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Disclaimer: I am not Stephanie Meyers.

Chapter Two

Master

Bella's grip on my hand was firm, certain. She was also sweating, her heart hammering in her chest. It was another moment of curiosity for me. Oh, how I wished I could peak inside her mind! It would make everything so much easier. My guidance of her into this life she would share with me for a time. But, alas, she was blocked off from me. Such a delicious challenge.

I spared a moment to wonder why Alice had given up calling. She wasn't used to being thwarted, least of all by me. Ever since I'd left if she wanted to talk to me it didn't matter how many times I ignored her call she kept going. Perhaps Jasper had calmed her enough to see reason. Doubtful but unimportant.

I guided Bella to the back of the club. There were several private rooms there for the less voyeuristic clientele. I, of course, had my own room. Nothing like the ridiculous red room of pain from that horrible book. More like parlor. A parlor where I could play in private. I retrieved the key from my pocket and held the door open for her. Another decision on her part. Let her think of what she was doing and really decide if she wanted it.

Human curiosity was one thing, letting a vampire dominate you was quite another. She looked me dead in the eyes, tilted her chin back, and marched in. I closed the door behind us. It was locked from the outside but unlocked from within. I would accept nothing less than her totally consent. If she ever felt uncomfortable or wanted to leave, she needed to know that she could. The only thing that would keep her here was herself.

She was looking around the room. I cleared my throat. She turned back to me, I took her hand and placed it on the doorknob, letting her feel that it was unlocked. I could see the relief behind all the bravado. Her shoulders relaxed and she smiled up at me. There was complete trust in her eyes. It was good place to start. I placed my hand under hers, encouraging her to take another drink. She drained the glass and handed it to me.

So brave and so timid at the same time. I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol that had her looking at me like that.

I moved behind her removing her backpack, placing it on the floor by the door, and setting the glass down on a nearby table. There were plenty of surfaces in this room, I liked having options. I came back around in front of her. She had been turning her head to try and watch me, seeming intent on keeping her eyes on me. Once I was back in front of her she became timid again and looked away.

"Eyes."

An order little lamb. They flicked up for a moment then away again. I sighed and turned away from her.

"Wait!" I kept my back to her, waiting. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"Yes?"

I wasn't going to make this easy on her. I did enjoy watching her squirm but more than that if she really wanted this, she had to admit it. Not just to me but to herself. There wasn't any good in submitting or dominating if both parties weren't aware they needed it. I knew what I needed from her. Now she needed to accept what she needed from me.

"I've never done anything like this before," she told me. "I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know what I'm thinking!" Bella ran her hands through her hair, tugging slightly at the strands.

"That makes two of us," I laughed. Her laugh was breathy, her smile- radiant.

I studied her eyes. They were tight, anxious, but exhausted. The way she held herself here in front me, free of all distractions, was telling. She was far more relaxed than when we entered, but there was still a stiffness about her that I didn't like. I wanted her pliant and relaxed. That would take some doing. She looked away from my intense studying of her. Uncomfortable with the unblinking stare. My mind finally caught what I'd heretofore been missing.

"You're afraid." She nodded, her eyes flicking all over the room, everywhere but at me. "Of me?" Her eyes came back to me finally, wide and panicked at the question.

"No! No!" She touched me then. For the first time her hands settled on me. She gripped the lapel of my suit with a fierceness I hadn't been expecting. I looked down at her white knuckles, then slowly back up to her eyes. "I'm not afraid of you," she insisted. For a moment I wondered if she was trying to convince herself of that but quickly decided she wasn't.

No, my little lamb was very sure of herself in this moment. Whatever she feared, it wasn't me. Odd. Most the subs I'd taken on in the past twelve years did so for two reasons. One, I was attractive to them, and two they craved the inherent fear of the unknown. It was as much a game to them as it was to me. The fact that they were being dominated by a vampire was terrifying and that was the primary thrill. Once that wore off, we usually parted ways.

"Mon petit agneau," I whispered, "what are you afraid of?"

"I-I-"

She was shaking now. Violent tremors all over her body. Whatever was upsetting her was something that needed dealing with. The sooner the better. I'd had subs fall to pieces before and knew the signs. The desire to please and longing for punishment were at war. I couldn't punish her now, not yet. She needed to understand what she wanted first. She needed to understand that the two desires were not opposites, not really. She could please me in every way and I'd still find ways to punish her. There were always ways.

