Chapter 2- The Coveted Apple

My name being spoken softly in the dark drew me down a dark hallway. Its sound was familiar to me but I could not place who it was. Again I heard my name this time louder as the voice seemed to be getting impatient. Then I heard it louder behind me, "Bella. Come to me."

"Who are you?"

"You know who I am. Who do you want it to be?"

My mind swims at the words; I know exactly who I want it to be. Him, his green eyes have haunted me since the moment I first saw them. I want it to be the one and only Edward. I whisper out his name, but the voice doesn't come closer. I turn to the shadows behind me, "Edward, I want it to be him." I whisper as I walk closer."Stop, close your eyes." The voice demands so I comply at once. "Remember, think of the first time you saw him."

I am suddenly back at the party standing next to Christian in the blaring loud room when I look up, his green eyes meet my brown eyes and the room fades away. I cannot fight it, our attraction is instant and as if our two minds connect into one he pulls me to him. As I gaze up at him strange images flood my mind as I am dumbstruck. How, what, why? As I start to try to ask about what I just saw I am suddenly back in the dark alone.

"Tell me who you want? The voice demands again.

"Edward." I whisper.

"I cannot hear you."I find my voice and raise it, "Edward, I want him."

"He wants you too." The voice replies and then I am with him in his arms. He slams me back into the wall behind us and starts kissing my neck. "He is not what he appears."

"I... I don't care." I mutter as the kisses continue.

He is lighting my body on fire from soft kisses on my neck while his hands run down my sides then grasp my waist pulling me hard against him. I cry out as our two bodies brush, god I can feel him hard and ready. It leaves me wet and wanting as I try to grind against him only to have him move away. "Bella, if you want me show me.""Show you how?" I spin around to look at him but he pushes me back so he is behind me.

His hand slaps my ass hard then I am pushed against the wall again but this time face first. He runs his hands down my back then moves to grind himself against my ass. I cry out and push back at him. "Show me you want me and no one else. Say my name.""Edward." I whisper."Louder." He demands as he grinds against me again then his hands come to my breasts pulling and tugging at my nipples."Edward." This time I am louder and writhing under his touch, I want more. I want him now. "LOUDER BELLA!" He demands and then brings a hand down between my legs. He knows just where to touch me and as he teases my clit over and over with his long fingers I sag against the wall moaning loudly. I am rocking my hips back and forth with his movements. I am on the edge then suddenly I feel a pain in my neck that makes me scream out as I realize he just bit me. He bites me again just as he brings his finger down hard on my clit. I scream out his name then it all goes black.

That was when I woke up hot and sweaty with my hand on my clit and I felt the bed wet under me. What the fuck? Was the just a dream? But why did it affect me so much? I noticed my thighs still shaking a bit. I had never had that happen before and that dream, it was part dream but part real. The party that first look between us, that part was all real but why was it so intense?

Then I remembered that images had flooded my mind when I met him and again in the dream but just as I was about to get up to write down what I remembered of those images when my door opened. Christian frowned at me as I lay on my bed. My hand was still between my legs as I was leaning over the edge of the bed for my notebook. I froze and leaned back slowly to look at him. "Bella?"

"Christian?"

"What are you doing in here? I could hear you moaning and crying out in my room."

My face turns red as I stare at him not sure what to say. "I just had a weird dream."

"A weird dream that makes you wet the bed?"

"Uh." I looked down and bit my lip hard.

"I take that as a yes; well you know you are not supposed to touch yourself without my permission. So you will be punished later. Up now." He shakes his head as he walks out of the room. "We have things to do."

I cringe at his words and know that his things to do are to humiliate me over this. Fuck that is all I need. I got up and headed out to the kitchen at once. I didn't want to eat but I knew better than to do that, Christian would be furious. As he ate he watched me intently, "you seem different today, did you sleep alright?"

"I did." Playing with my food I heard my cell go off and turned my head to listen. It was my standard ringtone so no idea who it might be. "Except for your dream? Has that happened before?"

"Oh lord, no! Never."

He eyed me with dark eyes, "something is different about you today, let's see what it is. Playroom now."

With a soft sigh I nodded not wanting to go to that room, not right now. Normally I enjoyed that room. It was my escape from my Monday through Friday work week but he was right. Something was different about me today and it had to do with Edward and that damn dream. All I wanted to do was sit down and remember the dream, that part with the images was bugging me. What did it all mean and why was my reaction to him so damn intense? In the playroom I knelt by the door just waiting to be punished. Christian walked in and didn't waste any time, he pulled me by my hair towards the chair in the center of the room but before he pushed me into it he reached over to slap my ass as hard as he could. "Count now." He demanded and rained slaps on me. I screamed out the count and then fell into the chair when he let go of me.

"Bella, you have some explaining to do." He strapped me in the chair then kicked the legs wide open leaving me exposed to him. "Who was in your dream?"

I froze at his words; I didn't want to tell him. What would he say? So I shook my head and lied, "I never saw his face."

"So a man you did not know, what did he do to you that left you touching yourself?"

"He...he came at me and it was just unexpected."

"I see, this is a fantasy of yours?" As he spoke Christian moved from to his drawers of toys.

