A/N

To be completely honest, the idea for this little one shot is not entirely original. I found a post while scrolling one night that read as follows:

"AU where Bella doesn't TELL Edward that she knows, she just strolls into lunch one day and goes "hey guys, I've got a question for the table. just for funsies, you know, just totally off the top of my head. Would you fuck a vampire? I vote yes." and then stares across the cafeteria unblinking while Edward chokes."

Some people saying that this should be one shot or a story, and I couldn't seem to get it out of my head. Pair that with my need to write something a little lighter with more humor, and I present you with what follows. So along with the usual "Stephenie owns Twilight" sentiment, I also don't even own the idea. I'm just in it for the funsies ;)

Hope you guys enjoy it! Let me know what you think!

XX,

Dani

To put it quite frankly, the boy pissed me off. From the first time I saw him I was stunned, both by his otherworldly good looks, as well as the strange hostile look on his face and the way his entire body seemed to brace against everything that was me. From his messy, copper hair to his pristine, expensive shoes, he made it evident that the very idea of me was so repulsive that he couldn't even be polite enough to pretend otherwise.

I wasn't arrogant enough to believe that I deserved the affections of the most beautiful boy in Forks. I was nothing special. Brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin, slim but I lacked the curves that would drive the boys wild. The only reason I was attracting such attention now was that I was the shiny new toy in a town where everyone knew each other since birth, and I wasn't a complete dog to look at. It wouldn't bother me a bit if Edward Cullen wasn't attracted to me. It wouldn't even bother me if he never had the desire to speak to me. What bothered me was that what I lacked in arrogance, he clearly made up for in spades, and sat the entire class looking like he was about to blow chunks. As if he was appalled that a pleb such as myself would dare to sit next to him, nevermind the fact that it was the only open seat in the room.

As that day wore on and I learned more about the infuriating, beautiful boy, a sense of stubborn curiosity settled in the place of irritation. He was the adopted son of the local superstar doctor and his wife. He had four siblings, all unnervingly stunning, and all coupled with each other. They floated around the school and only spoke when absolutely necessary, forging no personal friendships with their nose in the air. They had everything. Looks, money, impeccable grades. They were untouchable. They had lived in Forks for two years now, so the newness of their existence had worn off. Word around the halls, now, was that they were the outcasts.

Everything about them made everyone uncomfortable, and now it was accepted as fact that they were the "freaks". The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. There are 50 states in the United States. Mitochondria are the powerhouse of a cell. And the Cullens are fucking weird.

Here's the thing though; I can't stand a mystery. I wanted to know why this boy hated me so much, and I wanted to know exactly what it was that was so different. I wasn't about to chalk it up to simple Rich Kid Syndrome. There was definitely more to it than that.

His eyes were always changing colors, from coal black to shining gold. He would disappear for days. His mood swings were worse than a woman on menopause. His hand had been so cold when I got that brief chance to touch it during a lab in class. And then there was that whole run in with the van. Or rather, the non run-in. There was simply no other explanation as to how he got to me so quickly and had managed to crush the van with his body.

I had tried to talk to him about it again and again but he wouldn't budge or give me any kind of plausible answers, which of course drove me mad. On top of everything else, I did not appreciate being lied to, and while I wasn't exactly sure what I was dealing with here when it came to Edward Cullen, I knew that I needed to find out.

"It was adrenaline, you can Google it."

Adrenaline, my ass. Oh, I would be googling things alright, but it wasn't going to be anything about no damn adrenaline.

He did seem to soften after my accident, though. I mean, it took him a whole fucking month, but we got there eventually. We even had lunch together. It had been nice, if not slightly annoying, and in that time he had finally admitted that he was not the average 17-year-old-boy. He was something else entirely, though he wouldn't tell me what.

He did, however, add another tick of suspicion to my list when it seemed very much like he knew exactly what Mike Newton was thinking. There's no way he could, right? That would be ridiculous. Maybe he was just as good at reading people as he said he was.

