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Huge thank you to my betas: mesmerizeme and Rachie81 for helping me with this chapter.
I guess people really lost interest in this story, but I love it too much and it's great some still read it. So...Thank you for those that are sticking around.
Tomorrow I'm going on a short vacation. I hope to update at least once during the next two weeks, but I'm not sure. I'll keep my chapter in my doc manager here on ff . net so in case I can do it...I'll update. ;)
Chapter 29: Chew and spit - not swallow
EPOV
I stayed with Bella in her new room as the others went downstairs, giving us privacy. She was walking around the room, touching various empty shelves, and every once in a while, she would glance at the huge bed by the window.
"Do you like it?" I asked nervously.
"Don't tell me you have something to do with this!" she exclaimed, whirling around to watch me.
"Ehh, maybe a little," I mumbled, scratching the nape of my neck. "I helped them pick the bed."
She laughed, letting her head fall back. "Of course, you did. We need something good."
I felt my blush creeping up in my cheeks. "It's iron…Emmett told me it is very good, whatever that means."
"It means it can survive longer than a wooden bed." She grinned and walked there, sitting down. "It's soft," she whispered and touched a hand to the silky duvet.
I went there and stood in front of her, swallowing convulsively. I wanted to do it now, but I knew I couldn't. I wished I could just ask, to be sure she would. I watched Bella for a few minutes, wondering if it truly was a good idea to bring that up now. Alice didn't come to stop me so that must have been a good sign.
I cupped Bella's cold cheeks in my hands and turned her face to me, of course with her help. She watched me curiously. I traced a finger over her brows, down her nose to her full lips.
"I miss your red eyes," I blurted out.
What the hell, Masen? I miss your red eyes!
I cringed and tried to rectify my bluntness. "I mean, I love them golden, I know what sacrifices you make to stay close to me," I whispered.
Bella giggled and wrapped her arms around my waist, bringing me closer to her. "You want the truth? I kind of miss them too," she said gently.
"Really?"
"Yes, but I've grown to love the topaz color. It means you are safe."
I smiled and lowered my head to kiss her. She titled back her head to give me better access to her mouth.
Say it. What's there to lose? Come on, just say it.
I couldn't encourage myself enough. I left my lips against hers as I took a breath, filled with her dazzling scent. "Marry me," I whispered.
My subconscious slapped me quite hard.
Bella leaned back and watched me shocked. Her golden eyes were round and there was shock written all over her face. "Wh…what?"
I shook my head, unable to repeat myself. Not when I wasn't prepared. Alice had told me to take care of everything before I did it. I had to document myself about how men proposed in her time.
"Sorry. It just…slipped," I explained ashamed.
She was searching my face for something and I had no idea what she could see there. "We're going to talk about this."
Of course, we would! "Not now," I pleaded her.
"No," she confirmed and brought my head to hers again in a deep kiss.
I felt like a fool. Why in the hell did I have to say that? I didn't even have the ring!
Bella leaned back on the bed, bringing me with her. We just kissed for a long time. I preferred it to talking about my idiotic question.
"We should go downstairs. Emmett says you're hogging me," Bella whispered, running her hands through my hair.
"Okay." I nodded, got out of the bed and took her hand.
"Eager to share me?" she teased.
I turned red and averted my gaze.
"We're going to be alone tonight, I'm sure you realize that. We're going to talk more," she said, staring right into my eyes making my breath hitch.
"Yeah," I agreed.
Spending time with the Cullens was always an adventure, especially when Emmett was challenged to different tasks. After about an hour of talking, Carlisle and Esme were the first to leave. I didn't understand why they would do that – any of them – because we had Bella's cottage to be alone if we wanted.
It was great to have Alice around. She went to call for pizza even though I insisted I wasn't hungry. By the time the pizza arrived, I was about to eat my nails.
We were playing 'Truth or Dare,' a dangerous game to play around vampires. Emmett kept asking me how I could eat something as gross as pizza when it finally got to me.
The bottle spun and its neck pointed to him. "So?" I challenged.
"Dare – haven't you learned?" he asked, rolling his eyes.
"I dare you to eat a slice of pizza!" I snapped, pushing the box to him.
He made a gagging sound and I was sure I saw a little green tinting his cheeks.
"You can't be serious!"
"Oh, yes!" Alice squealed, leaning into Jasper as she started giggling madly.
"Consider it payback for everything you did to him," Bella taunted, pushing the box right in front of Emmett. "Eat."
"Is no one on my side?" Emmett whined. "Babe?" He looked at Rose pleadingly.
