Disclaimer: Written under the derivative fan works act. All rights reserved to the original creator, Stephanie Meyer.
Title: The Darkest Part of the Night
Rating: M for graphic violence, blood play, vampire feeding, sexual situations, lemons, hot steamy angsty vampire lovin', underage drinking, smoking, drug use and overall bad behavior.
Premise: Edward left Carlisle to live the vampire lifestyle but he didn't leave his family behind. They left with him, feeding off the dregs of human society. What will happen when they finally meet a certain human girl? No Vegetarians allowed AU OOC ExB Lemons
Alternate Universe: This story uses more traditional vampire canon as opposed to Twilight sparklepires. Canon pairings eventually although Edward and company get a lot of play in this story until things settle down in later chapters (Obviously Bella won't be in the story until after she's born), pretty much OOC, ExB of course.
POV: EPOV (Edward) Edward tells this story. Any commentary from Rosalie, Alice or Bella will be posted as outtakes in a separate story.
– – – –
Author Notes:
Please note that this story is rated M for a reason, if you'd prefer not to deal with mature themes, please do not read this story.
– – – – – – – – – – –
Chapter 29 Bella
"You don't feel that I might be in love with you too?"
"How could you be? You only met me a couple of days ago. You do this all the time… Why would this be any different? We've only been together for a couple of nights…"
"And they've been the best nights of my existence. You've only known me for a couple of nights, and you're in love with me. Why am I not allowed the same courtesy of feeling love for you?"
"Because you haven't said that you are…"
"I love you, Bella Swan. These have been the best three nights of my existence. Tonight was perfect and beautiful. You are perfect and beautiful and I love you. I have never felt this emotional connection to anyone else before, and I never will again. You are my other half and you make me whole simply by existing."
"Oh… You love me…?" She seemed shocked and startled by my sudden declaration.
"With all of my heart. You are my life now."
"But you've been with so many other girls… I've never felt like this before, but I've never been with anybody else… I don't know how this works, Edward..."
"I've never felt like this with any other girl, Bella. I won't lie and say I've never felt love, but it was never like this. What we have, the connection we share is special."
"Ok… So what do we do about this…? You're leaving…"
"So are you."
"I know, but I guess I'm going to Washington…" I shook my head no as she said it. We'd discussed this last night.
"Remember when we talked about options and broadening your choices?"
"Yes…"
"You asked me what I was driving at, and I told you it was too soon and I didn't want to scare you off? We talked about our choices last night. You know I can't live without you."
"Yes…"
"Come with me, Bella. You wouldn't be alone. You could finish high school online. College will be difficult, but worst case scenario, you can get an online degree. I'll take care of you, and we can be together."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa… You want me to run away with you? Drop everything, leave home, drop out of school and go out on the road with you and your motorcycle gang?"
"Yes…"
"Are you insane?"
"I don't think so."
"Sounds like it to me…"
"You love me?"
"Yes…
"I love you?"
"You say so, and I have to admit it's a possibility if what I'm feeling is real."
"I do love you with all my heart. I realize now that I may have been lax in expressing my affections, but I didn't want to scare you away before."
"You really love me... this isn't just about the sex?"
"Of course I love you. I've loved you from the first second I saw you, if you'll believe that."
"Seriously, love at first sight? That's a myth..."
"How long did it take you to realize there was something special between us?"
"Ok... Maybe not a total myth... I can't run off with you, Edward. My mom would shit!, she'd call the police..."
"I'll deal with your mother when the time comes. Now you have another option. You can drop out of school and go with Phil and Renee on the race circuit now that he's signed. You can go live in the rain with your father in Washington, start over at a new school and give up motorcycles until you go off to college, or you can come with me when I leave."
"God, Edward… Why do you have to make this so hard? Why couldn't you be the insensitive jerk I was expecting to deal with…?"
"I'm sorry if I haven't lived up to your expectations."
"I didn't believe it was possible to feel so strongly about someone in such a short amount of time. I never believed in love at first sight, and to have you say you feel the same way… It's like some kind of magic I don't understand."
"You still have some time to make your decision, but you already know you don't have any choice. You're coming with me."
"Why? Are you going to kidnap me and carry me off into the night?"
"Alice suggested that, but no, I won't have too. You'll go with me because it's what you want to do. You know you won't be able to live without me."
"You think pretty highly of yourself."
"Not at all, I don't deserve you at all; you're much too good for me."
"Then why do you say I won't be able to live without you?"
"Because I know you feel the same way I do and I can't live without you."
"Oh… Yeah, there's that I suppose… I can't just run away with you, Edward. What am I supposed to be? Your girlfriend? Friends with benefits? Your main squeeze? When does this end? How long does this feeling last? I've never been in love before… What if you get tired of me? Do you just drop me off on the side of the road somewhere and ride away?"
"You want guarantees, a commitment? We're about two – three hundred miles from Vegas. We can head that way when we leave town. Do you want a ring on your finger? Let's make it legal, and then half of everything I own is yours."
"I'm sixteen! I'm not going to marry you! Besides, don't I need a court order to do that?"