I backed her against the door, pealing her fingers from my jacket. Gently I pushed them against polished wood behind her, right on either side of her head. The shaking stopped almost instantly. Ah, so that was it. She needed me to center her in the moment. I was more than happy to. I ran my nose down her cheek. My senses went into overdrive. I could feel the blood beneath her translucent skin. I could hear it, smell it, taste it. It was like a melody in my mind, a song stuck there unable to be shaken loose.

Too late I realized what was happening.

Without thought it my mouth was latched to the skin beneath her ear. My lips dancing across her skin, my tongue lapping at the softness there. My vision had narrowed to a point, darkness on all sides, all I could see was the flesh so close to my teeth. The blood pounding through her veins. That blood that would complete me as no other blood ever had before. My lips pulled back over my teeth, the razor-sharp edges, scrapping against her taut flesh. Just seconds, milliseconds perhaps, and then…

"Master."

My vision cleared in an instant. The whole world came rushing back. I pulled away a fraction of an inch, too minute for her to notice. My sense came back to me, finally able to focus on something other than her blood. Those cues I needed to judge what she really wanted. Her whole body was relaxed for the first time since I'd seen her at the bar. Her heartbeat even and slow. At this moment she was complete at peace.

I pulled back enough to see her face. Her eyes were closed, cheeks stained pink. She wore a queer little smile. I couldn't place it at first. It came to me a moment later. It was relief. My mind was still moving one hundred miles a minute. Unable to accept what I had nearly done and unable to comprehend her reaction to it. Somewhere in my mind I recognized that she couldn't have known how close I'd come to killing her. But there really was no fear in her right now. She felt nothing but an almost crippling relief. How was that possible?

I cursed her silent mind.

"Mon petit agneau," I whispered against her lips, "tell me what you need."

"To not think," her words came rushing out, a torrent against my lips. "I need to not have to think every second of every day. About my future, my present, my past. Everything. All of its on me. I don't know what to do one day to the next. I'm constantly worrying about my parents, my schoolwork, my internship, my friends, a job, money. Everything just falls on me and it's too much, it's all too much."

"Shhhh, mon petit agneau," I rubbed my lips softly against hers, not a kiss, a tease. She gasped. "You need me to take care of you."

Her eyes blinked open, all at once defiant. I bit back my grin. My little lamb wouldn't like that at all.

"I'm not helpless!"

"At the moment that's debatable," I squeezed her trapped wrists, "but hardly the point. You are burden with responsibilities, as are we all, and you need to be freed from them. Perhaps not all of them, but enough."

"I just don't want to think for one fucking second. I just want to feel and do. And-"

"And?"

"I don't want to disappoint you." A whisper, her eyes down again, hiding from me, from herself.

"We need to understand each other, learn and adapt. You may disappoint me, and I may disappoint you. Unfortunately, there is no avoiding that. Not if we intend to embark on this together. I know you are not helpless. In fact, I'd wager good money that you're very brave and capable. Needing someone to take care of you is not a weakness. It is what makes us human." She blinked at me. "A figure of speech."

"What do you need? What can I give you?" Her voice was desperate, her body tight again. The fear was of herself, of not being enough for me. I could work with that.

"I need you to let me take care of you," I said simply. She was shaking her head before I could finish the sentence. "Do you doubt me?"

"You have to want more!"

"Do I?"

"How could that be enough?"

"If I told you to get on your knees and suck my cock, would you?" Her eyes went impossibly wide, she started to shake again, but she nodded, nonetheless. A curious reaction. However, I'd made my point. "How could your total submission to my will not be enough?"

I felt her knees go out as all the tension left her body. I held her in place with my hand at her wrists and my body press flush against hers. She started tugging against my hold, seemingly trying to go to her knees. The tension was gone from her form but remained in her eyes. That wouldn't do.

I shook my head, holding her firm. "I'm not ordering you to do that now, petit agneau," her eyes relaxed and she stopped fighting to go to her knees. "I was merely making a point. I will have you, every way a man can have a woman, I will have you. And you will give yourself to me. Willingly, happily. And I will take care of you."

She was shaking so hard by the end of my statement she might as well have been vibrating. This was different though; she wasn't shaking out of fear but arousal. I could smell it in the air. My little lamb wanted me desperately.

