Take another bite
It'll be alright
What's wrong will soon feel right
Dangerous tonight
Take another sip
Let it kiss your lips
And let a little drip on your thighs
If you let me I'll untie your sensuality
I'll open up your heart and satisfy my greed
Dangerous Tonight, Alice Cooper 1991
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I think you knew that. ;) I'll tell you what I do own though. I own an insane amount of dog toys, all very used and abused.
My thanks go to my beta team of course, DeJean Smith, Swimom7, Shasta53, and SparklyBabs. Thanks also to you, for reading. You have my undying affection for that.
Southwold Coast, the North Sea
Edward stood on the sand, the waves crashing around his feet as he listened to the sounds of a sleeping village. Bella was in the water already—he could see her dark head bobbing next to Maggie's several hundred yards out. Their bright red eyes glowed in the light of the full moon as they watched him on shore. Alice stood to his right, waiting.
This is the right thing to do, she repeated in his head.
"I know," he replied.
Doesn't make it any easier to walk away, does it?
"No," he whispered. "A woman is rising to take care of her child. We shouldn't be on the shore if she looks out."
Without another word, the two siblings walked into the waves, their bodies unaffected by the pounding water. They disappeared like silent submarines into the surf, the murky water engulfing them without a sound.
Once he was completely submerged, Edward kicked off the bottom and raced through the shallow depths. He kept close to the sandy bottom, following it down and letting the weight of the water rest heavy on his shoulders as he swam against the current. Swimming was effortless for him, for all vampires. Carlisle once theorized that vampires' abilities were more honed for water than they were for land, though only marginally so. Water held a more powerful draw for Edward, however, than simply the ease of swimming. While underwater, his gift was somewhat muted. He still heard thoughts, but they weren't as loud or demanding as they were when he was on land. In the same way a person's hearing became lessened while underwater, so too did Edward's ability to hear thoughts.
Too far, Alice's voice called gently through the haze.
He smiled and did a flip, using the pliant seafloor to push off and then shoot up through the water to the surface. He emerged about twenty yards beyond where Alice, Bella, and Maggie were waiting, sending water droplets into the air as he threw his hair back.
"Show off," Maggie muttered with a snort.
Alice nodded her head in agreement, but Bella's eyes were narrowed and fixated on him. Edward chuckled, thinking that perhaps Bella would enjoy a little more showing off. Alice's voice drove like a nail in his head, warning him to rein it in. They had to travel together, at least until they got closer to the less populated Highlands in order to avoid any issues with Bella's control. Edward sighed reluctantly. Scotland was full of lochs; should Bella enjoy water play, there would be ample opportunity for such dalliances away from the prying eyes, ears, and minds of their companions.
Bella took to swimming as she had every other vampiric activity she'd engaged in thus far: with gusto and surprising speed. She relished the ability to cut through the water, never having to come up for air—and Edward loved watching her happiness. He never fully admitted to Bella one of his biggest fear about changing her; he had been frightened that she wouldn't be happy being like him. It felt silly to him now, looking at her so immersed in his world and enjoying every aspect of it, but he had worried that despite her protestations, she was getting into something that she didn't understand. He worried that she would regret after it was too late to change her mind. Most of all, he worried that he wouldn't be enough for her.
Watching as she leapt out of the water, arcing like a porpoise at play before diving back under the waves, he knew he had been wrong to worry. Bella had known what was right all along.
As they had agreed upon before leaving Oxford, the group remained about twenty feet below the surface. Bella reluctantly agreed to Edward holding her hand throughout the journey so that he could know immediately if something went wrong. As she told him repeatedly, it wasn't because she didn't want him to touch her. She disliked being watched over like a child. Edward knew this and understood it, but he still insisted. The fact remained that Bella was far stronger and faster than any of them. Should she decide to go after a human, they wouldn't be able to stop her. They'd be even more handicapped if she disappeared from view.
About forty-five minutes into the trip, Bella tugged on his hand and pointed up to the surface. Edward looked around them, judging how far out to sea they were and then nodded. They couldn't communicate under the water and so they needed to surface in order to talk.
Bella came up with a gasp for air. It was a leftover reflex from her humanity; breathing, though pleasant, was unnecessary for their survival. As she breathed in, she massaged her throat.
