Disclaimer - All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.
Chapter One: Chocolate
"I do know the real reason you want to come with me," Nessie told Edward as she plaited her long hair. "I'm not stupid."
"I want to make sure you get on alright. It's your first day of work."
"At Black's. I'll be fine. And that's not what I'm talking about."
He looked at her and she quirked her eyebrow at him. "You want to ogle Bella."
If Edward could have blushed, he would have.
"I want to support you," he reiterated.
Nessie waved him off once her hair was secure. "Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that."
His relationship with Nessie was something that Edward valued. He enjoyed her company, and being a maker wasn't at all what he thought it would be. He heard horror stories of newborn vampires ravaging people, drinking all the blood that they could, and their makers having to reign them in, spending years guarding them closely. But he didn't have any of that with Nessie. She was even-tempered and showed amazing control around humans.
Edward patted the pockets of his jeans, making sure he had his phone and his wallet as Nessie grabbed her bag from her bedroom and they headed over to Black's.
When they entered the bar, Nessie went straight into the back to put her things away and grab her apron (she'd been over yesterday to go over the basics), whilst Edward headed for the bar.
He glanced around looking for Bella. He knew she was there, he just couldn't see her.
"She's in the back," Jake told him with a knowing smirk on his face. "Just getting some more napkins."
Edward smiled at him. "Thank you for hiring Nessie."
"No problem," Jake said. "We could always do with another waitress, and she's got previous experience." He shrugged his shoulders.
Edward was about to respond and tell him he was still grateful but then he felt the bond between him and Bella tighten, the invisible threads that tied them together tingling as she got closer.
He turned and watched as she walked through the arch that led to the back, her hands full of napkins as she placed them on the side and refilled the dispenser. He was quite content to watch her; the way her hair, which she had pulled back into a ponytail, brushed her back and the way she smiled in greeting as some regulars said a quick hello before they found a table.
She turned, and when she saw him and her eyes lit up, Edward felt the familiar rush of love course through his body. He never thought that someone could, let alone would, love him.
"Hi," she greeted, coming straight over and standing in between his legs, wrapping her arms around his neck as his went to her waist.
"Hello, love." He enjoyed seeing the blush that came to her face when he called her that.
"Is Nessie all set?" Bella asked, her fingers slipping into his hair, creating a pleasurable ripple across his skin.
"Yes, she's just getting ready now," Edward told her. He was pleased with how well Nessie got along with Bella… and Rose for that matter. She'd formed close friendships with both of them in only a short time.
As if she was aware that her name had been mentioned, Nessie emerged, wearing the classic Black's apron.
"Speak of the devil," Edward teased, causing Nessie to stick her tongue out at him.
"Be nice," Bella reprimanded, her brown eyes twinkling. She gave him a gentle kiss and his hands tightened around her.
The clicking of heels interrupted their moment and they heard a dramatic sigh behind them. Edward turned and grimaced when he saw Victoria stood there, dressed clearly to impress with the strap of her handbag over her outstretched arm.
Victoria had made her view of vampires blatantly clear and it wasn't great. Bella gave her a scowl and Edward could only guess what she was thinking.
"Okay, so I just want to make one thing clear," she said, her eyes sliding over Nessie. "If you drink from me, I'll stake you."
Nessie, who was clearly taken aback at these words, blinked rapidly before speaking. "Um, well, I have no intention of drinking from you…" Her eyes darted to Edward's and he gave her a reassuring smile. "So I don't think what will be a problem…" She trailed off, unsure of how to continue.
Thankfully, she hadn't encountered many people who weren't approving of vampires. Victoria was the only one who tended to vocalise her feelings. In the three-plus years since vampires had 'come out', opposition to their existence had slowly but surely declined whilst support for them had increased. There were all kinds of groups and marches demanding that vampires were given the same rights as humans. As it was, as of last week, vampires now had the right to marry a human in every single state in America. Edward had smiled when that was announced.
Victoria gave her a curt nod. "Good. We won't have a problem then." She stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, clearly not expecting that reaction from Nessie before she gave another nod and then walked out of the bar.
Nessie stared after her.
"Don't worry," Jake told her. "You'll get used to her. Eventually."
Bella snorted. "I'm still not used to her and I've been working with her for years."
Jake shook his head and went back to work behind the bar whilst Nessie grabbed a cloth and the cleaning spray and went to tidying up the tables.
As they went about their business, Edward realised that someone was missing from the bar. "Where's Rose?" he asked, her scent weak in the air.
"She stayed home, she wasn't feeling too well."
"Oh. Can I get her anything?"
Bella shook her head and leaned in so her forehead was pressed against his. "It's the anniversary of when her parents… left her."
"Ah," Edward said in understanding. He hadn't been told the full story, just the abridged version, but he could only imagine how she felt.
"She just wanted to be alone," Bella explained. "She doesn't like people to see her vulnerable."
Edward nodded. His fingers drifted under her work shirt and he delighted at the feel of her warm skin under his fingertips. "You're not working tomorrow, are you?"
Bella shook her head and leaned into him more. "Nope. Why?"
"How would you like to go on a date?"
"That sounds wonderful," Bella admitted.
It had been six weeks since all the craziness with Chelsea but their time together had been limited. Edward was working hard to establish his accounting business and as he was a vampire, the only time he could meet his clients was at night and Bella had just been busy with Black's and trying to stop Rose from staking Emmett. The large vampire had taken quite the liking to her and seemed to make it his mission in life to annoy her as much as possible. His plan seemed to be working.
