Bella awoke Saturday morning and was immediately irritated. She was beginning to feel trapped. She knew why she was grounded. She understood; really, she did. That didn't change the feeling of a bird trapped in a cage that she couldn't escape. She imagined herself as tweety bird in a swinging cage with Aro underneath, snapping for her death. It was an awful feeling. She prepared herself for the day. She prepared herself to beg.
Charlie had come in late Friday night, and they hadn't had the chance to talk. Bella made her way to the classroom and brooded as she stood at the stove preparing breakfast. She and Charlie had been splitting the meal responsibilities, and it wasn't her turn. As she cooked the bacon, fried potatoes, and scrambled the eggs, she hoped Charlie would be as buttered up as his toast.
When her father came downstairs in a crumpled tee shirt, his eyes red and his hair all over the place, he took one look at the loaded table and laughed. He scratched at his five o'clock shadow and said, "Okay, let's hear it."
Bella set the orange juice jug in the table. "Hear what?"
"The pitch. I assume you're about to tell me why you should get ungrounded?" He sat in his chair and looked up at her.
Bella huffed as she took her chair. "I wouldn't call it a pitch, dad."
"What would you call it?"
This felt like a bad start. A terrible start. "I wouldn't call call it a repentant daughter's plea for a little more freedom. I don't need a lot. I don't even need my phone! I would just like a few hours out of the house. I'm going stir crazy."
Charlie picked up a piece of bacon. "Okay, give me the rest of the pitch."
"What do you mean?"
"This is the part where you convince me, so convince me!"
"Okay…" Bella looked out the window, hoping for strength. All she saw was rain. "I know what I did was wrong. Extremely, over the top, maybe never trust me again wrong. I would never do something like that again." She didn't mention her jaunt to phoenix where she had almost died last year. "I know that I've been grounded less than two weeks. I know I deserve more. But I hope you can trust the good influence of the people around me, and know that this was a one in a million circumstance that I would never repeat." Bella paused. "Also, my grades have never slipped and I don't commit any crimes. So please, dad, just a little field trip time?"
Charlie took a long swig of the orange juice, set it down, then stared at her. Her stomach flipped while she waited. What if she spent the rest of her human life grounded? "Okay."
"What?"
"I said okay." He grabbed another piece of bacon. "There are conditions. First, you will get your cell phone. You will share your location with me, and you will NEVER turn it off. Understand?" Bella nodded. She was dumbstruck. "Second, you will spend no time alone with Edward Cullen. No exceptions." She nodded again. Obviously. "Third, if you're at the Hale house, I want to know who else is there. Even if it's just a text from her parents. And finally, don't start committing crimes or let your grades drop."
There was a moment of silence before Bella said, "That's it?"
"You want there to be more?"
"No! Thank you!" She hurried to hug him, and he grumbled, embarrassed. She thanked him again before sitting back down.
"I'll get your phone and make sure our location's connected after we eat. Now relax. You're making me nervous."
When Charlie finished Googling how to make her phone adult trackable, he sent her on her way. He had some extra rules he thought of. She needed to be home by ten pm or inform him. She could not see Jake until he apologized or spoke to Charlie. She had no problem with these restrictions, obviously. When he slipped her a bear spray in case Edward showed up, she rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut. She was just happy to be sent on her way, in her own truck, to go wherever she wanted to be. She, of course, chose to head to the Cullen's house after sending a quick text to check in on Angela.
Rosalie was in her garage searching for the problem with her car when she heard a familiar death trap approaching. The old, honestly well-cared-for Chevy coughed and sputtered as it drew closer and closer to the opening to the Cullen property. She knew that even the golden decade of engineering needed an exceptional amount of tenacity to keep it functioning. Bella's truck had been well loved...but before her ownership. She held the words back as Bella exited the rust-red dinosaur.
"My love," the kind words rolled off her tongue, "if you have come here to spurn your father's wishes, I will take you right home and beg for his forgiveness. I will not have him think I'm some scoundrel corrupting his daughter."
Bella rolled her eyes as she shut the truck door. "Oh, my dear sensitive heart. I am so smitten that no man will stop me! Not father, not lawman, no one!" she pretended to faint against her truck in a fit.
Rosalie couldn't help but smile at the playful side of Bella. She grabbed the girl's jacket, pulling her from the truck and throwing her into a bridal carry. "What are you doing here? Are you running away?"
