Chapter 21: Trails

I arrived at Bella's place with my backpack, all dressed for a hiking.

Charlie eyed us suspiciously; he knows his daughter well enough to frown at this plan. We carefully avoided the subject of me and his daughter in a tent all night: he wasn't as easy-going as her mother had been during our stay-over in Florida. Luckily, I had been smart enough to bring two sleeping bags. I saw his eyes flash over them and his posture relaxed. After giving us some more advice, he just wished me good luck and I chuckled when he insisted I take a first aid kit with me.

I was a little worried about her cold that still wasn't over, if anything, it had gotten worse. But she assured me that she was fine. It's not like we had a choice anyway, the army was coming and she couldn't stay here. So she took another cold tablet and climbed into her truck bravely.

First we went to the clearing where she created some fake trails. She accidentally cut her legs a few times when she tripped, but she didn't want me to cover up the wounds, saying it would make the trail all the stronger for the newborns. They'd be distracted and easier targets. I just hoped the other vampires wouldn't be distracted by it, but I guess they were used to her scent by now.

After this, her job was done. I took care of her little cuts, making sure that every trace of her blood was washed away, and I carried her in my arms to a place far away from the clearing. She looked exhausted, as she lay against my chest. So small and fragile. I ran fast, but she never looked at the road. She trusted me completely and never took her eyes off my face. Her admiration for me was obvious, and it made me feel so much more powerful.

I set up the tent with a mattress, and offered her some food. She tried her best to eat, but I could tell that she was feeling ill and probably nervous as well. We didn't speak much; she mostly looked at me as if my presence alone calmed her.

When everything was cleaned up, all we could do was wait. Edward would come to us later tonight. He would let the trail cool down for a few hours, and then try to track her scent to our tent. If he succeeded easily, we might need another plan, but I was confident that this strategy would work.

As I was going through the details of our plan one last time, she suddenly interrupted me "come here with me." I looked sideways. She was lying down on the mattress, a sweet smile on her face.

"I'll relax if you try to relax as well," she convinced me. She scooched over and I lay down next to her. She placed her warm hand on my cheek and then closed the distance between us. She tried to kiss both our nerves away, and I had to admit that she was successful. In the way she kissed me, and the way she pressed her body against mine, there was no trace of any illness, and I was starting to lose myself.

"Bella," I finally managed to pull away from her, "shouldn't you rest? You're ill."

She groaned and rolled her eyes "please don't make me sleep. I've been in bed for three days and I feel worse when I get bored." Then her eyes lit up again and she continued, "You could distract me."

It was clear what kind of distraction she was talking about and a flutter in my stomach encouraged me.

Before I could object, talking about her health or the circumstances, her lips were on mine again. It was clear that she wasn't just looking for distraction, she was way too eager. I had no idea where this suddenly came from, but I loved it.

I was careful not to put my weight on her, but I kissed her back with the same passion, moving my attention from her lips to her neck and shoulders. Her warm hands felt hot on my skin when she slid them over my bare chest and back. I didn't take the effort to put on a shirt, as I prepared to shift again later, for which I was thankful now. I could feel her so much better, her body against mine. All that separated us was her thin top; I could feel all her curves and I was getting turned on. And not just a little bit.

Her tiny moans, her arms pulling me closer, her hot breath against my neck, and the way she hungrily pushed her body up against my hips, made me grow harder than I'd ever been before.

She noticed and without a warning, her hand slid inside my shorts, wrapping itself around my hard-on. There was no doubt to what she wanted, and she made it extra clear by whispering in my ear "I want you."

I gasped and stuttered, "we can't, not here."

"Why not?" she breathed, equally affected, and everything inside me screamed "yeah, why not?"

I was sure there were good reasons, somewhere, I just had a hard time focusing right now. I mean, she was sick, for starters, but then again, she wanted the distraction. She was the one starting it.

I tried to focus on the question: why not. But it got harder when her kisses made a trail from my shoulder to my collar bone and her hand gently squeezed me. My breathing became uneven.

