Over the last week, I've gotten my writing mojo back and have now almost finished the story! There will be a total of 23 chapters and an epilogue. I'm in the process of writing the epilogue so I will get back to posting a chapter a week until the story is complete.
I stood in the middle of our little campsite, my eyes closed as I concentrated on ensuring that my shield surrounded me. Edward was retrieving the items he'd acquired from the car and I would soon be in the presence of human scent. I opened my eyes just in time to see him coming through the trees at the other side of the clearing. He was carrying some material in his hand. It looked like it might be a scarf.
He slowed as he stepped out from the trees, his eyes wary as he watched for my reaction. I was safely ensconced in my little bubble, not a hint of any scent reaching me. I smiled toward him and his face relaxed slightly. He strode over to me, now looking more confident that I wasn't going to attack him.
"This is amazing!" he marvelled when he stood right in front of me, holding the scarf between us, directly below my nose, "The scent is particularly strong. You can't smell anything?"
"Nope," I replied, grinning that this was working perfectly.
"Now, we need to see if you can keep it up while you are distracted," Edward purred, lifting the scarf and draping it around my neck, his fingers brushing lightly against me as he did so.
I swallowed, knowing exactly where he was going with this, but I still made sure that my shield was secure. He took a step towards me, closing the small distance that separated us so that his body was flush with mine. He leant his head down, letting his lips graze my cheek, then my neck. As he kissed my neck, he slowly backed me up until my back was flush against a tree. I was breathing heavily now, but my bubble still surrounded me. I couldn't smell anything, not the human scent, not Edward's delicious scent. I missed that, but I didn't dare lift the shield.
His lips moved down my neck, as his hands swiftly opened the buttons of my shirt until it flapped open, leaving my lace-clad breasts bare to him. He hooked his hands under my thighs and hoisted me up, my legs wrapping around his waist, so I was sandwiched completely between him and the tree. His eyes darkened as they rested on my chest and then he lowered his mouth, leaving an open-mouthed kiss on the small area that spilled out of my bra.
I groaned when he reached the lace-covered part, wishing I hadn't bothered with a bra today, but within seconds he had gently taken the bra between his teeth and ripped it so my breasts were bare to him. Instantly, he sucked a nipple into his mouth, sucking and swirling his tongue around it.
"Oh, God," I moaned, all thoughts of scarves and humans gone from my head as he all but tortured me with his mouth.
I tried to grind myself against him, searching for any sort of friction to ease the throb building between my legs, but I could hardly move. He understood what I wanted, what I needed, and quickly set me down long enough to remove my jeans and panties and lower his own jeans just enough, before hoisting me back up again. He plunged deep inside me in one long thrust, as his mouth returned to its previous ministrations. Once again, I couldn't move, couldn't writhe or squirm, my back pressed hard against the trunk of the tree. I could do nothing but focus on the relentless thrusting and the movements of his tongue on my sensitive nipples. The pressure continued to build up within me until I was teetering on the edge, ready to fall into the abyss and when his teeth lightly scrapped against my nipple as he pushed deep inside me, I did just that with a scream. My muscles clenched around him as he continued pumping into me a few more times until he growled loudly, stilling his hips as he spilled into me.
After a few moments, he lowered himself onto the ground, turning us so his back was against the tree, and pulled me into his lap, still in our state of partial undress. He gently tugged on the scarf, still hanging around my neck.
"That was almost like when you were human," he said, his breathing still heavy, "Having a human scent surrounding us, though this one is definitely not as delicious as yours was."
"So, I passed your test then?" I teased.
"Most certainly," he replied, "With flying colours. If you can keep the shield up during that, then I have no doubt you'll be fine when we are travelling."
He closed his eyes, lying his head back on the tree trunk behind him. This was the perfect time to test out my little theory. Since he wasn't looking at me, he wouldn't suspect I was concentrating on something if it didn't work.
Edward, I thought, focusing on pushing it past the mental shield that surrounded my mind.
"Yes, my love?" he replied, his eyes still closed as he recovered from our activities.
It worked! This was amazing and he didn't even know how monumental this moment was.
Open your eyes, I thought again, waiting until he was looking directly at me before looking deep into his eyes, I love you.
He stared at me in confusion and I could almost see his brain working behind his eyes.
I love you, I thought at him again.
This time I could see when it clicked for him what had just happened. That I had spoken to him with my mind. His eyes lit up and the biggest smile crossed his face.
"What...? How...?" he stuttered, pulling back slightly to look at me better.
I have been working on my mental shield today as well as the physical one, I thought, It works differently, but I think I have it figured out.
"I can hear your mind!" he exclaimed, his voice so full of joy and happiness, "This is amazing! How did you let me in?"
"It's not so much about letting you in," I explained, "More pushing my thoughts out to you. It means you can only hear what I choose to send you."
"I don't care," he cried, "To hear any part of your mind is so much more than I ever dreamed of!"
~~~PS ILYF~~~
We packed up all of our things the next morning, ready to head to the nearest airport. We had already spent way too much time in Canada with Demitri on our tails and, now that I could be around humans safely, we needed to get out of the country.
