Thanks for all the reviews for the first part of this, your enthusiasm thrills and humbles me.
I've had many requests for a link to a picture of Bella's dress and sorry to say, there isn't one. I want to keep my real life separate from this, but in a very roundabout way, that's sort of what I do for a living. Describing it in Bella's words was one of the hardest parts of writing this. I could have gone on for pages, but Bella couldn't, so short of writing it in Alice's POV, I had to keep it basic.
So while Twilight and all its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, Bella's dress, hair and necklace? Those are all mine.
0
0
0
BPOV
It seemed for a while as if the awards ceremony might never end. I'd never really paid much attention before, and I couldn't believe how many categories there were. They just went on and on. It ran over, of course, but eventually it did end and we were escorted out and piled back into the car with Sam. I half hoped we could sneak away now, but then remembered Alice's itinerary. There was some party afterwards and attendance was apparently mandatory. Sure enough, as soon as the car pulled up at our next location, here came Charlotte to escort us inside. But first I was assaulted again by my hair and makeup person to touch me up so I was presentable for all the pictures that would be taken inside.
"So what's so important about this party we have to go to?" I asked, trying not to sound too whiny, as the makeup girl messed with my mascara.
Edward shrugged nonchalantly, "It's the Vanity Fair After Party."
"And?"
"Everybody goes," he said simply. The makeup girl finished up and Charlotte walked us through security and up to the entrance. The tuxedoed attendant manning the door with a clipboard cast one beaming look at us and waved us inside. No checking that list for our names, apparently. We were beyond lists.
There was a long low-ceilinged entrance hallway leading to the party itself. The hall was lovely, with very low golden lighting and rows of tiny white votive candles on the ground flanking a long white carpet running the length of it. There was a group of three people ahead of us and as soon as they rounded the corner into the party and we were alone, Edward slipped his arm around my waist and gave me a tug to pull me to the side of the hall, into the shadows. He turned me in his arms to face him and pulled me in tight against him. I felt the air leave my chest in a rush and my head swam. I couldn't think when I was this close to him and he was touching me like this.
"Hey, we're here long enough to let them take a few pictures of us and then I'm getting you out of here. This," he waved a hand at the opulence and glamour surrounding us, "is by no means the highlight of the evening. This," he leaned in and said the last bit almost against my lips, "is just act one." He closed the distance and kissed me lingeringly. I gripped his lapels in my fingers, pulling him closer. His hands slipped around to my bare back to caress my skin and he moaned against my mouth. Then he slowly, painfully pulled away.
"Damn. This is fucking torture," he muttered.
I nodded breathlessly. He slid a hand up my back, under my hair, gripping the back of my neck and touching his forehead to mine, eyes closed, before releasing me and leading me by the hand down the hall and into the party. It was a fairyland inside, all the tables, covered in gold tablecloths, were set with a million flickering little white candles and beautiful towering centerpieces of branches and red berries in cut crystal vases that caught the flickering golden candlelight and bounced it all over the room. A blanket of tiny twinkling white lights covered the ceiling. One of the many uniformed hosts met us at the entrance and escorted us to our table. Resting on top of the white china place settings were small rectangular ivory place cards with our names in simple calligraphy side by side, topped with little gold ribbons. I don't know why, considering all the other ways our names were linked, but seeing those place cards side by side made me ridiculously happy. I cast a quick glance around the table as we sat down. No one else was sitting there at the moment, but we had neighbors, evidenced by a scattering of abandoned champagne flutes and someone's Oscar, left guarding their place alone. I wondered who our glittering, famous table mates might be.
"So Edward," I asked abruptly, surprising myself, "If we hadn't had our arrangement, who would you have brought tonight?" The minute the words left my mouth I was sorry I asked, sorry that I'd reminded him of the formal nature of our relationship and terrified of who I'd hear him name. Which supermodel, which stunning actress was supposed to be sitting in my place? Please don't say Megan Fox or Blake Lively or….
He looked sideways at me and shrugged.
"Alice."
Oh.
"Really? I'm sorry she couldn't come because of me."
