Disclaimer: Not mine.
Remember me? Very apologetic A/N to follow at the end …
Songlines Ch20
The bedroom could only provide us with sanctuary from the outside world for so long. Bella was curled in my arms, her fingertips tracing the line of my jaw and throat over and over until I was mindlessly relaxed. It was the closest sensation to sleep I could imagine, all thanks to her.
Edward, we're home.
It was Esme. I stirred with considerable reluctance and looked at Bella who was regarding me with her chin on my chest.
"They're outside," I explained, smiling as she stifled a yawn. "I know they'll want to see you but if you'd rather sleep I can …," I paused as Bella gave me an indignant look.
"I want to see them too," she said as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Maybe when all this is over you and I can actually have some quiet time together." She eased herself off the bed and gave a quick stretch.
"I think I'd like that," I agreed. I wasn't expecting the brilliant smile that my off-hand comment received. "What?"
"You're thinking of a future with me in it," Bella gave me a soft kiss. "Perhaps there's hope for you yet. Come on, let's go see the family." With that comment she towed me towards the door. By the time we were halfway down the stairs the front door of the house opened with a bang and Emmett appeared.
"Bella," his voice boomed through the foyer.
"Here," Bella answered, giving a shocked gasp of laughter when Emmett appeared in front of her in a show of vampire speed. Her laugh turned into a squeak as Emmett picked her up for an exuberant hug.
I stepped forward with the intention of calming him down until I realised he was cradling her as gently as he could. Excitement aside he was still aware of Bella's human fragility.
So good to see her can't believe Edward thought that she was- Crap. Sorry.
Emmett set Bella down on her feet and turned to me with a sheepish expression.
"I know," I sighed. "I caught it."
"Sorry," Emmett apologised again and stepped aside to let Alice get to Bella for a hug.
One by one I watched my family step forward. Perhaps some people would have watched the careful exchanges and seen a joyful welcome home. From where I stood however, I was watching my family jostle each other in their bid to re-establish a connection with someone they had thought lost to them forever. Even Rosalie stepped forward to offer a quiet acknowledgement that Bella graciously accepted. I smiled as Esme enfolded Bella in a careful hug followed by Carlisle who was smiling fit to burst. All the while Alice stood beside Bella, touching her hair and shoulders with fluttering hands as if wanting to reassure herself over and over that Bella was really back.
In the excitement Alice's controls had become soft and so I was able to snatch the occasional vision as they appeared. Bella laughing up at me and trying to out-run me in a hunt, dozens of scenes showing me her golden eyes over and over. Alice stopped with a quiet growl and flexed her mental muscle shutting me out once more.
You've seen enough, she warned, and even that was more than you deserve.
Alice may have thought the visions were an undeserved reward but she couldn't have been more wrong. Seeing Bella as one of us – truly one of us – had given me a burst of savage joy that faded just as quickly when I realised one pertinent fact. For Bella to become my mate, she was going to have to die. I leaned against the wall, keeping myself distant from the group as I tried to process the concept.
"Hey," Jasper moved to stand quiet at my side. "Focus."
"What?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Look at what's happening now. I think we all know that worrying over what could happen has gotten you into enough trouble lately."
I gave a quiet huff at this and then schooled my expression into something more benign when Bella gave me a questioning look. Jasper was smiling as he moved from my side, soaking up the goodwill in the room as he drifted from one person to the next like a plant following the sun.
"Bella it's late, have you eaten?" Esme was fussing now, brushing Bella's hair off her shoulders with gentle hands. The maternal gesture wasn't wasted on Bella who gave her a brilliant smile.
"I have, they looked after me," Bella replied with a nod, glancing sideways when Alice gave a quiet huff of annoyance. "They did," she said in a pointed tone.
"I'll have to take your word for it," Alice muttered as she reached out and took Bella by the hand and leading her towards the couch. Esme followed in close orbit. All I could do was follow.
"Look at them," Rosalie observed in a wry tone to Emmett. "They've got their pet back." She had pitched her voice quietly enough that Bella wouldn't hear but the rest of us certainly did.
