Chapter 13
Sweet Surrender
EPOV
There really was nothing that compared to waking up with Bella in my arms. Her hair was fanned out over my arm while her head lay on my shoulder. Her small fingers rested on my stomach. I watched the rise and fall of her chest as her breathing set a steady pattern in the quiet room.
I pulled my fingers through her hair, loving the texture and softness of it. She sighed softly and I could tell by the way her breathing changed that she was on the verge of waking up.
"I forfeit," she whispered quietly. I smiled, wondering what she was dreaming about.
Bella had surprised me yet again last night. She fit in perfectly with my family. When she excused herself from the table to go to the ladies room, my mother couldn't stop talking about what a great girl she was. She had been awed with her intelligent answers and her quick wit. Attending Columbia and having a Masters degree in business was enough to impress my father, but then she dazzled him with her smile and showed genuine interest in his work which made her a saint in his book.
Bella's hand twitched on my stomach, drawing my attention back to her. She seems to be coming out of her shell a little more each day. However, I always seem to say the wrong thing and she would end up in tears and we'd have taken two steps backwards. I don't handle her tears very well. She affects me more than Tanya ever could. Maybe that's because Bella's tears are genuine. She's not trying to manipulate me into doing what she wanted like Tanya always did.
She stretched her arm and then turned her half lidded eyes to mine. "Morning," she whispered while she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"Good morning, love." She smiled at me then nestled her head back into my shoulder, her warm breath blowing across my neck. Her fingers driving me mad as she rubbed circles on my stomach. I reached down and grabbed her hand, stilling it before I lost all of my control. She looked up at me and smirked. The little flirt knew what she was doing to me.
Two could play at that game.
I moved my hand to the hem of her silky camisole and slid my fingers underneath, caressing her stomach with a light touch. She shivered slightly and then buried her face into my neck. Her lips made contact with the soft skin just below my ear and I couldn't hold back any longer. I pulled her fully on top of me and gently cupped her face in both of my hands.
"I'm going to kiss you now." I told her, not really knowing what I would do if she refused. Her eyes were glassy as she nodded her head.
I pulled her down to my lips and kissed her. It wasn't the soft, sweet kiss that we had shared in the past, it was one full of every desire I had for her. Every fantasy I've had about her, every moment that I had longed to touch her, every time I denied my desire of her was infused in that kiss. She responded hungrily and when I parted my lips she gladly opened up to me.
I slipped my tongue into her mouth, feeling the warmth of hers against mine. My hands rubbed against the soft flesh of her back, moving up and under her shirt. A small moan slipped out of her mouth and into mine. I flipped us over so that her back was flat against the mattress and I was hovering over her, one leg planted in between her lovely thighs.
I drew her bottom lip into my mouth and sucked on it, then trailed open mouthed kisses down her neck. Her hands were in my hair pulling me closer. I relaxed the lower half of my body so that I was pressed firmly against her and she could feel my excitement pressed into her thigh.
"Edward." She sighed as I took her earlobe into my mouth and flicked it with my tongue. I moved my hand down her sides and over her leg. Hooking my fingers under her knee I hitched her leg up to my waist. She let out the sexiest sound I had ever heard and bit down hard on my shoulder through my T-shirt.
Just as I was about to push her further than we had gone, super-cala-fragalistic-expialidoshus rang from my phone. I groaned, burying my face in Bella's neck. There's nothing like Mary Poppins to ruin the mood. She giggled and shoved me towards the offending object. I grabbed it off the nightstand and answered it.
"Hello, Mother Dearest." Annoyance evident in my voice.
"Don't you dare call me that or I'll show you what a coat hanger really feels like," she chastised with a small chuckle.
"I'm sorry, what can I do for you this fine morning?" I asked in my most pleasant voice.
"Did you forget about breakfast?" I glanced at the clock and groaned, we were already ten minutes late.
"Yes, I forgot to set the alarm. We'll be there in a few." I hung up the phone and looked down at the beautiful girl in my arms. Her lips were slightly swollen, a blush tinted her cheeks and a wide smile was on her lips.
"What's up with the Mary Poppins ring tone?" she asked as she ran her hand up my chest, causing me to forget what she asked for a second.
"Because my mother is like Mary Poppins. Practically perfect in every way."
"Awwww. That's so sweet."
"I'll show you what's sweet," I said teasingly as I leaned down and kissed her neck again. "Right here is sweet." I moved my mouth to her collar bone, "and right here is sweet." Then I moved to behind her ear, "this is sweet." Then I ended at her lips,"but right here is the sweetest of all." Then I kissed her one last time before rolling out of bed.
