AN: Fair warning ... This is the M rated chapter.

Chapter 26:

The few days leading up to the ball was sheer agony for both Hermione and Edward.

Harry hadn't voiced any of the questions she'd seen in his eyes but Draco had driven her spare! When he'd learnt the story from Rosalie of all people, he'd almost apparated out to 'hex some sense into that git'. Hermione had barely managed to hold him back.

There was no need for any of it! She'd seen the regret, the apology, the sheer pain Edward was going through, in his eyes, even now after so many days, every time she chanced a glance at him he looked heavily guilt-ridden.

He was escorting Bella, more so now because Hermione had talked him out of bailing out from the commitment he made to his friend when he'd offered to do exactly that. But she knew his heart wasn't in it. She felt his displeasure just as she felt her own regret. If only she hadn't pushed him away the way she did…

Her friends though had somehow talked themselves into 'showing Edward what he was missing.'

Hermione didn't really want to, but Draco had bought her a dress, daring her to not wear it to see where it took her. But one look at the deep, dark, sensuous red silk one-piece and Hermione hadn't the heart to send it back. Alice and Rosalie and batted her hands away and painstakingly dolled her up. Harry had flooed in and taken Teddy over for the entire duration of his Christmas break, but only after whistling at her. Narcissa had Andromeda over for Christmas, both witches keen on re-creating their childhood memories this holiday season and so Team Hermione had turned her house into a planing zone for some sort of a battle, Hermione had thought more than once while rolling her eyes at the odd trio that was Draco, Alice and Rosalie while she had resignedly sat beside them, thoroughly ignored by them all, most of the times.

Edward was to collect Bella from her place and meet them at the Ball. Draco had volunteered to escort her for the evening but she knew he had some previous arrangements with this brunette witch he had started seeing just a few weeks back and so Hermione refused to put a splinter in his plans, opting to take Jasper's other arm, having him escort both herself and Alice to the Ball.

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The decorations were nothing compared to the Yule Ball back in her fourth year at Hogwarts, but for muggle standards they were pretty good. A rather large Christmas tree, thousands of festive lights, a light splattering of snow… it all just worked, Hermione decided, looking around the school campus with a small smile playing on her lips.

Despite having Bella clinging on his arm, Edward was only watching the entryway, waiting for this one particular girl who finally showed up on his adopted brother's arm, clearly knocking off all the breath from Edward's body. Just as well I don't need any!

She looked spectacular – My lady in red… The bodice of her dress clung perfectly to her curves, the skirt falling just right after hugging her hips. Her red killer-heels accentuated her height and gave a more feminine twirl to her walk. The rather large slit on the side of her dress that gave small teasing glimpses of the creamy flesh of her long legs every now and then only heightened his awareness of her. Oh dear Lord! Was that a… garter she was wearing? Edward pulled hard at the collar of his shirt, his fingers unthinkingly working on loosening his tie though he caught himself in time. Her hair was all done up in way he'd never seen her sport before but she carried it off just like she did every other part of her ensemble – with poise and grace. He long tresses were straightened out at her crown but fell in soft curls around her neck and shoulders, a few escaping tendrils of her soft mahogany curls artfully framing her face nonetheless. With that one look, Edward just knew it had to be one of his sisters that had done her hair, leaving it falling on and framing her long neck only to torture him with barely-there tantalizing glimpses of her slender column while he suddenly wanted nothing more than to have his mouth right there at the juncture where her neck met her shoulders and her wonderous pulse crowed out her heart's fascinating beats – one of the few ways her heart spoke to him. Her eyes looked smoky and her lips were painted blood red, immediately flooding Edward's mind with images of unspeakable things he wanted so badly to do with and to that sexy red pout.

Thoughts any well bred gentleman should not be having of any respectable lady, Edward chided himself in his mind.

Completely ignoring the presence beside him, Edward disengaged his arm from Bella's tight clutches and intently made his way towards Hermione.

