First off, a giant THANK YOU to everyone who sent me such wonderful reviews and PMs, urging me to continue this story. I did originally intend to write it as a one-shot only, but I've been convinced otherwise! There will be a bit more in the A/N at the bottom.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter Two

We remained tangled up in each other, Edward and I, for the rest of the night. There seemed to be no beginning and no end to it all: even as my body shook beneath him, I was already rising again, desperate for his touch, his kisses, his tongue moving over me, his words that resonated from his throat and up over his lips to shiver across my skin. There seemed to be a thousand different ways that he could hold me, kiss me, and arouse me, I simply could not get enough of him. I was so delirious with pleasure that I wondered again if I were drunk, or drugged, or dead, for surely such a night couldn't actually be possible. Nothing about it was frightening or disorienting, though…I'd never felt safer or more cherished in my life.

Sometime near morning, because I remember my eyes rolling back to see the faintest hints of dawn peeking through the window, I finally gave up and fell asleep, exhausted beyond reason. My next lucid thoughts were of being cradled close to Edward's chest, his lips pressed to my temple. I could feel that my physical body was utterly spent, arms and legs draped weakly around his own, but then my mind was awake and arousal flared through the rest of my body in an instant. I stretched against him like a cat and was infinitely gratified to feel him hardening yet again against my thigh.

He must have already been awake, for in the next moment I was flat on my back, his body over me, his lips moving against mine. "Bella…" was the only word uttered before I'd interlaced my body in and around his, my movements silently pleading for the pleasure that I already knew only he could provide. He gave up with a moan which subsided into a soft growl, rumbling up from his chest. It vibrated through me and I gasped his name as he plunged into me again, igniting every nerve ending my body possessed. His hands moved over me with an assurance that seemed instinctual, as though he knew my body better than I knew it myself.

I cried out wordlessly as he came inside of me, the sensation as impossibly thrilling as it had been the first time. Edward panted above me, then his tongue was licking over my dry lips with the gentlest of strokes, allowing the convulsive shuddering throughout my body to subside. Eventually he rolled onto his back, clasping me tightly to him, his hands never ceasing their movement over my tired body.

After a moment I summoned the energy to pull back, to look down into his face. His beauty struck me with such force, it was tangible. His topaz eyes were now soft and almost hazy in their satiation, firm lips relaxed into a faint smile, the planes of his face exquisite in every angle. He was truly perfect.

Desire flickered within me again, this time warring with the more practical needs I couldn't put off any longer. "Edward, I need a moment."

Chagrin immediately replaced the lazy sensuality on his face. "I'm sorry, my love, I am entirely too selfish. This way." He helped me out of the bed, laughing softly when my muscles exhibited the strength of melted marshmallows; he had to half-carry me over to the attached bathroom.

"There are towels, if you'd like to shower. I didn't stop to think how exhausted you must be."

He shut the door behind him with a soft click, and I leaned against the vanity, utterly fatigued. I chanced a glimpse at my reflection: my hair was a snarled mess, as to be expected, but the rest of my face was a surprise. My lips were puffy and red, my cheeks flushed, my eyes heavy-lidded. I looked…well, I looked good, sexy even. Evidently a night filled with more sex than I thought humanly possibly was better than a makeover.

Paying only scant attention to my opulent surroundings, I used the commode and then padded over to the enormous shower stall, turning on the water as hot as I could stand. I relaxed as I slipped under the spray, appreciating the sting of the water even as it reawakened all my senses in the most painfully pleasurable way. The sharpest point of my consciousness finally began to stir, tired, from the back of my mind. The drive to Forks, the party, and then…

Edward's body over me, his lips and tongue teasing my breasts, his fingers showing no hint of shyness as they moved within me, his guttural groan as he finally gave up and slipped deliciously into me, moving with an urgency tempered only by the gentleness of his lips over my face, then the fierceness of his tongue as he explored my mouth…over and over and over again…

My hands fell from where I'd been lathering shampoo into my hair, suddenly no strength left in my arms to hold them upright. The utter eroticism of the previous night returned to me in one heated flash and I slumped against the cool tile of the shower, the suds from my hair dripping and sliding down my legs as my head lolled back . Every inch of me was throbbing, exquisitely so between my legs, remembering detailed flashes of the previous hours.

