Alice timed our arrival perfectly. We could hear the growl and scream upstairs fading as we approached the house. Alice's smile was wide as she opened the front door.
"Thank you." Bella's voice was raw and raspy. It sounded familiar and beautiful in her exhaustion. My lust rose as did Alice's. I bent to kiss her as Carlisle answered.
"Thank you, Bella. I love you so much."
I met Alice's topaz eyes and sent her my love. She kissed me again before leading me to the stairs.
Bella's heart could be heard, pounding, as we climbed. Alice put her arm out, stopping me mid-flight. Carlisle emerged from his study, carrying Bella in his arms. He nodded very briefly to Alice before crossing to our room, the only one with a bed.
"Don't go," Bella said as Alice and I peeped around the jamb of the door.
"I'll never leave you," Carlisle promised, holding her hand and kissing her. She continued to pull and we backed away before we were spotted by her.
Giggling quietly, we peeked again to see Carlisle, eyes closed, pretending to sleep beside her.
We watched for several minutes before Alice broke the silence. "They are so adorable," Alice whispered.
"She may be asleep, but I'm not," Carlisle complained in a quiet whisper of his own.
"Well, we'll just entertain ourselves until you're done pretending," Alice whispered. "Or until Bella wakes up, as that will happen first," she teased. She grabbed my hand and led me away.
"You saw it all?" I asked as we entered the study that smelled of Bella. I breathed deep, relishing it. It had been months, and although I could recall it perfectly, experiencing her scent was better.
"Of course!" she said with a laugh. "Carlisle was surprised, as you know, but she was able to talk him around fairly easily." She started putting away books and papers, clearing the desk.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Well, the bed is occupied." She looked at me as though this were obvious.
"Yes. What do I need a desk for?" I asked just before pinning her to one of the bookcases. The inch of clearance on the shelf was perfect to rest her hips on. She would be able to feel my hardness pressing into her, straining against the denim of my jeans.
"Mmm, I love when you surprise me."
"You do?" I asked, already knowing it was true. I ran a hand through her hair. It was difficult to do, surprising her, so I appreciated it as well. "Like this?" I took a box from inside pocket of my jacket and fell to one knee. She dropped from the shelf with her hands over her mouth giggling.
"Yes, yes, exactly like this!"
I gave her only a moment to recover from the surprise. "Mary Alice Brandon." Her pride and joy doubled at my use of her full human name. "Would you do me the honour of being my wife?"
"Yes, Jasper! Oh yes, yes, yes." She squealed and threw her arms around me. "It's not going to fit, but that's okay, we'll get it sized," she said quickly closing the box. "It's still the perfect ring. Thank you."
Well, at least I'd gotten that much right. How had I gotten the wrong size? I had examined Alice's delicate fingers uncountable times. She would have seen me put it on, even though she didn't know when, and it was either too big or too small.
"Alice?" Bella moaned groggily. "Jasper?"
"Lay still, Bella. I'm sure they'll come to you," Carlisle told her.
We did, standing at the foot of the bed. "Well, I guess you have some news," Alice said with a smirk.
Bella blushed and clung more tightly to Carlisle. "Actually I think our news might be similar. Carlisle asked me to marry him too."
I felt Carlisle's embarrassment, shame, and surprise. Had he not intended to share that with us?
Alice's jaw dropped. "What? I didn't see that! Oh my God! Congratulations!" She ran to the side of the bed to hug them both. "Where's the ring?" Alice asked, holding Bella's hand.
"Where's yours?" Bella asked snidely.
Alice frowned. "Touché. Well, at least we can plan the weddings together."
I cringed very slightly. I could only imagine what sort of affair Alice would throw for our wedding.
"We might have to wait a year, Alice," Bella warned. "I'd like to start my new life, well, in my new body. You might not want a crazy newborn for a bride." She looked to Carlisle now.
"I think I could handle that. But yes, the ceremony might go more smoothly after you've had a bit of time."
Alice zoned out, having a vision. Then she smiled. "You didn't really want to be involved in the planning, did you, Bella?"
"No," she said honestly, her mouth widening with another yawn.
"Good. You rest. I'll start the ball rolling, and trust me, when the time comes, you and I will be the best looking vampire brides in existence."
"Perfect." Bella curled into Carlisle and closed her eyes. "You weren't getting up, were you?" she asked once she was comfortable.
"No," he said with a low chuckle.
"We'll let you two be. Oh!" Alice squeaked again. "I'm so happy!" She twirled her way from the room, grabbing my hand at the door. She didn't let go until we were back in the study and she had closed the door. She turned to me, her happiness still bubbling over.
"She is going to be the easiest newborn ever, Jasper. I don't understand, but she is going to be in control from the start. I'm thinking a spring wedding, under the cherry blossoms. Does that sound good?"
I shook my head, floored by the first statement. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, she's going to be reasonable, relatively calm and able control her strength, immediately. I would guess it's because she knows what to expect, but I can't quite fathom it myself." Her smile turned sultry. "She will be insatiable though. You might need an outlet for all the lust she'll be pumping out." She put a finger in her mouth, licking the tip of it. "You might be nearly as occupied as Carlisle." She moved behind me, pulling my jacket from my shoulders. "He'll be taking a leave from the hospital, a honeymoon. A three year honeymoon."
