Chapter 32

EPOV

It was turning out to be a perfect night. After Jasper’s outburst and the reaction from the girls I stood there putting two and two together and coming up with, floor. Looking at Isabella and demanding an answer she got all flustered and between the blush on her face and those ridiculous braids, she was just too fucking cute, so I couldn’t get upset. Besides, what the hell did I care? My sister was a grown woman, what she did with her husband was none of my business. In fact I found it rather hilarious that the three of them used a banana as a teaching aide. The only thing I could have done without was the mental picture that Emmett painted, that was more than I needed.

When we went upstairs to change into our suits Bella couldn’t seem to wait to see what was on her nipples. She had rubbed them all through dinner, and I had to admit I was enjoying her discomfort. I knew the bands didn’t cause pain they just constricted making the nipples extremely sensitive, and the more she tried to soothe them the worse they would get.

At first I let it go thinking Bella would figure it out, but when the movements of her arms became more noticeable I finally had to put a stop to it. Once we were alone I removed her tops and wondered why the t-shirt was damp.

“Rose told me to use ice on them.”

“Did I tell you it was alright to use ice?” I narrowed my eyes at her pointedly.

“No Sir.”

I let out a sigh motioning for her to kneel and then pointing my third and forth fingers down to show her another signal, “eyes on the floor.”

While she waited I went about getting myself ready thinking what to do about this new development. I hadn’t specifically told her not to soothe herself, but it should have been implied. I figured I’d better make that point known right now.

“Isabella did the ice alleviate some of the discomfort you were feeling?” I asked as I sat down on the edge of the bed to face her.

“Yes Sir.” Bella’s eyes remained steadfast to the floor.

“Hmm…I don’t believe that we’ve had this discussion before or that the situation has arisen until now. That is my fault for assuming you would know without being told. So let me make it perfectly clear to you; your pleasure, pain, or minor discomfort is mine and only mine. It does not belong to you, Rose or Santa Claus. What that means is simply this: you are not to use anything other than your sheer will or determination to allay any uneasiness that I am causing to your body.” Using the hand signal for her to look at me - she knew the signals well - I didn’t need to wait for her eyes to meet mine.

“Isabella, what is your recourse if the intensity becomes unmanageable?” I could see her thinking and I waited.

“To say yellow?” She answered with a question like she was unsure.

“Are you asking me?” My voice came out more forceful then I had wanted it too.

“No Sir. I am to say yellow.”

“And you didn’t because…?” This is what I needed to know, if the bands were so bad that she resorted to self-aid, what stopped her from using the safe word?

“It wasn’t that bad. I just wanted the itching to st…” I gave her a quick stern answer before she even finished her sentence. “And I wanted the itching to continue.” Bella’s eyes dropped to the floor making me cup her chin so would look at me again.

“Whose desire takes precedence?”

“Yours Sir.” I nodded motioning for her to come closer and relax.

Bella needed to know that I wasn’t upset with her. There were no tears in her eyes and that was a good thing. This discussion we were having wasn’t chastisement. It was her Master giving her instruction on what he deems to be an unacceptable practice.

Once her head was on my thigh my hand ran over her bare shoulder down her arm and across her breasts, grazing her very taut nipples. As I did Bella’s breath spiked but she remained still, they were sensitive. I wanted to know from her just how sensitive.

“Isabella on a scale of one-to-ten how intolerable was your discomfort?” I rolled one of her nipples between my thumb and finger.

“Mmm…six.”

Six? That to me was very tolerable, she was either being impatient or petulant, neither of which are acceptable. I believe my Miss Bella was going to need more time with the bands on and I might as well see how uncomfortable I can make her.

“I want you to go and use the bathroom. Make sure you do, it’s the last time you will go until bedtime. When you return you will strip and be in your waiting position.” I helped her up, handing her the t-shirt so she could leave the room.

I didn’t have her mat so I placed a pillow on the floor, hoping she would understand what it was for. Then I quickly moved downstairs to get the bag I left in the car. No one was down there; I figured they all needed some form of seclusion, just like we did. But I also figured we wouldn’t have too much more time before they would be knocking on the door for us to rejoin them.

Bella knew exactly what the pillow was for and as I entered the room I could hear her breath hitch.

“Very nice Isabella.” I wanted to reassure her that it was me and at the sound of my voice I could see her relax. I made a quick assessment of her posture along with taking in the appearance of the rest of her body, before standing in front of her.

