Title: Rebel Without a Cause

Disclaimer: "Twilight" and all related characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Rating: NC-17/M

Word Count: 2,264

Summary: Two days before her wedding, Bella decides to go for one last motorcycle ride.

Warnings: Adult situations.

Author's Notes: Obviously, this ignores Breaking Dawn, but I think it fits with the spirit of it, at least.

It was a stupid idea. Incredibly stupid, dangerous, and reckless. But that was the point. I was going to be married in two days, and shortly after that, I would become a vampire. Immortal and invincible. Once I was changed, everything that had once been an exciting risk to my physical safety would be completely harmless. I wanted to savor my last chance at an adrenaline rush before I would no longer have any adrenaline. I had to make the most of it.

So I waited until Alice had dragged Edward off to Seattle for a final tuxedo fitting before I snuck into the Cullens' garage. I very carefully avoided thinking about what I was going to do as I sat on the bike…as I put on the riding jacket and helmet (Edward would be mad enough at me as it was; I wouldn't provoke him by ignoring safety precautions)…as I turned the ignition…

And then I was off, speeding down the highway. It was exactly what I wanted. The wind whipped around me as I accelerated, chilling me even through the thick padding of the jacket. I rode for hours, watching the trees fly past and the pavement disappear beneath me. When the thrill of winding turns and breakneck speeds finally wore off, I headed for the Cullens' house, bracing myself for Edward's wrath. It had been three hours – it was very likely he and Alice had sped back from Seattle if she'd seen what I was up to.

I thought I might actually be in the clear when I pushed the bike into the garage and Edward wasn't there. I turned away from the door to the house as I pulled off my helmet, and when I set it down, he was suddenly right in front of me, eyes black and stormy.

"Um…hi," I said sheepishly, waiting for the lecture to begin. He remained absolutely silent, however, and I dared to take a step forward, thinking maybe he would let it go. That was when I abruptly flew through the air and landed slung over Edward's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" I asked indignantly. "Put me down!"

His response was a rumbling growl, and I was smart enough not to speak again. He took me up the stairs to his bedroom. The door slammed behind us, rattling the windows and the CDs on his shelves with the force.

"Look, Edward –"

He tossed me onto the bed hard enough to knock me speechless. I watched him incredulously as he paced the room, almost too fast to follow with my human eyes. I tried to tamp down my guilt; I hadn't done anything wrong, I reminded myself. I had every right to ride my motorcycle if I wanted to.

Finally, Edward rounded on me – and then pounced on me, literally. His hands pinned my wrists to the mattress, his weight holding the rest of my body down. Our noses nearly touched as he glared down at me.

"Don't you ever, ever do that again!" he snarled, taking me by surprise. I struggled stubbornly, though he didn't even flinch.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?"

"I'm your soon-to-be husband!" he cried, eyes flashing dangerously. His voice held a dark edge.

"That still doesn't give you the –"

He cut me off with a fierce, bruising kiss, which I didn't protest. His unusual aggression was…well, it was really something of a turn-on, even if I was still mad at him. I iwas/i still mad at him. How dare he kiss me to shut me up? …How deeply in denial was I?

Edward pulled away and his hands landed on either side of my face, forcing me to meet his gaze. "How could you go out all alone like that?" he demanded. I was too dazed to fully understand him. "Do you have any idea how terrified I was when Alice told me? What if something had happened to you? What if you'd been hurt and there was no one to help you? You could have been killed! I might not have been able to get to you in time to save you!"

His eyes bored into me, furious and pleading and frightened. My gut immediately twisted with guilt. I'd been selfish again, thinking only of my own silly desires and never considering the potential consequences. Never considering how truly afraid he was of losing me.

"Edward – I'm so –"

"Don't," he snapped. "I don't want to hear it." And before I had time to feel hurt, his lips crashed down on mine again, claiming, possessing. His tongue flicked against my lips, and when I gasped in shock, it pushed its way inside. I was too stunned to move. This was more risk than Edward had ever been willing to take before, and I wasn't going to question it. Besides, he tasted so good, so sweet, better than sugar cookies or chocolate or vanilla Italian sodas. I wouldn't miss human food if he always tasted like this.

While Edward attacked my lips, tongue tangling recklessly with mine, his fingers dug into my hips, hard. He would leave bruises, but I didn't care. It felt like he really iwanted/i me, and that was utterly exhilarating. I couldn't do anything that would make that feeling go away.

"You're so stupid," he growled as he wrenched his mouth away from mine and pressed kisses to my throat. "So damned reckless!" With that last word, his fingers ripped open my jacket like it was tissue paper. Again, I gasped, but I was too distracted by his fingers sliding under my shirt to ask him what he was doing. I'd thought we'd agreed upon waiting for the wedding, but he was giving my shirt the same treatment my jacket had received, with his lips glued to my skin all the while.

"Edward…"

"Do you have any idea how much I need you?" he asked, his tone beseeching. "Don't you know that I would be nothing without you?" The desperation in his eyes made me tremble. I tried to respond to soothe him, but then his hands were palming my breasts through my bra. Once again, I lost the power of speech.

He kissed me urgently again as his thumbs brushed roughly over my nipples. I moaned and thrust my hips into his, where I felt for the first time a large, hard erection. That was when I realized how desperately wet I was for him. How could I resist this wild, passionate Edward who kissed me with abandon and rocked his hips so hard into mine?

"More," I moaned, fingers scrambling at his shirt. He tugged it off impatiently and captured my lips again. I clutched his back, wondering when the spell would break and he would leave me unsatisfied once again. How would I bear it?

