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My incorrigible body over-ruled my rational brain's pleas to stop as my lips worked their way up Bella's opulent legs. She continued to gently tug at my hair, guiding my rebellious path past her knees and to her perfectly proportioned thighs. The heat that radiated from her skin engulfed my hands and face, inviting me to taste every last inch of uncovered flesh. My eyes meticulously studied and memorized nearly invisible freckles and the occasional childhood scar. All mine, I thought disreputably - the possessive thoughts were once again virtually impossible to squelch, especially when I'd hear my name slip from Bella's mouth, repeatedly and reverently. No one else would have the pleasure of hearing her call their name in such a way, and that fact filled my entire being with a sense of unadulterated smugness.
As I reached the bottom of her shorts, I paused, resting my chin on one thigh and staring up at her longingly. Bella's eyes were nearly closed, yet she continued to run her fingers over my scalp, occasionally brushing a lock of hair off my forehead with utter tenderness. I felt her pulse maintain it's quickened pace and noted how her hooded gaze remained slightly unfocused.
"Bella," I murmured, kissing her once more before looking back up. She still didn't respond.
"Have I stolen your ability to speak, love?" The rhetorical question remained unanswered as I slid my body along hers. I ran my hands up along the outside of her hips, tracing along the waistband of her khakis until they reached her blouse. So warm, I thought hungrily, as I debated whether to slide my hands beneath the hem to savor the heat. It was incredibly tempting to revel in the electricity that would invariably pass between her bare skin and my own, and with no interruption from the voyeurs back home each passing second, my actions appeared to be permissible, as they pertained to our precious virtue. That thought alone was excuse enough for me to proceed.
But as I grazed my chin against the fabric of her shorts and slipped my fingertips beneath the bottom of her blouse, Bella's grip tightened in my hair, causing me to freeze momentarily. She took a deep breath before finally finding her voice.
"You promised," she whispered softly, her chest rising and falling dramatically as her eyes finally focused on my face.
Chuckling against her shorts, I glanced down to her stomach where my fingertips were moving again, slowly snaking their way under her shirt. "Did I accidentally dazzle you?"
I could feel her nod once, her breathing becoming more labored. "You're killing me."
"No. I wouldn't do that." A devious smirk crept onto my face as I moved upwards, dragging my chin and nose to the waistband of her shorts while my hands completely disappeared under her blouse on either side. "Not today, at least," I amended lightly.
I felt her soft palms slide down either side of my head, tracing over my ears with a feathery caress until they reached my jaw. She's actually killing me, I thought, temporarily lost in the heady sensation of her loving touch.
She lifted my face, imploring my gaze to drift up to hers where I was met with a wicked smile. "Promise?"
It took me a second to comprehend what she was asking me, but once I realized that she was referring to my prior jest, a playful growl expelled from my lungs. Bella's eyes grew wide as my lips began to curl back, revealing my deadly teeth in a conniving grin. I was fairly sure nothing I could do would truly scare her, so I resorted to another tactic I had been anxious to try. After all, her flippant retort could not go unpunished.
"Of course. But not necessarily in the way you desire." As I pushed my body up to bring my face level with hers, I began moving my fingers lightly against her ribs, slowly at first until I felt her breath start to hitch as she tried to contain a giggle. Rather quickly I discovered that the faster I moved, the harder she laughed, until her actions became infectious and I found myself laughing along with her. Why hadn't I thought of doing this before? The way her body instinctively convulsed against mine with each swipe of my hand was downright exhilarating, especially when I noted how she actually pressed into me, despite the obvious discomfort I was causing her. But, on second thought, maybe it wasn't discomfort at all - was such stimulation actually enjoyable?
As I continued to ponder this curious reaction, she abruptly gasped, trying to find enough air to speak. "Edward, not fair!" Another bout of laughter exploded out of her as she tried to paw away my teasing hands. "You can't tickle me if I'm not able to return the favor!"
Immediately I stopped, still hovering above her. How would such an experience feel, especially if it were her hands upon me? I simply had to know. "Do you want to try?"
Bella didn't answer as I stared longingly into her fathomless, brown eyes. Instead, she jammed her hot little hands underneath my shirt and tried desperately to reduce me to a chortling mess just like I had done to her, only with very little success. As she tried to tickle my cold, hard skin, her touch had a much different effect. At first, I was sorely disappointed that my body didn't react the same way hers had, even though I knew I could never afford to carelessly thrash so close to her fragile form. Yet the feeling of her nimble fingers sliding quickly along my sides and across my stomach was quite the opposite of disappointing - instantly, her touch stimulated a pool of venom that filled my mouth and propelled me to reach up and cup her face in my hands. I desperately wanted to capture her lips between mine, but at the same time, I didn't want to distract her. I was thoroughly mesmerized by her unabashed actions beneath my shirt.
It took her a moment to realize I wasn't laughing. As her hands began to slow, she shifted beneath me and gazed intensely into my eyes. Those two actions coupled with the sensation of her palms resting on my torso sent a firestorm of longing through my entire body, and I had to fight back the urge to kiss her senseless and plunge my own hands back beneath her blouse. The overwhelming need for more intense physical contact was making me delirious in ways I had only experienced through the thoughts of others. The old adage of ‘hormonal teenager' was suddenly taking on an agonizingly new meaning.
