Okay, I originally planned a longer chapter, but it's late, and I'm cramming for timed assignments and common tests, and I know I should have updated during the holidays, but typing was really unappealing because my computer's lagging. Oh, and that's no excuse. So yes, bad Bella-n-Edward4eternity, no cookie. Here's Chapter 3. Half of it anyway.

Disclaimer: Twilight, respective quotes and phrases, belong to Stephenie Meyer, and respective novelists.

Edward could not believe his eyes, or his ears for the matter. As the ebony-haired female spluttered, her features shifted. Eyes widening, Bella's long lashes seemed to sweep her cheeks as she blinked rapidly. Her nose appeared a dainty curve, unlike the sharply defined ones Edward grew so used to in his home town. And her lips… Oh god, those lips. He had never seen a pair better made for kissing than the ones she was running her sweet tongue across right now. The were ripe , and glistening a pretty pink, her bottom lip soft and plump, perfect for any man, preferably himself to nip on as he deepened a kiss. They were just the sort to have many a hot-blooded male to crave for a taste. He was no exception.

Then again, something she mentioned had caught his attention. As he waited with the slightest hint of impatience for the swearing to cease and the brunette to recover her composure, Edward could not help the small sprout of hope in his heart, although he was certain for all that he knew, the Fae could be excellent masters of deception.

"Well, Bella," the petite doll was saying, "There is something in your ear; it's sure not what I heard."

And she said it so earnestly, Edward almost could have believed her, but he knew what he heard with a confidence few could muster. And Alice's thoughts told him she heard exactly what Bella did, even as she claimed otherwise with a face so deliberately innocent that if he hadn't been able to read her mind, he'd been completely fooled. Excellent masters of deception. Uncertain what to make of the situation, Edward returned his gaze to Bella, whose thoughts were strangely a mystery to him, and from her mind, he plainly received a long silence.

"Thanks Alice."

"Anytime."

Bella then transferred her focus to him, her pretty irises leaving their mark on his photographic memory. They looked so terribly unique, Edward swore he could be lost in those warm shades of brown forever. They weren't like the perfect glittering ones that stared back at him from a mirror, but they were by far the most interesting. An outer ring of darkened caramel framed her irises, followed by a shade of milk chocolate, deepening to the last ring of black coffee that was almost as dark as her pupils.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Bella."

Edward arched his brow, "I believe we've established that."

"Uh… Right."

"Do the unspoken rules of social etiquette require of me to agree?"

"Yup."

"Then… Right."

Bella chewed on her bottom lip nervously, and Edward couldn't take her eyes off that disturbingly innocent, yet oh so sexy, motion that was no doubt among her list of bad habits. She stopped chewing, and Edward released a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. Instead Bella pursed her lips thoughtfully, as if weighing her words.

"I don't know how to break this to you– trust me, this is going to be a huge shocker– so I suggest we take this nice and slow… And while I'm doing the breaking bit by bit, you're going to shut up, and listen, and understand, and not be a big jackass, or I will personally drag you by the ear to your dad, who's a great friend of mine by the way and currently counting on me to bring you and your mom– who just remarried may I add– back with me to Fae territory, so that you'll be one big happy family once again."

"My dad?" he repeated dumbly.

"Oops."

"My dad. My dad. My dad." Edward never thought he'd be able to use those two words together again; but here was this Fae, telling him that his dad was a 'good friend of hers' and 'counting on her to bring him and his mom back with her to Fae territory' as she had so eloquently put it, and much more importantly, still alive. It was unbelievable, in a strangely believable way.

"That wasn't exactly er… nice and slow, not much of the bit by bit either, but you get the idea."

"He is… fine?"

"Wonderful, in fact." Bella assured quite convincingly; and anticipating the next question, she added, "He is there on his own free will. All of them are allowed to leave if they really want to, but none of them do for one reason or another."

Then she muttered unintelligibly, but Edward could have sworn she said something that sounded like 'going gaga' and 'bimbo sirens'. He'd no idea what 'gaga' was, and prayed to god it was a good thing, or Bella was going to be one Fae, as his vulgar little brother liked to call it, 'neck deep in shit'.

"My father is well."

She grinned, and it was a nice grin, a seemingly real one, "Yup."

"I am glad."

