Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Oh how I envy her…
And now for the lemon disclaimer:
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT FOR MATURE READERS. IF YOU ARE BELOW THE AGE OF CONSENT OR ARE OFFENDED BY ADULT CONTENT, STOP READING NOW, WAIT PATIENTLY FOR CHAPTER 18, JUST PRETEND CHAPTER 17 IS A FADE-TO-BLACK. IF THIS APPLIES TO YOU - CLOSE THIS WINDOW - NO PEEKING!
My apologies for the delay between updates, but real life has priority...
As always, love and thanks to FangMom for pre-reading and providing never-ending moral support and commiseration, and to A Little Distracted, for beta-ing and being my best friend and putting up with all the drama that comes with the title...
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, added as a favorite or story alert. Review replies are going to be sporadic at best (if I get to reply at all – I know, it's inexcusable), but please know that I love you all.
Playlist for Chapter 17 – ""Suspension" by Mae, "Breathing (Just for You)" by The Candle Thieves, "All My Senses" by Goya, "Dance Inside" by The All American Rejects, and "Breathing You In" by The Whitlams. Goya is a Polish band, their lovely lead singer, Magdalena Wójcik, reminds me a whole lot of Basia, a very talented Polish singer who rose to international fame during the late 80's.
*Voiceover* Previously on "My Imaginary Friend:"
Jacob, happy in his relationship with Leah, staged an extremely awkward intervention for Edward to try to convince him to pursue his physical relationship with Bella, and even encouraged him to consider changing her.
The Cullens hosted a Halloween Costume Party and the majority of Forks High is attending. Everyone was dancing and having a fantastic time, including our hero and heroine, but they needed some time alone. Alice conveniently arranged for Bella to spend the weekend under the pretense of helping with the preparation for and cleanup after the party.
We moved together in sync with the music, our bodies on autopilot with no space left between us. Bella filled all my senses and the rest of the party, the noise of the crowd and their thoughts, simply faded away. I lost myself completely in her. No… I wasn't lost… I was home.
"Let's get out of here and go someplace quieter," I said, taking her hand and leading her from the crowded room. "Let's go to our treehouse."
Chapter Seventeen – All My Senses
~Edward~
Have a wonderful evening, Edward, you deserve it. You both do, Alice thought warmly.
I hesitated a moment to see if I could catch a glimpse of what the rest of the night held in store through Alice's vision, but ironically, she kept repeating a New Kids on the Block song to block me. No cheating on this one either, Edward. You're on your own and I trust you to figure it out.
I glanced at her pleadingly, but she shook her head, breaking into a huge grin as she winked at me.
"I don't want to hurt her, Alice. You know I would destroy myself if I let anything happen to her. She's my reason to exist," I said too quietly for Bella to hear.
I know this. You know this. Pretty much everyone knows this. That is EXACTLY why you won't hurt her. You can't hurt her. Your entire being is conditioned to protect her. It's simply become part of who you are. Stop over-thinking everything for once and go have fun! It will be worth it, I promise.
"I can see your lips moving, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen. What does Alice have to say about our plans for the evening?" Bella scolded.
Oh, crap! Busted!
She was far too observant for my own good.
"She says that everything will be fine, and for me to stop over-thinking and go have fun. Whatever gives her the impression that I over-think things?" I asked rhetorically.
Bella simply quirked a lovely eyebrow at me and laughed.
"Let's quit wasting all this time talking about it and just get there already," she ordered.
"Your wish is my command, my Bella," I answered with a sweep of my hand into a deep bow.
Alice appeared and held her hand out towards Bella. "I'll need that crown back now if you want to keep it. There's no way it would survive the trip if you leave it on."
Bella reached up to pull it off, but Alice had done an outstanding job of securing it. "Oww! A little help here please, so I don't end up bald," Bella huffed, as Alice began removing the pins that held the crown in place.
"Come on, Bella. You know Edward would love you with or without your hair," Alice teased.
