Disclaimer: All the wonderful Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, however the story 'Cooking With Seduction' belongs to me.
Bella truly is a unique person-watch as she unconsciously seduces Edward while cooking! Thanks to Adrian, a friend of mine who suggested that I do a story like this.
P.S.-Bella's best friends from Phoenix are mentioned in this story. For future reference, they are Teagan and Jason. They are pretty big characters in my story, 'A Reunion of Sorts'. You may want to read a few chapters in that story to learn more about them.
Edward POV
I watched as Bella put her hair up, looking in the kitchen mirror. She held the hair tie between her teeth, while her hands went to her hair. They skillfully twisted the strands up into a ponytail, as she wound the hair tie once, twice, three times around, pulling it tight. She took the end of hair, and twisted it around, until it became some sort of a braid, and folded it up, clamping it into place with a hair clip that was clasped on her shirt. When she was done, she pulled out some of the unruly strands out so they hung around her face.
I always asked her why she was so focused on her hair when she was cooking; she hates it when Alice does her hair during makeovers.
"Edward," Bella would say, "makeovers and cooking are two completely different things. I can't have any of my hair falling in the food-who would want to eat that? Also, I like it when I have my hair up while I cook-it lets me focus more on what I'm doing, and it helps. Besides, cooking is a hobby of mine. Makeovers, that's Alice's." Each time when she would say this, her hands would turn and flip, gesturing, proving her point. And each time, I would get entranced by the motion, watching them as they moved and danced. Finally she would smile, and I would be snapped out of my trance.
Today, she was cooking a delicacy-tiramisu. She had found it in a dessert cooking book she brought from Phoenix, a gift from Teagan, her best friend when she left for Forks. She showed the picture to me, and asked me which one I wanted her to make.
"But Bella, I'm not going to be eating it, so why are you asking me?" I had asked her, truthfully confused.
Bella thought for a moment before she answered. "Because since it smells and tastes bad to you, I want you to use sight instead. Choose the one that appeals most to you, visually, and I'll try to make it. That way, you can also sorta 'try' my cooking. It's too bad that vampires can't eat, sadly." She smiled, and held the book out to me again.
I had flipped through the book, looking for one that caught my eye. I hadn't found one yet, and I was near the end of the book. I was about to ask Bella to choose one herself when I found the perfect one. It was a simple cake, creamed colored with white frosting in the middle. But simple as it was, it was decorated with beautiful berries, which made it beautiful. The name was simple too- Crème Fruit. It reminded me of Bella-she thought of herself as a simple looking person, but she was beautiful, and the cake represented her perfectly. I showed the cake to her, and she smiled.
"You like that one also? It was the one I also liked-we have the same taste, no pun intended. Teagan's favorite is the Chocolate Brule, and Jason's was the White Angel. Let's see…" She ran her finger down the list of ingredients, and I was mesmerized by her finger, long and delicate. Her face was concentrating, calculating, the ingredients that she had and the ones she needed.
"Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and cream." Her hand reached out again, for a piece of paper and a pen. It was quiet in the room, no noise except her pen scratching against the paper, the words appearing. She had straightened up, reading the paper quietly, making sure that she had all the ingredients.
"Edward?"
I was once again snapped out of my trance as I looked up to meet her gaze. "Hm?"
"Would you like to come with me, or do you want to stay here?" I stood up, and took her hand. "Of course I will come with you. Who knows what danger you might attract at the store?"
Bella had pouted, annoyed. I had laughed, and leaned down to kiss her, gently. She smiled, and we walked out towards the Volvo.
The entire time, I watched her, smiling when she met my gaze, and she would smile back, her chocolate eyes bright with happiness. My dead heart swelled, and it threatened to burst with emotion that I was feeling. She hummed along to the CD I had made of my compositions, smiling whenever her lullaby played.
When we arrived at the grocery store, Bella pushed the cart along, her eyes flickering up and down for the things she needed. When she found what she needed, she had taken it off the shelf, and tilted her head, inspecting the package, looking deep in thought. If she wasn't satisfied with the item, she would put it back, and pick up another, inspecting it, evaluating it, until she was sure that it was the one she wanted. She would put it carefully into the cart, careful not to hurt it in any way. I felt myself started to fall in the familiar trance again as I watched her repeat the process, over and over again. The expression on her face, her sinuous movements-it took every ounce of my self control not to jump on her and kiss her.
