I apologise for the delay. I've had a lot of homework for the Easter holidays, plus study. I hope you enjoy the chapter and the fact that it is longer than usual makes up for the delay. I have a one-shot, His golden eyes, posted for a contest. Check it out and review. Enjoy the chapter. Don't forget to review!

Edward: Why am I the only character that you use for Disclaimers?

Me: Because you're pwetty! *Drools*

Edward: Ugh, you disgust me.

Me: Tsk, tsk. That wasn't very kind. I'm going to chase you now with a large net.

Edward: No, don't! Wait, I know how to stop you. You don't own Twilight. Stephanie Meyer does. Hah.

Me: That was low.

Enjoy! And let me know what you think!

BPOV

''Bella,'' He began with a gulp, his Adam's-apple bobbing nervously. ''There's something I need to tell you about that.''

''Yes?'' I probed. I wanted to know what had happened.

''Well,'' He stalled. ''I...uh...I.'' He struggled for a moment to find the words. Then he sighed.

''Bella, we never slept together.'' He said finally. So, I was still a virgin? I couldn't help but feel a certain relief at the knowledge. I loved Edward with all my heart, but I didn't want the first time I made love to be a drunken mistake that I couldn't even remember.

But, if nothing had happened, why was I naked when I awoke? Unless… Edward had undressed me to make me believe that something had happened. Why would he do such a thing? Why would anyone do such a thing? I looked at him sharply, my question written clearly across my features.

''Well,'' I said. ''If nothing happened, then why were our clothes strewn so haphazardly around the room? Well, Edward?'' He gulped once again, looking embarrassed.

''Well,'' He said, eyes cast downward. ''You, uh, some might say. That you, uh, ahem. Well, uh…'' His voice trailed off pathetically, leading absolutely nowhere. Did he honestly believe that I would leave it at that? Honestly? Apparently so.

''Edward,'' I ground out, between clenched teeth. ''Tell me what happened, now.'' He shifted under my gaze, undeniably uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and finally, finally, spoke.

''Well,'' he said, once again. ''You, well, uh, you threw yourself at me. And I, um, got carried away. But I regained control in time.'' I felt my cheeks redden. How embarrassing! I had wanted him to answer me, but now I wish he hadn't. I had thrown myself at him, like a common whore. How humiliating. And he had rejected me. The thought made my throat ache.

I felt myself fall back against the couch with a soft thud. Edward was clutching my hands. ''It's okay,'' He soothed. ''It's okay. You weren't yourself, Bella. It was too dangerous.'' He continued. But I only heard the part about my not being myself. It was true. He had said that I was drunk. That I had insisted upon alcohol consumption. It hadn't sounded like me, but I had believed him. I had entertained the thought of him having slipped me something in my drink, and then shook it away, dismissing it as impossible. That I would have seen any attempt. That had been before I had realised the extent of Edward's abilities. Vampires could not become drunk, they did not consume what they deemed, ''Human food''. Only blood. I was quite certain that alcohol fell under the category, ''Human food.'' Not blood. His story made no sense. Absolutely none. He was still speaking. But I didn't hear the words he was saying. Concern and love shone in his eyes. But how could I believe what I saw. It seemed that, from the very start, our relationship had been nothing but deceit. To be quite honest, I was sick of it. I wanted the truth, the entire truth. And I wanted it right now.

''Edward.'' I interrupted him. He stopped speaking and looked at me intently. No doubt the seriousness of my tone had caught him off-guard.

''Yes?'' He answered warily.

''I want to know what really happened the night we were married. You said that we were drunk. Maybe I was, I can't remember a thing. But you couldn't have been. To the best of my knowledge, the only thing vampires drink is blood. I want the truth, now.'' I tried to sound intimidating, I really did, but I doubted that the most intimidating person in the world would intimidate a vampire. Something about the fact that they could easily rip a person in two.

I expected that he would squirm, if only a little bit. However, he answered without missing a beat.

