Disclaimer: Characters belong to S. Meyer

A/N: As promised, a weekly update! And EPOV too!

I was, perhaps, a little rash when I allowed Esme to plan my birthday party. What was supposed to be a intimate family gathering had turned into a full blown fiesta with a few hundred guests, of whom, I was sure I had only met a quarter.

Rose and Emmett were standing near by; having wished me a happy 27th birthday which was really neither here nor there, they had slunk off and had been standing in that corner ever since, whispering covertly to each other. How they could even hear in this raucous crowd was well beyond my understanding, but God, couples were just that way.

"Edward!" A voice cut through the eternal buzz of noise and I turned my head just in time to see a blur of blond before a slim body ploughed into mine.

"Tanya." I replied as calmly.

Her beautiful face beamed up at me, her eyes the same clear cornflower blue I remembered since our youth.

She twirled a curl around her fingers and giggled brightly. "Happy birthday; would you like to see your present?" Her voice was husky and inviting, holding that same hint of invitation which I had spent years ignoring. She was lovely, a true sight to behold but we were raised together; I always considered her something akin to a sister…besides…I preferred brunettes; something about that dark, rich colour made my hands itch to touch it.

My fingers twitched and rose of their own accord, inching towards the breast pocket of my suit.

Before I could lower my hand, Tanya seized it and clutched it excitedly. "What do you say, birthday boy, want to see my present?" Eye glittering, she pressed herself to my chest and an unreasonable sort of anger ignited in my mind as I heard the inevitable crinkle of paper.

I carefully disentangled myself from her, not particularly caring if she took any overt offence; it really was time that she got the message. Nonetheless, I forced a smile, setting her a solid arms length from myself.

"Perhaps later, Tanya, I usually open all my present with Esme; she's a firm believer in sending thank you notes."

Good, I thought, as a disconcerted look appeared on her face. Before she could come up with another excuse, I spotted Jasper's tall form weaving through the thick crowd followed by the unmistakable commotion which came only with Alice's tumultuous appearances.

Tanya was on the verge of another retort when Jasper finally broke through the crowd of people following my conversation with her. A genuine grin broke out on my face as the man clapped me firmly on the back, offering a gruff hug.

"Jesus, Man. Great turnout." Jasper was mocking me, I knew. He turned towards Tanya, his lips twisting into a sardonic expression. "Why Tanya, don't you look classy."

His tone screamed insincerity and for a moment I was almost afraid that I would laugh out loud. The searing hot pink number she had on dipped so low, I was sure she was violating a number of laws.

Blonde she may be, but Tanya was no idiot. For a moment, her pleasant expression twisted into one of utter malice before it smoothed out again. The animosity between her and Jasper had never been a secret and I had a good idea that I happened to be the source of their discord.

The rest of their biting banter fell on my deaf ears as my eyes slid to Alice's pixyish form. A welcoming smile froze halfway to my lips and my hands clenched involuntarily as they tensed by my side. God…what was she doing here?!

No…no, not Alice. Bella! What was Bella doing here?! She…my fingers twitched again, moving towards my breast pocket.

"Happy birthday Edward." I barely heard Alice's voice; the beautiful little form wrapped in white was falling…

Bella's delicate body was crumpling and shrieks of surprise came from the witnesses who all stood around and did nothing.

In a burst of panic that made my heart thump heavily against my ribs, I threw myself forward and felt the torrent of relief as my arms closed around her small body. Bella, my Bella, was warm, almost hot beneath my fingertips, her body limp and giving as I hoisted her into my arms and shot looks of utter disgust to the watching crowd who had flinched away from her falling form as if they were disgusted that Bella would do something so gauche as to faint.

They must have sensed my aversion as the sea of people parted without question, allowing me and my precious armload through without a question. I chanced a look down into Bella's face and saw no awareness. Even in oblivion, her cheeks were flushed and her dark lashes stood in wonderful contrast against her translucently white cheeks. She was as light as air in my grasp, so fragile and so strong all at once.

"– Goddamn it, Tanya! This is none of your damn business –" Jasper's voice was strong and irate behind me. It was soon joined by Alice's quiet, threatening tones. "– You're not welcome –" I lost strains of the conversation in the ensuing turmoil but I didn't care. The winding staircases came into view and I was suddenly terribly grateful that Esme had been wise enough to station several security personnel at the bottom to ensure that no adventurous guests went wandering in my private home.

