Hello good people! I know it's been a minute since I've posted a chapter but things have been crazy in my life. I feel bad to being away for so long so I will be posting another chapter tomorrow as well! Yea you! LOL

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Twilight Saga or any of the characters. It belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I am writing this story for fun and I will not seek any financial gain for it.

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CHAPTER 7: THE TASTE OF FEAR

Jasper chuckled and leaned toward me. "I can taste your fear." He whispered softly so that only I could hear. My heart stuttered in my chest then kicked into double time. I stared into Jaspers eyes and felt my fear build with every quick shallow breathe I drew through my slightly parted lips. I tried to reign in my terror. I closed my eyes, clenched my fist and tried to moderate my breathing but the fear kept building.

There are different types of fear. The vague unease you feel when you walk into a dark room, the quick sharp fear that heightens your senses and pumps you full of adrenaline and then there is the mind numbing fear that suffocates your brain and renders you utterly incapable of forming a coherent thought .

For the most part, Jasper only ever incited the first type of fear. I was always uncomfortable and ill at ease when he was near but never truly afraid. But what I was feeling in this moment was no simple disquiet. In a matter of moments my emotions had escalated from a frustrated anxiousness to a cold hard panic that was yet rising. A cold sweat broke out over my skin. I was light headed and a bit dizzy. My mouth was dry and my fingers hurt from clenching my fist so tightly.

I opened my eyes and fixed them on Jasper. He was leaning forward in his chair, hands on his knees facing me. His eyes held a look of intense concentration and a mocking smile played on his lips. He was enjoying my discomfiture and then I realized he was also the cause. He was using his ability to control emotions to fan the flames of my fear.

A shock of anger ran through me and I tried to grab hold of it and push back the fear. Jasper furrowed his eyebrows and all at once I lost my hold on my anger and was swamped by dread.

"You smell so good Bella." Jasper murmured softly. He scooted forward in his chair and brought his face close to mine. So close I could feel his breathe on my neck. He angled his face so that his nose was right in front of my mouth. He closed his eyes and took a deep breathe. "Every emotion has a certain flavor… or scent," He mused. "The stronger a person feels an emotion the deeper and richer the scent and flavor." He took another deep breathe. "As you know, dear Bella, I do not eat human food but for lack of a better example I will say it's like smelling chocolate and even though you have not eaten chocolate feel as if you can very nearly taste it.

"Joy tastes different from sadness and anger tastes different from surprise. But there are different grades of every emotion. So while the happiness of meeting an old friend taste like a candy bar, the intense happiness of say"-a coy smile slid onto his lips- "spending time with your lover would taste like the most decadent fudge."

He slid his hands onto the arms of my chair. "I have to be careful not to make humans afraid. We want them to think there is nothing to fear. To not really take notice of us least they look too closely and see us for what we really are. Anytime I sense that unease and fear that leads to questions in someone I suppress it or incite another emotion." He opened his eyes and peered into mine. Through the panic my brain was able to register that his pupils are dilated, obsidian moons blocking out his golden-sun irises.

"But I don't have to do that with you Bella." He crooned. "You know exactly what I am and what I'm capable of. And your fear. Taste. So. Good." He moaned the last word, took another deep breathe and all at once another wave a fear coursed through me.

I tried to scream but the thought got lost on its way to my mouth as it was swallowed in a sea of terror. Jasper slowly brought his index finger to my face and lightly trapped a bead of sweat on the tip of his finger. He stared at it for a long moment and then lightly touched it to his tongue. He shuddered violently and his eyes dilated further so that his irises shone like a pencil line of gold sketched around his black pupils.

The look in his eyes made something in me shift. Instead of trying to fight against the tide of his assault I let go and gave myself over to it completely. A dam burst and the small swells of emotion became a raging sea. Jasper had been pushing against my defenses so hard that when the resistance fell away he was utterly overwhelmed. The intensity of what we were both feeling was overpowering. I felt my consciousness began to pull away and hide itself in some far corner in my mind.

