A/N: thank you all for the reviews! I love hearing what you all have to say. Now, this chapter comes with a lemon warning (or two), and a big thanks to gatorgrl91 for her suggestion. Big thanks to Gigi Scott as well for helping with commas and word errors. Without these lovely ladies, my chapters would be comma-less and a mess.
"So, we'll see you in two days. I can't wait! I've missed you so much!" Alice squealed in my ear, and I nodded even though she couldn't see me. The Spanish crossword puzzle in front of me held me captivated, and it took a moment for my brain to catch up to Alice.
"Wait. What?"
"Seriously, Bella? Haven't you heard a word I said?" she asked, sounding a bit put out.
"Uh … no."
"Put the crossword puzzle down and pay attention to me. The two of you are going to Forks on Tuesday to visit Esme and Carlisle. Jasper and I will be there as well. It's been too long since we've seen each other."
"I don't recall making any decisions to visit Forks," I told her, frowning a bit. Sometimes, I really hated her ability to see things. It made me feel as though I couldn't do anything without her seeing, and that was slightly unnerving.
"Well you did, or Edward did. One of you did, and I saw it, so now you're going. Don't you want to see me?" she asked, and I could just see her pouting on the other end of the phone.
"Of course, I do," I told her. "I just—"
"Great!" she interrupted. "See you in a few days."
And then she hung up. I stared at my phone for a few seconds before tossing it on the coffee table in front of me. I felt like I had just been run over by a steamroller. Oh, wait. I had. A steamroller named Alice. She'd never been that assertive before her change, and while it wasn't a bad thing, it annoyed me a little.
"Forks?" Edward asked, leaning over the back of the couch, and I caught a whiff of the Axe body wash that he used.
"Apparently, we're going on Tuesday," I said, tilting my head back so he could drop a kiss on my lips.
"Sounds good. I've been missing the family," he told me. I frowned at him because I'd been dying from cabin fever. We'd been holed up in the cabin for weeks since the close call with my singer, and anytime I had mentioned going somewhere, he'd told me he wanted to stay home. It had caused a small amount of tension between us, and I'd begun to feel that he didn't trust me out in public. Sure, I was still a newborn, but I'd done a fucking good job at controlling myself except for a handful of times.
"Oh, so it's okay for us to visit the family, but I can't go into town to get a new book?" I snapped, getting up from the couch. "I'm so fucking tired of being trapped in this cabin! I need to be doing something, not sitting here solving crossword puzzles! I could be out there hunting down and taking out child killing vamps!"
Edward stood there staring at me, a look of disbelief on his face. "You had an extremely close call, and I felt that keeping you away from humans was the right thing to do for the time being."
"You had no right to make that call! I've been doing just fine around humans with the help of my shield, and you know that I rarely go out in public without it!"
He ran a hand through his hair, anger emanating from him. "Well excuse me for wanting to keep you from making any more fucking mistakes!" he roared back.
I stared at him, unable to believe what he'd just said. I hadn't made any fucking mistakes. Had I come close? Yes, of course I had. I was human aft—well, I was a newborn still. But, I hadn't killed anybody. Human blood had never touched my lips, and it never would. If I had to keep my shield wrapped around me twenty-four/seven then, I would.
Furious, I headed toward the front door and took off. Edward had pissed me off before but never to this extent. I could hear him calling my name, his footsteps pounding the ground as he came after me, and it only made me run faster. Anger and fury were clouding my mind, and I'd left because I knew I would say something I would regret.
I ran for miles only stopping when I came to the edge of a small town. With my shield wrapped securely around me, I skirted around the outside of the town and kept going. I didn't know nor care where I was headed, but God, it felt so fucking good to run. The more I ran, the less angry I became, and I felt free. I could hear Edward running behind me, but now he was keeping his distance and just letting me run for which I was grateful. I still wasn't sure I wanted to talk to him at the moment.
I ran for hours before slowing down and coming to a stop. I wasn't sure where I was, but I didn't really care. I was just glad to be out of the cabin. I found a boulder and sat down on it, listening as Edward approached.
