Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer and not to me… sigh.I also don't own Sleeping with the Enemy. The book belongs to Nancy Price and the movie belongs to Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.
Sleeping with a Monster
Previously…
My father's grave, my mind said. Suddenly the realization that I would be confronted with the final resting place of my father drove home the fact that his death would become more tangible. Logically I knew my father was dead. However, until I faced the physical evidence, emotionally I could deny, even in the smallest amount, that Charlie was really gone. I knew I needed this; I needed to have closure. Somehow, it suddenly seemed so concrete.
"Thank-you," I whispered, my previous unshed tears now running freely down my cheeks.
Chapter 27 - Dancing with Emmett
James's POV
"Mr. Cook. It's good to meet you. I'm Larry Redding," the man said to me as he came around his desk and offered me his hand to shake. I sized him up as he walked towards me. He was shorter than I was and stocky, but not overweight. His burgundy polo shirt was tight and hinted that he took care of himself physically. He had a somewhat unrefined aggressiveness to him that made me suspect he knew how to handle himself in a fight. A full head of black hair, peppered with gray and cropped short in a buzz cut, hinted at a possible military background. His brown eyes were scrutinizing me as well, leading me to suspect he was taking in the minute details of my appearance to form his first impressions of me. He would do nicely for the job I had in mind.
"Likewise, Mr. Redding," I said grasping his hand in a firm handshake. He motioned for me to take a seat in one of the two armchairs situated in front of his oversized oak desk. The office was well appointed and spacious. Not what you would expect from a private investigator, but this man was no ordinary pi. He catered to the rich and it was well known, in certain circles, that he would use whatever means were necessary to get the job done.
"Please call me Red. Now, what can I do for you today?" Red took his seat behind the desk and leaned back in his black leather office chair.
"I need you to locate someone for me – someone who doesn't want to be found." Every time I thought of what Marie had done, my fury would start to rise up, but I fought it down. I could not afford to tip this man off as to how angry I was at Marie for leaving me. If he knew what I had in mind for her, he may not help me find her. I needed him. He was the best in the business, but I certainly wouldn't inflate his ego and acknowledge that to him.
Red chortled at my remark before he said, "People don't come to me because the person they're looking for wants to be found. Tell me what you know and I'll see what I can do."
"First off, I need some assurances from you. I can't have this person knowing I'm looking for them. I need your guarantee that everything I tell you will be confidential and that our association will not be traced back to me." Even though Charlie was dead, I suspected Marie had help in her escape. I don't know how she managed to slip through my fingers, but she pulled it off. And, if I were being completely honest, I was a little impressed that she had done such a good job disappearing, but I'm rarely completely honest. So far, her only mistake was the wedding ring. If that had not turned up, I would have continued to believe she had died. Marie presented me with a challenge and I looked forward to the subsequent cat and mouse game. She left me one clue. It wasn't much, but where would the fun be if she made it too easy to find her. I felt my lips curl into a little smile at the thought.
"Mr. Cook, I can assure you that anything my agency does will not get back to anyone. If I take the case and you desire total anonymity, your name will not be attached to anything at this agency. We will assign you an alias and set up your account on a cash basis, with disposable cell phone numbers for communications. All paper trails will lead back to my agency, as I will assign you one of my company's rotating drop boxes from around the area. Is this acceptable to you?" Red leaned forward and looked me in the eye. His confidence and confidentiality were exactly what I needed in this situation.
"That sound acceptable, for now," I said, not wanting him to think he was anything special.
"Tell me what you know about this person." Red had his pencil poised above a yellow note pad out, ready to jot down a few notes.
"I'm looking for my late wife. She drowned last spring off the Miami coast while sailing, and up until a few weeks ago, I believed her to be dead," I said in a calm voice, belying the anger raging inside of me.
