"Bella, are you sure? Are you absolutely sure about this? It's not too late to change your mind." His voice was very serious.
"Yes, Edward," I replied. Thankfully, my voice didn't give me away as it usually did. I did want this. More than anything I want this. It's all I've thought about for the longest time. However, now that it was time, actually time, I was getting the slightest bit nervous. But I was not about to admit that to Edward. I would control my nerves; keep them in check.
Edward's eyes were now sad, resigned, as his last hope that I would change my mind was extinguished.
"Ok," he sighed, conceding.
We were downstairs the rest of the Cullens in a rented cabin well away from Forks. Away from prying eyes. No Charlie to see us, no Jacob, no wolves.
Graduation was three weeks past and I have been going impatient. I had accepted Edward's marriage proposal that night, after the ceremony, much to his surprise. The Cullens were thrilled.
Charlie, on the other hand, was less than happy. His ranting and raving had carried on long into the night when we finally told him. Edward sat beside me at the kitchen table, holding my hand. He held his tongue and politely took everything Charlie had to throw at him. Between all of Charlie's 'absolutely not', 'never going to happen', 'rushing in too fast', and 'plenty of other fish in the sea', Edward kept stealing lingering glances at me. His eyes were positively shining with happiness.
However, that had been two weeks ago. Now it was time for business. Time to for Edward to hold up his end of the bargain and grant my wish.
By some miracle, Carlisle had convinced Charlie let me go on a "family trip" with the Cullens so that they could "get reacquainted with the newest member of their family". Charlie wasn't expecting us back for three more days; just enough time to finish the task at hand.
"Bella, if you're ready, we'll get started now."
Carlisle's voice was smooth and gentle. I looked around at all of the reassuring smiles; Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie and finally, Edward, my porcelain prince.
"I'm ready." And I was.
"Good," replied Carlisle warmly. "Edward?"
He inhaled deeply. "Ok."
"Good luck, dear," said Esme, squeezing my hand.
Alice kissed me quickly on the cheek. "See you on the other side."
Rosalie hugged me with a pitying smile. Emmett pulled me roughly into a bone-crushing hug.
"Um. Can't. Breathe. Emmett." I managed to get out.
"Oops! Sorry!"
He released me, grinning broadly. Jasper hesitated a moment before laying a hand gently on my shoulder. I felt soothed, my nerves calmed. He smiled and backed away without speaking. Carlisle hugged me in a fatherly way, kissing my forehead lightly. It was Edward's turn now. The others drifted about the room to give us a final private moment.
"Bella, you know I love you." It wasn't a question.
"Yes, Edward." I was starting to feel nervous again.
"Tell me you love me."
"I love you, Edward."
"And you are going to marry me?"
"Yes. I am."
"Ok."
He wrapped his steely arms around me. His grip was so tight I couldn't breathe. It didn't matter, though. After tonight his iron grip wouldn't have the same affect on me. That realization made me a little sad. He pulled back and kissed my forehead, my eyelids, my cheeks, my nose, and finally my mouth. My heart started its rapid pulsation, completely oblivious to the fact that I was in a room full of vampires who could hear it as clearly as rain on a tin roof. I didn't care, though. I only had eyes for Edward.
After a few seconds; or maybe minutes, I have no idea; Carlisle was back at our side. He cleared his throat loudly.
Edward, never taking his eyes off of mine, picked me up smoothly. I wrapped my arms securely around his neck as he carried me up the stairs to the room we had been sharing. Carlisle followed silently. It was only after he had lain me down on the bed, planting a soft kiss on my lips, did he turn to his father.
I looked questionably toward the door. Carlisle answered my unasked question.
"The others decided that it may be for the best if they waited downstairs. Just in case," he winked at me. "They also feel that this is a rather private moment for you."
"Oh. Ok," I said. I wasn't sure if I was disappointed or relieved. I wanted my new family present when I changed over, but at the same time there were fewer witnesses if I did something stupid. I almost laughed at myself for that in spite of the nerves. I was about to literally die and make the very painful transition into a vampire and my biggest worry was looking stupid. Edward was right; I was weird.
"Ok, Edward, have you two decided where you are going to bite her?"
