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Chapter 39:

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When the sun rose the next morning I was in bed with Bella. She was still asleep, snuggled up in my arms with her head resting on my chest. I could feel the soft warm plumes of her breath there. The curtains were open and cold cascades of pale sunlight were pouring onto the bed. I curled my finger around a lock of her hair and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. All night I had been assailed by a strange anxiety but by now I was beginning to realize that there was only one solution to all these problems that had been piling up.

Bella had to be turned.

Today. Tonight. Right now. I didn't know but there was no time left to wait. She had to be turned and we had to leave Seattle and start fresh somewhere with our new friends. Our new coven. Tanya and Irena and Carmen. And Kate as well with perhaps Leah, assuming they were able to work everything out. But even if they couldn't, there was no more time to waste. Bella must be turned and taken away from here. Away from her old home and old investigations. Away from where Heidi might be lurking in ambush with a newborn army at her command and a scorned lust for my heart. Away to somewhere we could settle down and be safe.

I sighed softly and toyed with her hair. I could feel her warm body spread against mine. Her warm breath teasing my skin. It occurred to me that once she woke up she would never sleep again and suddenly I was filled with a strange sweet woe. I was going to miss her humanity so much.

I looked down at the top of her head in the cold winter sunlight from the windows and kissed her hair there ever so gently. My eyes were closed to savor her scent and they only opened again when one of our phones rang.

I cringed at the light ringtone but a Bella was heavy sleeper and she didn't even stir. Both of our phones were sitting there on the nightstand and I didn't know which one was ringing. I carefully peeled her off me, missing her warmth instantly, and grabbed the phone that was ringing. It was mine and the caller was Kate.

I put it to my ear and whispered, "Kate?"

Kate blew out a breath on the other end and launched right into it. "Okay, good news," she said. "Chrissy lives with her parents, but she has a history of getting drunk and not coming home, so her parents didn't call the police. Instead they called Leah."

I nodded in relief. "What did Leah tell them?"

"That's some more good news; Leah was drunk as hell last night. She has no idea who or why or when anybody left the party. She only told them she has no idea."

I nodded some more. "I see."

"She's suspicious, though," Kate went on. "She remembers Bella and Chrissy going upstairs together. And she knows Bella's a freak with a rape fetish. Funny how it's actually Bella who's the scary one, not you, huh?"

I was sitting up in the bed, naked, and Bella was laying there face down. Pale. Beautiful. Her dark hair spread across her back. Perfectly at peace like a child or a lamb. No shit she wasn't what she seemed.

"But she didn't say anything?" I asked her, referring to Leah.

"Not yet, but that's only because she thinks maybe Chrissy got drunk and went home with some guy. What's she gonna think when she finds out Chrissy is dead?"

"There's no murder without a body."

"She's not stupid, Vicky.

"I know."

"I can tell she's already suspicious. She asked me before if I knew if Chrissy went home with you and Bella. I told her I didn't know, but she's probably gonna call Bella any minute to find out if Chrissy is there at the mansion. I'm hiding in the bathroom right now to make this call. What I am supposed to do if—"

The other phone on the nightstand began ringing.

Bella's phone.

"Shit," I hissed, reaching for it.

Once again my sleeping mate hadn't even stirred. Such a dumb fucking log sometimes, I swear. I grabbed the phone and winced at who was calling.

"Oh fuck," I said to Kate. "It's Leah."

"I told you!"

"Hold on a sec."

I lowered the phone with Kate on the other line to my shoulder and answered the phone that Leah was calling. Bella continued sleeping, so perfectly beautiful and blissful.

"Leah, hey," I said, quietly but brightly, as if I was actually happy to hear from her. "Bella's asleep, that's why I'm answering her phone. Great party last night, sorry we had to leave so suddenly."

"Yeah, that's why I was calling," Leah said, her voice sort of anxious. "Is Chrissy over there at the mansion? You know, that chick Bella was hitting up last night?"

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, even though this more of a radio-play than a stage-play. "Uh, no," I said. "Bella and I went home alone. Why, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, it's just she never went home last night, and her parents called me to see if she was still here. I was just wondering if she went home with Bella or something."

I cringed. Technically she did come home with us. Dead in the back of an SUV. I hated to lie to her but in this case there was really no help for it.

"No, I'm afraid not," I said. "Bella is passed out right here and as far as I know I'm the only person in the bed with her."

"Are you sure?"

The question made me chuckle awkwardly. "What, do you want me to look under the covers to make sure?"

"No, I meant are you sure Bella never left the party with her?"

"Yes, certain," I said, nodding and hoping she would believe me. "As far as I know, they went upstairs, fooled around, and came back down again. Bella was bored, so we went home."

Leah was silent for a moment. I hated that silence. It didn't mean she knew I was lying but it did mean she didn't automatically believe me. I had little fear of Leah herself but I would never forgive myself if I damaged her relationship with Kate.