"You're on your own, honey." She shrugged, flipping her hair over her back, feigning disinterest, but I saw her eyeing the pizza with a disgusted look.
"You're sooo dead, Masen. Just you wait!" Emmett threatened me, taking a slice of pizza in his hand, cringing.
I grinned; knowing that whatever he'd make me do couldn't be that horrible. We started chanting for him to eat. He took a tentative bite and chewed then gagged and swallowed. He rolled the rest of the slice and stuffed it into his mouth then swallowed.
We watched with battled breath the effect. He looked ill. I didn't see him getting up, I just saw the spot empty and heard the front door as it shut behind him.
"Maybe he'd learn to swallow – no pun intended – his pride and just refuse some challenges," Rose said softly, getting up. "I'm going to see if he's all right."
"Good job, Edward!" Bella cheered, raising her palm to me. I slapped mine against hers, laughing.
"Since when do vampires high five?" I asked amused.
"You should have seen me high five Leah after killing James and Victoria."
I laughed and wrapped my arm around her neck, kissing her temple.
Alice opened her mouth, but before she could voice whatever she wanted to say, I was standing without my accord. I felt a little choked as my collar was too tight around my neck. I didn't need to see who was trying to suffocate me – I knew it was Emmett. He started shaking me.
"Truth or dare?" he snarled.
"Guess?" I moaned, sticking a finger between the collar and my neck.
"Emmett…" Bella warned.
"Eat dirt!" he sneered in my face, dropping me.
I thought it was meant as an insult. I didn't think much of it, being happy he had released me.
"Are you deaf?" he groaned.
I looked up at him. "You can't be serious!" I shouted.
"Oh, I'll be damned! You made me eat that pizza shit…you eat the equivalent of it in your world."
"Don't hurt yourself with such big words," I chuckled.
He grabbed my elbow and dragged me outside, pushing me down the three stairs. "Eat it!"
"Bullshit!"
"If you wish…" he teased, but his tone was all too serious.
"Emmett, seriously," I pleaded him.
"Do you need help?" He bent and grabbed a chunk of dirt from the ground.
"Okay! We had fun, but you are going too far!" Bella appeared next to us. "Emmett, you don't know what can happen. You're all better now."
"A little bit. Just to be even. Come on, Jade!" he taunted.
"Are you ever going to drop it?" I moaned, eyeing the black dirt on his palm.
"Imagine that soon you'll be Ruby the Second." He winked.
"Oh, fuck it!" I shouted. "Do you swear to drop those nicknames if I do it?"
He looked at me for a minute then nodded. "Just a little," he whispered, putting his palm under my nose.
It smelled like dirt, probably with some chemicals in it for Esme's flowers. I was going to make myself sick before I even tasted it. I once ate dirt, but I was little and kids like to taste all kinds of weird shit. Dirt was off the list, it was yucky. I bet it hadn't changed. I pinched some between my thumb and forefinger and brought it to my lips.
"Don't to it, Edward!" Bella insisted, grasping my wrist.
"It's a dare, Bella. It could have been worse," I told her. Before she could stop me, I bent my head and took the muck in my mouth. It was crunchy and slightly wet. I swallowed a few times, getting rid of the horrid taste.
Emmett's eyes were wide and settled on me. "You've got to be kidding me. You can spit it now," he said seriously.
"Spit what?" I asked, wiping a hand over my lips.
"What you have in your mouth."
"I swallowed it," I said. Wasn't I supposed to swallow?
That's when I realized it.
He hadn't swallowed the slice of pizza!
He had ran away to spit it out.
I narrowed my eyes on him and he backed away, raising his hands in defeat.
"I had no idea you'd swallow!" he shouted.
"At least, I didn't put more in my mouth," I muttered.
"God, I swear, I had no idea you'd do it."
I turned to Bella who was watching me incredulously. "Remember what I told you some time ago? First thing I do when I'm a vampire, is kick Emmett's ass? Now, it's kill him!" I growled.
"How did it taste?" Emmett dared to ask me.
I whirled around, advancing to him. "Like shit!" I shouted, slamming my palms against his chest. "How I wish I could hit you, you moron!"
"I'm really sorry, Eddie."
"Do not ever call me Eddie!" I screamed, fisting my hands, willing myself not to hit him because I'd end up hurt.
"Whoa! Okay, okay! Calm down. It was all in good fun," he said seriously.