"You'll be seventeen next week. Your birthday is in a couple of days. Say yes, and Alice will have all the paperwork taken care of before we leave town."
"Nine days, it's not until the Tuesday after I go back to school…"
"Fine, nine days, we don't have to wait. You can get married in Vegas at sixteen. You need one parent's signature to get the license and then it's legal."
"I'm not getting married at sixteen, or next week when I'm seventeen! Renee will never sign off to let me get married that young. That's exactly what she did; only she was pregnant with me. She's been drumming that fact into my head ever since. Besides, I may not be the girly type, but I was hoping my marriage proposal, whenever I finally got one, would be a little more romantic than coming in the middle of an argument while lying naked in bed after having sex."
"I apologize. The naked sex is supposed to come after the proposal, not before. You'll think about it now though."
"It doesn't matter. I'm not getting married. Besides, isn't a proposal of marriage supposed to be accompanied by the offer of a ring? You're not very prepared for this, are you?"
"Just a second…" I rolled out of bed, and went to my duffel bag that contained my personal effects and spare clothes. Bella's breath caught as I walked naked across the room and her heartbeat started hammering in her chest again.
I spent most of my time on the road, and I only carried my most prized possessions with me. I dug into the bottom of the bag and extracted the small black leather box. Bella was staring at me with lust apparent on her face as I turned back to face her. I grabbed my cigarettes and lighter out of my jacket before I walked back to the bed and slid in beside her again.
"I travel a lot, and I don't carry many belongings with me. I only take those things with me that hold special sentimental value." I presented the small black box to her.
She gingerly accepted the box, looking at it with wide eyes, and then looked back up to look me in the eye, clearly shocked at what was happening.
"Go ahead and open it." She carefully opened the box and her breath caught as she looked at the ring sitting in the slot in the blue velvet lining.
"You carry an engagement ring around with you in your duffel bag? How often do you ask girls to marry you?"
"First time ever, Miss Swan."
"Ok… So why do you have a ring…"
"This was my mother's wedding ring. It's been in my family since the late eighteen hundreds…"
"Oh…"
"Bella Swan, I would be honored if you would accept this token as proof of my desire to take your hand in marriage and make you my wife. Come with me. Share my life and be my loving companion for eternity."
"You're really serious aren't you?"
"That wasn't actually the response I was hoping for, but yes I am. Very serious."
"Would you be offended if I said I need some time to think about it?"
She closed the ring box, and handed it back to me. I set it on the nightstand next to the bed and picked up the pack of cigarettes. I offered Bella one and she took it. I tapped out one for myself, and then offered her a light before I lit mine.
I chuckled as I took a drag on the cigarette, and then blew out the smoke. "No, I'm not offended. A lot has happened since we met. I'd be surprised if you didn't need time to process all of this, but I'm not leaving without you."
"Why am I the one who has to make all the concessions, Edward? Why can't you come to Washington with me? It's not like you're tied down to a nine to five job or punch a time clock. I could live with my father and we could date until I go off to college. You'd have two years to make up your mind if this is really what you want."
"I already know it's what I want. You are what I want. Besides, what would your father think of me? He's the chief of police. Is he seriously going to want his daughter to date some biker from a motorcycle gang?"
"We could clean up your image for him. You said you live like this because you can. You could dress preppie and go to school with me. Maybe you could get a nice safe car like a Volvo or something."
I laughed as I considered it. As if that would ever happen! I wasn't some wuss that drove a soccer mom car. It was rainy enough in Washington that I'd be able to spend a lot of time out during the day if I needed to. I was almost a hundred years old and I could avoid the sleep if I needed to, but it would be very draining. I'd need to feed much more often.
"It's a pretty picture, but it won't work for me. I have certain responsibilities, Bella. I travel a lot. I spend more time on the road than at any of the houses we own. I live out of hotels most of the time. Some like this, some much nicer. Would you be happy if I had to leave you in Forks while I was out on the road? I'd visit often, but they would still be visits. I wouldn't live there. I don't know that I could stand to be away from you that much."
"No... I couldn't live like that. I couldn't let you go like that while I stayed home..."
"No... I couldn't do that either. It would drive me insane being away from you..."
"What if we want children? It's not something I've ever really considered, but we can't raise kids traveling like nomads and living out of hotels and motels…"
"I thought I was clear last night… There won't be any children, Bella. I can't have children, and you won't be able to either if you stay with me…"
"We could adopt…"
"No. We couldn't. You'll understand in time, but I can't explain why not. It's one of the things you'll have to accept if you stay with me."
"You keep saying that, 'if I stay with you'. You make it sound like I have a choice, Edward… You already know what I'm going to decide. You know I can't live without you. I guess I never saw myself as a mother anyhow. I never even played with dolls when I was little or babysat to make pocket money. I guess I just always knew it wasn't something I wanted."
"You've made your decision then."
"It wasn't a choice, Edward. You knew I'd choose you. You're my life now."
"Then shall I ask your mother for your hand in marriage tonight?"
"Tonight?! How late is it?" She asked startled.
"It's only about two. We have plenty of time."
"Two AM in the morning?! Oh my god! I promised her I'd be on time! My mom is gonna have a cow! I need to get home!"