And then there was the whole matter of him coming to my rescue after my little fainting spell post-blood-typing. Not only had he shown up at precisely the right moment, but he lifted me from the ground and held me away from his body with such ease. He had managed to support my weight with only his arms and he didn't even break a sweat or show any kind of strain whatsoever. I know I'm not heavy, per say, but I also know that it's not normal for any 17-year-old-male to carry over 100 pounds with only their arms.

I had chalked it up to my delusional dizziness when I caught myself marveling at the feel of his strong and too-stiff arms underneath me. I wanted nothing more than for him to pull me to his chest and hold me close, but he handled me as if the slightest movement would shatter me to a million pieces. Even though I was less than coherent, I still got lost in the smell of him. Sweet like honey, warm like sunshine, and just as alien to my senses as he was.

I was sitting in my bedroom while I ran through all these events, taking a mental inventory of whatever it was that I was dealing with. What began as a dogged analysis of data and facts I had collected quickly turned into lovesick musings of a teenage girl and I actually found myself sighing audibly as daydreams danced through my mind.

Those arms, wrapped around me, pressing our bodies together inch by inch. Leaning up to press my warm lips against his, only to find them just as cold as his touch. Him lifting me with one hand to press me against the wall and…

Alright, this needs to stop. Focus, Bella. How can you even think like that when you don't even know what he is? What if he was right and he is dangerous? I doubted it. Something in me screamed that I was dealing with less danger and more "self deprecating emo boy."

Needing to get my thoughts back to an appropriate place, I set to work as furiously as my slow internet and decrepit computer allowed me to. I started by searching the simplest term I had come up with: Vampire. Earlier at La Push, Jake had called them "Cold Ones", but that was what his tribe called them and I doubt it would turn up as many search results as "vampire" would.

For hours I went through page after page of various legends of vampires from all over the world. They all varied, but for the most part seemed to line right up with what I knew about Edward, but a couple of things didn't add up. I had seen his teeth and there certainly had been no fangs, though the thought of that was admittedly pretty hot. Maybe they could retract somehow? Like a cat's claws? Then I tried to remember if I had seen him in sunlight, and though I had seen him during the daytime the thick cloud coverage in Washington meant that I hadn't seen much of the sun since I arrived. The only time it had come out from behind it's eternal blanket of clouds, he had been missing from school, which only added to my suspicion.

I was filled with a lot of strange emotions as I absorbed all of the information before me. The butterflies in my stomach were so strong it almost made me nauseous, but there was also a feeling lower in my stomach that I had only begun to feel since Edward showed his beautiful face in my life. A deep, warm pull and a tingling further south, paired with a thundering pounding of my heart in my chest. I didn't know what to make of all these new things my body was doing, but I found that I liked it and it was something that I was eager to explore.

Once dressed in my favorite pair of holey sweatpants and an old tee shirt, I laid in my bed and wondered what had to be wrong with me that I wasn't scared at this revelation I made. Vampires drink blood, right? They feed on humans. To what extent, I wasn't sure. Most movies I've seen and books I've read make it seem that they are able to feed without killing, therefore, vampire does not equal murderer, right?

Yeah, let's go with that.

The point was, I did not fear Edward Cullen. There was not a single ounce of me that believed that he had the capacity to harm me. If he was going to do that, he would have by now. He wouldn't have saved me from the van, he wouldn't have been there when I fainted around the blood, teasing me about how one can't smell blood so I couldn't have fainted as a result of the smell… Oh. So that's what he had found so amusing and laughed at me about. I suppose it was pretty funny, once you knew all the facts, that this girl that he seemed so intrigued by fainted at just the smell of the very thing that allowed him to keep living. Either way, we had been alone multiple times. If he had wanted to kill me, he surely would have by now.

Look, isn't it some universal fact that vampires are sexy?

Still, I'm not this girl that gets swept up and infatuated by some boy.

But Edward is not some boy.

Fuck, I'm in trouble.

