Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
After one month I am back! I am so sorry for the delay and I thank you all for sticking with me! I will try my hardest to not let it happen again for the last chapter. I want to thank all of you who reviewed the last chapter and encouraged me to stick at this chapter! Thanks also to everyone who put this story in their favourites/alerts, each little email from this site is cherished.
As previously explained, this chapter was written on my iPod due to a lack of computer, so I want to say sorry for mistakes. Blame their predictive text! I hope you like this chapter and I hope it was worth the wait.
Enjoy!
Forever Bound
Chapter Thirty Nine – Beside You
Bella could feel the light of morning trying to pierce through her eyelids, but she was not ready to wake up yet. A smile rose to her lips as she remembered the events that had occurred in the early hours of the morning; her husband, her Edward, has returned home from war alive and well, simply a little bit bruised.
She stretched out her hand and reached for her husband's body. All she could grasp was air. Snapping her eyes open, Bella searched for Edward, but all she could see was an empty bed. Running her hand along the sheets, she could instantly tell that it had been vacated for a while; it was cold as ice.
To cut the new wound Bella felt in her heart even deeper, Alicia, who Bella was sure had arrived in the early hours of the morning and fallen asleep in her Papa's arms, was also missing from the bed; highlighting that the events Bella thought had occurred last night were actually a simple, heartbreaking nightmare.
Tears began to fill her eyes as she rose to her knees and began to crawl towards the crib, wanting to gather Anthony into her arms so that he could he could provide her with a small sliver of comfort. The crib was also empty.
Like a punch to the gut, Bella remembered what had caused her to awaken in the first place; somebody had taken Anthony out of his crib and stopped his crying. Her imagination had allowed her to believe that it was Edward, back from the dead, and she had gone along with it, therefore allowing someone to snatch away her son while she hallucinated.
Bella curled up into a ball and began to sob, her body vibrating as the pain wracked through her. How could she allow someone to take her child for the second time? Why did she imagine Edward coming back to life and taking the last piece of sanity away from her? Why was she lying down in bed crying when her Anthony was clearly missing?
A cough interrupted Bella from her sobs. Whipping her head around, Bella came face to face with Edward, who was carefully balancing a tray in one hand, a starring Anthony on one hip while Alicia clung tightly to his trouser leg, a flower in her small clenched fist.
"I thought you may like to eat breakfast in bed this morning," Edward explained softly, looking at Bella before suddenly breaking eye contact and looking at Alicia. Bella followed his gaze and noticed that Alicia was pulling on his trouser leg.
"I give her flower now?" she attempted to whisper, not very successfully as she looked up at her Papa for his answer. Edward simply nodded at her before he returned his gaze to his wife.
Alicia clambered up onto her parents' bed and thrust the flower in her mother's face. "From Papa. He say you as beautiful as it." Bella took the white rose from her daughter's grasp and sniffed it slightly before kissing Alicia on the cheek in thanks.
Edward still stood silently in the doorway, watching his daughter and wife interact with one another. He had missed this more than anything else while he was away. Anthony's slight movement on his father's hip jolted Edward from his thoughts as he looked down at his beautiful son. He could not thank God enough for allowing both Bella and Anthony to come away from the birth unharmed, although he wished with all his might that he had been able to return home in time to hold Bella's hand through all those hours of pain and gaze upon their son's face for the first time together.
"Are you going to stand there as still as a statue all day or am I going to be presented with this marvellous feast you have all prepared for me?" Bella asked, her voice light and happy, her eyes free from tears once more.
"Of course," Edward answered instantly, making his way towards the bed.
After carefully depositing the tray onto Bella's lap, Edward slid into the bed next to her once more and rested a dozing Anthony on his shoulder, trying his best not to disturb his darling son with any sudden movements.
"Thank you Alicia for helping Papa make this feast for me," Bella smiled and kissed Alicia on the cheek, causing their daughter to giggle, "And thank you Papa for helping Alicia carry it up the stairs". As Bella lent over to kiss his cheek, her lips grazed his ear, causing goose bumps to erupt all over Edward's body.