"Relax, Bella. She's already going to be mad, I take it?"
"Well duh! It's two in the morning and I'm laying naked in your bed instead of sleeping in mine!"
"And I have to admit I rather like that. Does it really matter if you're a little later? She's already mad."
"Why? What did you have in mind?"
I stubbed out my cigarette in the ashtray and took hers out of her fingertips and did the same. I reached for her then, pulling her towards me as my hands caressed her body, cupping her breast and stroking between her legs.
"You know, it's never a good sign when you take my cigarette away from me like that…
"I want to make you scream my name again before I take you home…"
"Edward! I have to go…" My lips captured hers, silencing her protests. She struggled against me briefly, and then melted into the kiss as her lips opened and her tongue was swirling around mine. I deepened the kiss, plundering her mouth as she responded to me.
Her hands came up around my body, stroking and caressing my shoulders and back.
I reached down spreading her legs, pushing her knees apart as I moved back between them, supporting my weight on my knees and elbow as she wrapped her legs around my waist.
I ran my hand up the inside of her thigh, stroking higher until I found the wetness where her legs came together.
My fingers dipped into her moist heat. She was already wet for me, slippery with my cum from our earlier love making.
I stroked through her folds, caressing her pussy. My fingers found her clit and I didn't try to tease her this time as I rubbed and stroked the sensitive nub, arousing her lust.
I broke the kiss, planting tiny wet kisses along her jaw line to the hollow beneath her ear.
"Edward… God… It's late… I have to go…"
I kissed down the column of her neck to the hollow at the base of her throat.
"My mom's gonna ground me…"
"She can't ground you anymore if you're married to me…"
My hand slipped lower and I pressed my middle finger into her. It sunk in to the first knuckle and she gasped. I pushed deeper and my finger sank into her as I stroked her clit with my thumb.
"Oh God… You are so bad…"
I kissed lower onto her chest, and my tongue flicked at her nipple. Her breath hissed between her teeth, and then my lips closed on her nipple. I sucked on it while I flicked it with the tip of my tongue where it was trapped between my lips. I felt it harden into a pebble under my attention.
Her hips were bucking into my hand as I fucked my finger in and out of her slippery wet pussy and my thumb kept firm pressure on her clit as it stroked from side to side.
I slid higher back up her body until I could whisper into her ear.
"Tell me what you want." I breathed against her ear.
"I… I want… I have to go home…" She moaned. She was so stubborn.
"Tell me what you want me to do to you?" I asked as I redoubled my efforts and stroked her throbbing clit.
"Oh my god… Edward please…" She panted as her hips bucked into my hand and I stroked into her.
I slipped a second finger into her as I stroked in and out of her wet sloppy pussy. She was moaning with every stroke, and then I curled my fingers to press against the sensitive spot on the inside of her while my thumb stroked her clit.
Her muscles contracted involuntarily and a spasm of pleasure flashed through her body. She howled in gratification at the sudden release and then her hips were bucking wildly as she drove herself onto my hand.
"Tell me what you want, Bella…" I whisper against her ear again.
"Oh my god… Fuck me! I need to feel your cock inside me… Please… Fuck me now, Edward!"
My fingers pulled out of her, and I gripped my cock. I stoked through her pussy lips, and then pressed the head against her opening.
It slipped inside easily as I pushed into her and she moaned when the head of my cock spread her open and filled her like my hand never could. I sank into her in one long smooth stroke until I was buried to the hilt inside her.
She didn't need to stop to adjust this time as I moved with a rhythm, sliding almost all the way out, and then sinking deep to the hilt with every stroke.
Her hips bucked against me, rising to meet my thrusts as I hammered into her, taking her hard and fast.
Bella was panting and moaning as I stroked my cock in and out of her hot tight pussy. I was grunting with every stroke as I drove deep into her. She was incredibly tight but slippery wet as I delved into her velvety depths.
My body had slipped lower as I worked my hips to thrust into her. I could see her pulse point hammering in her neck as her heart raced with her passion. My tongue darted out as I licked her neck, savoring the salty sweet taste of her sweat.
I could feel the blood flowing through the artery in her neck with my tongue, and I needed more. My lips locked onto her throat and I suckled at the tender flesh as I hammered my cock into her.
"Oh my god… Edward… I'm so close…" she moaned as I drove her closer to her peak.
I could feel her blood rising to the surface of her skin where I was sucking on her neck as I fucked her. I could taste the sweet nectar as my teeth rested against the surface of her thin almost translucent skin, lightly grazing the tender flesh. My tongue lapped at her succulent flesh, tasting her as my cock pounded into her.
Suddenly she screamed my name as she fell off the precipice and her orgasm took her. I felt her clenching around my cock buried deep inside of her throbbing pussy. She clutched at my shoulders and clung to me with her legs as she came undone and clenched around my cock as spasms of pure unadulterated bliss rocketed through her body.
My release quickly followed hers. My body tightened as my leg muscles locked and I drove deep into her. I couldn't hold back anymore and I spewed my essence into her, filling her depths to overflowing as spurt after spurt pulsed out of my cock in an explosion of ecstasy.
