EMOTIONAL WARFARE
Chapter 21
BPOV
"Aw…" My best friend wrapped her arms around mine and Edward's necks as we walked down the hallway. He was following us to the elevator. "My two sexually-active friends," Vic sighed gently.
"Are you finished yet?" Edward asked blushing. He was enjoying this.
"She's just getting started," I warned him.
"Yeah," Vic beamed. "Edward, I've waited for this moment a long time," she exaggeratedly drawled out the word "long."
"You've just been having sex for a long time," I teased her by doing the same, poking her boob.
It was kind of true. Vic had lost her virginity when she was fourteen…to our teacher.
"Bitch," she raised an eyebrow in return as the elevator dinged.
"Do you have a ride home?" I asked Edward since Emmett had driven us to the club last night.
"I'll call a cab. I'll be fine. Have fun," he waved me off, pushing me into the elevator.
"No boys allowed!" Vic prevented him from coming in after us. "We have things to discuss."
"But…" he pouted as the doors began to close.
I leaned over to shout that I loved him, but the shutting door cut us off, just as Victoria started in again.
"Oh, shit!" Victoria screeched as the elevator started to move. "I'm so proud of you!" she squealed as she wrapped her hands around my face and proceeded to shake me.
She'd been like this since she'd found out.
It was getting annoying.
"Well, of course…" I deadpanned, scooting away from her, "That's why I did it in the first place."
"Stop being all sarcastic and shit," she rolled her eyes. "You lost your virginity!" she exaggerated her statement. "This is like…one of the most memorable experiences a woman will ever have," she hugged me tighter. "I saw how blissed out you two were when I came into the room earlier," she wiggled her eyebrows. "So stop being so modest and tell me everything. How was it?"
I fought my blush as I thought about last night. I had been thinking about it almost constantly. To be so unsure of himself; Edward was great in bed…I assumed. It was not like I had any prior experience to compare him to. He was just so…perfect…and huge.
Enormous.
He felt so good inside me…
"You're having sex fantasies," Victoria added fuel to her fire. "You're so dick-matized!" she giggled.
"Huh?" I asked confused.
"You know…when you space out because you're thinking about your boyfriend's dick," she explained. "You definitely have a penis-y glow about you," she gushed.
"I guess I do," I admitted, feeling my cheeks turn crimson.
"So…" she fished as the doors opened to the lobby, "Have you sucked his cock yet?"
At that exact moment, it seemed like everyone within a twenty-foot radius heard her and turned to me for my answer. It was as if they were asking, "Well, have you?"
"Uh…" I paused, looking at the silent crowd.
"Awww...boo!" Victoria gave me a thumbs-down and the crowd went back to work.
"Victoria," I warned, motioning to all the people downstairs, "This isn't really appropriate."
"In the history of our friendship, have you ever known me to act appropriately?" she scoffed at the word, handing what looked to be a ticket to someone outside.
"No," I answered honestly. "I'd just rather not discuss my dick sucking history with the entire staff of The Four Seasons," I scowled at her.
"You can't have a history if you haven't done anything," she countered. "I must say, though, I'm a little shocked," she ended with a pout.
"Are you serious?" I asked in disbelief. "You were singing my virginity-barren praises less than five minutes ago!" my voice raised a little.
"By the way Edward was grinning when I came in to see you guys, I thought you blew him like your name was Jenna Jameson," she shrugged as a valet pulled up in a black Ferrari. "Thank you," she smiled, handing the driver a fifty dollar bill.
What the…?
"Whose car is this?" I asked, walking around to the driver's side.
She ignored my question and pushed me out of the way of the door. "I'm driving."
"You have a suspended license," I reminded her. "You got a DUI, remember?"
"My license is suspended in Massachusetts, not Connecticut." She squeezed past me and plopped into the driver's seat, leaning over to open my door from the inside. "Get in. We have limited time to get fabulous."
"If we get pulled over…" I warned as I fastened my seatbelt.
"We won't," she confidently stated. "I'm an excellent driver…when I'm sober," she smiled just as James walked past us to get to the hotel entrance. He looked up just in time to see Victoria checking her makeup in the visor mirror.
"What the…?" he yelled seething, stalking over towards the car.
"See you at the ball," Victoria winked at him before speeding off.
Oh shit.
"Get back here, you BITCH!" he shouted after us.
"Is this James' car?" I asked nervously.
"Nice deducing there, Sherlock," she rolled her eyes, putting on her glasses.
"Vic…" I sighed, shaking my head.