"Don't worry about it. She didn't care. And I offered to have her brought over for this, the VF party is always a big deal, but she said she was going to hang out at Rosalie's and watch it on t.v." He shook his head in disbelief. "I was sort of surprised. Alice is never one to turn down a party like this."
I knew why, of course. It wasn't Rose and the Oscars that was the draw, it was Jasper, but I said nothing. Tonight was like a dream and I didn't want to spoil it.
"We should get you something to eat," he said suddenly, pulling me to my feet.
"I'm not really hungry."
"I don't want to hear it. Although fish tacos on the beach was one of my better nights in recent memory, I'd rather not end up there tonight. And besides, you need your strength." He cast me another rakish smile and dragged me off in search of one of the many waiters with trays.
We did our best to keep it brief, but absolutely everyone wanted to talk to Edward, and me by extension. I stood and made polite small talk with more movie stars than I ever thought possible, considering that until very recently I never imagined having to stand around and make small talk with movie stars at all. It was sometimes a surreal experience, suddenly being approached by someone who was already so familiar to me from the screen, but still a stranger in real life. But they were all so nice and gracious to me. Me, who just seven months ago was just concerned with making it from my Intro to British Lit class in time for my shift at Sandwich Planet. I finally began to understand what Aro felt I would get out of being with Edward. I was nobody, and now, because I was standing by his side, I was the most important somebody in the room. It made it hard to take anything anyone said to me even a little bit seriously, even as they told me over and over how talented they thought I was, and how they couldn't wait to hear the new album. But this was all a part of the business, apparently, so I put on my happy face and my best manners and I played along.
Most people really just wanted a chance to schmooze with Edward, to bask in the reflected glow of his fame and magnetism. But I was delighted to see a few producers come over to tell him how good he was looking, and how happy they were to hear he was doing so well. They all shot me kind, appreciative smiles and greeted me warmly when Edward introduced me. Several of them spoke briefly with him about upcoming projects, trying to gauge his interest. Tonight wasn't a night for making deals, but I could sense the eagerness. They could see he was back in the land of the living and doing well and they all wanted a piece of him.
Although for most of the night Edward hadn't seemed interested in anything except getting his hands on me (not that I was complaining), I noticed him engaged in those conversations with producers, excited, energized in a way that he wasn't about anything else. He wanted it. He was eager to get back to work. I loved seeing him actually passionate about something. I hoped all of this meant good things for him, that people were ready to give him another chance. Everything would be worth it if that happened for him.
Eventually I lost all track of time. The night had become a blur of champagne and tuxedos and air kisses and "We should have lunch soon"s. It had to be two or three in the morning when Edward leaned in and whispered, "Let's go home."
My breath caught in my throat. It was finally later.
Edward texted Sam to bring the car around and we made our way slowly out of the party, gently disentangling ourselves from all the hugs and handshakes. We made our way out of the hall and back through security to where Sam had parked at the curb. I leaned heavily on Edward all the way to the car, sure that my feet would never be the same after this marathon. He folded me gently into the back seat and crossed around to his side.
As I hoped, the second the car door closed behind him, he slid across the seat and wrapped his arms around me. He leaned in and kissed the side of my neck and slid slowly up to my ear, reminding me of my first night alone with him at Fez. Except this was so much better because we weren't going to stop. He shifted over and planted one soft, quick kiss on my lips before sitting back. I shot him a puzzled look. What happened to later? He put his finger to his lips and nodded his head at Sam in front of us. Ah, we weren't really alone. Sigh...We'd have to wait until we got home. He sighed, too.
Edward reached out idly and picked up my right hand, slowly twining his fingers in mine. He played with my hand for a moment, turning my palm up and tracing his fingers over the center. Then he dipped his head down and gently pressed his lips to the center of my palm. He lingered there for a moment, then opened his lips slightly and let his tongue slip out to touch my skin. I shuddered and let my eyes slide closed.
