Memoirs of Her Scent

by

Amaterasu Kinesi

(EDITED — Oct. 11, 2014)

Chapter Eleven

The Gift

…

Counter

I never knew rain could fall upside-down, until you made it possible.

As I battle the militias that tear us apart, unwilling to surrender,

Your voice finds me, its presence palpable.

From far away, I admire you tender

And beckon with susurrated parable

To fallow me thither

For a manic gamble,

Where darkness embraces the soul devourer.

Cameron Park, Texas — February of 1863

…Jasper...

The susurration of my name was like the crackle of a dying ember, hissing and then, its flare was gone. Meanwhile, a biting breeze that turned my usually harmless wisps of hair into whiplashes around my weather-beaten cold face, carries its dying fumes toward the night sky and only silence reigns again.

A submergence of absolute darkness follows.

The hollow sound that silence occupies is suffocating and nothing else seems willing to feel the oppressing void, except for the sound of a twig snapping somewhere in the distance. Startled, I feel my skin vibrate with tension and fear. Soon after, I conveniently reach to pull my pocket knife out of my right boot.

Could it be someone trying to ambush me? The frightening thought comes and goes just as fleetingly as I spy a white cottontail moving furtively bellow the nearest underbrush. The critter scampers by furiously as I watch, scared out of its wits by its own actions and set on surviving through another day. Relieve floods through my veins, liquefying the tension in my bones and numbing my legs. Though I take caution and remind myself to stay alter, I slowly feel my legs falling asleep.

…Jasper...

Again, I hear the same rasping susurration and I wonder, not for the first time, if I'm losing my mind. After all, the heat hasn't been kind lately and my food and water supply has been scarce, barely enough to keep me alive and I'm hearing my name late at night in the middle of no man's land. Somewhere between a whisper and a whimper, a sound so weak that it barely manages to send the fallen golden-brown leafs rustling, the wind sweeps through me and for a third time my name echoes in my ears.

Trying to distract myself, I inspect my surroundings in an attempt to find the source of the echo. The moon is set high in the sky, full and illuminating its silver glow, attempting by design and failing to eradicate the shadows that take refuge and find life in the darkness. The green leafs on the surrounding trees are swaying in the biting wind and groaning, casting moving shadows that apprehensively attract my gaze, though they are beautifully bathed in the simultaneous silver glow of the moon and the golden light of the blazing bonfire that is keeping me and my protégé warm.

As the attentive observer of tonight's nightly orchestra, my eyes follow the pattern of shadows to the point where their darkness lessens and I find myself staring at the cracking and popping hearth I've been feeding periodically throughout the night since I'd started the fire earlier tonight, just before night had fallen. The heart of the bonfire's blazing hearth is brilliant and beautiful as it dances, its flames reaching in an attempt to set the sky on fire within its containment.

Seduction, I conclude, spellbound by the tenacity of the fire and its destructive nature. Between shadow and light lies a pleasant exchange of surrealism, which I observe and marvel at with unseeing eyes as the opposing lovers, one light and the other dark, merge and then, once together, become no more than a memory within my eye's berth.

Exhaling, I watch in fascination as my warm breath clouds as it greets the cool air and becomes a small, dissipating wisp of vapor, which swirls and vanishes before my eyes as the velvety night steals it and my following breath away. Warming my cupped hands by breathing into them, I shiver and hug myself in an attempt to formulate some more body warmth and keep the piercing-cold wind from blowing through me.

…Jasper!

My muscles tightening in quick ripples down the length of my back, I tens and drop my head between my hands, otherwise remaining unmoving and maintaining the half crouch I've recently come to favor as my go-to position for taking watch. Pretending and hoping that I really haven't gone mad, I continue to observe the bonfire's intricate taunting dance, afraid to acknowledge the voice calling my name and the significance of its sudden urgency. Meanwhile, the flames continue to harmlessly twirl and sway, successfully engaging the shadows with its playful dance of seduction.

