Chapter
25
BELLA
The library was quiet as
I strode down the last aisle at the back of the building. I scanned the shelf,
reaching up high for the book I needed. My fingertips barely brushed the spine,
and I grunted in frustration. However, I couldn’t stop the smile from creeping
up my face when a long, strong arm reached over me to effortlessly pull down
the book I’d been struggling to obtain.
Turning around, I leaned back
against the bookcase, giggling softly at Edward’s sweet, crooked smile as he
held out my book. He was in his contacts today, something that he rotated on a
regular basis. I loved the glasses because they made him look so sweet and
smart. I loved the contacts, too, because they gave me an uninterrupted view of
that gorgeous green and those long eyelashes.
“Better?” he asked,
leaning in to kiss my lips as I hugged the book to me.
“Yes, thank you,” I
whispered, brushing my mouth across his a few more times. “I wasn’t expecting
you for another hour.”
“Dr. Carmen had to
reschedule, so I told her I’d see her next Friday,” he answered, shrugging a
shoulder. “Which is fine by me; I have to study for finals.” He reached out for
my hand, and I laced my fingers with his as he led us back to our table. “I’ll
get some done now before work.”
That thought had me
glancing up from my books on the table in front of me to stare shamelessly at
Edward. He was different yet the same sweet, shy boy I’d first seen in this
very library. He was still studious and smart, and he wrote amazing stories for
me and for some classes he was taking. He still loved to read together, which
was probably my second favorite thing to do with him. The thought of my
favorite thing made me lick my lips and rake my gaze from his sharp jaw,
furrowed brow, and set mouth, down to his broad shoulders, flexing arm, and
those very talented long fingers which were innocently playing with his pen.
When he caught my stare,
he raised a deadly eyebrow at me. “Pretty girl, you keep that up and—”
“Don’t you dare finish
that sentence at this table, Edward Cullen,” I hissed teasingly, just to watch
him laugh. Fuck, he was just stunningly beautiful when he laughed. “I will not
be held responsible for my actions.”
His grin flashed bright,
and he nodded, reaching for my hand. He pressed long, soft kisses to my
fingers, whispering, “I know, baby. I can’t wait, either. I’ve missed you this
week.”
“Me, too,” I sighed,
smiling at him, because it was impossible not to just want to kiss him stupid.
Some things didn’t
change, but the dark, heated gaze he was giving me was something he’d started
since our first time in Seattle just before coming home. Most of Edward’s
sexual shyness had completely dissipated. Gone. Poof. He was insanely sexy when
he wanted to be, but usually, he had no clue he was doing it.
“I’ll make it up to you,
Bella. I promise,” he vowed against my skin, grinning again when I narrowed my
eyes at him in warning.
I pulled my hand back
slowly, mumbling about dangerously good-looking boys and their even more
dangerous voices, not to mention the fact that I’d missed every inch of him
this last week just due to homework, his shifts at the café, and everything
else in between. However, I fought my smile as Edward pressed a chuckling kiss
to the side of my head.
To say Edward was busy
would be an understatement. The moment we’d returned from Washington, everyone
just stayed…busy. A new semester meant new classes and a new routine. We’d had to
figure out everything all over again. There was a shit-ton of homework, a new
work schedule for him at the café, moving his sister into the guest room across
the hall from me, and yes, Edward and Alice had started sessions with Dr.
Carmen. Add in the occasional conference call with lawyers and one weekend trip
to Seattle for the two of them to testify against their father, and it seemed
like we never saw each other. It was that trip which had made Edward decide to
ask Aunt Jane about her therapist friend – he and his sister had come back to
Florida completely beaten down.
Everything Carlisle
Cullen had ever done was now out in the open – and it was some pretty ugly
shit. It started with fraud and embezzlement. Carlisle had forged Emmett’s
signature in order to gain access to the trust, and his lawyer had filed, not
knowing it wasn’t real.
He also owed or had paid several
people a hell of a lot of money.
A woman in Olympia, who
he’d been having an affair with well
before Esme had passed away, testified that he’d been paying her to stay
silent, which included an apartment and later, Edward’s Volvo. Some of his
patients and prescription history was being called into question. And a Dr.
King testified that he knew about all of it, and Carlisle had paid him a very
large amount money to shut him up. There was even rumor of off-shore accounts,
but they were still investigating.
