Author's note: Apologies about the multiple uploads of this chapter. I had a file mix-up in which the draft version was posted instead of the completed one.

Chapter 6

Intoxication

Bella was nervous. Very nervous.

A week had passed since her first kiss down on the beach, a week of many firsts. Over the last seven days, Emmett had introduced her to the joys of making out, though he was always careful not to go to far, not to let his hands stray into areas which might alarm her. She was amazed at her own progress. When she was in his arms, she didn't think about germs. Before she'd met him, the thought of kissing and the sheer messiness of physical intimacy had repelled her. She'd figured she must have been born without the same drives as others or her "issues" had overwhelmed and suppressed them. Now they had appeared with a vengeance.

She loved kissing Emmett. She loved being held in his strong arms where she felt safe and cherished. She loved the sweet taste of his lips and tongue when it brushed up against hers and the delicious ache it created. For the first time in her life, in this one area, she felt normal. Emmett was gentle, he was kind and he put absolutely no pressure on her to further their intimacy. In fact, she initiated most of their interactions. Bella was pretty sure she was falling in love with him. She only hoped he returned her feelings.

If only her mother were here. Bella longed to be able to discuss this with another woman, a mother, a friend. The only experience Bella had with romance was through her books. She'd read about sex, of course, but she knew well that fiction didn't always accurately describe real life. How did one go about telling a man that he could make love to her? She'd thought up a few lines, and even practiced them in the mirror but every one of them either seemed cliched or made her turn beet red.

There were some serious issues that needed discussed before they could commit to a relationship, but again, she was unsure how to broach the subjects. Did he want children? Would he disappointed to learn she couldn't have any? Some people were uncomfortable discussing "female issues" and telling him why would entail discussing uterine fibroids and cysts and the hysterectomy she'd undergone at age 15. Even had she been able to, she wasn't sure that she'd be suited to be a mother. Her "issues" required strict adherence to patterns and an ability to control her environment. Children were chaos and messes.

Was he religious? Was it important to him? They'd never discussed the topic. It was one that Bella usually tried to avoid because sometimes when she told people that she didn't believe in God they treated her differently as if lacking religious faith made her inherently immoral and untrustworthy.

Was he a drug user? He seemed much healthier than he had when she'd first met him and he never seemed to be under the influence, but she couldn't be certain. If he had an addiction problem, he was hiding it well but if he had a problem, she wanted to help him but not enable him.

Did he really want a relationship, a long-term, committed relationship? If he didn't, it was best to end it now, but if he did, she wanted to know how he envisioned it working. Would he want to marry her or live together? Bella wasn't particularly attached to the idea of getting married but she wouldn't object. Would he feel comfortable moving into her little house or would they get a new place together? How would he feel about moving out of the apartment he shared with Edward?

She sighed. Edward. That was problematic topic.

After Emmett had kissed her on the beach, they'd started back toward the house.

They reached the bottom of the cliff staircase and Bella froze, staring at the figure at the top. It was Edward and he was wobbling as he attempted to navigate down the steps. "Halloo," he called, waving to them merrily. On the last three, he tripped, sprawling into the sand. "Oops," he snickered.

"Edward, you're drunk!" Bella exclaimed.

"Why, yes. Yes, I am," he replied with great dignity, hauling himself upright with effort. "Thank you for noticing."

"What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you, Bella," Edward said, that strangely naked, desperate expression crossing his face. "I had to make you understand how sorry I am."

"You are in very sorry shape, that's for sure," Bella muttered. She had seen too many alcoholics in shelters and Edward's condition both alarmed and repelled her.

"Please," Edward fell to his knees as he had done in the greenhouse. He caught her hand. "Bella, please..."

She pulled it away. "Edward, come back and talk with me when you're sober."

"I'm begging you, Bella. I won't be able to sleep knowing you're angry at me."

"No, Edward," she said firmly and went up the stairs, leaving him kneeling on the sand.

He'd shown up the next evening, looking contrite and holding a massive bouquet of roses. Bella let him in and he set the flowers on her dining room table when she made no move to accept them. "I'm sorry. I could say it a hundred times and I know it wouldn't make any difference, but I need you to know that I never wanted to hurt you."

