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Innocent Heart
Chapter Five - Intimidation
Bella Swan P.O.V
It seemed there were no depths that Edward Cullen would not stoop to in order to remind me of my place as his fiancée, it appeared I couldn't even be trusted with something as mundane as a phone of my own. No according to the infamous and patronising Edward Cullen it was best that my phone be bugged and carefully monitored by him or a member of his immediate team that could report anything unusual such as a text message from a childhood friend. Edward had truly a lot to learn about me if he thought I would put up with this level of arrogance for the next year of my life, at the rate he was coming up with these tests to push all my buttons, I wasn't going to last the week. Jacob Black, a boy I hadn't seen since we were just kids, he had offered me a hand of friendship after all these years, it didn't mean I was going to take him up on his offer of course, for all I knew the years had completely changed him and he was a total ass. Besides if Jacob and Edward were indeed enemies then there was no chance I was going to get in the way of their madness, who only knows how far below they had scratch at each other, for all I knew there were dead bodies somewhere, they were both after all the eldest sons, I didn't need to know everything there was to know about being the wife of a mobster but mafia lessons one o one was the eldest son held the power. If Jacob planned to use our friendship as a pawn against Edward he had another thing coming, I wasn't as naive as I looked, I had a simple and very sheltered life before returning to Forks but that didn't mean I didn't have a brain, that I couldn't put things together of my own accord.
I scanned the bathroom to find my only visible towels were across the room pre heating on the towel rail for after I had finished with my bath. There was no chance I would get out of the tub and to them in time, I could risk it, trip over my own two feet, injure myself badly or even have Edward see me naked, both of which sounded to have the same level of distain. I instead held my breath as I began to manoeuvre the bubbles around my body in an effort to shield my naked flesh to Edward. I knew the reality of what my duties would be as his wife but I wasn't his wife yet and if I played my cards right, I'd come up with a plan to get Charlie out of debt long before I became his wife and wouldn't have the horrible ordeal of having to give up my virginity to him. Hearing Edward edge closer to the bathroom door I found myself tucking my hair out of my face and triple checking there was no hint of visibility below the bubbles, all he would need was one eye full to make me remember this moment for the next year. With that Edward opened the double doors that led to my bathroom, he dropped his hands to his sides and stepped inside keeping his eyes on me, I was surprised, I thought he'd be teasing me from the second he opened the door. How many women had he been with? He was no virgin, I knew this now for sure, no guy his age could walk into a bathroom, find a girl naked beneath steamy hot water and not even attempt a peak. Was this Edward's not so subtle way of informing me that I was going to be his wife on paper and nothing more? Keeping my eyes on his I began to wonder just how many girls he was seeing right now, if he even called them girlfriends, perhaps he had told them or 'her' about me, perhaps they'd even laughed at me, at this point I knew to not put a thing past Edward Cullen.
"I don't suppose you'd be willing to hand me a towel?" I asked, for it was worth a shot at least.
"Do you know what I admire about you, Miss Swan?"Edward asked and turned around to head in the direction of the towel rail, picking up the top towel.
"My ability to stay alive around you?"
Edward headed over to me then, opening the large white towel in his hands until full, he then brought the towel down over the sides of the tub covering my centre completely without his eyes leaving mine for a second. He leaned back up and walked to the end of the tub, unbuttoning his suit jacket before clasping his hands together in front of his belt.
"I admire your spirit"
"Are we going to actually pretend you know a thing about me?"
Edward smirked, especially when he saw me slide down a bit further into the tub and bring myself beneath the safety of the towel.
"There are only a handful of people who live to surprise me, those who have tried in the past have turned out to be stupid, foolish and a waste of my time"
"Are you talking about your love life or your criminal life?"
With that Edward leaned forward slowly, his hands reaching down to the corner edge of the tub gripping the edges.