Last night after Edward had recovered from the fact that he could now hear my thoughts, I lowered my shield and took in the scent on the items Edward had retrieved. Unfortunately, without my shield, I was no better than expected. I completely lost it the second the scent hit me, snarling and rampaging to get to the mouth-watering scent. My vampire side had not been happy when it realised there was none of the delicious blood that I could smell, and it was only when I came upon a helpless deer that I stopped rampaging. After draining the deer, the haze cleared just long enough for me to think straight, and I was able to put my shield back in place. Edward then got rid of all the items, but now I knew just how important it was to keep that shield in place while travelling. How on earth Edward was able to be close to me, let alone touch, kiss, and even make love to me, while I was still human, I'll never know.
We had spoken to Alice, who had looked ahead and found no reason not to go ahead with our plans. She had been shocked that we were attempting to fly, rather than avoiding humans altogether by running and swimming to another country but had been pleasantly surprised that her visions showed I was going to be fine. Edward had lied to her saying that he had introduced me to human scents, and I had been fine, attributing it to my aversion to the scent of blood as a human. Thankfully, she had bought the lie and didn't ask any more questions about it since her visions backed up Edward's assurance that I was absolutely fine around human blood.
We were going to be flying on a private plane so that there was less temptation. Only the pilot would be on board with us, which would be much better than being surrounded by humans for the duration of the flight. Even though I wouldn't be able to smell them, I would still be able to hear their heartbeats and see their rosy skin. I would be blocking out both scent and sound while we were in the busy airport, but it was much too uncomfortable to have to stay like that for hours on a plane, so this was our best option.
We were heading straight to Isle Esme, still attempting to stay away from humans as much as possible, so as not to tempt fate, and to give us the privacy to work on my shields.
"Ready?" Edward asked as we neared the airport. I had been shielding myself from scents as we drove just in case, but would only cut off the sounds once we were out of the car.
"As I'll ever be," I said quietly, the nerves rising in me, though as a vampire it was strange not to have knots in my stomach, "You'll keep a hold of my hand the whole time?"
"Of course," he replied, parking the car and turning to face me, "It's going to be fine. If I thought for one second, this might not be safe, then we'd be swimming through the ocean to get out of the country. Alice has seen everything go perfectly."
I took a deep breath inside my little bubble, ignoring the small niggle of my vampire instinct that screamed to be able to smell and tried to relax myself. This would be my first time in the presence of real humans, and I had no idea how I might react, despite the sensory deprivation. However, we wouldn't be in the airport for long as it was a private flight, so I only had to make it through the security and identity checks, before we would be escorted to the plane. I could do this.
"Here we go," I said, before shifting my shield to keep out the sounds as well. I gave Edward a thumbs-up to show I was ready and he returned the gesture, before getting out of the car and rushing to my side to open my door. I stepped out into the parking garage, looking around to see if there were many humans around. It was fairly quiet, but I knew once we got into the airport it was going to be much busier. Edward took my hand, though with my shield I couldn't actually feel him, and we headed into the airport.
I kept my eyes down as we walked, afraid that even seeing humans might set off my vampire instinct, allowing Edward to lead me. He spoke to the lady at the desk and I took a quick peek up at them as they spoke, feeling very strange at not being able to hear anything. Edward was gesturing towards me, presumably explaining about his deaf wife, before handing over our tickets and fake, but very convincing, passports. We were Anthony and Marie Masen for this journey, just one of the sets of fake IDs that Alice had supplied us with before we left.
I let out a small sigh of relief when I realised that looking at the young girl behind the counter was fine. Somewhere in my mind, I noted the slight blush on her face, but having hunted just before we reached the airport, and with no scent or sound of her heartbeat, I didn't react to it at all. She smiled at me, some pity shining in her eyes for the deaf woman I was pretending to be, and I smiled back at her, happy to be able to interact with humans in this way at least.
We made our way through security without any issues and in no time we were walking across the tarmac to the small private plane waiting on us. As soon as we boarded the plane, I switched my shield back to scent only and turned to face Edward.
"I did it!" I exclaimed, beaming up at him, "I can't believe I just walked through an airport full of people and didn't once feel tempted."
"It's amazing," he replied, "You're amazing."
~~~PS ILYF~~~
Just over twelve hours later, we were finally on the boat speeding across the water heading to Isle Esme. Now that we were finally out of human range, I had dropped my shield completely and was luxuriating in the fact that I could now touch Edward. I had my arms wrapped around him as he steered the boat toward the island.
"It's good to be going back," I said to him, "I hate the reason we have to do it, but I loved our honeymoon here."
"Me too," he sighed, pulling the boat in at the side of the small pier. He jumped out and quickly secured the boat, before reaching to help me out, despite the fact that I was now a vampire and could easily and gracefully exit the boat myself. I rolled my eyes at him but indulged him by grasping his hand.
The sun was just beginning to set behind the house on the edge of the beach, coating everything in a soft orange light. I left Edward retrieving our bags from the boat and I walked onto the beach, kicking off my shoes so I could sink my toes into the sand. I could almost imagine that we were here on a second honeymoon. That the family were back at home all happily awaiting our return. If only that were only true.
