This continues directly from the previous chapter, and is basically the reverse of the first chapter, now its Bella's turn. This one is quite romantic (or at least, I hope so) and explains how I think Edward's shirt ended up on the floor.
Edward lay on the bed next to me, his angelic features pondering. Absentmindedly, his hand was still tracing patterns into the sensitive skin of my stomach. Occasionally I would squirm under his hand as he hit a ticklish spot. His hand would freeze, pulling pack immediate, his voice worried, assuming he had hurt me. I'd reassure him I was fine, and slowly his fingers would go back to brush along my skin. All the while I would watch his features carefully, seeing how he would react. I tried to lie down helpfully, not moving at all, but whenever I would wriggle, he would chuckle, completely under control.
Though the silence was comfortable, I was the first to speak. "Aren't you getting tired of that yet?" I asked him, my eyes following down to his hand.
"Never," he smiled, making my heart race as his eyes glinted, even in the darkness. But he seemed to pick up the hint from my words, knowing we should be pushing new boundaries.
"So what would you like to do next?" I asked him warily, hoping I hadn't ruined the moment, or pushed him too far with my persistence. I had to remind myself that Edward was in charge. The only way he was going to test his control is in his own timing. It would not be helpful for me to suggest what I wanted to do next. This was all about Edward. At least, it was meant to be. Though I was thrilled watching him extend his control as he brushed new areas of my skin, I couldn't help but marvel over the feel of his skin on mine.
Edward's response pulled me out of my thoughts. "What would you like to do next?" I blinked shocked, not anticipating he would give me the control, despite letting go of responsibility in the meadow. As I thought about my answer, I could feel my cheeks flush, feeling the heat radiate from my skin as I considered what I wanted to do. But I tried to control my thoughts. Why make it harder for him?
I swallowed. "Um...I don't know," I lied, knowing the truth will bring on his classic sigh, followed by the familiar argument of why it is unsafe to risk his control around me. He caught my lie easily, holding my gaze until I looked up to meet his eyes. They were sincere, full of love and trust. Instead of speaking, he rolled over until he was lying flat on his back, his arms by his side. I pulled myself into a sitting position next to him, looking down curiously. I could see he was trying to do the same with me as I did with him.
I hovered my hand over his bare forearm, looking up to meet his eyes. "You sure?" my voice was surprisingly warm, really giving him the choice. He nodded, closing his eyes.
"There are many parts to control, Bella," he spoke softly, his eyes still closed. I gently ran my fingers along the veins in his forearm, waiting for him to continue. "Obviously, there is the bloodlust, and I am almost certain that won't be an issue." I thought back to the fight with the newborns when we were laying the trail, and how Edward had explained why my blood doesn't bother him. Though I knew it didn't bother him anymore, it also knew that I did not smell any less appealing to him.
"Then there is the control I need when I touch you," he added, his eyes boring into mine, emphasising his words, "If I lost control for just a split second, I could crush you." I nodded. I had heard this before, and although I knew he would never hurt me, I had absolutely no problem practicing that part. Edward dipped his head slightly as he continued, breaking our gaze. Though I couldn't be sure, he looked slightly embarrassed. I stroked his arm reassuringly, wanting him to continue.
"Then there is another sort of control, which right now, seems like the hardest one to master," he nodded towards my fingers, now trailing along the crease in my elbow. I must have looked confused. "You have no idea how that feels, Bella." His voice was full of emotion, but he did not look at me, instead he kept staring at the arm I was brushing my fingers along. He took a deep breath.
"I'm going to have to learn how to...compose myself...when you touch me, Bella." I blushed, but my insides lit up. I had a feeling I would enjoy this practice a little more than I should. Edward continued in a sure voice.
"Which is why it is your turn now. I'll try not to move." I almost laughed; if anyone could stay completely still, it was Edward. But I understood what he meant. "If it gets too much, please don't be offended if I stop you. I'm going to try not to pull away, but I'll appreciate if you take things slowly." I nodded. I could do that. Slowly, for Edward.
Though it was easy in theory, I really did not know how to start. To be honest, there wasn't much of his skin exposed; his white shirt was rolled up to his elbows, but that was about it. So I started running my fingers along his other forearm. His eyes closed again, his face relaxing. This was nothing new, and I could tell he had perfect control over himself. I reached my hand down to stoke his face. Once. Twice. Then a third time before letting my fingers trail along his strong jaw line. Carefully, I moved his arms so I could lie down gently at his side, turning to face him.
I kissed him softly on the cheek, brushing my lips along his cheekbone, kissing him again very lightly on his eyelid. I felt it twitch underneath my lips. After a few seconds of hesitation, his eyes didn't opened, so I continued kissing along his jaw, down the side of his neck, eventually reaching his collarbone. I wrapped my hands around his neck, pressing my lips delicately along his clavicle, leaving one final kiss in the hollow of his throat. I covered every piece of exposed skin around his neck in faint kisses, my hands brushing along his neck, his cheeks and occasionally, his lips. After a few minutes, I had run out of new skin to kiss. Edward seemed to notice this to. I wrapped my hand around his shirt, just above the first fastened button. Edward nodded, before laying his head back and closing his eyes again.