It is only the wind, I tell myself, unable to believe that I am hearing anything but the howling wind. Catching the crackling of my only source of light in this oppressing night, I latch on to the sound and listen to the burning twigs and branches sizzling and popping. As I continue to evade reality, still, the shadows continue to give chase, flickering in and out of sight while the flames dance on relentlessly.

Admiring their stubborn game, I wonder who is enticing who – is it the darkness that chases after the light, or the light that chases away the darkness but secretly enjoys the chase? For a short time I contemplate this and come to the conclusion that light exists because of the darkness, its purpose evident: to eradicate the dark. In the end, though, light and shadow come to some sort of accord.

Coexisting, but remaining as counterparts of a whole that can't remain without the other. At peace yet, somehow, still at war with each other; a vicious cycle that always has been and always will be.

Lovers, I conclude, feeling as accepting of their codependency as the universe must. That is the nature for which light and darkness live up to, after all. Shadow and Light, forever entangled in an endless seduction for supremacy, unable to satiate their smoldering libido.

Jasper… please…

Disconcerted, I find myself reacting without thinking and moving toward the source of the voice as if I am a moth drawn to a flame. Its echo sounds too urgent and real to ignore any longer, I justify. Thus, though I'm still not convinced, I tell myself that I could not have imagined this voice that's been calling my name. After all, this makes four.

Or could have I?

Though I am grateful for this excuse to move, my limbs protest with every move I make and my vision blurs as the rush of adrenaline becomes too much. Taking a shallow breath, I try to solely focus on my new found purpose while ignoring the warnings of my limitations and my eyes land on a small bundle, laying not too far from where I had been crouching.

In fact, all I had to do was stand, turn to my right, walk three paces, fall on my knees, and I was there. Of course, my protégé didn't like it when I strayed too far while guarding her against unseen nightmares and chasing her phantoms away within embers while she slept, wishing her memories and traumas could as easily be consumed within the heated tongues of the passionate inferno that kept us warm at night.

Kneeling before my protégé and struggling to inhale, I close my eyes in silent prayer and swallow through the knot of trepidation clogging my airway with difficulty. On the other hand, my breathing is so unsteady I might as well be trading water or in the process of yanking up my heart. Either way, it is as if the effort it took to reanimate my body had chased every wisp of air from my lungs. Making in near impossible to exhale.

To do anything, really.

Trying to remember how to breathe, I am totally stunned as my name bounces around the inside of my cranium a fifth time, reverberating. Summoning for some grasp of a long forgotten inner strength, I force myself to be brave and look at the precious girl tangled within the confines of my muddied olive trench coat, which is much too big for her but, luckily, large enough to keep her warm and safe from the clutches of the night's stinging, hash cold.

At first glance, my eyes lock on a pair of familiar and wide, innocent grey eyes. The look in these pair of eyes had turned from terrified and frenzied to an undeniably trusting gaze while staring back at me at some point during our unexpected journey together. Despite our short acquaintance, these pair of eyes belong to someone I cherish greatly and that someone trusted me, also, without questions or reservations.

Gazing into the familiar grey, I could see that doubt had no place to take root within the berth of their beholder. The idea of such trust still unsettled me, for I strongly believe that I don't deserve her trust or even done everything I could to ever deserve it. But her trusting and relying on me hadn't been my choice. It had been solely hers and she'd deemed me worthy of her trust and affection. Therefore, selfish bastard that I am, I accept her trust and offer mine in return.

Pushing my dejected thoughts aside, I take in the sight of the rest of her in the scarcity of the provided light from our bonfire and examine her face, which looks pale than usual, much too pale, while her cheeks have become worryingly hallow and her lips, parting as she whispers my name again, like mine, are cracked from the unforgiving cold and dehydration.

'Hey, you know how to speak?'I whisper, trying to sound as light as possible but my voice comes out hoarsely and sounding raw from lack of use. 'Good thing I decided to teach you my name, huh?'

