Disclaimer: i do not own Twilight. odds are that i never will! i do, however, own a bucketload of cookies and guilt for not getting this chapter out sooner!

chapter nineteen

"A bit of lusting after someone does wonders for you and is good for your skin."

Elizabeth Hurley

Edward

The next pearl we choose is Hades'. It's intimidating and so dark it looks like the embodiment of the Underworld, swirling with two dimensional black depths. Bella stares at it as it sits innocently in her lace covered hands.

Lace.

I would never, ever in a thousand years, be able to think about lace without my mind flashing to the other night when that same lace had brought me the sweetest release I had ever known.

Bella pushes her short hair behind her ears, closing her tiny fingers around the pearl. "Let's do this," she mutters, looking at me from beneath her thick lashes. She reaches for me this time, arms tight around my body, head tucked firmly under my chin. I wrap my arms low around her back and press a kiss onto her head before stepping on the black pearl.

Black fog swirls thickly around us, blinding me until it clears, dropping us in a new location.

I shouldn't have been surprised by the desolate, arid desert that surrounded us. Somehow, this desert seemed to be more menacing than the one we left in the Hanging Gardens - the sand created mini-mountains and the sky was such a vibrant blue that it hurt to look at. Heat immediately seeped into my skin.

I take in the three giant pyramids before us, their height stunning in the middle of all the deep, fine sand. We were obviously in Egypt. Modern day Egypt, too, judging by the caution signs and roped-off areas. This was the closest we had gotten to our own time in this entire series of quests.

Here, the sun was almost setting, nearly ready to dip down into the horizon and leave us in the dark. I only hoped that we could deal with whatever beast was here before the night settled in because I did not want to be caught in the middle of the desert at night.

"This way," Bella murmurs, pulling away from me and walking blindly towards the largest pyramid. Her eyes were clouded over, her lips parted and her steps staggering slightly. Something was guiding her, putting her in a trance.

A trance that was leading her further and further from me.

Through the bond, I could feel a subtle pull that was completely different from the pull Bella and I share - almost a yearning to be closer to some elusive object.

Bella stumbled ahead of me, sand creating deep pools around her feet and drawing her into the ground around us. I rush to catch up with her; if anything, I could keep her physically safe while her mind was elsewhere.

She leads us around two of the pyramids, her eyes locked onto the sand while the sun sinks deeper. The hair on the back of my neck raises occasionally, as if eyes are on me even though we are in the middle of the desert.

Suddenly, before I can stop her, Bella sinks to her knees and begins clawing at the sand before her. At the same moment, an enraged roar echoes around us - I look up, my stomach dropping at the sight of the Chimera.

This Chimera was particularly intimidating, a large feline body and head with the coiled horns of a goat sticking up behind it's ears, heavy hooves on it's feet and a twisting snake taking place on it's tail, the head of the snake hissing menacingly at me while the lion's head roars again.

I step back and try to move Bella but she screams at me, a single high note, and stubbornly refuses to move. She doesn't realize the danger here, the trance tight around her mind and her hands causing sand to fly around her.

"Shit," I mutter, turning from her and putting myself between her and the Chimera. Whatever it is that Bella is searching for, the Chimera was obviously trying to guard.

I had to wonder what the motives would be for having the Chimera and an artifact in the same quest. Was this something Hades had constructed?

The Chimera, impatient, sinks into a low crouch, swishing it's snake-tail at me and baring it's teeth, hooves sinking into the sand.

The second before the Chimera charges, I think about using Bella's sword but the thought vanishes as soon as it appears - I wasn't trained in sword fighting, so the hunk of metal would be next to useless to me. Instead, I lock eyes with the fierce predator and give in the Zeus-side of my being, drawing ions from the waiting air into my hand and firing off twin bolts as the Chimera leaps at me.

Stunned, the Chimera rolls off of it's back and paces in front of me, intelligence in it's eyes as it contemplates it's own strategy.

Not taking my eyes from my giant opponent, I speak to the girl who holds my heart and our lives in her digging hands. "Bella, whatever the fuck your looking for, find it fast. I could really use your gift right now."

Seconds later, excitement bursts through our bond and Bella lets out a loud cheer. I hear a gasp and then absolutely nothing from behind me. Throwing out a bolt to the Chimera, I risk a look over my shoulder.

Dread fills my chest.

Bella had, literally, disappeared.

There was no trace of the hole she'd dug or her foot steps, the desert sand undisturbed around me except for the angry charging hooves of the Chimera who was running full speed at me again.

I prepare myself to dodge the beast but the oddest thing happens; it stops dead in it's tracks and, before my eyes, begins to crudely decay. The Chimera falls to the ground, it's body becoming sallow and wasted in mere seconds.

I lean against the very convenient pyramid wall and stare at the dead beast in shock.

What the fuck-

Out of nowhere, Bella appears complexly unscathed beside the Chimera's body, her gloves stuffed into her pockets at a helmet in her hands. The helmet is fashioned from shining platinum and dark colored jewels and looks more like a crown that what it's supposed to be.

Of course.

Hades' Cap of Invisibility. The Helm of Darkness. The one coveted piece of Hades' mythology that makes the wearer of the helm completely invisible, completely undetectable by sound, heartbeat, smell, touch and sight.

Of course the Chimera would be protecting Hades' most valued treasure.

But.

The Helm didn't look like the one I knew Hades to wear - the one that I'd seen countless times before. No, this Helm was more feminine, newer, sleeker.

Amazing. Hades had a Helm fashioned specifically for Bella. That's why she was drawn to find it. It was hers in the first place.

"Do you know what that is?" I ask her as she walks towards me, the Helm now safely in the bag hanging from her narrow shoulders.

