A/N: Lemons ahead.

Demetri

I thought of my Edera as I stalked my next meal. I thought of her as I snuck up behind my prey, I thought of her as I pounced on the intoxicated man and dragged him into a side alley, I thought of her when I covered his mouth with my hand, I thought of her as I sank my teeth into the man's jugular and took deep pulls until there was nothing left. I hauled the dead body to a dumpster and covered him with trash.

I sighed, licking my lips. How had I ever fallen for a human? It had never happened to me before. I had successful dalliances with humans before but none had ever lasted more than one night. They also usually ended up as my dinner. A human was never sweeter than at the peak of their climax. The taste of the hormones rushing through their blood made it impossible for me to think clearly. That is what had nearly happened with my lady an hour before.

I felt the anger at myself surge again. It was almost worse that Edera was not even angry. She took it all in her stride with her remarkable capacity for kindness. Kindness I did not deserve.

I knew I could not leave her unless she ordered me away. I knew I could not change her without making her hate me. I knew I would not be able to live with myself if I were to harm her. It was all a conundrum. I decided to keep myself well-fed, hoping it would help.

I casually exited the alley, looking for another victim. I still could not believe I loved her. Why did she have to be a human? She also had no plans of becoming a vampire either. I followed an inebriated woman and allowed my mind to wander to a beautiful, pale, cold Edera with brilliant red eyes. The drunken woman was at my mercy now, again in an alley. I closed my eyes, my perfect recall recreating Edera's gorgeous, half naked form in my memory, and sank my teeth into the woman's soft neck. The night's amorous encounter with Edera coupled with the gush of hot, thick blood in my mouth caused my slacks to feel uncomfortably tight. I dropped the lifeless body of the woman to the damp pavement and made my way back to my love's side.

I let myself in with the spare key and entered the bedroom. My Edera lay there and I envied her ability to sleep. I removed my jacket and shoes and lifted the sheets to lay beside her. I would move when she started to shiver. I made a mental note to buy some night clothes. I usually relaxed in the nude but I did not think we had reached that point in our relationship.

"You came back," she mumbled, turning over to face me and snuggled into my embrace.

"Always," I whispered, rubbing her back until she was asleep again.

The next week passed in much the same way. Edera would play her violin, to my delight. I would go and hunt when necessary. We would sleep next to each other. I had invested in a pair of black silk pajama bottoms and a black cotton t-shirt. I felt foolish but Edera liked the way they looked on me so I wore them. I had also bought her a red silk nightgown edged in black lace that fell to her mid-thigh. She looked absolutely mouth-watering in it. She did not allow me to throw away her old flannel pajamas so I stashed them in the bottom of her drawer, hoping she would forget about them.

The next week, Edera started at EAMS. She had been so excited she was virtually bouncing off the walls. She would walk to the school every day and every afternoon, I would be at her apartment to welcome her home.

Kissing was without much difficulty so we did a lot of that. She had made a habit of stripping out of her clothes in the evening, leaving only her delicious knickers on, and slipping the nightgown over her head when she got home. I swore to give her more nightgowns of a similar fashion.

It was an unremarkable Friday when Edera came home from school. I welcomed her with kisses, as was usual. She did her ordinary striptease for me which never got old. However, this time she took off all her clothes, including her underwear, right in front of me. She looked at me from beneath her lashes, wondering what I would do. Merciful heaven, I groaned to myself. She was clean shaven and I felt myself get hard.

I felt the familiar flow of venom on my tongue and swallowed it back. She still slipped the nightgown on and gave me a coquettish look.

"Devil woman," I growled and stalked towards her, quickly ridding myself of my clothes. She stood her ground and stared at my exposed cock with an appreciative look. I felt gratified.

I bent slightly to pick her up like a bride and carried her to the bedroom, tossing her onto the mattress. She gave a delighted squeal and I gave her my best predatory smirk. I could already smell her building arousal and feel my own matching hers.

I crawled towards her. I put my hands on her knees and spread them before me. The smell of her got stronger and was driving me wild. I pushed her nightgown up to her waist and knelt between her legs. She was watching me, hardly daring to breath, yet her heart was hammering in her chest. I ghosted my hands up the insanely smooth skin on the insides of her thighs, going higher with each stroke.