"Oh, please," she smirked like she was remembering something dirty, "He loves it when I do shit like this. I blew him a kiss this morning…and he caught it," she giggled, blushing.
"You're blushing," I poked her cheek.
"I know," she sighed. "He's only an asshole in public. He's really so sweet, when he's not acting like a freaking psycho," she grinned.
"You're falling for him," I realized, "Like really falling."
"Yeah," she huffed in defeat. "I'm fighting it, though."
"Don't," I shook my head. "Being in love is pretty…what the fuck!" I shouted, as Vic suddenly swerved over two lanes of traffic and pulled over.
"WHAT?" she screeched. "You LOVE him?"
"Yes," I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt.
It felt so fucking good to say it.
I loved Edward.
Edward loved me.
We were in love.
Tee-hee.
That rhymed a little bit.
"You told him?"
"Yes."
"He said it back?"
"Yes!" I beamed, joining Vic in her celebration.
"Aw…" she put her fists together under her chin. "You two made love. That's so fucking beautiful."
I found my eyes welling up as I nodded my head. "He was so…oh, God…" I gave up trying to explain it. "Perfect doesn't even come close."
"I'm so happy for you," she hugged me. "You deserve somebody sweet like him."
"I just never thought I'd fall in love," I shrugged.
It was true. I'd always thought love and soul mates were stuff of fairytales, meant for naïve children.
"It happens," she smiled, pulling the car back onto the road.
"So…" I started, leaning towards her. "Have you and James…"
"No," she shook her head. Huh? "I know," she huffed. "It's been like a week. I'm afraid my vagina is going to close up on me like a bad piercing. I don't see how you did it."
"He obviously wants to."
"I know, but I'm making him work for it," she smirked as she pulled into a parking lot. "My resolve is dwindling, though. I'm hornier than a rosebush."
"Is that why you're so crabby?" I asked, getting out of the car.
"Most likely," she popped a piece of gum and locked the car. "Okay, back to cock sucking…" she started again.
"I thought we were done with that conversation."
"I'm just saying," she lowered her voice. "Oral sex is important. To both parties…"
"Oh, yeah…"
"Huh?" she stopped walking. "He went down on you?"
Shit. She was so fucking nosy.
"I'm not going to..."
"He did!" she pointed at me. "It was good, too," she nodded her head. "If it was bad, you'd be shouting it from the rooftops. I told you he had good pussy-eating lips."
"Victoria!"
"Just saying…" she shrugged. "Suck his cock with authority, girl…"
"STOP IT!" I shouted at her.
"No guy wants a timid-looking girl over his business," she disregarded my mortification. "Since you're a beginner…"
"Oh, God, I said STOP!" I shouted, walking away.
"Don't walk away. I'm trying to help you," she ran after me.
"Then stop!"
"I'm almost done," she continued to follow me. "If you don't stop and listen, I'll start shouting it."
"You're so…"
"OH, MY GOD, BELLA, IT'S JUST A PENIS!" she yelled.
"Shut up!" I hissed at her. "Fine!" I looked around to see who was watching.
"Thank you," she straightened out her clothes. "Like I was saying, you're a beginner, so don't try to get all porn star on your first try," she warned. "You'll gag. I actually barfed. It was embarrassing."
"Thanks for sharing that," I said emotionlessly.
"Next…" she listed off.
For the next ten minutes, Vic gave me a crash course on what she liked to call "blowjob etiquette" as we stood there on the sidewalk.
It was horrifying…and strangely educational.
"Are you finished?" I asked in a low voice.
"Let me see," she tapped her chin. "Oh! Don't forget the balls. Massage. Don't jiggle or shake. Massage. You don't want them all swinging in your face. It might distract you," she ended. "That's it I guess," she smiled, walking away like we didn't just have an in-depth conversation about sucking cock.
Oh, Victoria…
"Bella, come on!" she waved me forward.
"I can't take much more of this," I slowly followed her into the store.
It was Hell. Three and a half hours of Hell. None of the stores had any dresses we liked that were available. If we liked one, someone else was already wearing it to the ball. If it wasn't registered, it was butt ugly. This didn't stop Victoria from buying at least two thousand dollars' worth of clothing at every store we went into. I hadn't liked anything enough to try it on.
"I give up," I complained, leaning against the door of the car as Vic put her bags into the trunk.
"Never," she shook her head. "We have a few more stores left."
"Humph," I crossed my arms.
