A/N: Thank you so much, Wisconsinite, for pointing out that La Crosse is in Wisconsin. I've recently remedied that error. Thank you! Sometimes when I write these things I'm working from big maps or zoomed in section of Google Maps, so I miss boundary lines.
To my other readers, thank you so much for your patience and praise. It keeps me happy. With great pleasure, I announce that this chapter will be host to citrusy goodness.
Disclaimer (Again!): I never have and never will own anything mentioned in SM's Twilight. I am but a poor student. She is a God. Enjoy.
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Chapter Seventeen: Olympians
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My heart beat wildly as I descended the stairs on Edward's arm. I could not help but wonder at the size of the place! Just in passing through the upstairs corridor I noticed at least three other bedrooms off the hall, along with sitting rooms for each. Belatedly, I realized Edward must have put me in a smaller guest room aside from the other suites so as to not overwhelm me. A lot of good it did – all around me the furnishings screamed "Opulence!"
The living room – dressed as it was in its plush finery – would have distracted completely from any occupant except for the Zeus-like man and his equally magnificent companion standing in the middle of the room. The man – Dr. Carlisle – smiled easily upon seeing me on Edward's arm. The woman, who I assumed to be Esme, smiled just as gently by his side, though her features and posture suggested a little more tension.
"Bella, how wonderful to see you up and about. Edward has been ecstatic since your arrival earlier!"
He opened his arms in welcome and I smiled up at him, hardly believing my eyes. Who could think that another being as perfect as Edward could exist? And to find that not only did he exist, but he seemed to want to welcome me into his world.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Dr. Carlisle," I demurred. Edward's throaty chuckle caused a flush to rise in my cheeks. He pulled me into his embrace and the redness and heat deepened.
"You're absolutely adorable, Bella! And so polite! I'm no wonder Edward's so taken with you," said Esme, her eyes crinkling just a little with a brilliant smile. I felt I was being dazzled from three directions. Despite my happiness, I felt a twinge of pain as I pondered my new place in the world, among this family.
My Eddie. Without whom Edward would not have found me – sacrificed to a beast – but in death drawing out the other half of my heart. I bit into my lower lip as moisture sprung to my eyes. A shudder ran through me and I tried to choke back the sob that threatened to escape my lips. Before I could control myself once more, the three angles responded so quickly that I did not see them move. Edward's arms, which had been holding me already, were joined by another set of smaller, cooler limbs. Esme stroked my cheeks gently as worry creased her brow. Her other arm steadied me and Carlisle pressed his palm to my forehead.
"Are you alright, darling?" Esme asked me softly. I shook my head in misery.
"Tell us what's the matter, dear girl," encouraged Carlisle. I noticed through the tears suddenly streaming over my cheeks that their touches were feather light. They handled me like one would fine crystal or china. I looked up at Edward and recognized the same pain etched into his alabaster features. He shook his head just a little. He hadn't told them, then.
I held my tongue. I could not bring myself to say it. My son is dead. The words echoed through my hollow soul and consumed me in another wave of agony. If only vampires did not exist, then… Edward would not have returned, either. More guilt, more pain accompanied the thought. If vampires did not exist, then Esme and Carlisle would not have continued being. Edward, my reason to breathe, now, would not be.
But Eddie would, the sad voice in my mind said. Edward should have gone on to heaven. He should not be here. Eddie should.
I felt my knees give out but I never reached the floor. Broken sobs left my lips as Edward carried me to a chaise lounge. Esme sat by me, stroking my hair and cooing comforting nonsense in my ear as I cried. I thought I had cried myself out. How could I still have more tears? My son, my poor son, was gone, buried, but Edward was still here. He could love me and take care of me. And there I sat, sobbing again, hurting him further. I crossed my arms over my abdomen and forced myself into a sitting position. Forcing myself to take deep breaths, I finally regained my composure, only hiccupping between intervals of deep, slow breathing. Esme held me to her side gently, running a hand over my back in slow circles.
"What's the matter, Bella?" Esme begged me softly. How could she sound so loving? She barely knew me. She was younger than me, I was sure. Maybe twenty or so. How could she remind me so much of my own mother?
"I…"
"I am a fool, Esme," Edward agonized, the tortured expression back on his face. "Had I believed what my heart knew, we…"
"We had a son," I whispered, feeling the familiar burn of pain that accompanied my new use of the past tense in reference to my little boy.
Esme let out a gasp and a strange, dry sob. Her arms were tight around me suddenly.