"So sorry for him," Rose said, appeared next to Emmett. "Let's go before he hurts himself." She took Emmett's hand and dragged him away. Alice and Jasper joined them, waiving good-bye to us.
I was still seething, glaring after Emmett's departing form. Bella put her hand on small of my back.
"Calm down, love."
"Calm down?" I asked incredulously. "He made me eat dirt! Fucking dirt!"
I saw Jasper looking back toward us, but Bella waved him off. I was glad of that. I didn't need superficial calming down. I took a deep breath, trying to think of something else.
"Let's go inside. You'll forget about this in no time," Bella said softly, trying to stir me inside.
I kicked at the ground at my feet, muttering profanities under my breath, allowing her to pull me inside the house.
"Do you have anger issues?" she teased after closing the door.
"You can't agree with what he did! You told him it wasn't okay!"
"Edward, you're overreacting. Besides, I trusted you not to swallow that thing," she added with an amused tone.
"You have too much faith in me." I sighed and went to a couch, flopping down. "Can you find some water?"
"Do you think if I give you a seed you'll make a flower?" She laughed.
"Bella!" I groaned, trying to keep up my angry façade and failing miserably.
"Water, got it." She winked and disappeared.
I finished my pizza and a bottle of water as we watched a movie on the TV. As always, when I watched a movie with Bella, I never paid attention to the screen. She was far more interesting and the lights being out, outside already dark, charged the atmosphere between us.
She laughed at something the characters did and I glanced toward the screen, trying to see what made her laugh so beautifully. Her head turned to me and her hand squeezed mine.
"You're doing it again."
"Doing what?" I asked self-consciously.
"What could be so fascinating about my face? This movie is extremely ridiculous and funny, at the same time."
I shrugged, not really caring for the movie. "Haven't I told you that you're more interesting than anything else?"
"Oh, Edward. Soon, you'll see there are more important things than me," she said softly, looking into my eyes.
I felt my heart beating faster. We were talking about June, or after June. "Like what? You'll always be the most important thing to me." I traced my finger over her cheek.
"Like…blood," she whispered the word. "In the first year, I won't hold your interest. You'll see."
"I can't fathom that," I said truthfully.
She cupped my cheek, slowly moved her hand to my ear, and finally grasped my hair, bringing my face closer to hers. "Can we talk about your question?"
I swallowed and felt my face turning red. "It was stupid. I didn't mean to just blurt that out."
"But did you mean it?" Bella asked, her eyes searching mine. I dropped mine, unable to look in her amber pools. "Edward?"
"I did, okay?" I murmured, biting on the inside of my cheek.
"This is the secret?"
"Why do you have to be so perceptive?" I groaned, closing my eyes. "I ruined the moment, didn't I?"
"Don't you want to know my answer?"
My head snapped up to look at her. "Alice said you'd say no."
She giggled. "Sometimes…" She kissed my right cheek. "Alice is incredibly…" She kissed my left cheek. "Wrong," she kissed my lips.
I gasped and leaned back. "What?" I blinked. Her face had a bluish hue from the television.
"It's not yes, but it's not no either." She smirked and kissed my nose.
"You're killing me here," I moaned and pressed my forehead to hers. "Would you allow me to do it again? The right way."
"I'm counting on that."
She didn't give me a chance to answer, not that I knew what to say to that, her lips crushed onto mine, effectively cutting the conversation short. I ended up on top of her, kissing her more daringly than usual and to my surprise, she allowed me.
"Upstairs," Bella whispered against my lips.
We switched the TV off and rushed up the stairs. Once in her new room, I jumped on top of the bed, bouncing. She laughed and joined me, more gently.
"It's been some time," I mumbled, snatching my shirt out then focusing on my belt.
"Why are you in such a hurry? I've missed you too, but we have the whole night," she reminded me.
"I missed you so much." I raised and claimed her lips back in a kiss.
When I was only in boxers, I turned my attention to her dress. I couldn't find a zipper. It was frustrating and I started tugging at the straps.
"Hey, easy, tiger!" Her slender fingers went to her side and pushed down the zipper I had missed.
I took the dress off her and moaned at the sight in front of me. Bella…naked. "Did you… This whole time… Oh, you have no idea how much I love you!" I admitted, cupping her breasts.
Bella shuddered, something she rarely did. Every time she did it, I knew I'd done something very good. I put my lips to her nipple and sucked, amazed how her cold, hard skin puckered under my lips. She cradled my head close to her breast, not willing to let me go. I wasn't dreaming of departing from her sweet skin.
"Edward," she breathed, running a hand down my back, making my balls tighten. If she kept touching me like that, I was going to cum.