"Why did you leave me to wake up here all alone?" Bella whispered, "I was so afraid that last night had all been a dream and that someone had taken one of my last pieces of you, Anthony, away from me."
"I am so sorry my love. When I woke up you looked so peaceful and you had had such an eventful night I did not want to wake you. I just wanted to do something nice for you, as a small token of my apology for putting you through the hell I did." Edward explained, his face pulled down in a frown as he thought about how Bella must have felt waking up alone after the events of last night. Instead of making things pleasant for her when she woke up, he had made it quite terrible.
Bella smiled gently at him, "As long as you promise to never leave me alone again."
Edward quickly gazed at Anthony to check he was still sleeping and made sure Alicia was not watching them. Satisfied that tracing the flowers on the bedspread would keep Alicia occupied for long enough, Edward quickly lent forward and placed his lips softly on Bella's, promising her that she would never wake up alone again.
---
"Bella, what on earth is so urgent that you needed us to arrive here immediately?" Carlisle asked as Angela removed his coat for him.
"You are looking extremely flushed and excited Bella; are you feeling in good health?" Esme questioned, quite concerned for the well being of her daughter in law.
"Let her be," Rosalie interrupted as she entered the house, holding Charlotte carefully in her arms so as not to wake her.
"Well said Rosie," Emmett boomed, picking Bella up and spinning her around until she began to feel slightly sick, "It is good to see you back on your feet once more." Emmett placed Bella back on the floor and as she waited for the room to stop spinning, her big brother lowered himself to her height and whisper into her ear, "You really scared me for a while there squirt. Please promise me it will never happen again."
Bella threw her arms around her bear of a brother, "I am so sorry for putting all of you through it all. I promise you it will never happen again." Emmett's grin and kiss on the cheek said enough to express his relief at having his little sister back to normal.
"Could you all please come into the living room? There is something very important I think you must see?" Bella grinned at her family, confusing her parents-in-law even more, and led them into the sitting room as they exchanged puzzled glances with one another.
"Do not tell me Anthony is walking already," Carlisle joked lightly, "I am not old enough to have two walking grandchildren."
"Do not be ridiculous Carlisle," Esme chastised her husband with a playful slap on the arm, "He is only a week old, of course he i—"
Everyone stopped dead in the entrance of the living room, as they came face to face with a nervous looking Edward, holding Alicia's small hand in his own as if for support. There was no movement or noise for what seemed like hours, before Esme suddenly burst into tears and buried her head in Carlisle's shoulder as he began to mumble incoherent words, Emmett's mouth dropped open and Rosalie was so shocked she nearly dropped a sleeping Charlotte, Bella rushing forwards to help catch her before she slipped from her mother's grasp completely. As if to prove that she was her father's son, the little girl continued to dream through it all.
Emmett was the first to recover. "What on earth is going on here Bella? How in God's name can I, and I assuming everyone else, see Edward, Edward who has been reported dead, standing in front of us? What spell did you make the town loony perform to make us see this?"
Bella made her way to Edward's side, grinning all the way, and wrapped her arm around his waist. Edward instantly reciprocated the action, and Bella could feel how nervous he was at his family's reaction, his hand was shaking on her skin. "I assure you Emmett, I did not have the 'town loony' perform any sort of spell. This is really Edward," she turned her gaze to him and they stared into each other's eyes as she continued to talk. "He is alive. He kept his promise and came home in the early hours of the morning, in time for New Year just as h—"
Bella was interrupted as Alice's voice floated through the hallway. Everyone in the living room jumped slightly; they had been so deeply consumed in their own little bubble that none of them had heard the doorbell ring or the entrance of Alice and Jasper.
"I apologise on behalf of both of us for being so late," Alice called, "We left the moment we received Bella's letter but you would not believe the amount of horses on the road on the morning of New Year. We—" Alice and Jasper had entered the room hand in hand and slowly took the sight in before them.
