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Chapter 3: Yo Eleven!

BPOV

I got a bit of sun, um, hanging out in the pool, which made me more than a little tired. Luckily, the sun drained Edward a bit as well which allowed us both to catch up on some rest. I got another small nap in and he… did whatever vampires do when they're resting.

Alice had the butler send over a dress for the evening for me, which I was scared to look at when it first arrived. I hoped that it wasn't designed to set Edward off again. I was relieved to see a rather tasteful little red dress, not too short and not too low-cut although it was a v-neck with an empire waste… something Alice filled me in on later – I didn't know from fashion! I paired it with the Clergerie heels from Paris and his mother's pendant and walked out of the bedroom to see Edward who was looking like a GQ model in a sports jacket over a polo shirt and slacks. Damn, he's beautiful.

Edward's eyes appraised my outfit, taking in the minimal amount of cleavage in view before lingering on my legs and the heels. He pressed his lips together and closed his eyes.

I sighed as I started to turn pink. "Yes, Edward, I do know how these legs would look wrapped around you and, no, I'm not going commando. Not around your family!"

"Damn your mind-reading skills," he said opening his eyes and smirking. He walked over to me and kissed me. "You look gorgeous. Let's go before we miss the whole evening," he said huskily, putting his arm around my waist and escorting me out of the villa to the waiting limo.

I decided that Blunt Bella needed to ask a burning question. "So, is there any chance we're eloping this weekend?"

He did a double take and pulled me closer to him. "I already told you, you deserve something wonderful and romantic for your wedding."

"But your family is here with us…" I said.

"What about your family?"

"Aw, you know I don't really want a wedding. I told you that. This would allow us to avoid an Alice extravaganza."

"You can't avoid that, Love. You know she already started planning with your mom and dad."

I sighed. "Okay, but please don't let her corner me about the wedding plans for the whole weekend. I really can't handle a big event!"

He stopped and turned me to look at him, putting his hands on my shoulders. "Most women dream of their wedding day, Bella."

"Edward Cullen, by now you should know that I'm not like most women," I said, smiling up at him.

He nodded. I am well aware of that fact, my love. He kissed my forehead and we got into the car.

We made our way down to the MGM Grand so that I could eat at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon again, which was the culinary highlight of our Paris trip for me. I really would have preferred walking to the MGM, given its proximity to the Bellagio, but it took as long to get from our villa to the main grounds of the Bellagio as from the Bellagio down the Strip. As such, we spent the limo time 'discussing' the merits of that commando thing again.

We quickly reached a compromise and I went commando temporarily as long as I got to hold my undies and put them back on when we got into the hotel. Oh God, his fingers! I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to eat food feeling like I did as we pulled up to the MGM. However, once we got inside and the casino air conditioning hit me, I was shocked into reality. Yikes, how do women go commando when it's this cold?! We immediately stopped by the ladies' room so that I could redress and I pointed him to the men's room. "Go wash your hands!" I hissed, and he only smirked, wiggled his fingers at me and started making up a poem.

I made Bella cum at third...

I finished it for him. "Bella then flipped me the bird," I said, holding up my index, middle and ring fingers on my right hand. "Read between the lines pal. Get in there."

"I love you, Bella," he said laughing, and then he kissed me quickly and turned to go into the men's room.

It was so much fun eating at the bar in the Vegas version of this restaurant. I was jonesing for meat, so I ordered the steak tartar and the beef and foie gras mini burgers with fries and this time we paired it with another fabulous glass of Bordeaux selected by Harley, the sommelier. The burgers with the little French fries were what I imagined it would be like dining in heaven. This would be my last meal request if I were a prisoner on death row and I was seriously considering asking Edward to have these flown in for me the night before making me into a vampire. Edward just watched me with fascination as I enjoyed every taste, moaning as I swallowed. I ignored his crazy thoughts while I savored every bite. Not kidding: heaven.

We skipped dessert to go back to the Bellagio since Edward told me they had dessert for me in Alice's and Jazz's suite. "That was a lot of red meat for you, love. You usually don't eat that much and you usually have it more cooked than that," Edward commented as we walked back to the Bellagio.

I shrugged. "I've been wanting red meat for the last couple of days. Sometimes the human body just craves different types of food, especially when you don't eat it that often."

"Ah, this vampire body only craves you," he said in a low husky tone, taking my hand in his and lifting it to his lips. He kissed it, looking into my eyes with a wicked gleam in his. Despite how often I eat you...

No matter how much time I spent with him, I wasn't sure I'd ever get used to his horny explicit thoughts popping out of nowhere. Wha!!!! Lord, help me! I almost tripped. He held me steady, clearly proud that he could rattle me.

I took a shaky breath before speaking. "Um, yes I've noticed that you've been craving it a lot more lately," I said. "Why is that?"

