling me that she would understand, there was still this lingering fear that once she knew the truth, she would hate me for what I was.

But she was still there. And not only there – she was touching me, holding me, kissing me…and she was asking me to trust her. And I meant what I said when I told her that I really fucking wanted to. I did. There was something about her – something about this amazing fucking woman that made me want to trust her. Maybe it was the fearless way she had looked at me tonight. Her eyes were unwavering and holding mine, trying to disguise the fear that her trembling body and her pounding heart were betraying. Even if she was scared….even though she was terrified…she still wanted to know. And she still sat there in my lap, her body connected to mine in almost every way possible, asking me, begging me to tell her.

"Tell me," she whispered. "Tell me and let me show you that you are, Edward. You're the most important 'someone' ever. Whatever you tell me won't change that. And neither will the way I look at you."

I stared into her big, brown eyes. Trying to find one reason…any fucking reason not to tell her. And there were none. It was just her pleading, her trusting…and the fucking promise of her acceptance. And that was what sealed it for me.

Acceptance.

If she could offer herself to me like this – if she could tell me that what I was didn't matter – even while she looked at me and could see that I was different and could feel the cold, hard and lifeless form of my body pressed against hers. If she could do that – I decided in that moment – I could give her the only thing I had to offer. I could give her the truth. And I could only hope that once I said the words, her trust would still be there. That her acceptance would still be there.

"Bella, I'm…"

Her phone rang, startling her and causing her to jump. I winced at the offending and interrupting noise, trying to tell myself that this was the universe's way of preventing me from saying the words. But I knew that was bullshit. I knew that was only my own selfishness and fear searching for a way out of telling her the truth. As if she could sense my hesitation, she told me, "Ignore it. It's late and no one should be calling me at this hour anyway."

And so, I waited. I waited for it to stop, but it didn't. The ringing continued and I knew that I had to wait; my mind conflicted with the dueling emotions of relief and frustration.

"Maybe you should get that," I said softly. "It doesn't seem like it's going to stop."

Disappointment covered her exquisite features and as she pulled herself from my arms and clambered out of my lap…my body ached with her absence and I couldn't help but wonder if we would ever be able to recapture that moment again.

Frustrated, I leaned over and raked my hands through my hair. I was so fucking close…we were so fucking close. I could hear Bella in the background, even though I was trying to ignore her and give her privacy, it proved impossible. I could hear every word that she spoke and the slight changes in her heartbeat.

"What do you mean she's missing?"

"Didn't you call her when she didn't show up at the bar?"

A gnawing feeling churned in the pit of my stomach at the mention of the bar. I didn't know why, but all I could think about was the fact that he had been there. But he couldn't have…

No.

He wouldn't have.

"And she's not at home?"

"I haven't spoken to her since you guys were here last night, Rose."

"Do you want me to come over?"

"He is?"

"Do you think that's the best idea, Rose?"

I couldn't help the panic that rose up inside as an ominous sense of foreboding covered me, chilling me with its frightening threat of possibility. And even though I didn't know if it was probable…it was definitely possible.

"I know. Please, just call me if you hear from her and I promise I'll do the same."

"And Rose…please, be careful."

~x~

~x~

~x~

"Alice is missing," Bella said as she walked back into the room.

I stood up, looking at her. Her face was even paler than before and the tremble in her voice caused my chest to ache. She was afraid, and for a fleeting moment, I wondered if she was afraid of me.

Please, please, please…don't be afraid of me.

"I'm not," she whispered, walking over to where I was standing.

I didn't know I'd said that out loud.

"I told you, Edward. I know you won't hurt me."

She placed her hands in mine, once again, placing trust in me when she had every fucking reason not to, astounding me. And there it was again.

Acceptance.

Or the hope of it.

"Alice is your friend, the small one…with the black hair?" I asked, realizing too late what I'd done.

"How did you know that?"

I hung my head, ashamed in my acknowledgement of another way that I had violated her.

"She was with you," I said, unable to look up and meet her eyes. "Last night…on the porch."

"You were watching me?"

"Yes," I admitted.

"How long?" she asked. "How long have you been watching me?"

I looked at her, pleading with her to understand…knowing that she shouldn't.

"A while."

