Isabella Swan
[Author's Note: If you were being courted by Rosalie like honestly.. Could you resist? Really? Thank you guys for the reviews. Work is sooo boring and it's really really nice to read something nice when I get home. Have an awesome weekend!]
"If you leave tonight," Leah suggested, "you could sleep half way through and then be totally rested for the party."
"But that means traveling in the dark," Bella reasoned. And not sleeping with Rosalie in her warm comfy watchtower bed..or feeling her practice by drawing on her thigh. She wondered if Rosalie could fit in her one person single tent..
"Either way though really," Leah argued. "You'll start in the dark or end in the dark. And if you left tonight, it would give us more time. You've walked these trails tons of times already."
"Aren't senior rangers supposed to be the more level headed ones?"
"Level headed? Nah." Leah laughed. "I just know what you're capable of, Bells. It's a straight shot along the trail. You'll go to the drop location or farther, pop your cot and then get up and come to the station. I'll get you and we'll go to Jess' and then me, you, Jess and Ang will party."
Bella's birthday was Sunday and in order to celebrate it, her friends had decided to have a sleepover. They were all already twenty-one so they were going to provide the brunette with all the alcohol she could drink and purposely get her wasted. Then she'd have all Sunday to recoup and since she didn't have to be back at the tower until that following evening.. She and Charlie had planned to go to breakfast Monday morning. So honestly, it all sort of worked out perfect. Rosalie's impromptu party fit perfectly into her plans. Rosalie fit perfectly into her plans..
And Leah's plan was kinda flawless. If Bella left at 10 or 11 at night she could sleep around 5 or 6am then wake up and get to the ranger station by late afternoon. Otherwise, if Bella left when she always left, she'd be heading out at 6 and hiking 12 hours straight. She'd want to crash the moment she got to the station. She always did after long hikes like that.
"Okay," she said, folding, "I'll try and leave tonight." Then, chewing on her lip, she thought about the real topic that needed to be discussed. If she wanted Leah to come to her other party she would need to be filled in on the fact that there was one. And if she knew who was throwing it.. The brunette's head swam just thinking about it. Bella was one hundred percent sure about who she was and how she felt, but.. She had never actually come out to anyone. Not even Leah. She took a deep breath.
"Hey Leah?"
"Bells?"
"I gotta tell you about something."
"Cool," came the other ranger's casual reply. "Let me guess- you ran into Bigfoot?"
"No," Bella said. She hadn't met Bigfoot but she had run into a..Cryptid? Did vampires count as cryptids?
"Too bad," Leah replied. "So what's up?"
"I didn't meet BigFoot but I did meet someone."
Leah was quiet for a moment and then the walkie buzzed and she said, "You met someone? In ONP?"
"Yes."
"What'd they do? Come up to your tower and knock on the door and ask to borrow a cup of sugar?"
More like come up to my tower, break down my door and almost kill me, Bella thought. "We ran into each other on the trails," she kind of lied.
"And what? Exchanged walkie signals?"
Kind of. "We talked."
"Right." Leah took some time to digest Bella's words, then she said, "So let me get this straight. You met someone on trails so deep in the park that no one uses them but park rangers and field operatives and you hit it off?"
"Kind of."
"Okay," Leah said then. "I'll bite. Tell me more about them."
Bella took the opportunity and she gave out all the information she was ready to share. "I'm kinda having another party on Sunday," she told her best friend. "And you can meet them then. I don't know the location yet but it's a dresses kinda party and I was wondering if you could tell everyone and also see if Ang could bring me some of her dresses to borrow because I don't want to wear any of the ones I own." Angela and Bella were around the same size, Angela was just less fit as Rosalie had called it.
"Another party," Leah replied, her voice sounding interested. "Going all out this year, Swan? Will there be booze there?"
Bella considered it and thought maybe alcohol would make it easier on her friends to be around the Cullens. Especially Rosalie.. She imagined all the boys from the Rez seeing her for the first time. She decided to mention alcohol to Alice. "Sure," she told Leah. "Will you tell the guys?"
"Yep. Sunday night?"
"Yes. There will be.. Invitations."
"Invitations. Who the hell did you meet in this forest Bells? A prince?"
Bella sucked in a breath. "Uh, you'll see."
She got back to her tower and told Leah goodnight. And then she stepped into the tower, spun the dial on her walkie talkie and switched the channel down to four. Then, suddenly nervous, she hit the button once to connect, as Alice had instructed her.
"Bella."
Bella held the walkie to her chest for a moment as her heart pounded excitedly. Then- "Rosalie."
"Do you miss me?"
"Yes. When will you be back?"
"In an hour and seventeen minutes."
"That's too long."
"I know."
She packed her bags, got her tent cot ready, and then went out to look out at the horizon. She was startled to see a big yellow moon hanging in the sky, realizing that she'd been so preoccupied she'd totally lost track of the lunar cycle. She was gazing up at it, her hands on the railing of her balcony, when cool arms slid around her and she fell back happily into the arms of Rosalie Hale.
"Hello Bella," the vampire purred, "If I wasn't so desperate to touch you, I could look at you in the moonlight forever."
"Shh," Bella said, "I'm just a human. You're the.. The.." Her words trailed off and she tried to hide a shudder as the blonde slid her hand up her stomach, between her breasts, and around her throat.
"And I missed you too," the vampire said, her whisper somehow soothing and unbelievably sexy at the same time. She tilted Bella's head to the side and then pressed her cool lips to the flesh along her throat. "So I've been wondering all day," she said, her lips brushing the brunette's warm skin as she spoke. "Do you still do Yoga and Pilates?"
Bella laughed lightly. "Yes, I do."
"And how limber are you?" Rosalie's tone was playful.
"Do you want to find out?" Bella teased back.
