A/N: The FF site isn't allowing response to reviews. I promise I'm not ignoring you… I just literally cannot write back. I do want to thank those of you who have been reviewing. It's very encouraging! I enjoyed my digression into Bella and Edward's relationship so much that I kept it going for one more chapter.
Chapter 14
I woke to the unusual sight of rays of sunshine streaming through the windows of Edward's bedroom.
"Good morning," he whispered as he wrapped me in his embrace and peppered my forehead with soft kisses. "Did you sleep well?"
"You could answer that question better than anyone else," I answered with a smile.
"Well, comparatively speaking, I'd say you had a good night."
"Mmmmm….. and a good morning so far. I like waking up like this," I sighed contently.
"Then you shall, for as long as you want."
I immediately recognized the implication. "Not this again," I said as I rolled my eyes. "It's too early to have this argument."
"I wasn't trying to start an argument… I was merely stating that if you like waking up like this, there's no rush to change it." He put an extra emphasis on the word 'change.'
"Yes, and you know that's exactly how this argument always starts."
He chuckled. "I suppose so, but that really wasn't my intention."
"I haven't even been awake for a whole minute yet. I think there should be at least a five-minute moratorium on anything potentially contentious in the morning."
"But after five minutes, I can bring up anything?" he asked with a mischievous smile.
"On second thought, I'd better make that an hour. I have to get some coffee in my system before I can be properly contentious."
He laughed. "How about instead of being contentious, we just make out like teenagers?"
"Edward!" I gasped. "Where did THAT come from?"
"What?" he asked, obviously feigning ignorance.
"You know what! Are you OK? Do you need a doctor?" I teased, feeling his forehead for a fever. "I can call Carlisle up here. You do feel a little warm..."
"Ha ha. Very funny, Miss Bella. I'll have you know I feel just fine. Better than fine, actually. I've decided, based on our conversation last night, that I need to give you more information about how I… feel… about you."
"I like where this is going, but unfortunately, I'm going to need a human moment first."
"OK, but hurry back," he whispered, somewhat reluctantly releasing his hold on me. I popped up out of bed, rushing to use the bathroom so I could get back to where we left off. These human needs were certainly something I wouldn't miss after my change, especially when Edward had just suggested we "make out," a phrase he had never used before. I could feel the blood coursing through my veins in anticipation of what he meant by it.
As I washed my hands, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My hair looked like a chicken had been foraging around in it, and my eyes still held on to their restful night of sleep. I ran a brush through my hair the best I could, splashed some water on my face and brushed my teeth before returning to bed.
Edward smiled warmly, pulling up the covers to welcome me back in. "I didn't think it was possible, but you look even more beautiful now than you did a minute ago."
That earned him a significant eye roll. I laid down next to him and he immediately pulled me into his arms. He leaned toward me, his eyes suddenly darkened and smoldering as his lips touched mine.
A shiver ran up my spine that had nothing to do with his cold hands on me. Our kiss deepened, but this time was different. He was very clearly taking the lead. Gently, he rolled me to my back as he halfway covered my body with his. He was careful not to put too much weight on me, but it was enough to feel that wonderful compression between him and the mattress.
It wasn't long before I was panting, breathless, and my heart was trying to beat its way out of my chest. He broke away from my mouth to plant lingering, slow kisses along my jaw and neck, nuzzling into my ear, nibbling on the lobe, then my favorite thing of all, pulsing his tongue against the hollow behind my ear. He was rewarded with a spontaneous moan from deep inside my chest. I felt him smile against my neck as he slowly made his way to the other side.
My body was going crazy as he leisurely, yet sensuously started down my neck. I tilted my head to the side, giving him better access. When he reached the lowest spot, he paused to lick and nip and suckle at the skin there. I expected him to make the trail back up, but for the first time ever, he kept going. My eyes shot open as he carefully pushed a strap of my tank top to the side, following its path, tasting previously undiscovered flesh.
He very slowly kissed and licked a trail across the top part of my chest, his chin grazing my breasts on his way to pushing the other strap out of his path. He eventually reached the other shoulder, and while I realized he had already gone far beyond his normal boundary line, I was ready for more. A lot more.
To my surprise, there was a tap at the bedroom door. Edward smiled bashfully, sitting up rather abruptly, his eyes never leaving mine as he said, "Yes, I know," in answer to the door.
"Alice?" I asked him.
"Who else?" He responded to my puzzled look. "She came to tell me I needed to stop for now."
"What?" I asked, alarmed. "She's watching us? And why would we need to stop there?"
