The bruises on Bella's neck were barely noticeable by the end of the week.

Part of her wanted to continue the ruse of them: wear the turtlenecks and scarves for the rest of these remaining months so Edward would continue to stay away. But Alice showed up unannounced at her front door that Friday afternoon, grinning pleasantly at her neck as if she had anticipated and tracked her gradual healing to the day, hour, and minute.

As Bella stared at Alice, she felt the raw thrumming force of her shield covering her, the red flashing distant at the corner of her vision. The distinct tightness on Alice's face told her that she was blind, and Bella felt a warm smugness that helped her face this eerie vampire her boyfriend called a sister.

Boyfriend. What a disgusting joke.

Future fiance? A worse, unending nightmare.

Even with this slight power Bella had over Alice, she didn't exactly feel that she had the authority to deny her entry. The incredulous vampire lore regarding having to invite vampires in through your threshold to permit their entry didn't apply. And, much to Bella's great disappointment, vampires also didn't spontaneously combust beneath the sun. Maybe all of that would have given humanity too much of an advantage. Maybe vampires were truly meant to rule this world with no adversaries.

Why hadn't they enslaved humanity yet?

"Bella."

Alice's impatient tone had Bella taking a step to the side, letting her glide into the home. After curling her lip at the unwashed dishes in the sink, she approached Bella. "Scarf, please."

Bella felt that this was coming. Reluctantly, she unraveled the loop around her neck, and met Alice's pleased gaze. She gave her no warning before her fingers were on her throat. Cool, purposeful, and methodical. Bella couldn't deny that Alice had expertise here similar to Jasper's.

"Edward will be so happy," she purred, feeling all the way up to her lymph nodes. "He's been so excited to spend time with you."

Bella remained quiet.

"What's on your mind, Bella?" Alice asked as she smoothed Bella's hair around her shoulders. "You've been away from the house most of the week. You're making yourself missed." A pout. "Are you still upset about my comment?"

"Threatening my mother isn't something I take lightly, Alice."

"Stop trying to wiggle out of your future, and there would be no threats. It's really that simple. And is Edward really that bad?"

Alice smirked at her as if she knew exactly how bad he was, and Bella didn't feel she even deserved a response.

After being thoroughly poked and maneuvered this way and that by Alice Cullen, Bella finally patted her hands away. "You've done your examination. Will you leave?"

"I've protected you this entire time, and this is how you show your appreciation? You're welcome, by the way, for keeping Edward away because of this shield nonsense."

Bella brushed past her and headed for the kitchen. "At this point, I'd rather you let him kill me."

The silence that followed gave her pause. She peeked into the living room, where Alice stood completely still, a hand clenched into a fist.

And then Bella jumped. Alice appeared directly in her face, with a quiet warning, "Don't you dare ruin this for me, human."

Heart in her throat, Bella stared back. "Maybe Olivia had the right idea. Maybe she baited Edward for the right reason. Surely, anything would be better than being mated to him for eternity."

Instantly, Alice's fury vanished as a cool, contained smile appeared on her face. "Mating is just… a formality, Bella. Is this what you're so upset about?"

Pure rage filled Bella's veins. "I want nothing to do with him, and you expect me to be compliant with an eternal bond?"

"Eternal bond." Alice rolled her eyes. "These dramatics are pointless. Your life with him won't be much different. Sure—you'll feel your petty loyalty, and your respect, but do you really think Edward's going to stop playing with his humans once he's mated to you? Carlisle is such a dreamer."

"And so are you," Bella pointed out, "if you think Edward is going to care about me at all once I lose my human appeal."

"You know what I think? He has displeased Carlisle for way too long, and he'll have to play along just as you will." She swiped a quick finger down Bella's cheek, as if noting how cute she was. "Your mate is the golden child, and he has to meet his golden expectations."

"Tell me why you want this. You're not doing it for Edward, and you're not doing it for Carlisle."

She cocked her head to the side. "I'm not?"

"What's in it for you?"

"Do you always ask your opponent to see their hand? You're a cheater with a piss-poor strategy."

The insult merely washed over her. "Are you not going to threaten me with my parents if I don't go through with the mating ritual? This is your end-goal, is it not?"

Alice examined her distastefully. "Narrow-minded, and predictably short-sighted. Once you join my world, you'll learn to play the long game, Isabella." And then, she began admiring her, fussing with her hair, and straightening out her shirt. Bella was transformed, momentarily, into the doll she so loved. "I have a dress for you—a gorgeous one that'll bring Edward to his knees. Literally. And now that your neck is healed, you can actually wear it."

