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I want to thank you all so so much for your reviews! I loved reading every single one of them, they gave me giggles and made me insanely happy. I truly am glad that you're all still enjoying the story!

Here is part 2 of where we left off last chapter. Hope it's not a disappointment, but it is vital for all that spirals next!

Love you all so much! You're all truly the best!

Much love, until next (not too long) update.

xx

Chapter Seventeen

"Bella, I just want to be with you forever," he whispered, running his hand over the side of my cheek.

His look was so intense, so meaningful, that I just about fell apart completely.

"Forever," I breathed shallowly, in agreement.

"And, are you ready for me?" He breathed unevenly, removing his underwear.

I couldn't help it, I just... stared down at it. I was fixated by it almost, because, though I was ashamed to admit, I hadn't even seen a male's proper anatomy in the flesh before. And his, well... it looked a little bigger than I imagined. He was already aroused; It was already standing full-erect, and that disarmed me a little. The skin was taut, the foreskin pulled back, and the head purple. I felt incredibly daunted. How was it even meant to fit? What was I even meant to do when it's in there?

My breathing was harsh at the sight of it, as well as the rest of him. "Well, it's certainly... bigger, than I imagined," I blurted out stupidly, without thinking.

"Big?" He raised an eyebrow, and I knew then, by his light tone of voice I had him amused. He put his hands on either side of my head, and leaned down, pressing his forehead gently into mine, as he hovered over me. He rubbed the tip of his nose on mine tenderly. "Only for you."

I giggled nervously at his words, unable to help it. I still couldn't believe we were actually really going to do this!

"Are you okay?" He asked softly, maybe picking up on my nerves. Either way, I hoped I wasn't being too obvious. "Are you sure you still want to do this?"

"Please, I'm positive." It came out a desperate beg for it. How embarrassing.

Convinced, he placed his hands onto the mattress near my head and raised himself, up and over until, slowly, I felt him position the tip of his hard erection at the entrance of me.

I tried to control my breathing, focusing hard on keeping it steady, rather than dwelling over what was about to happen to my body. I swallowed loudly, as I glanced up at him. Immediately, his eyes met mine, and they were concentrated, focused, on my face. His mouth was slightly open, and, a moment later, I became aware that he was trembling. His shoulders were trembling, making the whole bed vibrate underneath me.

The realization hit me comfortably, and made me feel a surge of contentment; He was just as nervous, as I was. Just as frightened about what we were going to do together, for the first time, even though he most likely had already done it a few times before me.

Lifting my hands, I wrapped them gently around his forearms and added pressure, my attempt in reassuring him that this was what I wanted, and that I wanted it to begin, right now, without anymore delaying.

His eyes closed tight, and he blew out air through his nose.

"You must tell me if I'm being too rough with you, Bella," he whispered softly, urgently, eyes still closed. "And, if I am, I'll stop at once. You mustn't be afraid to tell me."

Goddamn it, my mind was screaming in agony, Just make love to me already!

I squeezed his arms again, and finally, his eyes reopened to focus back down onto me. They were bright with building anticipation.

"I will," I breathed out weakly. "I will, first thing, if it starts to get too uncomfortable."

"All right," he whispered, pleased. Then, a look of determination came across his face. "I'm going to ease into you now, slowly. Very slowly, and gently, I promise."

Though he said it to warn me, still it didn't give me enough time to actually prepare for how it would feel, once he did. He eased into me, very slowly, pushing his way inside. I groaned, and felt my eyes pinching shut. I felt like I was about to burst open, any minute, but surprisingly, I didn't. His breathing grew harsh and very loud over the Elvis Presley music that was still playing softly around us in the background, and he groaned through his teeth, once I thought he was fully in. It was not a very pleasant feeling, to say the least. I felt so full, so stretched.

"God, you're so warm," he moaned, in what I thought was appreciation over it. "It's absolutely amazing."

My eyes widened, as I tried to get accustomed to the feeling. It wasn't easy. It felt overwhelming, intrusive to my body.

"I'm going to start moving very slowly, darling," he breathed anxiously, after a few minutes of being still and thoughtful, letting me get used to him being inside of me.

"Ok," I breathed back. I was struck by how afraid I sounded.

He eased forward, very slowly, the lower half of his body pushing over mine. I gasped, and quietly whimpered. My hands flew up instantly to clasp over his shoulders, tightly. I just needed something to hold onto- some part of him to cling to. I watched his face, very carefully, as he withdrew slowly out of me, then eased back in again, less as gentle as before, but still gentle enough.

