DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER.
I am so sorry that I haven't updated in ages. I think I was actually starting to get withdrawal symptoms from lack of updating. Not kidding. I had no internet connection and while I could read and reply to reviews on my phone – get little piece of technology. Love it! – I could not update from it. Anyways, I'm back. And I've got lots in store for you.
See now, I'm disappointed in most of you. There is a very obvious (and intentional) I might add flaw in this story. Some of you have worked it out and they know who they are. Kudos to you. Well, at least if they don't know who they are, they'll find out by the end of this chapter.
It's in an A/N at the bottom of this chap.
I bet you're wondering 'why would you intentionally put a flaw in your own story?' Well the answer to that is simple my lovelies. To make sure you're all paying attention to what you read. There are lots of little snippets of information in this story that counteract each other and get the reader thinking. That's part of the story. The flaw I'm talking about is a pretty big one and going back a couple of chapters you'll probably think 'oh yeah.'
Lastly, I want to tell you that Saving Edward has been nominated for Best Angst over on the Golden Chocolate Awards. I want to say a HUGE thank you to whoever it was that nominated me. YOU ROCK AND I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Putting the link on my profile, so when you can GO VOTE!!!!!!!!
Well….on with the story.
Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Find the quote hidden in the chapter!!! :D
Edward
I don't know what I expected from Isabella. Then again, it seems that no one ever does. From what I've seen in the minds of her family, she always does the opposite of what is expected of her. She was more like me than I gave her credit for.
She seemed genuinely pleased and intruiged when I informed her about her dormant power. My only concern was why it had taken so long to manifest.
In the others I've created it has made itself known within days or hours. It's never taken almost a century before. Unless it's concerning the Volturi, but then again, that's my little secret.
One I plan on keeping.
One I don't even plan on telling Isabella. She needn't know. Neither should the world. Everyone is quite happy and content with where they are right now. Apart from, Aro, it seems, but I'll have to deal with him later.
She wanted me to teach her, another sign that she was becoming more confident around me, probably drawing on my personality without realising it.
I could feel the excitement rolling off her in waves. She was the only one in her family, with a gift, that didn't really have a use. Alice was used to forewarn them of such events, like my coming – which had been thrown off by my extensive knowledge of the gift – and simple things such as weather reports, which would help them maintain the secret. Jasper of course used his gift, most of the time to settle arguments within the house. Something that was very useful when living in a houseful of vampires, or so Isabella says anyway. I have no reason to doubt her.
But she seemed genuinely happy, and for some reason that made me feel happier.
Odd.
I had never felt happy on someone else's behalf before. Hell, I don't think I'd even felt happy on my behalf before. I'd never had any reason to feel happy.
But now it seems I did.
She was a mystery unto herself, was Isabella. She was one I was looking forward to unravelling.
And spending time with.
Where did that come from?
I had never thought about anything or anyone like that before. Would I enjoy spending time with Isabella? Something told me that I was going to enjoy spending time with her. But another part of me wondered why.
"Maybe it's because we're mates." I heard Isabella comment. She'd appeared beside me while I had been lost in thought. Seeing as I had to work to read her mind, she was the only one who could sneak up on me in that respect.
"What are you talking about?" I asked her. Was she tapping into her powers? Into my power of mind-reading? That would be the most logical thing, wouldn't it?
"You were confused about us. About me." She smiled shyly at me, as though she was a human child that had been caught somewhere they shouldn't be. "About spending time with me, maybe? I'm not too sure."
"Are you reading my mind?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow and she shook her head.
"I don't know what it is." She frowned slightly. "I think maybe … I'm picking something up from Jasper."
"The empath." I nodded.
"Yeah." She nodded alongside me. "I mean, he would be able to feel if someone was confused and when I walked into the room, it was like I was confused, but I didn't know why. And then something in the back of my mind told me that it wasn't me that was confused, but you."
"It seems you're growing into your powers quickly, Isabella." I smiled at her. She was definitely going to be strong. I wouldn't let her know that she in herself was actually more powerful than the Volturi.
Not yet anyway.
"Could you call me Bella please?" She mumbled, not looking at me and I smirked.
"Why?" I cocked my head to the side, confusing her. Hell, I was confusing myself. I never behaved this way. It was like when she was around, I was completely a different vampire. It was as though who I was meant nothing. Like it was just the two of us. Nothing else there to stand in the way. I had never felt like that before.
