Author's Note:
I don't own these characters, Stephenie Meyer owns all these guys.
Sorry it has taken me a bit to update these last few chapters, I am still amped about this story, flu and cold season has just really hit my household hard. I want to thank MadMooey18 for working as my Beta and my husband for his continued efforts editing and brainstorming this story with me every night after our daughter goes to bed.
Chapter 14: Cool Down
"Did you see the guy's face?!" Emmett's voice boomed through the RV. "When he came to and I was rescuing a fucking stuffed animal. Priceless."
"Jasper saved a goldfish, complete with the tank," I added. "It was very heroic." Alice danced over to him and kissed his cheek.
"Well, it's not like I could rescue the fish without the tank," he laughed.
Edward snorted. "Okay, that was fun, but maybe next time we need to do something a bit more challenging?"
We all nodded our agreement. It was rewarding to save the small family and we wouldn't hesitate to step in again if someone needed us, but with all of our training and skills, it would get boring fast.
Pale light shimmered over the mountains as we passed the sign welcoming us to Forks. It had taken us all night to get back home, and school would start in a few hours. I hoped that we could sneak past our parents. Otherwise we would be grounded, or would at least have some explaining to do.
The gravel crunched under the tires as Emmett turned the RV off the main road and up the driveway that led to their house, our house. I was still getting used to the idea.
As quietly as we could, we snuck around to the back door and crept inside. We had come up with a plan, if the parents spotted us, we would claim that we had joined Edward for a run. It was a pretty shitty lie though, Rosalie was still dressed as Catwoman. Better if we avoided them altogether. Next time we would bring a change of clothes.
The door creaked and Edward winced before poking his head in. It was early, but he often drank coffee with either Esme or Carlise in the morning. He turned back to us after looking in, signaling that we were all clear and we padded up the stairs.
Safe.
I started the shower and stepped under the spray. I had set the temperature as hot as I could stand it, trying to make up for the night I'd missed absorbing energy from my electric blanket. The heat penetrated my skin, warming me to the bones and slowly working out the tension in my muscles.
A wide grin pulled up my cheeks. While the circumstances were a little different, this was a typical teenage experience, sneaking in after a night out with your boyfriend. Of course most teenagers would have been sneaking in after a night of torrid sex. If I wanted to do that, all I had to do was walk up the stairs to his room. I started to pant at the thought, he was probably taking a shower right now too. Just up the stairs…
I cranked the faucet lever over to the coldest setting, letting my teeth chatter and putting out the fire that had ignited in my belly.
My hair dripping wet in icy rivulets down my back, I quickly dried and dressed in leggings and a soft cream colored sweater. I blow dried my hair and straightened it out so that it laid nicely, framing my face. It had grown a bit since I had cut it, now falling almost an inch past my chin. I wondered for a moment if I should have Charlie change it to a French bob and add bangs. I shrugged at my reflection and made my way downstairs. Bangs were often a mistake.
When I entered the kitchen I let out an exaggerated yawn, trying to sell the idea that I'd just woken up. Rosalie scoffed from her place at the island. Jasper was working at the counter making coffee while Alice smeared peanut butter on her toast.
"Don't bother, they aren't here," Rose said around a bite of Grapenuts.
"Really, it's like six? Where would they have gone so early?" I asked. Charlie was not a morning person.
"No idea," she answered, "but they weren't here when we got home. I guess we're in the clear."
What luck?
I hoped that they hadn't seen that we weren't in our beds before they left this morning. I shrugged and grabbed a mug, setting it down next to Jasper, a silent request. He nodded and filled it up.
Emmett came in from the garage, "I returned the RV," he said before dropping a kiss on Rose's head. That was good, there would have been questions about why we had moved the RV from the old house.
We sat for a few minutes, eating, drinking our coffee and dreading the day at school. I was exhausted but still amped up from our night. I couldn't imagine sitting through the day in classes. At least we had moved on in my English class, I actually liked discussing Orwell.
As I lingered on the idea that love was the greatest rebellion against tyranny, Edward sauntered down the stairs, wet hair and dressed in black jeans and a v-neck T-shirt. Maybe he and I could stage our own resistance against the Agency.
"That was a pretty long shower there, Edward," Jasper drawled with a chuckle.
Red stained his cheeks and he looked down at his shoes, shoving his hands into his pockets. The image of his elegant hand fisted around his hard cock as water streamed down his chest flashed through my mind, and I felt heat flood my own cheeks as my breathing picked up.
