EIGHT

When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see a golden pair staring right back at me. I would've thought that he would have left before Charlie woke, then it occurred to me that he probably did and returned just for me. I felt myself blushing as he studied me intently. "What are the chances that I will make it to the bathroom to brush my teeth before you stop me?"

"Entirely nonexistent."

I crossed my arms stubbornly. "You do realize that you don't play fair, right?" I gave him a glare when he taunted 'life's not fair' and growled at him, receiving a growl back that had my toes curling and my fingers gripping the bedsheets. I blushed furiously when my body responded by growing wet with desire because I knew that he could smell my scent. I watched, my skin warming, as his eyes closed and he inhaled deeply.

His growl lowered in pitch and his eyes glittered black when he opened them again to look at me. He moved the covers and shifted us on the bed so I was lying directly beneath him then leaned down to claim my lips in a searing kiss. It was loving but possessive. The firm pressure of his mouth plundering mine was undeniable: without words, he was reminding me that I was his mate and that I belonged to him and him alone. "La mia," he whispered in my ear. He braced himself on one hand while the other trailed over one breast, down my side, and under the damp cotton covering my moist heat.

When he slid his fingers inside, I whimpered and clutched at his shoulders. My body twisted in pleasure and frustration as he began to pump in and out of me with excruciating slowness. I heard him whisper 'la mia' and thought I would come right then and there as the lust I felt skyrocketed. "Carlisle…" I moaned his name like a prayer. "More… please, Carlisle… I need more."

He obliged, working my pussy faster and harder while his thumb drew small figure eights around my clit. He lowered his face to my neck where his mouth latched onto an extremely sensitive area of skin. He licked and sucked firmly before ever-so-lightly grazing my flesh with his teeth, never making even the slightest cut. "La mia. Mia sangue."

"Fuck!" I hissed, my eyes rolling back into my head as he clearly staked his claim on my blood. I thought that I would die of sheer bliss when a loud growl burst from him and his lips reclaimed my pulse. I writhed as he slipped a third finger into my pussy, stroking in and out of me feverishly. "Oh fuck… Carlisle… Oh God, Carlisle… close…"

Suddenly, he was whispering in my ear, "I wish that I could sink my teeth into that beautiful throat of yours."

I clamped around his thrusting digits at his words.

"I want to drink so deeply from you as you come for me."

My muscles tightened, strained painfully as my orgasm quickly approached.

"Soon, mi diletta… Soon, I will have your blood."

I cried out as he tormented me in the most delicious way.

"Deliziarsi per me, mia passerotta! Come for me, cara," he purred, his tongue lapping the flesh where my blood has risen to the surface. "Come, bella mia."

I shattered in pure ecstasy, my body spasming beneath him as I rode out the waves of pleasure. While my vision did not burst with stars like in stories I had read, sweet God almighty, I felt like I had died and gone to heaven and I did not want to come back!

I was not quite sure how long I had laid with my knees bent and a stupid grin on my face but when the world came back into focus, I found a pair of glittering black eyes watching me with utter triumph and a pair of lips curled into the smuggest smirk that I had ever seen in my life. A part of me wanted to say something to wipe that grin right off his face, but he looked so pleased with himself that I knew I could not deny him that. Hell, he had every damn right to be smug! I stretched and smiled up at him. "Do I have to go to school today? I think I could learn a lot more here!"

"Perdonami, bella mia," he murmured to me, "but I am afraid you must. If it will make you feel better, Jasper and Alice have already brought me the Mercedes so I can drive you to school. I'm not on call today, so you can text me as much as you wish." He gave me a gentle nudge toward the edge of the bed and chuckled when I scowled at him. "Go on."

