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Chapter 16 – Getting to Know You

I woke to a warm mouth licking my stomach. I looked down at Bella smiling. "I left some frosting here. Do you know where it is?" she asked, but before I could answer her, she took me into her mouth and sucked me hard. I went off embarrassingly fast. She smirked up at me. "Found it," she giggled and climbed up my body.

I grabbed her and pulled her breasts to my eye level so I could lick and snuggled them. "I believe I left some here as well."

We rolled and I pinned her to the bed. We kissed and I knew that no matter what we did together, it would be perfect because it would be us. I decided to try out something that Ben and Emmett had drunkenly rambled on about. I moved down and positioned myself between her thighs. I looked up at her to see if she would be open to trying this out. She just smiled and widened her legs for me. I guess she was okay with me going in.

I wasn't sure how I felt about there being no hair down here. It was nice not to have to worry about not getting it caught in my mouth, but I did like a little. I must have taken to long because she reached down, holding herself open for me and gave me a wink. "Just give it a try, baby."

I nodded okay. It was helpful that she realized this was my first time. I knew she would be patient. I gave her a tentative lick and it was followed by a moan from her. I did it a few more times and it seemed to be working. It was hard to lick and smile at the same time, but I was able to do it. She was tart and tangy, but I liked it. I especially liked the way she was starting to buck against my face and calling out my name.

She suddenly grabbed my hand, folding all my finger down except for two, "In," she moaned and bucked, so I took her cue and plunged them into her as I licked. Her response made me moan and wonder if the walls were soundproof. I guess Emmett wasn't kidding when he said women really liked this. I was going to have to do it more often.

I felt her body clench around my fingers as her legs stiffened. I remembered Ben's advice on tipping my chin up so I didn't get smothered between her thighs. I guess my bachelor party had been good for something.

I helped ease her down from her high and snuggled next to her on the bed. I was surprised when she leaned over and licked herself off my face then kissed me deeply, tasting herself even more. She pushed me back, climbing over my body and gripped my hardness in her hand. "So quick," she said causing me to blush. Shooting off fast was not something to be proud of, but she nibbled my ear. "Your quick recovery time is amazing, baby. It's going to make for a perfect sex life," she said as she slid down on my shaft, moaning loudly. I did my best to hang on, and I was thankful for the help when she moved my hand to her center so I could help her along. Changing my focus helped me last a little longer, that was until she started clenching around me and then I was lost in a sea of grunting and moaning myself. I just couldn't hold back when she did that.

She slumped forward, nuzzling down into my neck. I rubbed her back lightly, silently thanking her for being with me. I smiled as I realized she would always be with me. She was my wife.

"You're my wife," I grinned widely.

She giggled, kissing me lightly, "And you're my husband."

"I like the sound of that."

"I like being your wife," she smirked.

"I definitely like you being my wife, too." I pulled her lips down to mine, kissing her gently and releasing her so she could snuggle back down next to me. "Do you want to go spend some time with your family while they're in town?" I wondered.

She hid her face in my shoulder, confusing me. "Honey, are you okay?" I asked.

"I don't know if I can face them again. Before, it was all excitement about the wedding, but now…I'm afraid the truth will come out and I don't want them to be upset with me. My dad was so hurt when he found out about us only having ramen to eat. He had no idea how bad off we were."

"What are you talking about?"

"My parents love each other, Edward. Do you know how terrible I feel for being the reason they're not together?"

"I don't understand."

She cupped my cheek, stroking it softly. I struggled to focus on her words and I wondered if that was the point. "My mom wanted me to have choices. She never had choices. When you're born into circus folk, you're circus folk yourself, usually for life. Your life is set; you spend every minute of it trying to come up with a better act to help support your family. She didn't want that for me."

She took a deep breath and sat up, pulling her hair up in a bun. "She and Charlie meet while the circus was up in the northwestern peninsula. He was with some buddies from out of town when he first saw her in Oregon. He said it was like lightning struck him and he couldn't look away. She was all he wanted and he spent the rest of the evening devising a plan to meet her." She looked over her shoulder smiling at me. "Turned out she had the same plan. They spent the night talking to each other and he ended up begging her to marry him, but she told him no, that she couldn't leave her family. They were depending on her. He promised he would follow her wherever she would go. She didn't believe it, but over the next few months, he proved he would. He spent every weekend sitting in the first row of the crowd watching my mother perform, and every night he spent with her."

