Chapter 8

Connect the Dots

-Edward-

My feet are moving faster than I thought was humanly possible. Every thought I had went flying out of my mind, left behind as my feet raced faster and faster with each step. The only thought I had was all consuming. I must get to her. I must reach her. I must save her. The scene was playing out in slow motion. Bella slipping on a patch of ice, turning and twisting her ankle again. Slowly crumpling down to the icy pavement, a look of sharp pain registering on her face as she reached for her ankle. The car speeding forward over a slick patch of black ice. I bet the driver can't even see her. But she can see him. Her brown eyes grow wide as the car skids closer to her. She doesn't scream or even make a sound. She doesn't attempt to get out of the way. She is frozen in place like a deer in headlights. I watch as her eyes resign to her fate. They don't reflect any sadness or sorrow. They don't plead for just a few more seconds. She simple releases a heavy sigh and accepts the fate of death. She may have accepted it. But I refuse to. I refuse to idly sit by and watch her die. I will reach her. I will save her.

I try to call out for her but I find my voice is lost. Not that calling her name would do any good if she's already checked herself out. All of my energy is being channeled into running towards her. She closes her eyes and puts on a brave face as the wind whips through her hair, sending it billowing around her. In that moment she looks like an angel; peaceful and serene, the hint of a smile playing on her face as she waits for her life to flash before her eyes. As I am just inches from her, I brace myself for the impact. It looks to be inevitable. I can try to save her but at what cost? My life too? That's a risk I am willing to take. There is something about Bella that draws me to her. That makes me feel the need to protect her. I am so close to Bella that I can feel the heat radiating off of her skin. Her sweet scent is enveloping me. Her long hair is brushing against my skin as it blows wild and free in the wind. And the car is so close I can hear the music playing from its stereo. I can see the white of the driver's eyes, wide with panic.

I feel my body slam into Bella's small frame hard, both of us tumbling and crashing to the icy pavement beneath us. Bella's head hits with a loud thud. A cold blast of air hits us as the car whizzes past, leaving us behind safely on the sidewalk. I finally release the breath I wasn't aware I was holding and let my body relax. Bella's body is warm but still beneath mine. My hands reach up to her face, my thumbs gently caressing her cheeks. "Bella," I call to her but get no response. "Bella," I try again, beginning to panic. There are so many things that could have happened to her. That could have hurt her. She could have passed out from shock. She could have hit her head hard enough for her to pass out. I could have done some serious damage just by trying to save her life. That doesn't seem fair. I was just trying to help. "Bella, if you can hear me please open your eyes," I plead.

"Is it over?" she questions softly, peaking one eye open a little.

My hands stay on the sides of her face, protectively cradling her head. I lower my head, my forehead resting against hers. Our breathing comes in heavy pants as we stare into each other's eyes.

-Bella-

"Are you alright, Bella?" He looks into my eyes, studying everything about me. "Be careful. Try not to move too much you could have some injuries that the shock is masking. I'm sure you have a concussion. You hit your head pretty hard. Does anything hurt?"

"Everything," I respond. His brow knits together in confusion and worry. "You're kind of crushing me."

He shifts his weight but doesn't stop hovering over me. "Better?" he asks softly.

"Yes, thank you," I respond. "For moving and for saving me." I can't tear my eyes away from his.

"Bella, are you alright?" he asks me again. "I think you could have a concussion from the fall. Possibly shock. And it looked like you twisted your ankle pretty badly. A sprain maybe, or a break. We'll get you to a hospital. My father can look you over and decide."

I can't help but roll my eyes. Been there. Done that. "Ooh, the doctor's son using some big fancy words on me. It's fine. I'm fine. My head's fine. Everything is fine. Thank you for your concern. It's very… touching." My eyes travel down to his hand that is gently resting on my breast. I'm sure that he was completely unaware of it until I pointed it out. He quickly moves his hand away. "I just tweaked my ankle a little. It will be all better by morning. And I'm fairly certain that I'm not in shock. People in shock are usually a little less coherent and don't usually make jokes. So I think I'm good. And I've had concussions before. I know what it feels like. This is not it."

"Why does that not surprise me?" His mouth twists into his beautiful crooked smile. God, I hate it when he does that. Please make him stop.

