I landed face down on a thick blue carpet.

I cursed under my breath, but thanked whatever force controlled my time travel that I didn't land out in the elements. I had been lucky the last few times and avoided injuries.

"That was fast."

The familiar voice brought a smile to my face. As soon as I pushed myself to my feet, my gaze fell on the bed. Edward was sprawled lazily across it. Only a thin pair of what shorts kept him from being completely naked.

It was the most I had seen of him since Scotland.

I imagined I looked like Daffy Duck as my jaw dropped to the floor.

"Where did you come from? The car?"

"Of course from the car," I said, confused. Was he forgetting the forest episode from only moments ago? "Don't you remember?"

"All I remember is our morning," he grinned, pushing himself off the bed. In two steps, he was kissing me.

This was unlike our other kisses—this one made my knees give out. Edward circled an arm around my waist, holding me up, then smoothly guided me to the bed. A second passed and I was straddling him, coiled around him like a vine.

Two makeout instances in such a short while was enough to make my head spin. And Edward wasn't helping the situation. His mouth was relentless—some kisses were to my lips, my neck, a nibble to my ear. Then he would start over. One hand moved to cup my breast, and the other slid down my back.

I felt my eyebrows shoot up in surprise. He never touched me like that. When we kissed, Edward kept his hands in PG-rated areas. This was unusual, for sure, but I wasn't complaining.

"You smell so good," Edward groaned, dipping his head to nuzzle my neck.

"You're funny today."

"I just want you," he said earnestly, kissing me between each word.

"O-Okay," I stammered. I never thought I'd hear him say those words. And in that manner.

Had he come to his senses in the woods near Hoquiam?

I couldn't remember why I wanted to protest. My head was cloudy, but I didn't mind. It was moments like these that I lived for. Time travel took over my life, but it also taught me how to live. To seize the opportunities presented in any way I could.

Together we pulled my dress off and tossed it across the room.

Edward rolled us and pinned me to the bed. I was reminded of him trying to take the car keys from me, but this was leading in a much more favorable direction.

My hips were rocking helplessly, but he seemed to be in a teasing mood. He pressed a hand between my legs, his palm open and wandering. When he moved to pull the underwear off, I froze.

Suddenly I was very aware of how this was going to end. It was leading somewhere serious. My head cleared and I could see the facts of the situation.

I had jumped forwards in time. Not far enough to my own time, of course, but a time in which Edward and I were obviously still together. Together and together.

The thought thrilled me, but for all my complaining, I knew in this moment that I wasn't ready. Not yet. This Edward had a Bella that he was sexually active with. The future me. But current me wanted to take this path with the Edward from 1955. The jump from our casual makeouts to intercourse was simply too far.

It had to be something we explored together.

Other than fearing he'd kill me, maybe that was some of the reasoning behind Edward's hesitation. His temptation for my blood was one thing. But being self-conscious and unsure in this area . . . that could have been holding him back, too.

"Edward, wait," I breathed. "Stop."

He let out a long breath; I shivered at the chill. "Bella? Is there something wrong?"

I sat up and reached for the sheet. This wasn't a talk I wanted to do half-naked. He moved away from me, the unease growing on his face. "Did I do something wrong? Please, tell me."

"I'm not from this time," I blurted out. "I don't know where your Bella is, but she's not me."

"She is you," he said, confused. "Eventually."

"Well, yes—that's not what I mean! I'm . . . where I'm from, we haven't . . . "

I saw the realization dawn on his face. "Oh, Bella. I'm so sorry. I didn't notice there was anything different—you just went to the store. I thought it was you from today!"

"It's okay," I promised, pressing my hand over his. "Believe me, I'm surprised as you are. But no harm done."

Edward still looked horrified. "Please forgive me."

"You didn't know," I assured him. "I didn't know. And it's hardly forward if you were expecting the Bella from—"

"March 11, 1962," he finished.

I gaped at him. "It takes seven years to convince you?"

He laughed heartily. "Oh, no. It's sooner than you think. Where are you coming from?"

"We just had our first day in Hoquiam."

"Right," he nodded. "I won't tell you exactly, but I can say it's sometime in the summer of 1956."

Almost a year from where I traveled from. I moved to sit next to him, our backs leaning against the headboard. "I can't believe this. Shit."

"We experiment a few times before it happens. You have to push me. I know you're quite capable of doing that."

"Still," I sighed, cursing my bad luck. An opportunity like this falls right into my lap and I screw it up. "If it's only months for me, I can't imagine what it is for you."

His eyes glinted. "We make up for it, I promise. I won't say too much to ruin the surprise, but let's just say we don't leave the room for days."

My heart raced. "I like that."