"Because I prefer Bella." She said a little louder, her eyes going slightly wider. "And you're going to say no."
"How do you know?" I asked incredulously. I hadn't actually made up my mind about whether or not to grant her request. Personally, I preferred Isabella to Bella, but if it was what she wanted I would call her by her requested name. Which was something I would never normally do.
This was aggravating.
It was as though, everything I had been for fifteen thousand years was changing. And all because of this one woman standing in front of me. And there was nothing I could do to stop it.
"Because you're …… you." She whispered, wringing her hands in front of her.
I didn't like her doing that, so I took her hands in my own, feeling that jolt of electricity that I felt whenever we touched. "Well, maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do …… Bella." She looked up at me and smiled at the use of her preferred name.
"Thank you." She whispered, pressing her lips to my cheek gently.
"Anything for you." I whispered back in her ear. Where the hell did that come from? I asked myself, but oddly enough, I found myself not really caring.
Before she could move away from me, I turned my head and captured her lips with my own gently. She pressed her lips harder to mine and I felt myself reciprocating. This girl really did bring out an unexpected side to me.
"That was unexpected." She breathed as we pulled apart.
"I was just thinking the same thing." I smiled down at her, pressing my forehead to hers gently.
"You know what makes me smile." She commented gently. I lifted my head and tilted it to the side, silently telling her to continue and she giggled gently. "That I'm the only one that gets to see this side of you." She smiled broadly up at me. "It makes me feel special. Special …… to you, even."
"You are special to me." I confirmed and even though I didn't think it was possible, her smile grew even wider.
"Really?"
"Yes." I took in a deep breath, finding it steadied me, even though I didn't need it. "I don't know how to explain it, but, for some reason, I find myself feeling incredibly …… protective … of you." I shook my head, chuckling darkly. "Even though I know it's not necessary, I can't help but feel it. It's like you have some sort of …… hold … over me. One that I can't break."
"Is that a good thing?" She asked, sounding slightly confused. Possibly as confused as I was feeling at the moment.
"I haven't quite worked that out yet." I sighed, looking into her deep amber eyes.
"What do you mean?" She asked, her brow furrowing slightly. "Come on, let's sit down."
"Why?" I asked her, a small smile spreading across my lips.
"I don't know." She shrugged and I had to chuckle. "It's just …… less formal. If you get what I mean."
"I know what you mean." I nodded.
Seeing as we were in her bedroom at the moment, we moved over and sat on her bed. I had asked her why she had a bed, and she told me that she liked having somewhere she could relax for a few hours a day, even if she couldn't sleep. Apparently, it was nice for her to just lie down and let everything seep away. I could understand where she was coming from.
She sat on the bed, indian style in front of me, smiling up at me as I sat down, leaning back on my elbows.
"What did you mean 'you haven't quite worked that out yet'?" She asked me, running a finger back and forth over my hand, looking into my eyes. I surmised that it was a subconscious action seeing as she didn't seem to be aware that she was doing it. "Is it a bad thing that we're connected."
"I don't know." I sighed, not looking away from her. "For me, I've never felt this way before. This connected to anyone. I've never actually felt connected to anyone at all before, so all of this is new to me. Which is a bit ironic if you think about it."
She smiled at me. "Well, you would have thought that someone who's been around for as long as you have, would have felt connected to someone before."
I shook my head. "Nope." Her smile dropped slightly. "I've not felt anything for anyone before. Not like this anyway. I don't know, maybe the closest thing I got to an actual friend of sorts was when Carlisle used to live in Volterra and I would visit. He was the only one that didn't cower and run at the first whispers of my arrival."
"That's Carlisle for you." She smirked. "Always believing in the best in people."
"I know he does." I turned my hand over and grasped hers lightly. Her tiny hand seemed to fit perfectly within my larger one. Like we were two puzzle pieces made for each other. "I guess that was one of the reasons he welcomed you back after your little rebellious period."
"You know about that?" She asked, shock passing across her face.
"I know everything about you Bella." She smiled at the use of her name.
"How?" She asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"You remember Aro's power?" I raised my eyebrows at her and realisation replaced the shocked expression.
"Oh." She mumbled quietly, going into thought. "When did you find that out."
"The first time I touched you." I admitted, shrugging slightly. "When I negated your shield for the first time."
"Oh. When I thought you were going to kill me." She nodded, her smile forming into a slight frown. "You weren't going to kill me then were you?"
I chuckled slightly. "At that point in time, if you'd pissed me off enough then I might have done."