'Yes…' she pants. Still, she nod for emphasis, looking slightly bashful and gifting me with a heart-wrenching smile – beautiful, just like the other different smiles I have become familiar with over the period of our short acquaintance. Until this moment, seeing her smile for the first time in so long, I had not noticed how much I had missed her smiles these past couple of weeks. Ever since she fell ill, her many smiles had sparsely graced her lips.

'I'm glad.' Looking closer, I curse. My girl is trembling with cold under the cover of my heavy coat, her forehead is beaded with a troubling cold sweat, and as I touch her forehead with the back of my hand, I confirm that she is burning up. 'You have a fever… I need to make sure–'

'…Jasper,' she interrupts and her breath is coming out in small, short puffs that eventually turn into violent coughs. Somehow, though her voice is obviously small and weak as she speaks, my precious girl manages to sound that much stronger.

'Shush…' I sooth. 'Don't strain yourself, grey eyes, I'm listening. Okay?'

In response, my precious protégé groans and her coughing fit abates for the time being. Wanting to let her know that I am here for her, no matter what she needs, and going nowhere, I lean in closer to her. In all honesty, I would stop the wind from blowing just to make her more comfortable if I could. Or as comfortable as she can be, under our current circumstances. But of course, my eyes sting with tears at the thought and so, I abandon all thoughts of things I would do 'if' I could.

For now, all I can do is divert the wind from directly blowing at her by tucking my coat tightly around her and shielding her with my body. Thankfully, being small works in her favor when it came to little things like this. Therefore, I focus on the things that I can do at the moment and get to work on them.

'How are you feeling?' I question, trying to keep her distracted as I brush her hair behind her small ears and feel her burning forehead once again. She flinches upon touch and my worry escalates, her fever's only gone up since the last time I checked on her. 'Are you feeling hungry? I could…' I trail off, unsure of what I can do to help keep her fever down.

However, my girl just stares at me with her adoring grey eyes while placing her own little hand over my larger ones, which are nearly twice the sizes of hers, and leaning into my touch, closing her elongated eyes with a sigh. Momentarily, her shivering ceases and I dare to hope that she will overcome this sickness.

Conversely, my foolish wish is put to shame much too soon. Upon opening her eyes, I witness something like resignation shining in the eyes of my precious protégé and when she touches my face with her other hand, another round of tremors runs through her fragile body violently and even the coughing fit comes back with a vengeance.

My very being and spirit aches at seeing her enduring through so much pain and for so long, resenting how powerless I feel. Only always watching on the sidelines, I witness her suffering in silence and the way this illness is wrecking her body before my very eyes, while she remains brave and strong. More than anything, it is my inability to do anything to stop what she's going through that is doing the most damage to my conscience.

'Jasper," she tries again, only to start coughing and whizzing once again. Still, her hand remains gently in place and lightly connecting the two of us, as if only our touching limbs kept her tethered enough to stop her from crumbling under the wreckage of her coughs. With a sudden surge of strength, she fists my shirt into a wrinkled bunch with one of her hands as her coughing lessens and draws me close to her, placing my ear by her lips. Next, I feel a small and sad smile curve my girl's ruddy lips against my ear, just before she whispers, 'Cais.'

Confusion shoots through my head as I try to make any sense of her words, wondering what 'key' she's talking about or if she's talking about the sky. It is not until she repeats herself a second time and with such urgency, staring pleadingly at me with her eyes wide, that I realize what my girl means and she's not talking about keys or the skies. At all.

'Your name…' I say, stunned. It is not a question, still, Cais nods sluggishly and barely manages to offer me another smile. Realization dawning on me, a wondering smile spreads over my lips easily and a chuckle escapes me. This is a gift. A precious, precious gift, like Cais herself. Because for as long as we've known each other, until this very moment, I never knew her name or even heard her speak before.

Relief coats Cais' words as she whispers, 'Jasper,' and places her right palm over my chest, searching for the comfort of my steadfast heartbeat. 'Cais.'