For the next hour, I talked to Red about Marie's death and everything I knew about her background. I told him of her career as a high school teacher along with the names of her friends, where she grew up and a physical description. I gave him pictures of her and we talked about her father, Charlie. Red was particularly surprised to find out that Marie's father was a police officer. I wondered if that prompted him to ask me the nature of my relationship with Marie. I knew he wanted to know if Marie had a reason to leave, but I couldn't tell him. He would never understand the nature of our marriage and the need to escalate our relationship and achieve a higher level of perfection.
"We were newlyweds. That was the nature of our relationship." I scowled at him hoping he would drop it. "We were married for about a year and a half. We had been together total for just over two years."
"I didn't mean to suggest anything," Red said and he immediately backed off in surprise.
"I'm sorry," I said giving my best chagrinned performance. "These last couple of weeks has been hard. I can't imagine why she would fake her own death. As stupid as it sounds, I've tried to convince myself that she hit her head and doesn't remember who she is. And maybe she's living her life somewhere; unaware that she has a life here with me." I smiled inwardly at my performance. I even managed to conjure up some unshed tears to enhance my performance.
We continued to go over the detail of Marie's life and possible scenarios for her disappearance.
"Do you think she had help? Maybe her father?" Red continued to question.
"Yes, I do think she had help, but not from her father. He died a few months after we married. She left everything behind. I've gone over our finances and nothing is a miss," I said the memory of how I went over everything with a fine toothed comb still fresh in my mind.
"Did her father leave her anything?" Red continued to scribble on his notepad.
"No, he donated it all to a police office charity," I said my voice flat.
He stopped his note taking and looked at me for a moment. "Don't you think that's odd? She was his only heir. Her father was a single dad who was probably protective of his daughter. You said they were close, so why would he write her out of his will?"
"They were… estranged," I conceded but when Red raised an eyebrow, I knew he wanted more detail. "Her father did not approve of her marriage to me. He had a hard time accepting any man in her life."
"How did she handle the funeral?" Red's question made me realize that I needed a plausible explanation for Marie's absence from the Charlie's funeral. I took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh, stalling while I formulated something quickly.
"We didn't go." I hung my head in resignation, knowing Red would take my reaction as shame. "Marie was so distraught over Charlie's death that she had to be sedated. By the time she snapped out of it, we had missed the funeral. I spoke to a doctor friend of mine who suggested I postpone Marie's visit to her father's grave for a little while until she was better able to handle it."
Red looked at me for a long moment before he said, "okay, tell me everything you remember about the evening she disappeared, no matter how small or insignificant. What she said, who was there, anybody you may have seen, what she did that day. All of it."
We went over that day in detail, covering our conversation that morning when she told me she was going to the farmer's market up to when she fell off the boat. We even went over the details of how she ended up in the water. I told him I thought she lost her balance due to a migraine. It was a plausible explanation; hell, it was the one I told myself. Of course, I couldn't tell Red about the nasty bump on Marie's head from the spill she took the night before.
"Is there anything else you can think of about that night?" Red asked. I didn't like that he made me feel like I was missing something.
"Well, the authorities searched for about three days before they called off the search." I wasn't sure what else he wanted.
"No, I mean is that it for the night she disappeared? Where there any other boats out that night? Anyone on the dock? Anything at all that didn't feel right?" I thought about what Red said.
"When we pulled up to the dock, I was on the phone with the authorities. I think there were a couple of men just finishing securing a little motorboat to the dock. I wasn't paying too much attention, but now that I think about it, one of them seemed to watch us for a moment. I thought he was admiring my sailboat, but then the other man came and pulled him away. I didn't think much of it at the time. As I neared the end of the dock, the two men got into a black sedan. As soon as they were in, it sped away. I thought it was odd that the driver peeled out, but I didn't think much of it. I was too worried about Marie." Red made me think. I was too distracted to notice too much about the men or the car. Maybe Laurent would remember something.
"Is there anything else? Anything at all that seemed out of place?" Red's voice sliced through my thoughts, bringing me back.
"We had a few vandals break out the lights on the boardwalk in front of our home on the beach." Red just nodded as he scribbled his notes.