"I was thinking we go could to Bella Italia at seven? I have a client at six, but we should be done by then. I can pick you up."
Bella smiled. "That sounds perfect."
Edward squeezed her waist and because he could no longer fight it, he pressed his lips to hers and sank into the feeling of her arms around him.
Rose licked the last bit of ice cream from the spoon before putting it back into the empty pot. Her timing was perfect as the comedy she had been watching on Netflix has just ended. She wasn't one to normally wallow but she always found this particular day difficult. She knew she had been better off when her parents had left her but that didn't mean that she could pretend it didn't happen. It hurt. The two people who were meant to love her unconditionally couldn't.
When there was a knock at the door, Rose got to her feet, placing the empty carton with the spoon inside on the coffee table before she got to the door and answered it.
Much to her surprise, Emmett was stood on the other side, a charming smile on his face and a bag in his hand. He was wearing his signature outfit; black leather jacket, white t-shirt, dark jeans and boots.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. Desperately, she tried to remember if she had had any more dreams about him but thankfully none came to mind. He'd never let her live the last one down.
"That's not any way to greet a friend is it, Rosie?"
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I wouldn't consider us friends."
He brought his hands up to his massive chest and placed them over his unbeating heart. "You wound me!"
Despite her best efforts, the corners of her mouth pulled up into a smile. "Why are you here?" she asked again, this time much softer than before.
His previously jovial demeanor changed and he looked at her with gentle eyes. "You've had my blood. I can feel how sad you are—I thought you could do with cheering up."
She was going to protest and tell him he was wrong and she was fine. But then he pulled a large bar of chocolate out of the bag and held it up.
Rose had an awful sweet tooth.
"I can't eat it myself," he said, his eyes glinting with mirth.
"You could just leave the chocolate and go," she suggested.
"Nope. It's all or nothing."
Rose huffed. And then she stepped to the side. "Well, you better come in then." He passed by her and winked. "But only because I want the chocolate!"
A few minutes later and they were seated on the couch in the living room, Rose happily munching on the sweet goodness that Emmett had brought her.
He had yet to speak and was instead looking at her.
"So…" he began. "Are you going to tell me what's got you so sad?"
Rose finished the piece of chocolate she was eating before she answered. "Does it matter?"
"Yes," he answered straight away.
"Well, I don't want to talk about it, so pick another subject."
"Alright. I want to talk about us."
"Us?" That simple word baffled her. "There isn't an us."
"Not yet there isn't." He straightened up and Rose swallowed as a wave of lust washed over her.
Emmett felt it too as his eyes darkened. "I want you to make me a promise," he began. "I want you to promise me that when the time comes for us, you won't fight me on it—you won't fight what you're feeling and you won't overthink it. You'll give yourself over to me fully."
Rose stared at Emmett for a minute before she let out a laugh. "What do you mean 'when the time comes?' We won't have a 'time,' Emmett—I don't feel anything for you." The lie made her face flush as he smirked at her. Who knew a smirk could be so attractive?
Emmett let out his own chuckle, and in a nanosecond, he was on the floor in front of her, crouched down on his knees. It was eerily similar to the way he had knelt before her in the dream.
She gasped at his position.
He placed his index finger under her chin and rested his thumb just under her lip. For such a large man, he could be incredibly gentle.
"You're a terrible liar," Emmett whispered, leaning in until his lips were mere millimetres away from hers, his blue eyes staring into hers. "Our time is coming. I can feel it. We're not there yet… you're not there yet. But when it comes, I'm going to give myself over to it fully, embrace it completely and I want you to do the same."
Rose felt incredibly off balance and she sucked in a deep breath, her senses becoming clouded with him. Her hands went to his shoulders and she resisted the urge to moan as hard muscles tensed under her touch.
"Promise me, Rosie, promise me you won't fight it," Emmett whispered, his voice sounding almost desperate.
Rose met his eyes and licked her lips, an action that he didn't miss.
"I promise," she whispered back, her heart beating so rapidly against her chest, she thought it might break her ribs.
Emmett gave her a lazy smile. "Good girl," he breathed.
Rose resisted the urge to moan again; everything about this man was incredibly sexy.
An annoying buzzing sound rang through her ears and at first, Rose wasn't quite sure what the sound was.
And then Emmett cursed and released her, looking angry as he dug around in his pocket before pulling out his phone.
Rose let go of his shoulders and suddenly felt incredibly grateful for the interruption. She pulled back and settled herself against the couch cushions, placing one in her lap and hugging it to her body, using it as a barrier.
She picked up the bar of chocolate Emmett had brought her, broke a piece off and placed it in her mouth.
Emmett spoke quietly on the phone, his eyes darting back to hers before he hung up.
"I have to go," he said. "I don't want to, but Jessica says she needs me back at Incubus."
Rose nodded. "That's fine." Her voice was quiet. "Thank you for bringing me chocolate."
Emmett looked at her for a moment and then he got to his feet, towering over her. "Goodnight, Rose."
"Goodnight, Emmett."
In a second, he was gone, the only evidence that he was ever there, the bar of chocolate that was on the couch next to her.
Rose looked at it and then groaned, pushing the pillow that was in her lap into her face.
I am so thankful to my two wonderful betas: Twi-Girl83 and Edwardsmate4ever.
I hope you all enjoy the next part of this story. Just remember, no matter what happens, I only write HEA.
See you next time.
