12
Carlisle and I stayed at the cabin for almost four hours. Our bodies were wrapped around each other, but we didn't make love again. We simply talked. We talked about his brothers, his parents, how hard it was on him when his mother died, how much it hurt when his ex-wife left, how much he struggled to raise his boys on his own. He opened up a new side to him, left himself vulnerable and was honest about how he felt.
Nobody else saw this side of him, the one that worried constantly whether or not he was a good dad, whether his boys were happy, or if he was going to end up like his own father. From the feeling I got, his relationship with his father was about as volatile as mine with my mother, though he did say his father had never struck him. It was more that he had made it clear that Carlisle's inability to balance medical school and be there for his mother when she was sick made him a failure. I already hated the man and I'd never even met him.
As the sun began to hide behind the mountains, we reluctantly detangled ourselves from each other and re-dressed. The drive from the cabin back into Forks was the complete opposite of what it had been like when Carlisle whisked me away from my mother's funeral. There was a peaceful ease wrapped around us.
I shifted my eyes to him, noticing the smile playing on his lips. "You're handsome."
He laughed and shifted his eyes to mine for a second before looking back at the road. "Thank you, but what made you say that?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. Just admiring your good looks."
He snorted as he drove past the city of Forks sign. "If you say so."
"I do," I said, smiling. "The first time I babysat for you, I was so nervous because Rose had been going on and on about how sexy you were. Though, she might have just been trying to make Emmett jealous."
Carlisle laughed again. "That boy loves her."
"He does," I agreed.
"So you were nervous to meet me, huh?" he asked, looking at me again as he pulled up in front of the house.
"I was," I admitted. "It was right after my father died, and Renee . . ." I blew out a heavy breath. "When you opened the door, my heart leapt in my chest. You were gorgeous, and I was —"
"Beautiful," he murmured. "I hadn't expected you to be so beautiful, Isabella. A million dirty thoughts filled my head. It was the first time since my ex left that I felt attracted to someone." He hesitated for a moment before adding, "That was the first night I masturbated while thinking about you."
"Really?" I asked, and he nodded. "I did that, too. Especially on the nights when I babysat for you."
"Tell me about it," he whispered, his voice low and husky.
"Um," I stammered, feeling my cheeks warm with my blush. "I'd lock myself in my room and strip off my clothes, just leaving my panties on. Then I'd lay on my bed. I'd place my hands on my breasts, and—"
"Call them boobs or tits," he groaned, his hand dropping to his lap.
I smiled when I saw him rubbing the outside of his pants. "I place my hands on my tits," I said, bringing my hands up to my chest. "My nipples get hard, and I can't keep from pinching them between my fingers."
Carlisle moaned, letting his head fall back against the seat.
"I keep one hand on my tits while the other one slides down my stomach, slipping into my panties."
"White," he groaned, fumbling with his buckle as he tried to undo his pants. "You're wearing white panties."
"My fingers slip inside my white, cotton panties," I purr, pulling the skirt on my dress up and rubbing the outside of my panties. "Just thinking about you has me wet. I'm aching for your touch, Dr. Cullen," I groaned, sliding my fingers beneath the elastic band. "I can't stop myself from pushing my fingers into my pussy."
Carlisle freed his cock, pumping his hand up and down, whimpering and whispering, "Keep going, Isabella."
"Your name rushes to the tip of my tongue, but I bite my lip to keep from being heard. I close my eyes, imagining that my fingers are your cock. You're fucking me so hard, lover. So hard!"
"Yeah, I am," he growled. "Because you tease me, right? You make me want you."
"I do," I cooed. "But you make me want you, too. You make me want your cock in my mouth, feeling you throb as your come slides down my throat."
"Oh, fuck, Isabella," he cried out, his hips thrusting toward his hand.