Charge after charge
stacked up against Edward’s father, and not one of them from his children. He’d
dug his own grave – several graves, actually – and not only did the board of
directors at the hospital cut him loose, but he was now facing a few years in
prison. The forgery of Emmett’s signature alone was enough to get him three
years at the least. The prescriptions, on the other hand, could cause the loss
of his license to practice medicine.
Without income, never
mind what he’d spent, Carlisle lost everything financially. The Cullen home in
Forks now had a lien on it and the last I’d heard, it was up for sale. What was
left of the trust – and the accounts that Pastor Liam had overseen – had now
been equally distributed amongst Emmett, Edward, and Alice.
All of that bullshit
weighed heavily on my Edward, which was why he saw Dr. Carmen on a regular
basis. Occasionally I’d go with him, but most of the time he’d go alone. I
honestly thought that he preferred it that way, simply because he could rage
behind closed doors. As sweet and shy and calm as my handsome boyfriend was, he
was completely and utterly pissed off at his father. And I didn’t blame him one
fucking bit. My personal hope was that, while in prison, a large man named
Bubba treated Carlisle like he’d treated his children, but I never voiced that
aloud.
I glanced up at Edward
again, this time reaching up to brush his hair from his forehead. There was a
small, fine scar left over from the fight with his dad. It was the only thing
visible, but it was the scars that I couldn’t see – the quiet, emotional scars
– that made me want to wrap Edward up in soft pillows and bubble-wrap to keep
him safe and happy.
Edward met my gaze, the
deep green calm and soothing and curious, and I smiled, whispering, “Love you,
baby. That’s all.”
His smile was warm and
sweet, if not slightly teasing. “Love you, pretty girl. And you are the best of
distractions today. You all right?”
“I’m sorry,” I said,
breaking out into a giggle I couldn’t stop. His grin was beautiful as I
shrugged a shoulder. “I dunno. I’m just…” I sighed deeply, taking in his
patient face. “I guess I’m ready for summer. We’ve got one more week of
classes. Your sister’s graduation is coming up, and then Emmett and Rose will
be here for two months.”
Something I didn’t
recognize flickered across his face, but he nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready for the
break,” he said, tapping his books with his pen to indicate that he meant
school, because I knew he’d continue to work and go to his sessions with Dr.
Carmen. He studied my face again, and he reached up to drag the backs of his
fingers across my cheek, finally pulling me in to press his lips to mine. “I
picked a new book, Bella,” he whispered against my lips, smiling crookedly at
me.
Pushing away from me, he
reached into his backpack and set the book in my hands.
My face heated, but I
couldn’t stop the soft laugh that bubbled up out of me. “There’s a sequel?” I
asked incredulously. “What more could those two get up to?” I raised an eyebrow,
remembering the very first book we’d read together about the sexy, if not
slightly asinine, CEO and his very pretty assistant who couldn’t stop from
wanting each other. It had led to some serious making out once Edward’s voice
had wrapped around the dirty parts.
Edward grinned and
shrugged. “I don’t think it’s Jack and Sophia, just the same author.”
The fact that he
remembered the characters’ names made me snort into the ugliest of laughs, but
I loved him madly. I handed the book back to him, shaking my head.
“Fair enough, Edward,” I
told him. “I’ll be kissing you stupid for that later, I’m sure.”
He grinned but didn’t
even look up from his homework as he said, “I’m looking forward to it, baby.”
I couldn’t concentrate
for shit, so I gazed around the library. Our new schedule brought new sets of
eyes, people I’d seen in class and around campus and some I didn’t know at all,
but there were new girls that seemed drawn to Edward. As usual, he never even
noticed them, or if he did, he didn’t bother to acknowledge it.
Finally forcing myself to
work, I lost myself in my English Lit paper. I was broken out of my
concentration when Edward’s lips pressed to the side of my head.
“Gotta go to work, pretty
girl. You’ll be by later?”
Looking up at him, I
nodded, “Mmhm. Yep, with Alice most likely. I promised I’d hit the beach with
her after school, and then ice cream at O’Malley’s.” Glancing up at the clock,
I closed my book. “I should go, too.”
