For all of you still tagging along, I am really grateful!
Writing this story is quite a ride and I am so happy that I get to share it with you.
So hats off to you, guys!
At some point, Bella broke out of the chains. I had known from the beginning that it wasn't impossible for her, but the chains still held their own better than I expected. As soon as she was free, she made sure to penalize me for teasing her like I did - although I am not sure if sucking me and bringing me to the edge over and over again, before finally letting me spill my venom in her mouth for her to swallow could be considered much of a punishment.
It took us two full days to actually stop and have a conversation.
"If I knew that it would be like this, I would have turned you way sooner," my voice was hoarse, having just finished.
"God knows how many times I've asked you."
"Should've listened to you."
I held her tighter, listening to the sound of her breathing slowly getting back to regular.
"I'm glad you don't have to hold back anymore," she whispered.
"Me too. I didn't realize until recently how much I was missing out on when it came to being physical with you. The thing is... I can't seem to get enough of you."
"And that's a problem how?"
"Not a problem at all. It is now my full-time job to please you until you can't take it anymore, Mrs. Cullen."
"You might have to work over-hours if you think that is ever going to happen."
"Anything for you."
We laughed and she curled up closer to my chest. In that moment, nothing could have brought me greater joy than holding her in my arms. Our embraces held the same magic as they did when I used to sneak up into her bedroom, before we got married.
Back then, I would wait in her bed as she showered, allowing myself to get lost in fantasies of one day joining her under that hot stream of water. She always came back dressed in her soft pajamas and smelling amazing. I held her close to me as we spoke with gentle whispers, as our kisses danced on the verge of turning into more, as I stopped unwillingly before they did, then as she fell slowly into the land of dreams.
"You know, there's something I haven't had the chance to tell you," she muttered, pulling me from my daydream.
My jaw automatically clenched, not sure what to expect.
"What is that?"
She hesitated, but responded anyway:
"I did talk to Charlie over the phone while I was away."
Don't get mad. I ordered myself to keep calm. I had no reason not to. I was aware that she wanted to see him one last time, despite the risks. But the news still caught me unprepared. Her plan could expose her and put her in danger - and that was exactly what I was trying to avoid with all my being. If she lost her control for a second or if Charlie got too suspicious…
I couldn't allow my mind to explore the possibilities.
"Oh, you did?" my voice was empty of any nuance.
"Yes, I told him we came back from our trip to Europe."
Ah, the trip to Europe - the excuse I had served to poor Charlie before I went to Alaska to make love to his daughter, drink her blood and change her into an immortal being. I even told him that we were going to visit some isolated village, where there would be no reception, so that he wouldn't expect any calls from us.
Some son-in-law I was.
"And what did he say?"
"He seemed… worried. He wanted to know if we'd had fun."
"And did we?"
"I told him we hiked a lot," she grimaced.
"Very convincing."
She laughed, her face hidden in the nape of my neck. But there was an edge to her laugh, that was impossible not to notice.
"Is there something more?" I asked cautiously.
"Well…"
In moments like these, I needed access to her thoughts more than anything. It was so terribly unfair to be able to read the thoughts of everyone else around me, but not the thoughts of my beloved - the only thoughts that mattered to me.
"Bella?"
"Well... He was hoping I could visit him one of these days."
I froze.
"We are not having this conversation," my response came fast.
"Yes, we are," she insisted.
"It's too dangerous."
"I did just fine at the mall."
I tried to maintain an even tone:
"You keep your distance from the people at the mall and you don't hug the people at the mall - and most importantly, they can't suspect anything, since they haven't known you since the day you were born."
She looked at me with a fierceful glare.
"You've agreed to this, Edward. You've agreed to let me see him before we go."
I was unable to suppress my growl.
"Yes, but I was hoping you would be more reasonable and wait at least a full month before seeing Charlie."
"You're all gushing about my self control and how abnormally good it is," she pointed out, her voice raising an octave. "And I've run out of excuses for my dad."
"I haven't."
I was going to tell him whatever he needed to hear if that meant protecting her.
"Edward, you're not being fair right now," she complained and stood up. "Let's go home and see what Carlisle thinks about this."