"Yeah, you'd fuck me," I murmured, watching him touch himself. "You grab my arm and pull me to my feet, turning me so that my back is facing you. You bend me over the side of the couch and grab my hips before slamming your cock inside of me causing me to orgasm immediately. But you don't give me a minute to relax. You're fucking me so hard that I can barely breath, making me come over and over. You slide your hand up my back, grabbing my hair and pulling. I scream as my pussy clenches around you once more. You're wide with need. You can feel yourself getting ready to come so you wrap your arm around my waist and pull my body up against yours. Your mouth finds the small crevice along my shoulder and as you come, you sink your teeth into my skin, marking me as yours."
"Oh, fuck, oh yeah, baby," he mumbled, his eyes closed and his hand working furiously on his cock. I could tell he was getting close so I slipped my hands out of my panties and leaned over, letting him push into my mouth. Carlisle's hand grabbed the back of my neck. "I fuck you so hard. You're begging me to keep going, to make you mine. Because you are mine, aren't you, Isabella?"
I hummed around him, and a moment later, his cock twitched and he filled my mouth with his come. I swallowed every drop and licked him clean before I leaned back into my seat. Carlisle was panting, his eyes closed, and a goofy smile on his lips.
"You drive me insane, Isabella," he laughed.
"That's why you love me, right? Because I make you feel so good."
He opened his eyes and lobbed his head in my direction. "It's just one of the many reasons why I love you, but not the only one, and certainly not the most important one."
"Which is?" I asked.
Carlisle turned in his seat and brought his hands up to my face, brushing his thumbs across my cheeks. "Because you're you."
Though it was silly and didn't really make sense, I understood what he meant. He loved me for who I was, not who everyone else thought I should be. He wasn't going to let our age difference or the opinions of others stop us from being together, and for that alone, I was thankful. Carlisle was one of the few people I could count on and I needed him.
"We should go inside," he whispered. "I'm sure my brothers are wondering why we're sitting out here."
I nodded, though I was nervous about being around them. They'd been there when I lashed out and damned a man to hell. What would they think of me now?
Carlisle tucked himself back into his pants before he climbed out of the car and ran around to my side, opened the door, and offered me his hand. I placed mine in his and allowed him to help me out. He closed the car door behind me, but then leaned me against the car, his lips finding mine immediately.
"Don't leave me, Isabella," he whispered against my lips. "I need you too goddamn much."
"I need you more," I whimpered.
"Not possible," he groaned, but before he could say anything else, the front door to the house opened and Michael and Tyler came rushing out. He stepped back just in time for them to wrap themselves around me, each of them laying a hand on my ass. We were going to have to work on that, I thought to myself.
"Bella, we thought you'd left us!" Michael cried, and my heart broke.
Pushing them back enough so that I was could squat down in front of them, I placed a hand on each of their chests. "I am not going to leave you. Not ever. You're my boys, and I love you."
"I love you, too," Tyler whimpered, wrapping his arms around my neck.
I picked him up, holding him on one hip while reaching for Michael's hand. He smiled as he slipped his into mine and the three of us followed Carlisle up to the house. Marcus, Garrett, and Kate were standing on the porch, watching us with smiles on their faces.
"Have they eaten?" I asked, knowing they'd be hungry. They always were, it seemed.
"No, they refused to eat until you got here. Said something about your food being better than anyone else's," Kate said, smiling.
I nodded and led the boys into the kitchen, setting Tyler down on the cabinet next to the fridge. Pulling it open, I sighed. "What sounds good for dinner?"
"Mac and Cheese!" Tyler exclaimed, clapping his hands.
"No, hotdogs!" Michael replied, sliding his arm around my leg.
"How about both?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow as I looked from Tyler to Michael and back. "We can mix our hotdogs in our mac and cheese."
"Yeah!" they cheered, and I laughed. It was the simple things in life.
Half an hour later, the three of us were sitting at the table, enjoying our hotdogs and mac and cheese. We offered some to everyone else, but they laughed and declined, stating that they'd rather order a pizza. So while they munched on their food, the boys and I enjoyed ours. Tyler, of course, sat in my lap, while Michael pulled his chair so close to mine that he might as well have been sitting on top of his brother. However, Carlisle didn't say anything this time. Instead, he just smiled. It wasn't until Marcus offered to take them up to their rooms that I realized the boys had fallen asleep against me.