Esme had so many tears pouring from her eyes that Alice was certain she would be unable to see a thing, Carlisle was staring straight ahead without blinking, and Rose was just about clinging onto her dozing daughter while Emmett looked shell shocked.
Following everyone's gaze, the couple were met with the sight of Bella and Alicia, and in between the pair of them was a very alive looking, albeit slightly battered, Edward Cullen. It was now Jasper's turn to allow his mouth to lose the fight with gravity.
Alice, on the other hand, reacted in a way that nobody could expect. She charged across the room and ran into Edward's body so hard that he released his hold on Bella and Alicia and hit the floor, wincing as the wooden planks connected with his bruises. Before he could react, Alice had thrown herself onto his chest and slapped him around the face.
"You selfish bastard! How could you do that to us?" She began to punch any part of Edward's body she could reach, instantly winding him, "How could you allow us to believe you were dead? Did you not think about what it would do to Carlisle and Esme? To Bella and Alicia? To me? Did you know that Bella did not leave her bed for weeks? That we had to take Alicia away from her because Bella was too depressed to be able to look after her? We had a memorial service for you yesterday and you are not even dead!"
Bella finally returned to her senses after the shock of watching her tiny best friend knock her husband to the ground, "Enough Alice! Emmett, help Edward, pull her away from him!" Bella cried. Emmett quickly rushed to do his little sister's bidding. "You should be beyond pleased that Edward has returned home alive and well. You should be thanking God at the top of your voice as He allowed my husband to return to me, he allowed Esme and Carlisle to have their son back, He is allowing Alicia and Anthony to have their father raise them and He has given you your brother back."
Alice stopped fighting against Emmett's hold on her and hung her head. Her shoulders began to shake slightly and Emmett quickly transferred her into Jasper's arms; he did not know how to act around crying women.
Bella was helping pull Edward to his feet, causing Edward to groan in pain; his cuts and bruises were on fire. However, the moment he was steady on his feet once more, Esme threw herself into her son's arms, sobbing her heart out. Ignoring the burning pain in his ribs, Edward pulled his mother as close to his body as he could, burying his hand in her hair as he attempted to comfort her.
"I am so sorry Mama," he whispered, "I am so sorry for putting you through it, through everything." Esme's cries began to rise in volume as she crushed herself to her son's chest, never wanting to let him go again.
Unsure of what to do, Edward looked at Carlisle, and pleaded for help with his eyes. Forcing his body to move, Carlisle slowly made his way over to his wife and son, still unable to believe that the events that were unravelling before his eyes were actually real. Carefully, Carlisle began to peel his wife away from Edward's busied body but she was having none of it, tightening her grip on her beloved Edward.
"Love, believe me I know how you feel, I am sure you never want to let him go again, but there are many other people here that want to greet him too," Carlisle explained gently, trying to pull Esme away once more. With much reluctance, Esme relinquished her hold on Edward and settled for staring at him in awe as he wrapped his arms around his father.
Edward had only seen his father cry twice, when his parents had died, but as he embraced his son in the largest hug he had ever received, Edward felt Carlisle's shoulders shake as his tears began to seep into Edward shirt.
"I love you Father," was all Edward was able to say, suddenly overcome with emotion at the loss of control Carlisle displayed.
"I love you too son," Carlisle was able to choke out, "More than life itself. Swear to me that you will never put me or your mother in that situation again, or I promise to all the above that I will kill you myself!" Edward let out a watery laugh in response.
---
It had been three days since Edward had returned and there had not been a moment of peace and quiet in the house since. The three couples that did not live in the house had moved into the guest rooms for the time being, unwilling to leave Edward, fearing that he would disappear, even though he had promised on numerous occasions that he would not be going anywhere, they were all unwilling to risk it.
