Author's note: I did unfortunately need to edit the romantic sections of this story in order to comply with the guidelines, but the more explicit version can be found on my wattpad account under the same username. Hope you enjoy! Please comment if you are interested in this story continuing. Your comments help me to gauge the amount of interest that my readers have in this story, and the reviews help me to become a better writer. Also, if there is anyone who is interested in beta-ing this story please feel free to reach out to me. I know that there are definitely some spots which need editing and spellcheck :)

Bella

It was finally the weekend. I was done with this week, and all of its craziness. Everything was a go for the trip out to Port Angeles. Angela had been planning on staying the night over in Port Angeles with her friend, and I had told Charlie that I would be staying with them as well. I hadn't planned on lying to Charlie to become a regular occurrence, but it was preferable to the other option.

Hi Dad, would you mind if I stayed overnight with my much older boyfriend that you've never met?

Not likely.

Jacob had agreed to come as well. He, with the help of just about every cuss in the English language, had managed to fix my truck's speedometer in exchange for his usual price: A pizza.

I threw a spare set of clothes into my overnight bag before zipping it shut. It was just after 4:00 and I had to leave soon. I went over my mental checklist of things to pack before grabbing my bag and closing the door to my room.

I was looking forward to the movies. I hadn't seen The Fellowship of the Ring since my mom had started dating Phil. Phil was a fantasy super fan. The first time I had met him was the first time I had seen the movie. The three of us had been lounged out in the living room eating microwave popcorn and drinking that off-brand grape soda that Mom liked.

The title brought back fond memories. _

My truck tires buzzed against the pavement as I pulled onto the highway. I had an old tape playing in the stereo. It was yet another thing that I had asked Jacob to fix. It was not nearly as nice as the birthday present from Emmet that I had so ferociously ripped out after they had left, but I preferred it to the one I had been gifted. The tape deck had been salvaged by Jacob from a scrap yard down in Macon County.

"And why exactly did your new high-rez. system need to be savagely murdered again?" Jacob asked for the third time.

"Because it was just a reminder of that night," I said.

"I get it, it was a bad night, but Bella, that sound-system was so smooth. And the base..." Jacob clutched at his chest, as if the thought of me ripping the stereo out of my dash until my nails had started to bleed physically hurt him.

I let out a short chuckle, "Well, what's done is done. Only thing left is to give it a proper burial and move on."

"He was so young!" Jacob all but wailed theatrically, falling to his knees and throwing his hands up towards the clouds.

I laughed hard, holding my stomach.

"Oh my god! Jacob, I'm fucking crying."

Jacob looked over at me, "I know," he said with mock sympathy, "You miss him too."

"Jacob," I laughed, "Come on, let's see what we can find."

He got up off of the gravel lot and dusted the sand off of of his cargo's.

"How about this one?" I asked, pointing at an old sedan.

"No, I don't think it'll fit, but this truck over here might," He said walking over to the rusted truck. He ducked his head to look though the window, and then swung open the driver seat. He didn't put himself behind the steering wheel as I thought he would do, but instead ducked down to look underneath the dashboard. "Yeah, this one'll work," he said, fidgeting with the wires. He disconnected the panelling inside the car with the flathead screwdriver he had in his shirt pocket, and started disconnecting the wires that connected the stereo to the dashboard. With some work, he managed to get the sound system free.

"Here," He said, handing me the part," Bring this up to the cash. Oh, and make sure you get a good price for it. They like to try and rip you off here sometimes."

I payed for the part.

Once we got back to Jacob's garage, Jacob started pulling apart the dashboard.

"You know what your doing right?" I asked. The sight of my truck's interior being strewn about the floor of the garage making me more nervous than I thought.

"Ye have little faith," Jacob said, "Don't worry, once I'm done she'll be good as new."

"She?"

"Yeah, don't you think she looks like a she. The long lines, big round fenders in the back?" Jacob said raising his eyebrows in a show on mock seduction.

"Oh I think my truck is a guy. A big, sexy guy. Wide front end, can't keep his headlight off of you. I bet he's got something real big under the hood."

Jacob rolled his eyes, "You girls and this 'big hood' stuff. I won't be able to look him in the headlights again after hearing that. But hey, if it's a big engine you want..." Jacob turned around and winked at me.

I tried, and failed to hide my involuntary blush.

Jacob laughed. I gave him a light smack on the arm, and he threw his shop rag at me. I caught it mid air.

"Just fix the truck Jacob," I said still blushing.