"Th-three years?" I stuttered, turning to face her.
She nodded, her eyes still blazing. Lust continued to pour from her. "And that will only get her calm enough to let him go for a few hours at a time. As soon as she realizes she doesn't get tired... well, you can imagine."
I thought I was going to burst right out of my pants. Bella wasn't exactly satiable now. "I might need that desk," I murmured, lifting her by the waist and kissing her. I walked three strides before laying her down on the dark wooden surface, quickly freeing myself from the confines of my jeans and letting them fall to the floor. I sighed in the relief.
"Mmm, someone is eager," Alice teased.
"Oh, and you aren't?" I asked, running my fingers up her thigh and along her damp panties, exposing the lie I had already smelled.
"I didn't say that." She continued to smirk. She rested on her elbows and used her toe to trace the inside of my arm, tickling along the way. "I was just... admiring."
I nodded. "And you like what you see?" I turned a little of her own lust back at her and she nearly purred, shimmying her panties down. I pulled my shirt off before slowly unbuttoning hers. I laid a trail of kisses from her navel to beneath her chin as I did so. I was eager, not impatient. I wanted to enjoy myself. I wanted Alice to enjoy herself. Her hands fisted in my hair and she pulled my head back down to the lacy bra obscuring her breast. With one hand I freed her left breast while my teeth cut carefully through the lace on the other.
"Don't wreck it," she said sadly. I chuckled, as though she didn't have enough clothing for three women.
"Barely damaged," I murmured, rolling her nipple between my lips and touching it gently with my tongue.
"Oh," she gasped, her grip on my hair tightening. The hand that wasn't massaging her free breast was teasing the skin between her thighs, strumming along the inside of one. Eventually, I turned her to the edge of the desk.
She wrapped her knees around my bare hips and shook her arms from her sleeves, the silk of her blouse pooling behind her. She ran her nails up my back, making me arch and press my tip into her.
"Come to me," she said, pulling me closer.
"Come for me," I replied, licking her ear and kissing her neck as I thrust into her.
"I plan to," she answered with a laugh. She gasped and squeaked as I moved her ass on the edge of the desk, gaining the best leverage. I knew I had found it when her eyes rolled back along with her head, her weight falling into my arms at her back. "Yes," she moaned.
Holding her in place, I began to rock my hips into her, hitting resistance on each stroke, pressing hard against it. I rolled my hips slightly on each thrust, feeling her tightening on me.
Her fingernails dug into my shoulders as she held on, trying not to fall back onto the desk. I held her tightly in my arms, wanting her to feel safe in my grip. I loved this woman with every fiber of my being, and I would give anything to keep her here, keep her mine.
"Yes, Jasper," she murmured, just before I felt her body convulse around me, lifting her hips right off the desk and falling back on it with a thump. She shook like that three times before stilling and opening her eyes again. "We are going to have a great honeymoon," she said breathlessly with another smirk.
"Of course we are," I agreed. "When?" I asked as I withdrew from her.
"Hmm?" When was such a vague question for Alice. Everything came down to when.
"When is Carlisle going to do it?"
"Oh! Tomorrow. He just wants to dope her up first. He thinks she won't feel the burning as keenly if he can get some morphine into her." Alice pulled her blouse back on and started buttoning, but I touched the nipple through the invisible gap in her lacy cup.
"Will it work?" I asked.
"I can't say. It looks like it. I don't see her screaming. But that could just be a matter of when I'm seeing her." Alice hated when her visions weren't perfectly clear.
"I hope it does." The burning was intense, terrible. Of all the consequences associated with Bella joining our family, that was the one I hated the most. I wished she didn't have to go through that.
"She's already said goodbye to Charlie?" I asked.
"Yep. And Sue. She told Charlie she was going to ask Carlisle or us to give her a ride to the airport, so she won't see him again. And we are going to conveniently wreck our car," she told me. "Carlisle will get the cadavers we need, and we'll stage an accident."
"He can do that on such short notice?"
She hopped off the desk, straightening her skirt. "Mmhmm. The right type just happen to be in the morgue in Seattle now. I told you, I saw everything."
I laughed and shook my head. "Except his proposal. And mine."
She tisked at me. "Yes, thanks for reminding me." She went from irritated to warm and fuzzy in split seconds. "Thank you again for the surprise," she said with a soft smile.
I laughed. "I wasn't going to do it if it couldn't be a surprise. It's too small?" I asked.
She nodded. "It would fit on one hand but not the other, just a half size."
"Ah." I would have been looking at her right hand, of course.
"I'm going shopping!" she said with glee, running out to the computer downstairs.
Hehe. Carlisle and Bella are so cute. She was looking for someone to love her exclusively. She might have had Jacob, but she chose Carlisle. Awww. Okay. So, two chapters. I think it's pretty obvious what they are...