"Charlie has released me with conditions."
"Oh?" Rosalie spun around, holding Bella close and enjoying the speedy pace of her heartbeat. For the moment, her car was forgotten. "did you bribe him with my free car expertise for life?"
"Basically. I hope you're ready for this commitment."
Rosalie kissed Bella's forehead. "I'm ready for forever. I hope he wants a souped-up V8 in that dinky Forks cruiser." She gently set the human down.
"I assume that means it goes 'vroom vroom.'" Bella reached into her pocket, and pulled out a phone. She tossed it to Rosalie. "Look what I have!"
Rosalie caught the phone as the wallpaper lit up. She resisted the urge to crush the phone as she realized what she was looking at. It was Michelle Rodriguez, in overalls, a white tank top underneath, holding a gun at the ready. In the moment it took her to comprehend, Bella began running towards the mansion.
"Isabella!" Rosalie yelled, then took off, sweeping the human off her feet again. "Are you kidding me?"
Rosalie was a kind vampire. She couldn't be told otherwise. When she told Bella they could do whatever she wanted, she said she wanted to enjoy the warm weather (70 degrees Fahrenheit) on the porch swing. That was fine. They could have been in the house doing whatever they wanted, but they would do that later. That would be fine. They sat on the swing, Bella with her leg curled under her while she read, and Rosalie perused the internet on her tablet, searching auctions for parts she'd been looking for. They remained like this, silently, for an hour before something pulled at Rosalie's consciousness.
Someone was out there. Rosalie could hear them; maybe she could just sense them. It seemed that they were sneaking in the woods, trying not to be seen or heard. She looked at the human next to her out of the corner of her eye. Bella was oblivious. Her steady, even heartbeat was a casual drum beat that Rosalie was getting used to. The girl turned the page of her book, the dastardly boring 'Wuthering Heights.' She had to do something now. If the Volturi were sneaking up on them, she would give them something to see, and a reason to back off.
Rosalie reached over slowly, gently, and removed the hated book from Bella's hands. She set it gently on the bench to Bella's side. "Rosalie, what-" Before Bella could form a full question, Rosalie had grabbed the girl, pulled her toward her, and situated her so that she was now straddling the vampire's lap on the bench. She held the girl's hips to steady her. They were chest to chest. Bella's hands hovered, uncertain, as her heart sped up, trying to catch up to what had just happened to her.
Without knowing who was watching them, Rosalie played the part of loving girlfriend. She smiled softly, gazed up through her lashes into Bella's eyes, and said, "It felt like you were too far away. That just won't do."
Bella blushed, and her warm intoxicating blood rose to just below the surface. The threat Rosalie felt was getting ever closer. She heard distinctly different footsteps. There were at least two of them. It was hard to tell over the distractingly loud pounding of Bella's racing heart. The human's warmth was inviting, and she felt like she could lose herself in a trance this close to Bella. "Well, here I am," she responded cheekily. Rosalie looked into Bella's deep brown eyes. They were a rich forest brown, like the bark of a tree right after the rain has ended. There were tiny flecks of green and gold in them. They reminded Rosalie of the first leaves changing in the fall.
Rosalie reached up to gently stroke the side of Bella's neck, giving in to her impulses. The warmth was nice. It felt comforting. "Here you are." Bella's eyes flickered down to Rosalie's lips. Whoever was there, Rosalie was going to give them a show.
"Don't let us stop you," a self-satisfied voice said evenly from across the expansive lawn. "Please, continue."
"Sorry, Bella." The girl looked confused, so Rosalie added, "We seem to have company." She gently moved the girl to the side, back in her original seat, just slightly closer than before. "It's my cousins."
Across the way, Rose saw the approaching figures. Two of her cousins, Kate and Tanya, were on their way to the house. They sauntered across the grass. Kate, who had spoken, was smirking at Bella and Rosalie in a way that Rose did not like. "Really," Kate's smile was a little too wide, "Please, keep going. I'd love to see where this was leading."
Tanya sped away from her sister and back, this time with a tree branch in her hands. She smashed it over the back of Kate's head. Only the girl's hair moved; the smirk stayed the same.
Rosalie snapped her mouth shut and angrily ground her teeth together. She had known her cousins were coming, but the stress of feeling watched at all times made her forget. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Bella avoiding looking at her. Why? They had kissed before. They would kiss again, soon, she imagined. Rose stood up and offered Bella her hand to help her stand. They left the relative comfort of the swinging bench to wait for her cousins to finish their dramatic entrance. Bella didn't drop her hand, so Rosalie didn't let go either.
