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Chapter 6
I knocked on her door precisely an hour later. She opened it a crack.
“Um, I need your help,” she mumbled as the door opened further.
She looked thoroughly stunning - Alice had outdone herself this time in choosing the perfect attire. The dress was elegant, yet deliciously seductive. Bella had kept her hair down but pulled away from her face so that it flowed in sweeping waves along her back. The color of the dress complimented her creamy complexion and emphasized the endless depths of her eyes. Yet despite her alluring beauty, she looked desperately worried. What could be wrong? I slipped through the door, and Bella walked slowly backwards until she was out of view from the hallway.
“What is it, love?” I stepped towards her.
Her face started to blush instantly as the door closed behind me. “I need you to zip my dress up.”
I smiled brightly. Only Bella would worry about such a thing. “Is that all? I think I can handle that.” I touched her shoulder and guided her to turn around.
She scooped her hair up, pulling it around her shoulder to reveal her bare back. I froze for a second, now understanding why she had been blushing. I’d seen a fair amount of Bella’s skin before, but never like this. My hands desperately wanted to touch her; to slide along her translucent skin and feel its perfection. I hungered to place my lips on the nape of her neck and then run them down the length of her spine. But I knew that if I did either, our evening plans would no longer involve a trip to the symphony. We’d never make it out of the room, and Alice would kill us both for wasting such an opportunity to showcase the dress she had handpicked.
I exhaled dejectedly, forcing myself to touch only the zipper. I carefully grasped the metal edge and slowly slid it upwards. Bella’s heart was beating rapidly, and that did absolutely nothing to help my self-control.
Finally, I had her zipped up. I reached over to pull her hair back around her shoulder, denying myself her tantalizing neck. As my entire body hungered to misbehave and reach down to kiss her, I had a sudden thought. If she needed help zipping the dress, she’ll also need help unzipping it. I chuckled despite myself. That thought alone made the immediate abstinence well worth it.
“What are you laughing at?” Her voice was meek, and contained just a hint of shame. Did she think I was laughing at her? I quickly spun her around to face me.
“Not at you, silly!” I stared at her, grinning wildly. “I’ll tell you later, I promise.” No sense making her blush any more then necessary. She had grown increasingly bold since our official engagement, and the last thing my self-control needed was Bella to undermine it with unintentional acts of temptation. She was the master of that, especially in the last few weeks.
A pout crossed her face for a split second, then she composed herself and smiled hesitantly at me. “Another promise I will hold you to.” She winked devilishly. My breath hitched in my mouth at this reaction. Did she honestly have no idea what she did to me?
I blinked and continued to fight myself for control - I was beginning to feel like a very hungry fox in a hen house with only one hen. “You look absolutely radiant.” I bent down to allow myself just a few chaste kisses along her jaw. “Though as usual, words don’t quite justify your beauty.” I didn’t need to see the blush this time; I could feel it radiating from her cheeks. “Would you care to join me for dinner before the show?”
Her arms slowly reached around my neck, permitting my lips to remain pressed against her face. “Definitely.”
Then she pulled away slightly; just enough so she could gently brush her lips against mine. Normally Bella wasn’t capable of controlling herself when she kissed me like this. I was flabbergasted by this new side of her, and I felt my knees begin to go weak as she pulled away, leaving me aching for more. What had brought this on?
I had to hold my breath for a moment to regain my composure. It was like she was trying to break me; though I couldn’t understand why since I had negated my conditions to our upcoming nuptials. Just make it through the concert, I thought painfully.
“Are we going out to eat?” she asked coyly. She had to be reading my mind. Her very tone teased me mercilessly.
“I actually had more intimate plans for our meal,” I said with as much composure as I could muster.
“Really? Am I on the menu?”
I stumbled backwards from her words. Where was the shy, innocent Bella I had picked up earlier that morning? I quickly raced to find Alice’s thoughts. Had she shown up unexpectedly and instilled this new brazenness into my bride?
Bella laughed merrily. “Edward, your face – what are you thinking?” She slinked her arm through mine, pulling herself dangerously close to me.