There was a tiny voice that popped up with another answer to the question. In a few hours, Edward would be here. He'd be right in my head and he'd know everything. Was I willing to share the memory of our first time?

I didn't want to bring up that voice. Her fingertips were slowly rubbing my length, up and down, and Edward was the last thing I wanted on her mind. Or, on my mind for that matter. I shoved the voice away. We had waited so long, for his sake as well, we couldn't wait forever and he would have to deal with it later.

All my answers for 'why not?' melted away, and I gave into her.

My hand went around her neck and my lips found hers again to kiss her deeply. She moaned and clearly understood that I was agreeing. She wouldn't let me change my mind again. The fingers that had been stroking my sensitive skin now wrapped around my dick, and slid up and down the length, following the rhythm of our kisses.

"Bella," I gasped, "slow down, you're gonna make me explode."

"Maybe that is what I want," she grinned.

"Isn't there something else you want?" I asked, while I placed my hand over her hot center. She pushed herself against me and I grinned back at her.

I was prepared to see her get nervous and to pull back because it was too soon, but she did anything but that. She simply lifted her hips and pushed her shorts and panties down over her knees and then threw them aside. Before I could respond to her eager strip act, her tank top flew on top the shorts and she was pulling at my waist band to remove that last piece of fabric that separated us.

I was happy to help her, and we lay down again. Naked.

The rush faded when we looked into each other's eyes. We didn't see nerves, just resolution and love. We both realized what was about to happen, and we breathed in deeply.

"Are you sure?" I whispered.

She bit her lip and nodded. "I've been sure for a while now," she whispered back, and then she closed the distance.

Our kiss had a new kind of intimacy. It wasn't crazy or wild, it was slow and romantic. We were naked together for the first time, skin on skin. It felt so magical, so complete. Even if nothing else happened tonight, I would never forget this feeling. It was so unexpected, so pure. We didn't tease with our hands anymore; we just kissed and held each other tight. Our bodies were moving, relishing in the feel of each other's skin.

This is what it feels like to make love. Make love to my Bella.

My hips were rolling against hers, and she pushed back, never breaking the kiss. We were both so inexperienced, we didn't really know which move was expected next. We just went with what felt right.

At one point, she wrapped her legs around my hips, and I felt closer to her even. My cock now slid against her most sensitive skin and I could feel how wet she was. After teasing each other with hip movements for a long time, our kisses grew more urgent and our breaths heavier. The sliding and rubbing increased our pleasure, but it wasn't enough anymore.

At last, she slid her hand between our wet bodies, grabbed me and placed my tip against her entrance. My body understood, I pushed into her, sliding in easily, and remained still inside her as we both gasped, in surprise almost.

"Bella, you feel so warm," I breathed against her. She didn't reply.

The feeling of her warm flesh and the pressure she gave me urged me on to keep moving. My body wanted to push deeper, and harder, but I stayed still, waiting for her.

"Does it hurt?" I asked worriedly.

"A little," she admitted in a shaky voice. When I wanted to slide out again, she held me still. I looked her in the eyes, searching for signs that she was hurting more than she would let me believe, but all I saw was the same longing I felt.

At last, she moved her hips gently. I slid out of her again, and she hissed.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, but she hushed me with a short kiss. And then she moved closer to me again. I wanted to be so careful with her, but my body needed more and I pushed myself deep inside. Her gasp now sounded more like a moan, and I when looked at her, her eyes were closed and she was biting her lip again. That was a good sign.

I tried it once more, moving back gently, and then sliding in in one movement. Again a moan escaped her throat and I lost more of my self-control. I wanted to soothe all the pain, drown it into the pleasure she felt when I hit a spot inside her that made her shiver. Again and again, in and out, with each thrust, she moaned a little more. Her body started to take over from me.

We kissed greedily, and she squirmed against me. I tried to keep calm, I knew I would start pounding her if I let go, and it would be over too soon. Instead, I rolled onto my back and let her take full control. She didn't hesitate for one second and sat up straight, allowing me to admire her gorgeous flushed body.