I nod to him and then see him bring out a few things coming my way. As I see them my heart starts to beat faster and faster and I know that I don't want him to touch me. I want Edward and for some reason the idea of Christian touching me made tears come to my eyes. I have no idea why. Christian kneels down to touch me and I whisper out, "red."

"Red? I haven't touched you yet?" He kneels down between my legs and just stares up at me. "Something is wrong, tell me."

"I don't know what is wrong with me." I whisper to him and it's the truth. I have no idea, but I feel like having him touch me would be wrong. It just feels so wrong suddenly and I just want to leave. "Please Christian red."

Without a word he frees me and then stares at me. "When you want to tell me what is wrong you know where to find me."

"I want to go home now please."

"You know that if I say no and you leave you violate the contract. Do you want to be punished again?"

"No I do not; I will stay if you want me too."

"No its fine." He stands up and his voice softens a bit, "Go home and rest, I will be in touch." As I stood up Christian pulled me to him suddenly kissing me hard. "Bella, I wish." Then he stopped.

"You wish what?"

"I wish that I could give you more. You deserve more than this." He gestured to the room and for the first time I wondered if there was more to him.

"I thought this is what you wanted?"

"It is, but I sense you need something more."

I shake my head quickly, I want something more but not from him but then he comes to kiss me again. With my eyes close I can pretend he is Edward. I let my mind go for a bit then as he tries to pull me toward the bed in the room I freeze again. "Christian, please no."

"Fine, go before I try to touch you again. It is your fault, I only get to see you on weekends and I want you now." Christian stood up and walked away leaving me alone.

I sighed and got up to head back to my room. Once dressed I quickly let back to my own apartment. The rest of the day passed quietly as I was not use to having a Sunday to myself. Normally I would be with Christian at his beck and call but now I was free to let my mind wander. My mind keeps wandering back to that damn dream over and over. I want to close my eyes and see it again so I can try to figure out what those images are that flashed through my mind when our eyes first met but now I cannot remember them.

I am on the couch half asleep when my cell goes off, its Christian checking on me but it's not his message that catches my eye. It is one from an unknown number that I forgot to check from earlier. It says merely, "I am only a message away."

Sitting straight up I text back quickly, "Who is this?"

"You know who it is. I miss you Bella."

"Edward?"

"Good guess. I knew you knew."

"You miss me?"

"Yes, don't you miss me?"

I laugh out loud, do I miss him? Considering my dream and the fact his image has haunted me all day hell yeah I miss him but I know I cannot just tell him that. "Yes I do miss you; I wanted to finish our conversation."

"Are you sure?"

"Why would I not be?"

"You might not want to talk to me when you learn what I really am."

"Edward please it's not like you are a monster."

"You don't know me, I am a monster."

"Stop that, you are not."

"I am not like you."

"I don't care; I want to know more about you. After the dream I need to know."

Right after I hit send I regret it. I swear to myself as my phone starts to ring, it's him. "Hello?"

"What dream?"

"Hello to you too Edward." My voice fumbles as I try to sound normal but my heart is beating like crazy in my chest.

"Hello Bella, I missed the sound of your voice."

At the mention of voice I close my eyes and let the sound of his take me over. What is he doing to me? His voice just makes me shiver and I pull the phone closer to me. "I missed you, and I dreamt about you." I swallow my pride and admit that then wait breathlessly for his reply.

"What did you dream?"

"I saw us meeting again, but it was different."

"Tell me." I can hear tension in his voice. It is almost as if he needs to hear what I dreamt, like it makes a difference to him.

"I saw us meeting again but this time it was like I was back at a distance watching and strange images flooded my mind."

"So you felt it too?"

"Felt what?"

"Bella, would it be too forward if I asked to see you know? To talk about this?"

As I hear hope in his voice I shudder softly, do I dare see him now and alone for the first time? My need to see him betrays me and I hear my voice whisper to him, "yes. Come over, do you need address?"

"No, be right there."

I hang up and lie back for a few minutes then jump when I hear a knock. What the fuck, no way that is him already but when I get to the door I am met with intense green eyes staring back at me. He walks in and I feel my knees wobble. I reach for the wall but he grabs me first. In his arms I feel safe. Then I gasp as the images fill my mind again as we stare at each other green eyes locked into brown. The images are of us, him and me in various stages of life. They start from the day we met and move to what looks like the future. When they stop I just stare at him. "Edward?"

"I told you that I am not like you."

"I know and I don't care but what was that? And why do I keep seeing it?"

"Bella I am a dangerous animal. I could easily be called a monster."

"I refuse to believe that."

"That was an imprint."

"A what?"

"I have to go, I have said too much." His eyes scan mine again and I see sadness there. "You are with him and I...I am not free."

"But wait..." I cry out as he starts to leave.

He pulls me close then kisses me hard before he vanishes. I stand at the door looking out but he is gone, like a ghost into the night.

Then it hits me, what the hell is an imprint? I run back inside to my computer and look it up. The first things that pop up make no sense to me so I continue to read on then I see it and gasp.

When a shape-shifter imprints on a specific person, he becomes unconditionally bound to her for the rest of his life. When it happens, the experience is described as being gravitationally pulled toward that person while a glowing heat fills him; the connections of everything else become severed, or simply secondary, and only the imprintee is left to matter, leaving the shape-shifter with a deep need to do anything to please and protect the person.