CHAPTER 9
Edward POV
"E, I have a surprise for you," Bella had teased just fifteen minutes earlier, when she'd called to let me know that she and Alice would be arriving soon and for me "to be prepared." Every time she used those words together, my dick jumped to attention.
She'd been gone for a week, having driven with Alice to Forks to pick up a few family heirlooms to put in the house. It was finally complete, the last paintbrush put to all the rooms, the final glitch resolved. And, she'd had this bright idea to travel to Washington State to pick up the stuff she and Alice had saved from their childhood home, giving us a "week break."
"It's all about it being special. Our housewarming," she'd teased, fluttering her eyes at me seductively.
I'd been a whiney baby about her leaving me, but now, I could see her point. I was like a randy teenage boy, ready to get my hands on her. It would be our first time of making love in our completed house, and I was going to make it memorable. Having made our bed with new silk sheets and lit the candles around the room, I made sure that soft music filled the space around me, and that the champagne chilled in a bucket of ice. Then, just as she instructed, I waited for her to come through the bedroom door.
It couldn't be too soon. I wanted her!
As if my wishing made it happen, she appeared. I had little time to puzzle over the trench coat and heels she was wearing, because I stood up to lunge at her, eager to kiss her.
Holding her hand up, she wiggled her finger at me. "No! Sit there."
Yes ma'am! Both my dick and I responded.
A lot happened after that, but what I remembered through the strip tease she gave me was the sight of her in heels, the black teddy, her bright red lips and the healing tattoo she'd uncovered. It was a capital E, put into Superman's shield. And it was right over her heart, vibrant in blue and red against her pale flesh.
It was the sexiest fucking thing I'd ever seen.
Feathering my lips across it, I couldn't help but groan. "From the first moment I saw you, you've held my heart. I wanted you too much; I still do. You hold my salvation or destruction in the palm of your hand, Bella." I placed her hand in my hair, silently begging her to bury her fingers in it. She had no clue what it did to me to feel her fingers tugging at me. I brought her wrist to my lips, nibbling at the soft flesh there. "Tonight, I am going to drive any thought out of your head other than here and now. I plan to worship every inch of your body, making sure that you carry the memory of my love in every pore."
I heard her moan as I placed her hand above my rapidly beating heart and settled my lips against her throat. Feeling the vibrations of her body against mine, I felt myself grow harder.
"I need to calm the fuck down," I thought, borrowing Emmett's favorite statement to me.
There would be time for the hard and fast stuff later. I wanted to make love to her. My Bella! I lost a little control and snarled into her neck on instinct, knowing that the woman lying below me had chosen me, and that she'd made that clear with the ink she'd chosen. God I'd missed her—a week was too long to be apart.
"Yes, yours, and you are mine," she said softly, telling me I must have spoken out loud.
The whimper of need that escaped me would have sounded pathetic except for the fact that it let Bella know the amount of control she had over me. I could be a controlling bastard in bed, but Bella's pleasure was always my compass. Even with my quirks and craziness, she'd chosen me. I wanted to shout from the roof of our home that she was mine.
"I love you," I murmured gruffly against her throat, letting every emotion and thought I felt be prevalent in my tone.
My fingers pulled through the fine waves of her hair, anchoring her head to the silk of our bed. The deep brown and auburn strands caressed the skin of my fingers, and for a few moments, I relished the slide of it across my sensitive tips. Spreading her hair like a halo around the cherished features of her face, I marveled at her luminous skin before brushing my thumbs across her graceful cheekbones.
Her groan of pleasure pulled me to taste her, so I placed my lips over the right cheekbone and feathered kisses across the delicate structure. My path led to her ear, and I took an extraordinarily long time tracing the lobe before nibbling. A growl of pleasure erupted from me when she moved her hips under me, rubbing against my hardness.
"Angel…" I whispered, softly breathing across her slightly damp skin. She shuddered in reaction, her hand cinching in my hair. "God…you have no idea how much I love feeling you do that," I said, sliding my mouth and tongue along her chin. She attempted to lower her lips to mine, but I wanted to nibble at her other ear as well.