"Yes, but I'm sure he'd prefer that I had my hair," Bella grumbled.
Alice playfully smacked Bella on the head after she had untangled it from Bella's flowing locks. "You're free! Now go on and get out of here!"
Have fun storming the castle, Edward… I could hear Alice giggling as we left the party.
I situated Bella on my back and began running to our treehouse, the back of Bella's gown billowing like a sail behind her. It was even more of a joyful feeling to nearly fly through the forest with Bella's laughter ringing out through the trees than it had been when she was a little girl. Within minutes we had arrived and I set her down at the bottom of the stairs.
Bella took a seat on the steps as I paced slowly in front of her, trying to collect my thoughts and overcome the nervousness that had suddenly assailed me.
I stopped and looked directly at her.
"Are you sure about this, Bella? I need to know that you don't have any doubts about us. Once we do this, there's no going back. We don't have to do anything if you don't want to..."
"I've never been so sure of anything in my life. Don't ever doubt my feelings for you, Edward. It's always been you. From the moment I first met you I was yours. There has never been anyone else, and there never will be. Only you… Always you, forever," Bella said, her eyes shining. "I want this. I want you."
Her declaration was all that I needed to let go and my resistance shattered, and as the last wall fell I closed the distance between us in two steps. Bella stood, and I framed her beautiful heart-shaped face with my hands and leaned toward her, never losing contact with her wide brown eyes. I lost myself deep within those eyes; I could feel our souls touching in her gaze. If I ever doubted the existence of my soul before, I was now completely convinced that I had one, and all those lonely years of my existence I had only been waiting for Bella to bring it back to me.
Her hands went up to clasp behind my neck as my lips brushed hers lightly. The warmth of her petal-soft lips was intoxicating, and I could feel jolts of electricity where we touched, radiating from my lips out through my body. I nearly jumped in shock when I felt her tongue against my bottom lip, begging permission to deepen the kiss.
I felt like I would burst into flames when our tongues met, tentatively at first, then growing in confidence as they moved together, this new sensation flooding every part of me with heat. Bella tasted delicious, as sweet as her lavender and freesia scent implied. The rational part of my mind noted that there was only a minimal amount of venom present at the time and remembered to protect her from my razor-sharp teeth as I explored the soft recesses of her succulent mouth, while the rest was focused on her responses and the feelings she evoked in me.
I scooped her up in my arms and carried her swiftly up to the bedroom, never losing contact with her lips as I laid her gently on the center of the bed.
Bella's "Princess Buttercup" gown was draped gracefully across the bed and I gingerly picked up one of her tiny feet and slowly removed the matching slipper, dropping it to the floor below. I placed a soft kiss on the arch of her bare foot, blowing lightly before releasing it. A shudder ran through Bella's body as a flush spread from her cheeks down to her chest. I repeated the action for her other foot, enjoying the way she trembled from my caress.
I made my way back up toward the head of the bed, stopping to place sporadic kisses on Bella along the way. When I reached my destination, I helped her sit up and turn so I could undo the zipper on her dress. I gathered the long skirt, and she raised her hips to help me work it above her waist. It took a bit of wrestling, but I managed to get the dress up and over her head and arms, unveiling her soft, creamy flesh, then I sent it sailing across the room.
My breath caught as I took in the sight of Bella in just her bra and panties. The delicate ice blue lace clung to her curves, and I had to work to suppress the possessive growl that was building in my chest. In all the thoughts and fantasies I had been subjected to over nearly a century, nothing came anywhere close to the beauty that was the reality right in front of me, and she was mine.
The sound of her racing heart filled my ears, and every cell in my body resonated at the frequency of its beat, "Love you… love you… love you…" Her breaths were coming faster and shallower, and mine matched hers as I breathed her in, the rich scent of her arousal almost making me dizzy.