Ecstasy, rapture, bliss…they'd all seemed like such pat descriptions I'd read in my romance novels. Never in my life had I imagined that such physical delight was actually possible. Never had I actually thought that I would be able to come repeatedly just from the movement of another's body within me, that physical fatigue could be completely disregarded for hours. Actually, I could have never imagined that this morning, unremarkable in every other way, would find me tangled in Edward Cullen's arms. He'd called me "love" repeatedly, making me wonder how long he'd felt so strongly for me. A small part of me was overwhelmed by the deep feelings he professed to have, but mostly I was shocked at how powerfully I already felt for him. Not lust, not attraction. Need. A deep sense of familiarity. Security.

I whimpered, eyes closed, barely registering as the door to the shower slid open and Edward's cool arms wrapped around me. "I couldn't stay away from you," he murmured into my neck as I gladly gave up the support of my body to the strength of his. He turned me around, still clasped close to him, allowing the suds to rinse away from my hair, his hand running gently over its length. I was only too happy to stand still as he washed the rest of me, gladly surrendering when he finished and let his lips take over where his hands had left off. At his touch everything else seemed to recede into the background until I was completely trained on his fingers sliding over my skin, his lips that pulled and claimed an answer from my own, the hardness of him pushing so deeply into me that I could only tighten around him in response, crying out from the uncanny response that his touch brought forth from my body.

We were back in bed, his lips dragging heavily over mine, headed towards my neck with a sensual aim that I'd already come to recognize, when my body betrayed me and I coughed suddenly.

"Bella…" Edward was moving within a second, and then he had a bottle of cool water pressed into my hand. "I can't let myself forget, there's so much I must remember for you. You have to tell me when you're uncomfortable."

I drank it down with embarrassing eagerness; I genuinely hadn't realized how thirsty I was. The water helped with my dry throat and before I'd realized it, I'd drained the entire bottle. Edward's topaz eyes were focused intently on me the entire time.

"All right now?" I nodded, feeling self-conscious, but he put an arm around me and pulled me to him as he leaned back against the headboard of the bed, a chagrined smile on his face. "It's my fault, I should have thought. I just can't get enough of you, it's too easy for me to forget."

I wriggled around until the front of my body was pressed against his side, then relaxed with a contented sigh. "I think I must be dreaming." My words were half-muffled as I nestled close into him, sprawled across his body, my ear against his chest and my lips pressed to the arms he had wrapped around me.

"If you are, then please don't wake up," was Edward's response, and I couldn't help but giggle. I had a million questions to ask him, but ultimately I was too happy to delve further, and I elected instead to burrow deeper into his embrace. Memories from the evening before played slowly across my mind: Esme, Edward, Lori, the truck, and ultimately Edward…everything after that pooled into a blur of semi-conscious rapture. I yawned and closed my eyes, listening to his steady breathing, amplified with my ear pressed against his skin.

I wasn't sure exactly when the realization came, but just as it flashed through my mind, Edward's arms tightened around me. The entire left side of my face was pressed tightly to his chest as I lay across him, my own body rose and fell with each breath he took. Yet his heartbeat, the one I sought to measure against my own, was not there.

I pushed my ear harder against his chest. As much as I willed my own body to silence, to allow me to listen, no reassuring thump greeted me. I felt myself go numb as a thought that was too frightening to be possible started rapping against the edges of my consciousness. I fought to keep it out because the enormity of what it implied was simply not possible. Instead, I pressed my face even harder to Edward's chest until my cheek and jaw hurt, knowing that if I could just concentrate hard enough...

"Bella…" the sadness in his voice caught my attention, gave me something else to listen to, to focus on. "Do you remember what I said to you last night?"

"Yes," I whispered against his cold skin, my heart thumping so hard and fast that now I was starting to get dizzy.

His hands moved and easily shifted my body until I lay completely flush on top of him, my ear still pressed to his chest, his hand resting gently on my head. There was a long aching silence before I finally heard a faint heartbeat, but I recognized it as my own, thumping frantically inside of me and reverberating throughout his silent ribcage. I could hear it accelerate in its panicked thudding even as I felt it, my mind finally cracking enough to allow that one unwanted thought in and realization came fully: there was nothing for me to hear.