"Soon to be sister, if Alice is right," Emmett commented. 'Bout time too. Really thought he'd dropped the ball on this one and then he would've been hell to-. He tried to stop his thoughts with a mental snap but they bled through his haphazard control. I raised an eyebrow at him and got an unapologetic shrug by way of response. His inner monologue continued, all the while flavoured with approval and affection as he considered Bella's reinstatement into the fold.
"I seem to recall a certain someone fluttering around Emmett back in the day," Carlisle commented as he walked past her to take a seat with the others.
"Not like that," Rosalie blustered in quiet protest. She waved a hand to indicate Alice and Esme sitting either side of Bella has they fell into an easy conversation.
"Don't be so sure," Carlisle's eyelid flickered at me as he tried to hide his amusement from her. "We all have our ways and you, my darling Rosalie, are no exception."
Rosalie crossed her arms at this and frowned and this apparent show of weakness. Undeterred as always, Emmett pulled her to his side and gave her a noisy kiss, grinning when she gave a half-hearted squirm of protest.
Gotcha, he regarded his mate with considerable satisfaction in a way that had me wishing for a fraction of Alice's shielding control.
"It's good that we're all together again," Carlisle commented, pitching his voice loud enough for Bella to hear this time as he sat down. Esme shifted away from Bella's side with a final pat and moved to sit beside Carlisle.
Bella looked up at me with an expectant smile and I sat down beside her. She immediately curled against my side, her hand resting on my thigh in a gesture that both claimed and reassured.
Jasper gave a quiet mental hum of satisfaction.
"So," Bella said when everyone had settled down, "where to from here?"
"We could leave," I said immediately, ignoring Emmett when he groaned. "Just the two of us, and go somewhere safe."
"There's no place he can't track you," Alice said with an inward gaze.
"So we stay and fight?" Emmett's tone was hopeful.
We all turned to look at Alice, who was already gazing where we could not follow. Her expression flickered between bewilderment and exasperation.
"It's not … he … I can't," she stuttered as she followed James from one vision to the next." Her concentration was such that her control had slipped again, letting me join her in the search. The locations flickered from one to the next in a blur impossible for human eyes to follow. "He's looking for her," Alice answered my unspoken question.
"What?" Bella frowned with confusion as she looked from Alice to myself.
"James," I blinked as I emerged from Alice's mind. "He's tracking."
Alice looked at me with frightened eyes. "It won't take him long, he's getting closer all the time."
"Closer to us?" Bella asked. She unconsciously clenched her hand on my thigh.
"To you," Alice clarified nodding to the woman at my side. And if we're not careful, Edward, he's going to get her.
"How?" I breathed.
"I can't see that far ahead, but some of the choices he's making keep bringing him here, to the reservation, to-," she checked herself and flickered an apologetic look to Bella.
"Jacob?" Bella thrumming heartbeat began to quicken. "Angela? Which one?"
"Both," Alice admitted, looking unhappy. Jasper moved to take her hand as the mood in the room began to dip.
"This is bullshit," Emmett muttered. "What are we doing just sitting here?"
"If he's that good a tracker why didn't he find me earlier?" Bella asked as she shifted again. Any closer and she be sitting in my lap, not that I had any objection.
"We're not sure," Carlisle replied after a thoughtful pause. "It seems that you've been hidden from more than Alice over the last few days."
"I don't … what?" Bella shook her head.
"Alice couldn't see you while you were with … the others," I murmured to her.
"It wasn't for lack of trying," Alice explained with an apologetic shrug.
"Right," Bella nodded. "So you were looking for me?"
"You have no idea," Alice muttered.
"Uh-huh," Bella shot me a sidelong look. "Leaving town huh? Never see you again? Seems like someone here had a double standard."
"You know why," I whispered. I didn't know if I would ever be able to find enough words to express my regret for what I had done to her. Words were cheap and for now, all I wanted to do was take her back upstairs and twine myself around her body. I wanted to hold her close and lose myself in her until time and things were done.
Edward …
It was Jasper and I gave a minute nod of acknowledgement. No more hiding. No more running.