"Okay, Mr. Cook. I think I've got enough information to go on here." Red then went over the particulars of the procedures. He told me he would work up some possible scenarios and a plan of action to keep me abreast of the plan. I paid him for the first installment before I left with a prepaid cell phone and a key to a post office box.
As I left, I took out my phone and called Laurent.
************
Bella's POV
"Ow! For the love of all that's holy!" After tonight, I feared I might have random bald spots thanks to Alice and her relentless pursuit of the perfect hairstyle.
"Pa-leees!" Alice briefly rolled her eyes at me as she continued to tugging and pulling. "Stop being such a baby. Besides I'm almost done."
"Oh, that's real nice. I don't remember signing up for Alice's hair torture for my birthday," I said sarcastically, but I followed it up with a grin so Alice knew I was kidding. She looked adorable in her sleeveless, hot pink, mini dress that shimmered with sequins. There was a strip of fabric in a lighter color of pink that wrapped around the top of the dress and settled in the back with a pretty bow.
"It's not your birthday anymore, so there." She finished by sticking her tongue out at me playfully and we started to giggle. Just then, the doorbell rang and before I could even react, she pushed down on my shoulders so I couldn't rise out of my chair.
"Door's open!" Alice's voice rang out into the house. The staccato clip of high heels followed the sound of the door opening and closing, growing louder at they wandered through the house.
"Where are you?" I felt a nervous bubble in the pit of my stomach. It was Rose. I know we had formed a tentative truce, but I wouldn't go so far as to suggest we were friends, yet.
"In here," Alice called out just before Rose rounded the corner and came into view. She sashayed in her tiny dress with a confidence that blew my mind. Her outfit consisted of a black sequined halter-top that tied with a string in the back. The skirt was a dark red and hemmed in the same black sequined fabric as the top. The two pieces of the dress connected at the apex of the halter-top. She completed the look with thigh-high, black, paten-leather boots. The boots laced up the side, had a pointed toe, and spiked heels.
"Jeez, Alice! I think you're causing Bella enough pain." Rose laughed at my tortured expression. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as the nervous bubble dissipated and I relaxed.
"Zip it!" Alice sounded annoyed that we were ganging up on her and Rose gave me a subversive wink.
"The guys are ready and you haven't even let poor Bella out of that chair to get dressed. Come on. Move it!" My eyes widened ever so slightly at Rose.
"Remind me to never get on your bad side, Rose." As soon as the words left my mouth, I froze. What was I thinking? It wasn't as if I was on her good side, but why did I have to remind her of our former relationship problems. I snuck a peak at Rose to see her looking at me with trepidation.
"Silly Bella," Alice piped up. "You've never seen Rose's bad side."
"Oh! Thank God!" I let out an over-exaggerated sigh and rolled my eyes in an attempt to dispel some of the tension. Rose relaxed and started to laugh. I knew then that Rose and I would be okay.
"Let's get you dressed. The boys are getting restless," Alice said between giggles. We walked back into the bedroom and Alice disappeared into my closet while Rose rummaged around in my dresser. Rose turned around holding a pair of red, lacy panties and bra for me to wear.
I folded my arms in front of my chest and laughed, "What is it with you two always wanting to pick out my underwear?"
"What? I'm sure Edward will love them." Rose laughed suggestively.
"Not that is matters," I mumbled under my breath as I turned my head away. I must have said it louder than I thought because Rose stopped laughing immediately.
"What are you talking about?" I felt my face start to heat with embarrassment. "You mean you two haven't had –" her voice sounded incredulous, but I stopped her.
"No," I whispered shaking my head, my system suddenly weak with rejection.
"But you two sleep over at each other's places almost every night. I just assumed," said Rose, the volume of her voice increasing slightly.
"That's all we do. I mean we kiss and hold each other, but it never goes beyond that. He always cools it before it gets any further." My clenched my hands into fists. I wanted to die right there on the spot.
"What does he say?" She pressed for more detail and I wanted to groan in frustration.
