Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I am honored that I have the opportunity to utilize such wonderful characters in the way.
Chapter 15 – We Did What?
EPOV
When I came out of the shower and saw Bella dressed in a corset and stockings with her hair all curly, I couldn't help but think of Izzy. Watching her sit there and put her make-up on, touch up her hair, slip into that dress, and step into her shoes helped me in a way that probably doesn't make sense to most. You see, it was hard for me to think of Bella and Izzy as the same person. I knew they were, but mentally I still thought of them as separate women. Witnessing the transformation process helped me tie the two together.
When I told Bella that I told Jasper everything, I expected her to be furious, but she surprised me and took it well. She was glad that I had someone to talk to. She really is the perfect woman for me. I couldn't ask for a better girlfriend.
She looked stunning in that dress. I could barely keep my hands off of her. The difference between Bella from school and Bella on this cruise is pretty impressive, but when you compare Bella from school with Izzy, the difference is unfathomable. I knew Jasper was going to be shocked by the change. Not only does her appearance change, but the way she carries herself changes too. She seems much more confident and is considerably flirtier.
Dinner was nice. I can honestly say that Bella was the most beautiful woman in the entire dining room. The waiters were all falling over themselves trying to help her. If she took a sip of water, they were there to refill it. It was almost funny watching them.
When we went to meet Jasper and Alice, Bella stepped out for a minute. Jasper and Alice came in and sat down at the table with me. I complimented Alice's dress and listened to Jasper brag about how lucky he was to have such a beautiful wife. He was telling me about what he had for dinner when Bella came into the room. Alice was the first to see her. She waved and told Jasper, "Look, Jazz, Bella's here."
Jasper looked around but didn't see her. I looked up and couldn't miss her. She had just stepped around a group of people standing by the door and headed our way. I got up and gave her a kiss. When I turned back around, Jasper's mouth was on the floor. He couldn't stop staring at her. At first, I was worried that Alice would be offended at his reaction but she didn't seem to mind it at all. She knew that no matter who else he looked at, his heart belonged to her and he would never risk losing her by cheating with another woman.
When Jasper said, "Bella?" he sounded like he wasn't sure it was her.
I almost fell out of my chair when Bella walked right up to him and said, "That's Miss Izzy to you!" I swear Jasper almost came in his pants right there in the middle of the bar!
Alice and I couldn't hold back our laughter anymore. When I pulled Bella into my arms and told her to stop teasing poor Jasper, she gave him a wink to let him know she really was just teasing. I could see him let out a sigh of relief.
Bella and I sipped our drinks while Jasper and Alice danced. Bella was taking pictures of them. It was fun. I took a few candid shots of Bella and she took some of me. When they came back to catch their breath, a good song came on, so I drug Bella out on the dance floor. As we danced, I glanced over at Jasper. He fanned himself and mouthed, "She's hot!" I nodded my head and smiled.
Jasper went to get a round of drinks while Bella and I danced. It took a little while because the bar was pretty full. Alice looked bored. She was flipping through the pictures in Bella's camera and typing on her cell phone. I saw Jasper head to the table with our drinks, so I led Bella back to the table.
As we approached, I noticed that Alice looked exceptionally pale. I wondered if she was feeling well. She said, "I think I figured out what your tattoos mean." She held up the camera showing us wearing white and kissing. Bella was holding flowers and looked like she was wearing a veil. I thought to myself, I don't remember going to one of those dress up places for pictures. You know, the ones where you could dress up as cowboys or pirates, or whatever. That has to be what we were doing, right?
Then Alice turned her phone around. On it was a picture of our tattoos. Beneath the picture it said, "Husband and Wife"
Bella and I looked at each other and said, "OH SHIT!"
Jasper turned to Alice and asked what she showed us. When she showed them to Jasper, he said, "It is now official. All stupid drunken references will forever be deemed 'pulling a Bella and Edward!' I don't want to hear any more shit about stupid things I do when I get drunk. This one takes the cake! Do either of you even remember getting married?"
We looked at each other and shrugged. Bella said she remembers a woman helping her change clothes and play with her hair. She also remembers me saying something to her in Spanish and kissing her. Jasper asked what she heard me say. Bella tried to recall my words. From what we can decipher from her memory, I said, "Para siempre mío. Te quiero" which means, Forever Mine. I love you.