"There was another vampire stalking New York along with me. A monster worse than us. He enjoyed…" Edward's voice trailed off, disgust obvious in his posture and his tone. His face settled into pain again as he told them of our son's fate. "He found our Eddie."
My lower lip trembled but I did not cry again. Esme's haunted eyes caught mine and she embraced me again, seemingly never to let go.
"I see," Carlisle sighed, grasping Edward's shoulder. "Then… If this is what you want, I won't stop you," Carlisle said. "I'll do anything I can to help you and Edward, Bella," he assured me, taking my hand in his. "But not until you've rested and healed a little."
Edward nodded and sat on my other side, tilting my face and kissing my jaw.
"I don't want you to be in so much pain when you join this existence," he whispered softly. "Everything is more… intense in this body."
"But…" I thought of my age and his. I already looked old enough to be his mother.
"No 'buts' Bella," he said with a smile, reading my distress on my face. "You are just as lovely as the day I married you, my love. Nothing will ever change that." I glared up at my angel a little testily. I did not care if I was acting like a petulant child. I knew it shouldn't matter – we were made for each other – but I hated feeling old.
"Now, aren't you hungry, Bella?" Esme said finally, smiling a little though her eyes were still tight with pain for our loss. I nodded with a weak grin and she rose gracefully, pulling me with her. She walked me to the kitchen and I found myself amazed at the grandeur of the place again. I sat beside her at the kitchen island while Edward offered me some fruit.
"I'm afraid we don't have very much else right now," Carlisle said apologetically. "You understand, of course… we only buy food to keep up appearances. Esme and I will go buy groceries again later."
"It's fine. Thank you," I said before indulging in the apple. While I ate, Esme and Carlisle struck up a conversation with Edward. Listening to them, especially Esme, worry about Edward, I gladdened. It was easy to tell that they loved him, and though I knew Edward had been lonely, I also knew that these two would not have let him mope about while in their presence. It was impossible to feel despair when Esme smiled, or Carlisle laughed. Zeus and Aphrodite. Two Olympians cast in marble and animated. And Edward, an Apollo in his own right. I smiled in response to their happiness, and hoped that I would be able to make them as happy as Edward did.
Carlisle left us in the early afternoon to report to the local hospital. Esme departed soon after to go to the grocer, while Edward took it upon himself to show me around the house. He brought me outside first to admire the beautiful lake and the trees. The marvel of his skin in the sunshine made me stare in amazement, and the warmth and beauty of the sun on the vast lawns made us both pause and enjoy our surroundings and company. Once it had retreated behind the clouds, Edward escorted me back up the sloping lawns to the house. I found that I focused less on his words and more on the sound of his voice. It still amazed me that he actually stood beside me, alive, and in love with me.
I paused, a wooden cross catching my attention. The dark, exquisite wood was somewhat roughly hewn, but still glistened subtly in the light.
"That's Carlisle's," said Edward, following my gaze.
"It must be hundreds of years old," I mused.
"His father carved it, circa 1600 in England."
"Carlisle's English?" I asked with a little surprise.
"Yes, I suppose if we go on origin he is English... Would you like to hear the tale in its entirety?"
"I'd love to."
And so Edward led me to another room, his honeyed voice telling the horror of Carlisle's creation. As the tale progressed, he pointed to paintings mounted on the wall of the vast library and office. When he arrived at Carlisle's stay in Volterra and gestured to the ornately framed painting dominating the west wall, I shuddered.
"They look like gods," I muttered a little apprehensively.
"They are intimidating, I suppose. But they're not all so bad, from what Carlisle's told me. They don't agree about our diet, of course, but they act as our guardians in a sense. Without them, our world would collapse." Edward's tone shifted from nonchalance to dim admiration. He still had such respect for the peacekeepers and warriors of the free world.
"They're frightening," I said softly. "Aro… You described him a collector of fine things and knowledge. He sounds like he thinks himself a God. It's how he had his artist portray him, anyway," I said a little argumentatively. Edward cocked his head to the side as he pondered the portrait, his brows furrowing in thought.
"I think we should not pass judgment without meeting them ourselves, though you may have the right of it, Bella."
He continued Carlisle's story, moving to more recent photographs until he finally stopped at his first encounter with Esme. I sighed and smiled at the romanticism.
"She admired him even then? And she found him again after all that time…"
"I suppose Carlisle has a way of being in the right place at the right time," Edward admitted ruefully. "He diagnosed your pregnancy, saved me from the influenza… found Esme again."