'You're simply amazing.' I can't help but tell her. 'Cais,' I repeat, trying to enunciate her name the way she had and Cais is kind enough not to make fun of me.

'Cais,' she repeats for my sake, carefully enunciating. 'My mom… she says… she said,' she corrects herself and swallows with difficulty, her breathing labored, 'it means to rejoice.'

'Ca-is,' I say, carefully trying to mimic her enunciation, and seeing the joy shinning in Cais' eyes, I know I've done her name justice. 'It's a beautiful name,' I praise, making her smile. 'And very fitting.'

Just as I begin to fear that this exchange of conversation might be too much for Cais and that I need to let her get back to sleep, twin glistening trails of saltiness escape the corners of her eyes and her next breath is a struggle. Searching my face for something and not finding it, Cais stares past me and into the darkness behind me. Finally seeing what she's looking for, a knowing smile of relief ghosts Cais' lips and as she smiles, I can see the tell-tale pigment of red coating her teeth in blood.

'Cais… Cais… oh, God, please, no… not yet,'I blubber, uttering her name over and over again like a supplication. Seeing where the blood coating the inside of Cais' mouth had started to trickle onto the side, I swipe my thumb over the left corner of her mouth and clean the residue as best I can with my trembling hands.

My own eyes fill with unshed tears until, finally, I drop the pretense of being strong and unafraid when I see more blood trickling down each corner of Cais' mouth. Allowing my own tears free reign, I feel them sliding down my cheeks and fall and watch each droplet wet Cais' face as they splat onto her cheek, merging with her tears. Silently and verbally, I beg Cais to focus and look at me.

Swallowing the metallic substance remaining in her mouth, Cais comes out of her trance-like state and looks at me, coughing up more blood. As she coughs and struggles for breath, some of the blood sputters and splatters onto me but I don't care. My focus is on trying to help Cais sit, hoping that the elevated positing will aid her breathing. Besides, all I see and feel is her struggle and my need to do something for her other than cleaning the blood off her lips with my blood-stained fingers and serve as her recliner.

'Brother…'Cais says, her voice stronger and clearer than the previous times, and then, with a content smile tugging at the corners of her small mouth, she takes a rattling deep breath.

Hearing Cais calling me 'brother' does something unexpected to me and I feel an unfamiliar jolt constrict my heart, before it starts thudding in synchronization to Cais' quick, shallow breaths. This title of siblinghood is a painful reminder of everything I left behind two years ago to join the Confederate Army. My abandonment of my family is not a reminder I need or want, not when I'm still so far from reaching home. Even so, I say nothing and accept this second gift Cais is offering as graciously as I can manage.

Staring at Cais, panic momentarily overtakes me as I see the fleeting of a shadow slipping across my girl's face and with each decreasing breath, covering her with a feather's touch of bereavement. As her breathing continues to slow, I repeat Cais' name in an attempt to provide her with something to tether to as, with each breath, her own lifetime began to consent her.

At last, Cais' suffering comes to an end and the future she could have had escapes the realm of possibilities within a soft sigh, passing into the refuge of death's wings. Next, her dainty hand slips away from my cheek and clumsily hits the cool grass beneath her as Cais thrashes one last time, no longer fighting to stay, and goes still.

Bereft, I stare at Cais. Still in shock, having seen death in action firsthand, I force myself to stare at Cais' face and eyes, now lifeless, which keep staring in my direction unseeingly and hold a secret smile in their inert depths.

No, a knowing smile, I correct. Overcome, I swallow back a sob and my vision darkens. Through the tunnel of my linear vision, I admire how peaceful Cais' face looks, an exact juxtaposition of I am feeling. For once, she is whole and I am the collateral left in the wake of her achievement. Broken, and there's nothing beautiful about it.

She looked so peaceful… I marvel.

Still staring and processing, my breaths keeps fanning over Cais' face in white, ephemeral puffs that ruffle her hair and proceed to fade into the night, long after forming condensation upon her skin as it loses its life-given warmth.