“By the way, you look utterly divine in that tuxedo,” she murmured, much too close to my ear. I heard her breathe deeply before continuing. “I was kidding about dinner. Where will we be eating?”
I swallowed the venom that was pooling in my mouth, and clenched my jaw. I had to regain control if I had any hopes of making it through the evening. I also toyed with the idea of setting down some much needed ground rules for both of our safety. Unfortunately though, I was having an extremely difficult time figuring out what those rules might be around such a precarious creature as Bella.
“I have arranged for dinner to be catered in my suite.” The flickering look of disappointment when I emphasized the word my gave me more ammunition. Two could play at this game. “But we need to set some boundaries first.” I really had no plans whatsoever to set more boundaries, but this was quickly turning into a game between us, and I had no intention of letting her win. I waited earnestly for her reaction.
Bella rolled her eyes at me. “More boundaries. Shall I call Alice and request she deliver a chastity belt?”
I fought the snicker that threatened to escape. “And why would you need such a thing? Your virtue will remain whole in my presence.” At least that was the plan, but if she kept this up… I attempted to squelch my mischievous train of thoughts and deliver as solemn of a tone as I could muster.
“That’s not what you promised just an hour ago,” she reminded me. I was in more trouble then I ever could have imagined. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Fine. You win.” Her eyes lit up for a second. “Dinner, my suite. Try and behave or I’ll deny you more music lessons.” It was a weak card to play, but the only one I could use at that point.
Her eyes glinted in the diminishing sunlight that filtered through the windows. “Shall we?” She still had her arm linked in mine. Now she turned and steered us towards the door.
Our second room was just down the hall. As I opened the door for her, she inhaled sharply. I could only guess she was reacting to the aromatic scents of our awaiting meal. The hotel staff had set up an intimate table for two in the middle of the living room of my suite, complete with dozens of candles placed around the room. I reluctantly pulled myself away from her to rush to the electronic console next to the T.V.
Immediately the beginning of Sibelius’s Symphony in D Major began to play. I returned to Bella’s side, took her hand in mine and led her to the table. Her face lit up the moment she heard the string introduction.
“I thought you threatened no further music lessons,” she teased as I pulled out her chair.
“I did.” I smirked despite myself.
She leaned forward as I took my seat. “This is?” She stared intently into my eyes.
“Sibelius.” As I spoke his name, one of the apexes of the symphony sounded through the hidden speakers in the room. I instantly regretted choosing this piece for dinner – much too passionate. My attempts at finding suitable romantic pieces would be the death of me as thoughts of the tickets to the symphony left neglected on the nightstand, shrouded in her discarded dress kept playing through my mind. More venom flowed through my mouth as I thought of Bella’s bare back exposed again.
“Edward, what’s wrong?” Her voice distracted me from my scandalous thoughts. I must stay in control, I repeated silently to myself over and over.
“Nothing. Please eat.” I uncovered her dish for her and she inhaled again, no doubt savoring the aromas that I was sadly immune to.
Bella’s instincts kicked in as she instantly went for the fork. I knew she had to be hungry; she had slept through lunch. I watched her as she ate, amazed again by her grace as Sibelius continued to play in the background. Now I remembered another reason why I had chosen this as our dinner music – it complimented her movements perfectly.
Bella paused to take a sip of water. “I want to ask you something.”
I leaned back in my chair, watching her face for the slightest clue as to what she wanted to know. “Yes?”
She toyed with a piece of her food, swirling it around the plate and avoiding my gaze. “Obviously you love the symphony.”
It was a simple enough statement. I answered it honestly. “Of course.”
“And I’m fairly sure you find my reactions to the symphony pleasing.”
I still couldn’t follow where she was going with this. “Yes, I love your reactions. You seem to enjoy it as much as I do. Right?”
The faintest hint of a smile crossed her face. “Yes, I do love it.” She looked up at me. “Thank you for bringing me here.” I sensed there was something more she wanted to say.
I leaned forward, reaching for her hand. Her mouth opened slightly as she struggled to say the words.
