Hello there! I'm back from vacation and here's the next chapter.


Chapter 22

Cyclical Temptation


Edward


That evening, I almost had to persuade her to snuggle up to me ... I had probably overdone it a bit with my instructions. But fortunately, I never needed much persuasion with her - as far as that was concerned. Still, I couldn't deny that I was a bit relieved when she just snuggled up to my side. I already had serious concerns about how this was going to proceed after the previous night.

I couldn't say I hadn't enjoyed it at all, but once again I had been so overstrained by all the overwhelming sensations. Just thinking about how her hot wet center had felt on me ... Even through two layers of fabric, my great enemy stirred in reveling memory ... I had only struggled for my self-control, which had almost escaped me in the end. So gladly I had wanted to touch her, caress her tender skin with my hands ... Thank God I had not done it, when I looked at the torn sheet.

Around dawn, Bella got restless as usual, rolled onto her side and the blanket shifted a bit.

Instantly, an all too familiar smell hit my nose ... Bella's blood ...

Concerned, I examined every inch of her body that could be seen, but could not discover the origin.

So I lifted the covers and instantly a dark spot on the sheet caught my attention ... And on her panties ... Her menstruation had started, and she obviously didn't think of taking precautions.

That's when I also registered the subtle difference from fresh arterial blood. It was somewhat ... less oxygenated, interspersed with tissue cells, vaginal secretions and germs.

"Bella," I said softly, stroking her upper arm. "Wake up."

After several minutes and longer strokes, she gave a sleepy "Mmm ... whattssup" , turned again on the back and yawned first once heartily ...

So cute ... If it weren't for the all-too-human stale morning breath ... But I had already gotten into the habit of not inhaling at that time.

"Bella, my angel. You've gotten your period."

She blinked at me a few times, uncomprehending, before my words reached her mind and her eyes widened in shock.

"What?" she exclaimed in horror. "Oh ... no!"

She scrambled to her feet, kicked free and jumped ...

Well, stumbled out of bed more accurately. It was a miracle that she didn't fall down, and I had to stifle a rude giggle at her hasty escape.

"I'm so sorry. That hasn't happened to me in five years. Are you OKAY?"

Well, in principle - for the obvious reasons - I was fine.

"No problem."

If a completely inappropriate fantasy had not set in.

"But ..." she continued, then snapped her eyes open again and my concentration back to reality.

With raised eyebrows, I looked at her expectantly.

"Ahh ... no. Such a ...", she cursed, clenched her thighs and looked around in panic, grabbed some piece of clothing, wedged it between her legs and waddled out the door in a hurry.

I really had to pull myself together not to laugh out loud ... It looked so funny. And then I was alone with a fragrance cloud of Bella's fresh blood smell and my inglorious fantasies that Emmett had already put into my head a few days ago by his unspeakable suggestion.

Energetically, I rose to do something and to direct my thoughts in other directions.

I laid the bedding on its side to remove the soiled sheet and crumple it up. Then I looked around searchingly.

And now? Where to put it?

Without further ado, I jumped out of the window and disposed of it in the trash can.

Much too quickly I had found a new bed sheet, covered the mattress with it, put pillows and blankets back on it, because the shower water was still splashing in the bathroom.

So I sat down at the head end and tried to concentrate on a new composition. But the imaginary keys, notes and sounds soon blurred. The enticing scent still hung far too clearly in the room and venom ran together in my mouth.

Ever since the olfactory surprise attack of her arousal ten days ago that had triggered this unbridled greed in me, I wondered what it would taste like. It smelled so different from blood and - amazingly - yet so all-consuming. Not repulsive like most everything else besides blood. Was it really just the pheromones calling me? ... although this fact was so absurd. For what logical explanation could there be that a vampire was attracted by a human woman? Reproduction was out because of our genetic incompatibility. This alone attracted me immensely to want to find out and try it out. Even if only the idea itself, to lick her down there, to taste, to spoil ... demanded quite a bit of self-control from me and besides, it was completely clear to me that I would still need some time and mental preparation for the real execution. And now our livelihood, my number one stimulant, my personal drug was added - Bella's blood. I was almost dizzy from the imaginary mixture. Maybe it was better if I left the window open a little longer.