"Bella," Alice said and then gave a delicate pause. "The people you were with, they're a little different. You know that, right?"
"You could say that," Bella replied after a considered silence. "While I was there they told the stories of their tribe. An oral history I guess. There was a Council meeting on the second night. I'm one of the few outsiders they've allowed to listen in because my Dad and one of the elders have always been good friends."
"Go on," Carlisle encouraged with a careful nod. He could already see where this was going but this was something for Bella to say in her own words.
So hard for her ... I looked over at Esme who was watching Bella with obvious sympathy. All of us knew the legends of the Quileute tribe, we had even been active participants in the creation of some of them. As much as Bella knew about us it must have been another thing entirely to hear about us from someone else who regarded us with far less charity than Bella with her remarkable capacity for understanding. Bella was learning about the subterranean world that existed beneath the one she knew, and there was nothing we could to do to stop the tide of information.
It was bad enough that she even knew of our existence. It was miraculous that even knowing this she could still offer love. What would she do when she discovered that everything she had thought she knew turned out to be little more than a veneer of civilisation over claws and bloodlust? Whatever her reaction would be, the only thing I could count on would be that she would no doubt surprise us all.
Bella gave us all a wry smile.
"Let's just say that with everything else that I've found out lately, listening to their legends didn't exactly come as a surprise."
"Did they mention any outsiders?" Carlisle put the question to her as delicately as he could, leaning forward as he spoke.
"Not by name, but you were there," Bella nodded. She glanced from Carlisle to Esme and then across at me. "I'm right aren't I? They talked about the Cold Ones and a treaty that was agreed upon."
"That would be us," Carlisle agreed, "and the treaty has held firm for generations now."
"Oh," Bella raised an eyebrow as a thought occurred to her, "that's why you couldn't come to me when I was on the Res."
"I got as close as I could," I allowed.
"And yet I still had to make the first move," Bella jibed with a smile to smooth the edge of her words. She turned back to Carlisle. "So what's your point? Are you trying to tell me that you're not the only dangerous thing out there?"
"Something like that," Carlisle replied. "I must say Bella that you have a startling propensity for seeing into the heart of a matter."
"Is that a nice way to say I over-simplify?" Bella asked me sotto voce.
"Not entirely," Carlisle argued.
Bella blushed when she realised that all of us in the room and not just myself, had heard her self-deprecating remark.
"It seems that you're able to follow strategies and motivations in certain scenarios," Carlisle went on. He regarded her for a long moment, his eyes thoughtful as he worked though a few theories. "Interesting," he ventured at last. Combined with your talent Edward, you'll make a formidable pair. Carlisle and I exchanged a long glance. His mind was racing from one possibility to the next as he tried to guess what Bella's talent might be once she was changed. She's your singer; perhaps you were genetically engineered to find each other. Carlisle was becoming increasingly intrigued as his mind sped from one theory to the next. Singer. That could be a key component. There's enough anecdotal evidence over the centuries to suggest blood singers are more than a random occurrence. Edward could be the first to have been able to resist the attraction.
"If you'll excuse me, I believe I have some research to do." Carlisle stood up, trailing his fingertips along Esme's forearm before he moved away. Esme watched him with a gentle smile as he moved with deliberate human speed up the staircase towards his study.
"Carlisle seems pleased with himself about something," Bella observed.
"He has a few ideas that he wants to explore," I replied. I wasn't sure how to describe Carlisle's level of curiosity. Perhaps fascination was a better word. Our lifestyle was one of choice, and whilst it wasn't an easy one we all adhered to it as best we could. Rosalie and Carlisle had found their mates by way of a combination of loneliness and circumstance. Alice's visions had given her a level of knowledge that eluded the rest of us, but Carlisle was speculating that seemed that the arrival of Bella amongst our midst hinted at pre-destiny.
I glanced at Bella who was still watching the stairs Carlisle had taken. The column of her throat was exposed as she turned her head, and my gaze went unerringly to her throbbing pulse. Bella turned to see my starting at her and she narrowed her eyes in speculation.
