Disclaimer: The characters of Twilight are owned by Stephenie Meyer. The content, ideas and intellectual property of this story and the 'American Vampire Series' in its entirety are owned by Just4ALE.

Note: This is the sequel to my first story, An American Vampire in Chicago, and is now part of a larger series. If you're new to the series, I'd recommend reading AAViC first.

BPOV

May 2004

Sleeps with Vampires. That could be MY Sioux name if they ever made a sequel to Dances with Wolves, I decided. Sleeps with Vampires.

I used to be a smart girl. I was voted Most Likely to Succeed at Forks High School. I went to Dartmouth. I had no major vices to speak of. I didn't court danger. No driving super fast. Always made sure I took a cab rather than drive if I drank. I took Karate so that I could be able to defend myself from dangerous people.

Seriously, Adam Ant could have been speaking about me with some of his Goody Two Shoes lyrics.

So how was it that at age 25, way past my rebellious teenage years, well-schooled in reason and logic, I decided to toss caution to the wind and live a semi-reckless life?

Too many years of repression? Nope.

Too many years of making everyone else happy? Doubt it.

Completely mental and off her rocker? Ok, maybe a little of that.

Nah, it was simpler than that actually.

Love.

Sleeps with A Vampire might be a better name, Bella. More accurate. A vampire. Singular. Only one.

Edward. My beautiful, copper-haired, green-eyed vampire.

Sleeps with A Vampire didn't quite describe it at all, actually. Made it seem like it was only sexual. It wasn't. Edward was my boyfriend… as much as you could call any 104 year old a boy. And he was the love of my life.

I found it ironic that in my quest to learn Karate, I'd attracted the attention of one against whom I was defenseless. No amount of Karate would help me ward off his attack, had I needed it when he first started stalking me.

Another fact they'd no doubt introduce at my insanity trial… 'Your Honor: the evidence is clear. She found out that he had been following her, then she found out that he was a vampire, and she then decided she loved him. To Bellevue!' They called it Stockholm Syndrome when you fell in love with your kidnapper. What did they call it when you fell in love with your vampire stalker?

Edward and I have now been together for four months. After the initial honeymoon period of getting to know each other and a lot of sleepless nights for me – he didn't sleep anyway – we'd been able to settle into a little bit of a pattern that would work for both of our lifestyles.

I continued to go to University of Chicago Business School, finishing up my first year studies for my MBA. I had interviewed for and landed a summer internship in Chicago which was to start in June. I frequented the B'school parties and pub night, continued taking Karate, ate breakfast regularly with my friends and was active in group meetings. Edward generally gave me a lot of space to socialize with my classmates... he attended parties on occasion with me but typically gave me a wide berth. He wanted me to have the full B'school experience unfettered by our relationship.

Edward was working on his PhD in Biology. When I found out that Edward already had a JD, an MBA, a PhD in European Literature, Masters in Engineering, Physics, Architecture and Fine Arts and was a trained medical doctor, I was astounded. Why bother to continue to go to school?

"It looks suspicious when we continue to look exactly the same as we did 10 years before… We can only be in one place for so long. I don't age, Bella. My hair doesn't grow. It starts to look odd."

So Edward moved to various universities around the world to pursue new interests… or he took up a different profession… or he traveled and did volunteer work. The possibilities were infinite when you had endless days and nights to fill.

Of course, he filled up my nights quite nicely. We spent every night together, either at his home or my apartment. I preferred his house as it was larger and, well, a house, but for my safety he preferred my place.

"But you won't harm me," I pointed out time and time again.

"I don't want to harm you… and I'd probably figure out a way to kill myself if I did, but I'm still a being who drinks blood and you have a lot of it, not to mention it's my favorite kind."

That said, I didn't mind him taking a little here and there. The first time he'd bitten me was to save my life. He bit me to mark me and he prevented other nomadic vampires who'd wandered upon us from making me their meal. The bite took me to another place... it was like being high, I guess, a true state of euphoria. I found out later that sex for him would be… enhanced... if he could bite me and get a little taste during the act. Aside from the fact that he could get carried away and possibly kill me, once he was able to work up his tolerance to my escalated energy levels, the actual biting brought a whole additional layer to our lovemaking for me as well. So we reached a nice compromise.

