Broken Headboards, Power Panties, and Penis Charms

by Nyddi

A lonely man. The young, beautiful, obnoxious girl he swore to protect. Question is, how did he protect her from himself and everything that came along with him? E x B #REVAMPED #REPOSTED #NEWDETAILS #BPP

11. The Emancipation of Penis Charm Two

Chapter 11

The Emancipation of Penis Charm Two

(And the compromise it births.)

---

One hour and twenty-five minutes into the flight...

***APOV

Headache.

A pounding, aching, throbbing, annoying, abusive, sadistic, body shattering, head-ache.

Ache, ache, ache.

That's what I had.

Although, can you really consider what I had just a headache? 'Cause my head wasn't the only thing stuck in that aforementioned state.

Put it however intelligently you want, we all know that just means your pussy is still throbbing.

The urge to just break the nearest thing (or six) in sight was insane. I pretty much jogged down the stairs in my heels, searching and hiding at the same time.

Because multitasking is what I do.

Yeah.

On the lower level, I momentarily stopped, clutching my chest and damning myself for smoking as my heart heaved like an old man inside me.

You know damned well that smoking isn't the cause of those heart palpitations.

I was going to DESTROY my brothers. Utterly annihilate them for this! How dare they?

How fucking dare they?

A part of me could understand – I think – that they felt some sort of...need (?) to follow Bella and Rose.

Ok, part of me didn't really understand much about that all, but still. They could've done so without bringing him along!

"Alice."

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" I gasped, nearly doubling over as my heart gave a warning thump. You know? The kind that clearly says 'Bitch, I'm on my last leg'.

Fuming, I turned just enough to see Jasper, leaning against the wall. Next to the door that led to one of the bathrooms.

Just my fucking luck.

"Kill me?" he asked, his eyebrows rising. He was staring at me, his face completely amused (asshole...) but his eyes didn't quite match that.

And I'd be damned if I allowed myself to study what was really in them.

"Yes, kill you," I hissed, taking a few steps away from him and his damned light blue jeans.

With the black button down shirt. Open at the collar and the sleeves rolled up.

Oh, yeah. And the fucking shoes. Let's not get into those.

Are those Gucci?

No! Stop!

Jasper was staring at me. With his hair tied back and the way he was leaning casually against the wall, he made certain parts of my awareness flicker and light up.

I wanted to slap his glasses right off his face.

I resisted the urge to shake my head. Knowing that I had to get away I turned, ready to fly back up the stairs and find the nearest door where I could lock myself away. Because I was thousands of fucking feet in the air. Trapped on a freaking plane.

Mom, Dad, please tell me you understand why your sons just have to die? Please?

"Alice, please listen."

"For what?" I snapped, turning back to him. "It won't change anything." And I realized in that moment that it was true. Whatever the truth was...it didn't matter right now. I was still too raw. Too hurt for anything to make a difference. The pain was still fresh regardless of how long it'd been. "Just stop. Ok? Just drop it! Just..."

"Bella, for fucking sakes, just stop!"

"No! Where is it?"

Jasper's head snapped to the side at the same time that mine did. Confused, I watched as Bella came barreling down the aisle, her hair flapping behind her as she frantically looked around.

Rose was stomping after her, looking equal parts annoyed and scared.

"Bella!"

"Rose, no! I'm throwing myself off the plane!" Bella hissed, glaring at Rose behind her.

The fuck?

"Stop being such a drama queen!"

"Fuck you! You saw what just happened!"

You know, let me tell you. I was starting to get sick and tired of being confused. Either I was rapidly becoming an idiot, or shit just kept getting crazier and crazier.

I was not amused. At all.

Bella and Rose were heading straight towards us. Jasper had turned back to look at me and he looked like he wanted to move off the wall.

For some unfathomable reason, my eyes fell down to his lips. My sick and deprived brain took in how his bottom lip pouted out. Suddenly, all I could do was remember.

Feel.

I snapped myself back out of it so violently that there was no doubt in my mind that he saw. Especially when those eyes narrowed and dropped down the length of my body.

It was seriously time to go.

I rushed the first few steps back up the stairs. I looked back, seeing Jasper moving to follow me, but he was cut off by Bella who rushed by him, barely sparing him a one second glance.

I ran the last few steps up, my heart surprising me when it actually survived the ordeal. Back up on the top floor, I turned and waited for Bella.

She appeared in less than a second, the look in her eye very recognizable.

She was running.

Just like me.

"Let's go," I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her with me.

I saw Rose reach the top of the stairs next. I knew it was very probable that Jasper would be right behind her. Galvanized, I took off, dragging Bella as fast as I could towards the first door I found. I slammed into another bathroom, stopping long enough to let a frustrated Rose in before slamming the door shut.

And locking it.

---

One hour and twenty-eight minutes into the flight...

***BPOV

"This is fucking ridiculous!" I heard Rose snap.

I didn't look up. My eyes were frozen on the floor. A part of me was still berating me for acting so stupidly. After all, I had just made a hell of a lot of commotion while Scott was somewhere on the plane.

Exactly, genius! Trying to find the fucking latch to throw yourself off. How the hell were you going to explain your suicide attempt to Scott if he happened to stop you before?

I wanted to crawl into myself. Just shrink in until I was nothing but a ball. Shield myself from the situation I was in. I kept praying to God. Praying that something would let up.

But everything seemed to be getting worse.

Stuck on a plane with my boyfriend and Edward worse.

Didn't God understand that if Scott caught onto anything he was going to be hurt? Dear Lord, Scott was a good man. A good man that had been better to me than I had ever deserved. And I was going to hurt him if he found out!

I wasn't going to be able to live with the guilt of that. To know that I had caused in another person the type of pain that I knew all too well would eventually be the thing that drove me insane.

I could live with the anger. I could live with the pain. I could live with anything directed at me.

I couldn't imagine living knowing that I was someone else's heartbreak. The way things stood now, I was already going to hurt Scott more than he deserved.

If he found out it was because of Edward then I would be to Scott what Edward was to me.

I couldn't do it. I just couldn't...

"Bella? Bella?"

I blinked, slowly looking up and meeting the concerned stares of Alice and Rose. "Guys..." I said, hearing my voice and how distant it sounded. "What...what am I going to do?"

They both continued to stare at me and I knew that they didn't know what to say. What could they say? This was really one of those cases of 'it is what it is'.

"We just need to stay as far from them as possible," Alice said.

Rose shook her head, a frustrated crease still prominent on her brow. "That's not going to work. We're stuck on this plane. Best thing to do is stay close to the rest of the group..."

"That's not going to work, either," I said, licking my dry lips. "If I'm near Scott and Edward does anything..."

"He won't," Alice said. "I saw what happened earlier. He won't do it because he doesn't want to hurt you anymore."

I stared at her, feeling like her words had slowly sliced my abdomen open and now the wound gaped, almost black as it bled. I wanted to shake my head stubbornly.

Maybe stomp my foot and tell her that she was fucking crazy.

"I think this might work to our advantage," Rose said getting that scary plotting look on her face.

The one that said those dangerous gears were definitely turning.

"Rose, no! Seriously," I began, fearing where they were going.

They might have a point, you know? Stop being such a pussy.

What the hell? You're the one that always wants me to jump him when he's near!

Yes. But regardless of whether you smarten up and allow us to do so or not, we will NOT be running from the man! Got it?

Holy shit. She was right.

They were right. Out of all of us, I had a small advantage. A shield. Pretty much, a boyfriend.

It's just that it also involved admitting that I had some sort of...power over Edward.

Did I?

Do I?

My heart clenched so tightly within me I almost cried out. Swallowing, I told myself to get a grip and think rationally.

"Bella, we have another five-and-a-half hours to this flight. We need to get ourselves together. Those fuckers planned their way onto this plane. It's time we turn the tables on them. If not, we're going to have serious problems on our hands. At least when we land in France they'll be room to distance ourselves. Now? Woman the fuck up bitch. Do you think that Edward isn't trying to use your weakness over him to his advantage?" Rose snapped, staring at me with a hard and determined look.

I stared back at her with wide eyes and an ever wider mouth.

God, I love her, the fairy sighed, nodding approvingly in Rose's direction.

"Ok," I said numbly, ignoring my fear as much as I could. "Where is everybody?" I asked.

"Last I saw, back downstairs, where the second sitting room is," Alice said cringing.

I remembered seeing Jasper standing in front of her when I had been running up here. At the time I hadn't been able to give him much of my attention. Now, now I played back the look on his face. His eyes had lingered on Alice a second too long when I passed by. By the time his eyes snapped to me and made contact the emotions in his eyes had already imprinted themselves on my brain.

They were just too familiar to ignore.

They reminded me too much of...the way Edward stared at me.

There was no denying it. The man stared at me with just as much heat as Jasper stared at Alice.

Which, all in the name of my new found non-denial, meant that they both felt something for us.

But there was no way in fucking hell I was going to contemplate what that something was while I was still trapped on the damned plane.

"So what do we do?" I asked.

"Head back. Now. I'll go out first, make sure the way is clear," Rose said, marching towards the door with all the determination of a soldier on a mission.

But that's what the girl did. She took control. She didn't cower. She got what needed to get done, done.

She opened the door, leaning out just enough to look either way. With one motion of her hand, she opened the door and walked through it.

Alice followed her and I followed Alice, my heart dancing inside me.

Want to know the worst part? The part that makes me scum? Although the rational part of my brain was very afraid of bumping into Edward again...there was a small part of me the twisted with an excited thrill.

I bit my lip, wanting nothing more than to break down and scream. Or smack myself. Either one would work.

As I followed the girls back down the stairs, I couldn't help but despise myself. I had never, ever wanted to hurt Scott.

Yet, in hindsight, I should have always known that somehow I would. Because I wasn't good enough. I was damaged goods. Ruined merchandise.

Half a woman because of the damage one man had done.

The same man that a masochistic part of me wanted to be near to.

The coast remained clear of anyone as we neared the part of the plane where all the noise was coming from. I told myself to pull it together before I got in there and my boyfriend saw how red my face was.

Almost everyone was lounging about when we walked in. That is, everyone but Jasper and Edward.

The relief was staggering. I kid you not.

Emmett, however, was there. Standing off by the small bar at the end of the 'room', he stood next to Ben. They seemed to be getting along amazingly if the smiles on their faces were any indication.

But then, Emmett's eyes moved away from Ben. They froze across the room, the lids lowering. Heat sparked violently behind his eyelashes, the small slithers of blue I could see shocking me.

I can't honestly say that I've ever seen Emmett in the midst of being 'interested' in a girl. I had heard the stories.

From himself, actually.

Bad stories. Bad, bad stories. It's not how many girls he's fucked, although that number itself is questionable.

It's how he did it.

He was...an asshole. And it hurt to say that because I knew a part of him that really wasn't. It had always seemed so at odds how he used his looks from time to time.

Fucking them and leaving them because it was that simple to him.

Yeah, major asshole.

Hm, maybe I was in denial the whole time about Emmett, too. Maybe he was all asshole and Alice's family just happened to have those genetics.

Ok, I'm being a dick. I don't mean that. Because, yeah, I know Emmett.

I also know the most likely reason why he was the way he was.

Emmett lost his virginity at fifteen. To the one and only girl that he had ever crushed on hard.

Next day, she gave one of his buddies a blow job behind the school.

Kind of makes it hard to respect women enough to like them, I guess. Yeah, it's not fair he's been kind of taking it out on all women since then, but maybe he was that easily traumatized.