A great bulk of a man nodded to me as I passed, bounding up three steps at a time, intent on reaching a bed so I could set my precious burden down in comfort.

An indignant scream interrupted my single minded progress and I turned back just in time to see the three security guards blocking the wide base of the staircase, their arms out stretched as Alice squirmed, dodged and swore like a seasoned sailor.

The largest one of the guards, presumably the man in charge stood stoically, unflinching as Alice aimed a punch at his gut.

"No one is allowed onto the second level, miss."

One look told me that Alice was at boiling point, her face was flushed and she was breathing heavily, held in place only by Jasper's restraining arm as he tried to push her back behind him so that he could take a swing at the black suited guard himself. Tanya too was hovering around the base of the stairs, feebly batting her lashes at a man who ignored her with admirable professionalism. As if that wasn't chaos enough, Rose and Emmett had also followed and were now standing shoulder to shoulder with Jasper and Alice, glaring menacingly at their restraining arms.

Rose's eyes darted to the limp form in my arms, her eyes widening as she let out a horrified scream.

"Bella! Oh my God!" She turned her furious eyes onto the security. "Those are my friends up there, so you better step aside if you know what's good for you!" Emmett reinforced her words as he stepped forward and flexed his biceps threateningly.

However big Emmett was, he was still no where near the sheer size of the head security guard who didn't budge an inch, instead, the man turned back towards me, his eyes cool as he met my gaze.

"Mr. Cullen?" His gruff voice questioned.

An insane impulse overtook me in that instant, something selfish and hot and impatient.

"I have never seen them in my life." The words left me before I could stop them and wonder at my irrational actions but the guard nodded and turned towards my forsaken friends, his bulk unmoving as they gaped at my denial.

"Mr. Cullen has made himself clear, you are not allowed –"

Indignant screams dogged my steps as I resumed my ascent but I didn't care, sense had abandoned me. All that I could think about at the moment was Bella…and how I had, quite inadvertently, managed to wrangle an entire night alone with her.

Was that disturbing? Surely this wasn't how a gentleman courted a young lady. I looked down at her face again as I reached the top of the stairs; her features were still unmoving, blank and unconcerned with the indignant curses being flung at me from the bottom of the stairs.

I turned a corner, relief flooding through my tensed form as the noise of the party faded. The empty corridors were cool; there were no bodies here to generate the extra heat to counteract the air conditioning. Downstairs, there was no such comfort even with every window and door flung open, and that, I guess, was why Bella had fainted.

Unwittingly, my feet had carried me into the dark, cool recesses of the master suite, my suite to be exact. Pushing open the doors, I moved past the outer parlour and into my bedroom so that I could rest Bella's delicate body on the cool sheets. For a moment I stilled as she shifted, moaned and settled again.

I couldn't control myself; my hand slipped into her hair, removing the pins that Alice had undoubtedly fixed into her unnaturally curled locks. I didn't like it, I thought. I liked Bella's hair free, flowing down her back like a river of chocolate.

She didn't stir as my fingers moved down her cheek or when my heavy gaze took in the beautiful white dress possessively hugging her slender form. Was it wrong to be jealous of a sheath of fabric?

"Ugh!" I tore myself away, bolting from the bed. This was…pathetic. Bella…Isabella didn't even know who I was. She would probably scream if she woke up and found me hovering over her as I had been.

The thoughts bounced hollowly around the inside of my skull. Yes…Isabella didn't even know me. We had never been introduced…she had never even seen me before tonight, she hadn't felt the same electric thrill when our eyes met, hadn't felt the blast of hot, unrelenting desire throbbing through my veins even as I paced the room.

My footsteps thudded, muffled against the thick carpet of my bedroom as I crossed the room and flicked on the dim overhead lights. It wouldn't be a good idea for Bella to wake up in the dark with a strange man near her bed.

But the lights seem to have done the trick; Bella's eyes flickered behind her closed lids and soon enough, her chocolate brown orbs were blinking blearily and roaming around the decadence of my bedroom. She moaned lightly, a sound which set my pulse tripping, and raised a hand to her unravelled hair. As soon as she touched the loose curls, a frown marred her perfect features and her eyes finally came to rest on me.

She screamed. Damn it. She screamed when she saw me. She drew her body up from her prostrate position and tucked her knees into her chest in a protective huddle.

"I'm Edward Cullen. You're…ah…you fainted, downstairs. I just thought…" Hell, listen to me; I was stumbling all over my words like a smitten schoolboy.