''Bella,'' He began, hurt in his eyes. ''The only part of what I told you that was untrue was that I, too, was inebriated. You began to act differently at the coffee-shop. We missed the bus and you asked to go somewhere that served alcohol. I refused, but you insisted. I couldn't deny you it. I fell in love with you upon sight, Bella. You drank and drank, and then suggested that we get married. I was blinded by my love for you, as you were blinded by the alcohol. Thus, we were married.'' He finished, and then looked thoughtful. ''Now that I think about it,'' He said. ''It is possible that someone may have slipped something into your drink while neither of us were looking. Perhaps that is why you have no recollection of the events that transpired afterwards.'' I absorbed what he was saying to me. It all seemed very plausible. I mulled it over while he waited in anticipatory silence. Everything that he had said made sense, well, somewhat anyway. It explained everything that I had wanted explained. Perhaps I had jumped to conclusions. I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. It seemed that I was always jumping to conclusions where Edward was concerned. I wasn't being fair.

''I'm sorry for insinuating that you did something unsavoury, Edward. Please, forgive me.'' I pleaded quietly. I looked up at him. His eyes were tight, his mouth a thin line. He was hurt. I had wounded him with my words. How could I have been so cold, so callous?

''Of course I forgive you, Bella. I love you. How could I not?'' He questioned hoarsely, as he embraced me. I could feel my heart break slightly at the sound of his voice. I had done that to him. It was my fault. Him, the impenetrable, invincible, infallible vampire, he had been wounded because of me. By me. The mere thought made me loathe myself. I was an abomination. Edward held me tightly. I don't know how long we stayed there, in that exact spot. It felt like an eternity. It could have been mere minutes. I didn't know. What I did know was that I would have happily stayed there for the rest of my life.

It was an infinite amount of time later that I heard the front door open. Charlie! The dinner wasn't even started. I shot up from Edward's arms. He stroked my face and cleared the stray tears that I had unknowingly shed whilst in his arms. I rushed from the room to greet Charlie and apologise for the lack of dinner, Edward following at a leisurely pace. When I reached the door, I stopped in shock. We had visitors, again. Billy and Jacob. Edward's arm wrapped around my waist, though he seemed tense. Billy glared blatantly, while Jacob simply looked confused. His nostrils flared and his nose wrinkled in distaste. Then a look of abject horror made a home on his features. He shook himself and a weak smile replaced the expression of horror. Edward extended his hand to Jacob, not bothering with Billy who continued to glare. Jacob took his hand gingerly.

''Edward Cullen. It's a pleasure to meet you.'' Edward's expression was polite; however, there was a touch of smugness mixed in. I was so confused.

''Jacob Black.'' Jacob replied, looking somewhat how I felt and, if I wasn't mistaken, a little disappointed. What in god's good name was going on?

I looked from Edward to Billy to Jacob. When I could decipher nothing from their facial expressions, I turned to Charlie.

''I'm really sorry, Charlie,'' I said. ''I haven't even started on dinner. I can fry up some fish right now though. Again, I apologise. Edward and I were, uh...'' My voice trailed off, but luckily Edward came to my rescue before Charlie could become too suspicious.

''Doing homework.'' He finished. ''We were doing homework.'' Right, homework.

''Anyway,'' I cleared my throat. ''Time must have gotten away from us. So, I'll, uh, go get started on the fish. I assume that Billy and Jacob are staying for dinner.''

''Of course.'' Charlie smiled, then walked into the living room to watch television until dinner was ready. Billy and Jacob followed.

I walked into the kitchen and was only somewhat surprised to find that Edward had followed me.

''Anything I can to do to help?'' He offered, knee-buckling grin in place. The sight took my breath away and I lost my balance. Edward was beside me in a flash and steadied me. Well, that was mortifying, I thought to myself. I couldn't seem to at like a normal human being around him. I answered him when I felt that I could trust my own two legs.

''No,'' I said. ''Just please, try not to distract me.'' He smirked.

''I'll do my best.'' He chuckled. The sound akin to that of an angel. Once again, I felt myself wobble, but, fortunately, managed to steady myself on the countertop. Unfortunately, Edward noticed my stumble and was all too aware of the cause and began laughing raucously.

