Chapter Fourteen
Dinner with Edward was a success. The man was already a double-threat, so checking off "good cook" was just not fair. Bella had spent most of their meal reining in the desire to climb over the table and kiss him. He had been charming, handsome, and she often found herself laughing along with him.
After dinner, he asked for her opinion on a mural he was envisioned in one of the spare bedrooms. "I will not be asking you to work on it," he said, staring at the blank canvas of the boring white wall. It made her hands itch to cover it with color.
Bella stilled, though not surprised. "Wow, thanks."
"Shit, that sounded rude," he groaned, apologizing. "I just meant…" He stuffed his hands into his pockets, his gaze on his feet. As if he found the words, he faced her again. "Look, you know I want you, so fucking much, and if I hire you to work on something else, and the same rules apply…fuck, Bella, I won't survive."
She laughed, bumping his shoulder with hers, loving his honesty. "Trust me, I get it. Tell me what you have in mind, and maybe after Comic Con, I can work on it…as a friend."
"Friend?" he snorted, shaking his head.
"Friend with benefits," she tried, but smiled when he continued to say no. "Glad we're still on the same page, Cullen. And you know I want you, too. If you didn't notice through dinner, I was trying not to take a bite out of you."
He grinned so wide, she had to smile back. "You're welcome to anytime, Swan."
She pointed at the wall and asked about his ideas. It wasn't long before she had a vision of what he wanted and told him it would take at least a few months, if she worked only weekends. "If you need it sooner, I can probably get a crew to do it, but then you'd have to pay them."
"Having you here all weekend or a few of your employees, hmmm." He looked serious as he tried to make a choice. "If I choose you, can you work on it in all your naked glory?"
Her lips slipped into an inviting smile, and Edward looked momentarily wary. "Haven't I told you? I do my best work naked."
He yanked her body against his, but instead of going for a kiss, he only hugged her. "Now that you sent my imagination into overload, let me you show you what I promised I would the other day. Keep in mind, not many people have entered the room I'm about to show you. In fact, other than a few friends and family, no one else has."
He held her hand as he led the way to a door down the hall, up a narrow staircase, and into the cool attic. Nothing would've prepared her fangirling heart for what he kept in that room.
"Oh my God!" Bella screamed, causing Edward to chuckle and playfully cover his ears. She bounced up and down beside him, her eyes darting from surface to surface. "Your Oscars! Your Emmys." Her hand settled on her chest, nearly swaying. "I can't breathe."
Edward immediately panicked, grabbing a hold of her face and making her look at him. "Breathe, baby." She nodded, but her knees were shaking, her lip caught between her teeth. "Bella, breathe, I know you're excited, but you're freaking me out."
She pouted, holding up a finger. "You're too close, if you don't step back, I'm going to tackle you."
"Uh…"
Edward was stunned, aroused, and was afraid to move. If he did, he'd probably kiss her. He watched as Bella closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths and stepped back.
"I'm so sorry for my fangirl freak out, but you have pieces I've dreamed of owning." She left him in the middle of the "trophy room" his family insisted he needed, to inspect one of the prop weapons from the show that launched his career. "And then with you so nervous to show me, and how good you smell, I kind of lost it." She blushed, but smiled shyly at him. "But only a little." Holding up index and thumb an inch apart, scowling at herself.
"Believe it or not, that was sort of tame in comparison." He shuddered, remembering the first time he met DarkMonster and a few obsessed fans while filming in Vancouver years earlier. "But because it's you, I can't stand the idea of you passing out on me."
She held a hand to her chest and recited, "I solemnly swear I won't faint on you." Holding out her hand, she whispered, "I'm sorry."
He laughed and joined her, waving away her apology. As they looked around the room, she asked questions and listened to him thoughtfully, not quoting the wrong information often printed in interviews like other fans usually did.
An hour later, in the foyer, Edward helped Bella into her cardigan, the red wig once again affixed on her head. "Thank you for dinner," she murmured, her hands on his chest, his own resting on her hips. "Next time, I'll cook for you."
His hand slid from her hip to the small of her back, pulling her that much closer. The catch in her breath made him smile. "I'd like that, Swan."
"Cullen, you cook a damn good meal, but I'm better."
He hummed, bending slightly to brush lips along her brow. "That sounds like a challenge."
Her smile was confident, her tone taunting. "One I'd gladly accept."
"And if I'm the better cook?"
She tapped her chin as if she needed to think about it, then jumped to the tips of her toes to whisper in his ear. "I'll give you a preview of my Loki inspired lingerie." His hands tightened against her, his groan rumbling deep within him. "Live and in person."
