Contest entry for the Control. Possess. Seduce. Contest.
Title: Firestorm
Rating:M
Summary: It is said that those who love us never really leave us. What of the ones who get lost in the tides of life? Do they stay with us as well? For two years now she has believed her husband to be missing in action, but then who is the man shadowing her every move?
Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.
Firestorm
I feel his eyes on me as I make my way around the room, greeting the guests who have come to congratulate my sister on her impending nuptials. I feel his gaze run along the length of my body, scorching every bit of skin he can see. My insides twist as a mixture of excitement, foreboding and dread rushes through me.
Finally, I break down and turn around. Our eyes meet immediately … his green to my brown.
The heat I felt in my cheeks moments ago isn't just a heat now; no, it's a blazing inferno, and all I want to do is dive in and let it burn me … desecrate me.
I see how his gaze takes me in, as if he's touching me with his eyes only. And in that moment, I know. I know that I am unable to resist him anymore. I'll let him in no matter the consequences.
~.~.~
He doesn't approach me or even acknowledges me as I make my routine meet and greet with the guests. A part of me is relieved that I won't have to deal with the heartache and confusion right now, but another part, a part I don't want to share with anyone, laments the way our visit had gone; in complete silence. I decide that I'd rather take the silence to the pain this fantasy will cause me. I don't want to hurt anymore.
After the party, I head off to my room, intent upon relaxing after being on my feet for over three hours. I'm in the middle of pulling on my night shirt when there's a knock on my door.
"What is it, Alice?" I ask loudly, assuming it's my sister.
When I don't get an answer, my hands pause on the buttons of my shirt, and I walk over to the door and pull it open.
And then, I feel the air leave my lungs.
~.~.~
"You?" I ask as my eyes take him in. "What are you still doing here?"
When he doesn't respond unlike all the other times I've seen him in the last two years, I say again, "All the guests have left already, so I guessed you would have also ..."
He doesn't let me complete my blabbering sentence and instead, says, "I forgot something of mine here."
"What?"
I don't know what I expect his answer to be, but it's not what he whispers to me in that rough voice of his. "You."
A gasp leaves my lips at his proclamation. "Me? What do you …?"
My words get lost in my throat when after taking a quick step forward, he presses his lips to mine. The moment our lips touch, it feels like a fire has been lit inside me, and it's a burn I can't resist … worse than that, I don't know if I want to.
Some sense slips back into my mind when I feel his tongue touch my lips. It feels too real. Placing my hands on his chest, I push until our kiss breaks and he stumbles back a little.
Taking in a shaky breath, I ask, "What do you think you're doing?"
"Staking my claim on what's mine," he responds without missing a beat.
Sudden anger rushes through me as his words bring back the memories of the past. I take a step toward him, almost getting in his face, and say, "I'm not your property, Edward. I'm not a possession you can simply write your name on and stake your claim."
"No?" His eyes flash the deepest shade of emerald as he counters me. "You don't think you belong to me, Isabella?"
The sound of my name on his tongue makes me frown. "Since when do you call me Isabella?"
"Since you decided that you don't belong with me."
The sharpness of his answer slices through my already fragile heart, and I step back with a gasp.
Maybe it's my reaction or maybe the harshness of his voice is apparent to him as well, but he closes his eyes and sighs. When he opens them and looks into mine, I can see a storm brewing just beneath the surface.
He takes a step forward, and like a prey being stalked by its predator, I involuntarily take a step back. Our dance of hunting and evasion continues until I feel my back press against the wall.
My sharp intake of breath makes his lips pull up for the briefest of instances before he puts his hands on the wall on either side of my head and leans in.
For a moment, my heart stops beating in anticipation of what his next move is going to be. He brings his face so close to mine that his breath fans over me, and then he whispers, "You say you're not mine, yet each breath you take sounds like my name, Isabella."
And that's when my heart starts beating furiously.
Moving one of his hands, he places it right over my beating heart and smiles. "Tell me this heart doesn't beat for me, Isabella."
No words come out of my mouth as I open and close it before shaking my head. That's all I can do while being trapped in his gaze.
The sound of his chuckle makes my skin tingle as he runs his nose along my jaw before whispering in my ear, "Liar."
"I'm not lying," I manage to mumble, but my voice sounds feeble even to my own ears.
"So you don't want me anymore?"
His question makes my heart clench inside my chest. Slowly, I shake my head while inside, I feel my heart scream for him.
My heart and my brain are in complete contradiction at his close proximity, but he is Edward Cullen. He has always had that effect on me.
He's the only man I've ever loved ... and the man I will never have again.
~.~.~
His hand grips my chin as he tilts my head, probably wanting me to look into his eyes. "You haven't answered me yet, Isabella," he says in a low whisper. "Do you not want me anymore?"
"No," I finally manage to reply, keeping my eyes focused on the top of his head rather than looking at him.
"Look at me." He waits a moment before pulling on my chin to force me to look at him. "Say it," he demands of me then. "I want you to look into my eyes and say that you're not mine anymore."
When I don't respond, he slams a hand on the wall next to my head. "Fucking say it!"