Oh. Okay. I think now I might be beginning to understand why people find sex pleasurable, because it hadn't been the first time he did it inside of me.

He squeezed his eyes tightly shut again, and breathed out of his mouth, very quickly and unevenly. His whole body was trembling again, sending the whole mattress quivering wildly.

"Are you okay?" I whispered, feeling immediately concerned.

Instead of answering, he nodded his head mutely, and then leaned down and kissed me on the mouth, hard. And then, he started again, to a more faster rhythm, sliding in and out of me, skin slapping against skin rapidly.

He shifted back down with his elbows on the mattress, his whole body covering me, pulling me deeper into the bed underneath him. I moaned, and then he moaned, and then I felt something intense building up inside of me. The whole bed was shaking with each and every thrust and cry of pleasure. The headboard was thudding against the wall behind it gently.

I flung my arms tightly around his neck, as the feeling grew... and grew. I was starting to feel weightless, like I was floating across earth. I felt myself begining to stiffen around his erection, I felt my body change in unexplainable ways; My toes curled, I was gasping out moans and other expressions of pure pleasure, and my mind was completely blank, because... all that truly existed... was this sensation developing inside of me... and him... him moving in and out of me, his breathing matching my own unsteady, urgent pace. He was whispering my name raggedly underneath his breath, and I might have even been doing the same.

Only, I was too far gone to notice. But not enough to be completely ignorant of what was happening.

He was reaching the same intense climax the second I was; I was more positive of it than anything else in the entire world, in that moment. Because... his movements slowed... a pained moan rippled through his teeth and... his hands shot up to grip something above my head in between his hands.

"I love you," he groaned breathlessly and, before I knew it, I was coming undone at his words and evaporating into jelly. My legs felt completely numb. My brain was floating around somewhere inside my head, as a brilliantly blinding white light flashed through it.

And then, I knew a second later, he was right in the moment with me, because he cried out my name fervently, thrusting one single last time, then stilled inside me immediately after. What happened next, had me wondering if I were so far gone from the orgasm I had just experienced, that I was hallucinating.

So suddenly, a puff of stark-white feathers exploded into the air around us, floating and drifting, slowly... slowly, until a few landed on Edward's bare back.

"Oh my god!" I threw my head back, and laughed hysterically. Only, Edward didn't find it as hilarious as I did.

For a moment, he just laid there, inside me, and he leaned down to press a gentle kiss into my collarbone, and then, embarrassment spread across his face, and he pressed his face into my stomach, rubbing the tip of his nose into my overheated flesh.

"Hey," I whispered, trying to get his attention, "What's wrong?"

He lifted his face out of my stomach, and peered over at me. His eyes were heavy-lidded and dopey from the orgasm he had experienced, and he frowned at me. He still looked like the most gorgeous man I had ever seen in my entire life, even with his hair all ruffled and his serious, foreboding expression.

"It's nothing, honestly." He moved to lay next to me, shoulder to shoulder, and slipped an arm around my neck, pulling me into his chest, with a strained smile. I melted against him, wonderfully exhausted and happy. And then, I burst out laughing again; Loudly, and uncontrollably, because... he had white feathers in his hair, and I really ought to have not found it as cute as I did.

"What?" He whispered, self-consciously. "Are you laughing at me? Did I do something funny?"

"No." I smiled up at him. "You just have feathers in your hair! It's surprisingly cute!"

"Oh, well." He nuzzled into my cheek. "I'm glad you think so." His hand rubbed up and down my bare back, over and over, until I shuddered against him.

I really wanted to stay here, in this bed with him, forever and ever. Only, realistically, I couldn't. I had to get home or else Charlie would be panicking.

I leaned in to kiss him. He kissed me back, very slowly, until I arched back to look him in the eyes. "I really have to get dressed now. Do you mind dropping me off home? I don't want Charlie to worry."

He was silent for a few minutes, just staring back into my eyes. I could tell he was very reluctant on having me leave the bed. I pushed off his chest and, with his hand, he whimpered and pulled me back down gently, holding me in place. For a few minutes, I was his willing prisoner confined in his loving, strong arms, until he finally let me. He combed the hair off my sweaty forehead with his fingers, and then gave me a quick feathery kiss on the tip of my nose. My breath hitched in my throat.