What the fuck do I know? I'm just speculating.

And rambling.

The point is: The way Emmett was looking over in our direction was not in line with his fuck 'em and leave 'em philosophy.

Same look.

Same intensity.

Directed at a spot right next to me...

I turned my head. Just barely. Caught sight of Rose just as she looked away from Emmett.

I blinked, for a second believing that I had imagined the shaken look in Rose's eyes.

Then I saw her cheeks darken just a little.

Just a little but for what it meant it had the same impact as if she had turned completely neon red.

I don't think I've ever seen Rose blush.

EVER.

Holy shit, I thought, turning away as I stared at the floor in confusion.

I couldn't even begin to imagine what had happened between them. Nor why Emmett was now here, following Rose and aiding his brother and friend to do the same when it came to Alice and I.

I was going to kill him for that, count on it. Eventually when the plane landed, I was going to lead him away from everybody.

An unfortunate accident was going to take place.

One that I will have done 'everything' in my power to stop.

Yeah.

Even with all that, though, something told me that things were different for Emmett this time around. He seemed to be the one doing the chasing.

Thinking back on how many times Alice and I had complained about his 'Don Juan' tendencies, it was starting to make sense why Rose would be running.

But for her to run it had to mean she felt...

"Someone looks unbelievably lost in their own head. Again."

I almost jumped when Scott came out of nowhere, his arm circling my waist and bringing me closer. His lips came down on my cheek, only lingering a second, before he pulled back to smile at me with amusement.

Seeing him look at me like that made my masochistic brain flashback. With a sickening crunch to my stomach, I was taken back, my mind remembering in perfect detail what had happened no more than ten minutes ago.

Edward's thumb was back at the corner of my mouth. It didn't stop there, however.

My mouth fell open and I could only gasp as his thumb traced my bottom lip. Dipped into the small opening and pressed against the inside of it.

His sharp inhale nearly made me cum. Right there.

"Let's grab a seat in front of the flat screen. We'll find you something good to watch," Scott said, leading me gently.

And when he smiled down at me all I could do was bring myself to smile back.

Inside, I felt wretched. Completely.

---

One hour and thirty-five minutes into what is quickly becoming 'the Hell Flight'...

***EPOV

It wasn't lost on me that I was doing the very thing I had told myself I wasn't going to do.

I was hiding away.

Inside the main bedroom on the plane, I sat on the edge of the bed. My legs lay extended on the floor in front of me, my hands hanging listlessly in between.

I was hiding.

I was fucking pissed about it. The last thing I needed to do was stay away from Bella.

But I had a pretty good idea of where she was. And who she would be with.

Seeing it the first time had been too hard. Even knowing that they had never been intimate, he still got to hold her. Touch her.

Kiss her.

Rage pummeled through me, making my eyes roll back behind my closed lids. I breathed deeply, trying to remind myself that I wasn't an animal.

That I couldn't just barge downstairs and rip her away from him.

Drag her up here and lock us both in until she was covered and marked by me.

Why the fuck can't we?

The fucker was now half my size.

Just thought I should mention that. But he was still the midget to me. Nothing would ever change that.

Not even the weird fact that he was growing.

That's our fucking woman down there!

He had a point.

I inhaled sharply through my teeth, trying to keep myself calm. It obviously wasn't working but if I didn't do something soon I was going to snap.

Just crack my neck, roll my shoulders, and storm back down there. Walk right up to Bella, stare Scotty in the eye, and grab her.

I'd drag her up here by her damned hair if I had to.

But once behind closed doors, I'd eat her.

I ran a hand across my jaw, my mouth watering as I remembered how her skin had tasted.

Up against the wall. Right after we'd cum against each other.

"Fuck..." I hissed lowly, pacing towards the door.

Barely stopping myself.

Turning and forcing myself to pace back towards the bed.

My back was actually fucking hurting. The muscles there contracted. Everything in my body was trying to override my brain's commands.

It's not that I didn't understand that my girl was in pain.

That I'd hurt her. I fucking knew I had.

I'd killed myself doing what I had to.

But it didn't change the truth. I knew it the moment I saw her.

The moment she heard my voice and I saw how her body responded from behind.

Why couldn't she see? I'd do anything to make up for lost time with her. Anything.

God, to have her again...

It wasn't just the sex. No. A deep part of me just needed her near.

Close enough to inhale.

I'd be lying, though, if I didn't admit what my body wanted.

I stopped pacing momentarily, staring down at the very visible outline of my cock. It strained against my jeans, harder than it had ever been.

Please realize how epic this means it was.

Tasting her again had been torture. I had been given a nibble.

And I was fucking starving.

Add to that the fact that another male was encroaching on my territory and I was ready to just rip Bella's clothes off and cum all over her.

Barbaric, yes. But it would effectively lay my claim on her.

I shook my head, nostrils flaring from the irritation I was feeling. I ran a hand through my hair. Told myself not to open the door.

Not to leave the room.

I knew where I was heading if I did.

Why couldn't Bella just open her eyes? Give me a chance to prove to her how important she was?

Silly girl, did she really think she could outrun my hold on her? She was mine. I was irrevocably sure of it the moment I laid eyes on her.

The moment I touched her again.

Last night. That parking lot. The way she felt, small and soft and perfect against me.

The satisfaction of thrusting my body into hers. Even with the clothes on. Just pressing against her. Retreating. Returning one hard thrust after thrust.

Even through the clothes, her body had eventually melted.

My brow furrowed even more, eyes closing as I continued to remember.

Her back arching just slightly as she melted into the wall.

The way she had even wrapped her leg around me. Bringing me closer to her hips.

Fuck, her grinding back into me. Me, imagining how wet she had to be. How it would feel...

Tasting her.

Fucking hell, her taste. Do I even need to explain what it did to me? I could almost taste how aroused she was through the skin of her neck.

Her artery had pounded against my tongue.

I remember tonguing it, imagining that it was her throbbing little clit I was licking.

Seriously, did my little one not understand? Did she really think she could ignore me and the effect I had on her?

Call me a conceited prick all you want, but as hellish as my situation was, one thing made me infinitely 'calmer'.

Bella was still as trapped in this needy hell as I was. It just couldn't be denied.

Not with the way she reacted. Not with the way her body had been screaming even as she tried to fight me.

I laughed softly, shaking my head. I just couldn't comprehend how she thought she could get away from this.

From me.

A connection as visceral as the one we had wasn't something you could really just turn and run away from.

It...it was like she was trying to defy the rules of physics!

Then WHY are we still up here?

The way she had whimpered my name echoed in my head. My stomach clenched tightly, my abs tensing with pain.

I was losing it. It felt like I was losing my fucking mind...

Three quick strides had me at the door. My hand was on the lock.

I commanded my body to just lock the door. It fought me.

Demanded that I turn the knob. Leave the room.

Find her...

Shaking and slightly shocked, I threw the lock with one quick flick of my wrist. By the time I made it back to the other side of the room my body had broken out in a sweat as wave after wave of heat assaulted me.

Even inside the perfectly air-conditioned plane.

"Fuck," I cursed under my breath, my teeth grinding as the need in me began to morph into anger. Denied, it roared, desperate for me to take it out on something, some way.

I was close to the edge. Throbbing and leaking inside my jeans, I fought the violent urge in me that demanded I reclaim what was mine.

But damn it, she was fucking mine...

I landed on the bed, chest heaving as I sat on the edge again.

This wasn't normal. I knew it wasn't. I was going fucking insane. The woman had the kind of power over me that was dangerous.

I would be lying if I said there wasn't a part of me that was beyond furious at it. I just couldn't...

How dare she? The dark voice of the monster whispered in me.

This voice was different. This wasn't the voice that caused my rage. This was the one that fueled it.

You really are going insane, the midget said, staring at me wide eyed.

Hell, I knew I was. I'd been driven to the point of splitting my personality into characters, clearly something wasn't right!

Four years. Four years and I pretended to be with Tanya. I let her cling to my arm when we took pictures.

Shared about four dances with her at events where I had been given no choice.

Never had I touched Tanya beyond that. Ever.

I'd never held her, caressed her...kissed her...

Scott might have never touched Bella beyond a kiss but the fact that he got to do that alone was pounding through my veins.

I wanted to slam him against a wall and break his mouth in. Destroy the nerves there so that it'd go numb.

Indefinitely.

Problem is, while my body hated that prick with everything I was...I personally couldn't bring myself to loathe the guy.

Jesus.

It was true. The guy seemed perfectly nice. He was nice to Bella.

And I knew. Don't think I didn't know that he had come along and been nice to her at a time when she probably had needed it the most.

Hence, I was torn in two. Ripped apart by the most conflicting urges. Tearing at my own hair and rocking back and forth on that bed like the drug addict I was.

She was it, wasn't she? She was a drug. There was no denying it.

Maybe if she didn't feel the same way...maybe then, I would have forced myself to back off entirely.

Maybe not even then. But Bella hadn't been able to hide her reactions to me.

That alone sealed her fate.

It was only a matter a time. I was determined to follow her wherever she went. Call it fucking stalking, I gives no fuck. That woman had to prove to me that she could live without this.

Without us.

Because if not, then she was just condemning both of us to live miserable and empty for the rest of our lives.

So like I said, it was only a matter of time. A matter of time before she gave in and let me near her. Then I'd show her.

All I had to do was touch her and she'd have no choice but to experience and admit it.

The only thing in the way was her boyfriend. God, did she really plan on staying with him? Knowing what she did?

Knowing that I knew what she knew?

Worse than that was the fact that whatever the fuck was wrong with the man he probably wasn't going to wait much longer. Bella was gorgeous.

And Bella...in her guilt, she might end up trying to make it up to him.

The thought chilled my bones instantly. Dry ice replaced the blood in my veins. My eyes popped open. I stared at the carpet unblinking. Unseeing.

Breathing as deeply and slowly as my raging heart would allow.

I knew that part of what was fueling my mindlessness lay with the uncomfortable situation that lay between my legs.

So sensitive, it felt like one wrong move would cause it to burst, my dick raged inside my jeans. Angrier than any other part of my body, it truly showed me the type of monster it could be when denied.

For four years. And the one woman it, I, wanted was right now about one inch too fucking close to another man.

I groaned, leaning back on my elbows. The throbbing in my blood was starting to turn into a headache. A hammer seemed to be coming down on my head, magnified by every jerk my cock gave.

I knew there was only one way I was going to be able to make it downstairs without turning into a complete barbarian.

Succumbing to the need, I let my mind drift. Gave myself over to the fantasy that was building in my head.

Bella was here, in the room with me. In my mind, I saw her before me. Just a few feet away.

As naked as she had been that night. In heels. 'Cause no one rocks those like she does.

Fuck no.

Those small and tight legs of hers seemed to go on for miles even though they were attached to such a short body. I bit my lip, imagining that I was staring at her. Taking her in.

Gasping with need when my eyes came up to her bare pussy. Just like that night, her wetness glistened on her inner thigh.

Calling me.

Fuck, tempting me.

My right hand came down on my dick that was dying to be lost in her again. God, how she felt. So tight it hurt...

I groaned, giving myself over to the very familiar movements, my hand taking over and giving my body what it needed as a temporary relief.

The sound of my zipper lowering seemed unbearably loud in the quiet room. It was punctuated with my quiet gasps. Heaves of air that weren't cooperating and getting even more rowdy as my brain kept showing me Bella.