The fire burning in his eyes make me whimper, and the truth slips out of my mouth. "I can't."
With a slight nod of his head, he says, "That's good enough for me."
~.~.~
Using the hand on my chin, he tips my head back and kisses the corner of my mouth, first the left and then the right, over and over he kisses me without actually kissing me.
His teasing kisses take me back to the first time he had ever kissed me.
~.~.~
"Are you cold?" he asks me as we sit inside his truck.
Taking in a shuddering breath, I nod, looking out through the windshield. "It's snowing," I breathe the words in awe.
He chuckles at that. "That's Alaska for you. It's always cold here. I bet it feels dreary to you."
"No," I say with a shake of my head. "I've never seen snow before. It's breathtaking."
When he doesn't respond, I turn towards him, and what I see leaves me breathless.
There he sits, in the cab of his truck, his arms propped on the steering wheel, with his eyes fixed on me. I can see little droplets of water from melting snow slide down from his hair onto his forehead, and suddenly, I get this urge to lick that drop away.
I must've licked my lips because his eyes drop to them, and there's a hunger there that pulls me to him.
I know it's inappropriate and I should look away, but I can't. It's as if he's captivated me.
"Isabella?" His voice sounds strained as he calls my name.
"Mmm?"
"Do you want this?"
I don't even need to ask him what he means because there, in the darkness surrounding us, his eyes are the brightest points of light for me. Without any second thought, I answer, "I want you."
His hand cups my face as he brushes his lips to mine. That simple touch ignites a roaring flame inside me, and before I know it, we're kissing, touching and warming each other up in ways that are only accompanied by sighs and moans.
~.~.~
I'm brought out of my memories of him by the pressing of his lips to my neck. He drags the hand holding my chin down the column of my throat and presses it there, where my pulse beats in his name.
"Edward ..."
My whisper of his name makes him smile against the skin right underneath my ear; that's his favorite spot to kiss on me.
"Ask me, Isabella," he whispers back.
"What?" My question comes out as a gasp as I feel him splay his hand on my neck, letting his fingers skim the top of my breasts through my unbuttoned shirt.
"To stop."
"N-no," I whimper. "Don't stop."
This time when he smiles, it's against the corner of my mouth.
"Then what do you want?"
I can't take it anymore. Raising a hand, I tangle my fingers through his hair and pull him closer to me. "Kiss me?"
He takes my other hand and threads our fingers together before pulling it above my head, and then he's pushing his body against mine, letting me feel all of him.
"I will, but on one condition," he says, letting his lips brush mine with every word he speaks.
I don't speak because I know … I know that the desperation I feel for this man must be clearly visible to him.
"You'll be mine. I want my Bella back."
"I'm yours," I respond, unable to carry on lying to myself anymore. "Always yours."
"Bella ..." with a broken whisper of my name, he brings our mouths together, making our lips do the familiar dance they used to excel at.
When he threads his fingers in my hair and deepens the kiss, I feel like I'm back in my high school days, crushing after the untouchable Edward Cullen.
A sudden laughter bubbles up my throat at that thought. He pulls back from our kiss and looks at me questioningly. The look on his face only makes me giggle more, the absurdity of the situation hitting me hard.
When he can't take it anymore, he tugs on my hair a little. "What?" he asks.
"I'm just remembering how it used to be," I answer, barely able to hide the smile still on my lips.
His eyes narrow at that. "What do you mean?"
In a surge of boldness, I wrap my arms around him and kiss his lips. "Back in school," I explain. "When you were Edward Cullen, my father's associate's nephew, and I was a silly schoolgirl, yearning for one smile from the handsome boy I saw at the office sometimes."
He scoffs at that. Letting his hand fall from my hair, he parts the collar of my shirt, taking in the exposed skin of my chest. I feel my nipples harden under the cotton of my bra as his eyes roam over my body.
"I wish you knew," he says, bringing his eyes back to my face. "I wish I could show you how I craved one look from you. You were never a silly schoolgirl to me, Isabella. You were the sexy little girl I never could have, but always burned for."
His words coupled with the intensity of his gaze makes my body tingle.
Does he still think of me like that?
Does he want me still?
Unbeknownst to me, the question escapes my mouth. "What about now?"
"Now?" he repeats as he lets his head fall to the crook of my neck and inhales sharply. "Now, when I step inside my room, all I can smell is you … us … together. You are a woman now, Isabella."
"Bella," I correct him because it feels alien hearing him call me anything but the name he had so lovingly given me.
He turns his head to the side and kisses my collarbone, sucking lightly, and then he says, "Bella, I want you to be my woman. Be mine."
"Make me." My answer to him doesn't sound like supplication; no, rather, it sounds like a challenge.
"With pleasure," he responds, accepting my challenge as his hands grip the lapels of my shirt and tugs, pulling it off of me entirely.
Standing back, he lets his eyes drift down my body, making me realize that I'm only in my underwear in front of him. As I go to cover myself, he grabs my hands. "Don't," he says, his voice husky with the lust swirling around in his gaze. "I want to enjoy what's mine."