She nods, smiling softly at me, and pulls her gloves back on before she steps any closer to me. She's always so careful not to touch me without them, but I wish she would. I'd begun craving her touch like a drug lately, longing for her bare hand on my skin. I had a feeling that her touch wouldn't affect me like it does other living things - it didn't before, at least.

"It's my own Helm of Darkness," she says, righting the direction of a glove. It draws my eyes down to her hands and I can't stop myself from gasping.

The tattoos that had appeared on her fingers had spread, had gotten darker and reached past her wrist, the delicate swirling design contrasting with her pale skin.

Her eyes follow mine, widening when she sees the expansion on her skin. She quickly shreds her leather jacket, revealing a tight white tank top underneath and inspects her arms.

Sure enough, dark swirls that grow steadily smaller travel up both of her arms, ending just before her shoulders. The strange design makes her more exotic than she already is, with her pale skin and glowing eyes and full lips.

Elle looks worried at the development, tracing the swirls and dots down her arm, her bottom lip firmly in between her teeth.

"They're beautiful," I murmur to her, stepping closer to her until she is wrapped completely in my arms. My lips press into the top of her head but from there, I am lost, letting them work down her face to her neck and collarbone and back, loving the deep pulsing of her blood and the sound of her accelerated breathing.

It occurred to me that we were in the middle of the desert, in a restricted area no doubt under the pyramids of Giza, Egypt. Now probably wasn't the time to work both Bella and myself up but I couldn't help it, adrenaline and lust burning through me. I had to have her in some way.

She pulls away from me, her eyes desperately seeking something from me. "Where can we go?" she begs, her voice husky and doing things to my body.

"There has to be a hotel somewhere around here," I tell her, pulling her closer and kissing her with everything in me, pressing myself against her stomach and holding in the moan that threatens to escape me.

With her gloves back on, we hurry hand and hand through the desert, coming to a tiny town not too far away. I check us into an inn of some sort and soon enough, Bella is writhing under me, moaning softly as I grind into her, my lips sucking the skin of her stomach through her shirt. Pushing the fabric up, I attach my lips to her puckered pale pink nipple, thrilling in the sounds the escape her mouth and the dull scratching of her nails against my scalp as she tries to force me to take more of her breast into my mouth. I alternate breasts, steadily making my way down to the hidden zipper of her leather pants.

I sit up, taking my shirt off and ripping her tight pants off of her legs, my mouth returning to where I'd left off. The scent of her assaults my senses, sweet and musky at the same time; my mouth waters and I can't fight the urge to bury my face between her thighs. I inch her lacy panties from her hips, looking up at her for permission.

Bella is panting, nodding and biting her lip, her hands digging into the sheets as I drag my lips down her legs, her panties following. Absently, I kiss back up her smooth legs, my eyes locked on the treasure between her legs. I reach her inner thigh, sucking her skin into my mouth and biting lightly, watching in amazement when Bella's hips twitch.

I'm torturing both of us, nipping and kissing every inch of her skin until my nose brushes against the smooth skin of her center. Bella must shave because her lips are smooth, pink and glistening; the only hair at my level are neatly trimmed curls hiding her mound. I inhale deeply, savoring her scent before taking a long lick up her slit.

Bella's hips shoot off the bed. I move my left forearm over her hip to hold her in place while my tongue licks her outer lips again and again, dipping between her lips for more when I can only taste her sweet skin.

Nothing could compare to her taste.

My right hand spreads her lips, exposing her moist pink slit to my eyes. I am drawn to the tiny berry at the top of her sweet pussy, the little bundle of nerves that drive her crazy. I flick my tongue against her clit, grinning at her long, startled moan. My tongue lightly circles the tiny nub, occasionally pressing against it firmly. My fingers move into her opening, dipping in time with the motions of my tongue.

Sucking her clit gently into my mouth, I wonder what it would feel like to her if it were more exposed. Eager to experiment, I draw my fingers up again to her clit, unable to resist playing with it for a few seconds until it is throbbing before pushing up against the skin that protects it. Uncovered, her clit is even smaller, twitching at the cold air around it. I wriggle my tongue against it, loving the loud cries escaping from her mouth.

Keeping close contact with her exposed clit, I let my left hand drop to her opening, thrusting into her and curling my fingers up, hitting a curiously rough patch that swells, making Bella's cries more desperate, her moans louder.

Suddenly, Bella is clenching violently around my fingers and her clit is throbbing and twitching against my tongue; Bella doesn't seem to breath as she comes, her juices coating my fingers and chin. I carefully draw my mouth and fingers from her, slowly cleaning up her orgasm with my tongue, enjoying the cocky confidence that overtakes me. I sit up and smile down at my girl's prone form, her body completely relaxed except for her heaving chest. I press a single kiss into the hollow of her throat and lay down beside her, not even thinking about the throbbing in my own groin.

"How did you do that?"

I look at the beautiful creature beside me and think about how I should answer. I hadn't ever been with anyone but I had been curious about sex - what teenage male wouldn't be, God or not?

"I might have researched some things," I say reluctantly.

Bella laughs happily, rolling over to hug me with a blush high in her cheeks. Her gloved hands run down my chest suggestively, stopping at the button of my jeans. "Think you could teach me?"

A/N: so the next chapter will most likely start out with a lemon. i cannot begin to explain how sorry i am for making all of you wonderful people wait! i suck. throw tomatos at me. i demand it.

Edward - Godward? - and Bella are moving forward in their physical relationship (yay) and in their quests. if anyone wants to know more about the Helm of Darkness that Bella found in this chapter, i would Wikipedia Hades Helm of Invisibility. it's involved in a ton of mythology.

shout out to the awesome kiaras-magical-melody, who was the first review on the last chapter; you guessed this chapter without even trying and for that, you get a high-5 and some candycanes.

as always, be brutally honest.

~cupcakeriot