A/N: First & foremost, characters belong to the talented Stephenie Meyer, but the Pin-Up Girl belongs to me, Cozmedic.
**Please read “Notes” Portion at the end of this chapter…I know it’s long, but just do it (please) ;)
Chapter Ten (Part Two) –
Two hours and thirty-five minutes later, I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror taking in the trail of collateral damage Bella had left down my neck. I fingered the angry red circle with a mixed dose of adoration and pride. How was I supposed to explain a bite mark on my jugular?
We are going to get caught.
I turned on my electric razor and began the monotonous process of grooming my face. The buzzing of the razor invaded my thoughts of Bella’s hands roaming my body just minutes before.
“You are my candyman, aren’t you Edward?”
The ghost of Bella’s sexy voice still rang in my ears even after she had left the room.
Bella was getting ready in my guest bathroom down the hall. She was having Felix drive her back to Jacob’s Benedict Canyon home and from Jacob’s she would call a cab to drive her to Edith’s, which was two streets over. Bella would arrive at Edith’s hacienda at nine-thirty, whereas I would drive myself in the convertible arriving at ten.
I placed my gold wristwatch over my left wrist, barely glancing at the time. Eight thirty.
I slipped my white dress shirt on over my wife-beater, and made a quick assessment in the mirrored medicine cabinet, running a hand through my hair.To slick back or not to slick back?
Fuck it, I didn’t have the time. I ran both hands though my bronze locks once more, then grabbed my cufflinks off the counter and quickly began to fuss with them. When I looked up to open up the cabinet for my aftershave, I glimpsed movement in the mirror. There she was, looking exquisite as ever. An angel.
Like an angel dressed by the demon’s seamstress.
Bella’s curved figure was draped in tight black satin. Her alabaster shoulders exposed. Her gorgeous gams painted in black stockings, melting graciously into the black fabric.
Only the Devil’s hands could make such a fantastic dress.
Bella leaned casually against the door jam, her arms crossed, and a smirk playing her fire-engine red lips.
“What do you think, Mr. Cullen?”
Fuck me she’s going to make this as difficult as she can. Wicked girl.
“I think you are a naughty girl.” “I replied turning to face her sexy figure, than I continued as I wrapped my arms around her waist, “Have you ever killed anyone before?”
Bella began to button up my white dress shirt. Such a simple act of shirt-buttoning shouldn’t have affected me, but it was beginning to cloud my judgment. Her nimble fingers grazed over my chest with the third button.
“No, I have never attempted murder, Mr. Cullen. Why?” She smiled at me through her long black-painted lashes.
“You can tease a man to death without lifting a finger.” I pulled her chin up so her lips were a breath away from mine.
“Can you imagine what I could do with my fingers?” she replied.
I would walk through fire just for one simple act.
“I think I can imagine a lot, Ms. Swan.” Could she hear my heart banging in my chest? Did she know what she did to me? How crazy she made me?
Just one kiss.
“I think that you need to learn self-control, Mr. Cullen. Because what if I accidentally bump into you tonight and do this…” she delicately bumped her hand against the crotch of my pants.
Christ…
It was inevitable. Her touch, no matter how small, would make my body betray me. I was hard in the matter of a hummingbird’s heartbeat. Without taking her face away from mine, she began to stroke the front of my pants with a light caress; her breath was intoxicating.
Damn, I love that smell. Alcohol, post-coital cigarettes, and strawberries.
“I think I may have to make sure we aren’t this close.” I murmured running my hand down her bare arm. The satin whispered against my hand as I weaved my right arm around the sweetheart bodice. My eyes took full advantage of the dip of cleavage that peeked out at me, pulling her body closer to mine, but still forbidding myself to close the small gap between our mouths.
We’ll never get out of this house. Out of this fucking bathroom.
“You know, we will never leave this house if this keeps up, Mr. Cullen.” Bella tilted her chin, a slow grin spreading across her heart-shaped mouth. Her hot breath blew gently across my lips. She could rile a man out of a coma if she wanted to, with her titillating ways of taunting.
And I was no exception.
In an unusually cruel act of teasing, Bella continued to dangle her lips from me like a piece of steak in front of a starving dog.
“If I stay up, I’ll never be able to leave this bathroom.” I said in a tortured whisper.
