You Had Me From Hello
Stretching out, I sense that the other side of the bed is empty. Two small, warm bodies are nestled into me, though; one resting along my back, the other cuddled into the crook of my bent leg, gentle snores coming from them both. They stir after a while, and I feel them moving around a bit. I'm still in that wonderful state between sleeping and waking, so my eyes remain closed for now. They must hear the key turning in the lock, because they jump off the bed even before I hear the front door opening. Luckily they don't have a habit of barking, so I just hear their nails scratching on the floor.
"Hey, guys," Edward says softly, "Aw, you're such good puppies. Is mommy still sleeping?"
Feeling rather than hearing him approach, I snuggle back into his pillow. I love inhaling his scent from it. He leans over me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Hey, gorgeous," he whispers.
I finally will my eyes to open, taking in the sight before me. Edward is in his running gear, consisting of basketball shorts and a tank top. This means the tattoos on his arms and legs are on full display, and the shirt clings to his sculpted chest. It is enough to wake me up.
"Hey, baby," I greet him while reaching my hand up to tangle in his hair. "Did you have a good run?"
I only give him time to nod in confirmation before pulling his face to mine for a kiss. I follow that up with pulling him down onto the bed and yanking his shirt over his head.
"Bella…" he starts, then moans, "oh…fuck," as I nibble on his earlobe.
"I want you," I tell him, trying to push down his shorts and underwear.
"Babe, I'm all sweaty," he tries to reason, but I don't care, so I tell him as much.
To give him some more incentive, I pull back the sheet, giving him access to my breasts. Our unspoken agreement to sleep naked works to my advantage, because one of his hands immediately moves to play with my nipples. My back arches in pleasure. He mumbles something incoherent while I continue to work on getting him naked. Whatever he is trying to tell me, it dies on a strangled groan when my fingers wrap around his thick cock. His lips capture mine in a heated kiss, his tongue invading my mouth as his hips settle between my legs. I wrap my legs around his waist, allowing him to sink into me with ease, both of us moaning at the sensation.
"Oh, what the hell," he mutters
He pushes up on his knees a bit, one of his arms wrapping around me to grip my ass for leverage, while the other hand manipulates my breast. He sets up a steady rhythm, pulling out slowly before driving back into me forcefully. It's all I can do to hold onto him and enjoy the ride. It's exactly what I want to wake up to.
I love when he loses himself in me like this, love watching him so uninhibited, falling apart and coming together at the same time. Regardless whether we take our time, or just enjoy a quick fuck, the emotion is the same. We've been together for almost three months now, and I can't imagine my life without him in it. I've come close to telling him I love him on several occasions over the last few weeks, but I'm waiting for the perfect moment to tell him, wanting it to be special. I don't know if I can wait much longer, though. Any day now I might just blurt it out at the most random moment.
"Yo, Ed, where's the – oh shit!" Emmett suddenly booms, much too close for comfort.
Edward freezes mid-thrust, a curse on his lips. Meanwhile, I barely manage to contain my laughter.
"So that's what you were trying to tell me," I whisper in his ear, placing a light kiss on his jaw. "Sorry, Em," I address our intrusion, "Didn't know you were here."
"Uhm… yeah… Ed suggested to ah… walk the puppies before going into the shop," he explains, doing his best to look anywhere but at us.
He is lucky we are partially covered by the sheet, or he would have gotten an eyeful. As it is, the sheet obscures Edward's body from the waist down, and he is wrapped around me so tightly, I doubt much more than my arms are visible from where Emmett is shifting awkwardly in the doorway.
"Sorry, Em," I say again, giggling.
Edward responds with a strangled groan, making me realize that my giggle reverberates through our bodies, adding to his current predicament. His hips actually flex a little bit, and I stifle a moan.
"Look, guys," Emmett starts, obviously uncomfortable. "Just tell me where the leashes are and I'll get out of your hair."
"Basket under the coat rack," I manage to point out, while Edward decides to ignore his friend's presence and continue to consume me.
