Chapter 10: Game Night at the Cullen House
Disclaimer & Story Warnings: The characters and the world of the TWILIGHT UNIVERSE belong to Stephenie Meyers. The plot is mine. This story plot is rated MATURE. If you are not 18 years or older, this story is not for you. You have been warned!
The silence that followed that comment was deafening and Bella could almost swear she heard someone hiss from downstairs. Not to mention she was also wondering why Alice's hand was freezing. She looked at the floor, her face beet-red; she was afraid to
look at Carlisle while her thoughts were all over the place. I've been here a week and a half, he can't possibly! I'm so much younger than he is! Could he possibly have a thing for me? she thought frantically. Bella was lost in her mind until
she felt another shock as Carlisle lightly placed his hand on her arm. "Bella, please forgive Alice. She is a bit spirited and tends to run twenty steps ahead of everyone. I do apologize if she made you feel at all uncomfortable just now."
Bella could feel his eyes on her, and a tingling where his hand touched her arm. She took a deep breath and looked up at him once again. "I..." she started, but words failed her as they seemed to be locked in each other's gaze.
"Bella," Carlisle started, but words failed him. He huffed in frustration but still didn't look away. He reached out for her other hand, stepping closer to her and pulling her so she stood facing him directly, and his eyes drifted down from hers slightly
for a brief second.
To her lips.
Bella's heart suddenly felt as if it would beat right out of her chest as she watched him slowly lean in. She felt as if she was in a daze. He is going to kiss me. He is going to kiss me! Just as she thought he was going to, he suddenly pulled
away and dropped his hands from her arms. Bella opened her eyes, not even realizing she had closed them, and looked at him as he stared at her. Suddenly her mind went haywire again, wondering if he had really wanted to kiss her or if she had somehow
led him on. Luckily his words calmed her worries some, though they excited her more than a little.
"Forgive me, Isabella," he began. "I want to kiss you, so much that you wouldn't be able to comprehend, truly, but I realize that to you this must be much too fast. I know you haven't known me long and we do work together, so it could make things awkward.
I just…I can't tell you how or why, but I like you, Miss Swan, very much. I wonder if you might allow me to get to know you with the intention of courting you?" he asked, looking nervous though she noticed that he didn't seem to be sweating even a
bit.
Bella's face was blank as she processed his words, staring at him while she tried to make her brain wrap around his words in such a way that she might be able to comprehend. "Carlisle, you l-like me? Really? I mean, I am only eighteen and you are…not,"
she began, rushing her words. "Not to mention you are friends with my father, sort of—and you're right, I do work for you so that could get you in trouble." She was about to go on but she drew in a breath when he lightly placed his fingers on her
mouth to quiet her, sending yet another shock of electricity through her body and making her shudder.
"Bella, I know it may be complicated—truly, you don't know how complicated—but I don't care, to be honest. I have never felt an attraction to any woman before like I have this past week and a half with you. I like you and I just...I feel we have a connection
of some kind. I would love it if you would allow me to court you so we may explore this connection and see if there might be something much deeper between the two of us." He stepped forward again and lightly nudged her chin up.
"I..." she started, but as usually happened around this tall blond god of a man, her words failed her. Instead of trying to speak, she leaned up suddenly and threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.
At first Carlisle was shocked but his vampire reflexes kicked in and with a guttural moan he wrapped his arms around her and walked her the few steps back until she was against the shelves. Their lips parted ways for a moment and they opened their eyes,
both of them breathing a bit heavily though Carlisle was not necessarily in need of air. Bella smiled lightly and he returned it before he lowered his head and pressed a kiss to her lips in return. This time, after several soft kisses and movements,
Carlisle grazed her lips lightly with his tongue, asking for access. Bella moaned and opened her mouth and accepted his tongue with a greeting of her own as they deepened their kiss.
Her legs started to shake a bit as if she might drop to the floor, so Carlisle pulled closer to her, basically wedging her between him and the shelves as their mouths continued to move. When he sensed she needed some air, he kissed across her mouth and
chin, then down her neck, until he was kissing lightly behind her ear. Her heated breath hit his own ear, causing him to moan again. He pulled his lips away from her skin and just stayed there, her breath in his ear, his breath in her hair as she
gasped for air.
Slowly he pulled his head back and gazed at her, smiling when he saw the blatant need in her eyes that surely matched his own. He was about to say something when her face took on a confused look.
"Huh—I could have sworn your eyes were this really unique amber color, but right now they are pure black," she said in whispered wonder, more to herself really than as a question to him.
Carlisle lowered his face to hers again and lightly brushed his lips across hers before suddenly pulling away and heading towards his desk, leaving her still braced against the shelves.