I switched my attention to her other neglected breast as her hands dropped to my ass and squeezed. I groaned, biting down by reflex. The effect was immediate. She ripped off my boxers and I was on my back with her on top of me. It was rare when she stayed in control, afraid to lose it and hurt me. We always went at my pace. It seemed that today, she was in charge.
"Oh!" I shouted more in surprise more than anything else when she lowered on my hard member. After all those times we made love, it was still difficult to acclimate with her cold skin, especially the ice cold down there. If normal girls were burning, Bella was turning into an iceberg. It always took me about a minute to get used to that, but contrary to what a cold shower would do, her cold skin wrapped around my dick had the reverse effect.
She started moving, balancing her weight on her hands, on either side of my head. With every push, her breasts came dangerously close to my face and I couldn't help but catch one nipple between my lips. Her hips moved faster as I tried to match her rhythm and failed. The fire in the pit of my stomach was slowly consuming me and I was seconds away from exploding. I wanted to keep it up for longer, but I knew I'd be okay in under ten minutes so I let go. I allowed her frantic movements to bring us to release.
"Okay?" she whispered, flipping next to me.
"Yeah," I mumbled, catching my breath.
Bella rolled closer to me and flung a leg over mine, snuggling into my side. "You should sleep."
"No way. Not yet." I pressed my lips to her forehead. I laughed when I let out a yawn.
"Well a part of you is definitely awake," she whispered, kissing my chest. Her hand ghosted over my abdomen making my muscles constrict and dick harden almost on command. As her hand traveled down to cup me, my own hand was exploring her back until I touched her delicious ass.
"Edward," Bella moaned, pressing herself closer to me.
I grabbed a hold of one of her cheeks and squeezed as hard as I could. I earned a loud groan from Bella.
"You have no idea how good that feels. Every touch is so powerful, it's amplified by my nature."
"Really?" I asked surprised.
"The smallest touch feels a thousand times better than you'd believe."
"I can't wait to experience that," I admitted, grinning at her. She smiled back but it didn't quite reach her eyes. I wasn't going to ruin the mood by asking her what she was thinking.
I turned on my side, keeping my arms around her, her leg hitched over my waist. We were impossibly close this way.
"Do you want to try it like this?" I couldn't believe what had just left my mouth, and to my great surprise, I didn't even blush.
Bella's golden eyes met mine, looking just as surprised as me, but she nodded. I felt her small hand grasping my dick and guiding it to her entrance. I raised a little to help her, and when I was slipping inside, it felt like heaven and hell combined. I never thought it could feel so good.
"Are you developing a heart condition?" she teased, bringing me inside her, balls deep.
I only managed to groan and clasp her to my chest as I started rocking my hips. I felt her breath speeding against my shoulder. Every little touch felt amplified like this. Was this how she was feeling when I touched her?
"Ah…Ahhh…OHHH!" I moaned, gritting my teeth and willing myself to keep going.
"Do you trust me?" Bella panted against my neck.
"Im…pli…cit…ly," I said brokenly.
Her cold hand sneaked between us and wrapped around the base of my dick. The sensation of coming diminished, but it felt like I'd combust. We moved against one another, only the slapping of our skin and our breaths in the air. Her ice walls squeezed me and I yelled, finding myself unable to cum. Her hand. I realized why she was squeezing the base of my dick, but all I wanted was to release in that moment.
"Let…go," I grumbled, slamming my hips harder into her, trying to finish. The second her hand let go, I exploded. It felt like I lost contact with the world for a second.
When I came around, I felt Bella's hand stroking my cheek and hair as her eyes bore into mine.
"Hi," she murmured, kissing my lips.
"Hi," I breathed and it sounded like I had a bad case of asthma.
"That was beyond words. And…I'm afraid I kind of broke the present."
"Huh?" I mumbled, blinking, trying to stay focused on her.
"The bed kind of lost the fight."
"You… What?" I asked, suddenly alert.
Bella giggled and nodded with her chin above my head. I peeked there, afraid of what I'd see. The soft rose motif was twisted and there was a huge gap in it.
"I sort of held onto it, afraid I'd hurt you. With good reason, too."
"I'll consider more durable presents," I said half asleep.
"Yeah, something like the Duracell bunny," Bella whispered.
"You want the Duracell bunny?" I asked, not really understanding.
"Why don't you sleep? It's too late for you and you are tired." She kissed my neck and I didn't need any more encouragement. I closed my eyes and fell asleep immediately.
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