I parked in front of the movie theatre. Locking the truck, I pulled open the thick wooden door at the top of the theatre stairs. Angela and Mike had claimed a bench by the concession.

"Over here Bella," Angela called, waving me over.

"Hey guys. Is Eric already here?"

"Yep," Said Mike, "He's getting the tickets."

"I told you no one could stomach that chili," I said

"Yeah, you should have seen him in math later on. He was practically green. I totally thought that chili was going to make a 'second appearance' right there on the desk," Mike said laughing.

Angela smacked him in the arm.

"What? Just because your dating him doesn't mean that I'm going to stop making fun of him," Mike said.

Eric came back, waving 6 movie tickets, "I want a rematch," He said.

"Sure," I replied, "There's a movie coming out next week I was thinking of going to,"

"Oh I think I saw the trailer for that," Jacob said from behind me, "Wasn't that called Return from the demon chili?"

"Jacob!" I exclaimed hugging him.

"Hey Bella. How's my speedometer?"

"It's good. It works."

"And she doubted me," Jacob said to the group.

"Well I've learned my lesson. Never again."

"So...uh...when's mystery guy getting here?"

"I was just about to ask that." Mike said.

"He should be here pretty soon, I'll go call, you guys go and get us some seats." I said heading towards the theatre doors.

I pulled out my phone and pushed out of the heavy door. I dialed Caius's phone number, and looked up at the people walking along the street.

"Hello Isabelle."

"Hey! Where are you? The movie starts in like 10 minutes."

"I'm just down the block. I can see the theater from here."

I squinted down towards the end of the block.

"Oh, I see you know." I said waving sat him and hanging up the phone.

His hair was damp, and the shoulders of his fitted black suit jacket were speckled with drops as he came up to greet me. He leaned in to kiss me before pulling us both inside the door and out of the rain.

"I was wondering if you were going to make it." I said.

"I know, I'm sorry, I went to the wrong theatre."

Despite being over-dressed for a movie with friends, he looked surprisingly normal. The wind had blown his normally neat hair all over the place, and it had started to tangle on the ends, and his eyes were the same shade of violet that they had been the night we met, only now, they held no malice.

"What?" He asked, a cheeky smile playing on the corner of his mouth.

"Nothing...you just look nice is all," I replied, trying to hide my blush.

He laughed and put his arm around my shoulder.

"You look nice as well Isabelle"

By the time we were through the line into the theater, my friends had already found seats. They had claimed 6 of the tattered movie recliners, three in the third row, and three directly above in the fourth row. Angela and Eric were curled up next to each other, while Jacob and Mike were making mock gagging gestures at their of PDA.

"Oh come on guys, your not going to make fun of us all night are you?" Angela complained.

"We're not making fun you," Said Jacob.

"Yeah," Mike added in, "We're making fun of Eric."

"Dude...really?"

"Okay, I'm going to butt in here before this turns into another slap fight." I said jokingly.

"It wasn't a slap fight," Mike whined "It was a manly fight."

"Yeah, we fight like though manly men." Eric said.

Angela rolled her eyes.

"Babe, come on. Back me up."

"Oh no, your not dragging me into this again."

"Well, If you want to fight like a real man, I'm sure Isabelle would be willing to show you some moves." Caius said.

"Damn, new guy's quick on the burns," Jacob said, clearly amused.

"Oh sure," I said sarcastically, "Yeah, I punched out an SUV once. That bastard never even saw it coming."

"Hey, I think it's starting," Angela said.

Cauis

The movie had finally ended, and we walked towards what was supposedly one of the few diners open late enough to go to.

"That was just how I remembered it." Isabelle said to Angela.

"Right?" Angela replied, "That last scene with Boromir makes me cry every time. How did you like it Caius? Was it your first time?

"Yes, it was, but I read the book some years ago," It was an understatement, as I had read it last in 1954, "I liked it fine however I much preferred to read the text."

"There is always something lost on the big screen," Jacob said, " No matter how good of a job they do. The book is always better."

"And here I thought you were a screen junkie." Isabelle said.

"Normally yeah, but not for Lord of he Rings. Oh this is the place."

We entered Dinna's Classic Diner. It was a run down looking establishment, with an unhappy-looking native American woman, presumable Dinna, behind a walk-up counter.

"The chili fries are great here." Jacob said.

"Oh, that sounds good." Angela said, "Eric, you wanna split one?"

"Sure," Eric said.

"Yeah I'll take one too," Added Mike.

"Bella, Caius, whatcha want?" Jacob asked.

"Chili fries sounds good," Isabelle said, and nudged me, as if to say that the human thing to do would be to order at least something."

