Chapter Twenty-Eight
DECEMBER
The first week of December saw Bella laying down on a massage table in Seattle, a woman with pink hair and colourful arms pressing ink and a needle into her skin.
She'd driven to Seattle with Esme and Alice, the former who was going shelter to shelter writing cheques and the latter buying fabric and wool to take home with her.
They'd shared a smile when Bella asked to join them, knowing exactly why she'd wanted to accompany them, having heard her phone call with the tattoo parlour to book her appointment after she'd learned when they were going.
It was going to be a Christmas present to Edward, her tattoo.
Something that would disappear with her change but something she knew he'd never forget and something she knew he wouldn't let her forget either.
She breathed deeply as the needle entered her skin again and again, pushing the dark ink in and she hoped that a few blocks down, Alice could not see what she had chosen.
When Edward arrived home that evening from a day spent playing video games and wrestling with his brothers, he did it with a smile, as he did every day.
He opened the front door, closing it before kicking off his shoes, smelling the peppermint candle burning in the living room (a scent that didn't smell completely like dirt) and hung his coat by the door. He made his way into the living room, where he found Bella curled up in one of the corners of the couch, her hair pulled into a haphazard knot at the crown of her head, tendrils framing her soft, gorgeous face.
She was wearing one of his t-shirts, an old band one he'd owned for over twenty years that Alice had nearly managed to throw out ten times since, a pair of shorts that showcased soft, smooth thighs and a pair of forest green cable knit socks that went over her knee.
His second thought was that they were adorable as hell.
His first thought was imagining her rolling them down, wearing nothing else.
"New socks?" he asked, leaning against the door jamb, not hiding the look of hunger he knew was on his face. They'd spent so much time learning one another's bodies that he was almost certain they would be able to make love without risk soon and he knew that they were both eager for that night.
"Yeah, I bought them today-" she started saying, sticking a finger in her book to hold her place before looking up at him. She noticed his expression immediately because she'd stopped speaking as soon as it registered; the lust painted on his face.
She sucked in a breath and he felt himself stiffen in his jeans as she bit her lip, her cheeks flushing with arousal.
He pushed off of the door frame and made his way over to her, grinning as she flung her book to the side and reached for him as he reached for her.
Their lips were pressed together a moment later, opened mouthed, their tongues battling for dominance as Edward covered Bella's body with his own as she reclined on the couch.
It was when Edward moved to take his shirt off of her that the scent hit him.
"Are you okay? I can smell blood and…antiseptic cream," he said, pushing himself off of her and frowning.
She sat up slowly, her cheeks flushed and her lips swollen.
"I umm, got a tattoo today," she admitted with a smile and a shrug.
His eyes widened. "A tattoo?"
She nodded.
"Can I see it?" he asked and she bit her lip, shaking her head at him.
"It's kind of your Christmas present," she told him, her eyes alight with joy. "Or one of them, at least."
"Really?" he asked, the thought of her inked skin making the ache between his legs return to the forefront of his mind.
"You'll find out in a few weeks," she said with a smile.
"Where is it?" he asked, his gaze moving down her covered body.
She could hear her grin as she spoke. "My hip."
His gaze moved back up to hers as he moved to cover her body with his own, her back reclining once more against the couch cushions. She bit her lip with a grin as she felt his length pressed against her.
"Your hip?" he asked, his voice hoarse with arousal.
"My hip," she whispered, her tone matching his and he grinned as he moved down to kiss the woman he loved.
"Love, what are you doing?" he asked, later on Christmas Eve while his mate moved the quilt from their bed to the living room, where the Christmas tree they'd decorated together flashed with lights.
"Bucket list," she replied simply as she spread the quilt out in front of the fire place, where she'd padded the floor with couch cushions.
She was wearing those socks again, the ones that made him almost wild. There was something about the layer of skin between them and the shorts she wore that brought out the teenager in him, made him want to see more of her (not that he didn't always want to see more of her).
He watched with amusement as she made her way up the stairs again to come back with their pillows and more blankets from the cupboard in the hallway.
"We're sleeping down here?" he asked, padding across the living room to where she was arranging their pillows, hers closest to the fire.
"We are," she confirmed, looking up at him with a smile that made his undead heart want to beat again.
She was so damned pretty.
"I like this bucket list, you know," he told her as he wrapped her in his arms, revelling in the warmth her body produced, wishing he could do the same for her.
"It's a good list," she said into his chest as she nuzzled her cheek against his shirt.