She nodded. "I know that, Edward."

"Bella, I... I care about you."

"You don't know me.''

"I do know you," he objected. "I know that you're kind and warm-hearted, and-"

"No, you don't know me, Edward. If you knew me, you would have understood why I would never want a sapphire necklace or a big-screen television."

"I thought I could..." he trailed off.

"You thought you could make me like those things?"

"Not make you. I thought if I introduced you to some of the things you'd never had, you'd find out that you liked them."

"Which perfectly illustrates my point that you don't know me. I'm not Country Mouse in the big city. My parents were rich, Edward. If I were interested in jewels, I could have kept my mother's. If I'd wanted a big TV I could have kept the one my father had in his rec room. I haven't been deprived, Edward. I made an active choice. And you're telling me that my choices are wrong."

"Goddammit, I just wanted to buy you some gifts," he said, throwing up his hands. "I didn't know that I was offending you with a subliminal message."

"I know." She placed her hand over his and squeezed it gently. "That's why I'm not mad any more. You really did just want to do something nice for me. But I'm not that kind of girl. I'm not the kind of girl you need, Edward."

"Give me another chance," he said quickly. "Bella, please, come out with me tonight. I can- we can. I know. I'll take you to a museum. You'd like that, right? I know the curator at the art museum. He'll let us in after hours so you don't have to deal with the crowds." Edward was already pulling out his cell phone. Bella stopped him gently by closing his hand around the phone.

"No, Edward. Thank you for the offer, but I don't think it's a good idea. We wouldn't work out. I'm not what you want."

He let out a mirthless laugh. "I suspect I may be better acquainted with what I want."

"All right, granted. I may be what you want, but I'm not what you need. Edward, I like you, I really do, but friends is all we should ever be. You're a good person, but our personalities don't suit."

"You've chosen Emmett, haven't you?"

" I haven't chosen anyone, Edward."

"I saw you last night," he said.

Bella felt a cold tingle in her stomach. "You- you watched us?"

Edward stood. "That's why I said you've chosen him. You had difficulty even touching my sleeve only a few days ago and last night you let him kiss you."

She had no reply to that.

Edward swooped down in a formal bow, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to the back. "Goodbye, fair Isabella. I wish you happiness.."

"I don't want to lose you as a friend, Edward."

He smiled faintly. "You haven't lost me. If you ever need me, I'll be there, but Bella, I'm not going to hang around here and watch you and Emmett. I can't do that."

And then he had left. Bella hadn't seen him since.

Emmett said he hadn't seen much of Edward either, and the way he said it let her know that he was concerned. She suspected Edward was drinking heavily, not coming home most nights. That self-destructive streak was another thing that told her that she had made the right choice in turning him down. Edward simply wasn't emotionally prepared for a relationship.

She heard Emmett's car in the drive and it made her smile. He came over every evening now, helping her with her friends' meals and just spending time together. Yesterday evening, they'd cuddled on the sofa and read. Bella pictured them being old and gray and doing the same thing.

She checked her hair one last time and went into the living room to wait for him, her heart pounding with nervous excitement. She was going to do it. She was going to take the plunge and offer to take their relationship to the next level. She figured if you counted every evening as a "date" (and she did) this was their twelfth. At least he wan't going to think she was easy, she chuckled.

Emmett knocked and she called for him to come in. He did, his expression alight with excitement. "Bella, honey, I have something to show you that I think you're really going to love."

"What is it?" She looked at him expectantly. He'd brought her a few little presents over the last week, small things that were considerate and showed that he was attuned to her: a spatula on Tuesday because he'd noticed that hers was worn out, a handful of wildflowers on Thursday that he'd stopped alongside the road to pick, a teapot that whistled when the water boiled because he was strangely, amusingly offended that hers lacked the capability, and yesterday, a little catnip-stuffed mouse for Beautiful. She'd gotten a little teary over the cat toy. It was just so sweet of him to think of her cat.

"It's not here. You have to come with me." Emmett pulled her coat from the closet and waved it at her. "Come on, sweetie."

She laughed at his obvious excitement and kissed him before sliding her arms into the coat he held. "Can you give me a hint?" she asked.