Bella took a deep breath before speaking, her expression becoming serious. "You're not ticklish." Her tone seemed to suggest something quite different than its actual meaning, or so my restless mind thought. In an ironic twist of fate, the Schubert piece ended just as she spoke, and Beethoven's mournful Sonata Pathetique began. Oddly, the somber melody did not dampen the mood at all - rather, it added more fuel to the concupiscence doldrums that blanketed the room.
Gazing intently into her eyes, I fought to keep my voice even. "Not really."
Her hands started to move lazily up beneath my arms, then across my back. I swallowed stiffly, struggling frantically to control my primal urges.
"But you still like this, don't you?"
I nodded silently, unconsciously leaning further towards her flushed lips. "I should tickle you more often."
Bella cocked her head slightly to the left. "Why?" she purred seductively.
"To give you reason to try and retaliate." As a Machiavellian smile traced across my face, I inhaled deeply just as she exhaled, fully savoring her enthralling scent as we both gazed pensively at one another. The anticipation was palatable as our bodies tensed, waiting for the other to make a move. I fully expected Bella to succumb first; after all, I knowingly held her captive with my heated stare, and I also began to gently stroke her cheeks with my thumbs as I continued to cup her face in my hands. Any second, I anticipated her to push up and kiss me like she had done countless times before. But instead, she continued to methodically slide her fingers along my back, first up to my neck, then down along my spine to the waist of my pants, all the while visibly resisting the urge to press her lips to mine. I could detect the muscles in her neck barely twitching as she fought to keep them in check. It was mind-numbingly erotic as I watched the growing passion flicker in her eyes, yet she somehow didn't act on it. Her newfound self-control was regrettably admirable.
When I felt her fingertips begin to burrow beneath my waistband, a low groan escaped my lips and my eyes started to roll. I had promised myself I wouldn't make the first move, but that resolve was crumbling at a heightened pace - my own self control was nearly depleted, and I couldn't help but think back to how ironically imperative it was that one of us remain somewhat level-headed. But since Bella seemed to be harnessing her hormonal urges quite well, I exasperatedly gave into mine. I slid one hand along her jaw line to her neck, the backs of my fingers tracing her carotid artery down to her collarbone. Her breath hitched at once, causing me to smirk in triumph as my hand kept moving lower and lower. Although I admired her strength at that moment, I also took a sick sort of pleasure watching the effect of my simple touch. All mine. Besides, behaving just wasn't fun anymore.
Despite her alluring scent and the plethora of sensations flooding my body from her caress and my own actions, it was a hushed whimper that really pushed me over the edge. Just as the sound began to escape from those bewitching lips, I pressed mine to hers, urging them to open at will as I kissed her intensely. The room rapidly began to spin around us as her grip on my skin tightened and her tongue sought out my own.
She shifted beneath me, sliding one leg to the right, inviting my hovering weight to settle in a more comfortable position. My body hastily obliged, sinking into her softness as the hand that had been cupping her face slid behind her neck to bury itself in her hair. As the arduous kiss continued to deepen, Bella moved her free leg up, wrapping it around mine before her hands started to slide around my waist and towards my stomach.
I was so spellbound by the pummeling of every one of my senses, that I didn't even register the diminutive noise coming from underneath me. Bella didn't either - her lips continued to work upon mine until she was forced to pull back, gasping for breath. As I buried my face in her neck and nuzzled every inch of her skin, I heard that bizarre noise again, and this time felt it as well. Something was pressing against my upper thigh, but I just assumed it was Bella. It wasn't until she froze beneath me that I stopped my licentious actions, slowly becoming aware of her fingers sliding out from under my shirt and...into my pocket?
I pulled away from her neck, looking down at her hooded eyes questioningly.
"Didn't you feel that?" she asked as she slid the notorious cell phone out of the front pocket of my pants.
"No..." I trailed off, wondering how I hadn't realized what I had been hearing before.
Bella smirked devilishly as she unceremoniously tossed the phone onto the floor. "Really? I'm surprised."
I fought back a snicker, instead rolling my eyes. "I thought it was you," I replied honestly.
The slightest hint of a blush began to work its way across her cheeks. She glanced away for a split second, and I watched in amusement as she pursed her lips together, likely trying to piece together an appropriate retort. I could think of several of them, actually. Should I take that as a good or bad thing? Aren't we supposed to be ‘behaving'? You actually forgot you had a vibrating phone in your pocket? That can't be comfortable.
As tempting as it was to wait and see what she said, my primordial instincts had different plans. "Where were we?" As her eyes turned back to mine, I lowered my mouth to hers, returning to that glorious state of euphoria that existed just moments ago.
Immediately, our hands resumed their actions as if the interruption had never occurred. A tiny part of me wondered if Alice had indeed called, because the phone wasn't continuing to ring. Who else could it be? Doesn't matter, I reminded myself. All that matters is Bella making you feel this way.
Just as we were becoming quite inseparable with our limbs thoroughly entangled, I was also becoming increasingly aware of just how small the settee was. And how much more comfortable we'd be...elsewhere. Right as I was sliding one arm underneath Bella to scoop her up and carry her lithe form into the stateroom and the awaiting bed, the tiny hairs on the back of my neck began to rise.
I managed to pull my lips and teeth away from Bella's delicate skin just as the preposterously loud clap of thunder resonated above us. The walls of the ketch actually vibrated, though I doubted Bella's eyes would be able to notice such a phenomenon.
She startled in fright so quickly that her brain didn't have time to register the fact that I had safely unlocked my lips from hers in the nick of time. Unconsciously, she embraced me tightly, tucking her head into my shoulder and cowering from shock.