Bella looked at him, wondering if mentioning his eye color had somehow upset him. But he looked back at her a moment later and she realized his eyes were once again amber colored. Before she could even phrase the question, he spoke.
"Bella, there is a lot about me that you don't know," he said, lowering his gaze. He looked back up at her and went on to say, "I should say, that you don't know yet. But I promise when the time is right I will share everything with you, whatever you
want to know. For now, let me apologize for getting carried away just now. That should not have happened." Her face fell and he realized how she must have perceived his words. "Don't misunderstand me, Isabella," he said quickly. He strode back over
and grasped her chin again, looking at her with a passionate expression. "I enjoyed kissing you, very much. But this is new and we do hardly know each other so it was ungentlemanly of me to take advantage—" But she interrupted him.
"Wait—you were going to kiss me first, but you didn't. I kissed you. So what just happened was in no way your fault, and there was nothing wrong with it as far as I am concerned. As to your question from earlier, yes, I would love to get to know you with
the intention of...being courted...as you put it. You must realize how unique that term is. I am a fan of the classics and that is the only place I ever hear words like 'courting'," she said, blushing as she looked at him and smiled.
"Well…that is, okay," he said awkwardly.
His words didn't quite make sense in general but Bella caught the gist and looked at him approvingly through her blush. "Let's go downstairs before my father calls the station and sends up a search party to find me," she said, turning away.
Just as they reached the door Carlisle clasped her hand and pulled slightly, getting her to look back up at him. "We will talk again later this evening, if time permits," he promised, and he smiled at her reassuringly and gave her hand a final squeeze,
then followed her out into the hall and closed the door.
~{}~
Bella tried to ignore the looks and therefore the blushing she felt very prominently across her features as she made her way back downstairs and realized that the rest of the family were all gathered together talking, including her father. So her entrance
was rather grand and everyone looked their direction with various expressions as she made her way down the stairs followed by Carlisle.
Across the room, next to where her father and Esme sat together on the couch, was a couple she had yet to meet but she assumed were Rosalie and Emmett. Emmett seemed quite friendly and was giving her a big smile, but her own faltered a bit when she met
the cold gaze of the blonde bombshell sitting in his lap. Bella looked away from that steely-eyed gaze and looked instead at her father, who was trying not to look at her.
"Thank you all for waiting. I managed to tear Bella away from her books so I think it is time we get these games started," Carlisledeclared happily, and he motioned for everyone to make their way into the dining room. Bella didn't know it but the
usual table that was in the room was gone, replaced with a round table set up with green felt, poker chips, and several decks of cards. There was room enough for all of them. She watched as the others filed past, and as soon as Emmett got near her
she gasped when he suddenly lifted her clear off the floor and into a great bear hug. She could breathe, but just barely.
"Bells!" he exclaimed, startling Bella a bit since only her father had ever called her by that nickname. "Charlie and Carlisle have talked of nothing but you forever. I'm so happy to finally meet you!" he exclaimed. She chuckled and as her feet finally
touched back down she looked up at the happy giant and smiled.
"Emmett, I've heard a bit about you and it is a pleasure," she replied.
Emmett put his arm around Rosalie and pulled her to his side to face Bella. "Bells, this is my wife, Rosalie. Now, she is not one to meet new people, so please don't take offense," he pleaded, his smile faltering. Rosalie gave him a very dark look before
looking at Bella and giving a slight nod, a reluctant grimace on her face.
"Nice to meet you," Bella mumbled, quailing under Rosalie's cold eyes. The only thing that kept Bella from looking away from such a hostile face was Rosalie's eyes. Then Bella looked at Emmett's as well and noticed that their eye color was the same as
Carlisle's—and when she looked over at Esme, who was chatting with the pixie Alice and her husband Jasper and a bronze-haired man who she assumed was Edward, she realized all of their eyes were the same color. Hearing a scoffing noise, she looked
back at the cold blonde's face and then to Emmett, who was watching her but still smiling.
"Excuse me a moment. I'm just going to…" Bella started vaguely, gesturing towards the hall. She fled the room and turned toward the front door. She didn't know where the restroom was on the first floor, as Alice had only shown her the upper floors before
taking her to the study.
Before the Kiss.
Before she'd started to notice how strange anddifferent their eyes were.
Bella closed the front door behind her as quietly as she could manage and walked down a few steps before sinking down and resting her arms on her knees and looking out across the trees. What is so different about them that causes their eyes to be the same, when not all of them are supposed to be related by blood? I've seen and read about strange eye colors before, namely eyes so blue they were violet, and the like. But I've never once read about or seen amber-colored eyes that shine like molten honey, she
thought.
She sat there for maybe ten minutes in peace as she contemplated the strangeness. Even though it was indeed peculiar, she felt no trepidation about it, only curiosity.