He continued on with my fingers, slowly kissing his way down each one before gently drawing my fingertips into his mouth and sucking, flicking the sensitive pads with his tongue. When he finished with my fingers, he turned my hand over and traced patterns on the back with his lips and his tongue. Then he slowly continued up my arm, lingering on my wrist, on the sensitive pulse point, where he sucked gently and blew his hot breath across my skin. He traveled achingly slowly up the entire length of my arm, kissing, dragging his lips and his tongue, nipping gently with his teeth, enflaming my skin and my nerves with every inch that he touched. He stopped again in the inside of the crook of my elbow and let out a low moan against my skin that I felt through my whole body, before stroking the tender skin at the crease with his tongue.
It was crazy, it was just my arm, he was just kissing my arm. And I felt nearly undone by it, swamped with desire, aching for more. I was starting to twist slightly in my seat, clamping my thighs together against the heat at the center. Edward continued on, slowly, tongue and lips, up to my shoulder, holding my hand in his lap to still my arm, touching no other part of me. He crept up over the curve of my shoulder and into the crook of my neck. I could hear his labored breathing as he struggled to maintain his slow gentle pace. He skimmed his lips past my necklace, up my neck to my earlobe and stopped, still holding my hand tightly.
"I think I have to stop now if you want your clothes on when you get out of the car," he murmured in my ear. I couldn't respond, I couldn't even open my eyes, My head was thrown back, Edward's face was pressed into my neck. His free hand crept across me and gripped the back of my neck, holding me tight against him. I could feel his shaky breaths warming my hair and skin. I prayed he would stay right there. He did. His fingers caressed my neck, tangled gently in my hair, he rested his forehead against my temple, eyes closed, breathing deeply.
Another few minutes and mercifully Sam turned into Edward's driveway and keyed in the code. We pulled up to the house and Sam stepped out to help me from the car. I drew in a deep breath, trying to right myself. I could barely speak, and managed to squeeze out only the most basic niceties to Sam before Edward took my hand and led me into the house.
We walked into the entry hall and as Edward turned to lock the door and re-set the security system, I set my little bag on the side table and crossed the hall to the foot of the stairs. The house was only dimly lit, Alice being gone for the night. My insides were in knots. I was both unbearably anxious to be alone with him and inexplicably terrified at the same time. I didn't know what to do with myself, so I just stood there, arms limp at my side, facing away from him, willing my breathing to slow down and my heart rate to steady.
I heard him cross the hall slowly and step up behind me. I could feel the heat from his body, he was standing just a breath away from me, but not touching me. Then he reached out and closed both hands over my wrists at my sides. My eyes fell closed at the simple contact. Edward moved forward to close the gap between us, the whole length of him coming up against my back. His hands began to slide up my arms as he lowered his head to whisper in my ear.
"I was so stunned earlier tonight when I saw you here that I never told you…you're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."
I leaned back against him, my head falling onto his shoulder and he kissed the nape of my neck softly. His hands rounded my shoulders and then gripped them. With a slight pressure, he turned me around to face him. His eyes were half closed and nearly black, his face angular and dramatic in the dim light of the entry hallway. His hands gripped me hard by the back of my neck. He seemed to be restraining himself a little, holding back in some way.
"Bella…" his voice was a raspy whisper, "I want you…so badly… but if you…"
I didn't want to hear the caveat, to hear him tell me that this wouldn't mean anything, that there were no strings. I'd already made my decision, for better or for worse. I wanted him. So I leaned my face closer to him and cut him off, placing my fingertips against his lips briefly. "Yes," I whispered.
He required no further encouragement. His mouth came down over mine, his lips hard and eager. His tongue was pushing in, my mouth opened for him, I thrust my tongue back against him and a little moan escaped my throat. I felt his hands, scorching hot to my over-sensitized skin, slide down my bare back to grip my waist and pull me in tight against him. I reached up to grip him by his hair, so silky on my fingers after a long day and night of staring but not touching. God, I wanted him for so long like this, and now he was finally mine.
"We need to move this somewhere more appropriate, fast." He muttered against my mouth. He stepped away from me and pulled me after him to the staircase. I paused for just a second to consider how I would negotiate getting up the stairs, since my dress still had me hobbled to the knees. While I was in the middle of looking at the floor, mulling over my options, I felt the air sing past me as my feet abruptly left the ground. I was cradled in Edward's arms as he began to climb the stairs. He nuzzled my neck and planted tiny kisses there as best he could while keeping one eye on the stairs. We reached the top, but he didn't set me down, he just carried me straight down the hall and around the corner to his bedroom, where I had never been.
