A little bit early but since it's Friday in Australia and therefore the beautiful, hilarious, and talents Anna Faze is celebrating a birthday! And no one appreciates a man in a kilt like Anna Faze.
Thanks so much to all of you reading! And thanks to burntcore for taking a turn as beta on this one. I ended up adding/changing some stuff so blame any mistakes on me. I'm sure there are quite a few since I've been traveling for work all week and am barely awake at the moment.
Chapter 2
When the elevator doors opened to the fourth floor, the noise level was deafening. Between the pounding bass of the music and the enthusiasm with which these cops celebrated, it was difficult to hear anything clearly.
"She's with me," Edward yelled to a woman at the door who appeared to be checking for party crashers. She waved us in and Edward pulled me behind him. The crowd was so dense that it was impossible to walk side by side, so instead he took the lead but tightened his grip so we wouldn't be separated. I tripped and stumbled my way, finding it difficult to navigate the crowd in heels.
Edward turned and leaned down to my ear, yelling, "Right over there." He pointed to our left but I couldn't see over the crowd so I nodded, trusting him to lead me where I needed to go.
"I think I found something that belongs to you," I heard him say moments before pulling me around to his side.
"Ohmigod, Bella . . . I thought we lost you!"
If the glassy eyes weren't enough of an indication that Rosalie was racing past tipsy, the disappearance of her hard-ass exterior was undeniable proof.
"Oh!" Alice said, bouncing a little in her seat as she tried to maintain balance on the wobbly stool. "I texted you."
"No you didn't," I said.
"Yes I did," she countered, dragging each of the words out as she fumbled for her phone.
I let go of Edward's hand to dig my phone out of my purse. Seeing no new messages, I held it up to her. "No . . . you didn't."
I tried to hold back my laugh at the confused puppy reaction she gave before she finally shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well, I texted someone."
"Why don't we put that away before you lose it," said a man standing next to her as he took the phone from her and put it back into her purse. Unlike me, he didn't bother to stifle his laugh.
I couldn't help but notice the stars in Alice's eyes, like this man was her own personal guardian angel sent to watch over her.
"Hi, I'm Jasper," he said, holding his hand out for me to shake.
"Oh! Jasper!" Alice interrupted. "This is Bella. My best friend in the whole, wide world."
"Hey!" Rosalie yelled and Alice's eyes widened comically.
"My other best friend in the whole, wide world," Alice corrected.
I shook my head and laughed. "Nice to meet you."
The three picked up where they'd left off in the conversation we'd interrupted. I could only pretend to follow along because my mind was too focused on the way Edward continued to touch me. Though he had fulfilled his promise to reunite me with my friends, it seemed he wasn't ready to be rid of me yet. Not that I was complaining. The room was crowded but not so much that he had to stand so close that we were constantly connected in some way. I shivered at the feel of his hand running absent trails from my waist, to lower back, and occasionally traveling up my arm.
"You want a drink?" he asked, lifting his hand and tilting it in the universal symbol in case I couldn't hear over the music and conversation. I nodded and watched as he turned slightly and stretched above all the heads around us. He made the same motion to someone I couldn't see, then held up two fingers. I glanced around but couldn't tell who he was motioning to.
I continued to pretend to follow the conversation for the next few minutes until another person arrived. Loaded down with drinks, he carefully set them down on the table and began distributing. His size and build would've made him intimidating it if hadn't been for the massive smile accented with dimples.
"And the crew continues to grow," he said.
Edward stepped in to finish off the introductions. "Bella, this is Emmett."
"Ah, another beauty graces us with her presence," he said, winking.
I laughed; as big a flirt as he seemed to be it was clear he was just being friendly. "Nice to meet you."
Edward's hand moved up under my hair to the back of my neck and I could feel my breath start to tremble as his thumb passed back and forth over my skin. I glanced over at him and was caught in a heated stare, as if he was waiting to see how I'd react. Somehow his touches felt so much more intimate than anything else I'd ever experienced and I couldn't help but wonder if he was going to kiss me.
Before I could find out, the sound of Rosalie yelling out over the crowd broke the spell.
"What's going on with this?"
I had a moment of panic at what she was about to do as I saw her reach toward Emmett's kilt. At the last second I realized she was going for his holster, and flicked at the little flap. With a proud grin Emmett held it up so everyone could see. "Refills!"
At the realization that he'd loaded his holster with bottles of beer we all doubled over with laughter. With the bottles upside down, he could fit two inside. The guys high-fived him for his ingenuity, and then Edward used the levity of the moment to move in even closer without being noticed. His arm tightened around my waist to pull me as his nose went to my hair. The rumble of his laugh gave me chills.