Bella looked around, searching the room for her dress. She picked it up from the floor, where it had fallen when I ripped it. It was obviously unwearable, but she still made the hilarious effort to put it back on. She tried to knot two pieces together, but no matter what she did, her breasts kept on popping out of her makeshift dress.
"This is how you want to show up to our house?" I asked, trying not to laugh.
"Do you have any better ideas? I'm not the one who ripped it."
Her anger was now amusing. I stood up and went to her.
"Bella," I grabbed her wrists in one hand, to stop her from fumbling further with her dress. I undid the knot she made with the other, exposing her. "I will give you my shirt on the way home. As soon as we arrive, I'll ask Alice to bring you something to wear."
She snorted, without looking at me.
"We can have this discussion some other time," I said.
"Or we can have it now," she mumbled.
"We're not here to fight, love."
"I'm not fighting with you, I'm merely stating facts."
She finally raised her eyes to look at me. The anger was still there, although not as powerful as I had expected. We didn't have to do that now - arguing could wait.
"I think we can hit pause on that for now," I said, taking her face in my hands.
Her pupils dilated when she saw me getting closer, but she still made a last-resort effort:
"Just so you know, I am not doing this your way."
Oh, to hell with this! I pulled her face towards mine, crushing my lips to hers. She moaned under the pressure of my kiss and surrounded me with her arms. I ripped the rest of the dress to get rid of it and lifted her body up, so that she could wrap her legs around me.
"You never do, Bella," I said harshly when I pulled away to look into her eyes. "Why would you now?"
"Edward..." her voice was pleading.
She was rubbing up and down against my length, allowing me to feel how wet she was. I didn't think too much when I took her to the other side of the room and propped her on the unstable table. To my surprise, it didn't fall.
She opened her legs wide - as if I needed any more incentives. The next second I was deep inside her body. The next minute the table was no longer there. The next hour the discussion about Charlie vanished from my memory. The next day we had to stop when Alice called.
"Hi, Alice," I tried to keep a steady breathing pattern when I answered, seeing that Bella had no intention to take a break from pleasing me with her mouth.
"Hi, I am sorry to interrupt you."
Bella looked up at me with curious eyes. She didn't look away, not even once, as her mouth slid further down my length, until my tip hit the deepest spot in her throat. I grabbed a fistful of her hair, trying hard not to moan.
I wanted to speak, but I knew that if I opened my mouth right then, a lot of inappropriate sounds would have come out instead of words.
"Something happened, Edward, otherwise you know I wouldn't have called," she said apologetically.
"Tell me," I managed, somehow not being able to be as worried as Alice's voice sounded.
The pause on the other hand allowed me to let out a deep sigh when Bella's tongue found its way to my testicles. I wanted to hang up the phone and come in her mouth more than anything.
"I don't know if Bella told you about that phone call she had... She did call him on a whim, when she was in the dressing room and it was too late for me to..."
"Alice," I interrupted her. "What is it?"
A neverending pause. Bella stopping.
"Charlie is here."
My mind went blank. For a few seconds, I was unable to respond. I barely noticed that Bella was no longer on her knees in front of me. I could hear a faint whizzing on Alice's end, but I couldn't focus on it.
"He wants to see Bella."
"I am afraid he can't," I managed, after another pause.
"He is upset. And worried. His moods are driving Jasper insane actually."
I shouldn't have been surprised that Charlie was upset. It had been a week and a half since Bella's transformation and we didn't call or text him - well, that was until Bella decided to go rogue at the mall. As it turned out, our delay caused more harm than good.
"He is not leaving," she said. "He has actually been here for three hours."
"Three hours? God, Alice, and you're only calling me now?"
"He is with Carlisle now. They've been talking for a while, but I am not kidding: he is set on waiting as long as he has to."
The mental slaps I was giving myself were useless, but I felt I deserved them anyway.
"Where does he think we are now?"
"I told him you left this morning for Port Angeles, to grab something to eat and visit the city."
I laughed darkly.
"Listen, I thought this would discourage him from being this patient," Alice told me, her voice a little irritated. "Apparently it didn't. We've tried everything and we are not kicking him out - that's if you want Esme to ever talk to us again."
