AN: Here you go, guys. The last official chapter of UP. I don't think I've even grasped that concept yet since I'm in the middle of the epilogue, but it seems really weird. This will be the first thing I ever finish that's more than a one-shot. Thanks again to everyone who read, reviews, alerts, and favorites this story. And thanks to my awesome beta who should be doing her own work instead of betaing my chapter, lol.
Disclaimer: I own Gran and Xander. That's pretty much it.
Chapter 25 – And the Trophy Goes To….
BPOV
I knew something was off when I woke up that next morning. The lack of a soft bed and blankets pretty much gave that away. Groggily, I looked around the room. It looked like the negative image of a cell in an insane asylum.
The walls were dark and devoid of details. There were two windows, but both had paneling over them. The bed was just a glorified cot with a thin pillow on one end.
There was nothing else.
"What the fuck?" I muttered, but I was too tired to actually do anything else.
I fell back asleep on the cot, but woke up later to hear voices in the next room. Nothing was distinct enough to make out and I was still really woozy, so I put my head back on the pillow, choosing sleep over throwing up.
Eventually, I woke up feeling semi-normal, but couldn't shake the feeling that someone was looking at me. I turned to face the door and jumped when I saw a man standing there.
He was tall, though not as tall as Edward. His skin was tinted in a permanent tan and his entire body was well-toned. He could have passed as a good-looking guy if it weren't for the creepy, hard to place look in his eyes. It was almost like he wanted to devour me…
"Good, you're awake. I was afraid I was going to have to get you up myself," he said. "Put on the dress in the corner and go make me a sandwich."
He turned and left the room before I could answer.
"Where the fuck am I?" I asked myself as I went to inspect the dress.
It might have passed as a dress on a twelve year old. It barely covered all the important parts. I still had sleep shorts, so I figured I could leave them on. Maybe he didn't realize that it wouldn't fit correctly. Then again, he ordered me to go make him a sandwich without introducing himself.
I rolled my eyes when I saw him lounging in front of the TV when I passed the living room. Of course, he would be one of those guys that sat around while the girl did everything. I whipped together a quick turkey sandwich from the remnants of cold cuts in the fridge and dropped it on his lap when I was done.
"There you go," I said. "Now, can I have something that fits a little better? This dress is a little short on me."
His eyes flicked over to see what I meant before they narrowed in anger.
"Did I tell you to put shorts on if it didn't fit? No. I told you to put on the dress. You can't even follow simple instructions. Your mother said you might be iffy when it came to the other stuff, but this… this is just insubordinate."
"What the fuck are you talking about? What does my mother have to do with this? Where am I? And who the fuck are you?"
"I am Laurent, but you will call me 'sir.' Your mother generously entrusted you to me for my personal use and to train you," he said. "You clearly have no manners, no grace, and no sense of your place in the world. I'm here to teach you that."
"Oh my god," I breathed. "This can't be happening. This must be some sick joke or something." I started backing away and looking for a way out. "Edward!" I yelled. "If this is some sick joke, you better get your hot ass out here now and tell me! This is not funny!"
A sharp sting suddenly burst over my cheek. It took me a second to realize that this Laurent guy had slapped me.
"What the fuck?" I gasped as the discomfort set in.
"You will not swear. Ever again. Every time you do, you will get one slap similar to that. But for now, know that this is not a joke. You are here for me and for yourself. You need not be concerned about anyone else, least of all this Edward character."
My mouth dropped open. For the first time in my life, I felt good about standing up for myself. I hadn't been afraid to tell this guy how unbearable his complete condescension was until he hit me. I froze up, my mind jumping to that night in the alley. Only there was no Edward here to save me.
"That's better. Now, go take those silly, little shorts off and have a bit to eat. Not too much, mind you. I don't need you throwing up in the playroom. The clean up would take too much time and the punishment wouldn't be enjoyable for either of us."
I walked away, needing to eat anyway, but mostly to get away from the creep in the other room. I honestly had no idea what his problem was or why the hell he was bossing me around. As I sat down to eat a bagel with cream cheese, some questions started to form in my head.
Why did he think he had any control over my wardrobe? Or what I ate for that matter…
Why did he have a playroom? I hadn't seen any kids running around.