"It's bigger than a breadbox," he said. Bella followed him out the door and climbed into the car on the passenger side. She fastened her seatbelt and admonished him to do the same. She was pretty sure he forgot most of the time when he wasn't in the car with her because she always had to remind him. Him and Edward both. Did they think they were immortal?

The drive was short and they took much the same route that they did when delivering her friends' meals. Emmett refused to give her any more clues even when she whined and cajoled and pretended to pout. He made a left turn at the bridge and ordered her to shut her eyes. Bella covered them with her palms. He stopped the car and got out jogging around to her side. A rush of cool air as he opened her door. "Do you have your eyes closed?"

"Yes." She felt him unbuckle her seat belt and guide her to her feet. He kept his hands on her shoulder steering her forward. Eight steps. He stopped. "Open your eyes," he whispered.

She did. There was a building in front of her, apparently a restaurant from what she could see through the windows. "Bella's" was written in script on the lighted sign.

"Emmett, what is this?" she asked slowly.

"Your dream," he said. He smiled at her dumbstruck expression. "Really. It's the restaurant you told me that you dreamed of opening for your friends. Come on, I'll show you." Bella followed after him, shock making everything feel distant and unreal.

The dining room was large and elegantly furnished. Dark wood chairs stood at linen-covered tables set with gleaming porcelain and elegant stemware. The carpet was a rich burgundy with a small gold pattern that was repeated on the cream-colored walls. Large potted plants stood in corners. Emmett took her back to the kitchen, brilliant with stainless steel. The walls were covered with shiny, gleaming white tiles and Emmett showed her how everything had been built seamlessly to prevent any bacteria from lodging in the cracks. They went down a hallway which led to a covered walkway, connecting to a small building a bit like a hotel. There were ten rooms, each with its own washer and drier and stainless steel shower stall. The person using the room would be issued a keycard so that their possessions would be safe while they dined. An attendant would clean each room after use.

The place was fully staffed, Emmett said, so Bella could come and cook when she wanted to but didn't have to feel pressured if it made her uncomfortable. All of the staff had been drilled on the necessities of rigorous cleanliness and Emmett had assured each of them that he would personally kick their ass if he heard anything about them being rude or inhospitable to their homeless clientele.

"So, what do you think?" Emmett asked, eagerly.

Bella burst into tears.

"What is it?" he asked, alarmed. A sense of dread began to cut through his excitement and he realized that she might see this as being like Edward's over-the-top gestures.

"It's beautiful!" she cried. "Oh, God, Emmett, I can't-" she sobbed and he led her to a chair, crouching down beside her. It only took a few moments for her to regain her composure and she turned to him with a smile so bright it could burn out the sun. "I can't believe it! You really did this? Really?"

"Really, really," he said gravely.

She let out a shriek of glee and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, Emmett, I don't know how to thank you! I can't believe it! It's like you saw the vision in my head!"

"I love you, Bella," he said softly. "I want to make all your dreams come true."

"Oh Emmett. I love you, too," she said, and he had never seen her so beautiful as she was at that moment.

It was late before they got back to Bella's house. She had met with the chef and discussed some of the questions she had, concerns about dietary restrictions such as low-sodium foods and diabetic deserts. The chef assured her that she had planned for these sorts of issues and had options which would suit just about any diner on the menu. She asked Bella to write down some of the recipes which her friends had enjoyed and Bella promised to do so. On the drive home, Bella was bubbling over with excitement, throwing out different ideas and plans, things she could do now that her dream was a reality.

When they took off their coats in the living room, Bella suddenly turned shy, so Emmett knew she had something on her mind. "What is it?" he asked softly, catching her chin when she blushed and ducked her head, lifting up her face so he could gaze into her beautiful brown eyes.

"I, um," she said.

"Yes?"

He could hear her heart hammering and her face was getting redder by the moment.

"I... ," she rushed out.

"Stay the night?" Emmett repeated. "Bella, do you mean...?"

She nodded, her face magenta. "I- I had already made up my mind to ask you before you came over tonight. Do you... do you want to?"

"Yes, Bella, I want to, but I want to make sure that you want to. I want to make sure you're not feeling pushed into the decision."