My hands go to the hem of his shirt then. Inch by glorious inch, his body is revealed to me and I can't hold back the gasp that escapes me when I see a deep scar right over his heart.
When my hand reaches for the scar that mars his skin, he catches my hand and says, "Doesn't hurt anymore."
"How ...?"
His raised eyebrow gives me the answer before he speaks. "I went to war, Bella. You aren't supposed to return intact from there," he looks away from my face as he tells me. "Although," he pauses, returning his gaze on me again. "It seems like I lost big in the war."
"Edward, no ..."
The words get stopped midway when he whips off his shirt rest of the way and then pulls me to him, kissing me urgently. His kiss makes me forget what we were talking about and all I can think of is to get as close to him as possible.
In the next several moments, it's all about clothes being removed and fervent kisses being placed upon our skins.
When I can breathe again after a long and arduous kiss from him, I realize that in my lust induced haze, he has somehow moved me to the bed so that now I'm lying on my back without a stitch of cloth on me.
He doesn't look away from me as he undresses himself, letting me revel at the sight of him. Once all of his clothes are in a heap next to mine, he crawls up my body ... dropping kisses as he goes.
He stops in his ascend when he reaches my stomach. As if on a whim, he drops a kiss on my left hipbone and then one on my right. Before I can realize where he's headed, his lips press just above my clit, making me gasp in surprise.
That's when he looks up at me; lying between my legs with his face pressed to the most intimate part of my body, he looks at me with questioning eyes. "Haven't been touched here for some time, have you?"
Closing my eyes, I shake my head. "No," I answer. "It's been quite some time."
"Don't worry, sweetheart, I'm here now. I always take care of what's mine."
I don't get to respond to his words though because the next thing I know, his mouth is on me—kissing me, sucking me, licking me in all the ways he used to before he left me.
He makes me climax with his fingers and mouth—the earth shattering, toe curling type of climax. Before I can fully come back down from my high, I feel him hot and hard at my entrance, stroking me with his cock, but never entering.
"Please," the word comes out of my mouth in a plea.
Looking down, I see him running it along my pussy lips. Just a little bit more, I implore him in my mind.
"What, Bella?" he asks me, his eyes on my face. "What do you want?"
"You." My answer is effortless, almost like a reflexive action.
"Me?" he scoffs. "You had me, Bella, and then you didn't want me."
"No ..."
He starts to shake his head, cutting me off yet again. "Wrong answer, Ms. Swan. Try again."
I can't take it anymore and the words burst out of me. "It's Cullen."
His eyebrows pull together in a frown. "What?"
"My name," I say, pulling on the bedsheets to cover myself as I sit up. "It's not Swan. It's Cullen now."
"What are you saying?"
"What I'm saying is," I pause to take a deep breath and then utter the words I have dreamt of saying to him. "I'm Isabella Cullen now. These last two years, I've lived as Isabella Cullen, widow of Captain Edward Cullen of the U.S. Navy."
"You mean that …?" A deep frown takes over his full lips then.
"Yes." I respond with a nod. "I'm yours, Edward. Always."
My whispered words seem to make him wake up from a haze, and suddenly, he's kissing me, pulling me to his chest and touching me wherever he can.
My arms and legs lock around him as if trying to hold him to where he rightfully belongs—in my arms.
He doesn't taunt me this time though. In a smooth stroke he enters me making me feel complete after two years of loneliness.
As he moves in and out of me, our hands reach for each other, desperate to familiarize ourselves with our perfect counterparts.
He buries his face in my hair and with each thrust murmurs something unintelligible. First, I think it's a groan of satisfaction, but then, as his breath quickens, the sound becomes louder, and I feel my heart clench at his words.
He keeps up a string of murmurs of "You're mine. My Bella. My wife. Mine. Mine. Mine," as he moves inside me, making love to me like a starving man has been served a banquet.
Once we're spent and lying in each other's arms, he slowly pulls me away from his chest to look at me. "Why did you leave our home, Bella?"
"Because I thought you were dead." Bitterness leaches out of my heart as I recall those horrible days of confusion and heartbreak. "What could I do, Edward? Dad showed me a letter from the Navy saying that you ..." I stop and shake my head, not wanting to utter those dreadful words ever again. "... that you were MIA, and I couldn't live in that house without you. Everything in that place reminded me of you, Edward. So, tell me what did I do wrong?"
"Why did you react that way when you saw me today?"
His question makes me look away from him, afraid that he'll think of me as a silly girl. "Because it felt a lot like one of my usual nightmares," I mumble. "I still dreamed about you every night."
The corners of his mouth pull down at my confession. "You thought I was a nightmare?"
Shaking my head, I correct him. "Not you, our circumstances. When I wake up every morning to find that you're gone, the dreams turn into nightmares."
He pulls me back to his chest, kissing me hard before saying, "I'm not going anywhere, baby. I'll be right here with you. You're mine."
"Forever," I promise.
~.~.~
Just before falling asleep in his arms, I feel Edward drop a kiss to my forehead, and he whispers, "Charlie Swan, you tried to take away the girl I love. You better watch your back. Edward Cullen doesn't forgive easily."
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Public voting: February 21 2016 to March 6 2016.