"He always mumbles something about how I'm testing his self-control and then drops it." I didn't realize how much it bothered me until I said it aloud. I was too busy trying to convince myself that it was okay when the truth was staring me in the face. Edward wasn't interested in a physical relationship with me. And, to add to my humiliation, I had to come to this realization in front of Rose.
It was a good that Alice used waterproof mascara, because the tears started to well up in my eyes faster than I could blink them away. Rose looked at me and put her arm around my shoulder.
"Bella," she said softly. "I know for a fact that he loves you and wants you physically. It's obvious every time he sees you that you own that boy body and soul."
"But Rose. If that's true, why am I getting pushed away? I feel like we have a major role reversal in our relationship. Usually the guy is the one who pushes the physical end of the relationship. I've got the only man out there who doesn't want…" my voice strangled as a sob started to rise in my throat. I had successfully avoided the truth so far, but now I couldn't as the truth came crashing down around me. Rose pulled me into a hug.
"Hey. I'm sure there's a good explanation. Sometimes that boy can be a complete bonehead. Let me see what I can find out." Rose rubbed my back in comfort.
"Oh no. Rose you can't say anything." I pulled away as I started to dab my eyes with the sleeve of my robe. I didn't want to mess up the make-up Alice so meticulously applied. If Edward wasn't ready to take the next step in our relationship, I was fine with that. However, that's not what this felt like. There was something else bothering him, I didn't know what it was, and he wasn't being open with me about it either.
"Don't worry. I'll be discreet," she said with a wink.
"Ha! You mean discreet, Rose-style." Alice chirped causing me to jump. I had no idea she had emerged from the closet.
"Don't worry about it, Bella. We'll get to the bottom of it by the end of the night." Rose added before she moved to the door. She casually tossed the underwear at me and gave me the eye, as in, you'd better wear those, missy.
Alice handed me a silky red-layered dress and a pair of gold open toed pumps. She followed Rose and left the room to give me some privacy. I sighed, removed my robe, and got dressed. I walked into the bathroom to check my makeup and my outfit. The dress had a halter-top that tied in the back and a deep v-neck. And, thanks to the special bra Alice insisted I buy just for this dress, I had more cleavage exposed. My shoulders and back were bare and the skirt fell to my mid-thigh. As much as I loved the dress, I was not sure about the color, remembering that it was a favorite for James.
I reapplied some lip-gloss, put on the shoes and pushed all thoughts of James out of my mind. I grabbed my phone and house key before I put them securely in my bra and I walked out to join the others.
Edward was waiting for me in the living room. He had on a pair of tight black jeans and a deep red button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows. As soon as he saw me, his face lit up with a hug smile and I returned it.
"You look amazing, love." He grabbed my hands and pulled me into a hug.
"Thank-you. So do you." I smiled up at him shyly. He could still make me shy with just one look. We made our way out the door to find Rose, Emmett, Alice and Jasper were already waiting for us in the cab. We arrived to the club in no time and found a table to accommodate the six of us. When our men disappeared towards the bar to get the drinks, I turned to Rose and Alice, catching them huddled together. When I cleared my throat loudly, they turned to me with innocent expressions on their faces.
"What are you two up to?" I arched one eyebrow at them suspiciously.
"Bella, Bella, Bella. I told you I would get to the bottom of Edward's little problem, and I will. I have a plan. I will need your cooperation though." Rose patted my hand as if I was a little child making me wary.
"What?" I leaned away from her slightly.
"When Emmett asks you to dance, you need to do it," she said and then she turned to Alice. "Alice, I need you and Jasper to leave then too so I can talk to Edward alone."
"Rose," I said in warning tone.
She grinned at me before she said, "Don't worry, Bella. Edward and I have known each other a long time. He's my brother-in-law. I know what I'm doing and he won't know you had anything to do with our little conversation." Rose glanced up and grinned innocently. I furrowed my brow at her before she nudged me. I looked up to see our people were almost back to the table. I mirrored her smile as I looked at Edward. He returned my grin as he handled me my drink and sat down next to me.
"Miss me?" His whispered question tickled my ear sending a shiver down my spine.
