Thanks to Kristi, Mel and LisaJ!
Chapter 49 – Waking up in Vegas
EPOV
The ride through the McCullough Mountains was fun. Bella had started out before me, and I followed her for almost the entire ride back to Jean. I couldn't tell you a thing about the local scenery, but could describe in minute detail the sliver of skin that peeked out from between the top of Bella's low rise capris and my shirt, which she still had tied at her waist.
We joined a dusty, but happy, Jasper and Alice on the shuttle for the ride back to the hotel.
"What's the plan for tonight?" Alice asked. She sat against the windows, her legs thrown over Jasper's lap.
"Bella and I are going to hit The Lion King tonight," I told them. Bella was sitting next to me, a little farther away than I liked. We'd walked together, hand-in-hand, but hadn't resumed holding hands once we got on the shuttle.
Neither Jasper nor Alice responded, but Alice shot me a look I could only describe as panicked. I tried to read her face and mused that the ability to read minds would come in really handy. I frowned to let her know that I didn't understand. I was surprised when Jasper interjected.
"You know, Edward, I wanted to take Alice, but they only had single seats available when I checked yesterday."
"Yeah, besides, do you really want to see that show, you know…with all the families with kids there?" Alice commented.
Families…kids…? Shit! Were Emmett and Rose taking EJ to the Lion King tonight?
"Oh, uh…single seats? That's no fun. What do you say, Bella? Want to do something else? I bet Donny and Marie still have seats."
Bella chuckled and Alice cut in, "Bella, I heard that The Lion King will be at Cadillac Palace this fall for a couple of weeks. Maybe the four of us could go then?"
"It's up to Edward," she replied noncommittally. Her response could be interpreted so many ways! Was she still interested in seeing the Lion King tonight, even if we sat separately? Was she just concerned about my birthday and was leaving tonight's plans up to me? Or, was she concerned about making plans for months away when the two of us had only taken baby steps towards…well, towards whatever holding hand presages.
I smiled at her, while trying to decide what she meant by her comment. Thankfully, Alice came to my rescue.
"Jazz and I were thinking about going to The Improv at Harrah's. What do you say; it should be a fun night!"
"Edward?" Bella turned to me.
"Stand-up sounds fun. Sure, we'll join you."
"Great."
Alice shot me a look that needed no interpretation. It clearly said, "Yeah, we just saved your ass, Cullen." I'd have to add Alice and Jasper to the list of people to thank for this weekend.
When we got back to the hotel, Alice and Jasper quickly veered off with a promise to meet us at Harrah's at 8 o'clock. Since we were covered in dust from our ride, Bella said she'd really like to take a shower.
"We have some time. Would you mind if I took a nap after I showered?"
A nap sounded like a fantastic idea, but I quickly realized her question wasn't an invitation to join her.
"No, not at all."
Bella and I made our way back to our room. She showered first, and I took the opportunity to reach out to Emmett.
"Hey, bro," he answered, "how was the ride?"
"Great."
"Where's Bella now?"
"She's in the shower. It was a dusty out there. Listen, are you taking Rose and EJ to the Lion King tonight?"
"Yeah, why?"
"No reason, really. Bella and I talked about going, but Alice headed it off."
"Be careful, man. I told you that Alice had our schedule for the weekend."
"Okay, I won't make plans again without consulting her."
"What did you decide to do instead?"
"We're going to the Improv."
"Fun. Okay, well, we went to Shark Reef and hung out at the pool today. Rose and I are going to order room service before the show, so we shouldn't cross paths tonight. Have a great night."
"Thanks, you too."
I hung up and sat down on the couch. My eyes were getting heavy. Riding in the hot sun had taken a lot out of me and napping was sounding better every minute. I realized it had gotten quiet just a moment before Bella pulled the bathroom door open. She was wrapped in fluffy white robe and had her hair wrapped in a towel. She was just so tempting as she padded barefoot over to where I was sitting.
"Your turn."
I smiled. "What are you insinuating?"
"Nothing. I'm telling you flat out. You're filthy and need a shower."
I laughed loudly and stood up, taking a menacing step towards her. Her grin vanished replaced by what I could only laughingly refer to as "bitch brow."
"Don't you dare," she warned me.
I took another step. Bella let out a started sound that sounded like, "Meep!" before dancing back a few quick steps.
"Edward…" she said, her voice changing from warning to pleading. I glowered at her one more time before letting the smile I was fighting finally break free.
"Okay, I'm going," I surrendered, turning towards the bathroom. I heard her exhale loudly and grinned at the sound.