I'm running through a dark, deserted alley at night, the ground wet from the day's rain. Even my dream self isn't aware of what I may be running from, yet I somehow feel like I'm definitely running to something.

Then I see him. He's only a dark figure at the end of the alley, his form silhouetted against some unknown light source, but I know somewhere deep down that it's him. Without a second thought, I fling myself towards him, only to feel a complete void where he once stood. His presence is behind me now and before I can speak sharp teeth surrounded by cold lips are piercing into the flesh of my neck.

I wake up in a tangle of sheets, sweating and aroused. I'm no stranger to the pulsing between my thighs, I am a hormonal teenager after all, but it's never been quite like this. Pounding, tingling heat. A deep ache that needs a release.

Images of my dream intermingling with the boy that I see in school have me panting, my hand tentatively roaming over my own body, exploring with curiosity for the first time. I palm my breast and bite my lip to stop the moan that threatens to escape, caught up in how good the pressure feels on my skin. How much better would it feel if it were him?

I'm growing more brazen now, my other hand creeping under the hem of my shirt. I run it along my stomach, imagining what someone else would be thinking if they were touching me, and then I slip it beneath the waistband of both my shorts and my underwear. I can't breath all of a sudden. I've never done this before, and I'm not even sure of exactly what to do, but I let my body be my guide. It is making it very clear what part of me needs touched next. I gasp as my fingers find their way between the slick folds of my center and circle the sensitive bud.

I don't stop my self-exploration until my whole body is tense and tingling with sweet release. The pain in my lip from biting to hold in my moans only adds to the thrill of the electric shooting through me, yet a small whimper still manages to escape while my body convulses with wave after wave of pleasure that takes my breath away.

Afterwards I find myself feeling lazy and boneless, more relaxed than I have ever been before. It's that exact moment that I'm through wondering and playing games.

Before all is said and done, I will have Edward Cullen.

All morning my mind is far, far away from my studies. I spend all of my time staring out the window, silently watching the raindrops race down the smooth panes, steeling my resolve for the decision I've made.

Come lunch time, Edward will be enlightened to exactly what I know about him, and how I feel about it. I'm no coward, but the thought of what I'm about to do still sends a strange thrill and fear through me. I'm playing a dangerous game, after all, and I have no clue where I have managed to muster the giant pair of brass balls it's going to take to pull this off.

The bell for my last period before lunch rings and I take my time making my way to the lunch room, stopping to transfer items in and out of my locker and use the restroom. For what is about to happen, it would be beneficial if at least most students have already gotten their lunch and were seated. Before I leave the cold confines of the girls bathroom, I check myself in the mirror. The longer I'm in Forks the paler I get, and my complection certainly didn't go unnoticed upon my arrival. Most men are attracted to the tall, blond, tan types and I am certainly none of those things.

Then again, why would a dead man care about my complection when his is even more pallid than mine?

I laugh to myself at my silent joke, run my fingers through my hair, take a deep breath and walk swiftly to the lunch room. Just because I'm set on doing this does not mean that the butterflies in my stomach haven't turned absolutely rabid and are currently attempting to eat their way out.

Jessica, Angela, Ben, Eric, and Mike as well as the Cullens and most of the lunchroom are all seated. My group of friends are talking animatedly to one another, while the freaky family on the far side sit stoicly looking positively tired and bored, the latter of which I am certainly about to remedy. Edward glances up briefly as I walk in and I could swear I see the ghost of a smile on his face but he's looking back down at the table just as fast as I noticed it and his quick composure of his features has me wondering if I was imagining it.

I don't let myself think much more about this little plan before I'm walking briskly toward my friend's table, dropping my book bag down and slamming my hands on the hard surface, a playful smile on my lips as all conversation ceases and their eyes all snap to mine.

"Hey guys, I have a fun little question for you. Just purely out of curiosity, you know. Would you fuck a vampire? Yes or no? I vote yes." As soon as the words tumble out of my mouth I look directly at Edward, not blinking once. While my brain is reeling with a hundred different things, I force my face to hopefully only show one: a challenge. Ball's in your court, vampire boy.