''Stupid, beautiful, perfect vampire.'' I mumbled to myself, then turned to busy myself with making dinner. I contemplated giving a portion to Edward, to see how he would get out of eating it, but decided that it was too cruel. We would tell the others hat he was feeling ill and not up to eating.

I felt his arms wrap around my waist and his lips on the back of my neck. He raised his mouth to my ear and said, ''That's quite the coincidence, Bella. I find you to be quite perfect also.'' He heard me? Of course. Super-sensitive hearing. How had I forgotten? Even so, the compliment brought colour to my cheeks and sent chills down my spine. Though that might have been more to do with the fact that he was standing so close to me, very little space separating our bodies. My thoughts drifted to earlier in the afternoon and I began to feel uncomfortably hot. Bad Bella, bad, I chastened myself. My father, his best friend, and his best friend's son were in the very next room. How could I be thinking such thoughts? Though Edward's lips on my neck weren't exactly helping.

''What did I say about distracting me?'' I mumbled.

''Oh, that,'' He replied. ''I disagree with your view that distraction is bad. I find it to be very, very, very good.'' He emphasised each 'very' with a long and lingering kiss to my neck. I withheld a moan.

''Ahem.'' Someone cleared their throat, startling me completely. I turned to see Jacob standing in the doorway looking awkward. I had no idea that he was there. Edward sent a triumphant glance in Jacob's direction. Had he known? Was that the reason for his actions? That made absolutely no sense. I would never understand men.

You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. I cleared my throat in the vain hope that it would dissipate slightly.

''Well,'' I said, somewhat at a loss for words, ''I don't really need much help, but please, feel free to sit down and wait for me to finish.'' I gestured for Edward to do the same. Jacob sat down quietly, dejectedly even. Edward sat with a self-satisfied smirk and crossed his arms, unashamedly watching me as I cooked.

Not long afterwards, I called in Billy and Charlie for dinner. I set plates in front of everyone except Edward. Charlie looked at him quizzically.

''He's not feeling very well.'' I said. ''He doesn't really have that much of an appetite.'' Charlie nodded and dug in. As did everyone else. Edward looked appalled. He stood and pulled out the chair for me. I sat with a blush. He sat and took one of my hands, rubbing circles into the skin. It was extremely pleasant. Dinner was a quiet affair. When everyone was finished I collected the plates to do the dishes. Edward helped me.

''I'm going to bring home the Volvo and then I'll run back, okay?'' He said when we had finished. I stared at him, slightly surprised.

''Only if, that's okay, I mean.'' He backpedalled. I shook my head.

''Of course it's okay.'' I said. ''I'm just surprised. In a good way.'' I smiled. He returned it and my legs, once again, weakened. I leaned heavily on the counter and cursed the gods for giving Edward his dazzling power. It truly was not fair. He leaned down and pecked me on the lips. Short but enough to leave me seeing fireworks. How cliché.

''I'll be back.'' He said, then laughed. He seemed so carefree. It was nice. Then he left and I felt a pang at his absence. Absolutely preposterous, of course. Yet, it was true. I walked into the living room. Jacob and Billy were still here. Jacob seemed..reserved.

''I'm going to bed.'' I told Charlie. The only response I got was a disinterested grunt.

I turned and began to climb the stairs. I grabbed my toiletries bag and went into the bathroom, preparing for bed. I showered and changed into a pair of pants and t-shirt. I prolonged brushing my teeth and hair. When I finished, I waited for a moment. I needed to remain busy or I would be driven crazy waiting for him.

Finally, I sighed. I had to go back to my bedroom. When I entered, I gave a little yelp of surprise. He was lying on my bed.

''What took you so long?'' He laughed. I told him to be quiet and lay down beside him. I hadn't realised how tired I truly was. I was exhausted and drifted into a deep sleep almost immediately.

NO CLIFFY!? Oh my god! How could I not have a cliffy? I'm so ashamed of myself. Anyway, what did you think? I could've continued, but I'm going to bed and wanted to post. It's longer than usual though. EPOV next? Let me know! Don't forget to review!

Thanks,

Kate.