By biting me, he continually marked me as his, which would keep other vampires… should they be in the neighborhood… away from me. They'd think I was someone's pet, of sorts. One bite was typically in an area that was publicly visible, such as neck or arm. Of course I had to cover those areas so that my business school classmates didn't think I was addicted to hickeys or have an intravenous drug use problem or something. My neck was fairly easy to hide since I was so fond of turtlenecks and scarves.

The other bite was typically in a more private place… Apparently the blood from the inner thigh was particularly sweet. Who knew? He was down there a lot anyway, so it worked for both of us.

The first time he bit me during sex was both frightening and amazing. It was at my apartment, naturally, as it was only there that he was truly prevented from hurting me. By inviting him into my home, he was unable to do anything that I didn't want him to do. He waited until the appropriate moment for both of us and then he clamped down on my neck. It was an indescribable feeling... like an orgasm within an orgasm. A tesseract of orgasms… drenched in smooth silky dark chocolate. And then I saw his face for a fraction of a moment.

Beautiful and likewise appearing to be in ecstasy, I caught a quick glimpse of his mouth as he pulled away from my neck. It was slightly red with my blood and I saw his two fangs (a mouth erection, if you will) which slowly shrank back to normal sized teeth. His head came back, eyes looking upward, and then he took a deep breath in, closing his eyes and licking his lips. All of this registered in my head for one small second before the full impact of the drug-like bite hit me, and I maneuvered around to change our positions, starting the beginning of a very long night together.

As much as we both enjoyed this, we recognized the need to space these bites out. A) I needed time to replenish my blood and B) there was always the danger of tempting him too much… he was a vampire, after all. We decided once or twice a month, when my blood was 'ripe' for him was sufficient. I began to think of it as 'that time of the month' - the good version. Since I never knew when my blood would taste best for him, it was always a surprise night for me.

Even without the biting, our physical relationship was amazing. Edward was my first and my only. I had NOT been his first, not by a long shot. Well, that wasn't quite true… I was the first human he'd been with. So while some of it was new to him as well, he was still able to guide me and teach me about him, me and us. He was my sexual Yoda.

Spending as much time together as we did, you'd think I'd get used to his talents. Most vampires were able to manipulate people based on the energy level they gave off and their weak minds. In addition to being able to read minds, except for mine, Edward was able to tap into energy and manipulate it on its own. He actually had the Force. He could levitate objects, sending them flying across the room if needed. This talent sure came in handy when the mood hit: he could lower the shades, light some candles and undress me at the same time.

Yep, four months into it and everything was great. I had a break between the end of finals and the start of my internship so we decided to take a trip to Denali, Alaska where Edward's family was living these days. I was nervous about meeting his family in person, although they'd all been very friendly and welcoming the several times I'd spoken with them over Edward's 'Vampire Batphone', the internet video conference line he had set up at his home. Well, not all of them were friendly...

I'd become quite chummy with Alice, one of Edward's 'sisters' whom you couldn't help love due to her impish grin, her meddling little psychic powers and her constant attempts to boost my sexual confidence by sending me care packages with skimpy lingerie to turn Edward on. Edward tried to tell her that he loved me no matter what, even if I was in shorts and a t-shirt, but I have to say that he didn't exactly ignore the little outfits she sent.

I'd also learned very quickly that Esme, Edward's 'mother' was the sweetest, most 'motherly' woman you'd ever meet… despite the fact that she was approximately my age physically. I got along well with Emmett, another sibling, whom I could tell was going to tease me like hell when he had me there in person. And although Jasper and Carlisle were not as gushing as Alice, Esme and Emmett over the video conference, they openly welcomed me into Edward's life.

So that left Rosalie, whom I'd only seen once the entire time. She didn't look that happy to see me that one time. When I asked Edward about it, he only said that Rosalie was reserved.

