1,267Her body glows in the moonlight and under the speckled sky. Brilliant blue eyes dance with happiness as she talks to Kate, and I can't keep my eyes off her.
Belle, I whisper, knowing full well she can't hear me right now. Jane's presence tonight hinders our magic, and that's exactly why I say I am in love with you.
Her eyes flit toward mine, and I wonder if maybe she heard. Would I care if she did? Belle smiles and sends a small wave as Garret walks over.
"Seems like they're becoming fast friends," he says.
I nod. "Indeed."
A slow silence spreads over us before he abruptly asks, "do you know what you're doing?"
Garret's pessimistic attitude has always grated on my nerves, but he's the other side of the coin no one wants to face. He asks the questions to prepare for the shoe to drop. As much as I hate it, I listen.
With a sigh, I reply, "I still can't find all the ingredients."
"And you're sure this recipe will break the curse?"
"Not totally, but Court 8—"
"Shhh!" Garret spits out a fire that makes me back away. "It's not safe here," he explains.
Garret's right. If Jane's here, who knows what other Royal is present among us.
What I can't tell him is that Court 8 sent me the list of ingredients and the recipe for something… I just don't what.
A used bowl from a Royal in Court 1 to concoct the recipe. Lava rock from Court 2. Aphrodite flower petals from Court 3. A jar of sunlight from Court 4. Blades of grass from Court 5. Dust from Court 6. Melted snow from Court 7. Water from Court 8.
I still need ingredients from Courts 1, 2, and 3, so it won't be ready while Belle's with me, but we still have a couple of months.
A few days ago, Carmen asked what happens if it doesn't work or I can't manage to round up all the ingredients, and I told her the truth. I'll have to let her go and hope Aro keeps his promise to Bond her with a Mate who cares for her at least half as much as I do.
My heart pulses down into my arms, where tiny pricks of pain radiate out my fingertips. My heart aches at the thought.
"What are you thinking about?" Belle asks, surprising me by sliding up beside me and wrapping her arm around my waist.
The fire in front of us grows taller as my friends dance and sing in celebration of the Lark sisters.
With a smile, I reply, "you."
Her blush flows down her cheeks, across her shoulders, and into the loose romper she's wearing. Garret told me about a little pond about a mile up. It's in a clearing not many know about, and the water isn't as potent as the water of the lake.
I need her there, and just before I go to whisk her away, Carmen pulls her from me.
"Five minutes!" she yells, pulling my girl to the edge away from others and dancing to the instruments around us.
Belle smiles and laughs for much longer than that, so I decide to put my arousal on the back burner and let her experience tonight for what it is.
Garret and I talk research, their wedding, and his nerves about Jane attending. I listen half-heartedly while Belle's soft laughter and whisper-sweet voice floats around me. Before I know it, the night has disappeared, and I need Belle's skin under my fingertips. I need her scent filling my nostrils. I need her noises in my ear.
I pull her from Carmen, and we walk to the pond Garret described. Once there, we taste the water on each other's skin, and the fire ignites in my limbs.
By the time I make Belle come, my dick has never been harder. She pants against my body as I continue, and when she pulls me away, I nearly growl. When she says she wants to try with me, my body freezes. Anxiety plagues me as what-if scenarios speed through my mind.
What if it feels good? I ask myself, trying to push through the negative thoughts. What if it's fine?
When she asks me to take us home, I willingly oblige.
Inside our room, she strips slowly. I memorize every curve, every dimple, every scar on her body. Her nipples harden as she sits on my bed, but I just watch. Belle pulls down her hair, and her scent fills the room. Creamy, soft skin glows in the moonlight, and I wonder when she'll let me taste her.
I'd get on my knees right now and eat her for hours if she'd only say the word.
Her blush lets me know she can hear my every thought.
"Sorry," I croak, swallowing hard.
She looks down and smiles. "No one's ever…"
I nod in understanding. No man's ever put their mouth on her, and the idea must be completely foreign to her.
"No rush," I tell her. "You might not ever even want that."
"Does…" she trails off, going shy.
"Ask me anything, Lovely," I tell her, walking over to sit beside her on the bed. My fingers find her hair and tuck it behind her ear so I can watch the blush bloom over her cheeks.
"Does it feel good?"