He carried Michael for me while I carried Tyler. We got them in bed, and I turned on their nightlight, knowing that they'd freak out if they woke up in the middle of the night and their room was dark. Quietly, Marcus and I tiptoed out of their room and I pulled the door so that it was half-way closed.
"They were worried about you, Bella," he said.
"They tend to do that," I murmured, leaning against the wall in the hallway.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No, no, I'm not okay. The last two weeks have been both the best and worst of my life."
"Best? How?" he asked, folding his arms in front of him.
I smiled. "Because of your brother and the boys. They've . . . well, they've loved me, and given me a reason to be happy."
Marcus nodded. "I'm going to be honest, Bella. I'm worried about you and Carlisle being together."
I felt my shoulders tense.
"Please, don't get me wrong," he said, quickly. "I'm happy that my brother has found you, that he's finally admitted how he feels."
"Then why are you worried about us being together?" I asked.
Marcus sighed. "Because you've moved quickly. You're already living together, and he's planning on uprooting the boys and following you to school. I just . . . worry. He's my little brother, and life hasn't always been easy for him. Our dad . . ."
"Is an asshole," I said, causing him to laugh.
"Yeah, asshole is one word I'd use to describe him," Marcus scoffed. "Tell me that you're as committed to Carlisle as he is to you, and I'll never say anything again."
"You don't know me," I said. "I understand that because if you did, if you knew the kind of person that I am, then you wouldn't even have to ask me that. Carlisle is the love of my life. He's . . . everything to me, everything I need and everything I didn't know I wanted. Those boys in there," I whimpered, gesturing to the boys' room, "are mine. Maybe not by blood, but they are mine. I will not abandon them like their birth mother did. Not ever."
Marcus nodded. "Okay."
And without another word, he turned and walked downstairs. Instead of following him, I went into mine and Carlisle's bedroom, closing the door behind me and stripping off my dress. I dug out a pair of sweatpants and one of his T-shirts, needing him to be close. I liked Marcus, but resented the fact that he felt the need to question my feelings for his brother and nephews.
"Hey, you okay?"
I looked over as Carlisle walked into the room, a frown on his face. "No."
Sighing, he sat on the side of the bed, grabbing my hips and pulling me so that I was standing in front of him. "What'd he say?"
"What makes you think he said anything?" I asked.
"Because I know Marcus," he quipped.
I brought my hands to his hair. "He asked me if I was as committed to you as you are to me."
Carlisle grumbled. "Asshole."
"He doesn't know me, lover. He doesn't know that I'm not the kind of girl to just . . . give myself to someone like this."
"I know, but . . ." Carlisle trailed off. "He called me last week, the day of the fire, and said that Garrett had told him all about you, all about how you and I were shacking up together. He was livid because here I was with two little boys, and my wife had abandoned us, and I was fucking the babysitter."
I couldn't help the way my body tensed.
"I told him to shut the fuck up, that you were not just the babysitter. I explained to him that I'd been in love with you for almost two years, that I had fought against my feeling for you because you were so young, but that you were the woman I was meant to spend the rest of my life with."
"You really want to forever with me?" I asked.
He nodded. "Isabella, if I were fifty and you were forty, would you see our age difference as a problem?"
"No," I admitted. "But I don't see it as a problem now, either."
"Me either," he laughed, before sighing. "Marcus worries because I'm the youngest, the wayward son, but he's here because he knows you're important to me. He knows that I love you, that I need you. He knows because he sees the way I look at you, the way my sons look at you."
"I love you," I whispered.
"I love you, too."
Carlisle and I made our way downstairs. Garrett, Kate, and Marcus were sitting in the living room. The television was on, but nobody was watching it. Instead, both Marcus and Kate were looking at Garrett, who had his cell phone up to his ear and was nodding. Shifting his eyes over to me and then to Carlisle, Garrett held his hand up and said, "Hang on one second." Then he dropped his phone to his chest. "I've got Mr. Jenks for the hospital's board of directors. They'd like to meet with us in the morning."