Edward is trying desperately to reign in his response. In fact, his whole family is. Of course they all heard me, super human hearing and all that, and the responses seem to be a 50/50 split of anger and elation. Rosalie and Jasper both look absolutely pissed, perfect faces twisted into murderous grimaces and I am certain in that moment that the only thing saving me from being drained on site is the humans that surround me. Alice and Emmett on the other hand look like kids that were let loose in a candy store with an unlimited amount of money to spend. I can hear Emmett's booming laughter from where I stand, cut short by a firm smack on the arm from Rosalie and a cutting glare. He places a hand over his mouth, still snickering, and turns and says something to Edward.

Edward, on the other hand, flounders for a bit. First his mouth is hanging open in shock, then pressing in a hard line of frustration. A flicker of amusement, then a glare of anger. He looks to his family, rolls his eyes at the enthusiasm on Alice and Emmett's face, then looks back at me and sets me on fire with the furious gleam in his eyes.

"Jesus Christ, Bella, what are you doing? You can't go shouting something like that in the lunchroom, you idiot," Jessica snaps at me, grabbing the sleeve of my flannel and pulling me down to the seat next to her. I check to make sure that I can still see Edward from my seat only to observe that he has chosen to avert his eyes. That's okay, I know he's listening.

"What? It's just a question." I tell her innocently, plucking a french fry from her tray.

"I think it's kinda hot. Yeah, I'd go for it," Mike pipes up, leaning to bump his shoulder against mine and attempting a smirk. He looks too much like a golden retriever to pull off a smirk, I half expect his tongue to come lolling out of the side of his mouth.

"Gross, Mike," Jessica adds. "Aren't they, like, dead?"

I shrug. "Theoretically, but is anything really dead if it's walking, talking, and...well, you told me not to say fucking so…" I trail off, taking the chance to glance at Edward. He's staring directly at me, the fire still burning in his eyes but now it's different. The anger is still there and if I knew absolutely anything about turning a boy on I would swear that was there too. Just the thought of being able to make Edward want me makes my thighs clench.

Jessica follows my gaze, then turns back to me and leans in. "Wanna share with the class why you and Cullen are staring at each other like you want to eat each other?" She groused, always bitter that Edward had never wanted her.

"What are you talking about, psycho?" I asked, attempting to gloss over the situation. "Really, though, it's not that strange of a question. You guys have seen Interview with a Vampire, right? The Lost Boys?"

Angela, the sweet girl, has her eyes on the table and is chewing on her lip like it's going to run away from her. "I don't know, I've always thought they were kind of sexy in books and movies and stuff…" She admits quietly.

Her boyfriend, Ben, snaps his head up with his mouth hanging open and I genuinely don't know if he wants to admonish her or jump her. They're a strange couple, those two, but they work.

"I did see this film once called Lust of the Vampire where they didn't feed off of blood, but...other sex-related bodily fluids. I mean, it's all a metaphor right?" Eric muses, that nerdy film related light in his eyes.

I see it coming, of course. As much as I have avoided drawing more attention to myself from Jessica, I still kept watching Edward in my peripherals and I see him stand from their secluded table, mumbling something to his family, and glide his way over to me. I just pretend I don't. I keep my eyes on Jessica who is babbling on and on about just how sick the prospect I have suggested is, until she stops mid sentence to look up at the towering, pale, bronze-haired specimen that I am all too aware of standing behind me.

The pulsing, undulating thrill that has every nerve in my body stretched like a live wire increases as his hand lands on the table in front of me. He leans down to speak to me from an all too appropriate distance, but all I can manage to think about or look at is those long fingers and what they could do to me.

"Bella, could I speak to you for a moment please?" Edward asks, his tone laced with old time manners that make me wonder just how old he is.

I turn my head to look up at him and that chiseled, marble jaw of his is set firmly. The whole table is silent and staring, waiting to see what is going to come of this. Hell, I'm pretty sure the whole lunch room is watching.

