Running for Home
Chapter 14: "Failed to Mention"

*.*.*

Edward

"Bella, what are you doing?" I mumble through my sleep induced haze as she lightly traces my face with her fingers.

"I wanted to touch you. You look so peaceful when you're sleeping."

"Hmm. Yet you're always waking me up." I wrap my arm around her to pull her against me. She lays her head on my shoulder, and her fingers trail down my face onto my bare chest. "I was having the best dream."

"Really? About what?"

"You," I tell her, unable to keep the smirk off my face.

Bella lifts her head and looks me in the eyes. "What about me?" she asks with a quirked brow.

"You were naked," I answer honestly, leaving out the part where she was underneath me and crying out my name.

Bella giggles.

"Oh, you think that's funny, do you?" In one swift move, I flip Bella onto her back and straddle her. "You won't be laughing once this comes off," I threaten mockingly as I grasp the hem of her tank top. She struggles against me and grips my wrists in an attempt to pry my hands off of her top. She's laughing so I assume what I'm doing is okay. Still, I don't want to do anything to make her uncomfortable. It would be easy for me to overpower her but I let her continue to fight me off—just to be on the safe side. After a few moments she surrenders and releases my wrists, letting her arms fall limply to her sides. I smile, knowing I have won this round, and hope this is her way of giving me permission to undress her.

I begin to slide the fabric up her body. My breath catches as the creamy expanse of her belly is exposed. Bella has a fantastic body. The possibility of seeing her nude figure illuminated by the soft morning light makes me hard. There's no hiding my erection from her this time since I'm sitting on her wearing only underwear. Before I uncover her chest, I stop and look at Bella's face for permission to continue. She is smiling but something about her expression is off, almost mischievous. She places her hands flat on my stomach as if she's going to push me away. I open my mouth to ask if she's okay, only I never get the chance.

Bella digs her fingers into my ribcage causing me to laugh involuntarily. She renders me helpless almost immediately. I squirm away, and within a matter of seconds, the tables turn. Bella hovers over me as she continues her relentless attack. I try pushing her off of me, but I can't find the strength. My eyes sting with tears from the way she is playfully tormenting me. My abdominal muscles hurt. My laugh becomes hoarse. I can't string more than two words together at a time so my attempts at begging her to stop are in vain.

"Bella, sst-sssst—" My protest gets cut off when she moves one hand to my neck, causing me to laugh even harder. I can't decide if this situation is frustrating or fun. Even though I don't mind Bella having the upper hand—or straddling me—the ache in my sides borders on uncomfortable. "Bella—please stop—it hurts!" After three attempts, I'm finally able to force out enough words to form a complete thought.

Bella complies but doesn't remove her hands from my body. I lie there, panting and exhausted, and catch my breath. "Admit defeat," she demands.

"Never." Her fingers immediately assault my neck again. I try to retreat from the invasion, but unless I can find a way to sink further into the bed, there is no escaping. "Okay! Okay, okay, okay!"

"Okay, what?"

"I give up! I surrender! You win! You win!" I shout through my laughter.

With my verbal admission of defeat, Bella pushes away from me and climbs off the bed, leaving me slightly disappointed and very, very aroused. Having her take control and completely dominate me like that was a turn-on, and although the physical evidence tapered off during the exchange, it's back in full force now. I palm myself through my boxers, giving my dick a mental, "Hang in there, buddy," pep talk before rolling myself off the bed.

*.*.*

"So," I begin as we once again drive through the middle of nowhere. The little voice in my head has been nagging me to make sure Bella is all right with everything that happened last night, especially after she evaded my advances this morning. "Last night."

"Last night," she repeats quietly. I peek at her out of the corner of my eye, hoping to catch a glimpse of the delicious shade of pink that always colors her cheeks, but her hair cascades around her face like a curtain, effectively hiding whatever emotions she's feeling.

The silence that falls inside the car causes a slight panic to settle over me. "Yeah, last night. Are you—I mean was that… Fuck, Ki-Bella, if I did something to… I don't want you to—"

"Edward, stop." She places her hand on my arm. The feel of her soft skin on mine is calming and effectively cuts off my rambling. "Last night was wonderful."

"Wonderful?" The air leaves my lungs in a giant whoosh. Bella doesn't sound apprehensive at all. If anything, she sounds content, even a little amazed. "You enjoyed it?"

"Yes, very much," she answers without hesitation. "Thank you."

"I want to make you feel good again." And again and again and again. "Was that really your first? Orgasm, I mean." I watch Bella nod out of the corner of my eye. Her hair creates a veil as she looks down, blocking my view once more. "Like, your first ever or your first with someone else?"

"Ever," she mumbles.