Kate and Tanya sped across the rest of the lawn, blurring to a sudden stop in front of the porch. It impressed Rosalie that Bella didn't even flinch. She squeezed the girl's hand.
"You're going to have to explain this one to us," Tanya said as she eyed Bella. "But not until Irina gets back. She wanted to hunt before coming in, seeing as there's going to be a human hanging around."
"And please, tell us how Edward is reacting and if you want to share like we used to in the 60's."
Bella blushed. Rosalie growled. It was bad enough that she was going to take Bella's life one way or the other, but now Kate wanted them to share Bella like she was some willing participant, rather than a victim of circumstance. "Absolutely not."
"Our little Rose Petal is possessive! I love that." Rosalie wanted to slap the sly smile right off Kate's annoying face. She knew it had been a mistake to follow Kate's lead in decades past. She should have known that, somehow, their past sexcapades would come back to bite her in the ass.
'Let's go out,' Kate had said. 'We'll have harmless fun,' she'd said. It didn't seem so harmless now that Kate was here embarrassing Bella.
Speaking of, Bella let out a small laugh, then tilted her head just enough that her hair covered her reddening cheeks some. "I'm gonna head inside and work on our homework." She dropped Rose's hand, kissed her cheek, then uttered a quick, "Nice to meet you," and went back inside.
They all waited for the door to click closed before the brawl began. Tanya grabbed Kate's shoulders, holding her still just long enough for Rosalie to pounce. She launched off the porch, aiming for Kate's torso. She brought down Tanya as well, the three of them rolling on the damp grass. Kate cackled as she attempted to escape, shoving her way from the small pile of vampires. As she made to roll away, Tanya grabbed her ankle, wrapping her arms tight. Rosalie pounced again, wrapping her arms and legs around Kate's torso.
"You'll never take me alive!" Kate tried to walk away with both women hanging off her. She threw wild elbows in Rosalie's direction, eventually catching her in the ribs with one.
"Then we'll have to take you dead!" Rosalie started punching Kate's stomach, trying to get the vampire to fall back to the ground.
Irina emerged from the woods, immaculate even though she had just hunted and fed. "Girls, girls," she smiled as she approached them, "You're all pretty."
They froze and looked at each other, the same mischievous expression reflected across three sets of golden eyes. Irina suddenly found herself being chased around the yard, three vampires hissing between laughs. "Okay, okay, I give!" Irina stopped trying to escape. The four of them laughed together.
Tanya reached up and pulled a clump of muddy grass from Rosalie's hair. "It's good to see you so happy, little Rose," she muttered as she reached up to take a twig from her hair as well. "It's been so long." Rosalie wasn't sure if she'd ever been this carefree with her cousins. She must have been at some point, but no examples came immediately to mind. When had she last been this joyful with them?
"I'm going upstairs to shower this muck off. Make yourself at home."
She went inside, leaving the front door open for the women to follow. Emmett nodded to her in greeting. She nodded back, feeling light and airy as she hopped up the steps, two at a time, laughing slightly. She didn't care that everyone could hear her practically skipping up the steps like a child.
As the door to her room closed behind her, Rosalie pulled off her muddy jeans, throwing them into the hamper in the corner of her room. Her top quickly followed, though she could tell by the torn seams that it was highly unlikely to be salvageable. She admired her perfectly sculpted arms, muscles visible at every turn. Even in the low light of her bedroom, they glistened slightly. The marble sinews of her stomach stood out in stark relief against the cracks spread across her. The sharp elbow from Kate had caused cracks to run from her ribs across to her right hip, like a spider had made its home there. She watched as several of them closed and poked at the deeper place where Kate's elbow had made contact. She watched those close as well, then heard a heartbeat sped up.
Rosalie's fingers froze on the deeper crack. There was a heartbeat behind her...but her room was soundproofed. She shouldn't hear anything. Her eyes darted from the mirror reflection of her body to around the room. They settled on the bed behind her, where Bella was sitting, the book discarded across her lap. Her eyes met Rosalie's in the mirror. "I'm so sorry!" Bella's hands flew over her eyes, covering her face. The voice coming from the girl was more of a squeak than anything Rosalie had heard from her before. "I wasn't looking!"