Though I want to pretend a little longer and make it seem as though Cais is simply resting and could soon wake from slumber at the slightest jolt, I don't think I can prolong the inevitable or keep torturing myself like this. With trembling hands, I reach out and close Cais' eyes, gathering her lifeless body in my arms. As I stand with to my feet with Cais' small body in my embrace, for the first time, I truly feel the loss of her essence, and denial set in.

Just when I thought I would finally get the opportunity to truly know my protégé, my precious girl, Cais slips right between my fingers like sand and onto a place where I cannot follow. My face blanches at this new realization and I take a fistful of her hair with my free hand, holding Cais tenderly to chest and sobbing against her still warm neck.

Sobbing loudly into the night, I sink to my knees, unable to sustain our weight and deal with my sorrow. While on my knees, I slowly start to sway our bodies back and forth as if I were in the process of rocking Cais to sleep.

Instead, I am maniacally begging my little pseudo sister to take pity on me, as much as I despise the idea of being pitied by anyone, and come back to life. Only, long gone, Cais can't hear my desperate plea and even if she could, she wouldn't. Why would she? Besides, she was finally at peace…

Once again, I am on my own.

Alone.

Miserable.

Bereft.

Though I keep breathing and, as well aware as I am of my own vitality running through my veins and essentially keeping me alive, the fact isI feel anything but alive; I feel dead.

Irony is, mere weeks after Cais death, having fulfilled my duties of evacuation all through Cameron Park and finally riding on my way back to Galveston, an opportunity that should have ended with my death presented itself in the form of three beautiful women. Of course, I foolishly thought Death would be kind and I could welcome it at last, and so I went willingly.

Thing is, Death one-upped me. At the time, I was furious and unforgiving but I can only imagine that Death regretted its decision to grant me mercy. Truth be told, if I were Death, I probably would have thought that I was not worth keeping after all and sent me back, too. Anyway, after kicking and screaming for all of three days and two nights while trapped within my own body, to my surprise, I rose from death and more lethal than my military training had ever prepared me for.

"Jasper?"

Startled out of my thoughts and my human past so suddenly, I forlornly come back to present time as my memories fade to black. Catching my obscure and desolate expression reflected on the windowpane where I've been standing for the past two hours and remembering, I stare at my solemn face and try to focus on the now. Forcing myself to look into the eyes of my reflection and mostly succeeding, I see that my face has been cast into shadows now that the lights of Bella's bedroom are on.

Finally meeting my eyes, I note that they are still golden. Still, if I'm not conscientious enough and don't feed, soon, my eyes could turn from gold to black in an instant. Casting away those thoughts, too, I school my features into a welcoming expression and turn away from my reflection to greet Bella.

As soon as I turn, her eyes are on mine and imploring, looking for answers I can't give. Though I try, I can't seem to escape or look away from her gaze. Instead, as of late, I find myself distinctively drawn to Bella's earthy brown eyes. My inability to hide and shield myself from her, though she is merely a human, isn't as disconcerting as I originally thought.

It might be Bella's broken state that has this effect on me and has me lowering my defenses in an attempt to help her feel at ease around me. Or it might be the fact that I feel responsible for everything that's been happening to Bella, though she negates my asking for forgiveness every time I even hint at the prospect.

Really, there is no winning against this stubborn human. Resigned to my fate, I sigh. Just like I do every time I find myself by this very window and waiting for Bella to arrive from her school day, I find myself looking forward to this moment. Before, with being eternal and wall, I never really noticed the passing of time. Now, however, my days revolve around waiting on a human and I've started to notice how slowly time actually passes.

Lately, I almost feel human again. Almost, though not quite there.

Most of my days are spent in restless await and at desperate times, like today, I cannot help but venture into my own thoughts to help pass the time. At other times, I find myself thinking of my family and especially about Alice, wondering why so much time has gone by without my hearing from her. Has Edward, maybe, asked Alice not to contact me? I try to shake the thought away, for it is a dangerous thought at that. Even if that were the case, Alice wouldn't listen to him.