But lady luck did not smiling down at him just yet. Before he could reach her, someone else had and the next thing he knew she was on the floor dancing with that guy, in his annoyance, he couldn't even place which one… Gritting his teeth in, Edward stood rooted to the spot, but Bella found him and he had no idea how she had him escorting her to the dance floor.

…

Edward wasn't even looking at her, not even fleetingly, his eyes glued to the girl who was dancing with Mike Newton of all boys, Bella harrumphed.

What was the point in dolling herself up, if her dashing prince wasn't even going to spare her a glance? They'd danced to a few songs already and yet Edward hadn't once looked down at her with those beautiful golden eyes of his, while the unseemly object of his fascination was quite shamelessly dancing about with every guy that asked her and was right then even flirting, it seemed to Bella's biased eyes, with his very own brother!

"Edward, do you think we could…" she started to say but shut up when she found he didn't even bother listening to her. Just then from the periphery of her vision she caught sight of something loudly red fluttering towards the exit. Thank God!

"I need to go," Edward said, again without sparing her a glance as he followed the witch out.

Bella could swear she heard her heart breaking with every step Edward took towards the exit, willing him to turn around and come back to her, but she stood there hopelessly and watched him walk away towards someone else.

At the last possible minute though, she turned rubbed her eyes furiously and traced Edward's steps.

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"Aren't you tired of those heels?" Edward asked as he made his way to the well-lit courtyard where Hermione was sitting alone under a tree, swinging her legs. "I have caught a thought from every girl in there that theirs are positively killing them."

He looked sinful Hermione noted yet again, formal dressing really did men good. The twinkling fairy lights lent a golden glow to his copper hair and his eyes seemed much lighter under the muted tones illuminating the garden. Edward crossed the small distance between them and knelt in front of her, taking each of her feet in his hands, one by one, as he removed her pinching footwear.

Hermione gulped when Edward looked up at her, her mouth going dry when his face came almost at eye-level with hers bringing his lips tantalizingly close.

"Where's your date?" she asked, trying hard to break the tension in the air around them.

"You look beautiful, darling," Edward whispered to her at the same time.

But Edward shook his head to respond to Hermione's question immediately. "I don't know, and I don't care. You're all the matters, Hermione, and I'm sorry for ever making you think otherwise." He held her face between his hands. "I'm sorry you had go through this tonight. I beg of you, darling, just give me one more chance and I'll prove it to you that we're meant to be. I know I'm hot-headed and do tend to over-react sometimes, but give me a chance and I'll work on it," he added.

"It's ok. Everyone has their flaws. It's something I'll just have to get used to, I guess…" she trailed off seeing the sincere apology and renewed hope shining in his amber eyes. "I can't say I have the sweetest of tempers," Hermione offered him smilingly.

"Something for me to spend all of eternity working around," he whispered back.

Hermione chuckled, "No, but honestly, Edward, had I not over-thought, over-analyzed everything.. I shouldn't have pushed you away like that. Saying those things about your past… I had no right. I truly am sorry."

Edward shook his head. "No. You were right in questioning my motives. The suddenness of it all does look a little fishy," he conceded.

"A little," she accepted, a dimple showing off her playfulness.

"Dance with me," Edward said abruptly, holding out his hand for her to take.

Hermione's eyes skittered between his and a beautiful smile lit up her face. She nodded. "Let me just wear my shoes."

He shook his head again. "Step on my feet," he said instead, pulling her to her feet, slightly picking her up and settling her on his own shoe-clad feet.

"Just because you're near-indestructible, doesn't mean you have to do all the heavy weight lifting," Hermione giggled when he started twirling them around.

In answer, he pulled her just that teeny bit closer. "Hmm.. I could get used to this," he said, deeply inhaling her heavenly scent.

"Lugging me around?"

He clucked, "You, bare footed, in my arms."