He shoved the door open with a foot and carried me to the center of the room before setting me down carefully. It was dark, but I was aware of a large space, and a wall of glass, and some pieces of furniture at a distance, but not much more. His lips found mine again immediately, his hands gripping my waist again, the force of him pressing into me, nearly bending me back. His tongue crashed against mine, plunging deep inside my mouth. One of his hands slipped back up my back to grip my neck, so he could control the angle of my face against his.
I fisted my hands in his tux lapels and suddenly was aware of all the layers of wool and silk and cotton between us. I pushed his jacket back off his shoulders and his hands released me just long enough to let it slide free to the floor.
We were both nearly breathless from the kiss, and his lips left mine to trail down my jaw to my neck. I drew in a long, shallow rasping breath, hanging onto his shoulders. He reached the edge of my necklace and his fingers reached up, closing around it, starting to yank it down and out of his way. Even in the haze of our arousal, I had the sense to stop him.
"Don't hurt it. It's worth twenty times what my dad makes in a year," I murmured.
Edward chuckled against my neck and the sensation sent a shock wave through me.
"Well, then, I guess I'll need to be more careful."
He straightened up and put his hands on my hips, slowly turning me around. I felt his long agile fingers brush the hair off my back and over my shoulder…such a gentle, sensual gesture. Those same fingers went to work on the fussy little clasps along the back of the necklace, finally freeing me of it. I felt the lightness the minute it left my chest.
"Take off your earrings."
His voice was low and soft behind me, but just commanding enough, and with a hint of sensuality to make me shudder and grow wet…wetter…for him.
I did as he asked and turned to place them in his hand, over the ridiculously expensive necklace. He stepped a few feet away to lay it on something…my eyes now adjusting to the dark realized that it was a grand piano and I had a flicker of surprise, then he was back before me.
"I seem to recall some little buttons in a very sexy location that might need my attention," he whispered.
I shot him a smirk and turned my back to him, peering over my shoulder at his head, bent in concentration, his hair falling forward. I felt his fingers go to work at the base of my spine on the little row of buttons. He managed to brush my bare skin probably far more that was strictly necessary, but I wasn't arguing.
"These fucking things have been tormenting me all night," he muttered, "Every time I put my arm around you, there they were. And I was imagining what would happen if I unbuttoned them and let your dress fall off you…" He lost his sentence in a groan.
"I hate to tell you this," I said, stifling a giggle, "but what happens after the buttons is a zipper. The buttons are just for show. These fancy clothes are a mystery to me."
He laughed, too, but then he found the zipper and eased it down and I felt the sudden shift in pressure when my dress was released from my body. I stopped my laughing and caught my breath and so did he. Edward froze for just a second, then he let go of the dress and it fell with a quiet whoosh down over my hips into a puddle around my calves. I turned back to him and he made a soft little sound in his throat at the sight of me in my strapless midnight blue bra and panties and satin high heels. I usually would have felt exposed and awkward to be stared at like this, but with Edward, at this moment, I felt beautiful and sexy and powerful. He reached up his hand and I took it and stepped free of the pile of silk and net.
"Fuck…" It escaped his chest like a rumble.
He reached out to grab me by the waist and he yanked me forward. I stumbled a tiny bit in my heels, but I only fell into him. I reached up to grip his hair again to steady myself and pulled his face back to mine for a searing, desperate kiss. His skimmed his hands up my now bare midsection to my breasts, cupping his hands over me, caressing me over my bra, his thumbs sweeping over the bare swells above it. I moaned into his mouth and arched against him. He made a low sound in his throat, squeezing me harder.
"Baby…" he rasped against my cheek, "you're perfect."
Edward's hands left my breasts and he thrust them into my hair forcefully. Invisibly placed pins and the tiny diamonds mounted on them scattered wildly around us, and cascaded to the floor. He kept digging in, twisting his fingers. It almost hurt but I wouldn't have stopped him for the world. The larger pins, holding the whole miracle in place, came loose and my hair began to fall down behind me. He raked his fingers through it, gathering it up, twisting it around his fingers, loosening every curl, while he kept kissing me like I was water and he was lost in the desert.