Warmth spread through Rosalie. Bella hadn't been looking; she had been ogling and open-mouthed, watching Rosalie's scantily clad form. She could see Bella's throat bob as she swallowed anxiously.
Rosalie liked it. She was surprised by the realization. She darted into her private ensuite bathroom, grabbed a towel, and came back with it wrapped around her. "Bella."
"Are you decent?" Bella didn't uncover her eyes.
The vampire couldn't help herself; she stalked closer to Bella, put one hand on the bed, and leaned in close, a scant few inches between them. "Why? Did you find me," she purred the final word, "indecent?"
Bella's sharp intake of breath as her heart sped up and goosebumps erupted on her skin was precisely what Rosalie was hoping for. She often toyed with humans. It never mattered whether they were male or female, but pushing Bella's buttons was a different kind of amusing. She wanted to do it more. Rosalie felt a sudden urge to push Bella's boundaries. She could crawl over her on this bed, push the human's heart to its limit, and see what she could get away with. Bella was stammering, trying to formulate a response.
The vampire took pity on the human and leaned back, removing her weight from the edge of the bed. "I am fully covered, Bella. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in here. I wouldn't usually show someone my underwear without purpose."
"Like what?" Bella slowly moved her hands from her eyes, as if she thought Rosalie was lying about being covered.
Rosalie paused at the bathroom door, looking at Bella meaningfully. "Use your imagination." She entered the bathroom, left the door cracked, then tossed the towel and underwear out. She heard the girl's heartbeat speed up again before she turned the water on in the tub. Good.
Bella had not yet moved from Rosalie's bed. She was gripping Rosalie's comforter in a tight fist. Rosalie was a beautiful woman. Bella had always objectively known that. It had taken her months to just adjust to seeing Rosalie's face when she'd first met her. Nothing could have prepared her for seeing Rosalie's body. She was stunning.
A storm of emotions swirled discordantly in her chest. Her head hurt. Her cheeks burned. Why did her stomach ache? She couldn't name any of the emotions, but they were strong. The sound of running water reminded her that Rosalie was in the next room naked. She had left the bathroom door cracked. why had Rosalie done that? Why did Bella want so badly to peek? Was she a pervert?
This wasn't normal. Bella had never been attracted to a woman before. Well, not really. She had thought she had a crush on Leah for a minute when they were younger, but that turned out to be a friend crush. She was just so excited to be friends with someone as cool as Leah. Maybe she had been a little too close to Alice, but that wasn't attraction. She had made a great friend and wanted to be part of her boyfriend's family. That was normal, in retrospect.
Did she like Rosalie?
Bella shook her head. She knew she was just being foolish. Pretending to be mates was getting to her. She didn't believe this was real for them, but maybe a small part of her was being fooled. Her body, for one. She took a deep breath, then laid back down on the bed. A distraction was necessary. While she waited for Rose to reappear, she would read more. It would be fine. Everything would be fine. Bella took one more long, slow breath in and out. The bed smelled like Rose, and her stomach knotted up again. She was fine. Everything was fine.
Bella rolled on her side and propped the book up in front of her face using the other pillow. Wuthering Heights always had an answer. She had just started to lose herself in the pages again when the water cut off in the bathroom. Rosalie walked out of the bathroom with her wet hair hanging, and her body only covered by a thin set of lacy red underwear. She ran a hand through her wet hair, shaking it out and raking her fingers through it.
"Rose!" Bella choked out. She covered her face with the book, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. The sound of the vampire's throaty chuckle sent flames deep into her belly.
"Yes, Bella?" Soft footsteps came closer to her. Bella took a chance and lowered the book just enough to see. Rosalie was standing in front of her, hands on hips, confident in her barely dressed glory. No words could escape Bella's suddenly dry mouth. She choked, then tried to cover her eyes with the book again. Rosalie hooked a finger over the center of the book and pulled it back down below Bella's eyeline. "Am I," she winked, "Indecent?"
Bella was going to explode. "No, you're perfect."
Rosalie threw her head back and laughed, letting go of the book. Bella watched the muscles of her throat in an effort to keep her eyes somewhere appropriate, even though they wanted to wander. "I'll keep that in mind." Bella had a thought that seemed to be repeating in her mind daily: Rosalie was going to kill her, and bloodlust would have nothing to do with it. "I just want you to know," Rosalie said as she slid into a pair of jeans while looking at herself in the mirror, "I am being very considerate right now. I usually don't wear clothes at all after the shower."