"You and I are not going to fall in love, Miss Swan"
Despite what Edward may think of me I didn't consider myself to be neither a fool nor an idiot, of course I was more than painfully aware that he and I were not going to have a romance of the century. Despite some of the greatest love stories throughout history being that of two completely different individuals falling in love despite their circumstances and stations in life, there was no story in which Edward and I were going to find our way into one another's hearts, not unless a bullet was involved and the puncturing of heart tissue. No I doubted I'd be telling my grandchildren about the boy I fell in love with as a young girl, how all it had took was him pushing me down into an open grave for him to steal my heart. So despite all of this why did it bother me so much that Edward thought he had to make it so clear to me? This only strengthen my theory that Edward was already in love with someone else and me being here and becoming his wife was not going to change how he felt for this girl.
I wanted to push the subject a little further but I felt too vulnerable in the moment, I was naked and he held all of the cards as per usual. While he may have held a maturity that allowed for him to be around people in this way I did not. He must have seen and done a great number of underground things in his seventeen years to make him into the man standing before me today. Edward Cullen was no gentleman, he had bugged my phone, broken into my bedroom and confronted me naked in a bath tub. I had to live in the moment, I had to be here with him with all my cards at the ready. That was the problem when it came to Edward, no matter if I had a great hand to play, he always seemed to leave with not only the winnings, but my dignity and not to mention the last word.
"No matter how captivating I find your ass and all the other delights right beneath that little towel, there's nothing about you holding onto my interest"
"Just my phone activity" I was quick to correct him.
He wasn't in the slightest bit fazed, he leaned up from over the bath, keeping his eyes on mine as he walked around the left hand side of the tub, reaching his hand down, my eyes following it as he took a tight hold upon the towel to my horror. I looked up to meet his eyes once again, they were on the towel now, his intent clear should I dare be so bold with him again.
"I have no intention of sharing you with another man, Miss Swan" He locked eyes with me then making me hold my breath.
I looked down at the towel then watching it slowly edge in Edward's direction, stopping just above the top of my breasts, if he were to remove the towel I would have to pray that the bubbles would protect my modesty. When I looked at Edward he tilted his head to one side his dark brown eyes upon mine, daring me to speak, daring me to breathe.
"If you conspire with my enemies, there will be no stopping the horror that will become your life. I'll make each new day a nightmare beyond your imagining" He spoke softly.
"You already proved that already don't you think?"
"No not yet"
With that I looked down to Edward's hand upon the towel and watched it release and dip down beneath it, I immediately attempted to push myself up in the tub but stopped remembering that if I did I'd expose myself to Edward. Of course he bore witnessed to this and again was completely unfazed by my efforts to distance myself from him and gain the upper hand, I couldn't catch my breath as I watched Edward's hand dip beneath the water and immediately find the inside of my thighs. I immediately pressed my thighs together in an effort to stop him from going any further, with that Edward and I locked eyes once more, his smirk had gone but his grip upon my thigh increased ever so as our eyes locked and he could see the effect his touch had upon me. As hard as I tried to control myself, my jaw dropped ever so when his long fingers brushed under my thigh and his finger tips pressed hard against my skin.
"What belongs to me, stays with me" Edward said looking down at my legs briefly before meeting my eyes once again "Do I make myself clear, Miss Swan?"
I swallowed hard and found the strength to shake my head slowly, back and forth as I watched the surprise cross his face, his brow rising slightly at my disobedience. I was suddenly very aware of just how thick his eyelashes were, I had never held his gaze for so long before.
Edward's hand edged higher up on my thigh, feeling his palm sliding up over my sleek skin, soft now from the heat of the water, suddenly so happy that I had recently shaved above the knee. I was blushing and painfully aware of just how much, it wasn't the hot water of the tub making me glow like a tomato and we both knew it.
Edward leaned down towards me then, his hand leaving my thigh to balance himself over the tub as his face came down to my level, I tilted my head back and our foreheads almost touched in that moment as I breathed him in, he always smelt like he had just rinsed with mouthwash. His eyes travelled down to my lips and upon seeing my breath catch in the process of it he smirked before locking eyes with me.
He leaned in closer then and I almost closed my eyes as his lips inched closer to mine.
"Disobey me" Edward whispered "See what happens"
With that he pulled away, turned his back on me and walked out of the bathroom. Only after hearing my bedroom door shut I realized I was holding my breath and released it.
Go against the demands of the overbearing, arrogant and manipulative Edward Cullen.
What an intriguing idea indeed.
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