Softly brushing her hair away from the delicate skin just behind her ear, I sucked it gently into my mouth. Sliding my free hand across the silk of her negligee, I placed it so that my fingers lay across the swell of her breast, my fingertips just touching my tattoo. The thought had me growling in possessive need. She pushed her breasts against me in a silent plea, and I chuckled softly, not willing to move just yet.
"Patience, angel."
Running my tongue across her skin, I collected her taste, savoring it, allowing it to soak into the rough texture of my tongue. My hand clenched softly, and I quickly moved it behind her shoulder to pull her closer into my searching mouth. I used the greater access to bite softly at the strong muscles leading down to the soft line of her shoulder. She moaned at the feel of my teeth against her.
Too rough… I was being too rough. I broke away for a moment, panting, but she used the fingers laced into my hair to press my lips firmly against her again.
"Again, Edward…"
So I grazed my teeth along her collarbone, just hard enough to bring pleasure without marring her skin. The silk of her negligee kept me from going further.
"May I?" I asked, pulling back to look into her lust-filled eyes.
She followed the retreat of my body and sat up. I knew the revealing of her flesh, one small inch at a time, would be an incredibly erotic visual feast. Once again, I took a few moments to run my fingertips through her long hair, enjoying the slide of silk through them. Bringing a section to my nose to inhale the scent deeply, I committed it to memory and noticed the slight vibration of her body. Grabbing the mass of it, I wrapped the length around my fist several times and pulled her a little impatiently into me. Closing my eyes, I ran my fingertips across the delicate arch of her neck, causing goose bumps to rise along her skin. She hissed in impatience, and I moved my lips to murmur against the skin of her neck.
"Allow me my moments, Bella. Making love to you… I spent years dreaming of it… before I even knew it would be you. And now we are here, in our home… and you're mine… and God, I missed you."
She stilled, and I used the tip of my nose to trace the line of her hair against the creamy white skin, ending my exploration by placing a soft kiss just behind each earlobe. Gently placing the mane of her hair across her shoulder, I brought my slightly shaking hands to the straps that kept me from viewing the most alluring body I'd ever seen. Inches of glorious unblemished skin were only interrupted by the black silk she tortured me with. Using my hands to smooth along her shoulders, it fell down her arms, and she shifted subtly to allow it to slide across her hips.
"Edward, remove your shirt, please." What was I even wearing? I couldn't remember. She giggled softly, realizing just how distracted I'd been.
My shirt joined the inky blackness of her lingerie, and then she leaned gently into me, bringing our skin together in a decadent manner. Her head rested against my chest, and I used the tips of my fingers to caress the length of both of her arms, mesmerized by the slenderness. She finally grabbed my wandering hands, linking our fingers so that she could run her fingertips across the top. She seemed mesmerized by the play of bone and muscle.
A soft moan of contentment gathered between us as Bella connected our lips again. This time, she twisted her body and slowly pressed us to the bed. Her lips feathered over mine before she took my bottom lip into her mouth to suck at it. She nibbled lightly at the flesh before she pressed for me to open wider. Then, I had the exquisite pleasure of feeling her tongue brush over mine. We spent slow moments tasting each other, tongues exploring and then as the time passed becoming more aggressive.
She rose to straddle my body, and I was stunned at the beauty of her. When she threw her hair behind her shoulders, I was able to look on the expanse of creamy white skin, her high breasts, and my "E." As I gazed into her lust-laden eyes, I placed my hands at her waist and softly began the path upwards. My thumbs came to rest under the weight of her breasts, pressing them high into the air as I rubbed the soft skin underneath. Her nipples pebbled harder, and I could no longer deny my need. Sitting up to take one in my mouth, I rubbed the tip with my tongue. Bella screamed my name, and my hips ground into the heat above them. My arm wrapped around her back, pulling her into me as I stroked her other nipple with my thumb. I alternated between nibbling, licking, and sucking to tantalize them both. Attempting as much as possible to ignore the grinding of her wetness against me, I knew I was losing the battle.