She shook her head. "You haven't pressured me at all, Emmett. I- I want to." Shyness overtook her again and she looked down at the toes of her shoes.

"Oh, sweetheart. Come here." Emmett enveloped her in his arms and just held her for a moment. The tension gradually ebbed from her body. She took a deep breath and tilted her face up toward his. She couldn't reach to kiss him. He had to lean down to meet her. Their lips met softly, sweetly. Bella clasped his head, tangling her fingers in his hair. His tongue brushed her lip and she opened her mouth. Emmett loved the way she kissed, her tongue making gentle little forays like she was sipping from a cup.

She whispered to him the line that had been circulating in her head every time he touched her. "Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me."

He replied, "Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes." Bella took his hand and pulled him into her bedroom.

Emmett scooped up Beautiful, who was enjoying a nap on Bella's pillow, and deposited him into the hall. Beautiful looked indignant at this abrupt eviction and marched off down the hall, his tail flicking in what was apparently a rude gesture in Cat-ese.

Emmett sat on the bed and drew Bella to him, standing between his legs. "Sweetheart, listen to me. If you're not ready..." he gazed deep into her eyes.

"I am," she said and everything in her mind confirmed it. He felt a twinge of guilt for using his power now, but he had to know for sure. Her nature was to seek to please others, to give even if it wasn't her preference and he didn't want to take advantage of that.

She was nervous, shy and a little embarrassed that she didn't know what to do. She reached slowly to the front of her dress and unbuttoned the top button. Slowly, the second. Then the third. Her pink bra appeared and Emmett gave a little moan at the sight. It encouraged her,so she unbuttoned the last two and slipped the dress from her shoulders. It hung at her waist as she stood before him, trembling slightly.

Emmett gently traced the shape of her breasts with his hands, the light stroke of his cool fingertips raising goosebumps in their wake. He followed the bra's outline up to her shoulders and slipped his fingers under the straps, tugging them down gently. He moaned again as her breasts spilled free. "Bella, you're so beautiful. So perfect." Gently, he slid his hands around her sides, his thumbs brushing her nipples, making them harden into stiff peaks. He drew her closer and took one between her lips and it was Bella's turn to moan. Her hands rested on his shoulders and slid down, down his sides to the hem of his shirt. She tugged it upwards, though he was loath to leave her nipple long enough to slip it over his head.

"Does it feel as good to you if I do that?" Bella asked.

Emmett gave the nipple a little goodbye kiss, mentally promising to return shortly. "Try it and see," Emmett replied. He laid back on the bed, his hairless chest gleaming golden in the light from Bella's lamp. Bella admired the view for a moment and then climbed up beside him. She studied him, working out her approach and lowered her head. His skin was cool, as always and his nipple peaked as soon as her lips touched it. She tried to do what he had done to her, drawing it into her mouth and giving a little lick. He groaned and, encouraged, she tried the other which he seemed to like even more if his restless movements beneath her were any indication. She looked over and saw his hands gripping the blanket.

She sat up and pulled her dress over her head, tossing it to the floor. Emmett feasted his eyes on her. Bella blushed again, secretly glad she had worn her nicest underwear set. "Bella, you are a goddess," Emmett swore, picking her up and depositing her up in the center of the bed, her head on the pillow. Even in this time, he was a considerate man, careful to sweep aside her hair so he wouldn't lay her on it and cause it to pull. She reached for the button of his jeans and faltered, shyness making her retreat. Emmett simply kissed her and unbuttoned them himself, shoving them off his hips and then working his legs to try to remove them entirely. But it didn't work. He fought and swore because he forgotten to remove his shoes and now his pants were tangled around his legs.

Was this the wrong time to giggle? Bella couldn't help herself as he struggled to free his feet and then remove shoes and pants in the proper order.

"And here I thought I was coming across as all suave," Emmett said, a rueful grin tugging at his lips.

"Any more suave and I might faint," Bella replied. She got her first good look at his body and stopped breathing for a moment. The guy was huge all over. She gulped. This was going to hurt. It hurt having her doctor's finger in there, let alone that massive thing.