"Thirsty?" Edward asked immediately, reaching up with his free hand and running his fingers down the side of her throat.
Bella nodded, wincing. "It's pretty bad. I'm surprised."
"You shouldn't be. It's been two days since we got those deer in Thetford."
"You can go almost a week without feeding," Bella protested.
"I'm not a newborn," he said, winking.
Bella rolled her eyes just as Maggie and Alice surfaced.
"What's tha matter?" Maggie asked, shaking her dark red curls out of her face.
"The newborn needs a drink," Alice said with a smile. "And stop pouting, Bella. We've all been there."
"I wasn't pouting," Bella groused.
"You were about to," Alice countered.
"Enough," Edward whispered as Bella sighed. "How far have we traveled?"
"We've got ta be mair than halfway there," Maggie said, squinting her eyes and looking around. "I'd wager we're aboot fifty kilometers aff the coast o' Newcastle, nearing on Edinburgh."
Alice looked ahead, as Edward hoped she would, and he smiled inwardly with what he saw.
"It's safe to split up. There are no shipping vessels in the area and if you keep to your intended area, you both will be fine. No deviations from Edward's directions, Bella. Do you understand me?"
Bella nodded, her face serious as she stared at Alice.
"You'll be fine," Alice said, angling herself toward Edward. "We'll meet you on the shore where we discussed before."
"It'll still be early enough?" Edward asked.
Alice was quiet for only a moment before nodding. "It will be fine. I'll warn you if there's danger on shore."
"Check oot the sea caves along tha coast," Maggie said, off hand. "Ye know, after ye hunt the wee porpoises and such. They're beautiful, them caves. Ye'll love them, Bella."
Maggie may have acted put out by Bella's newborn needs, but she couldn't hide her true feelings from Edward. She liked Bella a great deal and had begun to think of her as a friend, something that was rare indeed for a nomadic vampire such as Maggie. In the past, most of the connections Maggie had made were transient. She liked Alice and Edward well enough and visited them more often than most other vampires because they had a steady address. But they weren't special to her. Even Edward, with whom she'd had an on again, off again relationship, was little more than an acquaintance. Though the Volturi played a large role in why Maggie had chosen to stay with the group, Bella was a big part of it as well.
Maggie eyed Edward coolly, deciding whether or not to address his blatant appraisal of her thoughts. She shrugged, knowing that he'd heard the truth, and then dove under the water.
You'll have time to explore the caves a bit, Edward, Alice thought as she dove under the water. Just keep your boundaries in mind. You really don't want to lose her underwater.
"Understatement of the century, that," Edward muttered as he watched his sister disappear under the waves.
"What was the understatement of the century?" Bella asked.
Edward shook his head, but explained what Alice had said when Bella gave him a warning look.
"I imagine that would be kind of a worst case scenario, wouldn't it?" Bella asked lightly
"I can't think of much worse than losing you again, for any length of time."
She squeezed his hand and brought it up to her temple. I haven't tried to let go, have I? she asked in his mind.
"You're getting much better at taking your shield down," he commented with a smile, bringing her fingers to his lips.
"Alice was practicing with me yesterday," she said with a shrug. "It's all a matter of finding the edges of it and learning its boundaries."
"We have plenty of time to practice," he said. "For now, let's hunt."
Bella nodded enthusiastically and then looked around confused. "How do we go about hunting underwater?"
"You won't be able to smell your prey, but you'll be able to feel their movements in the water. Our best hope of finding them is if they are feeding; we'll be able to taste the blood in the water if they're feeding."
"And what, pray tell, is our quarry?" Bella asked with a quirk of her lips.
"Porpoise. Pods of them hunt in this area." Edward turned to her, a smile on his lips as he released her hand. "You'll need to be free in order to hunt. Please . . . don't leave me, though."
"Never," she whispered, wrapping her arms around him and covering his lips with hers.
Edward could feel the urgency, the need for her filling him as her lips moved with his. He wondered if it would ever abate, if there would ever come a time when he wasn't desperate to have her. He pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers. More, her mind whispered to his, and he smiled.
"Later," Edward growled. "For now, you need to feed."