I tried to think about the memories I had of that afternoon… We were drinking at the cantina. Bella wanted to go walking. We bought some candy and shared it. Bella kissed a baby on the head. I asked her if she wanted to have my baby. She told me we would have to get married first. A teller at a bank handed me money. Bella signed a piece of paper. A man said something to Bella that she didn't understand. Bella was wearing a white dress. A woman whispered something into Bella's ear making Bella smile at me and nod her head. The man told me to "Love my woman." I handed him cash. I remember unlocking Bella's room and bringing in bags of stuff, while Bella collapsed on the bed. Then I remember Bella waking me up.
When I shifted my attention back to the conversation at the table, Bella and Alice were looking through the pictures on the camera seeing if they could jog Bella's memory. Alice said, "According to the internet, there is a two to three day waiting period from the time you get a marriage license to the time you can get married. They also require a blood test. Did either of you have blood drawn?"
We both looked at our arms closely. It was dim in the bar, so I picked up the little candle from the table and held it to Bella's arm. Sure enough, there was a tiny needle hole. I rolled up my sleeves and checked my arms. I had one as well. Shit!
Bella said, "It looks like we did the blood test. We weren't there for two days so we couldn't have really gotten married, could we?"
Jasper put his hand on her shoulder. "Bella, things in Mexico are not the same as they are back home. If you have enough money, city officials can be very lenient." Jasper looked at me and asked, "What do you remember, Edward?"
I turned to Bella and said, "You kissed a baby and I asked you if you wanted to have my baby. You said we needed to get married first. From what I can tell from my memories, I think we went to the bank and took out some cash, probably for the bribe. I remember you signing something. You were wearing a white dress. An old man said something that you didn't understand and a woman whispered in your ear. You smiled at me and nodded. He told me to love you and I paid him. Then I remember us being back in the room on the boat."
Bella turned to Alice and Jasper and said, "If we really got married, wouldn't we have the marriage license in the room somewhere?"
Alice said, "No, Bella, they mail it to your address once it's filed with the courts."
"There has to be some kind of evidence that it really happened, right?" She asked.
She and Alice went up to the room to look through our bags while Jasper and I went for a walk on the deck so I could clear my head. Jasper knew me well enough that he didn't bother asking me questions. He knew I would talk when I was ready. Twenty minutes later, I sat down on a window seat in one of the quiet hallways and said, "Jasper, what the hell am I going to do?"
Jasper thought about it for a moment and said, "Edward, before we start analyzing this, I want to say a few things. First off, you owe me a HUGE favor for letting you take Emmett's place that night. Bella as… Miss Izzy is lust on legs! Second, I can't believe you were only going to see her once a week! My ass would have been there every night and twice on Saturdays! Third, I love Alice and I love you, man. Even though Bella might possibly hold a spot in at least one of my fantasies, you need to know that I would never try anything with her. Are we clear on that?"
I nodded my head. I knew he was just trying to keep things from getting awkward between us over his discovery of Bella's secret persona. "Thanks, Jasper. We're clear."
"Ok, now that I have that off my chest, let's get into some more important details here." He thought a second and asked, "Do you love her, Edward?"
"I think so. I was kind of hoping to have a little time to figure that out before I went and married her. We just said I love you for the first time two days ago."
"And you apparently married her yesterday." Jasper said with a smile, "It sounds like your mind was pretty made up. I have never known you to be impulsive, Edward. You were always the guy that needed to think about everything and make a plan. You never just got up and said lets go do something. You were always reserved like that with women too. Do you remember how you used to plan out your dates down to the minute? You would even have back up plans just incase something ran over your allotted time limit."
"That's not funny, Jazz. I wasn't that bad." I rolled my eyes.
"Yes you were, Edward. You didn't start lightening up until you moved to Forks, but then you became every woman's friend. I thought you were going to be the eternal bachelor. Never having a serious relationship with a woman and growing up to be a fat old man sitting on a couch, in his underwear, obsessed with ESPN."
"There is nothing wrong with ESPN, Jasper. I don't see where this is going."
"What I am saying is that Bella has changed you. One look at her, at that club, and you knew right at that moment that you wanted to see her again. You impulsively booked up her Thursdays. Even though Emmett and I had been trying to convince you to talk to Bella for months, you never even considered it, then one day, you happen to be walking with me when Bella asked for help with that Valentine's Day banner. I know you only stayed to be polite, but she made an impact on you. You started going back to talk to her without being pushed. Oh a whim, you decided to be generous and took her shopping then took her to and from work for almost a week, even though it was out of your way."
