Chapter 11

Harold returned just as we were leaving. We met him in the garage and explained that we'd decided to head back before the storm hit. He seemed genuinely upset that we were leaving until Bella gave him a big hug and whispered something in his ear. He grinned at whatever she'd said and hugged her back, then shook my hand and wished us well, making us promise to stop by again before we left Mexico. I said we'd try and thanked him again for having us.

On impulse, I wrote down my phone number for him and told him to call me if there was ever anything I could do to return the favor. He gave me his number, too, telling me as I punched it into my phone that we could call and ask to stay with him any time.

Bella squatted down to give August a final hug, then thanked Harold again for the dress. She hiked it up high enough to get on the bike behind me, and five minutes later, we were on the road back to Lorindo.

I wasn't entirely sure what had prompted Bella's request to return to our hotel, but when I felt her fingers slip under my t-shirt, I had my answer. I smiled and turned my head to look back at her. She was smiling, too. I reached down and held her hand against me, rubbing my thumb across her knuckles.

She tightened her legs, and I let go of her hand to cup her knee. Now this was the way to ride, with beautiful Bella behind me, her legs within easy reach. I ran my hand down her shin until I reached the top of her boot, amazed once again at how soft her skin was. She responded by sliding her hands down my hips, then over my thighs. As good as that felt, I didn't want her to let go of her grip, so I put her arms back around my waist, holding them there. She seemed to understand and kept them there the rest of the ride, hugging me tightly and pressing into my back.

The storm seemed to be chasing us, the sky darkening as we got closer to Lorindo, making it seem later than it was by the time we finally arrived around six. I parked in my usual spot and Bella got off first, removing her helmet and sunglasses and shaking out her hair. She smoothed her skirt as I put away our helmets and got our bag. The first raindrops started falling as she took my hand and pulled me toward the door.

Alberto looked up from his desk when we came in, but Bella called out that we were in a hurry and pulled me up the stairs behind her. I took my eyes off her gorgeous rear end - man, did I love this dress - long enough to shoot Alberto a smile. He smiled back and nodded approvingly, returning to his newspaper. Just an average night for Alberto.

But not an average night for me. Bella wrapped her arms around me as I dug the key out of my pocket and opened the door. She started to enter first, but I stopped her, bending down and scooping her up under her knees. This felt like a wedding night to me, I wasn't sure why, and I wanted to carry her in. She smiled at my gesture, amused and more than a little touched, I hoped, as I watched a blush spread across her cheeks. I kicked the door closed behind me, dropped our bag, and put her down on the bed, leaning forward to kiss her for the first time.

I meant to go slow, I swear I did, but the rush of blood that hit my groin the instant her lips met mine did something to my head. The thinking part of my brain switched off, and all I knew was that I needed more Bella, more of everything Bella. I couldn't seem to kiss her enough even though my mouth never left hers. I couldn't get her close enough even though I was holding her as tightly as I could without hurting her. I couldn't get her naked enough even though I'd pulled her dress up so high that I could run my hands down her endless, endless legs. My only consolation was that she was panting as hard as I was, struggling with my jacket while I fumbled with her zipper.

We gave up at the same time and undressed ourselves, our mouths still locked together. We had to pull apart for me to lift her dress over her head and throw off my shirt, but she pressed herself back into me as soon as they were off, running her hands over my back and into my hair, kissing my mouth, then my jaw, then my mouth again. I still needed more. I pulled her legs up around me and pressed myself down onto her, kissing her neck and her beautiful shoulders.

Why wasn't she closer? I circled her back, her pretty delicate back, with my arms, and pulled her into me, kissing her again. She hadn't been wearing a bra under the dress, and I felt her nipples rub against my chest, felt her arch up to me. Oh god, that was what I needed. Do that again, I silently willed her, and as if she could read my mind, she arched again, this time with her hips too. I groaned and buried my face in her neck, pressing back against her, needing so much for her to want this as much as I did.

I felt her hands run down my back, her fingers rigid, her nails light but threatening. She got to my hips and pulled them into hers, her legs rising to help. I pulled back enough to shuck off my jeans and her panties, and the next thing, I knew I was inside her. Oh God. Oh Bella. So good. So good. So good. Yes, move your hips like that. Yes. More. Again. Faster. Oh my god, my god, my god … I felt myself coming and there was nothing I could do to hold it back, nothing. In the same instant, she grabbed my hair and cried out, digging her fingers into my scalp hard enough that I'd never forget how it felt, hard enough that I'd never want to.

I don't know how long I laid on top of her before I came to my senses. I moved to roll off, to give her some air, but she used her thighs to keep me on her, to keep me in her. I kissed her neck, bringing my arms up so I could at least put some of my weight on my elbows. She was even more beautiful, if that was possible.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into her lips, leaning down to kiss her again, toying with her hair.

She opened her eyes. "For what?"

"I wanted to go slow."

"I didn't."

"I wanted to make love to you."

"You did."

"I wanted you to know."

"Know what?"

"How I feel about you."

"I do." She put her hands up to my face.

"You do?"

Her chocolate eyes smiled. "I could tell when you were singing."

"You could?"

"Yes."