In the bathroom, I stripped down quickly. Adjusting the temperature, I stepped into the spray and enjoyed the hot, pounding water. I washed my hair quickly and grimaced at the obviously dirty water rinsing down the drain. Slowing down, I lathered again and did a better job before moving onto the rest of my shower.
Images from the day floated through my head. I lingered over thoughts of Bella's hand in mine, the memory of her snuggled into my chest on the shuttle this morning and the kiss we almost shared at breakfast.
Maybe I didn't owe Alice anything after all. If she hadn't interrupted, I would have had my first voluntary kiss from Bella in months. The idea of Bella's mouth, her full lips, and the memories of her sweet kisses were riling me up. Soaping up my hand, I gripped my almost fully erect cock and stroked myself a few times.
I was of two minds. I wasn't sure if it was such a good idea to do this with Bella right in the next room. Then again, if I didn't it was going to be a problem when we slept together tonight. Throwing caution to the wind and promising myself I would be quiet, I ran over images of Bella in my mind.
She wore my shirt today. She had it pulled tight across her chest and knotted at the back. I had been teased by that little sliver of skin for the whole ride back to the shuttle. Breakfast this morning: we'd come so close. My lips tingled with the memory of her nearness. Yesterday on the plane. That dress. Damn, that dress. She'd worn a little yellow sundress that left her practically bare from the chest up and the knees down. The bright yellow color brought out golden highlights in her hair.
When she slid past me in the seats, her ass rubbed my thigh and my cock sprang to life. I had pushed her away, but now I could imagine what it would have been like to grasp her hips and pull her against me, letting her feel the effect she had on me.
The thought of her against me like that made my breath hitch. I sped up my strokes and braced my free hand against the wall.
She had kissed me on the plane yesterday, saving me as she had so many times when I paid her to be with me. It wasn't a particularly passionate kiss, but despite the fact that we hadn't kissed in months, it was comforting. A kiss shared between two people familiar with each other in an intimate sense.
God! Being with Bella would be incomparable, I was sure. I had long ago cobbled together bits and pieces of our various encounters to imagine what sex with Bella would be like. We had shared many kisses. I remembered the feel of her skin when I ran my hand up her arm on the plane. I grinned at the memory of the gooseflesh that had erupted at my touch, knowing I could affect her physically, the way she affected me.
That night, so long ago now, we had slept together at the hotel in Chicago. I woke up that night to find Bella sprawled across my chest and stomach. Her warm breasts pressed into me….
The night in my home even before that: we'd fallen asleep on the couch and she again slept with her head pillowed on my stomach.
My breath hitched. I was getting closer, so decided it was time to pull out the big guns.
That first night. That very first night, nine months ago. The night I walked in to find her showering in my office bathroom. I had told her I had seen nothing. I had convinced myself that her hair and the copious lather from my ridiculously expensive body wash and shampoo had covered her completely.
All lies.
Allowing myself to remember for the first time in months, I thought of Bella, naked in my shower. Her pink nipples erect, peeking through the suds that trailed down her glistening white skin.
The darkened triangle between her legs had held onto the suds like dry grass peeking through melting snow.
Ugh! I grunted, running my thumb over the sensitive head of my shaft.
Then, she had emerged in my monogrammed bathrobe. This woman had been wearing my clothes for months, and I loved it. I loved how she looked wearing my things. I loved how I felt when I saw her in my clothes. Possessive, like she was mine. Mine.
As the word echoed through the vault of my mind, I exploded, coming in several long spurts. I caught my breath and held it in an effort to remain quiet. I took a deep breath and sighed, my head falling back as the tension drained from me.
Rinsing quickly, I stepped out of the shower and toweled off. Fuck! I had nothing in here but the towel and my dirty clothes. There was no way I was putting those on again. I wrapped the towel around my hips and contemplated taking another to drape over my shoulders, but decided against it with a shrug.
I gathered up my dirty clothes and opened the bathroom door. The room was quiet. I stole towards the sleeping area and relaxed as I realized that Bella had slid between the sheets still in the bathrobe with her hair wrapped up. Her shallow, even breathing let me know she was asleep. I grabbed a pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt from my drawer and ducked back into the bathroom to change.
Emerging, I glanced at the couch. I really didn't want to nap there. Pulling myself together, I walked over to the empty side of the bed. I quickly set the alarm on my cell phone early enough that we could grab a bite to eat before meeting Jasper and Alice. Then, instead of pulling back the covers, I laid down carefully on top of them. I turned my head to face Bella's sleeping form. I was asleep in minutes.