Naked, wet, and tight in all the right fucking places. Walking towards me. That hair falling down her shoulders. Her hips moving softly side to side.

I couldn't let it go. Why the fuck couldn't she understand that she was everything I wanted in a woman?

That she had been since she was sixteen years old?

A throb of relief pounded through me when my hand finally wrapped around my aching cock. Hard, I squeezed the tip. My fantasy changing.

Positioning her.

I was positioning her right where I fucking wanted her.

Needed her.

Fuck.

Bella was in front of me now, her back facing me. Her cute little ass was in the air as she bent over, offering herself and that sexy pussy of hers.

It was soaked, just as I remembered it. Wet and pink and swollen. Throbbing for me and what I could give it.

Eyes still closed, all I could see was her succulent pussy lowering. Getting closer.

I squeezed the head of my dick, moaning as I saw her pussy take in my tip. I squeezed it repeatedly, imagining it was her. So fucking tight and throbbing hard around me.

Eager to take me in.

My hips thrust up off the bed. I groaned loudly, seeing her pussy wrap around my dick. I saw myself stretching her...felt her jerk around me and moan my name...

"Yes," I hissed, setting a hard rhythm. Slamming back and forth. My hand abusively tight around my dick.

My mind stuck in the sight of me slamming into her. How wet she left me with each thrust...

In my fantasy, I suddenly had her in a harsh grip. One hand came down on her hip, so hard the sound of our skin connecting echoed in the room.

Bella moaned, rotating back towards me. My hand came up. Came back down, this time right on her right ass cheek.

I bit my lip, thrusting into her as I watched her skin darken from my spanking.

My other hand was now in her hair. Pulling.

Hard.

Yanking her back and holding her in place as I pounded into her roughly. In and out. Back and forth.

"Fuck, baby. This pussy's so good," I moaned, meaning it with every fiber of my fucking being.

It was the most amazing place I'd ever been in. Period. So perfect that I could still remember every single detail of it. The way her little clit extended out. The soft pink flesh that made up her lips. The way they looked when I parted them.

My brain fixated, recalling her tight little entrance. An entrance only I'd been in and one that would belong to me forever.

Even after that.

It was mine. And in my head it was choking my dick. Taking me deep and squeezing my length until it was hard for me to breath...hard for me to think past the fact that she felt too good and I was just too damned addicted...

I imagined myself pulling her hair. As my hand tightened and twisted on my dick, I gritted my teeth.

My head fell back.

My chest was still heaving.

All I could hear were her moans. My own. My heartbeat as it exploded in my veins.

"Oh, God. Baby," I growled, slamming into my fist. Picturing her body taking me in. Stretching around me over and over again...

God, I was going to break her. As I twisted my hand roughly around my dick and rotated my hips I realized that the next time I had Bella there wouldn't be anything stopping me from just taking her.

I was going to hurt her and there'd be very little I was going to be able to do about it.

Just like every time I had touched her, Bella took everything I gave. Soft or hard, she accepted my body.

Demanded more.

I moaned again, remembering just how hard my girl liked it. The way she had given herself to me that first time, taking the pain.

Asking for more and more and...

"Yes. Baby, please," I growled, feeling my balls tightening. My brain was so involved in the fantasy that every little sound was reproduced for my effect.

I could hear how wet she was. Hear our skin slapping together with each thrust.

And her voice. Her fucking voice.

My head fell further back. I was barely holding myself up on the bed with my left arm. Everything was shaking.

My eyes had rolled completely back. Lost in my head as my brain remained lost in Bella. My nostrils flared and I swear I could almost smell her.

That sweet and musky scent that came off her whenever I was near.

Whenever I turned her on.

Me.

My body tightened, my toes curling in my sneakers. Part of me was desperate to fall over the edge. To feel that pulsing sweet relief, however short its duration.

However painful the aftermath.

Another part of me tensed. Trying to hold back. Elongate the pleasure as I imagined Bella tensing as well. Her pussy tightening.

Falling around me.

Sucking me in.

My name leaving her lips as she clamped down on me and came all over me.

"Fuck!" I felt how tight my facial muscles were as I tried to hold back the orgasm that was at the tip of my dick. I imagined letting her ride out her orgasm, feeling the tightness, watching and hearing her take her pleasure in me.

Waiting long enough for her orgasm to retreat so I could use my hold on her hip to pull her off. Right at the edge and moaning uncontrollably, I saw myself holding her there, in front of me. I could still see her throbbing from her orgasm, her muscles jumping in time with her heartbeat.

My hand sped up, pulling harshly on my dick. Both in reality and in my fantasy. I held Bella, hearing her moan as I started coming.

The pleasure shot through me. I watched as my brain pretended that I was coming onto Bella. All over Bella.

I pumped my cock, prolonging the pleasure. Causing it to shoot stream after stream of cum onto my girl's flawless skin. My cells pounded with satisfaction at the visual, my chest rumbling with what almost sounded like a purr.

Jesus. A part of me was still amazed at what she could reduce me to.

How deep my need ran when it came to taking her.

I crashed back on to the bed as my body shook with the last of my orgasm. I twitched, shoulders jumping off the bed as everything in me momentarily liquefied.

I lay on the bed, my dick still throbbing in my loose fist. I opened my eyes slowly, focusing on the bright room. As always, having to come to reality and the fact that Bella had in fact not been there with me sucked balls.

Understatement of the fucking century.

Although some of the edge had been worn off with my orgasm, I still gritted my teeth. Hating the fact that I had been separated from Bella for so long.

That there was still things standing in our way.

A loud bang on the door made my head shoot up and my heart nearly cave into itself.

"Please tell me that you weren't doing in there what I think you were doing!"

"Emmett! Shut the fuck up!" I said loudly, shaking my head at his fucking perfect timing. I looked down at my body and grimaced, seeing how much cum had made in onto my pants.

And onto the bed.

"Seriously, dude. Did you jizz anywhere in there?"

I stared at this particularly large cum stain that was right between my legs. "What do you think?" I murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.

I heard Jasper for the first time as he started laughing. Emmett just stayed quiet for a few seconds before mumbling, "You're an asshole."

"Whatever, ass!" I said, standing up and kicking off my shoes. He could go fuck himself, too, because I had already claimed this room. Two of my carry on's were in here and so was I.

So was my jizz for that matter so, yeah. The room was mine.

Considering I was being forced to allow another man near my woman there was no way I was giving up the room.

None.

"Dick! I'll never be able to use, or be in, that room again!"

Jasper started laughing harder, the fucker sounding like he was having a hard time breathing. I sent up a silent prayer that'd he'd choke.

Hey, I liked the man. He was the only person I considered a close friend. But if he was going to be an asshole about my situation...then it'd just be simpler to not have him around.

Then I wouldn't have to worry about him and the...things he wanted to do to my sister.

You mean, like the things you want to do to Bella?

Exactly.

I changed into a new pair of jeans and stomped towards the door. What met me on the other side would have been comical.

If there wasn't a little demon dancing around in the back of my head reminding me of where Bella was.

And with who.

Jasper was leaning against the wall, laughing. Red and wheezing. Looking like he was in need of a cigarette to help him along his path towards suffocation.

"Will you shut up?" I growled, shaking my head and turning to my brother.

Emmett stared back at me, his massive arms crossed. His face frozen in a harsh pout.

"What?" I snapped as Jasper's laughter echoed through the 'hall'.

"You're a dick. MAJOR dick. I own this plane, too!"

I snarled at Emmett, reaching back and grabbing the door. Getting ready to slam it shut and close both of those idiots off.

"Wait," Jasper said, his laughter stopping and his hand shooting out to block the door.

I looked into his eyes and immediately threw the door back open.

"What is it?" I asked, looking between him and Emmett.

"Let's go in the room..."

"Oh, hell no. I'm not going into that room. God knows where he came. I am not coming into contact with that shit," Emmett said, interrupting Jasper and throwing me a disgusted look.

I smirked at him and gave him the finger.

Jasper stared between Emmett and I.

Shaking his head.

Like he hadn't been enjoying the show just a few moments before.

"Just get in there," Jasper said, grabbing Emmett by the arm and almost shoving him in the room.

I stepped back, avoiding my brother's big, annoyed body. I shook my head, knowing that Emmett really had to like Jasper to let him get away with that.

"The rum that good?" I asked him, still shaking my head as Jasper walked into the room and closed the door.

It was Emmett's turn to give me the finger as he stood in one spot looking like he was somehow trying to take up as little space as possible. His eyes darting back and forth like he expected my jizz to magically fly at his face out of nowhere.

"We need to talk," Jasper said seriously, taking a few steps into the room and stopping.

Was it just me or was he also standing very still? What the fuck did they think I had, super sperm that could jump off the bed and attack on its own?

It would be cool though...

Word.

"What's going on?" I asked Jasper, looking back at him.

Something about the look in his eye made me tense.

"Oh, fuck. What?" I sighed, feeling my heart speeding up again.

"We're scheduled to be in France for three days. Next stop after that is Italy," Jasper said, his brow furrowed.

Tense.

Just like Emmett was next to me.

Then, it clicked.

"Isn't that..."

"Volterra. The main stronghold of the Volturi family is there."

But, of course...

Fuck.

---

Six hours and twenty minutes later. Roughly ten minutes away from landing in France...

***BPOV

God is unbelievably merciful.

Unbelievably.

He had thrown me one little bone but it was more than enough.

It proved he, or she, or it, was there.

My faith was renewed.

Utterly.

Taking this a little too far, aren't you?

"Nope," I said out loud. Even smiled as I walked out of the bathroom.

Hell, I even felt like whistling.

More than four hours of dreamless sleep had turn my mood almost completely around.

Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that.

I ignored the little bitch, determined not to let her ruin my mood.

Nope.

Because I had somehow managed to kill most of the flight time by sleeping.

By some divine miracle...

Stop with the holy references, will ya?

Fuck off.

As I was saying, something out there saw it upon itself to turn my bad luck around enough to have everyone decide to watch a movie.

Right when it was needed the most.

We had all been in what can only be called a living room, hanging out. I had been a mess, sitting next to Scott.

Eyes darting towards the door.

Waiting for Edward to walk in.

And the tension coming off of Rose and Emmett...

Shit.

Oh, and of course Emmett had to make it worse.

He was a Cullen, after all.

It wasn't bad enough that across the room those two were giving off enough heat to start a fog in the plane.

No.

He had to come closer.

Scott, Rose, and I had been sitting on the green sofa on one side. There were four seats in front of us, all turned to face each other. The four white chairs faced a small silver cocktail table and the large flat screen TV was to the side of us.

Emmett's eyes hadn't left Rose the whole time and it was so bad even Scott had started to notice.

Which of course sent my ass into a panic because hell, if he realized that something was going on with them then it would call more attention to me and Edward.

Don't ask me how, ok? I just know it would!

You're going paranoid schizophrenic on me...

And I don't have a good reason?

Rose had been fixated on the TV. Her stare frozen.

Unwavering.

Her facial expression bland.

But her chest gave her away. It was rising and falling like the wings of a small hummingbird.

One look at her neck and it was reaffirmed.

Her pulse was throbbing and it looked painful. Large, hard thumps were extending and abusing her artery.

Rose was affected.

And Emmett knew it.

The bastard swallowed the last of what looked like rum and excused himself from Ben.

Rose and I stopped moving.

I really hoped Scott would be somehow oblivious to this.