"And now?"
I inhaled deeply. "Now …… I don't think I could even if I wanted to." I turned to face her again and I saw her eyes filled with an emotion I couldn't really put a name to. "Like I said, you have a hold over me that I can't break."
"Getting back to that." She grasped my hand tighter. "Is it really a bad thing that we're connected? Because the way that I feel at the moment, sitting here … with you … I don't really see how it could be."
"Not from our focal point, no, I don't think it is a bad thing." I nodded my head and she smiled. "But you have to comprehend all those outside our little bubble. I mean, take the Volturi for instance. For some reason, Aro's been really …… irritating recently …… and I can only imagine what news of our … relationship … as you'd call it would mean to him." I looked her sternly in the eye. "You have to understand, to those around us, you are a weakness of mine. Probably my only weakness. And I know that Aro would be only too happy to take full advantage of that."
She sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Aro's always got a bug up his butt about something."
I chuckled at her choice of words. "Interesting way to put it."
"You have to admit it, it's true." She grinned cheekily at me and I nodded.
"Yes, I suppose it is true." I couldn't help but smile at her. Maybe it was because of the connection that we had, or maybe it was just because she had an infectious personality, but whatever it was, I couldn't help but feel what she was feeling.
"So…… Aro would really see me as a way of getting to you?" She asked, a slight twinge of fear in her tone. She looked down at our hands sadly.
"Hey." I placed a finger underneath her chin and lifted her gaze up to meet mine. I could tell that if she could cry, she would have silent tears running down her cheeks. I knew from her memories that she hated feeling like a burden. "I won't let it come to that, alright? I won't let you happen upon that kind of danger."
"What if you can't stop it?" Her tone was still laced with fear. Understandably.
"Honestly, Aro is the only one stupid enough to try anything against me. Marcus and Caius, yes, one may be extremely irritating and the other incessantly morbid, but they're not stupid enough to try anything. The only way that the guard will do anything is through Aro's orders."
"Isn't that enough to worry about?" She asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow at me.
I shook my head, smiling at her. "No." I sighed gently, grasping her hand ever so slightly tighter. "Even if Aro was stupid enough to challenge me, he wouldn't get very far. If he ever did find out about you, then the safest place for you, is with me." She still didn't look as though she believed me. "You remember the clearing yesterday?"
"With Demetri and Felix?" She asked, sounding even more confused than earlier.
"Yes." I nodded. I waited for her to get what I was talking about. It took less than a second for her lips to form a perfect little "oh" shape as she realised what would happen if anyone challenged me. "You see?"
"I do." She smiled slightly. "Why did you destroy …… whoever it was?"
"It was more of a …… message to Aro. For undermining my authority." She didn't look appeased by my answer. "Also, they were both thinking pretty …… unsavoury things about ……"
"About what?" She was curious as to what could have caused that reaction from me. As if it wasn't obvious by now.
"You." I whispered, looking into her deep amber eyes.
She smiled slightly, even though it was a sad smile. She didn't like the fact that I had ended the life of another being, even if it was one of the Volturi. "You did that for me?"
"Why else would I?" I shrugged. "Like I said, you have a hold over me."
"Does this mean I'm stuck with you?" She asked, her tone mocking exasperated, but her eyes were bright with anticipation and excitement.
I took a deep breath, weighing my options. Would I stay with her? Some part of me didn't really want to think about not being there with her. It caused my chest to ache in a way I had never felt before.
"Only if you'll have me." I whispered again, looking into her eyes, some part of me wanting her to tell me to leave. To want me to disappear. It would be safer for her and it would save me a hell of a lot of confusion.
"Good." She mumbled, leaning forward, pressing her lips to mine gently. "Because I don't want you to leave." She mumbled against my lips before pressing them to mine more firmly.
If being confused felt like this, then I would have to be prepared for a lot more confusion in the future.
I froze and broke away from Bella, gently easing her away from me as a flash of images passed through my mind. And they were not images that I was best pleased with.
They centered around Bella and the Volturi.
Aro had learned of Bella. And the bastard was planning to use her against me.
The flashed I was getting was showing me her in Italy, chained in the starvation cells. She would be beaten and bitten, knowing that each and every moment of pain that was inflicted on her would aggravate and anger me even more.
I was shown flashes of her torture and Aro's gleeful face as he watched her in pain.
Those images would not come to pass.
Ever.
