ELSA'S POV

My entertainment became the number-one priority on Isle Esme. We snorkeled—well, I snorkeled while she flaunted her ability to go without oxygen indefinitely. We explored the small jungle that ringed the rocky little peak. We visited the parrots that lived in the canopy on the south end of the island. We watched the sunset from the rocky western cove. We swam with the porpoises that played in the warm, shallow waters there. Or at least I did; when Anna was in the water, the porpoises disappeared as if a shark was near.

I knew what was going on. She was trying to keep me busy, distracted, so I that wouldn't continue badgering her about the sex thing. Whenever I tried to talk her into taking it easy with one of the million DVDs under the big-screen plasma TV, she would lure me out of the house with magic words like coral reef sand submerged cavesandsea turtles. We were going, going, going all day, so that I found myself completely famished and exhausted when the sun eventually set.

I drooped over my plate after I finished dinner every night; once I'd actually fallen asleep right at the table and she'd had to carry me to bed. Part of it was that Anna always made too much food for one, but I was so hungry after swimming and climbing all day that I ate most of it. Then, full and worn out, I could barely keep my eyes open. All part of the plan, no doubt.

Exhaustion didn't help much with my attempts at persuasion. But I didn't give up. I tried reasoning with her endlessly, but to no avail. I was usually unconscious before I could really press my case far. And then my dreams felt so real—nightmares mostly, made more vivid, I guessed, by the too-bright colors of the island—that I woke up tired no matter how long I slept.

About a week or so after we'd gotten to the island, I decided to try and wage an all-out offense.

I was sleeping in the blue room now. The cleaning crew wasn't due until the next day, and so the white room still had a snowy blanket of down. The blue room was smaller, the bed more reasonably proportioned. The walls were dark, paneled in teak, and the fittings were all luxurious blue silk.

I'd taken to wearing some of the more provocative underwear Alice had packed for me to sleep in at night—which were almost as revealing as the scanty speedos she'd packed for me when it came right down to it. I wondered if she'd seen a vision of why I would want such things, and then shuddered, embarrassed by that thought.

I'd started out slow with the brightly colored options, worried that revealing more of my skin would be the opposite of helpful, but ready to try anything. Anna seemed to notice nothing, as if I were wearing the same ratty old sweats I wore at home.

The bruises were much better now—yellowing in some places and disappearing altogether in others—so tonight I pulled out one of the scarier pieces as I got ready in the paneled bathroom. It was black, mostly mesh, but damn it was pretty sexy.

I slid the revealing garment on and prepared myself for my plan of attack.

I felt a sharp pinch on the back of my neck, my hand instinctively slapped the spot. When I pulled my hand back to examine it, I found the squished remains of some bug I couldn't identify. I washed my hand in the sink and splashed some water over the back of my neck where the bug had bit me.

That was when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Any hesitation I had about the mesh underwear was gone; if these things didn't work, nothing would.

Feeling confidently armed, I strolled out to the bedroom.

I had the satisfaction of watching her eyes pop open wide for just a second before she controlled her expression.

"What do you think?" I asked, slowly turning so that she could see every angle.

She cleared her throat. "You look amazing. You always do."

"Thanks," I said a bit sourly.

I was too tired to resist climbing quickly into the soft bed. She put her arms around me and pulled me against her chest, but this was routine—it was too hot to sleep without her cool body close.

She was wearing a shirt to bed tonight—as she did most nights now—to deter my advances. I carefully executed my plan.

"Anna?"

"Yes, love?"

"I'm sorry, but, it's really hot," I pouted, "would you mind terribly taking off your shirt tonight and keeping the undershirt on? It'd help keep me cool. Your chest I mean. Because, you know, it's… uh, so cold." I was stumbling a little now. Evidently seduction was not one of my stronger skills.

She didn't move for a moment, then she shifted, pulled the shirt off, tossing it to the side. She put her arms back around me, but this time I turned my body to face away from her.

"You really like them?" I asked, innocently, curving my body into hers, trying to show off the skimpy underwear.

"Mhm." She answered shortly.