"Never doubt," and his voice was quiet, "That I love you. Please, Bella, keep that at the forefront of your mind throughout everything I have to tell you."

Tears needed to come, I desperately wanted to cry, but my emotions seemed frozen, completely locked down in shock. My body reflexively began curling up into a ball, and I realized that I was hyperventilating, precariously on the edge of a panic attack.

Edward's body moved in an instant and I was lying back with him over me, his hands on either side of my face. "Bella, look at me. Please, please love, just look at me." The desperation in his voice pulled at me and I opened my eyes to meet his gaze, the beautiful topaz eyes that spoke to me as clearly as his voice. There was an anchor in his eyes and I reached for it, grasping at the reassurance I knew was there. My shaking stopped, and I mentally resolved to keep my eyes on his for as long as it took for him to tell me the truth.

"Edward?" My voice was a cracked whisper that sounded completely unfamiliar. "Please…tell me everything, and tell me fast."

"I can't tell you everything fast, love. There's too much." His eyes were fixed firmly on mine.

"Are you alive?"

"No."

I clamped my lips together against the sob that threatened to tear from my throat.

"Regardless, know how much I love you. My heart may not beat anymore, but I can still feel love, and I do love you, with all the strength of my body, my mind, and my soul." His eyes reinforced his words, there was no doubt in my mind that he meant it. "I know this is overwhelming, but believe me when I say that it will get easier, the more I tell you."

I grasped at that promise. "Will it make sense then?"

"Yes, it will."

"What you said last night…"

He nodded.

"There are such things as vampires?"

He nodded again.

"Are you a vampire?"

"Yes," he spoke softly, that one simple word, but it was the answer I needed. It was impossible, it was crazy, but it was the truth, and ultimately the truth was all I needed from him. His expression relaxed visibly even as this thought crossed my mind, and his fingers began stroking the sides of my face. I lay quiet in his arms for a long time after that, my body calming as my breathing quieted and my heartbeat slowed.

After a while, he gently lowered himself to kiss me, softly pressing his lips to my forehead, my cheeks, my nose, my chin, my lips. Tenderness was in his every movement and if I'd had any doubts about the sincerity of his endearments before, they were gone now. I shut my eyes, recognizing that his touch was every bit as potent to me as it had been before his revelation, and that awareness settled a profound calm over me.

"Have you always been a vampire?"

"For as long as you've known me, yes. But I was human once too."

"How long have you been a vampire?"

"Since 1918. I was dying in the Spanish influenza epidemic when Carlisle found me, and changed me."

I blinked. "Carlisle…your father…is he?"

"Yes love, Carlisle too. And Esme, and Alice…my whole family."

At that moment, I realized there really was too much for him to tell me fast, there was an entire world of information that he would have to share with me. The term "mind-blowing" didn't even come close.

Edward was kissing his way over my face again, his fingers gently intertwining in my hair. "Bella," he said, in between kisses, "I will tell you everything. I will not lie to you. But before that, I want you to eat something. I know that you're hungry and I don't want you to go into shock."

I was hungry, now that my body was relaxing again, I could feel a painful empty ache in my stomach. Edward gave me one last lingering kiss and then stood up from the bed, automatically reaching out to help me. He led me over to a dresser and pulled a neat stack of clothes from the top drawer, handing them to me.

"Courtesy of Alice."

"I don't think I'm going to fit into any of Alice's clothes," I replied doubtfully. I appreciated the thought, but how in the world had she known I would need them? Unless she'd snuck in while I was in the shower with her brother. It was a strange thought.

Edward laughed a little, pulling his own clothes from another drawer. "She bought them for you. It's something you'll get used to." Impossibly, the underwear, bra, jeans, white t-shirt and soft blue sweater all fit perfectly and were obviously expensive. There was even a pair of cashmere socks and leather clogs. Already dressed, Edward smiled and reached out to take my hand. "Esme made you a little bit of everything for breakfast, she wasn't sure what you would want."

"I'm nervous," I whispered, and truly I was. Not because I was surrounded by a houseful of what were apparently vampires –I'd just spent the entire night having ridiculously passionate sex with one, after all- but I was afraid of their reaction to my sudden and deep-seated bond with Edward. Who was I to them?

