I don't own anything!

Chapter 19

Desire

The sensation was like nothing Bella had ever before experienced. She had no idea how fast she was moving, but it seemed faster than even a trained sprinter could accomplish.

And such agility! It was as if she ran not through moonlit forest, but on solid pavement. Her feet seemed to cope with the imperfections of the ground by themselves, no longer requiring any conscious effort.

Edward was far ahead, Rose roughly halfway between him and Bella. Both of the older vampires occasionally turned their head back, making sure they hadn't outdistanced Bella.

They reached the outskirts of the town in less than ten minutes, slowing as they approached, and Bella found that she wasn't even winded.

Rose was laughing; the noise pretty and bright in the quiet streets, and Bella joined her.

"That was amazing!"

"Only the tip of the iceberg, Bella. I'll take you through a vampire obstacle course sometime. You can't imagine what it feels like to take a five-story jump." Rose sat down on the curb and looked at Edward.

"You find one yet?"

"Yes, that one." Edward pointed to a small white ranch home to their left.

"What's special about that one?" Bella was confused.

"When I don't have the time or inclination to be choosy about my food, I go with something easy to attract. Young women, usually. Normally I would spend some … how should I put it? Quality time with her, and then feed."

"I'm not sure if that should offend me." Bella was smiling when she said it. Edward returned the grin.

"Another thing I've learned from other vampires: Sex is sex. Love is love. The first is a raw biological process, the latter is something more." Bella considered this.

"But love makes sex something more."

"Certainly. This is why the sex without love is merely gratification. Insignificant in its implications. That much more pleasure, in addition to the blood. Sex is sex. Love is love. I love you, Bella."

"Oh, and how many guys would like to be able to say that to their girlfriends, I wonder?" Rose had taken out a compact and was checking her eye shadow. Bella sat down next to Rose.

"A lot, I think. How many girlfriends would be okay with it? I don't know. Probably not many."

"So are you okay with it?" Bella looked at Edward, who returned her glance with the same cool grin that had so intrigued her on the night she had first met him.

She felt herself warming. The memory of Peter was fading, and thoughts of how she might spend the rest of the night were cropping up in her mind. Edward, sensing this, laughed slightly.

"Yes," Bella said. "I'm okay with it. He just watched me give the world's deadliest hand-job, after all …"

Rose burst into surprised laughter before pressing her mouth into one arm to muffle the noise. Edward shook his head, grinning. Bella smiled, stood up, reached out on tiptoe to give Edward a brief kiss.

"Let's do this and go," she said. Edward nodded, closed his eyes, breathed deeply. In a moment, the front door of the house opened, and a young woman in her early twenties stepped out onto the porch.

She looked around, caught sight of the trio, and made her way toward them.

Dark hair, dark eyes, she was generously proportioned under her nightgown.

Bella felt a momentary twinge of jealousy as the moonlight caught the swell of the girl's ample breasts, but fought it down.

She stopped in front of them, seeing and not seeing, swaying slightly. Edward was standing in front of her but off to the left.

When he touched her cheek, tilted her head, moved the hair from her neck, she sighed.

Her nipples grew hard under the cotton of the nightgown. Bella watched, fascinated. Edward could kill this woman, if he wanted to, and she would go to her death happily; might even go in the throes of ecstasy, under the right conditions.

It was amazing. It happened so quickly that Bella almost missed it. One moment, Edward was lightly caressing her cheek. The next, he had latched on to her neck.

The woman gave a slight cry, her hips bucked once, and then she slumped. Edward held her, drained her, and was done. He took a deep breath.

"Is she dead?" Bella asked. He shook his head, and indeed, the girl's eyelids were fluttering now as she fought her way back to consciousness. Edward waited until she could stand, then looked into her eyes.

"Go back to your bed and sleep, my dear. This was a dream, and when the sun rises you'll realize that." The girl turned and made her way unsteadily back to the house. The door clicked shut behind her.

"Quick, clean – not a drop spilled, and you made her want it in like three seconds. Like I said: the Master at work." Rose was smiling in approval.

"Thank you for your warm appraisal of my work, Rose." There was the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice as Edward turned to face them.

"Welcome! Shall we go? I'm going to skip the appetizer and head for the city. Find me an all-night rave, go rolling and have dinner. Well, first I want to wash my hands, but after that."

"Will you be able to get back to the mansion in time?" Bella asked.

"I'll find some place to crash in the city. No big deal. Worst-case scenario, New York's full of little graveyards." Rose shrugged, stretched, began walking up the street.

Edward followed and, after a moment of considering how she might feel about sleeping in a graveyard, Bella did as well.

A brief moment by the cars where Bella thanked Rose for coming with them, and for being there for her. Rose smiled, leaned in low, whispered,

"I can see why he loves you." Bella was surprised to feel her heart well up at this. She'd known Rose for so short a time, known Edward, the man she felt she loved, for no longer.

Was such depth of emotion and attachment really possible? Edward, who could pluck these questions from her mind if he felt inclined, said nothing.

He left it up to Bella to find her answers, and Bella loved him all the more for it.

The ride back was uneventful, if careening through the back roads of southern New York at speeds over double the posted limit could be considered as such.

Bella felt warm and pleasant, satiated, but without feeling full. She seemed caught in a sort of afterglow, so like the effects of heroin, but clearheaded and awake. Better in every way.

They reached the mansion well before sunrise. Edward returned the Ferrari to the garage, and Bella left the vehicle with regret. She stood on the driveway, an asphalt circle surrounding a topiary display.

"I can see my breath." Edward walked up beside her, nodded.

"It's November, Bella."

"So why am I not cold?" She glanced down at herself. A pair of thin jeans, cotton shirt, leather jacket; it was not enough to keep a human warm.

"You won't feel the elements as much, particularly after you've fed. I barely feel them at all anymore."

"So I suppose the old 'I'm cold, let's go inside and get warm' line would be pretty transparent then, right?"

Edward's ever-present smile widened to a grin.