I suck in my lower lip and gnaw on it. It's all I can do to keep myself from grabbing his face and sucking it off in the most passionate kiss of his life. I take a deep breath and try to distract myself by speaking. With my track record, I'm sure this will be bad. I have a chronic case of verbal diarrhea. "Have you ever noticed how every time you're put into these life endangering situations that-"

Edward has cut off my train of thought with his melodically seductive laughter. "No. I have never noticed anything about life endangering situations because unlike you, I can avoid them. This is my first."

"Oh, a disaster virgin. So glad that I could be the one there for it."

"No one better to show me the ropes than you," Edward rolls his eyes as he speaks. "Because no one gets their life put in danger as much as you, Bella."

I dramatically roll my eyes. "It's not that bad. It's only the first time you've saved my life."

"But I'm sure it won't be my last."

I choose to ignore him and continue my story. Again, why can't I stop this diarrhea of the mouth? "You didn't notice that as we hovered precariously close to death just a few short moments ago how much it makes you want…" I suck in a sharp breath. I was not about to admit how much I wanted to sex him right then and there. Yes, this is why I should wear a muzzle. Let's try again. "Your heart is racing. Your adrenaline is surging through your veins. It makes you want… It makes you feel like…" Why can't I just stop? Can I please contract some strange disease to render my mouth paralyzed? "You just want to rip off all your clothes, grab the person closest to you, regardless of who it is and without caring about where or who's watching or anything for that matter, and just go at it like two…" That is where I must stop myself. I suck in a sharp breath and bite my tongue. Literally. I have to actually bite my tongue to keep myself from speaking.

-Edward-

I arch an eyebrow. It all makes sense now. "Bunnies?" I suggest. I watch her cheeks flush to a deep shade of crimson. It's adorable how she can do that. Bella can go from being perfectly comfortable admitting as she undresses you, how she is using you just for sex. But the moment that I imply she was thinking about having sex, she blushes. I guess she can dish it out but she can't take it.

"Something like that," she says.

If it's sex the girl wants, it's sex the girl will get. "I think that can be arranged," I say, unable to hold it back anymore. I smirk, happy that I am finally going to get the girl. It only took us both nearly dying to get it. But considering we didn't, it was all worth it. I lower my face down to hers. But before I can make contact with her luscious lips she turns her head away. "What is this?" I groan, "Pretty Woman?"

"Huh?" Bella's head snaps back to look at me.

"Pretty Woman. Romantic Comedy. Julia Roberts. Richard Gere."

"Never seen it."

What woman hasn't seen it? I've been forced by every single girl I've ever dated to watch it with them. "She's a prostitute with-"

Bella draws her eyebrows together and her beautiful brown eyes flash with anger. "You're comparing me to a prostitute?"

"Yes. No." I shake my head. Why does Bella have to do this to me? Every time I think I'm getting somewhere with her she puts the brakes on. "No," I say adamantly. "You've really have never seen this movie?"

"No," she admits, shaking her head.

"Well, she is a prostitute with a heart of gold. And Richard Gere's character hires her and in the end… well, I won't ruin it for you. But she doesn't kiss on the mouth. That's what made me think of it," I explain. "You turned your head away when I tried to kiss you. You admitted you wanted to have sex with me but then you turned your head away."

"I pushed you away because we are not going to have sex. Regardless of whether I want to or not." Her cheeks redden with a blush. "What I mean to say is, I can't have sex with you. What's the point of having this bet if you just get your pay off anyway?"

"Then I guess I'll just have to change what I want," I suggest.

She bites her lip and seems to be considering it. "You can change it to whatever you want. But you're still not going to get to have sex with me," she says with a smile. And even if that's what she said, I know that's not what she means. Her cheeks blush and she can't look me in the eyes anymore. She is probably thinking about having sex with me right now. "Can we get up now?" she asks. "It's really cold and pretty wet," she changes the subject.

I pop up and offer her my hand, helping her up to her feet. "Say what you want," I shrug as I speak, changing the subject right back. "But by the end of the night I can guarantee that I will have gotten you off." I smirk. Assward was getting somewhere with her before. He just needs to be persistent.

She snorts softly as she laughs. "Are you kidding me? We're leaving right now. The only thing you will be getting me is home."