My pride swells a little at her confirmation. Okay, it swells a lot, not that I ever doubted my ability to bring her to climax. I'm just glad I could be her first something. I find it astonishing that anyone can be sexually active without experiencing one. I suppose that's one of the benefits of being a guy—getting off is relatively straight-forward. Hell, what guy doesn't beat off just for the release? "Haven't you ever, uh, touched yourself?"

Bella doesn't say anything. She sits there quietly while she picks at Eddie's tag. I hope my question didn't cross a line. My brain-to-mouth filter stopped working the moment I started thinking about making Bella come again. I contemplate retracting my question and apologizing, but she takes a deep breath and answers, "Well, yeah, but…"

Just like that, any hope I have of going the entire drive without getting hard flies out the window. After yesterday, it's impossible to be within any sort of close proximity to Bella without sporting major wood the entire time. Now that I've seen her naked, my mind paints a much better visual, and my fantasies are more realistic. "But?" I press her to continue.

"But… I don't know. It just never happened." Bella takes a deep breath and sighs in frustration.

"Hey. It's okay, you know." I take her hand and pull it up to my lips so I can kiss each of her knuckles. "I already told you that there is nothing wrong with you."

"I'm sorry it took so long."

"Bella," I say gently, "you have nothing to apologize for. I enjoyed every minute of it. Believe me."

"Did you enjoy yours?" she asks uncertainly. "Did I do okay?"

"You were perfect," I assure her before kissing her hand repeatedly.

"Pfft. Right."

"You were. Bella, look at me." She does, and I do my best to make eye contact with her between glances at the road. "I have been dreaming about a night like that ever since I first saw you standing beside my car."

"Really?" Her eyes light up and her voice is hopeful.

"Really. As a matter of fact, I've spent all day working up a plan to get into your pants again," I tease.

"You liar." Bella pulls her hand out of mine and swats at me playfully.

"I'm serious. Any suggestions?"

"Yeah. Say you'll do whatever you did last night again." Her words become progressively quieter, and I strain to catch the end of her sentence.

"I plan on doing much more." With that promise, I take her hand again and tease between her knuckles suggestively with my tongue. Her cheeks burn a brilliant shade of red when the realization of what I want to do sinks in. She looks away quickly but can't keep the broad grin from stretching across her face.

I intend to keep that smile there for as long as she will let me.

*.*.*

We arrive at the motel before sunset. It feels like every nerve ending in my body is frazzled. The last six hours were filled with pure sexual tension. I can't go another minute without relieving it somehow.

Upon entering the room, I drop our bags to the floor before pushing Bella against the closed door and pressing my lips to hers. She gasps as I grab her hips tightly and rub myself against her. This kiss isn't soft and slow like last night; it's frenzied and needy with a longing that causes an ache in my chest. I want to be closer—need to be closer—so I press the entire length of my body against hers. Even with our bodies as close as possible, it does nothing to dull the raw desire I am feeling.

From the way she responds to my advances, she must feel the same way. Bella returns every ounce of passion I put forth. She clutches the back of my neck with one hand while the other grips a handful of my hair. I moan and break the kiss. Without missing a beat, Bella works her lips down my neck, sucking and nibbling on my skin. My forehead falls to rest on the door in front of me as I close my eyes, enjoying what she's doing and thrusting my hips into her every now and again to get some friction. Her teeth scrape down my jaw, the sensation against my facial hair causing a whimper to escape, but I don't fucking care. I make all sorts of pathetic, needy noises in Bella's ear. She brings her hands down and strokes me through my jeans before she begins to unbutton my fly. That's all it takes to pull me out of my Bella-induced trance. I'm way too wound up to have any sort of longevity right now. I need to take care of her first.

"Not yet," I whisper as I grab her hands and hook them behind my neck. "I want you to come first." Leaning down, I wrap my arms under Bella's ass and lift her up. She wraps her legs around my waist and tightens the hold on my neck.

"Edward." In my entire life, I have never heard anything as sexy as the way Bella breathes my name. It causes my entire body to hum with anticipation. Our lips crash together again as I walk backwards toward the bed. When the backs of my legs make contact with it I fall back, bringing Bella down on top of me. I push on her shoulders until she sits up, and I hastily remove her shirt and bra before gently fondling her breasts.

Bella has perfect tits—soft, perky, and sized as if they were made for my hand. Her nipples are a rosy shade of pink that is bright against the creamy pallor of her skin and so responsive to my touch. I sit up, propping myself on one arm while my free hand works her jeans open, and flick one nipple with my tongue before sucking it into my mouth. Bella begins breathing heavily, but I want a more dramatic reaction out of her. Using my teeth, I tease her gently and slowly increase the pressure, stopping when she cries out my name. The sound goes straight to my dick, and I swear I can almost hear it throbbing away in my pants. Satisfied with her response, I flip her over and pull her pants off in one smooth motion.

