Chapter 8
Imposter
Emmett and Bella lay on her bed, holding hands. Beautiful lay between them as if to chaperone the proceedings.
They had left the living room with the coming dawn. Bella had pointed out the time and Emmett had begged her not to make him leave. His eyes had been so sweet and sad that Bella simply couldn't refuse him even though her heart still ached. She had consented and Emmett scooped her up gently, carrying Bella against his chest like a bride. He laid her down on the bed like she was made of crystal and then gingerly perched himself on the other side. Bella patted the mattress in invitation and he lay down beside her. It was Bella who had clasped Emmett's hand, needing the connection, needing the comfort. For a short while, they lay there in silence. Beautiful jumped up and rubbed his cheeks over Emmett's neck, and then flopped down with a contented purr. Emmett chuckled softly and stroked the cat's patchy fur.
It was Bella who spoke. "Do you need to sleep now that the sun is coming up?"
"No, I don't sleep every day now. About twice a week, depending on how active I've been and how much I've fed."
Fed. She disliked that term intensely. "Do you- Do you really drink blood?"
"Yes." Emmett's voice was tight.
"Does it ... hurt people when you do?"
"No, it can feel very pleasurable if the vampire wants, or we can make the person forget the incident entirely."
"You can read minds?"
"Yes, and implant thoughts. Edward tried it on you the evening of the opera. For some reason, you're able to block him and he's never come up against that before."
She didn't want to ask if Emmett had ever tried it on her. She didn't want to hear the answer..
"How do you avoid leaving bite marks?"
"There's a healing agent in our saliva. The holes are gone within minutes."
Another silence fell as Bella digested this information. She spoke hesitantly, but she had to ask. "Have either you or Edward ever bitten me?"
"No."
Her voice was timid. "Did you want to?"
"Yes," Emmett sighed. "You smell so good, so clean and pure, no drugs, no chemicals."
"What stopped you? I wouldn't remember it anyway."
Emmett rolled on his side to face her. "I wouldn't violate your trust like that."
"I suppose you have to draw the line somewhere," Bella snapped, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Almost immediately, she was contrite. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's still a little raw."
"It's all right Bella. I'm just grateful you're talking to me at all."
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Tell me how you came to be a- what you are."
Emmett told her about the dice game, the attack in the alley and Edward's offer.
"Why did he do it?" Bella asked. "Why did he offer to change you?"
Emmett shook his head. "I don't know. I've asked, but he won't tell me. I do know that I wasn't his first fledgling, but he won't tell me what happened to them."
"Maybe he doesn't want to admit he was lonely and that his other ... fledglings left him. I mean, you're not forced to stay together, right?"
"Right. I could have left once I was fully mature, but Edward and I were companionable and so I just stayed with him."
"You were never ... uh, together, were you?"
"No," Emmett said with some amusement. "No one who knew Edward would ever believe me when I said that, considering ..." He stopped.
"Considering what?"
Emmett was reluctant. "Well, Edward is a bit of a slut. Just about every acquaintance ends up in his bed."
Bella chewed her lip. "I think I hurt him, Emmett, but I couldn't continue dating him when I knew we weren't right for each other."
"There's something I need to tell you," Emmett said. "Edward is seeing someone. Her name is Lauren; she's one of us, a vampire. She ... uh ... she looks just like you."
"Maybe he just has a thing for short brunettes," Bella offered, attempting to avoid having to come to an uncomfortable conclusion.
"He calls her by your name." Emmett said, his eyes fastened to where his fingers traced a pattern on the blanket. "He told her that it means 'beautiful', so she thinks it's just a sweet nickname."
"Oh, God," Bella whispered. "That's way creepy, Emmett."
"Bella, you've got to understand something about Edward. He was changed at about seventeen years old. The human brain isn't fully grown until about twenty five. So, when I say he's immature, I mean it literally. He thinks like a seventeen year old boy and he always will."
"But that's... we're talking about Norman Bates shit, Emmett. Can vampires go crazy?"
Emmett considered. "Not usually. The only cases of insanity I've heard of were fledglings. Once in a while something goes- Once in a while, people come back wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"Every now and then something goes awry with the change. It doesn't happen often, and when it does, it's usually just the person emerging from the change with a different personality. But once in a while, fledglings have to be destroyed because they can't be controlled. We have laws that are supposed to prevent problems."
"Laws like not changing people who are already crazy, I'd imagine."