"You keep me from my human moments with an Earth-shattering orgasm, and now that your male pride has something to gloat about, you're trying to get rid me," I teased, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek. "You do realize that type of behavior is incredibly rude, right?" I stuck my tongue out at him before bouncing off the bed as his laughter filled the room and strutted into the bathroom to begin my morning routine. When I was finished, I quickly dressed in jeans and a black sweater, making sure to wrap a matching black scarf securely around my neck. I traipsed downstairs — miraculously, not falling — to find a plate of French toast and strawberries. Still feeling rather giddy, I all but skipped into his arms and giggled happily when he buried his face in my blow-dried hair and purred for me.

He chortled as he pulled away and directed me to the table. "You really do enjoy that sound, do you not?"

I only grinned as I ate quickly, knowing that we had spent way too much time upstairs. I let him wash the dishes as I grabbed my bag and phone and soon I was sliding into the soft leather seats. I was a bit confused when he did not immediately speed away from the house and instead reached into the back seat. I felt a feverish blush spread across my cheeks when I saw what he had in his fingers. Before he had even raised his hand to unwind the black scarf from my neck, I knew exactly what his plans were and my lips parted with a soft sigh. It was a very significant gesture, even if Jasper and Alice were probably the only ones who would actually notice.

Never taking his now-topaz from mine, he dropped my scarf into the back of the Mercedes and gently wrapped one of his silver cashmere one over the bruised flesh. He gazed at me for a moment more before pulling me close and pressing a tender kiss to my lips. "La mia."

I nodded, unable to find my voice for a moment. When I finally regained control of my senses, I whispered softly, "Yours, Carlisle."

He took my hand in his then turned his gaze ahead of him, revving the car to life and driving away at a speed that would have terrified me before. He had me there within what seemed like minutes, sliding up the entrance smoothly and seemingly unaware of the multitude of stares we were receiving. "I will pick you up when school's out." When he caught my incredulous gaze, he smiled innocently. Too innocently. "Che cosa c'è, bella mia? Why whatever is the matter?"

"I do recall a certain vampire warning me about causing a scandal between the Chief's daughter and the town's married doctor."

He smirked. "Would you believe that the divorce papers were finalized yesterday?"

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "I will see you later. Thank you, Carlisle."

"Di neinte, cara mia."

I hopped out of the car and was instantly met by Angela. "My protector," I teased, only to be stopped short by her firm tone.

"Well, you're going to need it today," she whispered. "Jessica is pissed! I don't know what happened at the hospital yesterday, but she is mad as hell!"

"Good," I said blithely. "She can go there for all I care!"

Angela laughed. "Wow… she must have really pissed you off good then."

"You have no idea," I grumbled under my breath as we walked to our first class.

Despite the constant stream of texts between Carlisle and myself, including one that said he would be waiting for me in the parking lot at lunch, I was becoming more and more uncomfortable, not only with being physically separated from my mate but from the horridly vengeful looks that Jessica kept giving me. Lauren, as usual, was glaring at me with jealousy and aversion in her eyes, but there was the barest trace of worry in them, which made me extremely apprehensive about whatever Jessica was planning.

I was surprised that I made it to lunch without being tripped, kicked, or some other puerile gesture, but the moment I walked into the cafeteria, I knew something was wrong because every single head turned in my direction. I was instantly flanked by Angela and Alice who seemed to appear out of nowhere, with Jasper trailing behind sending waves of calm to me. To my surprise, Angela joined us at the Cullen's table, so I knew there really was something terrible going on and I swallowed thickly as I gazed from one face to the other before settling on Angela, knowing that she would be the most upfront with her answer. "What did she do?"

"It started in yearbook," she explained softly. "She was bitching that you told her off at the hospital yesterday over some comments that she made about Doctor Cullen—" my stomach fell into my shoes— "and when she said that, Lila Marchent, the junior who lives across from you, said she saw y'all together." She nibbled on her lower lip, looking worried. "She said that yesterday, when Doctor Cullen left—" oh dear God, no— "that she saw you two, um, making out. Jessica and Lauren started saying that you're having an affair with Doctor Cullen. They're calling you a homewrecker."

