Author Note: Thank you for the great response to this story so far! Bring on the book signing tour!
Thanks again to moosals for pre-reading. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.
Chapter 34 – I Wanna Take You Higher
We have a 2pm flight on Sunday to the first stop on Edward's book signing tour: Las Vegas. His publishers had the brilliant idea that a signing in a popular tourist destination could perhaps spread word of his book all across the county. Any tourists that stop by or even just see the advertisements for the signing could mention it to family and friends in their hometowns. Of course, there are no bookstores near the Strip, so I'm not sure exactly how many tourists will just stumble upon it, but at least they'll see the advertising.
The three of set out for SeaTac early in the morning. After parking at the airport, we take a shuttle to the terminal, check our bags, and navigate the security line. I tried to pack lightly, I really did, but it's a whole week and I really don't know how much time we'll have to go out at night. I brought a couple of nicer outfits along with comfortable clothes, just in case.
Instead of just sitting at the gate after grabbing a quick bite to eat, Edward and I walk back and forth with Masen, while trying to stay out of the way of other travelers. At least one of us has to be holding his hand at all times to keep him from running off.
As it nears our time to board, I wrinkle my nose when I spot Jane waiting at the gate. I was really hoping someone else would be sent to babysit us this time out.
Since Masen is under two, he's going to ride on Edward's lap for the duration of the flight. He and I take our seats on one side of the aisle, while Jane is across the aisle in the row in front of us. Far enough away that I probably don't have to talk to her.
"Well, hello, cutie," the flight attendant smiles at Masen as she comes down the aisle to make sure everyone's seatbelt is buckled. "What's your name?"
"Masen," Edward answers for him.
"Nice to meet you, Masen! You look just like your daddy!" I laugh when the toddler smiles up at her flirtatiously.
Since Edward can't reach it, I get snacks out of the diaper bag when Masen starts to get restless, about halfway through the flight. Otherwise, he's remarkably well-behaved for 19 months old; he doesn't even kick the seat in front of him.
Upon landing in Las Vegas, we head to baggage claim to get our luggage and Masen's stroller, while Jane checks in at the car rental counter. It looks like she's going to be driving us around, as she usually does with their authors. Yay — not!
"Oh my God!" I exclaim as we step outside, making Edward laugh. It's like walking into a sauna! I quickly pull out my phone and tap on the weather app, staring in shock at the number — 109 degrees. I've only ever felt heat like this when I visited my mother in Sedona as a teenager.
Luckily, our rental car has good air conditioning, and the Las Vegas Strip isn't at all far from the airport. We're staying at Paris Las Vegas, which excites me since I don't know when I'll ever manage a trip to France to see the real Eiffel Tower. After checking in, we're rid of Jane for the night.
"So do you want to walk the Strip?" Edward asks once we've had a few minutes to relax in our room. Tonight is really our only chance to hang out together in Vegas. He'll be doing two signings tomorrow, and then we have a 6:30pm flight to San Diego.
I give him a look because the temperature is surely still over 100 degrees. It's only 6pm. "Let me change into shorts and then how about we eat first," I bargain, and he agrees.
There's a French-themed buffet in our hotel, which we eventually find after asking for help. This hotel is massive! The buffet costs over $30 per person — except for Masen — but we've got meal vouchers, so it's fine. And the food is absolutely delicious. I'm envious of some of the desserts, vowing to learn how to make French macarons.
Once we've stuffed ourselves, we step outside into the still-stifling heat and start walking north. Masen loves the outdoor "volcano" at the Mirage and Treasure Island's fountains. It's totally touristy, but we do the gondola ride together at the Venetian. Even with Masen riding on Edward's lap, it feels romantic. I can't resist smiling as we hold hands.
After the gondola ride, we begin walking back toward our hotel. Masen is getting pretty tired, so we forego checking out the hotels south of ours and just head back to our room.
I get changed into my pajamas while Edward is giving Masen his bath, then relax on the bed.
"You look comfortable," Edward laughs when they come out of the bathroom.
"I'm enjoying the air conditioning."
He smiles, setting Masen in the crib. I force myself to get up and go through my nightly routine, then get into bed, using just the sheet as a cover.
Edward joins me in bed after setting the alarm on his phone and setting it on the nightstand. He rolls onto his side, facing me, then reaches out to touch my side, just above my waist. "Is this OK?" he whispers.