"Really?" I asked again, shifting my body slightly, making sure I was gently pushing up against her.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she said through her teeth, her tone suddenly full of despair and frustration. "Isn't it hard enough without all of this?" She grabbed a handful of the mesh on my thigh. For a moment, I thought she was going to rip it. Then her hand relaxed. "Anna, we can't."

"Anna, please."

"No, Elsa. There is absolutely nothing that is worth risking your life again. That's worth hurting you."

"But, Anna—"

"No, Elsa. I can't do that to you again."

"There were some things you did besides bruising me that I would really like for you to do again." I grumbled, feeling defeated.

"I'm sorry, Elsa."

I yawned, and she smiled.

"You're tired. Sleep, love." She started humming the lullaby she'd composed for me when we first met.

"I wonder why I'm so tired," I muttered sarcastically. "That couldn't be part of your scheme or anything."

She just chuckled once and went back to humming.

"For as tired as I've been, you'd think I'd sleep better."

The song broke off. "You've been sleeping like the dead, Elsa. You haven't said a word in your sleep since we got here. If it weren't for the snoring, I'd worry you were slipping into a coma."

I ignored the snoring jibe; I didn't snore. "I haven't been tossing? That's weird. Usually I'm all over the bed when I'm having nightmares. And shouting."

"You've been having nightmares?"

"Vivid ones. They make me so tired." I yawned. "I can't believe I haven't been babbling about them all night."

"What are they about?"

"Different things—but the same, you know, because of the colors."

"Colors?"

"It's all so bright and real. Usually, when I'm dreaming, I know that I am. With these, I don't know I'm asleep. It makes them scarier."

She sounded disturbed when she spoke again. "What is frightening you?"

I shuddered slightly.

"Mostly…" I hesitated.

"Mostly?" she prompted.

I didn't want to tell her about me being a vampire in my recurring nightmare; I knew it was her own worst nightmare. So, instead of giving her the full description, I gave her just one element. Certainly enough to frighten me or anyone else.

"The Volturi," I whispered.

She hugged me tighter. "They aren't going to bother us any time soon. Alice has been watching their decisions. You have nothing to worry about."

"I guess." I sighed.

She saw the emotions on my face. "What can I do to help?"

I shook it off. "They're just dreams, Anna."

"Do you want me to sing to you? I'll sing all night if it will keep the bad dreams away."

"They're not all bad. Some are nice. So... colorful. Underwater, with the fish and the coral. It all seems like it's really happening—I don't know that I'm dreaming. Maybe this island is the problem. It's really bright here."

"Do you want to go home?"

"No. No, not yet. Can't we stay awhile longer?"

"We can stay as long as you want, Elsa," she promised me.

"I think that might be forever."

She chuckled softly. She may have started humming again, too, but I was under before I could be sure.

Later, when I awoke in the dark, it was with shock. The dream had been so very real... so vivid, so sensory... I gasped aloud, now, disoriented by the dark room. Only a second ago, it seemed, I had been under the brilliant sun.

"Elsa?" Anna whispered, her arms tight around me, shaking me gently. "Are you all right, love?"

"Oh," I gasped again. Just a dream. Not real. I sat up in bed, and I felt my frustration brimming over. "God, this sucks."

"Elsa!" she said—louder, slightly alarmed now. "What's wrong?" She sat up next to me, rubbing my back.

"It was only a dream." My voice sounded so devastated it was almost comical, but at this point I was just so frustrated—in more ways than one—that I couldn't help myself. I wanted so badly for the dream to be real.

"It's okay, love, you're fine. I'm here." She continued rubbing my back. "Did you have another nightmare?"

"Not a nightmare." I shook my head, exhaling sharply. "It was good dream."

"Then why are you upset?" she asked, bewildered.

"Because I woke up," I huffed.

She laughed once at my logic, but the sound was tense with concern. "Everything's all right, Elsa. Go back to sleep."

"It was so real," I groaned. "Iwantedit to be real."

"Tell me about it," she urged. "Maybe that will help."

"We were on the beach..." I trailed off, pulling back to look at her anxious face, dim in the darkness. I stared at her broodingly as the unreasonable grief began to ebb.

"And?" she finally prompted.

I hesitated. "Well…"

"Tell me, Elsa," she pleaded.