Edward, my brother, have you forsaken me? I have to wonder. It has been a month to the date since Edward abandoned Bella, after all. Since then, I have been rather proud with myself, surprised even. Not to brag or anything like that, I never do as such, mind you. I am a gentleman, after all.

You see, Bella thankfully survived that first night; somehow, I managed to stay in control and not to kill her. Do not get me wrong – I did get very close to killing her several times, in fact, throughout that first night and the ones that followed. Too many times and way too many close calls.

Anyway, at the time I thought that after surviving the first night and remaining strong, then the ones to follow would be more bearable. Somehow, easier to put myself through. And man, had I been wrong. It seems that the longer I stay around Bella and her intoxicating scent, the harder it became not to think about wanting to kill her and sate my bloodthirsty predator.

"I'm back," she announces, uncomfortable with the long silence.

Even now, after having hunted earlier this week, I want her blood and badly. Want to see Bella's limp body in my arms, to taste her succulent blood and feel it flowing over my tongue, going down my throat like liquid velvet made of rose gold, and need–

"Welcome home, Bella," I greet, clearing my throat and downing the gathering venom as I try to escape the dark turn my thoughts had taken before Bella notices. Bella stares at me with the same vacant expression I've seen a thousand times over the past month and which I've come to call her 'auto pilot' defense mechanism, an unemotional mask of numbness. While on the outside, she's here but not quite and on the inside, Bella is still mourning her loss and practically dying from how much she actually feels.

This state of hers frustrated me to no end. It is to the point that I want to shake Bella to try and see if the roughness might summon some sort of emotion out of her. Since I can feel all of her pain and suffering, it gnaws at my insides to see Bella like this. Plus, wanting to help and not being able to, because Bella would not allow it, doesn't help the situation any.

"Yes, thank you, Jasper."

In fact, at times it seems that my power has no effect whatsoever over Isabella Swan. The girl is an oddity, I've come to accept.

"So, you're here…" I say, trying to get Bella to converse with me for a change.

"And you're still here," Bella notes, surprise quoting her words. Though her expression never changes, this is the most engaged Bella's been for the past three days. Sure, her numbness ever present, but I'll take whatever as long as it looks like an improvement.

Still, I frown as I try to reach with my empathy to try and persuade her into loosening up her tongue, even though I know it will probably have as much of an effect as it did the day before; none. Short after, like I always do these days, I give up and decide to just let Bella be miserable. She would not welcome it anyway, so why bother?

"I'm here." I shrug. "Told you, I want to be here, I want to… help." I frown, feeling slightly awkward, a gesture that Bella can easily miss and does.

Bella nods and walks toward me, momentarily hesitating before stepping into my personal space and attaches herself to me. In any case, I think the hesitation is meant for my sake and as soon as I return the embrace I want to run, before my bloodlust gets the better of me.

However, I remind myself, I stopped breathing the moment Bella parked her red monstrosity in front of the house, and therefore it is relatively safe. As Bella hugs me to her and buries her face deep onto the crook of my neck, for a moment, I remain motionless.

I want to run.

I want to stay.

I want to break Bella and have her.

I needed to know that she needs me.

I need Bella, need her to tell me that even though I am a monster I can still be trusted to do something as simple being the one to offer her some measure comfort, given my power. Wrapping my arms around Bella cautiously, I rest my chin atop of her head. Closing my eyes, I listen to Bella's heartbeat and its strong lullaby distracts me.

"How was school?" I inquire, before I am drawn by the vision in red and the drumming of its enticing lullaby.

"Same as always." Bella shrugs, like she always does, without elaborating further into it. Pretending I find this to be a satisfactory answer, I nod. "I should do my homework," she announces predictably and, sooner than I expect, detaches herself from my embrace. Accepting once again, I let her go and watch as she proceeds to hide behind her daily routine.