My mouth was still locked onto her throat with my teeth resting against her skin and the exquisite taste of her blood in my mouth from the hickey on her neck as I came.
I was still suckling on the tender flesh of her neck when suddenly my fangs snapped erect, extending in an involuntary reaction to the taste of her blood on my tongue and my cock buried deep inside her when my orgasm hit me. I knew it was possible, but it had never happened to me before. I'd never had the taste of a human girls blood in my mouth when I came before. I was taken completely by surprise when my fangs snapped erect as my ejaculation pumped my seed into her.
The twin razor sharp teeth punctured her flesh, spearing into her artery, venom spewing with the involuntary muscular contraction. I pulled back to release her from my teeth, but a hot rush of blood filled my mouth, spurting from the puncture wounds with the hammering of her heart. I swallowed to clear the intoxicating nectar from my mouth, and then I pressed my tongue across the wound to seal the two gaping punctures, staunching the flow.
I was filled with remorse and was equally awestruck all in the same instant as I lay there with my cock buried to the hilt in her throbbing pussy. Bella's heartbeat was just as strong as ever and there was no bleeding from the wound in her neck as the healing properties in the venom sealed the wound.
I was remorseful because I had injured her and taken her blood in what should have been an act of love. I hadn't thought twice about stopping. There was no desire to feed until I drained her dry. I had been more worried about her well being and the danger I posed to her than taking her blood, but another kind of lust had overtaken my desire to feed.
I was awestruck by the intensity of my reaction to her blood and because I hadn't been consumed by bloodlust. I couldn't deny the erotic thrill I felt as my fangs pierced her neck while I fucked her. The act of feeding was an intensely pleasurable experience in and of itself and was almost orgasmic in nature, but combining it with an actual orgasm during sex was a totally mind blowing experience.
I knew many vampires fed from their victims many times in scenarios almost exactly like this, prolonging the experience while they played with their food, but I had never attempted it. My victims were all deserving of death, and I had never had a reason to hold back until now. I had a much better understanding of the attraction of taking their victims blood while engaged in the act of love now, though. It magnified and intensified the sensations by many orders of magnitude, making the act of release and orgasm so much more intense.
I knew intellectually that this was possible. I had witnessed it before, but I had always thought it was something female vampires experienced. I didn't realize it was equally powerful for both sexes. I thought of the old adage, if you put your finger in your ear to scratch, which feels better, your finger or your ear? I was resigned to being the finger. It was good enough, and I had no reason to complain, but I knew it would never be as good as what the ear got. What I felt had always been good enough. Now I knew it could be better.
My mind flashed back to a conversation I had had with Esme years ago when we were traveling to Europe. We'd been dancing and the subject of feeding during sex had come up. She'd suggested that I'd be able to do this someday when I found my mate. She'd known then that I wouldn't be able to hurt her and that something like this would be possible.
I took stock of the situation. I pulled out of her and rolled off of Bella's body to lie beside her. She was unconscious as the euphoric drug like effects of the venom in her system ran their course. She would likely be insensible for an hour or more, based on my previous experience with the incapacitating effects of venom. I wasn't sure how much she would remember. Hopefully she would believe that she had passed out and slept after we had sex and her orgasm left her exhausted. She had fallen into a deep sleep after we had made love the second time last night.
I examined the wound in her neck. My sensuous ministrations while lost in the throes of passion would leave a mark. She would definitely have a large hickey on the pulse point in her throat. The puncture wounds were tiny in comparison and rapidly healing from both the effects of the venom injected by my fangs and traces in my saliva. The marks shouldn't be readily apparent baring close examination of the wounds but they would remain for days and likely leave a permanent pair of matching raised scars. She would bear my mark on her flesh forever now.
Hopefully Bella wouldn't remember the details of what had happened and would simply think I had given her a hickey.
At least until she compared notes with Rachel again.
I held her limp body against my chest and pulled the covers over us, cradling her in my arms as I waited for the effects of the venom to wear off. I leaned down and kissed the top of her head as I stroked her hair.
She had been worried that she was late getting home before. I had just made things immeasurably worse because it would be an hour or two before the effects wore off. I'd be lucky to get her home and make it back to the motel before dawn now. If her mother wanted to argue and fight when I took her home, I'd never make it back in time.
I'd been laying there for a while, trying to figure a way out of this mess, when there was a knock on the door. I wondered what she could possibly want now. She knew I had Bella with me, but I rolled out of bed and reached for my pants.
Don't bother, Edward… You'd only have to take them off again… Now open the door and let me in…
I shrugged and dropped my jeans. I walked to the door to unlock it and opened the door to let Alice in.
"Still lookin' good there, Edward. It has been quite a few years…"
"What do you want, Alice?" I asked as she looked me up and down, checking me out.
"I came to help you get Bella home. Did you have to go and bite her now? You know, once she's changed she won't mind letting you bite her like that. It still feels just as good and gets you more high than knocking you completely out. It's just as good getting bitten like that as it is doing the biting."
"You never said anything when we were together. How come you never told me before?"