I slowly undid the first button, my head flashing back and forth between Edwards face and his newly exposed skin. He looked like he was concentrating on keeping in control, taking deep, unnecessary breaths, but other than that, he didn't show any resistance. I kissed all the way down from where the first button had been to the second one, looking up each time to check Edward's reaction. As I pressed my lips to the middle of his sternum, a shudder delicately shook his body. My lips froze, pulling away reluctantly from his marble skin.
"Sorry," he whispered. He opened his eyes when I didn't continue. Though I wanted more than anything to just rip the shirt from his body, I knew it would be a lot harder for him to control himself if I attacked him like that. He took in my paused position.
"No, really, its okay," he tried to lighten his tone, "Please, continue." I pressed my lip against the middle of his sternum again, curious. The same shudder rippled through his body, though he tried to control it this time, more expectant. I smiled, curious. It seemed like a reflex reaction, though I didn't know exactly what type of reflex it was. Edward saw my curiosity and answered, sounding a bit self-conscious.
"I'm perfectly fine," he muttered, "It's just...well that feels...good. Very good actually." He stumbled over his words slightly, not sure of how I would take them. I sighed. He probably still expected me to be scared, or afraid of his natural reflexes. However, I couldn't help but smile. I knew how it felt whenever Edward touched me, my skin burning whenever his fingers or his lips trailed along it. I'd never really expected Edward to like my touch, let alone enjoy it. I couldn't describe my feelings every time his body would shiver under my skin.
Once I had covered every new inch of his skin, my fingers hesitated over the next button. I was nervous. Did his nod before cover all the buttons, or just the first one? Would this be too much? I moved my hand away. Yes, it probably would be too much for Edward. So it surprised me when I felt his hand catch mine carefully, guiding it back to the next button. Edward spoke before I could.
"I'm in control. If I wasn't, you would have at least had me out of that shirt by now," he said playfully, though I could tell he was serious. About the first part, at least. I blushed. It probably wouldn't be helpful for me to start thinking about his shirt being completely off. At least not just yet. I unbuttoned the next widely spaced button in his shirt, exposing the first of his perfectly sculpted abs. I couldn't help but run my fingers over the muscles, watching as they contracted, then relaxed under my touch. Everything about Edward was so intriguing, let alone absolutely perfect.
I couldn't resist opening the next button, then the button after that, until finally I reached the last button. I could feel Edward's eyes staring at me. I took a deep breath; turning to look at him, expecting to see that look on his face that says we have gone too far, let's stop. Instead his face was playful, relaxed, even. Slowly, he pulled us into a sitting position. I watched as he gracefully twisted out of his shirt at a pace slower than most human movements, finally discarding it off the edge of my bed.
It took all my strength not to stare, ogling. I could see all the perfection of his upper body; his ideally sculpted chest, the gentle ripples of abdominal muscles on his stomach, his muscles biceps...It was hard to look away when you had someone so obviously beyond human right beside you. I knew he could see my stare, but it was too hard to look away. Though I had seen him without a shirt when we were in Italy, I had bigger worries on my mind which had prevented me from allowing the image to fill my mind. Now it had no problem consuming all my thoughts.
Edward lifted me onto his lap, turning me so I could lay the side of my head against his chest. We both shivered slightly as our skin came in contact, adjusting to the others temperature. He wrapped his arms around my body in a very human gesture, leaning his head on top of mine. I sighed, letting my fingers trail up and down his stomach, running around the outlines of his stomach muscles. I let out a shiver as his cool lips pressed to my hair. Though the shiver was out of pleasure, I did realise that I was getting rather cold against his body. Even though I had no problem with the cold, he still pulled our bodies apart, laying me back on the mattress, wrapping my sheet around me. Though I hadn't noticed it, my body was just about ready to collapse asleep. Edward reached off the bed to grab his shirt.
"No!" I almost yelled, listening for Charlie's snoring in the other room. Edward had stopped, a smile on his face, listening for Charlie as well. We both breathed in relief as his snoring picked up again. I turned my attention back to Edward, his shirt held teasingly in his hand, an eyebrow raised. I could tell he found my outburst amusing.
"Can't you leave that?" I practically begged. My pleading voice was embarrassing. Edward smiled, teasing me again.
"Will you promise to go to sleep if I leave it off?" he said in an alluring voice. Right now I would do anything for him to not put his shirt back on, especially as it had taken long enough to get him out of it. I nodded, reaching up to grab his arm to pull him down beside me. He didn't move, enjoying himself too much, using my weakness to bribe me.
"And will you complain about being wrapped in that blanket?" I shook my head roughly. Edward smiled his dazzling grin, finally dropping the shirt on the floor and lying down next to me. I curled up to him at once, leaning my head against his shoulder, and my arm across him stomach. He didn't object, instead he wrapped him arm around my waist, kissing my forehead. I closed my eyes just a he started humming my lullaby.
I fell into a deep sleep, leaving it up to my imagination to determine what we could practice tomorrow...
As I said, I will update this whenever an idea comes to me, and this time it happened to come to me very fast. I don't know how long it will be until my next update, but at the rate things are going, it will probably be pretty soon.