"Got it," he replies gratefully, tossing a wave our way before closing the bedroom door and calling out to the puppies to follow him.
"I thought he was gonna set up camp in that doorway," Edward mutters as he resumes his pace.
I'm unable to muster a response, because he hits a most delicious spot deep inside of me. The only reply I can give comes in the form of a drawn-out moan as I surrender to his addictive touch. Together, we chase our mutual climax, Edward's hand slipping between us to help ignite mine.
The pleasure builds and I lose all sense of time; it could be hours or mere minutes, but eventually I feel the telltale tingling radiate out from where we are joined, my muscles tightening in anticipation of release. Pressing my heels into his ass, I spur him on, urging him to go even deeper, thrust even harder.
"Hm, Bella," he groans in my ear, placing sloppy kisses down my neck.
"Edward, yes," I pant, arching my back, creating even more delicious friction down below.
He grips me even tighter as his thrusts become more erratic. I tumble over the edge of my orgasm, falling into blissful oblivion. I am vaguely aware of Edward groaning through his own release, before he collapses on top of me, wrapping his arms around me and breathing heavily. He rolls to the side, taking me with him. His heart pounds in his chest; I can feel it under my hand and hear its heavy staccato rhythm, with my ear laying over it. His fingers run through my hair while I trace the lion tattoo on his pec, casually flicking the barbell his nipple on occasion.
"I needed that," I pant.
To my surprise, Edward's heart actually picks up its rhythm even more.
"Is something wrong?" I ask, slightly worried now that his muscles are tensing up as well.
His fingers resume their stroking, dancing along my arm.
"Nothing's wrong, B," he starts, a smile in his voice. "It's just, I need to tell you something important. I guess I'm nervous."
"What is it, then?" I ask, looking up at him.
He leans onto his side, tucking some hair behind my ear and cupping my face in his hand.
"I love you," he whispers, a shy look in his eyes.
I'm momentarily stunned silent at his confession. Although I have been thinking the words for a while now, I was not expecting him to say it now, first. My mind is going a mile a minute as I stare into his eyes.
"I love you too," I finally reply.
His smile is full of relief and love, and he kisses me deeply. He rolls over me again, settling between my legs and claiming me once more, as we revel in this new emotion.
o.O.o
A while later we have attempted to be at least somewhat presentable for Emmett's return. I'm in one of Edward's plaid shirts while he is in his boxer briefs, distracting me from cooking breakfast.
"Stop it," I chastise him. "You don't want me burning your bacon to a crisp, do you?"
His pout is almost enough to convince me to let breakfast go to waste, but then he sighs and shakes his head.
"I guess not. I do need to replenish my energy. That was a bigger workout than I had anticipated when I got up this morning."
He rubs his scruffy jaw over my neck and shoulder before placing a few tender kisses behind my ear. The tickles cause me to giggle and I squirm out of his embrace. Pointing the spatula at him, I tell him to get the coffee brewing.
Just when he's pouring the fragrant liquid into some mugs, there is a knock on the door, followed by scratching nails and a few excited barks. Edward goes to answer it, and I take out another mug. I barely manage to fill it up before two balls of fur charge at my legs.
"Hi cuties!" I coo, sinking to my knees so I can greet them properly. "Did you have a nice walk with uncle Emmett?"
Pixie circles around, trying to lick my fingers, which are scratching behind her ears. Jazzy, on the other hand, is a little bundle of energy, trying to jump up into my lap.
"Ah, coffee," Emmett exclaims gratefully. "I needed that. Those two are like energizer bunnies or something!"
Still playing with the puppies, I can only agree with him. But at not even a year old, that is to be expected.
"I figured I'd go for the longer route, seeing as I didn't want a repeat of earlier," he continues, winking at me. "But they kept on running around and sniffing everything in sight."
I get up from the floor and wash my hands before turning back to the stove. Knowing Emmett, he'll have worked up an appetite, so I made the right call to make an extra large batch of scrambled eggs and bacon. I load up a plate and set it on the counter for him.
