Disclaimer: I do not own The Twilight Saga or any of its affiliates.

Chapter 13:

I moved slightly on Edward's bare chest. I did not want to disturb his thoughts or our positions. After what had just occurred, I did not want to ruin the precious moment that Edward and I had together. We were connected in more ways than one: mentally and now physically; a smile came to my face when I realized that again.

I could have stayed on Edward's chest for days, possibly even months. I was so comfortable in his strong arms, lying up against his extraordinary body. Unfortunately, all good things must ultimately come to an end.

"Isabella..." Edward whispered, breathing in my scent. He grabbed a piece of my hair and brought it up to his nose. He inhaled deeply.

I grinned and turned a bit. I held myself up over his chest with my elbows. Slowly, I lowered my head and kissed his hard chest. I pecked it over and over again, unable to control myself. "Edward Cullen..." I breathed, blowing the warm heat over his cold body.

He shivered, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. "Don't stop."

I kissed his chest one more time and rested my hand on it. I pushed off of him and peered over his face. He opened his eyes and smiled at me. I leaned down and kissed his beautiful lips. He brought his hands up to my face and held me. I got completely on top of him, and there we kissed.

"You torture me, Isabella Swan." He brushed his hand on my cheek as I sat on top of him.

I gripped his waist. "Why are you suddenly calling me Isabella? Why the sudden change?"

Edward sat up, and I adjusted myself. He wrapped his arms around my neck. "I don't understand why you care so much about your first name. I would much rather change your last name." He grabbed me under my arms and lifted me up. He put me down on the bed in front of him, and he slid off the bed.

For a moment, I sat there, confused by his words. He was definitely playing with me. "You don't like my last name?" Two could play at that game.

Edward slid open the closet door nearest to us. "I was actually thinking of a longer name. You know, maybe a last name with six letters instead of four." He grabbed a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. He spun around and smiled at me. "But that's just my opinion."

"Oh really?" I was enjoying this playful side of Edward. I found myself falling more and more in love with him.

He nodded and placed the articles of clothing on the bed in front of me. "Here," he said, changing the conversation, "I am pretty sure that Alice won't mind if you wear these clothes. She had no further use for them anyway. She already wore them once." Edward spun back around in search of clothes for himself.

I got out of bed and took one last look at Edward's naked body. I could not believe that I was standing near a man as gorgeous and as radiant as Edward. His body was covered in lean muscles, complementing his tall figure. His pale body was utterly breath-taking, and he was all mine.

I slipped on the jeans and gracefully put the tee shirt on over my head. When I popped my head out of the shirt, Edward was staring directly at me. I would have blushed. "What are you looking at?" I asked, embarrassed.

"Your beautiful body. I don't deserve you at all." He looked away and headed out the door. I shook my head in disagreement, put on my shoes, and followed Edward.

We walked hand-in-hand to the Cullen's house. "You're completely wrong, Edward," I said, starting off a conversation.

He almost stopped walking. "What are you talking about?" He stared at me quizzically. "This is so agitating that I don't know what you are thinking."

I shook my head, being honest. "Actually, it is excellent that you don't know what I'm thinking. I don't really want you to know how I feel about you."

This time, he stopped. "Why?"

I tugged on his hand, making him walk again. "I am pretty sure that I am not worthy of you, Edward. I don't deserve you; it's not the other way around."

Edward and I walked in sync. "That's where you are wrong, Bella. I never thought that you would want me. You were a forbidden fruit, and you seemed out of my reach. But now here you are."

"I don't just want you, Edward. Can't you see that?" Edward stared at me with wondering eyes. "I love you."

Edward stopped again and pulled me close. "Oh, how I have been waiting for you to say that. I love you, too." He kissed me gently.

Together, we walked to the Cullen's house again. We stayed quiet as our feet hit against the grass. It was night; an owl hooted in the distance, and the moon shown high in the sky. I looked up to see the many stars shining bright and strong in the universe.

When we spotted the house, we were surprised to smell wolves. Edward walked in front of me; he seemed to be protecting me. I grinned at his chivalry as he opened the door. I followed behind him, and we walked into the living room.