She rubbed her center against me, moving back and forth, her nails digging into my chest. She looked so beautiful, her cheeks blushing and her eyes full of desire. Even though I kept still, she was driving me so crazy the tension in my body was building up.

I grabbed her hips and panted, "careful Bella, I'm nearly there."

"Good," she panted, with the most adoring smile, "let go, I need you to." She lay on my chest to kiss me in between our panting.

I wanted to let go, my body screamed for release, I felt the tension that had built up, not just tonight but over the past weeks as well. I wanted to burst inside her, but gathered all my determination and shook my head, "you first," I groaned. It wasn't easy to form a coherent thought. I couldn't keep her hips still, she squirmed and kept riding me, her naked chest against my chest and her sighs in my ear.

"No," she simply said, "I need you to surrender now."

Maybe she wasn't close, or maybe the pain was still there, somewhere. I don't know, I couldn't think anymore. And if she wanted me to surrender, I would.

I released my grip on her hips and pushed mine up so that I buried myself deep inside her. Her lips attacked mine again, and she sped up her movements.

"Oh God, Bella…" I moaned, my breathing unsteady, and heart racing.

She kept moaning as well. She might not be reaching an orgasm, but she was definitely experiencing pleasure. My climax was approaching fast now. The kiss broke because we both kept moaning. I focused on the sounds of her bliss, and then I grabbed her hips one last time pulling her down hard on me.

I pulsed and kept pulsing, giving her everything I had.

She collapsed on top of me, and I wrapped my arms around her sweaty body.

"How are you feeling," I muttered in between my panting. I was suddenly worried about her health again.

"Wonderful," she sighed happily, and I smiled. We stayed like this for the longest time.

When I went soft again, I slid out of her, but we both stayed in place. Both our hearts returned to their steady pace.

"Are you sore?" I asked after a while, and I kissed her temple.

"A little," she admitted, which made me feel guilty for giving in harder than I should have.

I slid my body from under her and told her to rest while I cleaned us both up and helped her get dressed. Her fever was rising again, and I tried not to feel too guilty for what we just did when she was clearly still sick.

I lay down beside her. We talked little bits, mostly me asking her if she needed something and her reassuring me she was fine, while I wiped her sweaty hair from her face. I looked for something cool to ease her fever, but I didn't find anything and I didn't want to waste the water that she was meant to drink.

"As soon as Edward gets here," I informed her, "I going to ask him to go down the river and wet these towels so that we can cool you down."

She nodded and then suddenly seemed to realize something.

"Shit, Edward," she said. I knew what she meant, he would find out and I was guessing he wouldn't like it.

"Can I ask you something," she said with a worried look.

"Hmm," I hummed. Right now she could ask me pretty much anything.

"I don't think he should see it in your mind," she started.

"What are you saying? You're gonna tell him to leave?"

"No, I'm gonna be the one to tell him the truth."

"Oh," I replied, "are you sure that's a good idea, right before the fight?"

"He's gonna find out sooner or later, and I think he'd rather hear it from me. So would you mind giving me some time with him for a tiny bit if he arrives, so that I can tell him?"

I sighed. After what we just shared, I didn't want to leave her alone, not for one second and definitely not with him.

"Please," she added, "imagine what he must feel like."

"Oh, I know very well what he must feel like. I used to be in his shoes, remember," I recalled.

"Yes, but you weren't a mind reader."

"Fair enough," I replied. She had a good point there.

Any other day, I would have said no. We didn't know what was going to happen at the fight and if this was our last day together, I wouldn't allow him near her. But after what we shared, and now she was looking at me with her pleading eyes, her temperature high with fever, I simply couldn't refuse.

I sighed again, "fine, I'll go down the river myself, but I'm pretty sure he'll read whatever there is to read the second he gets here."

"Then hum a song or something, that's what Alice does when she doesn't want him to read her."

I agreed, and so that is what we did.

As soon as Edward appeared at the tent, I started humming a song. I kissed her briefly, and crawled out of the tent.

"Where are you going?" he asked surprised, but I ignored him and ran into the forest, outside of his mind reading range.

AN: I'm so excited to find out what you think about this, please let me know?