BPOV
I had just dozed off when I felt Edward lie down on the bed. I was aware of the slight movement, but was in that delicious state of sleep where you're aware but unmotivated to react. With a mental shrug, I allowed myself to fall into a deeper sleep.
I woke up a little over an hour later. I was so comfortable, I seriously contemplated turning over and going back to sleep, but knew if I let myself fall asleep again, I'd throw off my sleep schedule for weeks. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes. A quiet gasp escaped as I took in the sight before me. I had shifted onto my side, and Edward had as well. We were facing each other, me under the covers, Edward on top.
His gorgeous face was just inches from mine; his recently washed hair falling gently over his brow. All traces of worry and fatigue were gone. He looked younger than his 30 years. I'd have to tease him about the big three-oh later. I had to fight off the overwhelming desire to reach over with my hand and trace the planes of his face. His five o'clock shadow was starting to appear, and I smiled at the almost forgotten memory of the feel of his stubbly face against mine when he'd kiss me.
Despite myself, I felt a small smile overtake my face. Again, I felt the urge to reach out and stroke his face, his hair…. I shook myself out of my Edward-induce stupor. Just as I was rising, Edward cell phone began to sound its alarm. Quickly, I went to the closet and pulled out the garment bag that held my "eveningwear." Two dresses hung inside, one a metallic silver, the other navy blue. Both were too formal for this weekend, but they were all I had.
I debated between the two. The blue dress was almost scandalous. The silver was very dressy, but would have to do. I looked over at Edward. He was sitting on the bed, smiling at me.
"I'm going to get dressed," I told him, gesturing to the bathroom.
"Take your time," he replied, his voice raspy with sleep. "I'll get ready out here."
I brought the dress into the bathroom. I hung up the towel and ran my hand through my barely damp hair. I'd only need to pin it while it finished drying to get some gentle waves. I moisturized before applying a bit more makeup than I would normally wear. We were in Vegas, after all.
I applied the metallic shadow and black eyeliner before feathering my lashes with mascara. Clear gloss was enough to complete the look. I wasn't a showgirl after all. I slid into the dress. The silky material hugged my body in wide, gentle folds, while the sparkly, one shoulder strap lay neatly. I pulled out the pins and fluffed my hair.
I quickly threw my makeup into my toiletries bag and walked back into the common area. Edward was up and dressed in black dress pants and a black button down dress shirt. He had tamed his hair somewhat. The urge to run my hands through it, just to mess it up, was strong.
What was wrong with me? Nothing, I realized. Edward was a handsome man, for whom I still had feelings. We'd come close to kissing over breakfast this morning, definitely bonded during the ATV excursion and had napped together. I was nervous to initiate anything. I still had much more to lose professionally than he did should I make a misstep, but my gut was telling me that he was interested.
In the time it took me to process this, I realized that Edward was staring at me. I smiled nervously as I walked across the room to stow my bag. Turning, I offered Edward a bigger smile. He took two steps and was at my side.
"Bella, you…"
"You look…"
We both chuckled as we tried to speak at the same time.
"You look amazing, Bella. So beautiful. I'm going to have to spend the night fending off your admirers." He took my hand in his and raised it to his lips, kissing me lightly on the knuckles.
I took his words as confirmation. Yeah, definitely still interested.
"I'm sure that's not true."
"But it is." He pulled me a few steps to the side so I could see the two of us in the mirror. "Look at you," he murmured, standing behind me, leaning down over my shoulder. I stared at our reflection, but Edward was looking only at me. "You're gorgeous. This dress…" he ran his hand down my side, "your hair…" he lifted one of the wavy locks and let it sift though his fingers.
He inhaled deeply. "You even smell good," he commented, letting the tip of his nose trail up the column of my neck. I shivered and his lips quirked in a small smile.
Wow, he was letting it all out, wasn't he? Despite the thrill his words gave me, I was cautious. I was determined not to jump into anything blindly.
"Edward, I…we…."
"Shh, we need to go. We can talk…later." His voice carried the slightest inflection. It wasn't quite a statement, but not a question either. I closed my eyes and nodded my head, trying to clear the haze that had settled over me.
Edward let me go, and I moved slowly over to the closet. I hooked on a pair of sling backs that were frankly dangerous and grabbed my clutch. Despite the heat, Edward slid on a sport coat and held the door for me as we walked down the hall.
We got down to the lobby, and Edward steered me towards Shanghai Lilly.
"Chinese food tonight?" I asked, remembering our dinner on the floor in his reception area.
"Actually, I was thinking ShaBu ShaBu. You up for it?"
