HARD to Get A naughty Twilight retelling

8. Friends or Whatever

Epov

My behavior had been reckless and inexcusable. And while I hoped Bella was convinced that my presence in her room had been a dream, I knew as she peered down into the darkness from her window in search of me that she wasn't fooled.

I had seriously considered not returning to school the next day...or not returning at all. What was I thinking? The trouble was, I hadn't been thinking...with my head anyway.

It was increasingly difficult to be rational where Bella was concerned. The scent of her blood invited me like the most wicked of addictions. That's what she had become to me – an addiction, more potent than any drug.

Her body was warm and inviting beneath my own, so tempting and sweet, and her voice was rich with lust, calling for me, begging for me...

It was no excuse. I shouldn't have been there to begin with. And as if my silence in biology class would quell any of her doubts, I remained as quiet as a church mouse.

"That was a very naughty thing you did last night, Edward," she said after an eternity of silence.

My posture straightened as the sensual undertones in her voice bypassed my brain and shot down like a thunderbolt straight to my groin. Yes, Bella, I longed to say. I am a very naughty boy.

Voices thundered in my consciousness, distracting my attention free from her hypnotic flirting. Don't blow this, Edward, the imagined voices seemed to beg. I could not only see the disapproving face of my adoptive father, but also my siblings, pleading with me not to give them another reason to be uprooted from their home again.

I had to force the words from my mouth. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The fuck you don't."

Her response was so crude...and vulgar...and hot. "Nice language," I replied, disguising the heat I felt from her response with the disapproval I was supposed to feel. It was adorable how she contained her anger, and almost perverse how much I wanted to witness that angelic face burst into an explosion of ire. Surely, I was a monster.

She continued her efforts in trapping me in my lie, questioning my multiple denials. Poor darling should have known what a good liar I was by now.

When Bella said she would see me tonight, I'd already decided that last night's mistake could not be repeated. It would be difficult to stay away from her; this I knew for sure, but I could handle it. I had to.

The temptation was unholy that night as my nostrils absorbed that irresistible scent of her blood close at her window. She was waiting for me. Keeping my distance a few houses down, I fought myself for hours, steeling against the urge to pass through the small entrance like a common thief. It would only take seconds to make it to her window, and once inside the haven of her bedroom, I would once again be encompassed by her devilish aroma.

It was unnerving, knowing it was more than just her blood that I wanted. My body ached for the promise of release I desired giving her.

The next day in class, she looked as awful as I felt. She was craning her neck back and forth, massaging her fingers into her shoulders and neck, as though she was trying to soothe sore muscles. Had she slept wrong? Bella looked tired and irritated. But she was adorable, even still. Although I knew that those groans were from her aches and pains, the fact that her noises turned me on was only a testament to what a pervert I was.

"Are you okay?" I asked, wishing my hands could replace hers and rub soothing circles into her flesh.

What she did next took me by surprise – shocked me, actually. She hissed. Bella was a wildcat seated beside me, dark eyes laced with fury as she threatened me with her primal warning. The action was utterly feral, and unwittingly I imagined her as a newborn vampire.