“It’s only eight-thirty, Mr. Cullen. I think we can take care of your plumbing problem within twenty minutes and we don’t even have to get undressed, considering I’m not wearing any underwear.”
Holy hell.
“To drive anywhere in Los Angeles only takes twenty minutes.” I justified quietly turning her towards the bathroom countertop.
Her hair was partially pulled away from her face, pinned neatly at the crown of her head with cascading brown curls hanging loosely down her back. She was stunning, as usual.
My beautiful Isabella.
My fingers caressed the bare skin of her shoulders. Bella tilted her head to the right and sighed deeply as my fingers drank in the warmth of her skin. Her skin exuded white heat under my searching fingertips. She shivered in response.
“To be fashionably late has always been the rule in this town.” Bella replied in a hushed murmur, her eyes drifting shut for just a moment.
I watched us in the mirror. She fit me like a glove. How could our love be so undeniably sinful and feel so right, all at the same time?
Look at me Bella. Look at what a beautiful sight we are.
As if she heard my thoughts, Bella’s eyes slowly opened, catching my gaze in the mirrored glass. Her brown eyes burned a little darker tonight. Painted in vixen.
“Tell me.” She replied as my lips planted small, delicate kisses along her shoulder.
In the past twenty-four hours, I had grown to treasure the fact that she made me tell her how much I loved her every time I was going to take her. I wasn’t sure if I loved it because of my own insecurities, or if I loved it because every single time I said the words she wanted to hear, it meant Jacob was being pushed further away from any dark corners of her mind.
Under the harsh bathroom lighting, Bella’s smoldering dark eyes burned into me. We were like two magnets drawn to each other. Clinging to each other.
She took one of my hands in each of hers and placed them on the side of her hips. I inhaled the scent of her skin as she guided my hands up her hips, pulling the dress up with them. I felt my fingers graze the lace of her black stockings as they crept higher revealing the garter clips. Her bare ass stuck out nicely clad with garters and no panties.
My delicate kisses were replaced with passionate, wet trails of desire as my lips kneaded the soft flesh of her neck.
“I love you.” I replied in between gasps.
“As I love you, Edward.” I peaked through my lashes into the mirror and saw the glimmer of a smile touch her lips as she spoke the words.
Her hands drifted from mine as she allowed me to stroke the bare skin of her ass with my fingertips. Her eyelids fluttered shut as her hands moved up to my neck, then tangled into my hair. She rocked her bottom with inviting strokes into my crotch. I fumbled with the zipper of my trousers, releasing my erection, as they fluttered into a black puddle at my feet.
We will never get out of here.
And who in their right mind would want to?
Bella leaned over the sink area as I slipped into her. I looked at her face in the mirror. I loved the way her hair fell into her face as she was bent over the countertop. With her eyes still shut, I whispered into her ear, “Look at how beautiful you are Isabella.”
Bella’s eyes fluttered open. I began to make small ministrations around her clit as she rocked back and forth with me. Her back began to arch, her eyes glazing over. “Look at yourself Isabella. Look at us. Look at how beautiful we are together.”
The more I whispered the faster her hips would move. I began to feel her tight contractions pulsate around my cock, sending me into spiral of ecstasy.
I watched Bella’s eyes roll back underneath her eyelids as we climaxed.
She was a rainstorm of emotion as she released. Her face tightened, relaxed, than recovered within a matter of sixty seconds.
Just like this morning, everything I felt she exuded in her facial expressions: Desire, lust, pain, fear, torment, joy, and love.
Damn, what I would’ve given to take a jump inside her head for just ten seconds.
It was beautiful.
She was beautiful.
We were beautiful.
Together.
I leaned my forehead into her back feeling the rhythm of her body rise and fall in gentle waves. Bella’s head hung over the basin of the countertop, her hair flowing over her shoulders like a shroud.
“Are you alright Bella?” I asked after a few moments.
She looked up at me through the mirror, her face radiant, “Of course. I’m always alright after we make love.”
I pulled away gently releasing her from me.
Surviving this evening will be like surviving Chinese water torture…excruciating.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
By nine thirty he was back on my doorstep, “Are you ready, Mr. Cullen?”
No, I would prefer to stay in tonight with my Bella. Enjoying each other’s company and each other’s bodies. Is it asking too much to have one night off?
“Yes, Felix. I will be right out.”