Edward laced his fingers through mine and squeezed my hand, pulling me toward the door. "You'll re-meet them all gradually. They wanted to be waiting at the bottom of the stairs this morning, but I convinced them that it might be a bit overwhelming for you. And Rosalie and Emmett are in Europe, but Alice tells me they'll be back soon."

Emmett…for some reason a faint memory stirred that Emmett was supposed to have been at the party last night, but I was diverted from that thought when I realized we'd already descended one story, and were headed down the hall to another staircase. "Edward…how did we get into your bedroom last night?"

He gave me a crooked smile. "Vampire."

"You climbed up the house to your room, carrying me?"

"I jumped."

I had to deliberately shut my mouth after my jaw dropped. I had a feeling it was going to have to become a reflex action for a while.

As we descended to the main floor, I looked around in awe. There was absolutely no lingering indication of the Halloween party from the night before. The house was exquisitely decorated, all space, windows, and pale colors, quiet in the late-morning light. Delicious smells were wafting from the kitchen and my stomach growled loudly in response, Edward steered me to sit at the dining room table, disappeared into the kitchen, and then reemerged bearing dish after dish of food.

I stared. There was bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, toast, waffles, pancakes, sausage, and sliced fruit, all of it freshly prepared, along with orange juice, milk, and coffee. I looked up at Edward, my eyes wide, and he laughed. "As I said, Esme wasn't sure exactly what you wanted, so she made a little bit of everything. Just eat what you like, love."

"Where is she?" I tried a forkful of eggs, they were hot and perfectly seasoned.

"I convinced them all to give us some privacy this morning. There's a place I'd like to take you after you've eaten, and we'll come back here later, you'll see them then."

I was eating a little faster now, everything I tried was absolutely delicious. "Aren't you going to eat anything?"

"We don't eat human food…literally and figuratively." I froze as I looked up at him but he laughed again, so beautiful that I relaxed and swallowed my bite of fruit.

"Right…I guess that would be the first question you could answer for me."

His eyes were dancing. "Yes, I suppose that would be the big one. My family and I only hunt animals, none of us drink human blood. Our private joke is that we're 'vegetarians,' we survive solely on animal blood."

"Huh, I guess that's not so strange," I murmured, and at his surprised look, I pointed at my half-eaten bacon. "I eat animals too."

"Yes, I never really thought of it that way, but you're right."

"Not all vampires are vegetarians, though?"

"No, they're not. Vampires who drink human blood are a little more restless and temperamental, they don't tend to live in large families like ours. And they have red eyes, whereas those of us who drink animal blood…" he gestured at his own face.

"You have beautiful eyes. I thought they were black the first time I met you, though. I remembered them being coal-black."

"They probably were. Our eyes change color when we're hungry, angry, aroused…whenever we're giving ourselves over to our more predatory nature."

I wondered if they'd been black the night before and how I could have missed it. "Were you angry when you first met me?"

"No, Bella, I was hungry." He said it softly and suddenly my throat closed up. His words from the night before, that he was afraid he would have hurt me, echoed in my mind. I put my fork down and pushed my plate away.

"I think I'm done."

Edward pushed the glass of orange juice towards me and I picked it up, sipping automatically, my hand shaking a little. I wasn't afraid of him in that moment, but his sudden revelation, and the new understanding of the danger I had been blissfully unaware of for so long shocked me to the core. "You wanted to…"

"Do you understand now why I kept you at a distance for so long?"

I nodded hesitantly. "Why me?"

"I don't know, even now, exactly why your blood affected me so strongly. The moment you sat down next to me in class, I had to fight with every ounce of strength I possessed not to attack you. All human blood calls to us to some degree, it's something we've learned to resist and deal with. But you…the scent of your blood, it almost drove me mad. I even considered killing every single person in that classroom, just so I could have you."

I shivered, horrified, as he continued in a softer voice. "I still don't know how I managed to resist what every instinct in my body was screaming at me to do. I left right after that and drove to Alaska, I stayed with some friends of ours there for a week. While I was there I started wondering why, after ninety years, you had almost made me go out of my mind. I began to consider that it was something other than just bloodlust…although I knew I couldn't downplay that. Your blood sings to me in a way I've never in my life experienced with any human being. I spoke with Alice and afterwards I came to realize that it wasn't just your blood that called to me. It was you, Bella. Something within me recognized that I was meant to have you, to be with you, and it was pulling me towards you like gravity."