Why would he punish me if I didn't wear what he wanted?
What did my mother have to do with any of this?
Sighing, I cleaned everything up before going back to the room with the cot. There was nothing else that even resembled clothing. Judging by his reaction before, I was surprised Laurent had even left me clothed at all.
"Seriously, who does he think he is? This whole female submission thing is a few decades old," I muttered. "I mean, really. This fucking thing won't cover anything…."
I pulled off the shorts to test it, but it literally didn't hide anything. It was just short enough to be considered a t-shirt instead of a dress. I pulled the shorts right back up. Fuck him and his "punishment." It wasn't worth this humiliation.
Not wanting to go back to face him, I huddled up on the cot. The reality of my situation was starting to bear down on me. The shock of waking up in a strange place and dealing with that guy had clouded the fact that I had no idea where I was or how I got there.
How was Edward dealing with this? I hadn't called him when I woke up. He knew I always called when I told him I would. I was now secure enough in my relationship with him that I couldn't imagine him taking this lightly.
But now I couldn't even find my phone or anything else I had when I'd fallen asleep at my own house.
When was that anyway? I thought. Who knows how long he's been freaking out…?
I stayed huddled up in that room for a long time. I had no way of telling how long it actually was. I had just started to doze off when I heard a muffled bellow.
"Isabella!"
I could tell a lot from that bellow. He clearly believed that I would be at his beck and call, eager to do his every bidding. Maybe if I hadn't met Edward… but I'd grown up. I wasn't under the thumb of my mother anymore. I was my own person now.
Apparently he didn't understand that.
A few minutes later, the same bellow came from much closer – right outside my door, to be exact. When I didn't answer, he burst through the door.
"Isabella! Why didn't you answer me?" he demanded.
"Um, maybe because you don't own me?" I spat back. "I'm not your property. I'm a human being, damn it."
"Oh, but that is where you're wrong, my pet," he said with a creepy smile. "Come with me. Let me show you what I mean."
I cocked an eyebrow it him and didn't move.
"If you don't move, I'll drag you behind me."
If I hadn't believed him, I wouldn't have moved. Sadly, the look in his eye made me believe him. There was no doubt that he would be dragging me behind him in any second. Most likely by my hair….
I rolled my eyes and reluctantly got up to follow him.
He led me down a stairway I hadn't noticed before. All the lights were off in the house at that point except for the one at the bottom of the stairs. It led to a room full of different benches and shelves of tools. It looked like some twisted workroom, but I didn't understand what he was getting at by taking me there.
"Do you know what this room is, Isabella?"
I shook my head as I looked around. It was the strangest room I'd ever seen, but I had no idea what it was meant for.
"This is my playroom," he said as he circled around me. "Where I show little girls like you how they ought to behave, how to respect people like me." He stopped right behind me and put his mouth to my ear. "Where I punish girls like you."
My breath hitched painfully and I froze as I realized what was happening. I'd heard about BDSM, but I didn't understand that people actually did things like that. I had nothing against people who entered into it voluntarily, but this was crossing a line. I would not be his sex slave or let him train me to be an obedient, submissive slave of a trophy wife for someone else.
Of course, he took my reaction as a positive thing.
"Oh, you like that idea, do you? I thought that might be your reason for rebelling," he said. "No one has given you what you need. A firm hand to your backside when you do something wrong, someone to make sure you follow the rules…. "
I flinched away from him, but he didn't notice.
"Your mother said you were just going through a phase, but I can see that this is something more. If you're ever going to be a wife to a good man, you need me. You need me to teach you how to be respectful, just like all those girls before you."
He moved to stand in front of me.
"You need me to fuck that Edward right out of your head."
I was too stunned to react.
Who even talked like that? This wasn't a matter of needing a distraction. Edward was a person, not some thing I grew out of in a few years. And I didn't need to be taught how to respect people; I knew who deserved it. This guy did not.
Laurent had apparently continued talking while I thought about his ridiculous thought process.
"- and you'll stay here until I think you've learned enough. However, she never said anything about me taking my fill," he smirked, trailing a finger down my cheek. "After all, you must be tight. A frigid bitch like you must be."
I smacked his hand away, finally breaking out of my haze.