But I couldn't. Instead I wrapped my arms around her neck again and locked my mouth with hers feverishly. It wasn't just desire—it was need, acute to the point of pain. Her response was instant but quickly followed by her rebuff.

She struggled with me as gently as she could in her surprise, holding me away, grasping my shoulders.

"No, Elsa," she insisted, looking at me as if she was worried that I'd lost my mind.

My arms dropped, defeated, and I threw myself back against the bed.

She stared at me with confused, anguished eyes.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled.

But she pulled me to her then, hugging me tightly to her marble chest. "I can't, Elsa, I can't!" Her moan was agonized.

"Please," I said, my plea muffled against her skin as I planted kisses on her neck and chest. "Please, Anna?"

I couldn't tell if she was moved by my words, or if she was unprepared to deal with the urgency I was now kissing her neck with, or if her need was simply as unbearable in that moment as my own. But whatever the reason, she pulled my lips back to hers, surrendering with a groan.

And we began where my dream had left off.

I stayed very still when I woke up in the morning and tried to keep my breathing even. I was afraid to open my eyes.

I was lying across Anna chest, but she was very still and her arms were not wrapped around me. That was a bad sign. I was afraid to admit I was awake and face her anger— no matter whom it was directed at today.

Carefully, I peeked through my eyelashes. She was staring up at the dark ceiling, her arms behind her head. I pulled myself up on my elbow so that I could see her face better. It was smooth, expressionless.

"How much trouble am I in?" I asked in a small voice.

"Heaps," she said, but turned her head and smirked at me.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "I am sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to get so desperate last night." I shook my head at how I had practically thrown myself at her.

"You never did tell me what your dream was about."

"I guess I didn't—but I sort ofshowed you what it was about." I laughed nervously.

"Oh," she said. Her eyes widened, and then she blinked. "Interesting."

"It was a very good dream," I murmured. She didn't comment, so a few seconds later I asked, "Am I forgiven?"

"I'm thinking about it."

I sat up, planning to examine myself—there didn't seem to be any feathers, at least. But as I moved, an odd wave of vertigo hit. I swayed and fell back against the pillows.

"Whoa... head rush."

Her arms were around me then. "You slept for a long time. Twelve hours."

"Twelve?"How strange.

I gave myself a quick once-over while I spoke, trying to be inconspicuous about it. I looked fine. The bruises on my arms were still a week old, yellowing. I stretched experimentally. I felt fine, too. Well, better than fine, actually.

"Is the inventory complete?"

I nodded sheepishly. "The pillows all appear to have survived."

"Unfortunately, I can't say the same for your, er, undergarments." She nodded toward the foot of the bed, where several scraps of black mesh were strewn across the silk sheets.

"That's too bad," I said. "I liked that one."

"I did, too."

"Were there any other casualties?" I asked timidly.

"I'll have to buy Arianna a new bed frame," she confessed, glancing over her shoulder. I followed her gaze and was shocked to see that large chunks of wood had apparently been gouged from the left side of the headboard.

"Hmm." I frowned. "You'd think I would have heard that."

"You seem to be extraordinarily unobservant when your attention is otherwise involved."

"I was a bit absorbed," I admitted, blushing a deep red.

She touched my burning cheek and sighed. "I do enjoy that."

I stared at her face, searching for any signs of the anger or remorse I feared. She gazed back at me evenly, her expression calm but otherwise unreadable.

"How areyou feeling?"

She laughed.

"What?" I demanded.

"You look so guilty—like you've committed a crime."

"I feel guilty," I muttered.

"So you seduced your all-too-willing wife. That's not a capital offense."

She seemed to be teasing.

My cheeks got hotter. "The wordseducedimplies a certain amount of premeditation."

She glanced meaningfully at the scraps of mesh. I giggled nervously.

"You're not angry?"

She smiled ruefully. "I'm not angry."

"Why not?"

"Well.." She paused. "I didn't hurt you, for one thing. It was easier this time, to control myself, to channel the excesses." Her eyes flickered to the damaged frame again. "Maybe because I had a better idea of what to expect."

A hopeful smile started to spread across my face. "Itoldyou that it was all about practice."

She rolled her eyes.

My stomach growled, and she laughed. "Breakfast time for the human?" she asked.