We walked a couple of blocks and spotted a cute little boutique on the corner. It seemed to be tucked away from the rest of the street. It was so small that if you were driving, you'd speed right past it.
"Over there," I crossed the street. "It can't hurt."
I stepped into the door and my nose was immediately assaulted with the warm scent of vanilla. I looked around the small studio to see one wall covered ceiling to floor with mirrors. The store seemed to have an old Hollywood feel to it, with silk draperies lining the walls and enormous gold-leafed chairs arranged in the corners of the room. A vintage-looking chandelier hung from the ceiling.
"Cute," Vic sniffed the air, appraising the place, "Must be a new designer."
As predicted, the store was small, only filled with about twelve or so racks. I ran my fingers over silk, lace, gems, and feathers and smiled. My dress was here. I just knew it.
A lady who appeared to be in her thirties approached us. "Hello, ladies. My name is Lisa Hawkins. What can I help you with?"
"We're looking for some gowns to wear to the New Year's Eve Ball this evening," I looked around. "Are there any that are still available?" I asked, hopeful.
"Oh, yes!" she beamed, walking to the back of the store. "I just opened two weeks ago so I missed the big gown rush," she told us disappointedly. "I guess there's always prom," she shrugged her shoulders, showing me the section of the store that had gowns.
"So…all of these are up for grabs?" Vic asked, excited.
"Pretty much," Lisa explained.
"Fuck yeah!" my friend ran to check out the dresses.
I carefully skimmed the racks, searching for the right gown. I wanted to look sexy for Edward.
I loved him.
Tee-hee.
Thirty minutes passed and I found nothing. Pushing through the last of the dresses on the last rack, I came across a black dress. Normally, I didn't wear black because it was too safe. I liked to wear color. But this dress was beautiful and elegant. It had a sweetheart neckline and was made out of the softest material I'd ever felt. I rubbed the dress against my cheek. I took the garment off the rack to inspect it further. It appeared to have excellent tailoring and was very well made. I could see that the seams had been meticulously sewed to fit a woman's body to a tee.
I loved it.
"Yes!" I heard Vic run to me from the dressing room. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" she smiled, twirling in a gown.
It was a lovely emerald green color that went perfectly with her pale skin and fiery red hair. The dress had a variation of a sweetheart neckline, except it had more scalloping detail along the bust line. The neckline plunged into a moderate V-cut in the front. It was purely Victoria. If the V-cut didn't seal the deal, the high slit up the right thigh did.
"Wow," I smiled.
"I know, right?" she beamed, doing a salsa move and spinning in the dress. "It's slutty but classy, and it gives me enough room to really dance. This dress has my personality."
"Would you like to try this on?" Lisa pointed to the black gown in my hands, opening a fitting room.
Once I was in the room, I quickly tried the dress on. It fit me like a glove. Except…
"Shit," I hissed in disappointment.
"What?" Vic asked, opening the door.
"My bruises," I spat, looking at the hand imprints on my arms from last night that were still dark purple.
Fucking Riley.
"Damn," Vic shook her head. "It looks amazing on you, though. Maybe we could put some makeup on them."
"No. You'd still be able to see," I traced the outlines on my arms. I hated the fact that that asshole had marked me with his behavior.
"Oh, sweetie," the saleswoman noticed my problem.
"I know," I pouted. "I guess I'll have to find another one."
"Wait," she stopped me, looking at the zipper on the dress. "I have something," she held up a finger and rushed to the back.
"I swear to God, I'm going to kill that son of a bitch," Vic seethed. "I didn't know it was that bad," she said softly, looking at the bruises.
I couldn't let on how angry and shaken I had been to Edward. I knew he felt bad that he hadn't been there to protect me. He would have internalized it.
"I've got it," Lisa smiled, coming from the back. She was holding what looked like a lace something in her hands. "I just started on another design. It's kind of a black lace overlay. I think I can sew it on here. It has sleeves so it'll cover your bruises," she suggested. The lace was in a very intricate design. It was so well-crafted you couldn't even really tell I had bruises beneath it.
"Really?"
"Hopefully," she answered, helping me step into the overlay. She quickly worked over me, fitting me into the overlay with pins. "Let's see," she turned me around so I could look in the mirror.
Oh. My. God.
"Damn," Vic whispered, touching the lace.
I looked beautiful.
I'd never been one to openly admit that I was beautiful. I'd never thought I was a troll. I just thought it was vain to dote on your own physical appearance. However, I had to admit that I looked stunning in this dress.