I let go of his hair to move my hands to the front of his shirt, desperate to finally feel his bare skin against mine. I pulled his bowtie free but I got confused trying to open the shirt, because they weren't buttons. He pushed my hands away and with one firm yank his smooth flawless chest was bared to me. I shoved the shirt back over his shoulders to follow the jacket. He got momentarily stuck getting his hands free of the cuffs, but then his long perfectly muscled arms were back, snaking around my waist, pulling me against him, crushing my breasts against the smooth warm skin of his chest. I angled up on my toes to wrap my arms around his shoulders, kissing him hard coaxing his tongue deep into my mouth, luxuriating in finally being able to feel his skin pressed against mine instead of just imagining it. He wrapped his arms fully around me, nearly pulling me up off my feet, like he couldn't get enough of it either.
He began to walk backwards, pulling me towards what I now realized was a huge bed against the far wall. He moved until his legs met the mattress, then he turned me in his arms and I was being lowered, until I was lying down, with my knees bent over the edge of the bed. Edward didn't follow me immediately. He stood there at the foot of the bed for a minute, gazing down at me, still in my midnight blue bra and panties and my blue satin heels. I just lay still, looking up at him in the dark.
"Fuck, you're the most exquisite thing I've ever seen," he murmured. His hands moved to the waist of his pants and he freed himself of them and his shoes until he was standing above me in only his boxers. Even in this light I could see the enormous bulge of him pressing against the fabric. I hadn't even allowed myself to guess at what he was like…but now it seemed he was as perfect there as everywhere else.
Edward suddenly dropped to his knees at the foot of the bed. He slipped my shoes off and involuntarily, I moaned in relief. He chuckled softly, gently caressing each of my feet briefly before he moved on. Then I felt his mouth against my left calf and I gasped at the sudden, sensual sensation. Just like earlier in the car, he began to work his way slowly up my leg with his lips and tongue, slipping his fingers up along the underside of my leg as he went. I moaned and reached a hand down to stroke his hair. The other I fisted in the bedspread, to keep myself still. When he reached the hollow of my left thigh, where my hip began, he shifted and began again with my right leg. This time, when he reached the top of my thigh, he slid one hand from the side of my hip slowly over and down. I heard him suck in his breath. I was out of my mind with the desire to feel the rest of him there.
His fingers hooked around the sides of my panties and he began to slide them down. I shifted my hips to allow them to scoot all the way down, over my knees, down my calves, and off. And then I felt his hot breath ghosting over me, his hands sliding back up my thighs, pushing them apart. I fell open for him.
Then he was there, his mouth on me, and I gasped, my hips bucking under his mouth, my hand fisting hard in his hair.
His hands came up to grip my hips and pin me down. "Shhhh…" he whispered against me, and that sensation nearly drove me mad.
He worked me gently and relentlessly, until I was about to snap.
Oh my fucking God.
This…I had done this….this had been done to me before…but never, ever like this. Edward's fingers…Edward's tongue….oh, God. I wouldn't last long. I could already feel the vibration low in my stomach. Then I was thrust over the edge, gasping out his name, arching off the bed, fisting my hand in the bedspread. Waves of pleasure ripped up my chest and down my thighs, out to the very tips of my body. I even think my toes curled.
As I floated back down, I felt Edward move up the bed, hooking his hands under my arms and pulling me further up to rest my head on the pillow. His lips came down on mine and I opened for him. I felt him pressing hard against my thigh.
"Uhhhh….oh, Jesus." He broke off kissing me and buried his face in the crook of my neck as I closed my hand over him through the fabric and squeezed. I wanted to feel his bare skin, and I wanted him inside of me. I pushed the waistband of his boxers off over his hip awkwardly with my free hand on one side, but he did the rest, angling himself to slide them all the way down.