"I can't wait to taste you," I whisper in her ear before kissing my way down her body.

Bella tenses, from anticipation or apprehension, I'm not sure. "Wait," she requests in a near panic. I pause, my lips near her belly button. "A-are you sure?"

My anger flares as scenarios run through my mind of why she is uncomfortable with me going down on her. I'm fairly positive her ex told her something was wrong with her because she never had an orgasm with him. Maybe he told her something in regards to this, too. Did he tell her he didn't like it? That she tasted bad? Maybe he never even did it at all. Selfish prick. I have the sudden urge to hunt the kid down and kick his ass once we get to Forks. "I'm positive," I murmur against her stomach while I try to hide my irritation.

"Edward?" This time I sit back on my knees. I allow my eyes to wander over her body before finally meeting her gaze. Bella's expression is guarded. I would give anything to know what she is thinking right now. I smile reassuringly as I wait for her to continue. "Will you take your clothes off, too? I don't want to be naked by myself."

Not what I was expecting. At all. No complaints here.

"Of course." I pull off my shirt before standing and removing the rest of my clothing. Bella's eyes travel slowly down my body, lingering on my dick for a couple seconds before snapping up to meet mine. Even in the dim light of the room I can see her blush at getting caught. "Like what you see?" I tease her as I crawl back onto the bed. Hooking my thumbs into the waistband of her panties, I slowly slide them off before settling between her legs.

Bella's breathing becomes ragged when my lips make contact with the slick skin between her legs. It's difficult not to think about having sex with her when she is this wet and we're both completely naked. If it weren't for the lack of condoms and my strong desire to get her off again, I would definitely be inside her right now.

I take my time massaging her gently with my tongue. She moans softly when I start to focus my efforts on her clit. "Good girl," I murmur against her heated skin. She is more vocal after that, making it easier for me to tune in on what she enjoys the most. Originally, I had planned on using only my mouth, but I can't resist sliding my fingers into her and imagining the way it would feel to be buried deep inside her. Wet. Warm. Soft. Tight.

She begins to writhe underneath me, and I use my free arm to hold her hips on the bed. Her breathing quickens and her fingers dig into my shoulders. I increase the pressure, hoping it's what she needs to send her over the edge. Bella cries out as she comes. She tugs on my hair roughly with one hand, but the pain barely registers. I am far too distracted by the way her body clenches around my fingers. I can't wait to feel that on another more sensitive part of my body.

I continue to gently caress her until she completely comes down from the high. When she stops trembling and her breathing returns to normal, I know she's finished. I discreetly wipe my face off before crawling next to her and lying alongside her. She plants a chaste kiss on my lips before sliding down my body.

"What are you doing?" I ask dumbly. It's obvious what her intentions are. My brain has apparently lost all blood flow to my dick.

"Returning the favor," she says quietly as she wraps a warm hand around me.

"Fuck," I breathe. I almost ask her if she's ever given head before but refrain. Besides, I don't really want to hear the answer. Thinking about Bella's head over some other guy's crotch is not a visual I want stuck in my head right now.

Or ever.

Bella licks up my length before she takes me in her mouth, causing me to lose all train of thought. The only thing I can concentrate on is the feeling of her hot, wet, little mouth around me. This is definitely not going to last long. I can tell by the way she keeps hesitating that she isn't quite confident in what she's doing. Weaving my fingers into her hair, I place my hand on her head and gently guide her, setting the pace that feels best. The view of Bella with her lips wrapped around my dick is hotter than I could have ever imagined. I wish I could burn the image into the backs of my eyelids for future reference like when I'm beating off in the shower or just for the hell of it.

My focus settles on the area Bella's mouth doesn't reach and I start to obsess over feeling her lips traveling all the way down to the base. I press on the back of her head gently, encouraging her to take me farther into her mouth. She catches on and takes me deeper with each downward stroke. I try not to get carried away, but when there is only a sliver of skin showing, I get overly excited and press a little too hard.

Bella makes a choking noise. It sounds hot as fuck but I feel bad knowing it's my fault. I release her head immediately, but she doesn't stop. "Shit, baby. I'm sorry," I apologize huskily. "You okay?"

"Mm-hmm," she hums around me.

"Oh, fuck," I moan. "Do that again." She complies and the vibration almost pushes me over the edge. "I'm so close," I whimper. "Don't stop. Please don't stop."