“You know, I find I rather like those bands and the way they cause your nipples to stand at attention. Look at them.” Bella’s head moved slightly so she could see her breasts. The gentle slope and the round firmness enhanced by sharp nipples staring at me begging to played with. Yes, I liked the effects of the bands very much.

“I believe that I will show you how to apply the bands and they will become part of your Friday night preparations.” I squatted down giving the sign for her to look at me before running the back of my fingers over her breasts then down into her slick wetness.

“It would appear that you enjoy that idea as much as I do.” Her eyes held no answer for me; I wanted to hear it from her lips. “Does that idea appeal to you?” She drew in a deep breath and her soft wet tongue peeked out to moisten her lips before she spoke.

“Yes Master” The desire in her eyes was tangible, the physical energy coming off her body was radiating and it took every ounce of strength I had to not throw her on the floor and bury my dick inside her.

I was very glad that I had changed into board shorts because little eddie wasn’t so little. Yes I had taken to calling my dick little eddie, and had he been confined inside of jeans he would have been in more pain than he already was.

Needing to refocus I drew in a deep breath, the scent of her arousal hung in the air – that was not helping my resolve – and stood, offering my hands to help Bella to her feet. “Come, we don’t have much time and I want to get you properly prepared.”

Sitting on the bed with Bella standing between my legs I lifted her knee to place her left foot flat on the mattress. The muscles in her stomach contracted and a warm pink flush covered her torso. I know that there are Dominants that consider blushing to be an unfavorable trait in their submissive; in their minds nothing they do should cause any shame, personally I found it to be sexy as hell.

My fingers ran through her slick warm folds and I wanted so badly to taste her. Not in a teasing manner, no I wanted to submerge my tongue inside her until she withered with pleasure. Bella’s breast was right in front of my face and I circled her nipple with my tongue before sucking it into my mouth.

Her breathing hitched as her hands came up to grip my shoulders in attempt to steady herself while my fingers slipped inside her. “Ahhh…”

Oh fuck…I missed those noises.

My mouth pulled away from her while my hand remained fixed where it was. Bella’s eyes were closed and my thumb started circling her clit. “Mmmm…oh…”

With my other hand I picked up the container on the bed snapping open the top. Slipping my fingers out of her I placed a few drops on my thumb, and then went back to massaging her clit. Bella sucked in a quick gasp at the sensation of cold that hit her sensitive nub. Putting a few more drops on my thumb I rubbed it in making sure her clit was coated with the gel.

I was banking on the last of the ink being gone tonight. I knew she couldn’t submerge her whole body in the hot tub, but I figured she would sit on the edge with her feet in it. Hopefully the water would get rid of the last remnants, hell I didn’t fucking care if the chlorine in the water bleached the shit away. My girl was going to be worked up and if her foot wasn’t clear, I just might have to go back on my word and give her a pity release.

Using my two fingers I spread open her labia and blew on her clit. Bella gripped my shoulders tighter sucking in a moan, “ahhhh…oooohhhh,” that went straight to my dick.

“Mmmm…I liked that sound Isabella, do it again,” yes, I could be an evil bastard.

One more blow caused Bella to twitch as she whined out, “Gooooddddd…,” then sucked in a whimpering, “oohhhhh.”

I would have continued with my fun except for the knock and Emmett’s announcement. “We’re going out, you guys coming?”

I met Bella’s glassy stare and answered my brother, “Yes, we’re coming.”

Lifting her leg to stand her upright I watched as Bella came to terms with the gel. It was cold to start with turning into a warm tingle before dissipating in about an hour’s time. My hands held her hips and I couldn’t resist teasing her nipples once more. She was already breathing heavy and by the time the gel did its deed she was going be very needy.

“Get ready.” I told her with a pat on her bottom then added, “I will be reapplying more later.” The wide eyed look of total disbelief was priceless and I had to narrow my eyes biting down on the inside of my lip to not laugh.

“Be quick Isabella.” As soon as Bella turned I stood with my back to her gathering up the things on the bed with a huge smirk on my face. Oh yeah, I was going to enjoy watching her squirm.

Alice was in the kitchen making something on the stove when we went outside. Emmett and Jasper had already removed the cover and were sitting in the water. Bella sat next to Rose with her feet submerged. She had on her bathing suit bottoms but because she wasn’t going in she wore a turtle neck under a hoodie for the top.

