It had been 7 years since the last time Bella encountered a vampire face to face. That vampire being Victoria, the mess that the Cullens had left for her to clean up all by her lonesome.

She took care of Victoria the most human and unconventional way she could think of, an aerosol spray can and a lighter. She was gleeful that day or it may have been hysterics. She wasn't very good at sorting her own feelings out. It was easier to just sweep them under the rug.

She had gone to college, became a published journalist for National Geographic as well as part time nature photographer simply to keep her busy when she wasn't escaping her reality to play RuneScape with whom she was pretty sure a vampire and her only friend.

She had known her friend by his username, The_Patriot1776, or his real name, Garrett. She knew simply by his voice when they chatted over voice call that it wasn't human. It had a smooth tenor and a harmonic balance that humans simply couldn't achieve. Not to mention any pictures she'd been supplied with didn't help her ease the suspicions of his vampiric ways.

From his pictures he appeared tall, shoulder length shaggy brown hair but the eyes weren't right, they were a muddied brown that seemed like contacts or bad Photoshop. Not to mention she thought he was the most handsome human or vampire she'd ever have the pleasure of laying her eyes on.

Which is how Isabella found herself somewhere in The Painted Desert of Arizona in the wee hours of the morning waiting for her most likely vampire friend of five years for their first face to face meeting. She had thought herself crazy the minute she got into her truck to drive out here. She lit the small fire for warmth as she sat on the bed of the truck watching the flames.

She really just did not have a sense of self preservation, granted she would never assume Garrett to hurt her however he was a vampire and based on the evidence she had accumulated over the years. He was a people eating vampire. Her track record for people eating vampires weren't great, however she'd only met three and they all wanted to eat her, albeit didn't the other seven vampires she had met also wanted to eat her? They did, in fact her ex boyfriend from highschool had wanted to eat her the most considering she was his own brand of heroin.

She just didn't think that her friend of five years who went questing and wreaking havoc in a game set in a fantasy version of the medieval era would eat her. However if Garrett did end up eating her, she wouldn't hold it against him just like she hadn't when Jasper tried to eat her. It was their nature that she was prey.

A breeze brought her from her reverie as the hairs on the back of her arms began their rise and prickles letting her know she had company. It was her instincts telling her a vampire was near. She had developed the skill between when the Cullens left and Laurent showing up in the meadow. It was a handy thing to have. However it also confirmed her suspicions that Garrett was in fact a vampire.

Hopping down from her tailgate she walked over to the driver side door of her truck, leaned through the open window and lit a cigarette before turning around to greet her friend. Bella had gotten good at schooling her features into a bored mask as she raised her eyes to the vampire's.

"You can take the contacts out Garrett" she started, tilting her head to the side as she examined him. "It's odd when you clearly ran out here" she felt the corners of her mouth twitch as she fought back her smirk.

Garrett watched her with an awestruck expression before his face broke out into a heart stopping grin.

" Smoking is bad for you, ya know" he snarked, teasing her in their familiar banter. She rolled her eyes dramatically.

"I'm here for a good time, not a long time" she shot back before flicking her bud into the fire. Bella found herself irrationally nervous. She knew Garrett, at least mostly knew Garrett. Of course there were things she was sure she didn't know such as how he became a vampire and how long he'd been a vampire. She could guess somewhere around the revolutionary war considering his screen name but that was simply an educated guess.

A smooth touch that left a trail of sparks up her forearm brought her out of her staring contest with the orange flames as her eyes sought out his which were now a vibrant shade of crimson. She heard her heart skip a beat but not from fear, no from something else entirely. It was like she had just come up for air after sitting at the bottom of a lake for the last 25 years. They had gravitated towards one another, closing the distance as if something else entirely controlled them.

His fingers gently traced up her jaw as he watched her while they simultaneously leaned into each other. Any rational thought about how this was a bad idea went out the window when Garrett's lips finally landed on hers, they were soft and surprisingly warm considering all vampires prior have been colder than ice in most instances. It was a soft, gentle kiss for testing the waters. He had begun to pull back when Bella's hands moved on their own accord. They first grabbed at his jacket before sliding up his chest and resting in his hair on the nape of his neck pulling him back to her.

Her kiss was deep and sensual with an undertone of hunger she hadn't realized was there until she felt his tongue asking for entrance which she was happy to oblige him. Bella had been no stranger to physical intimate contact but she never allowed kissing and especially not kissing like this.