"You're crazy. We almost just died." I brush the snow and slush from my pants. "I'm not driving all the way back to Forks. One near death experience is good enough for me tonight."

"Then what the hell are we going to do?" she shouts at me. "What the hell am I going to do?"

"There is a hotel just down the street. My treat."

She growls as we start to walk to my car. "I hope your treat is that we'll be in separate rooms."

"Now where would the fun be in that?" I smirk and wrap my arm around her waist. She may have said that her ankle was fine but I can tell from her hobbling that it isn't. "We'll rent Pretty Woman so you don't have to be the only girl that hasn't seen it. We'll sleep and then we'll go home in the morning."

"What am I supposed to sleep in? Not this dress. Especially since it's all wet and gross," she whines, looking down at her ruined dress. "Alice is going to kill me."

"She'll forgive you. A ruined dress is better than being dead," I explain. "And who said you had to sleep in anything? I prefer to sleep in the nude anyway. It's very refreshing."

"You will be sleeping in clothes," she informs me. "And so will I. In separate beds. Opposite sides of the room."

I smirk. "You'll change your mind."

"No, I won't," she snaps. And that is how we spend our drive to the hotel, bickering like an old married couple. And now she is insisting on arguing with the hotel concierge. "That is unacceptable," she says, shaking her head adamantly.

"I'm sorry, miss. But that is the only room we have available. I've checked three times. The hotel is all booked up because of the storm. It's the honeymoon suite or nothing."

"We'll take it," I butt in, handing the woman my credit card.

"Like hell we will!" Bella shouts. "In case you've forgotten, we're not married. We hardly even like each other," she angrily whispers to me.

The woman behind the desk hesitates. I shake my head. "We've had a very long evening, haven't we dear?" I ask wrapping my arm around Bella and flash my best smile to the woman. "You see, my girlfriend and I were almost hit by a car on our way home. We're very shaken up and would like a room for the night to calm down."

"I hate you," Bella angrily growls in my ear.

"Love you too, sweetie." I push my luck and kiss her on the top of the head.

The woman silently processes our transaction and hands us our card keys. "Enjoy your stay."

Bella snickers, "Hardly."

"Of course we will," I say. "Thank you."

-Bella-

When we get to the room I stand in the middle and stare in awe. The room is huge. There is an extra large Jacuzzi in the middle of the room shaped like a heart. A gigantic king sized bed beside it. A large TV. A fully stocked mini bar complete with a complimentary bottle of champagne. But it is missing a few very important things. There is no second bed, although I guess that is to be expected from the honeymoon suite. But there is also no couch. Just one huge bed for the two of us. "You're sleeping on the floor," I insist.

"I paid for the room. If anyone is sleeping on the floor, it's you," he counters. "It's a big bed, you'll hardly even notice me in there."

"Of course I'll notice, I hate you." That's a lie. I would like nothing more than to share this bed with you. And also have sex with you. Repeatedly. All night long. And probably in the morning too. And that's why I can't be in the same bed as you. I can't trust myself. As much as I really want to do all of those things. I can't. I can't let you win and have that satisfaction.

"We can sleep at opposite ends," he suggests.

"Gross," I groan. "So I can have your stinky feet in my face all night. I'll pass." Our argument is put on hold now for a staring contest. More like an angry glaring contest. He looks extra yummy when he is angry.

I end the contest so I can call Charlie and tell him I'm not coming home. He commends me for making such a responsible decision. He tells me that the roads are horrible and he's lost count on how many accidents he's had to respond to. I leave off the part where I almost got hit by a car and died. I also left off the part where I told him I wasn't actually out with Alice but her brother instead. Her absolutely perfect brother that I want nothing more than to fuck his brains out. While I am talking to Charlie, Edward calls his family. When we're both done, we resume staring at each other. "What do we do now?"

He sighs and steps towards me. "We get you out of this dress," he says, slipping his jacket off my shoulders.

"Excuse me?" I pull away from him.

"Like you said, you aren't sleeping in this dress."

"And like I also said, I'm not sleeping naked. And neither are you."

He rolls his eyes and laughs at me. "No one is going to be naked. I'll loan you my shirt for the night."