"More than you will ever know." I kissed his cheek softly. I needed dispel my worries about what Rose was going to say.
"Have I told you how amazing you look tonight?" Edward's voice was husky and his eyes were full of his want for me.
I looked at his for a moment, contemplating if I should ask him why he never acts on his apparent desire for me. But, in the end, I decided a nightclub was probably not the place to have this conversation. So instead I smiled at him and said, "Yes, but I never get tired of hearing it."
A few drinks later and lot of laughing and joking I found I was having a good time. More than I ever had expected with Rose along. She really was nice, once she wasn't trying to get rid of me. Emmett was in the middle of regaling us with his memories of Edward's childhood when I heard an old from the seventies started to ring out. Everyone but Emmett and I let out an audible groan. I looked around at everyone in confusion until Emmett jumped up out of his chair. I started to giggle at the child-like enthusiasm on his face.
"Excited much?" I laughed him.
"Not this song," Edward groaned.
"Emmett what have you done?" Rose hissed at Emmett.
"Just a little request," he said with an impish grin. "Come on baby, just one dance?"
"You're such and idiot. And no, I won't dance to that song." Rose shook her head and folded her arms in defiance. Alice and Jasper silently got up and headed off towards the bar. It took me a minute to realize what was going on, until I caught Rose winking at me. I felt Emmett's eyes on me and I knew what it meant.
Emmett leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Let's dance, little sis." Before I could respond, he straightened up and turned to Edward.
"Eddie, I'm stealing your girlfriend." Emmett laughed as he pulled me from my chair. I couldn't resist his enthusiasm and laughed along with him.
"But what if I want to dance with her?" Edward grimaced. I wasn't sure if it was the thought of dancing to 'YMCA' by the Village People or Emmett's use of his dreaded nickname.
"Ha! Like you'd ever loosen up enough to dance to this song," Emmett shot back. "You can have her for the next song."
"And all the other songs after that." I added with a goofy grin.
Edward laughed at me, but his eyes were still a little apprehensive. So, I leaned down and gave him an intensely passionate kiss running my hands through his hair before Emmett ripped us apart. I was out of breath and Edward was breathing hard too. Whoa! My willingness for public displays of affection was up – must be the alcohol.
"You can do that later tonight." Emmett said as he pulled out onto the dance floor. I glanced back at Edward's flushed face grinning at me. Just before I lost sight of him, seemed to shake his head at me as if he couldn't understand what I was doing. Well, if Rose wanted to talk to him alone, this was her moment. I just hoped she could be tactful, or at least do this in a way that keeps my involvement as secret.
We made our way to the middle of the dance floor, Emmett dancing the whole way. He really was the biggest goof I'd ever seem and he really was the perfect foil to Edward's seriousness.
For a big guy, Emmett was really light on his feet. He was bouncing all over the place with his excitement for this song, shouting out the words to the song. I immediately became aware of why Rose refused to dance with him. He was drawing the attention of half the people on the dance floor. Normally Emmett's antics on the dance floor would embarrass me. But, thanks to the buzz running through my system, I found myself going in with Emmett and having a goofy time with him, singing the song to the top of my lungs and mimicking Emmett's over-exaggerated movements while spelling out the letters to the song.
When we finished dancing, Emmett led me back to the table, laughing the entire way. I looked up and realized that the table was empty.
"Hey! Where'd everybody go?" Emmett looked around surprised.
"Maybe they went for more drinks," I said before I collapsed in my chair, still breathless from trying to keep up with Emmett's crazy dancing. I picked up my drink to sip what little remained.
Emmett sat down next to me and said, "So Bella. Is my little brother any good in bed?" I spit out the drink in response to his question, feeling embarrassed for my reaction and his question.
"What?" I choked out.
"Is Sexward any good?" Emmett laughed and patted me on the back.
"Emmett! I'm not going to discuss that with you. And you'd better be thankful I'm not going to tell Edward about this little conversation either." His face with full of mirth and I tried to hold his gaze. However, I started to feel self-conscience and had to look down. I hoped we could skim over this topic so I wouldn't have to confirm anything.
