Nine-tenths of the Law
BPOV
"Bella, we are not having this discussion again. There is absolutely no way that I will allow you to go to La Push to hang out with those mongrels. They are too dangerous and I forbid you to have anything to do with them," Edward fumed at me as paced back and forth at vampire speed.
Tears streamed down my cheeks but my so-called boyfriend didn't care. He just looked at me unrepentant and continued, "I almost lost you to James. I will not let your lack of self-preservation take you away from me. You are mine to protect, even if it is from yourself. Especially if it is from yourself, and let us face facts, you are the biggest danger to yourself. With your luck, every mutt on the reservation will smell vampire on you and lose control, thereby wiping out all of La Push along with you." All I wanted to do was slap the smug smirk off his face when he finished.
He pointed to an overnight bag that he said Alice packed for me then walked downstairs to where all but one of the Cullens had gathered. They were going on a hunting trip into Canada for the weekend and I was being left behind to be babysat by the one member of the family that hates me, Rosalie. Charlie was also going out of town for a Police Convention in Las Vegas, so that meant that I was a virtual prisoner at the Mansion until Edward and the others returned.
I refused to go down and see everyone off because I was too upset. Edward could be so heavy handed at times. It was like he didn't think I could make my own choices. He definitely didn't think I knew what was good for me. In addition to being watched constantly, he monitored everything I ate and who my friends were. He has gotten so bad that the only person at school that talked to me was Angela Webber. Even the faculty have started watch the two of us wearily.
The sound of cars pulling away from the house helped ease some of my tension. As much as I would miss the others, I wanted nothing to do with Edward at the moment. In fact, I've recently considered what it would be like to kick him to the curb and follow my heart. But that was impossible, Edward believed that he was the only one for me and so I was stuck with him. There were times that I really hated my life.
I opened the overnight bag and took out some yoga pants and a spaghetti strap t-shirt then changed. I wasn't tired; I just wanted to be somewhat comfortable. At the bottom of the bag was a gift box with the all too horrifying, Victoria's Secret, pink and white stripes. On it was a note written in Alice's hand that instructed me not to open it until tomorrow night. By what stretch of the imagination would I have considered opening that box. Alice knew me better than that.
Rosalie had been in her room since I arrived. Everyone in the family thought that she would crack when Emmett left her for Victoria, but she was cool about the whole situation. She moved into one of the empty rooms on the third floor so the new couple could have a furnished room. That happened within days of our return from Phoenix this past Spring. Apparently, her marriage to Emmett had been over for decades, but they pretended to still be together for Esme's sake.
I passed her room on the way to Carlisle's study. Reading was the only thing that kept my mind from dwelling on my miserable life. The dark colors of the room and the smell of old books calmed me a little, but not enough to stop me from my morbid musing. I removed the key to the glass case that contained the Cullen Patriarch's forbidden tomes. The well oiled lock on the case turned with ease and popped open. I removed it from the latch and placed in on top of the case.
My eyes scanned the titles of the aging volumes; the usual suspects were all present. The collected works of Alistair Crowley, magical texts from Ancient Egypt and the Necronomicon to name a few. I pressed the secret button on the bottom of the shelf and it swung open to reveal the space reserved for the most blasphemous books ever written by man; the assorted works of Danielle Steele, Jackie Collins, and a complete set of The Hollows books by Kim Harrison.
I felt myself pulled toward the Kim Harrison books, so I grabbed Carlisle's copy of Dead Witch Walking, and moved in the direction of the nearest comfy chair. Before I switched on the table lamp next to the chair, I felt myself being watched. Rosalie slid from the shadows and glided to me. Her expression was neutral but I noticed how her every movement was almost sensual. Goosebumps rose on my arms while she approached. She raised a questioning eyebrow as she looked from the open display case to the book nestled in my hands.
"I wasn't aware Carlisle had any books like that. How did you know," the blonde predator asked. She seemed genuinely interested and it was a rare occurrence when she civil to me that I decided to answer.
