Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I just like to play with the characters.

Additionally, I would like to thank my wonderful beta, EdwardsMate4Ever, and jaspersdoll, for suggesting the title and other creative input.

This is a Jasper-Bella fiction. It takes place in current time. Vampires are in hiding, but have a more structured society. They take human "pets" for food, and some humans are held in captivity to be bled for vampires. They bottle this blood much like humans bottle beer, and it is sold in the underground vampire clubs and bars. There are a number of "designer" blood labels, some of which are very popular. Bella's blood has been featured in a blend called "LaGuerra" and is the most popular designer bottled blood on the vampire black market.

Humans who have been claimed by vampires have a small tattoo on their wrists to mark them as vampire property. The marks are usually a series of dots forming a small triangle or rectangle. The colors and pattern identify both the Vampire Territory and individual owner claiming the human.

Chapter 33 – the Visit from Caius.

At around 2:00 A.M., Jasper came in, and said, "He'll be here shortly."

I got up to get dressed. As I put my feet on the floor, I noticed Jasper lingered in the door, watching me with a worried look. I paused as I caught his eyes. He bit his lip, and almost shuddered as he drew an unnecessary breath.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," he stated flatly and unconvincingly. He looked me up and down again, and then leaned over to give me a quick kiss on the top of my head. "Everything will be fine."

"Do you know Caius?" I said slowly, my fear rising at the sight of his unusual nervousness.

"Yes. We've spent a bit of time together over the past 20 years," he said, as he turned to leave the room.

Somehow, his tone when he said that made me feel more worried instead of relieved. After he closed the door, I reached into the closet for something to wear, and pulled out the red wrap-around dress that Charlotte had put on me the first time I went to an event with Jasper. The dress she had been slipping on my arms when I left my room in my underwear, in protest of the slinky, slutty, sequined gown that had been laid out for me back in Texas. It was one of the few dresses I had asked be brought from the Texas houses. Here in Forks, I didn't really need my near-uniform of shorts and formal dresses. I had to get jeans, sweaters, and warmer clothes, so most of my Texas clothes were still at the Texas house.

I paired the red dress with flats instead of any of those insanely high heels that Jasper favored this time, however.

When I heard a car coming up the driveway, I combed out my hair quickly, and went down to the living room.

The rest of the Cullens were all waiting and turned to watch me walk down the staircase. Jasper's eyes went black and he grabbed the back of the sofa next to him. I noticed it kind of disintegrated in his hands, but he quickly wiped the sawdust on the back of the sofa.

He stepped forward to take my hand as I stepped off the last stair, and he whispered, "You look amazing, darlin', just like you did the first time you wore that dress."

Then he passed me over to Esme.

I glanced at Esme and did a double-take. Her normally topaz eyes were partially shot with red, leaving a kind of red fading to orange close to the pupils. She bit her lip and gave me a sad smile, then pulled me down onto a chair in front of her.

There was a knock at the door, and Carlisle went over to open it. I heard him exchange soft greetings, and three vampires entered. Two wore gray capes, and the third wore a black cape. This third vampire was a blond man, with an imperial and commanding carriage. In my opinion, his haughty demeanor marred his otherwise handsome face. Of course, no one was asking my opinion, I thought to myself sarcastically.

His eyes seemed to sweep the room before landing on me with interest. I noticed his eyes widened slightly and his nostrils flared as he looked me over. From there he glanced up at Esme, and he seemed to note her eye color. He gave a slight smile, as if something had just met with his satisfaction. I suddenly remembered that these were vampires, and I should be keeping my eyes down.

He walked over to me, and I was careful to continue to keep my eyes down, looking at the floor. Since Esme had pointed me to a chair, I continued to stay in it. From my downcast eyes, I watched the other two vampires' feet move to take positions in the entry hall, flanking the door.

Caius stopped in front of me, and put a finger under my chin, lifting my face so it was turned up. I continued to keep my eyes down, despite the new tilt to my face.