He was intensely sensitive to changes in her mood, her expressions, her eyes. He didn't miss the fear. "Bella, I won't hurt you, I promise." He crawled sinuously up the bed, his body over hers, held aloft by his knees and elbows. He was so massive above her. Bella felt small and delicate, like one of the heroines in a romance novel. But this was shockingly real, not fiction. Her breath was coming a little faster.

Emmett tugged at her underwear until they slid off her hips and then sat up to pull them all the way off her legs. He kissed her ankle, made her giggle and lose some of her tension by pretending to take a large bite and then kissed and licked his way up to her hip. Her breath caught.. Would he- She didn't think she was prepared for that yet. Seeming to have read he mind, he kissed across her stomach back up to her breasts.

His hand found her, brushed her soft, hairless folds. It delved down and Bella nearly jumped off the bed from the shock of how incredibly good it felt. A surprisingly loud groan tore from her mouth until she clamped a hand over her mouth, embarrassed at being so noisy. "No," Emmett said softly. "I want to hear you, please." He tugged her hand away from her lips. "Don't be bashful. I think of it as a compliment. Now. Where were we?"

He restarted his ministrations and Bella couldn't stop the noises she made. She could barely hear them past the pleasure-fog in her brain. She forgot to be embarrassed, forgot everything but the sensations of what he was doing to her. Her body was an instrument upon which he was playing a symphonic masterpiece. Like a spring, she coiled tighter, and tighter until suddenly she burst in a wave of pulsing pleasure.

Emmett was kissing her. "Did you like that, sweet Bella?"

"Uh huh." Her brain must have undergone a reboot because she didn't quite have the power of speech, nor could she find the words to describe what she felt.

"I love you," Emmett said.

Bella couldn't speak. All she could do was clasp him close and kiss him, hoping he could feel the love radiating from every pore of her being. When her head began to clear a little, she decided to return the favor and reached down his body. He assisted by moving closer. He groaned, loudly, when her soft, warm hand clasped around him. She stroked experimentally and he was delighted to encourage her. A few moments later, a shudder wracked through his form and he cried out which confused Bella because it seemed like he'd-

He positioned his body over hers. Bella blinked, remembering that they needed- She reached under the pillow where she had stashed a condom earlier and passed it to him silently. He took it, paced a kiss on her nose and sat up to roll it down over his length. He was back in moments. This is it, she thought, that cold, electric feeling tingling in her guts, nervousness, excitement and anticipation rolled into one.

Emmett knew, despite myriad romance novels to the contrary, that virgins rarely orgasmed their first time. He wasn't a small man and he knew it wouldn't be easy on her. But she didn't have to go through that. He could give her a beautiful memory regardless of what happened in reality. Bella would wake up tomorrow and think the romance novels were right.

"Bella, look at me," he said, and her eyes locked with his. "You're not going to feel any pain." Slowly, he nudged into her, pushing forward in tiny increments, letting her body get used to his invasion. The delicious smell of her blood mixed with the scent of her excitement rose in the air and he had to stop breathing in order to avoid what Edward had always called a "fangrection". He wanted her blood. He wanted it so badly. The voice of temptation urged him to go ahead and bite, take a little taste, she'd never know. But he couldn't do it. He was already uncomfortably close to violating her trust (even though, as Edward had justified his own actions, Emmett was doing it for her own good.)

Vampire physiology differed from humans in one important respect: vampires didn't ejaculate and because of it, male vampires were not tied to a single orgasm per session like human males. Like females, they could orgasm multiple times, and their erections remained until they felt sated which, for a vampire, could be hours. Emmett had achieved his first of the evening when Bella was touching him and now, feeling the clamp of her tight muscles around him, he was rapidly approaching a second. He whispered words of love to her, though she wouldn't remember them. A few more nudges and he was fully seated. Pleasure tore through him, leaving him trembling in its wake. God, she felt so good. He never wanted to leave. His urge to thrust was almost unbearable, but Bella would already be sore tomorrow and he feared that any vigorous motions on his part might tear her. He implanted the memory he'd created, pulled out, and gently tucked Bella under the covers. He stood to go flush the empty condom and noticed the blood on the top blanket. He pulled it off the bed and took it to the laundry room.

