Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters no matter how much I wish I did. Nor do I own the title of the chapter. It is a translation of a line from Pablo Neruda's poem "Oda Al Limón".
Sunken in the Fragrance
All words, all thoughts, which could possibly be used to describe the flavor filling my mouth fell short by immeasurable yards. There was no explanation. No words that could give it justice. All that existed was sensation and taste…
Burning, burning, burning. The edges of her wound seared against my mouth in the same fashion that Bella's lips had in the past.
My mind was beyond muddled. It had ceased to exist the instant my lips had come in contact with most exquisite of liquids. What was I supposed to be doing?
I could feel Bella's pulse throbbing against my mouth, pushing more of her life into my awaiting jaws. There was something wrong with the beat though. It took me the briefest of seconds to recognize the fading quality…softer…softer…
James had bitten my Bella's hand. That's right. Necessity forced me to give in to the wicked act that I had been struggling to resist these past weeks. So I could save her. But in my attempt to preserve Bella's life, I was killing her. My mind was functioning like a fractured mirror and my body was moved on its own accord. Centuries of ancient instinct trumping any present condition.
Burning, burning, burning. The slickness, the hot mixture of scent and taste, everything was clean. None of the blood flowing now held that distinct flavor attributed to vampire venom. It was purely Bella. And I still couldn't stop.
This was the stuff that my waking nightmares were made out of. Bella. Dead because of a vicious impulse that I was too much of a monster to control. My memories forever tortured, my life eternally stained. And for what? A few sacred moments of the finest wine the world could offer? The little shard of coherence that I retained rebelled against the idea.
My tongue had taken to lapping at the broken skin in order to collect every drop of the holiest and most damning nectar. It was thick and carnal and the closest I would ever come to touching God.
No. Holding Bella, listening to her heart beat, feeling the heat from her skin, her lips on mine. My love for her brought me closer.
In the next moment I found myself lying on the ground next to Bella, gasping for unnecessary breath. Her essence still filled my senses, but contact was no longer the reason.
I had torn myself away. How I had managed it wasn't important though. Not now. The shards of my mind were on overdrive. Bella, Bella, Bella…Forget the burning…Bella…free flowing blood…no…fading pulse…Bella…
I grasped her wrist, feeling for what would save me. Her pulse, weak yet present. The throbbing was consistent against my hand, no longer fading. Something inside me lifted then as if on wings. Time jolted back to normal. The muted sound of voices grew clearer as my brain slowly pieced itself together.
Bella's faint voice sounded sweeter than her blood could ever taste.