The overlay cut across my shoulders, making it seem like more of my cleavage was showing than it really was. The lacework covered my bruises. You couldn't even see them. The overlay fit directly over the dress perfectly. It looked like it was supposed to be this way.
"I'll take it," I smiled, not caring that a pin was poking my back. "It's perfect."
"Can you have the alterations fixed by five thirty?" Vic asked, taking a pic of our dresses with her cell phone.
"Uh…"
"Please," I begged. "You'll have reached Fairy Godmother status," I told her.
"I can't promise anything," she helped me out of my dress, "But I'll try."
We filled out the call slips for our dresses and then went shopping for shoes. Vic gravitated towards a pair of sky-high gold stilettos, while I chose a nice pair of classic black pumps. After that, we grabbed a quick snack and headed back to the shop.
"Here you go," Lisa looked tired, handing us our dress bags. "I might've lost all the feeling in my fingers, but they're done."
"Thank you so much," I kissed her before going into my purse to find my checkbook. "This means so much," I told her as I wrote her a check for twenty thousand dollars.
"WHAT?" she shouted, looking at the piece of paper I'd pushed into her hands.
"She's good for it. Trust me," Vic joked, pulling me out of the shop.
We raced back to the car and hightailed it over to the spa to meet with the rest of the ladies.
"There you are!" Esme cried, running over to hug me. "Alice told me what happened. How are you?" she asked me, concern written on her face.
"I'm fine," I hugged her back. "Edward took care of me," I told her. I saw Vic snicker and I rolled my eyes.
"I saw what that bastard did to my baby's face," she seethed, sitting down. "If I see him, I'll kill him." I saw where Edward got his anger from.
"Are you okay?" Alice and Rose asked in unison.
"Yes," I smiled.
"Welcome, ladies," a woman in a navy suit came out to greet us. "Now that we're all present, here are your robes," she handed us soft cotton robes to put on.
After I showered to get the smell of the day off of me, I joined the others to see Jane had joined us.
"Bella," she smiled, recognizing me. "I heard you went ape shit on that little fucker, Riley. Good for you," she congratulated.
"Well…" I stammered, trying to figure out what to say.
"I can't believe I missed that," Rose shook her head, disappointed in herself.
"So, Bella," Alice smiled slyly, trying to lighten the mood, "Edward seemed…happy when he came home today."
"He did," Rose joined in. "He seemed very happy."
"Oh, God," I started blushing and all the ladies started laughing.
"You should've seen them this morning. They were all in post-coital bliss," Vic teased. "I almost felt guilty disturbing them. Almost. I mean we had to go shopping."
"Bella and Edward, sitting in a tree…" Alice started.
"F-U-C-K-I-N-G…" Rose added on, giggling.
"Esme," I pleaded with her, begging her to intervene.
"First comes love…"
"Esme!" I shouted in shock as the rest of the girls start laughing.
"Then comes marriage…" Alice giggled.
"Then comes you two with a baby carriage," Esme grinned widely. "At least I hope so."
"It took them long enough," Rose smirked.
"What did you guys expect?" I crossed my arms. "We couldn't get twenty minutes alone…"
"It's called payback," Esme giggled. "Edward was the biggest cockblocker when he was a kid," she shook her head. "He had the worst timing."
"Whoa," I gasped, shocked at her answer. "I'm talking about sex…with my boyfriend's mother," I realized.
"Relax," she waved it off. "We're all adults."
"Besides," Vic joined in, "I just know Carlisle pounds pussy like nobody's business," she wiggled her eyebrows.
"Ew…" Alice shivered. "That's my parents you're talking about!"
"What?" Vic asked. "Your parents are hot. I feel like every time I look at you two, there's eye fucking going on," she pointed to Esme.
"I know," Jane started chuckling. "You should've seen them when they first met," she laughed. "I felt like I was intruding. Ten minutes pass, I look around and they're going at it in the corner of the room."
"Jane!" Esme laughed in shock.
"It's true," she shrugged her shoulders. "I like to credit myself for your marriage," she joked. "You should've named a kid after me."
"When are you going to let James catch you?" Rose asked Vic, her tone oozing innuendo.
"Do tell," Jane leaned closer. "That boy is becoming obsessed with you."
I saw Victoria blush before exhaling a long huff.
"I don't know," she sighed. "I like him, but I don't want to be just another hole for his dick," she explained to a chorus of understanding amen's.
"You're right to worry about that," Jane divulged. "I love that boy…but he's a little shit when it comes to the ladies. He gets that from his father," she shook her head. "He really likes you, though."