Although Bella loved being surrounded by her family, especially now she could understand the pain and worry she had put them all through when she retreated into herself, she could not help but wish that they would allow her and Edward a night alone.
She had not made love to Edward since the night before he left for war, and her heart and body were calling for him. Bella knew Edward felt the same way, for just that morning, he had woke her up with a searing kiss, however as it was starting to become a little heated, Alicia had charged into their chamber and jumped onto their bed, causing her parents to break apart quickly and straighten themselves out.
Unable to stand it a moment longer, Bella entered the garden and went in search of Esme, before she could change her mind due to the embarrassing question she was about to ask her mother-in-law.
Bella quickly found Esme sitting on a bench in the sun, reading a novel, but she quickly closed it as she noticed Bella approaching. "Bella," she called, "is it not the most beautiful day for this time of the year?"
Nodding, Bella placed herself on the bench next to Esme and pulled her coat closer to her body. Noticing Bella's hesitation, Esme reached out her hand and placed it on Bella lap in an attempt to relax her.
"What is worrying you my dear?" she asked, smiling at her red cheeked daughter-in-law.
"Nothing is worrying me per say," Bella began slowly, unsure of how to broach the subject. "I was simply wondering if, perhaps, you and Carlisle could possibly take Alicia and Anthony to your home tonight and watch them for me."
"Whatever for?" Esme questioned. Of course she would never pass up the chance to spend time with her darling grandchildren, but Bella was so in love with her children that she was still unable to allow them to be out of her eyesight for more than half an hour at a time.
The blush deepened on Bella's cheeks but she knew she could not retract her request now. "," she rushed out, averting her gaze from Esme's curious eyes.
"I am sorry dear, I did not quite catch that," Esme smiled, trying to contain her laughter. This was clearly a very uncomfortable topic for Bella and she did not wish to make her any more uncomfortable than she already was.
Inhaling deeply, Bella attempted to explain once more. "I wish to spend the night with Edward. We love having the family here more than anything, especially after all the support you have provided us with, it is just that we have not had a moment to ourselves an—"
"You do not have to explain any further Bella," Esme smiled. Noticing that Bella was still refusing to look at her, she gently placed her fingers under her chin and raised her head, "It is nothing to be ashamed about love. You want to send time with your husband, and I am well aware of what that feels like. I am also aware that you have been unable to be with him since before he left for Belgium; of course you would want to spend a night alone with him." Bella threw a small smile Esme's way, how had she been so lucky in receiving such kind parents-in-law?
"Carlisle and I would be delighted to look after Anthony and Alicia for the night, especially now that Anthony actually allows us to touch him!" Bella laughed at this. It was true, ever since his father had returned home, Anthony was allowing more and more people to pick him up and take him away from his parents. Although it was a slightly irrational thought, Bella believed that Anthony had been rejecting anyone apart from his mother and sister holding him as he was waiting for his father to return home before he granted anyone else the pleasure of having his comforting baby weight in their arms.
Surprisingly, it was now Carlisle who could not let his grandson go. Every morning after Anthony had had his feed, Carlisle would whisk him into his arms and they would take a stroll around the garden, and Anthony would following his grandfather's finger as he pointed out numerous types of trees and birds to his grandson, who was still too small to lift his own head up, let alone appreciate nature; but that did not deter Carlisle.
"Thank you so much Esme," Bella said, wrapping her arms around her mother-in-law.
Esme patted her back gently, "No need to thank me. We would do anything for you; you should know that by now." Bella nodded into her shoulder and confirmed that she did indeed know that. "Now let's get inside, it is starting to get a bit chilly." And with that, the mother and daughter walked arm in arm back to the house.
---
Esme turned out to be a godsend. After explaining to Carlisle, Bella's plans for the evening, much to Bella's mortification, Carlisle had organised an afternoon of hunting with Jasper, Emmett and Edward, which allowed the girls, who had of course heard of Bella's plan, to play Bella doll.