But then his fingers were tugging down the zipper of my jeans and popping the button free…then he was pulling them down my legs, hard enough to hurt.

His eyes burned into mine as he tore away my flimsy cotton panties. This was it. Inside, I exulted. Outside, I tried to catch my breath as he opened the fly of his own jeans and his erection sprang free. Everything suddenly came into sharp, alarming focus.

His eyes didn't leave mine as he thrust into me. While he closed his eyes in a twisted expression of bliss and agony, I winced at the sharp sting. His fingers dug into the already tender spots on my hips, and I was grateful for the distraction. My body didn't know which pain to focus on, and I couldn't fully feel either.

Edward didn't wait to begin thrusting, pushing forward at a brutal pace. In a way, it was good; the pleasure came upon me too fast for the pain to remain. He pounded hard enough that I would be sore tomorrow, but now I was on fire. As long as Edward didn't stop, I didn't care what happened to me.

I clung to Edward as he moved insistently against me. My clothes dangled off my arms; Edward's jeans were caught around his knees. Every brush of our skin excited me – my thighs on his hips, his chest brushing over mine. And he filled me so completely, slipping in and out with ease thanks to my nearly embarrassing wetness. The sound of his body slapping against my skin filled my ears, mixed with his low, steady growl. It reminded me of lions mating on the Discovery Channel – pure, animalistic, given over entirely to instinct and emotion. No thought; thought was impossible now.

"Bella…promise me." The words came out through gritted teeth.

"What?" I was disoriented and breathless, lost in the growing energy between us, drowning in the surge of pleasure that made my limbs shake and clouded my mind.

"Promise – you'll never – scare me – like – that – again!" He punctuated each word with a well-placed thrust that hit just the right spot somehow.

"Yes," I gasped. I would promise him anything he wanted right now. "Yes – I promise."

Edward moved faster in response, clutching my body to his. It increased the fiery friction between us, though, thankfully, not the strength of his thrusts. I didn't think I could stand it any harder.

It felt like a lit fuse where our bodies were joined, slowly burning upward until it reached the end – and then the explosion came violently. I rocked and bucked and shook helplessly against Edward, though he remained relentless in his movements, even as his lips took mine again. His thrusts prolonged the overwhelming, bone-melting sensations until I was quivering and about to beg him to stop – and then he stilled abruptly, buried as far as he could go inside me. I felt a cold surge as his fingers pressed into my back.

Edward had just climaxed inside of me, I realized, half-detached from reality. Edward and I had just had sex. Amazing, fantastic, mind-blowing sex. And he didn't kill me. Sounded like a success to me.

He was completely, statue-still for a moment before he slowly lifted his eyes to mine. His face was absolutely tortured.

"Oh, God, Bella, I'm sorry."

Clearly, we'd misunderstood each other somewhere.

"For what?" I asked, whining in protest as he pulled away from me, moving to the other side of the bed.

"For losing my temper like that," he buried his face in his hands, scrubbing roughly. "For taking advantage of you. For being rough with you." He looked back over at me, his face crumbling at something he saw. His fingers ghosted over my hipbone, and I realized he was following the line of bruises where his fingers had been. "I hurt you…"

"I really didn't mind," I said, placing my hand over his. "I kind of…liked it, actually."

He cocked a displeased eyebrow at me. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You always did like things that were bad for you."

My high was quickly slipping away, declining into a distinctly unhappy mood. "Edward, can you not get all broody about this? I enjoyed it, you enjoyed it…what's the problem?"

"The problem?" he sputtered incredulously. "The problem is that our first time was – was – it was supposed to be slow and sweet and it most definitely wasn't supposed to end with you bruised…"

"Look, Edward," I started, sitting up. I had to shrug off the shredded remains of my shirt and jacket, but I hugged my knees to my chest, trying to be a little less exposed. I couldn't be polite and stop staring at Edward's naked body, however. "I know you have all these ideas about the proper way of doing things, but as far as I'm concerned, that was perfect. You were very clearly distressed over my wellbeing and my disregard thereof – and I'm sorry about that, by the way, I wasn't thinking. But my point is, you were upset because you love me. That's the reason you reacted by taking my clothes off instead of smacking me, which is the way I prefer it. And that's also why you didn't hurt me in any significant way. You couldn't."

Edward sighed, but his eyes had softened, back to a calm ocher. "Still, I did hurt you."

I shrugged it off. "You could have bruised me just as easily if you were human. I'm pretty sure it happens all the time. Besides, it was exciting. I like seeing you lose control a little bit. Just like I like riding motorcycles. It's a risk, but it's worth it. Same concept."

Edward's mouth twitched. "You realize you just compared having sex with me to riding a motorcycle?"

"Sounds like a flattering comparison to me," I smirked.

Edward shook his head at me, smiling now. "I'll never understand you, will I? A normal girl would be crying right now."

"Edward, a normal girl would have been turned off by her boyfriend having the same diet as a mosquito," I said dryly. "I think we've established that I'm not a normal girl. And luckily for you, I'm easy to keep happy. All we have to do is what we just did. Many, many more times."

"You're insatiable," Edward sighed, but he scooted closer and pulled me back into his arms.

"Only when it comes to you," I replied, turning to kiss his shoulder. He buried his nose in my hair.

"We iare/i going to do the wedding night properly," he said. "The way it should be."

I smiled and snuggled happily into him. "I wouldn't have it any other way."