110Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. The chapters will be shorter but hopefully I'll be updating more often now.
MORE FACT THAN FICTION
CHAPTER 17
The heat coming from her mouth was intense. The smell of her blood just below the skin of her neck had a pull on me that I hadn't felt in years. This woman was everything to me and I was done with pretending to be something I wasn't. I pressed my body up against hers and went to deepen the kiss. My tongue grazed her bottom lip, and that's when I heard the throaty moan escape her. I wanted her, in every way.
"Well that confirms that the two of you know each other." The annoying chirp of my sister's voice broke through the spell. I gently released Bella's lips, rested my forehead on hers and took in a deep breath. Her scent filled every inch of my lungs and I was in paradise.
Bella tried to take a step back from me but I held her tight. I opened my eyes, caressed her cheek as I wrapped my other arm around her shoulder. As I pulled her to my side I whispered in her ear, "I've wanted to do that for a very long time."
"Yes, sister, Bella and I do know each other. Just a bit better now." I looked down at her face but she had turned it away from me. Her body was tense. I had overstepped her boundaries and was now waiting for the repercussions.
She pushed herself off of me, and I put up no resistance this time. I knew what was coming and didn't like where it was going.
"I don't know what's going on here but I have the feeling that I've been played." The anger was now coming off of Bella in waves.
I looked to Alice for guidance but her thoughts were just jumbles. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I have made a fool of myself again but I just can't stay away from you."
Her fists were balled up at her sides and I could see the tension in her forearms but before I could raise my arms in defense, her knee rose swiftly and made contact where I was most vulnerable at the moment. I dropped to my knees, playing it up a bit more than necessary but I knew that I deserved this, and she deserved the sense of accomplishment.
"Jasper, it was a pleasure to meet you. Alice, I would really love to get to know you but you need to keep your brother on a short leash."
With that I watched Bella walked out of the kitchen from my position on the floor. I heard her through the hall and then out the front door.
"Edward, I would kick you through the kitchen wall except for the fact that I don't have the time to repair it."
I stood up and looked at Alice with a questioning look. I needed to know if I had screwed it up completely. I needed Bella now more than ever and the thought of never being able to taste those lips again would probably kill me. My eyes were screaming at Alice for an answer.
"She's still in our future somehow. I don't know where her head is at but that kiss might have helped your cause somehow. Now I have to try and figure out how to keep her as a friend." Alice slowly left the room and went up the stairs.
"Edward, I don't know what you were thinking of but that was a damn bold move."
"Jas, if I knew what I was doing then I probably won't be this scared shitless." I just stood there looking at Jasper not sure what to say next. I knew he could feel my inner turmoil but I also know that he felt the strong feelings that I have for Bella. "What do I do next, man?"
"Right about now, I would let Bella simmer. That kiss really threw her for a loop too so just let Alice do her thing for a bit. It might be easier for Bella to come around more if you don't attack her as soon as you see her. Also a little something for tomorrow's class with her would be a good idea."
With that Jasper left the room and followed Alice up the stairs. I could hear the low murmur of their voices but I knew that it would be better to leave the house for a little while. I guess the lust charge atmosphere was a bit too much for Jasper to contain.
As I sat on the front steps, all I could think about was Bella's soft lips, her delicious floral scent that assailed my senses and the most incredible moan that had escaped from her. I needed to feel that again so I needed her to understand that this was not just some passing fancy. I wanted her to know all of me and be with me forever. Never in my life, human and vampire, did I want something so fiercely. I knew that I needed to take Jasper's advice and get a little something for Bella as an apology.
The next morning at school I was bouncing on the balls of my feet in anticipation of seeing Bella. All evening I worried about what I had gotten her. I left the house early so I hadn't seen Alice or Jasper since the night before. I was waiting just outside of our first class when I felt her presence before she turned the corner.
She stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw me. I could sense her hesitation as approaching me. She gave me a gentle smile as our eyes made contact. The warmth that spread through my body just from her smile was the most incredible feeling.
We approached each other slowly, paying no attention to the other people in the hallway, and stop a foot apart from each other.
"Edward…"
"Bella, let me apologize. My behavior last night was inexcusable but I'm not sorry I did it. I would do it again in a heartbeat…"
"Edward!"
"But not without your permission. I will never cross that line again until you want me to. Please accept this little gift as part of my apology."
I handed her the small bag and then went into the classroom, taking a chair near the back. I could hear the gasp from the hallway and knew that I had chosen correctly.