"God, Demetri! Please touch me already," she groaned.

"As my lady commands," I obeyed.

I stroked her already slick folds and she inhaled sharply. I slipped a finger between her lips and found her clit, rubbing it, circling it. I listened to her breathing to see what she liked. I set a steady rhythm hitting the same spot as her breathing became panting and she was moaning louder with each pass. I took my other hand and pushed into her soaked pussy. Edera cried for more. I added a second finger, her body heat engulfing both my hands. She was so close and I removed my hands from her, earning me a "Don't fucking stop!" She glared at me and I grinned, quirking an eyebrow.

I took a calming breath which did very little in the way of calming me. I held my breath, hoping to give my lady what she wanted without killing her.

I dipped my head between her legs, kissing the inside of her thighs. She was squirming so I grabbed her hips, holding her steady as I took mercy on her. I licked her folds, not breathing but still able to taste her. She was tangy and utterly delicious. I pushed my tongue deeper into her and she took my hair in her fists. I allowed her to set the pace, pushing and pulling on my head as she liked. I attacked her clit with my tongue, rubbing it with a blistering human pace. I did not think doing so at vampire speed would agree with Edera. She was moaning incoherent phrases; my best guess is that they were profanities mixed with my name. I sucked her clit between my lips and her moaning was reaching a fever pitch and her tugging on my hair would have been painful had I been human.

I kept up the sucking and pushed my two fingers inside her, crooking them to hit her g-spot. Not long after, she bucked her hips violently and her walls spasmed. She came with a scream of what might have been "Motherfucker!" but I was not certain. I lapped up everything she had to give, loving the way she tasted.

Letting out a final breathy moan, she let go of my hair. I kissed my way up her body, pushing the nightgown up until I was finally able to slip it off completely. I kissed her deeply, opening my mouth as an invitation to taste herself. She accepted and it was the first time her tongue ventured between my lips. She kept away from my teeth and I realized Jasper must have told her how sharp they were. I was displeased at the thought of that sorry excuse for a vampire touching my Edera. No matter, her body was mine now and I would worship her for as long as she would let me.

"A corpse just had his tongue inside me and I loved every second of it," she sighed with a smile. I held her tight, trying to convey just how much I loved her. I was proud of myself for being able to please her and not hurt her. I heard her soft sigh as her orgasm dissipated.

"What is it you would like to do after graduation from EAMS, mio amore?" I asked her, truly curious.

"When you graduate from EAMS, you can get a spot in virtually any orchestra in the world. I guess you could go solo too," she thought for a moment, "But I've always had my eye on the Tuscany Symphony Orchestra. I've been to Tuscany once and it was enough for it to become one of my favourite places on Earth."

I could not believe my luck! She longed to live in the region I called home. She loved Tuscany, as did I. A plan began to form in my mind.

"I live in Volterra, situated in Tuscany," I told her.

She turned towards me abruptly, eyes wide. "Really?" she asked, excited.

"Perhaps when you have graduated, we could travel there together?" I smiled my most charming smile at her.

"Oh yes! I'd love to!" she gave me a fierce hug. I forced my excitement of a different nature away. Both of us naked in such close proximity was not helping my extreme self-control.

I placed a chaste kiss on her neck. She hummed her appreciation and eventually fell asleep in my arms.

Ivy

The next morning, I awoke with an unpleasant jolt as my phone rang. I reached over for it and groaned in discomfort. I guessed Demetri's tongue and fingers did a number on me though I wouldn't be opposed if he wanted a repeat of what we had done the evening prior. I spared a glance to what I had dubbed his side of the bed and he was lounging there shirtless and likely naked, the bedsheet only just covering him and resting dangerously low over his hips, his hands behind his head, staring at a spot well below my face. I smiled, pleased he liked what he saw. I stared right back, thinking that you couldn't even photoshop him to make him more perfect.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Ivy!" it was my mom, "You didn't call last night!" she chastised.

Shit.

"Sorry Mom, it completely slipped my mind," I apologized. It was the first time I hadn't called her in the evening. I had been quite pleasantly otherwise occupied.

"Is he still there?" my mom asked and I held back a groan. She knew.

