Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
This story has been adopted. The original was written and discontinued by Amiiix3. I was graciously given permission to continue the story as I saw fit. Thank you Amiiix3 for your trust.
I went straight to my room, locked the door, and fell in a heap on my bed. After a moment of laying in a tight ball, my muscles coiled uncomfortably, I sat up with an angry huff and pulled my blood stained t-shirt over my head.
It had been white, but now it was covered with angry red splotches; I would never be able to wear it again. I took the khaki shorts off as well. They had escaped the evidence of my messy hunting, but the cheap stitching bothered my sensitive nerves.
Slipping beneath the covers in only my underwear was extremely relaxing. The silky sheets felt like heaven on my marble skin. Heaven's touch… I was reminded almost involuntarily of Edward. A frustrated sigh fell past my lips, the only noise in a room as silent as death.
Edward kissed me I thought, biting my lip. Edward kissed me. And I could not stop thinking about his lips on mine. My lips stretched into a manic grin. It was like a drug, this new mantra of mine.
Perhaps it was not bad that it had happened. After all, he had proven himself in my eyes. We had both lost everyone dear to us, especially our mothers. But I had so much more to learn about Edward, and I did not want anyone, specifically Tanya, ruining any chance I had to get to know him better.
There was a knock at my door. I jumped, having been lost in thoughts– uncharacteristically vicious ways to keep Tanya away. I pulled the bed sheets tight around my body, suddenly feeling embarrassed at lying in bed practically naked. If anyone found out, they would think I was immensely desperate.
"Come in," I said softly, knowing the vampire on the other end would be able to hear my whisper. I pulled the sheets so tightly around my body, they bit into my skin. The doorknob rattled. It was locked.
"Um… I'll be right there!" I untangled myself from the bed sheets and jumped off the bed, rushing to my closet in just two graceful leaps. I pulled on a knee-length white skirt, noticing vaguely the pattern of blue flowers on it, and slipped a blue shirt over it. "I'll be right there," I said again, adjusting the collar.
When I opened the door, Edward stood against the wall casually, his silky bronze hair falling into his topaz eyes. They glanced at me, taking in my appearance and then sliding back up to meet my own. He smiled.
"May I come in?" I bit my lip and nodded slowly, moving back to let him into the room. I left the door open a crack, just in case.
"Edward, I don't know if I want the others to know," I said, the very moment he sat down on the bed. I clapped a hand over my mouth, staring up at him with wide eyes. The words had left my mouth without my consent. He nodded immediately. I was surprised; I had expected him to put up a fight.
"Tanya probably wouldn't find this quite to her liking," he said.
I grimaced– Tanya. "No, she wouldn't like it at all."
"But we don't need to worry about her for much longer," Edward said, completely certain.
I frowned. "How do you know?"
"You'll find out later. All you have to do is get through the rest of this week."
"Edward. What is it? Tell me!" He shook his head, lips pursed. I huffed, then a bright idea formed in my mind. I smiled up at him through my eyelashes, summoning every ounce of desire I possessed, and hoping I did not look like a complete idiot. He blinked rapidly, shaking his head.
"Can I convince you?" I leaned forward, gazing directly into his golden eyes.
He blinked again, then smiled cockily. "You can try." I had it in the bag. I grinned at him wickedly and before he knew what happened, I had pounced on him, pushing him back into the bed, and landing over him.
"Hello Edward," I purred. I leaned down and brushed my lips over his teasingly, then let them trail down his neck to the strong skin of his chest.
"Mmm…" he mumbled.
I ran my hands up his arms and smiled up at him. "What did you say was happening at the end of this week?"
"Nothing." He managed to smirk at me. The devil! His lips reached out to me, waiting to be kissed. I was tempted, but a sound outside made my head snap up.
Kate stood with her hand on the doorknob, the door open just a crack– my doing. She did not look shocked at all. Instead, she gave me a suggestive smile, winked, and left as quietly as she had come. Mortification rushed through me, my head throbbing, and angry butterflies battering at the delicate lining of my stomach. "Oh no…"
"What's wrong?" Edward sat up as I slipped off him and curled up on a corner of the bed.
"We're going too fast. We're taking it too far. It's absolutely unfitting. What happens if something goes wrong? Should we tell them? No, we shouldn't tell them. Especially not Tanya. How could I have let this happen? I knew I shouldn't have gone, but—"
"I'm still here, Bella," Edward said softly. He rubbed my arm with his long, calming fingers.
"We shouldn't tell them," I said again, this time looking at him pleadingly.
He nodded. "Not now. We will eventually, but we'll know when that is."
"What would Tanya do?" I asked, frightened by the thought of being murdered when I was least expecting it, by a strawberry blonde temptress no less.
Edward chuckled, rubbing my back soothingly. "She only just wants to be loved."
"Isn't she one of the succubi?" I looked at Edward. He nodded.
"Then wouldn't she already be loved?" I paused. "A lot?" dward laughed and I felt embarrassed again.
"It's true. But I think she's looking for a bit of a longer lasting love." His eyes bored into my own, shimmering gold and heavenly topaz.
I suddenly felt sympathetic for the blonde. "I know how she feels…" And I looked away, hoping he did not see the dopey, slavish look on my face. Edward wanted me to stay with him for the remainder of the night, and perhaps he would have kept me for the rest of the following day, but I refused his offer.
"Why?" he pouted, pressing me against my door with his body, as if it could wedge me into place and never let me go.
