Thank you so much for the awesome love you give. I'm sorry if I don't reply to all the reviews, however I do read them. Thank you to my friend and Beta supreme Audrey, she does wonderful things for me. I'm trying to lose weight, so I will be outdoors a lot, so I'm sorry if I'm not writing like I used to, I have to get my life back first lol. Depression affects 85% of people, if you know someone who is depressed, try to be there for me, its all you can do. So was Edward's proposal real and what did Bella say?
Chapter 33
I've met a woman I can't live without. She is utterly amazing in every way. The way she talks, walks, and just gets me. I never thought I would find a relationship like this in my entire life, I didn't think they really existed. That was until that fateful day when Bella stumbled into my elevator and changed me permanently.
Who says a man can't show his feelings and he can't express them in public. I want to show my awe of this woman! I never thought she hid so much under her exterior. Her life has been a difficult one, far more complex then I could begin to understand in the short time we've had together. But she is so strong, so brave. I admire her more than I ever thought possible.
Learning that she'd been stalked left questions in my mind. Why did this not show up in the background check I'd had done and how did he end up in that club. So many questions and nobody seemed to have answers. However, I'll find what I'm looking for; nobody can withhold or hide information for long.
"Please tell me you have something valuable or this conversation is over." I said plainly into the cell phone.
"I found a few things about James; I thought you would want to know." Laurent's voice spoke from other end.
"Get on with it." I spat.
"Well it turns out James was released about six months ago, he's been following his probation to the letter, so they released him for good behavior. He must have located Bella when he got off his parole." Laurent said.
"I think the prosecution ended up charging him with a lesser charge; I mean who gets paroled in 6 months? That's so absurd. Didn't they think for one minute that he would go looking for the person who put him where he spent the last six years of his life? It's like they didn't even look at her case file! " I exclaimed.
"You would think so, but apparently they just wanted him off tax payer dollars and thought he was safe enough for society. So, here is another thing I discovered, there is a member by the name Alistair, are you familiar with him?" Laurent asked.
"Yes I do business with his company." I had no idea how this was relevant.
"He's how James got into the club. We are monitoring the situation right now." His French accent was suddenly very clear.
"How do you know that?" My interest spiked.
"I'll fax over the documents, so you can see for yourself." I heard him typing on a keyboard.
"I'll retrieve them later, I have to go, Bella is coming, I apologize for what I'm about to say, but I don't care if you have to bribe someone, get this shit taken care of. I pay you for results, not for excuses, get it done or I'll find someone that will! I want results before I get back to the states." I yelled into the phone.
The time we had been spending in St. Lucia had been the most pleasurable I have had in a long time. Even though this vacation was for Bella's benefit, I think it was helping me too. Later we set out with the wave runners on the beach, Jasper trying to race me while Emmett trumped us all.
Emmett always was the more athletic one out of the group. We were all active, but he always had the energy of a five year old boy. As he circled around me one more time, I decided to just be idle for a moment. He pulled up beside me.
I paused for a moment then said, "I want to propose to Bella. Do you think now would be a good time?" I looked over to Emmett.
"You mean like once we get back to the beach or just while we are here?" He raised an eyebrow at me.
"While we are here, I love her, she is the one; I have no doubt in my mind." I looked over at the shore watching the girls.
"Who knew Edward Cullen was capable of love." Emmett snickered.
"Bella did." I smirked and rode my wave runner back to the shore.
I had to plan this thoroughly; I didn't want it to be cheesy or over the top. I needed to make sure a proposal to this wonderful woman was perfect. She deserved that, more than anything. As we approached the beach I watched her smiling up at me, so much love in her smile. My smile.
I never thought it to be possible for me, to feel the way I did. Who would ever have believed I would fall in love. I truly had believed I would be the eternal bachelor while the rest of my group got married and had kids. I just figured to be the really cool uncle or something.
When I thought about marriage, I never saw myself finding anyone interesting enough to hold my attention for longer than a few weeks, perhaps months at the most. Even though Bella had only been in my life for six months, I knew I could never live another day without her.
It was as if I never lived before she came crashing into my world. Who knew she would be so amazing. At first my thoughts of her were purely of lust, but after getting to know her, having her challenge me, well it was much more than I would have ever anticipated.
