Chapter 5
I snuggled closer to Bella as the sun began to peek over the trees. I was glad her body ran a little warm, so she didn't get cold cuddling with me. I smiled happily down at my still sleeping girl, soft purring snores coming through her lips even in this form. She was so sweet and innocent looking in her sleep, completely relaxed in my arms.
The Dewey grass around us had dampened both our bodies as we moved in the night. I was constantly adjusting to keep Bella comfortable. She squirmed often in her sleep, usually rolling on top of me, or pulling me over her, but her body never pulled away from mine and I was rejoicing in the feel of our bare bodies moving together. Watching Bella sleep and holding her close to me was one of the few times I felt no need to hurry. There wasn't an ounce of impatience in me. I could stay like this for days, happily. In fact, I was almost saddened when blurry green eyes finally opened to take me in. A soft smile, much the same as she held a few mornings ago when she licked me broke across her face and she nuzzled her head against my cheek, purring happily.
"Good morning, Bella." I whispered into her wild hair, giving her waist a squeeze.
"Liss." She murmured against my neck sleepily and I giggled at her adorable behavior. Suddenly she sat up, adjusting so her body knelt on the ground, bending forward with her arms stretched out along the grass and her back arched. It was just how she stretched in cat form, but unlike that fur covered body, this one was bare to my eyes and displaying a rather private part to me unapologetically. I gulped the venom gathering in my mouth and quickly sat up as well, moving around so I was across from her when she finally drew back into a comfortable sitting position.
Before either of us could speak, Bella's stomach growled loudly, attracting our attention. She brought her hands to the protesting part of her, looking back up at me. "Food?" She asked, with the best pronunciation I'd heard to date.
"Please." I responded, trying to add a bit of manners to her request. She tilted her head regarding me oddly before repeating her previous question.
"Food?" She was looking at me like I was the one confused.
"Yes Bella." I agreed. "But it's food, please." She just stared at me frowning. Apparently lessons this early in the morning when she was hungry weren't ideal. With my patience refreshed from a night of cuddling, I decided not to give up. Taking her hand in mine, I brought them both to her chest, looking at her meaningfully. "Food please?" I asked in her place before moving both our hands back to my chest and answering, "Yes Bella." Back to her chest I finished, "Thank you."
"Letting our hands fall between us on the grass I watched her face carefully to see if she'd understood. Her brow furrowed as she stared down at our hands, but finally I saw her mouth open slightly and close again.
The fish impersonation happened once more before she finally uttered the words I'd hoped for. "Food, Pliss?" She asked, one eyebrow slightly raised. I beamed and couldn't hold back my excitement as I tackled her to the ground in a fierce hug.
"YES! Bella! That was so good!" I squealed excitedly, giving her a kiss on the cheek in my delight. Bella's arms had wrapped around my back as she lay prone beneath me in the grass. She looked up, her green eyes glowing happily as a big feral grin split her face.
I squeaked as she suddenly rolled us, so that now she was on top, staring down at me mischievously. "What?" I asked hesitantly.
She brought one finger to her lips, tapping them twice before staring down at me with demanding eyes. "Liss kiss."
My own eyes widened in surprise at her command, but I pushed the shock away, leaning up and brushing my lips lightly against hers, just enough pressure for it to count. Pulling back I saw Bella's eyes were closed, her shy smile back in place and I grinned.
"Okay Bella, time for food." I said once the green orbs found mine again. Slipping from beneath her, I pulled us both up and moved over to put my clothes back on.
It didn't take long to make it back to the house, since we decided to run. Once inside, I immediately found Esme's instructions and started making a fruit salad for Bella, slapping away her hands playfully when she tried to pilfer strawberries from the cutting board.
I took a seat on the stool next to her while she tore through the bowl of berries and cantaloupe. She acted as if she hadn't eaten in days. When she finally finished, she turned in her seat and smiled, slapping a hand on the surface between us and slowly said, "cow-ter."
I beamed nodding at her success. "Good Bella!" I praised.