"Now I see why Alice hasn't called back," I mumbled, burying my face into the crook of Bella's neck as I hugged her against me, attempting to calm her sudden anxiety. My hand rubbed soothing circles along her spine, trying to placate her labored breathing.
A faint shiver coursed through her body, making me pull back again. "Cold, love?"
"No. Just...keyed up." The tale-tell blush started to creep across her cheeks again. "I forgot that there'd be more storms tonight." As if answering her statement, another flash of lightning flickered through the windows above us, followed swiftly by more earsplitting thunder.
I smiled down at my flushed bride, thankful that her frightened state was quickly dispersing. Kissing her chastely on the nose, I admitted to my own recent distractedness. "I seemed to have forgotten too. As well as lost track of time." I turned to look over my shoulder, glancing at the clock upon the far wall. "I suppose I should check the weather again, just to be safe. Then I'll cook you dinner."
Bella moaned in protest, clutching me tightly and refusing to let me sit up. "Just a few more minutes?" she begged adorably. "We weren't finished yet." I looked back into her pleading eyes and almost caved upon her request. So tempting to never leave her arms...
But then the reverberation of an anchor line minutely beginning to slip caught my attention, making the tough decision for me. Besides, our compromising position on the settee was getting rather...uncomfortable. We could retire to the stateroom immediately following dinner, I thought puckishly.
"Silly girl. You'll have all of my time before you know it." Giving her one more kiss on her swollen lips, I slowly detangled myself from her desperate hold and reluctantly rose off the couch. I reached out a hand to help her sit up. "I'll be back - soon."
And with one last fleeting glance at my precious fiancée, I grudgingly left her for the last time that evening.
"You're cooking steak?"
I grunted in response, desperately trying to hold in the snicker that threatened to erupt. I could only imagine what was going through her confounding mind. Though I had cooked for her on several occasions in the past year, she always seemed to blush whenever the menu contained red meat.
"What, you doubt my abilities?" I glanced over my shoulder at Bella, who leaned much too temptingly against the table of the dinette, arms crossed, shrewdly watching me prepare her dinner.
Outside, the sky continued to grumble as wave after wave of storm squalls passed over us. None of them were severe - just the garden variety, that had more bark than bite. A steady rain had started to fall just before I returned from above decks, and Bella had been playfully taunting me, despite the fact that I had only been gone for five minutes. First she attacked my dripping hair, plunging her fingers into it and frantically attempting to pull me down upon the settee where she sat. I clucked my tongue at her roguish behavior, resisting the urge to concede to her wishes when I hear the faint growl of her hungry stomach. Dinner first. Then, as I clasped her hand and let her down the few steps to the galley, she locked her arms around my waist, pressing her hot chest into my back and burying her face between my shoulder blades. Her searing breath tickled my damp skin through the thin fabric of my shirt, sending a wisp of a shiver down to my toes. My well-meant intentions of ignoring her flirtatious behavior were faltering fast, and I was forced to gently remove myself from her embrace, lest I fall victim to her profligate charms. If this was any indication of how the night was going to proceed, we were in trouble.
As I moved behind the safety of the galley island and started to prepare dinner, Bella squirmed awkwardly on the dinette bench, shifting her weight every few seconds, apparently trying to get comfortable. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her watching my actions closely, scrutinizing every flip of a spatula and every jiggle of the pan. I would have rolled my eyes in plain view, but I knew I was impeding on sacred ground. Cooking was her thing. And as much as I loved to dote on her every human need, food preparation was still on the top of the list for things she'd have to work on relinquishing control of...soon.
As she continued to fidget, we both refrained from speaking. Instead, I focused on the soft music; Moonlight Sonata had just begun, the solemn, yet hauntingly romantic chords of the piano's bass notes acted as a deterrent from letting my mind wander to the temptress just a few feet behind me. It was actually working until I turned to face her once again. The breath in my lungs rushed out in a pained sigh when I appraised her covetousness expression - I could literally feel the waves of desire rolling off of her as she gawked unabashedly at me. Her eyes lazily traced up the length of my torso, and as she finally met my equally hungry stare, I noticed the muscles in her slender throat contract, one by one, as she swallowed laboriously. I knew I was dazzling her when I noticed her pupils beginning to inadvertently dilate. Every fiber in my being screamed for me to vault over the island and sate that unbearable thirst for her. Not for blood - in fact, her blood had very little power over me anymore. Now I was solely aching for her body and her touch.
Somehow by sheer brute force, I was able to ignore the dominating instincts urging me to succumb to my carnal desires. I bit the inside of my cheek to pull myself out of the lust-filled haze, and as I finally inhaled a deep breath, the smell of the cooking meat reminded me why I had turned to regard her in the first place. Behave, I reminded myself viciously as I cleared my venom-filled throat to ask how she wanted her steak prepared.
"Rare," she replied nonchalantly, but the blush permeating her cheeks gave away what she was really thinking.
Before I could stop my wayward mind, I blurted out a reply.
"Do you really mean bloody?" I quirked my eyebrows at her suggestively, taking her completely by surprise. Normally I never jested about such taboo topics, but this time I simply couldn't resist.
Bella looked absolutely mortified, and a quasi-uncomfortable silence permeated the air for a split second. The she snorted, shaking her head and biting her lip seductively. "Got to start sometime, don't I?"
I was prepared for several possible responses to my deliberate question, but, as usual, I did not expect the one she gave. Before I could let her weaken my resolve further, I turned back to the stove, smirking despite myself. Although I adored the sweet, innocent side of Bella that had caused me to fall so helplessly in love with her, I secretly found this more iniquitous side to be nearly as enticing. Her self-confidence in matters pertaining to our physical relationship was truly infectious, and urged me to encourage the behavior rather than prudently steer her away from it.