I smile at him brightly, as if nothing is amiss. "I'm sorry, Edward. I can't right now. I'm having this absolutely riveting conversation with my friends. Care to join us?" My voice is soft and innocent, teasing but not in any sort of way that would put a porn star to shame. I'm not quite that confident, though the urge to lick his jaw is very present.

"No, I don't think I will," He takes his hand from the table and places it on my arm, gentle but also firm. "Please excuse us, everyone. Bella has seemed to have forgotten about the project we were supposed to work on during lunch."

Oh, so that's how we're going to do this. Okay.

"Oh yeah! The study on human sexuality and reproduction in biology," I tap my head with my hand. "Duh, I did totally forget! Thanks for reminding me."

I allow him to pull me to my feet and grab my book bag while we rush out of the cafeteria, but not before I hear Jessica mutter "What the actual fuck just happened?" Pfft. And she wants to get onto me for my potty mouth. Pot and kettle, Jess.

I don't say anything and neither does he as I'm led down the hallway, but he also won't release his grip from my arm. Not that I'm exactly fighting it, of course. I keep expecting him to pull me into a classroom to question me or let me go and part ways or push me against the lockers and kiss me or, fuck, anything really. But he doesn't. We just walk, hurried steps echoing in the halls, right out the door.

I had resolved myself to say nothing to him until he spoke first. Some silent, stubborn war I chose to wage. But when I notice that he's leading me to his car, I have to give up the ghost and shake my arm out of his grip. "What are you doing? Where are we going?"

He turns to me faster than my eyes can catch and steps right up to me, our bodies separated by a mere inch yet tragically still not touching. His eyes are dark and his entire form is tense and rigid. "I didn't expect you to have any questions, seeing as how you want to 'fuck a vampire' so badly."

Holy shit his voice very nearly makes me come right there. That velvet voice that I've hung onto every word of for months now is deeper, rougher, and so much sexier.

Okay, so we're doing this. Fine. Good. Yeah, totally.

"O-okay." My voice fails me, slipping from it's previously brave, over confident tone and I curse it for betraying me. "So where are we doing this?" I add more confidently, crossing my arms over my chest and looking up at him, challenging.

I've shocked him again. "We, uh…" He sputters as well and I grin, knowing that I'm getting to him. He's looking away from me now, towards his car, calculating. "My house."

"Your house?"

"Yes."

"Alright, then."

I take that moment to break the...whatever this is between us, and I march to the passenger side of his car, hand on the handle. He still hasn't moved. "Come on, you gotta unlock the door. Besides, I know you can move faster than that," I call to him.

I watch his shoulders heave as he takes a deep breath and I wonder if he even needs to do such a thing, then his thumb pushes the button on his key fob to unlock the door and in the time it takes me to climb in the shiny, silver Volvo he's moved from his spot ten feet away from the car and into the passenger seat. "Fast enough for you?" He asks, looking up at me for the first time and smirking.

Yeah, he's the kind of guy that can smirk and soak your panties in the process. No good-boy golden retriever in sight.

The drive to his house is silent and the whole car is filled with so much tension I'm sure we're about to blow the top right off. My mind is racing the whole time, I have so many questions about how everything works, but all I can think about is touching him.

Next thing I know we're right inside the door of this house and it's barely shut before he has me pushed up against it. His lips are pressed against mine, moving frantically, and he's so hard and so cold and it's so hot. My hands are roaming across the planes of his chest and up into his hair, tangling and pulling. One of his hands has a firm grip underneath my hair at the back of my neck, the other is running down my side, across my hip and down my thigh. He reaches the bend of my knee and hitches my leg up on his hip, grinding his hardness into me.

"Bella?" I snap out of my little daydream to find my heart racing, my breathing heavy, and I'm still in that fucking car. "Are you okay?" Edward asks me, concern lacing his tone.

"Yep, all good. Just, uh, claustrophobic." It's a damn lie and he fucking knows it.