Grabbing the strap of her backpack, Bella hoists it onto her shoulder and wraps her arms across her body as a shiver runs through her as she walks over to her desk. As Bella sits herself behind her desk chair, I nodded slowly and allow myself a small breath of relief, watching as she gathers her schoolwork from her backpack and transfers it onto her desk top.

Bella is still before me, unscathed, breathing and, more importantly, alive.

"While you finish up, I think I should go hunting," I announce. Bella stiffens.

"Again?" Bella swivels around on her desk chair and turns her brown eyes on me, immobilizing my steps as I witness in them the flood of emotions swarming my way. Her eyes wide and fearful, as if she knows the inevitable parting of ways has finally come.

"You know I'll be back, Bella. I just need to feed myself, or else…" I sooth, letting the words die, glad for the sudden bombardment of emotions. At least she's feeling something other than numbness today.

"I…" she hesitates, warring with her thoughts. "You won't be long, promise?"

"I'll be back as soon as I get my fill," I promise, staring into her eyes. In an attempt to calm her raging panic, I give her a thread of my feelings, expressing sincerity and honesty. Moving closer to Bella, kneel at her feet and tuck away a few tresses that had come loose from their place behind her ear due to my swift motion. "Listen, I promise you won't even have time to miss me."

"Okay," she mutters meekly and blushes furiously. Taking a precautionary step backward, I earn a small gasp of surprise from Bella and manage a tight smile. "Sorry," she mumbles, avoiding my eyes. "I can never help it," she adds, sheepishly pointing at her enticing rosy cheeks.

Successfully gaining my full attention, I meticulously observe the sudden twin rosiness of her otherwise pale cheeks with predatory intensity and the blood gathered just below the surface invites me in. I groan. This girl is suicidal, literally! And the predator in me wants to grant her desires…

"Bella," I begin, my voice is low, soft and seductive as it takes on the deceiving tone that is meant to fool my prey into a false sense of security and bring in the game to a close. One small sample… just nick to the aorta and a taste… that is all I need… "Bella, darlin'," I repeat, my most charming smile playing at the corners of my mouth.

Captivated and spellbound by my predatory allure, Bella sits looking solely at me and I know I have her undivided attention. Drawing nearer and stalking my game, my mouth inundates with venom. The sight of my prey so trusting and not even trembling at the sight of its devourer serving as invitation enough, I stalk forth and my anticipation mounts.

Lightly, as not to scare my prey now that I have it exactly where I want it, my cold fingertips touch the nape of Bella's neck and I feel her shiver under my deliberate touch. Continuing with my tender approach and careful not to make any sudden movements, I tantalizingly draw my fingers up and along the alabaster column of Bella's neck, enthusiastically sinking them into her hair. tangle them around a fistful, making it easier to gently tug her head back… to, finally, reveal the gorgeous curve of Bella's neck…

Moistening my lips in anticipation, I discreetly taste the air with my tongue and it is heavy with the aroma of Bella's unique scent. Inhaling slowly, I let Bella's heavenly scent inundate my senses and look deeply into her earthy doe eyes, as my own grow heavy with hunger and my voice drips aphrodisiacs.

I need.

I want.

Bella.

Bella. Bella. Bella. Bella.

Bella.

Bella.

Bella.

My eyes fly open as Bella moistens her own lips, scenting the air further and making her mouth look rosier. As my eyes fixate on her mouth, Bella bites her lower lip and works it, the small bite causing her lip to pulsate delectably under her teeth. Groaning, I am astounded by how that one small friction drives my senses into overdrive.

A taste… my predator and I are on agreement as I draw near.

"Bella, cariño…" I have no idea where the Spanish endearment comes from but it rolls off my tongue naturally and Bella shivers as I blow on her ear. Mixing Bella's scent with mine is another move I don't understand, but I find it comforting and necessary, if a little on the territorial side.

However, my demon and I purr in approval as we smell our combined scents and skim with the tip of my nose along Bella's jawline and up, close to her earlobe. Trembling, Bella let out a shaky breath and I flick my tongue out to taste her skin, opening my mouth and bearing my teeth…

A taste…