Beautiful Hitchhiker

Chapter Eleven – When the Past Bites Me in the Ass

My arms tightened around Bella's waist, and I became lost in the chaos in my head. How the hell did this shit happen?

"Edward," she whispered in a strangled sob.

She hated me. My sister had her J. That must've been the reason she'd left. Their engagement had just been announced a couple of days before I'd left.

I couldn't find anything to say, I was dumbstruck. How did you tell the person you loved that it pissed you off, knowing that she'd once belonged to his friend?

Fuck.

"Please don't hate me," she whispered again, this time accompanied with a sniffle.

My heart clenched and ached from her pain. She thought I'd hate her?

"Never," I said.

"I had no idea your sister and Jasper…" She trailed off, not wanting to continue.

"Does it matter to you?" I had to know if this was bothering her for the same reasons it was bothering me.

"I don't really want to see him again. But if I'm with you I will, won't I?"

I sighed and pulled her closer. Her back was to my chest, and I kissed the crook of her neck.

"We don't have to see any of them anymore if you don't want to, Bella. I'd give them all up for you."

Bella nodded. "I'd so the same for you. But my dad, Edward. I'll have to go back sometime." She turned carefully, causing the hammock to sway.

"I understand, Bella. But I have a feeling that Jasper isn't one to get let go."

"He let me go when he met your sister."

I sighed and laid my hand on her cheek. "Is he the reason you left?"

Bella looked thoughtful for a minute, causing me to overanalyze her pause.

"I was in his car, because we had just come back from lunch. I had been out of the institution for a few days, caring for my father. He told me in the car that I could keep our house, and that he was moving in with Alice. Then he told me that he'd asked her to marry him and –"

"You still…love him." My voice cracked as the words left my mouth. I was unable to stem the overpowering despair that I might lose her.

How could I compete with someone that she had known her whole life? How could I compare with someone that she'd loved for the better part of decade? That kind of devotion and love wasn't something that could be switched off.

Was I just a replacement? A fucking rebound. Fuck.

"Yes, I do."

I swung off the hammock and started pacing the campsite.

"Wait, Edward. I do love him. A part of me always will, just as I love Jacob and Leah. It's not the same for what I feel for you now."

I looked up and Bella, and her eyes were pleading with me to understand.

But I didn't understand. I knew that I had feelings for both Irina and Tanya, but they didn't compare to what I felt for Bella.

Had she loved Jasper like she claimed she loved me?

How did I know if it just going to go away or change like it did for Jasper?

"Tell me, Bella, if he came to you now and said it was over between him and Alice, what would you do?"

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "I'd ask why."

I laughed.

"What, Edward? Do you think that I'd just run back into his arms? Have you not heard anything that I've said to you?"

I shook my head. My legs were suddenly carrying me to my car. I needed time to think.

"Edward!" I heard her scream behind me as I slammed my door and started the car. Her fists pounded on my window. I knew I couldn't look at her, because it would break me if I did.

"You can't leave me," she cried as her small fists still pounded on my window. Don't leave me."

I shook my head and said, "I need some time."

I could see from the corner of my eye that she stepped away and fell to her knees.

I left.

I left her there begging me to come back.

Laurent

I hung up my cell phone and looked at James, who was awaiting the information I had just received from my informant.

"It seems the FBI agent, on the case, a Mr. Black, made an inquiry on your little peach. She just used her credit card here in San Francisco. She's staying with one guest."

James sneered, "I'll take a wild guess and say that this guest is none other than Cullen."

"Yes, but what's more important is that Black is friends with her. That will make getting to her more difficult. She may have to wait. We should have another victim lined up already, and we don't. So for now we need to find a victim and find out why this agent is suddenly paying her a visit."

"The agent is coming to San Francisco?" James asked as he looked out the window of my car.

"Yes, he left information with his handlers that he's heading to here to find her and question Cullen."

James smiled. "So do I get to check on my little peach?"

"Perhaps we should make a stop at the hotel and see what all the fuss is about. You never know; maybe we'll find another victim along the way," I said.

"Let's hope," James growled.

We watched from separate corners in the lobby as the FBI agent leading the case spoke with the hotel clerk that had apparently serviced Cullen and Isabella. I stood beside a large potted palm tree and heard the entire exchange.

The almost-platinum blonde sneered and rolled her eyes in annoyance when she saw the picture Agent Black was showing her.