Somehow, I doubted he would.

Emmett came over and sat down in one of the four chairs. He was right across from Scott.

I was sitting between Scott and Rose, who was closest to the TV. So Emmett wasn't exactly right next to her...

But he might as well have been dry humping her face for all that it mattered.

The fog had turned almost black with the angry need coming off both of them.

I didn't know what to do. Hell, I felt like I was the one suffocating!

"Hey, guys! There's a small 'movie' room. Let's go watch a movie!" Alice said out of nowhere, her wide eyes flickering between Rose and Emmett.

Oh, thank you, you observable pixie!

"Fuck, yeah. I feel like I'm going mad in here," Mike said. He stood up, shaking his shoulders and looking more than a little pale.

I had forgotten. For all that this was one fucking amazing plane, Mike was claustrophobic.

It didn't matter that this was a larger plane than normal. It was still a closed off environment, one that he couldn't get out of until the plane landed.

I had known him two years. I had only seen him lose it really badly once, but yeah.

Phobias suck fucking ass. They're not rational and they're paralyzing.

I suddenly really wanted to smack Emmett on the head and tell him to behave. Poor Mike didn't need him and Rose stuffing up the place even more with their fucking horniness!

"I'm all for it," I said.

I stood up immediately not caring if anyone saw how much of a hurry I was in.

Rose followed immediately after and together we managed to rush towards Alice.

No surprise, the three of us beat everyone as we walked into the oddest room I'd ever seen.

Two couches, low and wrapped around half the room like the seats of an amphitheater.

Large flat screen TV at the front.

The front of the couch was the smallest. Only about three people would fit.

Forgive me Scott, but my girls come first.

Yeah. Good excuse to get away from your boyfriend.

Bitch!

Rose and Alice seemed just as shaken as I was as we took up the small couch.

We all exchanged annoyed and worried looks as everyone filed in behind us.

Scott bent down to give me a small kiss on the cheek before settling in somewhere behind me, as well.

Rose and Alice stared at me out of the corner of their eyes.

I just stared ahead, stuck in a toxic whirlwind of self-hatred.

Stayed like that while everyone argued over what movie they wanted to watch.

And when they finally picked something I actually wanted to see...

After lots of arguing from Emmett and Mike...

I heard the sound of someone walking in.

Actually, more than one.

As the screen lit up with the bright sun shining over an ancient African landscape, I felt pure heat slam across my entire back so hard I almost sank into my seat and whimpered.

As it is, both my hands shot out, latching first onto Rose's, then colliding with Alice's hand that had already been on its way towards me.

Rose stiffened as I squeezed her hand.

I cringed as Alice did the same to my own.

And so I sat like that as Transformers 2 began. I tried to bring myself to relax. To give into the movie.

Scott was going to look down there and see how tense I was.

Relaxing became my single goal. I repeated it to myself, my silent mantra, as I desperately tried to ignore the fact that Edward was sitting somewhere behind me.

It took almost half the movie but eventually it happened. Slowly, my lids started becoming heavier. My exhausted heart started to slow down in my chest.

I became more and more tired, eventually relaxing and leaning against Rose.

The last thing I remember the car twins were making fun of Leo for being a pussy...and then nothing.

Blissful and long lasting nothing.

I woke up inside the small room I had picked for myself. I had no idea who carried me in there but I suspected it was Scott.

At least, I hoped it was Scott.

Stop lying...

And here I was, happy that I had avoided Edward for that long simply by knocking out. As I got closer to the sitting area, Angela came bounding down the stairs, her pony tail bouncing.

I smiled, genuinely happy to see her.

That is, until her eyes snapped towards me and hardened with a determined glint.

Oh, no...

She came right up to me, grabbing onto my hand and looking me in the eye.

"That's him, isn't it?"

Predictably, all my happiness was sucked right out of me.

I stared at her.

Gulped.

Tried to pull back.

She held on tight and kept staring at me in the eyes.

Finally, after another rough swallow, I nodded.

Angie's face immediately lost all its sternness. She stared at me with sad sympathy.

It made me want to cry that much more.

"Come," Angie said, pulling me along although I really wasn't in the shape to face anyone anymore.

"We're about five minutes from landing and we gotta get to our seats. But when we get there, we're talking."

She wasn't leaving any room for argument in her tone.

And I was once again too tired to argue.

---

Friday, July 1, 2011.

2:35 AM.

Location: Paris, France. Charles de Gaulle Airport

We had all walked off the plane together, Scott and I in the front.

You guessed it, Edward right behind me.

I felt his stare burning me the whole time. But my attention was diverted as soon as we walked into the gleaming silver and red departure lounge.

Scott's phone rang from within his pocket. I paid it little mind as he reached for it.

It was his slight hesitation during his next step that caught my attention.

I turned to him, seeing a small frown flash momentarily across his face. I stopped walking as well, turning to ask him what was wrong.

Scott wiped the frown off his face instantly. Smiling widely at me, he held up his hand.

"Important call. Gotta take this. Give me a few, babe."

And with that, he just walked away.

My body turned as he walked past. I stared after him. Eyes wide.

Mouth just a little open.

Nerves dissolving into a fucking mess.

Because...because my boyfriend had just walked away and was still walking. Eventually he did stop, like about twenty feet too far, and I watched as he faced away from me, his back tense as he put his phone to his ear.

I needed to run after him.

I needed my shield back...

"Who's he talking to?"

See? I knew it. Bet you knew it, too. Predictable. At this point it was fully expected.

Don't be mad at the man because he can't resist this hotness right here.

Oh, no you fucking didn't...

"Bella?"

"Go...away," I mumbled, my lips tensed.

Eyes frozen on my boyfriend's still tense back.

"Bella," Edward said quietly.

I remained frozen. My chest was now doing a weird and jerky imitation of Rose's chest earlier.

Only that, whereas her chest had looked graceful like a bird's wings, I was sure mine resembled a tire exploding right off a moving car.

I saw him move to stand next to me out of the corner of my eye.

Two feet away.

Two fucking feet.

He needed to move! NOW!

"What's going on, Bella?" Edward asked, sliding his hands into his pockets and jerking his head towards Scott.

My attention returned to my boyfriend and I saw that he was now pacing back and forth, his head bowed as he spoke into the phone.

My brow furrowed. Something was wrong. Really wrong.

And I had been suspecting it for a while.

As Scott's girlfriend I should know the answer to Edward's question.

But I didn't. Something was wrong with my boyfriend and I hadn't made it my top priority to find out what.

I had been too caught up in my own shit.

I ground my teeth together, trying to hide from Edward how mad he was suddenly making me.

Why did he have to come into my life now? Why did he have to be the reason I was being such a horrible girlfriend?

I think we both know the answer to that, honey.

No. No we didn't.

I wasn't going to let her enlighten me, either.

"It's none of your business what's going on with my boyfriend, Edward," I said as gently as I could, not wanting to make it look like it really was.

I didn't want Scott turning around and seeing that Edward's closeness was affecting me in about one too many ways that it shouldn't.

"Fine. Then talk to me about something else."

"Like what?" I snapped, realizing too late that it was the opening he was looking for.

"I don't know. Anything. Just...talk to me."

The festering wound that ran deep from the top of my chest down my stomach oozed as if ready to shed its scab and bleed all over again.

I was starting to realize that it might just never heal.

I sighed, eyes mostly looking at Scott who was no longer pacing but was still facing away from me.

"Why do you need to talk to me, Edward?" I asked carefully.

Really afraid of what his answer might be.

He didn't disappoint. Although it was the last thing I expected to hear his response still hurt me all the same.

"Because I haven't spoken to you in so long."

"Edward," I gasped, unable to stop myself from momentarily reacting to what his words did to me.

Trying to stop myself from falling into another shaking fit, I turned my head just barely.

My eyes landed on him.

His own eyes stared at mine for a split second.

A very intense second.

Dear God, give me the strength...

"Edward, no..." I began when I saw that tell tale tilt of his head.

There we go. His eyes fell below my face.

Again.

Sigh.

No, bitch, WHIMPER.

Go away!

Me or him?

BOTH!

I looked back once at Scott, making sure he was still facing away...

"OH, MY FUCKING GOD!" I whisper/screeched, jerking back when I felt the barest brush of Edward's fingers.

Right against my clavicle, where my necklace was laying.

Chest heaving and wild eyes jumping between Scott and Edward, I moved back.

One quick look around showed me that the others were equally dispersed.

I took one step back.

Two.

My shaking hand came up and lightly landed on where his had just grazed.

Another look around and I saw Alice. At least fifty fucking feet away.

Cornered and glaring at Jasper as she tried to surreptitiously melt into the wall behind her.

Oh, my fucking God. Are you kidding me right now?

Where was Rose?

I continued to step backwards, very aware that Edward was once again being predictable.

He was fucking moving towards me.

"Seriously!" I snapped, frantically trying to see if anyone I knew was seeing what was happening right then. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Stop!"

"Bella, wait," Edward said, reaching out and staring distractedly at my...

I looked down.

Remembered what his fingers had been grabbing at.

My mouth was now fully open.

I took one step back.

But wasn't paying attention.

'Cause I knew what he had seen. I knew what he was trying to reach for...

And gravity does not like me.

At all.

I was about halfway down when Edward jumped in and grabbed me mid-fall.

I gasped, my body slamming awake against his.

His mouth watering scent grabbing unto my face and not letting go.

Come to think of it, it was doing indecent things to my nipples, too...but right then wasn't the time to think about it...

"Edward, let go!" I hissed.

Pushed against him as hard as I dared without making a scene.

When all I really wanted to do was cause him some severe pain between his legs.

Mm-hmm...

Fuck, no!

Edward loosened his grip. But not because he was paying attention to my struggles or demands.

No.

His eyes were frozen on my necklace again.

His hand was reaching...

Making contact...

Electric heat sizzled the surface of my skin as his fingers brushed ever so lightly against it.

He tensed against me but didn't stop.

His fixated eyes followed his fingers. Touching my skin just as intimately as his hand was.

I froze, my heart screaming for him so loudly in my chest I was sure he could not only feel it but he could hear it as well.

Eyes that should have been looking at Scott and making sure he was still turned around – Please, God...- were frozen on Edward instead.

His fingers brushed again. Curling inward.

I swallowed heavily.

My lungs were hurting.

His fingers were pure torture, slowed down by my brain so that the agony would expand. His other hand lay around my lower back, almost the same size as my waist. It made me feel so small.

Just like my hands against his pecs. They, too, looked so small against his chest.

It took everything in me not to fist his shirt...

Then I felt his fingers finally wrap around what they were seeking. Very slowly, his damned skin still igniting my own, Edward tugged on the chain of my necklace.

Pulled it higher, sliding its charm out of where it had been laying. Between my breast.

Right under my tank top.

Where he had obviously been looking down earlier.

Bastard.

My eyes fell.

Watched as in slow motion every centimeter of what my necklace was carrying was revealed.

Pink...

Shiny...

BIG for a charm...

"Oh. My. Fucking. God...you got it."

My eyes snapped to Edward's face. He was looking at the charm with wide, and I must admit, comical eyes.

The look on his face was...

Priceless.

Just as I imagined it when I had sat in front of my computer two years ago purchasing this.

What would be the first of many, many penis charms.

Before I realized what was happening, I had managed to work my way out of Edward's loose grip.

And was fully bent over. Laughing my ass off with all the joy of Dennis the Menace on a sugar spree.