"So, you two have then." Emmett's voice sounded pleased, but then he mumbled, "I guess he got over it."
"Got over what?" My head shot up. Did Emmett know something?
"Oh, nothing. I'm glad he could get past it." Emmett tried to backtrack, but I was having none of it.
"Emmett? What hasn't Edward been able to get past?" I pressed.
"It's not important anymore if you two are…" Emmett shook his head trying to get out of his remark, but I cut him off. Here's goes nothing…
"We haven't," I admitted. "Something's holding him back. I haven't pushed it with him because I figured he had enough to deal with, learning about my past. But it's starting to worry me." I wasn't sure if laying it out of the table for Emmett was a good idea, especially considering his inability to handle things with tact. But, if he could give me some insight into what was bothering Edward, the razzing we would endure later would be worth it. Right?
"Oh. Well, um – I don't know if I should say something." Emmett hedged for a moment, but the suddenly he said, "Oh screw it! He's so cerebral about things, always over thinking."
"What is it?" Apprehension seeped into my veins.
"It's because you're still married," Emmett blurted out. I was stunned, and yet I wasn't.
"I – um… er." I fell silent, unable to make a coherent remark. Edward had always been a gentleman towards me, never pushing, always holding back until I was ready. If this was something that was bothering him, then I needed to hold back until he was ready.
"He loves you and completely understands that you had to leave your husband, but he's old-fashioned about some things. It's not that he doesn't want to, but some part of him feels like that if he does, he's having an affair with a married woman." Emmett looked into my stunned face.
"I don't understand it either. You should talk to him about it. Give him time," Emmett said putting his hand on my shoulder. When I didn't respond, Emmett gave my shoulder a little squeeze.
"Have you considered divorce?" he asked.
"Yes," I said, finally finding my voice. "Jasper is checking into the legal ramifications of me revealing that I'm alive. There's a chance I could go to jail. Neither of us wants that."
"True," Emmett said, but then his face brightened with a dorky grin. "But conjugal visits could be hot!"
"Emmett!" I yelled, smacking him on the arm and my face turned a bright red.
"What are your two talking about?" Rose sat down next to me offering me a drink.
"Just think about it," Emmett whispered wiggling his eyebrows at me suggestively as he got up to sit on the other side of Rose, giving Edward the only other seat next to me.
"We were discussing the benefits of conjugal visits." Emmett's voice boomed around my head and my blush deepened.
"One track mind." Edward smacked Emmett as he walked by and sat down next to me.
"Sorry about that, love," Edward whispered in my ear, kissing me softly behind the ear. "Did you survive your time alone with my brother?"
"Yeah. He's quite the dancer." I laughed, relaxing as Edward's hand rubbed light circles on my exposed back. I glanced at Rose who gave me a frustrated smile. I mouthed a 'what' to her and she responded by giving me a slight shake of the head that clearly said 'not now.' Therefore, I let it drop.
We spent the rest of the night dancing, drinking and talking. By the time we made to leave, I was fairly drunk. I was having such a good time; I forgot to keep track of how many drinks I had downed. I hadn't been this drunk since college, and even then, it was rare, preferring instead to get buzzed. I wasn't a fan of the resulting hangover.
"I'm going to regret the hangover in the morning." I giggled next to Edward in the cab as we rode home.
"Hm." Edward hummed in my ear as he pulled me into his arms and nuzzled my neck. I quickly forgot all thoughts of tomorrow as I reveled in the here and now – namely Edward's lips against my skin. My body was suddenly alive with desire and want. I wanted Edward, now! Of course, the backseat of a cab was not what I had in mind. I could tell Edward was holding back, but his need was apparent.
When we pulled up in front of Edward's home, he paid the driver and we got out. I swayed a little as we walked up to the front door and Edward chuckled in my ear as he steadied me.