"Don't be," his vulgar little brother spat, balefully glaring at Bella, who was calmly meeting his hateful eyes, "That Fae is a lying, conniving bitch, you know that. They can't be trusted! I'd just bet your dad's locked in some kinda weird-ass sick torture chamber and… and… And living on Pig's blood!"

Alice turned a dainty nose up in disgust, "We're not as uncivilized as you are, mutt-y boy. But I'm honestly curious, Wolfie. What do you do when you're, you know, having fun? Chase your tail in circles? Play fetch? Here's a stick."

The petite innocent-looking creature waved a tree branch that could very well have matched her in height, "Fetch, boy, fetch! Oh. No? Or maybe you rut like mongrels with unsuspecting females. I can see it in your eyes; you dominate your women, and fuck them senseless, till they're bruised, battered and broken. How barbaric."

Mutt-y boy launched himself at the pretty little Fae, almost instantly a blur of russet fur and glistening jagged teeth. Edward would have stopped him, truly, he would, but a certain lithe Fae had taken the initiative to step between the gigantic bristling dog and its intended prey.

Raising her gun to deflect a swipe, Bella pulled another out of what seemed to be thin air. Although Edward was more than a little convinced that she had a holster hidden somewhere underneath those all too concealing clothes. She pressed it into a thickly furred shoulder, at least he thought it was the shoulder, and pulled the trigger, no shaky hands or second thoughts. The crunch of broken bones was unmistakable to Edward's ears, and he winced just slightly, as Jacob howled in pain, an arm effectively rendered useless.

"Don't mess with me, Wolfie. That was a warning. Ignore it, and I will kill you." The dainty thing said it so matter-of-factly Edward couldn't help but smile.

"I would prefer it if you didn't."

"Then," she continued tersely, purposefully not looking at him, "You should house train your dog."

Edward knew his smile was bland, as his dog gave a threatening low growl that resonated from the back of his throat. Bella, on the other hand, regarded both of them warily, while shifting her guns ever so cautiously, such that one was trained on Jacob, and the other on him. It told Edward just how capable she was at killing. He didn't mean a thing to her yet, and she would kill him ruthlessly. If it was to protect her friend. And if she could. It was then Edward gave them a treat to one of his very rare full-blown grins, and called out to his pup of a brother.

"Patience, my brother. You still need her antidote."

'I know. I know. You can hear me, bloodsucking mind reader?'

"Of course," he replied carelessly, feeling quite satisfied to see Bella blankly staring at him, before awareness took the place of her confusion, and she narrowed her eyes. He continued, this time addressing his pretty prey, "We shall negotiate things, and discuss if you are indeed trustworthy, Ms Bella. For now, I will exchange the freedom and well-being of your people, for the antidote you speak of and you. It is but on my word of honor."

"Me." She repeated incredulously.

"Your… companionship."

Suspicion coloured her tone, "And?"

"And your… obedience."

"I don't obey anyone, bucko."

"With the exception of me."

"Exusez moi?"

"Avec l'exception de moi."

"Oh put a sock in it! You're gorgeous and you speak perfect French, with the accent down to a pat, but the fact that you're flaunting kinda ruins it."

"I do not flaunt, mon mignon," Edward chided amicably, "I prefer the term 'put one in one's place'. You are too bold for your own good, ma fifille. Although I am flattered, for my French is far from perfect. And I believe… I 'spaced out', as you call it, for I missed what you said before. Could you… 'run that by me again'?"

Twin spots of red colored her cheeks prettily, "Erm… 'Put a sock in it'?"

Edward shook his head.

"I… er… really don't remember. Sorry."

He laughed, "Menteur."

"Seriously. Don't flaunt it. I meant that."

Edward struggled to keep his expression stoic, a challenge he hadn't remembered challenging, after all this time in his enemy camp, "I shall endeavor not to flaunt it in your presence, Ms Bella. You have my word. But you must admit. You are a liar, and not a very good one."

"Fine," she huffed, "You're gorgeous, it's not like you don't know that anyway. It's just a fact, and it doesn't mean anything."

"Of course," he agreed, placating.

"So don't read anything out of it."

"I won't."

"And I'm not your 'mon mignon' or your 'ma fifille'." She said empathically, "I'm not your pet or your little girl. I'm not very little you know. We're as immortal as you guys. I could even be older than you."