"I'm sorry," he said, coming up behind me. "I was out of line."
"Yes, you were," I said, crossing my arms and purposely not looking at him. I wasn't as angry as I had been, but I wasn't quite ready to let him know that. It wouldn't hurt for him to grovel a bit because his words had hurt me.
I heard him let out a sigh before he moved around until he was in my line of sight. He knelt down in front of me, taking my hands in his.
"Look at me, please," he begged softly, and I finally met his gaze. His amber eyes were sad and held a hint of regret.
"I'm sorry for what I said and for behaving like an—"
"Overprotective ass?" I interjected.
He nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "Yeah, for being an overbearing and overprotective ass. I just wanted to protect you from making a mistake that would haunt you."
"I get that, but I haven't made any mistakes, and for you to say that I had, really pissed me off. Yes, I've had close calls, but I have never tasted human blood. Ever!"
"I know, Bella. I know, and I want to keep it that way. I admit that I freaked out after the incident with your singer. I truly am sorry. Forgive me?"
Looking at the beautiful face before me and into those beautiful, expressive eyes, I had no choice but to forgive him. He'd done what he thought was best, and even though he'd been way off base and completely wrong, he had done it for the right reasons. He just wanted to prevent me from making a mistake I couldn't live with. I got that.
"Fine, you're forgiven, but if you ever pull anything like that again, I will kick your ass."
"I know you will," he said, leaning in to drop a kiss on my lips. That sweet simple kiss soon turned hot and heavy.
My fingers delved into his silky hair as I pulled him closer, and I felt like I couldn't get close enough. Soon, I needed more than just his hot kisses. I could feel him hard and erady against my stomach, and I needed him in the most primal of ways. I couldn't wait to have his cock buried balls deep inside me. Pulling away, I ripped his shirt from his body and let out a moan at the sight of his taught abs. My man was nothing if not sexy. He let out a moan as I smoothed my hands down his torso and made way for his belt. Unbuckling it, I slowly and teasingly slid the zipper of his jeans down, letting his cock srping free. A sly grin spead across my face when I heard him let out a low growl.
"Quit teasing, woman," he snarled before ripping his jeans off himself and yanking me to him.
Seconds later, I was lying on the boulder wearing nothing. Edward leaned down, capturing my mouth with his before he began to slowly make his way down my body. Gentle kisses, teasing nibbles, and stinging love bites assaulted my body as he moved over me. The man was driving me fucking insane. There was only one place I wanted his mouth, and he knew it. Slowly, teasingly, he spread my legs before dropping light kisses upon my thighs. I squirmed in delight, more than ready for what I knew was about to come. Pun intended!
Edward dipped his head once more and placed the gentlest of kisses upon my clit before taking it into his mouth and sucking lightly. A moan escaped me at the same time the sounds of multiple heartbeats rang in my ears.
"Fuck!" Edward muttered against me, causing shivers to rack my frame. "They're getting close."
"So was I," I muttered as he left me and tossed me my clothes. Fucking cockblocked by hikers. Figured.
"This isn't over," he said with a grin once he was dressed in his jeans, his shirt a lost cause. Damn, right it wasn't. The fact that I was going to have to wait to have my man had left me annoyed.
Tossing a wink my way, Edward told me to climb onto his back, and he'd run us back to the cabin. I knew there was no way in hell I could wait that long. With my legs wrapped securely around his waist, Edward took off running, and I couldn't help but groan as my overly sensitive parts rubbed against him.
I was unable to keep myself from rubbing against him, from touching him, or nibbling on his ears. He was too sexy to resist, so I didn't even try, especially when I heard a low purr rise from his chest. Seconds later, Edward came to an abrupt stop, and I slid off his back and quickly found myself underneath him on the cold ground.
Our clothes were ripped off once again, and Edward picked up where he'd left off. His mouth was all over me, and I moaned and gasped as his tongue did things to me that should have been illegal. He didn't take his time, but instead, he took me quickly, causing my orgasm to take me by surprise. As I was still calling out his name, he moved and slid into me swiftly. There was nothing like having Edward's cock inside me. While the man was amazingly gifted when it came to using his mouth on me, he was even more amazing when inside me. Long, hard, swift thrusts had me clinging to him tightly, and I loved the power that emanated from him. After a few more thrusts, I felt my orgasm approaching, and my nails dug into the skin on his back. Not that he was complaining.