"Alice, I understand, but… it is too soon..."
"We are leaving in a month anyway," she countered. "This was bound to happen sooner rather than later anyway."
This didn't help me at all - not many things would have, to be honest, maybe with one exception:
"Tell me what you saw."
Another annoying pause, filled with the same whizzing as before.
"Please," I added. "I need to know."
"Okay," she caved. "If I am right, he will get suspicious - I don't know how he wouldn't. He'll maybe wonder if Bella's sick, but he won't get far."
"And Bella?"
She knew what I meant.
"I think she'll be okay. She's had three mountain lions when we went hunting."
"Did you see anything in particular?"
"I swear I didn't. You'll see this soon."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm actually in my car, heading your way."
So that was the explanation for the constant wheezing sound on her end.
"Emmett told me about the cabin. I am bringing Bella a new pair of contacts - and a change of clothes," she said, her voice once again tinged with irritation.
Of course she saw that.
"I am sorry," I said.
"I don't think you are," she chuckled with obvious sarcasm.
"You're right, I'm not."
"You're lucky I bought back-ups for some of the clothes. I'll see you soon."
After hanging up, I finally looked at Bella again. She had been quiet throughout my entire conversation with Alice. She was now curled up on the bed, with a guilty expression on her face. She spoke before I did:
"This is all my fault, Edward, I am so sorry..."
"Don't do this, love," I said. "I'm not mad at you. It is what it is."
Bella didn't seem convinced, but there was no point in arguing further. I had a much more important thing to do now, before Alice got to us.
I grabbed my shirt from the floor and offered it to her.
"Come on, let's get you dressed before Alice shows up."
She accepted my shirt reluctantly and put it on. It was too big for her small frame - hilariously so. On her, it looked more like an ill-fitting dress.
"Now what?"
"Now it's time to remember what being human should look like, Bella."
"I've been one until recently, I don't think I need special training for that."
"I don't have much time to convince you why you're wrong here."
She mocked me with a childish frown, before saying:
"Okay. So?"
"Let's start with the basics."
Among the three of us, I had no idea who was more tense, but I was willing to bet Bella had it worse, as we stepped out of the car and onto the porch. She was probably going through all the tips Alice and I had told her. While I needed her to play her part well, in order not to raise too many suspicions, there was one thing that I needed her to remember more than anything.
"Bella," I said, taking her hand in mine. "Please don't forget to keep holding your breath. This is the key."
Having so little time on hand, Alice and I agreed that the safest way out for Bella was to simply not breathe at all. This shouldn't have been too hard, since she didn't actually need to do it. Of course, she still had to do so every once in a while, to have enough air to keep talking, but she would do so using her mouth only, to avoid the possibility of inhaling the scent of blood fully. I had also told her about not forgetting to blink and remembering to move her limbs every once in a while, but no other action was as important as the inaction of not breathing.
"Don't be afraid," I reminded her.
"I am fine, I promise."
She smiled softly, her eyes glistening behind the chocolate contact lenses.
"Still the same visions, we should be all right," Alice's thoughts were calming. We could deal with Charlie's suspicions, if that was all that was at stake. And if anything were to happen, I was going to pull Bella away just in time.
We climbed up the stairs, holding hands, with Alice walking closely behind us. I could hear the chatter between Charlie and Carlisle from upstairs. Carlisle was telling Charlie about the new house he bought in Cardiff. Charlie was genuinely interested - that much I could pick out from his blurry thoughts.
When we entered the living room, everyone else was there, with various expressions of distress on their faces. Emmett was the only one who didn't seem to feel a tremendous amount of worry.
"That shirt is all kinds of crumpled, bro," he said as soon as he saw me. "It might give your father-in-law a clue about what kind of fun you've had in 'Port Angeles'."
"Oh, God..."
"So not the time, dude…"
"I might slap him so hard he won't know what hit him."
"Is he for real?"
An avalanche of thoughts came upon me right after Emmett asked his question.
"Not the time to be your usual crass self, Em," I told him.
"Let him be, he deserves that much after all this," Rosalie hissed.
