Baby or beast ch. 11

The very idea of meeting Leon's mother made her incredibly nervous. She didn't know what to expect, she couldn't anticipate what would happen next. She was aware that Mary had expectations, from Leon and from her as well.

She didn't know what would come of this. Whatever it was, Bella hoped that she would be ready for it.

Leon opened the door and stepped inside the house. He found it unusual that the door was unlocked but didn't think much of it. That probably meant that his mother was home.

It was very dark; he could hardly see anything in front of him. He started to look for the light switch, running his hand up against the wall in an attempt to find it.

He turned on the lights.

To his surprise, the house was exactly the same as he remembered. He had assumed that it would be different, but in truth, he didn't know what he had expected. He thought that his mother might have wanted to change things around the house with him gone. Repaint the walls, buy new furniture or even fix her garden.

But everything was the same as before.

He recognized her scent; it was everywhere; in the air, in every corner, in every fabric. It was so familiar and undeniably comforting. It brought back memories from his childhood, things that he cherished dearly. He remembered how his mother would wrap him up in blankets before putting him to bed. She used to read him bedtime stories from his favorite books. That would make his imagination run wild. He would spend hours making up stories, always finding inspiration in the tales that his mother would read to him.

He didn't know if his mother had kept those writings; the notebooks filled with the stories that were his own creations. Secretly he hoped that those works had been thrown away. He didn't want Bella to read them, nor did he want his mother to mention them at any time. He wasn't embarrassed; he just wanted his passion for writing fictional stories to be kept a secret. He wrote those stories for himself and had little desire to share them with other people. Not Bella, nor his mother or anyone else. He didn't want his stories to be criticized. But mostly, he didn't want to be put in an awkward situation. There were some things that he wanted to keep for himself, to be kept private. Those writings were amongst them.

Thinking back, he wished that he could go back to simpler times, when it was just him and his mother, and no one else. When worries didn't take over every aspect of their lives and drifted them apart. He never realized just how much he missed those times, those moments shared with the only person that ever truly cared about him. He wanted to relive those moments all over again, but it was impossible the only thing he could do was to accept that those times had come and passed and try to find other sources of happiness and inspiration.

Maybe Bella would be the reason why he would find happiness again. The moments that they had spent together were truly special for Leon. Secretly, he hoped that she felt the same way. That she cherished those memories as much as he did.

He had no idea how she felt, no way to guess what was going through her head. She made him feel safe and ironically enough, she almost made him feel normal.

She succeeded where his mother had failed.

The way she spoke to him, treated him and behaved around him made all the difference. She didn't treat him any differently than anyone else. She didn't make him feel like he was a freak; like he was worth anything less. She accepted him and he hoped, appreciated him and the times they had spent together.

They searched the entire house but found it empty. Leon had assumed that his mother would have been here if the doors were unlocked.

So, where was she?

It was a strange situation and it made him somewhat nervous. Bella noticed the change and got closer to him. She then placed her smaller hand over his larger one. The gesture made Leon jump a bit, obviously surprised by the unexpected physical contact, but after a few seconds, he began to relax.

His mind was elsewhere. He resisted the urge to put his arm around her waist and pull her closer to him. He loved having her close to him, feeling her body next to his. Her warmth, her presence, her kind words and actions, he was addicted to it all; and more importantly, he was addicted to her.

He enjoyed having her around, spending time with her and doing things with her, just the two of them. They started to read together and they both enjoyed it. He had made her discover new authors and books, always looking forward in sharing them with her, even if he already knew what those stories contained.

When she told him how much she enjoyed it, he couldn't hide his happiness. He didn't know what had gotten into him, but after she shared this with him, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

She looked down, blushing, with a small smile painted on her lips.

Leon never felt such strong emotions, or perhaps he had, but it was never like this. He felt a comforting warmth all over his body, making him blush under his fur.

He had no idea why he did that.

He never kissed a girl before, nor did he ever come close to being kissed by one.

He wanted to hold her, feel her, touch her, and be touched in return. He wanted to feel that comforting warmth again, which only seemed to manifest itself when Bella was with him.

Was she causing this?

He wondered what other changes Bella brought upon him. He soon realized that he was no longer feeling constant sadness, nor was he suffering from the overwhelming sentiment of agonizing loneliness.

She made him happy, he realized; more than anyone else in the world.

He never felt inner peace before she came along, at least not in the same way he was feeling it now.

He squeezed her hand lightly and smiled at her.

He never wanted to leave her side. He didn't want to go on without having her in his life. He never wanted those moments to end.

He pulled her along the corridor and as they entered the living room, Leon picked her up and cradled her in his arms, continuing to walk towards the couch. He sat down with her and pulled her even closer to him. As her head rested on his shoulder, with eyes closed, she looked peaceful. He could feel her breathing on this neck; it was warm and calming. He wanted to stay like this forever.

Then, something strange happened, for what seemed like the first time.

He began to feel hard. There was an unexpected bulging in his pants, which he never experienced before. It was soon followed by an intense throbbing sensation that began when he allowed Bella to sit on his lap. He knew that she could feel it too.

What happened next was something he never would have expected.

She positioned herself on his lap, so she would be facing him, and looked at him with an expression that he could indentify. Then she started to run both of her hands down his legs and found what she was looking for.

What she did next took Leon totally by surprise.

She placed her hand over the lump in his pants and gently began to rub. Leon yelped out in surprise but soon gave in and let her continue. He moaned in pleasure and closed his eyes. But as soon as the sound escaped his mouth, she pulled her hand away.

He began to doubt reality again when she started to kiss him.

She was still hesitant, he could tell that much. But after the brief few seconds of their last intimate contact, her doubt didn't last long.

He had pushed her away before, when she tried to touch his face. It happened shortly after they met for the first time, in the little cabin deep in the woods.

He had recoiled from her touch every time.

But now it seemed that he didn't have the strength to push her away. Normally, he didn't like to be touched. His faces, his neck, his head, were places that he rarely tolerated anyone to lay their hands on. Leon was convinced that he would rather be stripped naked than let her put her hands on his face. That made him feel unbelievably vulnerable. It was a reminder that he was a freak, a monster.

It seemed different with Bella. She was gentle, with her delicate fingers tracing along his jaw line, running through his fur…

He kept his eyes closed, fearing that if he opened them, this would reveal itself to be nothing more than a dream.

He never went this far with a girl before, and never would have if she hadn't landed on his doorstep.

He realized that he was getting scared. He was afraid of what she was doing to him. She was changing the way he saw everything, making him believe that impossible things could happen.

Making him believe, even for a moment, that a beautiful girl like her could fall in love with him.

Unexpected, surreal, impossible…

Those were the best words he could think of to describe the situation he was in.

Disbelief was the dominant emotion that ran through him. It was also the perfect word to describe his state of mind.

He lifted his fury hand and reached out to touch her hair. He began to run his fingers through her golden curls; feeling their softness and breathing her scent.

It was more than he expected. It felt so natural, to be this close to her. It was good, to be close to someone. It was so easy, so effortless.

But as much as he enjoyed being this close to her, he knew that he needed to rest. He didn't realize he was tired until this moment. Leon wanted to go to his former room and curl up on the bed. Whether Bella came with him or not was irrelevant, he just needed to sleep. But something was keeping his from doing what he wanted to do.

Was it her, or did it come from another source? He got up, still struggling to keep his eyes open.

As he got up, he hardly noticed another figure hiding in the darkness.