Pushing the thoughts of the Volturi, Tanya, and Irina that were threatening to overtake me to the back of my mind, I walked up to the edge of the water, enjoying the feeling of the warm water flowing over my sensitive vampire skin.
I heard Edward walking through the sand behind me and decided that we needed a little bit of fun. Just before he reached where I was standing, I took off in the direction of the forest without warning. I glanced back over my shoulder to see Edward staring after me in shock.
Come catch me, I taunted, pulling the tie from my hair so that it bellowed out behind me as I ran.
"You're in trouble when I do," he growled, the tone in his voice making my toes curl.
When I reached the tree line, I launched myself up into the trees, jumping from one to another, trying to push myself further and faster until I was out of his sight. I wanted him to have to work to find me. Once I was deep in the forest, I dropped back to the ground and began unbuttoning my blouse as I ran. It pooled to the ground, the cool air hitting my lace-clad breasts as I bounded back into the treetops. A few trees away from where I had left my blouse, I paused and surrounded myself with my shield, making myself invisible and blocking out my scent so Edward couldn't smell me.
I sat on a branch, utterly still, not making a single sound, waiting for him to find my gift. I knew the second he realised what I was doing.
"Bella," he groaned, desire thick in his voice, "Where are you?"
I giggled softly, purposefully giving away my position as I darted to the next tree. I lifted my shield allowing him to follow my scent. Hopping from tree to tree I was able to out-race him, my newborn strength giving me the ability to jump further and faster than he could run, particularly through the dense forest.
A few moments later, I dropped to the ground once more, shedding my jeans and heading for another hiding spot, shield once again in place. As I crouched in the tree, clad only in my deep red lace underwear, I waited for him to find my next offering. The groan that filled the air this time, sent a wave of wetness into my underwear and I almost gave up the game, but I stopped myself.
What's the matter, baby? I thought to him.
"I want you," he growled.
Good things come to those who wait, I thought seductively, and chase.
With that I lifted my shield and took off again, listening as he followed behind me. The next time I dropped to the ground, I unhooked my bra, my nipples pebbling instantly in the cool air. I left it hanging on a low branch and took off again. This time I didn't wait for him to find it, but I still heard the hiss when he found it.
I moved slightly slower now, wanting him to catch up with me a little. I removed my soaked underwear and also left them hanging on a low branch. Completely naked now, I continued on until I found a small clearing and perched myself on top of a rock to let him finally catch me.
"God, Bella," he uttered as he found my panties not far from where I awaited him, "These are soaking. Someone's enjoying this game a little too much."
Find me, I taunted.
It was only seconds later, when he entered the small clearing, looking very much like the vampire he was. His eyes roamed over me as I sat atop the rock, completely bare and ready for him. He stalked towards me; his eyes filled with lust. He stopped just inches from the rock and dropped to his knees in front of me. I barely had time to think, before he gripped my knees, pushing them apart so I was spread open before him.
The cool air caressed my overheated core and I moaned at the feeling. His hands slid along the inside of my thighs and I waited for him to touch me where I so desperately needed him. His hands stopped just before they reached me.
"I should tease you," he muttered, "Touch you everywhere but where you want, to get you back for that little game."
I groaned at the thought, but it caught in my throat as his tongue licked right up my centre, from my entrance to my sensitive nub. I flung my head back and screamed as he sucked my clit into his mouth. The shock of his tongue on me when I had been expecting nothing, pushed me close to the edge quickly. He lapped at me, devouring me like I was his only source of sustenance. I was on the precipice, balancing on the edge of the abyss and when he flicked his tongue over my nub, I fell, screaming his name.
Just as I thought he would slow his ministrations, he pushed two fingers deep into me, his tongue continuing to lap at me, not giving me any respite. He thrust his fingers in and out, curling them so they hit that perfect spot, and he sucked my clit into his mouth again. It was almost too much after my orgasm, everything was more sensitive now, but he wasn't stopping. The movements of his fingers, lips, and tongue continued, pushing me towards another orgasm quickly and as he gently scraped his teeth against my clit, I came hard and fast, stars bursting behind my eyelids as I exploded from within. This time, thankfully, his fingers and tongue slowed, though he continued lapping up everything I gave him, savouring it.
"I told you you'd be in trouble when I caught you," he purred, "And I'm not done with you yet."
I whimpered, barely able to move after two mind-blowing orgasms. My eyes were still closed, but I felt him flip me and when I opened them I was bent over the rock I had been sitting on. I heard the rustling of clothes behind me and a split second later, Edward had positioned himself behind me, his hands gripping my hips.
He lined himself up with my entrance and thrust in in one long push. I grunted as he filled me, stretching me. He pulled back before pounding back into me again, over and over, as he gripped my hips. Every time he hit deep inside me, the coil in my stomach tightened further until I was close once more. I could tell that he was getting close too, his movements becoming more erratic, and I tried to hold myself back so we could come together. He slammed into me once more and I exploded unable to hold on any longer, my muscles clenching around around him. He pumped a couple more times, before spilling into me with a growl.