"I don't want your dress."

Alice didn't even seem to hear her. "Your ring came back from the jeweler's today—sized, and impeccably polished. Edward left it out in the living room for the whole family to gawk at." Frowning at her face with scrutiny, she continued, "We'll need some blush for those cheeks. You're too pale." Her fingers pulled at her strands. "And you wash your hair too much. You've stripped away all its goodness." She sighed dramatically. "Come, Bella, we'll make a bride out of you yet."

Bella's phone buzzed on the counter. Both women looked over at the screen.

It was a text. Jasper.

Where are you?

Alice merely smiled at the phone. "Oh, Jasper's especially moody today."

Bella grabbed her phone, sarcasm heavy in her tone. "Why? Did he not like the ring?"

Alice laughed heartily, as if she were ridiculous. "No, Bella. I suspect he's just a little peckish. Go see him."

"Go see him?"

She rolled her eyes. "You have a contract, don't you?"

Bella texted back, I'm home. With Alice.

And now that she thought about it, it had been a long while since Jasper had a full feeding. Immediately, Jasper responded, Brutal.

Merely that acknowledgement made Bella smile.

"Ah yes," Alice praised. "That's the smile I want when Edward slips that solitaire onto your pretty, manicured finger."

A pleasant chill ran up her spine at the words that came on her screen. I want to see you.

"I'm surprised that you ever supported this contract," Bella said, texting back, Hungry?

The phone trembled in her hands, Terribly.

"Jasper was and still is your best resource," Alice said, scraping a fingernail over something on the counter. "Besides me, of course—but I have no patience for this incessant teaching." And then, she leaned in, so dangerously close to her neck. "And at least one of us should get to enjoy you in the meantime." She smiled, teeth and all. "If only Edward had a modicum of self control. Both of you would have so much fun together."

Bella flinched away. "Fun? Feeling my blood drain from my body isn't exactly pleasurable, Alice."

She hummed enticingly, her thoughts seemingly elsewhere. "It could be. Perhaps we'll let Jasper near your neck before you turn. Just once."

The blush crept up her cheeks at her words. She thought about when she was pressed into Jasper's desk, his hands on her face, his lips on her neck. There was something undeniably alluring about— "Necks. They're intimate."

She felt the instant desire in her veins as the room only grew slightly hotter. Her fingers texted a response, because she just couldn't help it. I recall you saying something about a desk. I can come over soon.

"Necks are deliciously intimate," Alice agreed, and it all the more made Bella wonder just how long ago Alice had joined the Cullens. How long ago she'd been with her golden eyes. Because none of the Cullens spoke this way. Humans were sacred, meant to be untouched. According to the Cullen doctrine, anyone who drank from them was sinful.

Another text came in, Are you teasing me, Isabella Swan?

Bella bit back a smile and told Alice, "I should eat." And she typed back, Were you lying when you told me you thought often about feedings on your desk?

Alice left the kitchen and headed towards the front door. "We'll go see Edward tomorrow," she called.

But Bella barely heard her as she read Jasper's response, I wasn't lying. The door slammed shut, and a second text followed, And I never said anything about feedings.

Bella walked into Jasper's library just half an hour later, her body buzzing with some weird anticipation. "Anyone home?"

Jasper was writing something at his desk, and his attention immediately flicked to her neck—bared open for the whole world to see. "No."

"It seems no one ever is. What's the point of this gorgeous house if they're always gone?"

Jasper smiled knowingly at the question. "The same reason why Esme's cabin exists."

"If they can't all fit in here, they need a bigger house."

"As I've said, vampires tend to be solitary creatures. There's simply never enough space."

Approaching him, Bella sat at her usual chair and clasped her hands together. His attention was still on whatever paperwork was in front of him, hand moving swiftly as he crafted words and finished sentences. When he was done, he placed the pen down and intertwined his fingers before him. There was something cool and distant about his tone when he asked, "Is our contract still valid?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

He reached down, pulled open a drawer, and grabbed the paper that had tied them together for the past few weeks. Laying it flat, he slid it forward towards her.

Eyebrows drawn, Bella examined the familiar writing. "I have no reason to dissolve our agreement."

Jasper merely watched her, the silence between them suddenly awkward. Soon, the realization dawned on her that he probably didn't know how to function properly without his gift. Her shield greeted her from the corner of her vision, and Bella decided to throw him a bone. "I'm not upset with you."

"You should be."

She gave him a look. "Don't dig your own grave."

"I'm already dead, Bella."

