I went hunting later that evening, finally confident that Tanya wouldn't be following me. Esme's words kept coming back to me as I ran through arctic night. The trees fell away behind me, yielding to the flat tundra. I was alone, but I didn't mind. I loved Alaska precisely because I could be alone.

I barely noticed the bland caribou I hunted, mechanically taking them until my thirst ebbed.

The people in my family all had dramatic love stories. Esme was changed by and won the heart of the vampire of her dreams. Rosalie found the wounded and bleeding Emmett — while on a hunt no less — and resisted the call of his blood. Alice and Jasper had always known they were incomplete and recognized each other as soul-mates at first sight.

Not everyone had a romance worth writing a book about, though. Sometimes love was as simple as meeting someone you enjoyed spending time with, and that pleasure later grew into love. It was something of a shock to realize I was quite capable of reciprocating what Tanya was offering.

Instantly, I chided myself for entertaining such a notion. I didn't want anyone's love, and I wasn't one to simply lust after a woman. Eleazar said it best — unattached and whole in and of myself — and I wasn't likely to change. After one hundred years, I'd heard it all. There was no woman under the sun who would keep my attention for eternity. And as I'd seen in Carlisle's family, the eternal kind of love was the only kind worth having. The next move was mine, and I wasn't going to make it.

The exquisite heat of the shower was what finally brought my mind back to the present. Several of our last houses had hot-tubs, but Esme decided on a sauna this time. Unfortunately, I knew what often went on in there and so never used it. That left me with the shower. I stood under a stream of water so hot it would scald a human, sighing contentedly.

Is that Edward in the shower? It was Irina. I couldn't hear her voice above the water, but her thoughts were clear.

Rosalie answered her. Yeah. He's been out hunting.

Finally, my turn! Hey Edward! Can you hear me, Edward?

I didn't answer. Couldn't I at least shower in peace?

Hmm. I bet he can hear me. Edward, check this out!

I was hit with a barrage of images — Irina in the shower with me, a soapy washcloth in her hand, her lips peppering my body with kisses. I staggered against the wall of the shower stall, desperately trying to block her thoughts. Her imagination was so vivid and explicit.

If you'd like me to join you, just say the word, Edward. Unless of course you can think of a more appropriate venue.

"Shut up, Irina! Get out of my head!"

Now she was imagining us in the sauna, the heat making our bare skin tingle.

I was appalled. I had done nothing wrong and I still felt sullied. It was bad enough to overhear what my family members were doing, but to feature in someone's fantasies — and not just some schoolgirl crush of a fantasy either — left me feeling violated.

Mostly. Well, it left my soul feeling violated. Apparently my body had poor taste.

I angrily turned off the water. This was unbearable. I quickly toweled off and put on clean clothes, then threw open the door. Irina stood in the hall, smirking at me. I reminded myself it was wrong for a man to hit a woman, and for the first time in my existence, I wished I was female. "Leave me alone!"

She took the towel from my numb hand and dabbed at my hair with it. "Come on, Edward. It wasn't that bad now, was it?"

Bolting down the stairs, I flew through the back door and took off into the night. I didn't know where I was going and, frankly, didn't care, so long as I could get away from her thoughts.

But she wasn't letting me go that easily. I could hear Irina behind me. Oh, this is too easy!

She was following me!

Wait up, Edward! She was thoroughly amused. There's more! Images of me and her — in the shower, in the forest, in her bedroom. I ran even faster.

This was not how it was supposed to work! The virtuous man flees, leaving the seductress behind. She wasn't supposed to give chase!

Images of her slowly stripping, performing for me. Why wouldn't she just leave me alone! The trees were thinning again, and I realized I was retracing my hunting route from earlier. I was not going to be prey — this was going to end here and now. Skidding to a halt, I turned to face her onslaught.

She smirked at my murderous expression and leaped into my arms, wrapping her legs around me. I was NOT in a playful mood. Reflexively, I threw her to the ground and pinned her there. She lay under me, laughing hysterically.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I growled.

She sobered, raising one eyebrow, but her eyes still danced with humor. "Considering we're miles from help and you're laying on top of me, I believe that's my line."

Snarling, I lunged to me feet and paced back and forth. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

So much tension! He needs this even more than I thought.

My fury turned cold and I gave her an icy look. "I neither need nor want anything from you, Irina. Go away." Before I hurt you.

"Look at us, Edward." Her eyes darted toward the surrounding, night-clad forest. "We're in the middle of nowhere. No one will judge you here. If it will make you feel better, say that you resisted me, which would be true, to a point." Who's going to even see us?

I snorted. "Alice. She's probably already seen this." And was probably laughing her head off. That line might work with someone else, but there were no secrets in my family.

Her voice was low. "And who will she tell?"

No one. I narrowed my eyes at her. "I'll know."

Irina's smile was sweetly alluring. "And I'll make sure it's a memory you cherish forever."

She began unbuttoning her blouse and I turned my back on her. This couldn't be happening!