"While you two were away and humping like rabbits, we've had to deal with Charlie and he is so not our problem, idiot."
I ignored her and focused my attention on Jasper instead.
"Jazz, could you please stand by when Bella will be with Charlie?"
"Of course. So what's the plan?"
"We'll stay in the kitchen, since it's the closest to the living room," Alice informed him.
"And I will join you soon after, because I'm sure Charlie will need some time alone with his daughter," I explained. "But there will be no talking - we'll need to keep our guard up at all times, in case anything happens."
"Tell me how I can help," Esme said.
"She is my daughter too, she needs me."
"If you could please stay upstairs with Carlisle, just to keep close, I would be extremely grateful," I said.
"Of course."
"Guys, you really don't have to do this. It is… way too much," Bella uttered.
"It really freaking is."
My eyes threw a million daggers towards Rosalie.
"Sweetie, we're your family, don't even worry about this," Esme assured her.
"I'll owe you one," Bella smiled.
"No need to. Rose and I will be around."
Rosalie frowned at Emmett upon hearing him, but didn't contradict him. From what I could pick up from her thoughts, they had a fight earlier about Charlie and it didn't go well. She didn't want to start another one.
"Okay, I'll go get Charlie then," Esme announced.
"Good luck."
The next second, they all disappeared from the room, only Bella and I remaining. I held her hand tighter and raised it to my lips to kiss it.
"How do you feel, love?"
"Ready."
We listened as Esme told Charlie that we arrived and as he fumbled nervously to get out of the chair, thanking Carlisle for his patience. I couldn't access his stream of consciousness, but I could sense the lingering questions that roamed through his head: each one of them about Bella.
When Charlie and Carlisle got out of the office, I noticed Bella's body tensing up ever so slightly next to me. A quick check confirmed me that she was still not breathing.
"Bella, thank God!" Charlie's voice was a mix of relief and excitement, as soon as he saw his daughter.
He descended two stairs at a time. Bella offered him a reluctant 'hello' and I could tell by the way she was moving that she was trying to put into practice what Alice and I had taught her. The only problem was that she was trying to do it all at once - and the result was rather cartoonish.
"He was worried sick, Edward," Carlisle's mental voice resonated high above Charlie's low frequency of thoughts, before he went back to his office, followed by Esme.
"Edward," Charlie said, noticing my presence. "Nice to see you."
"Chief Swan, the pleasure is mine," I said.
He didn't try to hug her, to my relief. His scent ignited some smoldering flames in my throat - nothing too bad, it was still manageable, despite the fact that it had been more than a week since I had the immense pleasure of feeding from Bella. The scent of his blood had the very same sweetness of Bella's, although nowhere near as potent. It was a heavily diluted version - yet still better than almost any other human's blood.
It was a good thing that Bella was holding her breath.
"You look different," Charlie mumbled, as his eyes scoured Bella's face.
"Oh, Alice made me her Barbie doll this morning, before we left, and tried a few makeup tricks on me."
"Hm."
I didn't like 'hm'. 'Hm' wasn't the equivalent of 'oh, so that explains it!'. It could have meant a thousand things. But Charlie's mind was making so little noise that I couldn't, for the life of me, begin to understand that 'hm'.
"So you didn't call," he observed.
"I have to apologize for that myself, Charlie," I intervened. "We've been so caught up in our moving to Cardiff, that we didn't get the chance."
What a terrible lie. The only thing we had been caught up in was a questionable amount of sex.
"So I've been told. How was Port Angeles?" he asked.
"Better than the last time we've been there," I responded, looking him in the eyes as my mind automatically revived all the memories from the cabin in the woods: Bella tied up in chains... Bella screaming my name after having her ninth orgasm in a row... Bella dripping wet and pulsing on my tongue...
"We've found a great panini shop," she said innocently, just as the last remains of air left her lungs, her voice breaking towards the very end of her sentence.
"And the Fine Arts Center was pretty good, as well."
"Sounds good, sounds good..."
Charlie's eyes wandered around the room. Behind the thick glass of his mind, I could understand that he wanted me to leave. I didn't want to leave Bella alone, having to deal with this peculiar meeting all on her own. I didn't want to go to that damned kitchen, where I wasn't close enough to decipher Bella's moods and reactions. I didn't want to take so many risks.