She swallowed and my eyes were drawn to her throat…her neck. I could see the pale blue of her veins that lay just beneath her creamy skin. The sound of her elevated pulse beat in tandem with the fluttering undulation of her carotid artery. I was struck with the gentle beauty of not just her body…but her life.

Her life was beautiful.

Just as beautiful as her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you're different."

My answer was simple, but the absolute truth. Her eyes stared back at me and I wondered if I should elaborate, if I should tell her something more, but she asked for no further explanation. It was as if she just…knew. She knew and she felt the same thing I was feeling. The same connection. The same intense need…the same consuming desire.

With a sigh, she pressed her head against my chest and I was overcome with emotion as I enveloped her in my arms. The weight of her body relaxed against me as she seemed to give in to the emotional and physical fatigue of the night.

"I'm worried about Alice," she whispered. "She was supposed to meet Rosalie at the bar tonight…and she never showed. She's not home and she's not answering her phone. I'm worried about her and I feel bad because even though I'm worried and I feel like I should be doing something more…"

She paused even though I could tell she wanted to say something else…something more. I wished again that I could just hear her. I wanted to know what she was thinking, how she was feeling. And then her words came back to me. She'd told me that I needed to trust her.

"What else were you going to say?"

She blushed as she looked up at me and it was beautiful. I felt the need to kiss her again…to offer her comfort the way that she had offered me comfort. Instead, I whispered, "Tell me."

"I just…" she started. "I just…I mean…I was just going to say that… Well, I was just going to say that even though I'm worried, I still really want to be here with you."

She wanted to be there with me. She still wanted to be there with me after everything I'd done…everything I'd told her. And something new and unfamiliar rumbled in my chest. Something warm and soft…and yet completely penetrating as it pushed through the stone walls of my body, my heart. Knocking them down and offering her admittance.

I could tell her.

In that moment, I knew that I could tell her and I knew she wouldn't run.

"And that makes me feel bad," she continued. "Like I'm not as good a friend as I think I should be. Like I should be worried more. Like I should be doing more. And I really am worried."

I pulled her closer to me, wanting to offer her comfort and knowing that somehow, every beat of her heart against my chest was pushing me, telling me to just say the fucking words.

"Bella," I whispered.

"Yeah?" she whimpered, he voice thick and full of unshed tears.

"I want…I want you to be here with me, too."

"You mean that, don't you?"

Her eyes were wide and trusting as she looked at me. And the same awe I felt that she would even allow me to touch her – to hold her in my arms – was mirrored in her beautiful face.

"Yes," I told her. "I do."

It was then that I felt the familiar buzzing between us against my leg. It startled her – both of us, really – and she jumped in my arms.

"What is that?" she asked. "Is that...is that a phone?"

"Fuck," I cursed, wanting to throw the goddamn thing across the room and shatter it into a million fucking pieces.

"You have a phone?" she asked incredulously. "Wow."

Her body shifted and tensed in my arms and I looked at her, wanting to understand where her sudden apprehension was coming from.

"Bella, what's wrong?"

I lifted my hand to stroke the skin of her cheek and she sighed. Her breath was so warm against my skin and even warmer still as she pressed her face against my palm.

"I don't understand any of this," she said, shaking her head. The fragrance of her hair filled the air as I breathed her scent in. "This is all so confusing. I mean, here I am thinking that you're…dead," she whispered the last word, he voice shaking and confused. "You talked to me on the Ouija board. I didn't…I don't…I thought you were a ghost, Edward. Or something...something else. Something different. I don't know why, but the idea of you having a cell phone seems…it seems so strange to me."

"I know you have a lot of questions," I told her. "But please, Bella…please just let me explain everything to you. Please…just give me a chance."

She brought one of her hands up and covered mine, squeezing gently. Her touch was gentle, comforting just like her.

"I told you before," she said almost fiercely. "I told you…I'm not going anywhere."

She held my gaze and it was as if she were telling me with her eyes the same thing that she was telling me with her words. And then the vibration of my phone interrupted us again.

"I don't think yours is going to stop either."

"Fuck my phone," I said sharply. Though, somewhere in the back of my mind, was the same gnawing feeling that something was wrong…something to do with him.

She took her bottom lip between her teeth, biting down as her eyes grew distant before turning her face down.

"Is there…" she said quietly, almost as if she didn't want to say anything at all. "I mean, well…what I mean is…if there was something or…or someone that you needed to speak to…I could give you some privacy."