"Fuck you," I spat. "You're not going to touch me."
"Mm, you are going to be fun," he chuckled. "The feisty ones are always the most fun to break."
I shuddered and wrapped my arms around myself, breathing a small sigh of relief when he walked across the room.
"Now, how to begin your punishment… this will be tough since we have no rules set, but I'm sure we can find something suitable for you."
While he was occupied with his decision, I started to inch back toward the stairs. If I could just get up the stairs, I could try to make an escape. It was a long shot, but I had to try. I'd gotten to the first stair when Laurent turned around with a smirk as he held up a paddle.
"Oh, you don't think you can escape, do you?" he laughed.
Rather than respond, I turned and ran as fast as I could up the stairs. Sadly, he was too fast for me. He intercepted me in the kitchen and grabbed my hair, pulling hard enough to make me scream in pain.
"You just made this that much harder on yourself," he sneered. "I would have been fairly gentle with you, but no. You don't want that. Now you'll have a reminder of this for weeks."
He gripped me arm and dragged me back downstairs. I struggled the entire way to no avail. At the bottom of the stairs, he pressed me against the wall and leaned into me. My stomach turned when I felt that this whole thing was actually arousing him.
"Such a naughty girl," he whispered. "Oh, this will be fun."
He smiled maniacally at me once again before dragging me back into the room. He led me to a far corner and opened a door I hadn't noticed before. He shoved me in there.
"Just to make sure you don't leave, Isabella. I can't have my fun if you run away," he said.
I could hear him moving around as I sat in that small, dark room. It didn't take him long to come back. I'd come to the realization that he wasn't going to let me go anytime soon. I needed to find a way out. I needed to get back to my friends, my grandparents, my father… I needed to get back to Edward.
When Laurent pulled me up and dragged me back out into the playroom, I felt the adrenaline pumping through my body.
"Now, Isabella, you just sit tight on this table and we'll get started with your punishment. You will be very sore in the morning, but you need to learn your lesson."
"You're sick," I growled, struggling against him.
"Ah, but that's the beauty of it. No sane man could do as well of a job," he smiled.
I swung for a punch aimed at his face, but he turned just in time for me to miss. I tried to remember all the things Edward had taught me in order to protect myself. Laurent wasn't having it. He gripped both my hands and forced me to lie back on the bench.
"You will learn to submit," he growled. "No man wants a bitch like you. They want a girl to lie there and spread her legs."
"That may be what you think, but I know enough to see that that's not true," I hissed, still struggling. "You're just too blind to see past the façade you grew up with."
"Think what you will. But all men are the same."
"Yeah, that's a good point," I said with a smirk.
I jammed my knee into his crotch, taking advantage of the only weak point I could. When he let go of me to clutch himself, I punched him quickly, aiming to knock him out. It did seem to work, but I also realized my mistake seconds later.
My breathing slowly returned to normal as I watched Laurent slowly fall to the floor, unconscious. As I gained control, the adrenaline wore off and I could feel a shooting pain in my thumb. I looked down to see it twisted at an odd angle and the pain got increasingly worse.
I tucked my thumb. Fuck, Edward was going to kill me.
I must have passed out, somehow getting myself back into the hidey-hole in the wall, because the next thing I knew, Edward was talking to me.
"Bella?" he asked softly.
I turned around quickly, my vision blurring slightly as I did. "Edward," I whispered. I looked down to my hand, still nauseous from the pain. "I tucked my thumb. You told me not to tuck my thumb."
Seconds later his arms were around me. "It's okay," he said. "It's okay, baby."
"You said you'd never forgive me if I tucked my thumb in a decent fight, and what did I do? I tucked my thumb," I muttered, not completely coherent.
"Shh," he said. "I lied."
I looked up at him, thrilled to see his face. I worked to give him a real response. "So where does that leave us? The liar and the girl with the broken thumb?"
He laughed quietly and tightened his grip on me. "Together."
"You're such a cheeseball. But you're my cheeseball," I said. I leaned further into him, trying to ignore the pain. The safety of his arms was enough to lull me to sleep.
"Just let her sleep," Edward whispered, slowly bringing me back into consciousness. "She needs this."
"They need her statement, Edward," my father replied.