But I had to.
"I'll go to grab a cup of coffee," I lied. "You want some?"
They nodded a 'no' in unison. Bella looked at me with cautious eyes. She inhaled slowly through her open lips.
"If you need me, you know where to find me, love," I said to her, too fast and too low for Charlie to hear.
I kissed her forehead and then, gathering all my will, left them alone.
Alice and Jasper were already in the kitchen, waiting. They didn't say a word when they saw me - we could not afford to get distracted. They watched me as I sat down on the chair that was closest to the exit. Unfortunately, their minds weren't as silent and I had to make a great effort to zone them out and focus on what went behind the kitchen, in the living room.
I could hear Bella and Charlie making themselves comfortable in the living room, making small talk about the weather. There was distress on Charlie's part, but he hid it well.
"Tell me more about Europe, Bells," he mumbled. "You barely told me anything over the phone."
"We went to a small village in Switzerland, as I told you," she said, her voice getting quieter as she was running out of air. "It was amazing, of course - way sunnier than Forks."
"Okay, and where did you stay?"
A sharp intake of air. I remained unmoved, watching Bella closely through her father's eyes. Her hands were closed into fists - but other than that, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.
"They had a small motel in the center. You would have loved it."
I listened closer, calming down as Bella kept holding her breath.
"And how did all that hiking go, anyway?" he asked.
I ordered myself not to think about what our 'hiking' consisted of. It was not the time. Bella seemed unsure when she answered him:
"Better than expected, actually. I only got muscle fever after the third day."
For one reason or another, Charlie wasn't convinced at all in his mind, but he decided to let it drop.
"Carlisle told me more about your moving."
"Yes, we're supposed to leave in a few weeks."
"And you're sure about this, Bells?"
This must have caught my wife off-guard, because she made a longer than usual pause before speaking again:
"I guess I grew fond of Forks, but… I would say that yes, I am sure."
"It's an ocean apart, you know?"
"Of course, that's why they have planes for, dad."
Her sarcasm didn't impress him. She used the time he was trying to find his next words in her benefit, taking another breath of air through her lips.
"It feels too sudden though," he said. "Last winter we were still discussing colleges and now..."
"I am taking a gap year, dad. We've been through this before."
He sighed deeply, his thoughts a mix of worry and anger.
"All the kids who take a gap year end up not going to college at all."
"Then I'll be the exception."
"Carlisle told me that none of his kids are taking a gap year."
The pause that followed was tense. Charlie's pulse went up and his blood got more fragrant. Bella was still holding her breath, but she could certainly hear the erratic song of his heart calling out for her. I looked at Alice.
"She really is fine. You know I'd see if anything were to happen."
But no amount of knowledge could ease up my worry in that moment.
"Listen, I wasn't sure if I was going to tell you this, but someone has to," Charlie began, stuttering along the way.
His thoughts took a different direction, one that was aimed, suddenly, at me.
"Are you doing this whole thing for yourself or for Edward?"
"Dad..."
"Answer me."
"It's more complicated than that."
Bella was right. She had told me before that she didn't really want to leave Forks yet, because the familiarity brought her content. She wanted a year for herself, in which her only worry would be adapting to her new lifestyle. At the same time, she knew full well that we had to leave Forks behind, one way or another, so that her change couldn't attract much speculation among all the folks in town who knew her.
But how could she ever explain these things to Charlie?
"I can keep up."
"Dad, I need time for myself," Bella murmured carefully. "All my life I've played it safe, helping mom out with all of her responsibilities and getting good grades. Paying bills and cooking. I need this break."
This left her with no more air once again. Another round of deep inhaling.
"But why do I have a feeling there is something you are not telling me?"
"What could there possibly be that I am not telling you? You want to hear that I am doing this whole moving thing for Edward, but I can't give you that, because it wouldn't be the truth."
He remained silent, his mind taking in her words and trying to decide whether to believe her or not.
"I still think you're indulging his wishes more than you realize, Bells."
"Well, I can't help it if that's what you think. He is my husband and I would go to the end of the Earth and back for him. But this is not about him."