"We were supposed to be at breakfast ten minutes ago. My parents are waiting in the restaurant downstairs."
I didn't think I have ever seen her move that fast. She was out of the bed and in the bathroom before I made it to the closet. I couldn't help but wonder how our make-out marathon was going to alter the dynamics of our relationship. I didn't regret it one bit, but I wasn't sure if she did. She seemed like she was fine with our little display of affection but who knows with women.
When we were ready and in the elevator she inched closer to me until her chest was pressed securely against my own. She reached up and pulled my head down to meet her lips in a soft kiss. When she pulled away I saw a twinkle in her eyes before she spoke.
"I'm ready for things to change between us."
I couldn't suppress the grin that was threatening to take over my face. I pulled her closer and eagerly pressed my lips to hers. I vaguely heard the ding of the elevator, indicating we had arrived at our floor, before Bella pulled her lips away from mine, took my hand and led me down the hall to the restaurant.
We spotted my parents in the dining room and started towards them. Carlisle had his nose buried in the Wall Street Journal when we arrived. He laid down his paper and held out the chair for Bella while I kissed my mother on her cheek before sitting down.
"So, what do you have planned for today?" My mother asked eyeing my messy hair and arching her perfectly manicured eyebrow at me. I reached up, self consciously running my fingers through my hair to try to tame it down. I gave up and shrugged, she shook her head and laughed.
What did we have planned for today? So…what are my options? Spend all day in bed with a beautiful girl. Take a bath with said beautiful girl. See how many rooms we can christen in the hotel suite. Mmm, all of those things sounded like good ideas, but not necessarily things I wanted to share with my mother. I looked over at Bella and she shook her head.
"We didn't have anything planned," I said, looking back at my mother who was beaming.
"Well then why don't you go with your father? He has a tee time at ten and then Bella and I can go shopping and get to know each other better." No No No! I want to spend quality alone time with Bella. I looked over at Bella and saw the disappointment clearly written on her face as well. How am I going to get us out of this? I couldn't think fast enough to solidify a plan before Bella spoke up.
"I think that would be lovely, Esme."
What? No No No! What is she doing?
I gave Bella a 'What the hell are you doing?' look and she just smiled a mischievous smile back at me. Esme beamed at the opportunity to spend time with her, and how could I deny her that? Irritated yes, but not angry. There go all of my plans for the afternoon.
BPOV
Shopping with Esme was like having a déjà'vu moment. I now understood where Alice got her addiction. Like Alice, Esme was a precise shopper. She knew exactly what she wanted and didn't waste time browsing for things that weren't helping her achieve her goal. She threw different dresses in my direction when I told her I would just wear the dress that I had worn to the theatre.
"You will not wear the same dress. What if you're photographed? You'd be mortified if they published the two pictures side by side in the Post." I highly doubt I would be mortified, but she would have been, so I figured I'd better go along with whatever she said. Her comments reminded me of the photographer that snapped our picture during Rosalie's Opening Night.
"Someone took pictures of us at Rosalie's Opening Night." Esme pursed her lips and thought about what I said.
"Edward was a source of hateful gossip during his divorce, but other than that the press was kind to him. Things should be fine. When you're good looking and wealthy they want one of two things. Either they want to buddy up to you to get a nice photo and a statement or they want to tear you down and they don't care what lies they dig up to accomplish their goal."
She shoved me in a dressing room and made me come out and show her each item I tried on. Esme had excellent taste. Every item had a hint of sexiness but was well within my comfort zone. She had done so well that I had a hard time deciding on one.
"Every woman should own a sexy little black dress, so I would pick that one." She said pointing to the dress I was leaning towards. It was a black satin fabric with small cap sleeves and had a low cut neckline. The bodice was form fitting and then the skirt flared out slightly, ending a little below mid thigh. It moved beautifully when I walked. I convinced Esme that I already had shoes so she insisted on buying a pretty silver chain with a diamond pennant hanging from it with matching diamond earrings.
While Esme was in the dressing room my phone rang and that goofy picture of Edward flashed across the screen. I need to get a better picture of him. I flipped it open and saw that it was a text.
B
I'm back at the hotel. When are you coming home?
E
Home? I guess that's what it is. I quickly typed my reply and hit send.
E
It's all up to your mother. She's shopping. Need I say more?
B
Let him stew over that for awhile. A few minutes later Esme came out of the dressing room, her phone in one hand and several garments in the other. She had a small smile playing at her lips as she handed me her phone.