"It can," I tell her softly.
"For you?"
I contemplate the question for some time. Images of Jasper's mom between my legs the first time, the fifth time, the fiftieth time… Disgust and loathing ignite under my skin, but Belle's touch on my arm brings me back to the present.
"Has it only been her?" she asks.
I shake my head. "No. There was another girl before her."
"What was it like with that one?"
I laugh at the memory. "Awkward. Weird. Painful."
Belle shares in a laugh. "Painful?"
"We were young and didn't know a lot…" I trail off. "Well, I did. You know, the mind reading thing." She laughs at my tease.
She chews on her lip before asking, "what if … what if I'm not good? What if I make it painful for you?"
Her question takes me by surprise because I hadn't considered the idea that Belle would want to take me into her mouth. Ignoring the question she asked, I pivot with asking, "do you want to taste me?"
Her pink tongue pokes out to wet her lips as she replies, "yes."
The image of Belle on her knees, my hand tangled in her hair, those fucking eyes as she tastes me.
I hiss the same moment Belle whispers my name.
"Shit," I muttered, running a hand through my hair. I must have sent the image to her. "Sorry."
"Whenever you're ready," she tells me, turning her body and placing a hand on my thigh. "Let me know."
My dick jumps at the thought. Definitely not tonight, but…
"I'd like to try something else," I tell her. "If you are okay with it, that is."
She nods with a smile.
"Perhaps you could touch me," I whisper the last part, looking down at the absurd bulge in my pants.
Belle looks down to where my eyes are glued on my crotch before whispering, "let's take a shower."
~!~
The hot water steams the room before we even step foot inside the walk-in shower. Belle helps me undress slowly before smiling at her gold marking on my chest.
"It matches the band on your ankle," I tell her.
"Does this heat up?" she asks, tracing the outline.
"I haven't noticed."
When she pulls my pants down, my erection slaps back against my stomach, and Belle just stares. She pulls me into the shower, washes my body slowly, and touches every piece of my skin. I turn her around and wash her hair, tickle her sides, and kiss the back of her neck.
When I grip a breast in my hand, tugging at her hardened nipples, she presses herself against the glass shower wall. My hand slips lower, teasing her belly button, dipping my fingers into the trimmed hair between her thighs.
As my fingers slide lower, I notice a distinct texture difference between the wetness from the shower and the wetness that is her. She moans softly, hands against the glass, head on my shoulder as I slide my fingers through her lips, teasing, ghosting, and then giving into her.
Belle comes softly, panting desperately and moaning my name when she falls apart. Her little breaths make my dick jump, and before I know it, she's turning in my arms and getting on her knees.
"Belle," I start, but she shakes her head.
"Maybe seeing me more like this will … help."
It won't, but I keep that from her. My block is higher than ever as she reaches forward to grip me, and suddenly it's me who's searching for the glass wall to lean against.
I watch as she sits back on her heels and tentatively touches me. Her soft fingers grip me before her eyes travel to mine. Nervously, she wraps a fist around the base, and I palm the glass behind me.
She allows me the time to get used to her touch as she brushes slowly up and down my length without really pumping me. Her touch is whisper soft, and while it's not pleasurable, it's necessary.
These slow steps help me acclimate, and soon my hips are pumping in time with her ghost touches.
"More," I beg the moment my pleasure outweighs my emotions. "Please."
Our eyes lock, and she can see the unclouded arousal from which I'm speaking. This moment is about us and no one else. I let her into my mind to prove she's the only one I'm consumed with right now.
Belle finally touches me; her fingers wrap around my shaft as she pumps me over and over and over. It's dry, but it's the last thing I'm thinking about.
My girl is finally touching me.
Truth be told, I'm seconds from exploding on her the entire time, but I try not to embarrass myself too much by holding back as long as I can.
Our eyes stay locked the entire time, and the moment she licks those kissable fucking lips, I'm thrusting forward and spasming. Belle milks me through it, washing the remnants of my release down the drain as I catch my breath. With an extended hand, I help her to her feet and pin her to my body.
The only fucking thing I want to do right now is the one thing I know I can't. Her pouty lips, red and raw from being bitten, part in welcome, and I know if I don't get us out of here, I'm going to do it.