The Cullen's were standing in a group near the side of the room. Alice had her fingers on her temples, and I instantly knew why. Jacob and a few of his wolf friends were standing on the other side of the room. Jacob had a sly grin on his face.

"Hey, Bella," he said when he saw me enter. Edward walked over to his family and began conversing.

I, on the other hand, walked over to Jacob. "Hey, Jake. How is everything?"

Jacob wrinkled his nose and took a step back. "Dang, Bella; you stink."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, you don't smell too good either. Don't get your hopes up." Jacob laughed. "So who did you bring?" I gestured towards his friends.

"Oh. This is Quil and Embry. They are my right hand men."

The boy named Quil held out his hand. "Hi; I'm Quil Ateara." He said it in flirty tone.

"Bella Swan. Nice to meet you." I shook his hand faithfully but without enthusiasm; he just was not my type.

Edward walked up from behind me; I could feel and hear his footsteps. "Bella, we need to discuss a few things with you."

I turned around, a bit thankful to be rid of prepubescent teen wolves. I glided over to the Cullen's and smiled at Carlisle. "You wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes, Bella. There are a few things to go over before we practice fighting with you."

"Because we all know that they weren't practicing fighting in the forest after they left," Emmett said, grinning. Edward quickly punched him on the shoulder, and Emmett laughed it off. I ignored Emmett's comment, as did the rest of the Cullen's.

"We are going to be a bit rough with you, Bella," Carlisle continued as if Emmett never interrupted. "The other vampires are not going to treat you like a newborn. They are going to slaughter you if they get the chance. We have to treat you like how they would treat you."

I nodded in agreement. "That's fine. I wasn't expecting a free ride. I want to fight in this battle, and in order to do that, I will listen to the seven of you."

After I said that, Jacob walked past us with Quil and Embry. "Let's go." He headed out the door and down the stairs.

Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me after them. It was time to prepare. We stopped on the grass outside while Jacob and his wolves continued into the forest. I looked at Edward, a bit confused. Emmett and Rosalie, Alice and Jasper, and Carlisle and Esme followed the wolves and disappeared into the forest.

"Why are we here, Edward? Why are we not going with the rest of the family?"

Edward ran his hand through my hair. "They are going to work with the wolves. I am going to work one-on-one with you. There is no reason for you to become confused with the wolves when you won't be fighting them in the battle."

Edward took a step back and crouched down in front of me. "Pretend that I am an evil vampire." I grinned. "I know it's going to be very hard to envision that, Bella, but you are going to have to try. I am evil, and I want to kill you. I am most likely untrained and inexperienced. What body part am I going to aim for on you?"

I took a wild guess. "The neck." That was where I would aim.

Edward nodded. "Exactly. That is the body part that you must be aware of at all times. If you are not, this will happen." Suddenly, Edward was right behind me; his mouth was inches from my neck.

I growled. "I see what you mean." I turned around. "Tell me what you do."

He stood up straight again. "I am for the arms and legs. They are the easiest to rip off of the body. Even if one of them is ripped off, the vampire gets flustered, worried. Then, you aim right for the neck and rip their head off."

I shivered. "That seems a bit much, don't you think?"

"Bella, as much as you may not like it, you are a predator now. You must think like an animal if you want to kill an animal. That is the only way to properly kill vampires. Their necks must be severed from their bodies; then, they must be thrown into a fire and burned."

I nodded, understanding everything he was saying. "Basically, I have to be skillful. I have to go after my prey quickly and quietly." I gave Edward a demonstration.

I ran as fast as I could around him. His eyes could not follow me. I grabbed his arms and pulled them backwards; it gave the illusion that I was ripping them off. Then, still holding his arms, I stood up behind him and brought my teeth up to his neck. Playfully, I kissed it and dropped his arms.

"Very good, Bella. Very quick." Edward turned around and wrapped his arms around me. "You are a character." He kissed me, and I refused to let him go.

When Edward jolted away from me, I got frightened. "Edward, what's wrong? What happened?"

Edward stared into the forest, looking in the direction that our family went. "Alice just had a vision. I read her mind." I stared at Edward, waiting for him to continue. "They are coming tomorrow; they are looking for a fight."