Music started playing from the speakers and the soft outside lights came on right before Alice came out carrying three large coffee mugs.

“Hot Tottie for you,” she handed one to Bella. “Hot Tottie for me.”

“Only the Hot for you Rose because you’ve already got the Tottie in you,” she giggled at her own joke handing the cup to Rose, before taking off her shirt and climbing in the water. Bella took a sip of the hot liquid shifting her butt around. When she caught my glare instead of looking away she held my stare, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth before licking it with her tongue. My dick throbbed at the sight.

Oh shit, who’s fucking idea was it to use the gel?

Emmett handing me a beer and Alice’s tugging on Bella’s shirt broke us free of our visual foreplay. “Aren’t you coming in the water?”

“Ummm...,” Bella started to explain but Emmett seemed to suddenly remember.

“Oh yeah, come on Little Bella show us what you got!” Bella blushed shaking her head at the double meaning behind my brother’s words.

“What do you got Bella?” Jasper asked like he wondered why he was out of the loop. Emmett eyed him for a second then glanced to Alice shaking his head in disgust.

“If you wouldn’t have been upstairs yelling you would know what she got.” Jasper was baffled for a second but Alice came to his rescue with one of her award winning excuses.

“He dropped something, and it surprised him.” Bella and Rose put their heads together and snickered while Alice nudged Bella’s leg with her elbow. I couldn’t help the blank stare I was giving my sister and I thought for sure Emmett was going to say something but he kept quiet for once turning his attention back to Bella.

“Come on Bella, show us what you got.” Alice’s attempt to have the attention taken off her worked. Bella looked to me as if she was unsure what to do, and I motioned with my hand for her to continue.

“Ummm…alright.” As she stood on the seat, I figured I’d better help her so she didn’t fall in. Getting out, I held her hips while she lifted up the back of her shirt.

“Wow! Edward move your hand!” Rose demanded leaning over to see Bella’s back.

“Damn! Did Alex do it?” I told Jasper he did. Alice stood up pulling the back of Bella’s suit down, which she grabbed tugging it back up.

“What are you doing?”

“I can’t see the whole thing, and I want to see it,” my sister whined.

“Alice, I’m not showing you my ass!” Bella spit out pulling her shirt back down.

“I’ve seen your ass before Bella.” Alice reminded her while Emmett commented, “Well, I’ve never seen your ass, but I have seen lots of asses and they all look the same, and I really wanted to see the rest of that tattoo. I mean really, why do you get a tattoo on your ass if you aren’t going to show it to anyone?”

Bella looked dumbfounded and I smacked my brother on the shoulder while getting back in the water.

“Hey! I might let little Bella slug me but that’s my limit for one day,” he joked.

“What do you mean, ‘Bella slug you?’” Bella wanted to know.

I was going to answer but Emmett beat me to it pointing to the red spot between his pecks as he told Bella, “you bruised me girl.”

Bella’s whole face dropped and she looked mortified. “Oh my god…I hit you?”

I moved to get up and go to her but Emmett pulled on my arm keeping me where I was; which totally pissed me off.

“Fuck yeah you hit me,” he said it like he was proud of her.

“Oh,…I’m so sorr…” Bella didn’t get to finish her apology because Emmett continued.

“Screw that shit girl. It’s my own fucking fault, I shouldn’t have touched you.” His words didn’t seem to make her feel any better. Rose handed her back the mug of warm alcohol and by the time Bella had taken a sip I was sitting in front of her with her legs draped over my shoulders.

“Do you know what you need?” Emmett questioned Bella.

“Drugs?” her quick answer made me stiffen, but her next comment was more enlightening, “because I’ve been there and done that route. I’m not doing it again.”

“No. Not drugs. You need to learn self defense. You have one hell of a punch; you just need to know where to hit so you make them count.” Bella must have looked doubtful because he narrowed his eyes and went on, “I know what I’m talking about. I teach the girls at school, hell I taught Rosie and Alice. All women should know how to deck someone.”

Emmett glanced at Alice who had moved to sit next to her husband then to his own wife. “Rosie and Alice could use a refresher, just in case Jaz here wants to drop something and she doesn’t feel like it.”

We all snickered except for Jasper who almost choked on his beer and our sister whose glare looked like she was trying to shoot him with fire darts.