Edward slid an arm around me. With so little covering our skin, I felt the coolness immediately.

"I promise it is worth the wait. And worth braving the other things that are ahead."

I pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "If you say so."

I stood to retrieve my dress and pulled it on. If I didn't get dressed now, my clothes were going to stay off. When my gaze returned to the bed, Edward was watching me without shame. The hungry look I saw there made my face burn.

I didn't want to leave him behind. It would be years before we met again.

I sat with my legs crossed in front of him, tucking my dress underneath me. Edward hadn't moved an inch. His eyes closed as I ran a light hand down his neck.

"What other things did you mean?" I asked, remembering his words.

His eyes were dark when they snapped open. "Of that I can't say."

A chill flew down my spine. The levity of our conversation was gone in an instant. My thoughts snapped back to that hideous growl I heard in Hoquiam.

"Does it have something to do with what you heard in the woods?"

He paused. "Yes . . . and no. Something—someone—far worse is coming."

I moved until we were close again. It was critical I find out what he was talking about. Nothing was going to ruin the life Edward and I were trying to build in 1955.

"You're scaring me. Please tell me what's going to happen, I can't bear it."

He cupped my face in his hands. "Telling you could change history in ways I can't imagine. If I tell you the future, you could make decisions that my Bella didn't make, or even erase yourself from existence."

Tears were starting to spill over. "Does someone die? One of our family?"

"I can't tell you," he insisted, brushing the tears away. "But our survival is contingent on your responses to this event. It must be purely on instinct."

I took a shuddering breath. Clearly everyone makes it through the fire, whatever the fire is, because it was 1962 and Edward was still alive. I was still alive. But what about our family? I shook my head furiously at the thought of Rosalie gone. Or Emmett. Esme, and Carlisle . . . it was too terrible to imagine.

But what was coming? What was worse than something that made him bolt from a parked car?

The mounting anxiety seemed to call for another jump. My last glimpse of Edward was of his fearful expression, and him calling my name.

When I landed, I was relieved to know it was still Hoquiam. The house the Cullens purchased looked exactly as it had when we left this morning. The only difference was that Emmett and Rosalie's car was parked outside.

I was halfway up the walk when Edward appeared, hugging me close to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck as tight as I could manage. "How long was I gone?"

"Five hours."

I pulled back to gape at him. That was the shortest interval between my trips to the past ever recorded. But none of that mattered now—I was dying to know what he saw this afternoon. He bent to kiss me, and remembering what the future Edward foretold, I gripped his collar to extend it. For a moment he didn't fight me, and I was confident that I could push past his carefully constructed boundaries. Making love to him seemed so trivial compared to an approaching threat. But I was only human.

"Let's go inside."

Emmett enveloped me in a hug immediately. I hugged him and found myself struggling to imagine our lives without him. Over his shoulder, the rest of the family was smiling, but tensely. My curiosity flared, and I suspected that whatever Edward saw in the woods had already been brought to the attention of his family.

"What happened today?"

"Someone saw you in the car," Rosalie said quietly. "Something, more like. It thought Edward was going to kill you."

Edward avoided my eyes but I could see the tiniest, ironic smile on his face. I made an effort to compose myself and tried again.

"Something? What was it? Who was it?"

"Bella, as a person with your condition, and in the company of vampires no less, we ask that you take what we say with a grain of salt."

"Okay . . . so . . . what was it?"

"Wolves," Emmett growled. "A pack of them."

"Wolves?" I repeated, leaning against Edward's shoulder as he sat. One arm coiled around my waist; the other was pressed flat against the dining room table. "Really? I mean, don't you guys eat wolves for breakfast?"

Each one of them, even kind Esme, made faces at my words. "Not at all. Not these kind of wolves, anyway."

"Well, what then?" I asked impatiently. "I'm not seeing the connection here."

"They were werewolves," Edward said, his hand curling into a fist. "The Quileute tribe from the northern coast."

The Quileute tribe. They were werewolves? All of them? I couldn't imagine kind Billy Black as a werewolf. In this time, he wasn't even born yet. It had to been one of his relatives.

Billy and Charlie were best friends. I wondered if he knew.

I almost voiced my thoughts but held back at the last second. The future Edward warned me against changing things. I feared revealing too much about my life in 2005. I guarded the year from which I came closely, but from now on I would be extra vigilant.

This wasn't the threat he spoke of. The werewolves were only a piece of the puzzle. They had a part to play in the upcoming catastrophe, but they were not the source.

My next assignment was to figure out what the particular threat was going to be.

"You seem to be taking this well."