“I was just wondering…” she paused and I held my breath, waiting for her to finish. Blinking rapidly, she swallowed and then continued. “…if there was more behind this trip then the obvious.” Her voice trailed off, but her eyes stayed on mine.
Ah. Now I knew what she was referring to, but I wasn’t sure how to answer her. In all honesty, I had brought her here because I thought she’d love to experience the thrill of listening to a great orchestra play live. But I also couldn’t deny the fact that I was well aware of Bella’s reactions to our recent foray into music appreciation. I decided to turn the question around instead of answering.
“Do you want there to more then the obvious?” I gently squeezed her hand as I stared deeply into her magnificent eyes. I knew I wasn’t playing fairly, but I couldn’t resist.
She held my gaze, her eyes unfocusing slightly and the telltale blush slowly crept into her cheeks.
“Bella?” I tried to verbally distract her from the dazzling, because I truthfully couldn’t bring myself to look away from her face.
She sucked in her breath sharply and blinked. “Maybe.” I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her ambiguity. Though I should hardly be surprised considering her recent behavior.
“Maybe,” I repeated, slightly sarcastic but teasingly too. “Well I’m glad we cleared that up.” It was best if we left that conversation for later because I could really only see two outcomes to it, both of which would result in us not enjoying the symphony.
I released Bella from my stare, glancing swiftly to the clock on the nightstand. I couldn’t believe how fast our special evening was slipping away.
“Better finish up; we’ll need to leave soon.” I took the fork from her and speared another bite of food, bringing it up slowly. Her perfect mouth opened ever so slightly as I touched the food to her lips, and she seductively slid the pasta off the fork while keeping her eyes on mine. I felt another flourish of excitement flutter through me, nearly causing me to drop the fork as I repeated the gesture of feeding her.
After a couple more bites, Bella lightly touched my hand, guiding it back down to the table.
“I’m finished.” She smiled flirtatiously at me, waiting to see what I’d do next.
I had to get her out of the room at once. Now I actually wanted to be surrounded by masses of people, by any sort of deterrent to keep myself from acting on all of the indecent thoughts that flooded my head. I repeated my trick from earlier, replaying the painful phrase over and over again to distract myself. Just make it through the concert.
I rose out of my chair and pulled her up to join me, trying not to let her dazzle me with those succulent eyes or entice me with her savory scent. I held my breath as I took her hand and led her rather quickly towards the door, praying there’d be other humans in the hall to discourage me if she unleashed her charms yet again. But the hall was deserted.
“Edward, are you okay?” she asked gently as I guided her down the hall toward the elevators. I kept my eyes straight ahead, trying not to feel the warmth of her body next to mine.
“Depends on your definition of okay,” I admitted. Maybe this would be easier if I asked for her help. “I’m trying to be good.”
“Good?”
I turned to face her as we reached the elevators, releasing her hand and placing both of my hands on her shoulders. “Bella, you do want to go to the concert tonight, right?”
Her brow creased slightly. “Of course.”
“Then please take the seduction factor down a notch, or we’ll never make it there.”
“Oh.” I couldn’t tell from her response if she was disappointed or confused.
“I’m not saying I don’t like it, or that I don’t want you to keep doing what you’ve been doing. But I’m not as strong as you give me credit for – if you keep it up, we won’t be leaving the hotel. Or even this floor for that matter.” I could feel the hunger creeping up in my bones again as I thought about marching her right back to the room.
She studied me for a moment before answering. “Wow. And here I thought you were the one toying with me…” her voice trailed off.
“I’m beginning to regret not encouraging Charlie more strongly to join us this evening as a chaperone.”
“You can’t be serious,” Bella laughed.
I leaned in towards her, my lips just an inch away from hers. “I think we’re both in a lot of trouble tonight.”
“Good.” She stepped up on her tiptoes and barely touched her lips to mine. The barely-there kiss was almost more maddening then if she had thrown herself at me. My hands were starting to tighten on her shoulders, preparing to pull her closer when the elevator door opened.
