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Chapter 11 – Flashback part deux
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Edward reached his hand up to his mouth and touched his lips. They were still tingling with the aftermath of the kiss he had just stolen.
He had managed to catch Special agent Swan off guard and he had taken full advantage of it. However good of an agent she was, she had not seen that one coming. He had seen the panic in her eyes. Panic quickly replaced by anger before she had pushed him away. Damn, he had forgotten how gorgeous she looked when she was furious.
The liplock, if you could call it that, had only lasted for about half a second, but that brief moment was enough to open up a floodgate of memories from his high school years in the flyspeck of a town that was Forks WA.
Some of the most vivid memories he had of Isabella Swan involved both heated arguments and steamy liplocks. They had quarreled a LOT during their time together. Two equally strong individuals, two equally pigheaded teenagers– neither of them willing to be the first to give in… but more often than seldom their arguments had ended with the two of them rolling around in each others arms laughing or kissing or both.
Edward rarely allowed himself to think back on those memories, but when he did there was this one particular memory, this one particular argument, that stood out from the rest. It was a night he still, many years later, remembered with crystal clarity, a night when he had pushed her buttons so bad that he had thought for sure he'd end up in one of Chief Swans holding cells. Of course in the end it turned out it had been Bella pushing his buttons all along and not the other way around…
It all started with his teenage self climbing through one of the second floor windows of the Swan residence, a fairly regular occurrence back in those days. It was a climb that took nearly ten minutes to make. The tree that served as a ladder was a tall, straight, pine without a branch or a single knot on its dark bark till eight feet off the ground. It was hard work, but usually well worth the effort. This particular night was no exception because waiting for him on the other side of that window was a fresh-out-of -the-shower looking Bella with soaking wet hair, clad in nothing but the oversized T-shirt that she usually wore as a nightie.
His mood had been beyond sour that night but the sight of her bare feet, long legs and cute ass had been enough to make him forget, at least momentarily, about the confrontation he knew was coming.
Bella had appeared to be genuinely trilled to see him and Edward decided to play along in hope of getting some kissing and grouping in before hell broke loose. Although he knew he was only prolonging the inevitable, he let himself be led towards her bed, let himself forget all else but the softness of her in his arms, and the warmth of her lips on his.
The make out session and the corresponding hormone-induced euphoria lasted for a good seven minutes. That's how long it took before Bella had to go and ruin the moment by mentioning the one name Edward did not want to hear from her lips...ever… Jacob Black.
And with that the grim reality came crashing down on him once again.
If Edward remembered correctly it started with Bella telling him, in between kisses that she had made plans for the weekend, plans that did not include him. That in itself wasn't such a big deal, it wasn't like they were joined at the hip or anything. He would have been fine with it had he not found out that the real reason she was bailing on him was because she had made a study date with Jake.
A date with Jacob freaking Black… Now, that was something that did NOT sit right with Edward...at all.
As always, Edward's fists clenched and his teeth gritted at the mere mention of that name. He tried to remain indifferent, but his facial expression betrayed him almost instantly. His mouth contorted into something between a sneer and a scowl; an expression that young Bella was probably all-too familiar with because she immediately called him out on it.
"Don't give me that look," she warned him, poking him in the chest with her index finger. "I'm his tutor, in order to tutor him I need to spend certain amount of time with him."
The muscles in his jaw jerked as he fought devilish bile of jealousy welling up inside him. "What is it this time? Algebra, geometry, calculus… No wait, I know, it's biology again, isn't it? You're educating him on the finer points of the human anatomy. Just like you did after school this afternoon, when Rosalie saw the two of you in town together?"
Bella rolled her eyes in the "No this again." kinda way, before responding. "We went to the library to pick up some books."
He looked for signs of guilt on her face, prodded for signs of internal conflict. Yet he could see none. So it was probably not an outright lie then, but rather a half-truth.
She looked utterly angelic as she sat there cross legged on the bed with her dark hair laying out over her shoulders contrasting sharply with her white T-shirt and her pale, glowing skin. He almost felt bad for calling her out on her crap… almost… but not quite…
"The library you say? Funny, because from what I've heard you were seen at the diner with him, practically sitting in his lap, looking all cozy and shit."
Her facial expression went from innocence to confusion to anger in five seconds flat. "You know that I would never, ever – "
"Right, I'm sure it was all innocent," he interrupted her, the sarcasm in his tone heavily emphasized as he continued. "Just two kids sharing a Strawberry Ice Cream Sundae,"
"I don't have to justify anything to you." Her words came out fast and with her emotion rising and falling, at one moment angry and at another with a needy, almost pleading tone. "Jake is my friend, I've known him since he was in diapers. We used to make mud pies together, hell we used to run around naked in Charlie's front yard when we were younger. "
"Yeah well, he's not a kid anymore. He's a guy, a guy who takes every opportunity to ogle you and follow you around like a horny little puppy. I don't trust him one single bit."