"It can wait until she wakes up," he said.
"I'm awake," I mumbled, curling further into Edward. "Just gimme a minute."
He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "We had to call the police, baby. They need your statement before we can head home."
My father stood off to the side, looking concerned. He needed to know that I was okay, but I couldn't make myself let go of Edward long enough to assure him.
I looked up and smiled at my boyfriend. "Where am I anyway? And how long was I gone?"
"We're about an hour outside the city," he said, pushing some hair out of my face. "You've been here for a little over two days. We got here about three hours ago. The police have been poking around for about two."
I nodded. "Well, that explains why I was so damn tired."
Just then, one of the officers came into the room. "Excuse me? We came to check if she was ready to give her statement."
"Only if my father and my boyfriend can stay in the room," I said immediately. "I don't think I can do it without them and I definitely don't want to deal with it more than once."
He nodded at me. "I see no issues with that as long as they don't interfere," he said.
It took almost an hour to get through the entire story. My father sat down next to us and held my hand when I started to get uncomfortable, even in Edward's arms. It was enough to recreate the experience, but to be also mindful of how they'd react to hearing about it made it worse. By the end, Edward had his arms very tightly wrapped around me and he kissed my neck and exposed shoulder while my father occasionally ran his fingers through my hair.
The officer asked a few questions, but let me tell my own story. Edward and my father kept their thoughts to themselves, knowing that I needed them there.
"And I blacked out sometime between punching him and ending up in the cupboard," I finished. "I'm not sure how long it took for Edward to get there."
"Alright, Miss Swan," the officer said. "There is some chance that he could press charges for you punching him, but it was clearly self-defense. There is no way he would be able to win a case."
I sighed and nodded. "I'd rather just not deal with any court proceedings," I said.
He looked shocked and I felt Edward tense behind me. "You don't plan to press charges? You could easily get him on kidnapping, assault, and attempted sexual assault. Your mother would also be unable to fight assisted kidnapping and endangerment. She is the only connection, but we have been unable to locate her as of yet."
"Why would I want to do that? It's over," I said. "I don't want to deal with it anymore."
"Baby, you should do this," Edward said quietly. "If you let him get away with this, he could hurt someone else. And your mother? She shouldn't be able to control you like that." He looked over to Charlie. "I'm sorry, but I can't look past this."
My father nodded. "I understand. I never thought Renee would do something like this. None of us should be able to look past this."
"I don't understand why I need to press charges against my own mother. I'm sure that she was doing the right thing in her own mind," I said. "Yes, she's insane, but that doesn't mean I need to prove it to a judge."
"We could do that," the officer noted. "If there was enough proof, we could get her sentenced to time in an asylum rather than jail. She would have more of a chance of returning to a normal life."
"Can we just… not talk about this right now?" I groaned. "I'm sorry, Officer, but I can't deal with this right now. It makes sense to press charges against Laurent, but I really don't know what to do about my mother."
"Understood, Miss Swan. I know this must be a difficult situation for you and I don't expect you to make all the decisions today." He handed me a card. "That's my direct line at the precinct. Feel free to let me know when you decide."
"Thank you, Officer. I appreciate it," I said with a smile.
He left the room shortly after, and I leaned further back into Edward. I wanted everything to just be over. I looked at the two most important men in my life and sighed.
"Can we just go home now?" I asked with a slight whine in my voice.
"Of course, sweetheart," my father said, kissing my forehead. "Let's go."
When I said "go home," I was hoping to go straight to bed with Edward curled up behind me. Apparently, everyone else I knew had a different idea. They were all waiting in our living room when we got back into the city.
"Bella!" Alice squealed when she saw me. "We were so worried!" She hurried over and threw her arms around me. "Thank god, you're all right!"
"If you keep squeezing me that hard, I won't be," I wheezed. She had a strong grip for someone so small.
Jasper came up and gently pulled his wife off me. "Really, Bella, we're all glad you're safe." He kissed my cheek and pulled Alice back to let everyone else get their chance at me.
My grandparents, Emmett and Rosalie, Joshua, Carlisle and Esme, Pete and Drew, and even the boys from New Moon Pizza were there. The only person missing was my mother, but I had no hope of her ever fitting into this group of people.