"Good." I nuzzled my face into her neck, kissing her ear, pressing into her again with my hips. She let out a quiet groan and snaked her arms around my neck, pulling me back down to her, circling her hips up to mine. She moved her hips again, and then again, her breathing picking up along with her pace. Oh fuck, she was going to come again. She was definitely going to come again if I had anything to do with it. This time I had the control I needed to focus on her, at least I thought I did. She started making these soft little moans and did something else with her hips, and I started to lose it again. I felt her hands on my ass, felt her holding on to me as tightly as she could. She arched again, her head thrown back, her body tightening around me. When she cried out my name, drawing it out until it was nothing more than a whimper, I came so hard I saw stars.

She let me collapse on my stomach next to her. If her body felt anything like mine, she didn't have a choice. My muscles felt like liquid, my bones jelly. She was breathing as hard as I was, her breasts rising and falling in rhythm to our gasps, her nipples tight little pink staccatos. I managed to get my arm to work and cupped one of them, tracing the curve with my fingertips, memorizing it. Then I spread my hand over her heart, my fingers lifting fractionally with each strong beat. She covered my hand with hers, her eyes closed as she laced her fingers into mine.

A surge of emotion swept through me, something I'd never felt before for anyone. I liked women, and I'd liked my girlfriends, but this was something new. It was as if everything I'd ever seen and done, everything in my past, had happened for a reason and that was to bring me to this place, this bed, this woman. This is where I was supposed to be, with Bella, forever.

A kind of peacefulness washed over me at the realization, followed a second later by a desperate, clenching fear that she didn't feel the same way about me. I didn't know why she'd decided to sleep with me; she hadn't given me any indication of her feelings. Last night she'd said she liked me, but that could mean anything or nothing.

I knew I was considered good-looking to a lot of women. Hell, some nights after a show, I could literally have my pick of any of the women in the audience—and had. Suddenly it occurred to me that Bella had only slept with me because she'd heard me play. Oh fuck, in her head I was now the hitman with a heart of gold and the soul of artist, a romantic imaginary complete and utter fiction.

She stirred, stretching her legs, and brought my hand up to her lips, kissing my fingers. "Don't worry, Edward. I'll keep my promise."

"What?"

"I'm not making up any illusions about you."

I sighed in relief. "How do you do that?"

She put my arm over her waist as she rolled over toward me. "Do what?"

"Read my mind sometimes."

She smiled. "I don't know. Do I?"

"Yeah. It's like you're in my head."

She laughed and ran her fingers through my hair, keeping her hand there while she squinted her eyes and pursed her lips. "You're thinking about … the next step in your plan?"

I smiled and shook my head no.

She gave me a look that was half surprised, half congratulatory, then rubbed my head again, her face serious. "You're thinking about … food, about how long before it's polite to ask if I want to go get dinner." She arched a brow and waited for my confirmation.

I shook my head again.

She frowned and ran her fingers through my hair. I liked her hand in my hair whether she was stroking or pulling. "You're thinking about … something very important, very serious … something about sex is in there though, too." She bit her lip, concentrating. "Yes, I'm getting a lot of sex, lots of it." She laughed at her double entendre. "But there's something else … you have a dark side, Edward. It's very dark now."

Her eyes shifted away, narrowing. "You're afraid of something … not something that's out there trying to get you, but something within yourself … you're afraid of your own weaknesses … that you'll make a stupid mistake, miss the obvious ... forget something important. That's it. And sex." She looked up at me with a bright smile.

"Oh shit. Shit." I rolled away onto my back and covered my face with my hands. "Shit, I completely forgot. I've never forgotten before, ever. I'm so sorry -"

"What?" She perched up on her elbows, her smile changing into a look of concern.

"I didn't use a condom, either time." Fuck, where had my fucking brain gone? How could I have forgotten? Could we get her a morning after pill in Mexico? Would she need ID to get one?

"Edward, calm down." The concern had left her expression and she was smiling again. "I would have asked you to use one if I'd wanted you to."

"You would have?"

"Of course."

"Why didn't you?"

"I got the birth control shot a month before I was kidnapped. It lasts three months, so I'm still covered."

"How do you know I'm clean?"

She bent down to kiss me lightly. "I may not know everything about you, but I know that you're careful and that you plan ahead. Plus, I figured since you only go to Juanita's, and only once or twice a year, and that you came last week expecting your usual, that you hadn't caught anything there."

"Wait a second." I reached around her waist and pulled her on top of me. "Is that why you asked me that? Were you already thinking this was going to happen?"

"Maybe," she hedged, her smile turning into a grin. "I hadn't made up my mind yet, but a girl has to weigh her options, doesn't she?" She ran her lips over my jaw, kissed my chin, then rested her head on my shoulder.

I hugged her to me. Bella was more some kind of she-devil than just a girl, her mind so much like mine it was a little scary. We'd been thinking the same thing when we spent the afternoon together at the beach.

"What made you decide? Decide this was okay?" I ran my fingertips down her spine to the dip of her lower back and left my hand there, like I had at the beach.

"When you played that song for me, I mean, you could have played anything, I left it up to you, but you chose that one."