"Hang on, baby. I'm almost there," he panted in my ear, and I did my best to keep from falling over the edge before he was ready. Two more thrusts later, his back arched, his head fell back, and my name erupted from his lips just as his erupted from mine.
Sated and more than satisfied, we lay on the ground still connected. I was perfectly content to just lie there and not move, but Edward had other ideas.
"C'mon," he said, standing up and stretching, and my eyes drank him in. He was so fucking beautiful.
Offering his hand, he helped me off the ground and into my clothes. Or at least, what was left of them. We'd been a bit hasty in removing them, and our clothes weren't much more than tattered strips of fabric held together by a thread. I really hoped we didn't run into anyone on the way back although chances were slim that we would.
The run home was quick, and the first thing I did once we were back was hop in the shower. I had dirt all over my body, not to mention my hair was filled with dirt as well as twigs. I wouldn't have been surprised to find a small animal in there. After scrubbing away Mother Nature, I got out and dressed in some comfy pajamas. I wasn't planning on going anywhere for a while, so I settled in on the couch with a movie and Edward.
Don't even think about not going, the text from Alice read. I rolled my eyes at her even though she couldn't see me. Except, well, she could see me. So, I knew I was going to be in for it when I saw her in person. I was busy packing clothes for our trip to Forks, and I'd honestly been debating on whether to go or not. It wasn't that I didn't want to see the family. I did. But, I'd become spoiled by the privacy and alone time that Edward and I had. It was going to be strange being around everyone again, knowing they could hear everything you did. I had no idea how long we were staying, so I wasn't sure how much to pack. Another text from Alice told me we'd be going shopping with Rosalie and Esme so not to worry. Right, because shopping with Rosalie was going to be such a fun filled event.
After our confrontation with Aro, Rosalie had decided that our tentative truce was up, and she'd gone straight back to being the raging bitch that she was. I'd attempted to be nice despite her attitude because I knew Carlisle and Esme wanted us to get along. Sadly, I couldn't keep up the niceties forever and decided that ignoring Rosalie was my best course of action. But, I had made it perfectly clear to her that should she come after me or anyone else in the family, I would tear her fucking head off.
"Ready?" Edward asked, standing in the doorway and interrupting my thoughts.
"Yeah," I said, tossing him the bag before following him out to the Range Rover. We'd left my car at the house in Forks when we'd decided to live on our own. Edward had built the cabin with Emmett's help back in the 1950s, and the only way to reach it was with a 4-wheel drive. I'd hated leaving my baby behind, and I made Emmett swear to take care of it. He promised he would before telling me that Rosalie was an amazing mechanic. I didn't care if she was the goddess of fucking mechanics. I'd told Em in no uncertain terms was Rosalie allowed to touch my car. Just thinking about her perfectly manicured hands touching my baby got my venom flowing.
"You okay?" Edward asked after we got in the car, and he began to drive down the dirt driveway.
"Yeah," I said nodding. "Just thinking about how great it's going to be to drive my car and how Rosalie better not have fucking touched it."
"She really is a good mechanic," he told me, and I shook my head.
"Don't care!" I sang. "You know cars, so if something happens to mine, you can fix it."
It was a little over a twelve hour drive from our little paradise in Canada to Forks, and the trip reminded me once again how much I missed sleeping. I used to enjoy taking naps on long trips. Now, I just stared out the window watching the scenery go by, reading from one of the many books I'd brought along, or talking to Edward.
"We should be there soon," Edward said, interrupting my thoughts at the same time I got a text from Alice.
"Alice said our ETA is eight minutes and fourteen seconds," I told him after reading the text.
"She's such a know-it-all," he said with a grin.
