Disclaimer: i do not own Twilight; i don't even want to! i do own the right to warn you...LEMON ALERT!
CHAPTER SIX
"I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let a love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home."
~Christina Perri
Ordinarily, I woke up relatively groggy; my mind fuzzy from sleep but working to catch up to the here and now as my body bustled away, three steps ahead of my brain. I could recall times where I was already dressed and out the door before I fully realized what I was doing.
However, the morning of my mating ceremony to Edward, I woke up wide-awake.
And Alice buzzing around my room. "Oh, good, you're awake! Hurry and eat this."
I look down at the tray Alice pushes onto my lap, which is filled with strange fruits and meats. So far, all the food I had encountered on Leumian seemed relatively normal in Earth standards. The food sitting on my lap did not fit this description.
The fruit seemed to be seeping red juice, creating puddles in the tray that bled into the oddly shaped – and colored – meat. "What is this?"
Alice pauses in what she was doing and shrugs. "You will need those nutrients for the day. They are high in iron."
"Iron?"
"From the blood loss of the ceremony and mating."
I nod absently, feeling incredibly silly for failing to realize the obvious. Hadn't they told me not ten hours ago that most of the mating rituals were primarily blood-based?
"Hurry!" Alice says excitedly, bouncing in place. "We have much to do before midday."
Quickly, I eat – surprised by the rich and delicious flavors of the exotic foods. I truthfully didn't want to know what I was eating lest the bubble be burst. As soon as I was done eating, Alice whisked away the tray and replaced it with a tall glass of a thick, smoothie-like drink. I drank it without question, marveling again at the sweet taste but, again, not wanting to know the ingredients.
Alice pushed me into the washroom with a laser device meant to remove hair – and though I had always been rather scant in body hair, I understood the reasoning behind the laser razor. After today, I would be considered a Leumian Princess and it was clear, at this point, that Leumian's did not have hair on their bodies – except for their heads. I hadn't seen any trace on Ray, Alice, or Edward, for that matter.
The cool sting of the laser on my arms, under arms and legs draws my mind away from the events that would occur in the very near future; and the nervousness that accompanied the impending hours.
But the mindless activity drew my attention to a slight problem - the very human hair near my pubic bone.
Did Leumian women laser shave?
Did they even have pubic hair?
I make a quick decision and hope that I made the right one.
The bath that Alice draws for me is a mixture of complicated oils and scents that I soak in for an hour, the light smells of oranges and blossoms and other fruits seeping into the pores of my skin. My hair is washed with similar scents, leaving my entire person feeling and smelling similar to flower petals dipped in fruit juices.
Alice dries my hair, leaving it to curl and wave around my face naturally and then assists me into my dress.
The bodice is boned and flat, flaring towards my chest from my waist and making my chest appear more full than it really is – pushing my small breasts up and together, creating enticing cleavage where there was none. The organza-like fabric covering the dress is some shade between silver and blue, carefully crafted flowers made from the same material scattered over the bodice, growing larger the further away they are from the top of the dress. Eventually, the smooth fabric becomes long, loose layers that trail behind me in a rounded train as I walk around the room, becoming used to the feel of the dress. The way in which the bodice is constructed leaves the majority of my back bare and my shoulders naked.
In this dress, I feel truly beautiful.
While I knew I was pleasant to look at, the feeling of beauty and contentment, flowing through my body was foreign.
I found that I liked it.
The shoes I wear are simple, much like the gladiator sandals the ancient Romans wore to battle, though mine are much smaller and more smooth.
Alice paints my lips a deep red, the smooth color coming from a mixture of red fruits and berries. It doesn't escape my notice how rare the idea of make-up is to the Leumian's, as I hadn't seen any females wearing unnatural colors on their skin.
Just as I am about to ask why I was wearing the color on my lips, Alice smiles slightly at me. "Leumian tradition. It is mean to represent the life force that you are exchanging today. The stain of the berries will be left on your mate's skin, to show that he is taken by you, just as his scent will stain the blood of your body. Though, you're mark will fade."
I nod, fighting against the blood rushing into my face. "Could I ask you a question?"
"You always do," she smiles, sitting across from me on the floor, her legs folded neatly under her own light violet dress, a few shades darker than her own skin.