Hermione craned her neck to look up at Edward just as he bent his down. She stretched her neck and her eyelids dropped half-way. Edward watched her, she really does look beautiful tonight, he thought, well, more so than usual, he added, as a hum of contentment buzzed inside him. He closed the last few inches separating them and brushed his cold lips across her warm ones. Once. Twice. Thrice. He swiped his lips on hers before adding pressure to them and molding hers to his.

He simply enjoyed the feel of her lips moving on his, until he felt her sucking on his bottom lip. He groaned and brought her closer, lifting her off her feet to compensate for their height difference. His hand found its way into her hair before he angled her face just right to deepen the kiss. Hermione clutched at Edward's shoulders to hold still, not wanting to miss a single moment of being with him right then.

He swiped at the seam of her lips to make her open that delectable mouth of hers and she hummed in anticipation as he pushed his tongue in.

Having a vampire kissing you could be erotic on so many levels, was something Hermione had never really pondered upon, but now that she was pressed intimately against one who was driving her crazy with his slow, exploring kisses, she could vouch for it!

There was something to be said about having Edward's icy figure pushed against her warm body, that made certain parts of hers quiver with something quite different to mere cold at his proximity. No wonder the vampires were coveted as the most sensual beings to walk on the planet.

With an inhuman effort, Edward managed to pull himself away from Hermione's responsive mouth, if only to let her breathe for a few short seconds before he attacked her lips again.

"There's no one else, nor will there be any after you," Edward said just before he dipped his head and took her lips again.

Hermione's keening mewls of pleasure did strange things to his un-beating heart and he could swear he'd died and gone to heaven when she broke their kiss and shyly asked, "Just bare foot… nothing else?" It took him a moment to understand her, but the passion in her fiery eyes was a dead give-away.

Unable to think of anything after that telling statement, Edward had her in his arms, picked up like a new bride as he ran all the way to her house, a blur of white that the few humans scattered around the small sleepy town couldn't really perceive.

Hermione would've laughed when he had her pressed against the door of her house within not six minutes of their departure from the school, but Edward was back to silencing her with his mouth and he was doing a damn fine job of it too!

Eliciting moans louder than the previous ones, "Stop me," Edward groaned lustfully, his head buried in the curve of Hermione's neck as he kissed it repeatedly while she drew in a few quick breaths. "Stop me now, if you don't want this. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop myself later."

"I made my decision long before we got here, Edward," was all Hermione said as she spelled the door behind her to open and pulled Edward inside with her by tugging lightly on his tie and he made sure to kick the door firmly shut behind him.

Thanking his stars that Narcissa had Andromeda while Teddy was safely away with his godfather on a whole different continent, Edward shrugged out of his coat, kicked his shoes away while unbuttoning his cuffs as he trailed his lustful eyes heatedly over Hermione's tiny form.

She looked radiant, really she does. And seeing her there, as she was, he knew he'd always be partial to red for her. It really was her color – bold and beautiful, just like his mate. He smirked crookedly and rushed forward to her at vampire speed, crashing their lips together all over again, knowing he never wanted to be away from her ever again. He was pretty sure all of eternity was also not going to be enough time for him to get enough of her kisses. Or her loving he thought, nipping her lower lip and pulling at it as he left her mouth after long minutes again.

He pulled his head back then, watching her intently right in her darkened eyes. "Let's start with your bed before we move all over the house," he whispered huskily in her ear and yielded happily when she pulled at his arms and led him up the stairs to her room.

He'd never seen her room before that night, the situation had never really arisen and now that he was in it, nothing of the room registered in his mind. He had his eyes glued on someone far too alluring to pull away his gaze from.

"You're too dressed," he smirked lazily at her, and tugged her down on her bed, settling her on his lap, pulling at her zipper simultaneously.

"And you aren't?" Hermione challenged between his hot kisses.

He chuckled and pulled her dress off her, pushing her on the bed at the same time. "What?! No underwear?" he gawked, mouth open, when he saw exactly all that he had unwittingly unwrapped.