Once the attention was taken away from Bella I could feel her relax behind me. Kissing the inside of her thigh I moved back to my seat. The conversation turned to what everyone wanted to do the next day. It was decided that after breakfast we would walk one of the lower trails on the mountain. Because it was only mid-May the higher elevations would be closed due to the weather.

Bella’s constant shifting had ceased and I had to admit I was a little disappointed; I had rather enjoyed watching her fidget. She was still using her arms to brush against her breasts, but even that seemed to have changed and I thought maybe she was getting cold. Rose answered my question by announcing that she was done and was going inside. Bella’s eyes met mine and I inclined my head in the direction of the house, telling her to go along. Alice followed suite announcing that she was going to make another batch of drinks to warm them up.

After closing the tub and cleaning up the small mess that was around the area we joined the women. The girls were all in the kitchen area making some kind of snack, Bella looked up to get my attention I signaled for her to continue and she smiled before going back to whatever she was doing. Alice announced we had ten minutes to change and be back down here for food and a rousing game of Chicken Scratch or as Emmett calls it Chicken Shit.

We didn’t have much time to play around, once our door was closed and we were alone I wanted to remove the bands. I told her to hold still while I used the device to elongate her nipples so the bands would slide off. I watched her expression as she braced herself for the pain, looking pleasantly surprised when it didn’t come.

“It shouldn’t hurt that much, they are not like a clamp.” I informed her rubbing my thumbs over her hard nipples. Bella nodded in agreement letting out a contented sigh, which had me seriously considering the idea of skipping the games and just staying right where we were. Alice’s voice outside the door made that an impossibility.

“Let’s go, I’m setting up the game!”

A wry smile came over Bella’s face. “She’s your sister.”

“Yes she is,” I chuckled as I agreed with her.

Bella put on a pair of dark blue pajama’s that consisted of a pair of pants and a thin strapped halter shirt, that clung to her like a second skin. I was going to tell her to put something over it because it was cold and her nipples were standing at full attention. But I didn’t need to, because she grabbed ahold of a white fleece jacket slipping it on; while she watched me put the bottle of gel in my pocket. I figured we would be downstairs for a few hours and I wanted her to be feeling the effects when we came back up.

Jasper was stoking the fire and Alice was in the kitchen stirring a wooden spoon in a pot over the stove. Bella sundered over towards her and I stood there watching her. I must have been lost in the image of her hips swaying because I didn’t even hear Rose and Emmett come down the stairs.

“You going to stand here all fucking night, or move so we can get through?” Rose snickered at Emmett’s comment.

“Fuck you,” I laughed while we moved further into the main room.

Pairing up we sat around the dining table, Alice had baked nachos and some kind of spinach cheese dip that despite how gross it looked tasted pretty damn good. Bella and I were partners; she knew the game but had never played with a dice before, it didn’t take her long to catch on.

The music was playing in the background and either Emmett or Alice complained about the selection. Personally it didn’t matter to me, I had an eclectic taste when it came to music, and it appeared Bella did too. Because it didn’t matter if it was country or rap she sang along to almost every song. It was great to see her so relaxed and as I thought about it, I was very relaxed myself.

“Oh, you guys must all like this song!” Alice blurted out when Eminem’s, Love the way you Lie came on.

Bella played her double six then looked to my sister, but Rose was the one who asked, “why would we like this song?”

Alice looked up from the dominos in front of her. “It’s all about S&M.”

Bella laughed, Rose just stared at her, and I had to admit I was dumbfounded. “Alice,” Jasper interrupted, “this song is not about S&M.”

Alice started singing the refrain. “‘That’s alright, because I like the way it hurts…She likes it,’” she then turned to look at Bella, “you like when it hurts, right?”

“Alice!” I interjected because poor Bella was sitting there speechless with her mouth gaping open. She must have gotten her wits together because she set my sister straight real quick.

“First off, what I like or don’t is none of your business. Second, this song has nothing to do with S&M. This song is about a guy who beats the shit out of his woman and threatens to kill her if she leaves him. Now you might find that erotic, I think it’s kind of sick.”

“Noooo,” Alice retorted, “he says he wants to tie her to the bed.”

“Alice,” Bella was laughing, “listen to the words.”

“I can’t understand the words. That’s why I don’t listen to rap, but Emmett keeps putting it on!”