He put his drink down on the table before taking mine and doing the same. Without a word, we managed to hold an entire conversation.
A furrowed brow and tilt of the head asked him, What?
A lazy grin and a nod in the direction of the crowd behind us responded, Dance with me?
Wide, scared eyes and a frantic head shake said, Not such a good idea.
A deliberate nod, entwined fingers, and a tug of the hands let me know, You don't have a choice.
I followed him to an open space where we'd be able to hide in the crowd. Still holding my hand, he wrapped his free arm around my waist and tugged me closer—so close there was no space between us. We moved together slowly, paying no mind to the actual beat or rhythm of the music that played. It was amazing how being so close to him made everyone and everything else disappear. Though I knew we were surrounded by a tightly packed group it could've just been the two of us in that room. All of my attention was focused on him: his warmth, the smell of his cologne, and strangely enough, even the feel of his kilt brushing against my bare legs. It was a little odd, something to get used to, but for some reason I really, really liked it.
We stayed like that, staring into each other eyes, as one song after another played. He seemed to have so much to say, and there was so much I wanted to learn about him, but our location wasn't exactly conducive to conversation.
His hand came up to push the hair from my face and lingered at my cheek. The soft touch of rough hands a delicious contradiction. My heart began to race, and judging from the rapid beat under my hand where it rested on his chest, I wasn't the only one affected.
I jumped when I felt a tap at my shoulder and turned to see an apologetic Rosalie. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'm heading out and didn't want you to forget this."
She handed me my purse then backed away with a smile and wink.
As the moment passed, things felt as awkward as the laugh that slipped from my lips. Edward reached for my hand, his fingers twine with mine. With his other hand he cupped my cheek and intently watched his thumb trace my lower lip.
"Do you need to go?" he asked.
"I don't think I want to go yet."
He smiled, appearing relieved and stepped closer to me. We started moving again, though with a little more space between us than before. As I looked up at him, I knew I was leaving with him tonight. It wasn't like me at all, and the little voice inside my head told me to slow down, but it seemed inevitable and unavoidable. Even knowing that Rosalie and Alice would be brutal in their teasing and information mining when I was alone with them again didn't seem to matter. I was going to follow him out of this room and not look back.
The opportunity to do so came just a short while later. We'd gravitated closer and closer until we were back to that intense proximity that Rosalie had interrupted. The people around us were getting rowdier the more they drank, and we couldn't go more than a few seconds without getting bumped.
"Do you want to get out of here?" he asked.
"Let's go," I said without hesitation.
He regarded me for a moment before one side of his mouth pulled up into a crooked smile. I laughed as he dragged me behind him from the room and to the elevator. There was no question as to where we'd go from here.
The elevator ride was excruciatingly long, and although it wasn't nearly as crowded as it had been earlier, it was still a tight fit. All I wanted was a tiny bit of privacy so I could finally kiss Edward, but that wasn't in the cards quite yet. Instead he pulled me against him, my back to his front, and pressed kisses to my shoulder and neck. And the feel of what the kilt wasn't hiding so well told me he was as ready as I was to move things along.
When the doors opened to his floor, he guided me forward with his hands at my waist. He spun me around just as the door dinged closed once more leaving us in total privacy for the first time. It was short-lived, though. His mouth was just inches from mine when we heard cat-calling and whistles as a rowdy group appeared and waited for the next elevator down.
"Fuck," he grumbled and once more dragged me along.
He fumbled with the key when we arrived at his door until the damn thing finally cooperated and flashed green. I didn't even have a chance to see the room before I was pressed back against the closing door. I almost expected a bruising kiss, but he stopped himself and hovered teasingly close.
"God you're so beautiful," he said. "I've wanted to do this since I saw you walk in downstairs."
I took a shaky breath just before his lips touched mine, soft and gentle, flavored with a hint of alcohol. He released a quiet grunt before tilting his head to deepen the kiss. Tingles shot through my body at the perfect suck and pull of his mouth. Another shaky breath gave him the opportunity to add his tongue to the mix, making me whimper. He was intoxicating, and the way his entire body pressed me into the door made me feel cut off from the world, like it was just me and him.
As the first kiss to end all first kisses continued, he shifted even closer, moving one of his legs between mine. I was again reminded of his kilt when I felt his bare calf against mine. I lifted one of my legs, hooking it around his and letting it rise, feeling it push the kilt up, up, up. He took advantage of the change in position and grinded against me. I groaned at that hint of what he had to offer, eager to continue.
He snaked a hand between the door and my back, pulling my hips closer to his. I couldn't help but gasp, then whimper, as he began to move away. When I realized where he was leading us, I followed. He sat on the edge of the bed while I stood before him. His hands slid up and down the backs of my legs, knees to thighs, pushing my dress just a little higher with each pass.