I suppressed a shudder. It was getting very real. I tried to keep my breathing steady and even. Edward nodded, smiling crookedly at me. The next second he was straddling me on the bed, propped up on his arms.
"Would you like me to wait outside?" Carlisle asked in an amused voice.
"No," Edward replied, not looking up. His darkening eyes locked on mine. "I need you to stay incase….well, just incase."
"Fine. Bella, if you're ready now?"
I nodded slowly and clearly.
"Edward, bite her."
His eyes were pitch as he lowered his head. My heart started to pound out of control. Any second it would break out of my chest.
His mouth was on my neck. I could feel his cold, wet tongue trace the spot we had chosen for him to bite. A shiver went trough my body at the contact. He kissed me tenderly before his mouth opened and I felt his perfect, powerful, deadly teeth pierce my skin like so many white hot knives.
I cried out loudly. It hurt more that I could have ever imagined. I could feel Edward's venom moving through me like a scorching wildfire.
"Edward," a voice swam somewhere in the vicinity. "It's time to let go, son."
Edward made a noise in the back of his throat. It sounded like a cross between defiance and longing.
"Edward!" Carlisle's voice was firm and sharp.
With another groan Edward tore himself back from me while keeping his position on top of me. He was breathing almost as hard as I was. He looked anxiously into my face. Though I could feel my blood flowing slow and steady down my neck and chest, Edward didn't have a drop on him. He was eyeing my bleeding wound longingly and I was fighting the urge to scream in burning agony. His eyes kept changing back and forth between anguish when he looked at my face and naked hunger when he looked at the blood trickling from my open skin.
I laid a heavy hand in the red flow until it looked as if I were wearing a partial scarlet glove.
"Here," I croaked, astounded at how weak and tired my voice sounded, as I reached out.
"What?" Edward's voice, in contrast, was alert and strong. He stared hungrily at my dripping figures.
"You've waited so long and been so strong about not drinking my blood. I won't have it much longer. Don't waste it." I extended my hand farther toward his chiseled face.
"I can't, Bella," he was almost moaning. It couldn't have been plainer that it was exactly what he wanted to do.
"Carlisle is here. He'll stop you if you try too much."
I tried not to grimace as a fresh wave of molten pain washed over me. I had a feeling that when the spreading venom reached my heart, it would be unbearable and I would loose the ability for coherent thought.
"Edward." He looked torn. "It's ok. Go ahead."
He still looked unsure.
"Please," I breathed.
Edward looked at Carlisle for a split second before reaching forward to take my hand. He closed his eyes. A look of pure, unadulterated pleasure crossed his beautiful face as he slid my fingers one by one into his waiting mouth. Despite the immense pain burning through my blood, it felt strangely exciting to have his tongue lapping around fingers. As he sucked the last drop of blood off of my palm, feeling as if he would swallow my whole hand, his eyes opened and fixed instantly on the puncture wounds on my neck.
"Do it," I whispered.
His eyes burned intensely as he lowered his head to my neck. I could feel his tongue carefully but hungrily lapping up the blood that was staining my skin. I shivered over the pain as he breathed a deep moan against my neck.
"Edward," Carlisle's voice was gentle but firm. "We need to stop her bleeding now. The pain is about to take her."
Edward pulled slowly back so that he was looking down into my eyes. His eyes harbored a glowing gold as he kissed me firmly. I barely had time to register the fact that his lips were warm from my blood and that the smell of the blood didn't nauseate me.
"I love you, Bella," Edward whispered as Carlisle started to tend to my bleeding neck.
"I love you, too," I managed to pant through the pain.
Then the screaming started.
I woke up to dead silence. I opened my eyes not knowing what to expect. Every time I had opened them over the past few days there was the same scene with a different combination of people, well, vampires actually, in view. Edward was always there. Every single time. He was here beside me now, holding my hand, still as a statue.
"Bella?" His voice was music to my ears.
"Edward," I smiled.
"How do you feel?" He was anxious, though he was trying to mask it.
"I feel great actually."
"And the pain?"