Slowly Bella reached out toward me, barely grazing my cheek and lips with her fingertip, leaving a scorching trail in its wake as her eyes followed its path. Her pupils were dilated, the deep brown of her irises nearly swallowed up in black.
Suddenly she grabbed my shirt, tugging at it to get it over my head. It soon joined the dress on the other side of the room. One boot after the other was pulled from my legs, followed by my socks, all landing in a heap on the floor. She fumbled with the catch on my pants, and I helped her release and lower them, leaving me clad in only black silk boxers.
She gasped when she saw the evidence of the effect she had on me, straining at the confining silk. A sound I could only describe as a whimper escaped her throat as she shyly reached out to touch the tented fabric, and my own whimper echoed in reply.
"Off… these have to come off…" she whispered, stretching the waistband out and yanking the fabric down to free my imprisoned length. When her skin made contact with mine, my eyes rolled back in my head from the amazing sensation. The feel of from her hand surrounding me was better than anything I could have imagined, and the heat radiated from my groin to the ends of my fingers and toes. I was purring loudly by that point, but I felt too good to be embarrassed.
A wide smile graced Bella's beautiful face as she told me, "I love to hear that sound. I can't even describe how sexy it is, what it does to me."
"What does it do to you, Bella?" I growled, apparently incapable of making human sounds anymore.
"Gah, Edward, it makes me want to throw you down and climb on top of you, and ride you like a wild horse," she answered lowly, her voice thick with desire.
"I'd love nothing more than to fulfill that request," I groaned roughly. "But first, I have to get a few things out of the way." I drew a ragged breath as I traced the outline of her bra along her breasts, and then ripped easily through the delicate lace and lowered the straps down her arms. The mangled bra ended up on top of a lamp on the far side of the bedroom.
God, her breasts are the most beautiful things I've ever seen. There should be statues erected in honor of her beauty, and they should be worshipped. Of course, no one else would be allowed to see or worship them but me. Mine.
I placed a hand over each breast, noting how perfectly they fit into my palms, as if they were made for me, matching puzzle pieces. Her dark pink nipples tightened into firm peaks under my cool touch, the pebbled flesh surrounding them begging to be licked.
Who am I to deny their wishes?
I bent my head to her chest, and slowly covered her breasts with kisses, pausing in turn to draw each nipple between my lips with my tongue. Bella moaned as my tongue spiraled around her hardened points.
Bella was writhing beneath me, the scent of her arousal intensifying, leaving me light-headed. I was drawn in by the decadent aroma, and drew a trail of open-mouthed kisses down her abdomen as I made my way to the edge of her lacy panties, which I promptly ripped and removed in the span of one of her heartbeats. When I nuzzled the tight curls at the junction of her thighs with the tip of my nose I felt her tap my shoulder to get my attention, and raised my head in response.
"Edward, wait. Are you sure you want to do… that?"
"Bella, trust me, I don't just want to taste you, I have to taste you, right now. It's driving me insane. Besides, from what I've heard over the years, I'm afraid it won't be good for you the first time we make love, so I want to be sure you feel good before we go any farther."
"Okay… but only if you're sure," she said hesitantly.
"I promise you, I want this, more than you'll ever know."
I had seen this done a thousand times in the minds of others, but had never understood the fascination. The concept had always seemed sort of… well, gross, for lack of a better term. Now that the opportunity had been presented, it was all I could think about and I couldn't stop myself if I were lit on fire – I would happily die trying.
Burn, baby, burn.
I inhaled deeply, my lungs filling with the intoxicating essence of Bella, and snarled loudly as I swept my tongue the length of her wet folds. Ambrosia. Simultaneously sweet and tart, it was better than any blood I had ever tasted…
Her hips rose off the bed involuntarily as she cried out, "Edward!"
The grin on my face appeared automatically. I pushed her thighs farther apart for better access, and flicked the tip my tongue rapidly across her swollen bud.
"Oh my God, Edward…" she panted, her head thrashing from side to side.
