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This is Edward's PoV
I was waking up, finally. Damn, did I hate it when she made me pass out like that.
"God dammit, Bella," I grumbled, moving around to shake the sleepy feeling from my body.
"Sorry," she murmured with a smile in her voice.
Couldn't she keep her foul mouth shut? I wish I could put her in her place.
"I wish I could beat the hell out of you." It'd be my fucking dream come true, actually. "I'd teach you a lesson or two." I opened my eyes to see her reaction.
"Oh yeah? Bring it on, pussy," she snarled, springing to her feet. "I'm serious; I'll unchain you if you promise only to fight me and not try to run away."
Was she serious? I sat up, considering her wager.
"Seriously?" I asked in shock.
"Yes," she answered impatiently. "I'm damn sick of you complaining like a girl and talking about how much stronger you are than me. Prove it, you cocky little shit."
I couldn't even remember the last time I'd been called a cocky little shit. My grandpa used to call me that.
My eyes narrowed, my anger consuming my mind. "It's a deal, bitch. I'll shut up if you win, but if I win, you have to swear you won't go after my dad."
She stalked over to me and shook my chained hand before saying, "Let's take this outside."
She jerked my body forward and threw me over her shoulder. She walked into the backyard of this tiny house.
"Hey, you have to unchain me," I reminded her sternly.
"No shit, Sherlock," she muttered. How mature.
She threw me onto the grass and I clenched my teeth as my tailbone ached with each heartbeat. Didn't this girl know how to keep her temper in check? She undid the chains swiftly and tossed them to the side. She stood up straight and got into a classic defensive position.
I rubbed the areas that had been chained since we left the airport and stood up slowly. It felt odd to be out of these chains. I'd been in them for nearly twenty-four hours already. As if there weren't enough reasons to hate Bella Swan. I gave her a glare and took my standard defensive position. I moved to her slowly, like a lion stalking a gazelle, or so I've been told.
"Bring it on, pretty boy," she sneered, moving slightly forward.
That's it. I lunged at her, trying to make contact with her knees, but she moved out of the way. I knew what she was trying to do. She was going to keep taunting me until my nerves were fried. Well, so much for her idiotic tactics.
"That all you got?" She smirked at me. I knew I'd be able to strike now. "Looks like it'll be a–" Now.
I lunged at her again, digging my shoulder into her stomach and pushing her to the ground. All of those years of football had paid off. I straddled her stomach and pinned her wrists to the ground before she got over the shock of the hit.
I grinned at my success, my confidence automatically boosted.
"Cocky women are so easy to read in a fight," I murmured as I got in her personal space. "They do more talking than they should, leaving them vulnerable."
She wiggled beneath me. My body betrayed me. I felt the sexual tension flicker like static between us. I could feel myself fight against my own arousal.
"Funny, I thought that I had the upper hand," she murmured sarcastically. "Eager men are so easy to read, too. All I have to do is taunt you and you come full throttle."
She shifted again and I gripped her wrists harder, not only to keep her there, but to try to control my body's involuntary functions. I was concentrating so hard on not being turned on when Bella kicked her legs up from the ground, locking her ankles around my neck and throwing me to the ground.
Bella was back on her feet quicker than I could take a breath. I slowly got to my feet and I couldn't help my eyes from raking over her entire body.
"Don't they teach you anything in the FBI?" she mocked.
I waited for my anger to consume me again, but it never came. I shook my head and rubbed my neck, willing myself to become furious again. I took my fighting stance again. Maybe if I tried to make my body become angry, it would. I continued rubbing away my pain, trying to figure out a way to fight this girl that I had no desire to hurt right now.
We started walking around in a small circle, waiting for the other one to make a move. Suddenly, Bella turned and sprinted to the big swing in the corner of the yard. She went past the swing and turned, jumping to grab the top bar. She started swinging back and forth as I tried to figure out the best angle to approach her from. She could leap at any mom–
Shit. I walked right into her line of fire. She let go of the bar and swung forward, leaping directly towards me. I sprinted, just making it past her. I stopped and faced her as she kicked her leg up, connecting with my jaw. I heard the sickening slap of leather against skin. I staggered back and fell on my ass. The girl had a powerful kick, I'd give her that.
I wiped my face, trying to act distracted by my throbbing jaw. I threw my fist into her hip, hearing my knuckles crack as I connected with pure bone. She didn't seem fazed by my weak attempts. If only I could get angry. She backhanded me across my left cheek bone. She was breathing just as heavily as I was now. I pulled my arm back to punch her. I saw her eyes widen with genuine fear before she closed them, waiting for the hit. I finally figured out why I wasn't angry with her.
She was human, beneath all the surgeries and advancements. She was someone's child, someone's granddaughter, someone's world... She didn't want any of this. She didn't want to be inhuman or indestructible, she just was. She couldn't control her emotions anymore than I could control the weather.
I put my hands on my knees, catching my breath and shaking my head. I couldn't hurt someone like her. She was doing what her training had taught her.
When I looked back at her, she was looking at me suspiciously. She didn't understand why I wasn't trying to hurt her.
"Fight back!" she exploded. "Don't just let me win."