"Why?" Carlisle asked, sitting on one of the arm chairs and pulling me onto his lap. From the corner of my eye, I saw Marcus smile, and hoped that he really was okay with my relationship with his brother.
"They want to discuss the lawsuit. I'm thinking they are going to offer a settlement," Garrett explained. "I think you should meet with them. At least hear them out."
Carlisle nodded and looked up at me. "What do you think?"
"It's not my decision to make," I murmured.
"No, it's our decision to make," he said. "You and I are in this together, Isabella."
"He's right," Marcus added, causing us to look over at him. "You should have a say in what happens from here, Bella."
Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I shifted my attention back down to Carlisle. "Honestly, I'm just ready to be done with that place."
"Me too," he murmured, before turning to Garrett. "Set it up."
Garrett nodded, before lifting the phone up to his ear. "We'll be there at nine a.m."
Nestling myself in Carlisle's embrace, I hoped like hell that it wasn't a mistake.
—TB—
Just before nine the next morning, Garrett, Carlisle, and I were sitting inside a small conference room inside the hospital. The boys hadn't been happy about not being able to come with us, stating more than once that they wanted to be with me. But this wasn't the place for them, so Marcus and Kate had agreed to take them to the movies, hoping that it would distract them.
At exactly nine a.m., the door to the conference room opened and Dr. Gerandy, Jason Jenks, and two other members of the hospital board — John Mallory and David Newton — walked into the room. Dr. Gerandy's eyes locked onto me immediately, and I was surprised to see the black and blue bruising around his eye. I hadn't thought I'd hit so hard.
"Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice," Mr. Jenks said as they settled into their seats. John Mallory and David Newton looked from me to Carlisle, who had his arm resting on the back of my chair and shook their heads, giving each other a look.
"Certainly," Garrett replied, his tone professional.
Mr. Jenks placed his elbows on the table and looked at each of us before sighing. "Well, I'd say it's safe to say that things have gotten grossly out of hand with this entire situation."
"What situation is that?" Garrett asked, leaning back in his chair. "The one where Dr. Gerandy threatened to ruin my client's career if he didn't stop dating a woman he didn't deem worthy?" Dr. Gerandy snorted when Garrett called me a woman, causing him to shift his attention to the old bastard. "Problem, Dr. Gerandy?"
Dr. Gerandy shifted his eyes from Garrett to me and back. "I think woman is a loose term for Isabella, but then again, loose is something that does describe her lately."
"Not another word," Mr. Jenks hissed toward the asshole. With a shake of his head, his attention shifted back to Garrett. "Dr. Gerandy and the board were concerned about how Dr. Cullen's personal relationship with Miss Swan would affect the hospital image."
"And I made it clear that you were not going to tell me who I can fall in love with," Carlisle replied.
Garrett smiled. "This really isn't about who is dating who, but about the fact that Dr. Gerandy violated my client's rights when he had him forcibly removed from hospital grounds while he was at the bedside of Miss Swan, who had just been violently attacked by her mother, effectively putting Miss Swan's recovery in danger." Garrett leaned forward, placing his hand on the table. "Now, I'm not a doctor, but it seems to me that putting Miss Swan's health at risk by purposely taking away the one person she wanted by her bedside could be deemed negligent, especially when I have statements by several members of the staff who will testify that Dr. Cullen was not a threat to Miss Swan, or anyone else."
Mr. Jenks shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Yes, well, the board would like to see this matter . . . go away, sooner rather than later. We're prepared to offer what we deem to be a reasonable settlement." He stood up and passed Garrett a piece of paper. "Well, give you a few minutes to discuss our offer with your client."
Garrett waited until we were alone before he picked up the paper and flipped it over, whistling under her breath. "They're not messing around."
He handed the paper to Carlisle, who shared it with me. "That's a lot of zeros," I murmured.
"Yes, it is," Garrett laughed. "One point two million is more than fair."
Carlisle looked over at me. "What do you think?"