"The cut of the dress didn't allow for it," Hermione smiled coyly.

"Ahh," Edward gave a strangled groan seeing her spread on her bed, sporting nothing but a too-red garter and a blood red lipstick. He had no idea when or where he'd tossed away the pins holding her hair's puff, but just then all her riotous curls were back and falling down her back, a few even flying over her face, and he just knew he'd never see a sight more sensuous than that. He quickly got off the bed and rid himself of all his clothes, all in a matter of quick seconds.

"Is this good enough for you, darling?" Edward answered her challenge and laughed heartily on seeing Hermione's entire body flush a violent red when he caught her staring. "What? I thought you wanted me naked. Did I misunderstand you?" he teased his blushing witch.

WOW! was Hermione's first thought when she saw an absolutely naked Edward taking human paced steps towards her. There's some truth behind that vampire's body allure after all, she conceded, on seeing a body like that naked, she was pretty sure no human could or even want to hold back.

Edward noticed the further darkening of Hermione's irises as he crawled his big form on top of hers, flattening himself on her as he bent down to truly make her his.

How far he'd come from that guy of the last century who only ever held back with Bella to the one who was unable to control his primitive impulses when he was around Hermione, he tsked in his head. He now finally understood why Emmett and Rosalie were constantly found at the oddest of places and why Alice and Jasper kept disappearing together for long hours. It was something quite innate, a push from inside of him, he could feel it, that made him move towards Hermione, to give her all she wanted and take from her all he needed.

He was worried about hurting her, of course he was, but something inside of him soothed him and he just knew that he couldn't hurt her, not now, not ever.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Hermione asked, rubbing his cheek as he leaned into her touch.

"Just that I'm really lucky to have found you. I never realized what I'd been missing, until now. I don't know what made you drop into my life like you did, but I know you came all this far just for me, to make my soulless life happy, to complete me in every way."

"Well, I have a theory," Hermione started rambling in her nervousness, "I think Sirius might actually be related to Jacob Black's family. I've discussed it with Narcissa and she said she'd look into it… It's only explanation I've come up with for the picture of that meadow to be in his library…. You know, I one where we first m…."

"Hermione…" Edward started, she hummed in reply. "Now's a good time to shut up, my love," he said and sealed her mouth with his again, driving all thoughts of everyone else away from her mind.

A light splattering of color gave up Hermione's inner thoughts after Edward pulled away to let her catch her breath, but neither spoke, both getting busy as they explored each other, experimented with each other and yes, pleasured each other.

When the time came, Edward entered her carefully. He felt his canines growing just as he aligned himself with her but he tried his level best to hold them back, to gulp down the venom that was flooding his mouth, but he couldn't keep his natural instincts away, despite his fight against them.

And so he lost.

But when he claimed her with his prolonged wild movements and marked her as his for all of eternity, he knew it was an internal battle he was better off losing.

Because he'd finally won her.

She was his from now on.

Till the end of forever.

He alone had the right to hold her, kiss her and love her.

For each and every day of forever.

And now, no one could take her away from him. Never again.

"Now, if only you change quickly for me, and make me yours too, all of my eternity would be perfect, Miss. Granger," Edward whispered huskily in her ear, not for a second ceasing his erotic movements.

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When Edward flattened his solid body on her pliable one, Hermione knew she was doomed. This night was going to change everything about her and she was sure of it.

Between his soft kisses, his sensual caresses, his bolder touches, she could feel a war waging inside of him, but she never found her breath to ask him about it. But when he broke her in, in more ways than one, with his teeth sinking in the tender flesh at the curve of her neck at that exact moment as he ripped her innocence apart, she knew.

She knew he'd been trying to fight his impulses to make it easier for her, and that act only clinched it all for Hermione.

He truly does love me.

And that realization made everything happening between them that much perfect for her.