"All right, love. Whatever you say." He definitely sounded disappointed and, really, I couldn't blame him. I would have rathered nothing more, than to stay in bed with him all evening, just kissing and cuddling, and talking.

I slid off the bed, stretching various muscles and bending over. I felt a bit sore and tender in a few different places, but it wasn't unbearable in the slightest. I didn't steal a look at Edward, when I retrieved my clothes off the floor, and headed into the bathroom to change. I knew it would only tempt me into lingering around for longer.

After I got done dressing, I finally saw my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I truly looked like a girl hopelessly in love. I was even glowing. And, my hair... oh boy. I grinned to myself. I had sex-hair! Bella Swan, last girl in the universe to ever have it, had sex-hair!

"What are you smiling about over there?"

Edward's voice suddenly came from in the doorway, and I gasped. He really had to stop scaring me.

And, still, I was grinning like a lunatic. "Nothing." I knew I wasn't very convincing.

My mouth went completely dry, as he casually came to stand by me near the mirror. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but he had put on his jeans. I scrutinized his face carefully in the mirror. I couldn't assess his mood at all. He didn't look sad about what we just did, but he didn't exactly look superbly thrilled, either. Didn't he enjoy himself, like I did?

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly, assessing me with his eyes himself.

"Great." I shrugged. "Better than great, actually. What about you?"

"I'm excellent." Yes, he was definitely excellent. I blushed and then, suddenly, I was blabbering again- like always, whenever I was nervous or flustered...

"Do you wear contacts?" I blurted out, unthinkingly.

He blinked down at my reflection in the mirror. "What?

"It's just... I saw eye contacts in your bathroom cabinet. I wasn't snooping around, I swear. It just... surprised me. I never knew you needed them."

"Yeah, uh. I'm partially blind in one eye."

"Sure, you are," I rolled my eyes. "There is something different about you, isn't there?"

"Darling, what are you even talking about?"

I turned from my reflection, and lifted my hands to cup his face in them. Surprisingly, he didn't want any of my touch at all. He gripped both of my wrists, not too tight but still forcefully, with strength, and pulled my hands down into the direction of his bare chest instead, holding them together in both hands.

"Are you sick? Is that why you have blood in your drawer? Do you need transfusions, or something? You can tell me, I won't mind!"

I tried, with difficulty, to pull my hands free. I wanted to comfort him, only still, he refused to let me in.

"Please, let go of my hands," I whispered up to him, desperately.

"Then don't touch me with them," he pleaded unevenly, and that hurt me. It stung. He was rejecting me.

"Why not?" I challenged loudly. He shook his head, and winced. "Why don't you want me touching you? You don't want me anymore, since we just had sex? Was that your main accomplishment- take my virginity? Is that it?"

"Don't be ridiculous." His voice was aloof, defensive. He was pushing me away.

Finally, he released my wrists, and slipped further away from me. I stared at his tense back, eyes furiously confused, and wet with tears.

How did things change between us so dramatically? What? Why?

Just half an hour ago, he was kissing me, being completely tender with me. And, now, he was shutting me out completely. With his bare back facing me, shoulders squared defensively, I saw it; A small, faded scratch mark on his left shoulderblade. I inched closer, slowly. I didn't want him to notice. It was definitely a scar. White, raised, bumpy skin in comparision to everything else. Holy crap. Was that a bite mark? A bite mark? Suddenly, I blanched in both sheer shock, and startling realization.

Suddenly, it all came together.

The cold skin- the purplish tinge to his fingers, the lack of circulation. The hard strength of his back muscles, the ridgity, when I remembered clawing my fingernails down it while we were in the middle of sex...

Everything was coming to me, fast, and relentlessly. But, it was hardly logical. Or reasonable, even. Maybe I was simply being paranoid? Do they even exist? Surely not, impossible. A tale in old fables, that was purely it.

But then, all those times... not once did I see him ever eat anything. Not even once. He would simply feed me, and watch intently, like me eating was the most incredible sight to him.

Then, there was at... Michael Newton's party. No blood. He hadn't even sustained a single injury whatsoever. It was truly as if he was untouchable. He truly had thick skin, but for entirely different reasons altogether, I was vastly realizing.

The inexorable strength. The bag of blood.

Naive. That's how I have been, this whole time.

Incredibly naive.

And, if it were true... if those things truly did exist out of storytales, and if he were in fact one...

Vampire.