I was aware that my laughter sounded loud and maniacal. Tried to bring my hysterical self under control.

One look at Edward, who was still looking at me with wide eyes, had me laughing harder.

And yes, because I am very mature, my finger came up and pointed at his face.

A face that was slowly losing its shock and melting into a large smile.

"I get it," he said, his amused voice reaching my ears through my giggles. "BIG fuck you to me, huh?"

Oh, fuck him for being so observant.

My giggles started to slow down as I straightened.

Edward was still smiling at me, shaking his head with an odd look in his eye.

I met his stare head on, still smiling and raising my chin proudly as I decided to announce... "Twenty-seven BIG fuck you's to you."

The smile fell immediately off his face. There was still an amused glint in his eye but I focused on taking immense satisfaction in how his mouth fell open.

"You...twenty...fuck, woman. Twenty-seven?" Edward asked.

I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing again at his expression.

"Uh huh. They come in different colors and sizes. And I got your sister into them, too."

Thank you, Lord, for the power of the Mighty Penis Charm.

Emboldened by the fact that it was me who finally had him off guard, I raised an eyebrow.

Continued to smile proudly.

"I wouldn't get you one and then you go buy twenty-seven?"

"Damn straight," I said, my smile somehow growing even more.

"And you get my sister into that shit?"

"Uh-huh."

Edward's eyes widened again for a fraction of a second.

The air in the planet just disappeared out of nowhere. Whoosh! Gone.

But for some reason it seemed like it was only my lungs that were noticing.

Everybody else had learned to live without oxygen!

Including the fucker in front of me. A fucker that had started laughing, his muscles pulling his face up into lines that had tortured me for years.

Lines that I had never forgotten.

Because Edward laughing was...fuck me. It was...he looked...

His face was beautiful when he laughed. His eyes narrowed, crinkling at the corners, glowing gorgeously.

His mouth.

The way his mouth looked when he smiled wide like that...

And...and I had made him do that...

I shook my head, trying to clear the fog descending over it due to the lack of oxygen in my blood.

Edward was standing there, his shoulders shaking, one muscular arm wrapped around his perfectly trimmed waist.

His biceps bunched and jumped as he shook.

His other arm was bent. His hand wiping across his eye.

His black shirt looked fucking perfect wrapped around his upper body.

The damned smile was still on his face.

I opened my mouth. My chest still felt tight.

Edward finally looked back at me.

Something on my face made his laughter immediately cease.

Just like that, all the air on the Earth had returned. But for some reason it had become just as suffocating as no oxygen at all.

I felt like I was inside a volcano. Breathing in the hot, dizzying fumes. Fumes that singed my insides as they slid down into me.

I blinked.

Tried to make sense of what was happening.

Edward's eyes were all I could see. The airport around me blending into the background, becoming nothing more than a colorful and unimportant blur.

Edward's chest was still bouncing. I could clearly see its movements as he breathed harshly even though I was still staring into his eyes.

It took a second or less.

But suddenly, the man before me looked utterly dangerous.

Feral.

His brow coming down hard. Like really hard.

So hard that when he tilted his head down just a bit I almost couldn't see his eyes still looking at me from beneath it.

Eyes that were almost black.

I knew there was light everywhere. The ceiling of the lounge was a metal masterpiece that made the light bounce and lighten up everything.

Still, his pupils grew. Grew so much I felt like I was falling into them.

So black...deep...

I averted my eyes. Trying to get my wits to return from their temporary vacation.

Unfortunately, they were not heeding my desperate calls. My uncooperative eyes fell down to his mouth.

It was tense.

Fuck me.

Deliciously so.

His jaw was pure granite. Hard and sharply curved. Tensed to the point that his cheekbones had become more prominent.

One of the muscles in it was dancing. Calling my useless brain's weak and unprotected attention.

I felt vulnerable.

Open beneath that stare.

When my eyes slid back up to his I felt like everything was laid bare.

Like he could see every moment of that last few years inside me.

Every single night.

Every single ache...

Edward exhaled sharply through his nose, his nostrils flaring slightly.

I didn't look down, but somehow I knew that his fists were clenched.

A small voice in me warned me to step back.

That he was about to move.

I could feel the intention coming off of him in skin melting waves.

But my legs weren't listening.

My body felt like it was being thawed out by his heat.

A numbness I hadn't known existed was dissipating. My limbs were sighing in relief as all the coldness they had been wrapped in slid off.

Melting like ice off my skin.

I swear I could almost see the puddle that was gathering at my feet...

"Babe?"

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is life.

Being a huge, mega bitch.

Thinking back on that moment, I have no idea what happened next. Total darkness rules over that one second of my memory.

I can't tell you how I initially reacted.

I can't even tell you what I said.

All I know is that when my memory does pick up again, I 'come to', feeling the muscles in my face stretched into a wide smile.

My eyes are focused solely on Scott.

Still, out of my periphery, my brain drinks him in.

Then my ears awake next, picking up on my voice as I talk and I have no idea what self-coping mechanism had shifted me into auto pilot but when I heard my voice I was grateful.

So grateful.

Because my voice was calm. So, so calm.

Go me.

And, oh! The wonderful words leaving my calm mouth. "...and Edward was just heading over to go talk to Alice."

Scott smiled at me.

Just like that.

Whatever the fuck I had said, my delivery had been so perfect that he seemed to not suspect anything.

Despite what he had almost walked 'in' on.

My heart skipped inside me as dawning horror filled me. Suddenly, it was taking effort to keep the cool facade up.

Simply because of one horrible and quick realization.

Fuck me...I am a liar.

NOW you notice this?

I was...I was...

Yeah, Edward and I hadn't been touching.

For long.

But...but what had been transpiring was still the same. The energy that had been choking me had been too animalistic to be considered innocent.

Forgive me Lord, I was playing Scott!

Lying to him like a fucking expert just to keep him from knowing the truth of what was between me and another man.

I was so used to being too honest. Too open. When the hell had I become such a good pretender?

When you were forced to learn to pretend that you were ok when you really weren't. Remember?

Scott's smile had fallen.

I could only guess that it was because the raging self-hatred I was feeling was visible on my face.

"Babe, you ok?" Scott asked, holding out his hand and stepping towards me.

God. Look at him.

He looked so worried.

For me.

The girl that was lying to him.

The girl that had cheated on him.

The girl that was very tempted to do it again.

There, I admitted it.

I was also two seconds away from stroking out because of doing so!

Especially when I saw Edward actually move closer.

I...had...to...

Go...

Couldn't move.

What the fuck was it with me and these moments of paralysis?

"Bella?"

Ok. Scott looked officially worried.

It was do or die time.

"I'm fine..." I said, surprised when my voice once again did as I told it. Blinking, and knowing deep down that I'd have to lie again to get out of this one, I schooled my expression back into something normal.

Or, at least I hoped.

"I just got...dizzy for a moment there. I..."

"Bella, are you sure you're ok?"

My head snapped towards Edward before I could stop it.

Seriously. What the fuck was wrong with him? Was he trying to kill me here?

"I'm fine," I said as blandly as I could. Looked into his own worried eyes and gritted my teeth to keep my expression flat.

Scott had turned away from me. I looked back at him as he smiled at Edward. "That was one hell of a flight, wasn't it?" he asked, still smiling.

Edward blinked once.

My own eyes mimicked him. Slowly.

Both of us exchanged a split second confused glance.

Edward turned back to Scott. When he smiled at my boyfriend I was immensely surprised to see that it was genuine.

Uh...

What...

Wait a minute. What was happening here?

Were my boyfriend and Edward starting to get along?

The fuck?

And Edward...he was trying to get me to betray Scott.

Leave Scott for him.

Yet, he liked the man?

Impossible.

Holy shit. I needed a Motrin.

Bad.

"It was...interesting, in its own ways," Edward said, shrugging. Still smiling and eyes flickering quickly towards me.

I sucked in my cheeks to keep myself from saying anything.

"That many people in an enclosed space like that is certainly a recipe for trouble. Especially with our friends," Scott said, smiling at me.

Reaching out, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, and bringing me closer.

Straight into his side.

Edward's stare didn't move from Scott's face.

In fact, he seemed perfectly at ease.

Except that I picked up on it. The slight tensing that went through his muscles. The way he subtly shifted on his feet.

Other than that he seemed almost nonchalant.

I barely kept my mouth from falling open as I realized how good he had become at pretending.

The man I had known before had been unable to hide his reactions. Even though he tried, it was time I admitted that the feelings going through him had always been there. Visible. Simmering beneath the surface if not downright exploding in different directions out of him.

His annoyance.

Impatience.

His anger...

That passion...

Yeah, the fairy wouldn't let me forget that one.

And later on...I tried to tell my brain not to finish the next thought but it did anyway.

It took me back. Back to that night. To how...happy he'd seemed to be as he dragged me around Manhattan.

The man had had the whole Metropolitan Museum closed down.

For me.

I bit my lip. Edward and Scott had resumed talking but I couldn't register what they were saying. My blood pounded between my ears. My heart, the Maestro behind the chaotic and painful symphony, was gathering speed.

Leading my thoughts into one explosive crescendo.

It was very...very possible that the man before me had...that he...

Fuck.

Did he really care for me?

I am exhausted. You took forever to catch on!

You are an asshole! Really? Now? You chose the moment I'm in my boyfriend's arms to land that one on me?

No. I tried to land it on you before. You weren't cooperating. Not my fault you finally decided to pay attention right now.

I really fucking wished there was a way that one could smack their own subconscious.

Just sayin'.

Don't tell me it wouldn't be useful.

My organs were straining against the pressure they were under. All of my inner processes seemed to accelerate with that realization. My heart was fastest amongst them all, beating so fast and hard inside me I felt it behind my eyes.

A small part of me was afraid and in awe of the fact that the human body could hold up under so much duress.

I knew right then that if I didn't push everything to the back I would lose it.

Right there, in the middle of Charles de Gaulle airport, I was going to fall into a nervous breakdown if I didn't do something fast.

There is something to be said for what the power of human will, alone, can do. Give it enough of an umph! And off it went.

Superseding everything and pushing you to do what needed to be done to save yourself.

Sure, I wasn't really facing death. But that didn't matter. It sure as hell felt like I was. Call me melodramatic. The situation itself was soap opera-ish.

Ridiculous, annoying, infuriating...

I blinked, straightening myself. A rush went through me, one that brought lucidity on its heels.

Just as Scott turned to me and started talking to me.

"Babe?"

"Yeah?" I responded instantly, focusing my eyes on him and only him.

That's right. You got this...

"I kind of have to talk to you about something," Scott said, motioning behind us with his head.

Uh... "Ok? What..." I said, looking behind us.

Was this about his call earlier?

Was he finally about to tell me what was going on?

Was I even in any state to hear what he was going to say?

Oh, fuck.

"Sure," I said, because I knew that I couldn't possibly give him any other answer. It's not like I could explain to the poor guy the reason why I might not survive whatever new drama was coming my way.

Scott smiled so easily at me that for a moment I felt like I was just being paranoid. I mean, there's no way he could look that carefree and still have bad news to deliver.

Right?

Scott turned back to Edward with that smile still in place.

I didn't dare look away from Scott. Like the faithful girlfriend I was pretending to be -ouch...- I stared at my boyfriend's profile.

"I'll catch you around later. Definitely want to hear more about that HK416 redesign you're working on," Scott said, leaning over and holding his hand out to Edward.

What the fuck?