I knocked on her door precisely an hour later. She opened it a crack.
“Um, I need your help,” she mumbled as the door opened further.
She looked thoroughly stunning - Alice had outdone herself this time in choosing the perfect attire. The dress was elegant, yet deliciously seductive. Bella had kept her hair down but pulled away from her face so that it flowed in sweeping waves along her back. The color of the dress complimented her creamy complexion and emphasized the endless depths of her eyes. Yet despite her alluring beauty, she looked desperately worried. What could be wrong? I slipped through the door, and Bella walked slowly backwards until she was out of view from the hallway.
“What is it, love?” I stepped towards her.
Her face started to blush instantly as the door closed behind me. “I need you to zip my dress up.”
I smiled brightly. Only Bella would worry about such a thing. “Is that all? I think I can handle that.” I touched her shoulder and guided her to turn around.
She scooped her hair up, pulling it around her shoulder to reveal her bare back. I froze for a second, now understanding why she had been blushing. I’d seen a fair amount of Bella’s skin before, but never like this. My hands desperately wanted to touch her; to slide along her translucent skin and feel its perfection. I hungered to place my lips on the nape of her neck and then run them down the length of her spine. But I knew that if I did either, our evening plans would no longer involve a trip to the symphony. We’d never make it out of the room, and Alice would kill us both for wasting such an opportunity to showcase the dress she had handpicked.
I exhaled dejectedly, forcing myself to touch only the zipper. I carefully grasped the metal edge and slowly slid it upwards. Bella’s heart was beating rapidly, and that did absolutely nothing to help my self-control.
Finally, I had her zipped up. I reached over to pull her hair back around her shoulder, denying myself her tantalizing neck. As my entire body hungered to misbehave and reach down to kiss her, I had a sudden thought. If she needed help zipping the dress, she’ll also need help unzipping it. I chuckled despite myself. That thought alone made the immediate abstinence well worth it.
“What are you laughing at?” Her voice was meek, and contained just a hint of shame. Did she think I was laughing at her? I quickly spun her around to face me.
“Not at you, silly!” I stared at her, grinning wildly. “I’ll tell you later, I promise.” No sense making her blush any more then necessary. She had grown increasingly bold since our official engagement, and the last thing my self-control needed was Bella to undermine it with unintentional acts of temptation. She was the master of that, especially in the last few weeks.
A pout crossed her face for a split second, then she composed herself and smiled hesitantly at me. “Another promise I will hold you to.” She winked devilishly. My breath hitched in my mouth at this reaction. Did she honestly have no idea what she did to me?
I blinked and continued to fight myself for control - I was beginning to feel like a very hungry fox in a hen house with only one hen. “You look absolutely radiant.” I bent down to allow myself just a few chaste kisses along her jaw. “Though as usual, words don’t quite justify your beauty.” I didn’t need to see the blush this time; I could feel it radiating from her cheeks. “Would you care to join me for dinner before the show?”
Her arms slowly reached around my neck, permitting my lips to remain pressed against her face. “Definitely.”
Then she pulled away slightly; just enough so she could gently brush her lips against mine. Normally Bella wasn’t capable of controlling herself when she kissed me like this. I was flabbergasted by this new side of her, and I felt my knees begin to go weak as she pulled away, leaving me aching for more. What had brought this on?
I had to hold my breath for a moment to regain my composure. It was like she was trying to break me; though I couldn’t understand why since I had negated my conditions to our upcoming nuptials. Just make it through the concert, I thought painfully.
“Are we going out to eat?” she asked coyly. She had to be reading my mind. Her very tone teased me mercilessly.
“I actually had more intimate plans for our meal,” I said with as much composure as I could muster.
“Really? Am I on the menu?”
I stumbled backwards from her words. Where was the shy, innocent Bella I had picked up earlier that morning? I quickly raced to find Alice’s thoughts. Had she shown up unexpectedly and instilled this new brazenness into my bride?
Bella laughed merrily. “Edward, your face – what are you thinking?” She slinked her arm through mine, pulling herself dangerously close to me.
