Beauty Takes on the Beast

Chapter Nineteen—Release

"Stop doing that!" Bella hissed at me.

My leg shook beside hers on the hospital bed, due to sheer boredom. By the end of the second night of our stay, I snuck onto her bed despite the nurses' and doctor's orders.

I slapped the magazine on my lap closed. "I'm itching to get out of here. What's taking them so damn long?"

Them, as in Emmett and my sister. They had gotten a little too cozy. Rosalie wouldn't stop talking about Emmett while he was not with them. Emmett, however, would avoid discussing her at all costs. Which of course meant they were fucking or thinking about fucking.

Yeah, the irony of the situation was not lost on me.

"Will you stop thinking about them?" Bella said, clearly annoyed with my overthinking ass.

"What makes you think I'm doing that?" I rested my head on her shoulder, hoping for a glimpse down her top. No such luck, she was bundled up since our rooms were damn cold.

She scoffed. "You get this line between your angry eyebrows whenever you do."

Bella decided it would be best to use distraction by straddling me. Gently, of course. My cock twitched under her delectable ass, but the beast would be out of commission for a while, mostly depending on how Bella was feeling. On top of being shot, she also had a couple of bruised ribs. The same went for me.

If the way she whimpered at the slight caress of my fingers on her lips was any indication, I'd say she wanted me with the same intensity I wanted her. My side, though sensitive to some weight and the stitches still pinched when I stood upright, would be able to handle a smooth and easy ride from my Beauty.

My cock twitched again at the thought—oh yeah, the beast would be ready soon.

I brushed her hair away from her face, my palms sliding up her neck to cradle her cheeks. "This may have worked a few times…"

That made her smirk because it worked every time.

"But not this time. Has Rosie said anything to indicate she likes Emmett?"

She pulled back and cocked an eyebrow. "You do know that if that's the case, it's just karma in a way?"

I grumbled softly, but she picked up on it. "Why? Because I fell in love with his sister? There's a big difference between you and Rosalie. Besides, the age gap between them is even wider than ours. Let's not forget the fact that you are much more mature than my little sister."

Bella had stilled at some point in my little speech, her eyes widened. "What did you say?"

I hid my smirk. My observant Beauty didn't miss a damn thing. "Which part?"

She only smiled and shook her head, a small flash of disappointment in her eyes. "Never mind, when you're ready you'll say it again."

"How about I say it again right now?" I pressed my lips to hers; thankful we both rid ourselves of morning breath earlier. "I've fallen in love with you, Bella."

She made a sound similar to when I hit deep inside her welcoming body. Fuck me. Not helping the situation under her ass.

"You mean it, don't you?" She seemed to see something she liked reflected in my eyes. Her lips pressed to over my lips for a moment, pulling back to meet my gaze again. "I love you, too." She slanted her mouth over mine, sliding her tongue along my bottom lip, begging for more of me.

I would gladly give her every inch...when we were both physically capable. We had to confirm with the doctors during our follow-ups in a week about strenuous activities. I wouldn't risk Bella's health for some relief; that would make me an asshole.

Right?

Her ass wiggled against my cock, making me groan. She quickly pulled away. "Did I hurt you? Oh, I put too much weight on your side. I'm so sorry." In her attempt to slide off my lap, she only provoked my cock more.

I settled my hands on her hips and held her there, making her whimper. "Not the kind of pain you're thinking of." My lips found the perfect spot on her shoulder to nibble on, making her moan again.

"Are they always like this?" a soft feminine voice said from across the room.

"Unfortunately, yes." The gruff voice of Emmett made me pull away from Bella, sighs on our lips.

There was some disgust evident in Emmett's voice, but at least it lost some of its bite once he got used to us. He had been good about us from the beginning, but seeing our PDA still set him on edge.

"What's the news?" I helped Bella shift to my side as she bunched the sheet around my lap. Clever woman, though it took almost the whole thing to cover up the beast.

"You're sprung!" Rosalie announced with more than usual enthusiasm.

Bella started to cackle at my sister's choice of words. Emmett rolled his eyes, but there was a smile somewhere in his scowl. Rosalie looked confused after a moment, then figured out why Bella laughed. She blushed and looked away, mumbling an unnecessary apology.

I, on the other hand, nuzzled my Beauty's shoulder to hide my face. "Good, we're ready whenever you are."

Bella moved to the edge of the bed where Emmett met her to help her off. Since I needed some assistance too, I had to stay on my side for the moment. "How's Tyler?"

Tyler had been sent home earlier, his mother and girlfriend decided he'd recover best under their care. Those two women were formidable and wouldn't put him at risk if danger still lurked nearby.

We assured them it was safe again.

According to Alec, no one would come after Bella or anyone she cared for; Marcus used his connections to ensure her safety, and by extension all of us. He gained new territory on top of that. As long as anyone involved with my ex-wife and the small organization she ripped off were taken care of, I had no problem with accepting his help, or how it benefited him.

He did, however, still need to stay away from Bella, and the flowers he'd sent her still pissed me off, but in a way, I understood. Had I been in his position, I'd want her to know she was in my thoughts.

"We'll start taking your things to the car. The nurse should be in shortly with your paperwork." Emmett grabbed a bouquet of balloons and flowers from my parents, who were staying at Bella and Emmett's house since Rosalie would continue to stay at my place.

