Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I've been super busy recently and then when I tried to upload it during the week, there was something up with FF and it wouldn't work.

We had been driving for a few hours, mainly in amicable silence, as we both contemplated what our lives would be like for the foreseeable future. I tried to stay positive, but my mind always ended up back with the Volturi and the vision Alice had seen. What if we were unable to find Tanya and Irina? None of us were trackers, though we did have the advantage of Alice on our side, but the Volturi had one of the world's best trackers. At some point, they were going to find us, some of us at least, and I don't know how we would cope if something happened to any of the family.

I took a deep breath, pushing the thoughts from my head, turning to face Edward as he stopped the car.

"We'll leave the car here and hike into the forest a bit," he said, gathering the camping supplies, "We can stay here for a day or two before moving on somewhere else."

We headed through the trees, taking our time and walking at a human pace. It reminded me of our hike through the forest on our first trip to the meadow in Forks, but this time, I didn't have to constantly watch my feet for fear of tripping. I smiled at the thought, glancing up at Edward whose face lit up at the sight of my smile.

"It's been a while since I saw that beautiful smile," he commented, "What caused it, my love?"

"I was just remembering our first hike together," I replied.

"Ah, I'm glad the thought of it brings a smile to your face," he said, "When I think back to that hike, I just remember how nervous I was. I was terrified you would reject me once you saw how different I was, and I was even more terrified that I might end up hurting you."

"Oh, I was so nervous too," I admitted, "Though not because you were a vampire, but because we would be alone. I'd never had a boyfriend, not even close. I had no idea how to act around you."

"And now look at us," he chuckled, dropping the camping supplies as we entered a small clearing and pulled me into his arms. He pressed his lips to mine as I sank into his embrace, enjoying the feel of his lips. He pulled away all too soon and I let out a groan.

"Hold that thought," he chuckled, "We have a tent to set up!"

Edward moved quickly, unpacking the tent, and setting it up like a pro. I just stood watching him in awe. I had never camped before, so I had no idea what to do to help him, but it hardly looked like he needed any help at all. In no time, the tent was sitting perfectly with a small campfire glowing in front of it, the flames flickering gently in the slight breeze.

"Wow! You made that look so easy," I said, watching as he dragged a log from the other side of the clearing for us to sit by the fire.

"Well, we may not have actually been camping every time there was good weather," he said, "but we had to keep up the pretence, so we bought a lot of camping supplies. Emmett, Jasper, and I would have races to see who could pitch a tent the fastest."

I rolled my eyes at their boyish antics and took a seat on the log in front of the fire. We may not feel the cold as much as vampires, but the feeling of the heat from the fire felt nice on my skin. Edward sat beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Have you heard anything from the others?" I asked, leaning into him.

"Not yet," he replied, taking a quick look at the cell phone, "But the others had further to travel than us. I'll let them know that we are camped out for the night."

He typed a quick text message before putting the phone back into the rucksack on the ground.

"I miss them," I said quietly.

"I know, me too," he said, placing a light kiss on the top of my head, "A few weeks ago, I would have done anything for this privacy, but now, I just want us all back together." I sighed in agreement, thinking about the family, split up and scattered across the globe as we tried to avoid Alice's vision.

We sat in silence for a few moments before I decided that we could both use a little distraction. With everything that had been going on, we hadn't had privacy for a long time, and I was very ready to enjoy some alone time with my husband, despite the circumstances. I stood, ignoring Edward's confused look which dissipated as I knelt in front of him. I looked up at him, his eyes darkening as he stared down at me. Slowly, I reached my hands up to flick the button of his trousers open quickly. It hadn't taken him long to catch up to my train of thought and as I pulled him free, he was already becoming hard.

"Bella," he whispered, as I wrapped my hand around his shaft, feeling him harden further beneath my fingers. I began slowly moving my hand over him, before licking across the tip of him, tasting the small bead of liquid that had already gathered there. He hissed at the sensation of my tongue on him, but I didn't let him recover before I slid him between my lips. His head flung back, a groan escaping him at being surrounded by my mouth. I pulled almost all the way off him, before swallowing him again.

This was something I hadn't dared attempt since I'd become a vampire, afraid that I would hurt him if I was the one in control, but I now felt more comfortable with my strength, able to control myself enough that I wouldn't hurt him. As I swallowed around him once more, I moved my hand from where it rested on his thigh, to grip his hand and slide his fingers into my hair. He opened his eyes, looking down at me warily.

