BPOV
Alpha Chi is lit up like a haunted house against the backdrop of a veiled starry night. The ground clouds skirt the edges of the gargantuan McMansion, giving it that ethereal feel, and, suddenly, it looks as though I'm stepping into a dream.
"You sure you want to do this?" Angela reapplies her poppy red lipstick, never once taking her eyes off the overgrown estate.
"I'm positive. The sooner I can switch off the Jessica show, the better. Besides, who wouldn't want to live in a haunted mansion?" I pull her up the steps.
"I still think you're making a really huge mistake. From what you said about this afternoon, you're making some serious strides with your current roommate."
"Yeah, well, like I said, Edward is a nice guy. He probably just felt bad that I was the only girl on the boat who didn't get the 'wear your thong memo.' Besides, I doubt a card game equals serious strides." He never did mention that kiss—but, then again, neither did I.
Angela pulls me back by the shoulder and twists her crimson lips into me.
"You don't believe that for a minute, and neither do I. Face it, that boy has a hard-on with your name on it. If Edward Cullen said he wished you were the only two people on that boat, I'm betting he meant it. I don't think he's done a lot of articulating with the girls he's been with. He's more of a get right down to brass mattress tacks kind of guy."
A spiral of heat spears through me at the idea of Edward wanting me that way. I've yet to see his bedroom, but I totally envision a golden bed with a holy light emanating from above while a choir of angels sing a chorus of hallelujah.
"We'd better make this quick," I whisper as we come upon the giant glass doors. "We've got a shift to pull in less than an hour." Edward asked if I wanted to work the Black Bear, and of course I said yes.
A crystal chandelier blossoms from the ceiling, and I peer inside before bothering to knock. Dark expansive floors bleed throughout the downstairs, and a navy carpet runs up the steps, held back with long, gilded bars. An entire crowd of girls have amassed in the great room just beyond the entry, and one of them spots us and motions us inside. They're all dressed in black tea length dresses with their hair neatly coifed and… eerily they're all wearing a single strand of pearls. Why do I feel like a sorority version of the clone wars is about to break out?
Angela leans in. "So if we make it, do we have to morph into an Alpha Chi-bot?"
"It's the fashion camaraderie that links them together." It looks more fashion jinx than link, but I keep the commentary to myself.
"I don't know." She shudders in her jean jacket. "Something about the blue oyster cult is really creeping me out."
One of the walking pearls skips over in her heels, creating a grating sound over the floor. "Hi! I'm Lynn. Who's your sponsor?" Her hair is curled under at the ears, and she's in the requisite little black dress with discards from the ocean strung helpless around her neck. Suddenly I'm feeling a wee bit nervous because obviously I didn't get the memo to get my pearls or my perky on—not that I own pearls, and God forbid that I own an ounce of perky.
"She's mine!" Heidi rushes over with her blonde mane perfectly twisted in stiff little ringlets.
"Oh my, gosh! You brought a friend!" She spasms over me as if Angela herself were manna from heaven. "Come, come." She pulls us each by the hand and scuttles into the center of the room as if we were exhibit A and B.
"Who is this?" A brassy blonde steps forward, and you can tell by her resting bitch face, that ultra-cruel look in her eyes, that she's the one in charge of this quasi-hostage situation. "And why are they breaking dress code?" She barks at Heidi, inspiring her to shrink three inches.
"Relax, Lauren." Angela rolls her eyes. "This is Bella Swan, and you'd be lucky if she graced your presence."
I'm impressed that Angela knows her, but, then, Angela seems to know everyone and everything about them. Not that she's filling me in on all the dirty little deets.
The queen bee inspects me with a look of slight disgust. Her brassy hair is pulled up high, and she has on enough mascara to give her that spider lash effect. There's a sinister feel to her, so it doesn't surprise me that she's driving this crazy train.
"Did you tell me I'd be lucky to have her grace my presence?" Lauren squints into Angela until her eyelashes look as if they want to crawl off her face.
Nobody moves, nobody breathes. Dear God, you would think I slaughtered their mothers the way every girl in the room looks like they want to personally murder me in my sleep.