It was like a scene from a movie. The whole world slowed to a crawl, the background a sluggish blur with the only myself in crystal-clear focus.

And amidst the haze of color and sound, I was vaguely aware of Jasper telling Alice something about 'the woods' but the specifics of their discussion escaped me. I was in shock and could not really hear what was going on or see the people around me, not that I would want to. Because despite not seeing or hearing anything, I could feel everyone was staring. The silent waves of disgust, surprise, envy and other emotions washed over my being and made my gut twist. It took me a while to comprehend that Alice was calling me and I blinked at her for a moment. "What?"

She leaned over and whispered in my ear slowly, making sure that I could process her words. "Carlisle was going to come to see you for lunch. Remember? He heard everything. Jasper has gone outside with Carlisle and is trying to keep him calm because Carlisle wants to come in here and get you. He's acting on instinct. He's angry and doesn't quite have control of himself right now. Coming in here would make things worse. You need to come with me because he needs you right now. Bella, do you understand?"

I nodded dumbly and did exactly what she told me to do, more mechanically than with any real understanding. I was not quite sure if things were actually sticking in my brain at the present. Why was Carlisle in the woods again?

"I can come," Angela supplied helpfully.

"No," Alice said quickly. "We need you here to make sure Jessica doesn't make anything worse, as if that's possible! But everyone needs to know that Carlisle and Esme have been in the process of divorce for months and that the papers were finalized yesterday." She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me up, wrapping one arm around my waist. "Come on, Bella; it's time for a walk." As soon as we were out the door, she was calling Esme to explain the situation and asking her to meet Charlie at his house to find out if he had heard the, well, not-rumors and talk to him.

I found myself dazedly wondering how on Earth the Cullen matriarch would start that conversation and tried to imagine Charlie's eyes bugging out if he had heard the, well, not-rumors.

We had just passed into the edge of the forest when Alice scooped me up and took off at full speed. Within less than a minute, she stopped and set me down several yards away from Carlisle. I could not help but wonder why she placed me so far away when she knew my mate would never hurt me. I turned to ask her and was surprised when she was nowhere in sight.

Jasper was obviously using the full strength of his gift because Carlisle looked almost drunk, barely able to stand and completely unable to speak. The Southern vampire started walking backward, keeping his focus on the elder vampire the entire time. He called out to me. "Bella! I need you to slowly walk toward Carlisle. You need to be close to him when I leave so he will focus on guarding you and not killing me for keeping him calm."

I was thoroughly confused. "Why would he kill you?" I queried moving forward.

"Because he heard Angela explain what happened with Jessica. He got angry and lost control. And messing with his emotions only made it worse, because it pissed him off more that I was doing it," he explained calmly. "His sole focus right now is on protecting you, and if anyone gets too close to you, it could result in serious injury or worse." When I was almost to Carlisle, he called out, "Bella, just so you know, Carlisle loves you with every fiber of his undead being. He won't hurt you."

I smiled as I stepped in front of my mate. "I know." And I knew when Jasper had fled because the bleary look instantly disappeared and was replaced by a mix of rage, concern, and adoration. I raised my palm to his cheek and whispered, "Yours."

The moment he scooped me into his arms and took off running, I could feel his fury rolling off of him like tidal waves crashing onto a delicate beach. The anger and desire that I had felt from him yesterday in his office could not even begin to compare to the staggering feelings he was giving off at the moment. The raging emotions within him had us at his home in a matter of minutes. We were halfway up the stairs when I heard the door slam to so hard that I was almost completely certain that it had been jarred off of its hinges, and when he dropped me unceremoniously on the bed, I suddenly became aware of just what Jasper had meant: If Carlisle tried to mate with me now in his extreme rage, despite the lack of a barrier, our first time mating would be difficult, if not painful. And of course, my mate would feel guilty and shameful afterward, which would inevitably put us back at square one.