I slid a finger into her, relishing the feeling, hot… wet… tight. I added another finger and started slowly pumping them as I continued licking.
The taste of her was beyond delicious. I couldn't find an adequate word in my vocabulary to describe it, but I knew I was addicted. I could literally spend years with my face buried between her thighs.
I could tell she was close by the way her scent deepened. I twisted my fingers to locate the rough patch of nerves along her walls and increased my pressure and speed, sucking lightly on her clitoris as her legs started to shake. I pulled my fingers out and plunged my tongue deep, consuming her sweet nectar as she came, screaming my name. Her climax initiated my own, twitching and throbbing, I felt myself releasing in thick streams across the sheets.
~Bella~
I'm dead...
Yep, I'm pretty sure I've died and gone to heaven. Nothing on earth can feel that good.
I was laying on the bed in our treehouse, breathless and blissful after Edward had given me the most amazing orgasm in the history of orgasms. I was still quivering from the aftershocks of the earth-shattering sensations. I had zero experience with vibrators, but I would imagine that nothing on the market today could compare with Edward's talented tongue. If there were, women everywhere would never leave home.
"Ahhhh…" I couldn't even speak English.
"Are you okay?" Edward asked, all of his love and concern evident in his voice.
"I am much, much more than okay," I sighed happily. "I can say with all certainty that I've never been better."
"Good. I'm feeling pretty amazing myself. You have no idea of the effect you have on me," Edward said in the sexiest tone I had ever heard, all the while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Judging from the mess you made on the sheets I can guess it's a pretty good one," I laughed.
"You would have made quite a mess yourself if I hadn't been so thorough with my attention, my love," he chuckled.
Edward rolled over and pulled me onto his chest, peppering my face with kisses.
"I love you, Isabella Swan." His golden eyes were molten as our gazes locked.
"As I love you, Edward Cullen," I responded, grasping his face and leaning to brush his lips lightly with mine.
The second our lips came in contact, it was as if we'd poured gasoline over kindling and thrown a match on the pile. My entire body ignited into flames, and I could taste myself on his tongue as it stroked against mine.
My senses were on overload as Edward's scent surrounded me, honey and lilacs and sunshine. His cool touch left fiery trails as his fingers slipped over my skin, and his sexy moans filled my ears, his purrs vibrating from his chest through mine.
Edward wrapped his arms around me and rolled us over as I sunk my fingers into his hair, grabbing the silky strands tightly. One of his hands moved to the back of my head to reciprocate, his fingers twined in my hair to pull my head back, allowing him better access to my throat. He slowly licked and sucked all the sensitive spots from my jaw down to the dip of my collar bone, his hips matching the rhythm of his tongue as he rubbed his hard length against me, leaving me a panting, squirming mess.
He pulled away to look deep in my eyes, his nearly black with desire, elevating my own desire to a whole new level.
"I'll stop now if you want me to…" he breathed in my ear, licking the rim as a counterpoint to his statement.
"Not a chance…" I gasped, attacking his lips with a fierce intensity I didn't know I was capable of. "I need to feel you, inside me, now."
"I love you, Bella," he said as he hovered over me, aligning himself with me. I felt the cold tip of his erection brush along my folds, gathering the wetness there before he pushed into my entrance. I took a sharp breath and he stilled. He was huge, and I needed a moment to adjust to the intrusion.
I adjusted my hips slightly as Edward sunk further into me. There was no pain, nothing tore, there was only a sensation of fullness. When his entire length was completely sheathed within me, I let out the breath I'd been holding and smiled to let him know I was okay.
"God, Bella, you feel unbelievable. We fit together perfectly. I never dreamed anything could be this good," he groaned.
He pulled out slowly and then slid back in, just as slowly. The friction was incredible, and I felt the stirring of a tingling sensation where we were joined, but I needed…
"More…"
Edward drove deeply into me, hitting spots that sent fireworks coursing through my body as I ground my hips against him. I grabbed his shoulders and wrapped my legs tightly around his hips as he picked up speed.