Well, shit, you look up the word 'reserved' in the dictionary and it shows my face... and I'm making a freakin' effort! I supposed I'd figure it out up in Denali… at least I had the rest of them on my side, apparently.

Several days before we were scheduled to leave, I awoke up a little too early alone in Edward's bed. Figuring he was downstairs reading, I got up, put on a robe and slippers and went to find him. As expected, I saw a light on in his study. As I made my way there, I realized he was talking on the Batphone.

"So you haven't seen him at all, Alice?"

"No, it looks like he's still in South America. I've been keeping a close watch, Edward. You know that."

"I appreciate it."

I opened the door quietly and stepped in.

Edward's lips smirked as he continued to stare into the computer. "Someone thinks she can sneak up on me."

"Hi Bella!" Alice called from the speaker.

I made my way across the room to Edward's outstretched arms. Pulling me on his lap so that I could see the camera too, I waved at Alice.

"Nice bed head and pillow face, Bella."

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Nice to see you too, Alice," my froggy voice croaked. "It is 5 A.M. here you know. And some of us do actually need sleep."

"Well, you'd better get some now girl, because we plan to keep you up all night, every night so that we can really get to know you…"

I looked at Edward to make sure she was kidding. He was grinning from ear to ear at his favorite sister.

"Alice, the only one who will get to keep her up all night will be me and I'll be getting to know her in a different way," he said, shifting his position to nibble on my ear and neck.

I don't know how it was possible but his statement and actions in front of his sister simultaneously made me turn bright red from embarrassment and shot waves of desire straight down to my toes. My eyes closed, my head tilted back to fall against his shoulder and I bit my lip.

"Hey, hey, you two, get a room!" she shouted.

"We will, very shortly," he said, hugging me close.

Alice giggled. "Okay, well Bella, we're all thrilled that you'll be here. Esme's been practicing all kinds of dishes to cook for you."

I frowned. "Alice, she doesn't have to do that… especially if I'm the only one eating. I can go get some basic groceries and make some little things for myself."

Edward responded, "Are you kidding? Esme loves to mother people. She's been watching all the cooking shows and she learned how to cook your favorite: Shredded Spicy Beef."

I looked at him, stunned. "Seriously?"

Alice nodded on the screen. "Yep, she's been having a blast. So you'd better come with an appetite."

"Ok, well then maybe she can teach me how to make it as well." I said, shrugging.

"Oh, that would be so much fun, Bella!" came Esme's voice from off camera. She popped her head next to Alice's and blew a kiss at me. "I'll see you in a few days!" She left the camera view.

"Okay, Alice, I guess we're…" Edward stopped as he saw Alice's eyes looking unfocused. "Alice…"

About ten seconds later, Alice snapped out of her trance-like vision. "Oh, boy," she said, looking at Edward.

"What did you see?" he asked slowly.

"Um, maybe you want to talk about this later?"

"Tell me now, Alice," he growled. "Is it James?"

Alice exhaled. "No, Edward," she said, shifting her eyes to look at me and then back at him. "It's Tanya. She's decided that she's going to come back to Denali for a visit while you're here. It's not going to be pretty."

I looked at Edward. His face had turned to stone. "Oh, no." he said, flatly.

I could hear Emmett's booming laugh in the background off camera. "HOT DAMN, this ought to be good!" His voice faded off in the distance. "Yo, Jasper! Wanna make a bet?"

"Okay, then, I'm gonna go." Alice said quickly. She looked at me and then back at Edward again. "Make sure she's well-informed, Edward." Then she looked at me once more. "It will all be fine, Bella. You'll kick her ass."

"Bye, Alice." Edward said. He shut off the camera link and sat shaking his head.

I looked at him, confused by this last exchange. "Who's Tanya?"

A/N: Ruh roh, Edward has some 'splainin' to do. Like my first story, this will unfold at its own little pace. Please stay with me. And please review.

Post A/N: After posting the original version of this story, I found a Beta! The lovely Irritable Grizzzly has reviewed my stories to help correct minor issues. No content changes here or on any future chapters.