She smiled at me, tapping her lips with a finger again. I gasped quietly realizing what she wanted. She was instituting her own reward plan. That sly girl. Giving her a coquettish smile I shook my head. "Nope, you already knew that one. You have to learn something new if you want a liss kiss." I teased, hopping off the stool and making my way into the living room. Bella followed right behind me like a puppy, frowning at her failed attempt. I didn't last long against her pout and ended up helping her out. "Okay Bella." I said, calling her attention. I took a magazine from the side table and opened it to a page with pictures of clothing and accessories that could make several outfits. Pointing to a cute red dress, I showed Bella. "Red."
She looked down at the picture, then back up at me, her face scrunched as it always is when she's concentrating. "Red." She finally said, and I nodded.
Zipping into the kitchen, I grabbed one of the uncut strawberries from earlier and brought it back out to her, pointing to it, "red." I said again. This time she shook her head.
"Bree." She countered stubbornly, and I smiled. Berry was still a work in progress, but at least she remembered the correct word for it.
"Red Berry." I told her, still pointing to the strawberry in my hand before letting her stuff it in her mouth happily. I pulled another magazine towards us, this one with the quintessential red barn on the cover. "Red." I repeated again. As Bella eagerly chewed on the berry watching. Catching her eye, I silently told her to wait and sprinted to the kitchen and back with my test. Putting down a plate with some mustard, ketchup and relish on it separately, I looked to Bella. "Where's red?" I asked her seriously, gesturing towards the plate on the coffee table. Swallowing the last of her fruit snack, she glanced down at the table.
I saw her regard the condiments for a moment before her eyes moved back to the barn magazine. After another minute of contemplation she stuck her finger into the ketchup saying, "red." I don't think the smile on my face could have been any bigger. Lunging forward, I pressed my lips to hers in a far more intimate kiss than this mornings'. When I finally pulled back from the kiss, I noticed the slimy finger on my bare back above my tank top and cringed. Ugh, ketchup.
"Shower time, Bella." I said, standing up and staring down at her expectantly, hands on my hips. It had only taken me a few baths to realize, Bella didn't care for them, even if I was able to get her to relax. She preferred the gentle spray of the shower. I guess it felt like rain to her. Given our shower head was made to feel that way, it shouldn't be so surprising. Now she almost looked forward to the regular hygiene regiment. I laughed when she stood from her seat, still in a bit of a daze and quickly took to the stairs, me on her heels.
The next few days seemed to pass by quickly and before I knew it, my family was scheduled to be home in less than a week. It seems the new reward system had made for an incredibly motivated Bella. She was constantly looking for a new word to learn, and I was hardly going to deter her efforts. Just like her vocabulary, her kisses were also improving, and I found myself offering up new words just to get a taste of her lips again.
Now that we'd fallen into a comfortable routine, it would be difficult when my family returned, though despite loving my time alone with Bella, I did miss my family…a little. The guilt from yelling at them and attacking Rosalie and Emmett was finally sinking in, particularly when Bella was asleep and I was left alone with my thoughts. It was true what I had said before. I would leave my family for Bella. Looking down at the girl who was sleeping peacefully in my arms, I smiled. She had come so far, but she still had that innocent wonderment intact. I loved that about her, she forced you to look at the things you did and saw everyday in a new light. It was refreshing. The way her eyes would light up, and she'd lean forward in excitement when we watched movies or television. She was fascinated by everything, and I was fascinated by her.
She snuggled closer into my chest, a deep purr escaping her lips as I ran my fingers through her now elbow length brown hair. I smiled at yesterday's memory. Once again, I had been the one to overreact.