"Well then, dinner will be served in a matter of seconds, love."
I quickly assembled her meal artfully onto the plate and rushed out to the dinette before she could blink. Gingerly, I slid into the seat next to her instead of across, because I would not be subjected to watching her feed herself again like the night before. This time, I would be feeding her.
As I started to cut her steak, Bella finally spoke. "What are you doing, Edward?"
I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, still smirking. "Cutting your steak."
"Obviously. But you do realize I'm more than capable of doing that myself."
I nodded twice and raised my eyebrows, but didn't answer. Instead, I speared a perfectly shaped cube of beef with the fork and turned to face her. "Nice and rare, just how you like it."
Bella stared at me suspiciously for a second as I held the fork in the air. "You want to feed me too?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
My smirk continued to grow as I moved my free hand to trace along her bare arm, causing her to shiver. "Because I can."
She rolled her eyes, but the twitching corners of her mouth indicated that she wasn't half as annoyed as she wanted me to think. So I guided the fork up to her lips while still rubbing her arm. "Open?"
"What if I don't?"
I chuckled lightly and leaned closer, never looking away from her eyes, but sliding my hand down to her leg. "Oh, I think you will."
Her jaw opened slightly and the faintest hint of a moan escaped as I guided my fingertips along the outside of her thigh. My body throbbed with need, and although I was barely touching her silken skin, I had to fight back the urge to pull her into my lap and kiss her senseless. As I detected her heartbeat beginning to race, I knew she'd succumb sooner than later, especially when her stomach protested loudly once again.
"Bella," I purred, making small circles in the air near her face with the fork. "I know you're hungry."
She pursed her lips together and squinted defiantly, refusing to comply.
"I bet I can get that pretty little mouth of yours to open." The swagger in my tone was palatable.
She shook her head once and squared her shoulders. Clandestinely speaking, I was glad she wasn't giving in, because it gave me the perfect excuse to move my hand down to her knee, and then over to the inside of her thigh. Very slowly, I dragged the backs of my fingertips along her warm skin.
Just as I had thought, her lips unconsciously parted when I turned my hand over to more effectively caress her leg. Her eyes grew darker, filled with the same yearning I had been struggling with all day.
"Please? Just a bite?" I begged, peering up at her through my lashes.
As I placed the cube of beef against her lips, she finally conceded, opening them slowly and sliding the food off the fork adroitly with her teeth. Although I had been successfully breaking down her will for the past several seconds, the sight of her taking the bite of steak into her mouth nearly made me implode with desire. When her tongue snaked out to lick her lip, I bent over and captured it between mine, kissing her languidly as a searing inferno coursed through my entire body. But I couldn't continue - she needed to eat before I allowed myself to feast on her affections.
Before she could react, I reluctantly pulled away, still staring deeply into her eyes. Her mouth automatically closed as she began to slowly chew. I licked my lips, savoring her luscious taste as I speared another bite of food, patiently waiting for her to swallow the first.
"See, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" My hand on her leg began to move once more, tracing a lazy pattern against her skin.
Bella sighed submissively and gave me a pointed look. "I'm not a child, Edward."
I slid a little closer until my weight was pressing into her side. My free hand moved to her other leg, gently massaging her knee. "I never said you were."
"Then why do you insist on feeding me like one?"
"Do you have any idea how sensuous it is to watch you eat, love? Or what it does to me? You forget that the pleasure of actually consuming food, chewing, tasting, all of that has been lost to me for nearly a century. But watching you enjoy that human experience is terribly intriguing." I couldn't think of a better way to explain it - similar to watching her sleep, every little human nuance tended to captivate my attention in an indescribable way. Maybe it was just my utter enthrallment with Bella herself that drove these bizarre fascinations. But regardless, I still had an overwhelming urge to feed her.
Deciding on a new tactic, I set the fork down on the table, and picked up a plump strawberry, holding it a few inches from her face. "Would you like a bite?"
"Would you like me to take a bite?"
I smiled sheepishly for a second. "Yes." But my grin quickly disappeared as I felt her hand cover mine that was still caressing her leg. Her gaze became darker again, setting off more flames throughout my body.
"Okay." She squeezed my hand gently and let her jaw open, never breaking our heated stare. As I leaned forward to bring the strawberry to her lips, she guided my hand up her leg towards her hip. The realization of her intent made me swallow thickly, the hand holding the fruit nearly shaking with anticipation.
Even more delicately than with the bite of steak, Bella's teeth bit into the strawberry, causing a drop of juice to linger precariously on her bottom lip. Instinctively, she moved her free hand to wipe it away. But I stopped her, dropping the half-eaten strawberry on the table and detaining her hand with my own in a fraction of a second. Then I leaned over and captured the drop with my tongue before it slid down her chin. Bella held her breath as I remained precariously wrapped around her body; our faces pressed together, my one hand still grasping her wrist, our other hands intertwined beneath the table and sliding up her bare leg. It would be effortless to give in, to kiss her and touch her and truly be with her. The urge was now so great that every nerve in my body tensed with anticipation, and I could practically sense the same thing happening to Bella. But we couldn't - the wedding and honeymoon were clearly in sight, and I'd never be able to live with myself if I took advantage of her weakened resolve after my deplorable flirtations.