"I think we need to go," she said with a small laugh. I looked down at the screen and there was a text message from Edward.
Mom,
You've had her long enough. Please, bring her back.
Edward
My cheeks turned bright red as I closed the phone and handed it back to her.
"Shall we go dear?" She smiled like she was the cat that ate the canary. She finished her purchases and we were in the car and on our way back to the hotel within minutes. When we were a few blocks away I received another text from Edward.
B
Where are you?
E
Esme was trying to hold in her laugh, but her shaking shoulders were a dead giveaway. I decided to ignore the text since we were almost there.
"Aren't you going to answer him?" I shook my head no. "He'll call at least three more times before you get to the room. He always was a persistent child." Then my phone rang again.
"That's one." Esme said as she snickered. I flipped open the phone and checked it.
B
Is Esme holding you hostage?
E
I quickly closed it. We sat in silence for the remainder of the drive. As soon as we pulled up to the hotel my phone rang again.
"That's two." Esme said as she laughed harder. I didn't want to look but the suspense was killing me.
B
Where are you? I'll send a car.
E
Even I had to laugh at the comical way this was playing out. We grabbed our bags out of the back and made our way to the elevator. Just as we reached Esme's floor my phone went off again.
"That's three. What did I tell you? If anything, he's predictable." She kissed my cheek and told me she'd see us soon as she swept from the elevator. I flipped open the phone and read the final message before I would see him.
B
I miss you.
E
My heart was hammering in my chest as I reached the door to our room. I was barely in the door before I was being swept into his arms and pressed up against the wall. His mouth was on mine in a heated embrace. His hands were cupped around my bottom as he pulled me against him. I wrapped my legs around his waist while his mouth continued to assault mine. He pulled away from the door and headed towards the bedroom. Just as he reached the bedroom door we heard a tinkling voice coming from the entryway.
"Bella?" We both groaned as we heard Alice calling for me. He pulled away from me and rested his forehead on mine.
"I'll get rid of her," he said in a voice dripping with need.
"You will do no such thing," Alice exclaimed and then she rounded the corner and saw me wrapped around her brother. She looked slightly shocked, but then composed herself and went on.
"We need to leave in an hour and I'm here to help Bella with her hair."
Edward heaved a loud sigh and set me back on my feet. He gave me a chaste kiss on my lips and walked away, going into the living room. I had never wanted to hurt anyone like I wanted to hurt Alice at that moment. Sensing my murderous rage, she smirked at me.
"You should be thanking me right now. You can't finish anything worthwhile in less than an hour." Then she steered me towards the bathroom to start the slow torture.
She had left my hair down and ran her fingers through the large curls she had made with a curling iron. When she was finished I fixed my make-up from earlier in the day and was ready to go.
Edward was lying on our bed with his eyes closed when I came in to get my shoes. I walked over quietly and placed a chaste kiss on his mouth. His lips turned up into a smile and he opened his eyes.
"You look exquisite," he said as his eyes travelled down my body. I smiled down at him.
"Is my sister finished with you?" he asked looking over my shoulder as if Alice was going to pounce at any moment.
"She left a few minutes ago." Quicker than I thought possible he had me under him on the bed.
"We could just stay here," he said seductively, nuzzling my neck with his nose. I almost agreed to his suggestion then his phone rang. He moaned with irritation mumbling under his breath something about unwanted interruptions as he got up to retrieve it.
"Hello?" he grumbled.
"We'll be down in a minute." He growled and then snapped his phone closed.
"They are waiting for us downstairs." He turned and walked to the closet, pulling out his jacket and slipping it on. I sat up and admired the man in front of me. His hair was still a mess but in a stylish kind of 'I don't care' way. The black suit he wore was expensive, and probably Italian, it fit him perfectly. I sighed and thought about what may happen later on tonight. He walked back to me and held out his hand.
We met everyone but Rosalie downstairs, she had two shows this evening and one in the early afternoon tomorrow so she opted out of tonight's festivities. We all piled into the awaiting limousine and were on our way towards Fifth Avenue. Emmett, always the entertainer, kept us in stitches the entire ride.
We arrived at the Midtown Loft and I was pleasantly surprised at the elegance of the venue. The very large room was set up with a full bar, dance floor and buffet. Tables and sitting areas with white plush furniture were sporadically set throughout the room. A DJ was in the corner of the dance floor playing an eclectic selection of music. There were already a few hundred people in attendance.
As soon as we walked in the door Edward was whisked away by Emmett to meet a client. He glanced over his shoulder at me, an apologetic look on his face. I smiled and waved him on, letting him know that I could handle myself.
