Devil Incarnate Chapter Six

With a sigh, Bella arched into the soft tickle on her back. The feeling continued down until it caressed her bottom, then moved up to cup her breast. More alert, she shifted to her back and reveled in the pinch and roll of her nipple. The sheets whispered against her thighs as she rubbed them together. Another trip down and up, returning to tease the hard peaks created by his touch. The more attention he gave them, the more her breathing changed, puffing out in erotic moans.

"I thought you wouldn't be home until tomorrow." The hush in the room made her question sound louder than she'd intended. 

His deep velvet voice answered, "Were you hoping for someone else?"

Blinking her eyes open, she took the opportunity to admire the silhouette of his jaw in the sparse moonlight. "I thought maybe my boyfriend would sneak in while my husband was out of the country."

He pinched her nipple hard, and she gasped into a laugh.

And then his fingers were inside her, stealing all her oxygen. 

"Does your boyfriend make you feel this good?"

Limbs shuddering, Bella reached for Edward. "No one has ever made me feel the way you do."

"I missed you," he whispered into her hair, nuzzling her neck. "I need a shower, but you were just so irresistible lying here in the moonlight."

"Was your flight okay?" Though the question was sincere, she could hardly focus on the words as his fingers moved lazily in and out of her body.

"Let's just say I'm glad to be back with the woman I love."

In the shadows, she watched him withdraw his fingers and curl his tongue around them. "Fuck."

"That's the plan." Kissing her forehead, he said, "But only after I shower off fifteen hours of plane ride."

She meant to stay awake, but when she felt him slip into bed behind her, she realized she must have fallen asleep. "Sorry. It's been crazy around here, and I'm exhausted."

"Do you want to go back to sleep?"

"Mm, no. Are you sure you're even still turned on after your shower?"

"I've been gone for days, surrounded by people I love but who aren't you." His words rumbled from his chest to her ear, reverberating throughout her body. "I've pictured sinking into your hot pussy." Taking her hand, he pulled it between his legs until she caressed his throbbing cock. "I promise, I'm still turned on." 

Seeking and exploring, he roamed his hands over her again. Gentle swells over her hip, the dips along her spine, and returning always to pluck at her nipples. The alluring scent along his throat enticed her to sink her teeth into his flesh and listen to his answering call of pleasure. When Edward's fingertips reached her knees, she suddenly remembered how hurriedly she'd showered, eager for bed.

"I didn't shave."

Nonetheless, he persisted in stroking her calf.

"Edward," she protested, shifting her legs out of his reach. 

"I don't care."

"They feel like cacti."

An impatient sigh ruffled her hair. "Do you honestly think I give a goddamn if you shaved your legs?" His lips touched hers. "I've been waiting all week to fuck my wife."

"Then far be it from me to stop you."

He took her lips with a drugging languidity, his tongue sweeping through her mouth and his legs tangling with hers. Breaths exchanged as heartbeats matched. When he finally left her mouth, it was to suck on rosy flesh. The sensation never failed to shoot straight to her clit; fisting his hair, she moaned. 

"Is it my cock you want, Isabella?"

Her strangled cry was the best she could answer with as he bit down gently. 

"Tell me what you want," he demanded.

"You."

"You always have me." Edward's long fingers moved through the slickness pooling between her legs. 

She cried out, squeezing her eyes shut. Sensory overload threatened to pull her under. 

"Do you want my fingers? My cock?" He swirled the pad of his thumb over her clit.

"Oh god! I want you to eat me."

She felt his grin against her breast. "As you wish."

Shifting flat on his back, he grabbed her waist and encouraged her to sit on his face. "Ride my mouth, Isabella, and let me fuck you with my tongue. I'm so desperate to taste you."

Though her legs shook, she moved over him and gripped the headboard. Sinking slowly, she let him guide her with his hands. With the first touch of his tongue, she cried out. There was no thinking, only feeling. She was so wet, she could hear the sound of her arousal, could picture it dripping through the scruff on his chin. Her pussy clenched at the feel of it scraping lightly, and he moaned against her. Then he did as he'd promised, spearing her core with his perfect tongue.

"Fuck!" There was no stopping the way her hips rocked, bringing her closer to an orgasm. "Edward!"

Every inch of her body trembled into the wave of pleasure. Edward sucked her clit into his mouth, and she let out a short scream before the tremors elongated, sinking her with their heat until they finally ceased.

Easing her body down beside him, Edward rolled on top of her and laced his fingers with hers. "Is breá liom tú."