"Okay, I change my bet," Rose said, smiling into her cup of coffee. "I say that the dreams are about voyeurism. This girl likes to watch."
My eyes went wide and met with Edward's.
Was I that obvious?
Edward smirked.
He can't read my mind, he can't read my mind.
Jasper let out a guffaw. "No, it's way dirtier than that. You should have felt their dismay when they realized that the other knew."
"My bet is something freaky like tentacle sex," Emmett said. "Though, that's not too far from the truth," he added, waggling his eyebrows at me.
Suddenly I had a realization. We were aliens! What if it was a tentacle? My anatomy wasn't that different from a human's, but who knew what these boys had in their pants?
My eyes widened, and I whipped my head in Edward's direction. Sheer panic shot through me. I remembered a story that I had read once where the girl was taken from Earth to become the mate of an alien king who purred like a cat and had a tail. His dick had a spear tip and rippled inside her like peristalsis!
"God dammit Emmett," Edward snarled. I noted that he didn't deny what his brother had said.
"It's normal right?" I practically begged.
"It's not a tentacle," he supplied. The red started at his collar and painted its way all the way up to his hairline.
Fuck, he didn't say it was normal.
I whimpered and he rushed to me. Cupping my cheeks in his palms.
"Don't worry about it, you never need to worry about it. You don't have to have any interaction with it at all," he cooed, looking over my shoulder to glare at Emmett. I whimpered again at the idea of never seeing it. I was suddenly aware that his siblings were all watching our exchange. God, this family was way too open with each other.
Alice came by and patted me on the shoulder, "It's awesome! At least, Jasper's is," she said, winking at her mate.
"Here, here," Rose shouted, holding up her mug of coffee like a beer stein.
"Not a tentacle?" I asked, meeting Edward's eyes. He shook his head, pushing a lock of my hair behind my ear.
"Does it have a spear point at the tip," I asked in a weak voice. He pursed his lips and shook his head.
Alice laughed, "I read that one. I thought the undulating penis thing was pretty hot myself," then she shuddered, "though giving birth to babies in weird egg sacs was very upsetting."
I nodded my agreement.
"There are some minor differences that you will no doubt enjoy," Rose said. "We'll leave the rest for Edward to…demonstrate."
Somehow his blush grew deeper but I let out a sigh of relief.
Edward drove me to school in the Volvo while the rest of his siblings rode in Emmett's Jeep. I was happy for the reprieve from them trying to guess what Edward and I had been dreaming about. Best not to think about it too much.
I glanced over at him while he was driving, the muscles in his forearms clenching as he held the wheel in his elegant fingers. I wondered when he would 'demonstrate'. I licked my lips, pulling the bottom one between my teeth. He turned and his eyes fell onto my mouth. The air left the cab of the car. Barely looking at the road, he smoothly pulled into a parking spot. As soon as he had the car in park I pounced, springing myself out of my seat to lean across the center console. He caught me, twisting his fingers into the hair at the nape of my neck and crashing his lips into mine. The now familiar electricity I felt when he touched me seemed to amplify as our lips moved together. I breathed in his sweet breath as he panted into my mouth and touched his tongue with my own. He moaned and sucked my lower lip into his mouth, holding it between his teeth. The world seemed to blur and melt away around us. I couldn't think of anything but getting closer to him. The damn console was jamming into my side so I crawled over it. A thrill shot through me as his wide hand gripped my ass, guiding me so that I had one leg on either side of him. Hard pressure twitched under me and without thinking I ground down on it desperate to get closer. He growled and his hands slid up to my hips and pushed me to repeat the movement. A mixture between a whimper and a sob tore out of my throat, it was such sweet torture. I needed him, I needed more. I let my hands move down the flat planes of his stomach to pull the hem of his shirt up.
Tap, tap, tap.
I growled at the sudden intrusion of the outside world and looked out the window with a glower. Jasper was standing with his back towards us outside of Edward's door. I looked around and saw that each of his siblings had taken a place in front of the car, blocking the windows with their bodies and facing away from us to make sure that no one could see what we were doing.
His siblings are protecting him.
No. Our siblings are protecting us.
Edward was leaning forward and placing kisses on my neck, working his way up and nipping at my earlobe. I couldn't think so I leaned into his touch, letting his hair wrap around my fingers.
Tap, tap, tap.
Alice rapped her knuckles on the passenger side window. My eyes went wide.
"We're in the high school parking lot!" I said in a half whisper, half shout. I heard Emmett's laughter from outside the car.