Never had a woman talked back to me or ever made me chase after her. Getting a woman was never difficult for me. I could have anyone I wanted, but Bella intrigued me, she played hard to get and at first it was just a game. I knew she would give in to me eventually, but I never knew it would be me that would get whipped, mentally of course.
My plan was set, and they were simple and perfect for us. While the girls went shopping I was planning on taking Bella on my boat tomorrow night for a romantic dinner and I would propose under the stars. It would be a beautiful night and the perfect opportunity or so I thought.
I had bought the ring about a month ago; a six carat platinum diamond ring. The diamond was colored fancy pink, which I knew Bella would favor. It was beautiful, but not in comparison to her. She had no idea this had been on my mind. Many conversations had been spoken on the topic, but nothing ever definitive. One in particular conversation we had a month ago stuck in my head.
We had been getting ready for bed and the television was on. A bridal commercial appeared across the screen and I heard her scoff at it. I turned to see the annoyed look on her face as her arms were crossed over her chest.
"What's wrong?" I asked slightly amused.
"These commercials paint like a fairy tale type of image in your mind. Like some guy is going to come along and make all your child hood dreams come true." She huffed.
"You don't think that can happen? That some great guy can come along and actually want a fairy tale with you?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
She turned to look at me and I could see the V in her forehead as she was deep in concentration. She bit down on her lip and reached out and touched my face.
"I guess it can." She smiled and kissed me softly.
"Do you want the fairy tale Bella?" I asked as I pulled back from the kiss.
"I want to be a wife and a mother one day, if that's an option for me. I'd like that with you, one day." She smiled shyly.
"Me too." I kissed her cheek and turned off the lamp on my side of the bed.
Yes I wanted that and until that moment, I never realized how much. She had changed me from a woman fearing man to a loving one. It definitely made my family happy, but all that mattered was that Bella was happy and I would do anything in my power to make that happen.
When we decided to go clubbing later, I was so excited to dance with my Bella again… I recalled the first time we danced. When I pulled her to the floor I lost all sense of reality when we began to dance. It brought back memories of our first time together. How tight she felt, how wet, how absolutely perfect. In that moment I had fallen in love with her, without ever realizing it.
She consumed my every thought and feelings. I constantly had a need to be near her, to protect her. It got even worse when I discovered what she had been through. Nothing prepared me for that. I had been riddled with guilt at finding out she had been stalked and attacked.
But she assured me that things we had done together didn't bring bad memories back to her, that finding me was like finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. She was wrong; it was finding her that was like that.
She swayed in my arms as I worked her over and as I leaned her against the wall the words just fell from my lips, before I could rain them in, she was everything a man could dream of.
I came so violently inside of her, nothing mattered in that moment, money, cars, fancy clothes, none of it only Bella. She was my whole world now. Esme's words echoed in my ears like a steel drum.
"One day you will meet a girl who will matter more than money or power."
Bella was that girl, is that girl. My savior, my angel. Her face was flushed from passion. She looked exquisite with her sexed up look. How could I resist the urge, I had to have her in my life, always.
"Fuck, will you marry me!" I blurted out. I pulled myself slowly out of her.
She stood there wide eyed and shocked. Her face looked pale as if she was about to pass out, which she immediately did. I scooped my arms under her body to steady her dead weight. I gently brought us both down on the floor, trying to fix my zipper before anyone noticed what had happened.
I picked her face up and began to shake her to stir her awake. Her eyes began to open slowly as she stared up at me. A smile gracing her delicate face. She reached up and touched my cheek affectionately.
"I had a strange dream." She mumbled.
"What was that?" I looked down smiling.
"You asked me to marry you." She shook her head.
"That wasn't a dream Bella, I did." I chuckled.
"Oh." Panic took over her lovely face.
"I know it wasn't proper and not romantic at all, but it's just how I felt in that exact moment. You put my world together, you make it whole." I took her hands in mine.
"I need to stand up and get some water or air or something away from here. Can we go home now?" She said as she hurried to her feet, but kept shifting to gain balance because of her shoes.
I helped her to the bar and got a glass of water for her to drink. I texted Emmett to let him know we would be taking a cab back to the house, no need to come home right away. We stepped out into the warm night air and Bella began to gulp down air like she would never be able to breathe again.
I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her to my side. She gave me an uneasy smile and I realized something was off about her. I just watched her look uncomfortable as a cab pulled up and I held the door for her to get in.