Two hours before the men were due to return home, Alice and Esme pushed Bella into her chair at the vanity while Rosalie went on a mission to find her something to wear. They spent an hour on her hair and makeup, before forcing her to slip into a corset and knickers, with tights coming up over her knee. Bella felt completely embarrassed at her family seeing her like this, and severely undressed and inappropriate, but Esme, Alice and Rosalie assured her that Edward would love it.
Leaving Bella with half an hour to fill, Esme, Alice and Rosalie went to pack their bags, ready to pull their husbands out of the house the moment they arrived. After kissing Anthony goodbye, Bella placed him in Esme's arms, having already said farewell to Alicia. She knew it would be extremely difficult to be away from her children but Bella hoped it would be worth it.
Exactly thirty one minutes later, Edward entered their chamber after being directed their by his mother, who claimed Bella needed help with something. Slightly confused as to what Bella could need help with, but wanting to aid her any way he could, Edward headed straight to their chamber. The moment he opened the door, Edward stopped short. Their room had been filled with hundreds of flickering candles, all giving out a sensuous glow. And standing in the middle of the room, looking nervous and shy, was Bella, who instantly took Edward's breath away.
Carefully closing the door and making his way through the path of candles, Edward made his way towards Bella. "What is going on?"
"Surprise," Bella whispered, nervous about his reaction. When he did not reply, Bella began to panic and was overwhelmed with embarrassment. "I am so sorry; I wanted to spend an evening with you, which is why Esme has taken Alicia and Anthony for the night. I am sorry that you hate the idea, I will just go and write a note to Esme, asking her to bring the children back," Bella mumbled quickly as she bent down to blow out the candles at her feet.
Edward frightened her slightly as he placed his arms around her waist and pulled her into a standing position once more, kissing her neck as he did so.
"Bella, this is the most stunning thing I have even seen. How could you ever think that I would not want to make love to you? You simply took my breath away and I could not answer you. I want nothing more than to spend this night with you," Edward reassured her as he stared her straight in the eye to reinforce his point.
"Do you promise that is the truth?" Bella asked softly, her eyes beginning to glow in the candlelight due to the moisture beginning to gather there.
"I swear on my life," and as the last letter left his mouth, Edward began to pepper kisses across Bella's face and neck, causing her to moan and allow her head to fall backwards, providing him with better access to her skin; utterly convinced that he was telling her the truth when he said he wanted this as much as she did.
Minding the candles that were at their feet, Edward carefully pulled Bella into his arms and carried her to their bed, placing her in the middle of it before he slowly removed his shirt; placing it on the bedside table so that it would not be set alight.
Bella stared transfixed as her husband's body was revealed to her for the first time in months. Although the bruises were beginning to disappear, Bella could still see the blue and yellow tints to his skin, but it did nothing to take away his beauty.
Edward stared down at his wife for seconds or maybe hours, he had lost all idea of time, as he took in her beauty. She was absolutely stunning and he thanked every god out there for blessing him with such a goddess for a wife. Slowly, Edward lent forwards and begun to undo the strings of Bella's corset.
He noticed her chest rising up and down at a faster rate that it had been moments ago and he could not help but smile at the knowledge that it was he, Edward Cullen, that was making her body react like this. A few minutes later, Edward began to gradually inch the corset down her body, revealing Bella's body a bit at a time as he kissed every piece of available skin.
When her nipples were finally exposed to him, Edward latched onto them like a starving baby, lavishing them with the attention he believed they deserved since he had not been able to provide it for months. When a loud moan escaped Bella's lips, Edward increased his efforts tenfold, wanting to hear the beautiful noise again and again and again.
Somehow, he was able to pull himself away from her for long enough to kiss her lips, wanting to express the love and desire he felt for her in that moment. Bella took the opportunity to reach for Edward's trouser button, and before he realised what was happening, Bella was shimmying his trousers down his legs. Reluctantly, Edward removed his body from hers and stood on the floor, blowing the nearest candles out before stepping out of his trousers. The moment his feet were free, Edward pounced on his wife once more, not wanting to lose a moment of the time they had together.