I bite the inside of my cheek, conscious that I could not bite my lips without messing up the berry paint. "How would mating between Edward and I…I'm only half-"
Alice interrupts me with a laugh. "Are you afraid your sex organs won't match up?"
The blood staining my cheeks is answer enough because Alice continues, a laugh just barely suppressed in her trilling voice. I hadn't ever felt the need to be embarrassed about sex – until reaching Leumin it hadn't ever seemed like a possibility. Now, it was a glaring one.
"Bella, you are half-Leumian. I'm sure you are more than compatible with Edward, in many ways. But, from what I know of Earthling male and female anatomy, the Leumian body is fairly similar."
I feel myself sigh in relief, not even aware I was so worried about it. It was weight off my chest to know that when Edward and I completed our mating, I wouldn't be surprised by his body.
That wouldn't be how I wanted to start our marriage – our mating.
"That's good," I say.
"Oh, it will be," Alice tells me, standing up and smoothing out her dress. She grins cheekily at me, flashing ultra sharp and white teeth with a wink.
She moves to stand behind me after checking my lips again.
"I want to thank you," I say, grabbing her attention away from fidgeting with my dress and hair. "For yesterday, I mean. I realize that you risked your life to speak up..."
"Bella, I have a gift that not many can claim. The future I see is set in stone. You are not dangerous, no matter what anyone tries to tell you."
She shoots me a significant look and I immediately understand.
No matter what the King said, I was not a danger.
I bite back the bitter smile that threatens to take my face. How long would the King fall back to the pressure of his family? I was sure that, had it not been for the Queen, Rosalie and Edward, the mating ceremony would be canceled or I would be dead.
They could only protect me for so long.
It was just a matter for when the last shoe would drop.
Alice makes me wait in my room for another our, adding layer after layer of berry stain until I am sure my mouth is bright red.
And then, without looking at a time watch or even out the windows, she walks to the door, opening it and waving me forward. "It's time."
I had thought that the nerves would get worse as the time approached, but as I walked out of the room, my mind was completely at ease, my body relaxed.
I felt like I had been waiting for this day my entire life.
It was a starling realization but one I find comfort in.
I follow Alice down the rounded hallways, passing the throne room and coming to a large set of old, marble doors. The hallways had been curiously empty of people, silent except for the occasional swish of fabric from my dress and the soft patters of our shoes.
The door opens.
And my heart stops.
This day would mark significant things in my life; the end of my first week on Leumin and the first day of my mating with Edward. I couldn't be stunned with how quickly the situation between Edward and I had progressed – even when he was at his worst, I couldn't deny the draw to him.
This is where I am meant to be.
By his side.
The room is scented heavily with incense – musky and soothing, spicy and sweet – with petals of exotic flowers littering the floor. The ceiling is covered with draping fabrics in vibrant colors and the sides of the rounded walls are lit with candles, adding to the ambiance of the room.
Edward waits beside an older Leumian male with deep green skin, kind eyes and a smooth head covered in a tall, pure white cap. The man is dressed in white robes that resemble the robes of ancient Popes on Earth.
Edward smiles gently at me, his eyes drinking me in – my body flashes hot as his eyes linger on my lips hungrily.
I didn't think I would ever see so much lust directed at me.
I feel my body yearning to be closer to him but as I take a step forward, Alice stops me, mouthing that I am to approach him slowly before she leaves, closing the door behind her.
Restraining my steps is difficult as I want nothing more than to run towards him, but I measure my walk, counting to three in between steps.
Already, I feel that I am in a wedding – which, I suppose this is. There are no witnesses except for the Leumian Pope, whom I'm sure isn't called a Pope.
I sense no regret, no hesitation in myself as I stand in front of Edward.
The man introduces himself as the High Priest and dives right into the ceremony, murmuring low words in the obscure Leumian tongue.
I fall into a sense of peace, my eyes locking onto Edward's as the High Priest's words wash over us. Edward, too, cannot seem to take his eyes from mine.
The words grow louder, filling the room, as the High Priest raises a crystalline goblet between us, handing a smooth curving knife to Edward.
Removing his eyes from me, Edward makes a slit above his wrist, thick purple blood dripping into the waiting goblet. He does not wince from the knick of the knife nor as the wound begins to close itself.
The knife is handed to me and, for a moment, I panic.
Until I see the longing in Edward's eyes.