"She came in with this very good-looking man. I tried to tell them we don't allow that kind of thing here in this hotel."

After a few tense moments, I came to find that this Alice and Jasper who were accompanying Agent Black knew Isabella and Edward personally. Alice was his little sister, but I barely remembered her since she was much younger than me when we were living in Alaska.

I heard James approach from behind me and whispered, "I think we found our next victim." He stared at the short dark-haired woman holding hands with the tall blond man.

I shook my head. "That won't work, James. We're trying to have Edward blamed for these murders now, remember? At least some of them, so he wouldn't fuck his own sister."

"Damn it. Then who are we going after? The only other person that knew of him was the bitch with the fake tits," James sneered, still hovering behind me.

"Exactly."

James groaned and sighed. "Fine. But only because I'm twitching to get a scarf around a bitch's neck."

I chuckled. James was getting harder and harder to tame. I'd been able to get him to kill only every few months. Now it seemed that he had to satisfy his hunger almost daily.

James cleaned up in the lobby bathroom, getting ready to meet and lure our next victim.

I never raped the victims that I lured. They willingly gave themselves to me. No, I merely lured them with my charms and satisfied that urge. But when I took out the scarf and wrapped it around their necks, I always pictured Edward's face and eyes as I strangled the life from their bodies.

By my own instructions, I placed their bodies to make sure that every crime scene looked the same. We both used the same condoms, and I was rough with them so that they at least matched what James did. There'd been times I watched him, and he'd watched me. After a while, we'd decided that it was best that we performed alone, just to make sure the other didn't leave evidence behind.

In reality, I took no pleasure in watching him rape his victims. If the FBI paid more attention, they would see that half the murders were less violent than the other half. But this was the FBI; a few well-placed clues and they thought they were all from the same person.

I'd had the last victim in Eureka. So now it was James' turn.

I watched him as he flirted with the clerk, and she openly flirted back. We avoided cameras at all cost, making sure of their locations throughout the hotel. He took her hand, but she led him through a side employee exit into the dark night.

She didn't stand a chance.

About two hours later, we were on the road as I drove James back to where he'd left his car.

"Where are we heading now?" James asked, wiping blood off his knuckles before he climbed out of my car.

"I have an idea where he's heading. I'll call you in a day or two if my thoughts are right. Then you can meet me. But if I find her…"

James shook his head. "Hell no, that little bitch is mine," he snarled, his eyes dark.

I laughed. "Like you can stop me?"

James glared, and his breathing became more labored. "If you get her, then I will go after the sister," he threatened.

I clenched my jaw. In reality, I didn't give a fuck about Edward's new girl. I just wanted him dead. But if we broke from the MO, then the FBI would know something was up. If I told James that I just wanted Edward dead, then he'd know that this was all to get back at him.

I couldn't let that happen. I still needed James. If I couldn't frame Edward, I needed James to be the scapegoat.

"I'll choose another before we go after her." I sneered.

"Fine, you'd better just call me. Don't do anything to her until I get there. I want the first taste," he said with glazed look in his eyes.

I armed my gun that was currently resting on James' chest. James' eyes widened, and he looked down at the 9mm shining in the moonlight streaming through the moon roof of my car.

"Get the fuck out, James," I growled. "Don't forget your place." James put his hands in the air and kept his eyes on my armed hand as he took the door handle in his hand, He cursed as he closed the door behind him and got into his car.

I sighed.

This was getting complicated.

Edward

I pounded the dashboard with my fist and slammed my forehead against the steering wheel.

Fuck!

Why did I have to share everything?

I was sure that to anyone else, I sounded like a fucking child. But I didn't give a fuck. The one person that made me happier than anyone had ever made me feel belonged to someone else.

Fuck!

How could I have not seen it? The small town was the same town that Jasper had been raised in and he'd told me stories about fishing and camping out there. He'd even told me he'd been stationed and gone to school in fucking California.

Fuck. He'd never once mentioned that he'd had a girl. He'd loved her for most of his life and had been going to marry her one day. If tragedy hadn't stroke, she wouldn't have been here today.

Where would I be?

Would I be driving the Pacific coast highway alone, lost to my thoughts?

Yes, I would.

I believed it. If that fateful car accident hadn't happened, Bella would be married and holding her son. She'd be happy and married to safe and sane Jasper.

We would have never met.

How could one accident affect so many people? So many lives?