Bella tried not to dwell on that. She made no attempt to avert her eyes either. As Rosalie brushed and blow-dried her hair in front of the mirror, Bella watched the girl's back muscles as they contracted through each brush stroke. Rosalie seemed to be preening under her attention, so she let herself keep looking. Bella found it difficult to comprehend that a person entirely made of tightly coiled steel sheets of muscle could be as gentle as Rosalie was with her.
Rosalie finished with her hair, running some product through it and combing it one more time. She turned around to look at Bella, smirking. "Penny for your thoughts?"
Bella froze. What thoughts? Had she been thinking? Would Rosalie appreciate it if Bella said, 'Hubba hubba?' Now, she could see Rosalie's abs in all their defined glory. Had she been touching those abs just a few days ago? She coughed, tried to say something, and finally just shrugged. "Can vampires get tattoos?" Rosalie laughed on her way to her closet. She put on a plain white button-up. She didn't button it, but the shirt was enough for Bella to get her mind working again.
"I don't think so. If someone has figured it out, I imagine it would have to include venom to let ink survive in our skin without being healed out of existence. I don't see how any needle invented would work, though. It would probably have to be made from a vampire fang." Rosalie sat on her computer desk, back to the wall as she faced Bella. Her shirt falling open was distracting. "Bella?"
She looked away from Rosalie's abs and met her eyes. Rosalie buttoned the center button, closing off the full view of her alabaster skin. "Sorry."
Rosalie shook her head. "I don't mind. We need to talk about something."
"Okay." She sat up on the bed. "What is it?"
"The pack has found the scent of two unknown vampires around Forks." She crossed her legs and continued. "They've never encountered their scent before, so they don't know anything except that they're vampires."
Bella's heart began to race, but her face betrayed nothing. "Is that why Jake came to the house?" Rosalie nodded. "Anything else?" Rosalie nodded again. "What?"
"I think they were at school and put something in my car. When Angela and Ben were breaking up, all I could smell was bleach."
"Why would that mean vampires?"
"There are only a few ways to reliably cover up vampire scent to avoid detection. Extremely strong cleaners work. Offensive smells, like shifters, work as well. I imagine you could distract from them with something enticing, like fresh human blood." Bella shuddered. "I think it means we are being tailed, and whoever is doing it? I know them. We know them. If we didn't, they wouldn't work so hard to conceal themselves."
"Are you worried?"
"Yes. One hundred percent." Rosalie pulled at the hem of her shirt. She wasn't afraid, per se, but she was nervous to share with Bella how much danger was following them. "I think they bugged my car. There's been a sound in it that I can't quite locate."
"So what you're saying is you're not just some paranoid cougar trying to trick an innocent young girl into your bed? We're in real trouble."
Rosalie smiled. She felt relaxed, even considering the discussion topic. This was her room. This was her safe place. "We are in trouble." That was the truth. "I may be paranoid." She flipped her hair. "I am definitely a cougar." She smiled at Bella, her fangs on display again. "And I don't know if you've noticed, but you're already in my bed."
Bella's eyes were drawn to Rosalie's fangs like magnets. She watched the girl lick her lips. Her heart raced. Rosalie realized she had never shown a human her fangs before Bella. It was kind of nice to just have them out and visible without worrying about scaring her. She had to be careful, but she always had to be careful.
"Come here."
Rosalie put her fangs away. "Make me." She would be damned before she let someone tell her what to do in her own room.
"Please?" Rosalie remained seated on the desk just long enough for Bella to look nervous. She rose slowly and walked just as slowly over to the bed. Bella took her hand and gently pulled Rose down to sit next to her. Rosalie felt odd, like she was about to be broken up with. She didn't know what that felt like, as she'd never been formally dumped. "I want some things."
"Like?" Bella was looking anywhere but at Rosalie.
"At the end of all this, what will I be like? Once I'm turned?"
The change of topic was surprising. "At first? There will be nothing in you but an all-consuming thirst." Bella stared at their joined hands. "You'll get over it. Most of us take about a year to be ourselves again. Or something similar."
"A year…" she sighed. "That's a long time." Rosalie didn't say anything. A year was a flash in the pan. It felt like nothing now. She knew that wasn't true for Bella. "I'm giving up a lot."
Rosalie felt like Bella had hit her in the stomach with a vampire's fist. "I know."