"Well, Angela and Bella"—she growls with a heated disdain—"we have a dress code to abide by. But, since you're obviously clueless, I'll let it slide just this once." She snaps a finger in the air, loud and crisp as if she broke a bone in the process. "All new recruits line up against the back!" Her voice echoes through the room, vibrating the chandelier sconces until they sizzle against the wall. "Welcome to the hall of truth. Here at Alpha Chi we believe that authenticity and integrity are of the upmost value. We never hesitate telling a sister exactly how we feel because the truth is what separates a sister from a friend. For instance"—she glances at the bevy of girls behind her, and the entire lot of them shrink in fear, well, not really but you could see it in their eyes—"when Lynn here got her hair chopped off at a place that specializes in ten dollar hack jobs, I let her know that little follicular fuck-up was going to cost her a place at the next four social events with our matchups at Sigma Theta Tau."
A gasp circles the room while Lynn closes her eyes a moment as if reliving the horror.
"And, when you, Jen"—she flicks a finger at a shorter girl with a mole the size of a dime just under her left eye—"tried to join the a cappella group after I graciously informed you that you sing like shit…." A smile that borders on a snarl graces her face. "Well, why don't you tell everyone what happened next?"
"I didn't make it." The girl with the mole gives a hard sniff.
"What's that?" Lauren barks it out like a command.
"I didn't make it! You were right. I sing like a sack of shit on fire, and I defamed the good name of Alpha Chi!" She yelps it out at the crowd as if the reprimand was meant for us all along.
Holy crap. Are these people for real?
"Now"—Lauren gives a soft clap while that stupid wicked smile plays on her lips—"the sisters and I are looking forward to getting to know each of you better. State your name and the reason you'd like for us to consider you as future members of Alpha Chi. Honest answers only." Her eyes reduce to slits, and suddenly I'm fearing for my room at the haunted inn. "I have an exceptional radar for liars." Her thin lips set in a line, and somehow I believe her.
The girls at the far end start in on the fun while Angela leans into me.
"Lauren and I grew up together," she whispers. "She's been hot and bothered over Edward for as long as I can remember, so I wouldn't mention him—Emmett either just to be safe."
I give a barely-there nod. "What do I say?" I zip the words through the side of my lips like a ventriloquist.
"Say that you'd die to live here," she whispers. "That you came to Whitney just for Alpha Chi."
"Excuse me?" The brassy bitch snaps her fingers in our direction. "It looks like someone here likes talking out of turn." Her dark eyes narrow in on us, her jaw roots itself to the ground, incredulous that we even bothered to breathe out of turn. I half-expect her to punch us in the throat. "Why don't you two go next since you're so excited, you could hardly keep your pie holes shut. You first." She hardens her gaze at me.
"Bella Swan, and I would l-o-v-e to become a member of Alpha Chi—" I thought spelling it out would be a cute touch since Heidi seems to be addicted to the alphabet. Wait...do I really want to be a member of Alpha Chi and have more of this f-u-n?
"Why?" Lauren's eyes expand the size of baseballs. "Spit it out."
Lynn and Heidi drape her like bookends, albeit frightened, quaking in their patent stilettos, bookends.
"I would really love to become a member of Alpha Chi…"—now would be a great time to dream up some craptastic answer, but, truthfully, I'm a little short on lies at the moment so I go for the truth—"so I don't have to witness Jessica Stanley fornicating herself into a cardiac episode." Thing One and Thing Two blink through my mind as if they were waving hello.
The room lights up with laughter, and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.
That's a good sign right? Adding levity to the situation and all that good stuff? I can feel a bite of perspiration under my arms because I seriously doubt inciting a laugh riot is a very good fucking sign.
Shit. I can't believe I just said that crap about Jessica out loud. It was one thing to tell a few people but an entire crowd of questionably stable girls? My mouth has officially morphed into the rumor mill.
"Also"—it's like I'm on autopilot, and my lips won't stop moving—"sharing a bathroom with my brother and his roommate is growing a little old." I manage to leave the parade of sluts out of the equation for now, although Edward did mention he was handing the keys to the carnal kingdom to my brother.
Lauren narrows her gaze at me. She leans so far in my direction, I'm positive she's about to flop over. Her jaws cut back like razors, her lips are pulled into a thin line of hatred, and I'm pretty sure I've just reduced my stay at this glorified mortuary to zero. Why don't I just tell them I hate tea length dresses and pearls? Or really go out in style and swing a sickle from the second floor balcony while screaming, die bitches!
"So let me get this straight?" Lauren takes a few steps toward me, and the room echoes with the click of her heels. "You want to join our sorority because you ran away from your romping roommate? And you don't like the bathroom accommodations at your brother's place?" Her pink glossy mouth contorts in disapproval.