"And do you think I like you less for it?"

A forlorn smile came and went, and Bella found that she didn't want to breach this topic. She was tired of it. There wasn't any way Jasper could help her beyond giving her the skills to work on her shield, and teaching her about immortality. Anything beyond that could jeopardize his own situation—and who was she for him to risk his freedom?

She got to her feet and approached him, fingers trailing the side of his desk, noting the darkness in his eyes. As she came around, his hand automatically latched onto her wrist, and he murmured, "Inexperienced as you might be, you understand the intricacies of my world." His thumb caressed her veins, contemplative. "We all serve ourselves, even if we appear to serve others."

"Selfishness and cruelty aren't traits exclusive to vampires. And what we have is a transaction—much like any other relationship. You won't save me from the Cullens, but I still need your guidance. I can't save you from your sentence, but you still need blood."

Approval gleamed in his eyes when his attention switched to her face. "A transaction."

"On paper, and in practice."

"With that mindset, you would do well in court." Another stroke of his thumb against her skin brought sparks up her arm. "How are you feeing, Bella?"

Something prideful crawled over her chest at the simple fact that she was entirely immune to Jasper's nosiness. But the pride vanished the moment she realized that her shield could do nothing for her besides keep her future blank, and emotions hidden. Just because Alice couldn't see what she would choose for breakfast tomorrow morning didn't mean she wasn't going to eat breakfast.

"Do my feelings really matter?" She asked through a sigh. "Let me kindly remind you that I'm a thing to possess, not a person. Edward's Bella. Edward's bride. Edward's mate."

"Carlisle's shield," he added.

"Jasper's blood bag."

He laughed at that, his fingers tapping on her skin delightedly. "The only part of you that you trade with me is your blood. That is true."

Was that true? Bella immediately doubted that as he tugged her closer with one pull. She was glad for her stance, because it would have been far too easy for her to topple down onto his lap. To her right was his desk, and she could practically see herself pinned to its other side as she had been just a few days ago.

Feedings? No. Jasper had other things in mind.

"Your shield is remarkable," he told her. "But your heartbeat always gives you away."

She had been staring far too long at a piece of wood that couldn't be interesting for any other reason. "What am I giving away?"

He only smirked at her, bringing her wrist up to his face. No bite. He was simply admiring his meal—its scent, its scenery—before he would soon dig in.

His chest moved in an inhale. "Tell me you've eaten."

"Salad and chicken." She shivered as he breathed her in again. "If that's to your satisfaction?"

"My satisfaction?"

Playful, she continued, "As a blood connoisseur, perhaps you can guide me on my diet. What do you like, and what can I do to improve?"

He paused, light reprimand in his tone, "You shouldn't offer things not clearly defined in our contract."

"What?" She laughed softly. "You could have dictated my meals, but you didn't?"

"I could have told you that your daily diet could only consist of lean meat, fruit, greens, grains, and water." He eyed her pleasantly. "No caffeine. No saturated fat. No artificial sugar."

"Cruel. How specific can these contracts get?"

"As specific as we'd like."

She turned to the side, her gaze catching on their contract on the desk. "And they are law-binding?"

"They are," he confirmed. "Contracts can be written up for any agreement to serve as proof for either party. If a contract is broken, it can be brought before court for trial."

"So if I don't give you enough blood, you'd throw me before your kings and seek justice?"

He chuckled, the sound so warm, and inviting. "Luckily, you could dissolve the contract before I even reach Italy. And then I would have no basis to hold you accountable."

Bella leaned against the desk, her wrist still in his grip. "You could have made it harder for me to dissolve the contract, but you didn't."

"Yes. I could have listed penalties. I could have dictated recurring dates for feedings. I could have done many things." His thumb still caressed her skin. "But our trade is simple. If I don't get blood from you, I get it somewhere else."

Basic economics. "You're saying I don't control the market."

"If you happen to be the only human left on this planet, maybe I'd lock you down properly."

Her free hand rested on the edge of the desk, drumming lightly. "And if you're smart, you'd siphon as much as you could and sell to the highest bidder."

"Money is irrelevant—especially in an apocalyptic situation such as that."

"I never said money. Maybe you'd gain some minions. Blood or servitude is your currency, right?"

He smiled. "No minions. Just freedom."

"And you'd trade me away in a heartbeat." Her tone was teasing, but she knew that there was an underlying truth to those words. Jasper's grip slipped away and she used both hands to hoist herself up to the desk behind her, feet dangling. "Was there ever concern of vampires dwindling the human supply?"