It was nice to see everyone getting along so well. Even my grandparents were associating with my less-than-respectable friends. Gran discussed the basics of homosexual affection with Jake and Embry while Gramps showed Pete and Drew his tattoos from World War II. My father and Carlisle talked about how their different fields could somehow work together. Esme told the rest of the boys from New Moon Pizza about things they could do to make it more profitable and welcoming.
Edward and I stood with Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie as they cooed over and played with Xander. He was growing quickly and hated to stay in one spot for too long.
"This is nice," I commented as I looked around the room.
"What?" Edward replied. He was standing behind me, his arms around my waist. He played with end of my shirt while we watched our friends play with my godson.
"This," I said. "Having everyone here and getting along. I've never really had anything like this. It's just… nice."
He chuckled and kissed the skin behind my ear. "We could have this more often, you know," he replied. "Families do this all the time. Birthday parties, Christmas, Thanksgiving…."
"I know, I know, but I've just never gotten anything beyond creepy, awkward social gatherings that barely pass as a party," I said. "Especially for birthdays."
"Well, now you get smaller, awkward social gatherings that barely pass as parties," he laughed. "With Emmett and Gran in the same room…"
I laughed and leaned back into his embrace. I looked up at him and smiled. "I love you, you know that?"
He smiled back down at me. "I love you too, my beautiful Bella." He raised his hand to caress my cheek. His voice dropped to a whisper as he began speaking again. "You've made my life worth living again. You've helped me heal. You've been better to me than anyone I know."
"Edward, what are you-"
"These past few days scared me, Bella. I couldn't live without you, I think. I don't want to live without you." He took a deep breath and I felt his hand move to search in his pocket. "Will you marry me, Bella? Will you allow me to spend the rest of my life loving you, as my wife?"
I gasped and looked down to see him holding a ring in front of me. It was a simple, white gold band with a single, small, princess cut diamond. It was perfect.
It occurred to me after a minute that I hadn't actually answered him since I'd been stunned into silence. I spun around to face him and rather than answer directly, I pressed my lips against his.
"Should I take that as a yes, then?" he laughed.
"Yes," I whispered. "Of course I'll marry you, Edward. I love you so much."
He beamed at me and picked up my left hand. He kissed each of my knuckles, lingering on my ring finger, before slipping on the ring.
"I'm engaged," I murmured, before beaming back at him.
He chuckled before pulling me back into a passionate kiss.
It was a perfect proposal in my opinion. I didn't need a big, planned scene in public. He certainly didn't need to get down on one knee to impress me. This was all I needed.
"Jeez, get a room," Emmett called.
"Shut it, Em," Edward answered grumpily as he pulled back from the kiss.
I leaned my head against his chest and smiled over to my friends.
"Oh my god, I think he finally did it," Rose gasped.
"What are you talking about, babe?"
"Holy shit, you're right!" Alice squealed. She handed her son over to Jasper before running over and snatching up my hand. She inspected the ring, holding it close to her face. "Well, it's better than the one James gave you, that's for sure. But when did this happen?"
I chuckled and pulled my hand back. "You can't be very observant, Ali. Why else would I attack him in the middle of the living room?"
For the next few hours, Edward and I were passed around the room as everyone offered their congratulations. The two of us had to settle with glances across the room every once in a while.
Something had changed with the proposal. I felt it in the kiss before everyone else noticed. I didn't understand how it could, but it felt like a deeper connection. Whatever it was, I knew Edward felt it to. His eyes seemed to darken whenever he looked my way, something I usually only saw when we were alone.
If that wasn't a cue for things to come, I didn't know what was.
"I think someone's planning on breaking you out of the nunnery tonight, Sister Bella," Rose teased.
"Rose!" I hissed. "Don't say stuff like that."
"No, I think she's right," Alice said. "I have a feeling if Charlie wasn't here, he'd drag you right up the stairs and have his way with you."
They stood next to me as we watched our men converse with my father and grandfather. There was nothing stranger than seeing my boyfriend, now fiancé, interacting with male members of my family. I was so used to them being separate entities. Seeing them blend together was surreal and, frankly, perfect.
"I'm happy for you, sweetie," Alice said, putting her arm around my shoulder. "You deserve this. You deserve a guy like Edward."