"Would you like that, mon petit agneau?" Her eyes closed and she nodded. "Do you want me to fuck against this door?" She gasped at the foul language; her scent thickened. She nodded again. "Why should I give that to you?" I asked, harshly. Her eyes shot open. "Why should I reward you with my cock when you've been so bad?"

"B-bad, master?" she stuttered.

I nodded but said no more. I was still as statue in front of her. Bella's delicate wrist still locked in my hands against the door, our bodies a hair's breadth apart. She didn't struggle against me all. She seemed to be waiting for me to speak but I could be quiet for a long time. Let her squirm. Let her wonder what she'd done. Let her fuss over how I would have to punish her. For all her talk about not wanting to think- just feel and do, this moment might have seemed like torture. And, perhaps, it was. But a sweet teasing torture, not one that would ever damage her.

I could see her struggling to think of what she might have done. Eventually she would ask. Her defiance was charming.

"What, master? What did I do?" Such a desperate plea from her sweet, soft lips.

"I gave you an order at the bar," I reminded her. "One you continually disobey."

The tension returned to her eyes and she started to wiggle against me. It was clear she didn't remember but wanted to badly to comply. I pressed my body fully against hers. Letting her feel every inch of me, crowding her against the door. I pressed my lips to her ear. "Eyes on me, little one," I growled.

God, her scent was everywhere. She was so aroused.

"Forgive me, master," she begged.

"I will," she sagged in relief, "after your punishment."

Her heart leapt and sped up. I stepped back, severing all contact between us. She nearly tumbled to the ground but righted herself before I had to do anything. Bella kept her eyes locked on me, though I could see it made her uncomfortable. I pointed at the leather couch against the wall. It was one of the few things I'd taken with me. Soft brown leather, she would look lovely on it.

Bella stumbled over, never taking her eyes from me. She stopped in front of the couch, uncertain. Still thinking too much. No matter, I'd take care of that. Slowly, I unbutton my suit jacket, letting it drop to the floor. I rolled up the sleeves of my dress shirt, showing her the otherworldly whiteness of my skin. She wanted a vampire as a Dom, she would get a vampire as a Dom. I never hid from my subs. We were beyond that. One day soon Bella would see all of me and I all of her.

She watched my every move with rapt attention.

"A few rules are in order," I said, casually. "You've heard of safe words?" She nodded. "Good." I didn't usually need them, but she was a special case after all. "Red means stop, yellow means slow down, green means go. I will, at times ask you what color you are. If you are enjoying yourself and want me to continue, say green. If you need a break, or want me to slow down, say yellow. If you are uncomfortable or feel unsafe, say red. Any play will stop immediately. Understood?"

"Yes, master," she said, quickly.

"When play is over, I will call you Bella and you may call me Edward. When I require your submission, I will call you mon petit agneau. When you require my domination, you will call me master. Understood?"

"Yes, master," her voice, breathy and aroused.

"Very good. As we develop together, we will likely add more rules. Things will adjust was we learn each other. But I think that will do for now." I pointed to the arm of the couch. "Bend over that."

Bella scrambled to obey, nearly falling in her haste to comply. She practically threw herself over the arm of the couch, forcing the air from her lungs, her hands reaching out to catch her. Before they could I was behind her, both wrists clasped in one hand. I directed them to the small of her back; pressing down to let her know she was to leave them there. She was straining her neck, looking over her shoulder to keep her eyes on me. A fast learner. I walked slowly over to the cabinet in the corner of my parlor. Over the years alone I'd learned to appreciate moving slowly. I had eternity after all, why run when I had the time to walk. And times like this, feeling the heat of her eyes, was a moment to walk.

I retrieved a length of soft black rope and made my way back to her. I stopped beside her. Bella looked up at me, her cheek resting on a pillow. I took a moment to admire her this way. The sweetness of her submission was hardly lost on me. I hadn't bound her in anyway. Her backpack was right by the unlocked door. She could leave anytime she wanted. But she didn't. She stayed.

I stepped behind her prone form, her head moved to follow me, straining again to follow her first order. I reach down, cradling the back of her head and laid it again on the pillow. "Color?"

"Green, master."

The rope tied expertly around her wrist. Firm but not tight. "Color?"

"Green, master."

