Taste of Innocence Chapter 22
A fucking week had gone by and there was no sign of Victoria in either New York or New Jersey. The Volturi motherfucker had called to check in three times, ostensibly to see if we'd heard from her, but really to see how Bella was doing. That prick was fascinated by my girl and it was pissing me the fuck off. I might just have to end him and risk the Volturi wrath.
Bella was fucking incredible. Now that she'd finally admitted that she loved me, she was a lot more relaxed and happier, reading happily and humming from time to time. That's not to say that she didn't still lose her temper over tiny little shit once or twice a day. It might have been my fault a time or twenty, because she was so fucking sexy when she got mad and we ended every argument by ripping each other's clothes off and fucking our way through the house. I'd have to fix that living room wall soon, too. There was a hole about three feet long from one particularly hard thrust coupled with Bella's head falling back in pleasure. Totally fucking worth it.
I looked over at Bella, happily ensconced in her window seat, her feet against the ledge and her back against the other wall, reading a book and lost in some fictional world. I wanted to have her again but I'd just fucked her thirty minutes ago and she wasn't interested in another round. Which was really fucking insulting when I thought about it. I ran my hands through my hair and Bella looked over at me, a glint in her eye.
"Do you have a problem?"
Yes, I have a fucking problem. I'm fucking bored and cooped up and the bitch won't show her damn self so that I can fucking relax for five minutes. "No."
She rolled her eyes and got out of the window seat and came to sit by me on the bed. Well, that was a major fucking improvement. "You're hungry."
Well, yeah, it'd been over a week since I'd eaten last and a lot had fucking transpired since then…I guess I was fucking hungry. I was pretty damn impressed that she knew me well enough to know that I was in need of some blood. She'd hunted twice in the last five days, so she wasn't exactly starving. "I'll live."
She put her hand on my right knee and Edward Junior started banging against my zipper again, reminding me that he hadn't had attention in the past half hour. Sexually deprived he was not, but then, who was I to ignore his needs? I had some myself. I slipped my arm around Bella and pulled her against me, putting my hand on her ass and squeezing. She sighed and slapped my hand away.
"What the fuck?"
"Sex isn't going to solve anything."
Like hell it wouldn't. "Why the fuck not?"
Bella glared at me and fuck if Edward Junior didn't swell even more. Hot damn. Time to fight and fuck again. I loved my fucking life.
"Because you're thirsty, you idiot! Sex isn't going to make that go away."
"I beg to fucking differ. It'll take my mind off it and I can channel my energy into you. You love it when I do that, baby."
She fought back a smile and I knew I had her so I slid my hand down the back of her jeans. No panties. Bella was the perfect woman for me. I got a handful of ass cheek and squeezed again and she flew off the bed and landed five feet away from me. She crossed her arms underneath her breasts and her red t-shirt rode up and showed me her tantalizing white stomach. I let out a low growl and prepared to launch myself off the bed to tackle her to the floor.
"Don't you dare! We're not having sex right now."
What the fuck? What was the point of being in love if we weren't showing it with our bodies all day and night? She's right you know; you need to hunt. You're acting like a cranky child that went to bed without dinner.
Oh, you fuck off. All you do is get me in trouble these days. I don't need your shit. I can't fucking leave her alone to go eat so I'll deal with waiting. I've gone longer than this without blood. If you're going to act like an asshole every five minutes, she'll leave your stupid self on her own. Shut the fuck up or I'll eat you. That would be a great pleasure. You'd just be eating yourself, which is probably some kind of kinky shit that you'd like.
Bella started tapping her foot impatiently. "What?"
"You did it again."
"Sorry, I was just…" Arguing with my fucking self? Like I was about to tell her that shit. "Thinking."
Some of the irritation faded out of her face and she crossed the room and took my hand. "Look, I know you're thirsty and it's making you act…" She broke off at my raised brow. "Ornery." Well that wasn't so fucking bad I guess. Better than what fucknugget had to say at any rate. "I think you need to hunt."