I stood then and moved to him almost unconsciously. Rationally, I knew that I should be afraid after what he'd told me, but I understood exactly what he meant when he said it was like gravity. I'd felt it before, a small indefinable tug towards him, but I'd always assumed it was the physical attraction I'd had for him initially, and then later gratitude for his thoughtfulness after Charlie's death. Now, however, that tug was stronger, more urgent, I felt uncomfortable trying to ignore it.

Still seated, he held out his arms to me as I sat down on his lap and wrapped my arms around him, he kissed my cheek in response. "You can feel it now too?" I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. It was all so much bigger than me, I didn't have words at the moment.

He ran his fingertips gently over my throat and then continued his story. "I wanted nothing more than to come back to you, to keep you, to make you my life. I was desperate for it, but Alice convinced me that choosing that path would only eventually lead to one thing, your death. And the thought of that alone gave me the strength to hold back."

I pulled away a little and looked at him. "Is Alice psychic or something?"

He grinned. "The story probably would make a little more sense if I'd told you that. Yes, Alice is psychic. Many vampires have special abilities, Carlisle thinks it's an amplification of gifts we possessed in our human lives."

"What's your gift?"

"I'll get to that in just a bit, I promise." He pulled me back closer to him, this time I rested my cheek against his hair, my lips just barely touching the shell of his ear.

"So Alice saw you…killing me?"

"Yes. Every time that I was tempted to reach out to you, to look into your eyes, to connect with you in some way, she would see me eventually losing control, even weeks down the line. Either I became smug and counted too much on my love for you to hold me back, or you would trust me more than my nature deserved. Apparently you can be very persistent in your efforts, love."

"After last night, can you blame me?" I asked wryly. Edward laughed and hugged me, his hard arms solid around my waist.

"Not a bit. You would just always believe in me more than I could physically be trusted at that time. The nature of a vampire…I wouldn't go so far as to call us killing machines, of course we have to exercise restraint to survive unrecognized in the world. But we are predators and it is difficult, if not impossible, for us to restrain ourselves when we are on the hunt. You have the added disadvantage of smelling especially appealing to me. So I set about to desensitize myself to you, and it took…" he turned slightly to inhale against my throat and then released his cool breath in a sigh, "A while."

"How did you desensitize yourself?"

"I paid more attention to you than you realized, Bella. I was always around, I was terrified that something would happen to take you away from me just as I'd found you. I was aware of you no matter where you were or what you were doing. I tried to drown myself in your scent…I actually started sneaking into your house and stealing your t-shirts to keep it around me."

"Huh…you'd think I would have noticed that." It was definitely strange, the idea of Edward stealing my clothes, but I understood his motivation in a logical sense.

"I always brought them back, when your scent had faded. It helped. I would sit next to you in class and just concentrate on you…your heartbeat, your breath, your every movement. I actually climbed the tree outside your window at night to watch you sleep a few times, but it was too intrusive, even for me."

"I'm glad to hear that, since I talk in my sleep."

"I know." He bent and kissed my shoulder. "I heard you say my name."

I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, and I know he must have sensed it too. "You have no idea, Bella," he whispered quickly, "What that meant to me. I had to fight with myself every night to keep from coming into your room to sit next to you. I wanted to see you dream, I wanted to see your eyelids flickering, I wanted to just sit and memorize your every movement. But when you said my name…" there Edward hesitated. "I realized that I had to earn your trust. I had to earn the right to come into your room and protect you as you slept. And at that point, I had no right to be there."

I turned my head to press my lips against his hair.

"But after Charlie died…Bella, you were so lost. You were all alone and I couldn't help you. I saw you at the funeral, we all came to the funeral, and you just seemed to be looking for something, someone, to hold on to. But I wasn't strong enough for you."

Tears welled up in my eyes at his words, memories flooding back over me. I had only the vaguest recollection of the Cullens being at Charlie's funeral, the entire town had been there. I remembered thinking that I was all alone, even with Renee, Phil, Jake, and Billy there. Charlie and I had been so comfortable together, we'd fit like old familiar puzzle pieces and loved each other dearly in our own ways. To have him taken away so abruptly, I had been completely at a loss.