“Listen girl, here’s the part with the bed,” Emmett interjected. It was Bella who sang the words:

Don’t you hear my sincerity
In my voice when I talk
Told you this is my fault
Look me in the eyeball
Next time I’m pissed
I’ll aim my fist
At the drywall
Next time
There will be no next time
I apologize
Even though I know it’s lies
I’m tired of the games
I just want her back
I know I’m a liar
If she ever tries to fucking leave again
I’m going to tie her to the bed
And set the house on fire.

Alice’s mouth dropped open and Rose shook her head saying, “he doesn’t tie her to the bed to fuck her.”

“But the chorus is so pretty.”

Bella snickered, “I’ll explain the chorus to you later.”

It was my turn to play and I didn’t have anything to lay out, so I had to roll the dice and pick up. Jasper asked Bella if she listens to a lot of rap and while she looked at her domino’s she told him that she used it in her class as an aid.

“You play rap in class?” Emmett was befuddled, “damn where were you when I was in college?”

“High School.” Emmett gave me a smug grin for that comment.

“I’m serious I had Bluee for Psych…”

Bella interrupted him, “Professor Bluee is a genius.”

“Genius my ass! The first day of class he walked in and says, ‘My cat is God,’ and then proceeded to spend the whole hour telling us why. By the end of class the shithead next to me actually believed him.”

We all laughed but Bella went on.

“He was using the power of persuasion; he wanted to see who would agree with him and then watch to see if they truly did or if they were just being a kiss ass.”

We then talked about Dartmouth and some of the stupid things we did there. Bella said she never attended any parties or went bar hopping, and because of her scholarship she lived in the dorms and worked on campus. She had heard of some of the places we frequented but she had never been to any of them. I thought about that and how if we would have met in college, she probably would not have appealed to me on any level nor I to her.

We were interested in two entirely different kinds of fucking back then. I wanted a quick fuck and she wanted to be left the fuck alone. Perhaps that’s why fate didn’t step in and bring us together then. Through my mental musing we had lost another game and Emmett announced that at a penny a point we owed him ten dollars.

Everyone decided that because it was so clear out that we would make a campfire outside. So while the girls gathered up hotdogs, marshmallows, and blankets we went out to start the fire. It might have been clear but it was fucking cold and I was beginning to wonder why we just didn’t sit around the hearth inside the house. That was, until Bella came padding down the path carrying two mugs of steaming alcohol and blankets.

“What do you have there baby?” I asked taking one of the cups from her.

“Something to keep you warm.” I slinked my arm around her kissing her the top of her head.

“You’re all I need to keep me warm,” she giggled taking a sip of her drink.

“Was that corny?”

Bella’s eyes sparkled from the glow of the fire and she nodded, “ah-uh.”

I tilted her chin up to look at me bringing my lips to hers, they were sweet and warm.

“But true.” I spoke the words against her lips before kissing her once again.

Bella and I sat the same as the others with her on my lap nestled between my legs. A blanket wrapped around my back and another one covering the top of her. Alice was the constellation expert and she and Jasper pointed out as many as they could find. Looking up into the sky the moon was reflecting off the snow on the top of the mountain, it was calm, peaceful and perfect.

My arms tighten around Bella and she snuggled in closer to my chest. Alice was trying to point out Virgo in the sky; personally I just didn’t see it.

“Follow Sipca, that’s the biggest star that’s like her butt. Then it looks like she’s lying down with her legs spread.” Alice’s finger was moving while she talked.

“If her legs are spread, how is she a fucking virgin?” Emmett asked making us all chuckle.

“Because,” Alice giggled, “she’s waiting for her true love.”

“If she waits with her legs spread, someone’s going to jump on it,” he added with a chuckle.

“I don’t know Emmett she’s been up there waiting for a long time, no one’s jumped on it yet.” Jasper’s comment earned him a slap on the chest from his wife.

“Maybe she got a stinky snatch….You know maybe the Pisces got her,” he added with a laugh.

“Ewww…that’s nasty!” Alice said in between laughing.

Bella giggled and lifted her head to take a drink and when she leaned back my hand snaked up over the bare skin of her stomach to trace the underside of her breast making her hum. The sound of her contentment reminded me of the gel in my pocket.

Putting the half empty mug on the ground I took the bottle out and moved my other hand from her breast down under the waist band of her pants, making her gasp.