"Edward… God… "
She tugged at my hair as she rotated into me, dragging herself across the length of my arousal.
"Gonna…"
I could feel it—she was about to explode, and so I bit slightly into the swell of her breast and grabbed her hip with one free hand to secure her tightly to me so that I thrust against her, sending her over the edge. A fresh wave of her scent wafted to me just before her body went rigid, and she drew a gasp of air. I brushed my hands along the strong muscles of her back, soothing her, until I felt her begin to shudder against me. She slumped slightly, laying her face on the top of my head.
"You are going to kill me," she muttered in satisfaction.
"Impossible, that is only the beginning," my husky voice replied. I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in her.
She groaned in need, putting her lips at my ear. "Really? What's stopping you?" she whispered in challenge.
I chuckled darkly. She found herself flipped to the bed below me. The plane of her abdomen caught my attention, and I placed my cheek to it, smoothing our skin against each other in an attempt to calm myself. The smell and heat of her hit me full force, and I was surprised she didn't cry out at the way I gripped her hips. I knew for a fact how intoxicated I would become from her taste, and after allowing a snarl to erupt from my chest, I began moving to the very core of her.
"Edward… I want… I want to taste you…"
"Later!" I growled, going all primordial male on her.
Her gasp as my lips hovered above her heated flesh excited me. "What do you want, Bella?"
She screamed a little in frustration at my ploy.
"Tell me!" I ordered, making sure that my hot breath blew over her.
She shifted, trying to find friction, but I stopped her, spreading her legs even further apart and looking down onto her pink, wet pussy. She was swollen and wet, and I moved to brush the tip of my nose up one side of her swollen lips, making sure to hit her clit in the process. When she clenched in need, I couldn't help the wolfish grin. She was so fucking perfect, and I couldn't wait to bury my dick into her. Instead, I tapped my fingertips on her clit, demanding an answer.
She bucked up harshly at the contact even as she screamed, "Your lips on me, your tongue on me."
I nipped her clit in payment, and then groaned in bliss when her fingers tangled through my hair holding me to her while she rocked her hips into my face. Wrapping my hands around to grab her ass, I secured her to me and dined; her taste was amazing. She was wet from her earlier orgasm, and I lapped at her, running my tongue through her folds and diving into her, mimicking what I fully intended to enjoy soon. When I swirled around her clit, she hissed in pleasure.
"Again, Edward… please," she moaned.
I did as ordered but flattened my tongue against her, knowing from the tension throbbing through her that it would be all that it would take. She shattered against me again, panting my name. I enjoyed the subtle fucking motion of her hips against my face.
Was three times enough for a welcome home warm up?
I moved my fingers to her wetness and smoothed across her, sliding into the scalding tightness of her body to delicately stretch her.
"Oh… my… God. Edward, I can't." She put her hands to the side of my face and pulled me to face her. I watched her eyes as I continued to pump inside of her slowly, stretching gently. Her face was still flush, her lips plump from where she had bitten at them.
"Yes, you can." I didn't leave it to question. "You left me… here all alone for a week. I fucking went crazy, Bella. Give it to me, now. You can do it."
"Edward," she growled, attempting to threaten me against what I wanted from her. But she was losing the test of wills. I could feel the next orgasm building already, her walls clenching against my fingers.
I smirked and enjoyed the sight of her losing the fight as passion flashed across her face, and her mouth slackened softly as I pushed slowly back into her swelling body again. Her face was a masterpiece as she prepared to orgasm. Her eyes were heavily hooded in desire, and she ran her tongue across her lips. Her hair fanned out around her in a riotous mess as she arched subtly into me. I ran my thumb across one of her nipples as I curved my other fingers inward and was enthralled by the soft shudders that followed as she twisted and arched against me again, hands grasping at my biceps forcefully, face frozen in the throes of release.