A low growl escaped my throat. "Shit." I cursed, stepping away from her and planning my return to Italy.
Aro would not get away with his insolence.
I would make sure of that.
Bella
Kissing Edward was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Each and every time my lips met his it was as though the rest of the world melted away and there was nothing left but the two of us.
I could kiss him forever.
And I would have, had he not stiffened and pulled away from me.
I opened my eyes and looked at him, but his posture was stiff and his eyes were glazed over. I had seen this look many times before from Alice.
He was having a vision.
It was strange seeing him, rather than my sister going through the motions of foresight.
From his reaction, I could tell that it wasn't a pleasant vision.
I was a little worried when he growled moving away from me. "Shit." He swore under his breath, moving away from me and walking over to the window.
"What is it?" I asked, swinging my legs over the side of the bed, watching him cautiously. "What's wrong?"
His head snapped around to face me, as though he had forgotten I was there. It must have been a disturbing vision if it caused him to lose his focus. I mean, yes we vampires are easily distracted but Edward's focus was second to none. After all he had had a long enough time to perfect it.
"Edward?" I called slowly getting off the bed and making my way over to him. "What's wrong? What did you see?"
"Nothing that concerns you." I couldn't help but flinch at his harsh tone. "I'm sorry." He shook his head as though he was trying to clear it. "I just don't want you getting involved."
"Edward, I've had enough experience with Alice's visions to know when there's something wrong." I told him, my voice more confident than I felt. I was sure he would be able to feel the nervousness radiating from me. "Now what did you see?"
He turned to look at me, his ruby eyes evaluating my stance. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. When he was like this it was hard to imagine how anyone could be scared of him. But I've seen enough of his violent nature to be wary, and to know why others feared him. Maybe it was because of our bond, the fact that he was my mate, that I couldn't bring myself to fear him. Not in the way I had when I'd first met him. But then again, he'd admitted outright that only a few days ago he would have had no qulams about destroying me.
"It's Aro." He sighed and I felt my brow furrow in confusion. "He knows …… about you."
"What?" I whispered, not wanting to believe him. Even though he had said that Aro shouldn't be a threat to me, especially with Edward around, I couldn't help but think of him as one. My previous experience has shown me that Aro is nothing if not persistent. "How?"
"It seems I should have destroyed both of them." He growled, turning back to stare out of the window.
"You couldn't know that-"
"I should have known." He snapped, cutting me off. "I should have seen what would happen if I let them both escape. If not for you then I would have done."
"So this is my fault?" I couldn't help the pang of hurt that spread through my chest. He was blaming me for the decisions of some power-hungry vampire a few thousand miles away.
"No." He shook his head, looking at me again. "No, it's not your fault. It's mine." He sighed walking over to me and taking my hands in his own. "It's just, I've been so wrapped up in you. In …… us, that I completely bypassed Aro's way of thinking." He brushed a few strands of hair out of my face. "This isn't your fault. Not at all."
"It feels like it." I sighed, closing the small distance between us and placing my head on his chest, right above where his heart should be beating.
"Don't blame yourself." He sighed, running a hand through my hair.
"What are we going to do?" I asked, closing my eyes and wrapping my arms around his waist, as his encircled my body.
"We aren't going to do anything." He told me. "I on the other hand am going to Italy. I need to put Aro in his place once and for all."
"On your own?" I couldn't help the slight panic in my voice as I looked up at him.
"Yes." He nodded. "On my own."
I sighed and rested my head back on his chest, never wanting to let him go. What were these feelings I was having towards him? Why would I be so afraid that he wouldn't come back? I wanted to stand here and hold him like this forever. And I knew that I could, if he would stay.
Who's to say he would even come back here when he was done in Italy?
What reason did he have to come back?
"You." He mumbled against my hair.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"You were wondering what reason I would have to come back." I could feel him smile against my hair. "I have a reason. A pretty big one." I lifted my head up from his chest again. "You."
"Don't go." I whispered, running a finger down his perfect jawline.
"I have to." He pressed his lips to my forehead.
"Then I'm coming with you." I told him, confident and defiant.
"No." He growled, his grip tightening on me.
"Yes." I countered, remembering his earlier confession of how he didn't think he could hurt me, even if he wanted to. I was going to put that to the test right now.
"Not a chance in hell." He mumbled a low growl rumbling in his chest. It was such a feral, wild sound. I hadn't heard a growl like that come from anyone other than him.
But for some reason, I wasn't afraid.
