Virgin Blood

Chapter 18

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Edward woke at sunset, eager to be near Bella. Though it had only been one night apart, it felt like longer due to the fact that Edward felt so disconnected from her.

Edward had never been in this position before, and it almost made him regret his deal with Bella. He had never had to woo a woman before, to have to ask instead of just take what he wanted. Seeing Bella sink into a silent depression ate away at his stomach with worry and guilt, but he wasn't sure what was worse: that or the raw anxiety he felt now.

Edward refused to think about the new emotions Bella stirred up inside him. Picturing himself as stony and impenetrable on the inside as he was on the outside, he made his way to Bella's door.

He was a second away from opening it when he remembered the deal, and raised his hand to knock instead. No answer. She must not be inside. Edward opened the door anyway.

The room was neat and tidy. . . a little too neat. It only took Edward a minute to realize that nothing that had marked the room as Bella's was there anymore. The boxes of new clothes he had gotten her were no longer there, nor were her toiletry items or books.

Edward felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. The emotions took over his ability to think logically, and all he could do was rage silently that they had had a deal! She had given her word!

With a rising sense of panic, Edward raced up the stairs at vampire speed. Bella. Bella.

A noise from the sitting room sent him hurling into it, banging the door behind him perhaps a little too hard. He could almost feel the wince of the three occupants of the room at his loud entrance.

"Edward," Jasper said, standing up, but the vampire only had eyes for Bella. She was sitting there, staring up at him with an unreadable expression in her eyes. Seeing her there calmed him, and the animalistic side of him gave way to human reason as he relaxed.

The other occupant in the room was sitting next to Bella, and Edward quickly surmised who she was. Hee blood smelled sweet and inviting, but Edward had just fed last night, and could easily control himself. It wasn't that he would be opposed to a little snack, but he got the feeling that Bella wouldn't like it, and was trying to win her over.

"Edward," Bella's voice was soft, softer than usual, causing him to inspect her closer. He could see that she was afraid, or at least weary. The apprehension was plain in her eyes, showing she was unsure of him. He had made a rather abrupt entrance.

"Good evening," Edward said to the three humans, trying to prove to Bella that she had nothing to fear from him-he could be civilized.

"Edward," Bella's voice was stronger now, "This is Alice. Alice, Edward Cullen."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Edward greeted her. Alice held out her hand and Edward kissed back of it. He heard Bella gasp silently beside him when he did this, but he could easily control himself, and he released the girl's hand.

He noticed that the small girl was wearing one the dresses he had bought for Bella. It was slightly too big on her, especially in the bust area. It would have looked much better on Bella, he surmised, but didn't say anything.

He was too busy gaging Bella's reaction to his presence to really pay any attention to Alice, who was disconcerted to say the very least. Plus, Edward was used to his affect on humans. Jasper, though, noticed the intent stare Alice was giving Edward, and scowled deeply to himself.

Edward, seeing that the seat next to Bella was taken, was a gentleman and went and sat across from her, though he really wanted to simply pick her up and sit her on his lap.

No one seemed to know what to say after the brief introduction. Surprisingly enough, it was Alice who found her voice first, pulling herself away from her careful inspection of Edward and his otherworldliness.

"So how do you three know each other?" Alice blurted out and a moment later, "Pardon me for asking."

"I've known Jasper since he was a little boy," Edward answered smoothly, "And Bella came to live with us about a month ago."

"Oh, so you and Jasper were childhood friends?" Alice wondered.

"No," Edward chuckled lightly, "I wouldn't say that."

Alice looked confused but didn't press the subject. Edward watched Bella nervously pick at the material of her skirt, while Jasper sat back in his chair and scowled, and Alice's eyes kept darting between the three of them.

Bella suddenly stopped fidgeting and smooth out her skirt, before folding her hands in her lap and looking Edward intently in the eyes.

"I don't think you ever told me how you and Jasper met?" Bella asked politely.

Edward smiled at her, a genuine smile. "At the opera," Edward answered simply.

"Oh, so you were brought together by your mutual love of the theater?" Bella asked.

Edward laughed. "More like my love for theater and Jasper's love for rich people's money."

Bella's eyes flew to Jasper, whose face was stonily impassive. He had worn that expression almost from Edward's first entrance, and because of it, Bella knew that it would now be like pulling teeth to get him to talk.

Bella turned back to Edward. "What do you mean?"