I enjoyed the feeling of her panting heavily against me, knowing that I had wrung every ounce of pleasure out of her. But Bella was Bella, and she was determined to give as good as she'd got.
After a few moments, she wrapped her arm around my shoulders and turned us to where she straddled me again, running her fingers across the structure of my face and then down my chest, lacing through the fine hairs there. She proceeded to nibble at my jaw, alternately sucking at my skin and licking across it. I was hard as a rock, and the feeling of her hands and lips across my skin set fire to my body, pressing me closer to losing what little control I had. I enjoyed, though, the play of interest across her face as her eyes followed the pathways she took in her exploration. Finally, she moved lower to unbutton my pants and run her hand across my abdomen. I watched her hungry eyes watch the inches of my flesh appear as she pulled my pants and boxers slowly down my legs.
"You're beautiful," she whispered softly, brushing her fingertips up and down my length.
"I'm not certain a thoroughly aroused male body is considered beautiful, Bella," I choked out.
"Yours is."
I leaned up and connected our lips, bringing her body against mine, growling when her breasts touched my chest and her heated sex settled against my erection. "I can't last much longer…"
"GOOD!" she groaned against my lips. "Make love to me."
I chuckled in pain at hearing those words. "I thought that is what I'd been doing."
Burying my hands in her hair, I let go, bringing her lips back to me. Plunging my tongue into her mouth, I demanded a reaction. Her hands moved across my ribs and stomach to wrap around me. My eyes rolled into the back of my head, and my mouth tore from hers as I uttered a curse.
"Edward Cullen!" she snickered as she brushed her hand up and down my length. I was incapable of responding.
Payback was hell – or, in this case, heaven.
Unintelligible sounds escaped my throat as a burn like fire spread through my bones and body, pulling at my abdomen. Her gentle caresses were torturous as they ghosted across me, and I was putty in her hands. Bella leaned down and started a passionate kiss as she continued to run her small hands across me. When she circled me and began to apply pressure, my hips moved against her, increasing the friction, and I broke the contact between our lips to growl out her name. It was exquisite torture, but I startled when she started kissing down my chest. As much as I lusted to feel her lips wrapped around me, I would explode if she touched me like that, and I wanted the first time this night to be inside her. I rolled us across the bed once more, ending up with our bodies perfectly aligned.
Looking down into her face, I was amazed at her beauty. My angel… the reason for my existence.
The tightness and wet heat of her threatened to break all my ability to focus and go slow, and I muffled my shout of ecstasy as she wrapped her legs around me and pulled my body fully into her. We both gasped at the feeling of completion, our eyes locked in looks of adoration. I was surrounded in heat—amazing, scalding, all-encompassing heat—nestled in the body that was as much home to me as the one we'd built together… the one we were celebrating.
"MINE!" I groaned, placing my lips gently to the "E" on her breast.
"Yes, mine."
Who moved next and started the beautiful symphony was a mystery. Bella wrapped her legs around my hips, bringing our bodies more flush against each other. The position allowed me to go further, and the slickness of her sex drove me crazy. I grasped her hips, angling her body more, and I drove deeper, faster, wilder against her. Miraculously, I felt her begin to swell again like a vise grip around me. "Fuck... fuck… fuck… not yet…" I muttered internally, enjoying the push and pull of her around me, wanting it to continue forever.
"Please, Edward!" she screamed, coming apart.
Everything in my body focused on the feel of her wrapped around me, seeing her head thrown back in abandoned, neck exposed—and I snapped. Exploding as I bit at her shoulder, I ground into her selfishly, rocking my hips back and forth to prolong the mind encompassing feeling of claiming her. I sank into delicious oblivion as I came hard into her, shuddering over and over again as I growled against her skin before collapsing on her.
Totally satiated and at peace, I finally found an ounce of energy and moved off her, hoping I hadn't crushed her. At my worried look, she smiled, running her hand across my chest before we repositioned into our favorite post-sex snuggle, her head on my chest, my fingers playing through her hair.