Where did we go from here?

Could I seriously walk away from the crazy, sweet, beautiful girl just because she had loved another man?

No.

I knew I couldn't stay away.

What scared me now was, why Jasper was here?

Had he been there at the hotel to support Alice?

Or had he been here to take Bella away from me?

I thought back to the pained expression she'd had when I'd left.

Fuck!

It was getting dark, and I fucking just left her there.

Why had I left her?

Because I'm a selfish bastard that wanted nothing more than to have her to myself, that's why. Now I fucking hurt her. She's probably pissed as hell and will probably…

Fuck, she'd leave.

She'd leave that campsite.

Fuck.

I sped to the nearest exit and found the entrance to the on ramp that would lead me back to Bella. I realized that I had been gone for over an hour, and I prayed that by the time I returned, she wouldn't have gone far. I topped off my speed at well over a hundred miles an hour. I was aware that if I got a ticket, my family would find me.

But I didn't care anymore.

I was done running.

I needed Bella.

I needed to stop and face what I had done.

I needed to be with the one person that made me happy.

I needed Bella to forgive me for being such an asshole.

I made it to the campsite in less than twenty minutes and found her backpack gone. However, her duffel bag was still there.

I checked the bathrooms, and she wasn't there.

I checked the beach and I didn't spot her.

It was dark already, and I noticed one of the flashlights was gone, too.

She'd gone for a walk.

There was a trail that led to a wooded area behind most of the campsites. I took the other flashlight and threw on a jacket, heading to the trail marker and toward the forest.

I followed it for several minutes; the trail floor was made of wooden planks. Soon the trail changed from the wooden boardwalk to dirt and gravel. Now my footsteps were muffled with the soft ground that was covered with fallen leaves and tall grass in some places. I struggled to remain on the trail, since it was starting to become harder to decipher where it was leading. I stopped for a minute to get my bearings and looked at a nearby marker on a tree before I continued.

I stopped again, aware of someone ahead of me. A quiet sob filled the air around me – a familiar sound that still haunted me like the first time I'd heard it months ago.

"Bella," I whispered, hoping to coax a verbal confirmation of her location from her.

The sobbing stopped. I waited in silence and closed my eyes, trying to listen to everything around me.

After a few minutes, I became aware that she didn't want to be found. She hadn't made a sound.

I sighed. "Bella, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left… I was…"

Then a fist met my jaw.

A fucking fist.

Not a slap across the face.

But her fist.

"Owww!" she screamed.

"Love, are you okay?" I asked, opening my eyes to see her clutching her right hand.

She stopped her movements and glared at me. She ran and tackled me. My back hit the trunk of a tree.

I groaned, but Bella continued her assault on my chest with her firsts. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her feet off the ground.

Not my smartest move.

Her legs started kicking at my shins.

"You shitty asshole… How could you? I thought you loved me… Left me crying… You...asshole…"

Bella's movements started to cease, but I didn't loosen my grip on her writhing body. "Stop, Bella!"

"No, I won't. I have every right to give you a piece of my mind. You left me!"

"I won't do it again!"

She slapped me.

Ow…

"You shouldn't have left in the first place."

"You fucking admitted that you left because he fucking moved on and that you loved him."

"Yes, Edward, but you didn't let me finish!"

She moved to strike me again, but I stopped her with my hand. But unfortunately that loosened my grip on her waist, and my nuts got acquainted with her knee.

I groaned, loosening my grip on her completely. She backed off and watched me as I cupped my balls in pain. Tears leaked out of my eyes.

Bella stood before me with her hands on her hips, looking proud of herself.

After a few minutes, I managed to catch my breath, and I managed not to squeak the next words out of my mouth.

"I love you, Bella," I said, looking into her eyes. "I'm just scared about what this means for us,"

"Nothing should change. You love me, and I love you. Though I must admit, holidays are going to be weird."

I chuckled, but I didn't want to think about seeing Jasper and Bella dance around each other at a family dinner.

Bella rushed to me and placed her hand on my chest. "I'm still mad at you."

"I know. I deserve it." I placed my hands tentatively on her hips. When she didn't pull away, I pulled her closer.

"You have a strong jaw," she quipped as I leaned in to kiss her soft lips.

"You hit like a girl," I whispered against her lips.

That brought on a new round of Street Fighter Bella.

I laughed as she continued her assault, thankfully not adding kneeing my groin to her attempt. I wrapped my arms around her and crashed my lips against hers.