Expecting her to have some deep inset attachment to her lifelong hair, I spent hours trying to prepare her for the haircut. Showing her pictures, videos…I even took the 1920s American Doll Emmett had gotten me one Christmas and cut it's hair for Bella to see. It seemed nothing I did fazed her, so taking my chances, I carefully brought the scissors to a few strands of her hair and snipped. Squeezing my eyes shut, I waited for an explosion that never came. In fact, I don't think she even noticed. She was watching some documentary on Animal Planet, completely oblivious to the plight of her brown locks. It wasn't until I had completely finished, and the show ended that she took note that her hair felt lighter. I watched nervously as she experimentally shook her head. Then turning, she tried to see for herself and ended up going in a circle like a dog chasing its tail. I couldn't even laugh at the sight, too anxious about the delayed reaction. Finally, I pulled some strands over her shoulder so she could see the length. Her fingers ran down the lock hair as it fell over her breasts and just above her stomach. Her silence was unnerving and I finally had to say something. "Bella?" I asked quietly. She looked over at me curiously, still playing with the new ends of her hair. "Good? Sad?" I asked trying to pull from words she knew well. Her hand lifted to my face, thumb brushing over my lips which were pressed tightly together in a frown.
"Liss sad?" She inquired, finally releasing her hair and turning all of her attention on to me. I couldn't help laughing a bit in relief, staring up at the ceiling briefly as venom tears turned my eyes glassy.
"I'm not sad Bella." I said, giving her a watery smile. Cupping her face in my own hands I stared at her intently, looking for any unhappiness she might be hiding. "Bella sad?" I asked her. She scrunched her nose adorably, tilting her head to the side in confusion.
"No." She said bluntly, watching me even more curiously as I tilted my head back and laughed again. She never ceases to surprise and amaze me.
The same beautiful girl brought me back to the present when her legs nudged mine in their nightly dance. I wish I knew what she dreamed about. It seemed regardless of what form she slept in, she always ended up running. Chuckling quietly, I trapped her legs with my own and restrained, she quickly settled back down, nuzzling my chest, where her head had ended up resting. I sighed quietly, even if she didn't know it yet, Bella was mine. I planned to keep her for as long as she'd let me.
Those thoughts brought my family to mind again. If I wanted to keep both, I needed to somehow get Bella to trust them, or at least make her more comfortable in their presence. I wanted my girl to feel safe in our house even if I wasn't right next to her, though at the moment I couldn't think of a reason I wouldn't be. At times it seemed I was more dependent on Bella now than she was on me. She had no qualms about leaving my side if she needed to, at least while the house was empty, but I couldn't seem to detach myself from her. It was extremely disconcerting. I'd always been the most independent of our family. It seemed to be a hold over from the human life I didn't remember, but I liked being able to take care of myself. It was comforting to know I didn't need anyone else to survive. But then Bella came around and now…well, everything's different. Without her doing anything but being herself, she's intertwined her life with mine.
"Liss." A sleepy voice breathed against my thinly covered breast causing a shiver to run down my spine. I peered down at the culprit only to find her still fast asleep. Was she dreaming about me? A grin split my face as I considered this. Was it a good dream? The tiny moan that followed my name answered that question and my body stiffened. This wasn't good.
I leaned my body back a bit from her, checking to make sure she was, in fact, still sleeping. Her eyes fluttered rapidly behind their lids, but still seemed unaware of the waking world. I inched my body just a bit further away, to help restrain the lust she was building within me. Without the support of my chest she adjusted onto her stomach and her hips pressed down into the mattress, causing a tiny gasp to escape her lips.
I squeezed my eyes shut, halting my breathing as her arousal began to waft up to my nose. Oh God, what this girl did to me. What the hell was she even dreaming about? Does she even know what sex means, outside of the animal kingdom? When her hips began making sharp thrusts into the mattress I was done for. Throwing myself out of the bed, I fled the room, sprinting down the stairs and out into the woods to hunt.
An hour later, I came back to the house to find a very awake and unhappy Bella still in my bed. Based on the smell, she'd achieved more of a release than I had hunting. Despite that, I made my way over to her, smiling sheepishly at having been caught abandoning her. This was the first time she had woken up alone and apparently, she was less than thrilled with the idea. Her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at me, the sheet bunched around her waist.
"Good Morning Bella." I tried, climbing back into the bed and moving to sit so my legs mirrored hers. I stared down at my hands, unable to meet her eyes, which I noticed on the way in looked teary.