"I'll try anything once," I told him. He looked at me with a slightly stunned expression at first, and then dissolved into laughter.
"What am I going to do with you, Bella?" he asked rhetorically.
"I'm sure you'll think of something, Mr. Cullen," I replied with what I hoped was a saucy look. Flirting with Edward like this was fun. He took in my expression and let out a groan. With a roll of his eyes, he slid behind me and put his hands on my waist. He pulled me against him. We took a few awkward steps this way before reaching the hostess stand.
The hostess brought us to a small table set up for shabu shabu. We perused the menus before deciding on beef, scallops and shrimp, bok choy and napa cabbage. Edward asked the server to bring a bottle of red and we settled in for a wait while our meal was prepared.
The wine arrived quickly. Edward tasted the wine and motioned that the server should leave it for us. After pouring our glasses, the server left quickly.
Suddenly, I felt shy. I examined the source of that feeling and decided that by playing along with Edward's flirtations I'd opened myself up to him. I vaguely remembered being a person who was often like this: open, fun and flirtatious, before things all went south.
Back then, though, I had very little to lose. How much was I putting on the line now by acting like an infatuated coed?
"Bella…?"
I realized I had zoned out. Edward eyes caught my gaze, and I stared back at him with a neutral expression. He sighed, and I felt a nervous knot form in my stomach. I reached for my glass, but Edward's hand intercepted mine. He laced our fingers together and rested our hands across the table. The nervous knot loosened.
"I'm really glad you came this weekend. There's no one else besides my brother, I wanted here more."
I tried to keep my reaction to his kind words under control, but I could feel the faint blush his words caused. He looked at me uttering, "Gorgeous."
"I wanted to ask you myself, you know, to come. I was sure you'd think I was crazy and say no. Emmett and Rose, they could have used the hotel's nanny service, or asked my parents. Hell, Rose's mom would have loved to fly out to watch EJ, but they asked you. For me. They asked you to come, so I could spend time with you this weekend."
I frowned. "But if I was watching EJ all weekend, we wouldn't spend any time together anyway."
He shrugged. "If you had ended up watching EJ all weekend, I would have sat with you by the pool, or gone to see the sharks, or whatever."
I turned over his confession in my mind. I'd be lying if I didn't say that part of me was flattered. It was tempting to just let that part take over and enjoy what he was saying. However, that carefree girl, the one who would take his words at face value, learned her lesson a long time ago. The urge to overanalyze was strong.
Edward watched me, worry and concern etched on his face. He was trying to be honest and in doing so was running the risk of alienating me. I remembered his face when he was napping earlier, how carefree and young he had appeared. I didn't want to be the cause of his stress.
I sighed. "I need to think about what you're saying." I frowned again. "I'm not sure how I feel about it." I was about to continue, but our server returned with a tray of food. The pot of broth and the ramekins of sauce were placed on the table along with our raw ingredients. The server glanced over our set up, refilled our glasses and left.
Edward was still looking at me, his lips pressed tightly together. Suddenly, he reached over and grasped my hand again.
"Think," he encouraged me, "but don't look for a way to make this anything but what it is. I just want to be with you, Bella. That's all. The intentions were good." I nodded jerkily.
Edward huffed a sigh and picked up his chop sticks. I followed his example a moment later. Eating shabu shabu required a little concentration on the diners' parts, unless they were used to eating with chop sticks. I let the intricacies of the meal consume the better part of my concentration, but a small part of my mind went over what Edward had said.
He wanted to be with me.
He wanted to be with me.
He wanted to be with me.
And that was a good thing, right? I mean, I wanted to be with him. I decided then that I wasn't going to let my unconfirmed fears ruin what promised to be a fun night with friends. Right now, I'd trust in Edward's, and Rose's and Emmett's, good intentions.
I let a slow smile creep over my face and looked up at Edward. He was eating his meal distractedly and hadn't noticed my shift in mood. I tapped my chop sticks against his, getting his attention.
He looked at me quickly. It only took him a second to take in my smiling face and return my happy look. "We're good?" he asked.
I nodded. "For now. We can talk more later."
Edward nodded back and the atmosphere at the table got noticeably lighter. In a few minutes, we were engaged in a chop stick brawl over the last scallop when the server approached and cleared his throat noisily.
We both looked up at him with grins on our faces. I could tell he really wanted to roll his eyes, but was winning the battle against his instinct.
"May I interest you in dessert?" he asked.
Edward looked at me, but I shook my head. "We should get going. We're going to be late."
"Just the check please."