She felt the wind before she felt her denim clad thighs make contact with cold metal from the bed of her truck. Garrett had moved to leaving a trail of open mouthed kisses along her jaw and neck causing her head to fall back a breathless moan escaping from her lips as he began sucking on her jugular. His hands had slipped under the hem of her shirt as he continued his assault of opened mouth kisses and hickeys on her neck.

"Y..you have to tell me to stop, little swan." His voice was huskier than she was used to and it only stroked the fire deep in her bones. His obvious desire leaked through his voice with a tinge of desperation. What he was desperate for she wasn't sure, but she'd give him anything. That she could admit without second thought. Her mind was lost to him, he was everywhere, she could taste him and feel him and his scent was flooding her lungs anytime she took a breath.

"Uh uh.." she muttered as her hands began working on the buttons of his black shirt. She peeled it off of his shoulders along with his duster as she took in his bare chest. It was a masterpiece in its own right. She could tell he was well built before the venom, it only enhanced what natural beauty he already had. She was hungry and he could satisfy the craving as she began her own exploration through kissing and tasting his skin. The tearing of fabric and the chilly nightly desert air kissing her overheated skin brought her dark brown eyes back to his black ones. She didn't fear them because they weren't black because he was hungry from her blood but because he was hungry from her.

"I liked that shirt, Garrett" she spoke barely above a whisper, scared that she would break the spell over them. His face lit up with a cocky grin that he only reserved for her these last five years.

"I'll buy you hundreds of that shirt if it means I get to keep ripping it off you" his voice was barely a whisper as he made his cryptic confession to her. She knew what he was implying but she'd deal with the ramifications of it later. She hummed in agreement before leaning up and kissing him deeply with a burning desire she was planning to chaise as his fingers continued their exploration leaving sparks across her back as he unclasped her bra.

He leaned forward causing Bella to lie back as he crawled over her, leaving a trail of his venom along her skin as he left open mouth kisses on every inch of her exposed skin. All of her nerves felt like they were lit up like a Christmas tree and she had no idea where her skin began and Garrett's stopped. Her hands reached between them desperately yet skilled unbuckled his belt causing a growl to vibrate in his chest.

With speed she couldn't register he had removed her pants, leaving her only in her lace red boy shorts under the sky full of stars yet no moon. The fire dancing along her sun kissed skin while Garrett sat back on his knees between her legs drinking in the sight of her body before his eyes landed on hers. They were filled with so much emotion she didn't dare begin to decipher for the fear of feeling something for the specimen in front of her.

"There's no going back from this, Bella." His voice was thick with desire and that same tinge of desperation. "I..if I'm not what you want.. we have to stop" his voice betrayed his usual jovial tone as it cracked with real fear. That fear made her heart twist. She had never been able to deal with a sad Garrett and hadn't thought much of it until now. Until this moment where they were on the brink of no return after having met for the first time in person not even an hour before.

Her body moved before her brain could even register its plan as she wrapped her legs around his waist drawing him closer to her as she ground her hips into his. She was speaking before her brain could even register the words.

"You're the first person I've kissed in five years" she whispered into his ear with a breathiness of pleasure. "You're everything, Garrett" her declaration was all he had needed to hear as his lips crashed against hers as their tongues battled for feigned dominance as he stood from the bed of his truck before removing his pants after taking off his boots.

He resumed his silent worship for her skin while trailing over her breasts before taking one of her peaks into his mouth. Trailing his tongue around her hardened peak gently tugging on it between his teeth before giving the same attention to her other breast. Her back arched, pressing her body closer to his desperately as her hands found purchase on his shoulder blade and tangled in his hair as he moved down her body. His black eyes boring into hers as he tore her underwear from her body.

"I have to taste you, little swan" he pleaded to her in the undertones of his demand and he dipped his head before latching his mouth onto her heated slick core at the apex of her legs. Her hips bucked into his mouth as one of his arms wrapped around her hips while the other wrapped around one of her thighs as his hand rested on her mound giving his thumb access to her bundle of nerves.

Bella's body was thrumming with pleasure as Garrett continued his assault on her core as his tongue greedily drank her in. Her head falling back as her body arched off the back of the truck moaning out for the creature between her legs. The tension building in her stomach was close to snapping as he barely lifted his mouth from her, his black eyes meeting her brown.

"Come for me," he purred to her before plunging back down to her slit. He slid a single finger into her as his tongue danced on her sensitive nub sucking on it. A consistent purr began resonating from his chest as he continued his ministrations never taking his eyes off of hers.