He paused, giving me a minute to let it all sink in. Was I being more impulsive with her? Has she changed me? Is the change for the better? I guess I was being a little less structured than I usually was with relationships.
Jasper waited until I looked up at him to continue. "Edward, I think you love her, and I think that she is very good for you. I think you know subconsciously that she is the one."
This thought scared me. "Ok, so maybe she is good for me. Maybe I really do love her. What do you think I should do?"
"Edward, you know I don't usually give direct advice. I usually just point out details to lead you in the right direction and then let you make your own decisions. I can not make the decision for you, but I can tell you a few key facts. Assuming you are married to her, if you divorce her, it is going to put a strain on your relationship. She will always wonder if you divorced her because you were not serious about your relationship or if you divorced her just to undo a drunken mistake. That marriage license is just a piece of paper. No one has to know it even exists if you don't want them to."
"What are you saying, Jasper? Please just spit it out. I am just a little too overwhelmed here to decipher puzzles and try to make sense of your reasoning." I said as I pinched the bridge of my nose and squeezed my eyes shut.
"I'm just saying, as long as you two are dating, it doesn't hurt to just let it stay the way it is. You can divorce later, if the relationship doesn't work out. If it does work out, you can always get married again. You could have a big ceremony in front of all of your friends and family. No one would have to know that you're just renewing your vows."
Could Jasper be right? Could we just pretend we weren't married and continue to date like any other couple? It would be much easier for both of us to just set it aside and deal with at a later date. I needed to talk to Bella and see how she felt about the idea.
"Thank you, Jasper. Thank you for being such a good friend and not rubbing my nose in my mistakes. I think I need to go talk to Bella and see how she feels about all this." I got up to walk away but Jasper stopped me.
"Edward, before you go, you need to think about how you are going to say things. If you go in there saying that this was just a mistake, you are going to hurt her feelings. This was no accident, Edward. This took planning. You put enough thought into it to go get the blood test done, find a bank, take out some cash to bribe the official, get something to wear, get married, and get a tattoo afterwards. This has intent written all over it. You may not remember it, but you were serious about this when you did it."
I felt my knees get weak. I had to sit back down and catch my breath. He was right, this was no accident. I planned this. Jasper said I was always a planner and even though I hate to admit it, he is right. I do prefer having a plan before I act. I would have written something down. I wonder what Bella and Alice have found in our things…
"You're right. This was no accident. It may have been tequila induced stupidity but it was not an accident. It is possible that I planned this and took advantage of Bella. She doesn't speak Spanish. The only thing I remember saying to her was in Spanish. Maybe she didn't realize she was marrying me. I have go to go talk to her."
Jasper and I got up and went to the room. Alice was still there. They had bags of stuff spread out on the bed. Alice was laughing but Bella looked a little green.
"Hey Edward," Alice said, "You are one hell of a shopper!" She picked up another bag and brought it over to Bella, so they could go through it. "Some of this stuff is hilarious! I can't believe you actually bought a draw string pouch made from a goat's ball sack!" I did? I thought I put that back.
Bella and Alice sorted through that bag, placing the contents into various piles on the bed. Jasper took a seat on the sofa. I went over to look at the piles.
Bella looked at me nervously and said, "This is stuff that I remember buying." She pointed to a small pile of stuff. "This is stuff I remember you buying." She pointed to a larger pile. "And this is stuff I either remember seeing, but not buying, or don't think I have ever seen before."
I looked through the pile of unknown items and remembered a few of them, so I sorted them into our piles accordingly. "So, did you find anything from the… wedding?"
"I found our clothes and some papers." Bella said as she turned and picked up the little stack of papers behind her. "It looks like we wrote our own vows on bar napkins. So we must have made the decision to get married in the cantina." She handed me the bar napkins. The first one I looked at was written in my handwriting. It said:
Isabella Marie Swan, you are the center of my world. Your smile brightens my day. Your laughter fills my heart with joy. You are all I think of day and night. I promise that I will never let another person come between us. I will stand by your side and proudly hold your hand through the rest of the days of our lives. I am honored to call you my lover, my friend, my equal, and most of all, my wife. I love you.