His hand skimmed up my stomach and gently cupped my breast, squeezing. I kept stroking his length while his fingers began to circle my breast. Then he eased the cup down and I fell out, exposed to him. He raised his head and moved over me, kissing his way from my shoulder across my chest to the swell of my breast. He kissed me and exhaled across my skin, and I tightened the fist I still had in his hair. He drew the tight peak into his mouth slowly and sucked until I thought I'd go mad from wanting him.
I felt his hands slide underneath me on the bed, searching for the clasp. I arched my back to give him access and he released me, tossing my bra away from us. Now free to roam, he moved to my other breast and teased and kissed me until they were both hard and aching.
"Oh, God…Edward…"
"Bella…baby…I wanted to drag this out all night, taste every inch of you, but I need you. I can't wait," he murmured into the side of my neck.
"Now…please, Edward…"
He reared off of me and reached to the table by the bed. After a moment of fumbling, he had rolled on a condom and returned to me. He stretched out along me, half over me, returning to kiss my mouth, nibbling, nipping my bottom lip, sucking it gently. I gripped his shoulders, trying to pull his body over mine. He sensed what I wanted, and shifted his weight, settling himself between my thighs. He never stopped kissing me, moving to my cheek, my jaw, my neck when we needed to catch our breath.
I felt him slip along me, pushing gently. We both stopped breathing and then he pushed in. I let out a long shuddering exhale at the sensation. He sucked his breath in through his teeth.
"Oh, God," he whispered.
He stopped moving for a moment, gasping for breath and control. As the initial wave of sensation passed, he began to push into me, long and slow. I moaned and arched under him. He reared up above me, and straightened his arms completely, and the shift in the pressure against me added a whole new urgency to things. I could feel the tightening starting already. I couldn't believe he could do this to me, that my body responded to him like this.
"Bella, open your eyes. Look at me," his voice was a ragged rasp.
I opened my eyes and looked up at him. The sight of him, long and lean stretched above me, every muscle in his perfect arms and shoulders flexed and straining as he pushed into me, his eyes half closed and black with lust, his mouth open as he dragged in uneven breaths, his hair in wild disarray from my fingers… he was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I wanted to touch every inch of that smooth skin and straining muscle. I ran my hands down over his shoulders, down the rippling, straining muscles of his back, gently digging in my nails as I went. He hissed. I gripped his hips with my hands and pulled him tighter into me, wrapping my calves up around the back of his thighs.
"Don't look away, baby. I want to see your face," he was murmuring.
I did as he asked, keeping my eyes on his as his movements picked up, and it was so intimate, the two of us, our eyes locked the way our bodies were locked, the most intimate moment of my life. The only sounds in the room were our gasps and moans as we worked closer to our edge. We were so perfect together, every inch of him nested into me like we were carved to compliment each other, every move he made was matched by my body before I could even think about it.
"Bella….I'm so close…I want you to …"
"I am too….oh, god, Edward…" And I felt myself coming apart again.
"Bella, I…." And Edward fell over the edge with me, gasping, before he collapsed against my neck.
I lay there in his arms, under his weight, floating, for what felt like an eternity, sure that I'd found paradise there, wrapped in Edward.
He stroked his hand from my temple over my cheekbone and down to cup my jaw, his eyes never leaving mine. He leaned in and kissed me, long and slow and gentle, stoking my cheekbone with his thumb.
"That was…amazing," he murmured against my mouth.
"Mmmm… I've never…it was never like…" I found myself unable to come up with a superlative that could adequately describe how beyond anything I'd ever experienced that was.
Edward chuckled low against my neck, wrapping his arms tight around me and rolling, so he was on his back and I was nestled in along the side of him, my head resting on his chest.
"I never want to let go of you," he said softly, pressing a kiss into the top of my head.
I felt boneless and blissfully content, unable to do more than lightly trace my fingers over Edward's ribs. He had his head thrown back on the pillow, one hand buried in my hair, twisting it around his fingers, the other idly rubbing my arm draped across him. I wanted to lay awake with him all night, talking, and kissing, and doing that a whole lot more, but I had just had one of the longer days of my life and it was now near dawn and I was more exhausted than I could remember being in ages.
So while I was laying curled into his side, thinking how exquisite, how very right it felt to be pressed against the warm solid length of him, I fell asleep.