Exactly eight minutes and fourteen seconds later, we were coming to a stop in the drive of the Forks house, and an overly enthusiastic Alice was pulling me out of the car. Wrapped up in her hug, I squeezed her back, extremely happy to see her. We'd grown closer than ever before after my change, and we did our best to stay in touch as often as possible.
The second Alice let go of me, I was caught up in a fierce hug from Esme. She rocked us back and forth, proclaiming all the while that she'd missed me so much. I'd missed her a lot too.
Once Edward and I had been hugged, we headed inside to drop our bag off in his room. While I was making my way back downstairs, I ran into Rosalie who was coming up the stairs. She shoulder checked me and then sent me a nasty look before telling me to watch where I was going. I rolled my eyes at her childish behavior before wrapping my shield around her, causing her to trip. It was a new development I'd discovered one day when Edward had been irritating me. I didn't even bother to contain my snicker as she stumbled over her feet. If she wanted to play, then game on.
Rosalie whirled around, fire in her eyes as she tried to come after me. However, my shield kept her in place, and I watched as her jaw clenched. I expected fire to start pouring out of her mouth at any second. Instead, she started spouting profanities. That was when Esme made her way up the stairs and stopped in front of Rosalie, her hands planted on her hips.
"We talked about this, Rosalie. You agreed to be pleasant when we told you that Edward and Bella were coming for a visit. If you can't be nice, then you'll need to leave. And, if I hear you swearing like that again, I will wash your mouth out with soap," she told Rosalie in a stern voice.
It took everything in me not to gloat. I had to admit, I was really enjoying watching Esme berate Rosalie like she was a child who'd done wrong.
Once Esme had her say, she turned to me and linked her arm through mine. "Let's head back downstairs and catch up."
Esme and I headed back to the living room where Alice was sitting on the couch waiting for us. The men had gone off for a quick hunt and to catch up. The three of us were soon talking about what it was like living with our guys. Apparently, neither Edward nor Carlisle could manage to get their dirty clothes in the hamper. I found it absolutely hilarious because Carlisle seemed like such a neat person. Alice told us how much it annoyed her that Jasper would sit on the bed or the couch with his boots on, and he would occasionally go out in public wearing these God-awful plaid pants. I couldn't help but giggle at that image. Thankfully, Edward didn't wear awful plaid pants and cowboy boots, but he was a bit like Carlisle in the sense he wasn't as neat as he seemed to be. Actually, I'd learned a lot about Edward from living with him. I'd learned that as much of a badass as he was, he was truly a momma's boy. If Esme called, Edward dropped whatever it was he was doing to talk to her. Edward could be incredibly foul-mouthed and dirty, and he could also be the sweetest, most romantic man on the planet. The love I felt for him was sometimes overwhelming.
"So, you're really okay after meeting your singer?" Alice asked, changing the subject once our men came walking in the backdoor.
"I am thanks to Edward. It was close for a few minutes, and it really scared me, if I'm being honest. I was so out of control that I couldn't even shield myself."
"Looks like you're not perfect after all," Rosalie said from upstairs, her voice full of hostility.
"Never said I was," I replied dryly. If anything, I was far from perfect, and my first few months as a newborn had certainly proved that.
Just then the boys came in, and Edward took a seat on the floor in front of me. I couldn't help but run my fingers through his hair. I fucking loved it.
Emmett plopped down next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I gave him a smile and leaned against him. He told me once again about his horrible encounter with his singer and how bad he still felt about it.
"It's a part of vampire life, and it sucks, but ..." he shrugged. "It happens to the best of us."
A while later, Alice suggested us girls go hunting, and I was less than pleased that Rosalie was coming with us. I figured she wouldn't be on her best behavior, but I made the decision to ignore her. Alice looked over and gave me a small wink. The four of us headed out into the woods surrounding the house, and I took a deep breath. I did love the smell of the woods and the hint of rain in the air. I had missed the northwest.
Deer were plentiful in the forest, and Alice and I took off together to hunt. We ran for a while before taking down a couple of deer each. I'd gotten better at not getting blood and dirt all over my clothes, something which Alice was very proud about. She was extremely serious about her clothes, whereas I couldn't care less.