The turbulence wrought by this breaking in my mind blurred clearly marked lines that defined what I was feeling and what Jasper was feeling till they bled together. I could feel the intense pleasure he garnered from the taste of my fear. With a shock I began to taste it myself. It was more a mix sensations and impressions then just taste. It was deep and dark as a moonless night. Weighty yet supple like dense velvet. There were hints of things metallic and sharp as well as flashes of sweetness that smelled of crushed grass.

I felt Jasper trying to pull back and stem the onslaught. He had not considered the possibility of me letting down my defenses and without the resistance of me pushing back his energies and efforts poured into me wild and unchecked and now he was in danger of losing himself. The cords of neck were strained. His face was contorted into a grimace and gold of his irises were totally eclipsed at this point. He was breathing heavily through gritted teeth and I heard the creak of the wood of my chair as he gripped it too hard and fought not to crush it altogether.

The juxtaposition of his blonde hair and pale skin against his too large onyx pupils and strained expression made him look like some devil trapped in the body of an angel. There was a part of him that truly wanted to be good. That wanted to wholeheartedly adhere to the tenets of the Cullen's credo for living and honor human life. But there were days when he missed the taste of fear. Animals were dumb and lacked the complexity of feeling of humans. Their fear was flat and dull compared to the richness he could cultivate from human prey.

For half a century he'd had been with Alice. When they'd finally found the Cullens it was easier for him live a disciplined life. Surrounded by like-minded individuals he strove to live up to the expectations of his adopted family. But then I came along and one paper cut had sent years of discipline and forbearance out the window. A few drops of blood and the ensuing panic that had followed sent it all back to him in a rush to powerful to check.

I wondered how long he had been contemplating doing what he was doing to me right now. How careful he would have had to have been with Edward always near and capable of reading his mind. How closely he would have had to check that his desires did not cross the threshold into planned action so that Alice would never see him in some vision torturing me like he was now.

"Jasper!" In my semiconscious state I caught a glimpse of Alice standing a few feet away.

She came and knelt down next to my chair opposite Jasper. She reached across his arms, as his hands were still clenching onto the arms of my chair, and grabbed his chin. She tried to pull his face toward her and away from me and he growled. His chin turned slightly but his eyes were still riveted on me. She let go of his face and rested her forehead against his temple and began to whisper in his ear. It was too soft for me to hear but slowly the tide within me began to ebb. I could feel his hold on me slacken and my mind return to itself.

I was wrung out and utterly drained. My mind and heart had been over taxed and as he let go bit by bit I slid, by degrees, into a state of unconsciousness and slept like the dead.

I was pulled out of sleep hours later by the urgent need to pee. By bladder felt like an overfilled water balloon ready to burst at the slightest movement. I groaned and slid me feet over the edge of my bed marshalling my wits to brace myself for the cold shock of my wooden floor boards. But I stood and instead of polished wood my feet sunk into plush carpet. My sleep clouded mind struggled to fully waken and piece this misinformation together. My eyes swept hurriedly around the room and I realized I was, indeed, not in my room.

The plush carpet and wall to ceiling windows were vaguely familiar. A star stitched sky blanketed the mountains and trees outside the window. Questions began to swirl around in my head but I couldn't latch on to any one long enough to try and find an answer as the need to empty my bladder pressed through all other concerns.

I hurriedly turned toward the door and instinctively walked down halls and turned corners to find the bathroom in this house that wasn't mine. Some part of me knew that I should care that I wasn't in my house. Knew that I should care and maybe even be concerned but I was too tired to care. I washed my hands, walked back to the room I'd just vacated and threw myself back onto the bed. Within moments I'd wrapped myself in the soft comforter and fell back to sleep.

The second time I woke up I was pulled out of sleep by the smell of bacon. Was it a dream or was someone really cooking bacon? I tried to push the thought away and burrow back into sleep but then my stomach growled and I knew that whether it was a dream or not I was definitely hungry and awake.

