Chapter 9: Lions
It was a warm Sunday in the beginning of May - the nicest of the year so far. I woke up with a smile on my face. Edward had the whole day off and we were spending it together. I hadn't seen him yesterday, he was at the hospital until late and I went out to dinner with Alice, Angela and some other girlfriends. Since I hadn't seen him since Friday morning, I missed him terribly, the ache in my heart acute. He would be here in thirty minutes and I told him I have the whole day planned for us. I hopped out of bed, grabbed a mug of coffee and headed into the shower. Alice wasn't home having spent the night at Jasper's.
I was dressed in jean capris and a striped t-shirt when Edward arrived.
"Good morning beautiful." Edward said as he snaked his arms around my waist, pulling me to him for a wonderful kiss. He has on khakis, a white t-shirt and converse. He looked like a J. Crew model - as always I wondered how I had gotten so lucky, my angel, my Edward.
"What's the plan for today?" He asked as I led him into the kitchen to finish my cup of coffee and pour him one.
"You mean other than bask in the glory of your love?" I smirked, "I am going to take you to one of my favorite places in the city."
"And where would that me?" He asked with a curious expression as he leaned against my counter.
"You will just have to wait and see." I smiled as I grabbed my empty backpack.
Ten minutes later. "Bella, is this really necessary? I have a perfectly good car that we could ride more comfortably in." Edward asked as we walked to the station to board the L.
"Edward, we are in no hurry today to get anywhere, plus, riding the L is part of the 'experience'" I said with air-quotes, grinned at him. He couldn't stand to travel any less than eighty miles per hour while wrapped in leather seats. I dragged his up to the ticket kiosk to refill my L card. The train pulled up a few minutes later and we boarded. Edward held me close to him as we sat down, putting his arm around my shoulder, like someone was going to jump out and try and grab me because we were on public transportation.
The train lurched to our stop in Lincoln Park and I stood up and tugged Edward with me.
As we walked, he kept stealing glances at me. I could tell it was killing him to not know where are final destination was. Over the course of our courtship, he had surprised me countless times. This was my first time giving him a taste of his own medicine.
The day was a perfect sixty-degrees and the sun was warm on my skin. I turned my face up to it and let the heat sink in. A spring breeze picked up sending my hair flying all around my face as we rounded the corner.
We stopped at the entrance. "The Farmer's Market." He said as he looked at the sign, his expression uncertain.
"Yup, I love it here. There are so many hidden treasures. It is a little early in the season for really good produce, like you can get in the middle of summer, but you can still get all kinds of canned products, breads and this market is all organic." I beamed as we walked through the entrance. "Have you ever been?"
"No, never had a reason to, until now." He smiled shyly. I loved when he answered like that, like I was the only reason he did certain things now, which may very well be true, but it made be feel special and loved.
We wandered through the market for the next hour. We bought some jars of homemade salsa, tomatoes, onion, a bouquet of flowers, fresh bread, and fresh mozzarella cheese. I watched him talk with the vendors, dazzling the woman as he asked questions about their growing techniques. Somehow, no matter what he talked about, he made is sexy.
I loaded everything in my backpack and Edward took it from me, slinging it over his shoulder. "Where to now boss?" He said leaning over and kissing the top of my head.
"The zoo!" I exclaimed. A few minutes later, after we walked through the park, I excitedly pulled Edward through the turnstile.
"I don't think I have been here since I was six or seven." He said as we walked hand in hand. We passed by the primate exhibit and watched a baby orangutan playing with her sibling on a big robe swing. It was quite entertaining. They seemed so human in so many ways.
"Which animal is your favorite?" He asked after we had been walking for a few minutes. Passing by the polar bears.
I took a moment to think about it, "the penguins." We stopped in front of their exhibit and watched them dive after the fish that the keepers were throwing. They would dive gracefully in the water, swim around for a moment, and then coming flying back out on to the pseudo-ice.
"Why?" He asked curiously.
"Have you seen that movie about how the penguins? The father penguins sit on the eggs for months at a time, almost starving to death in the middle of subzero temperatures, then the mothers come back and take the babies once they have hatched and travels all the way back to the ocean. It is really touching how they risk their lives for the babies. Plus, they mate for life." I smiled. He seemed to be taking in and processing what I said.
"So what you are saying is you would like me to almost starve and freeze to death for our children?" He smirked. Although he was joking, his words 'our children' made my stomach lurch, in a good way.
I nodded, "yes and I know you would willingly." He nodded in affirmation as he leaned over and kissed me quick.
"What's your favorite animal?" I asked as we passed by the large cat enclosures.
He studied the animals intently. His thoughtful green eyes seeming to take in all of their powerful characteristics as the cats leisurely soaked up the sun, rolling onto their back to expose their white bellies. "The lion," he answered. I saw him focus his gaze behind me.
"Why because your hair looks like his in the morning?" I joked as I reached up on my toes to ruffle his mop. He grabbed my wrist with his hand and pulled me to him with the other. "No, because he is strong and silent. Unless another lion gets near his lioness, then he will not be held responsible for what he might to do protect her." He whispered in my ear as he looked over my shoulder. Chills ran down my spine. I turned in his hold to see two young guys staring at me in a not-so-innocent way.
I proceeded to prove to Edward, with the most passionate kiss I could manage in public that he had nothing to worry about. I had to admit, I didn't normally like jealousy in men, especially unwarranted, but the way Edward said it made it sexy, hot.