Finally she sighed on the other end of the phone.

"Okay, well, tell her to call me later so I can talk to her," she said. "I'm kind of worried about Chrissy. I got a bad feeling, you know?"

I almost laughed at that; I had quite a bad feeling myself. But I smiled and nodded, still holding the phone with Kate on the other end to my shoulder.

"Okay, I will," I said pleasantly. "See you later, Leah. Once again, it was a lovely party. Thank you for inviting us, Bella and I had so much fun."

"But Bella got bored and had to leave, huh?" she asked dryly.

"Well," I said, chuckling awkwardly. "You know how Bella is."

"Do I? All I know is that she likes rough sex and she fucked Chrissy and then Chrissy didn't go home. Are you sure nothing happened between them? I mean, maybe Chrissy's too embarrassed to go home or something. Bella didn't do anything freaky to her, did she?"

I cringed at how close she was to the truth and I was so flustered that I couldn't reply for a second. Oh, Leah. Why must humans be so touchy about things like rape and murder? This would've been so much easier if I could tell her the truth and laugh it off as the simple mistake that it was.

But, obviously, that was impossible and so I just chuckled again.

"As far as I know, they only fooled around a little," I said. "But listen, I'll tell Bella to call you after she gets up, okay? Then you can speak to her youself. See you soon, Leah. Ta ta."

I hung up and dropped the phone and pinched the bridge of my nose. What a mess. The phone had bounced on the mattress and bumped off Bella but again Bella didn't stir. I had a sudden urge to hit her and I even balled a fist menacingly but then I heard Kate's tinny voice in the other phone.

I was still holding it to my shoulder and now I put it back to my ear.

"Yep, she's suspicious," I told her.

"Fuck," Kate said. "What'd she say?"

"She basically asked me if anything rough happened between Bella and Chrissy. I don't think she was suspicious of murder. More like something that might've upset Chrissy to the point where she left the party and didn't go home. She wants Bella to call her."

Kate breathed out anxiously from the other end of the phone. "This is bad," she said. "She knows there's something weird with you and Bella. And once she actually does start being suspicious of you for murder, what's she going to think of me?"

"That's why you need to tell her what you are, Kate. You need to control this, not let it control you. Get out in front of it while you still can."

"You don't understand, Vicky," Kate said, her voice on the outskirts of despair. "You never had to worry about Bella rejecting you."

I didn't reply for a moment. Bella was still laying there, breathing in and out. The covers were across her upper back and I reached to lower them a little and reveal more of her beautiful white skin.

"You're right," I said softly into the phone. "Bella was different from Leah and I am different from you. But perhaps you shouldn't be so worried either. Leah is a strong woman. She can handle it. In all honesty, I'm not even that concerned about her rejecting me or Bella."

Kate didn't answer but I could picture her shaking her head, hiding there in the bathroom of the house she shared with her girlfriend, perhaps sitting on the closed lid of the toilet.

"Look, I gotta go before she thinks I have some kind of stomach flu in here," she said. "Don't let Bella call her, okay? I'll try to get her mind off it. With any luck maybe this'll blow over. Chrissy's parents might even be happy to get rid of her."

"Just tell Leah the truth, Kate," I said. "Tell her everything. She can handle it, I promise. Just—"

A toilet flushed over the phone. Camouflage for why she had been in the bathroom, I guess.

"I gotta go" Kate said again. "I'll talk to you soon, okay? Bye."

Kate hung up.

I sighed and put the phone back on the nightstand. Bella was still laying there, face down into the pillow. I had pulled the covers down below her buttocks and she was completely naked, pale and slender and so incredibly soft-looking against the white sheets in the stark sunlight from the windows. I looked at her for a long time, just sitting there in the bed. I knew I should be mad at her but my heart was filled with just so much love. Such an insane little slut. I loved her so dearly, I really did. Smiling, I reached for the soft hills of her buttocks and petted them gently. God, I was going to miss that warmth. That warmth and that heartbreaking softness.

Bella finally stirred at the touch and her brow puckered at the sunlight before she opened her eyes and after she opened them she groaned and looked up at me.

"It's fucking cold," she said.

I smiled and continued petting her about her bottom and between her thighs, savouring that exquisite softness there. Bella reached for the covers and pulled them back over her body and as she did she noticed the phone that was laying in the bed.

"Who was on the phone?" she asked.

"That was me dealing with both Kate and Leah."

"Oh," she said, closing her eyes and settling back onto the pillow. "All good?"

My hand froze between her thighs.

"Good?" I echoed. "Good?"

She didn't answer. She seemed to have nothing much on her mind but getting back to sleep.

Well. Now I was angry.

Suddenly my hand swooped up, flinging the covers away from her naked body, and then my hand came back down again in a vicious smack across her soft, warm, luscious buttocks.