"I was right then." I smiled in satisfaction, letting the words hang in the air. I knew Edward would not refuse the bait.
"About?"
"You're all Angels. And Carlisle's the head angel."
His answering snort of amusement made me dissolve into giggles.
"It's not… Hellish, I suppose – at least not now that I have you again. But we did not choose this, Bella."
"I'll thank him till the day I die for saving you, Edward. I can think of no one more deserving of a second chance than you, Esme, and Carlisle."
"You won't ever die if you go through with this…"
"Then I'll thank him until the end of existence."
"You're ridiculous, Bella," he grumbled darkly.
"And you're just as stubborn as I am," I said with a smirk, tickling his side. To my surprise he shivered and squirmed.
"Stop it."
"Why?" I giggled, feeling playful all of a sudden. I tickled him again. Edward caught my fingers, frowning.
"Because you're going to get yourself into trouble, Bella. Despite appearances I'm a completely different beast from you."
"Oh? You seem the same to me. Still ticklish!"
I took advantage of his loose hold to attack his middle again. He gasped and caught my wrists in an iron=hard grip.
"No, Bella… You don't know what you're doing to me! Please stop… I don't want to hurt you," Edward growled, looking away, his lips pursed. I stuck out my lower lip and examined his face again, my brows furrowing. How odd that he'd react that way.
"You didn't used to be such a killjoy, Edward Masen," I grouched.
"And you didn't used to be so difficult, Mrs. Masen," he said with a smirk. Before I could continue into the hall, Edward caught me about the waist and held me to him. His breath whispered across my throat while his hands slid over my abdomen to my hips, then back up again. His fingertips traced fiery trails and a shiver ran down my spine.
"I see you react the same, though," he breathed, the throaty sound of his voice making me shudder again.
"Stop, Edward," I hissed, blushing furiously, my eyes darting to railing and the floor below.
"It's payback, Bella. So you learn not to tempt me so anymore."
"Oh," I said with realization. I only meant to tickle, though. "It wasn't on purpose," I hissed as his hands slid higher on my torso.
"Well then, this is a complete accident as well," he chuckled, placing a soft kiss at the base of my neck.
He pulled away, leaving me feeling unfulfilled and restless. Damned gorgeous vampire and his too-wonderful touch.
"I hate you just a bit right now," I grumped as he took my arm again, leading me down the stairs.
"But you love it," he said lightly. And I did, of course. Who could argue with masculine perfection?
The day passed into night and Esme returned with her arm wrapped around Carlisle's. She helped me prepare dinner for myself while Carlisle and Edward chatted. As far as I could tell, they conversed about my "renovations," as Edward referred to it. Esme kept me distracted with magic words like "indoor swimming pool" and "observatory" and "university." The more I spoke with her, the more I came to love her. The same went for Carlisle. His gentle voice and smile made me feel warm and loved, and Edward's quiet presence beside me comforted my aching heart more than anything. Despite my interest in everything and my desire to stay awake, I found myself drifting off close to ten. I was barely aware of myself when the clock struck eleven, but I registered Edward's arms around me as he carried me to his bedroom.
Too tired to open my eyes, I sighed and laid in compliance as Edward's gentle touch removed my dress and slid a nightdress over my head before tucking me beneath the blanket and pulling my wrapped body to his chest.
We lay there in silence for several moments while I fought to keep my eyes from closing. He hummed my lullaby into my hair, and it was a hard fight to maintain consciousness.
"Edward?"
"Yes, Bella?"
"Do you think we could…?"
"Could what, Bella?"
"I miss you," I almost whined, rolling over to face him. I snuggled into his chest in content, happy to have his arms around me again. Despite my age, I did not feel old here, in the dark, pressed against my frozen husband. It was like it always us for us – natural, two pieces to the same soul.
"How can you miss me when I am holding you, my love?"
"I mean… like this," I said, glad that the darkness hid my blush. I guided his hand to my thigh with a shiver. The silence was broken by Edward's hiss.
"No, Bella."
"Why not?"
"…"
"Edward?"
"Watch," my angel commanded. He had removed the chain of his pocket watch and held it for me to see. With a fluid movement he let it coil in his palm. As I watched, he closed his hand into a fist, clenched his fingers gently, and opened them for me to see again. In his hand, in a perfect mold of his palm, lay a crushed brass ball. Like a balled up bit of paper. I tried to hide my swallow of nerves but he chuckled, obviously noticing.