"Only tea for me, thank you." I said.

"Back in a few," Jacob said.

We followed Eric, Angela, and Mike to a run down booth by the large window.

"So, Bella says your in law?" Eric asked.

I assumed that we had begun the typical interrogation of the new boyfriend. Isabelle had warned me that is was common for humans to give the new boyfriend a hard time upon entrance to the social group. It was odd for me to be on the other side of the interrogation. I had become so used to being the one who asks the questions, to have the situation flipped around in this small dimly lit diner was something I almost found humorous. There was something inherently amusing to me about a group of human teenagers interviewing a many century old powerful vampire in order to see if said vampire was a worthy addition to their small band.

"What has Isabelle already told you about me?" I asked, wanting to ensure that whatever answer I gave did not contradict out story.

"She just said that your a lawyer or something. Here on sabbatical right?"

"Yes, I am originally from Greece, but I live mostly in Italy. I came to work here in the United States Of America as a lawyer representing our firm internationally, but after I met Isabelle I arranged to extend my sabbatical."

"Wow...that's uh, quite the career. How long is a degree for something like that?"

"It was almost 6 years, plus another year for the dissertation."

"Any siblings?"

"None."

"And your parents? Are they still in Greece?"

"Both dead. My mother by childbirth, my father by murder."

The table turned quiet, and I wondered briefly if I had violated some kind of unwritten rule. Just then Jacob returned holding a tray of food in his hands.

"Damn, who died?" he asked jokingly, obviously not having heard the conversation previous to his arrival. He put the tray in the centre of the table and slid into the booth.

"Caius, was just telling us about work." Angela said, trying to break what was a rather uncomfortable silence," It must be super cool to get travel all over the world for your job"

"Oh yeah? I don't think I've even left Washington. What do you do?"

I unlocked the door to the hotel room. It was simple with white walls and a metal queen bed adorned with a floral bedspread.

Isabelle dropped her bag at the foot of her bed.

"I think I'm going to need a few human minutes," she said pulling out a toiletries pouch.

"Of course. It has been an eventful night after all."

Isabelle closed and locked the bathroom door. I could hear water running into the bath tub, clothing dropping to the floor, the tap of a metal razor against porcelain.

I placed my own bag on the luggage rack and sat down on the edge of the bed, my face in my hands. It was surprisingly tiring to keep up this human façade. Watching how quickly I moved, ensuring I still appeared to be breathing, minding the current etiquettes of speech. I wanted these contacts out. The cloud over my normally excellent vision was irritating.

The ever-present pattering of rain of the roof continued in the background. I understood why the Cullens had chosen Washington to set up their coven. The near constant cloud cover allowed an ease of movement during the day. It would be an adjustment once I finally returned to Voltera. I did not know what my return would bring for Isabelle. Would she think her life in Forks worth sacrificing for a life in Voltera together?

The bathroom door opening jarred me from my thoughts. She leaned against the doorframe, her long slender legs bare and smooth under the hem of her clingy, brown satin shorts. Her camisole was of the same shade, and was trimmed along the neckline with black valencia lace. None of the buttons down the front had been fastened, reveling the full valley between her breasts. She sauntered over and kneeled on the floor in front of me, folding her arms on one of my knees. I suppressed the growl deep in my chest.

"Did you have fun tonight?" She asked, looking up at me.

"It was fine," I said.

"Only fine?" She asked.

I stared down at her quizzically.

"What's going on?"

"I'm...seducing you," She said, then standing up to grab a tie from her bag, "But if you have to ask, then I guess it didn't really work."

She moved back to her feet and went to sit at the head of the bed. She tied back her disheveled hair at the base of her neck, and pulled her knees up to her chest. I laid back onto the bed, my knees bent and lower legs hanging off of the edge. I reached up over my head to stroke the side of her foot with my thumb.

"You do quite well at seducing me without the antics."

"Antics?"

"You are..." I let out a sigh, "You don't need this."

"You don't need this," she repeated quietly. I angled my chin up to look at her. She had pulled the blanket higher to cover her breasts and was staring down at her feet.

"No, NO! Isabelle I didn't mean it like that."

"Then what did you mean it like?!"

"I...It's like...you don't even have to try. Athenadora, she had all of these costumes, these perfumes, but...I felt nothing; nothing like this. And here all you have to do is show up in those worn jeans and my dress shirt, and that messy bun and, it's not even close," I pushed myself up to sit across from her, "You smile, and it's not even close," I tilted her chin up to look in her eyes, "Any woman could try for a thousand years, and never compare," I couldn't help myself... couldn't stop myself. I had to tell her. I couldn't let another night pass without her knowing, "I love you."