He laughed. "I think you're just more aware of it now that you can hear me. I've always felt like this."

"But you haven't bitten me in a while…"

He shrugged. "Hmmm, I don't know… my cravings for you have been more physical lately and our mind-meld seems to have been substituting somewhat for the bite." He dropped my hand and put his arm around my shoulder, leaning down to whisper seductively in my ear. "Don't worry my Bella, you still smell just as good to me in all ways."

We made our way up to the Presidential Suite where Alice and Jasper were staying. Emmett opened the door. "Hey little girl!" he said, hugging me. His nose wiggled a little and his brow furrowed for a moment. Then he continued. "Are you ready for your Cullen Vegas experience? I see you're in the villa farthest away from ours. Too chicken to stay near us, huh?"

"I'm human, Emmett," I said, stepping in the suite with Edward right behind me. "I still need sleep."

"I hear Edward has been making that difficult," he laughed, wiggling his eyebrows. "You guys are going to give me and Rose a run for our money here. I have NO idea what will happen once you're one of us, Bella. We'll NEVER see you if you're this active now."

I scrunched up my face and I looked at Alice who had ghosted over. "Must you share all?"

"You," she said, pointing at me. "I saw that conversation between you and Edward about the wedding. Don't even think about it!" She hugged me and stepped away. Her nose wiggled too. She stepped back and appraised the get up. "That dress looks adorable on you, Bella. I have such good taste." She smiled her beautiful impish grin. "I saw that Edward liked the swimsuit too," she laughed.

"Yeah, thanks Alice," he said smiling, raising an eyebrow as he looked at me. Seriously, Bella, I think that bathing suit is your everyday home lounging outfit from now on.

"Yeah, thanks Alice," I muttered as shook my head at him.

"Bella, don't give me that tone: it looked like you damn well enjoyed it." I was sure that my face matched the color of my dress at that point.

"Anyway, with regard to your sex life…" she continued.

Oh God help me…

"…we're actually more fascinated in how it has changed Edward. He's just been so stoic with us all of these years. We knew of his out-of-house activities, of course, but in our home it was like living with a monk. We never knew he could be this inventive. We're taking notes."

No, seriously, please help me now God.

We continued to walk in the room and I took in the suite. Again, huge! With over 4,000 square feet, it had two huge bedrooms, a solarium, an indoor garden, a huge bar and amazing views. As Alice showed me around, Rosalie appeared from behind the bar, handing me a glass of champagne and reaching out to hug me. Jasper came over soon after. Then they both made the same wiggly nose face. At this point, it registered on Edward even more and I could hear it too.

"Okay, WHAT is up with this?" I asked. "Do I stink? Why do you keep pointing out my smell to Edward?"

Emmett groaned. "Aw hell, it was bad enough when it was just Alice and Edward and their private conversations… now you too?"

"You don't smell bad, Bella, just… different." Jasper said quietly.

"I should smell different… I should smell like him!" I said pointing at Edward. "As you're obviously aware, he's all over me all of the time!"

"That's it!" Rosalie said. "You do smell like Edward a little. You always smelled good but now you smell better… you have a little of his honey-lilac smell added to your blood." She looked at Edward. "Don't you smell that?"

Edward looked puzzled. I could tell that this was new information for him.

"Jeez, Edward, maybe that explains some of your activities. You're attracted to your own scent!" Emmett said laughing. "Talk about being in love with yourself!" Jasper slapped Emmett behind his head. "Ow! Okay, no, in all seriousness, Edward, we're amazed. You're a GOD!" Emmett said, putting his hands and arms out in front of him and bowing up and down in mock reverence.

I was a little shocked that Edward's family was getting this into his sexual prowess. It seemed creepy.

"Actually," Rosalie said taking my hand and leading me to the couch to sit down, "I'm more fascinated by you, Bella."

Okay, that's creepier.

"We have to ask you…" I could see Edward stiffen in the chair opposite me. And then I heard it… the deluge of questions and comments that was about to come. Oh the horror. They fired away, interrupting one another.

"We're vampires Bella, we can keep going. But you're human! How are you able to keep up? You're a machine!"

"How was the coatroom at graduation?

"We don't have all of the normal human appliances… how was it on the washing machine in your building? Did the vibrating of the machine add anything to the experience?"

"Edward doing that under the table thing to you at the night club... that was my favorite," Alice squealed.

"Mine too," said Rosalie, high-fiving Alice. To tell you the truth, that was one of my all time favorites too, but I'm not telling you guys that.

"Please tell me that Esme and Carlisle don't know about this," I said, covering my face with my hands.

"Are you kidding? Carlisle's going to try the under the table thing on Esme sometime this weekend." Rosalie replied.

Please God, don't let me be ANYWHERE around them when that happens.

"How did you manage the trapeze swing? Sounded difficult," Emmett asked Edward.

