Chapter 14

Rosalie Hale

[Author's Note: Sorry I'm posting this late today buuuuut, here ya go! Hope you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it. More seductive Rose coming up!]

Rosalie wasn't religious. She didn't feel like any religion she'd ever read about truly justified her existence. That being said, the vampire had actually turned to prayer more than once in the last week. Through desperation, she had made several pleas for strength and understanding. Why had she been led to that clearing? Why had Bella Swan been able to stumble upon her? And most importantly, when Rosalie was around her, why did everything else suddenly not matter?

She wasn't religious but the concept of heaven made sense to her that night. Spooning Bella was, to Rosalie, the most rewarding experience she'd ever had. The way she smelled.. her warmth. The soft sound of Bella's breathing.. it was heaven enough for her. The brunette was on the verge of sleep but she was practically an expert at fighting it.

The vampire's fingers gently caressed her lower arms and she nuzzled softly into Bella's warm chestnut hair. "You can sleep," Rosalie purred quietly, "you're safe."

The human's heart had pounded for the first hour of their embrace, but she'd finally calmed it down. She sounded groggy when she responded, "I don't wanna fall asleep because I don't want you to leave."

"I'm not going to leave," Rosalie assured her. "Not until the sun comes up. And I'll come back as soon as it sets again."

That comment seemed to calm her and her breathing slowed until Rosalie could tell she was asleep. They remained curved into one another for a long time, Bella comfortable in Rosalie's embrace. Hours slipped by and Rosalie's greatest form of bliss came at a quarter to four when Bella turned in her arms and snuggled into her. The human's breath pushed warmly against her throat as she slept and had it been practical, Rosalie would have chosen to never move again.

But the night continued on unhindered and the sunrise was eventually inevitable. Rosalie knew she had to take her leave, that showing Bella her true form, even taking her resilience into consideration was a terrific risk she wasn't ready to make. And so she began to gently pet the human's back to wake her.

"Bella," she purred, "sweet girl.. wake up for me?"

The brunette's eyes fluttered open and when she realized where she was and who was with her, her heart began to pick up pace.

"Nervous again, huh?"

"Rosalie," the quiet human whispered, "good.. good morning."

"Not yet actually," came Rosalie's reply. She smoothed some of Bella's hair and pulled her closer so that the front of their bodies were pressed firmly together and she could feel the heat from the smaller girl's skin pushing through her clothes. "The sun won't rise for another thirty minutes. But I-"

"Do you have to go?" Bella asked, her voice sad and pleading. "Can't you stay? Please?"

"I want to," Rosalie admitted, putting one hand beneath Bella's chin and lifting her face so that she could look into her eyes. The starlight still shining above them and spilling in through the skylights twinkled in the brunette's beautiful eyes.

"Then stay," Bella said. Her pouting lips were so soft and smooth and the tip of her nose was pink from where it had been pressed to the vampire's chest.

Rosalie ached to please her but she knew what she had to do. "I can't be in the sunlight," she reasoned gently. "But I promise to come back as soon as the sun sets."

Bella groaned. "That's so long," she said, "what if while you're gone you decide this is too much and-"

The vampire hushed her with her fingers to her lips. Then she placed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "I won't," she said. "And I'll bring you something good to eat when I come back. How about that?"

The brunette was full on pouting now and though Rosalie found it absolutely adorable, she wanted nothing more than to fix whatever it was that made Bella sad. As time went by, Rosalie was realizing more and more that she had this incredible soft spot for Bella. She sat up, scooped the girl into her arms and held her almost cradled against her. "I'll hold you all night tonight too," she cooed.

"I have to wait until we're in bed for you to hold me?"

Rosalie smiled. "No," she said, "'ll hold you the moment you ask me to." She placed another sweet kiss to Bella's temple and then she said, "But right now I have to leave. And you, Sleepyhead, have to get some more rest."

Bella grumbled in complaint as Rosalie placed her back into the bed and pulled the plaid blanket back up over her shoulders. Then, before the girl could guilt her into staying any longer, Rosalie slipped out of the cabin, locked the door with the spare key she'd also made Alice a copy of, and then she took off into the forest.

