The Rage of the Beast The Rage of the Beast
Chapter 1:
It was twilight. The sun's last rays crept through the wall of glass, casting a warm glow across the familial scene. Emmett was lounged across the staircase with Rosalie's head in his lap. He was running his fingers through the soft hair fanned out across his lap as they spoke in barely audible whispers. Esme was busy playing the piano in the far corner of the vast room while Carlisle sat in a nearby armchair reading a large leather-bound book. Every once in a while, when he thought no one was looking, he would look up at her with nothing but love in his eyes. On the other side of the room, Edward and Alice were playing chess; it was a more mental than physical game, but that made it more exciting for everyone else as they waited for the loser to knock down his or her king. Jasper was sitting on the couch half watching TV, half watching the game with Bell, who was doing Nessie's hair, and Jacob sat on the floor next to Nessie. It was a perfect snapshot of a typical evening in the Cullen household.
The chess game only lasted about five minutes before Edward flicked over his king in defeat. A victorious smile spread across Alice's face as she bounced lightly over to the couch and leapt gracefully onto the seat next to Jasper. Scowling, Edward swept the pieces and board back into the box and returned the box to its place on the shelf. Nessie struggled to suppress a yawn but was utterly unsuccessful.
"Okay, time for you and Jacob to head home," Bella said firmly. Rarely did she actually use her maternal authority, but that didn't stop the fact that she was a mother. Knowing that she was actually right, Nessie got to her feet. Jacob followed in suit and put a supporting hand on the small of her back.
"Night," she said before giving both her parents kisses and disappearing out the front door with Jacob.
Edward took Nessie's vacant seat on the floor in front of Bella. She gently combed her fingers through his hair once.
"Ready to go home?" he asked her.
"Let's go," she replied. Graceful as ever, they both stood up.
"Bye you guys," Alice chirped as jasper slid an arm around her slender shoulders. Bella slipped her delicate hand into Edward's, and they made their way to the front door. as they passed the staircase, they noticed that Emmett and Rosalie were gone. The couple exchanged brief, knowing looks but continued on their way.
The pace through the woods was slow and relaxing. Bella and Edward took their time walking home hand-in-hand, simply enjoying the moment.
"I love you," he whispered as he broke free momentarily to slide his arm around her delicate waist. Smiling, she leaned into his touch.
"I love you too," she replied contently.
"You know that our anniversary is coming up." Bella scowled. She had totally forgotten about that up until that moment. "It'll be one hundred years."
"Uh-huh."
"maybe we could go down to South America for a week or so, just us." A smile spread across Bella's face. South America sounded incredibly relaxing.
"That sounds wonderful."
"And Alice is planning a party." That caused her to freeze. A low growl erupted from within her.
"She's not throwing us a party." Edward gently approached her and wrapped his strong arms around her.
"Now Bella, it's our one hundredth anniversary, and the only condition for this party is that she won't throw you a birthday party next month." That caused her to relax slightly. "all it'll be is a few hours with our family. It will be just like tonight, relaxing and celebrating some-"
"Only with Alice going completely overboard with decorations," Bella grumbled.
"Esme's doing her best to keep her from going too far. Afterwards, you and I will head off to South America." The more Edward spoke of an escape to South America, the more Bella fell in love with it. Vacations for them were few and far between; Bella felt extremely uncomfortable leaving Nessie for extended periods of time despite their daughter's age. She sighed.
"Okay, but I'll have to talk to Alice about not going too crazy."
"That's all I ask," Edward assured before planting a loving kiss on her forehead, and they continued on their way.
The second the cottage door was closed, Bella grabbed Edward by the collar of his shirt and crushed her lips against his. He held her firmly by the hips, holding her there. Slowly, his lips traveled down the smooth skin of her neck as she ripped open his shirt. Alice would probably kill them for ruining yet another shirt, but they really didn't care.