Turning off the shower, I wrap her into my body and whisper a heavy thank you in her ear.
~!~
Belle and I toss and turn for the next hour. She lets me into her mind, shows me soft memories of the dust storms in Court 6 and what her elementary school looked like, and then sits up just as my heavy lids close.
Edward, she whispers.
I pull her down to me, eyes still closed, and nestle her into my warmth.
Yes?
You've distracted me all night, and I forgot to tell you about Jane. She pulled me aside and—Belle tried to send the memory, but it was like snow as it entered my mind. There are no words or pictures, and I have to pull away from her and lift my block to escape the intense brightness of her memory.
I cannot hear or see anything from your encounters with a Royal, remember? I explain easily.
Jane wanted me to tell you 'what you seek ebbs and flows, under the mountain is where it grows. Soft blue with purple petals, but be wary of the matching metal.' She said that's what the inscription reads and that there was nothing after that.
Jolted from the revelation, I force my exhausted body onto my knees and stare down at her.
"Are you sure?"
Belle grips my wrist and pulls me back down to her before saying, Jane said to talk in a place only we can hear. What does she know? What's the curse? Why is she… helping?
With a shake of my head, I settle back on the bed and think about those words over and over before her silent questioning grows louder.
I found a journal of spells on Mount Agnes written in a script I have never seen before. I sent it off to… a trusted confidant in another Court to help decipher the script.
Who did you send it to? She asks curiously.
Of course, she's curious, I certainly don't blame her, but I need to be careful how much I divulge and when. Belle cannot be privy to some of my research in case a Royal decides to slip into her mind. I'm not sure who has what magic, and the last thing I need is for Belle to get herself mixed up in my dealings. If I cannot break this curse in the next few months, I must let her go and be happy. She deserves that.
As for me…
If I don't break the curse, I'll earn myself strike three and be banished to Court 8, where the rest of my research will take place.
What happens if I break the curse? I ask myself this all the time. The end goal is to be expelled to Court 8, but if I am able to be with Belle, do I still want that? She would have to say goodbye to her family, to the Courts, to everything she knows and loves for me … but am I worth it?
The Bond is strong, and I know this, but am I willing to selfishly ask Belle to forget everything and everyone to choose me?
Luckily, my block has been up, and it isn't until her small hand against the strikes on my chest pulls me out of my tumultuous thoughts. I cannot think about that now, here, while she's with me and asking for answers she deserves. So, I give them to her.
Alec.
She's silent for a moment before her hand pulls away. My heart clenches at the pace at which she reels from me.
Alec? The same Alec who gave you those marks? The same Alec who has put you in such a position that if you make one more mistake, you're gone forever? Edward, what the—
Take a breath, I interrupt. Things are not always as they appear. Alec did give me my strikes, he is a Royal asshole, but he went through something no other Royal has and paid the price. I will not tell you his story just as I would not want him telling mine. Please respect this, and please trust me, Belle. I would not be risking everything if I did not trust him.
So, what, you gave him this book to translate, and he gave it to Jane? How is she connected? And what curse are you breaking?
Jane and Alec are cousins. Jane has been wanting a change up to the Royal Laws for quite some time now, and though I cannot yet be positive, I believe they are consorting to make that happen. He must have given her the book to help, yes. If Jane is being truthful, what the script says makes more sense than you could possibly know right now. As for the curse … it's too complicated, and I do not trust the Royals. Believe me when I say I will tell you the truth, every speck of it, the moment it is safe.
Belle rests silently beside me. Outwardly, we're so quiet you could hear the rustling of her toes as they rub against the sheets. Inwardly, there's a war raging within her thoughts. So many questions I cannot keep up with, irritation and nervousness, exhaustion and wonder, and finally, a reckoning. Belle's warm fingers slide up my arms to my neck before she cups my cheek.
After all this, when you break the curse, will you kiss me?
Leaning down, I kiss her jaw, cheek, and spot just below her lobe before whispering, "if it's the last fucking thing I do."
~!~
It's almost dawn by the time she falls asleep. We spend the next hour making promises about seeing each other, not shutting each other out, and staying honest. She made me promise I wouldn't keep things from her, and while I promised her I would not, there are some things she cannot know. While I did not explicitly say this, I decided it's safer to promise honesty and just keep the important, life-altering things away from her mind; like the fact that if we kiss, it will kill her. For the last few months, I've also been under the notion that Jasper's mom has Royal connections. Someone in the Royal Court knows about the curse, and worse, allowed it to happen.