Quickly, before I can hesitate any longer, I cut my wrist, stunned that it is virtually painless and relatively easy – the blade is light and smooth, slicing my skin like butter. My blood mixes into the cup much faster than Edward's and when the right amount is in the goblet, the High Priest efficiently wraps my wrist in the same cloth his robes are made from.
Without stirring the blood, the High Priest begins singing the words instead of speaking them, a pattern of a melody forming, resonating through the room as Edward lifts the goblet to his mouth.
His eyes close, as if in pleasure, as he drinks our combined essences.
Then, before I realize what has happened, I am also drinking from the goblet, surprised at the sweetness filling my mouth – most likely from Edward's blood, as I knew human blood was rich in iron and salt, like old currency.
As I swallow, a sense of wholeness fills me – warming me from the inside out and clouding over my mind.
I feel so dazed.
The rest of the ceremony passes quickly, in a flash.
And then Edward is leading me out into the hallway – the empty hallway, completely scarce of any form of life.
My eyes are glued on Edward's form and I find myself quite happy about it. I can't even imagine wanting to look at anything or anyone else for the rest of my life.
In the back of my mind, I realize that my haze must be a reaction from drinking his alien blood, but I take comfort in the fact that Edward, too, seems just as dazed. I'm surprised we arrive at his room without incident or accident because he refuses to look away from me.
I do not notice much about his room, other than the walls are dark, as are the furniture and the decorations and that his windows are firmly covered by sleek coverings.
Edward's lips meet mine gently after the door is closed and some code is typed into a keypad beside the door.
His hands are light on the back of my neck, coaxing my head closer to his as he bends nearly at the waist to continue kissing me. We linger in this embrace, becoming familiar with each other's lips and tongues. His taste is phenomenal, addicting and lingers in my mouth as he pulls away to let me breathe.
I gasp into the quiet room as his lips nip and pull at the tender skin at the edge of my jaw – my body trembles, begging for more attention as feelings foreign to me become the center of my focus. I am barely away of my skin zinging lightly with electricity as one of Edward's hands moves down the back of my neck to rest at the base of my spine.
He pulls my body close to his, my hips pressing against his as my body bows backwards so that our chests remain in contact.
I know where this is leading.
And I want it, so badly.
These types of feelings – cravings – had never been present in my mind.
But I liked them.
My fingers twitch, twisting into Edward's hair and tugging gently, eliciting a smooth purr from deep in his chest.
I shudder in response.
His lips move down to my neck, lingering on the skin at the juncture of my neck and shoulder. He sucks on this skin, essentially marking me as his – something everyone would see because Leumian women showed off their necks and shoulders.
I would wear his mark – this mark – with pride.
His hands move again, large enough to completely wrap around my waist, tugging gently on the fabric of my dress.
Edward removes his lips from my skin, pressing his forehead to mine and gazing at me imploringly. "How do we get it off?"
I blink, waiting for my mind to process his question.
And then, in answer, I motion to pushing down the dress.
With Edward's help, the dress is in a soft puddle at my feet and I am completely naked, standing before him with only the berry stain on my lips covering my skin.
He groans, his eyes wide and mouth partially opened.
His sharp incisors have grown larger, like fangs, the tip of the teeth a fine, sharp point pressing into his bottom lip.
Almost as if he can't control himself, his hands lift to my shoulders, caressing the skin gently until his palms cover my chest. In response, my nipples pebble – not from the general coolness of his hands, but from arousal so acute I can feel it between my legs.
His palms put pressure on my nipples, rubbing slowly as his fingers softly grip and fondle. I had always thought that I was not well endowed but, in comparison to Leumian women, my chest is ample – and a clear distraction. His palms are replaced by his finger, which are nimble enough to blindly tweak and pinch the sensitive skin while his lips begin to follow the same path his hands had taken.
Edward kneels before me, his mouth level with my chest, his eyes roving over my skin while one hand skims down my stomach and around the slight curve of my hips.
Wet heat envelops my right areola, the left still being played with by his fingers, while my fingers tighten in his hair. Oddly, Edward's mouth is frighteningly warm in relation to the undefined temperature of his skin.
Soon, I am moaning softly as Edward's fingers trace the ultra smooth skin of my pubic bone – the skin that had been covered by hair not five hours ago. Judging by the positive reaction – Edward muffles another groan and switches nipples – I was sure I had done right in laser shaving the hair off my body.