"Really?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "He keeps reading the texts you send him."
"He's such a psycho," Vic blushed. "But he's so damned hot."
"Remember…stroke a man's cock, you'll get him for a night," Jane started.
"Stroke a man's ego…" Esme added, "You'll get him for life."
"Hello, ladies," I heard Heidi's voice enter the room, followed by her daughters.
Shit.
"Hi," everyone answered, trying to sound civil.
"It was hell getting here," she placed her bag on the chair. "Someone!" she clapped. "I need a martini!"
"Yes, Mrs. Denali," the woman who'd greeted us deadpanned. I could see her trying not to roll her eyes. "Take your robes and shower and it'll be waiting for you."
"Lovely," she passed the robes out to her daughters. "You know what? Let's make it a pitcher of martinis. My treat, ladies," she waved, going towards the showers.
"Goddamn it!" Jane hissed. "Who invited the Denali's?"
"Not me!" we all denied, putting our hands in the air.
"I put it on my Twitter that we'd be here," Alice admitted, squinting her eyes closed in fear.
"Great!"
"Thanks a lot!"
The rest of the afternoon went downhill after that. Heidi kept talking about herself. It ended up with everyone in the room grabbing their iPods and tuning her out.
Before I knew it, we were all primped and pampered. I sat in the lobby, waiting for Vic to pull the car around and sighed when I saw Tanya approaching me.
Yep…she still looked huge.
"So, Bella," she started, "Who are you wearing to the ball?"
"Lisa Hawkins," I shrugged my shoulder.
"Never heard of her."
"You wouldn't," I countered. "She only opened two weeks ago."
"I'm wearing Givenchy," she bragged. "I'm gonna look so hot. It's…"
"Empire waist?" I guessed, poking her gut.
"Whatever," she flicked her blonde hair. "Tell Edward that I look forward to seeing him."
"Okay," I smiled.
At first, I found her obvious agenda annoying. Now, I just found it amusing. Edward loved me…not her.
Ha-ha.
Bitch.
The sound of tires screeching followed by a honk shocked me from my thoughts. I hopped up; ignoring Tanya's scowl as I rushed out and jumped in the car before Vic sped off.
"Ohmygod!" she started talking fast. "You have no idea what I just witnessed," she started giggling.
"What?"
"I had, like, two martinis. Don't worry. I'm sober," she deviated. "Okay. So I have to pee and I go to the bathroom. I'm going out and I see…" Vic started, but was interrupted by her phone.
It's too big
It's too wide
It's too strong
It won't fit
It's too much
It's too tough
He talks like this…
"Ugh," she stopped, picking up her phone. "What? I'm busy," she huffed into the phone. "You're such a psycho!" It was James, obviously. "I'll bring it back when I'm ready!" she slammed the phone down. "He's so fucking possessive about his damn car!"
"Well, you technically did steal it," I reminded her.
"You and your technicalities," she rolled her eyes. Her eyebrows shot up in remembrance and she started again. "Where was I?" she asked. "Oh! I walked out and I see Heidi going ape shit on the lady at the front desk. Me…being the nosy bitch I am, went to go spy and see what was going on…"
It's too big
It's too wide
It's too strong
It won't fit
It's too much
It's too tough
He talks like this
Cuz he can back it up
He got a big…
"WHAT?!" she shouted into the phone. "I said I was going to bring it back. Can you not be a psycho for like one minute?...Pssh…Whatever…Bye!" she hung up the phone. "He is so hot," she sighed, looking at her phone. "Yes!" she got back to whatever it was she had been talking about. "You will not believe what I saw," she kept me in suspense, pulling into the Cullen's driveway.
"GET OUT OF MY CAR!" James shouted, getting out of a taxi that was currently parked on the cobblestone driveway.
Shit.
"He's such a drama queen," she rolled her eyes as she got out of the car.
"If there is one scratch," he warned, checking the paintjob for imperfections. "See!" he shouted, pointing to something.
"It's dirt," Vic rolled her eyes, wiping the dirt off with her finger.
"You got her dirty?!" he gasped, half in shock…half in rage.
"Calm down!" she yelled in retaliation. "It's nothing a ShamWow won't fix."
"I can't believe you took my car!" he yelled at her.
"I sucked your dick!" she returned. "The least you can do is let me borrow your car for a couple of hours."
"After you showed me the pictures of what you did to your car?" he countered, like he couldn't believe she'd just said that. "Give me the keys!"
"Ask nicely," she ordered in a gentle voice.