"Thanks, B," he says, shoving a big forkful into his mouth. "Anyway, when we came down the stairs, Jazzy got spooked by this dog walking by right outside the door. Started barking up a storm."
Huh. I must have been really preoccupied to miss a commotion like that. Oh right, this morning's sexathon was quite distracting.
"But then the lady whose dog it was mentioned they sometimes play together, so I walked with her for a block or so, and they did end up playing together for most of it, so I guess he was just startled at first."
"Which dog was that?" I ask.
"A little shih tzu with wonky front legs and a really happy face?" Emmett replies.
"Oh, Buddy. Yeah, he's adorable."
Edward then joins us, having thrown on some clothes. I fill up the puppies' food bowls with their kibble, then sit down for some breakfast as well. For the next few minutes, sounds are limited to forks on plates and jaws – both human and canine – chewing down food.
"Alright, baby girl," Edward says, having cleared his plate and putting everything in the dishwasher. "I'm going to head down and open up the shop. See you when you're ready?"
I smile up at him, silently asking for a kiss, which I get instantly.
"I'm just going to take a quick shower and set the puppies up with some toys and treats. Maybe an hour?"
He kisses me again, then grabs one of his sketchpads on the way out, Emmett following after him.
o.O.o
As promised, an hour later I make my way downstairs and into the tattoo shop. The first thing that registers is the music coming over the sound system. The guys usually have some classic rock station on, which complements the atmosphere. It always makes me feel right at home. Personally, I have always had a soft spot for Bon Jovi. Since finding this out, Edward has made it his mission to find songs of theirs to convey his thoughts and feelings to me. Sometimes they're playful, sometimes naughty, sometimes deep, but always thoughtful. He must have been on the lookout for me, because before I can make my presence known, the radio is turned off and a playlist put on.
It's hard for me to say the things
I want to say sometimes
My eyes immediately find Edward, sitting at his work station with the remote to the sound system in his hand and a silly grin on his face. It probably matches my own. At the front desk, Rose gasps and rushes over to me.
"He finally told you, didn't he?" she asks excitedly. Without giving me a chance to reply, she continues, "I could tell a couple of weeks ago, it was so obvious. I'm so glad he told you!"
"Told me what?" I ask, slightly confused though I have an idea to what she is referring.
"That I love you," Edward clarifies, winking at me.
He walks over to me just as the chorus reaches it end.
"Thank you for loving me," he sings to me, cupping my face in his hands.
I never knew I had a dream
Until that dream was you
When I look into your eyes
The sky's a different blue
Cross my heart
I wear no disguise
He kisses me softly as the verse transitions into another chorus. Pulling back just a little bit, I sing the last line of the chorus to him this time.
Thank you for loving me
"Stop it, you guys. You're giving me a tooth ache," Rose complains jokingly.
"Be glad that's all you're witnessing," Emmett says.
He must have come in while we were in our own little bubble.
"I was privy to way more than that this morning."
"Like I haven't walked in on you two in the storage closet before," Edward retorts.
We all have a laugh at that, then the guys walk over to their respective work stations, Edward pulling me along. In the meantime, the song has ended and another one has started.
"Eddie, please tell me we won't have to listen to Bon Jovi all day," Emmett says. At Edward's raised eyebrow he adds, "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind their music, but I could do with some variation."
Edward sighs dramatically.
"Fine, fine, after this song I'll turn the radio back on."
He then instructs me to remove my top and tie the sarong he provides around me like a sleeveless vest. He makes sure I'm sufficiently obscured from view, knowing Emmett's first client of the day is due any moment, while I look at him in the mirror. I'm not sure he realizes how fitting the current lyrics are.
Standing here my hands in my pockets
Like I have a thousand times
Thinking back it took one breath
One word to change my life
The first time I saw you it felt like coming home
If I never told you I just want you to know
You had me from hello
o.O.o
Playlist for this chapter
Thank You For Loving Me – Bon Jovi
You Had Me From Hello – Bon Jovi