Oh, what the hell. "Yes." I bite down on my lip in an effort to block my vocal cords from spewing any more hardcore truths, but it's no use. "And, I happen to hate tea length dresses and pearls." A circle of gasps titter around the room. "This is the hall of truth, right?"
She sucks in a breath and darts her finger toward the exit.
….
Angela and I laugh our asses off as we speed over to the Black Bear Saloon.
"You were brilliant." She shakes her head into the dark two-lane highway.
"So do you think they'll let us in?" I can't even finish the thought before the two of us hack out another round of good old-fashioned air laughs. Angela swerves momentarily before pulling into the parking lot.
"If they did let us in, I'm pretty sure Alpha Chi would be a lot more fun. Seriously though"—Angela wipes the tears from her eyes with her pinkies—"you'll probably wish you didn't blow rush."
"What are you taking about? That girl had I-specialize-in-breaking-lady-balls written all over her face. There's no way I'll ever regret not scoring a room at the mansion of misery." Well, maybe I'll regret it a little.
"I know, but I was just thinking, you might be right. If things get serious between you and Eddie—you know, once you're officially together, you'll want to find someplace else to stay to maintain that air of mystery for a while."
"Officially together," I whisper. Just the thought of being with Edward sends me soaring. I'd be the envy of every girl at Whitney Briggs. Hell, I'd be the envy of me.
Angela and I hop out of the car and head on in. The Black Bear is jammed packed with bodies tonight. Music pulsates through the speakers at lethal decibels, and Jasper lifts a drink to us from behind the black granite bar. It's just this side of creepy the way he looks almost exactly like his brother—I guess being fraternal twins will do that. Then I see him—the real deal. Edward's smile expands as his eyes lock onto mine. His jaw cinches tight. He's got that five o'clock shadow peppering his cut features, and his entire face lights up when he sees me.
"Would you look at that?" Angela muses as she ties on her apron. "He's like a kid on Christmas morning with you around. Looks like someone's about to get l-a-i-d," she sings that last part before disappearing into the crowd.
Right. More like paid, as in, by the patrons. At least I can almost guarantee that's going to happen tonight. Not that I would mind getting "laid," but something about the word makes me squirm. I've always envisioned my first time to be in a bubble of perfect love with someone who wanted me as much as I wanted them. And, with Edward, I feel an emotional push in the opposite direction, I don't know why.
I slip behind the bar and pluck an apron from under the counter.
"Ready for some action?" Edward curls into me, and, for a moment, I think he's propositioning me.
"Action? I bet half of the girls that come in this place are trying to get lucky with an Cullen brother." I wink as I tie the white frilly apron around my waist.
Jasper barks out a laugh, and I startle. I didn't see him swoop on over, really I was referencing one Cullen in particular, that being Edward.
"Listen, sweetheart"—Jasper leans in with that come hither look in his eye—"if you can't find an Cullen brother to pleasure you tonight, track me down at about three in the morning." He socks Edward in the arm before heading to the other end of the bar.
"That wasn't awkward," I say, mostly to myself.
"If you're in the market for an Cullen brother, I can tell you Jasper's the wrong one—unless, of course, you're also in the market for a medication-resilient STD. Then you're free to venture."
"Oh? Does his scoreboard put yours to shame?"
His lids hood over. "The only thing I've scored lately is a clean bill of health per my last physical." A slight dimple goes off on his left cheek. His face looks tan from the boat ride this afternoon, and his stubble has taken over, giving him that hot, scruffy look I'm a sucker for. He leans onto the bar and gazes at me as if he's flirting.
"So"— I swallow hard, never taking my eyes off his—"which Cullen brother is the right one?"
The music cuts out, and a sharp bite of feedback takes over the speakers, inspiring ten different people in the vicinity to cover their ears. A slow song starts in and resettles the mood in the room.
Edward pinches his lips together, taking me in as if I was dessert, but he doesn't answer the question. Instead, he tilts his head and stares into me dreamily, at least that's the story I'm buying.
"You want to dance?" He nods over to a small clearing between the tables.
"I've never seen anyone dance here before." Heat rises to my cheeks, and I take a breath at the prospect of holding his perfect body to mine.
"I think maybe it's time people start." Edward clasps onto my fingers and gently threads us through the crowd until we're centered in the tiny clearing. He pulls me in and wraps his arms around my waist, warming me from head to toe with an instant inferno. His knees press against my inner thighs, he intertwines our fingers, and another wave of heat sears through me. Edward never takes his eyes off mine while his pelvis pushes into me as if giving me the carnal green light.
My throat goes dry. My heart thumps in my ears so loud I swear he can hear it.