"Bella?" I said her name, beckoning her to look at me. She didn't. "Please."

"What?" she said, looking up at me. Her eyes were filled with water, threatening to spill over and she looked confused and sad and I didn't understand it. And then the realization of what she said hit me and I understood what she must have been thinking.

"Bella, no," I told her. "There is no other someone. There has never…there's no one else. Not like that. Not the way you're thinking."

"I didn't know," she said, wiping the tears that had fallen on her cheeks. "I didn't…I mean, how could I…how would I know? This is all so confusing, Edward. First you have a phone and then it seems like you don't want to talk in front of me."

I reached between us and pulled the phone from my pocket, wanting to show her that of all the secrets I held, what I had on my phone was not one of them.

"You don't have to," she said. "I mean…I'm sorry."

"No," I told her. "It's okay."

I looked on the screen and there were two messages from him.

"Call me."

I didn't understand why. Why, after all these years, had he sought me out again? I knew that I owed him. I owed him a fucking lot, but so much time had passed and the timing of it seemed too coincidental. Pushing back the sense of anxiety that I was feeling, I opened the second message.

"Please, Edward. I fucked up."

A million scenarios flooded my mind. But I knew that there were only two things that would cause him to reach out to me for help. Only two fucking things.

Regression and exposure.

And Bella's friend was missing.

"Fuck," I cursed as the pieces of information shifted and came together in my mind, forming a horrifying and potentially devastating picture.

I was dialing the phone before I had allowed myself to think about it.

"Edward," his voice was low and urgent.

"What do you mean you fucked up?"

I looked down at Bella and for the first time that night, the fear in her eyes was present. It was no longer just the rapid beating of her heart and the pulsing of her blood. Her eyes matched her body and I knew that she was afraid…of me.

"Everything happened so fast," he said, the arrogant lilt of his earlier voice gone. "It was like I didn't have the strength to control it."

"What did you do?" I asked, trying and failing to control the venom in my voice. "Tell me!"

"Nothing!" he yelled back. "But I wanted to," he added, his voice suddenly lower, barely above a whisper. "I just…I couldn't."

I didn't understand him. He wasn't making sense and I tried to wrap my mind around the clouded and confused pieces of information that he had given me.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I don't understand. You said you…" I paused, knowing that my words were going to scare Bella. But also knowing that if I walked away from her, he fear would be worse. So I stayed. "You said you…fucked up."

I looked at her, her wide eyes filled with questions as she hung onto every word that I was saying.

"I did," he said. "I did…and now she's gone."

"Who?" I asked, knowing the answer and feeling physically sick. "And what do you mean by gone?"

"Her name is Alice," he said, his voice softer than I'd ever heard it. "I almost fucking took her…I wanted to. She came with me…she wanted to come with me. Told me that I'd kept her waiting. It was…It would have been so easy."

All of this was too close. My past and my present were melding and merging and I wasn't prepared for what that might mean. I wasn't prepared for his reappearance in my life – for the feelings inside me that he evoked. And her…I could never have been prepared for her. But she was there…she was still fucking there and my world was shifting because of her. And as much as the change was unexpected…because of her, it wasn't unwelcomed. Even though it was all wrong.

"But you didn't?"

"I couldn't."

I let out a long and useless breath, overcome with relief. Her friend was alright…she wasn't harmed…but she could have been. I didn't understand what happened between them, but I knew that something had transpired. He didn't make mistakes. He didn't ever let his guard down. And tonight…he had.

I noticed that as most of the tension in my body left, Bella relaxed into me as well. She confounded me. Everything about her amazed and bewildered me. And then it infuriated me that she wasn't afraid. She wasn't scared when there were so many fucking things to be scared of.

"Does she know?" I asked.

"No," he said icily. "That can't fucking happen…and you know why."

And I did.

I looked at Bella and in that moment, I knew that I had failed her again. She didn't understand the repercussions of knowing and understanding my truth. And in my need to be with her – my need for her acceptance – I was placing her in harm's way. From more than just me.

"I know," I said solemnly.

"When did she leave?" I asked. "Where did she go?"

"I don't fucking know," he hissed, his usually cool and collected demeanor gone. "Home?"

"You didn't follow her?"