I swallowed thickly and closed my eyes as I waited for him to pounce on the bed but, to my confusion and surprise, I could only hear him snarling a few feet away. I opened my eyes to see him pacing back and forth like a caged lion, his eyes wild and his fingers curved into claws, venom trickling from the corners of his mouth. I speculated that he just might be considering storming back to the school and ripping apart everyone in his path with his bare hands.

As much as I loathed all the gossip-mongers, I knew this would be the most disastrous move he could possibly make. He had just secured my change with the Quileutes and killing human beings, even if their behavior was atrocious, would be a break in the treaty. This break would inevitably result in the entire family being hunted down and killed. I knew that I had to keep him here with me, so he did not go off and do something he would regret later on.

"Carlisle," I called out softly, sighing when it seemed that he did not hear me. I had just climbed off the bed when he whirled around and growled loudly me. I jumped back in surprise at the sound and crawled back onto the covers when he advanced on me. As soon as I was sitting back on the bed, he backed away and resumed his pacing.

I huffed mentally. There was no way in hell that I was going to stay on this bed all day and all night, not unless he was planning on joining me. Of course, at present, that was obviously not going to happen. I rolled my eyes. Well whether he liked it or not right now, I still had my human needs. I would have to eat and go to the bathroom, and I did not care how pissed off he was or how badly he wanted to keep me perfectly safe and sound from everything, including my own klutzy feet.

"Carlisle?" He did not respond. "Carlisle, can you understand me?" He gave me an angry glare and I felt myself smirking. Obviously, he could hear me and he did not like what I was insinuating. "You're the one that chose to ignore me," I said glibly, "so don't you dare get pissed with me for questioning you." When he looked chagrined for a moment and then continued his glaring and snarling over the situation, I sighed. "Carlisle, I cannot stay on this bed all night. I have to eat, take care of my human moments. Actually, I am rather hungry. I didn't get to eat at lunch." I ignored his roar of rage at reminding him of Jessica. "Carlisle, I'm going to get off the bed now." When he spun and glared at me, snarling in protest, I rolled my eyes. "I have to pee and I sure as hell am not going to let you stop me from emptying my damn bladder!"

Despite his loud growl of displeasure, he did not make a move when I slowly slide off the bed but he eyed me as though waiting to scoop me up and protect me. What he thought he was protecting me from I was not quite sure, though. Maybe the carpet?

I moved more slowly than I normally would toward the bathroom door and was surprised, and slightly horrified, when my mate attempted to follow. I turned in the doorway and placed a hand on his chest. "Carlisle," I said firmly, but gently, "I know that right now you are acting solely on your nature. You're angry; you also know that I've been hurt by what's happened and you're only instinct is to keep me safe from everyone and everything." I wrapped my arms around him tightly and nuzzled my head under his chin, smiling when the snarling changed to purring. "I cannot imagine what you are going through right now. I know that these feelings are confusing and upsetting to you, and knowing you the way that I do, when all of this is over, you are probably going to feel ashamed but you shouldn't. You've done nothing wrong." I tilted my head back and kissed his cheek. "You are protecting your mate. That is what you should be doing. You are doing exactly the right thing, Carlisle." I smirked. "But you're not following me into the bathroom."

When I closed the door in his face, he growled, though it was far less intense than when I mentioned the gossip-leech. When I was finished and opened the door, he was standing right where I left him, watching me like a hawk. I offered him my hand only to yelp in surprise when he scooped me up and blurred into the kitchen. He set me on a stool and moved through the room, never saying a word the entire time that he sped between the stove and refrigerator. And despite the seemingly domestic behavior, his eyes were still completely feral and there was a constant, low and angry rumble in his throat. Watching him, I realized that it was only because of his deep love for me that I was allowed off the bed. He was still nearly blinded with fury but because I was near him, he was wholly incapable of acting on his anger. I also realized Jessica Stanley owed me her life. And I owed her a broken jaw.

