I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
Cheryl, Noles, and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and April, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.
Ch. 8
EPOV
"Nothing tastes better than fresh from the juicer," Emmett commented, taking a sip of his drink.
I nodded before taking a swig of my own. "Did the shipment get taken care of?"
Last night, a group of low life thugs thought they could get the jump on us by taking our shipment at the docks. It was a futile plan on their part since Alice and myself are always on the lookout. They were currently juice and shark chum.
"Peter and Charlotte are taking care of it as we speak. We'll disperse it tonight at the club on Maple," Jasper answered.
"Good." I glanced at my silent phone with irritation, wondering if Isabella was purposely being difficult. "I spoke with Liam earlier. When the time is good, Isabella and I will be visiting them."
"What for?" Jasper asked.
I paused long enough to read his true intentions. I didn't like being questioned and he wasn't my mate's biggest supporter. However, his only worry seemed to be I was willing to travel and expose her to more of our kind after last time.
"Isabella has a lot of questions about her magic that I can't answer. I figured Siobhan would be the best to help her. Alice has already looked ahead for me and hasn't seen any problems."
"Maybe Liam can give you some pointers too." Emmett smirked.
I scowled at him. "I don't need any pointers."
"Uh-huh. That is why you're still a grumpy asshole." He chuckled and Jasper coughed to hide his.
I had every intention of making love to Isabella last night. The mood was right, and everything was perfect until I had a strong urge to bite her—to claim her. The thought of hurting her made everything deflate instantly.
I caught the mind of my secretary, Gia, as Isabella stepped off the elevator and headed straight for my office. Gia tried to stop her, but Isabella must have used her magic to send a pile of paper cascading off the desk. Gia scrambled after them as my door opened and Isabella walked inside. She was wearing a very short plaid skirt and short sleeve sweater that tightly hugged her breasts.
"Don't you know how to use a phone?" I demanded in lieu of greeting her.
"I do. But I knew you asked Alice about me, so you knew I was fine." She offered no apologies for not calling.
Jasper and Emmett both offered their chairs to her. But she walked past them and to my side. I felt my chair roll back slightly and she sat on my lap. The edge of her skirt pushed up and I could feel her bare ass cheeks on my legs. I shifted so that my growing erection didn't touch her, and she innocently smiled as she wiggled closer to it.
"I'm surprised you already didn't have a phone. I thought all teenagers had them nowadays." Emmett teased.
"I did, but I left it behind at my father's house. I didn't want the Quileutes to track me down using it," Isabella explained.
"That was very smart thinking," Jasper told her.
Isabella glanced at him in surprise. "Thank you."
"Are you going to join us tonight, Bella?" Emmett asked.
"No," I answered for her.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Our club Full Moon," Emmett answered, ignoring my glare.
"I'd love to," Bella said brightly.
"You're not going, you wouldn't like that club. I'll wait until you're asleep and go," I told her.
Her eyes narrowed. "And leave me with a babysitter again? I don't think so. Why wouldn't I like it?"
"Riley wasn't a babysitter, he's your guard for your protection," I explained patiently.
"I don't know him or trust him. I'm not comfortable with him guarding me. You should've warned me you were going to leave, so that I wouldn't wake up to you not being there." Isabella looked hurt.
"I'm sorry, Kitten. Something came up that I had to deal with. I'll ask Alice to stay with you tonight." I tried to compromise.
"Why won't I like…a strip club? That is so misogynistic," Isabella huffed after reading Emmett's mind.
"The women there are paid well and are there of their own free will," Jasper promised.
"Yeah, Rosalie would kill all of us herself if we mistreated them." Emmett chuckled.
"That's not why I said it was misogynistic. Although maybe short-sighted would be a better word. Why only strip clubs for men? Have you even considered the business opportunities you're missing by not having clubs for women or even the LGBTQ?" Isabella shook her head.
I glanced at my brothers and they both looked impressed and amused. She had a good point; I don't know why we hadn't thought of it before.
"That's a great idea, Kitten. We will have to certainly look into it." I kissed her cheek then turned back to my brothers. "I'll meet up with you both later." I dismissed them.
They no sooner were out the door than I heard the lock click behind them. Isabella played with my tie, purposely avoiding my eyes.
"So what time are we going to the club tonight?" she asked casually.
"I thought we already came to a conclusion on this. Why would you want to go to a strip club?" I asked her.
"I don't know…maybe I could pick up some tricks to seduce someone," she said coyly, still focused on my tie.