When he returned, Bella's mind had finished digesting the memory and she was smiling at him, the sweet, sleepy smile of a satisfied woman. She held out her hand in invitation and Emmett happily accepted, crawling back into bed with her.

"Ooh, you feel cold," Bella said, wrapping her warm body around him. She pressed a kiss to his chest. "Can you stay all night?"

"I have to leave very early," Emmett said regretfully. He couldn't stay trapped in her bedroom all day, hiding from the sun. She was already starting to drift off. It was a side effect of memory insertion but she would think it was because he had worn her out.

"Love you," she mumbled.

"Love you, too," he replied. He lay there with her, in the warm dark, listening to her heart beat and soaking in her scent. It was unavoidable. He would have to tell her the truth about himself, and tell her soon. He'd been weak. He should have told her before he made love with her, but the fear and cowardice hidden deep within him pleaded with him to allow himself this one memory in case she rejected him when she knew the truth.

Edward was playing the piano when Emmett exited the elevator shortly before dawn. He'd left a soft, warm, sleepy Bella and driven through the cold pre-dawn city, expecting the apartment to be empty this morning as it had been for so many of the previous week.

Edward didn't say anything when he came in, continuing to play. Emmett recognized the piece, Liebesträume number 3 by Liszt.

Emmett asked if he was all right.

Edward gave a humorless bark of laughter. "I think it's pretty obvious that I am not."

"Edward, I'm worried about you." Emmett went to lay a hand on Edward's shoulder. He heard Edward inhale and instantly realized his mistake but Edward had him up against the wall, his forearm in Emmett's throat before Emmett could react. "You rutting son of a bitch," Edward hissed. "You fucked her? You fucked Bella?"

"It wasn't like that," Emmett forced out around the pressure on his vocal cords.

"You hurt her," Edward snarled. "I can smell the blood."

"Not any more than could be helped," Emmett said. "I love her, Edward, and she loves me."

Edward released him with a vicious snarl, murder in his eyes. Emmett saw his fist draw back for a punch, but it veered aside at the last instant, punching through the sheetrock beside his head. Edward released him, pausing only to deliver a kick that sent the piano crashing on its side before leaving the apartment.

Edward was blitzed out of his fucking mind, thank-you-very-much.

He'd spent the last week in O Negative, a vampire bar located in Fort Washington's red-light district, coincidentally not far from the bridge where Bella delivered her meals-on-wagon-wheels.

From the outside, the bar appeared to be a normal, human establishment. Those who wandered in for a beer would find nothing out of the ordinary at the bar. But members, who could show the bouncer in the back the medallion issued by the club, could pass through the doors into a vampire's bacchanalia.

A few years ago, a vampire scientist had created a new blood preservative, allowing blood to be bottled for the first time for vampire consumption. The anti-coagulants added to blood bags in the human world made the blood unpalatable and indigestible; their bodies rejected it just like human food. The vampire version was based on honey and was simple to make. It made the blood thicker than normal and added a bit of sweetness, but it opened up a whole new realm of possibilities.

Vampires could not ingest drugs and alcohol directly, however, if they drank from a human who had taken them, the vampire could enjoy the intoxicating effects. A whole range of bottled blood had entered the underground market, harvested from willing/paid human volunteers. Intoxicant laced blood was the most popular, but there were also small markets for the blood of people with certain diseases. Diabetes and leukemia apparently added an unusual tang which some vampires loved. Edward wasn't interested in those.

Here in O Negative, live volunteers circulated in the back rooms waiting to be chosen by a vampire and taken into the hotel rooms above, craving the pleasure which came from a vampire's bite and perhaps pleasures of the carnal sort. Edward hadn't left in a week, trying to drive Bella from his mind with blood and flesh.

He was in pain and rather resentful about it. He couldn't stand to see Bella any more, lurking in the shadows outside her home as he had done the week prior. Emmett was there constantly, the two of them touching, kissing, heading off to bed. Their happiness was like a burning dagger buried in his chest.

Sappho's poem of jealousy kept repeating itself in his head.

That man is peer of the gods, who

face to face sits listening

to your sweet speech and lovely

laughter.