"Yeah," I admitted.

"Did you use protection?" she asked. I felt my face flush.

"Mom, we didn't go all the way," I told her.

"Oh! I thought you two…" she trailed off.

"Not yet," I told her with a tone of finality, not wanting to talk about it with Demetri beside me.

By this time Demetri was sitting up just behind me. He twined his fingers with my free hand and placed his other on the curve of my hip, rubbing his thumb in circles. He was peppering my bare shoulder in slow, deliberate, open-mouthed kisses. I tilted my head to give him more room and I couldn't concentrate on my mom's words. I threw in 'uh-huh's and 'yeah's whenever they felt necessary but could not have told you what she was talking about. I could feel Demetri's lips smile against my skin. Cheeky devil.

"You don't need to call tonight but I expect a call tomorrow," she said simply.

"O-Okay. Bye Mom," I said quickly, hanging up before she said goodbye. I tossed the phone back on my nightstand. Demetri had moved on to kissing the other shoulder, moving my hair over the opposite shoulder gently. I snaked the hand he wasn't holding behind his neck and kissed him over my shoulder. I felt the hand that had been on my hip slide between my legs, while he still held my other hand.

"Spread those sexy legs for me, my lady," he whispered. I immediately complied.

My eyes rolled back and my toes curled as I gave in to his amazing fingers, surprised by the sheer variations of inhuman sounds of pleasure he could coax out of me.

Jasper

Misery. Complete, total, utter, hopeless misery.

"Jasper," came Rosalie's firm but soft voice, "You need to eat."

I held the dead elk up to my mouth and listlessly bit into its neck to drink. It had no taste and no appeal. It had been months since I'd last seen Ivy. I left before graduation and now the summer had fled and we were into fall.

I didn't even know if Ivy had been accepted into EAMS. I didn't know about anything going on in her life. At least I knew she had read the letter I gave her. Alice had seen her decision to open it. The whole point was to keep her safe, but how did abandoning her make her safe? Safe from me, yes. Safe from every other possible vampire? Absolutely not. I was worried sick the Volturi would go to Forks to check on Bella and somehow find out about Ivy.

Almost every day, I wanted to run back to Forks but Alice would tell Carlisle about it. Damn little snitch. Carlisle would remind me yet again as to why we were in New York. For Bella and Ivy's safety, for the coven's safety. Both were weak excuses and every time I heard them, they became increasingly irrational.

I still loved Ivy to the marrow of my bones. This was all Edward's fucking fault. He was the one who forced us to leave. He somehow convinced Carlisle that this was the best course of action. Carlisle must have had some kind of aneurism and had actually listened to him. It was easy to move around when you had the love of your life with you. I envied Carlisle and Esme's relationship. I used to daydream about meeting my mate and living happily ever after with her by my side. That was before I met Ivy. If she had wanted to become a vampire, we might have been mates. Being in love was second best and it had been enough for me.

But then she had seen me at my very worst and it was the biggest regret I'd ever had. Lunging at Bella had proven to be the worst moment of my life for what it had cost me. Ivy knew everything about us now and couldn't handle it. Carlisle told me how she had screamed at him to stay away from her. Carlisle was the least threatening vampire I'd ever come across and if Ivy was afraid of him, what hope was there for me?

I did believe she was better off without me but I had never felt so dead inside. Not even when I had discovered that I was actually dead when Maria told me what she had done to me. I was languishing in a body that refused to die permanently. Why were we all listening to Edward when the jackass wasn't even here with us? He was off somewhere in the world, doing god knows what. Probably moping. He was such a colossal waste of air, forcing us into exile.

It was a struggle to eat, hence why Rosalie came with me on hunts. I took down what I needed to live but she almost had to force feed me sometimes. Occasionally she even had to catch some prey and give it to me. I didn't often have the will to hunt. The only thing that kept me going was the hope that Ivy was doing well and had moved on. I tried not to dwell on the latter portion of that hope. I couldn't allow myself to picture Ivy with another man, no matter how happy they were together. It made my chest physically ache. I knew I would never find another woman like her. I didn't want any other woman and never would. I had resigned myself to spending eternity alone.