I glance up at him starry eyed. Edward Cullen is the sex god of Whitney Briggs, and he's dancing with me. In. Public.
A group of girls turn their heads in our direction just as a few other couples meander over and dance alongside us.
"Looks like your evil plan worked." I bite down over my lower lip to keep from spewing out any additional suggestions that might work, such as reenacting our moves in a horizontal position sans clothing. God knows that the nightmare at Alpha Chi has unleashed word vomit central in my brain.
"I figured if you're in the market for an Cullen brother, I might as well put my best foot forward—literally." He gives a lopsided grin, and my stomach pinches.
"Yeah, well, you're a pretty good kisser so I'd be a fool not to choose you." What am I saying? Choose you? I'm the desperate one, not the other way around. Besides, it was just one kiss—one long, fantastic, mind-blowing lip exchange that will play out in my fantasies until I'm dust and bones, but, nevertheless, he relegated me and my pucker to the buddy rack before the night was through, so there's that. I've practically made a pass at him on three other occasions but he's declined every offer since that magical night. I guess Angela was right, parking lot magic isn't a real thing after all.
"You want to blow this place and have a good time?" His eyes hood over again, and a surge of adrenaline pulsates in that sweet spot between my legs.
Oh God. What the hell is good time code for? Am I really going to sleep with Edward and become some nameless tally mark on his wall?
A tiny voice that creeps from somewhere deep in my vagina screams a loud, demanding, hell yes.
"Sure," I hear myself say. "I'm ready to have all the fun you're willing to give me." Give me? I glance down at his chest briefly. Who the hell has taken over my mouth? This is exactly what I swore I would never do, meaningless sex with cute frat boys. Even if he's not a frat boy, the premise is still the same. I want it to mean something. I want Edward to care about me, to want me in more than just a sexual sense—well, ideally anyway. Maybe he feels like the only way to get me off his back is to pin me down with his boy toy and get it over with? And, sadly, he's probably right.
Angela gives a thumbs-up from over his shoulder, and I try not to break out in a goofy grin.
Edward swivels his hands up over my back, and my insides give a mean quiver. He leans in with his cheek an inch away from mine, and I can feel the heat emanating off his skin in waves. The song wraps up, and he leads me by the hand to the exit, giving Jasper a quick wave on our way out the door.
The crisp night air enlivens my senses, and then it hits me—I'm off to who knows where on a Saturday night with Edward Cullen. And if that doesn't qualify as a date then I don't know what does.
"So where to?" I jump a little at the thought of going anywhere with the god of good times at my side.
"How about we start with dinner?"
….
Edward and I hit a Chinese restaurant down the street, and I tell him all about my misadventure at Alpha Chi over dinner and the fact I still sort of wish I could get in. I leave out the "air of mystery" portion of my argument. But now that we're ditching work for a little alone time, I'm seriously reconsidering that whole air of mystery thing.
His chest thumps with a silent laugh. "You're a non-conformist. I like that. Most girls would have lied, and you told the truth. That's what I like about you—you're so innocent, it's cute."
A slight rail of alarm spirals through me.
"I'm not that innocent." My entire face darkens to the shade of the maroon tablecloth, giving away the fact I totally am. I'm not sure I like the idea of being "cute" either.
"Hey"—he leans over the table and clasps my hand—"there's nothing wrong with being innocent. I swear, I didn't mean it like an insult."
My eyes grow heavy, and I inspect every item on the table because I can't bring myself to look up at him.
"Yeah, well"—my fingers loosen from his grasp—"I guess I'm ready and willing to find someone to defile me." Not really. This all feels so achingly desperate that a part of me wants to run all the back to Prescott Hall and ask one of Jessica's many bare ass suitors to have their way with me just to take the edge off.
Edward pulls his sad, green orbs over me. "Trust me, the last thing you want is for someone to defile you." His glassy eyes roll over mine. He looks serious as death. "Promise me you'll hold out for something better."
Hold out? Sounds like tonight isn't ending with a private wrestling match like I hoped it would.
"What could be better?" I hold my breath a moment as he considers this. Earlier, on the boat, he said he was hanging up the scoreboard, looking for something better. I was sort of hoping that could be me.
Edward licks his lips. His eyes widen for a moment as if he were about to say something then aborts the effort.
