I smiled. "Didn't you find any mountain lions?"
"Yes, I did, actually. Still not worth the anxiety. I'm sorry I had Alice hold you hostage, though. That was a bad idea."
"Yes," I agreed.
"I won't do it again."
"Okay," I said easily. He was already forgiven. "But slumber parties do have their advantages. . . ." I curled myself closer to him, pressing my lips into the indentation over his collarbone. "You can hold me hostage any time you want."
"Mmm," he sighed. "I may take you up on that."
"So is it my turn now?"
"Your turn?" his voice was confused.
"To apologize."
"What do you have to apologize for?"
"Aren't you mad at me?" I asked blankly.
"No."
It sounded like he really meant it.
I felt my eyebrows pull together. "Didn't you see Alice when you got home?"
"Yes - why?"
"Are you going to take her Porsche back?"
"Of course not. It was a gift."
I wished I could see his expression. His voice sounded as if I'd insulted him.
"Don't you want to know what I did?" I asked, starting to be puzzled by his apparent lack of concern.
I felt him shrug. "I'm always interested in everything you do - but you don't have to tell me unless you want to."
"But I went to La Push."
"I know."
"And I ditched school."
"So did I."
I stared toward the sound of his voice, tracing his features with my fingers, trying to understand his mood.
"Where did all this tolerance come from?" I demanded.
He sighed.
"I decided that you were right. My problem before was more about my . . . prejudice against werewolves than anything else. I'm going to try to be more reasonable and trust your judgment. If you say it's safe, then I'll believe you."
"Wow."
"And . . . most importantly . . . I'm not willing to let this drive a wedge between us."
I rested my head against his chest and closed my eyes, totally content.
"So," he murmured in a casual tone. "Did you make plans to go back to La Push again soon?"
I didn't answer. His question brought back the memory of Jacob's words, and my throat was suddenly tight.
He misread my silence and the tension in my body.
"Just so that I can make my own plans," he explained quickly. "I don't want you to feel like you have to hurry back because I'm sitting around waiting for you."
"No," I said in a voice that sounded strange to me. "I don't have plans go back."
"Oh. You don't have to do that for me."
"I don't think I'm welcome anymore," I whispered.
"Did you run over someone's cat?" he asked lightly. I knew he didn't want to force the story out of me, but I could hear the curiosity burning behind his words.
"No." I took a deep breath, and then mumbled quickly through the explanation. "I thought Jacob would have realized . . . I didn't think it would surprise him."
Edward waited while I hesitated.
"He wasn't expecting . . . that it was so soon."
"Ah," Edward said quietly.
"He said he'd rather see me dead." My voice broke on the last word.
Edward was too still for a moment, controlling whatever reaction he didn't want me to see.
Then he crushed me gently to his chest. "I'm so sorry."
"I thought you'd be glad," I whispered.
"Glad over something that's hurt you?" he murmured into my hair. "I don't think so, Bella."
I sighed and relaxed, fitting myself to the stone shape of him. But he was motionless again, tense.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's nothing."
"You can tell me."
He paused for a minute. "It might make you angry."
"I still want to know."
He sighed. "I could quite literally kill him for saying that to you. I want to."
I laughed halfheartedly. "I guess it's a good thing you've got so much self-control."
"I could slip." His tone was thoughtful.
"If you're going to have a lapse in control, I can think of a better place for it." I reached for his face, trying to pull myself up to kiss him. His arms held me tighter, restraining.
He sighed. "Must I always be the responsible one?"
I grinned in the darkness. "No. Let me be in charge of responsibility for a few minutes . . . or hours."
"Goodnight, Bella."
"Wait - there was something else I wanted to ask you about."
"What's that?"
"I was talking to Rosalie last night. . . ."
His body tensed again. "Yes. She was thinking about that when I got in. She gave you quite a lot to consider, didn't she?"
His voice was anxious, and I realized that he thought I wanted to talk about the reasons Rosalie'd given me for staying human. But I was interested in something much more pressing.
"She told me a little bit . . . about the time your family lived in Denali."
There was a short pause; this beginning took him by surprise. "Yes?"
"She mentioned something about a bunch of female vampires . . . and you."
He didn't answer, though I waited for a long moment.
"Don't worry," I said, after the silence had grown uncomfortable. "She told me you didn't . . . show any preference. But I was just wondering, you know, if any of them had. Shown a preference for you, I mean."
Again he said nothing.