Unwillingly, I pulled back a few inches. "The berry tastes notably better when I can taste you as well, love." She still did not inhale, watching me warily as my eyes drifted down to her mouth. "But I should probably quit teasing you and let you eat."
Again, she squeezed my hand upon her thigh. "It's probably in both of our best interests."
I smiled devilishly, releasing her wrist above the table and picking up the fork again. "True. Another bite?"
As I reached the bottom of her shorts, I paused, resting my chin on one thigh and staring up at her longingly. Bella's eyes were nearly closed, yet she continued to run her fingers over my scalp, occasionally brushing a lock of hair off my forehead with utter tenderness. I felt her pulse maintain it's quickened pace and noted how her hooded gaze remained slightly unfocused.
"Bella," I murmured, kissing her once more before looking back up. She still didn't respond.
"Have I stolen your ability to speak, love?" The rhetorical question remained unanswered as I slid my body along hers. I ran my hands up along the outside of her hips, tracing along the waistband of her khakis until they reached her blouse. So warm, I thought hungrily, as I debated whether to slide my hands beneath the hem to savor the heat. It was incredibly tempting to revel in the electricity that would invariably pass between her bare skin and my own, and with no interruption from the voyeurs back home each passing second, my actions appeared to be permissible, as they pertained to our precious virtue. That thought alone was excuse enough for me to proceed.
But as I grazed my chin against the fabric of her shorts and slipped my fingertips beneath the bottom of her blouse, Bella's grip tightened in my hair, causing me to freeze momentarily. She took a deep breath before finally finding her voice.
"You promised," she whispered softly, her chest rising and falling dramatically as her eyes finally focused on my face.
Chuckling against her shorts, I glanced down to her stomach where my fingertips were moving again, slowly snaking their way under her shirt. "Did I accidentally dazzle you?"
I could feel her nod once, her breathing becoming more labored. "You're killing me."
"No. I wouldn't do that." A devious smirk crept onto my face as I moved upwards, dragging my chin and nose to the waistband of her shorts while my hands completely disappeared under her blouse on either side. "Not today, at least," I amended lightly.
I felt her soft palms slide down either side of my head, tracing over my ears with a feathery caress until they reached my jaw. She's actually killing me, I thought, temporarily lost in the heady sensation of her loving touch.
She lifted my face, imploring my gaze to drift up to hers where I was met with a wicked smile. "Promise?"
It took me a second to comprehend what she was asking me, but once I realized that she was referring to my prior jest, a playful growl expelled from my lungs. Bella's eyes grew wide as my lips began to curl back, revealing my deadly teeth in a conniving grin. I was fairly sure nothing I could do would truly scare her, so I resorted to another tactic I had been anxious to try. After all, her flippant retort could not go unpunished.
"Of course. But not necessarily in the way you desire." As I pushed my body up to bring my face level with hers, I began moving my fingers lightly against her ribs, slowly at first until I felt her breath start to hitch as she tried to contain a giggle. Rather quickly I discovered that the faster I moved, the harder she laughed, until her actions became infectious and I found myself laughing along with her. Why hadn't I thought of doing this before? The way her body instinctively convulsed against mine with each swipe of my hand was downright exhilarating, especially when I noted how she actually pressed into me, despite the obvious discomfort I was causing her. But, on second thought, maybe it wasn't discomfort at all - was such stimulation actually enjoyable?
As I continued to ponder this curious reaction, she abruptly gasped, trying to find enough air to speak. "Edward, not fair!" Another bout of laughter exploded out of her as she tried to paw away my teasing hands. "You can't tickle me if I'm not able to return the favor!"
Immediately I stopped, still hovering above her. How would such an experience feel, especially if it were her hands upon me? I simply had to know. "Do you want to try?"
Bella didn't answer as I stared longingly into her fathomless, brown eyes. Instead, she jammed her hot little hands underneath my shirt and tried desperately to reduce me to a chortling mess just like I had done to her, only with very little success. As she tried to tickle my cold, hard skin, her touch had a much different effect. At first, I was sorely disappointed that my body didn't react the same way hers had, even though I knew I could never afford to carelessly thrash so close to her fragile form. Yet the feeling of her nimble fingers sliding quickly along my sides and across my stomach was quite the opposite of disappointing - instantly, her touch stimulated a pool of venom that filled my mouth and propelled me to reach up and cup her face in my hands. I desperately wanted to capture her lips between mine, but at the same time, I didn't want to distract her. I was thoroughly mesmerized by her unabashed actions beneath my shirt.
It took her a moment to realize I wasn't laughing. As her hands began to slow, she shifted beneath me and gazed intensely into my eyes. Those two actions coupled with the sensation of her palms resting on my torso sent a firestorm of longing through my entire body, and I had to fight back the urge to kiss her senseless and plunge my own hands back beneath her blouse. The overwhelming need for more intense physical contact was making me delirious in ways I had only experienced through the thoughts of others. The old adage of ‘hormonal teenager' was suddenly taking on an agonizingly new meaning.
Bella took a deep breath before speaking, her expression becoming serious. "You're not ticklish." Her tone seemed to suggest something quite different than its actual meaning, or so my restless mind thought. In an ironic twist of fate, the Schubert piece ended just as she spoke, and Beethoven's mournful Sonata Pathetique began. Oddly, the somber melody did not dampen the mood at all - rather, it added more fuel to the concupiscence doldrums that blanketed the room.
Gazing intently into her eyes, I fought to keep my voice even. "Not really."
Her hands started to move lazily up beneath my arms, then across my back. I swallowed stiffly, struggling frantically to control my primal urges.