"It's your decision, Carlisle," I said, shaking my head when he went to argue with me. "No, listen to me. This is not about me, or Dr. Gerandy's attitude toward me. This is about how you've been treated. If you feel that is a fair offer, then take it. That kind of money can go a long way in providing for the boys."
"And for you," he added. "Forever, remember?"
"I know," I whispered. "I just . . ."
"You just what?" he asked.
I shifted my eyes to Garrett before I replied. "I don't want you or Marcus or anyone else to think that the only reason I'm with your brother is because of money."
"None of us think that, Bella," Garrett replied, his brow furrowing. "Have we made you feel that way?"
"Well, no," I admitted.
"Then there you go," he said, waving a hand in the air. "You and Carlisle are in this together, so you need to decide whether you want to take this offer or push for more."
"What would you do?" Carlisle asked, looking at his brother.
"Honestly? I would take it. You're not going to get much more, and this way you two can move on and put Forks behind you."
Carlisle nodded and looked over at me. "Okay, we'll take the offer, but on one condition."
"What's that?" his brother asked.
A smirk spread across Carlisle's lips. "I want Dr. Gerandy to apologize. To me and to Isabella."
"Carlisle," I laughed, shaking my head. "That's really not necessary."
"Oh, but it is," he snickered. "He's done nothing but humiliate both of us. Either he apologizes, or we refuse the offer and take it to court."
"All right," I murmured, leaning back in my seat. "You're kind of evil, you know that?"
"I do." He winked at me before turning to Garrett, who was laughing. "Those are our terms."
"Oh, I can't wait to see how this goes down," he chortled, before pushing away from the table and walking over to the door. He opened it and informed Mr. Jenks and the others that we were ready. One by one, they filed into the room, taking their seats. Carlisle reached out and grabbed my hand, causing everyone to look from him to me. "Well, gentlemen," Garrett said, drawing their attention back to him, "After discussing your offer with my clients, they've agreed to accept it on one condition."
"Which is?" Mr. Jenks asked.
Garrett's eyes flickered over to Dr. Gerandy. "They want him to apologize."
"What!" Dr. Gerandy roared, flying to his feet. His sudden movement had me scrambling away from the table. Carlisle was by my side in a heartbeat, and Garrett was standing between us and him. "That little bitch is lucky that I decided not to press charges against her for assaulting me."
"Oh, please do so," Garrett challenged. "Because I'm certain that when the judge proceeding over that case hears how you've repeated degraded her, calling her a bitch at her mother's funeral, the same mother who physically assaulted her and nearly killed her, he's bound to throw out the case. You antagonized a young woman, who was grieving the loss of her mother just two years after her father died in your hospital, Dr. Gerandy. You may not like that Isabella is involved with Dr. Cullen, but it's honestly none of your goddamn business."
"Enough!" Mr. Jenks snarled, turning and looking at Dr. Gerandy. "Apologize."
"I will do no such thing," he argued.
"You will, or you will find yourself out of a job," Mr. Jenks snapped. "You've done more damage to the hospital's image than Dr. Cullen. Now, you either apologize now or you can go clean out your office."
Dr. Gerandy turned and glared at me and Carlisle, who had me nestled against his chest. "I apologize."
"For what?" Garrett pressed, making it clear that he expected more than a couple of meaningless words.
"I apologize for letting my personal feelings cause me to interfere with my better judgment."
"And?" Garrett pushed of more. "You verbally assaulted a young woman at her mother's funeral, Dr. Gerandy."
His jaw tightened. "I'm sorry for what I said yesterday."
Garrett looked over at me and Carlisle, lifting an eyebrow and silently asking if that was good enough. With a nod of our heads, we both agreed that it was. Beggars couldn't be choosers and he wasn't going to suddenly have a change of heart. He was just a bitter old man who probably couldn't even get an erection anymore.
Looking back at Mr. Jenks, Garrett said, "Send me the paperwork."
With that said, Garrett led me and Carlisle out of the conference room, leaving Dr. Gerandy, Mr. Jenks, Mr. Mallory, and Mr. Newton standing there with their mouths wide open.
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