"And thank god he found you," Rose added. "Seriously, that boy was so wound up in his own issues, I was afraid he might twist off his own manly parts one day."
"Rose!" I hissed again.
She continued as if she hadn't heard me. "As far as I know it's all still there. But if I was going to pick a girl for him, you are ten times better than the girl I'd pick."
I laughed and shook my head, laying my head on her shoulder. "Thanks, Rose. That means a lot."
"You're welcome. Now just make sure that you don't do anything to hurt him," she said. "Because then I will have to punch you in the vag and forcibly remove your spleen."
"Ah, there's the Rose we know and love," I said.
"Are you trying to steal my fiancée away, Rosalie?" Edward asked he came over to the group of us.
"Yes. We're eloping tonight and we plan to make tiny dolphin babies," she said, rolling her eyes. "Really, Edward. I thought you knew better than that."
"Hey, I know she's a catch," he answered, holding his hands up in surrender. "I really have no idea how I got her, but I'm trying to keep her."
Rose and Alice both gave me a slight push toward him and I smiled.
"Lucky for you, I never really wanted anyone else," I said.
"It'll be interesting to see just how far my luck will carry me tonight," he muttered as he played with the ends of my hair. I bit my lip, but didn't answer him.
It took us less than fifteen minutes to get out of there. Everyone offered their congratulations again, but kept them short. Only Gran had something new to say.
"You know, now that it's official, you really don't need to worry about protection. Let him go bareback. He'll enjoy it more." I avoided responding to that.
Neither of us really spoke on the ride back to his apartment, but Edward couldn't seem to stop touching me. He had his arm around my waist as we walked to the car. As he drove, he kept his hand entwined with mine. I swear, he almost threw me over his shoulder in an effort to get me back to his place faster.
He did pick me up bridal style and carry me through his door.
"Welcome home, m'lady," he said with a huge grin.
"Aw, Edward," I said, trying not to laugh. "That's the wedding night, not the engagement night."
He kissed me quickly. "I know, but I still wanted to do it," he explained before gently setting me down on the couch.
"Have I mentioned you're a cheeseball?" I said, looking up at him.
"Not for a few hours."
"Well, you are. But I still love you."
"And I love you," he said, kneeling in front of me. He picked up my left hand again and looked between my face and my hand in wonder.
"What?"
"I can't believe you agreed to marry me," he responded.
"Then you clearly don't understand that I can't live without you either," I said. I removed my hand from his and weaved my fingers into his hair, pulling him closer to me. "I'm stealing your cheeseball title, but I don't care. I need you, Edward Masen. I need you by my side for the rest of my life."
"I'll be there," he said. He lifted his hand and caressed my cheek. "I'll always be with you, Bella."
He leaned forward that last tiny bit and kissed me tenderly. I took the initiative and pulled him even closer, needing more. We only pulled back when we needed to breathe.
"I need you, Edward," I said when I could finally talk.
"I need you too, baby," he said.
"No, you don't get it. I need more. I… Edward, I need you to make love to me."
"Are you sure? This isn't just a reaction to what happened bef-"
I shut him up with another quick kiss. "Of course I'm sure, Edward. I think I've been ready for a while, but I didn't know for sure."
He smiled and stood up, pulling me with him. "Come on. I'm not letting your first time be on a couch." I took his offered hand and followed him to his bedroom, starting to get nervous about what was to come, when he stopped abruptly. "Oh god… Bella…" He sounded pained and horrified.
"What, Edward? What's wrong?"
He turned to face me, his eyes bleak. "If he had done something to you, that would have been your first time," he said. "You would never have gotten the chance to choose, to allow someone you loved that honor."
"Hey, hey," I said. I tugged on his hand to get him to look at me again. "Don't say that. Don't think about it. Ever, okay? You saved me. The first night I met you, you saved me. Then you taught me how to save myself so it would never happen again. And when it counted, I remembered you. I remembered you teaching me all that. That's what happened. No one could take away what was always yours. You were there with me the entire time."
Edward nodded and choked out a laugh. "I feel like we're at the climax of some ridiculous Lifetime movie," he said, pulling me back into his arms. "But you've officially stolen the cheeseball award."