He smiled and nodded, waiting
for me to gather my things. We walked to the parking lot together, and I smiled
at Edward’s truck parked next to my car. The one thing everyone had encouraged
him to do for himself was to buy a means of transportation. Edward, however,
didn’t go overboard or lose his mind with something crazy, though he had the
money to do it. Jasper and my dad had gone with him to make sure he got
something decent, something reliable. He’d bought a simple used pickup truck –
nothing humongous, nothing audacious, just a simple truck. It was black, and it
seemed to fit him.
“See you later,” I told
him, smiling up at him when he walked me to my car.
“Love you, pretty girl,”
he said, leaning into my window to kiss me one more time.
~oOo~
Alice and I thanked the
kid behind the counter for our ice cream, stepping back out onto the boardwalk.
I slowly dragged my spoon through hot fudge, whipped cream, and cold ice cream,
bringing it to my mouth.
The beach had been
crowded with students from both Glenhaven High and Edgewater College. It was
Friday, and most just seemed to need to blow off steam. Summer break was so
close, the air seemed to vibrate with the anticipation. Alice had seen a few
people she knew, and so had I – one of which had been Alec.
“So…that was the asshole who threw a drink at my brother,” she said,
licking her spoon and smiling at my laugh.
“Yeah, he’s…special.” I
sneered, shaking my head. “He’s also not allowed at the café anymore. Jasper’s
banned him.”
At the mention of my
cousin, Alice’s cheeks heated and she focused more on her sundae than anything
else around her.
“Hey,” I whispered,
nudging her a little. “He really does like you.”
Her sweet blue eyes locked
on to my face, silently pleading with me not to fuck with her. I sighed deeply
because I understood both sides. My cousin, despite his laid-back personality,
was trying to give Alice a chance to settle in, finish high school, and heal a
little from all that she’d been through with her brothers and father. He wasn’t
leading her on or teasing. He just wanted her happy. Alice, however, was
running out of patience.
They flirted and laughed
and got along better than I’d ever imagined they would, but my cousin was
trying to be a gentleman. And he was Edward’s best friend, which made him wary
from the start. And even he had told Jasper time and time again that Alice was
quite capable of making up her own mind. My cousin, however, merely wanted to
do the right thing because he really
liked Alice – almost to the point of overprotectiveness.
“You think it’ll change
when I’m out of your house?” she asked hopefully. “Not that I don’t want to be
there… I just meant when I start Edgewater in the fall.”
Grinning, I took another
bite of my ice cream. “Maybe, but Alice, you need to talk to him. He’s a dumb
boy. Trust me, I grew up with him. As awesome and smart and silly as he is,
he’s just…Jasper. He’s busy, and he’s trying to make sure you aren’t…”
“I’m fine,” she huffed, rolling her eyes. “I’m almost nineteen.”
“And he’s twenty-two,
Ali. He’s had relationships before – one was even serious for a bit – but he
just doesn’t want to move too fast or hurt you. You…coming here…that was a big
step that came from nowhere. Even Edward worried about you, you know?”
At the mention of her big
brother, Alice sighed. “I’m okay. It’s been almost five months.”
“And you’re still dealing
with your dad’s shit, Alice. Hell, he hasn’t even been sentenced yet, and he’s
still got to face the prescription thing. I’m hoping he’ll plead out like
Emmett said, but…”
She nodded, snorting a
little, but she looked over at me. “You know, Edward and Emmett… They guarded
me, protected me since Mom died, even before that, and I love them for it, but
I just want…normal. I want… I want to be treated like a girl, a woman, not
someone’s baby sister.”
I laughed softly. “Maybe
that’s what my cousin needs to hear. I can’t say I blame you.”
We walked into Sunset
Roast, and I smiled at the handsome thing behind the counter. His shyness was
set aside when he was at work. He smiled and greeted the regulars, he joked
with Tanya, who was currently throwing sugar packets at him, and he worked his
ass off in the back unloading the deliveries and keeping the inventory
straight. He even continued to maintain the filing that my cousin still wasn’t
allowed to touch. He’d turned into Jasper’s right hand.
Edward’s smile was warm,
sweet, despite the fact that he was still batting away sugar packets. “How was
the beach?” he asked, leaning over the counter to kiss me before I fed him a
bite of ice cream.
“Sandy…beachy,” I said
with a grin, but I watched his mouth wrap around my spoon for one more bite,
aching to have that mouth everywhere.
“Where’s my ice cream?!”