"More… please… Edward… harder…" I grunted between his thrusts.
He took a deep breath and lowered his head, looking at me through his impossibly long lashes as he hesitated. I bit my lip in anticipation of his next move.
Edward pulled nearly all the way out, and then suddenly slammed into me. It was so intense I could feel my eyes rolling back into my head from the sheer pleasure rocketing from my center throughout my body.
"God, yes! Edward! Don't stop!" I cried out. It was too good, and if he kept it up, I was going to explode. I could feel the tension building deep within my abdomen as I met him thrust for thrust, all of my muscles tightening in suspense.
"Now, Bella, please come now…" Edward grunted, and I shattered into a million pieces, heat rushing through my veins, my limbs trembling, Edward's name tumbling over and over from my lips as I screamed my release.
He pushed one last time hard against me and stilled, somehow harder than he had been before, and then growling out my name as he emptied himself deep within me.
Edward rolled off to my side and we lay there for several minutes, panting, until my heart rate returned to a reasonable pace. He turned to me and brushed the damp hair from my face, kissing me tenderly.
"Wow." My eloquence after mind-blowing sex was less than impressive.
"Exactly." Apparently Edward's thought processes were equally affected.
I fell asleep quickly, wrapped in Edward's arms, both of us wearing a permanent grin and nothing else.
~Edward~
No words could adequately describe the way I was feeling. Bella summed it up as well as possible with "Wow," but it was still much, much more.
The sensation of her so hot and wet, clenching tightly around me as she came would be forever burned into my memory. Experiencing her orgasm was almost better than my own. Heaven. It was a feeling I never wanted to end.
Apparently I wore her out, because she passed out only a few minutes after we finished making love. I lay with Bella in my arms, content with the knowledge that I had her to myself until the following evening. As I watched my beautiful sleeping girl, a smile gracing her face as she murmured her love for me, I had an epiphany. My love, my mate – and someday my wife – I couldn't be without her ever again. We were simply meant to be, and there was absolutely no reason we couldn't be together.
Forever.
A/N: Well my lovelies, there you have it. Edward has finally seen the light…
I know inevitably some of you have been wondering through this chapter why Bella didn't bleed during sex if she was a virgin. To answer that question, I give to you:
Random Story Fact #9: A hymen is the thin piece of tissue that partially blocks the entrance to the vagina. It is sometimes called the maidenhead or cherry. It is named after the Greek god of marriage and has no known biological function.
Although some women are born without a hymen, most have one, and the hymen varies in size and shape from woman to woman. The hymen usually does not cover the entire vaginal opening, since there must be some way for the menstrual fluid, or period, to leave the body.
The hymen is not always an indicator of virginity. The tissues of the vulva are generally very thin and delicate. So many girls & women can sometimes tear or dilate their hymen doing sports (bike or horseback riding, gymnastics), exercising, inserting tampons or masturbation. Some people may not even know this has happened, since there could be little to no blood or pain involved.
So as far as this author is concerned, Bella, klutz extraordinaire, has long since broken her hymen during some episode of tripping on thin air while walking across a completely flat surface… Hence, there was no bleeding or pain (from tearing through the hymen) when she lost her virginity.
Fanfic Recs:
If you need a break from angst, heartbreak, etc., and want to laugh hysterically until you cry (and hopefully your face won't get stuck that way and your co-workers won't wonder if you need to be committed to some mental institution) I HIGHLY recommend the following all-human fics:
"The Cube" by Sdfreeze – Bella is a squiggle trying to make it in a square world, when she meets the lemniscates of her dreams…
"Tilt" by Sdfreeze – The sequel to "The Cube". I DIED laughing... Seriously!
If you are reading my story because someone has rec'd it in their story, or on Twitter, or somewhere, please let me know how you heard about it so I can thank them!