I shrugged. "I'm a human who can travel back and forth through time. My boyfriend can run faster than the eye can see, and the rest of you are super strong. I realized recently that my life is never going to be normal."

Rosalie giggled. "You're a magnet for the mystical."

"Apparently."

"Anyway," Carlisle cut in. "One of the wolves saw you in the car and assumed the worst. We had to make a treaty with them to ensure peace between our kinds."

"A treaty?"

"In exchange for keeping our presence a secret, we had to promise not to feed on or turn any humans. And to stay off their lands."

"Oh," I murmured. "I see."

"So," Carlisle continued, his eyes darting between me and Edward; we suddenly weren't looking at each other. "We either have to move—again—or indicate to them that we don't intend to kill or turn you."

"How long do you have?"

"They didn't say."

I was seized with that feeling that again. The feeling that I was making their lives very complicated. I looked at Edward, who shrugged.

His arm around me felt looser than before.

We went to school for the rest of the week like nothing happened. Emmett and Rosalie joined us, causing even more of a stir than Edward and I had. Their public displays of affection landed them in detention more than once, and the gossips studied them instead of us. It was a relief.

Several weeks passed in Hoquiam. They threw a little party for my birthday, something I had not expected. I forgot they had amazing memories—I had told them the month and day once before, in passing.

Edward gave me a beautiful silver necklace with a swan charm. To my intense embarrassment, I almost cried. It was the best gift I had ever received. And should I travel back to the future, it was a little piece of him I could take with me.

In the down times, I was still concerned about this treaty. Both sides seemed peaceful at the moment. But what would happen if we continued to stay in Hoquiam? Would I be costing the Cullens everything, just by associating with them?

I didn't want to think about it, but the no turning clause of the treaty gave me mixed feelings. Though being a vampire wasn't something I thought about before now, it quickly took over my thoughts.

I would be strong and powerful as a vampire. I could be with Edward forever. Young and happy for all eternity.

But the thought of a life without seeing my parents again—trapped in a century that was not my own—broke my heart. If the Cullens were to turn me, I would have to watch my life from the outskirts again. Trapped in a paradox. The Bella from 2005 would cease to exist, because I was her future. What cosmic consequences would that have?

It was too much to handle. Before long it was November. The days grew shorter and colder.

I began to feel like we were being watched all the time.

And to top all of it off, I was consumed with the future Edward's warning. If the Quileutes weren't the danger he was talking about, then what was? What could scare him so much? And on the other hand, why couldn't he tell me the exact details?

Our survival is contingent on your responses to this event. It must be purely on instinct.

My instincts were the only reason I had made it this far in life. Whatever this event was, it was up to me to save all of us. But how? I was a human who time traveled alone.

I could not save the Cullens if it came to that.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

I glanced over at Edward. Back in Scotland, I remembered thinking I'd never see him in a pair of jeans. I was so glad to be wrong. With his black leather jacket and jeans, he was every inch a fifties icon. It was my favorite decade I had ever seen him in.

James Dean couldn't hold a candle to Edward Cullen.

"Nothing," I lied, reaching for the popcorn. We were sitting at a drive in a few towns over. Earlier we decided we wanted a night away from the whispers in Hoquiam. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"That really bothers you, huh?"

"Of course," he said at once, moving the popcorn to the floor. "You've been quiet for days. It's maddening not to know why."

"You know why," I said quietly, my eyes looking everywhere but into his own. I toyed with my necklace, moving the swan up and down the chain.

"If this is about the treaty—"

"Not just the treaty," I snapped, folding my arms. "Not just that."

"Then what is it?"

I wasn't being fair. Edward couldn't read my mind and I wasn't being open with him. Everything seemed to be piling up on my shoulders.

If it wasn't the treaty with the wolves, it was his silence on the subject of a possible transformation. The unseen dangers his future self warned me about, or the heavy weight of missing my parents. All of it was bubbling under my skin. I was just waiting for it to explode.

The thought of knowing so much and only being able to share a little was about to boil over.

But in the end, I chose a smaller issue to launch the fight I sensed brewing between us.

"I just want you," I said finally, an echo of his future self. "I know it's too much to ask. But with everything that's going on right now, I feel like the only person I can depend on is you."

Edward moved until we were closer. Over his shoulder, I could see other couples kissing and cuddling in their cars without abandon. Just a normal Friday night at the drive in. They weren't worrying about time travel, treaties, or the uphill battle of seducing vampire boyfriends.

We experiment a few times before it happens. You have to push me. I know you're quite capable of doing that.

His words echoed in my ears. Right now it was November of 1955. He said it happened in the following summer . . . perhaps now was an opportune moment to push him. If I was going to meet that future Edward again, things were going to have to change.