The vampire let her hand slide back down and then, pushing up just the bottom of Bella's shirt, she began to gently pet her abdomen. "Yes." Then, unprompted, she asked, "So how did you intend on getting home this weekend?"
"I wanted to talk to you about that," Bella replied, looking down at her shirt and the vampire's hand. "Once a month, I hike to the ranger station and Leah or Charlie picks me up."
"That ranger station is over thirty miles away," Rosalie said.
"Yes."
"No."
Bella was content to follow the angelic creature's demands. Actually, hearing them had a very direct effect on the park ranger and she was more than willing to follow orders. "You don't want me to go?"
"No. When would you leave?"
"Tonight. At nine or ten. I'd hike half way, sleep, and then go the rest of the way to the station. You could.. You could go with me?"
"Or," Rosalie said and spun the smaller woman in her arms so that she could see her face. "You could stay here with me and then tomorrow.. right before you planned to arrive at the ranger station.. Alice could carry you there."
"Alice.."
The vampire bent in, placed a soft kiss to the human's temple and then whispered "It has to be Alice because I can't go in the sunlight. Not even for a moment."
"But you'd be so beautiful in the sunlight," Bella couldn't help but reply, "I can't even imagine it."
"Don't," the vampire said, her amber eyes darker than they had before, and her eyebrows furrowed. "Don't imagine it."
"Why?"
"Because you can't see me like that." She didn't offer any more explanation, she stepped back and began leading Bella inside. Once they were over the threshold and Bella stood in the middle of the room, Rosalie let go of her and went to the door. She closed it and turned back to face the human.
"Your eyes are so dark," the human stated. "Darker than I've ever seen them."
"That's because I'm hungry," Rosalie replied. Then seeing Bella's hesitant expression she went to her side. "Not for you Little Bell, though you and I both know how delicious you would be." She laughed lightly, her fingers combing through Bella's.
"How often do you..?"
"Hunt?"
"Yes."
"About once a week or so," the vampire responded.
"And when will you..?"
Rosalie reached up and smoothed a strand of Bella's chestnut hair between her fingers. "Tomorrow," she said. "While you're with your friends."
Bella was still so curious. "When you hunt," she asked, "does that.. does that help you stay in control?"
"Yes," the vampire admitted. "But only with you."
"Is it hard for you?" Bella wanted to know. "Being around me and not.. Um.."
"Indulging?"
Bella nodded. "Yes."
Rosalie dipped the beautiful human back, letting the brunette's lovely chestnut hair fall like a curtain behind her back. Then, she put her lips to Bella's throat and very, very softly, she bit. In response, Bella shuddered, a shiver dancing down her spine. She felt the vampire's lips curve into a slight smile. "Resisting the urge to drink your blood," Rosalie whispered sweetly, "is the second hardest thing I've ever done." She brought her back up and they gazed into each other's eyes for a moment.
"What's harder?" Bella wanted to know.
The vampire's eyes sparkled and then one of her eyebrows lifted slightly. "I think you can probably guess," was her quiet answer.
The park ranger's cheeks grew pink. She took Rosalie's hands and they went to the bed and sat, facing one another, only their fingers laced. "So I told Leah about you," the brunette finally revealed.
"About me?" Rosalie smiled smugly. "Really?"
"Sort of. She thinks you're a prince." Bella half chuckled at the ridiculousness of it.
"A prince, hmm?" Rosalie's eyes smoldered and her eyebrows knitted together. When she pretended to be stern, she was so unbelievably sexy. "Did you tell your friend Leah that I was a man?"
"No," Bella replied, "she, uh, assumed."
"I see. And what is your friend going to do when she realizes that I'm not a man?"
Bella considered the question and then answered honestly, "Probably freak out."
"Are you prepared to handle that?" Rosalie asked her.
"Yes," came Bella's immediate answer. "My friends aren't who I'm worried about anyway."
"Your father?"
"And my mother. And my step dad."
"I'm not going to rush you Little Bell," Rosalie practically purred, her tone soothing and patient. She bent in, her intoxicating breath dancing on Bella's lips as she spoke. "You can just tell them that we're really good friends."
Bella sort of half laughed, a bit exasperated at the concept. "Sure," she expressed, "they'll believe that. Until you touch me."
A look of absolute innocence crossed the vampire's breathtaking face. "Don't blame me," she purred seductively, "I can be good. It's you that keeps moaning my name in her sleep."
"I'm sorry," Bella apologized, "I don't mean to do it. You drive me nuts. I can't help it."
The vampire lifted then, crawling towards Bella, "Right," returned in a sexy growl, "you're completely innocent."
The brunette fell back on her arms, her breath catching in her throat. Rosalie straddled her thighs, her eyelashes casting shadows onto her cheeks. One side of her mouth was slightly upturned. She came forward so that the cleavage of her sweater was much more pronounced and her palms were pressed against the wall behind the bed. Bella's eyes flashed down to the vampire's generous bosom and then back to her face. Once again her heart was pounding out of her chest. Her mind was swimming, her body was warm.
"Completely," she replied weakly.
The blonde brought her lips close to Bella's, just not close enough to touch. "Are you having innocent thoughts right now Bella?"
Bella bit her lip without meaning to and then felt her stomach flip when she saw Rosalie's responding look of frustration. "No," she admitted. "Not really."
"I thought so," the vampire replied, alluringly. "Neither am I." She smiled when Bella's eyebrows began to knit. "So, do you want to know what I'm thinking about?" she asked the smaller woman, bringing one hand up then to pet the human's jaw as she spoke. "Do you want me to tell you?"
"Yes," Bella replied, her tone desperate. "Please."
Rosalie's lip twitched and then she said matter-of-fact, her tone just as seductive but suddenly more assured- "I want to help you do yoga."