Disclaimer: These are not Stephanie's vampires.
Chapter Twelve
Isabella Swan
I hadn't ever been this close to anyone, let alone this close to Edward. The symmetry of his face was unnerving in that it clearly spoke to the supernatural element he seemed to carry with him; his cold, pale skin was so translucent that I could see the tiny blue and grey veins around his temples. His face is near mine and he seems to be breathing in the air I exhale – and I don't care.
I crave his weight on my body.
I'm comforted by the mint of his eyes, by the slow pulse of his heart that seems to be echoed by my own.
One side of his mouth lifts into a willful smirk. "Had we been naked, you would smell so much like me, princess."
My face heats in an unfamiliar blush – one that is embarrassment combined with arousal. I purse my lips at him. "Is that something you would enjoy?"
His fangs click down. "You have no idea."
I swallow, my mind backtracking to my first kiss, first orgasm and my first gift of blood that had happened not ten minutes ago. My heart hammers in my chest – I want it all over again.
Edward chuckles, pressing a slow kiss beneath my ear. "It's natural to want me, princess."
Relief floods through me, though I'd had no indication of my inner-panic – though, I suppose, it would only be logical to suddenly be concerned about how much I want him when, only a day ago, I'd been absolutely furious with him. "Is it a mate thing?"
Edward moves his weight off me, rolling, pulling me with him so that my cheek is pillowed against his nearly-silent chest. He waits for his slow heart beat before he begins speaking. "Yes, Bella. There are other mate things, too," he says, softly stroking my cheek. "Now that you've had my blood, you'll want more of it."
"And you'll be able to find me, whenever, wherever, right?"
Edward seems shocked. "You remember."
I smile wryly. "You have no idea," I mutter, repeating his earlier statement.
He laughs at me, squeezing me gently. "You'll want other things, too. Like my body."
I blush again, my attention being drawn to the slick sensation between my legs. I push up from his chest, muttering something about going to the bathroom. Edward watches me go, amused, making no move to clean the mess that must be in his own pants.
I rush to the bathroom down the hall, grateful that it's empty again. I quickly clean myself and take a deep breath, relishing the very human moment that my peers had been having for years. Closing the stall door, I glance at myself in the mirror, my mouth dropping open just a bit.
Everything about my appearance had been enhanced – my skin was flushed, my eyes round and vibrant, my hair half a shade darker and thicker. I looked astonishingly healthy and happy and I couldn't help but smile, observing the pouting fullness of my darker pink lips. My fingers move my hair aside and search my neck, slowly feeling for the place where Edward's fangs had pierced my skin – not even a shadow of a bruise appears anywhere. My neck is flawless.
I hum to myself, my mind piecing together what had just happened and what had surely happened when I took his blood – it must have healed me along with making me look more healthy.
Leaning against the sink, I stare at myself – wondering how I'm absorbing this so well and thinking that it might have a lot to do with the whole past-life thing. After all, though I had been incredibly mad at Edward for lying, the pull to him, the draw and familiarity had never diminished.
I decided, in the exact moment, that I would stop questioning all of it – why I was reacting this way, why it felt so right – everything.
Being born again, remembering my own death?
It had to be more than fate.
It was out of my hands.
I was going to enjoy my life as it was – the new parts, the old parts and the parts to come.
I wash my hands and head back to my room, my eyes widening when I see Jasper holding out a damp rag in one hand and a paper bag in another. I blink, looking at Edward, who was popping open the button of his jeans.
Clearly, he was going to clean up – and apparently had no qualms about showing his personal guard his body.
But, then again, judging by the particular boldness of the vampires I had met so far, it seemed to be a culture issue – vampires had no need for modesty with their bodies.
This logical assurance doesn't take away from the oddness of the scene, though; and neither does Jasper's deep bow towards me. "My Lady."
"Jasper," I nod, stepping towards Edward. "Will you excuse us for a moment?"
Instantly, Jasper is gone and Edward is looking at me with a expression of extreme confusion. He studies my face for a moment, then drops his hands from the fly of his jeans. "I have done something wrong."
"It's not wrong," I tell him quickly. "But there is a bathroom," I hint.
Realization dawns on his face. "You do not want anyone else to see my body," he says cheekily.
I scowl at him, refusing to confirm. "There's a bathroom," I say again.
Edward laughs, brushing his lips against mine and slipping out of the room to, I assume, use the bathroom. By the time he gets back, a multitude of questions are on the tip of my tongue. He's hardly in the room before I let them loose.
"How did Jasper come inside?"
"You never took away his silent invitation."
"You were about to clean yourself in front of him?"
Edward shrugs. "We do not concern ourselves with nudity."
I nod, having suspected as much. "Will he always call me his Lady?"
Edward comes closer, kissing my cheek. "Of course."
"If I'm your mate, what does that make me to…your people?"
"There is no if. You are my mate," Edward responds, moving to lounge against my bed. "And to my people, it makes you an unofficial princess. For now."
I lay down beside him, feeling comfortable with my body and his body and the way they press together. He's so much larger than me; his feet hang off the edge of the bed and, while standing, his has a least a foot of height over me. He's also built much larger and it makes me feel small and delicate. "For now?"
Edward's fingers run through my hair absently. "Yes. I'll need to claim you as mine in front of the kingdom soon, princess."