Bella had been a mess of incoherent moaning and slew of curses and prayers as she felt the coil in her stomach until without warning it snapped bringing her over the edge as she called out Garrett's name. Stars and bright lights blurred her vision as she came down from her ecstasy, trembling violently and uselessly.

Garrett had managed to kiss his way back up her body before settling his hips between her legs, his fingertips tracing patterns lazily on the outside of her thighs. He watched in wonder as his human mate came down from one of many orgasms he planned to give her. He licked the sweat that had began collecting at the base of her throat before capturing her lips in a searing kiss. A soft growl escaping his lips as she drug her teeth against his bottom lip.

"I..I need you.." the words tumbled out of her mouth in a breathy moan helplessly as she bucked her hips into his seeking what she craved most. Garrett rolled them over quickly with him sitting against the wheel well and her straddling his lap. Her legs habitually wrapped around his waist as if they'd done this dance many times before.

Her arms wrapped around his neck as his hands held up her hips as they watched each other. Whatever they were looking for was found when the both moved like clock work. Bella's mouth found his as he slid her down his member until he was fully sheathed inside of her.

Her head rolled back on her shoulders as she arched her back pressing her body against his as she silently cried out in pleasure. Her brain couldn't properly describe how it felt to be so utterly and completely connected to her vampire. Her vampire who she'd just confirmed was in fact a vampire earlier in the night. Not just that she was stacking a claim on him but her whole body seemed to know that he belonged to her just as much as she belonged to him.

Bella's hips started moving on their own accord as she road her vampire. He watched with amazement as she took her pleasure from him before his mouth latch onto her throat, sucking hungrily at her skin not hard enough to break skin but hard enough to leave a large mark. Garrett had known the first time he received one of her care packages that this human was meant for him, his long wait and traveling alone had ended. He couldn't imagine that their first night together would be like this. He had only hoped.

Garrett's reverie was broken when Bella cried out his name into the dark desert night as she found her release. Carefully pouncing on her, still buried deep inside of her core he began thrusting into her slowly and forcefully. His beast was claiming her when the man in him was determined to make love to her.

Garrett lost himself to the sounds falling from her sweet lips as she pleaded with him for more causing him to pick up the pace and start thrusting harder into her. He sat back on his knees gathering her in his arms as he continued his ministrations.

"P…please… oh God… Garrett.. F..fuck.." Bella's attempts at words were poor and incoherent as she clung to him desperately. One hand wrapped in his hair as the other clawed helpless across his back, her legs tightening around him desperately. The muscles in her stomach coiling impossibly tightly as Garrett's thrust became eradic. His name left her lips like a prayer as she was hurled over the edge with Garrett close behind. A loud growl escaped his lips as he muffled himself against the crook of her neck.

Garrett collapsed onto his back with Bella on his chest, lazily dragging his fingers through her hair. He wasn't ready for the bubble that surrounded them to end. He could feel her brown eyes boring into his face as he look anywhere but at her.

"I'm your mate, right?" Bella spoke above a whisper, her fingers had been tracing his scars. A blanket had been pulled over the couple at some point to protect Bella from the wind. Garrett hummed in agreement as he looked down at her. Gently tracing a finger across her cheek and down her jaw.

"Does that upset you?" He asked her softly as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Bella just shook her head before resting her chin back onto his chest.

"How did you know what I was?" His voice was curious but an underlying possessiveness was noteable. Clicking her tongue against her teeth Bella sighed softly.

"I had an interesting junior and senior year of highschool, what can I say" she shrugged noncommittally, waving her left hand around dramatically. He grabbed her wrist and started at her crescent shaped scar growling softly.

"Is it still alive and how are you human if you've been bitten?" He asked with a venom lacing his words. She knew he wasn't angry with her but she shivered from the desire it sent through her.

"One who bit me is, including is coven. The one who sucked the venom out." She shrugged in the middle of her statement. "Who knows."

Garrett hummed a response before kissing her lips passionately, pulling away with a crooked grin.

"I think we should head back to the city before the sun comes up, continue… this at a house.." he murmured against her neck causing her own smile to form on her lips.

"Okay but I get to wear your shirt and you're driving" she sheepishly retorted before climbing from the bed of the truck.

Garrett helped her redress before shutting her into the passenger side of her truck as he ghosted over to the driver side.

Together they headed back to Flagstaff where Bella would begin to pack her life up to begin a new one with her patriot.