She slid off her heels and dropped them on the floor, leaning her head on the window, positioning herself away from me. We didn't speak the entire ride to my house. I paid the cab driver while Bella walked toward the house with the keys in her hand.
She was already in by the time I made it inside and I followed her to our bedroom. I leaned against the door frame, watching her remove her dress and discarding it into the hamper.
She pulled on a tank top and some shorts and climbed onto the bed. I sat down next to her. She looked so shy, playing with her hands. I hadn't seen her like this in a long time. I grabbed her hand from her lap and squeezed it tightly in mine, forcing her to look up at me.
I could she how red her eyes were; she was on the verge of tears.
"Bella, I'm sorry for how I asked, but I didn't mean it any less." I searched her eyes.
"It's not how you asked me Edward; it's that you asked me. I didn't expect that, so soon." She shook her head.
"I thought you wanted to marry me, you said you wanted that. I don't understand." I looked at her confused.
"I want it more than you know, but we only just moved in together. I feel like you are only asking because you are afraid that something is going to happen to me." The tears slipped down her cheeks.
I tilted her chin up with my index finger, looking her dead on. I tried to make my eyes as serious as possible. I needed her to understand, she was wrong.
"I want a life with you and only you. No James or anyone else will change that. I wanted this before I even knew about any of this. You make me complete." I grabbed her face in my hands and kissed her slowly.
"I saw him Christmas night, outside our apartment." She revealed.
"What! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Shocked I all but yelled.
"I wasn't really sure it was him until Javier, the doorman confirmed it." She bit her lip, looking scared at me.
"Why am I only just finding this out? Did he approach him? Why wasn't I notified?" I stood up gripping my hair.
"I asked Javier to describe the man; James didn't say anything to him. It bothered me so much; I called down after I saw him. I'm sorry Edward, you were just being over the top as it was and this would have only made it worse." She leaned out of my hand.
"You're damn right! Bella don't you see how dangerous this is? He fucking followed you home and you had no idea!" I blurted it out immediately regretting the words the minute they left my mouth
"What the hell do you mean?" Anger flashed a crossed her face.
"He was keeping tabs on you the whole time. He knew you moved; he knew you broke up with Jake. Hell he knows a lot more than I think I'm comfortable with." I paced.
"How do you know that Edward?" Her tone rising.
"I was trying to keep you in the dark with everything. I didn't want you to get involved. As long as you aren't knowledgeable, you can't get hurt, but I guess it's time to throw it out there." I huffed, sitting on the bed.
"Do I want hear this?" She asked looking at me.
"No." I replied pointedly.
"Will it make things worse?" She gulped.
"Yes."
"Then I don't want to know. Just promise me something." Now it was her grabbing my face in her small hands.
"Anything." I moved her hair from her face.
"If it gets too much, you will let me go." A single tear trickled down her right cheek.
"Bella, do you not understand my feelings for you? You are like air for my lungs, without you, I can't breathe. No, I can't promise you that. I will let you go when you force me to, but to let you go because it's too much to deal with, no I will never let you go otherwise." I wiped the tear from her face.
"Yes." She whispered through her tears.
"Yes what?" I looked at her perplexed.
"Yes, I will marry you." She smiled.
I grabbed her in my arms and kissed her passionately. The shock wore off immediately. She said yes.
"Yes?" I pulled back with a smile on my face.
"Yes." She smiled back, gripping my hair.
"I never heard words so sweet." I nuzzled myself into her neck.
She began to giggle and pulled me on top of her. I touched her face, caressing it gently.
"I'm a lucky man." I kissed the top of her forehead.
"You are." She smirked and leaned up to kiss me.
"Wait!" I jumped off the bed and opened up the safe under my bed.
Bella leaned over the side of the bed with her hands under her chin. She watched me with amusement. I unlocked the safe and pulled out the black velvet box that had the ring I'd bought her in it. I got to my feet and pulled her off the bed.
I got down on my knee, holding her left hand in mine while the other held the box. Her eyes looked down at me sparkling with love.
"Isabella Marie Swan, would you do me the great honor of being my wife?" I opened the box and her eyes almost popped out of her head.
"Edward, it's beautiful. Yes!" She shrieked.