I heaved a breath and brought her hand to my lips and gave her a kiss. She smiled at me then and I couldn't believe how fucking easy it was to please her. She was quick to get pissed but a kiss on the back of the hand and she was all smiles again. She was the most phenomenal woman in the world and she was all mine.
"Yes, I'm thirsty and I do need to hunt, but we both know that I can't leave you right now, baby. We don't know where Victoria is and if she showed up while I was gone…" I couldn't finish the thought because I felt like I couldn't fucking breathe when I thought about it. "Well, I can't chance it, Bella. Don't ask me to leave you. I won't do it."
She brought her free hand to my face and cupped my cheek in her hand. "I don't want you to leave me, but you can't go on like this. You're short-tempered, you can't sit still, and if we're not having sex you're pacing a hole in the floor. It's driving both of us insane."
I grinned at her and turned my head to kiss her thumb and then tried to suck it into my mouth. She huffed and pulled it away from me. Fuck. "That's why we should be having sex. Let me make love to you, baby."
Her red eyes started to darken and I smiled in triumph. Fuck yeah, all I had to do was throw the word "love" into fucking play and she was all mine.
"I will," she said huskily and I stepped closer to press my body against hers. She stepped back. What the fuck?
"What the fuck, Bella? Are you fucking with me?"
The fire was back in her eyes now and I was painfully hard at that mutinous expression moving over her face. "I'm not fucking with you and if you keep it up, I won't be fucking you either." Well that was just fucking mean.
"What then?"
"I'll fuck you after you hunt." Jesus Christ, she had a one track mind. Why couldn't it be on the sex track like mine was?
"Bella, for the billionth fucking time, I can't leave you right now! I'll be alright."
She narrowed her eyes and jabbed me in the fucking chest. I wanted to fucking bite her but I settled for growling. "Don't you pull that on me, Edward. I'm not some wimpy human that's going to cower in fear at your terrifying growl."
She surprised a laugh out of me. I never knew what was going to come out of her gorgeous fucking mouth. I loved it. "Alright, no more growling, until I get to fuck you." She shook her head and smacked my arm. "I'm serious, baby; I'm not going into the city right now."
Bella bit her lip and studied me nervously. Why was it that I wasn't allowed to escape into my head, not that I really wanted to hear what the fucking douchetard had to say, but she could take all the fucking time in the world to think her mysterious thoughts and I had to sit by and fucking wait for her to share them? What was fucking fair about that?
I started to stomp back to the bed but her hand reached out and tangled with mine again. As usual, her touch calmed me down somewhat. She couldn't even let me be fucking annoyed when I wanted to. So fucking unfair. "What?"
"I know you can't go to the city. I'm very happy that you don't want to leave me right now. I love that you're protecting me." My shoulders relaxed slightly at her words. It was nice to be fucking appreciated for once.
"Alright, then we're on the same side. Now let's go to bed and I can channel my energy into much more fucking pleasant activities."
Bella laughed and let go of my hand. She put her arms around my waist and gave me one of those affectionate hugs that she'd been bestowing on me the past week, squeezing me and pressing her face into my chest. I could actually feel her smile through my shirt. I fucking loved when she hugged me like that.
She kept her body pressed against mine but tilted her face to look up at me. Her smile was so fucking beautiful. She was worth the fucking century it had taken me to stumble upon her. I started to back toward the bed but her arms tightened around me and she held me in place. Hey, if she wanted to fuck on the floor I'd be happy to accommodate her.
"Baby, I need you," I told her. Her smile brightened and she stood on her tiptoes and gave me a searing kiss. Fuck yes, we have lift off. Edward Junior was starting his sexy dance and my hands streaked down her sides to squeeze that perfect ass again.
Bella giggled and pulled back. "Not now."
What the fuck? "You're getting me all hot and fucking bothered and you're saying not now? What the hell, Bella?" When did she become such a cocktease? She'd figured out her fucking power over me and now she was wielding it against me like a skilled fucking swordswoman. So fucking unfair.
"You need to hunt!" she yelled, throwing up her hands and stomping her foot again.