Suddenly, the rumble from Carlisle grew louder and louder, and I heard the front door slam open and Emmett's loud voice calling for me. I blinked when my mate practically vanished from my vision, and when I heard a scream from Rosalie, I realized what happened and rushed into the living room in time to see my mate advancing on Emmett again.

My brother's massive form lay in the remains of what was once the large, black leather sofa. To my surprise, his eyes were not black with rage but still topaz and filled with embarrassment and fear. "Shit," he mumbled under his breath as he attempted to crawl from the debris toward Rosalie, who was now kneeling by the door with her head bowed to her chest.

"Rose!" I hissed, causing Carlisle to blur toward me and stand protectively in front of me while snarling at the two younger immortals. I watched Emmett move to Rose's side and bow in the same position and realized that it was a submissive gesture. They were trying to show Carlisle that they were not a threat, but now that they were so defenseless, he saw this as the perfect opportunity to move.

He was going to kill them.

He stalked slowly toward them and I attempted to stop his moves, calling his name and moving before him. I pressed my hands against his shoulders in the feeble attempt to recapture his attention, only to feel myself being spun behind him far too quickly. The sudden displacement left me dizzy and, for the first time in my life, I was beyond thankful that I staggered. His attention was immediately diverted back to me, and just as he scooped me into his arms, he stumbled. His eyes glazed over for a moment before going wide with mild recognition as the door opened ever-so-slowly to reveal Alice and Jasper, who was obviously holding Carlisle at bay with his power. The pain in Carlisle's voice as he whispered 'What have I done?' was heart-wrenching.

Once again, I was upstairs, but this time, he cradled me in his arms and buried his face in my hair. "I attacked Emmett," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. He was obviously crying even if he could not spill tears. "All he did was enter the house and I attacked him."

I stroked his back and cooed, "You didn't hurt him, Carlisle. He's indestructible, remember?"

"It does not matter!" he growled. "I attacked him."

"You were protecting your mate, just as you needed to," I explained quietly. "It doesn't matter that Emmett was not the one to hurt me. Someone is trying to humiliate me and you're acting on instincts. Right now, they are telling you that everyone is a threat to me. He knows that. Your instincts are in full force, and being a vampire, Emmett should have realized that barging in like that was a potentially fatal thing to do."

"I need you, cara mia," he whispered harshly.

I smiled. "I'm here, Carlisle. I'm not going anywhere."

"No," he heaved a pain-filled sigh. "I need you." His hands began to wander slowly over my body and it responded immediately. "I need to touch you—" he pulled off my sweater— "I need to kiss you—" he unwrapped his scarf and his lips found my pulse— "I need to be inside you—" he swiftly lifted me and removed my jeans and a hand slipped beneath my moist underwear— "I need to taste your blood." Suddenly, I was on my back and he was braced above me, gazing down at me with ebony eyes. "I wanted this to be different," he sighed as he traced every line of my face with his fingers. "I wanted it to be perfect, m'amore."

"Maybe I don't want things to be perfect, Carlisle," I said softly, reaching up to run my fingers through his silky blond locks. "Maybe I just want them to be right."

That seemed to break his restraint and all of the intense emotions that had been driving his instincts poured out of him as he stretched himself over me. He claimed my lips firmly with his own and ground his erection between my damp thighs. "Tell me to stop, bella mia. Make me stop, because this is the only time that I will be able to."

"I can't do that," I said gently as I began to undo the buttons of his shirt. "I can't tell you to stop when I don't want you to." I shoved the shirt down his arms and smiled when he shook the material away from his body. "You are my mate, Carlisle, and I want you to claim me."

He closed his eyes and his marble body trembled with desire. "M'Isabella," he purred, "If I claim your body, I will claim your blood." When he opened his eyes again, his onyx gaze was hungry and adoring at the same time. "I can assure you, la mia, that once I have tasted your blood, I will crave it more strongly and need it desperately for years to come."