I removed my mouth from him to say, "I'm not human any more. I'm not breakable." I could see the hesitance in his eyes, so I said, "Fuck my mouth. Please." As I said the words, I felt a rush of wetness soak my underwear. Edward's eyes darkened further, and his fingers tightened their grip on my hair, as I engulfed him in my mouth once more.

He wanted it, I could tell, but he wouldn't let himself in fear that he would hurt me. I dragged my teeth along him gently, just enough that he would feel it. He bucked his hips, and I swallowed him down greedily while squeezing my hand around the base of him, showing him that I wanted this. I looked up at him from underneath my lashes, locking my gaze with his. At that moment, something snapped, and he unleashed himself.

His fingers entwined themselves tighter in my hair and I moaned at the feel of it, the vibrations of the sound reverberating through him. Holding me in place, he thrust his hips, and I met him with each stroke, my mouth and hand working in tandem until he was groaning in pleasure. I could feel him tensing, getting close to his release and I grazed my teeth along him one final time, before he erupted, his hands stilling me as he spilled down my throat. I sat back on my knees, swallowing everything he gave me, before glancing up at him.

"God, Bella," he groaned, his breathing heavy as he came down from his high. He swept me up into his arms, heading for the tent. He lay me down on the padded mats on the floor of the small tent, not that we needed the comfort of them, but Edward was nothing if not thorough. He towered over me, staring at me with lust-filled eyes, a look that made me squirm, looking for any sort of friction. He gripped the hem of my top, pulling it up over my head leaving me in just my lacy bra. He quickly removed his own shirt, and I took in the sight of his muscled chest.

He leant down, his lips ghosting over mine, his warm breath fanning over my face filling my head with his breathtaking fragrance. He trailed his hands slowly up my sides, as my arms wound around his neck. I could feel my nipples harden, pressing through the soft lace separating our bare skin. Moving away from my lips, he moved down towards my breasts and sucked my erect peak into his mouth through the material. My head flew back, my eyes rolling in my head, as I let out a moan. His hand cupped my other breast, as his thumb ran over the nipple for a few moments before he swapped sides.

I could feel him harden again as I rocked my hips into him, desperate for friction as he continued to lave at my breasts. His hand snaked around my back, deftly unhooking my bra, only removing his mouth from my nipples long enough to fling it across the small tent. He growled as he took my bare nipple into his mouth, no longer hindered by the material. The vibrations sent sparks through my nipples and another gush of wetness from my core.

After a few moments, he swiftly removed the rest of our clothing, before sliding down my body until he was hovering just above my centre. Slowly, he swiped his tongue, from my entrance to my sensitive nub. He licked and sucked, feasting on me like a dying man. My panting quickened and the moans escaping my lips continued to increase with his ministrations. I could feel the coil in my stomach tightening and with one last suck of my clit into his mouth, he growled again, sending vibrations through my core and I came with a scream of his name.

When I came down from my high, I opened my eyes to see him once again hovering over me, taking most of his weight on his hands, but allowing me to feel him right down my body. I spread my legs, wrapping them around his waist, as he sank his arousal into me. I let out a sound somewhere between a moan and a scream as I stretched around him.

Edward drew out in a long slide before thrusting back in, seating himself to the hilt. I concentrated hard not to dig my fingernails into his back like I so wanted to, but I wouldn't allow myself to hurt him again. Instead, I focused every fibre of my being on each movement he made. Every withdrawal until he was almost completely gone and, for a split second, I missed the feel of him. Every thrust back into me that made me feel so full, so complete.

He continued to drive into me, and I felt my muscles get tighter and tighter with each thrust as my release built up within me. Looking into his beautiful butterscotch eyes and seeing nothing but love and lust there, I knew I wouldn't last much longer.