I winced and cursed myself as the words fell from my lips. I was the one who had stalked and followed, watching and waiting and observing Bella like prey.

"No," he said flatly. "I didn't. Following her wasn't an option. I don't want to know where she is. I can't take from that tree…the knowledge is too much…too powerful. She's good…and even though I had no choice, I am the antithesis of her, Edward. I need to be as far away from her as possible. For her sake."

His words pierced and bruised and pounded my heart. He was right. He was right and he had been able to do what I wasn't strong enough…or selfless enough to do. He had let her go. Alice. I recalled her image in my mind, wondering what it was about her that had attracted him. Was it her body? Her blood?

And then I looked at Bella – still there and still touching me, holding me – still not fucking running away from me. And I should have been ashamed…had so much to be ashamed of, but I just wasn't. I couldn't be, because she made me feel almost human. She made me remember that part of myself that I had forfeited so long ago. She made me feel worthy.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Why?" I asked, wondering if he already knew. And if he knew where I was, that meant he knew about Bella.

"I have to leave," he said. "Soon."

"Not tonight," I told him. "I can't see you tonight."

"Fine," he said. "Tomorrow."

"Fine. And Edward?"

"Jasper?"

"If you don't find me," he said in a low, hushed whisper. "I'll find you."

I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself by focusing on the only thing that mattered in that moment – the woman who was still standing before me in my arms. Her heartbeat was soothing, if only for the simple fact that I could still feel it pressed against my body. I didn't know what I would see when I opened my eyes to her. I could only imagine that it was fear…I could only hope that it wasn't disgust. And so, I allowed myself one more moment…one more measure in this achingly beautiful song that would haunt me for the rest of my existence.

"I feel you," she whispered. "I feel you pulling away…and I don't understand what's going on, Edward. But I understand…no, I know that I don't want that to happen."

I opened my eyes and I looked down at her and god help me, I couldn't help myself from pulling her flush against me, fighting with everything inside me to be gentle…but still wondering if I was hurting her.

"I don't understand," I said roughly. "I don't understand any of this. I don't understand myself…and I don't understand you."

"You know something, don't you?" she asked, her voice muffled against the shirt I was wearing. "About Alice."

Her words stopped me, focused me.

"Why do you think that?" I asked her.

"Because I'm not stupid," she said simply. She wasn't. She wasn't and she didn't know the half of it. "Just tell me that she's okay."

"She is," I acquiesced. "I don't know if she's home, but she should be soon."

I pulled back so that I could look at her. I cupped her face, staring into her eyes and she never flinched…not once.

"It wasn't me," I told her, my voice low and rough and trembling. "I need you to know that."

"I do," she said. "I just…it's just…Edward, you have to tell me what's going on. You have to tell me who you are. Is Alice in danger? Am I?"

Her voice quivered as she asked the last question, and the stone of my heart shattered at the only inkling of fear that she betrayed.

"I will never let anyone hurt you," I told her. "Never."

"I believe you," she said. "But that's not what I asked."

She was so fierce…so perfect in her honesty.

"You could be," I admitted. "I could be placing you in danger by telling you the truth."

She sucked in a breath at my words. Her eyes narrowed and her body grew tense in my arms.

"You could be in danger just by my being here."

"Well then," she said softly before biting down on her bottom lip. "It's a good thing that you will never let anyone hurt me. Because you are telling me the truth, Edward. I deserve to know the truth. Especially if I'm in danger."

"I never should have come here," I told her. "I should have been stronger. I should have been able to stay away."

"Fuck," she hissed, pushing away from me and pulling out of my arms. "Don't you think that there's a reason that you didn't? That you couldn't? I don't know what's going on…I don't even know who or what you are, but I know there's a reason you're here. And beyond all of that," she continued, her voice raised, "beyond the supernatural craziness that neither of us can explain and the fact that I could hear you…that you communicated with me through a fucking board…beyond all of that, Edward, is the fact that I want you here. I wanted you here last night. And I know you want to be here, too. So, just fucking stop!"

Her chest was heaving with her breath, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wild with a fire that I hadn't seen in them before. She was fucking beautiful. With inhuman speed, I crossed the space between us and pulled her into my arms, covering her lips with my mouth. If she was shocked, she didn't show it. She only returned my kiss with all of the passion of her words….and I fucking knew.

Not that I could tell her…but that I had to tell her.

