Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all characters. I'm just having some fun while filling gaps.

This chapter is dedicated to Daddy's Little Cannibal. May she rest in peace and may her friends and loved ones find comfort. She will be missed.

"Please, Bella?" I would give her almost anything now, if she would only agree to end this sweet misery. A small part of my mind registered the fact that if she said yes to this, I would win the hunt.

Bella leaned forward another half-inch, her lips now millimeters from mine, and held my gaze.

"No."

She ducked under my arm and backed away a few paces.

I curled my hands into the wall, leaving dents to match the shape of my fingertips. It took all of my remaining control not to reach for Bella, set her back into place against the wall and cross almost every remaining boundary in our physical relationship and damn the consequences. My body ached to do it. My mind screamed at me to take her. Now.

I inhaled deeply and turned to her slowly.

BPOV:

Edward's gaze froze me into place. His were the eyes of a predator. My personal predator.

"Bella." His voice was beyond seductive—it was compulsory, irresistible. I had never heard anything like it before.

I opened my mouth to protest, to call "vampire trick" but I could not speak. I could only stare and drink in the sight of my hunter.

"Come back, Bella," Edward purred in the same voice. He extended his hand in invitation. I shifted my weight to take a step, then shook my head in mute resistance.

"I won't hurt you," he assured, his voice even sultrier than before. "Come to me, love." He curled his fingers and beckoned me forward.

"Vampire trick," I murmured. If he couldn't hear me, he could at least read my lips.

A slow smile spread across his face. He nodded once in acknowledgment and then shrugged as if it didn't matter. His eyes burned into the very heart of me. My pulse accelerated and I could feel the adrenaline rush through my system, not out of fear, but of anticipation.

Edward's nostrils flared as he sensed the changes in my scent. He took one step toward me, hand still extended, and stopped to take a deep breath. I wondered what he could really smell, but could not form the question.

"Bella." I could listen to him speak in that tone all day, which was probably the point, and stood rooted to my spot. I watched him come for me; my breathing quickened and my heart raced again. Edward groaned and stopped his advance. I was just out of reach.

I smiled up at him, lost in his beauty. I probably should have been afraid, but I knew that he would rather die than hurt me. My smile grew as I realized that his hunger for me now overshadowed his thirst for my blood. The desire in his eyes burned bright as they darkened in his... need...for me. Summoning all my strength, I took a half step away from him.

Before I could complete my token retreat, I was in the circle of Edward's arms. Technically, he had broken no boundaries, at least not yet, and I relished the feel of his hands on my hips, the sweetness of his breath in my face.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?" Edward asked, bringing one hand up to stroke errant hair from my face. I could not answer as I met his eyes again. His eyes had lost none of the predatory fervor; he utterly dazzled me.

"Bella." I raised one eyebrow, unable to break the spell as Edward leaned in until he was centimeters from my lips. "You win," he whispered before capturing my lips in a searing kiss. One of his hands deftly released my hair from its several clips before he braided his fingers through the length. His other hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me flush to him. He was everywhere all at once and I still couldn't get enough.

I'm not sure how we got there, but I soon found my head on a pillow and Edward hovering over me. A slow, lazy smile spread across his face as he looked down at me. I couldn't help but smile back. He reached down with one hand and traced the the choker. I reached up and removed it slowly, watching the gleam in his eyes deepen. As soon as the metal was away from my skin, Edward's lips took its place. He covered every inch of exposed skin before making his way back up to my lips. I took the opportunity to relieve him of his shirt—with no objection—and slipped my hands up to his shoulders, then into his hair as we continued to kiss.

I did my best to control myself, to let Edward lead. He grew bolder, more confident, as I restrained myself. I could feel some boundaries slipping away, though the most important ones remained firmly intact. Small victories. I couldn't stop the triumphant smile that spread across my face when Edward decided I needed to breathe and lavished attention on my neck and collarbones instead of my lips. He must have felt the smile or sensed a change in me somehow because he pulled back to look at me, then rolled to his side, propping himself up on one elbow.

"What are you smiling about, love?" he asked, twirling a piece of my hair around his finger.

I let my eyes rake over him for a moment, taking in his disheveled hair, his bare chest, and his wrinkled pants, then indulged in a long, slow stretch. I hadn't noticed that my dress was noticeably shorter now, resting just above my knee, and the sleeves had been pushed off my shoulder, baring more skin than I'd shown in a while.

"Bella?" Edward's voice reminded me that I had left a question unanswered; he hates when I do that.

"I won," I said simply. "I, Bella Swan, bested Edward Cullen in a battle of self-control." I rolled to my side so I could see him better. Edward looked me over quickly, then his eyes snapped up to meet mine as he took a shaky breath. I glanced down at myself and blushed at how much was exposed. Not everything, but… enough.

"Oops," I murmured. I could feel my blush deepen as I scrambled to cover myself. Edward caught my arms in a vise-like grip and held my gaze.

"You're beautiful, Bella. You don't have to hide yourself from me." He raised an eyebrow and smiled wickedly as I continued to blush. He raised one finger to feel the heat on my cheek, then traced it down to the hollow of my throat before planting a light kiss there.

"You're even lovelier when you blush. Such a delectable sight."

"Good enough to eat?" I teased.

I could feel his grin against my chest, then shivered as his tongue traced my collarbone.

"You have no idea," he murmured. "How long until the wedding?" His voice was plaintive. Another victory! Usually, I'm the one complaining.

"Three weeks," I replied, my breath quickening as his ministrations continued.

"Hmm. We haven't… practiced… nearly enough lately, have we?" he asked as he moved a piece of fabric away from my shoulder with his nose and traced a downward path with his lips.