We arrived back at my apartment by early afternoon. "What are we going to do with all of our delectable finds from the market?" He said holding up the fresh loaf of bread. A whiff of it made my mouth water.
"We are going to go to your place and I am going to cook you dinner." I said turning on my heel to grab a few things to take with me.
When we arrived at his apartment, I put the bouquet of flowers in a vase on the counter.
"Could you chop up the tomatoes and the onion? We are going to make pasta sauce." I asked. He pulled out a heavy wooden cutting board and began his assignment while I sliced up the mozzarella, another tomato and fresh basil for a caprese salad. I drizzled olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the slices and then covered the plates and put them in the fridge for later. Edward had finished chopping all of the vegetables, so we threw them in the stockpot with some liquid and seasoning so it could simmer for a few hours.
I was standing at the pot after he had washed the dishes. There was a delightful, comfortable silence between us as we worked. I loved it. He came up behind me and wrapped his long arms around my waist, pulling my hair to one side and gently kissing the area where my neck and shoulder came together. I tried to concentrate on stirring the sauce, but my vision was getting blurry as he worked his way up behind my ear. I released a "mmm".
I placed the spoon on the counter and twisted in his arms. His hands came up and embraced my face, pushing me backwards until my lower back hit the other counter. He lifted me up onto the counter so that we were eye to eye.
"I love you Bella. Thank you for a wonderful day." He smiled that breathtaking smile, our foreheads touching, as he pushed my hair gently behind my ear.
I locked my heels around the back of his legs and pulled him closer to me, removing any air between us. "You are welcome - anything to see you smile like that." I replied placing my lips lightly on his. He responded urgently, wrapping his arms around my back, deepening our kiss. My hands went his hair and I began having visions of having my way with him right on the kitchen floor, when I felt his pocket vibrate.
He let out a deep sigh and without breaking our kiss reached for his pager. We finally separated as he looked down at the information on the screen. "I have to call the hospital. I'm sorry," with apologetic eyes. He pulled his cell phone out and dialed the number. I heard a few 'yes', 'okay' and then 'I'll be right in'. He closed his phone and slid it back in his pocket.
"I'm so sorry love, one of my patients has taken a turn for the worse and I need to get to the hospital to see her. I shouldn't be long, a couple hours at the most. Then hopefully we can pick up where we left off." He smiled as he brushed his thumb along my cheek, to my lips, my eyes closed in delight at his touch. I nodded in understanding as I felt his lips touch my forehead.
"I love you." I said slowly opening my eyes.
"I love you too." He paused for a moment, seeming entranced in each other's eyes, and then he headed upstairs to change. I hopped off of the counter and went over to the couch. I had brought one of my many books for school with me and pulled it out of my small duffle bag. Edward ran down the stairs two at a time, as he passed by me he leaned over and kissed the top of my head. "I'll be home soon." Then he rushed out of the door.
It was three o'clock - it would a couple of hours until the sauce had simmered down. I kicked off my sneakers, hearing them thump onto the hardwood floor, cracked open my book and wiggled down into the couch. I managed to read one chapter before sleep overtook me. I dreamt of Edward turning into a lion and attacking those boys in the zoo. Then we were in the kitchen, like before, and he was kissing my neck. I felt my cheeks blush at his touch. It felt so real, the longing inside; my senses were filled with his scent.
He whispered my name, so clearly. "Bella, I'm home." Wait, we are in the kitchen kissing, why is he telling me he is home? I felt a tingling down my cheek and realized I was somewhere between being awake and asleep. "Edward?" I whispered with a sleep-thickened voice.
"Yes, love?"
"Don't hurt those boys with your big teeth." I murmured as visions of lion-Edward flashed behind my eyes, his shaggy mane and lean stalking body. I heard a hearty laugh and the couch shook. My senses were sharpening as I started to come to. I reached out and made contact with a warm, firm surface. I cracked my eyes open and saw Edward hovering over me, my hand on his chest. I blushed at my recent thoughts.
"Good morning." He chuckled. "Who was I hurting with my teeth?" He pulled his top lip back to show his pearly whites.
"Those guys at the zoo. You were a lion. I didn't want you to eat them." I smiled slightly as I stroked his face.
He chuckled. "You think I'm like a lion, huh?" He said twisting his lean body so he was on all fours over the top of me. He grabbed behind my knees and swiftly pulled me down the couch so I was trapped underneath him, my knees pulled up to his sides. I laughed as he bent down and nuzzled his lips into the crook of my neck. My hands instinctively found their way to his soft hair, weaving my fingers through it as I pulled him closer to me as he kissed up and down my neck. I felt like I could purr from the pleasure of his sensual touch.
My hands moved down and worked on the buttons on his shirt. His lips moved to mine now, picking up on the feverish pace. My hands ran down his back to the waistband of his slacks. I let my fingers dip under it along the width of his waist from hip to hip. He released a moan into my mouth as I slid my hand farther down, feeling his arousal.
Without breaking our kiss, he pulled me to sitting, pulled my shirt over my head and unclasped my bra, then gently laid me back onto the couch. He shrugged his shirt off and I took in the glorious sight of his bare chest as he pressed his heated body to mine, forming to me like we were mirrored halves to a mold. We came together as only two lovers can, having memorized every inch of each other's bodies as if it were our own. My heart soared as I internally acknowledged I had all that I could ever want – a beautiful, caring man who loved with his whole heart, who made my heart beat swiftly when he neared, my mood soar at his caring words, and my stomach knot at his caress.