In the silence, Edward could hear the sound of porpoises breaking the surface for air. Bella turned her head toward the sound, and he knew she could hear as well. He nodded when her eyes sought out his.
"They are predators, too," he explained. "They will be less likely to flee when we enter their water space, but they will still sense danger from us. We will need to be quick and efficient. Do you think you will be able to hunt with me?"
"What do you mean?" Bella creased her forehead in confusion. "I've never gone on a hunt without you."
"I've been there while you hunted, but we've never been in search of prey together. I need to hunt as well, and now is as good an opportunity as any."
"I won't attack you, Edward," she said, shaking her head.
"You might," he whispered. "You know how it can be when we're hunting. I just want you to be aware of that possibility. You should not shield yourself if that comes to pass."
Bella nodded, silently, and then looked back toward the sound of the playing porpoises. She sighed and Edward let her go. When she turned around, he let himself sink under the water and waited for her to join him.
They swam through the water in the general direction of the porpoises. The water made it difficult for them to know if they were headed in the right direction. It also afforded them pretty easy mobility; the porpoise were fast swimmers, though not as fast as a vampire.
Bella sped ahead of Edward, and looked back playfully over her shoulder at him. He put on a burst of speed and caught up, his fingers brushing along the side of her body. They carried on, dipping and diving through the water until they reached a patch of water where the large predators had recently fed. Edward could taste the blood in the water. He pointed toward the surface and Bella followed him up.
Without a word, he scanned the surface and saw the pod. A group of about ten was swimming no more than twenty meters from where Bella and Edward were floating. He pointed and Bella took off under water. Edward was close on her heels.
She swam like a missile through the water, intent and focused on her goal. She grabbed the first porpoise that she saw by the tail fin and pulled it almost twenty feet down with her before she bit and drank. Edward watched her with mingled admiration and desire before taking off after his own prey.
The water was barely tinged pink with blood after Bella and Edward had had their fill. However, there were four carcasses floating at the surface that would raise alarm should any oceanographer examine the bite pattern on the dead porpoises. The teeth were very clearly humanlike.
"We need to take them to the caves. We can secure them down there, and hopefully, they will rot before they rise to the surface."
Bella nodded and gathered her two. It was not a long journey to the caves, and Edward was pleased to note that it was well before dawn. He and Bella could linger in the caves for a while after they disposed of their kills. They got lucky and found a large rock in the first cave they came to. It was large enough to weight down the bodies; Edward felt certain that the evidence of their feeding would remain underwater long enough to hide their involvement in the porpoise's demise.
Bella looked toward the surface after the bodies were buried with a question in her eyes, but Edward shook his head and pointed deeper into the caves. Bella smiled slightly and nodded. He knew just where he wanted to take her. Not far away was an underwater volcano, inactive for several thousand years. He'd been there with Emmett and Jasper before, and they'd all been amazed when they came to the surface while they were still technically below sea level.
Edward led the way, with Bella close at his side. Her fingers brushed his occasionally, and it was a comfort to him to know that she was reaching out for him. He trusted her, of course. But having a physical reminder of her presence as they swam helped him relax and enjoy their time alone.
The caves were an intricate honeycomb of limestone and sea rock, eroded by eons of exposure to the salty water and churning tide. Edward enjoyed visiting them because, though they were made of rock, they were ever-changing. Each time he returned, something about them had changed. As always, Bella was delighted with the sights, sounds, and journey they took.
They approached the underwater volcano, and Edward could see the murky moonlight filtering down from the surface. The cone of the volcano still reached the surface, allowing air and light into the cavern. Humans wouldn't recognize the subtle light of the moon, but their vampire sight allowed Bella and Edward to see the refracting light bouncing off of the rocks ahead.
Bella pulled on Edward's hand, her brows furrowed as she looked at the light. Edward smiled with delight. He enjoyed surprising her almost as much as he enjoyed being surprised by her silent mind. He jerked his head to the side in invitation, and she followed along behind him, into the center of the underwater volcano.
Bella broke the surface with a gasp. "Where are we?"
"A place I found with my brothers many years ago. It's an inactive volcano." Edward pointed up toward the night sky, just barely visible above them.
"It's amazing," she murmured.