Is he actually being polite? He must be up to something. "What about bottoms?"

"I've seen you without pants before," he reminds me with a smirk. He takes off his button up and throws it at me. "And if for some reason you decide you do need some I guess I'll just go commando and lend you my boxers." He reaches for his belt buckle and I stop him.

"I think this will be fine," I say and hobble into the bathroom to change. My ankle is throbbing. I kick off my shoes and look at my ankle; it's a little swollen. Probably a sprain. I quickly change and walk out to find him sitting on the bed in nothing but his boxers. His body is just as perfect as his face. I think I might be drooling a little.

He sees me and lies flat on his stomach and pats the bed beside him. "I ordered us a movie. I figured we needed something to relax before going to sleep."

"The Jacuzzi would be relaxing too."

Edward raises an eyebrow. "A bath in the middle of the room?"

"Or a shower," I change my mind only after I envision me and Edward together in the Jacuzzi. "Not together of course. That would be awkward. You could go first and then I'd go…" my verbal diarrhea is back with a vengeance.

Edward laughs at me and again pats the bed. "Let's just enjoy the movie."

I hop over to the bed using my good ankle and slowly lie down beside him. A movie is a bad idea. We've already done one movie together today and I barely made it through. Now he expects me to resist his inexplicable charms when we're both lying in bed half-naked. This is going to be bad.

I stare at the TV waiting for the movie to begin. But Edward chooses to stall. "Bella, you look really tense," Edward says as he looks at me.

"Yeah," I nod. "Almost dying will do that to a person."

He smirks and sits up. "I think I can help," he says, placing his hands on my lower back. His fingers send a sharp chill through my entire body.

"What are you doing?" My voice is small and husky. I take a deep breath and try to forget all about Edward's hands on me. I won't give in to him that easily.

"I've been told that I give a very good massage. And you look like you could use it."

"I'm fine," I say, but my voice is so small I don't think he can hear it.

"Just relax, Bella," he says, his hands sliding up my back under the shirt he provided.

"Okay," I give in as his hands work some kind of magic on me. Every ounce of worry slips away with each delicate touch of his fingers. He is very good at this. A small moan escapes me and I hear him chuckle slightly. If he wasn't so good at this, I would yell at him and make him stop. But I am enjoying this very much. His fingers work out the knots in my shoulders and neck. All the stress of the day is withering away.

I can even feel heat and moisture begin to collect between my legs. He is almost too good at this. I stifle another moan by burying my head in the mattress. His hands and fingers keep working on me and I am finding it difficult to breathe. With each passing second I am panting more and more. I am almost unable to keep myself quite. A few groans and hisses escaping me. If anyone were to pass our room they would swear we were having sex in here.

I bite down on the mattress to keep another moan at bay. The heat between my legs is almost unbearable. I would almost swear that this feels like… No. It's not possible. Is it?

His fingers find their way to a very dangerous spot as he massages my neck. I involuntarily arch my back as a sharp chill runs up my spine. How does this guy know all of my weaknesses? It's so not fair.

Every muscle in my body tenses. This seriously can't be happening. I grab two fistfuls of the bed sheet and clench it hard in my hands. I close my eyes tightly, biting down hard on the mattress and hope that it silences the guttural moan that I couldn't hold back.

Wow. I guess it is possible.

-Edward-

It's like a game. A very fun game that ends in sex every time. First, have a pleasant date together. Save her life (not required, it's just an added bonus that will make the sex even better). Get us the best hotel room possible. Get her into something much more comfortable. Get her into the mood. Get your hands on her. And all you have to do is connect the dots. Once you accomplish all of that, the sex will come easy. I've connected all the dots, now I'm just waiting for her to move us to the next level.

Bella's body is like putty under my expert hands. It didn't take long for her to agree to this. It is a fool proof plan. In school I took a class in massotherapy and it has more than paid for itself. I have been told that I give the best back massages, and from the sounds that Bella is making, she agrees. So all is going according to plan. No woman has ever been able to turn me down after this. My fingers gently kneading their backs always gets them in the mood. And Bella seems to be no different. She will be begging for me to fuck her in no time. I just had to keep this going until she did. My hands slide up and down her back skillfully, the shirt she's wearing hiking up with each stroke. Her ass is completely exposed. No wonder she was so worried about getting bottoms. Her bottoms couldn't really be considered as underwear. It was just a small scrap of navy fabric. I let my fingers travel farther down her back and gently give her cheeks a squeeze. She doesn't seem to notice. So I do it once more. This gets another small moan out of her. It won't be long now before she is begging for my fingers to be working the rest of her body.