"Tired?" he asked, stroking her hair.
"Not really, I'm too excited," she admitted, moving her head to smile up at him, her eyes sparkling with delight.
"Me too," he said, his mind going to the ring in his pocket. The one he was going to present her with, in an hour, at precisely midnight.
She pulled away from him and pushed herself up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. "I'm going to have a shower, dry my hair and I'll be back down."
He nodded, pressing another kiss to her mouth and then she was making her way upstairs while he remained in the living room, looking at the makeshift bed with a soft smile and softer eyes, his fingers playing with the ring in his pocket.
Bella's heart raced even as the hot water poured over her body, the water doing its job to relieve the tension in her shoulders and back but not the nervousness coursing through her veins.
She was going to show Edward her tattoo tonight, she couldn't wait until tomorrow.
It had finally gotten to a stage where it didn't look swollen or scabby and she was excited but she wasn't Alice and she couldn't see the future to determine whether or not he would even like it.
She hoped he would.
But it still didn't make her any less nervous.
Because, tonight, she had decided, she was going to ask Edward to finally make love to her.
Edward silently paced as he listened to Bella shower and then blow dry her hair, his mind going from one scenario to another as fast as lightning as he waited for her to finish.
What if she said no?
Or if she didn't like the ring?
He had thought about having a ring commissioned for her but he knew Bella, knew how much she liked vintage jewellery and how much she'd admired his mother for confronting Carlisle the way she had, for being so brave and selfless, asking for her son's life and not her own.
He stopped pacing as he heard her make her way from the bathroom to their bedroom.
His gaze moved to the mantle above the fireplace, to the picture of the two of them there. Alice had taken it on Bella's birthday and it made him calm immediately. Bella was sitting in Edward's lap, her arms around his neck and his around her waist, their eyes locked as they'd whispered to one another, smiles on their faces.
It was obvious they were in love. It was written all over the both of them.
Edward took a deep breath and smiled.
Meant to be, she'd told him one afternoon as they'd lounged in the meadow, reading side by side, stopping to share a passage here and there. She had dropped her book after a while and had turned to her side, propping herself up on an elbow to smile at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "What?" he'd asked her, dropping his book and moving to cup her face. She'd grinned in response. "I don't think there was ever going to be a version of me that didn't love you, Edward Cullen. We're meant to be."
He believed that with every fibre of his being.
"Edward?" her voice called to him from the foot of the stairs. He turned with a smile and froze.
"Bella," he breathed, his eyes wide as he took her in.
Her hair fell freely around her shoulders, the ends still slightly damp and curling over her breasts, the stiffened peaks making themselves known through the thin, cream satin of her nightgown covering them. A nightgown that he'd never seen before fell to her calves and hugged her breasts and hips, the cream colour making her hair stand out and her skin appear almost luminescent.
"Merry Christmas, Edward," she whispered as she moved across the room, far more graceful than she could probably ever imagined and stopped two feet away from him, raising her arm to offer him her hand.
He took it, words failing him as she led him to their makeshift bed.
Bella's heart raced as she lowered herself onto the cushions and blankets she'd arranged, her eyes locked onto his as he lowered himself next to her.
He said nothing as his gaze moved from hers to her attire, lifting a hand to run his fingertips from her chest to her knees, the satin of her nightgown making it easy.
"Lift it," she whispered when his hand met the hem and his eyes moved back up to hers, questions shining from them. "Lift it," she repeated softly.
She watched, her heart racing as he pulled the hem up slowly, his body moving so that he could press his lips to her skin as he exposed it to the fire-heated air. Her breath caught as she raised her hips to help him pull the material over the tiny cream satin underwear that she'd purchased with the nightgown.
A small moan left her as his lips pressed against the little bow that decorated them.
She smiled as she watched him pull the nightgown higher, watched him finally expose the tattoo on her left hip.
"Bella," he breathed as his eyes took in the words she'd had inked into her skin, the black, curling script stark against her pale skin.
"Whatever our souls are made of,
his and mine are the same."
Slowly, his fingers moved to stroke the words, tracing the letters and it was minutes before he lifted his eyes back to hers and she knew that if they were capable of it, they would have been shining with tears.
"Nothing," he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. "Nothing had ever been as beautiful to me as you are, Bella."
Her heart raced in response and she smiled at him, her eyes filling with tears.
"I love you," she whispered, cupping his face with her hand.
"I love you, too," he replied, moving up to kiss her.