He stroked my face with the side of his hand, and I felt the blood drain from it. I fought to keep my emotions on an even keel, but my fear was spiking. He was the scariest vampire I had ever met, even including Jasper's Mexican enemy, Benito.

"Lovely," he whispered. "So, this is LaGuerra?" he asked the room in general. Though he spoke so quietly that I could barely hear him, I had the feeling he was speaking just loud enough for me to hear, to increase my fear.

I heard Jasper's voice. "She is."

Caius replied, "I had understood she was with you, though, Major."

"She was, but Lady Esme requested her from me, and of course, I turned her over to the Lady."

"She is a quiet girl, and does not give us any trouble," commented Esme.

To my relief, Caius stepped away from me, and everyone sat down.

I heard them talking, though I couldn't make out the words. Time seemed to just drag by, as I struggled to stay awake and keep my eyes down.

Eventually Caius lifted his voice slightly, so I knew it was something he wanted me to hear. "But I have heard there were two girls in Mexico?"

"I recovered one of Benito's blood slaves before setting fire to the building," Jasper replied. "She was a local girl, and I gave her to one of my men as a reward for taking out Benito's second-in-command."

"Well done. And is he pleased with her?"

"Yes. She had already been silenced, and before her capture by Benito, had done work as a house maid. She apparently does some housework for him as well. It is a good arrangement. He reports being pleased."

"He couldn't be as pleased as Esme, though." I felt Caius return to stand in front of me. "Her scent is amazing, as is the smell of her fear." I closed my eyes as he ran his nose along my neck, burying it momentarily in the crook, before standing back up, with his hands on my shoulders. I shuddered. "Would it be possible for me to have a taste?" he asked as he pulled back, stroking my neck with one of his thumbs.

I shivered with fear at his touch, my mind flashing back to Jasper's comment about knowing Caius, wondering if this was what he had been worried about. As I fought to control my fear, I felt more than heard, a low growl coming from Caius.

Carlisle began an answer, saying, "She is a menstruating girl, so we are careful, and Esme just fed this morning. For her health…"

Esme interrupted. "My Lord, with due respect, I choose not to share. Aro told me I could have any human I wanted, living or yet to be born. After choosing this girl, I find myself rather…territorial. I have not even shared her with Jasper, who was her first Lord."

Caius gave a startled laugh, then stood up and bowed with a smile. "I am glad to hear that you are beginning to experience the world as a true vampire, then."

Esme rose and took me upstairs. I watched as all of the men in the room rose and bowed as she left the room. I was glad of her assistance, as I was shaking so hard I could barely stand upright. I just lay down on the bed, fully clothed, and tried to sleep. I noticed it was 4:00 A.M. Caius had been in the house for nearly two hours. Two hours of sheer terror for me. As I finally closed my eyes, I worried that I would wake to Caius' red eyes hovering over me.

PLEASE REVIEW. I WILL SEND AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEXT CHAPTER TO ALL REVIEWERS.

When I write, I write the story as one continuous document and then cut out chapters when I feel I have a complete episode. Earlier this week, I was looking at my master story, and realized that I had left out a passage from one of the Cullen House/Life with Esme chapters. I thought it was kind of interesting, and it shouldn't have been omitted. I'm going to re-write and repost one of the chapters in order to include the passage, as some people are still reading the story from the beginning.

For anybody who wants to read the passage, which includes a segment about Jasper talking about the impact her early text messages had on his treatment of her, without going back and re-reading the earlier chapters, I have posted the passage on my new FaceBook page, in a post called "Omitted Passage." My FaceBook name is Fourme Jasper. (Last week I left out the space, as someone pointed out.)

Also, I now have a fabulous banner, thanks to CelesticBliss. It represents a label for a bottle of LaGuerra. It's very spooky and quite striking. Thanks again, CelesticBliss! The link is on my profile.