Now she was losing me again. "I don't get it."

She tilted her head to look at up me. "You are really good, your voice is just ..." She gave up looking for the word she wanted and put her head back down. "I had to look out the window just so you couldn't see what a stupid groupie face I had on. I'm sure you're used to lots of those." I shrugged noncommittally. "But I'm glad I turned away because then I could really listen."

"I'm still not following you."

"The song you picked was beautiful, but it didn't seem like something you'd play. You chose something you thought I'd like, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"And it wasn't even something you'd written yourself." She spread her fingers out through the light hair on my chest. "Most guys—well, anyone, really—would have showed off. Played what they thought was their best song. That's when I decided."

"When I didn't play my best song?" I looked down at her, still puzzled.

"It was so thoughtful of you."

"So no 'you can't be bad if you can play the guitar like that?'"

"Of course not. What does being a good musician have to do with being a hitman? Did you use your guitar to lure people to their deaths?"

I laughed out loud, shaking my head. Damn, as much as we thought alike, she was always a step ahead of me, always surprising me.

She pulled herself up, so she was propped on her hands, looking down at me. "I do want to hear your best song, though, some day."

"We'll see." I ran my hands down the sides of her torso, admiring her narrow waist.

She raised an eyebrow. "You're going to hold out on me?"

I shrugged like I wasn't sure. "It's just that I'm getting pretty good results so far. I don't know if I need to break out my best stuff."

"Only pretty good?" She scooted her legs up so she was straddling me and sat up, swinging her hair behind her back.

Oh god, she was so fucking gorgeous. Her breasts were fucking perfect, just the right size. I cupped them and traced her still taut nipples with my thumbs, mesmerized by how they fit my hands like they were made for me.

"I mean amazing."

"I think you're pretty amazing, too." She leaned down to kiss me, focusing on just my lips, brushing her mouth lightly over mine. I tried to deepen the kiss, but she wouldn't let me. I dropped my head back on the pillow and looked up at her. She reached up into my hair with one hand and cupped my jaw with the other, kissing me again as lightly as before, then hovering over me to kiss my cheekbones and eyelids. "I mean that, Edward." She lay down on top of me, then rolled off, curling up into my side, her face in my neck.

I wished I could believe her. I wanted to be as amazing to her as she was to me, wanted this thing happening between us to be real. I believed her that she wasn't making up illusions about me in her head, but fuck, I'd pretty much ridden in like the white knight and rescued her from Mala. After the trauma of losing her mother and being held captive for a month, it was only natural that she would latch on to me, only see the good in me. If we were going to be together, she'd have to know the truth, the bad stuff, and she'd have to accept that it was part of me. I traced my fingers over her soft shoulder, listening to her breaths even out and slow, feeling her fall asleep in my arms. I closed my eyes, memorizing every detail.

When I woke up a couple of hours later, the room was dark, the only thing my senses taking in the rain hitting the balcony door like buckshot. I rolled over to find Bella. She was right next to me on her stomach. I could barely make her out as I propped up on my elbow, her hair having fallen over her face; I tucked a strand behind her ear. She opened her eyes the second I touched her.

"You weren't sleeping?"

She shook her head.

"What have you been doing this whole time?"

"I slept a little. Then I watched you sleep before it got dark."

"Was it exciting?"

"I hadn't noticed until tonight that you snore a little. So, yes, extremely exciting."

I smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek, then her ear. I made my way down to her neck, up under her chin, finally reaching her lips. She was smiling when I kissed them. "Are you hungry?"

"No."

"That's a first."

She gave me a little kick. "But we can go out if you are."

I fell back onto my pillow, pulling her in closer to me. "No, I'm not either."

She snuggled into me and I let out a contented sigh. God, this was nice. "I can't believe I used to be content with how you felt behind me on my bike. This is so much better."

I felt her chuckle. "I agree completely."

"You do?"

"Yes. You have a very nice back, Edward."

"I didn't know that."

"Don't let it go to your head, start walking in front of me all the time or anything."

I laughed. "I'll try not to."

She curled over onto her side, bringing an arm over my stomach, her hand resting on my hip. I lifted her enough to get an arm under her shoulders, bringing her up to rest on my chest, kissing the top of her head. We lay together for a long time just listening to the rain.

"I wish we could stay like this forever," she finally sighed.

"There you go again, getting in my head." I ran my fingers through her hair.

She put her hand on my chest and perched her chin on it. "So what were you thinking about earlier when I was trying to guess?"

What had I been thinking about? I didn't even remember. Oh yeah, how funny she was. How smart. How I liked her hand in my hair. How when she smiled at me, something deep inside of me smiled back. I could have told her all of that, but instead, I kissed her forehead and trailed my fingers down her spine. "You."

A/N: Yay, another chapter up, all thanks to snarkymuch. I would have had it up even sooner, but transferring from google docs to here messes up the formatting, and I have to go through it line by line. Because of that, any grammatical or punctuation errors that remain are mine - not snarky's.

I don't think I mentioned previously that I made up the town of Lorindo, so don't bother trying to find it. It's in my head.

Anyways, hope you liked it. I'll try to get the next one up tomorrow - kts.