"I want to tell you," I murmured against her hot skin. "I really fucking do, Bella."

"Then tell me," she said her voice thick and still determined. "Just tell me."

"I'm still afraid you'll run."

"Well based on what I think I just saw, she said. "I'm pretty sure you could catch me."

And even in the seriousness and the emotion of the moment, I couldn't help but laugh at her words. Amazing didn't do her justice…mysterious couldn't describe the enigma of who she was. Not just her mind, but her words and her heart.

"You mean it, don't you?" I asked her, suddenly serious and forgetting the levity of the moment. "What I am…it doesn't matter?"

"It can't be worse than what I've been thinking, Edward," she told me. "I thought that you were a ghost…that you were dead."

"I'm not dead," I told her.

"I know," she said, reaching up and running her fingers through my hair. "I can feel you. I can touch you. You're real," she whispered. "You're here…and you're just as real as me. This," she said, placing her hand on my chest, on top of my soundless heart. "This is real. What is happening between us is real."

"Bella," I whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said. "Tell me."

I stood still, looking into her eyes and praying one last time that it wouldn't be the last time. But somewhere, I knew…somehow, I'd known all along.

I had been waiting for her with no awareness.

I had been searching for her without knowing.

~x~

~x~

~x~

Her body was unmoving and if her eyes held questions, I couldn't see a single one. I held my useless breath, wondering if I should say something else, but too afraid to move or speak or think or hope.

I looked down and saw her hand on my chest and brought my own hand up and covered hers, pressing it against me.

"What do you feel?" I whispered.

She looked confused by my words, but she took a deep breath and answered me.

"You, Edward. I feel you."

Her words were honest and I could hear the emotion in her beautiful voice…soft and thick and sweet.

"But when you touch me," I continued, "what do you feel?"

She stared back at me like she was trying to understand the meaning behind my words…and just couldn't.

"I don't understand what you mean," she said. "What are you…what are you trying to say?"

Without another word, I began to unbutton my shirt. She gasped softly as her eyes widened…and she still didn't look afraid. Once my shirt was open, I brought both of her now-trembling hands to my chest. I held them over my heart, pressing them against my stone skin.

"Now," I whispered…more urgently, "what do you feel now, Bella? Tell me."

"I feel your chest…your skin."

"And?"

"It's cold," she said. "It's cold and hard."

I swallowed, wondering if she was beginning to understand…desperately wanting her to.

"What do you think that means?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It does," I told her. "It does matter."

She stepped in closer, placing an open kiss on my sternum. Her mouth was hot as her tongue slipped out and licked me.

"Tell me," I rasped, almost unable to form words. "What else do you feel? What about my heart?"

She turned her head and laid it against my chest, her breathing heavy as she wrapped her arms completely around me. Still holding me…still clinging to me.

Seconds turned to moments and the moments seemed to stand still. And I stood there, stoic and waiting – waiting for her to finally understand just how different I was.

"I don't feel it," she whispered, her breath tickling my skin, causing me to shudder. "I can't feel your heart."

She didn't look at me, but she didn't move away either. And I couldn't see her eyes…and I couldn't hear her thoughts. And I hated and loved my gift in that moment, because I was so fucking afraid of what she was thinking.

"I don't have one," I said gently.

Her eyes shot up to mine and she spoke slowly…intently.

"Yes, you do. Just because I don't hear it, doesn't mean it's not there."

I drew in a useless breath.

"What do you think it means?" I asked. "What is all of this telling you?"

"You're cold and hard and I can't hear your heart," she said. "But, Edward…I knew all of this before."

I looked at her, willing her to understand, but she just wouldn't. She was never going to see me for what I was…so, I would have to show her. Slowly, I raised my hand to her face, cupping her cheek and deliberately – almost roughly – trailed my thumb across her bottom lip. It felt like satin underneath the pressure…hot and wet and full. I could feel the humid air as she gasped against my hand.

Languidly, I walked around her, dragging my hand along her neck, pulling her hair to the side. Her heartbeat increased and the sound of it, pounded and rung in my ears. Standing behind her, I put my other arm around her waist, sliding it underneath her shirt, pressing my hand against her stomach and pulling her flush against me.