“By the way, you look utterly divine in that tuxedo,” she murmured, much too close to my ear. I heard her breathe deeply before continuing. “I was kidding about dinner. Where will we be eating?”
I swallowed the venom that was pooling in my mouth, and clenched my jaw. I had to regain control if I had any hopes of making it through the evening. I also toyed with the idea of setting down some much needed ground rules for both of our safety. Unfortunately though, I was having an extremely difficult time figuring out what those rules might be around such a precarious creature as Bella.
“I have arranged for dinner to be catered in my suite.” The flickering look of disappointment when I emphasized the word my gave me more ammunition. Two could play at this game. “But we need to set some boundaries first.” I really had no plans whatsoever to set more boundaries, but this was quickly turning into a game between us, and I had no intention of letting her win. I waited earnestly for her reaction.
Bella rolled her eyes at me. “More boundaries. Shall I call Alice and request she deliver a chastity belt?”
I fought the snicker that threatened to escape. “And why would you need such a thing? Your virtue will remain whole in my presence.” At least that was the plan, but if she kept this up… I attempted to squelch my mischievous train of thoughts and deliver as solemn of a tone as I could muster.
“That’s not what you promised just an hour ago,” she reminded me. I was in more trouble then I ever could have imagined. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Fine. You win.” Her eyes lit up for a second. “Dinner, my suite. Try and behave or I’ll deny you more music lessons.” It was a weak card to play, but the only one I could use at that point.
Her eyes glinted in the diminishing sunlight that filtered through the windows. “Shall we?” She still had her arm linked in mine. Now she turned and steered us towards the door.
Our second room was just down the hall. As I opened the door for her, she inhaled sharply. I could only guess she was reacting to the aromatic scents of our awaiting meal. The hotel staff had set up an intimate table for two in the middle of the living room of my suite, complete with dozens of candles placed around the room. I reluctantly pulled myself away from her to rush to the electronic console next to the T.V.
Immediately the beginning of Sibelius’s Symphony in D Major began to play. I returned to Bella’s side, took her hand in mine and led her to the table. Her face lit up the moment she heard the string introduction.
“I thought you threatened no further music lessons,” she teased as I pulled out her chair.
“I did.” I smirked despite myself.
She leaned forward as I took my seat. “This is?” She stared intently into my eyes.
“Sibelius.” As I spoke his name, one of the apexes of the symphony sounded through the hidden speakers in the room. I instantly regretted choosing this piece for dinner – much too passionate. My attempts at finding suitable romantic pieces would be the death of me as thoughts of the tickets to the symphony left neglected on the nightstand, shrouded in her discarded dress kept playing through my mind. More venom flowed through my mouth as I thought of Bella’s bare back exposed again.
“Edward, what’s wrong?” Her voice distracted me from my scandalous thoughts. I must stay in control, I repeated silently to myself over and over.
“Nothing. Please eat.” I uncovered her dish for her and she inhaled again, no doubt savoring the aromas that I was sadly immune to.
Bella’s instincts kicked in as she instantly went for the fork. I knew she had to be hungry; she had slept through lunch. I watched her as she ate, amazed again by her grace as Sibelius continued to play in the background. Now I remembered another reason why I had chosen this as our dinner music – it complimented her movements perfectly.
Bella paused to take a sip of water. “I want to ask you something.”
I leaned back in my chair, watching her face for the slightest clue as to what she wanted to know. “Yes?”
She toyed with a piece of her food, swirling it around the plate and avoiding my gaze. “Obviously you love the symphony.”
It was a simple enough statement. I answered it honestly. “Of course.”
“And I’m fairly sure you find my reactions to the symphony pleasing.”
I still couldn’t follow where she was going with this. “Yes, I love your reactions. You seem to enjoy it as much as I do. Right?”
The faintest hint of a smile crossed her face. “Yes, I do love it.” She looked up at me. “Thank you for bringing me here.” I sensed there was something more she wanted to say.
I leaned forward, reaching for her hand. Her mouth opened slightly as she struggled to say the words.