"Exactly. When a vampire wants to change someone, they have to apply to the Queen or Council for permission. The person has to be free of mental issues- that sort of thing. Emergency situations are usually forgiven, like when Edward found me moments from death, but not if the person's wounds were self-inflicted."
"What happens if a vampire changes someone without permission?"
"They both are executed," Emmett said and Bella shuddered.
"All vampires are required to be registered in the VAMPbase."
Bella giggled. "VAMPbase? DO they really call it that?"
Emmet chuckled. "Yeah, they do. It was named by the Queen's husband, James. He has a quirky sense of humor. Anyway, if a vampire is found without a registration number, they have two choices: register or die. The Queen does not tolerate rogues and the Volturi are everywhere. Anyone who tried to hide a fledgling would find it very difficult."
"How many vampires are there?"
"World-wide? Maybe a hundred thousand."
"And your Queen rules them all?"
Emmett's lips twitched. "Tries to, anyway. It's been an uphill battle. She's only been Queen for about twenty years. A mere blink of time to a vampire. And there are many who do not accept her rule. Until she came along, there was no Queen. There was only the Council of Ancients, and they had to do their own dirty work. If they condemned someone, they had to go carry out the sentence themselves, so you can imagine that there was some reluctance to enforce the few laws that they had at the time. There was a prophecy in the Council's books that said a ruler would come to them, someone who bore this certain birthmark. She fit the description, so, boom, we have a queen and now she's passing all these new laws about not killing humans and restrictions on making fledglings and having to register in a database. It was pretty tough for some of them to accept."
"I can understand that," Bella said, feeling overwhelmed herself.
"Bella, please try to understand. I wanted to tell you, but every passing day, it became more difficult. Slowly he moved closer. When she didn't object, he smoothed back her hair from her forehead and pressed a kiss to her soft, warm skin. "I love you, Bella. If you'll let me, I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you."
Edward was being an asshole and Lauren was getting really pissed off. Why the fuck had he come over tonight if he was just going to sit there on her sofa, smoking cigarette after cigarette (God, she hated the stench of those things but she'd been hesitant to tell him not to smoke in here) and staring into space? He'd refused to go out. Demanded that the turn off the television and didn't want to talk, either. She was getting very frustrated.
"Goddammit, sit down and be quiet," he snapped. "Can't you just read or something?"
Lauren stared at him. "Read?"
"Yes, read," he said, his scathing tone as sharp as a knife. "It means to derive the meaning of a body of text comprised of written characters by mentally interpreting the symbols. I won't deduct points if your lips move."
"Fuck you. I know how to read!"
"Do you?" he said in exaggerated astonishment.
She stomped her foot. "Dammit, Edward, why are you trying to pick a fight?"
Abruptly, he changed demeanor, smiling softly at her. Lauren felt herself melt at the sight of it. "I'm sorry, Bella, honey. Why don't you go put on one of your pretty dresses, hmm?" He plucked gently at one of the curls she'd allowed to remain loose when she put her hair up. "Let your hair down, and I'll brush it for you."
Lauren grimaced. "I don't like those stupid dresses."
His tender expression vanished. "Fine." He went over to her hall tree and snatched off his jacket.
"Where are you going?" she cried.
He didn't reply. He opened the door and strode out into the hall. Lauren ran after him. "Edward, wait, I'm sorry!"
He punched the down arrow on the elevator panel. "This isn't working out, Lauren."
The five words she feared the most. Air whooshed out of her in shock. It was the first time he'd ever said her real name.
"Edward, you don't mean that," she cajoled. "Please, come back inside and we'll talk about it." She'd get him back inside, give him a blowjob so good he'd forget all about breaking up with her.
"There's nothing to talk about." The elevator dinged and the doors opened. "I'm done with you."
"I'm not done with you!" she retorted. He entered the elevator. She thrust her arm out and blocked the door. "Edward, come on, whatever it is, we can fix it."
Their eyes met. "I thought I could make you into something you're not," Edward said.
"You mean the dresses?" she asked, confused. "Please, Edward. I'll wear them all the time. I'll do the virgin act for you. I'll do whatever you want. Please, don't go! I love you!"
He knocked her arm away from the door. "It's over. Let it go." The doors slid shut and he was gone. Lauren let out a scream of frustration and kicked the metal doors, bending them. One of her neighbors poked his head out of his door to see what was causing all the noise. "What the fuck are you looking at?" she shouted at him and he quickly ducked back inside.