He clears his throat. "I think you should fall in love, Bella." His gaze dips to the table then rides back up over my features. "I think you should fall so head over heels you don't know what's up and what's down anymore. You deserve to be worshiped and cared for. The last person on the planet who deserves you is some kid trolling for a quick hookup. Trust me, you're the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on. You could have your pick of the litter." He bears into me a moment with his steely gaze. "Any guy would be crazy not to want you."
Any guy…. And suddenly it's becoming clear that dinner is just dinner.
A moment thumps by with our eyes never losing their stranglehold on one another. The waiter brings the check and drops a fortune cookie in front of each of us.
"Let's see what the future holds." I give an impish grin as I pop the package open and pull out the cookie. "We're supposed to say 'underneath the sheets' after we read our fortunes, that makes it a lot more fun." And accurate I want to add but don't.
"You first." He rubs his leg against mine, nudging me.
"Okay." I pluck the thin strip of paper out with its tiny red font. "A pleasant surprise is in store for you, underneath the sheets." I hold it up victoriously as a laugh bubbles from my chest. Dear God almighty let this be so. Amen.
"Sounds like a goodtime will be had by all." His brows tweak as he pulls out his fortune. "Conquer your fears or they will conquer you." His expression dims as if that tiny piece of paper had been speaking directly to his heart.
"Underneath the sheets." I give his leg a little kick.
He offers a quiet laugh, but his eyes are still throbbing with grief.
"What has you so afraid, Edward?" I ask below a whisper. It's becoming painfully obvious that the past is still very much holding him hostage.
His clear eyes dart up to mine. "Maybe it's you."
…
After dinner we hop back in his truck, and Edward drives us down narrow tree-lined roads as we wind our way up the side of the mountain.
"Witch's Cauldron, okay?" He darts his eyes to me before firming his stare back over the open highway. The fog settles in, and the headlights illuminate the night, blinding and white.
"Sounds great." My heart thumps once unnaturally. That's where we went a few weeks back. It was private and tragically romantic. This time we're short on donuts and coffee, no beautiful sunrise to admire, with only ourselves to keep each other entertained.
Edward rounds his hand over the steering wheel as we pull in just beneath the pale blue boulders. We get out, and he helps me climb onto the lowest rock that overlooks the hot spring.
"Looks like we're all alone." I scoot into him and take in the night magic that's brewing around us. The pale glow of the moon highlights the water while the pines hover above like guardians that Emmett himself sent to protect my virginity. Little does he know Edward is pretty interested in me keeping it intact for that one special guy as well.
A lone wolf howls from somewhere deep in the forest, and a chill runs up my spine.
"Doesn't sound like we're alone." Edward gives a dark laugh, low and sexy, but despite my passive reaction I'm scared to freaking death.
Screw it. "God, we're going to get eaten alive." I bounce over and practically land in his lap. "Sorry," I say, sliding off his knee. "I'm not a fan of rabid beasts with sharpened canines." Unless, of course, he were the rabid beast with sharpened canines in question. I have a few delicate places I wouldn't mind him taking a bite out of. The imagery alone makes me whimper, and my vagina is back on its knees begging to make this happen.
"Don't be sorry. Come here." He wraps his arms around my waist and gently slides me over until I'm sitting square between his legs. "I'll keep you safe."
My entire body goes rigid.
"It's okay," he whispers, pulling my shoulders into his chest until I slowly melt into him. His hand grazes my thigh, and a quick pulse of spasms go off deep inside me.
Oh God. I let out a tiny yelp as I break out in a rash of what can only be explained as spontaneous orgasms.
Crap, crap, crap! Stupid, stupid body.
"I hope you don't mind me holding you." He offers a dimpled grin, and my girl parts give a squeeze of approval. "Plus, I can see you better this way." He rubs his cheek over the top of my head, and I twist in his arms to look up at him.
"Why do I get the feeling you're about to morph into the big bad wolf?" I lower my lashes as the words struggle from my throat. I'm far too close to him to be speaking, let alone breathing, and, God forbid, having multiple O's between his kneecaps. This is everything I've wanted, and, strangely, I'm more than afraid.
"I promise you I'm nothing like the big bad wolf." He rubs my back with his hand, and I gasp. "Hey, you're shaking." Edward warms me with his oven-heated palms and creates enough friction to spark a thousand mini earthquakes between my legs. "I'll keep you toasty."
I give a shy smile. I don't dare confess that I'm not that cold—that I'm gloriously terrified as to where the night might lead—that my girl parts are just begging to extend an invitation for him to create friction elsewhere and come inside.
And, if the night leads in the right direction—he will.