"We just fucking established that I can't go anywhere. Should I run to the nearest farm and kill the neighbor?" Actually, that wasn't such a bad idea. I could probably be there and back in about ten minutes tops. The odds of the she-devil showing up in that small window of time were pretty fucking miniscule.
Bella's eyes shot fire at me. Fuck, she was stunning. This was our best fight since we'd shared our I love you's and I wanted to fuck her for the next few hours just to expel all the anger and heat that was moving through me. She had to let me.
Her pointer finger found my chest again. "You said you'd never kill an innocent human being again. Unless our neighbor is a secret mass murderer, you are most definitely not going to fucking kill him. Do you understand me?" She punctuated each word with a jab to my chest.
Fuck yes I do. I understand that you're bossy and strange and sexy as fuck. I swallowed the venom that welled up at her words and her anger. "Then what the fuck do you want me to do, Bella?"
"How stupid are you? Do I have to spell it out for you?"
"Apparently you do, Mrs. Einstein."
Her eyes were angry slits and her nostrils were flaring. She put her hands on her hips and looked at me haughtily, like she was the Queen of fucking England. If I didn't have her naked and moaning in the next two minutes I was going to fucking explode.
"Fine, dumbass. Then I will. You need to hunt with me."
Well, I could take her with me into the city. She'd have to hold her breath and actually stay in the fucking car this time but…wait a fucking minute. She did not mean what I think she fucking meant, did she? "What do you mean, hunt with you?" Please fucking say you mean that you want me to take you to New York with me. Please, God, don't let her be that cruel.
Some of the heat died out of her gaze and she eyed me warily. Fuck. Of course that wasn't what she fucking meant. Damn my fucking life to hell. Laughter rang in my head as she said the words that I dreaded. "You need to hunt animals, Edward." Fuck me.
I opened my mouth to rage at her but she kept on talking. "I don't mean you need to always hunt animals. I told you that you can hunt people and I won't say another word about it so long as you stick to criminals. I meant it. But right now, we can't go anywhere. There really isn't any other choice."
Like fuck there wasn't. The choice not to eat was right there waiting for me and I was more than willing to go that route. "Bella, I'm fine, seriously. I appreciate your concern, but I can handle waiting."
She sighed and shook her head. "Why must you be so stubborn?"
I barked out a laugh. Me? I was the stubborn one? "Look who's talking, baby."
She grinned at me then, in her billionth lightning quick mood change of the day. Yeah, I was the fucking moody one. My ass. "Yes, I am stubborn which is why I'll win."
"Like hell you will."
Bella gave me a quick kiss on the lips, hot enough to have Edward Junior stirring again. "Oh, but I will. I'm not going to fuck you again until you've taken care of your other hunger."
What the fuck did she just say? "So, you're cockblocking me, again, until I do what you want?" Fuckface was laughing yet again, he was enjoying the fuck out of her getting me all worked up and leaving me high and fucking dry.
"You can call it whatever you like. I'm tired of your mood swings." She went back to her window seat and picked her book back up and sat down.
"My mood swings? You're the one with the mood swings!"
"I'm a new vampire and a woman," she told me, peering at me over the cover of her book. "What's your excuse?"
"My excuse is that you make me fucking crazy."
She lowered the book and gave me a sweet smile. "And you love that about me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have reading to do."
Bella was back to her reading, humming yet a fucking gain. It had been cute before but now it was just her lording it over me. She had me by the fucking balls and we both knew it.
You may as well just give in. You can't live without sex now. Not after you've had a taste of her again. Do you think I don't fucking know that I can't live without fucking her? I'm not a fucking idiot, no matter what the two of you say about me.
She's not asking you to give up humans permanently. It's just a one-time thing until they catch Victwhoria. It's like if a person has nothing in their refrigerator but lettuce. They can either go hungry or eat a fucking salad. Time for you to have a damn salad, you stubborn asshole.