"You need to hunt," she stated. Her tone of voice wasn't a suggestion, simply a statement of fact. "Your eyes are-," she waved a hand towards my face.
The gesture was enough to distract me from my almost hypnotic regard of her pulse.
"What?"
"Your eyes are almost black," Bella replied. "How long did you wait for me at the res, three days? Didn't you hunt at all during that time?"
"No," I shrugged. "I waited for you. Nothing else seemed to matter."
"Really?" Bella looked almost shy at my admission but rallied quickly. "Well I'm here now, which means if I'm going to eat something you should too."
"She's got a point," Rosalie spoke up, taking us by surprise as she had been all but wrapped around Emmett. "You need to get yourself something before you throw caution to the wind and decide Bella's your snack of choice after all."
Emmett snorted against her neck but nodded his agreement. Critical gazes turned in my direction as I tried to slouch further into the cushions in silent protest. Having only just gotten Bella back, to say I was reluctant to leave her behind again was an understatement.
"I'm with Rosie on this one," Jasper commented. "C'mon Edward. You're not doing yourself any favours."
"Three against one, do I hear any further bids?" Bella chimed in with a sly grin.
"Bella, I thought you said you'd eaten?" Esme was quick to pounce on the opportunity to mother.
"Well," now it was Bella who squirmed a little in her seat. "Technically yes, but-,"
"Hot chocolate," Alice broke in with a smile.
"Of course," Esme agreed as she shot Alice a warm look as she got up from her seat. She patted my shoulder in passing as she made her way towards the kitchen. "Off you go."
Alice and Esme were radiating pleasure over the simple task of preparing a snack for Bella that Jasper couldn't help but follow in their direction. That left four of us in the living room, two of which were watching Bella and I with more interest than I was comfortable with.
"Come on," I protested in a mild voice.
"Seriously, how old are you?" Bella shook her head.
"Considerably older than you," I groused as I felt any chance of holding Bella just a little longer start to slip away.
"Sometimes I wonder," Bella muttered in response. She tucked her legs beneath her so that she could twist and squirm to end up kneeling on the cushion beside me. Reaching towards my face she traced the shadows beneath my eyes with gentle fingertips. My eyes closed, the better to follow the trail of warmth her touch left on my skin. I heard the shift of fabric as she leaned closer still and brushed her lips against mine. "Go hunt."
"You heard the lady," Emmett's voice cut across our absorption with each other and Bella broke away from the kiss with a puff of quiet amusement.
Emmett was sprawled on one of the other couches regarding us with amusement. Rosalie was still curled against his side and was … I paused with surprise as her thoughts filtered through. She was counting Bella's heartbeats almost absent-mindedly. My hesitation had been imperceptible to Bella but Rosalie's gaze met mine in perfect understanding.
Without moving a muscle Rosalie still contrived to give the sense of a casual mental shrug. I'm not sure about any of this, but she's good for you and I guess that's good enough for me. Just count those beats of hers while you can, Edward. They'll be a long time gone.
"I'll be fine," Bella urged as she clamoured off the couch and held out a hand to me to follow her lead. "You go do what you gotta do."
I shook my head as I bemusedly followed her lead.
"What?" Bella cocked her head and looked up at me.
"Just the way you say it," I began and stopped when Bella pulled a face.
"Yeah I know, so much for the Literature student, right?"
"I'm not talking about the grammar," I reached out to pull her towards me, rubbing my hands over the small of her back. It seemed I couldn't get enough of touching her. She was really here, back with the family again. Bella had locked her arms around my waist as she waited for me to finish. It seemed she felt it as much as I did. Had it really only been a few days? "I'm talking about your acceptance of-," I shrugged. Now it was my turn to be inarticulate.
"Sumos quod sumos," Emmett said, then translated, "we are what we are," he nodded. "What?" he said when we both turned to look at him, "So you're not the only ones that crack a book now and then."
"C'mon, give me a kiss and then go eat."
Bella tilted her face towards me obligingly and I found myself dipping towards her for a kiss out of sheer reflex. Was this right? We had established that James was a distinct threat to her safety and now here we were discussing snacks.