Oh crap. A hand flew up to cover over my mouth. My stomach, and mind, was reeling. If it were, in fact, true, if he truly was something, like that, then I- -

What was I even meant to think? How was I even meant to feel? The first guy I found myself foolishly in love with... and he wasn't even like me.

I had to know, right then and there. But, really, how were you even meant to ask such a thing? Something so incredibly ridiculous, without having him laugh in my face and call me out on my utter stupidity? It was impossible, beyond explainable.

It was hardly realistic.

But then, perhaps, there was another reasonable explaination? Perhaps, he was right, in all that he said to me? Reynaud's Disease. That's simply it. I was overreacting, I just had to be. Right?

Hope blossomed wildly within, and I was almost laughing at myself internally for even thinking it.

Edward turned to glance over at me. Maybe the expression on my face was weird, because his eyes widened. One hand rose to scratch the back of his neck. "What? What is it, Bella?"

"The scar on your back," I whispered, shakily. "A bite." I whispered it even before I could stop myself, "Are you even human? Are you even like me, at all?" There was accidental disgust in my tone.

I watched, in a horrifying split second, as his face and stature completely changed, from defensive, and confused, to deeply insulted and...

The look on his face revealed it all.

His entire face darkened, until he was someone else. Someone I did not know completely. His cheeks hollowed out, his skin went even paler and waxy than I ever imagined healthy, or natural, and his eyes... Now I knew why he required contacts, because if he hadn't, his true coloring would have seeped through eventually and give him away.

And those eyes...

They were not human. They would have blown it for him within a heartbeat. The pulpils were pitch-black, and heavily dilated, but his irises; they were a deep red. A deep, unnatural red.

This was the real him, not the gentle, sweet loving facade of him that I loved and believed I knew so much. This was him, take it or leave it. No more pretenses.

I felt goosepimples rise all over my arms at the unfamiliar sight of him. He felt too unfamiliar to me, a stranger now, and it pierced me with a staggering sense of loss.

He tongued his bottom lip, as he looked me up and down, very appraisingly. Something glinted there in his unnatural eyes, and the side of his mouth lifted in amusement. It was almost as if he had reverted into another person completely.

My heart was pounding in my ears, and I started feeling so so scared. I couldn't stand looking at him anymore, when he was like that. The shift in his appearance made me sickened inside, and I averted my eyes quickly, and stared down at my fingers.

Anything, was better than having to look at him...

"Does it bother you?" He asked softly, and I felt my eyes close over the sound of his voice. His voice was the only similar thing about him. His voice was the same Edward I remembered, and what I heard in his voice, was fear. Fear I'd abandon him for good over this.

"I don't know." I was whispering down at my fingernails, while I picked at them.

I needed to be alone, indefinitely. Away from him. This was all too much for my mind to take in- surely, he would understand that.

I took in a deep breath, pushed my feet forward, and went to brush past him out of the bathroom and into the hallway.

Just as I was nearing past him, he reached out and gripped me by the elbow. He wrenched me back gently. "Where are you going?" he murmured, his voice so full of despair and confusion. "Please don't say this changes anything. Please. I love you so much, and I was frightened of scaring you away. I would have told you, in time, when-"

"- Edward, please, I need time to think!"

"About what?" he growled.

"Everything," I whispered resignedly. I still couldn't face looking at him, at how much he had changed with it all. "About what you are, what you... look like. It's a little hard for me to swallow right now."

All the references were there... all the little hints. Only, I'd been too blind, too immersed, and consumed, in all that is him, without taking his words into face-value...

"That's very fortunate, because Bella, you smell so delicious already. Why mask up your natural scent and taint it?"

"You taste even better than I imagined. Not as good as the taste your blood would be however, of course..."

Now it all seemed apparently clear to me. This wasn't what I had invisioned at all. First boyfriend, first time... with someone who wasn't even human. Someone, who probably didn't ever have a heartbeat, and did all these gruesomely unnatural things, like taste someone's blood.

I thought love was unconditional. Now, I wasn't so sure. I was left feeling so confused inside, and so...betrayed.

Because he lied to me. About everything. And, how was I meant to move on and live with that?

"You said, you wanted to be with me forever," he said quietly, repeating my words from before. And, yes, I had said them, and meant them- back then. But now... now I wasn't so sure. I didn't think I could ever be with him, when he was like this. Not when I knew what he truly was now.

"I did," I croaked. "But I didn't think it would mean something different to you. There is no forever for me. There's no such thing." Hot, unwelcome tears prickled in my eyes.