HK...that was a rifle!

I would know. I had a gun license. Rose had convinced us to all get one after our eighteenth birthday. Ok, more like dragged us along half way against our wills but after the first feel of a gun in my hand I was hooked.

What the hell were Scott and Edward talking about? An HK416 redesign? Edward was an animator. Why would he...

My body shifted ever so slightly as Scott moved and shook Edward's hand. I refused to turn and look. I clutched Scott like the lifeline he was.

My brain was moving too fast. It was dizzying. There was too much confusion. Too many questions...

"Bye, Bella," I heard Edward say, his voice low.

I swallowed heavily and prayed that Scott wouldn't feel how I was shaking. "Bye..." I said, still not looking at him. Unable to say anything else as Scott turned me and began leading me away.

I felt the heat of Edward's stare burning through my back the whole time.

"What were you guys talking about?" I asked calmly, my eyes trained on the red carpet passing below my feet.

"He's actually working on redesigning one of the Navy's best known rifles..."

"I know what it is. But is he doing it for the Navy?"

You know, Bella. He's gonna catch on to your unhealthy curiosity.

But I didn't listen. The need to know had overridden everything.

It was a miracle in and of itself that I was managing to ask these questions calmly.

"I didn't really ask him who he was doing it for," Scott said, shrugging. "He just mentioned it once I told him my major was in weapon's engineering."

Great. So now my boyfriend and the man I once slept with had something more in common.

Look at them. So cute. On their way to becoming fast friends.

The fuck was Edward doing? Seriously! Was this some case of 'befriend thy enemy'?

If so, he was low. Low, low, low.

I glared at the carpet, almost imagining it was Edward's face.

Then, the oddest thought struck me. What if Edward did like Scott?

Would this make it easier for him to behave?

Has it up to now?

Fuck. Good point.

And on top of that, why on Earth was he redesigning a weapon? Who the fuck was he doing it for?

Was it Emmett's company? Did they even deal with weapons?

"So, babe," Scott said, stopping once we had walked at least thirty feet away.

I concentrated on him, somehow knowing that if I looked behind him I'd see Edward still there.

I could freaking feel his eyes on us.

"What is it?" I said, forcing myself to concentrate on what was happening in front of me.

"I kind of have to go for a few days."

"What?" I said, my eyebrows flying up.

We'd just gotten here. Now he had to leave? "Is this about that call you got?" I asked him.

Scott tensed slightly.

All of my senses were now definitely on him and only him. "Scott...what is it? What's going on?" I asked worriedly, stepping forward and placing my hand on his arm.

I might not love the man the way he deserved but I still cared. I needed to know if there was anything wrong. If I could perhaps help him with anything before breaking his heart.

"It's nothing big, babe. Really. I just need to go into Italy. My dad's on a business trip there and he wants to see me," Scott said, smiling softly.

This time, it barely reached his eyes.

I stared at him, wondering if I was just psychologically projecting myself onto him. Was he being honest?

Was I being paranoid? Guilty conscience syndrome and all that.

"But...Scott...we just got here," I said in a small confused voice. When I blinked I was horrified to feel the tears that had gathered in my eyes.

What the hell was going on?

Why the hell did he have to leave?

Of course it upset me he was going to go. For a million different reasons!

I wasn't a fool. I knew that if he left now there was a very good chance that I could end up...

God. I didn't want to do that to him. No! He didn't deserve it.

I had already proven how much of a weak, pathetic bitch I was when it came to Edward...

"Babe?" Scott said, cupping my cheek and staring at me worriedly.

Warmly.

I blinked. "Why do you have to go?" I asked slowly.

"He just needed to see me. I was going to meet up with you once you got there. But if it's too much..."

"Why does he need to see you?" I asked, interrupting him.

Scott's thumb caressed my cheek. He stared at me with a small furrow between his brows.

I knew that my own brow looked exactly the same.

"I won't go. I don't want to hurt you. If you really need me here..."

I swallowed, blinking and pulling back from his hand. I licked my dry lips, trying to make sense of what was happening. "Scott...if it's a family emergency, I swear I understand. It's not that you can't go; it's just that I want to know why. I'm your girlfriend...don't you trust me?"

BITCH! Low...low, low, low...

Fuck! What the fuck was I doing? Who the fuck was I to act so innocent and free of sin?

Then again, why couldn't he just tell me what was wrong?

"Bella, it was just something about the business. You know he's starting to include me in it," Scott snapped, looking frustrated.

I blinked, not used to him speaking to me like that. I could feel that my mouth had fallen slightly open.

A part of me was very ready to 'oh, hell the fuck no' him.

Who the hell did he think he was talking to me like that?

Easy there, tiger. You're not free of guilt yourself.

I inhaled deeply, trying to listen to my voice of reason. Trying to push back the hot rush that went through me whenever someone overstepped their bounds and spoke to me like that.

Because in reality, if Scott ever found out what had happened in that parking lot, he'd have more than enough reason to speak to me a lot worse.

The word 'whore' might very well be thrown in there somewhere.

"I'm sorry," I said, opting to take the higher route. "I was just trying to understand. It's...good that he's including you in the decisions. So you have to leave for three days?" I asked.

Hoping he'd say 'no'. That he'd come back after one.

Scott was looking at me intensely. I saw his face fall with chagrin before he started speaking. "Babe, I'm sorry. I just don't want to let my father down," Scott said apologetically.

I nodded.

I did know. Scott's whole life revolved around not disappointing the patriarch of his family. "So, three days?" I hedged again, still holding on to a tiny bit of hope.

"Yeah. But I'll meet you there. I promise," Scott said, stepping back towards me.

I couldn't help how tense I was as he pulled me gently towards him.

"Babe, I'm sorry," he repeated again, his lips coming down on my temple.

I concentrated on breathing deeply to keep myself calm.

I needed Alice and Rose.

Bad.

"It's ok. Go. Call me once you're there. When are you leaving?" I asked, hugging him lightly back.

Over his shoulder, I stared at all the activity taking place in the airport. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a tall figure. Dark shirt.

Tense body.

I knew who it was. Knew he was still there, being the nosey fucker he was. There was no way he could hear us from that far but he was still staring.

I ignored him, focusing on Jessica. She was standing with Angela and Mike, the three talking happily amongst themselves.

Ben, Emmett and Jasper were off on the right side, about ten feet away. They were all involved in an animated conversation.

I wondered where Alice had escaped to. What had happened before.

And on top of that, where was Rose?

"Bella?"

Scott let me go. I turned around and saw Alice and Rose, both coming towards us. My eyes almost rolled back from the relief I felt at seeing them.

"The car's almost here. We need to go down to baggage claim," Alice said, her eyes darting from me to Scott.

I knew she could read that something was wrong. She always could.

So could Rose, for that matter. She was staring at me with those icy blue eyes unblinking. The silent question there.

I shook my head as subtly as I could.

I would tell them later.

For now, I was just grateful they were here.

"Mine is getting transferred onto my next flight," Scott said making me turn to him.

"You're leaving now?" I asked, my stomach falling again.

"Yeah, babe. My dad had the flight scheduled..."

I stopped him before he could say anything else.

Especially because Rose had gone tense and she was getting that scary look in her eye. The 'oh, hell no' look.

And her 'oh hell no' was a lot more dangerous than mine. Trust me.

"It's cool. Call me when you get there, please?" I said, walking up to him and kissing him on the cheek.

Now that he was leaving, I was in a rush to get him out of there. There was no use in keeping him longer and making the situation more awkward than it had to be.

It was already going to be weird explaining to our friends why my boyfriend wouldn't be with us for the beginning of this trip.

"Definitely. I'll miss you," he said, hugging me tightly.

I hugged him back, believing the sincerity in his tone. "You, too. Have a safe flight," I said, hearing how flat my voice sounded.

It's not that a part of me wouldn't miss him. Nor that I didn't want him to have a safe flight.

But nothing mattered right then. I was tired. Bone deep tired of the stress I had been through the last two days.

Scott pulled away from me. Cupping my chin, he leaned down and placed a small kiss on my mouth. He pulled back and smiled at Rose and Alice. "I'll see you guys in a few days. Take care," he said, leaning down and kissing me one more time before hurrying away.

I watched him go, feeling unbelievably numb. When I turned back to Alice and Rose, they were both standing there in identical poses. Arms crossed, and clearly waiting an explanation.

"We're meeting up in Italy. For the love of God, get me to the hotel first then I'll explain. I'm barely holding on as it is," I said, walking past them and straight towards where Angela and the others were.

I beelined in that direction like a lunatic, determined to herd everyone into one group and rush them towards their luggage.

I wanted to be in the hotel. Behind a closed door.

By my fucking self.

God help anyone who tried to get in the way of that.

As I rushed by where Emmett was, I saw that Edward had joined them at some point. His eyes snapped towards me as I passed, catching me by surprise.

It wasn't until I felt my neck twisting that I noticed he still had my eyes locked with his. I blinked, bringing myself out of it and looking forward.

I needed to stay away from him. For the next three days, somehow I had to stay away.

But I should've known it wasn't going to happen like that.

It was 3:07 AM when we all walked out of the airport and into the warm summer air. Jessica was serving as my brain numbing agent, clutching my arm and rambling happily about all the places she wanted to have sex in now that she was here.

I happily let her go on, only partially paying attention, knowing that in order for her to do so she would have to either (a) admit her feelings for Mike and just rape him -ew...- or (b) she would still have to pay attention to someone long enough to actually get herself a participant in her sex fest.

Her incessant chatter was the perfect background noise, effectively distracting me as I drowsily took in the night sky above us.

We were outside Terminal One. The whole parking lot in front of us was shaped like circle, one that had an opening all the way on the far end across from us.

Even though it was late, a lot of people were going in and out of the airport. Some alone and others in groups.

Most of them clearly tourists like we were. They talked amongst themselves, clearly excited to be here.

Their eagerness was almost palpable to me. It reminded me of why I had wanted to come in the first place.

All my problems evaporated in a blast.

I felt Jessica pull away and I think I heard her say something about looking for Rose, but I wasn't paying attention.

For the first time in a long time my heart pounded with nothing but excitement.

I clutched the strap of my shoulder bag tightly, biting my lip as the urge to take off running made me bounce on my feet.

Fuck. I just wanted to run what must be miles. Just woosh! And Speedy Gonzalez my ass down there.

I had waited forever for this moment. Since I was a child, all I had wanted to do was travel.

This had always been one of the top places on my list.

After Egypt, which was definitely numero uno.

I stood there by myself, everything around me disappearing. All that mattered was that I was finally there.

That I was finally going to get to go to all the places I wanted to go to.

The cliche ones, yes. The Eiffel Towel.

The Louvre.

Fuck, yes, the museum.

Oh! Fucking! Hell! Yes! And, he's here!

The fuck!

That was as much of a reaction I was able to come up with before another wave of peace destruction came my way.

"You have no idea how much I'm thanking God that I was able to come."

I actually laughed, licking my lips and barely, just barely, stopping myself from cursing out said God.

I am a devout catholic girl. I am a devout catholic girl...

"You've been here before," I mumbled, already looking around me for an exit.

Where were my other two Musketeer's? What happened to the whole 'all for one and one for all'?

"Yeah," Edward said.

Something in his tone made my head turn back towards him.

Bad move. Bad.

I have mentioned what lights at night do to that man's eyes, yes?

And worse.

So...so...worse...