Fuck you. You're not the one who's had to make a billion fucking compromises for her. Why can't I have just this one thing? What one thing? Eating humans only? You tried damn deer blood and it didn't kill you! But it fucked up my taste buds. Yeah, buddy, you keep telling yourself that. You don't want her to be upset with you when you hunt. She won't be. Not now, but she was before. That's if she's not lying.
That was another fucking thing. What if she was just doing all this to bend me to her will and make me eat animals all the time? I could probably deal with it just once, but she'd stretch it out again and again until that was all I ate. How do you fucking know? She said she didn't have a problem with it. Has she lied to you yet? Not that I fucking know of but who knows what goes on in her crazy head?
I do and I'm telling you, she means what she says. She wants you to hunt now so you'll stop being such a pain in the ass. Can't you give her that much, so you can get back into her fucking pants again?
I glanced at Bella, sitting with her head against the window, completely engrossed in her fucking book again. Or she was pretending to be, because she was fucking crafty that way. Her tight little body was curled up I could see a sliver of her side where her shirt rode up again. Fuck I wanted her. And because I wanted her, I'd have to do what she fucking wanted, as usual. I was such a god damn pussy. But being one gets you access to the pussy, and you know you want it. Yes, I really fucking did.
I walked over to the window and stood next to Bella. She kept right on reading, like she didn't fucking know that I was standing there. I sighed and she ignored me. I ran my hand through my hair, which I knew she fucking loved, and she turned the page to her book, her eyes staying on the page. Fucking spell-casting witch. I reached down and picked her up and threw her over my shoulder.
"Edward! What the hell are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm fucking doing? I'm taking you hunting."
"For real?"
"Yes, for real. You fucking win, like always." I carried her down the stairs, keeping my hand on her ass. She was finally fucking compliant, not attempting to get away.
"Edward?"
"What?" I growled. She'd won that didn't mean I had to be fucking graceful about it.
"I'll make sure you fucking win as soon as we eat."
I reached the front door and put her down. "Yeah?"
She kissed me hard. "Yeah." Maybe letting her win wasn't such a bad fucking thing after all. You're ruled by your cock. Damn right I am, and proud of it.
"Let's go."
Bella grinned at me and took off in a streak of brown, black and red, the colors I would always most associate with her. I ran after, delighting in the feel of the cool breeze against my face. It was officially fall and the leaves were nearly as vivid as my Bella. Oranges, yellows and reds surrounded us as we plunged into the forest, dead leaves crunching in our wake, seconds after we'd moved beyond them. I loved watching my girl run. She was lithe and graceful and mouthwateringly lovely. We needed to find a fucking animal or two soon because I needed to fuck her now.
"Where are we headed?"
She glanced back at me, not losing a step as she headed northeast through the forest. "To the meadow I found the other day. I saw a herd of deer there. I didn't go after them because…" she broke off and shook her head and kept running. I didn't need her to continue to know exactly why she hadn't attacked the deer. There was a fucking fawn or two of course. Did she think they wouldn't be with their family now? My tenderhearted little vampire never failed to fucking astound me with her sensitivity.
Bella leaped over a fallen log and I made the same jump seconds later. I liked staying behind her and admiring her sexy little ass in those black jeans she wore. It'd been awhile since I fucked her against tree…since that first day we'd been here. Yes, I think I need to rectify that oversight really fucking soon.
Bella began to slow her pace to almost a walk and she moved forward stealthily, her eyes narrowed in concentration. And now I could fucking smell it and of course it was deer. Couldn't run into another bear now could we? At least that would have been slightly fucking tolerable. But no, I was going to have to drink a damn deer in order to get Bella off my fucking back and onto hers. Life was easy, once.
And you were bored. No I wasn't, I had plenty of fun. Yes, you had fun but nobody challenged you like she did. Nobody improved you like she did. You're lucky she came along. I didn't need fucking improving, but I won't argue with you that I'm lucky to have her in my life. I'm well aware of that fact, you moron. Aren't you supposed to be sitting back gloating silently about me giving in to my woman again? I don't like being silent. It's much more fun to irritate you. Go the fuck away, I'm not letting you get to me on top of what I'm about to do. I don't need your shit. I have plenty of my own to deal with.