"I'm gonna... oh, baby, come with me," he groaned, as my eyes shut and I screamed his name, my insides clenching around him, his release following instantly.

~~~PS ILYF~~~

We spent the rest of the night cuddled up in the tent, just savouring the privacy, though my thoughts often drifted to the rest of the family and where they all were now. We had heard from them all, though they were all still travelling, so we knew they were all safe, but that didn't stop me from worrying about them.

A bleep from Edward's phone pulled us out of our thoughts just as the sun began to rise outside. Edward sat up instantly, reaching for the phone.

"Alice and Jasper have just checked in to a B&B in Illinois," Edward said, peering down at the phone, "No sign of Irina or Tanya yet, but everyone is safe from the Volturi for the moment." His voice was tight, the tension clear in his face.

"It must be nice for them to have some creature comforts," I joked, gesturing around our small tent. I had meant to lighten the mood with my joke, but it only made his eyes turn sad. "Hey, I was only joking, you know. We're vampires. We don't actually need those comforts."

"I know," he said quietly, "But, I'm your husband. I should be treating you better than this. A tent in a cold forest isn't exactly how I pictured our next trip away. It's a far cry from our honeymoon."

"Then, we will just have to make our next trip spectacular," I said, sitting up and wrapping my arms around him from behind, "This is just something we have to do. It's not like we can stay in B&Bs or hotels. I'm pretty sure it's considered rude to ransack the place and eat all the customers." His lips tugged up slightly at the corners, but it didn't reach his eyes.

I pulled him round to face me, staring up into his eyes, "You know, I don't care about luxury. As long as I am with you, I don't care about our surroundings." He smiled a real smile then and pulled me into him.

"I know," he whispered into my hair, "It doesn't stop me from wanting to give you everything though. You have given me everything I've ever wanted or needed since the first moment we met and I want to repay that."

"You have," I replied, "By being here with me. By choosing to keep me forever. By loving me."

~~~PS ILYF~~~

We spent another night there before hunting quickly, packing up, and driving another few hours to another forest. I had no idea where exactly we were, but it didn't really matter. We only stayed another two nights before moving on again. And again. It was monotonous and a little boring without the rest of the family, but Edward and I were together and that was all that mattered.

We kept in close contact with the rest of the family. Carlisle and Esme had gone straight to Alaska and stayed for a few nights. Carmen, Eleazar, and Kate had been horrified to hear our thoughts on what had happened. They hadn't believed that Irina and Tanya were capable of such things, especially against their own family. However, after Carlisle and Esme had told them what Edward had said about how Tanya had treated him over the years, they had agreed that it was a possibility, especially in light of how Irina and Tanya had been acting before they mysteriously disappeared. Unfortunately, they had no idea where they might be and hadn't heard anything from either of them since they left. Carlisle and Esme had since travelled to Europe and were currently in Northern England.

Worryingly, Demetri and the gang had landed in Alaska only two days after Carlisle and Esme had left. Alice had seen that they would be arriving and warned the Denalis, but her vision had shown them leaving amicably, though we had all been on high alert until we had heard back from the Denalis that they had left, and all was well. It had been a close enough call for Carlisle and Esme, but we knew that was likely to keep happening, particularly for them as Demetri knew Carlisle the best. It worried us all immensely, but we had faith in Alice to keep them safe.

Edward and I had veered to the other side of Canada when we knew the Volturi were headed to Alaska to keep as much distance between us as possible, though thankfully Demetri had never met either of us, so it would be much harder for him to attempt to track us. We were, however, running out of time so we could feasibly stay in Canada, but travelling was going to be tricky because I would inevitably be surrounded by humans.

Rosalie and Emmett were in Tunisia in Northern Africa, living it up as typical night-dwelling vampires, which Emmett was enjoying, and Rose hated. Emmett had had his chance at tasting a lion in Tanzania, which he almost declared as his new favourite but said his rivalry with bears still meant that he favoured them slightly more. Rose, however, was ensuring that he didn't disturb the balance of wildlife too much and wouldn't let him have more than one, so they were mainly filling up on gazelles, which Emmett grumbled about every time we spoke to him.

Alice and Jasper were in Biloxi now, taking the chance to check up on Alice's niece who lived there. After finding out about her history following the incident with James, Alice knew she had a niece but had never been to visit. Not that she could speak to her niece, but she had said it was nice to just see her from a distance and see how her life was.

Alice was, however, becoming increasingly more frustrated that she wasn't able to see anything about Irina and Tanya, despite spending every spare moment watching for them.

It had been just over a week of travelling when we began pitching our tent in an unknown forest once more. I had even begun helping Edward, asking him to teach me, mainly to pass some time. I was just easily pushing the last tent peg into the ground with a single finger, when Edward gasped and dove towards me, knocking me to the ground, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist.