His fingers, long and thicker than human fingers, dip into the wetness between my legs, sliding easily around. When his finger passes over my clit, causing literal sparks to fly through my body, I have no hope of stopping the loud moan that passes through my throat.
Edward stops.
He stands.
And I whimper as he lifts me into his arms and walks me towards the back of his large room, his lips connected to mine in a wet kiss that completely clears my mind.
The bed hovers close enough to the floor that Edward can place me on it.
He does not hesitate to shed his clothes, revealing his stunning body to me without another thought.
And I gasp again.
Because there is no way he will ever be able to fit in me.
I wasn't familiar with the average size of human men, but it was obvious that Edward surpassed that measurement.
Far surpassed it.
His body is lean and lanky, chiseled artfully with strong chords of muscle, his chest bare of nipples but decorated with one small belly button.
It is the thick roping, thorny black lines marking his skin – from the tops of his shoulders, down his arms and legs and around his stomach – that make my gaze linger longer than is strictly necessary.
His birth markings say much about him – his strength, his barriers and walls, his complicated mind.
But they do not frighten me away.
If anything, I want to run my tongue over each tattoo-like mark.
Edward moves to lay beside me, the bed rising automatically when he settles beside me, his eyes firmly attached to mine as his lips claim me again.
His fingers return to my center, flicking against the sensitive nub hidden between my lips until my legs fall open and I am panting.
Smugly, Edward smiles and trails his lips down my stomach and to my center.
There, he spends time exploring, pressing his fingers inside of me, stretching me and, after much thought on his part, breaking through my virginity. His tongue is constantly moving, quickly bringing me to a brink I didn't even know existed.
And when I am still shuddering from that high, he begins to push into me.
Slowly.
Leisurely.
His mouth parting and his eyes locking with mine, pants coming from his strong chest.
When he is fully inside of me, his hips pressed tight to mine, he kisses me sweetly, licking at the tears on my face from the uncomfortable stretching he is causing.
"My mate," Edward whispers.
And then he begins to move, barely moving in and out – just lightly pumping his hips, allowing his pubic bone to rub against mine.
Immediately, tingles shoot through my body.
He brushes up against every crevice inside of me when he really begins to pick up a pattern, his hips swiveling with his thrusts and his hands tightly clenching the cloth covering his bed.
Moaning, my hips lift to meet his and I press my mouth to the crevice of his neck.
Edward muffles his own sounds against my shoulder, his fangs scraping against my skin in time with the accelerated pumps of his hips.
"Bite me," he rasps out, clenching his eyes shut for a moment.
"What?"
He answers after a particularly firm thrust. "To complete the mating. Bite me. Now."
I do not hesitate a moment longer, my breath coming quicker than I can catch it as my body begins to burn and trembled from the inside. As hard as I can, I close my teeth into the skin of his neck, his blood filling my mouth with overwhelming sweetness, triggering the single most intense experience of my life.
In the same moment, his fangs sink into the flesh of my shoulder and he roars out against my skin.
My body feels weightless as I come, feeling the intense warmth filling my womb from Edward's climax.
As we both stop shuddering, we lick the small amount of blood from each other's skin, Edward's tongue seeming to heal the mark of his fangs.
He rests his weight on me for a moment, holding me close before he rolls to the side, pulling me on top of him, his hands soothingly rubbing against the skin of my back.
I spot the stain of the berries on his neck and smile, pressing my cheek against his marked chest, feeling more calm and happy that I ever had in my life.
His fangs have receded and he seems to be particularly sated.
"My mate," Edward whispers again, pride filtering into his voice.
"Mine," I reply, pressing a kiss to his chest as he pulls me closer and secures us under the warmth of a fur blanket.
We fall asleep quickly, rightfully exhausted.
And when I wake, Edward is pressed against my backside, his hardness pressing into my body. He takes me like that, pressing my front into the mattress and keeping my legs closed as he forces himself into the tight crevice of space that is available, stroking me from deep inside and drawing both of us to quick, powerful climaxes.
By this time, I assume the day on Leumin has completely passed.
But I am grimy from sweating and insist of bathing.
I am able to get a good look at his room – dark blue and black walls interspersed with golden furs on the floors and acting as blankets on his alcove couches.
"You hunt?"
Edward nods sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he starts a bath, bending over and showing me a part of his anatomy I had missed.