There was hurt in her voice now. "Is it really such a terrible thought — accepting the freely-offered love of a woman?"

I grimaced at the trees. Her love was a little too freely offered.

I heard her walking to stand in front of me, and I closed my eyes before I could see how much skin she'd revealed. This could NOT be happening! "Go away. I want nothing to do with you."

In her mind, I saw myself as she looked me over from head to toe, her gaze lingering there. If I could have died of embarrassment, I would have. "Your body is saying otherwise, Edward."

Yeah, well, I'd already established it had no taste.

She took a step nearer, and I could feel her proximity. "You're already a remarkably good man. You mastered your thirst only a few years after tasting human blood." She drew even nearer, pressing up against me. I clasped my hands behind my back. "Edward," she purred, "appeasing your body's hunger will not change that. It might even make you stronger against the thirst. It makes me stronger."

My jaw clenched. "How many men have you had sex with, Irina?"

Her breath washed over my neck, and there was a pout in her voice. "One too few."

No! No! No! No! No! No!

I bolted again. My breath was coming in gasps, throwing my whole body out of sync, slowing me down. Holding my breath, I fell back into a good running rhythm and tried to think more clearly. I had at least a mile lead on Irina, assuming she took the time to put her clothes back on. With the cold wind in my face, my mistake became clear. I'd let Irina corner me alone. Never again. I wasn't going to tell anyone what had happened, but I was sticking with my family from here on out. I turned my feet toward home.

Esme was in her studio, working on the plans for a remodel of Tanya's kitchen and coward that I was, I went to hide behind my mother's skirt.

Rosalie heard me come in and ducked her head into the studio. "Where...?"

We all heard the back door close with a bang. Rosalie frowned in annoyance and went back to the living room. "Where did you go?"

Irina was seething. "Edward and I went for a race. He won." I have never been more insulted in my entire existence!

Insulted?

"I'll be up in just a second, Rosalie." Irina stormed into the studio. "Hello, Esme."

Esme looked from me to Irina. What did you do to her, Edward?

I almost growled in frustration. How could Esme think this was my fault?

"Esme," Irina spoke through gritted teeth, "would you mind giving Edward and me a moment?" I don't want you to hear the things I'm going to call your son.

With a dark look at me, Esme left and shut the door behind her. You had better be a gentleman!

I ignored Esme's rebuke. I'd been a gentleman and more. "Don't start with me, Irina. You ran me out of my own home. I'm the one who gets to be insulted."

She crossed her arms. "I didn't force you to do anything, Edward! You led me out away from your family and then you rejected me."

"Led you? LED YOU? What part of 'leave me alone' do you not understand?"

"I understand what you really want — what you visibly want — and I tried to give it to you. I hunt in monasteries, Edward. Thousands of men have lied, saying they didn't want me. And every one of them eventually came to see the truth. I offered you the same gift!"

Gift? What a piece of work! "It's not personal, Irina. I would have run from any woman."

Her eyes narrowed. He can't really mean that. There must be some female he didn't run from.

"Actually, no. There isn't."

She blinked in surprise, then remembered my gift. "You mean it?" You're a virgin?

I nodded slowly, thinking, Here it comes.

"And you STILL ran?" Her face was still a mask of disbelief.

My shoulders slumped in exasperation. "Yes."

"Wow." A smile slowly spread across her face. Carlisle's got nothing on you.

What? "I wouldn't say that. You hunt in monasteries — surely you've encountered at least a few men strong enough to resist you."

Her smile turned impish. Actually no. Besides, that's different. They're mortal. They think we're demons and that we can't be resisted. And with our vampire strength, they're right. But you, on the other hand...

She stepped closer, and I willed my body to not react. It wasn't listening.

"You desperately want me," she whispered, her breath on my neck again, "you have no reason to fear me, and no reason to resist. And yet you do."

There had to be a way to make her understand. Then I remembered what Tanya had said. "Why do you resist the call of blood, Irina?" I asked quietly.

She suddenly looked away, sorrow on her face. Love. She met my gaze again, embarrassed. You heard that, didn't you?

I nodded. "You have no reason to be ashamed. Compassion — love — is what gives Carlisle his strength. And he's a surgeon."

She recognized my compliment and smiled. "I look in the face of one whose blood I crave, and I see a man I love. I can't hurt him then."

"I was raised to believe that... sex was first and foremost about love." It was a lesson I learned from both my fathers. "It would be a lie to accept your freely offered love when I couldn't return it in kind."

Her smile was wry. You mean you don't love me?

Irina's tone was more teasing than hurt, and it relieved me greatly. "Not that way. Ask Eleazar. It's just not part of who I am." I held her gaze. "My love would have strings attached. If there ever comes a day when I do accept that kind of love, she will be the first and last woman for me. And I would expect the same of her — the part about being her last lover, anyway."

Huh. So this is what humans mean about incompatibility. I always thought it was just a silly excuse. Her fingertips traced my lips. "You really are a heart-breaker, you know that?"

I moved her hand away. "You'll get over it."

Again that impish smile. "Yep."