"I didn't mean…"
"I am strong yet gentle with you, is what you were going to say, yes?"
"Well, yes," I said a little defiantly.
"Bella, do you remember the last time we made love?" Edward whispered adoringly into my hair. I buried my face in his shirt, his coolness counteracting my blush wonderfully.
"You know neither of us can think very much of control when we're so preoccupied. Now, when I've nearly forgotten your touch, when I am far more distractible, how can you ask me to risk my losing focus? Such a lapse would be disastrous, Bella."
I could not see his face but I felt the waver in his velvet tones and the fear.
"You wouldn't hurt me, Edward," I mumbled against his chest, feeling my tiredness catching up with me again. "You couldn't."
"Sleep, now, my only love. We'll talk later. But I won't ever risk you again… Not to illness, loneliness, not even to myself."
And as soon as he began humming my lullaby again, I lost the will to continue the argument. My eyelids drooped and my mind was lulled into the ease of sleep in his arms.
I woke with a gasp, struggling against Edward's gentle hold. My hair stuck to my sweaty forehead and a senseless sob shook me.
"It's not real..!" I moaned, clutching Edward desperately.
"Of course not, Bella, love, it was just a dream. You're safe," he assured me, stroking my cheeks. I sobbed again, tears obscuring my vision of his worried face.
"All gone, oh, oh, oh…" I whimpered, burrowing into his shirt.
"I have you, Bella, you're fine," he said softly. "Tell me what happened?" he begged, trying to ease my tears.
"Oh, Edward..!" I gasped, clinging to him.
"Tell me, Bella, please," he begged again, his voice cracking a little in response to my obvious pain.
"We… we were back home," I said softly, knowing he'd understand that I was speaking about Chicago.
"Yes? What happened?" he encouraged. I bit my lip, hesitating, before disentangling my arms from the sheets and pulling him to me. My lips met his and he groaned softly at my sudden attack.
"Bella, stop, what's the matter?"
"I need… please, Edward," I whimpered, dissolving into tears again. I looked up at him, knowing my expression must be a mirror of his – agony, confusion, desire. Suddenly his eyes tightened into determination and he kissed me carefully before rolling on top of me. He balanced his weight on his elbows as his lips captured mine, then trailed down my throat.
I tangled my fingers in Edward's hair while he kissed his way over my body. I was barely cognizant of the sounds coming from my lips. My world had narrowed into the heat of flesh upon flesh and the white-hot pleasure that encapsulated me. A ripping sound broke through my trance long enough for me to witness Edward's method for ridding us of the cotton barriers between our bodies. My nightdress in shreds, Edward continued his journey lower. He kissed between my breasts and lower, making my body arch in heady delight. My thighs clamped about his shoulders as he attacked my most intimate of places with his cool mouth. A deep, thrumming growl emanated from his chest as he continued his assault. I shuddered, close to a climax-
"Edward..!"
But I was to be disappointed. Edward pulled away abruptly and I whimpered by way of complaint. Before I could register his movement, I found myself straddling his hips while his icy hands gripped the fevered flesh of my hips.
"I don't want to hurt you Bella…"
"I understand, Edward," I whispered into the heated dark. Bracing my hands on his sculpted chest, I raised my hips to mount my lover. His eyes smoldered through his night-black lashes. He gasped in stereo to my moan as we joined. Not enough! I moved against Edward, meeting him, our bodies melding in a dance as old as time. When I tired, he took control, holding me tight, then tighter as I begged for more. Our kisses grew more desperate, more demanding, as we both climbed higher in our simultaneous pleasure. I wrapped my arms tight around my love's neck as he pressed me against the headboard, my legs wrapped similarly around his hips. His muscles moved silkily beneath my hands, arms, legs, mine clenching and going into spasms while I tried to squeeze him closer to me. The coiling, building pleasure in my center exploded and I screamed my release, Edward gasping along with me, his arms tight around my waist. Spent, I collapsed against Edward's chest while he murmured sweet nothings in my ear. Finally, blackness claimed me and I submitted to the peace of dreamless sleep.
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A/N: Thank you everyone who read and reviewed and waited patiently. I will be posting less frequently, but will be continuing this story to its conclusion. I shall try to finish by Christmas hols. Also, if anyone with knack for grammar and writing could assist, I find myself in need of a Beta. Let me know through your signed review. So until my next update-
Love,
-Forensica X