I knelt behind her, resting my hands on her ankles. This was my favorite part of finding a new sub. This innocent little lamb, entirely at my mercy, trusting me so completely. And now I could take the time to feel her under my hands. Twelve years ago, I could never have done this. I never would have trusted myself to. I would have been so afraid of hurting this petal of a woman. Perhaps I wouldn't have touched her at all. I had had many subs over the years. Some lasted months, others lasted days, but every single one had taught me something. And I was grateful for them.

When I did this with my first sub, I had left bruises all over her body. In her mind I could hear how much it had turned her on, but I had been disgusted with myself. The next sub I barely touched at all. She saw it as a different kind of torture. That I was withholding from her to punish her. Not quite true. I hadn't found myself just yet. I was still fighting everyday not to want this, not to need it.

As I drew my hands up over Bella's calves, I thought of those first few women. That first club I went to in Seattle. I would run back and forth from Forks every day, every day promising myself that would be the last time. Every day I failed. I would go back, always at night. I would find whichever sub would have me. I would take her to a private corner, and I would punish her for whatever it was I decided she did wrong. Eventually, I realized what it really was that I desired in this. Control. Not just over the woman beneath my hands, but over the monster that constantly clawed at my throat. If I could have such absolute control over this woman, over her every move and over every move of mine… Well, the control over that part of myself was easy.

My hands stopped right below Bella's rounded ass. My thumbs pressed against her inner thighs. I could feel the warmth from her arousal. I stood slowly, trailing my fingers over her bottom, then up over her arms to her shoulders. Standing at my full height behind her, I imagined fucking her here. I never fucked my subs in the club and had only fucked a handful of them over the years at all. It was another test of my control. But I would fuck Bella. Of that I had no doubt. And I would fuck her everywhere a woman could be fucked.

Not now though and not here.

My fingers trailed around her waist until they found the button of her jeans. Her breath quickened, short desperate gasps. Her heartbeat pounded through the room, drowning out any other sound. A quick flick and the button was undone, another and the zipper down. I waited then, but she was silent. Silence was not consent.

"Color?"

"Green, master," she gasped instantly.

Gently, I tugged her jeans over her hips, pushing them down just over her panty clad ass. I drew my fingers over the innocent white cotton. The scent of her desire was stronger now. The sight of it between her legs was a temptation I didn't want to deny myself. I forced my hands away from her. Control. I must be in control. Absolutely and completely. Only once I'd regained that precious control did I allow myself to continue.

I brought my fingers down to the naked skin above her panties. Letting her feel the cold of my flesh against hers. It was such a perfect contrast. I hooked my fingers inside the fabric, feeling the slight irregularities in the stitch, allowing a moment of focus on something other than the heated flesh on the backs of my fingers. I let myself listen. Her frantic heartbeat, her gasping breath, the slight shuffle of her feet against the floor. Such movement in humans was refreshing. I was still as stone behind her, but she was a mass of twitching nerves beneath my touch.

"Color?"

"Green, master! Green!" I chuckled at her eager replay.

I considered for a moment drawing this out. Taking minutes to pull her panties down to the top of her jeans. It would not only be torture to her but to me as well. The ultimate test of my control over this moment. Part of me longed for it, longed to have that kind of restraint. The other part prevailed and in a blink her ass was bare to my greedy eyes.

A thousand thoughts crowded my head at that moment. Part of my mind was focused entirely on the sight before me. The creamy flesh, blushed already, no doubt from her shy embarrassment. The texture of her skin. Soft yes, impossibly soft, but with small imperfections here and there. Human, so very human. The scent of her cum leaking from between her thighs. Thick and heady. That alone should have taken all of my attention.

However, as I gazed down on her, letting my senses have free reign in my mind, another, unwelcome thought intruded. I could see her snarling face in my mind's eye. She had been so angry at me. That was all she had wanted me to see. But beneath that was pain and fear and uncertainty. She couldn't understand why I had left, and I wouldn't say. So, she framed it the only way she could.

Selfish fool!

The pot calling the kettle black, Rosalie. At the time I hadn't said anything. Because I was being selfish. I was being a fool. She had hit the nail on the head without even realizing it. I had a need that I demanded be filled and no one was going to stop me, least of all myself. I took from my subs, selfishly took what I needed. I gave as well, but I always felt that I took so much more.

Looking down at Bella Swan, mon petit agneau, I felt so much more than selfish. I felt covetous. Not of her blood. Not even of her body, or her submission. Of her.

MINE

The word growled through my head. She was mine.