"But you still like this, don't you?"
I nodded silently, unconsciously leaning further towards her flushed lips. "I should tickle you more often."
Bella cocked her head slightly to the left. "Why?" she purred seductively.
"To give you reason to try and retaliate." As a Machiavellian smile traced across my face, I inhaled deeply just as she exhaled, fully savoring her enthralling scent as we both gazed pensively at one another. The anticipation was palatable as our bodies tensed, waiting for the other to make a move. I fully expected Bella to succumb first; after all, I knowingly held her captive with my heated stare, and I also began to gently stroke her cheeks with my thumbs as I continued to cup her face in my hands. Any second, I anticipated her to push up and kiss me like she had done countless times before. But instead, she continued to methodically slide her fingers along my back, first up to my neck, then down along my spine to the waist of my pants, all the while visibly resisting the urge to press her lips to mine. I could detect the muscles in her neck barely twitching as she fought to keep them in check. It was mind-numbingly erotic as I watched the growing passion flicker in her eyes, yet she somehow didn't act on it. Her newfound self-control was regrettably admirable.
When I felt her fingertips begin to burrow beneath my waistband, a low groan escaped my lips and my eyes started to roll. I had promised myself I wouldn't make the first move, but that resolve was crumbling at a heightened pace - my own self control was nearly depleted, and I couldn't help but think back to how ironically imperative it was that one of us remain somewhat level-headed. But since Bella seemed to be harnessing her hormonal urges quite well, I exasperatedly gave into mine. I slid one hand along her jaw line to her neck, the backs of my fingers tracing her carotid artery down to her collarbone. Her breath hitched at once, causing me to smirk in triumph as my hand kept moving lower and lower. Although I admired her strength at that moment, I also took a sick sort of pleasure watching the effect of my simple touch. All mine. Besides, behaving just wasn't fun anymore.
Despite her alluring scent and the plethora of sensations flooding my body from her caress and my own actions, it was a hushed whimper that really pushed me over the edge. Just as the sound began to escape from those bewitching lips, I pressed mine to hers, urging them to open at will as I kissed her intensely. The room rapidly began to spin around us as her grip on my skin tightened and her tongue sought out my own.
She shifted beneath me, sliding one leg to the right, inviting my hovering weight to settle in a more comfortable position. My body hastily obliged, sinking into her softness as the hand that had been cupping her face slid behind her neck to bury itself in her hair. As the arduous kiss continued to deepen, Bella moved her free leg up, wrapping it around mine before her hands started to slide around my waist and towards my stomach.
I was so spellbound by the pummeling of every one of my senses, that I didn't even register the diminutive noise coming from underneath me. Bella didn't either - her lips continued to work upon mine until she was forced to pull back, gasping for breath. As I buried my face in her neck and nuzzled every inch of her skin, I heard that bizarre noise again, and this time felt it as well. Something was pressing against my upper thigh, but I just assumed it was Bella. It wasn't until she froze beneath me that I stopped my licentious actions, slowly becoming aware of her fingers sliding out from under my shirt and...into my pocket?
I pulled away from her neck, looking down at her hooded eyes questioningly.
"Didn't you feel that?" she asked as she slid the notorious cell phone out of the front pocket of my pants.
"No..." I trailed off, wondering how I hadn't realized what I had been hearing before.
Bella smirked devilishly as she unceremoniously tossed the phone onto the floor. "Really? I'm surprised."
I fought back a snicker, instead rolling my eyes. "I thought it was you," I replied honestly.
The slightest hint of a blush began to work its way across her cheeks. She glanced away for a split second, and I watched in amusement as she pursed her lips together, likely trying to piece together an appropriate retort. I could think of several of them, actually. Should I take that as a good or bad thing? Aren't we supposed to be ‘behaving'? You actually forgot you had a vibrating phone in your pocket? That can't be comfortable.
As tempting as it was to wait and see what she said, my primordial instincts had different plans. "Where were we?" As her eyes turned back to mine, I lowered my mouth to hers, returning to that glorious state of euphoria that existed just moments ago.
Immediately, our hands resumed their actions as if the interruption had never occurred. A tiny part of me wondered if Alice had indeed called, because the phone wasn't continuing to ring. Who else could it be? Doesn't matter, I reminded myself. All that matters is Bella making you feel this way.
Just as we were becoming quite inseparable with our limbs thoroughly entangled, I was also becoming increasingly aware of just how small the settee was. And how much more comfortable we'd be...elsewhere. Right as I was sliding one arm underneath Bella to scoop her up and carry her lithe form into the stateroom and the awaiting bed, the tiny hairs on the back of my neck began to rise.
I managed to pull my lips and teeth away from Bella's delicate skin just as the preposterously loud clap of thunder resonated above us. The walls of the ketch actually vibrated, though I doubted Bella's eyes would be able to notice such a phenomenon.
She startled in fright so quickly that her brain didn't have time to register the fact that I had safely unlocked my lips from hers in the nick of time. Unconsciously, she embraced me tightly, tucking her head into my shoulder and cowering from shock.
"Now I see why Alice hasn't called back," I mumbled, burying my face into the crook of Bella's neck as I hugged her against me, attempting to calm her sudden anxiety. My hand rubbed soothing circles along her spine, trying to placate her labored breathing.
A faint shiver coursed through her body, making me pull back again. "Cold, love?"