"This past week has shown me some of what that is. There are some things I want to do before I turn, and some experiences I want to have. While I'm still human." Rosalie must have looked extremely confused because the next sentence came flying out. "Ireallywanttohavehumansex."
Oh. Bella wanted to have sex with a human? That could happen. How could they make that happen? "Okay. There will be some challenges with that."
"I know. And I know that it could be dangerous. But I want to try it at least once, just to know." Bella was finally looking at her. "Would you be okay with that?"
Of course, she would be okay with that. She didn't own Bella. They weren't mates. Rosalie ignored the bile she felt in her stomach at the thought. She couldn't keep this experience from Bella. "Yes. It's your right." She would have to offer her bedroom for this, wouldn't she? How else would Bella and her imaginary partner remain safe from prying ears or eyes. She tried not to think of Bella being groped by one of the many boys in her friend group. Rosalie would simply burn the bed and replace it after. Nowhere else would be private enough to protect their secret. "Who…who did you have in mind?"
"What do you mean?" Bella's eyebrows drew together. "Rose, what do you think I'm talking about?"
"You want to have sex with a human. Obviously, this house is the only place you can safely do so."
"What? No! I don't want to have…sex with a human." Bella's cheeks were fire engine red. "I want to - you know- as a human." Oh. "With you, if you're willing." Oh. "Are you? Willing, I mean?"
The pit in her stomach burned up and away, replaced by hopeful fluttering. Rosalie must have taken too long to answer because Bella started talking again.
"I know that you're not in love with me or anything, and we've been doing a lot of kissing and stuff, and for the first time, I'm really, like, thinking these kinds of thoughts, and you seem like you're into it, at least physically, so-"
Rosalie covered Bella's mouth with her own. "Shut up," she murmured against the human's warm lips. "Yes. If that's what you want, yes."
Bella's eyes searched Rosalie's. "Is that what you want? It wouldn't be like a hardship or anything?"
"To ravish the innocent young girl I tricked into my bed? Not even an inconvenience. I dare say I might even enjoy it." And she would.
Bella let out a short breath. "Cool." She looked down at their hands again. "I'm not," She spun a ring on Rosalie's index ringer, "ready, exactly, yet." She stopped twirling the ring. "Is that okay?"
"Bella." Rosalie waited for Bella to look up and meet her eyes. She touched her cheek, then leaned in and offered a soft, gentle kiss. "That is perfectly fine."
Bella's gentle hands reached up to touch Rosalie's slightly exposed shoulders. "Cool. Cool." Her eyes started to wander to Rosalie's chest. "Do you think we could maybe-"
Rosalie didn't wait for Bella to finish her sentence. She crawled (elegantly, of course) into the bed and pulled Bella up next to her, so they were lying side by side. Bella didn't hesitate. She closed the space between them, kissing the vampire aggressively. When Bella's hands wandered down to undo the single button on her dress shirt, she simply relished in the human's want. As two warm palms and gentle fingers traced her torso, Rosalie let out a single low groan.
There were dangers on the horizon, but for now, they were safe. As Rosalie pushed up Bella's shirt just high enough to kiss the girl's stomach and run her tongue gently over the small hickeys she left there, it felt safe. She could almost believe they were just two girls making out on a Saturday afternoon, chasing comfort in the soft sighs they let out every few minutes.
When Bella pushed Rosalie's shoulder so she would roll over onto her back, she followed the instructions. Bella climbed onto her, sitting down right across Rosalie's lap. She wanted more friction than Bella was providing her (and definitely more than she should chase, given Bella wanted to wait). She carefully set her hands on Bella's waist. She would not grind into Bella, even though she wanted to.
Bella looked down at Rosalie. Her lips were pink, her cheeks red, and her eyes bright. The girl was turned on, just like Rosalie was. Bella leaned down and kissed her lips, her chin, her neck, and then down across her exposed skin. She was imitating Rosalie, kissing down her stomach like Rose did to her minutes ago. Rosalie's jeans were still unbuttoned, and Bella paused, looking at the exposed red underwear. She kissed right above the top of them, her lips grazing the sensitive skin, then came back up to lie down next to Rose. She moved in close, her head on Rosalie's shoulder. Her hand rested on Rose's stomach, and Rose let herself enjoy it.
This moment of quiet, of calm, snuggly bliss was almost worth all the trouble they were trying to avoid.