I walked over, opened it to ventilate, and first stood there propped up, sucking the cleansing air into my lungs, counting the oxygen molecules that passed my nose.

Shortly after, the sounds of water from the bathroom faded and when I arrived at 3,587,002,136,031, Bella walked in the door wrapped in a large towel. She looked down at the floor with flushed cheeks, ran to the closet to pick out some fresh clothes and looked - once again - just gorgeous.

"Be right back," she murmured, and left the room again.

I got myself under control enough to close the window and go back to bed.

But perhaps this was the last opportunity. Hourly the freshness and quantity of the tempting juice decreased ... And in four weeks she could be a vampire - depending on how fast she would insist on the transformation - which of course I did not hope for. I would do everything I could to postpone it even further. Of course, it was also highly questionable - judging by her unpleasantly touched behavior - whether she would let me at all ... It remained only a hope.

Shortly after, a still ashamed Bella came and, without looking at me, crawled completely under the covers next to me and curled up there.

"Hey, kitten, what's wrong?", I asked, nestling against her back, freeing her head and stroking her hair out of her face.

"God, this is so embarrassing," she mumbled, her face pressed into the pillow.

"What's embarrassing about it? It's one of the most natural things in the world - in humans, at least."

"What? That I didn't think of it? ... Oh no!"

She picked herself up.

"What is it now?" I moved away in amazement.

"The sheet ..."

"... I've already changed it," I completed the sentence.

"Oh ... Wow ... Thank you ..." She finally smiled shyly at me. "You're developing some homemaker-skills."

"You have no idea what all I can do," I said a little proudly – I had already started my workout via cooking transmitter, after all.

"Where did you put it?" she looked around searchingly. "Did you take it down to the laundry room?"

"Um ... no ... in the trash can," I confessed.

"What? Why would you do that? I could have gotten that cleaned again."

"Well ... You'll be moving out of here in two weeks and you won't need one anyway."

She rolled her eyes and let herself sink back again.

"What a waste! The second one in two nights. It could at least still have been used as a cleaning rag," she lectured me.

Half amused, half uncomprehending, I screwed up my face.

"Are you actually okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you have a stomachache?", I asked, refraining from stroking it with my cold hand. "Do you need a hot water bottle? "

Visibly moved, the corners of her mouth lifted.

"You are so cute! But no, thanks! I'll be fine ... It's not too bad."

She turned to me and afterwards we just cuddled. I started humming her song (Bella's Lullaby by Carter Burwell), hoping she could catch up on some more sleep.

Every now and then I plucked one of those nasty greedy mosquitoes out of the air that had slipped through the open window earlier, lured by Bella's sweet enticing scent.

I couldn't blame them ... But never in my life would I allow one of them to drill their trunk into her, squirt their juice into her and get even a drop of her deliciousness.


At one point, we heard Charlie getting ready for work earlier than usual to get back to the full on nonsensical search for Jacob.

He must have taken off shortly after I sent him the invitation. I had a strong suspicion that Bella's bad mood yesterday had something to do with it. I felt a little sorry for my future father-in-law - the chief of police of Forks - in all his efforts and his complete cluelessness about all the unnatural things that were happening around him.

I was just toying with the idea of talking to Bella about it after all, since we would be alone shortly, when she suddenly sat stock-still upright in bed and turned a little pale around the tip of her nose.

"Oh no! ... When Charlie takes out the trash ..., as he usually does ... and then opens the bucket ... and ... oh God ... finds the blood-stained bed sheet ...!?"

Then he draws the wrong conclusions, it popped into my head.

Immediately, all my senses were on alert.

He was just ... in the hallway and I heard him strapping on his gun belt. I might just make it.

I jumped up, checking my surroundings as I did so, dashed out the window, fished the deceptive stuff back out of the garbage can, and was back faster than Bella realized what I was doing.

Sure enough. Less than two minutes later, Chief Swan was leaving the house, bag in hand. Whew ...

Relief flooded through us.

That was just in time.


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