"Edward?"
"Hmmm…" I hummed, unable to even open my eyes. How she had the strength to lean up on her elbow and look down at me, I couldn't understand.
"I don't know what I would ever do if I lost you," she said in a suddenly serious voice.
At the sad sound of her voice, I found the strength to focus on her. "Bella, angel. I promise with every ounce of strength I have that nothing will ever come between us."
"Edward, you need to take a break and eat something," Esme said softly, placing a hand on my arm, pulling me from the memory of my and Bella's housewarming night.
Nodding to the paramedics that the woman I'd been working on was ready to go, I turned to my sister-in-law. I wanted to snap that I would eat when Bella did, but seeing the love in Esme's soft blue eyes, I bit my tongue. It was nearing midnight, and I couldn't remember when I'd eaten last. A sudden wave of dizziness hit me, and Esme took control, putting her arm through mine and leading me to the tent that had been set up for the rescuers.
A sudden hush fell over the group as she made me sit and handed me a bottle of water before turning away to "go fetch something" for me to eat. I was certain they all knew my story, and the hushed whispers I overheard as I bent over and put my head between my hands confirmed my suspicions.
"Working all day…"
"His girlfriend, her pregnant sister, and her husband…"
"Saved one of those kids, his brother and he…"
"Ms. Brewer said he held her hand while he cleaned her up."
"Found one of his friends, but the guy died…"
"Don't know if anyone is alive in the rubble…" the guy's hushed voice went softer, but then I heard "…they're bringing in the dogs."
Cadaver dogs…
NO! I thought snapping back up. They couldn't be turning it into a recovery mission so soon. They had to stay with search and rescue just a little longer! Yes, I'd acknowledged that less and less of those being brought in had needed my and Carlisle's medical care—more and more were being brought in body bags—but they hadn't been able to get the debris cleared yet. It'd only been six or seven hours since the storm hit. It was too soon.
I'd sworn nothing would ever separate us, and I wasn't going to let them stop until we were at the bottom of that pile. I stood to go, but several of the guys saw me and realized I'd overheard. One started to speak when Riley appeared at my side.
"Edward! Hold up!"
"NO! Get out of my way. I'll dig myself, Riley. If they are ready to give up on it, I'll do it."
There had been an influx of need doctors, nurses, and paramedics during the time I'd been working on the last woman, so they had enough resources now that my skills wouldn't be missed. My hands might be shaking too much to give medical care, but I was capable of digging.
Bella was buried under that pile of rubble, and the thought made me crazy. I couldn't stand to sit still one more minute, or patch up another person attempting to keep myself from imploding. My heart ached, like a huge hole was opening up inside. I was going to fall apart from the agony of not having Bella at my side, not being able to kiss her, not knowing if she were alive or dead, hurt or okay.
She was my everything… my everything. We were the two halves that made a whole. She taught me to laugh and play, while I provided her security. She pushed, and I pulled. She brought me out of my shell, and I settled her—made her feel "cherished and loved."
She was my all, my angel, my forever. And I couldn't go on without her. I wouldn't survive losing her.
"Edward, sit down," Carlisle ordered at my side, dropping a sandwich, apple and bottle of water on the table before me. It was then I realized I'd been pacing frantically, lost in my thoughts; I literally had to pull my hands from my hair, and I was guessing I looked like a crazed man. "You won't make it two feet into that rubble until you rest and refuel; so do that, then you and I'll go together." He straddled the bench and then swung forward to face the table himself, another identical meal in front of him.
Esme narrowed her eyes at me, letting me know I wouldn't win in this.
"But Carl—" I started.
"No buts. Sit your ass down, eat, and then we'll go!" He snarled, but I saw the unexpected tears in his eyes.