I slid the ring on her finger and it was a perfect fit. Tears began to fall down her cheeks, smearing her mascara. I didn't care; she was still the most stunning woman I ever met. I stood up and she wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing me longingly and lovingly. There was no sexual need there; it was a kiss of pure love.
"I need to say something, I just feel like I have to." She looked at me with red eyes.
"Okay." I kissed her lips and walked us to the bed.
I sat down at the edge and she slipped her hand in mine. We just looked at each other for a while before she began to speak. No words needed to be said, I knew without her uttering a word how she felt for me.
"No interrupting me either Cullen." She gave me a pointed look.
I just shrugged my shoulder and allowed her to speak. She took a couple deep breathes and rolled her shoulders a couple times, I assumed to calm herself.
"There was no doubt in my mind that you were the man I could love forever. No matter how many times I have tried to walk away from you, you always came for me. You always apologized first; you always gave me what I wanted, needed. Now it's my turn to do the same for you."
"I love you more than words could ever express and I just want you to know how much you mean to me. I want you to have my heart, you deserve it, you own it." She smiled brightly at me, touching my cheek.
"I feel the same way Bella, you were worth it." We fell back into the bed and spent the rest of the evening making love.
The next few days passed by so quickly. Everyone was so excited for us and I had to admit, I had never been happier. Bella simply glowed and if I knew all I had to do was propose to get that out of her I would have done it months ago.
Alice wanted us to plan our wedding together, but Rose didn't come across me as the type to share her spotlight with anyone, even Bella. Rose and Emmett were planning a June wedding, as for Bella and me, well we hadn't quite worked that out the when yet.
We were lounging on the hammock in the back yard. It was pretty big; you could fit about six people on it. I was on one side typing on my laptop, while Bella was reading a book with a big floppy hat on her head. Emmett and Rose were staying at Emmett's house while Jasper and Alice had left to go back home earlier that day.
I watched her over the rim of her hat. She looked completely consumed by her book. I don't know what came over me, but I placed my laptop on the ground and crawled slowly over to her. I ripped the book from her hands and threw it behind her head.
"Hey, I was reading that!" She exclaimed.
"Yes and I want your attention, so the book had to go." I smirked crawling into between her legs.
I began to kiss her ankle and I could hear her giggling.
"Edward, I was getting to the best part." She laughed as I bit lightly on her calf.
"Tell me about it." I kissed up her thigh.
"How do you expect me to say anything coherent when you are doing that to me?" She gestured toward my head on her thigh.
"Try." I smirked, trailing my tongue up to the hem of her shorts.
"The book takes place in the 1800's. A woman by the name Katherine Higgins falls in love with another woman named Louise Price." She groaned at I trailed my tongue along her belly.
"Go on." I kissed her belly button.
"They have a very illicit affair. During those times, lesbians were unheard of and same sex lovers were not allowed." Her back arched off the hammock as my tongue slipped under the top of her shorts and my hand slid to her ass.
"Mm, does that turn you on?" I asked as I unbuckled her shorts.
"Not anywhere near as much as you!" She groaned, lifting herself up so I could slid off her shorts.
"Good I want to be the only species able to do that." I smirked as I kissed the outside of her panties.
"Fuck!" She screeched.
I traced my tongue on the outside of her underwear, getting her excited enough, but not quite giving her what she wanted.
"You're such a tease." She moaned.
"No I'm not, I'm thorough." I dipped my tongue close enough to her opening to make her moan more.
"Please Edward." She sounded out of breath.
"Please, what?" I feigned innocence.
"Taste me please!" Her yells could be heard all over the backyard.
I smirked and dove in. She was very wet, but her taste was spicy and sweet. She always had a unique taste to her body, simply Bella I liked to call it. She gripped at my hair, pushing my face further into her thighs.
I licked and nipped until the beautiful girl was screaming out her orgasm and my name. That was all the thanks I needed to know I did a great job. Her body was my playground and I knew my favorite spots well.
Okay this was a little shorter than I'm used to writing, but I figured you guys deserved it for being so patient with me. Things have been so crazy lately for me, so I don't get to write that much, but I try my best. As always let me know what you all think. I didn't give much drama in this chapter, so thank me for that lol. They will be returning home next chapter... I lost my cat of 14 years Sunday so I'm feeling depressed about that. You can find me on facebook, just leave me your user name if you want me to add you!