"No." It was all I could manage as his hand trailed along my side, past my waist, and came to rest on my knee. His fingers curled behind my knee and squeezed gently as he hitched my leg around his hip. I could feel and hear the fabric of my dress tear from my knee to my upper thigh. Edward's hand followed the tear as his lips came up and met mine in a deep, demanding, mind-numbing kiss.

I had forgotten—which was easy to do when Edward was kissing me—that, in the "right" mood, I was ticklish along my legs. So, as Edward's hand began to move slowly up and down along the tear in my dress, widening the chasm in the material, the tickling sensations started to outweigh the pleasurable sensations. I tried to contain my giggle, but it would not be restrained.

Edward pulled away to let me breathe and my laughter erupted out of me. He released me quickly as I rolled on to my back and let myself laugh. I could feel Edward hovering over me.

"Bella?" I could hear his confusion, but that only fueled my giggling fit.

He heaved a frustrated sigh and pushed himself into a kneeling position, then sat up against the headboard of the bed while I continued to laugh.

When I finally calmed down, my sides ached and my eyes were red from laughter tears. Edward had a glass of water and tissues waiting for me and handed them to me after helping me sit up. I rearranged my dress so that I was less… exposed… and chuckled at Edward's pout.

"Whoo," I exclaimed, wiping my eyes. "Sorry about that." I took a drink of water and expelled a long breath.

"I've never seen you like that before, Bella," Edward replied with a small smile.

"In more ways than one, I imagine," I quipped, surprising both of us with the innuendo.

"Indeed," Edward chuckled. "May I ask what was so funny?"

"I get ticklish sometimes. I had forgotten about that spot."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "You get ticklish?"

I nodded. "One of my many human weaknesses."

Edward grinned broadly. "Ticklishness doesn't go away."

I hit my head against the headboard a few times in mock frustration. "I'm doomed, then."

"That does seem to be the case, doesn't it?" Edward asked mildly.

I noticed the change in his tone and instantly regretted my words. I met his gaze and expelled a long breath, then shook my head. Way to kill the mood, Bella. Well… in for a penny, in for a pound.

"I'd rather be damned with you than saved without you, Edward. We've been over this and over this. How long do I have to keep telling you that this is what I want? That you are what I want, what I need?"

His expression was immediately contrite and, just as quickly, I realized I had overreacted. I opened my mouth to apologize, but Edward spoke first.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I believe you, Bella, before you'll believe that I do? I know that you want to be with me and that means you want and need to be like me as well. It's what I want and need, too. I… I cannot be without you, Bella, but the choice remains yours, up until I sink my teeth into your skin and taste again of your blood. I have come to terms with my damnation, but do not ask me to take yours lightly, even if it is a mutual decision. Even if it is what we need."

"I think of it as our salvation," I said quietly. "A reward for all that we've been through. Yes, there will be pain and I know I don't understand the full extent, but I've had venom in me before. I've faced death for you before and have never regretted it. I won't regret it, either. Do you know why?"

His eyes had hardened as I spoke of my own pain, but they softened slightly at my question.

"Tell me why, Bella," he said in a soft tone.

"This time, I face death on my own terms. I have asked it to come and my beloved will be the one to give it to me. You will be the last thing I feel when I leave mortality and the first thing I see when I enter your world as an equal. I can never regret that."

A single tear slid down my cheek and I noticed that his eyes, too, were shining with the tears he could not shed. Instead, he slid closer to me and kissed my tear away. He kissed me gently and gathered me into his arms.

"I understand," he said simply before pressing a kiss to my forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He smiled at me lovingly and held my gaze for a few moments. His smile turned devilish and I noticed his eyes darken slightly as they darted to my lips.

"What do you say to some more practice?"

I brought my lips to his and smiled. "You don't ever have to ask again."

Edward grinned and stood with me still in his arms.

"I'll hold you to that, Miss Swan, soon-to-be Mrs. Cullen."

"Deal." He tossed me ever so gently back on to the bed and crawled up to hover over me.

"I would like to… try… some things, love." My eyes widened and Edward chuckled. "Major boundaries will have to remain for safety and propriety's sake. But, as you said, this is a new era. So, I will ask, just this once." He paused to make sure he had my full attention. As if he ever didn't.

"May I… experiment… with you, my love?" he asked in his sultry, compelling tone.

"Do as you please," I responded in as seductive of a tone as I could manage. Edward smiled and leaned down to capture my lips with his.

"Thank you, love," he said against my lips. "You won't regret this decision, either. I guarantee it."

I closed my eyes and lost myself in Edward.

How long until the wedding?

A/N: So, there you have it. I'm sorry if anyone wanted Edward to win and if it was too obvious that Bella was going to win. I just thought that it would be nice, for once, for Bella to outdo Edward in something while she's human. Even Edward has his limits. I do have more material, but all that I have drafted feels rather anticlimactic, so I may end the fic here. If there is anything you'd particularly like to see—or if you'd like an alternate outcome to the hunt—let me know in a review or PM.

My condolences to the family and friends of Daddy's Little Cannibal. I did not have the pleasure of knowing her in person, but I did have the pleasure of reading her fiction. She was a lovely writer and her enthusiasm and love for the craft of writing clearly showed in her work. She will be missed.

Finally, I must regretfully announce my hiatus from writing until at least July. I need to concentrate on schoolwork and I would like to dedicate some time and energy to research for a potentially extensive AH fanfic. I offer a teaser of said AH fanfic to those who review this chapter of Safe in Forks, but I will write even if reviews don't come. I never have, and never will, hold material hostage for reviews. My philosophy: Reviews are lovely and encouraged, but not required.

As usual, thank you for reading and for your patience with this fic. I promise to come back. --ocfm