"Gone," I lied automatically. But I realized that it wasn't a lie. The pain had stopped. I had told all of them that the pain wasn't bothering me each time they asked, though we all knew this was a lie. The pain was unimaginably excruciating and almost unbearable.
"Are you sure?" he asked skeptically.
"Positive," I confirmed, sitting up.
I was also positively ravishing.
Edward seemed to know what I was thinking.
"The others have gone to hunt. They will bring us back something. Do you think you can wait for a bit?"
"I suppose so," I replied. I was really rather relieved. Hunting was the thing that I was still unsure about. I was bound to mess it up for a while until I got the hang of it.
"What are you thinking?" Edward asked.
"You still can't read me?"
"No," he answered, looking down.
"Well," I fished in my mind for something that didn't have to do with the overwhelming thirst that was building in me.
And suddenly I found it. Edward. He was still on the bed, though he had risen to his knees. He was shirtless and his striped cotton pants were setting rather low on his hips/waist. His chiseled Herculean body was, if possible, even more alluring.
He looked up at me and followed my gaze. A smug smile stretched across his angelic face, making his eyes dance.
"Yes?" he asked seductively.
"Did you say that the others were gone?" I asked innocently.
"Yes."
"And they'll be back when?"
"Oh, I think that it may be a little while yet," his face was mischievous.
"Hmmm. Interesting."
"What's interesting?" He was toying with me.
"Well," I said, sliding onto the bed on my knees as well. "I just happen to find it interesting that we find ourselves alone."
"Yes, well, we are leaving tomorrow morning to go back home," he inched forward.
"Uh huh?" I inched forward.
"So, we'll have to make the best of the time we have left." He reached out his hand and rested it on my hip. I was relieved to note that his skin no longer felt cold to me.
"What exactly did you have in mind?" I raised a hand to his breathtaking face.
"Oh, there are a few things that come to mind."
Next second, his mouth was covering mine, his lips parted, his tongue exploring. I put up no resistance. My hands found the back of his head as I endeavored to pull him farther into the kiss. Every sensation reverberated through me as we drank deeply of each other.
Soon his mouth was at my neck, his tongue tracing down my collarbone. As his mouth moved father and farther down, his hands came around from my back and made their way up the front of my thin cotton night shirt. With an animal sound from his throat, Edward ripped the material from my body. My breasts, now free from their prison, were recaptured by Edward's probing hands and his eager mouth. Each pass of his wicked tongue sent powerful waves of pleasure through my body. I threw my head back and let loose the wail that was building in my lungs.
Edward almost purred in response. That sound went trough me like an adrenalin shot to the heart. Before I realized what I was doing, I had Edward pinned down on the bed. Straddling him I started to trace heavy, wet kisses down his neck, chest and finally down to his flat, hard stomach. He arched his back in response and let out a growl of expectation as I tore away the thin material that separated him from me.
My felt my eyes bulge when I beheld the exquisite work of granite I had unearthed. When I was finally able to tear my eyes away to look up once more into my lover's face, he was wearing a very satisfied look. He was apparently pleased with my reaction to his considerable size and length.
With an almost cocky laugh, he rolled us over so that he was once again looking down on me. With only my silky pajama bottoms separating us now, they were promptly disposed of.
I had a half of a moment to register that even though I was a vampire now, I was still a virgin. I wondered briefly how much this was going to hurt. After all, something as astonishingly adequate as what Edward possessed was bound to cause destruction.
I was very pleasantly surprised as Edward pressed through my defenses with one fluid gesture. It was exquisite. An intoxicating electric current ran rampant through my body. He thrust again, sending the current blazing through me once more.
As his pace quickened and his thrusts plunged deeper and deeper still, the waves started to build. Higher and higher they rose.
"Edward!" I cried into the night as the tsunami washed over me.
I was spiraling down, down, down into utter fulfillment as I felt Edward's astounding body start to tremble within mine. He let out a deep quivering breath, which sent a final shiver down my spine, before collapsing on top of me.
"Bella?" Edward's muffled voice came after a few quiet minutes from somewhere around my middle.
"Edward?" I panted.
He raised his head up to look in my eyes.
"The others won't be back for another half an hour. Are you ready for round two?"