"Technically, she's watching me. I asked her to. I want to get closer to you, Bella, and I know you don't believe I'll hurt you…"
"You wo…" I started to protest, but he cut me off quickly.
"I don't think I will either, but until I know for an absolute fact that you're safe, I have to tread slowly. I told Alice to warn me if she saw anything even remotely possible going wrong. Bella, I'm sorry, but I'm just going to need some time to get accustomed to this," he said as he gestured down my body.
I started to say something, but then paused. I wasn't sure how to word this correctly. "Edward… I know we covered some new ground and it was wonderful, really it was. It's just, in the grand scheme of things…"
"It wasn't much," he finished my sentence, albeit more bluntly than I would have. "I know. It's just that… well… as a vampire… I have… all of us… you know… we can…"
"Oh, for heaven's sakes, Edward, just spit it out!"
He did, but his mouth moved so fast, I couldn't even begin to understand what he said.
"OK, now just spit it out at my speed, please. There's no need to be nervous. Whatever it is, we can talk about it. I want us to be open about these things."
"Be careful what you wish for…" he warned before taking a deep breath. "The last thing I want to do is embarrass you, but Bella, I could tell how aroused you were getting and the scent… it was overwhelming."
I pulled the sheet up over myself, suddenly shy and self-conscious. "Are you saying you stopped because of how I smell? Down there?" I pointed to the general area in question. "I hate to break it to you, but it's not going to get any better, so if you find it that repulsive…"
"Repulsive? What? No, Bella! I'm saying it's amazing, at least as intoxicating as your blood. Certainly more potent… and it makes me crazy with desire for you. Remember when we first met, how it took me a while to get accustomed to being around the scent of your blood? Well, this is all that times ten. And this is actually more difficult because…"
"Because…?"
"Well, I'm around your blood all the time, but this only happens at certain times, so it's more difficult to get accustomed to it, and…" he trailed off again.
I scrunched up my face and squeezed my eyes almost shut in anticipation of what else he had to say on this topic. "And…?"
He chuckled at my expression. "And… the scent is never quite the same each time, so desensitizing has been… difficult. Carlisle says it has a lot to do with body chemistry and what you've had to eat or drink beforehand."
My eyes went wide and I all but screeched, "Carlisle says? You talked to Carlisle about this?"
"He's a doctor, Bella! He's also my father-figure. Who else would I talk to?"
That did make sense, but I was still mortified. "Can't you just look it up in a book?"
"Yes, and I did, but books can't help me with my feelings. And there's not a lot of written medical literature about male vampire's reactions to human female arousal."
I rolled away from him and curled up into a ball, pulling the sheet with me and covering myself from head to toe. "I can never look at Carlisle again. Any of them… they all know, don't they," I muttered from inside my white cotton cocoon.
Edward's pause told me I was right. I curled up a little tighter.
"Sweetheart, it's OK. In a house full of vampires, there really aren't any secrets. I talked to Carlisle and he may have talked to Esme, but she's a woman, too. She understands. And of course, Jasper can sense the strong emotions and Alice can watch the whole thing play out if she wants to… and all of us have the superhuman sense of smell…"
"Are you trying to comfort me or make this worse?" I snapped. I felt his hand stroke my arm, which I think meant he was trying to comfort me. I didn't feel any more comfortable, however. "So, the only ones who don't know are Emmett and Rose?"
"We know!" I heard Emmett yell from downstairs.
"And I suppose Fred knows, too?"
"I do now!" Fred yelled.
"That's it. I'm never leaving this room again. Nobody is allowed in here except you. I'm going to stay under this sheet forever," I mumbled.
There was a tap at the door. "Go away, Alice," I yelled, although I knew yelling was unnecessary.
"Bella, Edward, can I come in?" It was Esme, probably the only other person on the planet I would be willing to talk to at that moment.
"Yes," I said, still covered up like a child. I felt silly… I WAS silly. When I said I could handle anything Edward wanted to tell me, I wasn't thinking it would be something like this. So here I was, hiding in my fiancé's bed, intending to stay there for the rest of my human and vampire existence.
"Bella, honey, I'm going to go downstairs and give you and Esme some time to talk, OK?" Edward said. His voice was close, but I didn't come out to see where he was.
"Why bother? You'll be able to hear me anyway. Or SMELL me…"
"Bella, it really is OK," Esme started. I heard the door shut and felt her sit down on the edge of the bed. "I can understand why this feels embarrassing to you, but it's all perfectly natural. I know this isn't a situation other human girls have to face. If it makes you feel any better, we're all quite accustomed to human scents. All of them. The good, the bad, and the ugly," she said with a giggle.