Wow! I am pretty smooth when I'm drunk! Who would have guessed? The other said:
Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, you are the sun that warms my skin on a cold winter day. You are the brightness that holds the darkness at bay. You are the guide to direct me and show me the way, and the shelter to help me weather each day. Words cannot describe the love I feel for you. You are everything I have always wanted and so much more. I will hold my head high and stand by your side, no matter what life throws at us. I promise you my love, my life, my loyalty, my support, and my faithfulness, for you are my husband and I love you.
Well, that definitely shows that we planned this out together. I didn't trick her by saying things she did not understand. She wrote her own vows and I wrote mine. It is just so strange that neither of us remember writing them.
"I found a bank receipt for one thousand dollars. I checked and it's not my bank account number. I also found the receipt for the tattoos." She handed me the receipts, one from the bank, and one from a tattoo parlor.
I glanced at the hand written receipt from the tattoo parlor. It showed that we paid in cash but not much else. I looked at the bank receipt. It was time stamped for 2:34pm. So we must have gotten married sometime between then and whatever time the Civil Register Office (Oficina del Registro Civil) closes. The amount on the receipt showed a withdrawal of $1,000 USD and then calculated the conversion to Mexican Pesos. That's strange. I don't have $1000 in my bank account. I wouldn't have been able to withdraw that much money… unless I… OH SHIT! The receipt only showed the last four digits of the bank account number, but that was all I needed to know that things just got a lot more complicated. I felt my world tilt on its axis. I took a seat on the foot of the bed.
Bella blushed and handed me the last item in her hand. "Umm, I doubt it's important, but I found this as well."
It was a brown paper sack with writing all over it. It looked like I was writing in black ink and she was writing in blue. I had written my name, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen. Below it she had written Isabella Marie Swan. I signed Edward A. Cullen, like I usually do. She signed Bella Swan and then Bella Swan-Cullen. Apparently she didn't like that, so she signed Bella Cullen a few times. I wrote Mrs. Edward A. Cullen. She wrote Mr. Bella Cullen. It looks like I scribbled that out. I wrote EC+BC and drew a heart around it. She wrote 4ever beneath it. I wrote my address down. She practiced writing Bella Cullen and my address like she was addressing a letter. Then she practiced it several times like she was trying to memorize it.
I pictured two newlyweds sitting at a picnic table in a park talking about their new lives together. The image in my head was sweet. I wished I could have remembered it. It took a lot of thought to write out our vows, plan the bribery of a government official, practice writing an address and getting a tattoo. I know tequila can be some pretty stout stuff and I do remember being quite drunk, but I have NEVER had memory loss like that before. This just wasn't right.
I don't know how long I sat there deep in my own thoughts. I was jarred out of my bubble when Jasper sat beside me on the bed. I looked around and the room was clean. Everything had been put away and Bella and Alice were gone.
"Edward, are you ready to talk about this yet, or do you still need time?" I handed him the papers that I was holding in my hands. He glanced through them and said, "This doesn't look like an accident. This looks pretty damn intentional if you ask me."
"I was thinking thing the same thing, Jazz. You were right. We apparently put some thought into it. What's bothering me is that neither of us remembers it. Something must have happened to make us not remember. Do you think we could have been drugged? I don't think we could have done all this planning while we were so drunk that we wouldn't remember what we were doing."
"I agree with you. I have seen you get pretty drunk before and you have never lost memory like this. Even at my worst, I only forget maybe the last ten minutes before I pass out. The tattoos alone would have taken more than ten minutes and you were still functional enough to make it back to the ship, stand in line to board, go up to the room, and get undressed. Someone must have slipped you something."
"Yes, but why." I pulled out my wallet and checked. All the credit cards were there. Nothing was missing. I still had some cash in my wallet.
Jasper looked a little uncomfortable but managed to say, "Do you think they did something to Bella? I mean some guys drug women to take advantage of them. I have heard that the women can't remember what happened when it's over."
"Oh my god, Jasper, I hope not! Where are they anyway?" I suddenly felt frantic. If someone had done something to Bella, I would… I would… I don't know, but I would do something!
"They went downstairs to get some pizza. They will be right back."
"Jasper, I did something else really stupid." I handed him the bank receipt.
"I would say so, that's a lot of fucking money, Edward." Jasper said looking at the total.