For the first time since they began talking, I smiled. I wanted to run to the living room and kiss her ardently. I heard Jasper chuckle in the background.
"Sometimes you're too stubborn for your own good, Bells."
I couldn't have agreed more with him.
"I hope that one year from now, I won't hear that you have a kid or something. That would mean kissing college goodbye for good."
"Dad, I wouldn't worry about that."
I tried not to laugh this time. If we weren't completely frozen and if I had the ability to get Bella pregnant, I was pretty sure that we would have had a football team worth of kids by the time we would have reached our thirties, since it was basically impossible to keep our hands off of each other. But that wasn't going to happen.
Back when I was still trying to convince Bella to remain human, I used to bring this argument to the table on a daily basis: that if I turn her, she will never ever be able to have a kid. I didn't believe her when she said she didn't want kids - after all, how many 18 year old humans do? - and told her that she will change her mind at some point in the future. It wasn't until she told me that all her life she felt like a mother to Renée and that she no longer wanted to feel that way towards anyone else that I understood: my Bella wasn't meant to be a mother. And this was a good thing for us, because I was aware that my own selfishness would've never allowed me to share her with anyone else.
"I hope so, because I don't want to become one of those young grandpas," Charlie said. "Will you at least come visit every now and then?"
"I will try."
That was the least she could promise him.
I heard her standing up from the armchair.
"Guess I've outstayed my welcome," he said, rising up as well.
Bella giggled and the sound threw Charlie off - he could tell that something was different, but he could not possibly understand what it was. I had barely noticed that she had inhaled once again.
"Come by the house before you leave, Bells."
"Of course."
They stepped towards the front door, before Bella called my name. I reminded myself to keep a human rhythm when I got out of the kitchen and walked up to them. Charlie's face was a mask of parental angst when he saw me.
"My dad was leaving and I thought you might want to say goodbye," she said.
"Chief Swan," I said. "Come by anytime."
He nodded 'yes', but deep down he felt uneasy.
"I'll see you around, kids. Be good."
We shook hands and he shivered upon feeling my cold touch. Then, just as he was walking out of the house, he turned around. Before I could realize it, his arms were already around Bella, grabbing her into a tight hug. I watched in horror as the shock of his gesture caught her unprepared. Her eyes widened and, out of habit, she breathed in through her nose.
The growl in her chest was too subtle for Charlie to hear, but it was as loud as a plane crash to my ears. It was the growl of a predator that had got too close to the prey.
"Oh, no, no, no!" these were the only thoughts Alice managed to have in the millisecond it took her to arrive from the kitchen to where we were standing.
"I am so sorry to interrupt, guys," she said with the most playful voice, despite her inner dread. "I made a whole mess in the kitchen trying to heat up some oil and I really need your help, Bella."
Alice grabbed Bella away with force. For a brief second, I could see the mad look in her eyes when Alice took her away, guiding her to the kitchen. Charlie frowned, his mind trying to understand what had just happened.
"Alice is a disaster in the kitchen," I explained. "She always does these things."
I could hear loud sounds in the kitchen and Alice's soft voice growling 'Be good!'.
"Hm."
Another 'hm', this time followed by the low echo of his thoughts. Charlie was a smart man. He didn't believe our charade.
"I am glad you dropped by, Chief Swan," I said, my anxiety going through the roof.
"You take good care of my daughter. Understood?"
"It is my lifelong mission to do so, sir."
We didn't shake hands again. As soon as he got into his car, I rushed to the kitchen. I was welcomed by the sight of Bella sitting quietly on a chair, with Alice and Esme in front of her, holding her hands. Jasper was standing close to them, working his magic to help Bella relax. Carlisle, Emmett and Rosalie were right next to him.
"Is everything all right, sweetheart?" I asked Bella, as I went to her and allowed my fingers to run through her hair - a simple gesture, but it had always had a calming effect on her.
"She's feeling guilty."
"I don't know what came over me," she whispered.
"He just took you by surprise, that's all," Alice said.
"Not her fault," Esme's mental voice was assertive.
"I know, but still… I was so close to hurting him..."