"Which is the same thing as saying you don't trust me." Bella shot back after reflecting on it for all of ten seconds.
And there it was. The issue that always hung over them…
"You certainly seem to enjoy the attention he's giving you. He's always touching you and you never tell him off."
"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." She broke away and scurried to get off the bed, clearly not liking the direction the conversation was going.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I touch a nerve?" Edward was on his feet and in her face in an instant, not willing to back down just yet. "Does puppy eyes turn you on?" He gripped her jaw, forcing her to look at him. "You like em' young and baby faced, Isabella? "
Her eyes widened. "Don't be ridiculous." She tried to twist out of his grip, but he was of course far stronger than her.
"What the f*ck Isabella! You sat in his lap, you let him spoon feed you Ice-cream… Did you honestly think I'd be okay with that?," he spat as he maneuvered them both backwards towards the nearest wall.
Bella shrieked in surprise as her back hit the hard surface with a resounding thud. "Let go of me!"
"Let go of me," Edward mimicked her voice scornfully. "I bet that's not what you tell HIM?"
She lunged at him then, her clenched fists colliding with his chest not once, but repeatedly, until he caught her
wrists in a one handed grip and yanked them over her head.
She cursed loudly and at length whilst attempting to wriggle herself free. He pulled her upwards until her feet barely touched the ground. He wasn't gentle but he was no where near hurting her either. Her scowl grew even darker, but he could tell she was more flustered than anything else.
"All those hours you spent with him at his place, you weren't really studying, were you?"
"Scuse me?," she flinched at his snide remark.
"You heard me!" He let his one free hand travel downwards to the hemline of her T-shirt and the exposed skin of her hip and the near-perfect roundness of her tush. "All that alone time with him... Don't tell me he's never tried anything! I'm not buying that!"
She let out a startled little "Eeek!" as Edward fondled every bit of naked flesh he could reach.
"Don't deny it! I've seen him grab your ass…" He practically spat the words in her ear as his hand continued to roam crudely, intimately over the curves of her body. "…and he's always staring at your tits." As he spoke his hands paused at the soft swell of her breasts. "Has he seen them? Has he touched them?," he asked cupping first one, and then the other in his hand.
She yelped and squirmed against him the tiniest bit, but would neither look at him or answer his question. Her silence was enough of an admission for Edward to continue his exploration of her body.
He let his hand drop to the junction of her thighs. "What about here?" He pushed the fabric of her panties aside and treaded his fingers into the soft silken tangle of hair. "Has he touched you here as well!" He growled against her neck, strangely eager for her reaction.
She didn't disappoint.
"Like hell I'm answering a question like that!" She stuck her chin out defiantly at him, but he also detected a note of urgency in her voice as her hips jerked against his hand.
"So you're not denying it then?"
"Only because I shouldn't have to!," she hissed through clenched teeth.
"Say it! I want to hear you say it! I need to hear you say it!"
"Never!," she shook her head vigorously, but gave a nearly primal cry when his fingertips brushed against the edges of her slick folds.
"Say it!," he demanded once more.
"Never…. never been anyone but you " she sputtered almost angrily.
And there they were; the magic words….
"There is no one but you…Edward!"
His anger dissolved just as fast as it had flared and once his mind cooled down he began to take stock of what he had done.
He had been rough with her; backed her into a corner and plunged his fingers into her like a greedy child in a sweet shop. So NOT cool!
The quiver in her voice could very well have been caused by fear and the squirming could have been a sign of discomfort… could have been... but wasn't because her face was flushed, her breathing was coming in rapid gasps against the side of his neck and she was wet, absolutely sodden wet. This was, however, not how it was supposed to be. Even if it turned her on a little, or a lot judging by the wetness between thighs, it still wasn't right.
Suddenly guilt stricken, he let go of her wrists and her arms fell limply to her sides.
His beautiful, fierce, perfect, virginal girlfriend deserved better than this, she deserved better than a raw, quick fuck against the wall.
Bella, of course, was of a different idea. "Edward Cullen, don't you dare leave me hanging like this!," she growled, yes growled and quickly squeezed her legs and thighs together, trapping his hand in a death grip between them. "Don't you-dare-stop-now!"
"Sorry, this is wrong. I was wrong. I shouldn't have… we shouldn't…" He tugged his hand, but she wouldn't budge instead her arms snaked around his neck, and he could feel her breasts pressing against his chest, and her heart, or was it his, pounding hard between them.
Edward inhaled, sharply. "We agreed to wait til after your birthday."