"I don't want to leave you," I argued. I knew I wasn't going to win the discussion but had to state my case all the same.
"I know, but this time there's a difference."
"What's that?" I gazed into her warm regard that gave me no insights as to what she was going to say next. It was madding, fascinating and beguiling all at once.
"This time I know you don't want to go. Even better, I know you'll be coming back."
Bella took a half step back and stopped short when my arms remained immobile around her.
"I'll come back soon," I promised.
"I know," Bella nodded and then put her hands on my chest. "Seriously, Edward. You've got to get out there. Technically you're a teenage guy, there's no way in hell it should be difficult to get you to eat something."
In the kitchen I heard Esme try to turn a laugh into a cough with little success.
"I'm going," I sighed as I loosened my grip around her and watched as she began to walk backwards towards the kitchen.
"So go already," Bella smiled.
"Oh for-," Rosalie sighed.
"I know, Babe," Emmett gave a martyred sigh from where they stood at the door. "How long do you think they'll be like this once she's changed?" His voice took on a breathy falsetto. "You go. No you go. Miss you. Miss you more. Missing you from here."
"Right," I replied as I began to stalk towards the door. "Like you two were any better."
"Actually the first ten years were pretty hot," Emmett nodded.
"Just the first ten?" Rosalie asked with a smirk.
"Huh," Emmett grinned as he began to trip down memory lane. I had no idea what Emmett had been like as a human but could only assume that his poker face had been appalling. It didn't take any mind-reading abilities whatsoever to see the flavour his thoughts were taking. "Hey, Rose, remember that time you and I got so caught up in each other that-,"
"We get the hint, Em," Bella called, her face flushing a little as she laughed. I was going to miss that colour. I couldn't tell if she was starting to laugh at her own discomfort or my outdated sensibilities that sprang to the fore on her behalf.
"That's it, we're going," I called as I clapped my hand on Emmett's shoulder and pushed him out the door. The last thing I heard as the door closed behind us was Bella's giggle.
To my annoyance Rosalie insisted on driving us over a hundred miles away before letting us hunt. I chafed against this imposed exile from Bella, resolutely trying to ignore Emmett's teasing comments. Rosalie made me scan the area constantly to avoid any police patrols or undue attention. Not that any such scans would make any difference. She was driving at a speed that would make detection and any subsequent pursuit difficult.
"Anything?" Rosalie asked when Emmett had finished amusing himself at my expense.
"All clear," I sighed.
"Good," Rosalie muttered as she directed the car towards a cut-off road, slowing as the car left the sealed road surface and followed a dirt track that was quickly obscured from view by the undergrowth and trees that had flanked the road for the last few miles. Parking the car well away from any prying eyes we got out and stretched. I turned as the breeze carried a few faint scents in our direction.
"Bear," Emmett pronounced with satisfaction.
"Right," I nodded. It wasn't my preference, but it may have to do.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find something to your liking," Emmett gave me a hearty clap on my back in passing. "Other than Bella, not that anything can top that."
"Emmett," I paused and shook my head in weary admonishment before following the path he had taken that lead deeper into the forest. "Are we going to have to have that conversation again?"
"Oh please," Rosalie snorted, "like that'd stop him."
"Babe," Emmett protested.
"Enough," I snapped. "We're here to hunt, let's just do it so I can get home."
Sassy.
I glared at Rosalie before breaking into a run. After a couple of miles she and Emmett caught up with I charitably slowed my pace. The scents on the wind began to vary and I heard Rosalie give an appreciative growl when she sensed deer nearby. Nothing appealed to me as much as the woman I knew was waiting for me at home, but I quashed my impatience and allowed the rapid heartbeats nearby pull me closer.
The blood would be warm and the deaths would be quick, but no part of the experience would be truly satisfying. It was something I just had to live with, and soon so would Bella.
"You look much better," Esme looked up from her book with a smile when I arrived back at the house a few hours later.