She couldn't and didn't deny that she did not feel fear when Edward broke her skin. What sane person wouldn't, when they had a vampire latched to their artery?! But the minute his venom invaded her system, she felt her magic surge in acceptance. Wave after wave of pleasure launched and crashed inside her, as her magic and his, melded as one all around them, making every single stroke of his that much more pronounced for her.

She didn't know if he was feeling the exact same thing as her, but she just knew he was feeling something very similar when she looked at his eyes but found them closed in reverence before he opened them, caught her eyes, gripped her bedding and impaled her. Hard and unyieldingly. Repeatedly. Never once losing eye contact.

"My mate," he said hoarsely, and she just knew his voice was thicker and baser because of his animal instincts that were very much in play just then. "You're mine and I'm yours, for all of eternity," he declared and ploughed on, his movements later turning jerky and wildly erratic.

Hermione gazed deeply into his darkened eyes and whispered the words she had held back for so long. "I love you."

That stilled Edward, turning into a marble statue of some Adonis right on top of her and then he flashed her his most blinding smile. "Say it again," he grunted and waited till she did.

"I love you, Edward," Hermione whispered to him again without missing a beat, her fingers locked at his nape as he quickly bent his head to kiss her softly.

"Again," he demanded, barely moving his mouth away from hers.

"I love you," she smiled, her lips curling in amusement at his wanton behavior.

"Again. Keep saying it."

And she repeated herself over and over again while Edward picked up from where he'd left and thrust in harder, quickening his pace as he held the love of his undying life in his arms and kept up his rhythm, promising to himself to take her to the pinnacle of pleasure many times over before letting himself go.

He kept his promise. He had her coming and screaming long before he let go of himself. "You have no idea how long I've waited to hear those three little words from you," he smiled at Hermione as she lay spent and tired, wrapped in his cold arms, shivering but refusing to move out.

"Sweaty body and your hugs… not a good combination," Hermione said between chattering teeth. Summoning her wand, she placed a warming spell on them both.

"Is it better now?" Edward asked her, arms still wrapped possessively around her petite form, cocooning her in them protectively. Hermione nodded. "Good," he sighed, "Because covering your naked, sweaty body with my equally naked albeit cold one is definitely something I'm planning on doing a lot more than you think."

"Really?" Hermione bit her lip teasingly.

Edward took the challenge and bit the same spot before speaking. "Tease me again, love, and you won't get any sleep tonight. Just remember, I don't need sleep nor do I get tired. I can literally be at it for hours if not days, so choose your acts carefully, darling."

Hermione giggled, "That's a handy piece of information to have," she said and burrowed her face in Edward's chest to get comfortable as she closed her eyes for the night.

And Edward, for his part, silently spent the whole night watching his beloved sleep peacefully, contentment settling inside him as he felt his frozen heart, warming.

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In a world of their own, separated by just a few miles, a brunette walked to the tree, settling herself on the same spot Hermione had vacated not long back. She slipped off her five inches high heels, wondering what on earth, she – an accident prone – was doing even wearing them, though she knew the answer. She hadn't minded falling, for she had thought she'd have Edward by her side and he would most certainly catch her and so she hadn't cared, her only intention being to look good for the one boy who had taken her fancy and stolen her heart.

She gingerly lifted her foot and placed it in the abandoned red heels, snorting when they didn't fit. Of course they won't fit you! her inner conscience jeered at her. You aren't the belle of the ball or the princess that rides into the sunset with her prince.

No. She was just a girl.

Only a normal, mortal girl.

A girl who was promised the world by her own Prince Charming to only have a Wicked Witch assail her prince and take him away.

Bella bent down, plucked the red heels off the ground and threw them away with all her might, as if they were torturing her. And she screamed! Loud, guttural screams of agony, sobs of all her anguish tore from her mouth as she howled in her pain and folded on herself, falling off the ledge onto the hard ground - sobbing and screaming.

Nothing was ever going to be right again…

Not in her world…

She had never been afraid of dying and now, she wished, death would come to her aid, like an old, trusted friend and take her away…