I blink at him, shifting my weight so that I am laying across his chest on my stomach, my eyes level with his chin. "Like, present me?"
Edward grins, his mint eyes lighting up. "Exactly, princess," he says, wrapping his heavy arms around my waist. "My entire kingdom must know who you are and what you mean to me."
I smile involuntarily, not exactly liking the thought of being shown around like a prize winning pet, but appreciating his pride. "And how big is this kingdom of yours?"
Edward shrugs underneath me. "Just North America."
Just North America.
"The continent or northern America?"
Edward looks at me strangely. "The continent, princess."
The air leaves my lungs as I consider the logistics of that large of a territory – Mexico, Canada and the United States all belonged to Edward and his family. There was no telling how many vampires it included – thousands? "That's a large territory," I finally say.
"Not as large as the Asia's," he says. "Or the Russian's."
That's true.
"How does it all work?"
"My curious little mate," Edward says proudly. "Each continent has a head family of sorts and each country or territory within the continent is assigned a sort of leader and within that, the leaders break down their territory into areas, which are monitored by a head vampire. My family is the royalty of North America, for example, but we have an Alpha leader for Canada, Mexico and America and then a Beta leader for each providence in Canada, each state in America and each area of Mexico."
I nod, instantly understanding how they organize themselves. "It's very complicated."
"Yes," he replies. "But it is fair and easy to rule."
"What about your castle?"
Edward laughs. "A castle?"
I pick lint off his shirt. "No castle, then?"
"Hardly, Bella," he chuckles. "A fairly large home in Canada, yes. But no castle. No coffins, either," he says, winking.
"So you do sleep, then?"
Suddenly, I am underneath Edward. "Would you like to find out?"
I inhale sharply, my blood racing in my veins.
Edward laughs jovially. "Your blood so calls to me," he says, leaning down to inhale deeply at the base of my throat.
Heart thundering in my chest, I whisper, "Are you thirsty now?"
He shakes his head. "I am old. I do not require blood often," he answers.
Part of me is a bit disappointed.
The other part lets out a large rumble – the sound of my own hunger amusing to Edward. He presses his hand against my stomach. "Your body is again trying to revolt."
"I'm just hungry, Edward."
His eyes are wide, happy. "I'd be a bad mate if I allowed this hunger to continue. Would you allow me to escort you to dinner?"
A/N: A little bit of a shorter chapter but I'm sick and my fingers are cold sooo…extra page mid-week! Also, I was rec'ed on a FB group, so THANK YOU!
Reviews:
Singingcaro – Great review! I was going to do something(s) like you did, but I'm not that creative.
Aabc – I'm happy that you're loving it! Welcome to Blood.
mamacat20 – You're probably right ;)
Kimmie41 – Only kinda!? Lol
brighteyes2889 – Purring Edward is always good in my book lol
Holidai – Yes! His royalty should be a factor, not the main, but it is important.
Jamieannaelisabeth – Edward is a piece of something, alright lol
Princessnerra – Progress is always good! Especially this kind of progress!
angelari7 – I actually think my first real vampire movie was the Little Vampire on Disney lol
Lilypad10 – the bond isn't forever, yet!
host312 – Happy I've intoxicated you! Lol
DJW Isabella Cullen – That's a great rule to have for the pen names!
CdrIvanova – I always thought there should be more than one invitation!
james3142 – OMG, Yummy is right! Lol
Guest – Part one of three! Lol Completed!
Krystalwinds1990 – Yes, his logic is pretty solid lol Kind of.
twilight-saga-lover95 – Victoria and James are good guys lol I want a vampire boyfriend, too! Lol
Sadie1787 – He probably suspects it….I haven't decided if he he knows or not.
Love M Go Blue – Uhmmm distracted would be the word I would use lol
Maggiejoma – He's revealing his secrets and other things lol
Glitter Poisoned My Blood – Ah, another psychic. What do you predict now?
Headinthecloudsss – Good question! Lol Are made vampires as strong as born vampires when they are first made? No. All vampires grow stronger the longer they are around.
Flavia Ribeiro – I was always bummed that the real Edward and Bella could never exchange!
SrslyGiGi – Hell, this Edward could stay all day, everyday and never leave! Lol
Twilight Rocker 12 – I'm your favorite person?! YAY!
Kaygou – I can't wait either! Lol
vampyregirl86 – Oh God lol I guess I'm glad you got some?
YesMyRealNameIsBella – I didn't catch it, but I loved the "Fifth Harmony" one.
B – Ha! You fell off your seat!
LunaDiSangue85 – AC in this weather? Please, I think we need the heater again!
FLOW LIZ – Pshhh, I don't think of the real Cinderella lol I made my own!
Pumpkinmykitty – LOL I made you smoke a cigarette. Hilarious.
Michangelina – Well, NY is the greatest city in the world lol
Dinotopian, solidae26, Valentine Rain, Edward's spouse, sexymama25, debslmac, VAlvr04, Mireads and 00chely00 – Thank you all for your reviews! I'm so excited that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the last chapter! :D
And superspecial shout out to the first review of the last chapter, TwilightVirtuosa – Thank you, thank you. I think it was nice, too!
As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.
~cupcakeriot