"Of course!" Silly boy.
Very slowly, he leans down until his lips touch mine. It's a soft, non-sexual kiss, but coupled with our position in bed together, it's enough to turn my body into a live wire. I reach up to gently grasp the back of his neck, pulling him down closer to me. And when I feel his weight on me, I can't control my moan.
That's enough to encourage Edward to slowly move his hand up my side until his thumb brushes over my right nipple. Our kiss deepens and I wrap my other arm around his bare back, just wanting to touch his skin. We kiss until I'm breathless, though he never makes a move to really take it any further. I can feel his erection against my hip, but I don't dare touch it unless he asks me to.
"You feel so good," he groans, dropping kisses along my jaw and neck. "Can you be quiet?"
My eyes fly open. "Wh-what did you have in mind?"
He lifts his head, and I can just make out his grin from the lights shining through the window. "Let me touch you."
Yes! Though I can't sound too eager. "You don't even have to ask," I reply breathlessly.
Edward grasps both sides of my pajama top and starts pushing up. I lift my arms obediently, letting him remove it. I have to bite my lip to hold in my moan when he takes my left nipple between his teeth. His hand squeezes my other breast, and it's so, so good.
Just as I start to wonder if this is as far as he's going to go, his hand begins wandering down my stomach and underneath the top of my shorts. "Please," I beg shamelessly when he pauses.
Sitting up suddenly, he begins pulling my shorts and panties down my legs until they're all the way off and I'm completely naked before him.
"Remember to be quiet," he warns.
At his first touch between my legs, I nearly fly off the bed. His finger slides effortlessly through the wetness before he slowly pushes it inside me. I moan quietly, just to let him know it's all good. After a few slow thrusts, a second long finger joins the first, stretching me a little.
"Edward," I moan, and he leans down to take my nipple into his mouth again. I tangle my fingers in his hair, brazenly spreading my legs wider as he continues to fuck me with his fingers. When his thumb joins in, pressing on my clit, I know it won't be long until he makes me come.
"So g-good," I pant.
Suddenly his mouth covers mine, swallowing my moans as I shatter around him. His fingers continue their assault, letting me ride out my orgasm. When he finally removes his hand, I try to catch my breath.
"Was that OK?" he asks quietly.
"Do you have to ask?" I laugh, reaching for him.
"No," he says, shaking his head as he grabs hold of my wrist to stop me. "Tonight was for you… I kind of owed you one."
"Were you maybe testing yourself? To see if you could touch me without triggering any guilt?"
Edward looks a little shy as he nods. "Yeah, kind of. And I could do it," he smiles. "I'm all good. I think… one thing at a time though."
He hunts down my clothes, handing them back to me so I can re-dress. I fall asleep happy and sated and with his arms around me.
In the morning, Edward has to get up fairly early so that he and Jane can travel to the northwest part of the city for his first signing. He kisses Masen and me goodbye, then I get dressed in a bathing suit with a casual sundress over it. Masen and I head downstairs to find a quick breakfast — no free breakfasts in Vegas — sharing a couple of pastries from a coffee shop in the hotel.
After breakfast, I change Masen into one of the swim diapers that Edward bought for him and we go outside to the pool, since I'd read in a review online that it's partially shaded in the morning. There's no child's wading pool, unfortunately, so I take Masen in my arms and walk around the big pool with him.
We stay out at the pool until an hour before we need to check out — we were able to get a late check-out, but only until 1pm. I take a quick shower and get dressed for the day, then call a bellhop to help me get everything downstairs, where I stow our bags.
Once that's been taken care of, I find a burger restaurant in the hotel for lunch. Since there's no kids menu, I improvise by ordering sliders and giving one to Masen, then split my fries and strawberry-banana smoothie with him.
I really want to go up the half-size replica of the Eiffel Tower, so that's our first stop after lunch. I have no interest in going outside during the hottest part of the day, so I push Masen in his stroller down Le Boulevard of shops. Most of them are upscale, far out of my price range, but it's fun to window shop, anyway.
When Edward texts me that they're on their way back, I get our bags out of storage and wait for him and Jane to pick us up to go back to the airport.
The flight to San Diego is short, so we decide to wait until we've made it to our hotel to grab dinner together. As soon as we've dropped our bags in our room, Edward pulls me in for a kiss. "I've been wanting to do that for the last three hours," he says.