"Because that's something you share with your mate, not some random vampire you're screwing, no matter how much you love them. Besides, you bit me more than once. You would have figured it out if you weren't so picky with your diet, but you don't have a lot of opportunities to have sex with the criminals and predators you eat. Now you know why so many vampires practice seduction as part of playing with their food."
"I didn't think I was some random vampire you were screwing, Alice. I loved you. I still do, but that's beside the point now. How are we going to get Bella home before sunrise? If I dump her on her porch unconscious, her mother will call the police."
"You know I still love you, Edward. Just not like that anymore. I rationalize… I do what I have to do to stay sane."
"It's not working, crazy bitch."
"Looks who's talking, serial killer."
"Fine, Bella? We can call each other pet names later…"
"We could just keep her and leave town tonight. Her mother doesn't know what hotel we're staying in, and the police have to wait twenty-four hours before they'll take a missing persons report."
"She's only sixteen, Alice. They can file an Amber alert because she's a minor and broadcast it over the radio and newswires. They take that sort of thing a lot more seriously these days. They'd have her picture on spots on TV, the evening news and every milk carton in three states. It would draw too much attention. Her mother has to let her go, or Bella has to tell her she's leaving with us. Otherwise we'll be fugitives, and we'll have to go into hiding for months, maybe until she turns eighteen or even longer."
"Ok, ok… I get it. We have to take her home. Well, c'mon. Let's get her into the shower. We can't send her home smelling like sex, and the shower will help wake her up faster."
I nodded and Alice went into the bathroom to run the shower. I went to the bed and picked Bella's limp body up off the bed and carried her into the bathroom.
Alice was standing next to the shower taking off her clothes as I walked through the door.
"What the hell are you doing, Alice?" I asked as she pushed down her skirt and underwear all at once and stepped out of them.
"I'm getting ready to get into the shower, Edward. You didn't think I was going to get in with my clothes on did you?"
"I didn't think you were getting in at all."
"And how am I supposed to wash her if I'm not in the shower? Were you planning to hold her up with one hand and wash her with the other? You just hold her up and I'll wash her, ok?"
"Thank you, Alice. I didn't think."
"You're welcome." Alice stepped in front of us and quickly piled Bella's hair on top of her head and fastened it in place with a plastic hair clip. "Now get in the shower and hold her up. We need to get started. The cab will be here soon."
"Cab?" I asked as I stepped into the shower with Bella, holding her up in a standing position with my hands under her arms.
Alice stepped into the shower with us. It was crowded, but not too cramped for Alice to be able to move around to reach Bella. She used the shower wand to spray down her body to rinse the sweat and other evidence of our lovemaking off of her and wet her down all over. She reached for a wash cloth and used the tiny motel travel size soap to work up lather. Alice started to wash her body all over while we talked.
"What, did you think you were going to drive her home on your Harley while she's half unconscious and can't even stand up?"
"I suppose a cab is a good idea. I guess I wasn't thinking."
"It's ok, Edward. You've got a lot on your mind, and this whole mating thing is a little overwhelming."
"I just wish I could tell her more, Alice. I can't lie to her, and I know I can't tell her the truth…"
Alice was examining the wound in Bella's neck as she washed her chest and shoulders. "Well, you might want to step up the time line then. I have a feeling you're going to have a lot of explaining to do tonight. She's not stupid, and she's going to figure this out on her own pretty soon."
"I want to wait at least until her birthday. Hell, I'd like to wait until her next birthday, but I don't see how we could."
"Easy, lie to her."
"What? I just told you I couldn't lie to her, Alice."
"You already are. Not telling all of the truth or only the parts of the truth you want her to know is still a lie. You're just twisting the truth to fit both of your needs."
"I guess that's true." If anyone was an expert on lying, it was Alice. She'd lied to all of us for years with a straight face, and then in the end usually got us all to accept it because it turned out to be for the best after all. She could twist the truth into a pretzel to serve her own ends and then make you happy she'd done it when everything was all said and done. "How does lying to her serve her needs?"
"She's going to find out you're a vampire, but you're afraid she'll freak out when she finds out we eat people."
"I suppose it would be a little disconcerting to find out the man you love really is a serial killer after all."
"It didn't bother me, but then so was I. Besides, you aren't going to kill her, so don't tell her that part."
"How can I possibly tell her I'm a vampire without discussing my diet?"
"Twist the truth to meet your needs. Tell her about Carlisle's diet. You used to live like that. All of us did in the beginning except for Emmett. Tell her he likes to eat bears, he'll think it's a big joke and go along with it. She'll be able to accept that we're vampires if we eat animals instead of people."
"What if she wants to see us hunt?"
"Tell her it's too dangerous for her to see us hunt. We might lose it and eat her by accident. It could happen…"
"If we were raw uncontrolled newborns, you know she'd be perfectly safe with us…"
"She doesn't need to know that."
"What about when I have to tell her the whole truth? She'll hate me for lying to her."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides, she'll be a vampire before you have to tell her that little detail. She probably won't care anymore, when her throat is on fire and she needs someone to drink. Especially once she finds out just how disgusting eating animals really is."
"I take it she won't simply take our word for it?"
"After all the other lies you'll tell her? She'll want to try it to prove it."