I leaned in and brought my lips centimeters away from her neck. "And just who are trying to seduce?"
Her breath hitched. "My mate, whom I obviously can't please."
"You think you can't please me?" I growled. I knew she was unhappy with how things ended last night, but I didn't know she was blaming herself.
Her heart skipped a beat. "I think I lack experience, if I knew more—"
I stopped her by pulling back and lifting her chin with my fingers, so she'd look at me. "You don't need to learn anything from strippers. I told you last night, I didn't want to hurt you. It had nothing to do with not desiring you. I want nothing more than to be with you intimately."
"Then I don't understand what is stopping us?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't see you hurting me. Even if you did, I'm pretty sure I could heal myself."
"You're only pretty sure. But we are not talking about bruises and broken bones. We're talking about that I wanted nothing more than to claim you, by sinking my teeth into your pretty little neck," I told her, expecting her to get scared.
However, her eyes darkened, and I could smell her arousal. She shifted in my lap pressing her ass up against my dick once more. I held her still and gave her a stern look.
"I don't think you understand, I didn't know if my venom could kill you. If I bit one of those mutts, they'd be instantly dead. And I know…" I paused before saying her mother "…other witches have been killed by vampires."
Isabella's face softened, and she dropped my tie so she could brush her hand against my cheek, in a comforting gesture. "I don't mean to make you think I'm not taking this seriously. Maybe it's different when it comes to mates. You said you didn't know; couldn't we ask this Liam and Siobhan couple?"
"Have you been talking to Alice?" I questioned; it was the only explanation I could come up with to how she knew about them. I should've known Alice wouldn't keep her mouth shut until I was ready to tell Isabella myself.
"Alice…and Rose," Isabella confirmed.
"Rose? Are you two on good terms now?" I was surprised.
"We have come to a better understanding." She nodded. "So why don't you talk to Liam about it? Or don't guys talk about that sort of thing? Because I could ask Siobhan when I talk to her."
"When?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. Do I need your permission? Alice checked and it was fine." Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"No, Kitten. But I still rather we talk about it before anything definite. We would have to travel without raising suspicion," I told her.
"I understand, but you're also forgetting I can send us anywhere in the world with a blink of an eye," she reminded me.
I hadn't really given that a thought. "There is that."
Her smile grew wider. "Speaking of my powers. Alice isn't the only seer. If you make the decision to bite me, I should be able to see the outcome."
"You, my dear, seem to have a one-track mind. You haven't told me, why you are here." I kissed her cheek, trying to change the subject. "Was it to yell at me for leaving this morning?"
"Well, I guess it has to do with my one-track mind. I came here to seduce you with tips I got from your sisters. But after ignoring Alice's advice not to look ahead—I did, and realized it wasn't going to work. Maybe that's why she didn't want me to look, so I wouldn't lose my nerve. So, I decided on plan B and just confront you. Honesty is the best policy, right?"
"It is." I felt a twinge of guilt, I was letting her down again.
"Then you agree we should be honest with each other and not make decisions for each other," she stated rather than asked. "Because it still feels like you're still trying to do that."
"I promise to work on it," I told her.
"Then will you talk to Liam?" She gave me a hopeful smile.
I chuckled. "I already have this morning."
"And?" she prompted me.
"His venom had never affected her. But—"
"I'm not going to like this but, am I?" she interrupted me, pouting.
"We should go slow." I smirked, resting my hand on her knee.
Her nose wrinkled. "How slow?"
I slipped my hand under her skirt and brushed her folds with my fingers. I stroked her a few times; her eyelashes fluttered, and she squirmed on my lap. I pushed into her, and her breath hitched as she leaned back against me. She exposed her neck to me, and I leaned in kissing along her neck, while slowly pumping in and out.
"Slow can be good, Kitten. The buildup can lead up to a bigger explosion." I sucked on her skin. "Can you purr for me, kitten?"
"Mmmm," she mumbled, before letting out a purr.
The vibrations went straight to my cock. I pushed it against her backside while adding a second finger. She moaned and I closed my eyes as I rested my mouth over her pulse point. I tentatively licked it then nipped it, only using my lips. She came hard, arching her chest and tightening around my fingers. Her eyes opened and glowed bright purple. An energy pulse left her body, pushing out across the room, to the outer office and the rest of the building, and everything went dark.
Isabella met my surprised eyes. "Oops"
A/N: I hope there is a little less hate coming Edward's way. But yes, he should have been more honest at the time.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.