"At some point, yes." His eyes slid over to the stack of papers at the corner of the desk. "Now, killing is harder. And we have strict population control, which is why Carlisle had to go through a grueling process to announce your change. An influx of vampires would increase the demand for blood and naturally reduce the supply."

Bella hummed, and then asked the question that had been looming at the back of her mind, "Why haven't vampires just taken over the world? Your weaknesses against us are nonexistent."

"Why haven't we taken over the world?" He mused, pensive. "We're too late."

"Too late?"

"Humanity is at a stage where their technology will pose a real threat. Their defense systems are the main concern. Had the kings wanted, they could have made their move centuries ago, before the advent of advanced weaponry."

"Weaponry? But a gun couldn't kill a vampire."

"No," he agreed, "but a nuclear strike definitely could. Though the problem wouldn't be that they would try to use their nuclear systems against us—it would be that they would try to use them at all." His face was grim with the words, "They would destroy us, but they'd also destroy themselves, and the rest of this planet."

In that case, the cure would indeed be worse than the disease. "That's terrible."

"Hence why our law of exposure has been strengthened and reinforced over the years. Most Western countries have a nuclear arsenal. It's mostly for deterrence at this point, but imagine if humanity meets an opponent they simply cannot kill without resorting to that extreme."

"It must be avoided at all costs," Bella decided immediately. "There is no recovery from a global nuclear war."

"And our kings agree with that, and hence why they take exposure very seriously."

Bella looked directly down her left shoulder, her eyes landing on their contract. Her eyes scanned the words again, marveling at their simplicity. She brought them back to their previous conversation. "So, you didn't restrict me to a diet. It seems you also never specified that you'd only drink from my wrist."

Something glimmered in those eyes as he stood, prowling closer. "Correct."

"But you could have."

There was no hesitation as his hands rested on either side of her, stance wide, and domineering. Undeniably hungry. Bella felt dwarfed, even though she was the one elevated.

He lifted her chin with a finger, a predatory gaze at her neck. "You should know that contracts could be carefully crafted to be used against you. They can be overly-specific, caging you into a set of procedures that you have to abide by at all times, trapping you with consequences you'd rather never face. Or they can be generic enough for explicit misuse and trickery."

He was almost pressing into her knees—his jeans against hers. And if she only spread her legs… "Are you misusing me, Jasper?"

"I trust that you'll tell me if I am. Because, as I'm sure you're aware, I can't feel you."

She straightened her spine with pride, bringing their faces just a little closer. A solemn amusement graced his features as he lifted her wrist to his lips. He took a hold of her other hand, as he always did, for her to squeeze. An emergency stop button.

But before he could bite, Bella tugged her wrist back down, sliding through his grip easier than she had anticipated. His closeness, this desk—her mind roamed and wandered and arrived at the observation, "Alice hasn't see this. She can't."

He watched her closely. Too close. "No."

Boldly, with her pulse accelerated, she took his hand and placed it on her shoulder, his thumb already at the base of her throat.

A spine-tingling rasp, as his fingers measured against her skin, "What exactly would you like me to do, Bella?"

Her shoulders moved in a small shrug, with a grin so pure yet daring. "I've heard about how fun this is supposed to be."

His fingers curled around the back of her neck, the pad of his thumb resting on her jugular. Assessing. "Who have you heard that from?"

"Alice."

Her name passed over him without reaction, which was curious.

"She used to drink from humans," she stated quickly.

Jasper leaned in, his nose almost brushing over her throat, but not quite. "I've already told you that she gave up human blood."

"But it doesn't seem like she did so willingly."

There was a sudden pause, and Bella noticed immediately how his hand twitched on the desk beside her thigh. He pulled back slowly. "Explain."

Bella blinked once, and then twice. The hand near her thigh inched closer. When she found the words, she spoke them slowly. "She examines me like a cut of meat—not that you don't, but I wouldn't expect that of someone who hasn't had your experience. And the comment she made earlier today… that at least one of you should get to… enjoy me. None of that tells me that she wants to be confined to this vegetarian lifestyle."

Jasper nodded along. "Alice is no more a Cullen than I am."

"Then why is she here?"

"She'd rather not be."

"Is she under a contract like you are?"

Deliciously, his hand on the desk snaked down, running against her outer thigh until it reached right adjacent to her knee. "I demand payment in return for these answers."

"You know you'll have it."

He leaned back in again, his breath caressing her face, her lips. "Will I? I wasn't even sure I could have this anymore."

"You can have me now."