As soon as we were inside the house, Edward closed the door and I found myself pressed up against the wall with a very passionate Edward attacking my lips, my face, my neck, and my shoulders. In turn, I found myself returning with an attack of my own over every exposed piece of his flesh I could find, which wasn't nearly enough.
"Edward," I moaned as one of his hands grazed my butt sending an electrical jolt through me, causing my desire to increase ten-fold.
Edward's POV
Hearing her voice moan my name was almost more than I could handle. I wanted nothing more than to rip that dress from her glorious body and make love to her all night long. However, she was drunk and I was – well I wasn't sober, but I wasn't as drunk as she was. I didn't want our first time to be a haze of drunken lust.
She really had no idea how tantalizing she was. The way her hips swayed when she danced, the way her smell washed over my system, the way her smile lit up my world, the way her simple touch could calm and excite me all at the same time. Everything about her sucked me in and promised to never let me go.
It still amazed me that she loved me, even after I had rejected her. She so willingly took me back. If she let me, I planned to spend the rest of my life making it up to her.
Oh, God! She's doing that thing that drives me wild.
"Bella," I moaned as my need to be with her surged through my body. She started to unbutton my shirt and I wanted nothing more than to feel her small hand against my skin. It took all my will power to stop her progress. I grabbed her hands and pulled them from my shirt. Bella looked up at me from under her eyelashes; her brown eyes smoky with desire nearly did me in. I was so distracted that I was barely aware of the fact that she was pulling me through the living room on our way, I'm sure, to the bedroom.
"Bella," I sighed as I pulled back a little. She just smiled and placed her fingers to my lips and I couldn't resist the urge to kiss them.
She closed the distance between us and whispered in my ear, "Make love to me." She quickly disappeared around the corner into the family room.
A thrill shot through my body. My feet were moving on their own accord, following her. I came around the corner into the family room and almost tripped on something. I looked down to see something red and silky under my feet. It was Bella's dress. I groaned as thoughts of an almost naked Bella in my bed danced through my mind.
"Edward," she called seductively from the bedroom and it was almost my undoing. I couldn't do this when she was drunk. But, even if she wasn't drunk, I knew I would still have a problem. Every time our kissing and touching started to become more passionate, my brain with scream "She's married!" and completely ruin it for me. Why couldn't I get past this simple fact? She didn't want to be married. Right now, divorce wasn't an option. Wouldn't I rather have her safe and married instead of single and in danger? I needed to find a way to reconcile my dilemma. If I really looked at it, I was being silly. Bella's voice broke me out of my thoughts.
"Edward, please," she called softly. Her voice sounded so vulnerable as she begged me to love her, and I felt all my defenses, all my excuses, all my fears melt away. All she wanted was my love. She had asked me to love her, all of her – the good and the bad. And, truth be told, I did love all of her. I don't know if I was having an epiphany or if it was the alcohol, but it didn't matter anymore. I could no longer deny her anything she wanted.
I rushed into the room to be with her in everyway possible to find her in my bed. She was wearing a red lace bra and matching panties, setting off her creamy skin. Her hair was splayed out across the pillow and her eyes were closed. I reached out to stroke her cheek and she softly mumbled my name before she rolled over onto her side. I sighed in disappointment as I realized she was asleep, most likely an affect from all the alcohol.
"Sleep well, my love," I whispered in her ear. I brought my lips to her cheek and kissed her lightly.
"Love you," she murmured softly as I slid the covers over her. Hiding her tempting body under a blanket did nothing to calm my raging need to have her.
"Time for a cold shower." I chuckled softly to myself.
A/N: Sorry for having three POV's in this chapter. But, what can you do when a character wants to speak? I have added the dresses to my website for anyone who wants to see them. You can get to it through my profile on fanfiction or you can get to them directly by going to savagewoman dot webs dot com.
Thank-you to all my wonderful readers and to all those who review!
Here's a special anniversary and birthday shout out for blackgem88! You rock girl! If you get a chance, go read her first FF "Alpha Bravo Zulu" for a good Emmett and Bella story. – SavageWoman