Silently, she swam around the large room, marveling at the way the light filtered around the room. Edward stayed at the center, watching her. The moonlight played beautifully on her wet figure, sparkling softly and reflecting off of the white rock around them. Bella found some hanging cave moss, white because of so little light to feed it. She fingered it gingerly, watching as the delicate curls moved on her fingers.
"It's magical," she said, turning back to Edward, "like some underwater cathedral. I almost can't believe it's real."
"There are hundreds of little caves along the coast, but this is the only one that has an outlet to the surface."
Bella turned toward the wall, feeling her way along the sides until she found purchase with her foot. "So ... did you bring me here for the scenery?" she asked, turning to face Edward. "Or did you have ulterior motives?"
"I brought you here because I thought you would like to see it," Edward said seriously, hiding the smirk that tugged at his lips as Bella's eyes narrowed. "Though I wouldn't object to ulterior motives ..."
Bella licked her lips as Edward moved toward her, a predatory look glinting in her eyes. Watching her swim all evening and then observing her during the hunt had made him hungry for her, hungry to claim her and be claimed in return. She was stunning in the low light of the cave, her pale skin shimmering as her breath came quickly. Edward ran a finger along the line of her collarbone, tracing upwards until his thumb rested over the white ring of scars his teeth had left on her skin.
Her breath hitched, and her eyes darkened.
"Mine," he whispered, his voice low and vulnerable despite the dominant word.
"Prove it," Bella said.
Her head was cocked to the side, and her eyes dared him to take what he wanted. He slowly increased the pressure on her scar until she tilted her head back and moaned softly. He knew her well enough to know that she wanted him to move quickly, to take her without warning, but Edward was in no hurry. His face drew closer to her neck. Bella reached out and buried her fingers in Edward's hair, attempting to spur him on by pulling at the strands. He clucked his tongue as he moved more slowly, stilling her hands.
"I will prove it," he murmured, darting his tongue out and caressing the slightly raised flesh of the bite mark, "over and over again."
Quickly, and without warning, he bit down on her neck. Bella's response was immediate, bucking her hips into his and knocking them off of the perch she'd found. Though he'd used his teeth on her before, he'd never bit down exactly on the site of her scar. He'd been wanting to since the moment she woke up, eager to see if the sensitivity he'd felt on his scar correlated to sexual pleasure. Experiment tried and we have success, he thought to himself giddily.
As they sank lower in the water, the bodies writhing against each other as they fought for purchase underwater, Edward marveled at how light Bella's presence had made his life. He certainly never would have considered himself giddy for any reason before Bella; she'd done that. She'd freed him of so many demons just by being in his life. Perhaps it wasn't so far-fetched for him to believe that she was the key to freeing him from his final demon.
Taking Bella's hand, he coaxed her up to the surface again. She gasped for air as she came up and reached wildly for Edward. There would be no putting off their desire until later this time. Bella allowed him to lead her over to the wall. Without words, he positioned her on the wall so that her feet had traction. When she went to rip her wet shirt from her body, he grabbed her hand and shook his head. They didn't have replacement clothes; they would have to make do without removing many pieces of clothing if they didn't want to lose them underwater.
Edward trailed his fingers lightly up her torso under her shirt. Her nipples hardened under the wet shirt, and he sucked on one through the fabric. Bella cradled his head in her hands, moaning softly as his lips and tongue worked deftly on her breast.
Edward had found a ledge where he could rest his feet, and when he was comfortable enough with his footing he began to undo Bella's pants. When she saw his intention, she reached under the water and pulled down his pants as well, exposing him down to his upper thigh. She reached for him, urging him to enter her, but he shook his head and smiled. He knew that the lovemaking would be too fast, over too quickly for her to finish.
He lifted her body up, easing her pants lower as he did so until her upper body rested against the wall, and he supported her bottom with his hands. He positioned her legs over his shoulders and blew cool air over her exposed sex. Bella's legs, with her pants still wrapped around her ankles, pressed against Edward's back. She had squeezed her eyelids shut and pressed her lips together in anticipation. Her look of desperate desire was all that Edward needed to spur him forward.