"Liss, go?" She asked, her voice still rough from sleep and I wondered how long she'd actually been awake for.
"No, honey. I was just hunting." I said, taking her hand and squeezing it comfortingly. She pointed to herself, raising her eyebrow. "You were sleeping. I didn't want to wake you." I defended myself to the upset lioness. It had become fairly easy for me to anticipate and understand Bella. She didn't need many words, especially when I could see her eyes. She frowned at me glaring, but finally relented, holding her arms out. I took her willingness to hug me as acceptance of my excuse and eagerly moved into her arms.
While I was out hunting/avoiding pouncing on Bella, I had thought of a plan to familiarize her with my family, so she might be more comfortable when they returned. Once she had finished her breakfast I pulled her to the couch in the living room with one of our family albums. Opening it to the first page I found a picture of all of us that one of the Denali coven had taken up in Alaska. Bella grinned and pointed to me in the front, holding up a rather large icicle with Edward.
"Liss!" She exclaimed, looking down at the photo and back at me several times. I smiled, kissing her on the cheek.
"Yes, that's me. Good Bella." I pointed to the younger boy next to me in the photo. "Edward." I said in the tone that meant I wanted her to repeat me. Being stubborn for reasons unknown to me, Bella turned away to look out the wall of windows to the forest surrounding our house. Giving a huff of annoyance, I gently took Bella's chin and turned her back to look at the photo. "Edward." I said again, pointing to my brother. Bella frowned, looking from the picture up at me. Apparently, the animal 'living in the moment' thing was void if she had a grudge against you. I tried with another member of my family with the same result.
Setting down the book in my lap, I caught Bella's eye. "Bella, please." I pleaded. I needed her to get along with my family, if I wanted both of them in my life, which I did. With a tiny growl, Bella relented, turning so her whole body faced me. "Thank you." I said smiling at her happily before leaning in and giving her a short kiss on the lips. I giggled at her determination not to smile when I pulled back, though I could see it tugging at the corners of her mouth. She's so stubborn.
By the time lunch came around we'd successfully identified Eddie, Mitt, and Carla, which corresponded to Edward, Emmett, and Carlisle. I couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of me every time I thought of how my father would react to his new name. I suppose I could have altered it to something else if I really wanted to, but…I didn't. It was just too funny.
The males were easier I determined. It seemed the females in my family would be significantly more difficult to teach Bella. She appeared to have associated them with negative energy, which I'm sure was partially my fault, at least in Esme's case. Despite her refusal to repeat their names, I was fairly confident she knew them, or some variation of them, anyway.
That evening, I showed her a few of our home movies, so she could see my parents and siblings in a different light. One particular movie seemed to puzzle Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and I were carving jack o' lanterns. Emmett had pushed a little too hard and caused the whole face to cave in, leaving his pumpkin with a gaping hole in it's front. Rosalie and I were both laughing loudly while Emmett pouted. At the end of the video, our arms around each others shoulders, we each stood behind our pumpkin. Rosalie had carved a witch flying on a broom in hers, while mine held a slightly more intricate scene of a haunted house. In the middle, lighting up the night around the front steps of our house was Emmett's pumpkin. I could understand her confusion. She'd never seen Rosalie like that. Carefree. Happy. Nice. Truth be told, I couldn't explain my sister's behavior to her if I wanted. True, she didn't take to change or strangers well, but her treatment of Bella seemed overly cold and harsh.
"Alright Bella, next one." I said holding up a flash card with a blue circle on it. It was now only two days before my family was due home and I was trying my best to prepare Bella as much as possible. I even got her into some clothes this morning so she could get used to wearing them again. Today she had on some short cotton sleep shorts, that still hung a little loose around her hips, and an altered t-shirt. I had cut off the sleeves and tied it up in a knot under her breasts so her stomach was exposed. Despite having to cut the neckline a bit, I still counted it as a victory because she allowed her shoulders to be covered.