The wind felt better against her cheeks than it ever had before. Her body held residual warmth from Bella and as a result, Rosalie felt almost as though sunshine was kissing her skin. It was an unbelievably wonderful feeling and she continued to bathe in the afterglow well through the morning.

Alice met her on the edge of the Cullen's property, practically radiating with excitement.

"Well?" she pressed, her hands clasped together. "Are you official?"

Rosalie huffed . "Alice."

"Well are you?" Her eyes were swimming with interest. "How is Bella? How are you? I know you stayed over last night."

Edward slipped up beside his wife then and said, calmly, "They're taking it slow."

"Oh my god," Rosalie groaned. "Is anything sacred?"

"Absolutely not," Alice replied, grinning brightly. "I'm so happy for you Rose!"

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "You know this is my relationship, don't you?"

"Then it is a relationship?" Alice winked. Then before her sibling could tire of her teasing, she asked, "Could I have your phone?"

The blonde lowered her eyebrows in suspicion. "Why? What do you intend on doing with it?" There was no telling with Alice.

"Oh nothing," the small female vampire said, holding out her hand for it, "just hacking it to make it usable as a walkie talkie."

Rosalie tilted her head, putting two and two together and then she took out her phone and dropped it into Alice's hands. She only used it for business anyway.

Inside the Cullen home, she found Esme surrounded by insane amounts of floral arrangements. She lifted an eyebrow. "Does Carlisle know you have a secret admirer?" She asked her mother.

The vampire matriarch beamed from where she stood behind a collection of white flowers. "They're for a charity benefit," she explained. She brought a golden vase of lilies to her nose and breathed in the scent of the flowers, sighing in appreciation afterward. Then to her daughter she said, "Good morning, by the way."

"Good morning Esme," Rosalie responded, waiting for the barrage of questions that was sure to follow.

"How is LA?" was her mother's first question. "How is your club there? What's it called again?"

"Cabana del Rey," Rosalie provided. "And it's doing very well. Sales are up."

"Lovely." She crossed the room quickly, retrieved a bouquet of yellow roses from a group of them nearby and brought them to Rosalie. "Take these to her when you return?"

"Esme," she warned. "I'm not a teenage boy asking his girlfriend to prom."

"But taking a pretty girl flowers is a lovely and romantic gesture. She'll adore it."

"Are you trying to coach me on how to woo a woman?" Rosalie inquired, her tone amused. "Esme, wouldn't I have more experience in this subject than you?"

The beautiful woman with the bright caramel hair chuckled lightly. "I suppose you are right. But still." She pushed the flowers into her daughter's hands. "Take these to her. I insist." Her eyes sparkled mischievously then and she said, "Or.."

"Or?" Rosalie returned, curious.

"Or you have to tell me every detail about your date," Esme replied, winking.

Rosalie agreed to take the flowers and put them temporarily in some water until that evening. She went upstairs, changed and freshened up, settling on a dress so that, possibly, she'd be able to feel more of Bella's warmth if when they cuddled again.. Then she helped Rosalie make arrangements for the benefit. They discussed Esme's upcoming plans and then Esme began to pester Rosalie about when exactly it would be that she and Carlisle would get to meet Bella. Rosalie agreed to accompany her mother to a committee meeting just to get her to shut up. It went like that nearly the entire day as Esme begged for crumbs and Rosalie booked appointments to make her stop.

Later that afternoon, Edward and Alice joined the two of them in the main house, bringing with them Rosalie's phone. Alice showed her how to use it and explained that until the walkie and the phone could ping off the same tower, they wouldn't work, and to try them out that nigh. Then, the spritely vampire explained that there was a true crime documentary premiering that evening that was about an unidentified serial killer in 1940s New York. Edward knew who the actual murder was and was absolutely positive that not only was a vampire, he'd also been one of Edward's victims. The four of them watched it as a family and then afterward Rosalie left to get dinner for Bella.