She suddenly frowned and I pulled her into my arms. "My dad had put in his two-week resignation. He was going to join the circus. He didn't have any talent, but he convinced my grandfather that he could shovel the animal crap. He could see how much they loved each other and agreed to let him join. Everything was set, his bags were packed, but my mother stopped him. She was a crying mess and in a panic. She was pregnant with me."

I squeezed her in my arms. "That wasn't a bad thing, Bella, they love you."

She shook her head, "You don't understand, Edward. She told my father he had to stay home and he had to keep his job. She begged him to raise me like a normal little girl because she never had that and she didn't want me to have the circus life. She wanted me to have a choice. He still took me to as many shows as possible and I did spend most of my time with my mother before I started school, but I'm the one that's kept my parents apart."

"That can't be true, honey. You're grown, so why aren't they together now?"

"Mike," she said frowning. I could tell this was a tough subject, for the both of us. "I loved him well enough. I thought if I married and moved away, my parents would finally be able to be together. He didn't like my mother's family. He was a bit of a snob and the jerk was actually relieved when her flight was snowed in so she would miss our wedding. I cried so hard that night."

She sobbed softly and I pulled her tighter again, kissing her head. "I don't like to speak ill of the dead, but he sounds like an ass."

She suddenly burst out laughing, "That's what Big Daddy Aro called him. No one liked him, but I needed to get out of the house so my parents could finally be together," she said, her eyes pleading with me to understand. "He didn't treat me badly. He was a good man, Edward. He just wasn't the love of my life." She smiled softly, "He wasn't you."

I couldn't resist, I had to kiss her after that. She pulled back, kissing me again lightly. "The problem was, since they didn't like him, Big Daddy Aro insisted that my dad stay where he was just in case I needed to leave Mike." She shook her head, "I lied so much." She wiped her eyes and face on the tissues I handed her. "I never told them that I dropped out of school when I was pregnant. I never told them that I didn't go back. I kept hoping they would see that I was fine and finally get to be together. They deserve more than just a few random weekends, Edward. I had to get them to believe I was fine. I was sure it was working. My dad was talking about finally staying with my mother, but they wanted to wait until I was done with college." She frowned. "They had come to visit a few times when I was on 'break'. With Mike working two jobs and going to school, he was always gone, but we lived in a nice condo in a safe neighborhood. I did my best to show them I was happy, but when Mike died, all my lies and hard work were for nothing.

"It was Christmas break and my mother and father both came to take care of me. They took me back to my father's place and I could see how much they missed each other, Edward. God, it was insane. I missed Mike, but I didn't even love him a fraction of what my parent did each other. I couldn't stand in their way anymore and insisted that I had to go back after Christmas break because I didn't want to 'lose my scholarship.' They bought my lie and let me go home. When I got back to the condo, there was an eviction notice on the door. I didn't have enough to cover the rent. Hell, I didn't even have a job at that point. I called Angie and they took me in so I could get on my feet."

"I've spent the past two years being 'too busy' for visits," she said shamefully, blushing bright red. "I'm supposedly swamped with my Master's classes. I just couldn't tell them how bad it was or let them see it. My dad would have insisted I move home with him and then they would never get together." I cupped her cheek and kissed her softly, letting her know I understood, that I didn't hold her lies against her. "I made a few trips home for the holidays to visit. I could afford it when Ara was still small enough to ride on my lap so I only had to buy one ticket, but she's gotten too old to do that now," she frowned.

"Good thing I can afford to buy you both tickets."

She smiled, snuggling into me. "You're so wonderful, and not because you can buy tickets, but because you know why I need to hear that you can." I chuckled at her.

"Edward, my parents never saw the apartment I lived in. I don't want them to know about it. Please, can you help me show them how happy you make me and that I'm fine now? They need to be together."

"I promise, honey, we'll let them know that you're safe, happy, and well taken care of for the rest of forever, and god forbid, but I'm getting a life insurance policy because there's no way I'm ever letting you live like that again."

"Don't ever leave me, Edward, I couldn't stand to lose you," she begged with tears in her eyes.

"Nothing will ever keep me from you," I promised. I kissed her softly, but she quickly deepened it. She needed more and she wanted it now. I couldn't blame her. Just thinking of passing away and leaving her with our kids was upsetting me. We needed to reconnect. We made love slowly and I felt it this time so much deeper in my heart. Our souls locked together in a way that would never be undone. She was mine.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!