Bella got into a crouch and damned if Edward Junior didn't spring to action immediately at the sight of her on all fours. Fuck. Her t-shirt rode up and her jeans rode down and there was plenty of pretty white flesh to sink my teeth into. There better not be a fucking baby deer down there. I needed to eat now so I could satisfy my true hunger. Why she thought I needed blood when I could have her was beyond me. She was all I'd ever truly crave anymore. Blood was blood but Bella was every fucking thing.
I crouched next to her, placing my hands on the log she was currently behind. Of course, I really wanted to place myself behind her and just fuck her senseless but she'd probably beat my ass if I tried. I could wait, a little bit. Bella nudged me and I realized I was fucking devouring her with my eyes rather than looking into the meadow she'd guided me to.
It was like a painting, a bright, open space with sunlight shining down onto the green grass. There were some little groupings of flowers in purples and blues. One look at Bella's face and I could tell it was her dream place. I'd have to get her a bench or some blankets or some damn thing so she could come out here and read. And I'd be right fucking next to her waiting to distract her with a roll through the fucking flowers, too.
Flowers! You can pick her some now! Stop being such a fucking woman. She'd probably get pissed at me for destroying her happy place. Sad, but true. The two of you are quite a pair. You could be skipping through this field hand in hand and instead you'll probably scream at each other and then fuck like animals. Why am I stuck with you?
Like you're the one who's stuck? And I'll have you know that fucking in a field of flowers is very romantic. Excuse me, "making love." Girls like that shit. You wait and see.
"You see them?" she whispered. I followed her gaze and my nose and I could see, on the far side of the meadow, three large deer grazing. They weren't aware of us yet, as of course my girl had been smart enough to make sure we came in downwind from the meadow. I nodded and her fingers tensed next to mine so I prepared myself to make my move and take down a fucking deer to make her happy.
The smell was revolting and I didn't feel the venom welling up in my mouth like it usually did before a hunt. This fucking sucked. I didn't want to eat a damn deer. Why couldn't a damn lion wander through? Or a wolf or something? Deer were so tame and fucking boring. Stop your bitching. You do want to get laid, don't you?
Right. Eyes on the prize, Cullen. I looked at Bella and the venom welled up then. Jesus. One fucking look at her and I was salivating like a puppy. She was a hell of a prize. At least I felt hungry now, even if it was hungry for her instead of the fucking deer. Still, have one, then the other. I could deal this once.
Bella's black eyes cut to mine and fuck if she wasn't even hotter when she was hunting. What I wouldn't fucking give to see her take down a human. She nodded once and then sprang. I was a second behind her and we both streaked through the meadow in a second, somehow leaping at the same exact moment and landing on our unsuspecting prey.
I took the deer that was to the right and Bella got the one in the middle, while the left one skittered away. The frightened animal brayed and bucked beneath my grip but I held on and watched as Bella's teeth sank into the neck of her deer. Fuck, she was beautiful. She glared at me and gave me a mumbled order to drink so I bit into my deer, keeping my eyes on hers while we both fed. It had been hotter when we were sharing the same animal but this was still pretty fucking hot, watching my girl drain her deer at the same time I took mine. Plus it gave me something to concentrate on beyond the foul taste of the blood filling my mouth.
I could not fathom willingly surviving on this crap. My girl was fucking crazy; there was no doubt about it. She had the most beautiful heart in the world but she was wrong in the fucking head if she was going to live like this forever. The bland, bitter taste made me want to stop but I knew if I didn't drain the fucking thing, Bella would have a fit and cockblock me again. That was not fucking acceptable so I'd just suffer through.
Her eyes burned into mine, black to black as her mouth moved and I watched as she ran her tongue over the fur to capture some blood that was escaping. Fuck me, that was hot. Her little red tongue was taunting me. I swallowed another disgusting mouthful and actually started sucking harder on the neck to get more blood in my mouth. The sooner I was done, the sooner I could have her.