"The last time he babysat me, I walked in on him reading some musty old medical journal. When I got closer to the desk, I noticed that the journal was just a smoke screen. He had been secretly reading an Anita Blake novel that was borrowed from a co-worker. Carlisle realized the jig was up and showed me his secret stash, once I promised never to tell Edward or Emmett about it," I replied.
"I see. Maybe you can tell me a little about the book you were about to read while I make you some dinner. Edward told me I had to make sure you ate before six o'clock," my vampire jailer commented and motioned me to follow her.
Resigned, I stood up and followed her out of the study. It surprised me that she kept up a pleasant conversation all the way to the kitchen. She asked questioned about what was actually in Carlisle's stash in general and about The Hollows series in particular. I watched as she made me grilled chicken breast and a spinach salad with raspberry vinaigrette. The conversation stalled while I ate the food. It never ceased to amaze me that beings that didn't need to eat, that found human food repellant in every way, could be such excellent cooks.
I complimented her on the food and started to retrace my steps back to the study while Rosalie did the dishes. I was already at the bottom of the stairs when her voice stopped me in my tracks.
"Edward is no good for you. He treats you like crap. You're only a prize to him. Something to be kept safely on his mantel until he wished to show you off. You deserve better. I would worship you like a goddess. You should be mine," she rasped, her voice husky with pent up emotions.
Those words speared me in place. I couldn't move, even if I wanted to. My heart beat sped up and my breathing hitched. "Then make me yours. You were the one that had my heart from the first time I saw your family enter the cafeteria at school. Edward may have dazzled me for a while, but he never really had my heart. It killed me to know how much you despised me, when I was so hopelessly in love with you," I whispered. Finally, I admitted my true feelings to the only person I would ever love. I was terrified over what happen next. I'd never exposed myself like this, especially to Rosalie.
Time stopped as I waited for the axe to fall. My greatest fear that she only toyed with me. I held my breath as I waited for the one I desired above all others to rip out my heart and crush it.
RPOV
I didn't know what shocked me more, having finally told Bella my secret desire for her, or the younger woman's response. I hadn't failed to notice the younger human rigid posture. It was how vampires responded to anxiety and stress. The girl had obviously spent too much time around my kind if she picked up our mannerisms. It only proved she was more observant than most humans. Hell, she was more observant than most vampires I knew.
My heart ached at the brunette's distress. In less than a second, my arms were wrapped around her and pulled her tightly into my chest. Bella relaxed into me and sighed with contentment. I noted that our bodies fit together perfectly, as if we were made for each other. Her head rested back on my shoulder and I gave into temptation and brushed my lips across her exposed throat. A hiss of pleasure escaped her, and desire flooded the room, both hers and mine.
As one, our conscious minds virtually shut down and our more ancient, reptilian brains took over. Both of us were beyond reason, instinct and primal need drove us. We had tap danced around our true feelings for too long. I felt my hands tear off Bella's clothing, then spun her around and slammed into the wall. Any hope that this would be a gentle, loving encounter had long since fled.
The animal inside her recognized that this was a dominance fight and wouldn't let her back down. She fought back, but it was no use, I was a vampire; an apex predator and Bella was only human. Even after she finally understood, our lips fought for control. Eventually, I felt her submit and took my prize.
While my lips kissed and sucked all the exposed skin of the younger woman's neck and breasts, my right hand slid down her luscious body until it reached the apex of her thighs; I stroked her engorged clit until her body vibrated from the pleasure. A frustrated whimper fell from her when I stopped the stroking just before she could orgasm. I sucked a nipple into my mouth and teased it with my tongue as my right hand slid further down her slickness. Her breath hitched as I teased her by inserting just the tips of two fingers into her opening.
The brunette bucked and tried to impale herself further on my fingers but my hand moved with her and kept just the tips inside. I moved my mouth to her other nipple and with my left hand, stroked her clit again. I felt her pleasure mounting but held her just short of release. When her body vibrated once more, I thrust my two fingers inside, pierced her barrier and took the last shreds of her innocence. I had made her mine, now. Whatever happened after this night, that could never be taken away.