A giggle came out of her but she didn't move. Only her ass jiggled a bit. Another sleepy giggle came out of her and she snuggled a bit as if it had felt good.

"Mmm," she murmured, her eyes still closed. "It's been a long time since you've hit me. Do it again."

"This isn't a joke, Bella," I told her, frowning. "This is a serious situation that you're not taking seriously."

She grinned and rose up a little on an elbow and looked at me with her sultry dark eyes and her perfect breasts sitting so perfectly on her chest.

"I'm not joking either," she said. "Hit me."

"Bella—"

"Come on, Vicky. Just hit me. You know you want to and you never did punish me properly. I've been a bad girl, I admit it. Just punish me, okay? Please? Just—"

I cut off her words by grabbing her hair and hauling her into my lap before laying into her ass with a series of brutal spanks.

One, two, three. She had burst out laughing but now the laughs were becoming squeals and screams. I continued spanking her, harder and harder, making sure it hurt. Her ass was already going red. She was laughing and screaming and squirming to get free but I held her firm and spanked her, spanked her, spanked her, grinning and not even upset anymore. I realized that this was perhaps the last time I might ever inflict pain on her and I kept spanking her and spanking her and spanking her until she was begging me to stop.

"Okay!" she shrieked. "Okay, I'm sorry! That's enough, oh god—owwwww!"

I gave her a few more while she struggled and writhed on my lap and then finally I stopped.

Immediately she sagged and went limp, half chuckling from how much she liked it, half sobbing from how much it hurt. Her ass was bright red and there was a heat radiating from it. I smiled at the heat and caressed the punished flesh there. God, I loved her so much.

"I'm sorry," she wheezed. "I'm sorry."

I smiled and shook my head and pushed her off my lap. "Stupid little girl."

She giggled at that, not arguing in the least, and raised up and wrapped her arms around my neck to look into my eyes sincerely.

"I know," she whispered. "I really am sorry."

I smiled at her, unable to be anger. She placed a kiss on my lips and then she hugged me.

The hug made my heart swell for her even more. I tighten my arms around her and held her. I could feel her breasts against mine. So warm and so wonderfully soft. My heart swelled even more until it seemed to split. Everything about her was so much more warmer this morning because perhaps it would be the last morning she would ever be warm.

I murmured softly and nuzzled the crook of her neck affectionately as I held her.

"At least there's nothing to worry about right this minute," I said. "But I think we need to move fast and turn you right away. Tonight. No more delays."

Bella suddenly released me and looked at me in shock. I smiled at her.

"What do you think?" I asked her, even though the answer was plain in her eyes.

A grin sprang onto her mouth and she passed a hand through her hair. "Well, I don't know," she said, as if making an effort to be an adult for once. "Do we have enough victims?"

"Eight ought to be plenty," I said. "The transformation will take five days so perhaps we could acquire a few more before you're ready to feed. Are you ready, Bella?"

Bella nodded eagerly. "Yes," she said. "I'm ready. I'm so ready."

I smirked and raised a skeptical brow. "Are you sure? Because your behaviour last night suggested otherwise."

She went a bit guilty and childish again. "It was an accident," she said. "I was trying to help."

I cupped her face and gazed into her big dark eyes. "Well, from now on no more accidents," I said. "From now on you think before you act. Okay?"

"Okay. But do you know what I'm thinking about now?"

"What?"

She grinned and leaned to my mouth and whispered onto my lips.

"Going down on your pussy," she said.

Then she giggled and lowered her face to my lap.

I chuckled as well and perhaps I should've objected and kept things serious for a moment but instead I laid back and opened my legs for her. This is who Bella was. She wasn't the smartest girl in the world or even the strongest. But she might, quite literally, be the most affectionate and ardent hearted.

I felt her tongue flatten and drag across my folds and the warmth of it was enhanced the same way all her other warmth was enhanced this morning. I moaned softly and looked down across my body. Her head was there between my thighs and she moaned as well as she administered lick after lick to my wettening womanhood.

"Mmm," she said. "I love you, Victoria. I love you so much. Especially down here. Once I become a vampire, do you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to lick you right here. Over and over. Without stopping. For an entire day. Or even a week. It's only a shame we'd have to stop to feed. Or else I'd do it forever. Just like this. Licking you here for all eternity. Never stopping. Forever and ever. Mmm. That's how much I love you, Victoria."

I moaned and arched my back.

"I love you too, baby," I said in a soft hiss of lust. "So much."

Bella licked me again and kissed me there and kept licking.

"Are you really going to turn me tonight?" she asked between licks.

"Yes," I whispered, heaving my hips softly. "Tonight is the night."

Bella moaned at that and licked and licked and kept licking with an eternity's worth of love and affection in each stroke of her warm and wonderful tongue.

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AN: Short chapter, but it felt right. Bella and Victoria needed that little moment, I think, and ending the chapter there kind of empowered it. New chapter soon. Big things about to happen. :)