Jasper gasped in shock, coming in from the back.
“Down at O’Malley’s, you
mooch,” I snapped back, looking at him like he was crazy. “Get your own
sundae…or better yet… Next time, bring your happy ass with us to the beach. Then
you can get your own fucking ice cream. How ’bout that?” I smiled innocently
his way as he narrowed his eyes at me.
“That’s cold, dude,” he muttered,
eyeballing my spoon as I fed Edward another bite. “And you are distracting my
employee with chocolate and whipped cream and…”
Edward snorted, shaking
his head. “Here we go,” he sang under his breath, wearing an amused smile.
“And you’re seriously
hogging my boyfriend, doofus, which means he can’t go to O’Malley’s, so I bring the ice cream to him.” I
pointed around the quiet café. “Don’t like it? Then send him on break.”
Tanya and Alice were in
silent hysterics as they watched us like a tennis match.
“Meany.”
“Slave driver,” I
countered, looking up at Edward. “Ignore him. Can you take a break before I
head home?”
Edward’s grin was
adorable, but he shook his head no. “I need to tackle the filing from this
week.”
“Ah-ha! Excellent. I’ll
keep you company,” I said, turning to Alice. “We’ll head home in a few
minutes.” As I walked by my cousin, I set the rest of my ice cream into his
hand. “Here, you big baby. Maybe next time you’ll man up and go with Alice
yourself. Hmm?” I whispered to him, raising an eyebrow his way.
He shoveled a spoonful of
ice cream into his face as we walked into the back, only to yell, “Don’t do
anything disgusting in my office!”
“Who says we haven’t
already?!” I called back, grinning up at Edward. “It’s best to keep him on his
toes.”
“Bella,” he said with a
laugh, and a slow shake of his head as he shut the office door and clicked the
lock closed. “Let’s really make him nervous.” He grinned, and it was deadly and
teasing.
My giggle was loud, but I
sat down on the edge of the desk as Edward picked up the stack of papers from
Jasper’s inbox.
When the last page was
tucked away and the drawer closed, Edward turned to walk into my arms, dropping
a heavy kiss to my forehead. His lips met mine in a long, deep kiss, but he
smiled into it, pulling back and licking his lips. “You taste sweet and
chocolaty.”
I smiled up at him,
brushing my lips over his again. “What time will you be home?” Again, an expression
crossed his face that I couldn’t quite figure out. “What’s wrong?”
He laughed, looking at me
like I was crazy. “Not a damn thing, pretty girl. And I won’t be too late. I
promise. Tanya’s doing the closing tonight.”
“Okay, good.” I kissed
him again, squeaking a little when he wrapped his arms around me and set me
down to the floor.
Jasper was on the other
side of the door when we opened it, his hand poised, reaching for the knob. His
eyes narrowed to me, then Edward, and finally around us to his desk.
“Good thing you got a
sturdy chair, Jasper,” I told him, hearing Edward snort into a laugh when I
patted my cousin’s shoulder.
Edward walked me back up
front, and we both chuckled when Jasper muttered, “You know… I really don’t
like either one of you right now. Tanya! Where’s the disinfectant?!”
~oOo~
My shower was hot and
long, rinsing away the sea salt and sand from my few hours at the beach with
Alice. I pulled on my usual shorts and T-shirt for bed, thinking I’d just work
on some homework until Edward arrived, but when I stepped into my bedroom, I grinned
at my handsome thing sitting on the edge of my bed.
“You’re early,” I said,
shutting the door and locking it.
Edward was still in his
work shirt and jeans, and he smiled up at me, pulling me between his legs as he
nodded a little. “I was driving Tanya bat-shit crazy. She kicked me out early.”
“Aww,” I crooned through
a chuckle as I cupped his face. “Poor baby. Why?”
“I couldn’t stop pacing,”
he replied softly, flexing his fingers on my waist, like he was trying to touch
as much of me as he could at one time. “Bella… Pretty girl, I… I want to…
Dammit, I just need to ask you something, and I’m…”
He was so damned nervous
that he reminded me of the shy boy I’d met in my cousin’s office, and suddenly,
I was really scared.
“Did I… Is there…”
“Oh God, baby,” he
breathed, pressing his lips to mine as he cupped my face in his hands. “It’s
not bad, pretty girl. I just… I want to ask you something.”
“O-Okay.”