The combination of my sucking, stroking and thrusting rapidly finished off my lover. Her eyes fluttered shut, head thrown back while she screamed my name as the orgasm tore through her. Before the aftershocks hit, I continued to work her. A second orgasm, followed swiftly by a third caused her knees to give out. I removed my fingers from her depths, picked her up and rushed upstairs to my room while she was cradled gently in my arms.
The next two hours were spent in my bed; each of us screamed the other's name several times. It pleased me that my lover was not just a screamer, but multi-orgasmic. Her manual dexterity left me breathless and though her oral skills were rudimentary and lacked finesse, were quite capable of eliciting the desired response. For a human, Bella showed remarkable stamina for a first timer. She sighed, momentarily sated, and curled into my side as she drifted into an exhausted sleep at last.
Saturday morning, I gently stroked Bella and she awakened at the height of an orgasm. I fed her breakfast in bed, which consisted of Belgian Waffles with fresh strawberries and cream and a side of hickory smoked bacon. I hated to admit it, but Edward was right. I needed to keep Bells fed if we were going to continue to burn massive amounts of calories through "creative endurance training."
Bella bathed while I made a list for a brief shopping trip. Her yoga pants and t-shirt needed to be replaced, and I wanted to make a very special dinner. While she slept, Bella frequently mumbled about Chicken Parmesan. I figured she would enjoy it if I made it for her. I told her to meet downstairs when she finished.
When she had joined me in the living room, I gave her a quick peck on the lips before we headed out. The shopping trip was brief, just as planned, and the two of us spent the afternoon in conversation. You often hear that the art of conversation is dead, but once more Bella delighted me. In the span of a few hours, I learned more about Bella than Edward did in all of his interrogations. That included one of her deepest secrets.
Bella is actually rich. As the last living descendent of one of Lucrecia Borgia's illegitimate children, she inherited a small fortune from her maternal grandmother. It seemed the infamous Borgia transferred half of the family fortune to a son she had from her first lover. Said lover was also believed to be her brother, but the boy turned out normal having not inherited any of parents' insanity. When he grew to manhood, he married the daughter of silk merchant and had several children. Those children thrived and that lead to the birth of Marie, Rene's mother. Marie never approved of how her daughter lived her life, so upon her death the Borgia fortune passed on to Bella.
She ate her food slowly because she knew I watched her every move. Each bite she had taken was more seductive than the last. When the last bit of it slid down her throat, I needed her right then and there. I pushed the plate out of the way and ravaged her, passionately, on the dining room table. She bit down on her lower lip and denied me her screams of pleasure despite the intensity of her climax. The dominance fight was back on, and this time the human won. What choice did I have if I wanted to hear her make all those wonderful noises.
Bella lead me back up to my room and removed my few clothes. When I was naked, she gently pushed me onto the bed before she removed her own clothes. She was Christopher Columbus and I was her New World. She didn't stop until she explored every inch of my body with her lips, tongue, fingers. At some point I vaguely remembered she even used her toes, not that I could tell you what she had done with them.
Sunday proved to be interesting. Unlike Edward, I cared about Bella's thoughts and feelings. I wasn't as much of a control freak. With that in mind, I asked her to invite the Pack over for an afternoon barbeque. It shocked the hell out of me when they agreed. They were very personable, all things considered. They told me their legends, and I shared vampire history from one of the books that the Voluri had given Carlisle. Bella presented Sam, the Alpha, with a book that had been written by his father, Joshua Uley.
She had special ordered two copies from the bookstore in Port Angeles and just picked them up on her last trip there. After Sam opened the book, Bella surprised everyone when she recited a passage from memory. "The only problem with our Elders passing these myths and legends on to the next generations is that they focus all of their attention on just those stories that come at the middle of the cycle. The magic of the Tribal Protectors does not exist for the sole purpose of killing Cold Ones. It exists to protect our people from all threats, whether they are supernatural or mundane. Not all Cold Ones are evil, the later myths bear this out; and not all members of the tribe are worthy of the magic to become Protectors. To teach these myths and legends by rote without learning their inherent Truths makes fools of both the teachers and the students."