"No, the amount isn't what worries me. What worries me is the bank account number. When I moved to Forks, my mother sat up an emergency funds account for me, just in case something bad happened and I needed cash fast. That's where I got the money. I am sure by now my parents have been notified that I took out $1000 in Mexico. My dad is going to shit!"
"You don't think he's going to show up at the school like he did last time, do you? Because that shit was totally embarrassing!"
"You're telling me! I couldn't get him to leave. He just sat there, in the back of my classroom, watching me teach all day. I swear he told everyone that would listen how proud he was that I was 'helping the less fortunate'. You would think I was in the Peace Corps!"
Jasper laughed, "I think the only good thing that came from that day was the hefty donation he gave to the school for new computers."
The door to the room opened. The ladies had returned with pizza and drinks for us. We all started eating when Jasper piped up with, "Hey, Bella, have you checked to see if you were robbed?"
She swallowed her bite of pizza and said, "Yes, I checked but nothing's missing."
Jasper said, "Do you think someone tried to do something to you… um… something inappropriate?"
With a serious face, she said, "Besides this guy?" she pointed to me and everyone laughed. "No. I'm fine."
Alice was busy typing on her blackberry. "Other than at the bar, is there anywhere else you could have had anything to eat or drink?"
I told her, "I remember buying Bella some candy from a street vendor. She had a couple pieces but said it was too sweet, so I finished it."
"Where were you?" Alice asked as she steadily typed on the device.
"I don't know. Near a park, I think. It was sometime after we left the bar, but before we found the bank."
Bella said, "I think I remember you asking some people for directions to the bank. There were little kids around. We may have been in a park."
Alice said, "Ok, here is my theory. I think you planned your wedding at the bar. You left the bar to go find a bank. You went into the park to ask for directions. Someone may have overheard you and decided to drug you so they could rob you after you left the bank. I think it was probably the guy that sold you the candy. Kidnapping is a serious problem in some areas of Mexico. They take kids from parks, or wherever, and hold them for ransom. That is probably what the guy was doing in the park with drugged candy. He probably gave you the candy and followed you to the bank, knowing it would take a little while to kick in. What he didn't account for was that you were heading to the Civil Register Office which just so happens to be directly across the street from the bank. You probably went directly there from the bank, so the guy didn't have an opportunity to get to you."
"But, wouldn't that just knock us out? How did we make it back to the ship?" Bella asked.
"Not necessarily. He probably used rohypnol or GHB. That wouldn't necessarily knock you out, but it would make you very susceptible to suggestions and mess with your memory. If he used it on a kid, he wouldn't have to grab them and make a scene. He could simply tell the kid to get in his car and drive away with him. When the drug wore off, the kid wouldn't remember who took him."
Jasper said, "That would explain why Edward ended up with the tattoo. He has never wanted one before, but if Bella suggested it, he would have said yes because of the drugs. It is possible that the tattoo artist asked what you were celebrating and suggested the husband and wife symbols. You probably just went with his recommendation. Being drugged by someone in the park would explain why you don't remember the bank, the wedding, the tattoo, and the trip back to the ship, but it doesn't explain why you don't remember discussing it at the bar and writing your vows."
Bella asked, "Do you think it's possible that we were drugged at the bar and someone told us we should get married?"
I said, "I don't think so. I remember asking you if you wanted to have my baby and you said that we would have to get married first. If you were under the influence of the drug at the time, you wouldn't have added the stipulation. You would have just said ok. I don't know why we don't remember planning the wedding, but I doubt it was drugs. Maybe it was the tequila."
Bella came over to stand in front of me. She bit her lip and took a deep breath. She seemed unsure of herself. "Edward, deep down inside, do you think you wanted to marry me? I mean… is it something that has ever even remotely crossed your mind at all, over the last few days?"
I wasn't sure what to say. What did she want to hear? Would she be mad if I said yes? Would she be offended if I said no? I tried to read her expression, but all I could see was concern. I heard a click and realized that Alice and Jasper had left the room. They knew that this was a private conversation that they really didn't need to witness.
"Umm… Bella, I don't know how to answer that without getting in trouble. I don't want you to be mad at me." I looked down at our hands.
"I won't be mad at you, Edward, just tell me the truth. Have you thought about marrying me or maybe thought about us being together long term?"