Edward froze, his eyes going from hooded with lust to wide with panic. I pushed off of his lap, landing back into my seat to see Jessica Stanley twisting to see past Rosalie. I cursed this mating bond, clouding our judgment. I also cursed our inability to produce body heat. We should have been able to fog the windows of this car, granting us the privacy all teenagers deserved.
Edward let out a long sigh. He reached into the back seat, grabbing a coat and slipping it on over his T-shirt. He pushed on a pair of Wayfarers and popped the collar of his jacket, exuding more confidence than I knew he felt. He looked over at me, "The longer we sit here, the worse it will be," he said with a grimace. "We pretend that there's nothing to see?"
I nodded and he opened his car door. Jasper and the rest of the family took a step away, pretending that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Edward walked around to open my door and I took his extended hand. Like he had done several times through the weekend, he tucked me under his arm. I took a breath, trying to find strength in his scent.
"Everyone's staring," I whispered, noticing that his hair was even more wild than usual. It screamed sex.
"No, not that guy," he said with a smile. "Oh, no, he just looked."
I laughed and Edward's smile grew. I shook my head, there were worse things than being spotted making out with a Greek god in the high school parking lot.
The morning was…trying. It turned out I hadn't been the only girl to notice that Edward Cullen was the most magnificent creature to walk the face of the Earth. Now that it was clear he was interested in dating, they viewed me as their competition. Girls glared at me, that wasn't a big deal. The real issue was the girls that I'd never spoken to coming up to ask me questions. Some asked what I had done to get his attention. I think they were seeking advice! To steal my boyfriend! Some didn't ask questions, they just said things like "guess he isn't gay, huh?" I heard that chestnut fourteen times before third period.
"If I had known girls could get his attention just by spreading their legs, I would have jumped on that ages ago," Jessica sneered from behind me as I put my books in my locker.
I felt my fist clench at my side and a strong desire to exert my dominance overcame me. I spun around but Alice jumped in front of me just before I could smash Jessica's face. My eyes widened, I wasn't going to hold back. Alice grabbed my wrist and spun me around dragging me down the hall and into the cafeteria.
"I was going to literally kill her," I whispered incredulously.
"No, I just saw her in the hospital. It would help if I could see what you were going to do and not just piece it together based on Jessica's future but once I heard what she said to you, it was pretty easy to put it together."
I laughed and let my shield expand to fit Alice inside. She gasped, her eyes glazing over as she watched my future unfold before her. "Anything interesting?" I asked.
"Lot's of babies," she said. My mouth fell open with a pop. "I'm fucking with you. I just saw a bunch of making out and an awesome plan for a Father's Day gift," she said as we grabbed our trays and filled them with salad, "Charlie's going to love it by the way."
I nodded, this was not new information. I knew what my dad would like and the making out was a given. Everyone was already seated at our table. I sat down next to Edward and rested my head against his shoulder. He leaned over and kissed my hair with a sigh. I looked up at him and swept my thumb across the dark spot beneath his eye.
"We need to get you into bed early tonight," I said. He snickered and I swatted him on the arm.
"You're right though," he said through a giggle. He was as bad as I was. I shook my head in mock disapproval. "It's been a rough day," he said, sighing again.
"She almost hospitalized Jessica," Alice said. I grimaced but nodded. "Good thing I stopped her."
"Hah, I had to stop Edward from ripping Newton's head off," Jasper said. "We make a great team," he said to Alice, they high fived over the table.
I rolled my eyes, but appreciated their efforts. "Why'd you try to kill Newton?" I asked Edward, leaning in close. Everyone would still be able to hear me, but I just wanted to feel his proximity.
"He said something vile," he scowled at the memory, "Why'd you try to kill Jessica?"
"Same."
"Don't worry," Rose said, "Pretty soon the novelty will wear off and you guys will just be a boring old married couple."
I smiled at the thought, Edward was practically floating. I pinched him just enough to get him to calm down.
"Hey guys," Angela said, approaching the table, "Um, Bella…well…I miss having another nerdy girl to talk to and now that you and Edward are…dating?" I nodded that she had assessed the situation more or less correctly. "Well, I just…can we sit with you?" she asked, tilting her head behind her to Eric and Ben who were watching from our old table with anxious faces. My heart lurched. They were so nice to me in those first few weeks. I didn't want to be the kind of girl who ditched her friends for some guy, even if that guy was my…fated partner? I still hated the word mate. I looked around to silently ask the Cullens' permission. They all nodded, changing seats to make room for our guests.