Lauren went to the stairs and pounded down the three flights with the idea of catching up with Edward and begging him and saying something-anything- to make him come back. When she reached the lobby, he was already gone and she saw his car flash by the doors. She took off running after him. She gave a regretful look down at her gorgeous Christian Louboutin Mignons. Being a vampire gave her the grace and speed to run after a car in heels but the shoes were unlikely to survive the pounding.
Where was he going? He was driving east toward the coast and she knew his apartment was somewhere downtown. It was getting close to dawn and usually at this hour, all good little vampires were nesting down for the day.
He pulled up on a residential street and parked the car. Lauren hid in a clump of trees, thankfully downwind so he couldn't catch her scent.
He approached a house, moving slowly, cautiously. Was he planning to make a kill? If he did, Lauren intended to join in, stealth be damned. She loved killing people but was always afraid of the Volturi. Edward, however, could protect her.
She watched as he climbed a small tree and settled back against the trunk, his familiarity testifying to his having done this many times before. What the fuck was he doing? He was watching through a window. Lauren crept a little closer, casting an anxious glance at the horizon. They were no more than an hour away from dawn. She hoped she'd have time to get home but she supposed she could bury herself in the sand if she had to.
A man came out of the front door. Edward crouched, well-hidden by shadow. It was that guy from the club, the giant. "I left it in my car, Bella," he called back to the house. Bella! Was this the home of the mysterious woman who shared the nickname Edward had given her?
The giant opened the door of a pretty sweet antique Corvette and fumbled around inside. He pulled out a shopping bag and shut the car door, then froze as the breeze shifted. He sniffed the air and his head whipped around. His eyes landed on the clump of trees where Lauren was hiding. Oh, shit. She remained absolutely still, hoping he wouldn't see her. She let out a sigh of relief as his gaze moved onward. Edward had taken advantage of his attention to her hiding spot to slip out of the tree and run back toward his car. He passed the spot where Lauren hid, and didn't even notice her. He jumped in the car and waited until the giant went back into the house before starting the engine and peeling away.
Lauren tiptoed up to the house he'd been watching, her curiosity too intense to ignore. She took Edward's spot in the tree and waited. She was looking into a kitchen. Lauren sniffed. Whoever lived here was human. A woman walked pat the window and Lauren gasped. She looked like- No, it couldn't be ...
The woman walked back into view and stopped right in front of the window. Lauren heard water running and guessed that the woman- Bella- must be washing something in the sink. Lauren stared at her in shock. The woman could have been her twin. The giant came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her torso, leaning in to kiss the crook of her neck. The woman sighed. She heard the man say, "I love you, Bella."
Lauren leaned closer and the limb on which she was balance snapped, sending her plummeting to the ground. She rolled to her feet when she hit and ran like hell, knowing that the giant had to have heard it and would come to investigate. She could only hope that he wouldn't remember her scent from the one meeting they'd had in the club.
She ran for home, her tingling skin telling her that dawn was coming soon. If she didn't get into shelter soon, she was toast. She was only a fledgling. When the sun broke over the horizon, she'd drop like a stone, unconscious and helpless and would burn up like tissue paper.
She burst into her apartment and shut the door as if the sun were chasing her down the hall. She went to her bedroom, stripping of her ruined shoes. Edward had made her ruin a thousand dollar of heels. A chill went through her when she realized that there was now no one to buy her a replacement pair.
She lay on her bed and planned. She had to find out more about this Bella woman and what her connection to Edward might be.
Around seven, Bella heard a knock on her door. Emmett had left earlier saying he hated to go but had "some things to take care of" but would be back in an hour or so. He must have finished early, whatever he was doing. (Bella refused to speculate.) "Come in," she called, and headed for the front door, wiping her hands on a dish towel. How odd for Emmett to come in the front-
She froze in her tracks. A woman stood in her living room, looking around with avid curiosity. Bella couldn't speak for a moment as she stared at her. It was like looking into a mirror at an alternate universe version of herself. The woman was wearing a tight black mini-dress and ridiculously high heels. Seeing her standing there was like the intro to a Twilight Zone episode. Evil Bella would lock her down in the basement and attempt to take over her life until Emmett, the hero, figured out that this woman was an imposter.
"Hello," the real Bella said. "I don't believe we've met."
The woman stuck out her hand and gave her a broad smile which didn't reach her eyes. "I'm Lauren, Edward's girlfriend."