"Bloo." She said, staring at my fingers hungrily. I was also trying another reward program today, not that I didn't love our kisses, but I figured mixing things up couldn't hurt.
"Good Bella." I said, offering a finger of my hand covered with a dollop of peanut butter. I giggled as Bella's eyes lit up and she pulled my hand to her face, enclosing a finger in her mouth and sucking on it eagerly. I bit my lip as I watched her eyes close in contentment, the sensation of her tongue wrapping around my finger caused a throb in my center. Looking back, I definitely didn't think this plan through all the way. Perhaps a spoon would have been better.
When she'd finally finished, she released my hand and I pulled it back to my side, watching her eyes follow it as she licked her lips.
"Good Bella?" I asked, my breath hitching embarrassingly, though she didn't seem to notice.
"Mmm," she purred happily, almost causing the impossible, a vampire to faint. Clearing my throat, I pulled another card from the pile, holding it up.
"S'may." She stated, less than enthusiastic. I hadn't even looked at the card I was holding, but when I turned it to face me, it was indeed a picture of my mother.
"Good." I said, just starting to offer my hand again, when my cell phone rang. Dropping the cards, I pulled it from my pocket with the non-peanut butter hand and answered, knowing by the ring tone it would either be Carlisle or Esme. "Hello?"
"Oh Alice dear, how are you?" My mother's voice came through the speaker sounding slightly worried.
"Fine, is everything…" I gasped surprised when Bella decided to help herself to her reward.
"Alice?" I forced my mind to ignore the warm mouth around my digit, possibly the most difficult task I've ever undertaken.
"Umm, sorry. Is everything okay?" I finally replied, though my voice was slightly higher than usual. There was silence on the other end for a moment, but thankfully Esme seemed to disregard my oddities.
"Well, yes. I'm afraid they're expecting a bad storm here in the next day or two and our flight will likely be cancelled. We tried to get a flight out today, but they were all booked up."
"O-Oh! Umm, yeah, that's bad." I offered, my eyes having strayed back to the blissed out kitten now lapping at the other fingers on my hand. I should have scolded her, but just couldn't find the will.
"Alice? What's going on? You seem distracted." Esme's now concerned and annoyed voice questioned me.
"I, uh, yeah, sounds good."
ALICE!" Her raised voice finally brought me out of my Bella induced fog, and I shook my head to clear it, finally finding the will to pull my hand out of Bella's grasp, turning away from the pout forming on her face.
"Huh?"
"Do I have your attention now? This is important." Esme said, her voice belaying her obvious annoyance. I suppose I couldn't really blame her.
"Yes, I'm sorry. What is it?"
"We had scheduled our flight so that we'd be able to drive back from Seattle with Edward. He's still coming in on Thursday, but since we won't get in until Saturday now, can you please pick him up?" I sighed.
"Can't he just run home?" I heard my mother's exasperated huff on the other end and rolled my eyes.
"I'd really rather he not, Alice. You know that part of the state draws nomads. What if he ran into some that were unfriendly? Can you please just pick him up? I'm only asking this small thing; I really don't think it's too much, do you?" She asked in her patented mom voice.
"No, but what about Bella?"
"She can go with you." She answered as if it was obvious. Bella had never been in a car to my knowledge, nor out around that many people.
"Fine." I sighed, "But tell him to be waiting at baggage claim because I don't want Bella getting out of the car."
"I'm sure that'll be fine dear. We're speaking to him this evening, so I'll be sure to let him know."
"Okay, see you Saturday." I said, trying to sound cheery. I was looking forward to my family's return, honestly. But I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't miss my time alone with Bella.
Speaking of my girl. I turned around to find that she had abandoned our flash cards and moved to one of her favorite places to stare out the window. Looks like it was time for another outdoor adventure. A couple days in the woods would be just what the doctor ordered to help relax Bella before she faced my family again.
A/N I wanted to show that Bella's intelligent and logical, despite not having any formal education. Hopefully that came across. Sorry for the long wait. If you're reading my other story, it's mostly written, just a few things to fix and then I'll update.