Here's the first in a series of outtakes from my story 'The Courtyard'. This probably won't make sense if you aren't reading that :).
The outtakes are going to be moments taken from during the story (or after it) that slow down the pace or were unnecessary. This first scene was from the chapter 'Shadows', right at the beginning of it, but my beta told me to cut it. She was right; it didn't add anything. However, I kept what I cut and now I'm posting it.
Most of the other outtakes will follow after I've finished the main story. However, I wanted to post this because I have no idea when I'll have chance to work on the next chapter and I wanted to give you all something to tide you over to say thanks for reading.
The Meadow
It was the middle of May, and while it was hard to tell the difference between the seasons sometimes in Forks, the threat of snow had permanently passed until autumn and the air was warmer. On the days when the sun came out in full force, you only needed to wear one or two layers instead of three or four.
Of course, sunlight forced Edward and Alice out of school, which was why I'd spent the last two days alone at school. The evenings hasn't been so bad, with Edward sneaking in through my window, and I stuck to Angela like a limpet during the day, staying away from whatever gossip Jessica and Lauren were cooking up to account for the Cullens' absence.
Now it was a bright, sunshine-y Saturday morning and I was spending the entire day with Edward. All was right with the world. The only small glitch was I that was looking for my favorite shirt – the one I'd worn when I'd reunited with Edward in Volterra – and I had no idea where it was. I'd presumed it was still in the laundry somewhere but I'd checked the washing machine, dryer, both hampers, my wardrobe, all my drawers, and finally dragged the suitcase out from under my bed to check I hadn't missed it when I was unpacking. Alice swore it wasn't at the Cullens' house – I hadn't worn it since Volterra anyway – and I thought it would turn up, but it just didn't seem to be anywhere.
It was a shame, because I wanted to see Edward's reaction to a reminder of that day. I grabbed another t-shirt instead, but the wheels kept turning in my head as I waited for him to arrive, wondering where it could be.
It was also the first weekend in months where I wouldn't be working at least one day at Newton's. I'd given the job up because I didn't really need the college money anymore, and it allowed me to spend more time with Edward. I'd handed over what I'd already saved to Alice to contribute towards the wedding. Edward had rankled at that but I explained that it was my money and I could do what I wanted with it. Then I appeased him with more 'practice', which I think was his favorite thing in the world.
I was expecting him to materialize in my room as he was so fond of doing, but instead the doorbell rang. I didn't run down the stairs to get the door as that was inviting calamity, but he waited patiently for me to unlock and open it.
He stood on the porch with all but his face and hands covered – his hair under the hood of his jacket – just in case the neighbors caught a glimpse of him in the sunlight. I knew he liked me in blue, but the rich indigo of his jacket did wonderful things for his skin tone and made his eyes that little bit more jewel-brilliant in contrast. For a moment, I was just as stunned by his beauty as I had been the first time I met him, my heartbeat stuttering then galloping.
"Good morning, love," he said and raised his arm to show the wicker basket dangling from his wrist. "Care to join me for a picnic in the meadow today?" He reached for me with his free arm and I snuggled into his side, burying my nose into this throat and inhaling his delicious scent.
"I thought we were going to the cottage."
"We can later, if you like. I think we should take advantage of the sun while we have it though. Plus, this basket is full of food from the best Italian delicatessen in Washington."
"Ooh, you've convinced me. You know Alice is going to have a screaming fit if I can't fit into the dress when it arrives though."
"Some parts of you have been filling out a little more, but I can't say I'm disappointed."
I tried to lift the lid to peek inside the basket but Edward jerked the basket away. I stuck my tongue out at him and then returned to that nook between his shoulder and neck, sucking at the skin there. He pulled me closer still and I could feel the reverberations of his almost imperceptible purring rumbling through me.
"How are we travelling?" I asked.
"I was thinking by hovercraft," he answered in complete seriousness.
I pulled back to stare at him and almost missed the glint of humor in his eyes. "Has anyone ever told you that you suck at being funny?"
"Actually, they have. Many times, in fact. I think my talents definitely lie elsewhere." His thumb grazed over the outside of my breast.
"They may have been right," I conceded. "Seriously, how are we getting there?"
"You get to ride me." His grin was nothing short of salacious, and I gave my best scoff-and-eye-roll combination as I climbed onto his back.
I still hated travelling this way. Even the fact that my body was pressed deliciously up against Edward's couldn't distract me from my stomach's protests, although I found that keeping my eyes closed and taking deep lungfuls of Edward's scent helped.
He laid out a blanket on the grass before I climbed down, letting my knees fold underneath me like the Jell-o they were apparently made of. I didn't want the food just then, until my stomach settled, and it was enough just to lie side by side with him and stare at the blue expanse above us. The wild flowers seemed to be enjoying the sun as well, and they bloomed in vivid patches of violet and ruby around us.
It was the first time we'd been to the meadow since before Edward had left and I'd been anxious that maybe my encounter with Laurent would have tainted it. I needn't have worried though – with Edward here, and the meadow in full bloom again, it felt like it always had.
I could only eat a tenth of what Esme had crammed into the basket, but it was delicious. There were mini pizzas, wonderful even when cold, cold meats and cheeses to be piled on crusty bread, individual pots of ravioli and Bolognese and carbonara, olives and salads and other nibbles. I didn't have room to get started on the sweet stuff.
"I think," I said, interrupting the silence after we'd settled back to gaze at the sky again, "that this meadow is my favorite place in the whole world."