"Bells," her dad said, closing the door and joining her on the steps.
She looked at him, smiling lightly, and they settled into the silence for a bit, just enjoying the company and silence. It was always so easy for both of them to be just be.
After noticing the sky was darkening slightly through the increasing clouds, Charlie broke the silence, thinking they should go in soon to avoid being soaked by the rain he knew was supposed to head in with the latest jet stream. "So, care to tell me
what happened in there? Was Rosalie really mean to you or something? I've not had the chance to really get to know her, she is really stand-offish, but I've learned over the years if you don't want to deal with her attitude, just ignore her," he explained.
Bella chuckled. "No, Dad, it's not that. I mean, yeah, she was a bit cold in there with me, but that's not what had me wanting to escape," she replied. She clasped her hands together and pursed her lips as she considered her words and then leaned towards
him, speaking softly even though she knew they were outside and unlikely to be overheard since the windows and doors were closed.
Little did she know no one moved in thedining room no one moved as the whole family listened and shared looks.
"Dad, you've known the Cullens a long time, right?" she asked. Acknowledging his nod, she went on quietly, "Have you ever noticed anything...strange...about them?" she asked.
Charlie sighed and looked at her. When he finally replied, he didn't bother to speak as quietly as she had. He knew very well that all of the Cullens could hear every word they said from this distance whether they whispered in each other's ear or not.
"What exactly happened? What did you...notice?" he asked a bit evasively. He knew she would find out the truth eventually, and given her temperament he felt she was unlikely to have a meltdown even if she were to find out now. But knowing what he
did, he did not want her to have her world turned upside down just yet. He loved his daughter and would have protected her from that truth if he could. Even if only for a few hours longer, he thought sadly.
"Their eyes," she said quietly. "They aren't supposed to be related, not all of them,but they all have these amber eyes. I've never even heard of eyes that color, and when I met Carlisle and his sister I thought it was just a strange family trait
or something. And I didn't really think about it until I noticed the eyes, but they are cold. I mean, their skin, it's so cold—like they have been sitting in ice baths. Also, I don't know this for sure, I just noticed it, but it seems like they don't
even sweat or something," she mumbled, regretting mentioning that part. Luckily her dad didn't ask what exactly had drawn her attention to the fact that the Cullens didn't sweat.
Charlie was quiet for a few moments, trying to think whether there was some way for him to talk her down from her suspicions. But lying to her—especially with all that was going on—was not something he wanted to do. Ever. That deep-down part of him that
cautioned, "You're a cop, she should be fully informed for her own safety!" was screaming at him. He brought his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose before finally looking at his eighteen-year-old daughter. "Here is the thing,
Bells—because yes, there are reasons for the sorts of…differences…you have noticed. But the explanations are just, well, crazy-sounding, to be honest. It took me a long time to come to grips with what I learned when I was dragged into their world
years ago. Billy and Harry actually dragged me into it, with the Cullens' insistence," he added, sounding only slightly resentful.
With a huff he went on. "So if you want to know everything, I will tell you if it's that important to you to know right now. But if that's the case, I will be calling Billy, Harry, and Sam to come over. Because if I tell you, you're going to get all the
facts, and it's a bit easier to believe when you see certain things they can show you," he added, not trying to sound cryptic about it or make her more curious. He just wanted to forewarn her how serious this would be…or at least how hard it would
be to fathom without proof.
Bella looked at her father, her mind wandering through the possibilities. Working undercover or with criminals didn't seem plausible, especially with the eyes, skin temperature, and such. Her mind went to aliens, but she shook her head minutely, knowing
that would be ridiculous. But she also considered her father's words; he had never spoken like this before. Her father was a pragmatist through and through. He didn't believe in unseen things. So for him to need others to join them to explain something
that was supposedly so unbelievable, she knew whatever it was had to be serious.
"Call Billy and the others from the rez that you want to show up. I am starting to get a bit freaked out, 'cause I know how much of a realist you are. So for you to be convinced of something that is normally unbelievable to most people, I think you need
to tell me. Tell me everything, Dad," she said, her voice laced with curious resolve.
Her dad looked over his shoulder and said, "Carlisle, please call them and ask them to join us." He didn't yell but said this as quietly as he'd been talking to her, as if Carlisle was standing with them now, not through a distance filled with walls and
glass and other rooms.
Bella looked at her father, further questions rising in her eyes. "Dad, the Cullens are inside the house. They can't hear us," she said, then added, her eyes a bit wider, "can they?"
"Yes, they can," he answered, looking his daughter in the eye solemnly.
Author's Note: Can't tell if you will want to kill me for cutting it here or not. Probably... but I am cranking these chapters out due to NaNoWriMo of course so you won't have to wait long! *HUGS* and please read and review!