With his knees spread apart to make room for me to stand in between, the kilt was pushed wide open, and I knew I'd only need to take a few steps back to find out if he was traditional in how he wore it. Before I could consider it, he pulled me down to straddle him. I brought both of my hands to his face and kissed him again as his hands resumed their path and continued to urge my dress up.
"You feel so good," he whispered and I instinctively pushed myself against his lap making him groan.
I felt his hand search for my zipper and whispered, "Take it off."
He cursed under his breath and wasted no time unzipping me. I leaned back to allow the fabric to gather at my hips. With one arm still braced around me, his free hand came up to trace my bra strap down to the lace of the cup. The light touch was a thousand times more sensual than had he gone straight for my breast. As his finger started to hook into the fabric he looked up at me to ask permission. My nod was enough for him and he pulled the cup down, exposing me to him. I felt the tip of his tongue first, then his lips, before he added just a hint of teeth. My head fell back as I rocked myself against him. His movements turned bolder, as did mine, and the next thing I knew he had flipped us around so that I was stretched across the bed with him above me.
My dress quickly found its new home on the floor, and I watched as he reached behind him to pull his shirt over his head. His hands went to his kilt, and I shook my head, holding a hand up to stop him. "No! Leave it."
He grinned a cocky, little smirk. "You like?"
I nodded.
"Does it do something for you?"
"God yes," I moaned as he moved up my body to hold himself above me again.
"Do you wonder about the rumors?" he asked, trailing kisses up my stomach.
"What—" I grunted as he nipped my skin. "What rumors?"
He chuckled, and in a moment of clarity I remembered what I had been thinking about earlier as he stopped to pay attention to my breasts, making me forget all over again.
"About what's under, or more specifically, what's not under there."
"What was the question?" I asked as my back arched in response to his attentions.
He moved up to my ear and whispered, "Do you want to find out?"
I could only nod as he guided my hand to the hem of the kilt and placed it on his thigh. I didn't need any further urging to explore. I could hear and feel his shallow breaths against my neck as my hand moved up his leg to a decidedly bare hip, and I took power in the effect I had on him. It was what gave me the confidence to keep going—to slide forward with a barely there brush of my fingertips until I found him hard, hot, and ready for the next step in this game. His hips thrust against my hand on reflex, and I began to work him until he couldn't take it anymore.
"Christ, woman. This'll be over way too soon if you keep that up."
I laughed and pulled my hand from under the kilt, gripping at his lower back instead. I arched off the bed when I felt him trying to get my bra off. I whimpered at the loss when he sat up on his knees.
I should've felt self-conscious at the way he watched at me without saying a word, but there was something about him that made me feel comfortable in my own skin. The heat of his stare made me feel adored.
Without taking his eyes from mine he reached out and curled his fingers into the fabric of my panties and pulled them down, leaving me completely exposed to him. My heart rate picked up and I could feel myself trembling in anticipation.
He hovered over me again to kiss me, slow and sensual, but neither of us could wait much longer. He scrambled off of the bed and began searching through his things while I watched. The clank of metal caught my attention and I rolled to peer over the side of the bed where a pair of handcuffs had landed on the floor. I reached down to pick them up and quirked an eyebrow at him. His smirk matched mine as he winked and said, "Maybe later."
He climbed back onto the bed, holding up a condom like it was the winning lottery ticket. A combination of nervousness and excitement twisted in my gut as we worked together—me pushing the kilt up his thighs, him rolling the latex on.
The moment he was finished he pinned me to the bed, mouths clashing and bodies undulating trying to find a way to get closer. In no time at all he was making me feel things I'd never felt before. His movements were sure, hitting spots no one had before. The kilt only added to the sensation, hiding from view what we could feel but not see.
I grasped at him, strong lean muscles flexing under my hands. A slight sheen of sweat began to form on our bodies from exertion. His words were quiet in my ear, but his voice was deeper and rougher. His eyes kept returning to mine and staying there for long stretches of time, increasing the intimacy even more.
Frenzied and desperate I lost all concept of time, only concerned about the release that teased just out of reach until all of a sudden it wasn't. The metaphorical cord snapped and my body tensed, vaguely aware of how he continued to move in an attempt to stretch it out as long as possible. Breathless and boneless, I gathered what little energy was left to make sure his release was just as exhilarating. Judging by the vigor with which he made his final thrusts, it worked.
We spent hours talking about everything and nothing, learning about each other beyond physical attraction. The more we shared the more I realized he was someone I could easily fall for. The clock slowly drifted closer to morning so after one more round we both fell asleep still holding onto one another cursing the new day and the return to real life it would bring with it.