"Are you happy?" she asked me after we'd sated our thirst.
A huge smile crossed my face. "Yeah, I am. I never would have thought I'd be happy as a vampire, and I think that if Edward wasn't in my life, I would have been miserable. I probably would have let someone take me out. But since I have Edward and you as well as the rest of the family, I'm happy. And you?"
Her smile said it all. "Extremely. I love Jasper so much, and he loves me."
We hung out in the woods chatting for a few hours before our guys came looking for us. We hopped on their backs as they raced back toward the house. Jasper never stood a chance against Edward, but we had a blast. We were all cracking up as we entered the house, and Rosalie shot us dirty looks from her spot at the kitchen table. I ignored her and headed upstairs to take a shower while the others hung out in the kitchen to talk to Rosalie. According to Alice, she and Rosalie got along pretty well because they had a love for fashion and gossip magazines.
Once in the bathroom off of Edward's bedroom, I undressed as the water warmed up. It's not that I needed warm water, but I did enjoy the way it felt against my cool skin. I was in the process of washing my hair when I heard the door open, and I smelled the wonderful scent that was all Edward. I heard him toss his clothes on the floor, and then the shower curtain slid to the side. I cracked an eye open and watched as Edward climbed into the shower.
"Need some help?"
I grinned at him. "Sure," I said, handing him the bottle of conditioner.
He carefully maneuvered us so that he was behind me. He poured some conditioner into his hands before running his thrm through my hair, and then he turned me around. Soon, soapy hands were running over bodies, and I got so lost in the sensations that I forgot we weren't alone.
It wasn't until Emmett started making porn music noises downstairs that I remembered they could hear everything we were doing. Talk about a mood killer. With sighs, we broke apart and quickly finished our shower.
"We'll finish this later," Edward whispered in my ear before placing a kiss next to it. I was holding him to that.
It was a cold ,rainy day with lightening that lit up the sky, and thunder rumbling in the air. I loved days like this, and I was spending it curled up on our bed reading a book. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett were downstairs playing a video game while Alice and Rosalie had gone shopping. Carlisle was at work, and Esme was doing volunteer work at the hospital. I was enjoying hanging out by myself, truth be told.
I got so lost in the wonderful romance brewing between the characters in the pages of my book that I failed to notice my phone ringing. It wasn't until Edward asked me if I was going to answer it that I realized it was ringing.
I marked my spot in the book before picking up my phone and noticing that Jensen was calling. I'd talked to him a few weeks ago, and I couldn't imagine why he was calling. Rolling onto my back, I answered my phone.
"Hey, Jensen."
"Sam—" he gasped out, and I frowned. He sounded like he was having a hard time breathing.
"Samuel Allison?" I asked.
"He knows," he managed to get out in between wheezes. "He's headed to Forks."
I almost dropped the phone. "What? How did he find out?"
I got no response before I heard the phone fall to the floor, and I was on my feet and down the stairs in a flash. Something bad had happened to Jensen, and I knew I was right when Alice came flying through the door.
"Samuel Allison attacked Jensen," she yelled, her words coming out in a rush as she skidded to a stop in front of me.
"I know. Jensen called me and tried to tell me what happened. I think he's hurt really bad. We need to—"
"I know. We need to leave now."
I grabbed my keys from the peg next to the door and was outside before I realized I needed to let the others know that Samuel was on his way. I turned around and found myself face to face with Edward who had a look of worry on his face.
"I have to go," I told him. "I have to get to Jensen. Samuel Allison attacked him and is headed here. You need to warn Esme and Carlisle."
Edward looked over at Emmett and Rosalie who were standing on the porch, and Emmett gave Edward a nod.
"We should take the Bentley. It's faster," Edward said right as I was about to slide behind the wheel of my car. Edward was right. A Bentley would be much faster.
Running toward the garage, Alice, Jasper, Edward, and I got into the car and were quickly tearing out of the driveway. I hoped like hell we got to Jensen before it was too late.
a/n: Oh noes! Poor Jensen (who is named after Jensen Ackles from Supernatural in case you didn't know). As always, I'd love to hear what you have to say.