"Awesome," Angela squealed, pulling out a chair next to Alice.
"So, you seem like a girl that likes to read," Alice started. "Do you want to be in me and Bella's book club?" I giggled. Angela nodded. "Good, the first one will be A Court of Thorns and Roses. I need someone to talk to about how hot Azriel is." I snorted and rolled my eyes.
"She's upset that I'm into Rhysand," I said. "Sorry, you don't know what we're talking about."
"Hmmm, I prefer Crescent City and Bella, you seem more like a Ruhn kinda girl."
Alice rolled her eyes, "Same thing, practically."
"No, Rhys is way more elegant, Ruhn is a bit edgy for me. Although, the tattoos…" I bit my lower lip imagining Edward with a few tattoos.
Alice winked at her brother, he snorted.
"Is this the book series you want me to read?" he asked, his breath ghosting across my ear and going straight to my panties. Jasper shot me a significant look.
"We need to change the subject," I concluded. "So, what have you been up to Angela?"
"Oh, you know, still working on the school paper," she said. "I actually just wrote a really interesting story about a gang in Port Angeles."
"What?" Jasper asked, "A real gang? In that tiny town?"
"Yeah, I found it hard to believe, but five men were attacked for no reason and left for dead in an alleyway in the industrial district. One man, Orlando Calderas Wallace, has been in the hospital since the attack."
My eyes went wide and I shot a glance at Edward. His shocked expression matched mine.
"The family is demanding justice for the random act of violence against their son but there haven't been any suspects found that match the descriptions given," Angela continued.
"What…um…what did they look like," Edward asked, his voice weak. The rest of the family leaned in, realizing our connection to the case.
"The men that were less seriously injured described a huge biker gang, like forty men. They said that they just rode up and started beating the crap out of them for no reason."
I let out a sigh of relief, of course the men would lie. They were attacking that woman and wouldn't want anyone to know about their crime or the fact that they were beaten so badly by two teenagers. I felt Edward relax beside me.
"The police said that it must have just been a biker gang passing through and have closed the case," Angela said, leaning in close, "I think that there's more to the story. There haven't been any reports in the neighboring cities of attacks like this. Why would a biker gang just randomly show up in Port Angeles and senselessly beat up five random guys?" She looked around like someone might hear her, "I think they're lying."
Hah, maybe Angela has a future in journalism
I nodded conspiratorially. I knew that if I denied her suspicions it would draw undue attention to me and my family. She would remember because it would hurt her feelings. "Maybe, I guess we'll never know."
"Yeah," she sighed. "Kinda difficult to do hard hitting journalism from Forks High School but I'll keep digging if I can," she shrugged. "Interesting though."
I nodded, shooting her a sympathetic smile. I let the conversation drop. There was no way this girl was going to get anywhere near the truth, especially if the Port Angeles Police Department had closed the case. I listened as she went on to talk about her new story about Speedo padding on the swim team.
The rest of the day passed slowly. The same inane questions were hurled at me in every direction. I wanted to scream at every girl in the hallway that Edward belonged to me. I wanted to bite him and leave a mark so that they could all see.
When did I get so possessive?
I was somewhat relieved to hear that Edward was facing the same torment. We would not be alone in our frustrations.
Maybe he would bite me.
I heard movement in the kitchen as we passed through the front door of our home. I shook my head, trying to dislodge the fantasy that had taken hold of Edward dressed as a Victorian vampire ravishing me on a velvet couch.
"Today we train," Charlie called out as we entered the kitchen. He was filling water balloons with ice water that he had dyed every color of the rainbow. "Hope you like that sweater, it will be pretty once it's tie dyed," he chuckled. I growled in response.
Charlie looked up at me with a cocked eyebrow. "Did you just growl at me like a wild animal?"
I nodded and looked at my shoes. "Sorry, it's been a rough day."
Edward nodded beside me. Charlie simply chuckled to himself and made his way out back. I sighed and said goodbye to my beautiful cream colored cashmere sweater. The rest of the family followed us, eager to be trained by Charlie.
"Okay, we know that Bella can kick Edward's ass," Charlie called as he headed out of the back door and into the large clearing behind the house. "Now, let's see why."
Author's Notes: Next we train with Charlie. The chapter is already written and will be up in a few days.
This chapter references A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas. It also references Written in the Stars by Lissa Bryan, this is one of my favorite Twilight fanfics, my husband and I discuss the undulating penis thing all the time. I wonder what Edward's penis is like…actually, what I really want is to hear your guesses. Please review.