"No. Just...keyed up." The tale-tell blush started to creep across her cheeks again. "I forgot that there'd be more storms tonight." As if answering her statement, another flash of lightning flickered through the windows above us, followed swiftly by more earsplitting thunder.
I smiled down at my flushed bride, thankful that her frightened state was quickly dispersing. Kissing her chastely on the nose, I admitted to my own recent distractedness. "I seemed to have forgotten too. As well as lost track of time." I turned to look over my shoulder, glancing at the clock upon the far wall. "I suppose I should check the weather again, just to be safe. Then I'll cook you dinner."
Bella moaned in protest, clutching me tightly and refusing to let me sit up. "Just a few more minutes?" she begged adorably. "We weren't finished yet." I looked back into her pleading eyes and almost caved upon her request. So tempting to never leave her arms...
But then the reverberation of an anchor line minutely beginning to slip caught my attention, making the tough decision for me. Besides, our compromising position on the settee was getting rather...uncomfortable. We could retire to the stateroom immediately following dinner, I thought puckishly.
"Silly girl. You'll have all of my time before you know it." Giving her one more kiss on her swollen lips, I slowly detangled myself from her desperate hold and reluctantly rose off the couch. I reached out a hand to help her sit up. "I'll be back - soon."
And with one last fleeting glance at my precious fiancée, I grudgingly left her for the last time that evening.
"You're cooking steak?"
I grunted in response, desperately trying to hold in the snicker that threatened to erupt. I could only imagine what was going through her confounding mind. Though I had cooked for her on several occasions in the past year, she always seemed to blush whenever the menu contained red meat.
"What, you doubt my abilities?" I glanced over my shoulder at Bella, who leaned much too temptingly against the table of the dinette, arms crossed, shrewdly watching me prepare her dinner.
Outside, the sky continued to grumble as wave after wave of storm squalls passed over us. None of them were severe - just the garden variety, that had more bark than bite. A steady rain had started to fall just before I returned from above decks, and Bella had been playfully taunting me, despite the fact that I had only been gone for five minutes. First she attacked my dripping hair, plunging her fingers into it and frantically attempting to pull me down upon the settee where she sat. I clucked my tongue at her roguish behavior, resisting the urge to concede to her wishes when I hear the faint growl of her hungry stomach. Dinner first. Then, as I clasped her hand and let her down the few steps to the galley, she locked her arms around my waist, pressing her hot chest into my back and burying her face between my shoulder blades. Her searing breath tickled my damp skin through the thin fabric of my shirt, sending a wisp of a shiver down to my toes. My well-meant intentions of ignoring her flirtatious behavior were faltering fast, and I was forced to gently remove myself from her embrace, lest I fall victim to her profligate charms. If this was any indication of how the night was going to proceed, we were in trouble.
As I moved behind the safety of the galley island and started to prepare dinner, Bella squirmed awkwardly on the dinette bench, shifting her weight every few seconds, apparently trying to get comfortable. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her watching my actions closely, scrutinizing every flip of a spatula and every jiggle of the pan. I would have rolled my eyes in plain view, but I knew I was impeding on sacred ground. Cooking was her thing. And as much as I loved to dote on her every human need, food preparation was still on the top of the list for things she'd have to work on relinquishing control of...soon.
As she continued to fidget, we both refrained from speaking. Instead, I focused on the soft music; Moonlight Sonata had just begun, the solemn, yet hauntingly romantic chords of the piano's bass notes acted as a deterrent from letting my mind wander to the temptress just a few feet behind me. It was actually working until I turned to face her once again. The breath in my lungs rushed out in a pained sigh when I appraised her covetousness expression - I could literally feel the waves of desire rolling off of her as she gawked unabashedly at me. Her eyes lazily traced up the length of my torso, and as she finally met my equally hungry stare, I noticed the muscles in her slender throat contract, one by one, as she swallowed laboriously. I knew I was dazzling her when I noticed her pupils beginning to inadvertently dilate. Every fiber in my being screamed for me to vault over the island and sate that unbearable thirst for her. Not for blood - in fact, her blood had very little power over me anymore. Now I was solely aching for her body and her touch.
Somehow by sheer brute force, I was able to ignore the dominating instincts urging me to succumb to my carnal desires. I bit the inside of my cheek to pull myself out of the lust-filled haze, and as I finally inhaled a deep breath, the smell of the cooking meat reminded me why I had turned to regard her in the first place. Behave, I reminded myself viciously as I cleared my venom-filled throat to ask how she wanted her steak prepared.
"Rare," she replied nonchalantly, but the blush permeating her cheeks gave away what she was really thinking.
Before I could stop my wayward mind, I blurted out a reply.
"Do you really mean bloody?" I quirked my eyebrows at her suggestively, taking her completely by surprise. Normally I never jested about such taboo topics, but this time I simply couldn't resist.
Bella looked absolutely mortified, and a quasi-uncomfortable silence permeated the air for a split second. The she snorted, shaking her head and biting her lip seductively. "Got to start sometime, don't I?"
I was prepared for several possible responses to my deliberate question, but, as usual, I did not expect the one she gave. Before I could let her weaken my resolve further, I turned back to the stove, smirking despite myself. Although I adored the sweet, innocent side of Bella that had caused me to fall so helplessly in love with her, I secretly found this more iniquitous side to be nearly as enticing. Her self-confidence in matters pertaining to our physical relationship was truly infectious, and urged me to encourage the behavior rather than prudently steer her away from it.
"Well then, dinner will be served in a matter of seconds, love."