"You agreed, not me. I'm done waiting. I'm not waiting another day," Tilting her head, she pressed her lips to his jaw. "I'm ready now," she whispered, her mouth so close to his ear it sends shivers through his body.
Lips pressing, teeth nipping, tongue licking.
She knew exactly what that did to him. He should have known there would be payback. Clearly, she was trying to torture him into submission-as if he wasn't already aching hard and throbbing for her.
"We both agreed to wait," he insisted, but even in his own ears it did not sound convincing.
"My birthday is weeks away, " she pouted.
God that pout may just be the most wholesomely sexy expression he had ever seen.
He knew he needed to retreat, needed to back away and flee from temptation and the heavenly smell of her arousal before he did something they would both regret.
"We are not doing this. Not here, not now, not with your father watching TV downstairs."
"I'm done waiting. If you won't give me what I want then I will have to look elsewhere…"
She was taunting him, pushing him, and while he knew what she was trying to achieve, he couldn't stop the jealousy from taking root in his chest again.
"You will NOT, I repeat, NOT go to Jake or anyone else. I know I can't stop you from seeing him, but please… please…You're mine. We belong together."
"Better lay your claim then," she half teased, half challenged and suddenly his hand was free of the restraint and the solid warmth of her body was no longer pressed against his.
"Take me now and I'll be yours. All yours and only yours." She took a few steps back and pulled her T-shirt over her head exposing her perfectly rounded breasts crowned by two rubies, two wonderfully erect nipples.
He felt his breath hitch, his cock twitch and lord have mercy, the temptation was terrible. Must think unsexy thoughts, must think unsexy thoughts… Meatloaf, smelly shoes, baseball…. Chief Swan…chief Swan watching baseball downstairs… chief Swan watching baseball downstairs while cleaning his gun…. Ugh…
"Isabella Marie Swan, you're gonna be the death of me," Edward tried to growl, but it sounded more like a throaty whimper. He hated how desperate, how needy, he sounded, but he couldn't help it. Not in a moment like this one…
"I can't believe I'm saying this but you need to stop taking your clothes off!"
"Why? Do you want to do that part?"
"It's not that I don't want to," he told her, picking his words carefully. "You have me walking around with a constant hard on. Even when you're not around I get aroused just thinking about you. But don't think for a second that I don't know what you did today."
"Not this again!" her breasts bounced as she threw her hands into the air in frustration. "Nothing happened. Nothing has ever happened between Jake and me."
"Maybe not, but you set this whole thing up. You knew all along what this would do to me. All you had to do was to make sure you were seen with him, make sure you were seen being overly friendly with him at the right place at the right time. You knew it would get back to me. You knew how I'd react. You knew I'd come looking for you and… and…"
"Reclaim you possession, push me up against the nearest wall and mark your territory. Well it worked, didn't it? It got us both hot and bothered. I don't see what your problem is!"
"Don't toy with me Bella, you can't manipulate me into being intimate with you. That is not how your first time… our first time should be."
Her only response was to step out of her panties. "You're such a hypocrite, Edward. You've been deflowering girls left and right since you were fourteen. Jessica, Lauren, Bree… do I need to go on? Everyone but me..."
There was that pout again, only this time it was accented by her lack of underwear.
Focus, Cullen, Focus…
"That's because I Love you. I have never cared about any of those girls like I care about you."
"And yet you wouldn't do this one little thing for me?"
Naked as a Forest Nymph she walked, or rather sauntered, across the room and pulled the bedspread off her bed.
"If you really love me you would do anything for me."
"Emotional blackmail, how very romantic of you!" he snorted, but found his feet moving on their own accord towards the bed.
"My bad, let me give you some options. Thanks to you I'm going to have to get myself off before I can get to sleep or I'll be tossing and turning the whole night through. You can either stay and help me out or you can leave. It's up to you. What's it gonna be?"
And there it was the moment of truth. How much longer could he resist? How much longer did he really want to resist?
Horny teenager as he was he folded like a card house in the slightest hint of a breeze. The temptation was too strong, the lure too irresistible. Despite his best effort to keep his hands to himself and keep them both out of trouble, Isabella Swan would end up losing her virginity a few weeks shy of her eighteen birthday.
As fate would have it didn't actually happen on this particular night though, but only because of a broken headboard. Bella's bed more or less caved in under the weight of the two of them as they toppled onto the mattress together in a not so graceful heap of half-clothed bodies. Edward had to do the classic hide-in-the-closet routine for an hour and a half while chief Swan made an attempt at repairing the blasted thing without taking it out of the room.
So yeah, no cherry was popped that particular night… but it was only a matter of time… Isabella Swan was like a drug he couldn't get enough of, an addiction he had never been able to kick.
Eight years later and Edward still found himself musing over the delicious feeling of something as simple as a stolen kiss on her lips.
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