Bella backed up a step. "Please don't be offended, but I don't shake hands."
The woman's gaze narrowed a bit, but her smile stayed in place. "I've heard so much about you," Lauren said, "I wanted to meet you so I could put a face to the name. I had to come here to see you because you don't get out much, do you?"
The woman's smile was firmly in place, but Bella had the sense that she'd just been insulted. "No, I'll admit to being a homebody."
"I love your dress," Lauren said. Bella looked down at the loose green gingham. "I have one just like it."
"Oh?" Bella said faintly.
"Yes, Edward gave it to me." Lauren's eyes glittered and her smile suddenly reminded Bella of a shark.
"Can you show me around? I'd love to see the rest of your house. It's so ... cute." She went over to the wall where Bella had hanged pictures of her family. "Ooh, country wallpaper with duckies wearing blue bows. How quaint!" Lauren exclaimed.
"I can't take credit for the wallpaper," Bella said, a little frosty. "It was here when I bought the place and I just haven't changed it."
Bella led Lauren around the house, starting with the kitchen. Lauren's grin seemed to widen with each room. She giggled at the freestanding claw-foot tub in the bathroom, and picked up the bottle of body wash. She read the label and set it back down. "Ooh, this is the same kind I use. What a coincidence!" Bella gritted her teeth.
"Is this your bedroom?" Lauren asked, opening the door to the only room that Bella hadn't shown her. The one room Bella had decided to delete from the tour. "Oh, I love the four-poster bed!" Lauren exclaimed, and then, oddly, began sniffing the air like a bloodhound. Okay, this was getting too weird.
Bella edged toward the door. "I was, um, going to make a cup of tea. Would you like one?"
"Sure!" Lauren said and Bella was grateful the woman followed her from the room. Beautiful darted across their path. "Is that your cat?" Lauren asked.
Bella had the urge to say, No, it's my German Shepard, but quashed it. "Yes, his name is Beautiful." And, of course, Lauren found that hysterically funny. "God, what happened to him?"
"He was a stray and some young boys thought it would be funny to set him on fire. That's why his fur is missing in places."
Lauren bent down to pet him. Beautiful hissed and swiped at her hand. Lauren gasped, her hand adorned with four perfect scratches, some of which oozed blood. He shot past them to hide under the bed. "Oh, God, I'm sorry! He doesn't like strangers," Bella said, thinking about how Beautiful had adored Edward and Emmett on first sight. "Let me put some antiseptic on that for you."
"No, I'll be fine," Lauren said, her smile tight. She licked the scratches. "Let's go have that cup of tea so we can have a nice chat."
Oh, that sounded just lovely, Bella thought sourly. She led Lauren to the kitchen and put a pot of water on to boil. Lauren seated herself at the table, drumming her fingers. "How long have you known Edward?" she asked abruptly.
"About a month," Bella said.
"Did you ever date?"
"We went out once, but nothing ever came of it," Bella said carefully. "We decided we're better off as friends, and I'm with Emmett now."
"Yeah, I could smell him in your bedroom," Lauren giggled. "He must spend a lot of time with you there."
Bella checked the teapot unnecessarily. Her face was burning. She was not going to discuss her sex life with this woman.
Bella heard a knock at the back door and opened it, glad to find Emmett standing there. His eyes immediately darted to the woman seated at the table. He smiled, but Bella could tell he was as unhappy with her presence as Bella was.
"Hello, Lauren," he said, after kissing Bella on the cheek in greeting.
"Why, hello Emmett," Lauren drawled. "Nice to see you again."
"Same here," Emmett lied. "Is, um ... Is Edward with you?"
"No, I just dropped by to meet the famous Bella," Lauren said breezily. "You're a lucky guy, Emmett, she's just..." Lauren paused and inhaled deeply, "... delicious."
She stood and brushed off the back of her short skirt as if she'd sat on a log in the woods instead of a chair in Bella's immaculate kitchen. "I have to be off. Edward will be waiting for me."
"Thank you for visiting," Bella said. Don't let the door hit you in the ass.
Lauren smirked. She said her goodbyes to Emmett and then strolled out the door.
"What was that all about?" Bella wondered aloud after Emmett shut the door.
Lauren entered O Negative and immediately scanned her surroundings. She caught Edward's scent and followed it to a booth where he sat, a blonde woman perched atop him, her skirt up around her waist. Edward was drinking from her, his hands on her hips, guiding her as he fucked and fed.