Rosalie and Emmett had, as always, found the hunt to be invigorating. The drive home had become more than I could endure. When their thoughts became more pronounced that usual and I had ordered Rosalie to drop the car so that I could disembark. Better to run home under my own speed than to put up with the lust-fuelled exuberance of their mental commentary. As it was they had decided to take their recreational activities elsewhere as the car was no-where in sight when I returned.
"Bella?" I glanced up after shedding my coat at the door and looked around the room. There was no mental hum of thought to guide me but her scent had already permeated the room again. It created a welcoming warmth that no crackling fire in the hearth or motherly smiles could replicate.
"Asleep upstairs," Esme replied. She glanced back at the book and resumed flicking through it in a blur of speed.
She's fine, Edward. Just tired. We looked after her.
I stopped to drop a kiss on Esme's head in passing. "I don't doubt that you did." I kept moving, not needing to look to know that she smiled.
Alice and Jasper are outside, she's still looking for James and Jasper wants to check the property lines to see if anyone has come calling.
I stood in the hallway outside my room for a moment, enjoying the sensation of hearing Bella's steady breathing and heartbeat from within. Rosalie was right; the sound of her pulse was going to be a limited experience. A part of me rejoiced in that knowledge, but it was tempered with bittersweet regret because I was going to be responsible for ending her life.
The door opened soundlessly and I stood gazing at the woman curled up on my bed. Our bed. She had changed for sleep and I regarded the neatly folded clothes on my desk before I moved to the foot of the bed. Perhaps she sensed my presence, or something else had disturbed her sleep. In any case, I was unprepared for the overwhelming rush of feelings as she lifted her head from the pillow and gave me a sleepy, utterly guileless smile.
"Edward," she whispered.
There was nothing remarkable about this moment. It was simply another moment of countless millions in my existence, and yet I was utterly blindsided by it. Bella nestled in my bed as if she had always belonged there, my name a warm and loving whisper on her lips. It was enough to bring me to my knees beside the bed so that we would gaze at each other eye to eye. Bella wormed a hand out from beneath the covers, reaching out to find my hand already searching for hers. Our fingers tangled and she pulled me closer for a kiss, giving a soft hum of pleasure when we parted.
"Missed you," she murmured with another heavy-lidded smile.
I swallowed hard. To think that I had considered giving her up was the right thing to do was unthinkable now and forever. She blinked as she began to wake up and gave a slight frown.
"Why aren't you getting in here with me?"
"Into bed?" I raised an eyebrow at this, my mother's upbringing echoing in the back of my mind. Given the alluring vision before me however, I found my inner censor was a monotone that was wilfully silenced as I stood up and toed off my shoes. Bella half rolled onto her back to watch me as I unbuttoned my shirt, discarding it carelessly onto the floor. Socks went next, although in deference to my own modesty I kept my jeans on as I crawled into bed behind her. She made a small sound of disappointment when she felt my denim clad thighs behind her own, but seemed content enough when I wrapped my arms around her to pull her back flush against my chest.
"I didn't want you to get to cold," I explained, my breath a puff against her ear as I hooked my chin over her shoulder to nestle against her warmth.
She nodded and squirmed a little, trying to get as close to me as possible. I gritted my teeth as her restless movements brought her into glorious contact. She shivered with delight as I trailed kisses along her throat, and I rubbed a hand along her arm in a bid to warm her. A foolish gesture given the difference in our body temperatures, but it was a instinctive gesture that reassured us both. My hand trailed further, following the curve of her hip over the fabric of her t-shirt and then … my hand stopped as I gave a start of surprise. I propped myself up on one elbow to peer down at her.
"What are you wearing?"
Bella blinked owlishly at me in the dark room.
"Not much," she admitted. "Why, is that wrong?"
"No. Yes. I mean no, I don't think so," I stuttered. I should have snatched my hand away from the bare thigh I had encountered, and yet I couldn't seem to make myself move. Bella bit her lip to hide her smile, not realising I could see her with perfect clarity.
"Relax, Edward. I'm in my underwear and a t-shirt. I just wanted to be comfortable. Is that okay?"