Bella's cheeks reddened in the dim light for some reason and she slowly uncurled herself from her protective position.

"Oh." Her voice was a sweet whisper. "I'm…umm…Bella Swan. I'm Alice's friend, she, ah, she brought me to your…oh!" She bit her lip…hell, I don't think she even realised what that look was doing to me. "Umm…happy birthday."

I felt my lips twitch and I saw the answering twitch on her luscious pink lips. The absurdness of the situation seemed to dawn on us and after a spontaneous bout of laughter, the tense atmosphere evaporated.

Remembering my manners, I cleared my throat and stilled my laughter and walked towards the side table.

"Would you like some water?"

The little beauty on my bed leant back and nodded, the charming blush still staining her cheeks. As I poured, she spoke up, her voice felt like a warm finger meandering down my spine.

"Where's Alice…and Jasper?"

I tensed. Oh shit. My back still to her, I schooled my expression and tried to formulate a logical answer.

"Oh…they're just downstairs…in the kitchen." I turned towards her, praying fervently that my smile was sincere. "They're getting you something to eat."

Bella seemed to accept my answer as I walked calmly towards the bed, water in hand. I handed her the glass, leaning unnecessarily close, almost tempted to bury my nose in the alluring scent which wafted from her like an irresistible invitation.

When at last, I gathered my senses and pulled away, Bella's head was down, the glass of water resting listlessly against her knee.

I felt worry rise in my throat. Was something wrong? Had I been too obvious? Was she…

Bella's head snapped up, her eyes met mine, alight with shock, wariness and an expression which I couldn't identify and wasn't sure I liked.

"What's this?" She asked; her voice trembled.

I was confused, what was she…Bella snatched up the item from her lap and held it out to me. "What is this?!" She asked again, her voice spiking. She leapt from the bed and backed away from me.

I didn't understand…she was waving whatever it was in her hand frantically and when I took a step towards her, she froze and threw it at me. It fluttered useless to my feet and I felt the blood drain from my body when I saw what it was.

Desperately, I patted my breast pocket, reached inside…and came up empty. Damn it. It must've fallen out as I leant over Bella. No wonder, she had been so scared. I glanced down at the object which seemed to mock me…Bella and I had barely met and…

"Bella –"

"Don't come near me!" I hadn't even realised I had moved.

I bent to pick up the photograph, the one which had fallen from my pocket and had been inadvertently pitched at my feet. It was a picture of her, of Bella. The edges were folded back so that the photograph centred on her smiling face…damn…but I had no idea how to explain this to her. How could I possibly explain why I carried around a photograph of her when I had technically only met her five minutes before?

I held out my hand to stay her retreat. I hated this. Hated the wary look on her face as she retreated, it twisted a knife buried in my flesh and twisted harder when the wariness turned to something akin to fear.

"I can explain." I said even as I floundered, stumbling forward as she backed away. "I…I really can explain this." My fingers tightened around her photograph as she paused.

Her gaze was defiant now, her head held high and proud. "Really? Fine, you have five minutes before I scream your roof down."

"Ok…" I found myself saying. "Ok…"

Months ago…

"Jazz! We're late!" I was in an ecstatic mood; the Globally Green company takeover had just come through and my company now owned the ruling share. It was a deal which had taken months of wrangling and negotiations to push through and God wasn't it a satisfying feeling to finally succeed.

We were having a celebratory dinner, me, Esme, Carlisle and the gang. Alice had already gone on to the restaurant, having left straight from her office earlier that night. Jasper was ironically the one who was lagging behind; undoubtedly checking his hair in the mirror. I snorted slightly, wandering around his sleek, upscale apartment.

Jasper had always had good taste, in women, in furniture, in art. It showed through loud and clear in his apartment. The walls were hung with unique one-offs and his shelves covered in interesting knick-knacks from his travels. The mantelpiece above the pseudo fireplace held silver framed photographs of Alice, his parents, his friends and…

My eyes fixed on Her. The perfect little creature who laughed joyously from the photograph…her eyes alight as she stood happily by Jasper, Alice, Rose and Emmett. Who was she? Why had my friends kept me from her all this time? The primal thrill in my blood told me loud and clear…here was the ONE. She was it...