My blood boils at the thought, and I just know that fucking witch is in her home laughing about the curse she placed on me. She thinks I ruined her life, but in turn, I saved her. Everyone asked why I didn't have her expelled to Court 8, and I couldn't tell them because that's where I wanted to go, so I simply didn't answer. Now, though, I wish I had banished her to another fucking planet.
Her soft snores fill the room, reminding me I'm on borrowed time with her here. Using my magic to go to her or bring her here will be easy, but it won't be the same. When she returns to Court 5, there are obligations to fulfill, classwork to tend to, and a life for her to live.
My phone beeps with a message.
Roundtable moved to noon. You coming? Garret asks.
He's a teacher at a school in Court 3 and far from a doctor, but he's got a brilliant mind and is willing to help. He's been researching with me since before he met Kate, and for him, I am thankful.
Yes.
Roundtable last month was a shitshow of egos and fighting over who has the better research topic, but this month is different. This month we're all studying the same thing: the Lark Sisters.
Pulling Belle closer to me, I inhale her scent, tracing the remainder of the colors and shapes on her skin as I fall asleep with her.
~!~
"What do we know?" one of my professors asks.
I give him a rundown. This isn't a "safe" lecture room on campus, not that any of them are safe from Royal ears, but this room, in particular, is nestled between two other rooms, so I withhold information on purpose.
I discuss the research Garret and I have done and the book of spells we found on Mount Agnes. When asked if we've been able to decipher the language, I let them know we cannot find any living document that provides any information for us. I withhold the information Belle shared with me last night until I can find a moment to write down my thoughts and slip them discretely to Garrett and my professor.
"What next?" another professor asks.
"The warlock," a peer says. "We've found documentation that he and his son are the last living entities to possess their kind of magic."
"Which is?" another peer asks.
Garret clears his throat and speaks up when everyone else chooses not to. "The warlocks used to possess the same powers as witches. When they borrowed power from every warlock and bound the sisters to the mountains, it's believed their magic vanished with the spell."
"We believe that was not done on purpose," I tell everyone. "It's possible the Lark Sisters—" but I stop myself from going any further. Too many ears, too many eyes, too many Royals.
My professors nod, catching on. Their eyes tell me they understand that the Lark sisters may have stolen their magic and the magic of every warlock who offered up their powers to keep the sisters within the mountains.
My professors and I spend the next few hours reviewing books and research articles about the soil and water differences on each mountain while trying to find commonalities. But there are none except—
"What about that blue water from Lake Agnes?" someone asks, and Garret and I stare at each other.
I listen for thoughts outside this room, and when I hear nothing but the buzzing of lights, I clear my throat and present some of the most interesting information thus far.
"It has recently been discovered that the blue water from Lake Agnes comes from a very small, unknown body of water on the outskirts of Court 6," I state, unbuttoning the sleeves of my dress shirt and rolling them up to my elbows.
Pulling my glasses from my pocket and placing them on, I read, "from the geographical textbook used to teach Court 6 high school students: 'One must never stroll past the edge of the dead trees between Courts 6 and 7. There is a fog that creeps out intermittently that has been said to scramble the mind of anyone who trespasses. There is no medicine to cure you, nor can the Court risk contamination to other citizens.'" When I finish, the others simply stare.
"So, who checked it out?" my professor asks.
Garret speaks up. "I went four nights ago. About two miles past the tree line, there's a very small, shallow body of water no more than elbow deep. It bubbles from the ground, but when I stuck my hand inside, there was no entryway. Essentially, the water matches that of Lake Agnes, but no indication as to how it sustains itself."
"You put your arm into a puddle of water, not knowing what it contains or what was submerged below the surface?" my professor asks, his brow raised.
Garrett simply shrugs. "Yeah."
My professor smirks and nods. "And would you be willing to go back if needed?"
"Sure."
"No," I intercede. "Garrett is marrying soon, and his wife will kill us both. I will go as needed."
Garrett rolls his eyes and shakes his head, but I change the subject before he can butt in.