"Don't say that." His voice was low, and full of hurt.

My heart felt like it was being clenched painfully by a set of metal tweezers.

I wrapped my arms around my chest, and squeezed, tightly- like it would somehow be able to reach right in, and soothe it all away. "But it's true, Edward. What do you want me to say? I'm not like you. I'll never be like you, and, because of that, I don't think this would ever work. I thought you were the same as me, you lied to me the whole time by putting up this facade. Then again, I ought to have been smarter to actually figure it out earlier."

His breathing was growing erratic at my words. I could tell he was more than just hurt- angry, frustrated.

So suddenly, that it was taking all of my energy with it, he was reaching for me, backing me up against the cold stone wall. Now my breathing was matching his- though for a completely different reason altogether. I was scared, then. Truly frightened. I felt my heart had jumped up into the bed of my throat along with it. He ran his long fingers through my hair, pulling it up and away, to the side of my neck. The coldness of the smooth white tiles behind me was suddenly amplified against my skin, when I was flattened between him and it, equally as chilly as the ceramic.

I placed my hands on his upper arms, and gently pushed. Naturally, it was no luck. I could have been pushing steel for all the good it served me.

"After this is over, and done with," he breathed into my forehead raggedly, as one hand curled over the side of my neck; fingers digging in eerily to my pulsepoint, "I'll take you back to your father, and you can say your farewells, all right? Then, we can start on forever."

"What?" I panted. My head was throbbing with confusion. What does he mean? "Say my farewells to Charlie? What are you-?"

I was too frightened to look him directly in the face somehow, but a moment later, I had managed. He gazed back down at me, eyes still red and hooded, with desire? Blood-lust? I wasn't quite sure which.

"I know it'll be difficult," he said, voice low. The pad of his thumb started rubbing up and down my neck. I shivered, and winced. "It'll be hard, for both of you. It isn't everyday a father has to give away his seventeen year old daughter, but we promised on forever."

I was completely thrown off by what he was saying, and it increased the fear within me tenfold.

I was protesting loudly by the time he pulled my back spine-straight into the wall, and leaned forward. My eyes were wide, glued to his face. And, what I saw there... His top lip was curled over the slightest bit, so his teeth were showing. I just didn't know what was going on, or what he was even meaning by what he said.

Until, a moment later...

"Keep still," he warned, his voice strained, urgent. "I've never done this before, and we don't want any mishaps. Frankly, I couldn't stand losing you over this."

I wanted it all to stop. He was terrifying me!

"Stop it!" I screamed, through the fear building within. "Edward, just stop!"

Finally, I managed to shuffle across the wall. And then, I was running.

Running for my life to get away from him.

I burst out of the bathroom, and ran through the hallway into the main bedroom area. I didn't know how far I could get without him reaching me, but that only made me sprint harder.

"Bella!" He was screaming. "Where are you going?"

The sound of his screaming caused all the little hairs on the nape of my neck to stand up on edge. My pulse raced in fright; Fright, because he sounded so long-gone. So hurt, broken, and confused. And lethally furious.

Without a moment's worth of hesitation, I pressed myself into running.

I wrenched open the front door of his apartment, and ran though the long hallway to get to the elevator to take me down to the foyer ground floor.

My whole body, from neck downwards, felt it were aching. Aching with a staggeringly profound sense of loss, and despair. My heart felt broken, like it had been crushed into a million miniscule pieces, unmendable for life.

The disturbing sound of thumping noises and agonized, broken crying, urged me to pick up my pace. I was panting, and sweating profusely, by the time I reached the elevator. I pushed on the button and, at true last, the doors slid open with a tinny ding.

I huddled against the wall, as I stabbed into the control to take me to ground floor. My heart was hammering in my ears, and just as the elevator doors started to close to make it's descend to the lower floors, I caught sight of him.

It turned out he hadn't bothered running after me after all...

He was outside his apartment, in the hallway, and what he was doing crushed me deeply; He was still shirtless, pummelling his fists into the wall opposite the door of his apartment at a frenzied pace, wailing, and it looked so shocking and tragic.

Once the elevator doors were fully closed, and he had been removed from my view, I clutched a hand over my chest, full of aching, and wanting, and creeping feelings.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter? I know some of you mightn't be very happy with Bella's reaction, but it's vital to the story of where it'll go next. Thanks so much for reading! Love you guys!