"Please," I said, hopping out of bed. I moved too quickly, though, and had to stagger drunkenly to regain my balance. She caught me before I could stumble into the dresser.

"Are you all right?"

"If I ever do change, I hope I have a better sense of equilibrium in my next life, or I'm demanding a refund."

I cooked this morning, frying up some eggs—too hungry to do anything more elaborate. Impatient, I flipped them onto a plate after just a few minutes.

"Since when do you eat eggs sunny-side up?" she asked.

"Since now."

"Do you know how much food you've gone through in the last week?" She pulled the trash bin out from under the sink as evidence.

"Weird," I said after swallowing a scorching bite. "This place is messing with my appetite." And my dreams, and my already dubious balance. "But I think that has more to do with all the excursions you've been dragging me on. I'm going to get fat from eating so much."

She sat down next to me. "Isn't that part of being human and getting married?" she teased.

I snorted. "Very funny, Anna. If I leave this honeymoon twenty pounds heavier, it'll be your fault."

"What do you mean?" She asked innocently.

"I don't spendmyfree time plotting like some people can we do to wear Elsa out today?" I said in a poor impression of her voice. She laughed, unashamed. "You know, if this is what being human entails, I think I may never think about changing ever again." I leaned over to run my hand across her chest. "I have not had enough."

She gave me a dubious look. "Forthis?" she asked, placing her hand over mine as it moved down her stomach. "Sex was the key all along?" She rolled her eyes. "Why didn't I think of that?" she muttered sarcastically. "I could have saved myself a lot of worry."

I laughed. "Yeah, probably."

"You are only human," she said again.

"I know."

A hint of a smile pulled at her lips. "So, after the honeymoon, are we really going to Dartmouth?"

I hadn't thought about our after-honeymoon plans since the wedding, but I considered it for a moment and smiled. "I'll probably fail out in one semester."

"I'll tutor you." The smile was wide now. "You're going to love college."

"Actually," I began thoughtfully, "I know you had your heart set on Dartmouth, but would it be too late for me to try to get into some sort of cooking school?"

"Cooking?" She smiled.

"Well, I mean, you know I like cooking," I shrugged, "and I think I'm pretty good at it. I was just thinking, if I was going to go to college why shouldn't it be for something I really enjoy?"

"I think that's an excellent idea, Elsa." She smiled. "We can look into it after we leave."

"Speaking of, how much longer can we stay?" I asked.

"We're fine on time. A few more weeks, if you want. And then we can visit Agnarr before we go the semester starts. We could spend Christmas with Iduna...…"

Her words painted a very happy immediate future, one free of pain for everyone involved. The Honeymaren-drawer, all but forgotten, rattled, and I amended the thought—foralmost everyone.

I didn't want to think about that now, though. But was that selfish of me? There would always be a part of my heart—a fractured piece—that would hurt for Honeymaren Black. Even if I couldn't love her the way she wanted me to, I would always love her as my best friend. I had no plans to end my humanity anytime soon, Anna and I were making the whole married thing workverywell… Maybe Honeymaren would come around… someday.

"A few weeks," I agreed. And then, because there never seemed to be enough time, I added, "So I was thinking—you know what I was saying about practice before?"

She laughed. "Can you hold on to that thought? I hear a boat. The cleaning crew must be here."

She wanted me to hold on to that thought. Did that mean she wasn't going to give me any more trouble about practicing? I smiled.

"Let me explain the mess in the white room to Gustavo, and then we can go out. There's a place in the jungle on the south—"

"I don't want to go out. I am not hiking all over the island today. I want to stay here and watch a movie."

She pursed her lips, trying not to laugh at my disgruntled tone. "All right, whatever you'd like. Why don't you pick one out while I get the door?"

"I didn't hear a knock."

She cocked her head to the side, listening. A half second later, a faint, timid rap on the door sounded. She grinned and turned for the hallway.

I wandered over to the shelves under the big TV and started scanning through the titles. It was hard to decide where to begin. They had more movies than a rental store.

I could hear Anna's low, velvet voice as she came back down the hall, conversing fluidly in what I assumed was perfect Portuguese. Another, harsher, human voice answered in the same tongue.