"Bella, it is never easy to get so close to a human and not get triggered," I said, trying to interrupt whatever violent scenario was going through her head. "Even for us."
She had to understand this. She knew how hard it had been for me to get close to her when she was human, how long it had taken me to even touch her face without panicking.
"You don't have to feel guilty," Carlisle said. "You have to remember that you're still a newborn."
"But I was fine at the mall, I thought..."
"You've kept a safe distance from humans there, sweetie," Esme reminded her.
"This pity party is taking too long," Rosalie thought.
"You're still adapting, my love," I said. "No one's blaming you."
"And believe it or not, Bella, you're actually doing better than any of us expected you to - and better than most newborns, for what it's worth," Carlisle pointed out.
"She's a miracle," Rosalie's voice was tainted with bitter sarcasm.
"Do me a favour and shut up, Rose," I uttered.
"Dude, she's dealing with her own stuff," Emmett defended her.
"I don't even know why I'm wasting my time here. I don't have to watch you all pamper her with kind words after she almost lost it."
She got out of the room before I had the chance to reply to her thoughts.
"She'll come to her senses," Esme muttered.
Bella looked down, her pouty lips twisting in a grimace.
"Okay, if we're gonna stay here and sulk all day, I'm hopping on the next plane to Cardiff before any of you does," Emmett announced. "Let's do something."
"Do you have anything particular in mind?" Jasper smiled.
"Now that Bella and Edward are both here - and before they leave again to do the devil's tango for God knows how many days - I propose to you this: an honest race. No tricks, no headstarts, no nothing."
"Already forgot the pain of the last loss, Em?" I asked, smirking.
"Go to hell, dear brother."
"You know, that actually sounds fun," Bella said. "I've been wanting to do this."
"Let's see what you are made of, sis."
Bella smiled and I couldn't help but do the same. I couldn't wait to see her defeat not only me, but everyone else as well. She needed a win, after what had just happened.
"Any particular route you prefer?" Carlisle asked.
"Sol Duc River to Crescent Lake, what do you think?"
"I think Bella's going to make you cry harder than I did when you will lose," I told him.
"Ah, that's got to burn," Jasper thought.
Without thinking too much, Emmett grabbed a plate from the kitchen counter and threw it at me. The plate crashed against my chest, breaking into dozens of small pieces.
"Em," Esme scolded him. "Behave yourself!"
"Very mature," I added.
"It. Is. On," he smiled. "Come on, let's go outside to find a place to start."
Everyone followed him outside, laughing and making bets about the three finalists. Bella seemed to be everyone's favourite. Only her and I remained in the kitchen. Her cinnabar-like eyes scoured my face.
"You've got any tips for me before we go out there?"
I bent down, to get closer to her face.
"Yes. Don't look behind - if Emmett's there, he will try to distract you."
She smiled and I closed the small distance between us with a kiss. Her seraphic taste made me lose it in less than a few seconds, as usual. I grabbed her, lifting her from the chair and positioning her on the counter. My lips trailed off to discover her neck.
"Edward, we're being waited for..."
"I know," I smiled. "Let them wait a little."
Her hands traced the muscles on my back, sending waves of pure pleasure to my core. The air soon became thick with the scent of her arousal.
"Can we… go somewhere tonight? Please?"
"I was hoping you would ask," I murmured.
"And I was hoping you wouldn't make us wait like idiots so that you two can have sex in the kitchen!" Emmett shouted from outside.
I rolled my eyes and Bella quickly got out of my grip and slid her feet to the floor.
"I think we need to go."
I sighed and tried to reposition my erection, so that it wouldn't be so obvious.
"We'll finish this tonight," I promised her.
"Are you telling me where we're going this time?"
"Somewhere special."
"Any clues?"
"Not a chance," I grinned.
I had to make a few urgent phone calls to set my plan into motion, but she didn't have to know that.
"You're always keeping me on my toes," she said. "We'll have all night, right?"
"Of course, love. And all of tomorrow."
"Hmmm, that sounds about perfect..."
I leaned down to feel the silky skin of her cheek with my lips.
"The benefit of working over hours," I told her, a smile hidden in my voice, before disappearing out the door.
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