“I was just wondering…” she paused and I held my breath, waiting for her to finish. Blinking rapidly, she swallowed and then continued. “…if there was more behind this trip then the obvious.” Her voice trailed off, but her eyes stayed on mine.
Ah. Now I knew what she was referring to, but I wasn’t sure how to answer her. In all honesty, I had brought her here because I thought she’d love to experience the thrill of listening to a great orchestra play live. But I also couldn’t deny the fact that I was well aware of Bella’s reactions to our recent foray into music appreciation. I decided to turn the question around instead of answering.
“Do you want there to more then the obvious?” I gently squeezed her hand as I stared deeply into her magnificent eyes. I knew I wasn’t playing fairly, but I couldn’t resist.
She held my gaze, her eyes unfocusing slightly and the telltale blush slowly crept into her cheeks.
“Bella?” I tried to verbally distract her from the dazzling, because I truthfully couldn’t bring myself to look away from her face.
She sucked in her breath sharply and blinked. “Maybe.” I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her ambiguity. Though I should hardly be surprised considering her recent behavior.
“Maybe,” I repeated, slightly sarcastic but teasingly too. “Well I’m glad we cleared that up.” It was best if we left that conversation for later because I could really only see two outcomes to it, both of which would result in us not enjoying the symphony.
I released Bella from my stare, glancing swiftly to the clock on the nightstand. I couldn’t believe how fast our special evening was slipping away.
“Better finish up; we’ll need to leave soon.” I took the fork from her and speared another bite of food, bringing it up slowly. Her perfect mouth opened ever so slightly as I touched the food to her lips, and she seductively slid the pasta off the fork while keeping her eyes on mine. I felt another flourish of excitement flutter through me, nearly causing me to drop the fork as I repeated the gesture of feeding her.
After a couple more bites, Bella lightly touched my hand, guiding it back down to the table.
“I’m finished.” She smiled flirtatiously at me, waiting to see what I’d do next.
I had to get her out of the room at once. Now I actually wanted to be surrounded by masses of people, by any sort of deterrent to keep myself from acting on all of the indecent thoughts that flooded my head. I repeated my trick from earlier, replaying the painful phrase over and over again to distract myself. Just make it through the concert.
I rose out of my chair and pulled her up to join me, trying not to let her dazzle me with those succulent eyes or entice me with her savory scent. I held my breath as I took her hand and led her rather quickly towards the door, praying there’d be other humans in the hall to discourage me if she unleashed her charms yet again. But the hall was deserted.
“Edward, are you okay?” she asked gently as I guided her down the hall toward the elevators. I kept my eyes straight ahead, trying not to feel the warmth of her body next to mine.
“Depends on your definition of okay,” I admitted. Maybe this would be easier if I asked for her help. “I’m trying to be good.”
“Good?”
I turned to face her as we reached the elevators, releasing her hand and placing both of my hands on her shoulders. “Bella, you do want to go to the concert tonight, right?”
Her brow creased slightly. “Of course.”
“Then please take the seduction factor down a notch, or we’ll never make it there.”
“Oh.” I couldn’t tell from her response if she was disappointed or confused.
“I’m not saying I don’t like it, or that I don’t want you to keep doing what you’ve been doing. But I’m not as strong as you give me credit for – if you keep it up, we won’t be leaving the hotel. Or even this floor for that matter.” I could feel the hunger creeping up in my bones again as I thought about marching her right back to the room.
She studied me for a moment before answering. “Wow. And here I thought you were the one toying with me…” her voice trailed off.
“I’m beginning to regret not encouraging Charlie more strongly to join us this evening as a chaperone.”
“You can’t be serious,” Bella laughed.
I leaned in towards her, my lips just an inch away from hers. “I think we’re both in a lot of trouble tonight.”
“Good.” She stepped up on her tiptoes and barely touched her lips to mine. The barely-there kiss was almost more maddening then if she had thrown herself at me. My hands were starting to tighten on her shoulders, preparing to pull her closer when the elevator door opened.
