I quickly learned that despite Alice's frail exterior, she was a force to be reckoned with.

The hunger rose in me one night more ferociously than ever before. My entire body throbbed with the desire to rip into a fragile human and drink their life blood. I was running faster than ever before, one intention stuck in my mind. Then Alice was there, flinging me away from the city with the force of a hundred humans. I automatically turned my attack on her, but she persistantly forced me back from the city until we were so deep in nature that I could no longer hear the sounds of a bustling city. Abruptly she dived into the foliage and I launched myself after her. It was predator versus predator and I was ready to step up to the challenge. When I found her she had the blood of a black bear smeared across her lips and my stomach burned.

"Feast with me Jasper." She said it in an innocent tone, but it was all hunger in her eyes. I pounced on the fallen black bear in a rage and drank until I couldn't stomach another ounce. Alice waited beside me patiently; she was petting my hair when I came back to myself. My hands were covered in the blood of the creature we had slaughtered. I was thrown into my memories suddenly.

Flashback

The startling crack of gunfire made me dive for cover. I hid behind a tree with my rifle in hand, my hat lay beside me on the ground, covered in mud and worse things. I shifted against the rough bark of the tree and felt my grey uniform bunch up in the back. I waited patiently for the firing in my direction to cease. All the while I could hear the frightened cries of my soldiers as they were shot. Black powder and the stench of sweat and death made breathing a choking job. I turned in a flash and fired into the bushes across the field. A blue suited soldier toppled over and his blood spilled from underneath him.

End flashback

"Jasper!" My eyes were wild and Alice had a firm grip on my arms. "Come back to me." Her words were a hushed whisper.

"I'm here Alice." She looked like she didn't trust me. I wouldn't trust me at that moment either. "I promise, I was just... remembering something."

"I know, you were screaming." Her eyes were so worried. I melted into her arms and pressed my face against her bare neck. She was wearing one of my long sleeved button up shirts and a pair breeches. She looked so comfortable in my clothing and I enjoyed the sight of her that way.

"It's dark in me, sometimes I think you're the only light I have left." She leaned forward to kiss my temple, but I turned at the last moment and caught her kiss on my lips. The first kiss was light, chaste, but the second one was passionate and hungry. The blood lust was sated, but another was rising in me just as quickly. I hurled myself out of her arms, leaving her slightly staggered.

"I apologize Alice, I am a gentlemen and you are a lady, you deserve better than my uncouth behavior." She gave me a predator's smile before launching herself into my arms. Her lips were pressed against mine and I was pressed against a tree. We feasted on each other's passions until the sun sank down behind the mountains and the moon had risen high in the sky. When she finally released me, I was breathless and desperate for more of her.

"I love you Jasper, the dark and the light." Her words moved me in phenomenal ways. If I could choose but one woman to spend the rest of eternity with, it would be her. Maria was just a bad past life compared to the beauty Alice inspired in me.

My former lover had spent her spare time making me miserable. She soaked herself in the blood of her enemies and feasted on their dark emotions. She surrounded herself with blood and gore and then dragged me to her side so that I could experience it all with her. Raven hair and red eyes had made her my dark beauty, but the presence of Alice in my life was slowly washing away the tide of blood.

"We have a long journey ahead of us and we wouldn't want to be late. Let's hurry, I want to be in Alaska by Thursday." Her eagerness caught me off guard and I let an uncharacteristic grin spread across my mouth. Alice smiled with me before throwing me into the river nearby. "Now wash up silly, we can't meet our family with blood on our hands."

"Anything you say love." I turned to face the dark haired vampire only to see her methodically unbuttoning her shirt. I froze. What was I supposed to do now? No one ever taught me how to react appropriately when the love of your life decides to take off her clothes for you before your marriage! I turned around in the blink of an eye and fought not to watch her. I focused my eyes on the rush of the river and tried to pretend that I couldn't hear the clothes brush the ground.

"Jasper," She spoke my name like a prayer as her hand slipped across my back. She wrapped her arms around my clothed form and I could feel her pressed against me. She unbuttoned my shirt swiftly and pulled it off with ease. We were skin to skin now and I had never known a more perfect sensation. Her hands drifted further below and I could feel her going for the snaps on my trousers. I grasped her hands to pause her.

"Please Alice, my control only goes so far." She smiled against my back and gave a feminine giggle. She gave me no answer but continued to try and undo my pants. She brushed a kiss across my neck and I released her hands. My body ached in want of her. I was finally free of the constrictions of social boundaries and there we were, wrapped in each other's arms like sneaky lovers.

"Love me Jasper." She requested so softly. I caught her eyes with mine before pressing a kiss to her soft lips.

"Your wish is my command."

And not even time could have torn us apart in that moment.

To be continued...