“I wrote this shit down,
and still I’m nervous,” he said through a humorless laugh, but he met my gaze and
swallowed thickly. “Bella, I… I don’t want to live in the dorms next year. I
want… I want us to find a place…together.”
I gaped at him, not
because I didn’t want it – I did, badly – but because he thought I’d say no.
“Seriously?” I squeaked, unable to stop the smile from spreading across my
face.
“Yes, seriously.” He
grinned, but it fell quickly. “Listen, Bella… I’ve talked to your dad, and I’ve
weighed out dorms versus an apartment, but I miss you during the week, which
sounds ridiculous since we see each other after school. I don’t want just
weekends. Pretty girl, I want those things you said when we were in Forks – our
own couch and bed and library…a small one. I want to come home to you, not my
roommate, Ben, and not just here on the weekends. I want to hold you every
night.
“I’ve wanted it more and
more since you said it, and I thought… I’ve talked to Dr. Carmen about it,
because I don’t want you or anyone else to think it’s got anything to do with…
I’m OCD and aquaphobic, baby, not co-dependent.” He laughed a little when I
giggled softly.
“Edward…stop. I know you
love me and you want to be together because of that, not for any other reason.”
I trailed my fingers across his handsome face. “Yes…just yes. Like when? And
how soon?”
He laughed, pulling me to
his lap, and I locked my legs around his waist. “Well, I talked to Aunt Jane,
too, Bella. She’s actually got an idea. You know that empty store next to the
café?” he asked, and I nodded. “She’s thinking of expanding, but… But upstairs
is a living space, and she’s… Well, she thought it was kinda, sorta…”
“Perfect,” I finished for
him in a whisper, and he nodded, raking his fingers through my damp hair.
“For us. Yes.” He nodded
again, smiling up at me. “In fact, you and I were her first thought. She hasn’t
bought it yet, but she’s working on it. It isn’t big or fancy or…”
My lips met his roughly.
He was too cute and too nervous, and I wanted it. Honestly, I wanted it all
with him. Anything. Everything. There was never, ever going to be a single
thing I’d deny him. He’d been denied enough in his life, and I wanted to be the
one to spoil him, love him, keep him.
“I love you, and I love
the whole plan. You just tell me when,” I whispered against his lips, squealing
into a giggle when he rolled us on my bed to loom over me.
His happy face morphed
into something serious as he settled between my legs. Reaching up, I ran my
fingers through his hair.
“I’ve missed you. This.
I’m sorry I’m so busy and this semester has been crazy. It’s why I want to live
with you. I never want to be without this. I need this, Bella. I need you. Always,”
he vowed, pressing his lips to mine as I pulled him closer with everything I
had.
“Always.”
Our kiss became more –
more heated, more frenzied, just more. Edward’s hands roamed over me, beneath
my shirt, along my legs. I pulled and tugged at his T-shirt, and he finally
relented, pushing up on one hand as the other reached back to grab a fistful of
fabric in order to tug it off. My pajamas were next and then his jeans, and
when we were finally skin to skin, I moaned at the feel of him.
Since our first time, I
wanted more of him. We couldn’t get enough of each other, and we quickly
learned how to drive each other completely crazy. He was beautiful, with heat
in his eyes and his mouth on me – everywhere, just like I’d wanted when he’d
taken the ice cream I’d fed him. And oh my God, and he was so damned good at
it. My head fell back as he kissed my sex like he kissed my mouth – warm, wet,
deep, and with hums that made my eyes roll back.
Our bodies melted
together as one as he slipped inside of me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get over how
amazing it felt, how perfect it felt to be one single entity. It was emotional
and healing, it made me feel owned and loved, but it also made me feel
powerful, because to watch Edward lose himself to me, to us, was absolutely
stunning.
Pressing his forehead to
mine, he reached between us to touch me in just the right spot to make me
completely unravel. Between his fingers and his smooth, sexy voice begging me
to let go, I shattered beneath him, pleading that he come with me, and he did,
beautifully.
His eyes were closed as I
trailed fingers down his back, rubbing my legs up and down his, my other hand
finding his scars.
“Edward?” I said softly,
smiling when deep, sweet green met my gaze. “I don’t want to read tonight. I
just want…this.”
He smiled, kissing me
with the lightest of kisses. “Me too, pretty girl.”
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