In the darkened room, she couldn't see the despair in his eyes, but she felt it in the way he held her. It was there in the snap of his hips, in the deep moan he let loose when he sank inside her body. Wrapping her legs around him, Bella welcomed her husband home. Angling up, she licked his pulse point and sucked on the hollow of his throat. He moved more urgently, a guttural sound escaping when she bit him. 

"Yes, yes, yes."

His chant caused her to quiver beneath him. She met his mouth with fervor, their movement and height difference causing a sloppy bumping of teeth. It was painfully clear she was what he needed at that moment, so she opened herself, giving him all she had so he could lose himself for a few minutes.

Coming to an abrupt stop, Edward pressed her into the mattress and dropped his head, letting out a stream of curses. 

He gathered her tenderly into his arms, tucking her head under his chin. As his breathing slowed, she stroked his back. 

"I love you too."

DI

When sunlight woke her, she discovered a heavy arm pinning her at the waist. Edward's even breathing against her ear told her he slept deeply. Trying not to disturb him, she shimmied out from beneath his arm and headed for the bathroom. 

Bella hadn't bothered to look at the clock in the middle of the night, but she knew her state of exhaustion wouldn't change anytime soon. There was too much going on to sleep fully, and it had nothing to do with Edward’s appetite for his wife after his absence. His last phone call from Ireland was a bittersweet discussion of Aunt Siobhan’s health and the willingness of his family to fly that far to help them. 

More strategy would fill the day; more mouths would soon need feeding. Bella knew she was up for the task, but she didn’t look forward to it. The Irish Cullens comprised a large and rowdy crowd. Added to those already bunkered in the house, it was sure to cause a headache. 

Of course, she loved each and every one of them. They'd become her family as much as Edward's over the years. Dara was her favorite, married to Edward's cousin Killian. Then there was Saoirse. She had less patience for stupid people than Rose, and that was saying a lot. All in all, the houseful would be loved and loving in return. They'd pitch in, as those present already had. They'd work as a team to figure out what they could do about Zion and the blackout bomb they wanted. 

From what Ben had researched, it seemed the bomb they hunted for could form an antihydrogen explosion. Something about a collision between a particle and an antiparticle leading to mutual annihilation. Those were the words which scared Bella the most. It meant world-ending catastrophic destruction. An extinction level event. Only those in a proper bunker could save themselves, and so far, they hadn't found a place available for everyday citizens. The terror was enough to bring her to her knees if she stopped to think about it. 

So she never stopped.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Tyler was hard at work at the stove. Maeve and Rose worked the toaster, one popping the bread in and the other buttering it when it came out. 

"Good morning."

They each paused their movements long enough to greet Bella. With the women, that meant hugs. It was harder for Bella to release her daughter when Maeve would have stepped away. 

"Mom?"

"I'm okay," she reassured her, stepping away.

"Well, you look tired," Rosalie said, dropping more bread into the slots. "You could have slept a lot longer, and we'd have been fine."

"Dad came home last night."

Bella caught the giggle at the end of Maeve's sentence and narrowed her eyes. "After all that flight time and everything else he had to do while he was gone, he's extremely tired."

"I bet," Rose muttered. 

"Jealous?"

The laugh Rose let out could be considered a cackle. "I have never been jealous of someone else's sex life. Besides, my own husband returned in the middle of the night as well."

"She does have four kids," Maeve pointed out. 

"Eggs?" Tyler offered. Bella nearly laughed at the pained sound in his voice. Given half a chance, Rose would have described her night in great detail regardless of Tyler’s presence.

Bella smiled at him. "Please."

Edward came into the room, freshly showered and looking better than any man had a right. Anybody scrutinizing his face would assume him to be well-rested and maybe even possibly on vacation. 

“I recall you saying please several times last night,” he murmured into her ear. 

His warm breath tickled her until she shivered, accepting the kiss to her cheek. “Are we having a family meeting after breakfast?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He’d said yes several times in the middle of the night too. The memory would have to hold her for a while; she doubted they’d have much chance for intimacy once another legion of family members showed up.

“We’re just about ready to serve breakfast,” Maeve said from the other side of the kitchen.

Edward turned his head in her direction. “Thank you, my dear daughter.” 

She gave him her customary megawatt smile. “Good morning, Daddy.”

“Daddy, is it?” Crossing the kitchen floor, Edward swept her up in his arms, twirling her the way he did both girls when they were little. 

She laughed, delight clear on her face. “Yes, Daddy. There’s no reason not to call you that just because I’m grown.”

“You’re right, mo chroí.”

Bella felt the tightness in her chest. Just as she'd found it difficult to release her daughter from their hug, Maeve felt the need to be closer to her father. 