It is this that rouses a tumult

in my breast. At mere sight of you

my voice falters, my tongue

is broken.

Straightway, a delicate fire runs in

my limbs; my eyes

are blinded and my ears

thunder.

Sweat pours out: a trembling hunts

me down. I grow

paler than grass and lack little

of dying.

When Emmett had come home smelling like sex, blood and Bella, Edward knew that he'd lost her forever. For a woman like Bella, sex was a commitment, a declaration that her heart was bound to the one to whom she gave herself. He'd looked at the man who had been his friend for half a millennium and hated him.

Now, all that was left was the agony.

The human he'd just fed from and fucked into oblivion lay limply on the sheets. He was a heroin addict who used the money he was paid for donating to pay for his habit. He would probably die here, Edward thought dispassionately. They paid him, tacitly encouraged him to continue his habit so that he could be drained by vampires who had no health consequences from getting high off his blood. Eventually, he would overdose or his body would simply give out from the abuse, and no one would care. He was easily replaced.

Edward stood and dressed. He tossed a wad of cash on the bed and left the room, weaving down the red-wallpapered hallway to the lounge. It was decorated as the rest of the place was, like a high-class bordello in red velvet and golds. Bodies writhed on plush furniture.

He stopped when he saw her across the room, shock hitting him like a bucket of ice water. "Bella?" Had she come to find him? Elation wiped away his grief. He crossed the room to her side in a split second. "Bella!"

She turned to face him and the joy faded away. This woman wasn't Bella. Her scent told him she was a vampire, but, oh, she looked so much like Bella. It was uncanny. They could have been sisters. There were small differences here and there. This woman's eyes were hazel instead of chocolate brown and they were a bit closer together than Bella's. Her clothes were all wrong. Bella would never wear a black and red bustier over a leather skirt so short that her underwear showed when she walked. "My name is Lauren, not Bella", she said.

"'Bella' means 'Beautiful'," he said. "It's a perfect nickname for you."

She smiled and preened under the compliment.

"I'm, Edward." He gave her the smile that had always charmed women, a smile that felt like a mask.

"It's sooo nice to meet you," she purred, caressing his chest with her fingers.

No, she wasn't Bella, but she looked so much like her that he could pretend, just for an evening... He leaned in, his lips so close to her ear that they brushed when he spoke. "Do you have a room?"

She moaned softly and lust punched through his gut. He was as hard as a rock, more aroused than he'd been in- He cut off that thought.

She smiled and took his hand, leading him back down the hallway. The heroin addict was just coming out of the room Edward had used before. He started to speak and Edward nailed him with a glare. He stood aside, silently, as Edward and Not-Bella passed.

She had barely closed the door behind them when Edward began tearing at her clothes. "Hey! I like that top," she complained.

"Take it off then," he snarled, pushing up her skirt and yanking her underwear down. His fingers found her already wet. She pulled at the buttons, her full breasts spilling out and he latched onto a nipple sucking greedily. Her hands threaded through his hair and she moaned his name. A sound he had always wanted to hear from Bella.

He unbuttoned his pants and rammed into her. She shrieked, clawing at his shoulders. Good, Oh God. It was so good.

"Bella," he rasped. "Oh, fuck."

Plaster dust was falling around them like dry snow, the wall cracking under the force of his thrusts. Not-Bella wrapped her legs around his waist and screamed as an orgasm ripped through her. As Edward came, he bit down on her neck, sending her into another orgasm. But she didn't taste right, dead vampire blood devoid of nutrition, laced with chemicals and drugs.

They stumbled over to the bed, momentarily sated. She stripped the rest of the way, giggling at their prior haste. "Undress, I want to see you naked," she cooed, caressing her own body.

"Give me a moment," he said. "I'll be right back."

"Don't be long," she said, moaning softly she teased herself with her fingers.

He went back into the lobby and found the heroin addict leaning against the wall. He grabbed him roughly and bit into his throat. He hadn't taken much from the guy before and maybe the junkie would be a pint low when he left but that wasn't the worst thing he put his body through.

The rush hit him as he pulled away. He returned to Lauren's room and studied the Not-Bella writhing on the bed before him. The drugs helped with the illusion. He pulled off his clothes and joined her.