"Why not?" I asked, looking up at him, but unable to move. His grip on me wouldn't let me. He was stronger than anyone I'd ever come across. Something told me that he would be able to dispatch a whole army of newborns if he so wished to. Maybe he had in the past. Maybe it wasn't the Volturi that had silenced the vampire wars raging in the south. But Edward. Maybe that was why it had taken so long for the wars to start up again. Because the threat wasn't the Volturi, it was Edward.
"Because I won't have you in that kind of danger." He looked down at me, his vibrant eyes boring into my own.
"Didn't you say that the safest place for me would be with you?" I asked him, bringing up one of his previous statements. "Was that a lie?"
"No, but-"
"There we go then." His eyes narrowed at me and I knew that if I was any other vampire then I would have been reprimanded for cutting him off. As it was, I had that belief that he wouldn't hurt me running through my mind. I just hoped that he was being truthful about that, and that he wouldn't hurt me for whatever reason. "Face it, the safest place for me is with you, and you can't deny it. You said it yourself." I rested my head back on his chest. "Besides, I don't think I could handle being away from you. Not that I've found you."
"What?" His voice was filled with confusion and I knew I had caught him off guard.
"Do you think that I understand anything that's going on between us. I have no clue, just as you don't. I'm playing it by ear – or more appropriately by feel – as much as you are." I kept my head on his chest, but looked up at him, seeing him staring off into space. "I don't know what's happening to me, but I do know that the thought of not being near you, for whatever reason …… it hurts."
"I don't want you getting hurt." He whispered, closing his eyes.
"Not a problem." I smiled against his chest. "I just want to know that you're okay."
"I'll be fine, Bella." He snorted, looking down at me. "You're the one that's breakable when it comes to other vampires."
"So, I'll stay hidden." I smirked up at him. "Demetri can't find me because of my shield. He'll have no idea I'm in the city, or even the continent. Unless he's the one you blew up." My brows furrowed in confusion.
He chuckled slightly at my reasoning. "Well, I guess that is one less worry. No matter which way you put it."
"I'm coming with you." I stated firmly, letting him know that he wasn't going to sway my resolve.
"What about your family?" He asked, playing the one card he knew that would get me to stay. I thought about it for a moment, and then smirked back up at him.
"It's not like we've not been separated before." I grinned at him. "And anyway, I've been away from them as a whole. I can handle being away from them, but being away from you ……… something inside is telling me that I won't be able to handle that."
"You don't know what you're asking of me." He mumbled against my hair and I smiled to myself. Maybe it was me, or maybe it was something I was picking up from somewhere else, but I could feel his resolve slipping.
"I think I do." I tried to keep the smugness out of my voice, and I think I achieved that to a certain extent. "Because you're asking the same thing of me if you tell me to stay."
"Would you stay if I told you to?" He asked, his voice sounding skeptical.
"Probably not, no." I shook my head against his chest. "I'd probably be on the plane right after yours, following you."
"That's not a good thing, Bella." His voice turned cold now and I wished I knew what was going on inside his head.
"Says you." I shot back, smugly. He didn't answer me, but instead he sighed unhappily, knowing that I wasn't going to be relinquishing this fight any time soon.
I looked up at him, thinking about what he had told me only yesterday. "Nobody but myself knows this, but when I myself create a vampire they are automatically created with the power to absorb the powers of those around them. A type of …… diluted version of the way powers manifest in me as it were." If that were true, then wouldn't it mean that I could use his power? Would I be able to tap into his power of mind reading?
Closing my eyes and resting my head against his chest again, I inhaled a deep breath, concentrating on the inner workings of Edward's mind. I hoped that he wouldn't catch on to what I was doing, but some part of me knew that he would.
I wondered what it would be like to see into Edward's mind for even a moment. There had to be so much happening in there. It would be incredible to hear.
-couldn't bear it if she was hurt.
My eyes snapped open and I took a quick breath. I had heard him. His mental voice sounded almost as incredible as his spoken voice.
"Get out of my head." He mumbled with a slight chuckle. That told me that he wasn't really mad at me. Something I didn't quite believe.
"You're not mad, are you?" I asked quietly.
"No." I could feel him shake his head. "I'm actually impressed that you managed to do that."
"Really?" I asked, sounding slightly smug. Who knew how long it had been since he had been impressed with anything.
"Yes." He sighed gently, resting his head on mine. "The fact that you managed to tap into my own power and get into my head is quite an achievement."