~!~
When I arrive home that evening, Belle, Jasper, and Alice are gathered around the table, each smiling in a way that causes my own mouth to turn upward.
And then I hear his thoughts.
I know it's soon and early and maybe a little weird, but I walk up to Jasper and shake his hand. With an arm slung around Alice's shoulders, he returns my handshake with his free hand. It's painful still, but I am genuinely happy for them. Jasper and Alice have been pushing this off for years, so completing their Bond must be a major relief.
"We're going to head home tonight," Alice says, sitting on Jasper's lap as we drink celebratory wine outside on my deck.
I nod in understanding and say, "I'll see to it that Belle gets home safely this weekend."
Alice stands and disengages with Jasper for the first time since I arrived home. "Thank you, Edward," she whispers, throwing her arms around my neck and squeezing me to her. "For everything you've ever done for us."
Her emotion hits me harder than I expected, but I return the hug, kissing her temple and whispering, "take care of each other, Alice."
After they leave, Belle and I stand in my empty home and glance around. We've been alone plenty of times before, but this is different. Alice and Jasper won't be coming back, and I can make Belle come as loud—
"Would you like to swim?" she asks, smiling over at me from the kitchen table.
I make my way from the front door to where she's standing in a few strides. "As long as I can dress you in anything I want."
She smirks, her cheeks blossoming into my favorite shade of bashful before she says, "I was hoping you wouldn't dress me in anything."
And there, in my kitchen, Belle tugs at the edge of her shirt and lets it slip from her fingers. She turns around, glancing over her shoulder with her bottom lip tucked between her teeth as she unhooks her bra slowly and lets it slip from her finger. My feet root to the ground as though I cannot move, but I watch earnestly as she walks to the edge of the pool. I think she might dive in, but her fingers go to the button and zipper of her shorts before she bends at the hips, exposing her backside and lips through the thin cotton of her underwear as she shimmies out of the shorts.
"Coming?" Belle asks, pulling me from my trance just as her fingers tug down the edges of her panties.
"Many times, I hope."
~!~
Our weekend is lazy and slow and full of so many touches, caresses, and intimate moments that I can't even comprehend having to let her go today.
It's the end of our time together, and Belle wants to take the boat back, so that's what we do.
Her sundress flips up from the wind, and I help block her by placing my front to her back as she grips the railing of the boat. Belle presses back into me, grinding against my erection, and it takes me back to last night.
Her naked ass on my cock, and my hands on her hips as I roll her against me, the soft moans she makes as my fingers tug at her nipple.
It was intense and demanding but so fucking worth it when I learned I could nestle my cock into the crook of her ass, soaked with her spreading arousal, and come from her body alone. If I hadn't been nearly blacking out from the intensity of my orgasm, I would have cried.
It's a moment I will not soon forget.
Wrapping my arms around her, I whisper delicate secrets into her ear.
"I'll miss the way you read those pointless romance stories to me."
She scoffs. "Just admit you like them."
"Okay," I whisper into her neck. "I like them, but only when you read them to me."
I feel her smile as I kiss her shoulder.
"I'll miss the way you look at the sky."
Belle sighs and nods. "I'll miss the way you stare at me as I look at the sky."
"I'll miss your soft snores."
"I do not snore," she argues.
"I'll miss your smile."
"I'll miss you, Edward."
I don't have to say it back for either of us to believe it, but I'll miss her too. I'll miss the way she says my name and the quirk of her brow when she challenges me. I'll miss our nighttime routine, wading in the pool as she tries not to drown because even after all this time, she still can't swim that well. I'll miss the way she brushes her teeth with her left hand when she uses her right hand for everything else, her hair on my sheets, and how she looks first thing in the morning.
I want to tell her I love her, that she's my favorite thing in this world, that I want to make her so happy it hurts, but I don't.
Instead, I lay with her in her bed, kiss her cheek and enjoy the silent moments of just the two of us before we have to part.
A/N: Please know I will NEVER abandon this story! If there are a few weeks between uploads, it's because my personal/work life is hectic! Thanks to all the supporting, loving followers of this story. It's so appreciated :)
Hope this answered some of your questions from last time. I'm curious about your theories!
Thank you to Fran for betaing!