I made my way to the buffet and glanced over the selection. A woman with curly brown hair wasn't paying attention to where she was backing up and bumped into me.
"Oh, excuse me." She turned quickly to make sure she hadn't caused too much damage. "I should have been paying better attention to what I was doing but that chocolate fountain has had my attention since I walked in the room." We both chuckled at her statement.
"I don't think I've seen one that big before." I said, slightly in awe. The woman nodded her head in agreement.
"You have to try the strawberries and bananas. I thought I had died and gone to heaven." She said breathlessly grabbing my arm and pulling me over to the plates and skewers. She handed me one and started piling the different dip-able items onto her plate. We chatted about the various items that you could cover in chocolate when Edward came up behind me and kissed my neck lightly.
"I'm sorry, love. I have to go talk to my sister, but I wanted to make sure you were doing okay."
"I'm fine, Edward. I can entertain myself. Besides, with you near me I wouldn't feel right about indulging in all this sinful delight." I waved a hand at my plate and the chocolate buffet. He chuckled softly, placed another kiss on my neck and then was gone.
"Wow. Who was that?" She asked, slightly stunned by his looks. I couldn't blame her, I felt like that every time he walked within ten feet of me.
"Edward Cullen." I said as I dipped a skewer of marshmallows into the fountain.
"Oh." She looked startled for a moment and then composed herself. "So are you dating him?" I didn't really know how to answer that question so I tried to be evasive.
"We are here tonight on a date." I said trying to make it seem like it was nothing. We walked towards a table together and sat down. She seemed nice, was easy to talk to and was also abandoned by her date.
"Are you here with someone?" I asked as she smiled and looked around.
"Yes, I'm here with my boyfriend. He's probably with Mr. Kingsley," she said.
"Do you know Mr. Kingsley very well?" I asked, making small talk.
"Not really. I met him the other day. He reminds me of someone, but I just can't place my finger on whom." I chuckled and leaned in to tell her who he reminded me of.
"He reminds me of Yosemite Sam," I said with a giggle.
"That's it!" She laughed heartily and smacked her hand down on the table. "I couldn't place it but he's the spitting image of him." We chatted for awhile and I learned that her name was Jessica. She was a pleasant distraction while I waited for Edward to return. After a while I went to the bar to get both of us another drink.
I sat on a barstool waiting for the bartender to fill my order when I felt an unfamiliar presence behind me causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. I turned slowly to see who the individual was that was in my personal space.
"Jack and Coke." His voice dripping with sensuality as he spoke to the bartender and then turned his attention to me. The guy was good looking to the extreme with shaggy blonde hair, hazel eyes and a five o'clock shadow that gave him the bad boy appearance. He leaned in and placed his elbow on the bar so that he was turned towards me. My body gave an involuntary shudder at his proximity. Warning bells were going off in my head to get the heck out of there. He smirked like he got a small thrill at making me feel uncomfortable.
"Hello, sexy," he said to me quietly. I was taken aback at his lack of tact so I turned my back to him, hoping that if I ignored him he'd go away.
"Don't be like that, sugar," he whispered in my ear only a few inches away. I found my voice and my anger at the same time.
"Who in the hell do you think you are?" I huffed as I turned back to face him. "You have some nerve speaking to a lady like that."
"I didn't realize I was speaking to a lady." He retorted back. His impish grin spreading over his face.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so rude. My name's James." He said as he held out his hand. I ignored his attempt at being polite. There was something about this guy that told me to stay away. The bartender came back with my drinks and I immediately stood up to leave. James caught me by the arm and pulled me close enough so that I would hear his whisper.
"I'll see you around, Bella." I yanked my arm out of his grasp and marched back to the table I was sharing with Jessica. How the hell did he know my name? I tried to shake off the sense of unease that I was feeling.
"Do you know James?" Jessica asked me as I arrived back at the table, handing her drink to her. I shook my head no and she proceeded to dish the gossip about him. It seems that Edward had bought out his failing company last year. He was a known player with a hint of scandal. There were rumors circulating about a rape when he was in college, but even with the possibility of him being a scoundrel women still seemed to flock to him.
"His good looks and charm get him just about anything he wants."
I snorted at Jessica's comment. "He was anything but charming when he was talking to me." I told her about what he had said to me and she was just as appalled as I was. We sat there for awhile ranting about how some men can be complete idiots and then our conversation turned to the worst pick up lines we had heard. I excused myself to the ladies room. I spotted Edward across the room and felt that small pang of longing but pushed it down. I understood that he had obligations that needed to be filled before we could have our time together.