"Do you believe me now?" I muttered into his chest.
"Of course," he said. He kissed the top of my head. "It just occurred to me and I couldn't deal with it."
"Then don't think about it," I said, extracting myself from his arms. "Think about the fact that you get to do it. And I am more than willing."
I walked toward his room, fully aware that he was standing still stunned behind me. I made sure to sway my hips a little more than usual as I walked, hoping that would help the image. By the time I reached his bed, he finally caught up to me and wrapped his arms tightly around me.
"You've earned yourself a new nickname," he noted as he skimmed his lips along my neck.
"Oh, really? What's that?" I asked breathlessly.
"Vixen," he stated huskily. "You're a sultry vixen, my Bella."
"Hmm, I like the sound of that. I have a feeling that title involves less clothing though."
Digging deep to find some confidence and forcing myself to be an extrovert for once, I broke out of Edward's embrace. Standing a few feet away from him, I slowly stripped off my clothing, one article at a time. His eyes followed my every move, but he never moved toward me. After I ran out of clothing, I laid myself on the bed and gave Edward a small smile.
"Your turn," I said simply.
He didn't move right away. His jaw seemingly didn't function anymore.
"Edward?" I asked, trying not to chuckle. "It's your turn, babe."
He snapped out of his reverie then, smiling down at me.
"You're stunning, Bella," he said as he began taking off his own clothes. "I don't care what anyone else says, you're perfect."
He didn't take the time I did to strip, but it was a sight nonetheless. It was clear he wanted this just as much as I did.
"So are you," I said. "You're everything I need."
Edward slowly crawled over me, kissing me softly when he fully covered me. He took it slow, building the tension with kisses and teasing touches, never lingering where I needed him most.
"Edward, please," I said.
"What, Bella?" he asked, nipping at my neck. "Tell me what you want."
"I need more," I said. "I need you inside me."
"Mmm, not yet, love," he replied. "Soon."
I whined, but it turned into a moan as he used his fingers to bring me over the edge. He stroked my hair as I came down from my high.
"That's not what I meant," I pouted.
"Oh, I'm well aware," he said with a laugh. "I'm far from done with you." He smiled devilishly and ground his hips into mine, demonstrating exactly what he meant and leaving no room for argument.
Edward started slow again. I whined my protest, but he shushed me with a kiss.
"I refuse to hurt you, love," he said. "Let me do this for you. I promise it will help."
As he spoke, he pressed into me. I gasped, but tried to relax. He looked right at me, kissing me slowly as he went. At some point, he'd managed to slip a condom on – neither of us was willing to listen to Gran's newest nugget of info.
I barely felt any pain. Edward was gentle and considerate, listening to all my cues, verbal and non-verbal. He whispered his love for me as he entered my body over and over again. The feeling was overwhelming and I was unable to reply. But judging by the groans of pleasure coming from him between phrases, I had a feeling he was enjoying it just as much.
"Come for me, Bella," he said stiffly as if he was holding back. "Come with me."
It occurred to me that he was waiting to make sure I came again before he allowed himself the pleasure. I leaned up enough to kiss him before letting myself give into the pleasure.
"Edward," I cried through the kiss.
"Fuck, Bella," he grunted, falling right after me.
Edward fell half on top of me when his arms gave out with the power of his own orgasm. He pressed light kisses against my skin as we both recovered from our intense highs.
"That was incredible," I said. "Why in the world did we wait for that?"
He chuckled and kissed me tenderly. "Because it wouldn't have been the same and you know it."
"I suppose you're right," I laughed. "It just seems so surreal. Being with you like this…. If someone told me the night I met you that one day we would end up here, engaged, I never would have believed them."
"Me either, to be perfectly honest," he answered. "But I'm glad it did happen."
I smiled up at him. "Me too."
I curled into his chest, my head resting in the crook of his neck, as we fell asleep last night. That was where I belonged.
This was the heaven I never expected to have and I wasn't about to let it slip away.
AN: So, what did you think? Please leave me a review to let me know! Remember this is technically the last chapter of the story.
Next chapter: Epilogue.
Thank you all so much for sticking with me through my crazy posting schedule and I really hope the epilogue will be up some time in the next week. :)
-Kaylee