"I'll consider it, but it seems dishonest to me."
"That's because it is. Trust me; if you tell her you eat animals and we can live like that, she'll beg you to turn her so the two of you can be equal."
"She'll never trust me if I lie to her like that..."
"Yes she will. She's your mate, she'll get over it. She has to trust you, whether she likes it or not. It goes with the territory. She'll be able to tell if you're lying to her or not after she's turned. She'll have some of that while she's still human, but it'll be more of a feeling than knowing."
"Do you think it would really work?"
"You're the one who wants an option to keep her human for another year. It'll work. Sometimes you've just gotta do what you've gotta do."
"What about when I sleep? How will she be able to travel with us? Won't it freak her out when the sleep takes me?"
"I guess you could always just chain her in the bathroom..."
"Alice! Be serious!"
Alice giggled. "Fine, but my visions are based on your decisions. You had to be thinking about it for me to see it."
"Fine, but that's not an option..."
"She'll sleep too, Edward. She'll adapt to our schedule. It's already happening. Her body wants to sleep through the day, but her parents or her girlfriend keep waking her up. So far they just think it's the late nights she's been keeping that make her so hard to rouse, but once she's on the road with us, she'll sleep when you sleep."
"That seems a little too convenient to me. How is that possible?"
"Well for one thing, you'll probably wear her out every morning, fucking the living shit out of her, and she'll be so exhausted from the workout in bed that she'll be asleep before you are."
"Alice!"
"You know it's true!"
"That's beside the point, and besides, you never seemed to complain. Is there a real reason why it would work like that?"
"Fine, you'll call Carlisle and ask him about it."
"And what will he tell me?"
"He'll explain that it's an effect of the mating bond. It's partly psychological and partly due to her proximity to you and the fact that you've sealed the bond and claimed her. There are already physical changes going on because you're intimate, although there isn't enough venom in your semen to trigger the change, even if she had your blood in her system. You've got to bite her to change her, but there's enough to start affecting her physiology."
"Oh..."
"Ok, turn her around so I can wash her back."
I turned Bella around and held her against my chest. Alice scrubbed her back and then reached lower to scrub the backs of her legs. She worked the lather into her ass, and I saw her fingers slipping between her ass cheeks.
"So when are you going to take her for a ride back here, Edward? She's very tight… She's probably a virgin back here too. I doubt she's even had a finger in here."
"Quit playing with her ass, Alice, and just get her washed!"
"Spoil sport," She stuck out her tongue at me, but stood up and reached for the shower wand to rinse her off. "Really, Edward, I'm not kidding. She'll let you do her back here if you ask her nicely and get her nice and ready for it. Make sure you use plenty of lube, and she'll like it."
"I've only just gotten her to accept vaginal sex, Alice. I think I'll wait until she's turned before I'm knocking at her back door."
Bella was starting to revive a little, stirring against my chest, but she was still pretty out of it.
"Your loss... It'll make it easier after she's turned if you break her in while she's still human. It'll stay stretched if you take her ass before you turn her, but I guess you've got time if you're going to wait a year. Ok, brace yourself; I'm going to turn off the hot water to wake her up."
I nodded and Alice reached for the faucet. The hot water cut off leaving a stream of cold water jetting out of the shower wand.
It was icy cold, and uncomfortable, but extremes of temperature didn't affect us like they did a human. While lying naked in a snow bank would be no picnic, it wouldn't affect me like it did a human. I wouldn't freeze or feel extreme discomfort, but I wouldn't seek it out either. My body adjusted to the temperature of my environment but the same temperatures that were comfortable to a human were comfortable to me too.
That wasn't the case for Bella at all. She writhed and sputtered under the icy stream of water as it shocked her awake. Her body dumped adrenaline and hormones into her blood to counteract the sudden icy cold. Her heart rate picked up pumping her blood faster in an effort to generate body heat. She wouldn't last long like this before exhaustion and hypothermia took over, but the net effect was to drive enough of the venom out of her system so she would regain consciousness.
"Wha… Oooh… Edward…! It's cold…! Where are we…? What's going on…?" Bella sputtered as Alice doused her with the cold water.
"Ok, she's awake. Get her out and get her dried off before she catches cold," Alice said.
"Alice...? What are you doing here? Where are we…? In the shower…? Oh my god! We're naked!"
I lifted Bella out of the shower, while she was still talking. She tried to push me away, but she was still a little too unsteady on her feet and I held onto her to prevent her from falling.
"Well did you expect us to get in the shower with our clothes on?" Alice asked, climbing out behind us and reaching for the towels. "Besides, you two were already naked."
"I wasn't expecting to find you in Edward's room, naked or otherwise, Alice." Bella said, sounding a little possessive and jealous at the same time.
"Jasper and I came down to have a drink with Edward just the other night, and it's not like he hasn't seen it all before, Bella. We're both girls, I didn't think you'd mind…"
Alice shook out the towel and expertly rubbed down Bella's body, warming her and drying her at the same time while I kept her steady.
"Let me guess, you and Edward dated too? So was this before or after Rose?"
"After Rose and before Maggie," Alice said with a conspiratorial wink. "C'mon, let's go in the other room and get dressed. We need to get you home before dawn."