“Shhh…sit still.” I whispered in her ear. Smiling as she shifted to spread her thighs for me. I kissed her cheek as my fingers skimmed along the outside of her sex. I was going to engage her in conversation in order to help her stay relaxed but Alice did my dirty work for me.

“Bella is it later yet?”

“What do you mean?” her voice was a little breathy but not too noticeable.

“I want to know what the chorus means.”

My fingers slipped into her wetness slowly circling her clit.

“Ummm…I can only…,” she cleared her throat, “…I can only tell you what I think it means.”

“Go ahead Isabella, tell her.” I spoke the words by her ear; she turned her head slightly to give me a sideward’s glance.

“I think what she is saying is…,” Rose’s voice breaking in the discussion caused Bella to relax against me while my fingers continued on their mission, “…that she knows he is lying to her but she doesn’t care because she loves him. So she is willing to burn for him and feel the pain.”

Both women looked over at Bella waiting for her to answer, “Yeah…that’s what I think too. Except I think that the burning she is talking about is the desire for things to be the way were, before the abuse. And when she says she likes the way it hurts she is talking about the pain of the memory of better days.”

“Bella, can I ask you something without you thinking I’m a total ass?” While Emmett talked my fingers ran down to skim across her entrance.

“Gee Emmett, who the hell would ever think that?” I teased.

“Yeah no one I know,” Jasper added.

“Shut up asswipes. I’m serious here, I want to know.”

“What do you want to know Emmett?”

Bella was doing really good with this little exercise in restraint. I figured it was time to increase the stakes. While Emmett talked I put a few drops of gel on my fingers and began to work it over Bella’s clit.

“I just wonder. I find it so hard to understand why… why does she stay?”

Bella shuddered silently as my gel covered fingers found their target and her bottom wiggled against my rock hard dick forming a low groan in my throat. But she didn’t miss a beat in her sarcastic reply.

“Et Tu Brute.” Emmett actually looked wounded from her retort.

“I’m serious; I’m not trying to be a dick. Help me understand.” He was serious, that much was plain.

Bella sucked in a silent whimper and I knew that had this been a conversation about anything else she would have just blown off the question. She shifted pulling her thighs together in an attempt to alleviate some of what she was feeling. My hand moved down silently telling her to keep her thighs where they were.

“Behave, and I shall reward you,” I whispered in her ear placing a kiss on her temple before she began to answer my brother.

“Well…,” I smiled to myself at the pitch in her voice, but she caught it clearing her throatonce again before continuing.

“Hope, Emmett. Hope that it will get better. Hope that he means what he says. Hope that this time is the last time. Hope; that’s what keeps her there and she will stay there until the hope is gone. But we are women and nurturers and we want to make it better. Better for him, better for the children and in turn that would make it better for her.”

Bella drew in a long deep breath shuddering on the exhale; to anyone else it would have appeared as if she was simply cold.

“What makes him so mad? I mean is there any rhyme or reason?” Alice was serious with her question too and Bella leaned forward ever so slightly to answer her seriously.

“If there was a set a rules and he said ‘if you never do these things, I won’t lose my temper,’ believe me - you would never do them. But there are no rules; you never know what is going to set him off. The day could be the worst day you’ve ever had in your life. The car breaks down, the washing machine hose blows, the house is a mess, the kids are yelling, you burnt dinner and you are a nervous wreck because he is due home any minute.” Using my other hand I rubbed her arm while she continued.

“All that worry and when he walks in the door, he helps pick up, plays with the kids, orders pizza and makes love to you. And the next morning you don’t put enough sugar in his coffee, and he blows.”

It became very quiet.

“Over sugar?” Alice’s question breaks the silence, and Bella relaxes back against me.

“It could be, or maybe the cleaners couldn’t get a stain out of his shirt, or the neighbor’s dog is barking. The point is, you just never know what will be the breaking point. You just know it’s coming.”

She wiggled her bottom once again against my dick then turned her head to smirk at me.

“And all that time they are just hoping?” Jasper is trying to grasp what Bella was saying, “…I had an aunt and I never understood why she stayed, but I guess it sort of makes sense.”

“There are lots of reasons Jasper and each woman is an individual but what they all have in common is the hope. Every women I’ve ever talked to all said the same thing, ‘I just hoped,’ it’s the common denominator.”

I wrapped both my arms around her, securing her to my body, “I love you.”

I couldn’t see it, but I felt the smile against my cheek and her hand moved up to palm the side of my face, “I love you. You make me feel…”

“Feel what?” I moved my head back so I could see her face, her eyes opened to gaze into mine.