She stared at me in disbelief.

"I love you too."

She dropped the blanket, winding her hands up around my shoulders as I pressed my lips up against hers, kissing her deeply.

She pushed me onto my back on the bed and straddled me, grinding her hips down onto my lap. She was still kissing me, her tongue sliding in and out of my mouth, tangling around my own. Her hands brushed against the collar of my shirt, feeling for the buttons and fumbling slightly as she tried to undo them. I couldn't help but smirk.

"What?" she asked, her voice daring me to mock her.

"Here, let me help," I replied, unfastening the rest of the buttons.

She quickly pushed the shirt off of my shoulders and flung it onto the floor somewhere. Her camisole was next to go as I slipped it over her head. I sat up to kiss her bare breast. She hummed with pleasure as I unfastened my belt and tugged down the zipper of my trousers before carefully repositioning us on the bed so that she was beneath me. She widened her knees so that could settle between them. Starting at her throat I began to slowly kiss my way down her soft, warm body, all the way till I got to the waistband of her shorts. She squirmed beneath me, and soon her shorts joined the pile of garments that littered the floor. Her pupils were blown wide with arousal, and her face was flushed. Her wild hair was cascading in waves across the white pillow.

She was so beautiful...

If my heart could beat, it would have exploded.

"Caius, I want you...I need you, please."

It was all the invitation I'd needed. I buried my head in the crook of her neck. I did my best to suppress a growl as my fists clenched at the mattress, and I was overcome with my desire as I ran my hands over her nude body. It was so faint that I could barely hear it. She let out a little whimper.

I froze.

She was still human.

I couldn't do this.

I couldn't hurt her like this.

The last thing I had intended was to give her pain. I pushed off of her and rolled onto my back, my brows pinched together. My hair had fallen into my face, but I didn't bother to push it away.

"What's wrong?" She asked me.

I tried to form words, but no sound escaped.

"Caius? Tell me. Did I do something wrong?"

It was that damned self-blame that she always inflicted upon herself.

"...No, no, of course not. You didn't do anything."

"Then what is it?"

"I...I'm...," I took a deep breath, " I'm hurting you" It felt embarrassed. The idea that I could push her too far nauseated me.

"What? No, what are you talking about."

I rolled onto my side to look at her, "I'm a vampire Isabelle; A predator. Of course I am."

"You're not! I promise. I was having fun; at least I was one minute ago. I'm actually a little annoyed now."

"Of course you are! You should be!"

"No, you don't get it! I...I just wish you could have seen how good it feels to me to be with you like this. Is this why it's been so long since we've been together?"

"Isabelle, you don't seem to understand just how breakable you are."

"No, I know exactly how 'breakable' I am! Do you have any idea how many times I've been told I was breakable? You see this scar?" She asked pointing to two short scratches on her upper arm, "This is from my ex, trying to protect me from being so 'breakable'. This bite mark," She pointed to the other side, "The same thing. I'm so tired of people pretending that I need to be coddled, and shielded, and protected from myself."

She moved to brush the hair out of my face, but I stopped her, placing her hand gently back on the bed. I shoved off of the bed and pulled on my trousers. I couldn't believe that I let myself get caught up in this mess. How could I think that I could be with her? I heard her tug a blanket off of the bed, and wrap it around her naked body. Before I knew it her hand was on my shoulder. I let her spin me around to face her.

"Were you just lying then? Were you lying when you said you loved me? When you told me that 'no woman could ever compare?"

"You know that I wouldn't lie about something like that!"

"Then why won't you just let me love you back!"

"Because...!" It all came rushing back to me. Every cruel word that Athenadora had said to me. Every time she turned away from me, or rejected me, or laughed in my face. The relief on her face when I caught her in bed with another man; when she finally knew that the marriage was over and she could run off into the night with her new lover, "BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING IN ME FOR YOU TO LOVE! There's nothing left for you to..." I could not suppress my sob. I expected for her to leave. To pull on her clothes, take her bag, and leave me alone in this room. But she did the last thing I would have expected. I felt soft arms twine themselves around my back as she pulled me into her chest. I wound myself around her slender frame and laid my chin on top of her head, breathing in her scent: fruit and lavender. After a moment she pulled back, and then her eyes were on mine.

"You're wrong," she said, "Because if there was nothing left to love, then how could it be, that I am completely, and irrecoverably in love with you?

"Hear my soul speak: the very instant I saw you..."

"Did my heart fly to your service."