Emmett returned to the Swan house to host my parents, but I knew he'd prefer to stay somewhere else. I tried to put myself in his shoes and understood, staying in the house where he'd found three important people in his life possibly mortality injured would make it difficult.

I wasn't sure how Bella would handle it either, which was why I placed a call to my real estate agent while she'd been asleep the day before. We would be leasing a place together until Bella and Emmett decided on what to do with the house.

The panic I expected to feel at the thought of moving in with someone didn't come. I wanted her with me every day and not only because of the explosive sex.

My sister walked over, helping me to my feet. At almost twenty years old, she was only five inches shorter than I was, had our father's wheat-colored hair and blue eyes, while I took after my mother. She definitely got all the brains from her, too.

"Your physical therapist agreed to work on you two together, at the same time." Rosalie handed me a set of sunglasses and my wallet since I had already changed. "Your first session is in a few days. Jasper found her. Alice makes house calls if needed."

"Alice?" Bella scrunched her nose as she gingerly walked out of the bathroom, having changed into some yoga pants and soft sweater. "Alice who?"

"Alice Brandon?" Emmett grabbed Bella's things and helped her into a wheelchair. "Yeah, that Alice from high school."

Bella groaned. "But she's so peppy!"

Emmett and Rosalie shared a look and laughed. "She definitely hasn't grown out of that."

"You mean the barista as Moe's Cuppa Joe?" I had to groan, too. The woman didn't hold anything back, and she had the nose of a bloodhound. She knew exactly what you had for lunch by talking to her, and what type of exercise you needed to burn off the calories.

"If anyone can get you to follow through on your physical therapy, it's her." Emmett almost looked smug and proud. Scratch that, the fucker was really proud.

Rosalie giggled, something she hadn't done that in years.

My eyes narrowed.

"One look at me and she begged to take me shopping. Alice said I had the potential to be hot." A rush of redness filled Rosalie's cheeks.

"I think you already are," Emmett mumbled, a little too loud, considering Rosie's gasp.

Bella tried not to laugh when Emmett's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in horror when he realized we all heard him.

"Will you two excuse us for a few minutes," I bit out through clenched teeth.

They wanted to protest, but between my glare and Emmett's nod, Rosalie wheeled Bella out of the room.

Emmett started to pace when the silence in the room reached a deafening level once we were alone. "Look, I know what you're going to say."

"If you hurt her, I'll fucking hurt you."

Emmett wheeled around. "Hey, I didn't threaten you."

"Because you know that if I ever hurt Bella, you don't need to bother coming after me." If not by Bella's hand, one of her other adopted brothers, and maybe that deadly ex of hers, would take care of me. "This is different. Rosalie lives across the country and she needs to finish school. I'm not saying she has to have a degree to be successful. We both know that's bullshit. But she needs to know she can be out on her own and accomplish something. Meet a goal."

Emmett winced, but nodded in agreement. If they had a chance to get to know each other, he knew my sister had insecurities and she rarely finished anything because of them. Dropping out of college when she was close to graduating could set her back.

"She's young."

I nodded. "She's not as mature as Bella and needs constant reassurances, but also guidance. And yeah, I admit that kind of bugs the shit out of me, but to be honest, you act a lot younger than the rest of us."

He laughed. "It's a coping mechanism, you know that, right?"

I did know that—he'd seen a lot of shit as a solider. "Is it safe for you to be around anyone at night?

I didn't want to think of him sharing a bed with my little sister, but I had to be sure she was safe, too. A few times, he'd taken the couch instead of the room near Bella's, because of the nightmares. The grunts and groans, screaming that had nothing to do with pleasure.

"Not yet." He rubbed the back of his head, his cheeks reddening. "We're nowhere near ready for that, anyway. I just wanted you to know that I like her, but I'm going to let her lead. If she wants something now or later, I'm willing to wait and just be friends, if that's what she needs."

I stuffed the last of my things in a duffel bag and sat in the stupid wheelchair the hospital insisted on patients using to leave. "She's crazy about you, but for now, I agree that's the way to approach this thing between you two."

Emmett offered me a genuine smile. "You're good for my sister."

I had to smirk. "How much did that hurt to say?"

"You have no idea, bro." Emmett shook his head, holding the door open for me to roll through. "I never thought anybody would get Bella to slow down enough to enjoy life. Don't get me wrong, nothing is wrong with being ambitious and determined to prove herself; but I never thought she needed to do that for me, and definitely not my mother or anyone else who knows her. I have no idea what's next for her, and for once, I don't think she does either, and that might be a good thing."

"I think so, too." We exited the room and watched as Bella and Rosalie talked down the hall with a nurse, waiting for us. "I hope I get to say you're good for my sister soon, too."

Wheeling me forward, Emmett answered, "I hope so, too."

AN: We all saw that coming, right? lol Thanks to MC for your help with the chapter, any mistakes are mine, I like to mess with it. Not many chapters left, still deciding how much of their future I need to write.

I hope everyone's holidays are going well. It's been a stressful couple of months, but both my parents are on the mend. My dad does not require surgery and is now walking with a cane for a while. Also, we're preparing for the arrival of my baby boy having a baby boy which we aren't remotely emotionally or financially ready for in the new year. I'm trying to soak up as much ME time (aka writing time) as possible since I have no idea how these babies will handle a baby. If anyone would like to help check out my Twitter or Facebook profile, there are links to Ko-fi, Venmo, and Zelle or just PM/DM me. As always thanks for being supportive and reading my work. Now back to writing.