"Yay!" I smiled up at him and he shook his head at me. I sighed gently, looking up at him, before standing up on my tiptoes and pressing a gentle kiss to his jaw. I felt the electricity that flowed with the contact of our skin lingering on my lips as I pulled away. "I'm thirsty." I mumbled against his shirt.
"Go eat, then." He chuckled loosening his grip on me.
"Come with me." I asked in a timid voice, wanting him to come. I could tell from the colour of his eyes that he didn't need to feed, something I was thankful for. I didn't want to see him feed. Not something I had come to terms with yet.
"Alright." I mumbled. "But don't expect me to eat anything."
I chuckled gently, pulling away from him, instantly missing his embrace. "Of course not. Only if you want to."
We jumped out of my window and I noticed the sounds and smells of my family approaching from the other side of the house. They had been hunting, leaving Edward and I alone in the house, much to the displeasure of Rosalie. She didn't want Edward anywhere near the house let alone me. She thought that he was too dangerous to have around. To others, yes, maybe he was. But I felt oddly safe with him.
We ran towards the clearing we had visited twice in one day. I loved this spot. It was somewhere secluded and beautiful.
It also had remnants of the lion population that I so regularly hunted.
Edward sat on the largest boulder, the one that we sat on when visited this clearing. I felt slightly self-conscious as he watched me hunt. I knew that he despised feeding from animals. That he didn't even entertain the thought of it. But I had the notion that he had to have fed from them in the past. When humans were scarce. He couldn't have existed this amount of time and not have fed from an animal. That was a little too hard to believe.
After I took down a large male lion I turned around and saw him watching me. But it wasn't that fact that kept my eyes glued on him.
It was the fact that the sun was shining on him, full force.
I knew that it had hit me, and that I was probably sparkling, but there was nothing in the world that could compare to the beauty of Edward in the sun.
He was beautiful anyway, but the way the sun reflected off of his skin, creating a swirl of sparkles and rainbows in the light, made him look ethereal. I had seen many a vampire in the sun, and none, not one could ever compare to the sight before me.
Looking like he did, Edward belonged in the clouds, not sitting on a rock, damned to existence for eternity. He didn't even have the notion that he wouldn't be here in the next ten thousand years or so. He would always be here.
But, with him looking the way he did, that wasn't something I was going to complain about.
I managed to tear my eyes away from him just long enough to take down another unsuspecting animal, before I returned to where he was sitting.
He was still shimmering and sparkling and if I had breath, it would have been stolen away.
I sat down next to him, and he ran his fingers down my cheek, gazing into my eyes, which I was sure would now be a liquid gold.
"Beautiful." He murmured. I titled my head to the side, confused about what he meant. He smiled slightly. "The way your eyes shimmer. Like the gentle waters of a stream."
I scoffed at his notion. "Right." I rolled my eyes slightly, not fearing him anymore. Not when he could come out with something like that. "Is that meant to be a compliment." I was testing him now. Just to see what his reaction will be.
"Actually yes." He nodded and I blinked, surprised. "Water is powerful. It can wash away earth, put out fire and even destroy iron."
"When you put it that way." I smiled, leaning in and brushing my lips gently against his. I don't know why, but I just couldn't get enough of him. Maybe I was falling for him. Slowly but surely. I may have been.
He pressed his lips against mine, turning my meer brush into a true kiss and I melted. I didn't just think I was falling for him. I actually was.
Oh, help me!
He pulled away from me slightly, and I opened my eyes to see his slightly out of focus. He was having another vision.
When he snapped out of this one, he didn't seem as upset as the last time. Obviously it wasn't something to do with the Volturi.
His eyes focused back on me quickly. "You have visitors." He stated simply and at the same time my phone started to vibrate in my pocket.
I knew that it was Alice without even looking at the caller ID. She would have most likely seen the same thing that Edward just had.
"Alice." I answered, holding the phone to my ear.
"Bella. Where are you?" It was Alice alright.
"I'm out hunting." I sighed. "Or at least I was."
"I thought you should know, we have-"
"Visitors. Yes I know."
"How did you know?"
"I'm with Edward." I smiled at his name. He chuckled at me and I pouted at him, which only caused him to chuckle even more. This Edward I liked. It was the other Edward, the authoritative Edward that I wasn't so keen on. He could stay locked away right where his is right now.
"Oh. Okay then."
