Here's my next chapter. Thank you, everybody, for staying with me.

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Chapter 14 – Beast in the Cellar

At first, Bella wasn't quite sure what was happening.

Aro's arms whisked around her and he lifted her, cradling her back. He was very gentle, holding her like a china doll, yet his arms were like steel.

Bella could feel the cool touch of his lips, but then he moved to her throat, kissing her jaw, her neck, her collar bone. His kisses were like tiny wisps of cold air.

She writhed in his arms, the sensation making her giddy. Blood rushed to her head. Her hands and fingers tingled. The room blurred

Aro was moving so fast, he was like phantom teasing her.

Reaching out for him, she lost focus as the room shifted positions. Now she was on the bed, lying flat on her back. Her skin prickled with arousal.

Nuzzling her throat, Aro continued to kiss her, nipping her slightly, grazing her skin. He then locked her head in place and pressed his mouth to her jugular.

Bella started to panic, her heart pounding. "Aro, no... please," she cried, her voice coming out strangled. She was having trouble breathing.

Instantly, he pulled away, his eyes now black. Sitting up, a strange stillness came over him. Closing his eyes for a second he sat there, his fingers curling into fists. When he opened his eyes again they were red.

Turning away, he bowed his head. "I'm sorry, my dear. That was rather forward of me. I should probably bid you good night."

He moved to stand up, but Bella stopped him. "Are you all right?"

Aro laughed, his body stiff. He didn't even look at her. "You're worried about me?"

"It's just you don't seem to be yourself."

Aro shook his head. "How thoughtful of you. But really you should be more concerned about yourself."

"I'm all right. I was just a little startled, that's all."

Aro turned to her, his eyes narrowing. "Don't lie me."

Bella wanted to say, I'm not lying! But that wasn't true. He had scared her. But now she was past that. Now she wanted him to stay because she was afraid that if he left like this, he might not come back. And the thought of him not coming back almost made her ill. "Don't worry, it's not that big of a deal."

"Really?" he said incredulously, glaring at her.

"Yes."

Running his finger down her cheek to her throat, he lightly touched the black silk of her coat sleeve, his unblinking gaze running the entire length of her body. "Do you know what I want to do? I want to peel that coat off you and shred it like confetti. Lay you open before me so I can see the flushed skin of your breasts, listen to your heart pitter-pat away like a frightened deer, and taste the sweet smell of your cunt. Then," he hesitated. "I want to devour you."

Bella's eyes widened, her body trembling. "But you didn't."

"No I didn't," he said softly.

As if ashamed, he looked away, smoothing out his hair, fixing his cuffs; the elegant gentleman now back in place. It was almost as if he was trying to reassure himself that he was still civilized.

Aro had told her that the gentleman before her was just a façade, but this was the first time she believed it. Truly believed it.

"Forgive me, my dear," he said, patting her hand. "I didn't mean to scare you. I don't know what came over me. I'm not usually like this. I have a multitude of ways at maintaining my control. I've spent years perfecting them. However, for some reason, you provoke feelings in me that I thought were long dead. However, I promise I will not ravage you and drain your blood. I don't want to hurt you. And since it's getting late, I actually should be going. I have much to do."

With slumped shoulders, he stood up and turned to leave.

Bella stopped him, kneeling up on the bed. "I knew you wouldn't hurt me," she called out.

He glanced over at her. "Is that so?"

Bella nodded. "I could tell. It was the way you held me. You could have crushed me in your arms, but instead, you were very careful and laid me on the bed."

Aro gave a low chuckle. "That's not why I laid you on the bed."

"But I knew you wouldn't hurt me," Bella insisted, touching his hand.

Aro looked down at her fingers touching his, and in a lightning-quick moment, he clasped them gently in his icy cold palm.

Startled, Bella tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her.

"It's so strange," he said distractedly. "To touch someone and not know their every living thought. You have no idea how disquieting it is to know everyone so intimately. I find you blessedly silent, my dear."

Quietly, he let go of her hand.

"I can't imagine what it must be like to read people's minds?"

"It's very intrusive. Edward never appreciated your silence. He thought it was maddening." Aro waved his hand as if that was ridiculous. "No, Edward was drawn to you for something else. Something that made him feel less predacious. This unshakable faith you have in monsters. It's strangely flattering and seductively calming. Indeed, I'm touched that you have extended this faith to me. But…" He hesitated.

"But what?" she asked.

"But you're painfully naïve. This world is an ugly place, and we vampires are not beautiful creatures. Blood and sex are the same things to us. Remember that." Bending over, he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "I must go."

Bella couldn't leave it at that. "If I'm too naïve, then you're too jaded and cynical."

Aro laughed. A true laugh that broke the silence and made him bring his hands together. "Ah touché, Isabella. I guess you got me there. No one is more cynical and jaded as I."

"Why? What happened?"

"You want me to tell you three thousand years in one night? It's not possible."

"I just want to get to know you better." Scooting over on the bed, she grabbed his hand and patted the empty spot on the bed beside her. "Please stay awhile. Talk to me. Make me less naïve."