Alice and I were attending Cornell University. I studied philosophy just for something to do while Alice was majoring in accounting, of all things. When you could live forever, you could major in anything and everything.

I had made it to class on time, for once. I sat all the way in the back of the lecture hall, using my ability to make myself seem completely insignificant. It was as close to invisibility as I could manage. We were several weeks into the semester when I was stunned to see Ivy's best friend, Lisa, in the lecture hall sitting closer to the front. The class itself was in an auditorium and I thought of that day, in what seemed so long ago now, when I had first heard Ivy play her violin at the Forks High auditorium. It was the day my life had changed forever. I pushed the mental image away; it hurt too much. This class was a first-year intro to psychology, one that almost everyone took as an elective. It was a huge class and I had never bothered to look around but was glad I had.

When the class ended, I hurried after her, catching up easily.

"Lisa! Hi," I said, wearing a façade of cheerfulness.

"Jasper? Jesus, what are you doing here?" she asked, blunt as ever.

"I'm attending college here, majoring in philosophy. And you?" I didn't truly care but she was as close to Ivy as I was going to get.

"I'm in pre-med, taking lots of science courses. Psych just seemed like a fun elective," she told me. She felt wary.

I was gathering the courage to ask her about Ivy when she spoke, "Do you remember when I told you that if you hurt Ivy, I'd castrate you with a fork?" her tone was icy.

"I recall that very well," I told her honestly.

"Well, I'll be looking for a fork because you nearly killed her," she told me and my façade completely dropped and I felt a stab of pain shoot through me.

"She was a useless wreck until Kelly and I forced her to live again. If we hadn't been there to clean up your mess," she poked me hard in the chest, "She would probably still be a total wreck, becoming a heroin addict or something."

I doubted Ivy would have resorted to heroin but Lisa's words hurt me more than I ever thought they would. I had destroyed the love of my life. I wanted to die, permanently.

"How…How is she?" I asked, aware of how pathetic I sounded and not caring.

"She's okay now. I talked to her a few weeks ago and she sounded happy. She's seeing someone so don't think for even one second you should go back. Stay away from her and let her be happy with a man who actually cares for her," she glared at me. Every word she said stabbed. And every word was true: I could feel it in her emotions. She was feeling very protective of Ivy and murderous in regards to me.

"Leave. Her. Alone." Lisa said once more with finality before turning and walking away from me.

I ran home, wishing for my own death every step of the way. It was as I had feared. Ivy had moved on and found someone else. Some normal, boring, safe human. On my way to my room, I caught Rose talking to Edward on the phone.

"I'm sorry Edward. Bella is dead… She fell off a cliff… Alice couldn't see her any more," Rose told him without sounding the least bit sad. There was no love lost between her and Bella. I was shocked, wondering what the hell had happened.

"Then I know what I have to do," I heard Edward say, devoid of emotion. As an empath, I knew from experience that feeling no emotion was more dangerous than any other emotion you could be feeling. Then there was the crunch of Edward crushing the phone and the line went dead.

A beat of silence passed before Alice flew in. "Edward's going to the Volturi to ask them to kill him!" she screamed, hysterical. "I'm going to Forks to find out what happened to Bella and then I'll go to Volterra and try to stop Edward."

"Take my car when you get to Port Angeles," Carlisle said immediately, tossing Alice the keys.

"I'm coming with you," I told her. She was confused as to why, knowing I didn't much care for Edward but she saw that I was going to ask the Volturi to end me as well.

"Absolutely not!" she said, tearing off to run to Forks. She'd pick up Carlisle's BMW out of storage once she got to Port Angeles.

"Try and stop me, Alice," I growled, knowing she'd hear me. "Fuck this. I need to see Ivy."

Carlisle made to stop me but I gave him my best Major growl, which is pretty fucking terrifying. He backed off and I grabbed my leather jacket and took off running the long distance back to Forks. I ran like a bat out of hell, overtaking Alice but staying out of her way. The prospect of seeing Ivy again gave my feet wings, and I ran faster than I ever had before.

A/N: Oh ho ho! What do you think Jasper will find when he gets back to Forks? Poor guy. He's in for a rough time.

And there were some lemony bits here that I hope you enjoyed.