Bella's cheek lifted a little bit and I knew she was fucking smiling, enjoying her power over me. It sort of pissed me off but it was also fucking hot, that she knew she could make me crawl if she fucking wanted and she was more than willing to make me do it. The princess was now a confident queen, ruling me effortlessly. She'd broken the last fucking barrier and had me willingly drinking animal blood, for fuck's sake.
You should wave a white flag in surrender! You don't have to sound so fucking gleeful about it. Oh but I am. You're finally there, big boy. You've made all the changes you needed to make to get Bella to love you and you don't need me anymore.
Holy fuck! Does that mean you're going to go? Not forever. I'll still be here if you need me but I think you just may have this. Don't let me down. Fuck off. It's not about you, it never was. No, it was always about the two of you. It's about time you realized that. What the fuck ever, just go like you said you would. I'm leaving, but remember, I'm always here waiting for when you fuck up. And you will. But I'll let you try to bumble your way through it together before I step in. Go, enjoy your girl. Oh, and marry her, will you?
Don't start that shit again. We don't need rings and vows to have forever. We already do. Sure, you keep telling yourself that. I know what you want. So do you. I'm the one person you can't lie to, well, the second, because you can't lie to her either. One day, you'll marry the girl. And I'll be there celebrating. Right, you'll be there crying like a little girl. Maybe. Now, enjoy your freedom before I change my mind and decide you need more improving. Your ego could definitely use…
Fuck that. My ego isn't changing. Goodbye. You won't be fucking missed. Yes, I will. Laughter echoed through my head and then it was blissfully silent. I noticed with some surprise that my deer was pretty much drained. Motherfucker had distracted me and allowed me to finish eating without thinking about it. Maybe he wasn't as much of a prick as I'd originally thought. Oh fuck, that isn't an invitation to come back, just so you know! I'm all good. More laughter but no words followed and I was thrilled. Alone at fucking last!
Bella dropped her deer and came over to me, holding out her hand. I threw mine down and took hers and stood. She tugged me out of the shadows and into the center of the meadow. The sun was shining down on us and our skin was fucking sparkling. I fucking hated being in the sunlight but I couldn't deny that Bella was somehow even more gorgeous with the light shining down on her. She smiled and reached up and cupped my face in her hands.
"I'm so proud of you."
Jeez, it wasn't like I'd fucking saved a kid from a burning building or anything. So, I'd killed a fucking deer. Big deal. I shrugged and she laughed. "I am. I know you didn't want to drink but you did. Thank you for doing that for me. I was worried about you."
Worried about me? What the fuck? "Bella, I was fine." I tilted my head to kiss her palm as she caressed my face.
She shook her head. "You weren't fine. You were going crazy being cooped up. I'm sorry you're stuck here, because of me."
Fuck that. I took her hand from my face and pulled her to me. "Don't ever fucking say that I'm stuck because of you. I love you, Bella. I would do anything for you, as you can clearly see." I gestured to the deer corpse at the edge of the meadow. "I just don't like feeling like we're under the gun, waiting for her show up and fuck with me again. She's…" I broke off, not sure what I could tell her.
"There's something wrong with her, Bella. I know you're sort of crazy…" She glared and tried to tug out of my hold but I wouldn't let her so she stamped on my foot. Fuck that hurt. "But you're harmless crazy. She's insane. And I hate the thought of her being near you. I hate the thought of her sullying our home. I hope to fuck she doesn't come here. She poisons everything she touches. It took me far too long to feel clean after I got away from her. I don't want to go through that again."
Bella stopped struggling and wrapped her arms around my waist, crushing me to her in a tight hug. "She can't poison you or me, Edward. Not when we're together. And she won't touch our home. I'll tear her apart before I let her ruin one blade of grass." Her voice was fierce and her eyes were black with the conviction of her words. She was fucking amazing.
I laughed and kissed her hard and she melted into me the way she did that made me feel like the most powerful fucking man on earth. Which, I probably fucking was. "Tear her apart, huh?"