They were both grinning when he pulled away, resting his forehead against her own for a minute.
He lifted left hand to hers then and she spread her fingers apart, anticipating his sliding in to fill those spaces but he didn't move to hold her hand.
Instead, she felt cool metal against her skin as he slid a ring on a finger. That finger, she realised a moment later.
"Marry me, Bella," he whispered, pressing kisses to her mouth, nose, forehead and cheeks. "Marry me, marry me," he whispered between each kiss.
She lifted her hands to cup his face, stilling his movements and without even glancing at the ring, she spoke. "Yes."
"Yes?" he asked, a smile transforming his face in such a way it made her heart stutter.
"Yes," she replied, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes to fall into her hair. "Yes, I'll marry you."
He laughed then, a joyous laugh that prompted their own and then he was moving, sitting up and pulling her with him, her legs falling to straddle his lap. He kissed her and more tears fell from her eyes, her heart singing with joy. "You're going to marry me," he whispered, his voice of wonder as he pressed his forehead against his own.
"You're going to be my husband," she replied, full of joy and disbelief. He was going to be hers in every way, humanly and vampire.
"You're going to be my wife," he said, his tone full of masculine pride that brought their position to her attention.
"You're mine," she told him, her voice full of possession and heat as she ran her fingers through his hair, moving her hips against the hardness she felt growing beneath her.
"And you're mine," he responded, moving his hands to her nightgown, bunched around her hips and he lifted it off of her.
She watched him swallow with no small amount of satisfaction as he took in the sight of her naked breasts, having never gotten used to the feeling of power his reaction to her naked body gave her.
She moved her hands to rid him of his shirt next, smiling as she ran her hand over his chest, loving the feel of his skin beneath her hands when her ring caught her attention and her hands stopped moving.
It was a style that hadn't seen a lot of attention in years, with a plain white gold band upon which sat an oval of more of the same, an oval that was covered in tiny, clear diamonds. She moved her hand and they sparkled, the fire blazing in their reflection and Bella felt a tear fall from the corner of her eye. On a sunny day, she knew it would send out tiny rainbows of light around a room, like Edward.
"It was my mother's," Edward told her and she moved her gaze up to his.
"It's perfect," she told him honestly, moving to press her lips to his before pulling away. "You're perfect."
He grinned at her, manoeuvring them so that her back was once more against the blankets and there he kissed her while he removed the remainder of his clothing, teasing her before he finally removed her damp underwear, the last barrier between them.
He moved his body down then and with a skill he'd perfected over the past few months, he pressed his mouth against her until she was writhing beneath his movements, crying out his name with her hand in his hair as she rode out her orgasm. She almost screamed his name with the one he drew from her body soon after the first.
"Beautiful," he whispered as he pushed himself up to watch her. "So beautiful."
She smiled up at him then, her body still shaking, lifting her left hand to flash her ring at him. "And yours."
His heart threatened to beat at the sight of his ring on her finger and he smiled back at her.
"Make love to me, Edward," she whispered.
"Yes," he whispered back, full of awe and determination.
She watched with wonder as her fiancée kissed his way up her body, teasing her with every press of his lips and flick of his tongue before they finally fell on hers, lips she knew would be swollen for at least a day after tonight.
"Tell me if I hurt you," he requested, his voice and gaze impossibly soft as he held himself over her, his length pressing against her for the very first time.
"I will," she promised, knowing that he meant more than that first virginal pain.
"I love you," he whispered against her mouth, reaching down and lining himself up against her.
"I love you, too," she replied as he pushed himself inside of her.
It did hurt, that initial thrust and she breathed unsteadily as he held himself still inside of her, waiting for the pain to be over. It wasn't long before the cold temperature of his skin soothed the burn and she whispered that it was okay for him to move again against his mouth.
She gasped at that second thrust of his hips, the feeling of being full satisfying a craving she hadn't really known until then that she'd had.
He kissed her as he thrust his hard length into her, meeting places she hadn't known had existed until that moment, places that made her rip her mouth from his and moan his name.
She hadn't known until then, what she'd been missing out on.
And she loved it.
Loved him.
Loved the way they fit together, the way he paid attention to the angles that made her cry out, to the power behind a thrust that made her back arch.
But more than anything, she loved the way he whispered her name as he shuddered through his orgasm, her name like a prayer.
"Meant to be," he whispered against her lips a minute later.
"Meant to be," she echoed in response, believing it with everything she was.
