TWENTY-FOUR

I knew that he was not hunting, or at least that he was not hunting anymore. He had been gone far too long to be hunting. He had left the house hours ago, and by now, Charlie and Esme had returned to Charlie's house, leaving the other four vampires to their own devices and me to my worry. I knew that he could not have gone to kill Jacob, because if he had, he would have been back by now, telling us that we all had to leave town immediately. And had he actually entered the house, I doubt he would have been able to stay away from me.

I made my way through his study and out onto the suspended veranda, sitting down with my back against the glass and stretching my jean-clad legs out in front of me. My brown eyes scanned from the treetops all the way down to the forest floor and back up, because I knew that while I could not see him, he was out there. He was, more than likely, hiding from me once again.

Despite the moments of playfulness this afternoon, the rage had been there the entire time, bubbling just beneath the surface of his seemingly calm and lighthearted exterior. But I knew the truth.

Jessica revealing our relationship, yes, was a bit stressing for me because God only knew how this town would react, what they would say. But this though – this was so much different in comparison to the little gossip's indiscretion. Her immaturity would only cause me stress, cause speculation, and more idle chitchat within this small community. But overall, her big mouth really could not do me genuine damage.

Jacob's obsessiveness, however, could lead to something quite dangerous.

While I may have off-handedly enjoyed imagining Carlisle tearing into the rude little bitch, the truth was that my mate would have never really caused the girl bodily harm. When it came to this new threat, I knew the instinct to kill was entirely authentic and was probably eating away at him as he struggled to maintain control.

I knew that he had never had experienced something of this magnitude, and my heart hurt for him. Being human, I knew that I could never fully comprehend the enormity of his feelings, but I still sympathized.

For almost three and a half centuries, Carlisle had not just simulated acting like a human before society for the sake of blending in. He had laboriously schooled himself to be human, an undying human, with relentlessly guarded behaviors and actions and severely disciplined emotional responses. After so many centuries, his carefully practiced way of life was almost as natural to him as his inherent vampiric instincts.

Whatever he felt now, having been suppressed for so many centuries, was multiplied by hundreds. For him, these dark feelings and urges were already distressing enough, and his fear that I would be repelled by his animalistic qualities only served to distress him more. I could not imagine excruciating mentally suffering I was sure that he felt. All of these feelings, of course, fed off each other, making the whole experience practically unbearable. I was certain of this.

I knew that he was out there. I could sense it, but I sat quietly, giving him time to compose himself and return to me. However, when it became apparent after a good twenty minutes that he was not going to reveal himself, I slid to the edge of the porch, dangling my calves over as I again scanned the woods. "Where are you hiding?" I whispered, knowing full well he would hear me.

A loud rustling caught my attention, and much to my surprise, I found my mate in a large tree, perfectly level with me a good thirty yards away. I smiled sympathetically. "There you are," I commented in a quiet tone. "I figured out you were hiding a while ago, but I thought that I'd give you some alone time. Are you feeling any better after hunting?" When he shook his head no, stark white against the dark forest colors, I nodded. "I had a feeling that it might not help, but I wasn't completely sure. At least you're well fed."

I watched as he actually settled himself on branch, and from my position, it looked like his jeans and his shirt were in a much rougher state than when he had left – dirty and torn – which let me know that perhaps feeding was not the only thing he had done. I sighed. "I wish that you hadn't felt the need to hide from me, Carlisle." I saw him bow his head and shook mine, even though he could not see it. "My mate—" I smiled reassuringly when he looked up— "you never need to hide from me. Ever."

He shifted, and I knew that he was both uncomfortable and upset with himself for breaking his promise.

"Until I'm changed," I spoke softly, "I cannot imagine the depth of what you are feeling, and I am so sorry that you are being overwhelmed by it. But, Carlisle, I want you to know how proud I am of you. I know at times like this, you think that having these instincts makes you some kind of monster, but you don't seem to remember me telling you that it's not who or what we are, but the choices we make." I shrugged. "And if I am to be honest with you, no one in this family would think any less of you if you were to give into your instincts right now. Hell, I wanted to rip Jessica apart for a lot less, so I know if that's how I felt as a human than what you are feeling is a thousand times worse. And that's impressive, Carlisle. That's beyond impressive. You should be proud of yourself, not ashamed."

To my disappointment, my mate did not move, and I breathed out heavily. "Carlisle, please don't do this. I know for a fact that I have seen you at what you feel is your worst; I have seen you at the most intense, unguarded, natural moments of your entire existence. I have seen your frustration and anger drive you to throw your own son into a wall. I've seen the destruction of your hunting. I've seen your furious rage and powerful protective instincts come so close to causing well-deserved harm to someone who, by your own binding contract, deserved death at your hands. Nothing has driven me away yet. Nothing has made me think less of you. The only change in my perception of you is that I am prouder of you today than I was yesterday, because you, Carlisle Cullen, amaze me day after day with your inner strength and beauty."

I watched as he plummeted from the tree branches to the ground and crossed the short distance to the house where he disappeared for a moment to scale the side. A second later, he launched himself over the railing and onto the deck. He joined me, lifting me into his lap, but I was rather annoyed when he settled me to face away from him. I ignored his weak protests as I turned, straddling him, and stared at the top his bowed head for a moment. I reached out to stroke his cheek and jaw where I let my fingers grasp his marble flesh.