Alice shook her head. "No, that one hasn't happened yet." Edward looked at Alice as she replayed her vision and then I got a view.

"Holy cow – you guys! Enough!" I said jumping up. Rosalie reached for my hand and pulled me gently to sit back down.

"Sorry, sweetie," Alice said. "It's just that we're like old married couples and this has been fascinating. We're all trying to pick up some tips. Jazz and I add props, right cowboy?" she said, grinning at Jasper. Then she turned back to me. "You know that Rose and Em destroy things, but we haven't been doing the public thing in the human world for a LONG time. We want to go to 11 too."

"Don't get us wrong, our sex lives are NOT boring, as you heard when you were in Denali," Rosalie added.

I looked over at Edward and mouthed the word 'HELP' wondering when he was going to put an end to this. He just rolled his eyes at me and shrugged. No secrets in this family, Love. I told you that a long time ago.

"Seriously, if we could plug into Alice's brain like they do in "The Matrix", we'd all be sitting there eating popcorn and watching," Emmett piped in. "Your escapades are forcing us to step up our games. Of course your hearing each other has that added advantage, but our bites even it out a bit." Then his face changed as he got excited. "Hey, I have a great idea for a bet!"

Edward's eyes got big and then he grinned. I heard it soon after and then Emmett said it out loud. "Who can do it in more public places than the others this weekend?"

"NO!" I shouted, jumping up and looking at all of them as I stood in the middle of the living room. "I'M OUT! We're in Las FUCKING Vegas! There are cameras all around the place!"

As soon as I said the fuck word, Edward growled the lusty low growl I'd come to know too well and actually love… and his dirty thoughts started coming. I ran my fingers through my hair and looked over at Jasper. "Jazz," I said pointing at Edward, "a little help here?"

Jasper laughed and then sent calm waves over to settle down my horn-dog fiancé. "Oh, Bella," Edward sighed.

"Ah, that's where our skills come in to play. We know exactly where the cameras are and aren't." Emmett said.

"And we're VERY fast," Jasper piped in. I did a double-take. Jasper had been fairly silent on this topic until now. Et tu, Brute?

"Have you ever done it on the run yet, Bella?" Rose asked. I blinked, my face blank. "Oh you're missing out. Edward can carry you. You've got to try that one."

"Um, can't we just gamble the normal way?" I asked. "Let's go to the casino."

"We haven't even had your party yet, silly." Alice said. "We're waiting on Carlisle and Esme."

"Yeah, where are they, by the way?"

Emmett wiggled his eyebrows.

Okay, is there nothing else to do when you're a vampire?

The doorbell rang and I escaped to let Esme and Carlisle in. I hugged them and then saw them wiggle their noses as they stepped away from me. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Weird smell. Blame Edward."

~#~

The sex talk mercifully ended when Esme and Carlisle arrived… sort of. Carlisle was fascinated about my new mind reading capabilities and the modification to my scent.

"Edward, have you noticed any difference in your reaction to Bella? Clearly her scent is not repelling you; is it drawing you in more? It is calling to you?"

Edward's brow furrowed. "I've always felt drawn to her, but I don't think it is necessarily her scent alone. Bella?"

"I wouldn't know about the scent, but the activities have increased, as you're all WELL aware," I said, blushing. "He thinks it's due to the mind-reading… we're more connected now."

Carlisle considered this. "Well you should make sure to stay on top of any changes Edward. Something about the combination of your blood and Bella's is having an interesting effect on her and that will likely affect you and your bond to her and her blood."

Edward's eyes glanced at me from the side, a wickedly playful expression on his face. I'll stay on top alright…

My energy level shot up another notch. "Not helping," I muttered, poking him in the chest.

We moved to join the rest of the family and to my surprise there was a small platter of mini desserts on the coffee table and a few presents. Rosalie gave me a half-day at the Bellagio spa and the three women planned on joining me. Alice gave me a shopping spree at the Forum shops in Caesar's Palace, which she planned on taking me on the next morning: "For some work clothes, Bella." Jasper and Emmett gave me $1,000 for gambling money. Emmett winked at me. "You might be handing that back to me when Rose and I win the bet," he said.

And Carlisle and Esme gave me an envelope. "That's actually from the whole family," Esme said, hugging me.

Alice ghosted over. "Um, why don't you open it up in your villa at a later time?"

Edward looked at her, confused. And then he heard her… as did I. She was worried about the effect the present might have on me with everyone around. Jeez, it must be a doozy. She was probably right.

"Thank you Alice," I said. "Thank you all for everything. Whatever it is, I'm sure it is too much… but I appreciate it."

"Okay," Emmett said. "Let's go win some money."