Edward kissed and licked her, his tongue circling around the spots she liked best. Her fingers found their way into his hair, and she pulled harder as she got closer to the edge. He flattened his tongue against her and drew it through her folds until he reached the bunch of nerves. When he could hear her panting erratically, begging him for release, he sped the movements of his tongue faster than ever before. She came with a screech, her body bucking fiercely against the wall.
Before she fully came down from the high, Edward moved her down his body, her legs still wrapped around his torso. She hissed lightly as her body reentered the water. Edward positioned her so that as she slid down his body, he could enter her. They both gasped as he filled her, Bella's crimson eyes rolling back in her head at the welcomed intrusion.
Their bodies moved in an unrushed dance, hips circling and thrusting rhythmically. Edward was again astounded by the way everything with Bella felt natural and right. He could feel her walls tightening as she got closer to a second orgasm. He moved with her, adding pressure and speed.
"Bite me," she whispered, her voice low and rushed.
Edward brought his mouth closer to her neck, brushing the hollow of her throat with his teeth, but she shook her head.
"No," she whined. "Not there. Over ... over the scar."
Bella grunted and gripped at his shoulders as he kissed his way up her neck. The excitement of knowing he could bite her without harming her filled Edward, and he felt his chest tighten in anticipation. When his mouth hovered over top of the bite mark, he circled it firmly with his tongue. Bella groaned and ran her nails over his back, digging in just enough to make Edward curse softly.
"Please," she whispered, the word drawn out and desperate as her hips sped with his.
A growl grew in his chest as he opened his mouth. He looked at her perfect skin, scarred only with a small ring of teeth marks—his teeth. Bella was his, and that scar proved it every time he looked at it. He bit down, hard enough so that he could feel her flesh give way, but not so hard that he would bite through.
Bella came unraveled beneath him, screaming with the wave of pleasure that ripped through her. The combination of Bella's orgasm and the intense satisfaction of biting pushed Edward over the edge. He groaned as he came, sucking on Bella's throat as the last of the tremors rocked through him.
Edward kissed her gently, running his tongue over the spot where he'd bitten her to be sure there were no wounds. Bella whimpered softly at the feel of his tongue there again. Once she'd recovered enough, he slipped underwater and out from between her legs so that she could pull her pants back on. When he surfaced again, Bella was smirking at him from the ledge.
"What?" he asked, shaking a stray lock of hair out of his eyes.
"You liked that almost as much as I did, didn't you?" she asked, her red eyes twinkling with delight.
"I should think so," he replied, winking.
"I meant the biting, Edward," Bella said, touching his face. "It was really something amazing when you did that. It sparked all sorts of emotions in me and I loved it ... but I was surprised how much you liked it as well."
"Biting is one of our natural instincts. The urge to do it seems greater, especially during climax. I imagine it would be equally as pleasurable for you, as well."
Bella swam away from the wall, but turned around to face Edward with a question looming in her eyes.
"Would you want me to do that?" she asked, her head cocked to the side.
"I want you to do anything that will bring you pleasure," he replied without hesitation. "Though, I'd appreciate if you reined in your biting reflex enough that you didn't take my head off."
"Literally?" Bella asked, wide-eyed.
Edward snorted and swam over to her.
"Yes, literally. Our teeth are really the only thing that can cut through vampire skin. But enough about the morbid ways we can end an immortal life. Shall we get on our way to Scotland?"
Bella nodded, but the surprise was still written on her face. As they dove under, Edward wondered whether he'd frightened her with talk of ending immortal lives. He knew Bella well enough to know that she didn't frighten easily, but he'd also never gone into detail about the way one immortal could kill another. With all of the talk about the Volturi, he worried that she was seeing this suppositional talk more concretely. Would she worry that some Volturi henchman would take of his head? Or even her own? Edward shook his head in frustration. Aro and his coven had been the bane of his own existence for far too long. He loathed the fact that they were becoming the bane of Bella's as well.
The coast is clear, Edward.
Alice's voice greeted him as they approached the shore. He looked through her eyes and saw that the early dawn light was just touching the craggy coastal beach of Wick. It was a harsh environment, barely deserving of the term beach. That was the precise reason they had chosen it as their landing point. The rocks jutted out of the scenery like so many enormous building blocks strewn about as though by a gigantic child.