"Well… I guess so… I mean, I have thought about how much I would miss you when we got back to Forks and you go back to your apartment. I had a random thought that we were perfect together and I never wanted to let you go. When I was having my jealous moment, before the fight, I had a rather possessive thought that you were mine." I could see the slight smile building on her face. "Each morning I wake up holding you, I have wished that I could wake up like that everyday. I am not sure that I have actually thought about 'marriage' but the general idea of togetherness has been there. How about you? Have you been thinking about it?"
Bella nodded her head slightly and said, "My thoughts have been very similar to yours. I didn't want to say goodbye when we went home. I wished I could wake up with you everyday. I wished that we could stay together, so we could have sex whenever we felt like it. I have to admit, I was worried that you wouldn't want me anymore when we got back to our lives and reality set in."
I pulled her into my arms, "Bella, I will always want you. Don't think for one second that I don't." I kissed her softly.
"I want you too, Edward. I have always wanted you. Before you knew me, back when I was just a silly librarian with a crush on a history teacher, I used to daydream about being married to you. In my daydreams, you would come home from work and kiss me passionately then scoop me up and carry me into the bedroom and make love to me all night long." I smiled listening to her confession. It sounded perfect. "Of course, in my daydreams we never needed to bother with things like showers, food, or using the restroom." I laughed at her silliness.
"Bella, I think I know how we ended up getting married." I told her. She gave me curious look so I continued. "You must have told me about your fantasy of being married to me! When you said it, just now, I remember hearing it before. I remember telling you that I would make sure we stopped to eat and have bathroom breaks, but we could take a shower together and pick back up where we left off."
Her eyes lit up as her memories came back to her, "And I told you that you could wash the goop out of my hair!"
I laughed, "I said I would be washing more than your hair."
"Oh shit, Edward! We actually got married! It's still a little fuzzy, but it's starting to come back. I remember buying the clothes on our way to the park. I was holding them when we walked to the park!" She was excited. I could see her eyes sparkling.
I stood us both up and turned around to face her. She looked confused. "Bella, our entire relationship has happened out of order. I know we are already married, but I never properly proposed, so…" I dropped to my knee. "I know we haven't been together very long but I love you, Bella, and I can't imagine my life without you. Would you please do me the honor of being my wife?"
She swiped at a happy tear that slid down her cheek and nodded her head, "Of course, Edward. I would love you be your wife."
She almost knocked me over as she threw herself into my arms and kissed me passionately. Her hands were tangled in my hair as her tongue explored my mouth. I shifted backwards so I was lying on my back, on the carpet. Her hands slid down the front of my shirt and unbuttoned it slowly. I felt her silky fingertips slide along my stomach as they made their way down to my belt. She was still wearing that sexy black dress. I reached around behind her and opened the long zipper at the back. With the dress unzipped, I was able to pull it up over her head and toss it across the room. I moaned at the sight of her in that corset. I let my fingers trace the swells of her breasts. So soft! So beautiful! My hands trailed down the silky corset and slipped inside the back of her panties to squeeze that luscious ass of hers.
"Oh Edward, I want you so bad!" She whispered as she nibbled my ear and ground herself against me. "I want you naked and sitting on that couch, NOW!" She didn't have to tell me twice. I quickly got to my feet, completely undressed, and parked myself on the couch wearing nothing but a smile.
She moved the small coffee table so it was in front of the door, giving herself a little bit of floor space. She then pulled her iPod out of her bag, made a selection and handed me the ear buds. Mmmm, she is going to perform for me! I started to get even harder just thinking about it. The dark menacing sounds coming from the little device were "Tempus Vernum" by Enya. She was standing with her back to me running her hands slowly along the length of her body, in time with the music. She reached back and untied the stays of the corset, then turned around and looked me straight in the eyes as she started unhooking the tiny hooks, one by one in time with the music. Each hook released allowing it to open further. The song ended just as she dropped the corset to the floor.
She maintained eye contact with me as the next song started to play. It was "2 Wicky" by Hoover. The slow and sensual sounds flooded my ears as she began to sway her hips and dance with the music. The sight was hypnotic. I started to slowly stoke myself as she ran her fingers up her body to cup her breasts and lick her lips. Still looking into my eyes, she bent at her waist as she slid one of the nylons slowly down her leg and removed it from her foot. She tossed it to me and then removed the other and did the same. She turned around, so her back was to me, and slowly slid her panties down as she swayed her hips with the music. I let out a moan at the sight. When she bent over to step out of her panties, I could see that she was wet. I wanted her badly. A drop of my own moisture surfaced at my tip. I ran my thumb over it and spread it around the head as I continued to stroke myself. I had seen her dance before, but never a slow striptease.