He rolled onto his side to look down at me, the sun refracting from his skin in dozens of dancing pinpints of light. "Is that so?"
"Mmm-hmm." I curled our fingers together and he took the opportunity, as ever, to kiss my ring finger and the inside of my wrist.
"Better than the cottage?"
"Yes."
"Better than Florence?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"This is us. We're always completely alone here, and you can show yourself in the sun without worrying. It's where you first showed me what you really are and what you're capable of. It's where you told me what I meant to you. It's our place."
"True. He brushed a stray lock of hair away from my face and rested his hand against my throat. "I think that was the happiest day of my life. At the time, of course."
"At the time?"
"Now the happiest day of my life was the one where I found out you were alive when I thought you were dead, you still loved me after what I'd put you through and you were willing to take me back. It was the day we made love for the first time – and the second and third times – and you agreed to become my wife."
"Technically, I didn't agree to anything. You and Alice made assumptions."
He smiled lazily. "It was easier than waiting for you to make up your mind."
"You're lucky I'm too full to get angry right now."
"Besides, it's too late for you to back out now." He kissed just above the ring again.
"Psssh, have you never seen 'The Runaway Bride'?"
"You know the second you contemplated it, Alice would be planning countermeasures."
"Probably," I agreed. "Good job I'm not contemplating it, then."
We spent a long time making out after that. This had always passed us by before: Edward had either been overly-cautious and broken off our kisses before they could get too heated, or after Italy we'd been anxious to move on to other things. Today, we both seemed content to relax into it, reveling in the sunlight on our faces and the taste of each other.
"You know, I remember something very interesting from our favorite day," I said when we'd relaxed back onto the blanket. I was curled up on his chest, my pulse just slowing down from frantic.
"What would that be?" He was very interested in watching my diamonds sparkle in the sun. I didn't want to tell him that it was prettier when he did it; I didn't think he'd take it well.
"You sparkled. Everywhere."
An instant later, he was unclothed, kneeling on the edge of the blanket.
"Do I?"
I nodded mutely, wanting to reach out and wrap my hand around him. For some reason I was locked in place, leaning back on my elbows and awestruck by the sight before me. He'd never looked more otherworldly or untouchable than he did right now.
"One day," he continued, "you're going to sparkle everywhere too. I'll take great delight in discovering every inch of you when you do."
Then I was reaching for him, and he fell on top of me, resting between my hips to grind into me.
"I think I'm wearing too many clothes," I whimpered, and he helped me out of them, covering me again when it was done.
His hands were all over me even as our mouths stayed latched to each other, and mine stayed fisted in his hair. One second they were cupping my breasts, thumbs stroking, then they were down my ribs and ghosting over my thighs, delicious gooseflesh trailing in their wake. While the sun was decidedly less warm than in Italy, with my eyes closed I could imagine we were back in that courtyard – the contrast of warmth and cold on my skin delighting my nerves. I whimpered when he pulled back and crouched between my legs, lifting one and bending it at the knee so he could place a tender kiss on the arch of my foot. The fingers of his other hand trailed up the inside of my other thigh, making me squirm at the ticklish sensation.
"Bella, I want to try something."
"Anything," I gasped, trying to twist my body so his fingers would be where I wanted them to be.
"You have to promise to be very still," he murmured, trailing kisses from my ankle, up my calf, his tongue flicking out to lick at the back of my knee. I squealed and writhed. "Can you do that?"
"Um…probably?" We'd found I wasn't very good at keeping still whenever Edward was touching me.
"Just try for me. No sudden movements – for your safety. Please." He leaned over me for a moment, gaining eye contact, and the seriousness in his gaze made me give him a solemn nod. He bent to kiss at my stomach, just below my navel and then spread my thighs further apart. Only when he lay down and rested his head on my thigh, his cool breath flowing across the apex of my legs, did I realize what he about to do. Suddenly every nerve in my body was screaming.
"I thought you couldn't…?" I gasped.
"Apparently, if your skin isn't broken, and it doesn't come in contact with my teeth, you'll be fine."
"Oh God!" He hadn't waited for me to process that, and his cold tongue had just firmly lapped at that spot. My hips bucked, my back arching off the blanket, before I could stop myself.
"Bella!" He pulled back to admonish me.
I could only whimper in response, gathering fistfuls of the blanket. He nuzzled against me and blew another cold stream of air, making goose bumps break out all over my body, and his tongue nudged me again.
Very, very tentatively, it slid over me, circling and then just the tip traced down softly – as soft as Edward could be – teasing at my entrance, then grazing back up to lap at my spot. He made more slow circles increasing the pressure fraction by fraction – only Edward would have this much control over his tongue – and then drawing me between his lips in one swift movement to suck, lips covering his teeth. I shrieked and gripped the blanket hard enough to tear the fabric, forcing my hips to stay still. My whole world had narrowed down to the tiny bundle of nerves between my legs.
He released me and continued that teasing path with his tongue, flicking just inside me and then back up, countless times while I begged between gasping breaths for more. Finally he took me back into his mouth, his tongue flicking over and over until I shattered into a thousand facets of light.
When I'd been reassembled, he was lying over me again, his weight on his elbows, and he wore the proudest smile I'd ever seen on anybody.
"Was the experiment a success?" I asked weakly, still trying to gather my senses from where they'd been flung out into the azure sky.
"Hmm." He nuzzled below my ear. "I think we may have to run more trials, just to be absolutely sure."
"I think that would be a good idea," I agreed drily, and then we were laughing, rolling together on the blanket and off, giddy with joy.
Ah, pure fluff.