I shook my head again. There was no winning or losing in this fight.
She pushed me, trying to gain a reaction so she would have a reason to fight.
"Come on," she taunted. "Don't be fooled because I'm a woman."
Did she think all men were sexist pigs? Jesus, she could probably take out Emmett if she wanted to. I looked up at her, begging her silently to give it up.
She let out a roar of frustration, grabbing me by the shoulders and pulling my body straight. She kneed me in my lower abdomen.
"Oh," I moaned, doubling over and grabbing my stomach.
This girl was strong. This was all the proof I needed. She was obviously reformatted in some way. She couldn't help herself and I pitied her greatly. She was made to pretend to be a stripper or a prostitute just to get closer to all the sick government agents of the world. She was Project R's most prized possession, probably. She could access any government official in the world by flashing a bit of cleavage. She was a plaything to the government. I suddenly felt myself change my loyalty. If this is how the government dealt with spies, then I wanted nothing to do with the government.
I stood up again, looking at Bella grimly. She slapped me forcefully. My pity could only increase. I looked back at her calmly, holding my ground.
She pulled her arm back again, and I blocked it. She finally broke down into tearless sobs. She was trying so hard to get a reaction out of me. My heart swelled with forgiveness and pity.
She was broken, but perfect. I felt the incredible need to protect and heal this gorgeous woman after everything she had been through.
"Fight back," she begged.
I shook my head. I pulled her warm body closer to mine and kissed her softly, trying to soothe her anger and frustration. She hadn't felt cared for in a long time, and I was taking it on myself now. Underneath all this tough casing was a loveable girl that didn't have thoughts and involuntary actions laced with death.
She was stiff with shock, so I pulled away a bit, letting her ease into this new emotion. But before my lips pulled fully away from hers, her arms were thrown around my neck, pulling me in for a much more passionate and responsive kiss.
She pushed away with a gasp. I looked at her face, seeing only confusion. She looked at the ground, her hands grasping my shoulders. I cautiously lifted my hand to her chin, gently urging it upwards so she could look at me.
She looked at me directly, her chocolate brown eyes curious and...apprehensive?
"Why do I feel like this?" she whispered, begging for an answer. It was odd. She was like a child when it came to this type of situation.
"Tell me what you're feeling right now," I requested quietly, looking at her porcelain face intently.
"I feel," she struggled to find the proper word, "like someone put my feelings into a blender and mixed them together. I can't tell which emotion is dominant. I don't think I've ever felt like this before."
Huh. Even her analogies were gruesome. Who would ever compare being confused to a blender full of mixed emotions?
"But, I feel...attached to you," she continued, scowling slightly. "I was designed to never develop emotional ties to people, but I do have them for you. I don't even feel attached to Jacob, and he's been my best friend since my junior year in high school."
This was already a huge break through for Bella. The fact that she felt protective of another human being besides herself was remarkable, to say the least.
"I feel attached to you, too, Bella," I told her, gazing into her eyes. "I'm going to find the real you, eventually. Right now you're caught between Redbird and Bella, and I'm determined to bring you back to life."
She looked at me with shock and pure sadness. She sobbed once, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around me again, burying her face in my chest. I gently cradled her to my chest. I think I gave her hope, and seeing her feel hope for the first time gave me hope. She would make it through all of this.
She pulled away and looked at me with an apologetic smile. "I would really like for things to be that easy, Cu–Edward. My whole life can't just switch. When I finish my task, then I can become Bella again. I'm finding myself already."
I must have mistaken her reaction. I looked at the ground. This was understandable, her anger towards Project R. But, my dad...
"Edward." She grabbed my chin and forced me to look at her this time. She wore a determined expression. "I will not kill your father, I promise. I just want to talk to him. After I kill James, I'll be Bella again. He's who I should have killed from the beginning, but I wasn't strong enough. Once he's cold and dead, I'll be content."
I grinned at her. "Thank you, Bella. I know as an FBI agent, I shouldn't be happy about your plans to kill James, but I just wanted to keep my dad safe." I hugged her tightly, feeling her arms snake around my waist. "Thank you."
"I should have told you sooner," she murmured into my chest. "Jacob and I decided that I was going to kill James first so that the better man could live. I'm so sick of this life, Edward."
"Shh," I cooed gently, running my hand over the back of her head. "It'll all be over soon."
No, they're not in love. Love doesn't come as easily as it does in the series, sorry to burst everyone's bubble. But I'm not going to go into my love rant, it's long and venomous, and just plain old ugly.
So, whatda think? I needed to Edward's PoV, I couldn't stand not knowing what was going on his head while this was going on. It was a lot harder to write than Bella's PoV because there's a lot more going through Edward's mind at this point in time.
Aren't you guys happy that Carlisle isn't going to die anymore? I know that I am. I always think of Peter Facnilli when I think of Carlisle now, so I couldn't kill off the sexiest man alive. Seriously, I'm going to hunt that man down, get his wife to "disappear", and make him my prisoner of love for the rest of his life. He's so damn sexy.
Don't forget to check out the playlist on my dA page! Here's where it's at: www(dot)ladyinblue6(dot)deviantart(dot)com/journal/21890540/
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