A/N: Well if you have kept reading up to now, you know that this story is a bit OOC. It borders on humor, with a lemon zeal for flavor. I hope everyone is liking it. Please feel free to let me know what you think! This is not my usual type of story, so please don't hate me for it.
Disclaimer: All characters are owned By S.M. I am just lucky enough to be able to manipulate them the way I wish in my warped little mind!
Dedication: This story is dedicated to HeartOfDarkess. Girl, you are a big part of what has kept me going
Warning!!! This story will contain lemons as it continues!
Chapter 3
Staking a claim
Edward's pov.
I made it to class without a moment to spare, skirting around the back of the room to get to my desk as Mr. Banner wrote on the board, detailing the topic for today's biology class. I was impatient to get to my seat quickly, before he could notice that I was late, but I didn't want to move too fast and make anyone suspicious of what I truly was. I was looking at me feet as I made my way around the room and I was just rounding the last corner when the intoxicating aroma of strawberries, vanilla and freesia once again assaulted me.
I actually stumbled as I neared my desk, trying to look around the class to pinpoint Bella's location as I grasped for my seat. I didn't see her, but I smelled her …….everywhere. I caught myself from falling by putting my hand out on my desk to steady myself, not that I needed to, my vampire reflexes would have caught me, but this seemed more natural a response for a human.
I scanned the far side of the room for the goddess I had seen during lunch, but before I was able to see her, I felt a soft breath brush past my ear and a soft liquid honey voice whispered, "Are you alright?" I turned realizing that while I sought her out, trying to sort my befuddled senses, that she was sitting in the only un-occupied seat in the class, the seat beside mine.
I raised my eyes to meet hers, feeling as if I could drown in the depths of them , an impossible feat for a vampire who does not need to breath, but the way I felt never-the-less. Her eyes looked worried, and she held her lower lip prisoner as she bit on it with her teeth, this simple action putting me instantly in the same awkward position as before. Thankfully I was able to slip into my seat, my books on my lap as I pretended to organize myself while hiding my bulging pants.
I couldn't take my eyes off her, and she blushed under my scrutiny. The coloring of her skin from her embarrassment making her even more alluring, if that was possible. She brushed her hair back behind her ear, and I envied the way her fingers slipped along her silky, mahogany tresses. A single strand slipped back out and I couldn't help but push it back with my own hand, tucking the wayward curl behind the creamy shell of her ear.
Her eyes looked at me, wide with…confusion? Attraction? What was she thinking? I had never wished to be able to read someone's mind, in fact I had often prayed for the opposite, but I found myself wishing now. I glanced at the teacher, and found him droning on about dominant and recessive traits, and how we could pin point certain traits we had to particular parents based on which sort of trait they were.
I tuned out the teacher, knowing all of this already, and turned my focus back to Bella. She held her hand out to me as she spoke softly. "Hi. My name is Bella Swan." Without even thinking I took her delicate hand in my own, reveling in the feeling on her warm skin against my own. "My name is Edward… Edward Cullen." I responded just as softly.
She smiled at me, flashing me a glimpse of a soft smile. "Edward…. Edward." She repeated slowly. I loved the way my name rolled off her tongue, it was like the most potent drug ever invented. I looked at her watching her face as her brow wrinkled in thought. "What was she thinking , I pondered again, wishing once more that I knew.
"Edward?" She said once more, this time in a more questioning tone. "Yes… Bella." I replied softly, savoring the way her named sounded on my lips. "Edward…your hands are really cold." She said looking at me intently.
Crap! I thought, quickly pulling my hand out of her grasp. Why hadn't I remembered that she would notice how cold my hands were? I searched my thoughts for an appropriate response but before I could, she spoke up once more. "Is it true what they say?" She asked quietly. What do they say? Who are they? I wondered, not sure how to respond. I knew it would be rude not to speak so I asked her, "Is what true?"
"That people with cold hands, have warm hearts?" She answered breathlessly. I grasped at the idea, I needed to be able to be near her, so I responded unabashedly. "I don't know… you'll have to tell me." I said grinning back at her. Her face flamed red, and she ducked her face once more.