“I’m ready whenever you are, sir.” Tyler held up a platter of eggs and bacon, nodding in the direction of the door leading to the dining room.

“Absolutely. I’m starving; let’s eat.”

“You’re awfully jovial this morning,” Rose remarked to Edward, holding the dining room door open.

“Honestly, it’s better to focus on what I have rather than what looms on the horizon. I have a family to fight for, and that alone is a blessing.”

Bella had to stop moving, hiding her face in her hands just before slipping into the dining room. The terror she tried to ignore reached up, clawing at her throat and squeezing until she couldn't breathe.

Edward appeared in her peripheral vision. “I know, mo ghrá.”

Soon, his arms enveloped her, and she could think of nothing else. She allowed herself the moment of comfort, the brief bout of tears. She’d have to buck up the way she used to when shit hit the fan.

“I thought we were past this life. I thought we’d made choices allowing us the chance to raise our children without the threat of violence.”

He nodded.

“But here we are, anyway.”

“Tá brón orm. All I can do is apologize.”

“It’s not your fault. You and I both know it, and so does everyone else.”

“Despite that, I still feel the need to atone.”

"We have to figure this out so we can move on with our lives. So we have lives to move on to again."

"The clan will be here after breakfast, and then we'll get started."

Breakfast was noisy, messy, and spread over most of the first floor. Bella recalled the way she viewed the house when she first moved in; as a monstrosity. With so many people there, it suddenly felt more like a dollhouse.

Dara burst through the front door first, quickly followed by Killian. Edward rose to greet them, the rest of the family on his heels. Bedelia, Braden, Connall, and Flannery came next. Saoirse and her husband Niall gravitated to Rose immediately, and the noise level increased a hundredfold. Bella felt her headache increase at least as much.

“Let’s get this show the fook on the road,” Seamus shouted, his arm slung around his wife, Aideen.

Bella exchanged glances with Edward. “To the basement.”

There were simply too many bodies to fit below the house, so those already briefed remained with the children to clean up after the meal. The Irish family members divided themselves up out of longstanding habit, half to the cars to unpack and the rest to attend the meeting. 

Bella could almost feel her heart trying to escape her body. With one hand clutching Edward and the other fisted over her chest, she watched everyone file into the subterranean and once-secret safe house. 

“So,” Seamus began. “Who’s arse am I kicking first?”

Bella sighed. “If only it were that easy.”

“No, we Cullens never make it easy, do we?” Dara said, sitting cross-legged on the floor. “Can’t let a challenge drop.”

“It’s more than a challenge, as I believe we explained in Ireland.” Edward let go of Bella long enough to stand in front of the group. “It’s a death sentence.”

“Never was one to back down from a fight,” Killian said. “But this sounds fucked up.”

“It is, of course.” Edward paced, reaching up to his face and then dropping his hand. He’d have a bruise soon if he didn't stop pinching his nose. “Zion wants a bomb they can destroy the world with, and they’ve decided to rope us into finding it. They’ve proven they can get to us if they choose.”

“First.” Bella ticked off the points on her fingers. “They faked my father’s death to get us to Forks. Then, they blew up the main gate here at the house to scare us. Finally, they blew up the payphone Garrett used about five seconds after he walked away.”

“Do you have the phone from the coffin?” Dara asked.

“Yes, Garrett grabbed it before we left,” Edward answered. “There was nothing interesting about it. Burner phone, no fingerprints, no one answered when we called it back.”

“And the payphone merely rang when Garrett approached?” Seamus clarified.

“Yes. We have no way of contacting them. They contact us.” Bella felt the sting of tears and blinked back the betrayal. She would not show her weakness, even to her closest family.

Seamus snorted. “Like I said, we’re fucked.”

“We’ll play along until we have a better plan,” Edward insisted.

“Yes, but what is a better plan? We can't even find this bomb so far, much less figure out how to keep them from getting their hands on it.”

Bella knew Killian didn't mean to sound defeatist. It was merely the situation they were in. “We have to come up with something better. There’s nearly forty of us now, so we have to brainstorm.”

“I’ll give you that, cousin,” Saoirse piped up. “There’s a bloody million of us now, and we have to do what we can to save everyone else. We can’t have the blood of others on our hands.”

The blood of others on our hands. Sometimes, on really bad days, Bella could look down at her hands and picture the wash of red. She’d killed before and could do it again—would do it again—but it didn't stop the pang of remorse from stabbing her conscience.

“We have to hold out until we know what their plan is, and then double cross them,” Aideen said. “They must know we plan something anyway, but it’s our only hope.”

Edward met Bella’s gaze. Yes, it was their only hope. The others finally understood.