Fusing their lips together once more, Edward began to lower his hands down Bella's naked midriff, until he reached the top of her underwear. Slowly and sensuously, Edward began to inch them down her body, pulling her legs over his shoulder to remove them completely before tossing them over his shoulder, no longer caring if the house caught on fire.
As he stared down at his wife's body, he could see she was glistening with excitement. Without breaking eye contract, Edward lowered his face until her was kissing her lips, causing Bella to let out a small scream.
As his tongue racked havoc with her body and senses, Bella's hands gripped her hair, trying to find something to hold on to so that she could keep her sanity. Finally, Edward had mercy on her and removed his lips from hers, but not before drawing her so close to the edge she thought she would explode.
Edward lifted his body until his penis was parallel with her entrance, and Bella reached between them, until she had a solid hold on it. Shaking his head, Edward gently removed her hand as he kissed her on the cheek. "This is all about you my love, enjoy it," he whispered in her ear.
Hypnotised, Bella nodded; in that moment she would have done anything he asked. She began to reach for her stockings, noticing that Edward had not removed them but he placed his hand on top of hers, preventing it from moving. "No, leave them on." Bella almost died and went to Heaven at the sound of his voice.
At that moment, Edward entered her and all the coherent thoughts that had remained in her body left Bella instantly. All she could think about was the pleasure she felt at the feeling of her husband buried deep inside her after so long.
As if to reiterate her point, Edward moaned loudly, causing Bella to clench around him. "Oh God so tight," he moaned, "How can you still be so tight?" Bella had no answer for him, she was not even sure she could speak right now if her life depended on it.
Edward began to pump into his wife's body hard and fast, having been denied it for so many months. To prove that she was enjoying it, Bella was constantly moaning, her hands tangled up in his hair and he pushed in and out, probably unaware of the war raging between her senses inside her body.
"Faster, faster, more, please, more, Edward," Bella chanted, the coil in her stomach becoming tighter and tighter with every second that passed. Instead of speeding up, Edward slowed his pace down, entering leisurely as he began to whisper to her, "I love you Bella. God I love you. I missed you so much."
"I know Edward, I know," Bella moaned in his ear as she pushed her body up to meet his, "I love you more than life itself."
"I am so sorry for everything that happened while I was away," Edward murmured as his breathing became uneven. "I am so sorry for what I put you through."
Bella pulled his lips to hers and kissed his as if her life depended on it. He responded eagerly, but Bella could feel his tears hitting her skin. As she pulled away, Bella ran her hand up and down his cheek, "None of that matters now Edward," she kissed him once more, "I forgave you the moment I saw you. We need to move past it and leave it in the past, live in the future."
Edward looked deep into her eyes, and as though it were a gateway to her soul, Edward could tell she was telling the absolute truth. Placing his forehead on hers, Edward began to speed up his actions, and as their tears mingled together, their stomachs exploded in pleasure and they collapsed into each other's arms.
---
Two hours later, as they lay in the afterglow of their love making, utterly drained and exhausted, Bella reached her head up and kissed Edward's chin.
Smiling down at her, Edward placed a kiss on the top of her head, "If I spend the rest of my days like this, with you, Alicia and Anthony, I will die a happy man."
Bella murmured in agreement, "I agree with you completely, but can we please not talk about your death?" She asked quietly.
"Of course my love, I am sorry for mentioning it." Edward answered slowly, annoyed at himself for bringing his death up once more.
"There is nothing to apologise for Edward," Bella smiled up at him and snuggled her body as close to his as she could. "Just hold me, please?"
Placing one final kiss on her lips, Edward held her until she fell asleep. As he gazed down at her at when he was finally beginning to drift off, the final thought he had before he joined her in the land of oblivion was the fact he was ecstatic beyond belief that it was she his parents had chosen to bind him to forever.
THE END
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Only the epilogue left!
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