To her surprise, he obeyed, taking a seat, which thrilled her.

"What do you want to know, my dear?"

Bella blushed. "Oh my gosh, I don't know where to begin. You're Greek aren't you?"

"No, not really. I'm Mycenaean."

"Oh," she said nervously. "Did you know Helen of Troy?"

"Not really. I saw her once."

"Was she beautiful?"

Aro grimaced. "I suppose."

"You didn't like her?"

"What's there to like? She was the catalyst for a very nasty war." Aro didn't seem to want to elaborate. Clearly, talking Greek history did not interest him.

Bella shifted in her seat and bit her lip. "Why did you create the Volturi?"

Now this question Aro seemed to like better, leaning back. "It seemed like a sensible thing to do."

"But it's not natural for vampires, is it? I'm mean, aren't most vampires nomads?"

"I was a nomad," he said. "For several years, before I met Caius and Marcus."

"You didn't like it?"

"No, it's a very nihilistic existence. Nothing matters. Nothing changes. There's no point to anything, and you can only indulge in unrestrained hedonism for so long before it chokes you. I hated it. I hated myself. It was a meaningless existence."

"You wanted a family?"

"Actually, I wanted the family I had lost," Aro explained. "I used to watch over them, which is a mistake. You should never do that, but I couldn't help myself. My wife had remarried, but I used to keep an eye on my children. I had a daughter, who was my favorite…my little girl. She got married, and I used to look in on her."

"What happened to her?"

"She had a difficult pregnancy. Her baby refused to be born. She was in agony for hours. It came down to a choice between her or the baby," Aro hesitated.

"She died?"

"Let's just say she was a lot like you," he said, touching her cheek. "So she chose the life of her baby. The physicians decided to break her pelvic bone to get the baby out. Unfortunately, the infant was stillborn."

Bella shuddered. "How awful."

Aro nodded. "I went to see her. I remember there were blood soaked sheets all over the room, which was very distracting, but I decided to change her instead of letting her die. Her name was Didyme, and she was the light of my life." The way he said her name it was almost like a secret.

"Where is she now?"

"She's dead," Aro said sadly. "A waring coven killed her."

"I'm so sorry."

"It was a long time ago, but this incident changed my whole outlook. I realized this constant fighting between covens had to stop, and I was going to make it stop. So with the help of Caius and Marcus, we formed the Volturi."

"There was only the three of you?"

"Yes, well, we had Athenodora, but yes we were a small coven. I actually wasn't sure at first how to create a large coven, because your right, the first impulse of a vampire is to be a nomad. So we traveled around, learned as much as we could."

"Carlisle believes the secret to a large coven is drinking animal blood," Bella told him. "He believes it makes vampires more family oriented because then they don't have to travel around so much."

Aro rolled his eyes. "That's rubbish."

Bella laughed. "What?" With the way the Cullens always spoke about Carlisle with such reverence, it almost seemed like sacrilege to hear Aro dismiss him.

"Yes, rubbish," Aro repeated. "Carlisle will say anything to promote that ridiculous diet of his. The real secret to a large coven is a gifted female like Chelsea. There are no large covens without it, and it took me forever to find one. Unfortunately, Chelsea is a little more high maintenance than I would've liked, but she's a necessary component."

"But Carlisle has no gifted female."

"Of course he does," Aro argued. "He has Esme. I noticed it the first time I met her. She's even more powerful than Chelsea. In fact, I would trade Chelsea for Esme in a minute, but I don't think that's going to happen."

Bella was flabbergasted. "Esme has a gift? Does Carlisle know?"

"Of course he knows. I told him. However, he asked me to keep it a secret. In fact, I don't think even Esme knows she has this power."

"Are you saying that the only reason everyone lives with Carlisle is because of Esme?"

"Yes, I am. I would think it would be obvious, especially with vampires like Alice and Jasper hanging around. Those two are definitely nomads. I mean, good grief, Carlisle couldn't even get Edward to stay with him until Esme came around. Now they're all stuck like glue. The bonding gift is a lovely thing. It's rather odd though, it only seems to show up in women. Maybe it's a nurturing thing. Didyme sort of had that power, but at the time I didn't see it's importance. Maybe it has something to do with women going through gestation when they're changed."

Bella couldn't believe it. "I had no idea."

Aro smiled, leaning closer and looked into her eyes. "I get the feeling there is a lot you don't know about us, my dear. And believe me, I will be delighted to teach you." He then kissed her. But this was no chaste kiss. His hands came up and cupped her face, and he lingered for a while, tasting her, teasing her.

Bella kissed him back, her body now rushing with endorphins. She even giggled, running her fingers through his silky hair.

When he pulled away, he studied her. "I'm very drawn to you, Isabella. It's not a good thing."

"Why?"

"Because horrible things happen to people I care about."

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I have decided not to add the story of Aro killing Didyme. For one reason, I think it's a flimsy reason, and I see Aro being smarter than that. I also made Didyme his daughter instead of his sister because I wanted Aro to experience more time on his own. It's kind of a component of his character. Anyway, though, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you so much for your likes, favs, and reviews. :)