Anna led them into the room, pointing toward the kitchen on her way. One was a round man, the other a slight female, both their faces creased with lines. Anna gestured to me with a proud smile, and I heard my name mixed in with a flurry of unfamiliar words. I flushed a little as I thought of the downy mess in the white room, which they would soon encounter. The little man smiled at me politely.

But the tiny coffee-skinned woman didn't smile. She stared at me with a mixture of shock, worry, and most of all, wide-eyedfear. Before I could react, Anna motioned for them to follow her toward the chicken coop, and they were gone.

When she reappeared, she was alone. She walked swiftly to my side and wrapped her arms around me.

"What's with her?" I whispered urgently, remembering her panicked expression.

She shrugged, unperturbed. "Kaure's part Ticuna Indian. She was raised to be more superstitious—or you could call it more aware—than those who live in the modern world. She suspects what I am, or close enough." She still didn't sound worried. "They have their own legends here. TheLibishomen—a blood-drinking demon who preys exclusively on beautiful humans." She leered at me.

Beautiful humans only? Well, that was kind of flattering. "She looked terrified," I said.

"She is—but mostly she's worried about you."

"Me?"

"She's afraid of why I have you here, all alone." She chuckled darkly and then looked toward the wall of movies. "Oh well, why don't you choose something for us to watch? That's an acceptably human thing to do."

"Yes, I'm sure a movie will convince her that you're human." I laughed and clasped my arms securely around her neck, stretching up on my tiptoes. She leaned down so that I could kiss her, and then her arms tightened around me, lifting me off the floor so she didn't have to bend.

"Movie, such movie," I muttered as her lips moved down my throat, twisting my fingers in her strawberry-blonde hair.

Then I heard a gasp, and she put me down abruptly. Kaure stood frozen in the hallway, feathers in her black hair, a large sack of more feathers in her arms, an expression of horror on her face. She stared at me, her eyes bugging out, as I blushed and looked down. Then she recovered herself and murmured something that, even in an unfamiliar language, was clearly an apology. Anna smiled and answered in a friendly tone. She turned her dark eyes away and continued down the hall.

"She was thinking what I think she was thinking, wasn't she?" I muttered.

She laughed at my convoluted sentence. "Yes."

"Here," I said, reaching out at random and grabbing a movie. "Put this on and we can pretend to watch it."

It was an old musical with smiling faces and fluffy dresses on the front.

"Very honeymoonish," Anna approved.

While actors on the screen danced their way through a perky introduction song, I lolled on the sofa, snuggled into Anna's arms.

"Will we move back into the white room now?" I wondered idly.

"I don't know... I've already mangled the headboard in the other room beyond repair—maybe if we limit the destruction to one area of the house, Arianna might invite us back someday."

I smiled widely. "So there will be more destruction?"

She laughed at my expression. "I think it might be safer if it's premeditated, rather than if I wait for you to assault me again."

"It would only be a matter of time," I agreed casually, but my pulse was racing in my veins.

"Is there something the matter with your heart?"

"Nope. Healthy as a horse." I paused. "Did you want to go survey the demolition zone now?"

"Maybe it would be more polite to wait until we're not notice me tearing the furniture apart, but it would probably scare them."

In truth, I'd already forgotten the people in the other room. "Right. Damn."

Gustavo and Kaure moved quietly through the house while I waited impatiently for them to finish and tried to pay attention to the happily-ever-after on the screen. I was starting to get sleepy—though, according to Anna, I'd slept half the day—when a rough voice startled me. Anna sat up, keeping me cradled against her, and answered Gustavo in flowing Portuguese. Gustavo nodded and walked quietly toward the front door.

"They're finished," Anna told me.

"So that would mean that we're alone now?"

"How about lunch first?" she suggested.

I bit my lip, torn by the dilemma. Iwaspretty hungry.

With a smile, she took my hand and led me to the kitchen. She knew my face so well, it didn't matter that she couldn't read my mind.

"This is getting out of hand," I complained when I finally felt full.

"Do you want to swim with the dolphins this afternoon—burn off the calories?" she asked.

"Maybe later. I had another idea for burning calories."

"And what was that?"

"Well, there's an awful lot of headboard left—"

But I didn't finish. She'd already swept me up into her arms, and her lips silenced mine as she carried me with inhuman speed to the blue room.