"I can hear your pulse here," I whispered in her ear, feeling her tremble at my words…my touch. I pressed my open mouth against her neck, murmuring against her skin, "I can feel it – your blood – flowing under my lips. Do you know why doctors draw blood from your veins?"

"No," she whispered, her voice shaking.

I fought against the desire I felt, holding her against me…when I knew that I was frightening her. But she needed to know. She needed to know who and what I really was.

"Because your veins carry blood to your heart," I told her. "The blood flows slower…softer."

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked.

"Because you need to understand, Bella." I began to suck on her exposed skin, tasting her, feeling her…ignoring her soft, throaty moan and the smell of her arousal that flooded the space around us. "There would be too much blood from the artery, you see. The artery carries blood away from your heart. The flow of your blood in the artery is so much more powerful."

"Edward," she whimpered.

"Shh…" I hushed her. "The flow of your blood is really strong here at your neck. And here," I continued, dragging my hand down her arm and grabbing her wrist. I pressed my thumb against her pulse. "But do you know where your blood flow is the strongest?"

"No," she said, almost inaudibly. "I don't."

I dropped her hand, watching it fall to her side and then I deftly swept my hand against her hip bone before sliding it down and grasping the soft skin of her thigh.

"Here," I rasped. "Right here, Bella. It flows strongest in your femoral artery."

"Please," she whispered, her heart pounding faster and louder than I'd ever heard it. "Stop."

I was a monster. I knew I was a fucking monster…but she needed to see. She needed to really see me.

Who I was.

What I was capable of.

"Do you know what blood smells like, Bella?"

"Copper and salt," she said; her voice slightly stronger than before. "The smell of blood makes me sick."

Her answer surprised me. Humans couldn't smell blood. At least, I didn't think they could. Once again, the woman in my arms caught me off guard, surprising me…astounding me.

"Do you know what your blood smells like?" I asked.

"The same?"

"No," I rasped. "Your blood smells tangy and rusted, but sweet and exotic…like jasmine and honey. But blood never tastes the way it smells, Bella…not exactly."

Before I sensed what was happening, she was turning in my arms to face me.

"What does it taste like?" she asked, her voice soft and determined. "What…what would I taste like?"

My shock must have been evident on my face because before I could speak, she continued.

"What's the matter, Edward?" she said. "You can't tell me?"

"I...I don't know," I said.

"You don't know because you didn't hurt me!" she cried, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling herself closer. "You didn't…and you could have. If what you're saying to me is true…you fucking could have. You think you're a monster, but a monster would have hurt me last night…a monster wouldn't be here holding me, touching me…trying to make me send him away."

She pressed a kiss to my chest again, but this time it was different…it was more.

Her body was shaking and I could see the way her mind was working and wrapping around the information…the tangible proof of my damned existence underneath her soft hands…her perfect lips. She pushed against my chest once more and looked up at me with eyes that finally held an unquestionable sense of recognition…a belated and explicit sense of understanding.

"It…it doesn't matter," she cried. "It still doesn't fucking matter. I know you won't hurt me!"

Hope rose up in my hollow chest as I processed her words and I was unable to move.

"Tell me." I said. "What am I, Bella? Say it."

~x~

~x~

~x~

"Vampire," she whispered.

I breathed at her acknowledgement…unexpectedly relieved at her admission.

She knew.

She fucking knew.

"Are you scared?" I asked.

Tears spilled down her cheeks as she silently cried. And if tears had been a possibility for me, I would have cried, too.

"No," she said. "I'm still not scared…not of you."

"You should be."

A/N

Reviews are love.

Please leave me some.

Thank you to Marvar for reading and re-reading and re-reading this chapter. Her advice and persistence really made it so much fucking better. Thank you for holding my hand when I'm a needy bitch. I adore you, bb. So much.

Thank you to Caren (Nerac) and Rainamd for pre-reading. Caren forced me to add like 1000 words and was basically awesome in her honesty. And Raina softens the blow and makes me feel like I should continue writing.

My recc' this week:

I Never Knew by Nerac. This story just posted Wednesday night and it is wonderful. After a phone call from a stranger turns her life upside down, Isabella Dwyer realizes that the people you trust the most sometimes tell the biggest lies. Can she convince a man in uniform to help her discover the things she never knew? All I can say is that I've pre-read the first nine chapters and I love, love, love it! Oh…and Copward is fucking hot. That's all.