The waiter was back in a flash while Edward and discussed the upcoming show. Edward pulled out his wallet and laid his black, corporate card on the bill.
"Edward, you can't charge stuff on this trip on your business account," I reminded him.
The waiter hesitated, but Edward waved for him to just take it and go.
"Yeah, Bella, we really need to talk."
EPOV
I was surprised that Bella hadn't lost her temper when she realized that having her in Vegas this weekend was a set up. Perhaps she was losing a little bit of the defensiveness she had in our early relationship. She had always been so concerned with being perceived as a prostitute. She could have easily seen Emmett and Rose's actions as procurement. I was prepared to pay for her to move to her own room, a different hotel or even fly her home, had she taken umbrage.
Instead, she thought about it seemed to have let it go.
Optimistic, I decided to tell her the truth about the credit card she used to carry when she worked as my escort.
"…so I had Jasper call you to his office and give you an authorized user card on my account."
"What?" Her incredulous tone didn't bode well and I winced as I wondered when the next flight back home left. We were driving to Harrah's in Emmett's rented Hummer.
"J.J. was really pushing me over your card, Bella. I really think he was fixated on you. He'd never gone over an expense account that carefully before. I just thought it would be better if you weren't forced to justify your expenses to him."
She shuddered.
"We know now that he was sick, but that wouldn't have made a difference had he come at you all guns blazing. I know how you would have reacted. I was really just trying to save you the embarrassment."
"But all those purchases, you paid for them?"
I sighed. "Yes."
Her lips got tight, and I glanced at her as I pulled into the valet line. She didn't say anything, and I hoped that was a sign that she was thinking it through and not just reacting.
The valets opened our doors. I got out and handed over the keys as the man on Bella's side, offered her his hand. I saw him eye her appreciatively, but she was too distracted to notice. I moved to her side quickly and slid my arm around her waist. I felt her stiffen and stifled my disappointment.
"Bella, please."
She forced a smile and allowed me to lead her into the hotel's lobby. She didn't relax though, and I dropped my arm. We walked slowly through the lobby.
"Bella, tell me what you're thinking," I begged.
She let out a shaky breath. "I'm trying not to overreact." I nodded, encouraging her to continue. "But I need to be honest, Edward, I don't feel good about this."
"What, specifically?" I asked. I wanted to make sure I fully understood her concerns.
"It had always been my intention to pay CE back for the charges. I kept really good records."
"There's no process in place…." I tried to explain to her.
"I know. Alice suggested that I make a donation to one of the causes that CE supports in the same amount. That had been my plan, when I was settled. Now, well, now I can pay you back, I suppose."
I gritted my teeth while running my hand through my hair in annoyance.
"If you think about it, originally, you concerns with the corporate card was that you didn't want CE paying for personal things. I convinced you then that since you wouldn't need those things if you didn't work for CE they fell under the category of legitimate business expenses."
"If that's the case, why didn't you just explain that to J.J.?"
"I did, but that wasn't going to stop him from eventually confronting you."
"Let me pay you back."
I didn't like this. "If I let you pay me back, will you forgive me for not telling you?"
Bella's mouth twisted sourly, but she finally agreed.
"Thank you. Bella, I'm trying to be honest with you. Please, don't hold it against me. We always pushed things aside and look where it got us. I want to be honest with you. I want us to talk." As we made our way towards The Improv, I saw Alice and Jasper and decided to make my plea quickly, and hope she'd use the time at the show to think it over. "Enjoy the show with me tonight. When we get back to our room later, I have a lot I want to say. I hope you'll give me a chance and listen."
Extra thanks to Kristi and LisaJ who talked me off the edge with this one. Anyone following me on twitter knows that I was one keystroke away from deleting this whole chapter on Thursday. I believe that voting for Twinklings Walk of Fame is open for two more hours. I'm up for the Queen of Hearts award.
I'm writing a one shot for the Aussie Flood Relief compilation. If you make a donation of $5 or more you'll get a slew of stories from really terrific authors, and me! There are many Aussies in the fandom, let's help them out!
I've been doing a lot of reading lately. I highly recommend anything by bratty vamp. I Only Want You for Your Body by fatallyobsessed has an amazing older (late 30s *gasp*) E&B. Savage7289's Unexpected Circumstances is getting really good. Doctor's Orders by mybluesky... Damn, there's a load of talent in the fandom! If you give any of them a try, tell them Ironic Twist sent you. Now, a nonTwilight rec. I know, right? There's a dude, goes by Airplane, who is writting a Tangled fic. It's so good. So damn good. This guy could make a mint deflowering Disney Princesses. Check out What You Don't Know!