"I know," he agreed, turning my face toward him. His kiss sent shivers down my spine. "I want you, too."

Guilt crept up my neck like a spider. I felt like a puppeteer for the first time, pulling his strings this way and that. But I couldn't help but think that moving this—us—forward, I could bring about the happy future. The future past the danger I was warned about.

I wanted to be a united front. Close as we could be without changing what was to come.

"Look, I know you work very hard on your control. It's a battle. But here we are, dating, in a parked car. You haven't hurt me the entire time I've known you."

"That's hardly saying something. If you went swimming with sharks and survived, you wouldn't call that control."

"It's something you practice. I was thinking: can't we practice being . . . close? Working through it?"

I could see the desire and indecision raging in his eyes. I untangled myself from his arms, climbed into the backseat, and put my hands in my lap. "It's your choice, Edward. I've already made mine."

To my surprise, it only took him thirty seconds to decide. When he climbed into the back, his eyes were bright in the darkness. He was starting to look like the predator he so feared to be. My hands moved to the seat, scooting so he had space. He followed me, closing that space, and bent his head to kiss me. He hesitated before our lips met, his eyes wide open.

He was giving me one last chance. I closed my eyes and kissed him. I already made my decision.

It was answer enough. His breath ghosted over my skin as he moved down my neck to the valley between my breasts. He undid buttons as he went, pressing one hand over my heart. It was leaping in my chest. I forced myself to take a steadying breath.

"There is something . . . I wanted to try," Edward said after several minutes of kissing. "If you're willing."

I nodded furiously. "Oh, yes. I'm very willing."

He chuckled. "I assumed as much."

Edward leaned back and knelt on the floor of the car. One cold hand wrapped around my calf while the other pressed against my lower back to push me forward. I pulled my lip between my teeth, watching. His eyes never left mine as he pulled the underwear down my legs. With a mischievous grin, he put them in his pocket.

"Hey!"

"Something to remember you by."

"I'd rather not be remembered by underwear," I complained. He parted my legs slightly, kissing the insides of my knees. I shut my mouth. No more complaints.

Goosebumps appeared on my thighs where his lips touched. It felt different to be doing something like this with the Edward of 1955. The unease I felt in 1962—stemming from my inexperience and mild anxiety—was absent now. We were both in the same boat here.

I thought foreplay was supposed to be fun. Instead it was driving me crazy. Helplessly, I looked out the windows. They were steamy; the only thing I could see was a blurry outline of the movie. Finally, after what seemed like eons, he pushed my thighs apart and licked the length of me.

A low groan escaped my lips. Touching myself was one thing; this was completely different. Edward had ignited something hotter in me. My hands shot forward to grip his hair, coiling them into the copper waves. It was all I could do not to rip it out.

I realized I was struggling to keep quiet. The movie's soundtrack was loud, but I didn't want to call attention to our car. Edward seemed to be doing everything in his power to do that. I watched his head move through slitted eyes. Over my moans, I made out his low growl.

His name was on my lips when I came. I could feel the shaking of my legs and exhaled, pushing the sweaty hair out of my eyes. Edward joined me on the seat, looking triumphant. I leaned my head against his arm. He shifted and moved so my head lay in his lap. When I had the breath, I laughed.

"Where did you learn how to do that?"

"Books . . . movies . . . some unwelcome mental advice from Emmett."

I could only giggle at his words. He looked downright smug as he moved a strand of hair behind my ear. "At least now I know I can't hurt you."

"Well, it definitely didn't hurt."

He pressed a fingertip to my nose. "I thought not."

I smiled, never looking away from him. His eyes weren't gold any longer; a side effect of his control, I was sure.

A fierce sense of pride rushed over me. He had kept his word and kept me safe. My vampire was a force to be reckoned with. I mentally added oral sex to his endless list of abilities.

"I'll never forget this," he said, tracing my face with his hand. The moon shone in from the back window, casting his face in shadow. "I can't, of course, but . . . the way you look. The way you sounded just then. I could watch you forever."

"Likewise," I murmured. Forever had a nice ring to it.

Suddenly everything felt like it would be okay. It might have been the post orgasm bliss, but I thought I had somehow moved our future forward. In order for the 1962 Edward to arrive, things had to change. Something was coming, sure, but I had an army of vampires around me.

Whatever it was, I was ready.

A/N: Welcome new readers and thank you veteran readers for your lovely reviews. You all know how to make a girl feel special!

I'm going to be sending new chapter teasers to Sneak Peak Monday over at ADF. Tarbecca kindly posted it for me—thanks, Tarbecca!

As always, I appreciate your readership and support. Have a great week guys, and I'll see you next Wednesday.