"I met Jasper when he tried to pick my pocket," Edward said simply.

"Oh."

Silence.

"And how did you meet Bella?" Alice eagerly interjected, probably to fill the void just as much to actually get an answer.

"I met Bella when she was left at my doorstep by the good people of Grosbridge as a sacrifice of blood."

It was Alice's turn to let out a simple, "Oh." It was the same way Alice had come to be at the castle.

Alice suddenly yawned. "You must be tired," Edward said politely, "Don't let us keep you if you wish to retire for the evening."

Alice hesitated for only the briefest of moments, "Yes," she acquiesced, "I think I will go to bed now."

Alice stood up and headed for the door. Edward looked at Jasper expectantly, who also stood up and said in an unemotional voice, "I'll take her."

Then it was just Edward and Bella.

Bella watched as Edward stood up and slinked over to sit down beside her, once again reminding her of a large, predatory cat. He was grinning like one too. Bella was back to fiddling with her skirts, as her eyes flickered from her lap to Edward and back down again.

"Bella," the name was like a caress, making her heart flutter. "How was your day?" he asked, leaning in closer.

"Fine, thank you," Bella smiled.

Edward reached out and cupped her cheek in his palm, turning her head toward him. Bella was mesmerized by his intense stare, unable to move as he leaned in closer. She didn't let him kiss her, though, instead turning her face away from him. Edward kissed her cheek instead.

"Edward!" Bella said, abruptly jumping to her feet. Edward looked at her amusedly and Bella blushed as she scrambled for a plausible reason for why she suddenly stood up. Her eyes darted about the room and landed on the portraits that had so captured her interest. She had never got to ask about them.

"Who are these people?" Bella asked, walking up closer to the old paintings, gazing up at them again. She was once again struck by the beguiling smile of the woman.

"My parents."

Bella gasped and turned around. She hadn't heard Edward move, but he was suddenly standing right behind her. Now she stood mere inches from his chest.

"Don't do that," Bella admonished, sidestepping him to give herself some more personal space, irritated when Edward only looked down at her cockily.

"The ones who died in the plague?" Bella asked.

Edward nodded, "The only ones I've ever had," he teased gently.

"I knew they must have meant something to you," Bella said quietly, then realized it sounded like she meant his parents, who of course meant something to him, "The paintings, I mean," she clarified, "I knew they were special to you."

Edward raised his eyebrows at her, but didn't comment.

"They're both beautiful. I can see where you get your good looks from."

"You think I'm good looking then?" Edward grinned and Bella rolled her eyes. He knew he was beautiful.

Bella felt shivers going up and down her spine due to Edward's proximity. She hesitantly stepped away, though. Edward stepped closer to her and Bella felt as though they were doing an odd little dance.

"I think I should probably go to bed, too," Bella hedged. Being close to Edward was doing funny things to her. It was too confusing. She knew she couldn't trust him, so therefore was afraid to feel too much.

Edward scowled. What he wanted to do, what he would have done, is taken her in his arms and forcibly kissed away her protests. He would have gently removed her clothes and made love to her right here, holding her slight frame against his body. He then would have carried her to bed and held her the rest of the night as she slept.

But he couldn't do that, he had made a deal. It frustrated Edward.

"May I escort you to your room?" Edward's voice was deep and gravely.

Bella nodded, and Edward followed her out the of the room. It wasn't until she started heading in the opposite direction that he remembered that her things were no longer in the basement.

"Why did you switch rooms, Bella?" Edward asked, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice.

Bella shrugged, "I wanted the sunshine to wake up too," she said, giving an answer that she thought was relatively neutral, when really that was only part of it.

Edward guessed, though. "It wasn't to separate yourself from me?" Edward asked.

Bella didn't answer, which was answer enough. When Edward made the deal with her, he thought it would be easy to win her over. He would seduce her into pliancy. Now it seemed as though Bella were stubbornly going to make it difficult.

When they reached the room Bella had chosen for herself, she stopped at the door and turned to him. "Goodnight Edward," she said, the meaning clear: this is where he was going to leave her, he wasn't invited in the room.

"Goodnight Bella."

Then before she could react, Edward stole a quick kiss on the lips, though still long enough to leave Bella reeling.

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...

Jasper walked Alice to her door, Alice sending him questioning glances all the way, but otherwise staying uncharacteristically silent.