I had just closed the stall door when two women walked in, their voices dripping with cattiness.
"Did you see the girl he was with?" The first voice raking on my nerves with her nasally tone.
"I know. Can you say plain Jane?" I was reminded of how much I hate the back biting some women took part in to boost their own self importance.
"Victoria tried to get her hooks in him earlier tonight and he totally gave her the brush off."
"Nu uh."
"I also heard that the woman that he brought is a prostitute. The rumor is that he picks them up all the time in Seattle."
"No way! Why would he pay for something that unattractive, especially when he could get it for free from me?" They both laughed at her vulgar comment.
"Isn't that the truth. Do you remember what they said about the perfect Edward Cullen when he was going through his divorce?"
"No, what did they say?" Their voices trailed off as they walked out of the bathroom. I had several emotions going through me at once. I was hurt at the things they were saying about me. I knew that I was out of my league with Edward but to hear it coming from their mouths was painful. I was also irritated at their assumption that I was a hooker, but she had said that Edward hired them all the time. No wonder he brought me back to the hotel. And who the hell is Victoria? My mind was racing with questions when Alice came into the bathroom.
"Hey Bella, Edward was looking for—are you okay?" She rushed over to me when she saw that I was shaking, a tear slipping down my cheek.
"No, I'm not okay." I didn't even bother to lie this time. "I just overheard a conversation about Edward and me. They said that I was…well…that I didn't live up to Edward Cullen. They thought I was a prostitute. Oh yeah…and apparently Edward hires hookers all the time and who the hell is Victoria?" Alice gave a small laugh. I didn't see anything funny in what I just said.
"First things first. You are beautiful so don't let something a couple of jealous 'social skanks' say bother you. Second, I don't know anything about Edward's personal life. You'll have to ask him about that one. Third," she smirked. "Are you a hooker in disguise?" I smacked her playfully. "And last, Victoria is a bimbo that throws herself at Edward all the time. He's gotten fairly good at blocking her advances. Any more questions?" I shook my head feeling much more relieved after Alice's playful explanation. I shouldn't let some gossip girls dictate my evening, but I still felt the hint of inadequacy. Alice laced her arm through mine and looked at me in the mirror on the wall.
"You are a beautiful and smart woman. You are a beautiful and smart woman." She was chanting her Bella mantra again as if saying it enough would make it come true. After she was finished filling me with affirmations, she pulled me to the door.
"Come on, someone is waiting for you on the other side of these doors and he's not a patient man." Alice shoved me through the door and there was Edward waiting for me. He walked over and took my hand.
"Dance with me, beautiful." I wanted to protest but I had missed him since we arrived so I took his hand as he led me to the dance floor. A slow song from the early nineties was playing softly as he brought me into his arms.
"I'm sorry, I haven't been much of a date this evening," he whispered in my hair.
"It's okay Edward. I've been enjoying myself." He pulled me closer, his mouth next to my ear. His beautiful tenor voice sang the song softly in my ear as he rotated me around the floor.
Look into your heart, you will find
There's nothing there to hide.
Take me as I am, take my life.
I would give it all, I would sacrifice.
Don't tell me
It's not worth fighting for.
I can't help it,
There's nothing I want more.
You know it's true.
Everything I do, I do it for you.
He hummed the last few lies of the song as I rested my cheek on his shoulder.
"You have a beautiful voice, Edward."
"Only when I have my muse." He kissed my nose and then pressed his cheek to mine until the song ended. As he led me off of the dance floor I saw Jessica trying to flag me over. I pulled Edward along as I made my way through the crowd.
"I made a new friend I want to introduce you to," I said as I walked toward Jessica.
"Jessica, I'd like for you to meet Edward Cullen. Edward, this is Jessica." Edward nodded his greeting to her and then wrapped an arm around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder.
"My boyfriend was just here. I want you to meet him." She craned her neck looking for him. "Oh, I see him." She waved to someone behind us. We turned around to meet Jessica's boyfriend and I was met with a pair of cold blue eyes.
"Mike, this is Isabella. The friend I was telling you about earlier." My blood felt like ice water running through my veins.
"Good evening, Bella."
The song Edward was singing is Everything I do, I do it for you from the Robin Hood (my favorite movie) soundtrack, sung by Bryan Adams. This was an extremely popular song in the early 90's (Yikes, does that date me a little?). For all you under thirties out there go check it out on youtube. It's a beautiful song with a nice piano melody in the beginning.