I quickly assembled her meal artfully onto the plate and rushed out to the dinette before she could blink. Gingerly, I slid into the seat next to her instead of across, because I would not be subjected to watching her feed herself again like the night before. This time, I would be feeding her.
As I started to cut her steak, Bella finally spoke. "What are you doing, Edward?"
I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, still smirking. "Cutting your steak."
"Obviously. But you do realize I'm more than capable of doing that myself."
I nodded twice and raised my eyebrows, but didn't answer. Instead, I speared a perfectly shaped cube of beef with the fork and turned to face her. "Nice and rare, just how you like it."
Bella stared at me suspiciously for a second as I held the fork in the air. "You want to feed me too?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
My smirk continued to grow as I moved my free hand to trace along her bare arm, causing her to shiver. "Because I can."
She rolled her eyes, but the twitching corners of her mouth indicated that she wasn't half as annoyed as she wanted me to think. So I guided the fork up to her lips while still rubbing her arm. "Open?"
"What if I don't?"
I chuckled lightly and leaned closer, never looking away from her eyes, but sliding my hand down to her leg. "Oh, I think you will."
Her jaw opened slightly and the faintest hint of a moan escaped as I guided my fingertips along the outside of her thigh. My body throbbed with need, and although I was barely touching her silken skin, I had to fight back the urge to pull her into my lap and kiss her senseless. As I detected her heartbeat beginning to race, I knew she'd succumb sooner than later, especially when her stomach protested loudly once again.
"Bella," I purred, making small circles in the air near her face with the fork. "I know you're hungry."
She pursed her lips together and squinted defiantly, refusing to comply.
"I bet I can get that pretty little mouth of yours to open." The swagger in my tone was palatable.
She shook her head once and squared her shoulders. Clandestinely speaking, I was glad she wasn't giving in, because it gave me the perfect excuse to move my hand down to her knee, and then over to the inside of her thigh. Very slowly, I dragged the backs of my fingertips along her warm skin.
Just as I had thought, her lips unconsciously parted when I turned my hand over to more effectively caress her leg. Her eyes grew darker, filled with the same yearning I had been struggling with all day.
"Please? Just a bite?" I begged, peering up at her through my lashes.
As I placed the cube of beef against her lips, she finally conceded, opening them slowly and sliding the food off the fork adroitly with her teeth. Although I had been successfully breaking down her will for the past several seconds, the sight of her taking the bite of steak into her mouth nearly made me implode with desire. When her tongue snaked out to lick her lip, I bent over and captured it between mine, kissing her languidly as a searing inferno coursed through my entire body. But I couldn't continue - she needed to eat before I allowed myself to feast on her affections.
Before she could react, I reluctantly pulled away, still staring deeply into her eyes. Her mouth automatically closed as she began to slowly chew. I licked my lips, savoring her luscious taste as I speared another bite of food, patiently waiting for her to swallow the first.
"See, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" My hand on her leg began to move once more, tracing a lazy pattern against her skin.
Bella sighed submissively and gave me a pointed look. "I'm not a child, Edward."
I slid a little closer until my weight was pressing into her side. My free hand moved to her other leg, gently massaging her knee. "I never said you were."
"Then why do you insist on feeding me like one?"
"Do you have any idea how sensuous it is to watch you eat, love? Or what it does to me? You forget that the pleasure of actually consuming food, chewing, tasting, all of that has been lost to me for nearly a century. But watching you enjoy that human experience is terribly intriguing." I couldn't think of a better way to explain it - similar to watching her sleep, every little human nuance tended to captivate my attention in an indescribable way. Maybe it was just my utter enthrallment with Bella herself that drove these bizarre fascinations. But regardless, I still had an overwhelming urge to feed her.
Deciding on a new tactic, I set the fork down on the table, and picked up a plump strawberry, holding it a few inches from her face. "Would you like a bite?"
"Would you like me to take a bite?"
I smiled sheepishly for a second. "Yes." But my grin quickly disappeared as I felt her hand cover mine that was still caressing her leg. Her gaze became darker again, setting off more flames throughout my body.
"Okay." She squeezed my hand gently and let her jaw open, never breaking our heated stare. As I leaned forward to bring the strawberry to her lips, she guided my hand up her leg towards her hip. The realization of her intent made me swallow thickly, the hand holding the fruit nearly shaking with anticipation.
Even more delicately than with the bite of steak, Bella's teeth bit into the strawberry, causing a drop of juice to linger precariously on her bottom lip. Instinctively, she moved her free hand to wipe it away. But I stopped her, dropping the half-eaten strawberry on the table and detaining her hand with my own in a fraction of a second. Then I leaned over and captured the drop with my tongue before it slid down her chin. Bella held her breath as I remained precariously wrapped around her body; our faces pressed together, my one hand still grasping her wrist, our other hands intertwined beneath the table and sliding up her bare leg. It would be effortless to give in, to kiss her and touch her and truly be with her. The urge was now so great that every nerve in my body tensed with anticipation, and I could practically sense the same thing happening to Bella. But we couldn't - the wedding and honeymoon were clearly in sight, and I'd never be able to live with myself if I took advantage of her weakened resolve after my deplorable flirtations.
Unwillingly, I pulled back a few inches. "The berry tastes notably better when I can taste you as well, love." She still did not inhale, watching me warily as my eyes drifted down to her mouth. "But I should probably quit teasing you and let you eat."
Again, she squeezed my hand upon her thigh. "It's probably in both of our best interests."
I smiled devilishly, releasing her wrist above the table and picking up the fork again. "True. Another bite?"