Bella surfaced right next to Edward, her eyes open and ready to drink in her surroundings. They both found their footing on the sea floor and walked easily through the surf to meet Alice and Maggie.
"Nice hunt, Bella?" Maggie asked with a sly grin.
"It was very pleasurable, thanks," Bella replied with a smirk.
Alice threw her head back and laughed. "Come on, you two. We have dry clothes waiting for you. It's a bit of a hike to our new home."
Edward sighed at the mention of a new home, but remained quiet. Alice knew, and so did Bella, how difficult this was for him. There was no need to beat a dead horse about their family home. With any luck, they would be back to Thetford in a year.
As he removed his wet clothes and dressed behind a rock, Edward idly scanned his sister's thoughts, catching up on the few hours they were apart. He noticed almost immediately that she seemed to be directing her thoughts. Alice only did that when she was trying to hide something from him.
"Alice," he rumbled, after carelessly buttoning his jeans. He stepped out from behind the rock, his sweater in his hands and his feet still bare. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing," she replied, averting her eyes. At least let us get to the house before you start in on me.
"I'll do no such thing," he said, ducking into his sweater. "What're you hiding from me?"
Bella stepped out from behind her rock, the sweater Alice had chosen for her just a touch too form fitting for Bella's taste. Her eyes were locked on Edward's, and she stood immortally still, not a muscle moving. She could feel the tension in the air between the siblings.
"Ye can hide tha shit from him?" Maggie burst out, lightening the tense mood if only minutely. "Ye mean he canna see tha ye've seen th' Volturi?"
The breath left Edward's lungs in a whoosh of silent rage. "Where are they?" he asked, his voice low and deadly. "When will they be here?"
Alice was in his face, her hands feather soft on his shoulders as she tried to impede his progress up the beach.
"That's just it, they're not coming here." Alice's golden eyes were wide as she looked up at him. Edward froze, waiting for her to tell him more. She opened her mind to him, and he could see everything.
Aro knows about Bella. He guessed that you were going to change her, but he thinks that maybe you're trying to raise an army against him. He doesn't know that you're in love with her. How could a being like Aro guess at something like love? Anyway, he's going to be watching us more carefully now. It's good we left Thetford without a trace; it'll be more difficult for him to find us.
"Good and bad. He'll know pretty quickly that we're not there," Edward said. "We need to warn our friends."
"Why?" Maggie asked at the same time as Bella asked, "Who?"
"We have a great many friends—friends left over from when we had a family. They'll be the first people that Aro goes after in his hunt to find us."
Both women nodded, having received sufficient answers to their questions.
"Come on," Edward said with a sigh. "Let's get back to the house so we can start contacting them."
Alice's eyes glazed over, and Edward felt a chill of fear surround his heart. What would she see this time?
"They're going to want to come," she whispered. "So, so many will want to come and stand with us. Edward, you may not have set out to raise an army ... but you're about to nonetheless."
Alice's proclamation hung in the air around them as the four vampires stood in the early morning light. There wasn't more that he could do about it. He owed his friends a call to warn them; whether they chose to come and stand against the Volturi with him or not was their choice. Perhaps this was the way it was always supposed to be. He didn't want a war, but he knew that Aro's reign of terror would never end unless someone toppled him. If so many would want to join them, maybe this battle was far greater than the loss of his family after all.
A/N: I'm not going to bore you with apologies. I know it's been a long time; you do as well. If you're still here and reading I am more grateful to you than you can know. I promised that I wouldn't leave my stories unfinished and I won't. My goal is to hit complete on this story before Christmas (yes ... of this year). If you want to wait until it's complete, I totally understand. My stories aren't going anywhere, so you're safe to do that. If you don't mind variable update times, stick with me. ;)
Hope you enjoyed this update. I admit that I have never scuba dived. I pretty much would prefer to never be that far under water. But, were I a vampire ... I might be more inclined. I think if I could, I'd love to see the caves that Edward took Bella to. I think it would be beautiful and magical, especially with a guide like Edward. As you can expect, things are going to take off from here on out plot wise. This was planned as a 30 chapter fic. Depending on the length of those chapters, I'd say it should be right around that number, give or take a couple. :) Thanks so much for reading, guys. ILY and I hope you continue to love this Edward and Bella. :) ~Jen