I pulled away the pillow covering my face and blinked at the late morning sunrays that spilled into the room. I rolled over onto my side, propped my head onto my elbow and took in my surroundings. The queen sized bed was flush against the wall opposite the floor to ceiling windows. There were shelves on either side of the bed full off music and other little knick knacks. Against the window directly in front of the bed was a small white couch and in the corner closest to the door stood another shelf stacked with books that I knew were not actually books but journals. If there was any doubt as to where I was I knew now that I was in Edward's room. Everything had been moved around to accommodate this ridiculously ornate bed but this was definitely his room.

Peeking under the covers I realized I was clothed in only a camisole and my underwear. I glanced beside the bed and saw the jeans and sweater I'd had on yesterday and reasoned that sometime during the night I'd taken them off in order to be more comfortable. Did I walk through the house to go to the bathroom before I took my clothes off or after?

I groaned and fell back against the pillows. I could not, for the life of me, remember. A little embarrassed at sleeping in Edward's room so scantily clad I tried to keep the covers wrapped around me as I reached for my clothes on the floor. I failed miserably and was dumped onto the floor.

"Bella?" Edward questioned through the door moments after hearing me tumble to the floor. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, Yeah." I said hurriedly as I tried to quickly tug on my clothes.

"Alice went and got you a few things if you would like to freshen up. There should be two bags right by the door. Do you see them?"

I looked up and saw two bags hanging from the door knob.

"Yes thank you. I'll be down in a bit."

"OK."

I got up and pulled the bags off the door knob and peeked at the contents. One bag was full of expensive toiletries and the other had an equally expensive outfit. I groaned. Would Alice ever tire of trying to "elevate" my sense of style?

"What time is it?" I mumbled to myself.

"10:30" Edward answered from the other side of the door and I jumped. I didn't know he was still out there.

"Go away!" I growled with no real malice. "I said I'll be down in a bit."

I heard him chuckle. I waited a few minutes then peeked out the door to make sure he was gone. The coast was clear. I grabbed the bags from the floor and went to the bathroom. The shampoo Alice had bought smelled heavenly and the body wash smelled divine. If I hadn't been so hungry I would have taken my time in the shower but as it was, my hunger goaded me to move quickly and find substance.

I dried myself off and considered the outfit Alice bought me skeptically. It was actually quite lovely, not the usual overly extravagant things she normally tried to coax me to wear. There was a two toned sweater dress made of alpaca. The top half was a light cerulean and the bottom half was a royal blue so deep it almost bordered on being navy. A pair of plain black leggings rounded out the outfit. I was sorely tempted to wear it but I had a sneaking suspicion that Alice had bought this outfit with ulterior motives. It had been noted on several occasions that Edward was partial to the color blue on me.

Not a little agitated I opted for just changing my undergarments and donning my own clothes. I made a half attempt to dry my hair and then tentatively made my way to the kitchen. There was an assortment of ingredients strewn across the counter and Edward was at the stove trying and failing to cook the bacon I'd smelled earlier. I glanced at the pile of burnt bacon that had already found its way into the trashcan and absentmindedly pushed Edward out of the way and salvaged the pieces he currently had on the cook-top.

Bacon done I turned to the counter and took inventory of the ingredients before me. I quickly mixed and stirred then made myself some pancakes and eggs to go with my bacon. I could feel Edward watching me but I was too hungry to pay him much attention.

"Is there any orange juice?" I asked him distractedly. He silently pulled a carton from the fridge and filled a cup for me. I found a fork and glanced around for syrup. "Do you have any syrup?" He went into a pantry, which was too well stocked for a house full of vampires, and pulled out several kinds. I grabbed the one labeled 'butter-pecan' and poured it over my pancakes. I pulled up a bar stool and sat at the counter in the kitchen and dug in. I moaned with pleasure at the first bite and then blushed with embarrassment when I heard a sharp intake of breathe and realized that I'd forgotten that Edward was still staring at me.

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There is so much more I wanted to write but I was already ay 2500+ words so I stopped here.

I know J is much darker in my version but every time I tried to write him to fit how he "should" be he still came out like this. I like how this turned out though. There are so many interesting things I can do with a dark J :) Let me know what you think.

Since you guys have been so awesome with your reviews I'll give you a little sneak peek.

The next installment is CHAPTER 8: GUILTY. What do you think the title portends?