I can feel myself growing hard with each muffled moan that escapes from her. It's very difficult for me to concentrate on this massage when all I can think about is finally getting to fuck Bella. If her soft moaning from a massage is having this kind of effect on me, what will having sex with her be like? "Edward," she moans softly.

"Do you want me to stop?" I ask, holding my fingers still. Tease her a little, make her want you more.

"No," she growls. "Keep going." Good sign. "You're doing a very good job." Her voice is husky and filled with passion that she is trying to keep at bay by biting the mattress. I don't know why she's fighting me so hard. It sounds like she wants it just as much as I do. I adjust myself so I am straddling her back, giving me easier access to her body. She seems to like it as another muffled sound makes it past her lips. I decide to press my luck and see if it gets me anywhere. As my fingers continue to work, I lean down and place a soft kiss on the back of her neck. Her body goes rigid under me. I press my luck by sinking my teeth into the nape of her neck and she still does not protest. If anything I get an even better reaction from her. Even her toes curl as she releases a heavy latent breath. She quickly rolls over and stares at me panting heavily. Her cheeks are flushed and she attempts to adjust her shirt and pull it down to cover herself but my hips and more importantly my erection are blocking her.

"How was it?" I arch a brow.

Her cheeks flush even more and she looks away from me. "Life changing," she explains.

"Did that help relax you?" I ask, still wondering why she isn't trying to rip my clothes off. This plan was foolproof. The massage has never failed before. She stares at be blankly for a moment before nodding her head. "It sounded like you were enjoying yourself."

Her cheeks blush bright red again. "You were good." Then why aren't we having sex? We're supposed to be having sex. "Very relaxing," she says as she nods. I guess I'm going to have to initiate something this time. I lean down ready to kiss her but she turns her head away from me again. "We're not going to have sex, Edward."

I sit straight up and stare at her. "What?"

"I'm not going to have sex with you," she says again.

"But…"

"But nothing," she rolls her eyes. "I've been telling you this since we met practically. We're not having sex. I think I'm just going to sleep."

"Sleep?" I question. "But I ordered us a movie."

"Probably porn," she sighs. "It's not going to help you have sex with me."

"It's not porn," I defend. "But if you're interested in porn I'm sure we could make one. I'm open to the idea. We'd have to get a camera so it couldn't be tonight. But we could just practice." I arch an eyebrow with suggestion. "I did promise to get you off tonight."

Bella rolls her eyes at me and laughs uncontrollably. "I'm not watching porn with you. I'm not making porn with you. And instead of getting me off, how about you just get off of me?" she suggests, pushing on my bare chest.

That is not how the night is supposed to go. Bella seems to be impervious to my charms. Every one of my moves has failed. I even tried to follow Alice's suggestions. "Really?"

"Yeah, really." Bella pushes me again. "Sorry to disappoint you. No. Actually, I'm not sorry at all. I told you this was going to happen. I don't know why you got your hopes up," she says with a shrug. "I really don't know why you got your dick up because you really should have seen that one coming." I roll off of her and place a pillow in my lap. "I'm going to go to sleep. And you can take a cold shower to help with your little problem," she says, sinking into the bed and closing her eyes.

"You're staying in the bed?" I ask, hoping that she'll spontaneously change her mind if I just give her a little more time.

"Where else would I go?" she asks with a content sigh.

"I'm not giving up the bed," I remind her.

"That's fine," she says through a yawn. I guess that's at least some progress. We will technically sleep together so it's not a total loss. I just don't get to have sex. So it's just a really big loss. I really thought the back rub would have sealed the deal for us. She was certainly enjoying herself. "Goodnight, Edward."

"Goodnight, Bella." I smile at her and place a kiss on her forehead. She doesn't protest. I'm slowly wearing her down. Maybe I'll have better luck in the morning. I release a heavy sigh and make my way to the bathroom to release something else.