"And then immediately afterwards…Bella, I wanted to be the one to hold you when you needed to find strength within yourself, but I couldn't. I could feel how much you hurt, how much you wanted someone or something to lean on through it all. I wanted to be that, I would have done anything to do that for you, but I couldn't, not yet."

"I…I was so lonely." I couldn't help it, the quiet sobs I was holding back bubbled up as I remembered the past ten months. Tears for my father, his life over too soon. Tears for myself, remembering how I'd felt so isolated, distanced from a past life with my mother that no longer really included me, desperately wanting to hold onto a current life in Forks which was all I knew or really wanted, to feel safe.

"I know," he whispered, stroking my hair. "Alice kept his death from me beforehand, she knew that I would have pushed myself to be ready when you needed someone, that it would have had the same end result. But when I saw your grief for myself, I knew that I couldn't protect you from all the pain that life brings, but that I could support you when you needed it the most. And from that moment, I found the last bit of resolve I needed. When you went to live with the Blacks…"

I lifted my head from his shoulder, an occasional gasp still escaping me. "Do the Quileutes know what you are? I never understood why they disliked you all so much…"

"Yes, the Quileutes know. We were here decades ago, they had an ability even then to sense our true nature. We formed a treaty with them, swore never to take a human life or to trespass on their land. They have every right to be wary, though, with the history their people have with other vampires." His hand moved soothingly up and down my back. "We instinctually feel the same, however, and I absolutely panicked when you went to live on the reservation. I couldn't follow you there, I couldn't make sure you were safe, I could only wait every morning for you to leave when you came back to school."

Things were clicking into place in my mind now. "That's why…"

"Yes. I couldn't jump as wholly into your life as I wanted to, but I started trying to edge myself into your heart."

"You did," I whispered into his hair. "There's so much that I don't remember, that I was just too numb to face, but I remember every time you spoke to me. I remember everything you put on my tray at lunch. I still have all the class notes you gave me. You have no idea what it meant to me, even if I couldn't show it at the time."

"I knew, love, I knew. I felt as though I were running in slow motion at times, but I could feel you opening up to me."

"But after graduation…"

"I had just barely worked up the nerve to touch you. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't snatch you up and carry you away at that point."

"You didn't worry about me moving to Port Angeles?"

He kissed my throat and I could feel his lips move into a smile, a movement already endearingly familiar to my skin. "You think I didn't follow you there? I was thrilled when you went to Port Angeles. I could stay close to you, but you were able to stretch your wings for the first time, make your own decisions, live your own life, start to heal."

I nodded slightly. "Yes…I think that was the first point when I really woke up again. The Quileutes were good to me, they were. But they kept me so wrapped up in their love, so protected against reality, I didn't start learning to rely on myself until I was alone."

"Bella, you were never alone."

"I know that now," I replied thoughtfully. "Maybe part of me always did, maybe that's how I had the strength to do it. What I feel now," I stopped for a moment, trying to organize my thoughts. "I feel whole, Edward. I feel comfortable, like I'm supposed to be here, with you. I felt like there was always a part of me looking, waiting. I just didn't consciously realize that it was you, and that you were already there."

"I was always there, Bella. So many nights, after you went to sleep, I sat out on your balcony, wishing I could erase everything painful in your life, to make things easy and happy for you. But I wanted to be invited into your life, into your heart, I didn't want to force myself in. Even now if you told me to go, I would, but I wouldn't go far. There is nothing in my life without you and I want nothing more than to protect you and love you for the rest of my life."

We sat in silence for a long time after that, his arms wrapped around me and my nose against his jaw. I let my fingers run gently over his cool skin, wondering why I hadn't noticed everything that was so unusual about him before. So many things I now recognized as different, but not strange. They were just uniquely and endearingly him. So comfortable, so reassuring, so familiar to me now.

"Tell me more about vampires' gifts," I said finally.

"Not all vampires have them, or sometimes they're too subtle to be recognized as such. Rosalie and Esme are wonderful and unique in their own ways, but they don't have a tangible ability like you're thinking of. Emmett has brute physical strength, but he was strong as a human too. As I said, Alice can see the future, the path that you're on unless something changes. And things do change, often. She had no idea that you would react the way you did in the kitchen last night, but that was my fault. I chose my words very poorly and your reaction was understandable. She gave me hell for it."