“Alive.” Her eyes filled with unshed tears and I kissed them away.

“Are we putting on another log?” Jaspers voice broke us out of our little bubble.

Everyone decided on one more and while we watched it burn they talked about the twenty-fifth anniversary party at the club. The party was giving Alice extra work and she explained some of the designs she was working on. Emmett was talking about our place on the waiting list for Seahawk season tickets. Apparently we had moved up from fifty-seven to fifty-four. It didn’t look like we would be getting seats this year.

“You need to wait for tickets?” Bella interrupted.

“Hell yeah, we been on a waiting list for two years.” Emmett told her the basics, but Jasper explained it in length.

“There are only so many season tickets and the people who have them, keep them year after year. So anyone new needs to wait until someone who has them doesn’t renew them.”

Emmett wasn’t quit as eloquent in his explanation, “that means we need people to die.”

Bella giggled, but Rose was repulsed, “you want people to die just so you can see a football game?”

“Not anybody we know babe,” my brother made that very clear.

“Alright I’m going in, you guys can put out the fire.” Rose got up gathering their cups and taking the blanket from around Emmett. I handed Bella the blanket that was over my back and the two cups. I kissed her cheek telling her to use the bathroom and be ready, waiting on the bed for me.

As the girls walked away Jasper and I moved the chairs back, while Emmett started smothering the fire with dirt. It didn’t take long before it was out. When we got into the house, the first floor was empty; the second floor was a mixture of doors closing and footsteps.

Jasper had tended the hearth all day and he stoked it one last time before closing the glass doors. I checked the locks on the house. I was very sure that no one would try to break in but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Emmett turned out the lights and we went up to our rooms.

Bella was in her waiting position on the bed as I had requested. The simple beauty of her form against the stark blackness of the night sky in the window was breathtaking. Her soft porcelain skin looked flawless in the calmness of the room and I had an overwhelming need to touch her.

Moving towards the bed I used the back of my fingers to run down the length of her arm, her breath caught but she stayed motionless. When I reached her hands I used one finger to run over the swell of her bottom and down the middle of her foot. Bella’s toes wiggled, she knew it was clean.

Removing my shirt I knelt behind her and my hands cupped her breasts. “I was very proud of you outside, keeping yourself in control the way you did.” I spoke low and leisurely next to ear while my right hand moved down over her stomach to touch her sex.

“I believe I promised you a reward.” At my words a small moan escaped her throat and my fingers slid into the slick wetness that was pooling between her thighs.

“What would you like my pet?” Bella’s head tilted sideward’s giving me better access to her neck as I placed soft kisses down the expanse. My fingers began to circle her clit and she relaxed her back against my chest sighing out a moan. “Ohhhhh….,”

“Tell me Isabella.” My fingers began to move with more purpose and my arm tightened around her side while rolling a nipple between my fingers.

“Ohh…Master please…ohhh please may your girl cum…please?” The last word was said as she inhaled a breath. I had told Bella that she was not to speak in the third person but we were alone and I understood that it was her mind-frame at the moment.

I watched Bella in the reflection of the glass; the slackness of her jaw, the intensity of her brow. Her breathing was heavy and laden with soft sighs of delight; she was exquisite and very close.

“If my girl can cum by the time I count to thirty, then she has my permission.” Applying more pressure to her clit I started counting, “One…,”

By the time I was at ten I could feel her stomach muscles tightening against my wrist. At eighteen her head rested back against my shoulder, at twenty-two her breathing had turned to pants, and at twenty-seven her thighs started to tremble.

“… twenty-eight…twenty-nine…thirty... Cum Isabella.” And she did, arching her back and letting out a shuddering groan pushing her sex against my fingers as they continued their circular motion.

I kept up with the movements against her sex until she started coming down from the high of the orgasm, then laid her on the bed. As I stood to remove the rest of my clothing my eyes met her hazy gaze.

“Thank you Master,” her words were soft and subdued.

“You’re welcome, but we’re not done yet,” I told her as I looked down at her form laying in the center of the bed with her knees parted.

“We’re not done?” she asked with a hopeful expression.

I moved to situate myself between her legs, using my shoulders to part her thighs. “No my pet, we’ve only just began. We have some days to make up for.”

And I buried my mouth in the place it most wanted to be.