"Isn't that what you're supposed to do? That's what you told me." I was sorry I'd ever fucking told her how a vampire could be killed. It was nothing she'd ever need to know.
"Yes, but I don't think that'll be necessary."
"We'll see," she murmured, pressing her lips to my chest. What was this shit about? Did she honestly think she was going to take on Victoria alone? Where the fuck did she think I would be?
"Bella…"
"Shh." She stepped out of my arms and raised her t-shirt over her head. She wasn't wearing a bra and every thought flew out of my head at the sight of her beautiful breasts glinting in the sunlight. Fuck. Her jeans came off next and she wasn't wearing any panties either, thank fuck. She kicked them aside and looked at me expectantly, putting her hands on her hips. "Well? I believe I made you a promise I'd like to keep."
I was the luckiest fucking vampire in existence. I yanked my shirt off, hearing it rip in my hurry to get it off me. Bella giggled and reached out to unbutton my jeans and slide down my zipper herself. I guess she didn't want me to have to run home naked, not that I had a fucking problem with it. She pulled them down my legs and I stepped out of them.
There was a good tree about twenty feet away, maybe I should take her there. Bella took my hand and plopped down where we stood, her pale body contrasting beautifully with the bright green grass. Here then. I allowed her to pull me down to her, my lips meeting hers as she lay back and pulled me on top of her. Her hands moved over my back lightly, with little feathery touches that I could feel pulsing through my entire body. Fuck that was hot.
Her legs parted and I settled between them, rubbing Edward Junior against her pussy as my lips moved with hers in the soft, sweet kisses. She moaned and I slid inside her, closing my eyes as I felt that completeness that I always felt when I was joined with her. It was fucking incredible.
Bella began to move below me, her hips angling off the grass to meet mine as I thrust lazily inside her. I looked into her shining black eyes again, seeing there all the love that I felt reflected back at me. She was the greatest gift I would I ever receive.
"I love you." It was fucked up how easy it was to say it now, after all the terror I'd felt over the process of giving her my heart.
"I love you, too." And hearing it…there was nothing better than having the girl you loved love you back.
Her hips began to move faster and I moved with her. The sun was warming my back but Bella was even hotter below me, a raging inferno as she moaned and thrashed and started to come apart around me. It was the most beautiful fucking sight in the world and I couldn't stop myself from coming with her. Her lips were still soft and sweet on mine despite the hunger and heat we'd just expended.
I rolled off her and pulled her to my chest, laying in the sunlight and tracing a finger over her luminous skin. "This is a good place."
She smiled and kissed my chest, right where my heart was. No, actually, she was my heart and I fucking loved it. "I love it here. I found it three days ago and I wanted to bring you here immediately but…" she broke off. I remembered she'd been excited about something when she came back from hunting but I'd been horny as fuck and I'd attacked her the instant she walked in the door. "You distracted me."
"In the best possible way." I smirked at her and she laughed and nibbled on my neck.
"Yes. I'm glad I got to share it with you now, though. Thank you for hunting with me, Edward. I won't ask you to do it again."
She wouldn't either. I could see it in her eyes. But dickhead had a point and maybe I could work on this whole compromising thing. The fucking blood hadn't killed me and with the right incentive…
"I'll do it again."
Bella's mouth fell open and she pushed herself up on one elbow to look down at me. "What?"
"I'm not saying I'm giving up humans. I'm just saying that maybe I can eat with you sometimes and eat alone other times." This was tricky but I hoped she was going to understand my fucking point. "Like, say a normal guy marries a vegetarian woman."
She raised a brow. "I notice that the guy is the normal one and the woman is the weirdo?"
I grinned at her. "Of course!" She smacked my chest and I caught her hand and gave her a smacking kiss to the back of it. "Anyway, let's say he eats steak and hamburgers and shit all the time before they get together and then when they're dating he eats salads and bark and crap because it's what she likes. But when they're not together, he still goes out and gets his meat. We could be like that, couldn't we?"