"Back at the restaurant I asked you what you were afraid of." I let it hang there because he happened to follow that up with "me," and I'd like for him to ex pand on the concept. "Tell me what you're afraid, Edward." I snuggle into his chest and look up at him as the moonbeams shine right through his prism-like eyes. I like it like this with Edward. For the first time, it feels like we're a couple.
"It's nothing." He runs his tongue slowly over his bottom lip while staring off ahead at the steaming hot spring. "I guess at the end of the day I don't want to hurt anyone."
"Hurt anyone?" I pull back to examine him for a second. "You don't strike me as a monster."
"Yeah, well, the jury is still out on that one."
"I don't believe it for a second." I tweak his ribs, and he bucks into me with his lips curled.
"Whoa." Edward tightens his fingers around my waist as a devilish grin takes over. "You just started a war, princess. You sure you want to go there?"
"Don't you dare!" My elbows crowd over my sides as I try to push his hands away. "I'm deathly ticklish, and I'll scream my head off if you even think about doing that."
"All right." A dull laugh brews in his chest. "I'll let you slide just this once. Be warned, you tickle me again, and it's on."
"You know what that sounds like?" I cock my head at him, teasing him as my hips nestle over his crotch.
"Like the threat is was?" He gives that cocky smile I've come to know and love.
"No, it sounded an awful lot like a dare. Like a double dog dare." I pinch his waist, and he jumps before running his fingers over my ribs then riding up just beneath my arms.
"Okay!" I scream through laughter. "You win!" I fall back onto the boulder, and he rolls on top of me, refining his torment technique.
"Say uncle." His head moves over mine as the heavens spray out behind him, and I always want to remember him this way—happy, with a crown of stars over his head.
"Uncle!"
"Say Edward's the best." He slows his movements while I try to catch my breath.
"Edward is the best." It gurgles from my throat with a screaming laugh. "You're great—I'm not." My hands track down low on his waist, and he catches me by the wrists.
"I think you're pretty great, Bella," he whispers just over my lips. His heated breath rakes over me like the blast from an oven, and I take his weight as he presses his body to mine. Our eyes lock with a magnetic pull. I pluck my hand free and touch the back of his neck, encouraging him to meet my lips.
"Bella," he whispers, closing his eyes momentarily. "Don't fall for me. I'm not worth it." A tragedy plays out over his features that I wish I could understand.
"I think you're more than worth it." I pant. "Do you think I'm worth it?" If he says no then I'll let this go, but there's something special between us, and if I can't deny it how can he?
"You're worth everything," he whispers, gently brushing the hair from my eyes. "It's me—I'm not worth the risk."
"Sometimes when you take a risk, great things happen—mountains move, and you see exactly what you've been waiting for, right there, in front of you." Hell, yes, I'm laying it on thick. "I think you're worth the risk, Edward."
His breathing picks up. His heart thunders over my chest as if he were about to leap off a very tall building.
"I want you, Bella. I just don't know how we're going to do this."
My body convulses. Crap. This is a lousy time for my G spot to applaud his efforts.
"Let's start here." I pull him in, and Edward crashes his lips to mine. His soft mouth tugs over me in an achingly slow manner. A moan gets caught in my throat, and a tingle rides between my thighs, exhilarating me all the way up to my belly button. My body quivers in a series of explosive waves, and I don't fight it. I'm not sure if it's possible to have an orgasm from simply being in his presence or if my hormones have chosen a heck of a bad time to short circuit, hell, I'm not sure I've ever had a proper orgasm due to the fact every other one was self-induced, but this feels otherworldly, magical in a damn illegal kind of way. Electrical currents are going off, neurons and synapsis are misfiring. An entire Fourth of July spectacular is happening in my body, and my girl parts are jumping up and down with elation—all because Edward Cullen' hot mouth is over mine.
I give another groan and push him into me harder until he caves and blesses my mouth with his tongue in long, strong, lingering sweeps. Edward moves his hands slowly up my arms until he's cradling my face in his hands, loving me with deep-throated kisses that I never want to end.
I run my hand up his shirt, and my fingers move over his rippling abs, nothing but skin over granite. I touch each of his grooves as his skin blisters over the pads of my fingers.
"Bella," he whispers, swiping his lips over mine. "We should talk about this—talk about us."
His eyes glow an eerie paper white as he lingers above me.
In the distance, the hot spring gurgles and hisses. It expels into the night with its slow dancing fog, curling its vapor-like fingers as it calls us over.
"You're right. I think we should talk about us." I glance to the hazy pool of water. "In there."