I squeezed my arms tight around his shoulders, embarrassed to remember. It seemed very childish now.

"Jasper must have been very sensitive to people's moods as a human, now he has the ability to sense others' emotions, and he can influence the mood of those around him too. Like an emotional thermostat, if you will. Carlisle has a strength of conviction and compassion that I have never seen equaled, even in vampires much older than him. He's the only one of us that could be a doctor and deal with human blood and injuries every day, but he takes joy in being able to heal and give back. His gift is truly to be admired, I wish I had a fraction of his ability."

I nodded silently, there was a very deep kindness and compassion in Carlisle that anyone could see. "What about you, though?"

"I don't remember very much about my life as a human, but Carlisle believes that I must have been unusually attuned to the thoughts of those around me."

"Like Jasper?"

"Yes, but in a more concrete sense. When I awoke after my change, I was able to hear the thoughts of those around me."

"You…can read minds?"

"Yes."

I gasped a little, stunned. I had already noticed that Edward seemed unusually attuned to my needs and reactions, but to suddenly hear that all of my thoughts, especially those since yesterday evening had been on display for him…I wasn't sure whether to be humiliated, fascinated, terrified, or a combination of all three. I certainly didn't doubt the truth in his words.

"You though, Bella, are a mystery to me." He reached up to cup my face in his hand and run his thumb over my lips, his touch reassuring. "I have never been able to completely get inside your mind, and although I should be ashamed to admit it, I have tried my best. At the most, I would get little flickers of thoughts from you, fragments of ideas. With everyone else I can clearly hear their interior dialogue as they move through their lives. With you, I can sense your emotions or your mood in a more empathic sense, like Jasper's gift. When you were calm or happy, I would start hearing little pieces of thoughts. The only time I could clearly hear you and truly step inside your mind was when I looked directly into your eyes, and could see you looking back. It's as though it was the only time you invited me in."

I closed my eyes for a moment as the final piece clicked into place for me. Before last night, I could count on one hand the number of times I had looked Edward directly in the eyes. It had happened so infrequently, even after Charlie's death, that I could remember each and every time, and the jolt that always went through me. At the time I'd attributed it, along with everything else, to the shock of his inhuman beauty and my own reaction to it. Now I understood, though, why a sense of comfort and peace had always followed it. The idea of anyone else being inside my head was horrifying, but the knowledge that Edward had been only brought me a rush of emotion that I knew I would never be able to accurately express aloud.

I took a deep breath and sat up straight on his lap. I formed the words in my mind, and then turned to face him as I opened my eyes, willing with all my strength for him to hear me and recognize everything that was in my body and soul for him, at that moment, and for as long as he wanted it.

Can you hear me, Edward? Can you tell how much I love you now?

The jolt went through me, and this time I recognized it readily as it had rocked through me each time he'd looked into my eyes the night before. His hand went into my hair as he crushed his lips to mine, kissing me with a strength that didn't hurt, only reassured. I could tell that he'd moved from the chair, that he was running back up the stairs with me in his arms, and in bare seconds we were back in his room, in his bed. His lips moved rapidly over my face, kissing my neck, stopping only to murmur "I love you" against my skin before resuming their path over me. Every so often he would stop and return to my eyes, kissing each eyelid gently before I opened them, telling him that I loved him in the deepest, truest way that I knew how.

A/N: Wow, lots of stuff for Bella to process, but I'd say she's doing pretty well, hmm? For anyone who thinks it may be too much too fast, we'll touch on that in the next chapter.

Just a couple of other things: first, Renesmee may exist in the fabulous Stephenie Meyer's world, but she doesn't exist in mine. There will be no half-vampire/half-human perfect little babies in my story! Second, as I mention in my profile, I'm not big on angst. There will be some interesting twists in this story, but I like to think of it as the fairy tale that Breaking Dawn never quite was for me. With lemons, of course. Which makes it a perfect Happy Place for my writing muse to live for a little while. If you'd like your romance a little angsty-er, or if you like AH stories, please check out my other story, Make Your Own Kind of Music. Thank you all for reading!!!