Lauren grabbed the bitch by her arm and threw her across the room. "Edward!" Lauren growled.
He wiped his mouth. "Yes?"
"Who is she?"
Edward shrugged, indicating he neither knew or cared. The blond picked herself up off the floor and stumbled over to the sofa, clasping a hand to her bleeding neck. Another vampire eagerly latched on, pushing her back against the upholstery.
"I told you, we're done, Lauren," Edward said.
Lauren sat down beside him. "You don't mean that, baby. We're so good together. I love you." She quickly straddled his hips, pushing aside her thong and sinking down on him. Edward finished quickly, which Lauren preferred to believe was a testament to her skill and not how worked up the blond had gotten him. He closed his pants and pushed her aside so he could exit the booth.
"Where are you going?" Lauren asked.
He didn't bother to answer her, heading toward the door. Lauren caught his arm and stopped him. "Edward, this is getting ridiculous. Why are you acting this way? Come on, baby. Let's go back to my place and we can-"
Edward glared at her. "Lauren, you seem to be having trouble understanding me. We're done. I don't want to see you any more."
"What? Then what was that just a few minutes ago?"
Edward smirked. "What guy will turn down a free fuck?"
Lauren wanted to slap him, but she tried another tactic, giving him a sweet, shy look up through her lashes. "Edward? Please?"
For a moment, she was sure he wavered and she felt a flash of triumph. He did love her, even if he was being stubborn about it. That was it, she was sure. He was afraid of the intensity of his feelings and lashing out at her. She'd read an article in Cosmo on this very topic while getting her nails done last night.
"I mean it, Lauren. We're done. Stop following me. Stop calling me. Leave me alone." He started out the door and Lauren used her trump card.
"I saw Bella tonight."
He froze. "What?"
"You heard me." She smirked and sidled up to his still form, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Imagine my surprise that there was a woman actually named 'Bella' who looked just like me. Well, except for the fact that she has no fashion sense."
Edward said nothing, staring at her.
"I went to her house to see if you'd been there."
Edward still hadn't moved. Lauren smiled and leaned in to press her lips to his. In heels, she was the same height as he.
Edward suddenly lunged, pinning her against the wall. Lauren gasped with excitement until she saw the look in his eyes. He was furious. Murderously angry. "You. Stay. The. Fuck. Away. From. Her." His hand wrapped around her throat and he squeezed, punctuating every word. "Understand?"
Lauren nodded.
He released her.
Lauren sagged away from the wall. She watched Edward walk away and tears sprung into her eyes. She dashed them away angrily. She wouldn't let him make her cry. Anger was a better emotion. She didn't direct her anger at poor Edward, who was just confused. It was that Bella cunt who was the cause of all this.
Emmett stayed that day, and the next, and the next after that. Bella couldn't point out exactly when she had forgiven him, whether it was all at once or a gradual process of coming to grips with why he had done what he had. And despite everything, she still loved him. It would take a while to rebuild her trust in him but they had a start, at least.
She felt a little bit guilty. She hadn't left the house since Tuesday. She called in to the restaurant and the shelter, claiming she was sick with the flu and both places assured her that everything was running smoothly and to take the time she needed to recover. STill, she had never spent this long in her life on just herself and it felt too indulgent.
Friday morning, she woke up, groggy and grumpy. She shuffled her way to the kitchen and got down a can of food for the cat before putting the teapot on to boil. She looked down at the empty floor where Beautiful should be, eagerly awaiting his meal. Even the sound of the can opener didn't bring him running.
She set the bowl down on the floor and went looking for Beautiful, methodically searching every nook and cranny, her anxiety increasing with every empty room.
"Emmett?" she said, after checking under the bed.
He was sleeping. It had taken her a while to get used to the total stillness of vampire sleep. He truly looked dead lying there. She said his name again and his eyes snapped open. "Bella?"
"Oh, Emmett, I can't find Beautiful," she said, bursting into tears. "I searched the entire house and he's not here. Do you think he got out of the door without us noticing?"
"Don't worry, Bella," he said. "At dusk, I'll go out and find him. I can track his scent. If he did get out, he's probably wandering the neighborhood, checking out the lady cats. I'll find him, I promise." He wiped away her tears and held her until she calmed.
Replaying their conversation in her mind, Bella wrinkled her nose. "Seems sort of gross that your sense of smell is so sensitive. I'll have to make sure I don't skip a shower."