"Are there any more people in this castle that I should know about?" Alice suddenly asked in a slightly ironic way.

"No."

"Okay." There was a brief moment of silence. "Are there any other people in this castle that I shouldn't know about?"

"There's no one else."

Alice studied Jasper's face for a moment as they walked. Though she had only known him for a day, technically a week really, but Alice didn't think their interactions before yesterday evening really counted, she had come to know a few things about Jasper.

One, was that he was naturally a quiet person. This sort of unnerved Alice who had the habit of feeling uncomfortable in silence and tried to fill it with chatter. Even when she was by herself, she found herself unconsciously whistling or humming or even full out singing.

She also got the constant feeling that he was hiding something. She didn't know if it was something specific, but she just got that feeling from him. And she acknowledged to herself that it didn't take the most perceptive person to realize that this man who lived in a run down castle with only two other people, who everyone thought was a vampire, and who was keeping her here against her will, had secrets and mysteries surrounding him. Still, she felt that it was something more than that even. But she didn't really know what.

Throughout the day, Jasper had seemed to progressively open up more, to relax. At first, when Bella appeared, Jasper seemed nervous in a way that she hadn't seen in him before, but after a while, he relaxed and the three got along in an odd little way. They had helped Bella move her things to an upstairs room, and Bella had given her a dress.

No one had mentioned Edward until he had suddenly shown up, and out of Alice's whole experience here, she thought that perhaps this mystery man was the strangest of it all.

There was something different about him. After she got over the shock of his unexpected entrance, the first thing Alice noticed about him was his unaccountable beauty. Then she got the sudden sense that in that very trait lurked a deep danger and hidden pain. Then he had kissed her hand with disconcertingly cold skin. It confused Alice so much so that it knocked her into an unnatural state of deep contemplation.

Alice was able to shake the troubling thoughts about Edward by the time she and Jasper reached her room, only now she found herself thinking about the tall blonde man instead, and all the secrets that lied behind his hazel eyes.

"Goodnight then," Jasper said, opening the door for her, but looking down at his feet.

Alice was filled with questions she didn't know how to ask.

"Jasper?" she hedged, but he didn't look at her. It was hard to talk to the side of someone't face. "Goodnight."

The door closed behind her and Alice could hear the key turning in the lock.

Jasper thought about simply retiring to his room for the night, but he was curious about Edward and Bella, not that he wanted to interrupt them if they were getting along. He would just see if they were still up.

When he went back downstairs, though, Edward was sitting by himself in a large chair by the unlit fireplace.

"Has Bella gone to bed?" he asked, and Edward nodded. Jasper sat down in the chair opposite him, feeling relieved for the companionship he had missed in his week of being angry with him.

He didn't know what to say. He wanted tell Edward that it was okay to have feelings for Bella, but he knew nothing he said would really make any difference in that particular situation. Edward could be extremely stubborn when he wished to be, and would do what he liked in his own sweet time. Jasper just hoped that maybe they could work it out. He thought Bella could be good for Edward.

"Is everything going well then with Alice?" Edward asked politely as though he were asking Jasper how he liked a new pair of shoes, as though it had nothing to do with him.

"She's doing fine," Jasper nodded, not knowing what else to say. Alice was the first girl that Jasper had taken care of with no guidance from Edward at all. The idea suddenly struck him with its horrifying plausibility that Edward might expect to drink from the girl. Edward was obviously trying to do something with Bella, but based on past experience, Jasper didn't think Edward would find doing that and drinking from Alice to be mutually exclusive things.

Then he realized with even more horror that he minded. He didn't want Edward drinking from Alice, he didn't want Edward anywhere near Alice.

Jasper could have asked Edward about his intentions, but instead he adopted his stony expression and sat in silence.

Suddenly Edward spoke. "Bella...she's...special to me."

Jasper was so surprised at the confession that he didn't say anything for a full minute. Jasper knew Edward had feelings other than lust, hunger, and temper; had even shown them on certain occasions, but this was the first time he had admitted it out loud, at least that Jasper could remember.

"I know."

It wasn't until after the words left Jasper's mouth and he played them back in his head that he realized the deep sympathy his tone had conveyed. Was Edward to be pitied for his feelings? Only time would tell.

Edward sat back in his chair and Jasper sat with him. After a while, Jasper got up and went to bed, and Edward sat there for the rest of the night. Though time is different for vampires, Edward thought that was perhaps the longest night of his life.