When the wolves headed home, you could tell that Bella's quote weighed heavy on their minds. Nobody said a word, just grunted their goodbyes. Something had changed, for better or worse only time would tell. Jacob was the last to leave, his expression a mixture of longing and arousal. Despite having assured him that he and my mate could continue to hang out as friends, I couldn't help the growl that was too low for her to hear but loud for Jake to get the message. He understood the warning, Bella was mine.
In the evening, she noshed on a light salad as we cuddled on the couch so I could watch the Season Premiere of Project Runway that I had recorded. I beamed with pride when she called both her parents and came out. Somehow she managed to convince Charlie to let her live at the mansion with me four day a week. The other three days were to be spent at his house, but I could stay there as well provided we engaged in no "inappropriate activities." When Bella went to the kitchen to wash her dishes, I watched her. Ever since Saturday morning, I noticed the younger woman moved with an almost feline grace. It seemed that sex had been the key to curing her terminal klutziness.
Alice sent me a text that said that because the next two days were going to be sunny she asked the others to extend the hunting trip. The sneaky Pixie had already had a vision of what happened between me and Bella and wanted to give us some extra time. My sister was the best.
Monday morning Bella opened Alice's gift from Victoria's Secret. The two of us enjoyed the midnight blue, peek-a-boo lace bra and crotch less panty set. In all honesty, we enjoyed in the kitchen; in the dining room; the living room; the second floor hallway; Carlisle's Study; the third floor hallway; and four times in Edward's room before we retired to the privacy of my…our room. However, just as we were about to enjoy the wonderful lingerie for the…ninth time (?), I heard the others as they arrived home. It seemed that Alice hadn't shielded all of her thoughts. I'll still give her the canary yellow Porsche 911 Turbo I ordered for her as a thank you for such a thoughtful gift.
The two of us sighed in frustration and turned to the bedroom door as Edward barged through it with the rest of the Family in tow. The poor bugger just paced back and forth for a few minutes while the others watched with mild humor. They showed no indication that they were upset with Bella's new status. Finally, Edward stopped pacing and looked at us.
"Damn it Rosalie, Bella is mine! Get your hands off her," he demanded. When I showed no sign of doing so, he continued to stare. Everyone else had the good grace to leave us in peace, but not my idiot brother. In the middle of the third time that Bella screamed my name he had taken the hint and left us. "This is not over," were his final words.
Tuesday morning started off on, what at first looked like, the wrong foot. Esme knocked on our door, informed us that Charlie was downstairs, and wanted to talk. My only guess was that Dickward had tried to cock block me by calling in Bella's dad. So much for how well he had originally taken the news, we each put on some yoga pants and half tees and headed off toward the gallows.
Edward smirked when Charlie gave us a menacing glare. Bella stifled a giggle but for the life of me, I saw nothing humorous in the current situation. He motioned us to sit beside him and handed me a folded up document. A restraining order, I thought. Chief Swan's eyes twinkled devilishly and I gulped.
"Edward seems to think that he has some proprietary claim on my daughter. The problem is that any hack lawyer will tell you that possession is nine-tenths of the law. To avoid any more confusion on this issue, I've decided to sign over the title for my slightly used daughter to Ms. Rosalie Hale. There is no doubt in my mind that Rosalie can keep her in near mint condition," he laughed and Eddie's jaw hit the floor.
I looked at the document Charlie had thrust into my hands. It looked just like a certificate of title for a car. Bella's information replaced the usual car information. The whole Cullen clan had a good laugh. He left shortly after that and said I would receive a proper welcome to the Swan family this weekend.
We stayed and talked with the others for a few minutes more then disappeared upstairs. I needed to make sure the engine on my Belle purred. Thankfully, I was an excellent mechanic…