He's smirking again, one hand on the wheel looking all cool and sexy. I kind of hate him and I kind of love him all at once. "Claustrophobia. Got it. It's fine, we're here now."

The house is gigantic. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, the home of a doctor and his six grown and weirdly coupled children would have to be massive. It's all made of glass and wood and surrounded by a dense forest of redwood trees. We've been driving for awhile now, and I realize the Cullens live quite a ways from town and it suddenly dawns on me that I may just be a little bit stupid.

I'm in the middle of BFE, Washington with a vampire after just declaring the desire to sleep with him and willingly walking away from any sort of witnesses to be alone with him. Yep, those aren't the results of sane thinking.

But I know deep down that Edward wouldn't hurt me.

Sometime during my train of thought the sexy bastard has made his way out of the car to my side and he's opening the door all gentlemanly. Dude, this is a booty call not a date. Chill out.

"Thanks," I tell him despite my inner monologue.

He leads me up to the door and into the house, but much to my extreme disappointment he doesn't immediately throw me against the wall.

Everything is white, clean, and expensive. A huge piano sits in the corner, a state of the art TV hangs on the wall, and the floor plan is open and inviting.

"Would you like a tour?" He asks, and I nod. He takes my backpack from my shoulders and sits it next to the door, then kicks his shoes off. I follow his lead thinking they must be those kinds of people. The ones that are terrified of any tiny speck of dirt landing on their precious, expensive belongings.

Edward leads me from room to room, telling me what they are. Kitchen, bathroom, office, library, guest bedroom. I take it in but I only nod in response. The expensive painting and sculptures don't escape my notice, but that's not what I'm here for.

"I would take you upstairs, but there's only bedrooms there. The others like to keep their quarters private. Perhaps I'll show you my room next time," He tells me.

His words surprise me and my eyes snap from my surroundings to him. "Next time, huh? What makes you so sure there's going to be a repeat performance?"

"Bella, there's not going to be a performance to repeat," he sighed.

Well that sucks. "There won't be? Then why am I here with you, alone?"

Edward placed his hand on the small of my back which shot lightning through my entire body and motioned towards the couch. "Have a seat, please. Can I get you anything? We don't keep much food around but we have water and stuff to make tea and coffee."

"No, I'm fine," I said quietly, sitting on the couch that was unreasonably comfortable. Suddenly the wind was completely blown out of my sails and I felt completely idiotic for how I behaved.

Rather than sitting on the couch with me, Edward planted himself on the coffee table in front of me, placing his elbows on his knees and leaning forward with his hands clasped.

"Look, Edward, I'm sorry. This is stupid. Just take me home and let's forget this ever happened, alright?" I started to stand but his hand on my knee stopped me and made me gasp all at once.

"It's not stupid. It's...refreshing," he flashed that stupid sexy, crooked smirk. "I'm not used to anyone bothering to call me, or any of us, on our shit. I'm just not sure what to say right now."

"You don't have to say anything. You don't owe me anything. Hell, we barely know each other. I'm just curious, okay?" And horny. And turned on. And completely smitten by your perfect, beautiful face. "Can you read minds?" I blurted, suddenly worried about what he could be hearing.

He laughed but there wasn't much humor in the sound. "Usually, yes."

"Usually?"

"I can't read yours."

"Thank God for small miracles. Wait, why not?"

"I have no idea, Bella. It's infuriating," he pulled his hand from my knee and I immediately felt the pang of loss. "Why is it such a 'small miracle' that I can't hear yours? Would I not like what I heard?"

I studied his face a moment, looking past the perfection to the pain and anxiety it held. "Considering you're not interested in a performance, no, you probably wouldn't."

"I never said I wasn't interested in one. I just said there wouldn't be one." His posture straightened and he said something under his breath that I couldn't catch.

"Sorry, what was that?" I asked, taking my turn to lean towards him.

"Nothing, it's not important. Listen, I need to know how much you have figured out. You knowing what we are holds far more consequences than what could potentially happen between the two of us."