I lifted his head to see his black eyes filled with so many emotions. I frowned when he glanced away from me, his hand coming up to wipe away the venom trickling steadily from the corners of his mouth despite the number of times he tried swallowing it back. "Look at me," I whispered, my lips curling upward in a tiny gesture of reassurance. I shook my head when he muttered softly that he looked like an animal at best and a monster at worst.

So that's what this is about! Even though he was beginning to grasp that I could accept his emotional nature, he was having trouble believing I could accept this? I sighed. Oh, you silly man. "No, you do not, Carlisle. You look like a vampire whose mate has been seriously threatened. This wasn't just a threat to my stress levels. Jacob admitted to stalking me. He could be potentially dangerous to me, to us, to the whole family. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your reaction to that, Carlisle."

When he made to wipe away the venom again, I caught his hand in midair and leaned forward, my tongue darting out to lick away the thick escaped drops before I turned my head and repeated the process to the other corner of his mouth. When I backed away, his mouth was hanging open as he gaped at me in surprise. I placed my hands on his face, running my thumbs around the edges of his lips. "I left my slobber on you."

He snorted on a laugh and dropped his head backward against the glass. "Sei straordinario," he murmured reverently and chuckled at my blank expression. "You're extraordinary."

"I try," I said with a bright smile before wiping away more venom with a sympathetic look. "You really are furious with him."

"Furious is not quite the word I would use, mia passerotta," he sighed before swallowing thickly.

"Would it help if—"

"No!" he interrupted with a firm look. "For one, you have another day or two left. I fear that if I were to even attempt a bite, I would start drinking from you. I do not want to put more stress on your body. Secondly, when I normally bite you, there are only traces of venom in my mouth. At the present time, I am obviously producing copious amounts of venom." He gave me a look that clearly said he did not want to risk anything, so I simply nodded and settled back against his chest, sighing in content as he purred above me.

It was about the sixth time when he wiped the venom away that I huffed. "Will you stop that?" I grabbed both his hands and held his arms firmly around me. "The movement is beginning to annoy me since it means you take your hands off me every time."

He gave a longsuffering groan. "M'Isabella, if I do not, my venom will end up—"

I rolled my eyes, even though he could not see it with his cheek resting on the top of my head. "Do I sound like I'm worried about it? That's what showers are for!" I felt a mischievous grin curling my lips. "Besides, it's not like you don't get me wet on a regular basis."

The sound of his laughter was absolutely heaven.

.

I awoke feeling surprisingly refreshed considering the exertions of the previous evening.

After his amused laughter had slowly dissipated, I had taken the time to show him exactly how wet he was capable of making me. Showering together had been an experience that I knew I would never forget, thanks to the liberal amounts of venom his mouth produced and where that venom went once he had coated his fingers in it. Never in my life would I have imagined that being a pleasant experience, but to my surprise, it only enhanced my orgasm.

When I questioned him about his actions, I found myself pinned to the wall, his lips attached to my earlobe as he growled that he intended to possess me in every way imaginable. At that point, I was spun at a dizzying speed to face the tiles, before he swiftly and roughly mounted me, my tight pussy clamping painfully around him as he pounded into me with wild abandon.

Now, lying in bed, I could feel the barest traces of soreness in my arms, legs, and more private areas. The memories of why I felt that way caused me to giggle like a maniac. I could feel heat lightly spreading across my cheeks as I caught my mate's highly amused and intensely adoring gaze, and I pulled the covers up to my nose, hiding everything but my eyes. "Hi," I mumbled between chortles.

He laughed at my behavior and peeled the sheet away easily before lowering his lips to mine. The kiss was tender and reverent as his cool tongue barely traced the inside of my upper lip, making me sigh in delight. "Buongiorno, bella mia," he cooed before he pulled away slightly, his forehead pressed to my temple. "I would ask if you had a pleasant sleep, but from your nighttime soliloquy, I already deduced that you unquestionably did."

He winked at me when I blushed furiously and answered my query of 'you heard that?' with a mischievous grin and matching words. "Mia streghetta, not only did I hear it, I'm already contemplating when we can enact that little dream of yours." He lowered his lips to my ear and began nibbling, purring in contentment the entire time. "You, my tempting witch, have the most deliciously naughty mind that I have ever encountered." He bit down lightly on the shell of my ear and tugged gently, making me shiver. "As much as I would love to remain in bed with you, m'uzzola, I am afraid that we must prepare for our day apart."

I glowered. "You had to remind me."

He chuckled, his topaz eyes dancing with bemusement. "Considering that we have to leave in an hour, yes, I am afraid that I did." His hand ghosted over my body and settled on my hip as he pulled me closer. "However, I do feel this is the appropriate time to give you one of your gifts."

My mouth fell open.

I had all but forgotten that he had gone to Seattle yesterday to pick up some presents for me! But before I could comment, he pulled me into an upright position, depositing me on my feet and instructing me to close my eyes. Almost immediately, I felt myself being led across the room to where I knew the full-length was. I only had to wait for a moment before I felt two cool arms reaching around me, one gripping me firmly, my back to his chest, while the other felt like it was stretched out in front of me.

His voice was thick with passion as he quietly commanded, "Open your eyes."

.

TBC

Sorry this one is shorter. And sorry there's not cute quip today.

Just be good and kind to people.