There was pure wickedness in those red, gleaming eyes. "Can I?"

She breathed deeply through her racing heart. "It's in our contract."

He pressed closer, and any restraint Bella felt snapped with the sudden overdose of his scent, his presence. Her knees slowly slid to the side, inviting Jasper to step in closer as he settled between her legs.

"No," he said lowly. "No, it isn't."

Lips. She felt lips on her neck as her hand came up to his hair, fingers tangling in those blond curls. She was pulling him to her, perhaps encouraging him to finally sink his teeth in…

"Ask me about bite zones," he said against her jugular.

She gasped as his body dug into hers, her thighs widening around him. "Bite zones?"

A hand snaked through her left palm, and then circled around her wrist. "Your inner wrist: a pulse point, and highly sensitive. A bite will leave you tingling." He lifted her arm up to head-height, noting, "Yet the angles are often awkward, and easier to bruise."

He dropped her wrist, and Bella felt a large palm on her knee, his hand gliding up, his thumb digging into her— "Inner thigh. Femoral artery. Good blood flow, and even better play."

"Play?" She panted, the hand skirting down, two fingers tracing the inner seam of her jeans before swiping away.

And soon after, a hand inched up her side and found her collarbone. His palm covered impressive real estate as it glided up to her throat. "The neck. Cliche, and predictable, but extremely erogenous. Intimate." And then, his lips were there, and she felt him nip lightly. With another scrape of teeth, and a puff of his breath, Bella's thighs tightened together, her legs gradually inching to wrap around him. "A bite here, and things will naturally… escalate."

With their position, Bella couldn't imagine how it wouldn't. This was quickly becoming her favorite lesson.

"And the harder you breathe, the quicker your blood pumps," he continued, a hand running down her arm. His face, nestled in her neck, with teeth that teased on occasion, but never drew blood.

"Less effort for you," she whispered, her fingers digging into his hair, unashamedly pressing him closer, deeper into her neck.

His face trailed up, breathing her in as he did so. "If a vampire tells you they admire your blush, they're only admiring the closeness of your blood to your skin." His fingers stroked her throat, where his lips had been.

Her own lips parted when she felt the sharpness of his nails. "Are you going to bite me or not?"

"Is that a plea or a demand?"

"A question."

He grabbed at her wrist again, but Bella yanked it free stubbornly, staring into his eyes that were so full of mischief.

Jasper leaned back, tilting his head up, and baiting, "You tell me where you want my teeth, sweetheart."

Bella reached up to her neck, resting her fingers against his, eyes wide with a challenge.

A chuckle rumbled up his chest. "That's a dangerous game. I don't think I'm ready to lay you down on this desk just yet."

Just yet. "I have a bed, if that's better for you. Or are you all talk and no game?"

Just as she saw the swallow bob his throat, and the darkening eyes that seemed to devour her already—

Air.

Bella fell forward, her stomach dropping with the anticipation of a fall before she caught herself, balancing on the desk. Her two hands supported her weight as she pushed her legs back together, her body hot, breathing uneven.

Jasper was at the furthest end of the bookshelves. And then, a very unexpected voice said, "I'm sorry, I thought…"

Stiffening, Bella peered back at the door, meeting Esme's wide, golden eyes that began flicking back and forth between her and Jasper.

"Was there something you needed, Esme?" Jasper inquired, a casual hand caressing the spine of a book.

"No," she replied quietly, some sort of understanding on her face, which scooted Bella quickly to her feet. But before she could move towards her or say anything in the form of an explanation, the door was already shut. Esme was nowhere in sight.

Jasper waited a few seconds before dropping his hand from the shelf. His eyes were lighter when they turned to her. Maroon.

"Esme was here?" Bella asked, her hands shaking slightly.

He shook his head, his gaze distant.

Jasper must have sensed her. "Then—"

"She just came home." He ran a firm, frustrated hand over his jaw as he waited for a few seconds. "And she just left."

"Did she say anything?"

"She offered that we use her cabin."

This was mortifying. "Jasper, how—"

His eyes darted to her with muted fury. "I didn't hear her, Bella."

A/N: This chapter: Alice's scrutiny, bite zones, and... malfunctioning hearing?

All the love to my beta glowingivy and triinityz for pre-reading.

A little taste for what's coming up:

"I was in love with her from the very beginning," he told her fondly. "It was her who was reluctant."

"You're mated. Don't you think she loves you?"

Emmett shrugged, and it was almost heartbreaking when he said, "Maybe."

See you (hopefully) next week, as I slowly return back to normal life.