He was smiling. Not just his usual smile, either. An adorably tender smile that got softer as he started speaking again.

"Yeah, I have. But never with you."

"Stop that!" My heart can't take it!

I forced myself to look away from him, my heart screaming inside me so loudly I just wanted to lock myself away and cry.

Why was he doing this to me?

Why?

"Sorry. I'm just being honest. Mind if I ask where Scott went?" Edward asked, his smile slipping.

"I do mind. It's none of your business," I grumbled stubbornly, so hurt that I couldn't see straight.

I just couldn't let go of the pain. The anger.

The fact that he had forced me away.

But what if he had good reason?

So what if he did. He never once tried to tell me later on. Never.

Why the hell had he waited so long to tell me about the blackmail?

A part of me wanted to turn around and ask him.

But the more stubborn part of me refused. I didn't want his answers. They would change nothing.

Liar...

"Fine. I'll find out anyway when you tell everyone else."

The nerve!

"And Bella?"

I turned angrily, yelling at myself the whole time not to do so.

Alas, this body was helpless against him. It kept seeking him out even as I screamed to get away.

Edward was now staring at me with that intense and angry look. The one that made him seem more animal than human.

I stepped back, shocked to realize that he was angry.

Fuming pissed off, actually.

And he was barely holding it in.

"I like Scott, I really do," he said, surprising me even more. "God, help me. I do. But if he ever makes you look like you did back there again, I just might kill him."

With that he just turned around and walked away. Leaving me there, upper body twisting to follow him.

My jaw had lost all strength, hanging lose and exposing my entire mouth cavity to the world.

My hero, the fairy sighed, appreciating the way his back muscles rippled as he tensely stomped away.

She had to be fucking kidding me.

"What was that about?"

I needed peace!

One freaking moment!

Then again, it was only Angela.

I shook my head, wondering if it was even a good idea to get into telling her in front of so much people.

Any one could overhear.

"It's finally here!" I heard Alice gasp just as I caught sight of a huge black behemoth pulling up alongside the curve.

I think everyone within our little group turned to stare with open mouths.

Everyone but Alice who had taken off in her little heels, jogging daintily towards the big Megladon of a car in front of us.

Car? Honey, how about bus?

Yeah, that worked, too.

"What the fuck?" I heard Emmett snap.

My head whipped towards him. The way his face was red warned me that we were heading for trouble.

Adding to that?

Edward was right on his heels as they stomped together towards the curve.

"What?" Alice snapped, turning around and facing the two giants heading her way like if they were nothing.

And they were. To her they were measly flies!

"Alright, kiddo. We let you book the plane. We let you take it for a whole month..."Edward began, adopting a stern tone and look.

Oh, my...

Oh, no.

"You're here, aren't you? I think that point is now very moot," Alice said, her tone snapping at them like an alligator's claws.

Pixie wasn't backing down.

I really wished I had some poms poms. Girl deserved to be cheered.

"The point is," Emmett said, still red and now pinching his nose in a way that reminded me perfectly of Edward. "The amount of money your sheer existence costs is already absurd. A fucking stretch Hummer limo, Alice?"

Alice smiled brightly, her chin rising in the air with pride. "Exactly. Complete with three flat screen TV's and a very plush purple carpet. Now if you two will excuse me, I'd like to get in this baby."

She then proceeded to do just that.

Of course, her brother's weren't far behind. I could hear them all arguing from within the limo.

I could also see the interior Alice had been speaking of. Silver, purple, tones of blue...

It was like Party Wonderland beckoned from within those debts.

I wondered if there was alcohol in there...

"Alice! What the fuck are you doing?" Edward snapped.

"Serving myself some vodka with cranberry. Brother, are you sure your eyesight is ok?"

That did it. There was vodka in there.

Fuck the brewing catastrophe building between the siblings in that limo. I was going for the booze.

Want to know what shouldn't be surprising? That I wasn't the only one.

As one unified, single-celled organism, everyone in our group rushed forward, gun-ho to get in the Hummer.

I still made it first. Followed closely by Rose. Alice was all the way in the rear of the Hummer, sitting back, past two separate mini-bars. She was reclining comfortably against the gray leather seats, idly reaching for a drink as her two brothers looked on with scowls.

Now, I love Alice. I really do. And I wanted nothing more than to sit next to her. But Edward was sitting across from her, about five feet too close, and there was no way I was heading back there.

None.

So I parked my ass next to the mini-bar closest to the front.

Angela actually rushed to grab the seat next to me. Rose beautifully slid in on my other side, leaving Jessica to sit across.

I couldn't help but smile when I saw Mike nonchalantly take the seat next to her.

Rose and I froze as Jasper climbed in, his golden hair shining under the overhead lights. He was bent over as he made his way in.

When the man reached up and smoothly removed his glasses as he walked to the back, I had to swallow hard for Alice.

Rose did, too, actually.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward and Emmett glaring in our direction.

Come to think of it, Mike didn't look too happy, either.

But common sense wasn't really in the building. Because I could so see why Alice had decided to play get-and-go-ride-'em-cowboy with the man.

He was one tall, big, line of hard muscles. And while as the glasses should make him appear nerdish, all they did was give him a good boy look that demanded to be stained.

Just corrupt the motherfucker and everything on his body.

Go Alice.

Yeah.

Rose turned to me, her eyes wide as he walked towards the back. From the look on her face I could tell she had just been ogling his ass.

I didn't blame her. My eyes were having a hard time staying off of it, too.

Ok, so he hurt Alice. And he's a dick for it.

But he was still hot. So, so hot.

Poor Alice.

No wait. My eyes snapped towards Emmett and I saw that he was red again. Just fuming angry actually.

And...he was getting up.

"Rose..." I said, eyes wide as I saw how much room Emmett actually took up inside the limo.

I had to warn the poor woman! That giant motherfucker was heading her way!

But he didn't make it more than one step, when drink in hand and all, Alice shot up out of her seat.

She barely had to bend over because of her height. Yet, for some reason, as she tried to blend in with the wall and squeeze her way through towards us, she seemed to not find anywhere to fit.

Emmett, pushed back by her momentum, actually sat back down. Slowly and scowling heavily.

Oh my God. He was jealous!

Jasper actually ended up passing right next to Alice on his way to two men that no longer looked like they were going to welcome him in their midst.

Alice was right in front of Rose when it happened.

The slow way Jasper's head turned and his hot eyes landed on her almost knocked me off my seat.

And I was sitting down.

As it is, it certainly knocked Alice off her center. She tried to move back, tried to avoid touching him...ended up falling right into Rose's lap in the process.

Rose caught Alice like if she was nothing, her thighs not seeming to complain. Rose was two inches taller than me, three inches taller than Alice, and only a little bit bigger.

Still, the girl could carry and fling us like if were nothing.

She's done it before.

"Traitors!" Alice whispered as Jasper turned to continue towards the back.

Part of me wanted to warn the man. I know he had hurt Alice but the look on Edward and Emmett's faces was not boding well for him...

A throat cleared, reminding me that we weren't alone in the limo.

Fuck, no. Our friends were here. By the look on all their faces, they had begun to pick up on the fact that something was going on.

Their awkwardness as they resumed conversation let me know that they'd, too, picked up on the heat coming off of Alice and Jasper.

Which only meant that if I wasn't careful, I was going to end up giving myself away, too.

Fucking great...

Alice moved off Rose, somehow muscling her way between Rose and me. I inched over to give her room since Rose seemed absolutely determined not to move an inch closer to the back.

I heard the door close and looked to my left. Ben was the last one in the car. I expected him to sit next to Angela but instead he started moving straight towards the back.

He passed Mike, tapping him once on the shoulder. Mike looked away from Jessica, who was still staring at Jasper, saw where Ben was heading, and just like that we were separated by sex.

The boys on one side.

The girls on the other.

Fucking yay, man!

I barely stopped myself from bursting out in a smile as I realized that my ride to the hotel just might not be that stressful. And it wasn't. The girls started up a conversation.

Instantly, it turned towards the shopping, all of us excited about what Paris had to offer. Especially in the Faubourg Saint Honore shopping area.

Alice nearly stroked out when the name came into play. As it is, she squealed so loud that the whole limo momentarily went quiet.

I looked to the back, saw both her brother's glaring in her direction, and decided that I wasn't going to look back there again.

I wondered if they could still put a hold on her money spending even though she was over eighteen.

What am I saying? Of course they could! The girl hadn't started working and earning her own money, yet, and the money from her share of the inheritance was long gone. It was Emmett and Edward's fortunes she was living off of.

They weren't kidding when they said her existence was expensive. Alice was an addict.

A high fashion, no expenses bared, addict.

But surely Edward and Emmett wouldn't do that to her! They still had more money than they could ever spend.

Surely they knew that such a hit was the last thing the poor girl needed right now!

I lost track of the conversation, lost in my own thoughts. I was getting sleepier and sleepier with every second that passed. Leaning drowsily back against the seats, I looked around the limo. It took a few minutes but soon I realized the odd look Jessica was throwing at Alice and Jasper.

Oh, fuck.

She'd figured it out. She'd realized that something had happened between the Professor and Alice.

Jessica loved that kind of gossip. It's what she lived for. She wasn't malicious. Hell, no. The girl was the sweetest airhead on the planet.

Airhead being the operative term in that whole sentence.

She wouldn't misuse the information. She never did. She just wasn't very good at keeping anything to herself.

Seriously, the girl made me and Alice look like very self-controlled young women.

Angela, Ben, Mike, and Scott didn't know Jasper as the Professor. They hadn't been in private school with us.

Well, I hadn't been around for the time of the Professor, either, but I had heard of him months after he left.

So, although they'd noticed that something was going on, none of our other friends found it anything other than odd.

But Jessica...oh boy.

And now that she was looking closely at Alice and Jasper she would be zoned in on my direction.

It was only a matter of time...

Jessica was an airhead but she wasn't an idiot. And she was just as observant as the rest of us.

With her penchant for loving gossip, she was probably more so.

A Jessica-intervention needed to be staged. Jessica could only keep things to herself if you got to her beforehand. Briefed her and what not.

Meaning...I would have to tell her. Alice would, too. We would both have to lay it bare.

To Jessica.

Holy, mother of God.

I said Motrin an hour ago, bitch!

There isn't any!

I resisted the urge to rub my temples, knowing that it would call attention to me. My thoughts drifted in and out, a panicked mess within my very tired mind. I don't know when it happened but eventually I drifted off, exhaustion carrying me head first into the darkness.

It was a deep and thankfully dreamless sleep that I was very angry to be pulled from.

When I came to, I did so very grouchily, my face scrunching up and a plaintive whine leaving me.

I heard a deep chuckle and almost died.

That's when I noticed that I was being carried.

By very big arms.

Thank you, Lord, it wasn't him!

Squinting against the bright lights of what looked like a hotel hallway; I looked up and saw Emmett smiling hugely at me.

"Yo," he said slowly, still smiling bemusedly at me.

"What's up, son?" I mumbled groggily, reaching up and rubbing one eye.

Emmett threw his head back and laughed.

I cringed, pitying the people sleeping behind the closed doors as we passed.

The beige carpet beneath Emmett's feet looked scrumptious. In my tired state, I just wanted to lie on the very fluffy and expensive carpeting and just go back to sleep.

Then Emmett started talking.

"Just had to carry you up here. Couldn't stand the idea of waking you up when you looked so tired," he said, making my head turn towards him.