I took a deep breath to calm the nerves roiling in the pit of my stomach. "Uh, freaky strength, speed, mind reading, you're cold, your eyes change colors, and sometimes you look at me like you hate me but usually as long as your eyes are light like they are now you seem like you might actually be able to tolerate me."

"I can more than tolerate you, Bella. Therin lies the problem. What is the explanation you've come up with to reason with all of these, uh, observations?"

I took a deep breath and leaned back against the couch, nervously staring at my hands in my lap. I didn't want to see the look in his eyes when I made more of a fool of myself than I already had. "Vampires," I stated simply.

The pregnant pause that settled over us seemed to last forever. From what I could see of him, Edward was completely frozen, but I still refused to look at him.

"Is this the part where I become your dinner so there's no risk of me telling everyone?" I jested, though very little humor lied in the tone of my voice.

"Bella," As much as I loved when he said my name, I wasn't exactly super thrilled to hear whatever he was going to say. "If I wanted to… No, I'm not going to lie to you. I want to. More than anything. Your blood smells better to me than any I have ever come across in my entire existence. It's taking every ounce of my self control not to devour you right now." It was absolutely fucked that his words thrilled me and made the space between my legs positively throb for release. "But if I were going to kill you, I would have by now. Your number was up the second you walked into that biology classroom on the first day we met. I spent the entire class plotting on how to get away with draining you."

My eyes met his finally and I was completely shocked with the passion and severity behind them. Something much deeper than a candid conversation about who he really was is happening here, and I'm not really sure what to make of it.

"That right there is why I didn't," he said softly, his voice dropping to a whisper.

My eyebrows furrowed and I tilted my head in confusion. "I don't understand. What, exactly, is why you didn't?"

"Your eyes. That look on your face. The smell of you. The fact that no matter what I do to avoid it, I am not physically capable of staying away from you. Everything we believe in, my family, our laws… They all say I should be running from you as fast as I can, but when I think about being apart from you and what could happen to you, it drives me mad. Say the word and I'll stay away. I know you certainly did not expect to have me lay my heart in your hands, but I can't help myself any more, Bella."

Well, the tables certainly have turned.

My emotions battled with themselves. Shock, warmth, denial, acceptance, and this deep underlying emotion that I wasn't quite sure of yet. Something I had never felt before, and I was certain that I never would again. There was more to this than just curiosity and the need to lay the very being that wanted to kill me, and I was all of a sudden very exhausted with the heavy dose of serious and ready to get back to the playful, teasing nature of before.

"Sounds to me like we want the same thing, then," I said quietly, bumping my knee against his.

The smile that graced his perfect lips didn't quite touch his eyes. "It can't be physical between us, Bella. You need to know that."

"Why not? You've managed not to kill me before."

"Yes, and I would appreciate it if from here on out you took your own self preservation a little more seriously. You're going to need it if you're going to be hanging around us." Edward stood from the table and walked to look out the wall of windows, turning his back to me. "There is a lot that we're going to have to discuss if anything can be made of what this is between us, but you need to understand how instinctual our feeding is. Our minds are not in control when we hunt, and the same is true for any sexual encounters. I cannot mix the two. That is something that you will have to understand that you can never have with me, no matter how much I may want it."

Standing from the couch, I walked over to him and placed my hand flat between his shoulder blades. I could have sworn he tensed at my touch, but how could I really tell when he was already as hard as stone. "Edward, I don't want to make things difficult for you, but I can't stay away either. I couldn't stop until I knew what you were because I needed you to know that I don't care."

He turned to me and I let my hand land on his chest. "I'm dangerous, Bella," He rasped, his eyes filled with anger and disgust that was aimed not at me, but at himself.

"You won't hurt me," I whispered, taking a step closer to him.

So slowly it was actual torture he leaned down and touched his forehead to mine, bringing his hand up to place it over mine on his chest. "Well, if I'm going to hell I may as well do it thoroughly and have fun in the process," his face broke out into a dazzling smile that made it hard to breath.

"I can think of a few things that would be more thorough."