"Fuck me."
"Goodnight, Cullen." She was gone with one last sizzling look over her shoulder as she blew him a kiss.
.
.
.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Jake and Edward's friends hadn't been able to help him escape the assholes sitting outside the gates of his community for the past week. He spoke with Bella whenever possible, even had a few video calls, but it wasn't the same and they were hating every minute of it. Since the pictures with his former co-star and Vicky's non-answer about their relationship status, the paps had been like vultures, circling and looking for other dead stories to rehash.
Thankfully, when Bella had visited for the dinner, she had dressed as one of the neighbors, so the paps hadn't even paid attention to her at the time. Bella had spent the time apart working hard on their costumes, often showing him progress in a private Snapchat account she helped him set up. She was also keeping him entertained whenever possible with drawings of them in various adventures and dressed in their costumes.
The problem was, the drawings were getting dirtier, admittedly he encouraged her to send them. The latest one was her best and more realistic interpretation of them. He was depicted as usual as the Winter Soldier, his back on display, one hand on the bathroom tile as water cascaded over his naked body, well, the top half of it. His moles and dimples were drawn in perfect detail, so there was no mistaking it was him. She drew his head slightly turned, his profile clear as he stared at the partially shadowed figure joining him in the shower, a naked one.
Along with the lifelike drawing was her message. About to step in the shower, wish you were here.
Fuck, he had to find a way to see her. He sent her a quick message: If I was there, steam wouldn't be the only thing fogging up the glass. Happy to put that image in her head, he called Jake. "I need to see Bella now please."
"She's already begged for me to find a way, plus she needs you for a fitting," Jake stated, covering the phone and whispering to someone else. "Look, I just got off work but I got a bit of a drive, I'll have someone pick you up, be ready."
"Do I need a disguise?"
"Not if you don't mind hiding in the back of a car."
He usually hated doing that shit, but he was desperate. "At this point, I'll fucking get in a trunk if I have to."
"Good to know," Jake teased, laughing. "Okay, do you want to let Bella know you're heading over there?"
Did he? "No, let me surprise her."
"Talk to you later."
Edward decided he needed a quick shower, but checked his messages, not surprised to see that Bella had sent him a Snapchat. Clicking on it, his jaw instantly dropped. It was a picture of her glass shower door, fogged up from the heat, her hand on it with her fingers spread out. Just out of focus was what appeared to be her inner thighs and her other hand between them.
How could he respond to that other than akdfjlykdsjfolaksdjf? He knew what he needed to do, and that was to relieve the tension, but he had to say something first. She usually had the last word and he wasn't about to let her do it again.
Something bothered him, though; how the fuck did she take the picture? Or was it who? His mind—or his heart, in this case—reminded him of all the camera equipment she had in her studio and home. She had the capability to set it up, and like her, he wasn't going to jump to conclusions. He knew better than to send her something so provocative—stupid iCloud—but he also didn't have a fancy set up like she did.
Smiling, he figured out what to do and stepped into his shower a few minutes later, thankful for a waterproof phone. Placing his hand on the tile like in her drawing, he took a several photos, trying to get his hand, the tile floor, as water swirled down the drain. The angle wasn't working, so he propped up his phone on the highest shelf behind him, set up to take more photos in ten seconds.
Without preamble, her recent photo in mind, he wrapped his hand around his cock. His free hand smacked against the tile, leaving it there, his knees nearly shaking. "Fuck," he groaned, moving his palm more roughly over himself. His eyes rolled back, her name on his lips.
His imagination took the scene in Bella's picture further. He was watching her, daring her to touch herself silently with a look. She gestured for him to do the same, moaning as they watched each other. He wouldn't stay away for long and join her in the shower, taking her hand to his lips, tasting her on his tongue. He groaned as if he could really taste her, his fist moving faster, harder as he imagined her wet from head to toe, his mouth on one of her tempting nipples, her hand on his dick.
"Fuck yeah." It wasn't long before he was consumed by the fantasy, coming with a loud groan after several minutes. Momentarily sated, he realized that the real thing would be a thousand times better. After washing up, he checked his photos, picked the best one to crop to not show his ass or face, but included the dimples that Bella claimed to love. He wasn't about to use the photo in Snapchat, just in case someone found out he had one. So he texted her the picture with the message: You're on my mind.
AN: This Edward doesn't do social media. He doesn't know that technically who Snaptchat works. Neither do I for that matter, lol. Also, Bella and Edward set up NEW accounts just for them, so no one else will see the pic Bella sent him, I hope. Can someone get these two to listen to me? The fitting was supposed to be in this chapter, but noooo, Edward had to get off. lol