I was distracted for a moment by some screaming thoughts in the room.
What the Heck! Why the heck is she touching Edward's hand? He is my man! I should have pushed her down some stairs instead of giving her the wrong directions to get to the cafeteria. it would have been believable if I said she fell, the girl can hardly walk! She better stay away from him because he is mine, even if he hasn't figured it out yet.
It appears Jessica Stanley had a crueler streak then I had realized, but her thoughts were not the only ones that stood out in the room.
What a perfect piece of ass. I am going to have to ask her out on a date after school. I will be the king of the locker room if I get a chance to work that over.
That Newton boy had a death wish, it seemed, thinking of this beautiful woman that way, but he gave me an idea. If I asked Bella out before anyone else, and treated her like a queen, then maybe she would be mine. I sucked in my breath at the thought of her. Bella…. being…. mine.
I was a vampire…wasn't I? I had powers of persuasion at my disposal, but I had never wanted anything like I had wanted this woman…she had ensnared me, woven her spell around all of my senses, and I wanted to see where it could lead me.
I took a deep breath and looked at her, she had gotten out her binder, and was dutifully taking notes on what traits were controlled by which dominant genes. I slipped out a piece of paper, not wanting to speak up since I could see Mr. Banner eyeing the class intently, making sure we were taking notes, so instead I pretended to write what was on the board while I actually wrote Bella note. I wasn't sure what to write, as I had never done this before, but random thoughts from the males in the class drove me on, as they debated when they would ask her themselves.
I had to move fast, before anyone else could, so I wrote whatever came to mind.
Bella,
I know that it is your first day here, and as a student who just started a few months ago I remember how difficult and awkward it can be not knowing anyone. It would be my pleasure to have your company tonight, to show you the town, and the sights. Would you be my date? I would be honored if you would accept my request.
Yours Truly,
Edward Cullen.
I folded the note intricately into an origami swan, a symbol of her last name, and a way to be original. I slid it over to her across the desk to her, and whispered for her to open it. Her eyes met mine in a questioning glance and she gently picked up the elaborate paper swan, running her fingers over its delicately folded surface, almost as if caressing it.
I watched, not breathing as she folded back the paper to reveal the note hidden inside. I heard her heart rate pick up, and I was floored to smell even more of her potent perfume flood into the air around us. I gazed at her wordlessly, waiting for her answer to my request. She leaned forward, her hair falling over her shoulder as she bent over the note, her hand poised to respond. I was unable to read what she was writing due to the veil of silky hair that separated me from seeing.
I didn't move, didn't breath, didn't exist even, in the moments it took her to respond. I was in limbo. Would she want to be with me? Was it right for me to want her to be with me? I wasn't even human…. And yet as I pondered it, I realized I didn't care. I wanted her. I had never wanted anything in my life up to now, and I wanted this, this with her. If I could have it, everything else be damned.
She abruptly swept back her hair, looking at me with those soulful brown eyes, gauging me. Her expression was uncertain, and yet shy as she looked at me and handed me back the paper swan.
I held it in my hands, looking at it, unsure if I should open it and read it, or if I was too afraid to. What if she said no? Could an already dead man die? For I felt that I might if she had said no. I held it up debating what to do, and I looked at her trying to read her face, but she had allowed her hair to fall between us once more, giving me no clues.
I slowly folded back the swans head, then its wings, piece by piece, fold by fold, transforming the swan back into the original piece of paper that it had been. I looked pass my tilted scrawl to see her response beneath, and I actually think my heart let out a single resounding thump at what I saw there.
Edward,
I would love to.
Bella
Simple, straight forward, and life altering in its simplicity. She had just changed my world. She had just made me realize that I could be so much more than I was. And as the now almost familiar sensation throbbed in my groin as it had done almost every moment I was near her, I realized one thing more. I was going to need Jasper's help if I was going to be able to walk out of this classroom after this class was over.