When we were finished checking out, Bella pushed the cart towards the Volvo, but she had thrown a fit when I volunteered to put the groceries in for her.
"Edward, I'm not a porcelain doll! I can do it myself-I was doing fine before I met you, back in Phoenix." Her face softened when I apologized, and she smiled, reaching over to kiss my cheek.
I watched as she transferred the groceries from the cart to the back of the car, reaching with her slender arms, and the twisting of her hips as she turned to face the cart and the car.
I didn't notice that Bella had finished until she started waving her hand in front of my eyes. I jerked my head up, and I saw Bella's amused gaze.
"Are you still here, Edward? What were you staring at?" Her amusement soon turned into a gaze of suspicion and disbelief. I pulled her into my arms at once, kissing her fiercely, relishing her taste. She gasped in surprise, before putting her arms around my neck, kissing me back with as much passion as I had. I shut the lid of the trunk with my arm, and I pressed Bella against the back of the car, running my hands up and down her sides.
Finally, when her heartbeat was beating at a dangerous pace, I pulled away and Bella blinked, her heartbeat slowing and her breathing starting to come back. I laughed quietly at her expression.
"Well, that was unexpected. But we should head back now-I need to be sure that there is enough time to actually cook the tiramisu." I laughed again when Bella shook her head slightly, as if to clear her cluttered mind. She slid quickly into the passenger side, and I walked to the driver's side. The ride back was peaceful, with only the music playing in the background.
Right when we got home, Bella tugged the ingredients into the kitchen, and I sat back down in the kitchen chair, doing nothing but watching her. She opened the book again, murmuring quietly to herself as she read each direction, titling her head when she couldn't figure it out, her eyebrows pulling together, and a small frown upon her lips.
When she would figure out the solution, she would smile and clap her hands, joy igniting in her eyes. It pleased me to see her this happy, and I felt joy pulsate through me as well. I watched as her hips swayed, moving with her as she stirred the ingredients in the metal bowl. Traces of flour gathered on her cheeks, as she mixed the solution into batter, humming the entire time she did it. Her feet were dancing also, as she moved from one side of the kitchen to the other, picking up the ingredients and combining them.
She was never clumsy in the kitchen, her haven. Cooking was to Bella as piano and music to me. The steps that she took, the precision of movements-it was like she had all the motions memorized, and she delivered them perfectly, not even conscious to the grace and flows of her movements that drove me to near insanity.
How could she seduce me just by cooking?
The next thing I noticed was Bella opening the door to the over, placing the cakes inside. She closed the door, and set the timer. She brushed the hair away from her face, and turned back to me, smiling. I opened my arms, gesturing for her to come. As soon as she was near enough, I hugged her, settling her in my lap, and she leaned her forehead against my chest. We sat there, not moving, only enjoying the feel of being in each others arms. Again, I was drifting into my daze.
The timer beeped suddenly, and Bella jumped out of my lap, skipping over to the kitchen. I watched in fear that she might trip, but she didn't even stumble. I sneaked up behind her silently, watching as she carefully took the cakes out, balancing them on the cooling rack. I would my arms around her waist, and she gasped, not realizing I was there. I laughed, blowing my cool breath the cakes. They cooled instantly.
"Edward!" Bella scolded me, pretending to look stern. I gazed back at her innocently.
"I'm just helping you save time, love." She shook her head, and laughed, taking one off the rack. I watched as she spread the cream over it, before slicing up the berries and placing them carefully on the cake. After she had made all of them, she set the others aside and carefully handed on to me.
I looked at it, and the beauty of it stunned me. The color of the cake was the exact shade as it was in the cooking book, the berries arranged in an intricate yet simple way. "Bella, this looks absolutely delicious." I took a fork, and cut off a piece. I held it out in front of her, and she opened her mouth, taking a bite.
Bella swallowed, and giggled. "Yup, it truly is delicious." I kissed the tip of her nose, trailing down to her jaw, and finally, her lips. I set the cake carefully down, and I brought her closer to me, breathing in her delicious, floral scent.
Yes, cooking was now becoming one of my favorite pastimes.
Thank you for reading, and please check out some of my other stories on my profile. I hope you enjoyed this story, and if you have any requests or ideas, feel free to PM me or mention it in a review! Thanks, and don't forget to review!