"Hey man," I looked to see several of the emergency workers standing unsurely to my side. "Hey, Ms. Brewer... she, um…was my teacher in grade school. Thanks for, uh, taking care of her. Finish your sandwich, and…" he looked to the others and they nodded "…when the fresh guys come in in about fifteen minutes, we'll stay with you. It's not like they're going to make us move. There are a ton of volunteers all over the place, so we can convince them to let you in." He shuffled under my stare. "Okay?"
I was stunned by their generosity. They had to be as tired as I was, and I was certain they had families to go home to. My home lay in ruins, and the fate of the woman I loved, Jasper and Alice were in question. But there was no reason for them to help me, other than the goodness of their hearts. I'd just been doing my job for their friend, it was that simple, really.
"Thank you." I didn't know what else to say, so it was just twenty minutes later that fueled with not one, but two sandwiches and a large cup of coffee, I gratefully accepted a set of gloves from David, the guy who'd originally approached me.
"Okay, we're in luck. I know the guy who's about to be in charge. He's a good one. A little fanatical, but if you can handle that…" He shrugged.
I didn't care about fanatical, just being able to work on what was left of my house. They'd cleared a ton of the bricks and debris away, so it wouldn't be long before we got to the basement, but I was just hoping that it hadn't collapsed, or been filled with debris, or…
STOP! I swore at myself and then heard a commanding voice.
"Okay, people. Here's the plan," a tall man with a megaphone said. He had to use the damn thing to be heard over the ruckus within the block. The noise of backhoes and bulldozers, the screaming of sirens, and the general chaos of a disaster scene was almost deafening at times. "We've laid out a grid of the areas that haven't been searched yet. Canine will be here shortly with the dogs, so you'll need to work beside them. Now, they're trained to pick up on those that are already deceased, but I can tell you that their ears are incredible. If they show interest in an area, but don't signal a body, I suggest we search anyway. We still have the hope that there are people out there alive. I plan to find them. Any questions?" he shouted, his frustration clear.
When no one answered, he then surprised the hell out of me. "Then we are going to take a moment in prayer." He looked angry at the noise around him, and suddenly yelled into the megaphone. "Shut it!"
The words rang out over the area, and at points in the distance, I heard various other individuals echo the same order. An eerie calm settled over the area, and when he finally had the quiet he desired, the man began.
"Our Father…"
A muffled wail barely made itself known, but it was so unexpected that none of us realized what it was.
"Who art in heaven…"
Then another came and the murmurings started. The noise around us had covered up the sound—a thin, shrill cry. It hadn't had a chance of being overhead with all the noise of rescuers.
"A baby!" I mouthed, just as the realization hit everyone else. "A baby!" I shouted, realizing it was coming from within the dwindling pile of the rubble of my home.
As the rest of the large group around me burst into action, I started screaming. "Bella! Alice! Jasper!"
The workers began banging on the metal and broke out into cheers when they heard an answering sound. My heart seemed to drop to my feet. A noise!
"Bella!" I yelled down into the pile, as if she could actually hear me, but I was hoping that if the baby could be heard…
Baby? Alice's?Oh hell!
"BELLA!" I yelled again, just as Emmett, Jake, Riley and Carlisle appeared at my side and I almost collapsed in relief when I heard her voice.
"…ward?" It was faint, not even complete, but it was perhaps the sweetest half word I'd ever heard. I started crying, great, big, unmanly sobs. Carlisle grabbed my shoulders supporting me as everything crashed in around me. It was Bella's voice!
Emmett yelled, "BELLS!" His booming voice most likely carried farther than mine.
"Ali… gets… dirt." She seemed to say back, but I wouldn't even stop to try to figure it out.
Those around us began laughing, but finding my strength to move from Carlisle's support, I started handing pieces of debris to the man behind me. In turn, he did the same, and the mound of broken bricks and twisted metal started dwindling fast. Our line wasn't the only one going.
Please God let them be safe. Please God let them be safe. Please God let them be safe.
The words became my mantra, as piece after piece, I worked to clear the mess that stood between us.
A/N: I'd love to know your thoughts. Take care. xoxo