When the song ended, she climbed up on my lap. We locked eyes as she took my hands and held them to the wall above my head with one of her hands. The next song started, "The Panties" by Mos Def. I moaned as I slipped inside her and she began slowly moving up and down in time with the song. I was completely enchanted by the emotions that were welling up in her eyes as her body took me slowly up then slowly down. I could feel her muscles flexing as she moved, her nipples grazing against my chest, and her heavy breaths on my skin. I wanted to move. I wanted to shift my hips and thrust into her, but I knew that was not what she wanted. All I could do was sit there completely mesmerized as my senses were engrossed with the sensuality of her movements.
Her pace sped up in time with the song as it changed. I was moaning. The music in my ear was telling me to "slow down" and "take it slow" but the feeling of her muscles contracting around me were telling me to do just the opposite. I knew that it had only been a few minutes, but her face was flushed and she was moaning. I was so completely caught up in her reactions that my body was mirroring hers. As she moaned, I moaned. As her head tilted back slightly, so did mine. I could feel her orgasm building fast and hard and mine was building right along with it. As the song was ending, she closed her eyes and threw her head back. The sudden loss of eye contact and the feel of her body clenching and trembling around my throbbing cock was enough to push me over the edge. I let out a loud moan and let my head fall back as my orgasm overtook me.
Bella let go of my hands and wrapped her arms around me. She tucked her head under my neck and cuddled in my lap while I listened to "Such Great Heights" by Iron & Wine. The song was light and sweet with lyrics of people that are made for each other. It was the perfect song for me and Bella. We were perfect for each other.
When the song was over, Bella turned the iPod off and said, "Take me to bed, Mr. Cullen."
"As you wish, Mrs. Cullen." I picked her up and placed her on the bed with a gentle kiss. "I love you, Bella."
"I love you too, Edward."
I climbed into bed and snuggled up behind her. I watched as she drifted off to sleep. I can't believe I actually married this beautiful woman beside me. How could I be so lucky? Tomorrow would be our last day at sea. The following morning we would land in LA and start the long drive to Mt. Shasta, California where we would spend the night in a little bed and breakfast Alice found on the internet. Monday morning we would head back to Forks to face our new lives together.
We would arrive in Forks at approximately 7pm. I wonder if she would want to start moving her things out of her apartment right away or if she would like to wait until her lease was up, whenever that was. She had mentioned before that she was really close to her father. How would he feel about me eloping with his daughter? He is the chief of police. If he doesn't take this well, I am sure he could make my life a living hell.
Speaking of fathers, I wonder if mine will be waiting for me in Forks or if he will simply just call and ask if I am alright and why I needed the money. Oh god! What is he going to say to Bella? Honestly, I don't care if he really likes her or not, I just don't want him talking to her. He really knows how to offend people. He could hurt Bella's feelings with just one glance and he wouldn't think twice about it.
Maybe I'll get lucky and mom won't tell him about the money. She was the one that set it up for me. He's not even on the account. Maybe I should just call her in the morning and let her know that everything is alright, so she doesn't worry and tell dad. Yes, that definitely sounds like a good plan. Call mom in the morning!
A/N: Happy Tuesday!!! I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day! Well, now all that mushy stuff is over, it's time to get back to our regular updates. First I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who posted reviews on Sunday. That was really sweat of you to go out of your way and take the time off of your busy weekends to read and review my story. It made my day. Of course, my husband was pretty sure it was all his fault that I was smiling…. We won't tell him any different.
Stats update: Can you believe that we have 1005 people following this story through updates and favorites! I never would have imagined that I would have such a following. When I originally started posting this story I never thought more than 10 people would be interested in reading. Boy was I wrong! We are now up to 798 reviews and I am happy to say that most of them have been positive. Thank you all for taking the time to let me know that you care.
A special thanks to Vicki (NoWayWithWords) for being such a great Beta. She is diligently working on her own story right now. She is not quite ready to post it yet, but believe me; it's going to be great. I have had the privilege to read some parts of the story and I am already hooked. When she finally gets it posted, I will let you all know. She is the C3PO to my R2D2 (But a lot less dorky). Without her, no one would understand what I was saying.