~#~

As Edward had predicted, the Cullens had fun at their respective games. Rosalie joined a little Poker tournament with a $2,000 buy-in… and she came away with about $50,000 without Jasper's help. Alice played Roulette, remembering to lose a number on occasion, just to make the hotel feel like it was getting some money back from the family. Emmett was up and down on Blackjack but he seemed less into the table games now that he was pursuing his other family wager.

Jasper joined Edward and me at the Craps table and I was absolutely sure that we had the most fun table in Las Vegas between Jazz making everyone giddy and cheering and Edward making sure that the dice were hot. I have to say, Edward was good about not making his skills obvious and if he heard someone with a particularly unkind mind at the table, he made sure that person did not roll for very long. Somehow, I was unusually lucky every time I was up to roll and the table started cheering, "Red! Red! Red!" because of my little red dress. Edward kept on taking one of my big chips and putting it on the square with the six and five die pictures, which paid out 16:1 on my $25 chips each time.

"Yo Eleven!" the center Craps dealer called. "Yo!" The table cheered. Eleven was the best number, leading anyone with a pass or come bet to win their money back instantly, not just those betting on the 11 with the 16:1 payout.

Yo Eleven, Edward thought looking at me with a wicked grin each time and then following it with some graphic thoughts that looked more like Yo 69 and bumped me up a notch. Anyway, with his guidance on the back up bets and come bets, I ended up making just over $7,000! Yo Eleven, indeed! No wonder the Cullens get the special treatment!

We finished up the first night around 2 a.m. and Edward and I headed back to our villa. His mind was noticeably quiet.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Of course," he said. He was humming to himself in his head. I got the sense that he was blocking me. Maybe I don't want to know.

Once inside, Edward took my hand and motioned to the patio. "Let's go sit outside by the pool for a little bit." He removed his sports jacket and left it on the table as we exited to the patio.

We walked over to a lounge chair where he sat down and then pulled me to sit with him between his legs, my back to his chest. He gently wrapped his arms around me.

His mind was still quietly humming to himself, but mine was racing as I processed through the conversation earlier this evening.

"Edward, I hadn't really thought about my vampire life, what that part of it might look like, until they started mentioning it. Do you think we'll still be able to hear each other?"

"The way we do now?" he asked. "For sure."

"Why did you qualify that?"

"We take whatever talents we had in the first life on to the next. Everything is just stronger or magnified. The bigger questions are will I be able to hear you more than I do now and will you be able to hear the rest of them?"

I stiffened. Good Lord, the horror! After the sex discussion in the suite, I wasn't ready for that. "Oh, no, I can't imagine that… why would that happen?"

He slowly caressed my arms. "You only took a small amount of my blood, Bella, and look what happened. When you're turned, you're taking in a significantly larger amount. Frankly, I'm curious about this myself. Our family talents are pretty rare for vampires so there isn't much context for this overall. That's part of where Carlisle was going tonight… where they all were. Besides Carlisle and Jasper, none of them have ever turned a human before and not even they have done it through the sharing of blood."

"I can't imagine hearing anyone else but you, Edward. Maybe my crazy mind shield will be able to better block it out in the next life!"

He chuckled and squeezed me tighter to him. "Now, why would you want to block me out, Love?"

I turned my body a little so that I could look up at him. "When your mind is nice and peaceful like this, I wouldn't, but your mind hasn't been like this much lately." My eyes narrowed. "Where is the Edward I'm used to?"

He smirked and kissed my nose, and then his eyes shifted down to my feet. "Oh, hey, I noticed that something was wrong with the strap on your shoe when we were out tonight. Stand up and let me fix it for you."

I stood and Edward moved from the chair to kneel in front of me. He lifted my right ankle up, fiddling with the strap, so I put my hands on his shoulders to steady myself. Then he released my ankle and looked up at me, his angel face glowing. I heard it and saw it at the same time: he had a box in his hands. Opening it, he looked up at me through his eyelashes. Will you still marry me, Bella?

Oh, he has a ring! My energy level shot up to eight and my knees buckled as I tried to hold on to him. His reflexes were fast as he put one hand at the small of my back to catch me and then he managed to quickly lay me down on the lounge chair.

He laughed. "Glad that I can have this effect on you, Bella." He took the ring out of the box and put it on my left hand. It was a beautiful solitaire princess cut diamond in a platinum tension setting. It was so different! I didn't think I could have picked anything better for myself.

He moved to hover over me on his hands and knees, looking down at me. Are you mine?

I nodded. Always.

He reached behind me to lower the lounge chair so that it was completely horizontal. He then slowly lowered himself down so that he was on top of me, kissed my lips gently and began kissing my neck. Personally, I think the ring would look best on you without all the rest of these clothes, he thought, as his hands moved under my dress up my thighs.

Ah, he's baaacck.

A/N: If he likes it then he'd better put a ring on it. Long chapter - blame Eveready Edward and the rest of those crazy Cullens. Thanks for reading so far. PLEASE leave a review.