"You smell divine," Emmett said. "If you skip a shower, you just smell more divine."
She kissed his forehead. "Liar. Go back to sleep."
"Cuddle with me," he implored and how could a girl resist that sort of request from a gorgeous man? She crawled into the bed, curling up against his body which was still warm from being under the covers all night with her.
They woke as the sun was setting. Emmett tugged on his shoes, kissed Bella and promised to be back soon with the cat.
If Emmett hadn't decided he'd detour and get a quick meal, perhaps none of the unfortunate events to follow would have transpired. It was a thought which would haunt him for the rest of his existence.
Bella was in the kitchen when the door opened. She went into the living room, thinking Emmett must have forgotten something. It wasn't Emmett. It was Edward and he looked like hell. His eyes were sunken with deep purple shadows under them. His face was white and drawn and the sexy disarray of his hair had crossed over into truly unkempt.
"Edward! Are you all right? Sit down," Bella cried, taking his arm and leading him to the sofa.
"Bella," he said softly. "Bella."
"Yes, Edward, I'm here," she soothed.
With a shuddering sob, he swept her into his arms and wept into her shoulder. Bella had never seen Edward cry, didn't imagine Edward could cry. It simply didn't fit his devil-may-care persona.
She was very uncomfortable at being held and the dampness of his tears was making her cringe,all of her phobias reasserting themselves. She pushed Edward away as gently as possible. "Please, Edward, what's wrong?"
"I love you," he said.
Bella didn't know what to say.
He grabbed her arms. "Did you hear me? I love you." His eyes were burning into hers with frightening intensity.
"I heard you, Edward. Please, let go. You're hurting me."
He looked down at his hands. "Shit! I'm sorry. Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine, just a bit bruised." Bella rubbed her arms to restore circulation.
"I never want to hurt you, Bella," Edward said. He reached up and tenderly traced the back of his fingers over her cheek. Bella endured it out of a sense of kindness. "I had to tell you that I love you. I've never said it to anyone, not in thousands of years."
Did he say thousands of years? It couldn't be possible. Edward had to have lost his grip on reality. "It's true," he said as if he could hear her thoughts, even though Emmett had said he couldn't. "I just skimmed along the surface, focusing on the pleasures of this world, never getting attached, never caring. But now ..." Pinkish tears formed in his eyes and slowly fell down his cheeks. "A mighty pain to love it is/And 'tis a pain that pain to miss/But of all pains, the greatest pain/It is to love, but love in vain."
"Edward, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to cause you pain."
"I know that," he said. "You're sweet and kind and good. All the things I am not. How could I not love you?" He stood and walked over to the window, staring out into the darkness. With his back to her, he said, "You love Emmett, don't you?"
"I do."
He braced his hands on the window sill, his head hanging. "That's fitting. Emmett is almost as good and kind as you are. He'll treat you well." He turned back to face her and his eyes once again held that scary intensity. "Bella, I know now that I can never have you. The truth is, I don't deserve to touch something as clean and decent as you are. But I have to taste you. Just once."
Taste her? What the hell?
Edward stalked closer, his voice low and soothing. "I won't hurt you. Just a little sip. A taste. The closest I will ever come to heaven."
Her heart was pounding. Bella cringed away as Edward came to lean over her, pinning her in place by bracing his arms on either side of her. "Just a taste," he whispered. He lowered her head and nuzzled at her ear. "Just a taste."
"Edward, I don't think-"
"Hush," he said softly, pushing her hair aside. "Nothing to be frightened of. Sorry I can't put the whammy on you, but you'll feel pleasure anyway. Didn't Emmett tell you that our saliva has a euphoric effect when introduced into the blood stream? No? There are people who become addicted to it, you know." His lips grazed along her neck and Bella shuddered, not from pleasure though it made him give a soft, breathy moan.
"Edward don't-" Bella's words were cut off by a sharp pain in her throat, pain that made her gasp and push at his shoulders, but it was like trying to push a house. She moaned when she felt the rush he'd been describing. The hardest drug she'd ever used was caffeine. Nothing could have prepared her for this feeling, this pleasure that made every nerve ending buzz and sing. Pleasure. She was drowning in pleasure, growing lethargic, growing weaker.
"Edward!" she rasped out his name as she fell over, lying down on the sofa, too weak to hoist herself upright. He followed her down, laying atop her as he drank. The room was spinning, growing dark.
And then everything went black.