It turns out that his birth markings run over his firm backside, also.
"It is a lucrative hobby. I am able to donate furs to our tribes and meat to the hungry families. The furs in the room are from big game."
"Prizes?"
Edward kisses me on the nose and helps me into the bath, pulling me against his chest and resting his chin on my shoulder. "Prizes," he confirms. "Did you have many hobbies on Earth?"
I frown, finding his hands in the water and playing with his fingers. "My hobby was to hone my abilities. I'm still working on it."
"What is it like? Lifting metals with your mind? Shocking people?"
"I suppose it's much like lifting metal with your arms," I say, leaning back more firmly on his chest. "I can grasp onto the magnetic field of the metal, no matter how small, and manipulate the gravity around it so it…lifts. It's hard to explain but it's so normal to me. Like breathing. As for the shocking, I don't like using it." I glance at him, his eyes bright as he absorbs information. "Though, with you, I can't seem to stop."
"I like the stings," he tells me, tightening his arms around me for a moment. "Did I tell you that you smell sweeter when it happens?"
"You did."
"Then would you like to know a secret?"
I feel my brows rise. He was being playful.
Though that, too, was foreign, I found that I liked it.
"Hmm?"
Edward kisses my neck. "It smells similar to your arousal."
My face flames and I close my eyes.
"That also smells similar to your arousal."
I cough out a gasp, trying to push the rare blush off my face.
Edward laughs, pressing his fingers into the muscles of my back, working out the tiny knots of soreness that had developed from our activities. I moan, leaning towards the water.
His fingers begin to trace my spine and random spots on my back. He makes an amused sound.
"What?"
Again, his fingers trace the same pattern. "You also have Leumian birth markings."
"No, I don't," I say, knowing that I do not have intricate tattoo-like patterns anywhere on my body.
"Yes, you do. Little spots."
"You mean freckles."
I can almost hear him shake his head. "No, they are in lines," he says, tracing a line diagonally across my back, the tip of his finger running a smooth curve at the base of my neck. "Lines and curves."
I feel myself smiling slightly. "I suppose that's another example of my mixed heritage."
"It is," Edward agrees, rubbing soapy hands on my skin.
We do not leave the bath without another set of planet-shattering climaxes.
I am surprised by my own comfort with our naked bodies, but I figure it is because I have never had a reason to be self-conscious about excess body fat or my figure. Of course, I knew that I was relatively without curves, but my body was lean and tight. I truthfully had nothing to worry about.
And Edward certainly liked what he saw, even going so far as to confirm my suspicions about Leumian breast size.
He thought that they were definitely a benefit to my hybrid status.
I thought that my being on Leumin was the only benefit I needed.
Sighing in content, safe in Edward's arms, I fall into a deep sleep.
But my dreams are haunted with my worries.
And my father's face.
A/N: alright so...that's that. i'm not so great at lemons (this is like, my fourth one) so...
anyway, it has come to my attention that you guys are reading the name STROM in some of the chapters. this is human error on my part and i'm sorry! Edward's original character name is Storm and, because i'm me and i get excited when i write and i start typing too fast, i misspelled Storm...if you come across STROM again, just uhh, replace it with Edward. if i had a beta, i'm sure errors like this wouldn't happen but as it is, the computer is my grammar/spelling/replacing beta and Lucinda (my computer) does a damn good job.
before you ask and or point it out that i can have a beta, i don't want one. why? delayed posting time. and nobody wants that!
shout out to the first review of the last chapter, cbmorefie ; i call you one of my "Regulars" in my head because you pretty much review every chapter!
notable mentions to, berdb (you totally got Carlisle), JLS0823 (i hate when they run away, too!), universalbeat (i shoot for over the moon!) and YesMyRealNameIsBella (i aim to satisfy! and thanks for the pimping - do you get a cut of the money?).
on another note, i got a review that said "damn Bella is f***ing annoying" (you know who you are). well, reader, nobody told you that you had to read and, honestly, if you have a problem with my Bella, then tell me in a PM so we won't have to make this public, next time. i'd much rather learn about why she's annoying than reading a vulgar review. constructive criticism and all that.
so, with a facepalm in response to that review, i'll sign off! i'm cold and its snowing snowing snowing!
as always, be brutally honest (in a constructive way *coughcough*). i can take it (and dish it out).
~cupcakeriot