I rocked my hips against him encouragingly and reached up to pull his mouth back to mine, barely brushing my lips against his as I held him tightly to my warm body. "Then taste your mate."

The same hands that skillfully stitched patients back together and handled delicate surgeries were the same hands that had aggressively thrown the largest and strongest Cullen straight through a sturdy piece of furniture and into the wall behind it. Now those same hands were moving over my body with reverence. The cool pads of his fingertips barely ghosted over the delicate skin of my throat and down the heaving valley of my breasts to the clasp of my bra. He flicked it open and purred as my breasts spilled out beneath his heated gaze.

Had someone told me two years ago of the events and emotions that I would experience this past year, I would have laughed. The idea of meeting vampires seemed ludicrous, even more so was the idea that I would be the mate of one or that I would allow one them to claim me after only a couple of days. I would have scoffed that such a connection could possibly exist, that there was no way that a love could exist that was so strong that it would have affected me to my core in such a way.

But it had. I belonged to this exquisite creature and never had I experienced something so deeply that I felt it in my soul. Yes, with Carlisle, I felt him in every fiber of my being. When he was near me, I felt cherished, loved, safe. When he was apart from me, I felt like my spirit was incomplete and sick.

I sighed as he tenderly took the weight of my breasts in his hands and panted shallowly when he leaned down and latched onto one nipple, the cold venom on his lips pebbling the sensitive flesh. "Carlisle…"

His free hand slipped over my hip and grasped the lacy fabric in his marble fingers before ripping it away from my flesh easily. He did not, as I expected, let his fingers delve inside my aching heat, but simply cupped my swollen flesh. For several long and torturous moments, he held his hand tightly against me. By the time he moved his hand away, I was certain I was going to lose my mind, but he ignored my discomfort and instead teased me mercilessly by letting one fingertip trace my slit so lightly that it was as if air were caressing my skin.

I shivered and tried to rub my hips against his hand, moaning in frustration when it glided away to stroke up my side. "Please… Please, Carlisle," I begged, squirming beneath him, trying to get closer to him.

He denied me, moving off the bed, and smiled when I attempted to growl in annoyance. "Pazienza, mia passerotta," he purred reassuringly.

When he grasped and slowly removed his belt, I felt my face flush with heat. My lips parted when I realized through my desire that I was about to see my mate completely nude for the first time. A part of my mind briefly wondered if I was ready for this or not, but as his fingers undid the button of his jeans, I knew that I was most definitely ready. He was my mate, completely incapable of causing me harm and only able to bring me happiness and pleasure.

While we had indeed bonded more quickly than most humans would find acceptable, the connection was undeniable. It was impossible for my mate claiming my body to ever be anything than more than right.

I could almost feel my pupils dilate at the staggering sight of him. Beautiful could not even begin to describe the sheer magnificence of him, and before I could stop myself, I had moved off of the bed to stand directly in front of him. I whispered his name in awe and timidly raised my hand to touch his face, slowly caressing from his cheek to his jaw before standing on tip-toe to press a chaste and adoring kiss to his marble lips.

He patiently allowed me to explore his body, only turning his head so he could follow my movements and watch me while I stroked both hands down the planes of his neck and over those broad shoulders that I loved so much. The stone muscles of his arms tensed and flexed involuntarily when I smoothed my palms over them and raised my hands to his chest. I stepped forward and pressed a tiny kiss over the place where his frozen heart rested in silence inside his chest. "It doesn't have to beat," I whispered, turning my brown eyes up to meet his black ones, "because you have mine, and it beats only for you."

He pushed my hair back from my face. "And when yours ceases to beat?"

I smiled tenderly. "Then you will know that the last beat was yours, so you'll forever be frozen there. My love for you will be locked inside me, eternal and unbreakable."

He ran a thumb slowly over my cheek. "I love you, Isabella Swan."

"As I love you, Carlisle Cullen."

.

TBC

In the words of Bob Ross:

No pressure. Just relax and watch it happen.