"You're such a bitch."
"Now, I won't give them back," she huffed, putting the keys in her bra.
"You and I both know that I'm not afraid to go in there," he warned her.
She flicked her hair and tried to walk past him.
"No," she turned her back so that it was facing his chest.
"Give them back!" he reached across her trying to grab the keys.
"No."
"Give 'em!" he demanded, trying to stop Vic from moving.
"No."
"Okay, you asked for it," he huffed and started tickling her.
"S-s-top it!" she started laughing. "Th-that's not…f-fair…"
"I don't play fair," he smiled in return, tickling her faster.
"J-J-James!" she struggled for breath.
"I love it when you say my name," he started chuckling, lifting Victoria in the air.
"O-Okay," she gave up. "Here," she took the keys out of her bra.
"Thanks…" he stopped when she yanked them out of his reach again. "Vic…" he warned as she brought them forward tauntingly while walking backwards. "Stop," he warned again, walking forward.
"What are you going to…?" Vic was cut off as James picked her up off the ground again and started kissing her. I could hear it.
Gross.
I got out of the car and bypassed the couple, just as Vic dropped the keys to the ground and James set her on the hood of the car.
"I'm so confused," Carlisle said, shaking his head as the rest of the Cullen's looked on to the enigmatic couple. We closed the door when Victoria wrapped her ankles around James' waist.
"Hopefully, they won't have sex on the lawn," Esme muttered, shuddering.
"We need to be ready to leave at eight o'clock," Alice reminded us. "We should start getting ready."
"Okay," I nodded and headed inside to make my way to Edward's room.
As I stepped in front of his door, I found myself being pulled across the threshold before he shoved the door shut behind me and wrapped me in his arms.
"I missed you so much," Edward whispered against my skin before placing a smoldering kiss on my neck.
Just like that…I was mush.
I loved him.
"I missed you, too," I breathed, running my hands over his chest.
"I kept thinking about you," he said against me, unzipping my hoodie and quickly wrapping his mouth around my nipple.
I loved that.
"Fuck, Edward," I hissed, palming his hardness through his pants. "You make me feel so good," I moaned as his pants and boxers hit the floor.
"Bella," he grunted as I wrapped my hand around him and started pumping him. "Shit," he bucked his hips against me.
"Does that feel good?" I whispered to him with a smile, running my thumb over the tip at each pass.
"Yes," he struggled to get out, "God, yes."
I smiled against his chest. I felt so powerful. In this moment, he was my bitch and I loved it.
"I love making you feel good," I kissed his lips, my other hand moving to massage his balls. "I love you so much," I moaned, watching my hand work over him.
"I love…oh…you, too," he breathed against me. His hands scrambled to pull off my pants.
"No," I bit his lip, "This is for you."
He had made me feel so good last night and didn't ask for anything in return. I wanted…needed…to return the favor.
"I-I-I…" he gasped. "I'm gonna…"
"Yes," I moaned against him. "Mark me," I begged him. "Please."
"Fuck!" he hissed and I felt his warmth shoot across my chest and stomach. "That was…" he tried to catch his breath, "That was…"
"I love you," I smiled at him, running my fingers through his hair before kissing him.
"I love you, too," he said against my lips. "I pictured this going differently," he smiled gently. "I wanted to seduce you."
"You did," I kissed his chest. "Everything about you seduces me."
"You're so amazing, Bella. I don't deserve you."
"Yes, you do," I pinched his nipple.
"Ouch!"
"I'm still going to punish you when you talk shit about yourself," I reminded him. "Sleeping with me doesn't get you a free pass."
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
I went into the bathroom to wash up. As I was warming the water, something came to my mind that I though Edward would like. Once I was fresh, I walked out to greet him.
"Edward," I got his attention.
"Uh…" he took in my wet naked form for the second time today. "Huh?"
"Can you get ready in another room?" I asked. "I have a surprise for you," I ended suggestively.
"Okay," he smiled, getting his bag.
"You're going to like it," I winked at him.
After he left, I touched up my hair and makeup and finished getting ready. I rifled through my jewelry box to find a simple diamond necklace and some diamond stud earrings. I put on my shoes and gave myself the once-over before grabbing my clutch and opening the door.
It was time.
I know I promised a secret would be revealed. However, I think it would be better suited to the next chapter. I gave a hint at it earlier. Who better to reveal it than Victoria herself? Yes! Vic will have her own chapter…or at least a portion for her own POV. I haven't decided.
Merry Christmas!