"Dawn! How long was I asleep for?"
"About an hour. Get dressed, Bella," Alice handed her panties to her, and she blushed again as she realized she was still standing there naked.
"Ok, so Maggie? Will I be meeting her too anytime soon?"
"Not likely. She went back to Ireland to live with her parents, and we don't get over to Europe too often." Alice said as she rapidly put her clothes back on. I dressed while the girls chatted.
"Ok. So are there anymore ex-girlfriends that I should know about?"
"Nope," She said, popping the p. "Just the three of us are the only ones that really matter. Tanya chased after Edward for a while, but he wasn't interested. All the rest were just one night stands or flings while we were passing through town."
Bella got a dejected look on her face, obviously equating herself with the one night stands and flings.
"So what does that make me then?" She asked, looking down at her toes, not really wanting to hear the answer.
"Permanent." Bella's head snapped up to gawk at Alice. "You're the one he's been waiting for. You're the girl that gets to take him off the market and keep him."
"He left all of you, Alice. What makes me so special?"
"You've got it all turned the wrong way around, Bella. We left him, he didn't dump any of us. We always knew it wasn't meant to be. Rose left him when she found Emmett. I left him when I found Jasper. Maggie left because she got homesick and missed her family, but all of us knew it wasn't permanent. You're the one that gets to keep him."
"Oh..."
"As for why you're special, you've heard the joke, 'I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you'? Not a joke, Serious as a heart attack. So any more questions you'd like to ask before we leave?"
The three of us were dressed now. Bella had taken the clip out of her hair and shaken it out. She collected her jacket and purse while we prepared to leave.
"Umm… Ok… How long were you and Edward together for then?"
"Oh we were together for years and years. A lot longer than he was with Rose, and before you ask, he was only with Maggie for about a month, but it was a blast while she traveled with us until she got homesick and left."
"Ok, this time line just doesn't make any sense, Alice! How the hell could Edward be with Rose for years, be alone for more years while it was just the three of them, and then be with you for years and years? Let me guess, you aren't seventeen or eighteen years old either, are you?"
"I never said I was."
"Alice! Remember the rules! She can still walk away. She doesn't know anything yet."
"And apparently neither do you. She's in too deep already, Edward. She can't walk away from you anymore than you could walk away from her. It's just a matter of time now. She's going to figure it out anyhow. She has enough hints and clues after tonight."
"Ok, so you lost me there, Alice. So you're not a teenager, and apparently neither is Edward. I take it Rose isn't really eighteen… So what, did you all find the secret of the fountain of youth or something?"
"Sort of… Some would say yes, but it comes at a very high cost."
"Ok, I'll bite. What cost?"
"Funny you should say that…"
"Alice, watch your tongue!"
Alice just glared at me before going on, hinting at our secrets. "You already know part of it. We can't have children. I'm not allowed to say anything else until you're one of us."
"One of you…?"
I was about to say she'd already said more than enough, but there was a knock on the door. I was so intent on what Alice was telling Bella that I hadn't noticed Rose in the hallway.
"That'll be Rose," Alice said, walking to the door to let her in.
"The cab's here," Rose said as she stepped into the room.
She smiled at Bella, and then averted her eyes, looking around the room.
"That's the box for your mother's ring!" Rose exclaimed excitedly, focusing on the night stand. "You asked her?" And then she looked at Bella more closely, studying her hands. "Why isn't she wearing the ring?" Rose asked, turning to me accusingly.
I shrugged. "I offered it to her, but she said she had to think about it."
"What is there to think about?" Rose asked, turning to Bella.
"Umm… I don't know… This all just seems to be happening so fast. I'm only sixteen! I just wanted to take some time…"
"When I was your age most girls were betrothed by sixteen. My best friend Vera was married at seventeen with a baby. I was engaged to be married at eighteen, and my mother counted her blessings that I wasn't going to end up a spinster because I was marrying so late."
"She doesn't know everything yet Rose," Alice said. "She doesn't realize how permanent this is yet."
"Oh, well I guess that makes sense. Go get your ring, Bella. We can talk some more in the car on the way back to your house."
"My ring? I haven't said yes yet…"
"It's your ring now, whether you decide to wear it or not. Edward will never offer it to anyone else. He'll wait for as long as you need to say yes."
"Umm… Really?"
"I'm not making this up, Bella. I've been through this already too, with Emmett. Tell me you don't want Edward. Can you even think of being with anyone else but him?"
"Umm… No… I can't think of being with anyone else. He's the one I want."
"If you're going to be together anyhow, shouldn't you make it legal?"
"But marriage isn't permanent, Rose… It doesn't last…"
"It does for us. There will never be another for you but Edward. You are the end of the line for him. He'll live and breathe upon your every whim. He's yours now as you are his. A ring only lets the rest of the world know what the two of you already know is a fact. You're a couple now, and nothing but death can change that fact."
"Oh… I didn't think of it like that… I guess you're right…" Bella walked across to the nightstand and picked up the ring box and walked back over to me.
She held out the box and placed it in my hand when I held it out. "Ok, ask me again..."