Those cliché stories suddenly didn't seem so absurd. The world seemed to click into place from the moment I saw her. My mind blanked even as my heart raced. Had my friends kept me from her all this time because they knew I would take her without preamble if I ever met her in person…were they as scared as I was at the pure flood of emotion I experienced as I gazed at her inanimate form? God…if I could just run my hands down her body…

Jasper burst out from the bathroom, interrupting my reverie and slinging an arm around my shoulder.

"Well, boss man. Let's go celebrate!"

I didn't respond. In fact, I could barely drag my eyes from the photo in the frame. I didn't want to stop looking at her…I didn't want to lose this complete feeling which ran rampant through my body.

Jasper followed the direction of my gaze and chuckled.

"Great photo isn't it. Look at my girl…she's insane isn't she?" I had barely noticed but yes, Alice was hanging onto Jasper's shoulders in the photo, her feet dangling from the ground as her hand clutched that of my beautiful angel…

"Yes." I said, noncommittal as Jasper went on unsuspectingly.

"We were celebrating Bella's book release…she had just…"

My mind fixed on that word. Bella. Beautiful. My perfect beautiful Bella. Mine.

Later that night at the restaurant, I guiltlessly plied my best friend with liquor as I nursed a single dry martini and when at last, the celebration wound down, I offered to drive him home. Alice let me and I did just that.

As Jasper slept in his drunken stupor, oblivious to the world, I returned to his mantelpiece and like the obsessed man I was, I undid the fastenings on the back of the frame and slipped the photograph from its glass prison into my pocket.

If Jasper or Alice had ever noticed its absence, they never spoke of it to me…or perhaps they never suspected. The next time I returned to Jazz's apartment, the photograph had been replaced with one of Alice and Bella huddled under a bright red umbrella in a torrential downpour.

I did it again. I couldn't seem to help myself. Something about that smile, those eyes, that face…my mind kept whispering the same word to me over and over again…mine…mine…mine…mine…

I somehow found myself reaching forward, undoing the back of that very same photo frame and slipping the picture into my pocket once more.

Jasper had come back only a second later, his eyes had seemed to slip straight past the frame…

"I…God, I sound like a lunatic." I muttered, sliding my hand over my face wearily.

"Yes. You do." Came my Bella's answer.

She was soft perfection itself, standing there, glowing under the muted lights of my bedroom, her eyes averted from my own.

"Why didn't you just ask Jasper or Alice for an introduction?"

My head shot up. Was she giving me a chance? Was this some sort of peace offering? I swallowed, praying that I had not just raised my own hopes uselessly.

"I…" My voice was hoarse. "I…well, it was hardly the most logical thing to do."

Bella's incredible eyes snapped to mine, a corner of her lips twitched. "And stealing photos from your friends was?"

A flush of heat crept up my cheeks. Christ this woman was driving me insane, her scent permeating my room and sinking into my skin.

"What could I say to you when we finally met? I connected with you via your inanimate image?" I was insane…oh God…Bella would be running, screaming bloody murder from me at any moment.

"How about…'it's nice to meet you.' That usually works for me." Her tone was impertinent now, a hint of sarcasm laced with laughter.

I stared at her, dumbstruck. Was she…was she teasing me?

Bella's laughter died out slowly, a frown settling over her beautiful face.

"I wouldn't have minded, you know…" She gazed at me pensively, her eyes honest. "Instead, here I am, crashing your party and fainting in the middle of it to boot…I didn't even get you a present."

The humour in her voice steadied me, reassured me that she wouldn't go running for the hills any time soon. I tried to smile at her but Bella's head was downcast, her face turned from my view as her lips trembled with…something…

God, had I upset her somehow? I wanted to apologise…but I wasn't sure quite how without making myself sound even more like a lunatic.

Her head snapped up as if I'd spoken, her eyes flashed with something…

In a few short steps, Bella had planted herself in front of me, her scent engulfed my senses and I gasped for air like a dying man. No woman had ever tempted me so easily simply with her presence. All she needed to do was exist and my body would disobey me and bow to her every whim.

"I didn't get you a present for your birthday." She whispered and I could make no sense of her words. What could she possibly mean by…?

She took a step closer, pressed her body to mine and met my eyes.

The expression there…the look in her eyes. In an instant, I burned, wanted, lusted…the control fled.

Bella Swan's lips crashed into mine and sweet desire welcomed me with open arms.

A/N: Interesting isn't it...and No! Edward Cullen was not stalking her...he was just a little...obsessed.

Anyway...

Twilight to Midnight