My hand hovers over Bella's head as she picks up the pace. I want to guide her again, but I'm afraid of repeating my mistake. Instead my hand falls to the bed as I let her have complete control. The pressure continues to build. I won't last much longer.

God, please fucking swallow.

The thought causes me to come undone. My body shudders as I release into Bella's mouth. She adds her hand to the mix and continues to work me until I'm completely finished. I watch her throat constrict as she swallows the entire load.

"You are fucking amazing," I praise as I stroke my finger across her swollen lips. "I can't believe you just did that."

Bella frowns slightly at my admission. "You asked me to," she says in confusion.

Fuck. I said that out loud?

I open my mouth to apologize, to explain—something, anything—but I honestly don't know what to say. Instead I pull her to my chest and roll us onto our sides. In a moment of vulnerability, I whisper, "I adore you," before capturing her lips in a kiss.

We lie on the bed for a while, sharing kisses and soft caresses. I ask Bella if she is okay with what we did and if her second orgasm lived up to her expectations. As much as I want to make sure she's all right, I also want to validate myself. I've never been good at interpersonal relationships; it's important that I don't jeopardize this one.

She says yes to both questions. After a moment she reluctantly adds, "I think it helped that it was you."

Fuck yeah it was me.

"I gave you the time you needed." Unlike the impatient kid you dated before. "And I know what I'm doing." Great, Masen, way to sound like a manwhore.

"No. I mean, like, I thought about you and it helped to… you know."

Oh my fucking god.

"Are you saying that you fantasized about me and it helped you get off?" I ask in awe. She nods as her dark brown eyes meet mine—wide and innocent,but apparently not that innocent. It's impossible to tell if she's blushing since her face is still glowing from our recent bedroom romp. "I think I need a cigarette," I say as I roll off the bed. I need to extract myself from this situation before I'm tempted to ask Bella to get me off again. I need some fresh air. Fresh, nicotine enriched air. Bella did a good job keeping me clean so I forgo the underwear and put on my jeans and t-shirt.

"You've been smoking a lot less," she comments.

"Huh." I do a mental count of how many packs I've gone through since meeting Bella. "I guess I have." Bella stands up from the bed. I wrap my arms around her and lean down to give her a kiss. "Can I get you anything while I'm out?"

"Water," she answers.

"Okay." I place another kiss on her lips while I lower my hands to her naked ass. Bella squeals as I give her a smack. The sound resonates in the small room and my dick has an automatic reaction to it.

Must get out. Now.

"I'll be back soon. Leave the door locked, okay? I'm bringing a key."

She nods and stands on the tips of her toes to kiss me again. My heart warms whenever Bella takes the initiative to make physical contact. "Hurry back."

*.*.*

I struggle to enjoy my cigarette as I pace in the parking lot. The buzz is fantastic, and the weather outside is perfect, but the only thing I can think about is getting back to Bella. I don't want to be away from her. By the sound of it, she doesn't want to be away from me either. Bella is like a drug to me. The more of her I have, the more I want. It's almost painful to be separated.

Tonight—the taste of her skin, the way her lips stretched around me—is not doing anything to lessen my excitement. I try not to think about it, but that only makes me dwell on it more. I make a mental note to buy condoms, not because what we've already done isn't enough, but because I want to be as close to Bella as possible. In every way. I feel as though our time together has a permanent expiration date, and I want to experience everything with her before our current arrangement comes crashing down around us.

I still feel guilty about dragging Bella this whole way. I don't have much faith that things will go well with my father. As much as I want her by my side when it happens, I don't want her to see me being turned away. I'm afraid she will look at me differently when she sees I'm not worth his time. Maybe she'll start to think I'm not worth her time either. It doesn't matter anyway. She's planning on staying at her father's home while I find him. I'm not going to tell her how I feel, because I don't want to influence her decision. It's a lose-lose situation for me. I just want her to do whatever makes her happy.

Irritated with the path my train of thought takes, I snub out the half-smoked cigarette and head back to the room. Stopping by the vending machine, I buy two waters and an orange juice for Bella. There's a fridge in the room if she wants to save it for the morning.

When I re-enter the room, I sense the change in atmosphere almost immediately. Bella is sitting on the edge of the bed hunched over Eddie. She looks upset, as though someone just delivered bad news. I notice my phone sitting next to her.

"Bella?" I rush to the bed and drop to the floor at her feet. "What's wrong? What happened?" I pull Eddie out of her grasp and take both of her hands in mine.

Bella shakes her head. Tears brim in her eyes. "Your phone rang while you were out," she says weakly.

"Who was it?" I can't image who could have called my phone or what they could have said to upset her so much.

"He said his name was Alec." Her voice wavers. "He told me to tell you that… that Jane had the baby."