I wanted to do this right this time. I opened the box and got down on one knee as I took Bella's left hand in mine. "Isabella Swan, I love you. I'll love you for all eternity. I would be honored if you would accept my hand in marriage and allow me the privilege of making you my wife. Share my life. Come with me when I leave. Be mine forever."
"Ok... Yes, Edward, I'll marry you. But you have to get my mom to be ok with it."
I had to be smiling from ear to ear. I took the ring out of the box and placed in on Bella's finger. It was a perfect fit as though it was destined to be on her finger. I couldn't help myself and I stood up and kissed her. The kiss was deep and passionate. I wanted to rip her clothes back off and take her back to bed…
"Uh humm," Alice cleared her throat to get my attention, and then tapped me on the shoulder. "We have to leave, Edward! We have to get Bella home before it's too late!"
I broke the kiss and stepped away. "Alright, Alice, Just let me get my coat…"
"No, you're staying here. Rose and I will see that she gets home safely."
"What? Why can't I go? There should be room for the four of us…"
"It'll look better if it's just the three of us girls. We'll tell her mother we were having girl time to get to know her better and lost track of time. She'll know exactly what you two were doing if you show up alone to drop her off at dawn."
"We're engaged to be married! Why would she be upset?"
"Let me see," Bella said, ticking off points on her fingers. "She doesn't know we're engaged yet... she'll probably go ballistic when she finds out. She was knocked up with a kid at seventeen, married at seventeen because she got pregnant with me, divorced at nineteen, never had a relationship that lasted longer than a month for the last fourteen years until she met Phil. Oh, and I'm SIXTEEN, Edward. That's still statutory rape in this state. You're familiar with the term 'jailbait', right?"
"Ok, perhaps you have a point. I'll see you tonight. Will you be at the fair, or should I pick you up at home again?"
"Let's play it by ear. I was supposed to go to the fair with Rachel again, but I guess that depends on her new friends. I'll call you tonight and let you know if I'm grounded or not. You may have to come over and talk to Renée if you've gotta spring me. I'm sure as hell not telling her we're engaged until you're there with me."
"We'll see you tonight, Edward," Alice said. "Unless you'd like us to take care of that little matter we discussed the other night…" Alice bared her teeth and pretended to bite air while her back was to Bella and she couldn't see.
It'll be over quick, Edward… She'll never see it coming… She won't feel a thing… At least until she starts burning…
"No, Alice! I told you! I'll handle that myself!"
"Ok, don't say I didn't offer. Morning, Edward."
I nodded as Alice and Rose dragged her out the door. Bella smiled and waved goodbye, oblivious to what Alice had just offered to do to her as the door slammed shut, and then they were gone. There was still considerably more than an hour before dawn. Alice and Rose shouldn't have any trouble making it back safely in plenty of time.
That also meant I had considerably more than an hour to agonize over my separation from Bella until the sleep took me. I poured a drink and lit another cigarette as I considered our relationship. Then I got out my phone to call Carlisle. Alice had told me what he'd say, but I still wanted to hear it from him. He was living somewhere in Washington now, but we'd never visited his new home yet. I wondered if it was near where Bella's father lived. She said she wasn't close to him. I wondered if she'd like to visit him while she still could.
Bella had finally acknowledged the permanency of what we shared, but there were many decisions yet to be made. Could I really keep her human for another year to give her time to mature and grow up? Did I even want that? In another six months she'd be the same age as me physically, but the change caused enough differences that I knew I looked older than seventeen. The change would surely refine and mature her features so she'd still be my Bella but she'd probably be able to pass for older than seventeen. She looked older than seventeen now and her birthday wasn't until next Tuesday.
Now I just had to get her away from her mother and find the resolve to change her to be like me. Alice's suggestion seemed more attractive, the more I thought about it. Would she want more time to experience life as a human before she joined me in this second life?
These hours before dawn in the darkest part of the night should have been the happiest hours of my existence as I shared intimacy with my mate before the sleep took us. Maybe I should have accepted Alice's offer. The only thing standing between me and that reality now was the fact that Bella had to become a vampire now and I had to turn her.
Author's note:
There have been a lot of comments that this Edward seems kind of cold and unfeeling, and that he seemed more in love with Rose and Alice when he was with them than he does with Bella.
Edward was with Rose for six months between chapters one and two, and they were together for years in the beginning of the story, plus, he was a lot younger. He was with Alice for fifteen years, and she knew just as much as he did about everything from the start. She knew they were going to be together, and he knew she knew it.
At this point, Edward and Bella have been together for three nights. They've practically just met, and Edward is being very guarded about what he says to her so he doesn't accidentally say the wrong thing. That, and he's somewhat jaded by the life he's led for the last eighty years or so. He has a tendency to take things for granted and make assumptions. He assumes she knows how he feels about her because she's feeling everything he's feeling. It hasn't occurred to him that Bella needs to hear that he loves her.
As one reviewer commented, communication is the key. They'll work on that.
I've also posted chapter 14 of More Than Human. I'll keep posting both stories as long as I'm chapters ahead.
Reviews are always appreciated. I'd love to hear what you think.