There was a little diner in town called The Carver Cafe and Bella had mentioned it to Rosalie more than once as it being her and her dad's favorite. She knew generally what Bella's favorite foods were too so she went in with a pretty good idea of what she was going to get. It was in waiting for it though that she realized she wasn't the only vampire in the cafe.

Carlisle sat in the back corner with a middle aged man in a cop uniform. Rosalie immediately assumed it was his new best friend, the Fork's chief of police. They were sharing stories and laughing over cups of coffee, Carlisle's of course untouched, when her father looked up and waved her over.

"Chief," the beautiful short haired blonde vampire smiled brightly at his friend. "Let me take a moment to introduce my lovely daughter to you. Rosalie, this is the Chief of Police. He's the gentleman that your mother and I always talk so fondly about. Chief Swan, this is my eldest daughter, Rosalie."

"It's really nice to meet you," the police officer said, nodding his head politely. He was a handsome guy with a thick mustache and brown eyes. What was strange was that while he did look a bit surprised seeing Rosalie, he didn't act as blindly awestruck as people usually did. Instead of taking several minutes to remember how to speak, he cleared his throat and then said, "Carlisle says you're about the same age as my daughter."

"Oh?" Rosalie replied, suddenly interested in this strangely resilient man. "Do you have a daughter?"

"I do," he said, nodding. "Her name is Bella."

Rosalie's eyes immediately widened and she looked to her father for clarification. He gave her an amused smile, his eyes twinkling knowingly. "Charlie here was just asking me what I thought would be a good gift for a girl on her twenty-first birthday? Maybe you could give us some ideas, Rose?"

The blonde vampire licked her lips and pushed her hands into the jacket she wore over her fashionable navy dress. "That depends on her personality," she offered. And then, "When is Bella's birthday?"

"This Sunday," Carlisle said, his tone reflecting his overwhelmedness. "I haven't even begun to shop. I'm terrible at stuff like this."

"Kitty," Carlisle said, using his own personal nickname for his daughter, "Could this Bella possibly be the same one you ran into last week when you were camping?" Rosalie could tell just by his expression that he found the situation quite interesting and maybe even amusing. "What was your Bella's last name?"

Rosalie glared at him. "Swan."

"You met Bells?" Charlie gulped some coffee and said, "Well that's great. How is she doing? Does she look like she's doing okay? Does she seem lonely?" He took off his hat and rubbed his head full of messy dark brown hair. "I worry about that kid."

"I think she's doing fine," Rosalie replied, feeling a sudden tenderness for Bella's father when she saw the anxiety in his eyes. "And I don't think she's lonely. She told me, uh, that she writes letters to her friends. So." She waited for a second and upon realizing Charlie was still waiting for her to say something she added, "And I think Bella likes books."

Chief Swan nodded. "Now I just gotta get her something she hasn't already read." He laughed awkwardly and it was easy to see the familial resemblance. He was handsome, resilient and bumbling in this cute single dad way. He patted Carlisle on the back with gusto after that and said, "Well I'm glad to meet you. Your dad here is a great guy. Best doctor Fork's has ever had. We're all real pleased he chose to come here. And your mom too. Wonderful lady. Really giving. The station loved all the cookies she brought last week."

"She loves to bake," Carlisle said, shrugging happily.

When Bella's order number was called, Rosalie excused herself and got the food to go, promising herself that she'd find out all her father had to know the next time she saw him. She placed the Styrofoam containers in an insulated bag she'd borrowed from Esme, sat that with the roses in the passenger's seat and then zipped the Bugatti out of town. Edward had suggested that she get something a little less conspicuous when they moved to Washington, but Rosalie enjoyed driving a car that got as many looks as she did. She raced it down the highway to the Olympic National Park gates and eased it into the lot just as the sun had almost entirely disappeared behind the horizon.

She was eager to see Bella again, eager to hold her, eager to smell her skin, eager to breathe her in. But she wasn't about to let the human get away with hiding her birthday..

—-