"I would have thought you'd known that." I mumbled, confused. Alice always knew where each of us was. She had never lost one of us, unless it had something to do with the wolves. The only other one she'd lost was…… "Hang on a sec, Ali." I turned to Edward, moving the mouthpiece away from my face a second. "Are you messing with Alice's visions again?" I asked, my voice accusing and he only raised his eyebrows at me in a smug fashion and turned away from me. "Uh-huh." I put the phone back into position so I could talk to Alice. "I think I know why you can't see me at the moment."
"I think I do, too." She sighed. "Nope. I'm trying to see you now, but all I'm getting is a jumble from Edward."
I turned back to him. "Edward! Stop it." I told him and he smirked at me.
"Wow. Someone's relaxed around the almighty." I heard a snort come from next to me and I scowled at him.
"Moving on." I said, narrowing my eyes at a still smirking Edward. "Who's here?"
"The Denali's." Great. It wasn't that I disliked our cousins, but I didn't get on so well with one of them. A female. Tanya. She got on my nerves a lot. I wasn't sure why, but still, she just did.
She was constantly letting me know that she was "higher on the pecking order" as it were. Just because she was over a thousand years old and blonde. Hell, I'd like to show her who was higher on her bloody pecking order now. With Edward sitting next to me, it was no contest.
"I know you don't get on with Tanya, and that's why I thought I should warn you. Only Kate, Carmen, Irina and Eleazar are here with us at the house. Tanya's gone looking for you."
"Perfect." I mumbled, sarcasm thick in my voice as I dropped my head into my hand.
"Bit of animosity there?" Edward chuckled from beside me, taking my hand in his. I felt instantly better with the skin on skin connection. He was all I needed to calm down.
"Have you told him about Tanya?"
"Nope." And I didn't plan to before this. He would probably know by now anyway.
"I still can't see you!"
"I'll try and get him to stop." I chuckled, rubbing my thumb over the back of his hand.
"Good luck." And I knew she didn't just mean about getting Edward to quit messing with her visions. I knew that it amused him to do so, but still, it wasn't fair to Alice.
"So." He mused as I hung up the phone. "You've not got a lot of patience for Tanya." It was a statement, not a question. He had seen all of my memories, so he knew that I hadn't got a lot of time for the Russian vampire.
"Nope." I popped the "p" on the end. "How long before she finds us?"
He looked at me, and his eyes glassed over for less than a second before he focused again. "Two minutes."
"Long enough." I pressed my lips back to his and taking a chance, I flicked my tongue across his bottom lip.
He opened his mouth slightly and I eased my tongue into his mouth, tasting him properly for the first time.
To say he tasted incredible wouldn't be doing it justice. He was divine.
He was unlike anything I had ever tasted before. He was so much more than anything I had ever tasted. Even the sweetest human blood could not compare.
If I thought that he smelled incredible, it was nothing compared to the way he tasted. It was like honey and lilac and the gentle breeze as the sun sets all rolled into one. And I could have tasted it for the rest of eternity.
If I had been allowed to, that is.
"Well, Bella, it seems you've finally taken the plunge and got yourself a man." The sweet, bell-like voice that had encroached on us broke us apart, earning a low growl from Edward. I took that as a sign that he was enjoying himself as much as I had been.
I looked down from the rock to see the beautiful, yet ancient – although, with present company she couldn't really be considered ancient anymore – vampire standing there, arms crossed over her chest and a huge smile on her face, eyeing Edward up and down. It obviously hadn't clicked as to who he was yet.
Tanya made it her mission to tempt unattainable men. Hell, she had gone after Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett when she had first come into contact with them. I knew that she was going to have one hell of a time with Edward.
Literally.
And it wouldn't be her doing the manipulating.
Bring it on!
*thinks for a moment*
There was something you probably wanted to know wasn't there?
Now what was it again?
Ah, yes! I remember! The flaw that I put into the story.
Well the flaw is the mentioning of the three 'Icky Brothers' as Bella likes to call them. I have mentioned that they were in fact created by Edward, and yet in the same chapter I have mentioned that Bella is the only one created by Edward still existing. How does that work?
See now, if you'd caught that, then you would have asked. In all honesty, I've only had half a dozen people at the most come to me with the question of what's going on. I would have thought it was more.
Don't worry, you'll get your answers in the end.
In the meantime: WHAT'S THE QUOTE HIDDEN IN THE CHAPTER?! I personally think it's a good one this time. Whoever gets it will get a mention in the next chapter :D