"Thanks," I said softly, smiling up at him although he was looking straight ahead.

"You better be grateful. I had to risk life and limb and do what I swore never to do before to carry you up here."

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked, almost knocked out of my exhaustion by his tone.

"I had to put myself between my brother and a woman. And it was truly frightening."

"Shut the fuck!" I hissed as he started chuckling. I slapped at his chest, pissed off because I could tell by the look in his eye that he actually meant it.

"I'm serious! That was fucking dangerous, kiddo."

"Emmett, stop," I grumbled, looking away from him.

Fighting a pout.

"How do you even know where you're going?" I asked him eventually, still not looking at him.

"I asked, how else?" he said obnoxiously, making me grind my teeth and fight a smile at the same time.

Eventually he stopped in front of one of the wooden white doors. He placed me down long enough to get my door open then just swooped down and picked me back up again.

I clung to his shoulders, fighting the temporary vertigo that he caused.

The room made me wake up completely, my eyes widening. Alice had picked out my room for me and had asked me to trust her.

I loved her fiercely, by the way.

Just had to mention that.

The walls were the most soothing yellow, white trim and a white ceiling accentuating it perfectly. The chandelier overhead was delicate, its bulbs just big enough to add to the low glow of the room.

The bed was huge, covered in the nicest deep purple and gold blankets I'd ever seen.

There was more to the room, too, but all my attention was on the bed.

I didn't even spare a glance to see if room service had delivered all my luggage.

Sure, I wasn't that tired anymore. Yet, that thing was begging me to sleep on it.

Emmett must have seen my hungry stare and how it was focused solely on the bed because he was walking towards it.

Just moving.

Yes, closer...

I let out a small screech when Emmett unceremoniously tossed me on the blankets.

I opened my mouth, ready to put him in his place, when down he went and up I went again.

One arm around my middle, his large hand splayed across my mid-back, the man just lifted me like I was nothing. He quickly flipped the covers over and dumped me back on the bed.

Oh my fucking God.

Just like that.

Again, how was Rose walking after last night?

Emmett practically threw the covers over me, not giving a fuck that I was still in my jeans and boots. I pouted at him, crossing my arms, and watched him throw himself onto the bed next to me.

The thing creaked and protested, I kid you not.

"So, let's talk," Emmett said throwing me that wide and always mischievous smile of his.

"Oh, no," I snapped, shaking my head. "No..."

"Have you even spoken to Edward?" Emmett asked, ignoring my furious and outraged look.

"Emmett, no," I said again.

"Thought so."

"That's not what I meant and you know it!"

"So, you have spoken to my brother?"

"Emmett," I seethed, the urge to pull at his hair great. "I'm not interfering between you and Rose..."

"There is no 'me and Rose', Bells," Emmett said, his smile falling and his face turning serious.

"What did happen...?" I began, curiosity almost getting the best of me. Then I snapped my mouth shut, realizing that the less I knew the better.

It would be like listening in on the details of two siblings fucking.

Because Rose was like my sister and Emmett was like my brother.

In my brain, it was almost incestuous.

Too late. Emmett took my opening and turned to me, piercing me with his bright blue eyes. "I need your help, Bells..."

"No! Oh, no!" I cried, trying to kick off the covers so I could escape, but the fucker was on them, making my escape impossible.

Didn't stop me from trying. Like a hell cat I fought for my freedom while Emmett tried to hold me down by my arms.

I did not want to be in this situation.

At all.

"Bella, just hear me out. I'm in trouble here."

That got me. The way he said it, too. There was something behind his tone that was different. Something I had never heard before.

Something deep and vulnerable.

"Emmett," I said in a small voice, ceasing my struggles and slowly sitting back down to face him. "What's going on?"

Emmett huffed lightly, turning from me and pulling on his hair.

I stared, wide eyed, as every muscle in his body bunched up.

"Emmett?"

"I don't know what's going on, OK Bella?" Emmett said, still not looking at me. "All I know is that the fact that this woman is running from me is driving me fucking crazy!"

Ok. My brain was done. It grabbed its suitcase, put up the 'gone on vacation' sign and just left.

That was the only explanation. There was no other way that I was seeing what I was seeing...

Emmett shot to his feet, his back a huge wall of dangerously coiled muscle. He restlessly moved away from me, his steps taking him to the door.

I barely held back a gasp as I realized that he was trying to hold himself back.

Trying to rein back my shock, I watched him stand by the door for a few seconds.

Then slowly, as if it was costing him to do so, Emmett turned and began stomping towards me.

I shrank back from the look on his face. Crawled back and pressed myself against the purple headboard.

The look on his face frightened me. Not because I felt like he was going to do me harm.

Hell, no.

It did, however, remind me way toooo much of the way his brother looked at m...

"Emmett!" I snapped, making him freeze. "Sit. Down," I said slowly; pointing at the bed repeatedly.

Surprisingly, he did so without a fight. Just fell back down on the bed, looking at me like I held all the answers in the world.

It took everything to keep my face from melting into a smile at how cute he could be.

"Emmett, tell me what happened."

There, I said it.

I just hoped I wouldn't regret it.

"She just left. Didn't even talk to me. Just ran."

I swallowed heavily, knowing damned well that I was not the person to condemn Rose in any way for her actions.

"Rose is...different," I said carefully, wondering how much I could get away with telling him without Rose kicking my ass.

"Yeah...she is," Emmett said.

And then fuck me sideways, because he was smiling again.

Holy shitness.

"Emmett, she's very detached from men..."

"Understatement," Emmett scoffed, surprising me.

OK, let's try this again.

"It's a surprise Rose slept with you just like that when she's known guys longer who have been after her. She's cold at times..."

"Bella, I assure you. That woman was anything but cold with me."

"Oh! EwI Ew! Ew!" I cried, slapping at his arms as I tried to get him to shut up.

"Ouch! Bella stop! If it's any consolation, I've heard my brother say shit while jacking off thinking about you that has made my blood run cold..."

"OH MY FUCKING GOD!"I yelled, grabbing the nearest object (the cordless phone) and aiming at his head.

How dare he do this to me?

All of my sanity was centered on wrestling the fairy down, cupping her mouth, trying to stop her from doing with that knowledge what she wanted to...

Emmett got off the bed again, his hands raised in defeat.

I panted, my hair a wild mess around me, as I fought the way my skin tightened.

The mental image teased at the back of my mind.

Whispered.

Tantalized me with the visual it wanted to impose on me.

"Emmett, get the fuck out," I said as calmly as I could. Breathing deeply, I pointed to the door.

Gave him a stern stare.

"I'm sorry, Bells. But seriously, are you just running from him because you have a boyfriend? Or are you afraid the parking lot is going to repeat itself?"

"HE TOLD YOU?" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

"Just like Rose told you guys."

He had a point.

Damn.

"Bella, just talk to me. I need advice here."

"I'm really not the person to get it from," I began, shaking my head. "And don't forget, I'm still mad at you for bringing your brother along, you asshole!"

I was serious, too. That's why I pointed directly at him and jabbed my finger.

The fucker threw me the patented 'Cullen' pout.

Son of a...wonderful woman who somehow birthed three demons.

"Fine. But tomorrow. I'm tired," I said, finally pulling my feet all the way out of the covers and going to work on my boots.

"Ok," Emmett said, turning to walk towards the door. He opened it, pausing right outside it and looking back at me.

"He cares for you, kiddo. And he won't stop 'till you at least hear him out. Think about that."

He closed the door just as my shoe was heading for his head.

I watched it hit the yellow door then fall to the floor.

I felt like that boot. Used and now beat up, lying in a heap.

Stubbornly refusing to think anymore, I reached for the light switch and turned off all the lights. Still in my traveling clothes, I shoved myself under the covers.

There I waited for hours in the dark. Fighting my own self and the thoughts that were trying to go through my head.

Sleep wouldn't come. It eluded me, leaving me vulnerable all night.

Finally, way after the sky outside the windows had begun to lighten up, the logical part of my brain caught me by surprise, just as I hovered in the realm between consciousness and sleep.

He might have a point. What if we...

Don't even say it.

But it might be the only way!

I rolled over, burying my head in the pillow and pushing my thoughts back to the far reaches of my brain.

I stayed liked that for what seemed to be hours more. All the time fighting myself. Fighting the way a part of me was trying to convince me.

Reminding me of what he had said in the airport. Right before seeing my charm.

My hand went to said charm, wrapping around the necklace in the same spot his fingers had been.

He'd asked me to talk to him.

Asked me to hear him out.

Could I?

And could I, for exchange, ask something of him in return?

Why was I even thinking of doing this?

Was it because I needed him to behave around me?

Or was it because deep down I did want to hea...

I fought it back again. Tossed and turned in my covers as my body and brain warred with each other.

Eventually, sleep did come. Early into the Parisian morning.

When it did, I could hear one word echoing loudly over and over in my head.

Compromise.

---

Friday, July 1st, 2011.

11:22 AM.

Location: Hotel de Grillon, Paris, France.

Edward's room was next to mine.

Alice had just texted me.

A text that I had made the mistake of reading while standing out in the balcony.

My phone is now nothing more than rubble on the street below.

I paced in my room, my heels sinking into the plush carpet with every step.

I had received the text almost half hour ago. A warning that had ended in me not having a phone.

Or a back bone, either. Because I was supposed to have left and met up with Rose and the girls more than fifteen minutes ago.

Why was he there?

No fucking way it was a coincidence! None!

How far was the man willing to go?

The thought that he was next door made the oddest sensations go through me.

My bare legs tightened with goose bumps.

I rubbed my arms, trying to banish the shiver that was trying to go through me.

This was why I was still in the room.

Why I couldn't even imagine bumping into him...

The whole time, the thoughts that had kept me up the night before rolled through my head.

The ones that warned me that I couldn't spend the whole trip like this.

In hiding.

I rushed towards my lap top, pulling it open and firing it up.

Luckily, the hotel had Wi-Fi.

I turned on my Skype, hoping one of the girls were signed in through their phones.

Just as I spotted Rose and was about to video call her, she called me, the call sounded loud coming through my speakers.

I lowered the volume, paranoid of who just might happen to hear...

"Rose?"

"Bella. Alice told me. Angela and I are hiding."

I scrunched my brow, shaking my head at her no bullshit tone.

"Hiding?"

"Large as fuck plant a few doors down from you. So far, it seems he's still in his room, too. Come out now..."

"No," I said all of a sudden.

My eyes fell open and I slammed a hand over my mouth, grateful Rose couldn't see me.

"What?"

I rolled my eyes at myself, disbelieving of what I was about to do.

"Just...stay there. Let me know when he comes out."

There was silence on the other end.

"Bella...what are you going to do?"

Good question.

"I...Rose, just trust me." Even while I don't trust myself. "I got this."

I heard her inhale sharply then mumble something.

I heard Angela's voice responding but I couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Well, Bella. You better know what the fuck you're doing. Because the door to his room is opening now."

I ran.

I didn't give myself any more time to think about.

Later on, I would think back on that moment and wonder what propelled me to just take the chance.

Later on, I would marvel at the outcome of that one single decision.

But right then nothing mattered.

I had made up my mind.

I was going after the man.

I was going to hear him out.

In exchange, I would ask for a compromise.

I'd worry about the technicalities of the whole thing later. Right then I was a woman on mission.

A woman completely in denial as to what propelled her on said mission.

Funny.

I wouldn't be that way for long.

---

Nyddi

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Nyddi

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