"Sorry, Esme, but not helpful…" I replied dryly.
"I'm sorry, honey," she said as she gently pulled the sheet away from my flushed face. "This is unprecedented territory for all of us, but I can tell you that we're all thrilled you and Edward love each other so much, and part of that is about physical attraction. If your body didn't react to him, then I'd be worried. It's perfectly normal and healthy and beautiful. It's just strange that your fiancé's entire family knows when you're feeling… amorous."
"Strange. Yeah, that's the understatement of the century," I griped.
"I don't want to patronize you, but once you're a vampire, this will become commonplace to you. You'll know firsthand how much we rely on our sharp senses, smell just being one of them. We get a lot of information from our noses."
"Yeah, like who's in heat and who's not?" I asked sarcastically.
"Among other things…" she answered.
"I suppose you can tell when I'm having my period?"
"Of course!" she answered matter-of-factly.
"Isn't that difficult for you? With all the blood?"
"Have you ever asked Edward about it?"
"No, but I have wondered. I figured he just learned to deal with it like everything else."
"Menstrual blood is dead, so it really holds no appeal for us. It's not repellant, but it's certainly not appetizing."
"OK, wow. This conversation adds a whole new, and very creepy, dimension to the-birds-and-the-bees talk I had with my mom when I was 13," I only half-joked.
She laughed. "Well, I never expected to have this type of conversation with one of my daughters, so I guess we're even."
"I suppose so… sort of… I mean, I still get to be the one who's humiliated."
"Bella, my dear girl, there is nothing humiliating about it. It might be a little… awkward at first, but soon you'll forget all about it."
"Yeah, like Emmett's going to let me forget," I huffed.
"Well, you may have a point there, but we'll try to keep him in line, OK?"
"Yeah, because that always works so well," I grumbled. "But Emmett better remember I'm going to be stronger than him pretty soon," I said a little louder, just to make sure he heard me.
"Yes, and believe me, we're all looking forward to that! But for right now, little one, I can hear that you're hungry and I'm sure Edward is worried about you. Why don't you get in the shower and get dressed while I go make you some breakfast? And coffee. You'll need that before you can be properly contentious," she chuckled.
I turned red again. "Esme! You're supposed to be on my side! I'm never spending the night here again!"
"Oh, don't be silly, my little girl," she coddled. "We all love you so much, and our morning was quite a bit more entertaining with you here." She gave me a wink and a squeeze before disappearing out the door.
"Stupid vampires with their stupid super hearing…" I groused.
"We heard that!"
…
I slowly made my way downstairs after my shower. I felt 'fresh' as it were, but I was very aware of the noses around me. I sat down to a picture-perfect omelet with toast, juice and coffee. Edward sat beside me and apprehensively took my hand. "Are you OK?" he asked.
"Yeah, I suppose…"
"I don't know, Bella. Something smells awfully fishy around here to me," Fred guffawed, exaggeratedly sniffing the air while nudging Emmett, who was back to playing video games with him. The two of them snickered together, and although I couldn't hear their continued bantering, I knew Edward could, and he didn't look happy.
He started to get up, but I squeezed his hand. "Let me," I said. He looked at me questioningly and shrugged.
I stood from my seat and announced in too loud a voice, "Everybody listen up. Edward and I are engaged to be married. I love him with all my heart and soul. Edward is also smokin' hot and I want him. And yes, I mean sexually. My body does what it's supposed to do under those circumstances. Any questions?"
Edward stared at me like I'd grown a second head. I blushed furiously as I sat down, but didn't regret what I had done. More than anything, I hated the proverbial pink elephant in the middle of the room that everyone knew was there, but nobody talked about. I would never hear the end of the little jokes and innuendos at my expense, so I figured it was better to acknowledge the elephant and get it over with.
"Jeez, Bella. TMI," Emmett complained. "Can someone pass the brain bleach?"
"I was with you until you said Edward was hot. Ugh," Rose added, looking at Edward like he was Medusa's twin. "But bravo anyway. Don't let these dumb boys make you feel bad about yourself."
I gave Rosalie a little smile of thanks, then decided to focus on my plate, still feeling the scrutiny of all eyes on me.
After a few bites, I looked up and was relieved to see that only Edward was still paying attention to me. Everyone else had gone back to whatever they'd been doing before my unscheduled outburst. He passed me a note, which is how we privately communicated sometimes when we were with his family.
Written in Edward's beautiful hand, it said: That was the single sexiest thing I've ever witnessed in my entire life. You amaze me more and more with every passing day. I love you so much.
A/N: So, next chapter, we get back to Fred.