"Humans!" he hissed, his fingers digging almost painfully into my stomach as he held me, "Stop breathing!" I instantly did as he said, closing my eyes to focus intently on not smelling anything around me. As I did, I noticed Edward releasing his grip. I wanted to tell him to keep holding on to me, to not let me go until the danger was gone, but I was afraid to talk. I hadn't expected him to trust me holding my breath so completely that he would let go.

I opened my eyes, ready to find some way to show Edward that I wanted him to keep a hold of me without risking taking a breath, but when I glanced down, I realised that Edward still had his arms around my waist. His knuckles were tensed, paler than the rest of his skin, as he gripped me tightly. But I couldn't feel him. I couldn't feel any part of his body where he touched me. It was as though there was a very thin bubble surrounding me, hugging each dip and curve of my body. I flexed my fingers. I couldn't feel anything, but when I lowered my hand to rest on Edward's arm, I couldn't touch him. My hand stopped just millimetres from his arm and when I concentrated, I could feel a small buzz of electricity where I 'touched' him. When I realised that, I could feel the light buzz from every other part of me that 'touched' Edward.

Without thinking, I gasped, instantly realising my mistake, and closing my mouth once again, but as I did, I realised nothing had happened. I hadn't smelt the humans. I hadn't even smelt the sunshine and honey scent of Edward who was wrapped around me. This shield, if that's what it was, that was surrounding me was keeping out the scent.

Making sure that Edward was still holding me, despite not being able to feel it, I took a tentative breath. Not a single scent reached my nose. It was a strange feeling, but it was amazing.

"Bella!" Edward chastised, "Stop breathing! Please!"

"It's okay," I said calmly, "Look." I directed him to look at where my hand 'touched' his arm. "It's some sort of shield. I can't smell anything."

He glanced down, confusion on his face as he looked at where we were joined. A thin sliver of space separated us. He still didn't look convinced that I wasn't about to run off, despite the fact that I was making no effort to do so.

"The humans are close, right?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. I could hear their heartbeats. Thankfully, I was controlled enough having hunted earlier in the day that the sound wasn't bothering me too much, bar a slight tingle in my throat. A few months ago, I think even the sound would have driven me mad.

Edward nodded, still looking confused as to how I was talking and breathing so close to humans and not tearing through him to get to them, especially since this would be the first time I had smelt human blood.

"I have a gift. A shield," I explained, realising that my shield was probably what kept Edward out of my head this whole time, "I can't feel you. I can't smell anything. I'm okay, I promise." I watched as Edward's knuckles relaxed slightly, though he didn't let go completely.

"Wow," he breathed, moving his hands along my arm, pressing into the shield, the buzz of electricity becoming more pronounced as he did, "This is amazing! It feels like you, but not. I know that makes no sense, but now that I know I'm not technically touching you, I realise it feels different somehow, but also still like you."

"I think," I began, "That this shield, or whatever it is, is why you couldn't hear my thoughts." A thought flashed in my mind, an interesting thought, but I filed it away for later.

"Then, how come Alice and Jasper's gifts worked on you?" Edward pondered.

"Maybe because I wasn't so opposed to their gifts," I suggested, as Edward raised his eyebrows at me in question, "I mean, no one really wants someone reading every thought that ever passes through their mind. That would be embarrassing! When you first told me you could read minds, I was mortified when I thought you had read mine! Besides, it's just a theory!"

"I get it," he said with a chuckle, "It's not so much fun on this end either, you know. But I'd give anything to hear your mind." There was that thought again, but I wouldn't get his hopes up until I had time to see if it was possible.

"With Alice and Jasper," I said, changing the subject back, "I was never as opposed to their gifts, not all the time anyway. They came in pretty handy sometimes. That's probably how they got through. I wonder if I'd be able to focus on stopping their gifts now."

"Well, it's important that Alice can see you at the minute, so we'll leave that for now," he said, "But we can work on your gift. See what it can do. It could be very useful, especially if you can block other vampires' gifts with it."

I could see where his mind was going. If I could block vampire gifts, maybe I could block the Volturi's gifts. Maybe if I could block Alec's gift, the Volturi would have to stop long enough to listen to us if they found us. It was definitely worth a try. For the first time since Alice had had that vision of the Volturi, I began to feel a little hope.