She watched me for a few minutes, drawing little patterns on my chest. I waited, as fucking usual, for her to say whatever was on her mind. Why the fuck couldn't I hear her? It was fucking annoying. "So, what you're saying is, you'll eat with me when we're together and you'll eat humans when we're not."
It wasn't that fucking hard to grasp. "Yes."
"But you hate animal blood."
No shit. "But I love you and want to be with you. I'll go into the city now and then because I have to pick up shit and that's when I'll hunt humans. Bad ones, just like I promised."
Bella bit her lip and then nodded. "Okay, that sounds fair."
"Really? You won't get fucking mad at me when I feed on a human?"
She glared at me again. "I already told you I wouldn't."
I laughed and pushed her hair over her shoulder. "It's one thing to say it; it's another thing for you to actually do it."
"I said I would and I meant it." She poked me in the chest again and I pulled her down to me and gave her a searing kiss.
"See, baby, we can fucking compromise when we want to."
"Yes, we can."
We stayed in the meadow until the sun went down, making love and talking and arguing and just being us. Eventually we decided to head home so Bella pulled on her clothes and I pulled on my jeans, leaving my ruined shirt in the meadow. We joined hands and ran home at a more leisurely pace. I kept my eyes on her, just enjoying having her by my side and in my fucking life. She was my miracle.
About three miles from home I heard something, a faint sound that came and went before I could identify it. A few steps later and I caught something else and pulled Bella to a stop. She opened her mouth to ask what the fuck I was doing but I put my finger over her lips to silence her. Something was going on and I knew it wasn't good.
Where is he? I've been waiting for hours. He's been here recently, I can still smell him. Oh, my Edward, I'd recognize your scent anywhere. I know you've missed me as much as I've missed you. Come to me, darling. I need you.
Fuck. I knew, of course I fucking knew that she'd elude the Volturi and come here to me. That was the reason I'd been so fucking pent up all week. Now she was here and I needed to get the fuck out of here and call the Greek prick and let him deal with her.
"What?" Bella hissed between clenched teeth. This was not going to be fucking good.
"She's here."
I didn't have to tell her who she was. Bella straightened and her eyes narrowed into tiny slits and she tried to tug her hand from mine but I wouldn't let go. "Let's just go back to the meadow. I'll call and we'll let them deal with it."
"That's our home, Edward. I'm not letting that bitch spend another minute alone in my home. What if she hurts Willow?"
That fucking cow. "Bella, she's not going to touch your fucking cow unless you let her know just how much you love the damn thing. Then she'd kill her to hurt you." Bella flinched and tried to get free again but I held firm. "Let's just go back and…"
"No."
God fucking help me, she wasn't going to listen. "Alright, then, I'll go and…"
She growled and pushed me into a tree. "You are not leaving me alone like some helpless female while you deal with your crazy ex. If you think I'm going to sit behind and let her see and touch you, you're a fucking idiot. You're mine and I'm going to make damn sure she knows it. Now, text Demetri and let's go and kick her the hell out of our home."
Her eyes were blazing and her voice was fierce and I was fucking hard as a rock again at the sight of her. I took my phone out of my pocket and texted Demetri without taking my eyes off her. I couldn't look away if I wanted to. She was glorious. My avenging angel in the flesh. I closed my phone and she took my hand in hers.
"Let's go." This was going to be fucking interesting. Past was about to meet present and future. Fucking hell, you picked a pretty shitty time to desert me fuckwad. I heard some cackling and nothing else. It looked like I'd have to handle this mess on my own. Bella tugged on my hand and I looked at her and she gave me a fierce, glittering smile. No, not on my own. Never on my own again.
A/N *sobs* Our little vamp is all grown up and IMF is trusting him to use his judgment and make his woman happy on his own! Think Smugs can handle it? He has come a long way after all! I'll miss that little guy though. *sniffles*
I got wordy in this chapter, shocker, so it looks like we have 3 more chapters left instead of 2. Still nearing the end, but not as quickly. And we'll see how this Victoria situation develops, maybe it'll be more!