"Sure," I replied on autopilot. Bella's comfort levels were of paramount importance to me. My comfort levels however, were another matter entirely. I tried to shift my hips away from hers with as much stealth as I could muster.
"Where are you going?" Bella looked over her shoulder at me and then rolled over so that we were facing each other.
"Nowhere," I replied, my hand rubbing a reassuring pattern on her upper arm as I inched my hips away from hers. This situation was entirely foreign to me and was one that I had no idea how to navigate. Fortunately for the both of us, Bella had other ideas.
"Doesn't feel like nowhere," Bella answered. Now she was the one moving closer. Our feet tangled together in a way that insinuated one of my knees between hers as she coiled against me.
"You'll get cold," I tried to protest, but it was a weak effort at best and we both knew it. "You need to sleep while you can because we don't know-."
"Edward," Bella interrupted my pathetic attempts at moderating the situation. "You need to shut up and kiss me now." With that, she leaned forward to press her lips against mine and the room was quiet again. She reached up to wrap an arm around my shoulder to bring her body closer still as our kiss deepened.
For now there was no James. No Victoria. No threat in the future to worry about whatsoever. All I could focus on was the feeling of her breasts pressing against my chest and the warmth of her skin beneath my hands. Any loving admonishments delivered to me in my childhood had vanished as I wilfully ran my hands over as much of Bella's skin as I could. I traced the line of her thigh, hesitating at the curve of her knee before gently hitching her leg over my hip.
Bella's sigh of encouragement took on a keening quality as she hooked her leg around me to hold me closer to her. She lapped at the seam of my mouth and I relented. For all that we were all but controlled by our hormones at this point, Bella had still retained some measure of her questionable survival instinct. Her tongue curled against mine with commendable restraint.
The sun was well on its ascent, daylight flooding into the bedroom before Bella stirred and frowned as she began to wake up. I watched as she blinked a few times, licking her lips before croaking a weary 'good morning' at me. So much for sleep, I realised guilty. Bella had only managed to snatch a few hours here and there in between kisses and murmured promises of our mutual devotion.
"You look thoughtful," Bella observed at last, reaching up to trail a finger between my brows.
"I am," I admitted.
"Guess that's where not having to sleep comes in handy," Bella yawned as she burrowed against my chest. "What's on your mind?"
"What you said last night," I said, choosing my words carefully as I considered and discarded countless strategies for the coming days. "Your suggestion that James wanted to separate us for sport feels … right."
"Mmmph," Bella nodded into my shirt for me to continue.
"Alice hasn't been able to see what he's up to which means that someone else might be making the decisions, or doing it in such a way that they're seemingly random enough to elude her." Bella yawned again, her warm, moist breath puffing against my chest and I reached up to card her hair with my fingers.
"He'll have to reveal himself sooner or later," Bella mumbled. She was taking longer than usual to wake up and was fighting it all the way, but the conversation was catching her interest. "When he does, we're stronger together than we'll ever be apart."
"Yes," I nodded slowly at this. "Had I stayed away he would have picked away at us."
"Or at me," Bella clarified, which earned another reluctant nod. She had already lost an acquaintance to James's notion of 'sport'. I could not bear her to experience that kind of trauma again, although knew that such was beyond my control. "Which is another reason to stay together."
"I know," I carefully tightened my arms around her. "I've been thinking about that while you slept."
"And what's your verdict?"
"You were right," I said at last, "all this time you were right. This isn't about me being a vampire, or you being human. It's about us, and how we feel about each other."
Bella lifted her head from my chest to gaze up at me for a long moment before offering an encouraging smile.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you."
A/N: I'm back! I'm so very sorry that it has taken me such a long time to update this. My life was getting over-accessorised to say the least, and I hit burnout. All – and I mean ALL – of my characters went absolutely silent on me for a few weeks. That freaked me out until I realised that my creativity had probably shut down so that I could recharge my batteries.
Thankfully I'm back writing again (I've missed this!) and the updates should be a bit more regular in future.
Thanks for your patience guys. I know this chapter is a little shorter than my usual offering, but normal service will resume very soon.