She moaned loudly and moved against me aggressively. She was still mad at me for leaving.

She grabbed at my shorts and boxers and pushed them just passed my knees. I groaned when I felt the strong grip of her warm hands on my dick. She mewled and then quickly bit my neck when I pulled away from her mouth. I growled, feeling the rumble in my chest as she continued to sink her teeth in.

"Bella," I groaned as her hands stroking my dick tightened and pumped faster. My head fell back against the tree. Her mouth still hadn't released me, so I tried to calm her and palmed her ass and breast through her jacket and t-shirt.

She had too many clothes on I thought as I tore at her jacket and shirt and fumbled with the tie to her pajama pants. I tore away my own clothes, and I kissed her awaiting mouth. Our tongues battled for dominance, but I let her win and she sucked my tongue into her mouth. I groaned and fucking twitched in her very capable hands.

She pulled away as my hand descended to her awaiting dripping pussy. Sweet, warm and wet. I groaned as my fingers filled her. She moaned softly, swirling her tongue over the bite mark she'd left on my shoulder. I hissed, realizing that she drew blood, but I didn't give a fuck. She could do what she pleased with me, as long as she was always here with me.

Bella's bare leg hitched up on my hip, and her foot was flat against the tree. I dipped my fingers in deeper, and while I was there checked her strings. Bella giggled when she realized what I was doing.

"What? Just want to be sure." I grumbled against her neck.

"Mmm, you can check as often as you like." She grinned at me before placing her lips on mine.

"I'll take you up on that offer, miss."

She giggled and tugged at my hair with one of her hands. "You won't leave me again."

I shook my head.

"Ever?" she questioned, stilling her movements against my erection. I whimpered again before shaking my head.

I removed my hand from her wet heat, and she hopped up and wrapped her legs around my waist. I groaned when I felt how wet she was against my abdomen. Bella's hand left my cock causing me to whimper from the loss.

"So now that you checked, can I fuck you like an animal?" she asked, her breath fanning against my cold ear.

I groaned and nipped at her collarbones. "Fuck, Bella. What's gotten into you?"

Bella body tensed, her heat just an inch from where my cock wanted her to be. "I thought you weren't coming back," she whispered turning her head so I couldn't see her. "It scared me."

I took one of my hands from groping her ass and pulled her chin up to see her. "I'm sorry, Bella. I'd do anything for you. But don't ask me to give you up."

Bella nodded. "I won't. Not ever."

I smiled at her and then wrapped both my arms around her. She eyed me questionably as I took our pile of discarded clothes and laid her on them.

"Edward," she whispered.

"I just want to make love to you, Bella. Please let me make love to you?" I hovered over her body. She gave me a small smile and then opened her mouth.

"Fine, but when my ribs feel better you are going to fuck me," she said sweetly, even batting her eyelashes and shit.

I smirked and gave her the smile I knew she loved. "With pleasure," I answered as I entered her.

Bella threw her head back and moaned, her eyes rolling back. "Bella, keep your eyes open," I whispered, watching her, loving her.

Loving the way she felt around me, the feel of her soft silky skin beneath me, and her scent. Loving the feel of her pulse under my lips, and I could see the love and hope in her eyes.

Loving the feel of her deep within my soul, and I knew that I loved her with all that was within. I was finally whole.

Our pace was slow but calculated so that we were both teetering along the edge for so long that when she finally clenched around me, our ends were drawn out and strong.

Strong like our bond. I knew then that no one would tear us apart.

No one.

Not the fucking FBI.

Not Tanya.

Not my family.

Not whoever was out there killing all of those women.

Not even Jasper.

If he wanted to fight me for her, I was fucking game.

"I…love…you," I gasped in between breaths after pulling out and wrapping my arms around her shivering body. Since the evening had descended upon us, it had gotten relatively cold, and we were both outside in the elements and fucking freezing. Not that we had noticed in the throes of passion.

Fuck, "throes of passion."I chuckled to myself.

Love made a guy sick and cheesy.

I looked at Bella's face on my chest, her hair fanned across my torso.

Cheesy I could handle, as long as she was cheesy with me.

Since we were only human, I insisted on going back to the campsite. We dressed quickly, and I gave her ride on my back.

Bella pointed at something when our tent came into view. "What's that?"

Tied to one of the camping chairs was a black scarf.