"Why didn't you?"
He shrugs. "Do you care if Jane knows we're together?"
"Absolutely not," I grin. In fact, I'd kind of like to flaunt it in her face.
Since the weather is about 30 degrees cooler than in Las Vegas, we decide to walk a few blocks down to a large shopping center which has several restaurants. Edward's eyes light up when he sees the famous In-N-Out Burger, but I spoil his fun when I tell him that Masen and I had burgers for lunch. Hopefully, we'll be able to find another one for him later in the week.
We eventually settle on Olive Garden, since pretty much everything else is fast food. I haven't eaten in one of these in years, since I was in college in Seattle.
"So what did you guys do today?" Edward asks.
"Pool, Eiffel Tower, and shopping — window shopping," I clarify. "The prices were insane."
He smiles. "How did Masen like the pool?"
"He loved it! I wish they'd had some type of kiddie wading pool where I could've at least let go of him, but it was still fun. And shaded, thank God!"
Edward laughs. "I can see why you live in the Pacific Northwest."
"Yeah, the desert is no place for a girl born in the rainiest place in the country."
After dinner, we walk back to the hotel, and Edward gets Masen ready for bed. I try to relax, watching whatever I can find on TV, but I'm buzzing with anticipation — how far will Edward be willing to go tonight?
Once Masen is down for the night in his crib, Edward changes into his lounge pants. I love that he doesn't wear a shirt to bed. He lies down beside me, and I get brave, rolling on top of him so that I can easily touch his bare chest. He smiles up at me and crooks his finger, so I lean in for a kiss.
God, I really could just kiss him all day. Except that his hands are brushing up and down my back, squeezing my backside and making me want to just tear his pants off and sink down on him.
"Bella," he mumbles, pushing me away slightly. "Believe me, it's not that I don't want you, but… when we make love, I don't want to have to worry about not waking my son."
"I know," I groan, sitting up and sliding off of Edward's body onto the bed.
"Patience," he grins. I roll my eyes, but I already know that he's worth the wait.
In the morning, I have to get up with Edward so that we can check out of the hotel, since we're driving to Anaheim tonight. He and Jane then drop Masen and me off at Sea World to spend the day, while they do two more book signings around San Diego.
The rest of the week is a blur, driving up I-5 to Anaheim and then to San Bernadino the following day, before spending two nights in Los Angeles while Edward does signings in Burbank and Santa Monica. From there, we take a short flight to Sacramento, then later drive to San Jose and San Francisco for the last two book signings on Saturday.
Sometimes Masen and I just hang at the hotel pool, sometimes we go out and do something near the hotel, and sometimes we come along to the bookstore and find something to do in the surrounding area, depending on what's available in each location. Whatever it is, I have a great time with Masen; he's such a happy, fun little boy. I'm mistaken for his mother more than once, but I really don't mind when Edward isn't around.
With all of the traveling, Edward and I get very little time to ourselves, unfortunately. We manage dinner together every night, only having to "enjoy" Jane's company once, when we stop at In-N-Out on the drive to San Jose. I make it a point to kiss Edward in front of her and hold his hand at every opportunity, once he's given me the go-ahead.
Alone at night, we kiss and touch and sleep in each other's arms, but Edward stubbornly refuses to go any further with Masen in the room. I don't blame him; I'm just horny.
We could fly home from San Francisco on Saturday night with Jane, but Edward had offered to pay for a hotel that night to give us a little time to do some sightseeing together before flying home early Sunday afternoon.
After the afternoon signing, we check in to our hotel just a few minutes' walk from the famous Pier 39, and as I step into the room, I look around in confusion. "Where's the bed?" I ask.
"In the bedroom," Edward laughs. "I got us a suite… so we can be as loud as we want."
A/N: Yes, yes, another cliffie!
Sorry if you're disappointed that I skimmed over much of the tour. I thought it would get really boring to cover a week in as much detail as the first tour. Bella and Masen did their own thing all day, then had dinner with Edward every night.
We've definitely crossed from our happy PG right over PG-13 to an R rating, as Edward tested himself by paying Bella back for that dry hump incident before he freaked out. And now he's booked them a suite for a romantic night in San Francisco.
It'll be mentioned in the next chapter, but for those wondering, Sandy is with Leah and her siblings for the week!
Next update on Monday.