"Very inappropriate." I pressed the very tips of my fingers to his muscular chest and gave him a little push back. "And you call yourself a gentleman," I scoffed.
He gave a fake cough and tugged the collar of his shirt. The first few buttons were open– my doing, of course. "Sorry, milady."
I smiled, melting in his smoldering gaze. "Yes well… let's try to behave ourselves, shall we?"
Edward grinned roguishly. "I can't help that I want to be with you so badly."
I want you too. Even though his words had not been so…suggestive.
Instead I said: "Fix your shirt, please, or anyone you meet will be suspicious. How long do we have to keep this up?"
"Only another four days, sweet." His breath was sweet. His lips were delicious. I stared at them longingly. He grinned knowingly.
"Take that cocky smirk off your face and get out of here," I teased, opening the door, pushing him out, and closing it behind him before I could be tempted to let him stay longer. With his god-like face no longer in sight, I felt strangely alone.
I sighed and leaned my back against the door, remembering the last few hours. Time truly did fly. How quickly the moments had passed between the time of our renewal of trust, his confessions in me, and our brief moments of solitude.
We had talked nearly half the night, while finding clever ways to keep touching each other; his hands in my hair, my fingers on his arm, his lips at my ear. Of course we had not 'done the deed', though I was sure Kate might think otherwise.
"Kate," I sighed, shaking my head. I would have to 'set her straight' by telling her a blatant lie. But that would be extremely difficult, as she had seen us in a very compromising position.
"Kate!" I walked down the hill quickly, meeting her at the very end of the drive, empty of cars.
"Oh, hello Bella." She smiled quickly and turned back to poking at the ground with a damp stick.
I raised an eyebrow as I neared her. "What are you doing, Kate?" I laughed.
She did not turn to look at me, but I could see she was attempting to suppress a grin. The stick moved faster across the snow. Kate stood up with a satisfied sigh and threw the twig behind her; it landed in a soft patch of snow and was slowly eaten up like quicksand until it was no longer visible. I leaned forward to examine Kate's handiwork.
"KATE!" I heard the anxious screech leave me. I turned to her, my eyes wide with growing anger. "Kate!"
In the slushy, innocent snow, with large, block letters, the words "EDWARD + BELLA" had been carved.
"Kate!" I cried again, unable to peel my eyes away from them. As angry and disbelieving as I could make myself sound, our names looked quite lovely beside each other. Seeing them together made my stomach jump– pleasurably.
But I stomped over to the words and stepped on our names repeatedly, until all that was left was a messy ditch of footprints and dirty snow.
Kate frowned. "Why did you ruin it? I spent all morning writing that."
"Then you should learn how to write faster." I could not take sympathy on her just yet; she had nearly given away the secret. I was sure Kate of all people would know what would happen if the others knew about Edward and I.
"Well, how do you know I wasn't going to write something else?" Kate demanded. I raised an eyebrow. "How do you know I wasn't just taking a break, and I was going to come back and finish the message?"
"Were you?" I asked skeptically.
Kate glared. "Yes, I was going to write something else."
"What then?"
She paused. "It was supposed to say: 'Edward + Bella: Esme needs your dirty clothes so she can do the laundry'."
"Oh, is that right?"
Kate nodded vehemently, her topaz eyes large and innocent. I would have almost believed her, if I did not see the little smirk she was attempting to hide. "Very funny, Kate. But really—" I turned serious "—you can't tell anyone what you saw yesterday."
"What do you mean?" Kate frowned, mimicking my sudden change in mood. I glanced around to make sure there was no one around to listen. Just to make sure, I took Kate's hand and dragged her farther down the driveway.
"Yesterday, you saw Edward in my room." Kate grinned.
"Nothing happened, Kate. Absolutely nothing."
Her smile widened. "It didn't look like nothing."
"Okay, fine… we kissed, and… I'm not sure what our relationship status is, but…"
"How scandalous! Is he courting you?" Kate's eyes sparkled.
"Err… I'm not sure. I've never been courted before. What does it entail?"
Kate laughed. "Oh… flowers, I suppose. And some sweets maybe."
"What do I do with sweets?" I laughed. "I can't eat."
"It's a doomed relationship already."
I sobered immediately. "I know, but I don't know what else to do. I like him too much to let it go."
Kate's eyes widened. "I was joking, Bella!"
"Oh… well… it is doomed either way. We can't tell anyone, and relationships in secrecy never work out."
"I think they're romantic," Kate insisted.
"Says the succubus." We broke out in laughter.
"What if it doesn't last?" I said after a moment.
Kate smiled softly. "Then that's what happens. But there's no need to go through your whole existence thinking the sky is going to fall at any moment. Just enjoy it as it is." It was good advice.
"I get scared when I'm around him," I admitted.
"What do you mean?" Kate cocked her head.
"I feel so vulnerable. Like I'm giving him my heart, whenever I talk to him, or even if I just look at him. And he makes me… he makes me jump, every time I see him."
Kate grinned mischievously. "You're in love."
"I AM NOT!"
"You're not what?" asked a velvety voice from behind me. I knew that voice; I had memorized that voice; I would know that voice from miles away. I widened my eyes at Kate, silently threatening her not to tell him about our conversation.
She beamed at me. "Nothing, Edward. I'll leave you two alone." The excited vampire pranced away back into her hidey-hole, probably to watch me lose my head.