"Indeed, but if we may return to the matter at hand?"

"The antidote and myself for my pals?"

"Yes."

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"Shake on it."

"Pardon?"

'She means to shake hands, you piece of rock.'

"I see," Edward nodded, more to himself than his annoying puppyish brother he was more or less growing accustomed to (a fact he wasn't prepared to accept, much less announce it to the rest of the world). His snowy white hand, so pale compared to Bella's, held no deception to its actual temperature, but Edward was too much less than ready for their first contact to think any further. He expected warmth, no doubt, and steel, the delicate structuring of her bones were just a farce; what he did not expect was the startling jolt of electricity that shot through his entire body the very instant their hands made the slightest tough. I was unnerving (delightfully so) among other things.

As he slanted his glance down at her, Edward caught the fiery Fae with her eyes riveted at the sight of their fingers, skin to skin, pleasantly warm to beyond freezing. A comical mix of disbelief, shock and… Was it fascination? She turned to meet his gaze, the movement slow and deliberate, as if she felt the question burning in him. It was. Fascination and something else, something that called to his baser instincts.

Awareness flared between them, desire flamed, and the winds that teased the small clearing only seemed to fan that particular fire, instead of subduing it. Someone in the Heaven-Bound clan had to be pulling strings, Edward couldn't remember a woman so terribly compelling, or perhaps he simply forgot the allures of the female body… Not likely. Which meant it was highly likely that some mystical outside force, in the form of Esme Aphrodite Evenson, was at work. Hell's teeth

She was the goddess of love, the epitome of beauty and the creator of raw sexuality, Esme 'Aphrodite' Evenson, more popularly known as 'Aphrodite'. But she was always Esme to him. Edward considered her a second mother or an older sister perhaps. Esme was loving and kind, on rare occasions stern, but the better part of her time was spent on lavishing endless affections to any creature she deemed in need of it. Then again, that would mean everything, from the littlest seedling, to a broken dove, and to an equally broken Edward, or so Esme claims.

Edward didn't think he was broken, and if he was, he should know. Meddling woman, he swore without heat. It was then suspicion seeped back into Bella's captivating eyes. The immediately hardened, the liquid brown crystallizing. She pumped his hand up and down twice. Firmly. Before jerking her hand back so abruptly, one would have thought he'd scalded her. Still, Edward didn't, couldn't, let go, he held her delicately bone hand, small in his, gently, lingering a moment too long. She tensed, nervous, and ready to strike, he decided he liked that about her. All that coiled up tension, ready to be released, he liked a lot about her, her flaws if she had any, all of it.

Carefully, and gingerly he brought her fingers to his lips, and kissed each finger tip gently. She was like a deer in headlights, frozen, ready to bolt at a moment's notice. But there the similarities ended, he wanted her, but unlike the deer, once she'd gotten far enough, she'd turn back and shoot him. He didn't want to lose a body part as much as he wanted to claim her. Her heart beat accelerated into a sprint. And he grinned against her skin, flipping her hand to press his lips into her palm; he could almost taste her sweet blood, her pulse was like candy, so very tempting. Her heart was thundering loudly now, till it almost sounded as if it was going into seizure. He wouldn't want that, would he? Having his sweet captive die on him, would certainly put a damper on his plans, for the greater good, for his clan, for the lycanthropes, for his little brother, for himself, for his lovely prisoner… And mostly, for them both.

Groaning inwardly, Edward pulled away, it was too tempting. He wanted to lick her soft skin, just once. Just. One. Taste. But no, one taste would never be enough, the greedy incorrigible creature he was demanded more. And more would very well mean, their clothes in tatters and getting down and dirty on the ground, with a pretty wide, and maybe under aged, audience. Edward didn't consider himself an exhibitionist. It was so déclassé. Bella didn't seem like one either. But if she was willing to perform for him… He traced a finger down her vein, before releasing her hand completely.

She was staring at him, his lips to be precise. He knew what she wanted, and he wanted it to. Then her gaze skittered south and she gulped. Oh praise the gods, was she trying to convince him to get down and dirty with her? Not that he needed much convincing. He already felt harder by the second, a lot harder.

She licked her lips, "Uhm… Wow."

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