Of course it would be asking too much. It would be like asking if the Pope wore a funny hat.
I checked my pockets.
Cigarettes, money, keys, suitcase in the trunk. Ready to go.
For once, I wasn’t half-gassed before I walked out the front door. I needed the sobriety if I was going to last three hours in public with Bella.
Felix held the door open to the white convertible. The engine gently purred in the driveway as Felix held the driver-side door open for me, “Sir, will you be requiring my services for the remainder of the evening?”
“No, no Felix. I am heading over to Edith Head’s Benedict Canyon estate. If you need anything, Heidi knows where to find me.”
Felix gave me a curt nod and shut the door as soon as I was safely inside. I rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and turned to back to Felix, “Felix, please, whatever you do, whoever asks, Bella Swan was never here.”
A look of confusion muddled his expressionless face. He recovered quickly, then replied in the same emotionless tone he always had, “Sir, I have worked for you for over five years. And in that five years I have seen nothing, nor have I heard anything. As in those five years, I will continue to see nothing and hear less than nothing. Therefore, I have nothing to tell.” Felix allowed a small smile to escape his normally dark demeanor.
“Thank you.” I replied an internal sigh of relief escaping my lungs.
“My pleasure, Mr. Cullen. Have a wonderful evening, sir.” With that I pulled the idling car down the drive and onto the streets of Los Angeles.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The wrap-around driveway was paved in Spanish tile, like the yellow-brick road in the Wizard of Oz, dropping you off under an awning made of creeping vines of jasmine and ivy. The front wall enclosing the open-air patio was meant more for privacy than anything else. Ivy vines and jasmine crept up the façade creating the illusion of a quaint cottage style home, tucked away from the prying eyes of the press.
Valets dressed in red suits lined the drive as I approached. I recognized James from the Derby almost immediately as he pulled my driver’s side door open.
“Mr. Cullen! So nice to see you again.” James exclaimed as I tossed my keys to him.
“James, working nights too?” I replied making small talk with the kid. He seemed to be everywhere as of late.
“Starving actor. Making rent.” James replied a little too somberly.
“No one should work that hard in this town. We’ll talk, James. Maybe Jasper can use you as a production assistant or an extra or whatever.”
James’ face lit up at the sudden strike of good fortune.
I pushed a five-dollar bill into his hand. He looked at it and attempted to push the money back into my palm. I chuckled lightly, “James, it’s my pleasure.”
“Mr. Cullen, what you just said to me is a big enough tip.”
I shoved the money back into his palm, “James, has Ms. Swan arrived?”
James looked at the money and grinned, “Uh…no Ms. Swan has not arrived just yet.” He looked up with a knowing eyebrow as I pushed another five-dollar bill into his palm, than he continued, “But as soon as she arrives I will tell her you were looking for her.”
“Thank you James.” I replied with a smile.
“No, thank you, Mr. Cullen.” James hopped into my idling car and drove off with a permanent grin scarring his already rough-looking exterior.
I walked through the fragrant doorway into Edith and Bill’s private sanctuary and was immediately assaulted with hospitality.
“Edward!! Dah-ling!!” Edith air-kissed my cheeks with an air of sophistication and jubilance only she could possess.
Before I could greet her, Edith continued, slinking her arm through mine as I walked next to her short five-foot-one stature , “Dah-ling, grab a drink at the bar, make your rounds and commit to an area so I can properly introduce you to a gorgeous blonde that I think you’ll absolutely a-dore! You do like blondes, don’t you? Oh, of course you do, dah-ling, what man in Hollywood doesn’t, right?” Edith’s outlandish laugh echoed off of the thin walls of the hacienda as she took a small sip of what I assumed was a Gibson. After a brief moment, her voice hushed into a whisper as if she was sharing a juicy piece of gossip, Edith continued, “Her name is Grace and she is Mr. Hitchcock’s newest muse, dah-ling. I think you’ll love her…”
Where in the hell is Bella? She should’ve been here by now.
As she prattled on about Hollywood’s loveliest future leading lady, I noticed Edith was not in her normal studio attire of beige and white, which surprised me, but rather a bold number that was well suited to her casual demeanor. Edith donned a pair of bright, color-saturated cocktail pants that were speckled in diamond-shaped hues of turquoise and violet against a black shiny backdrop. She wore a high-collared plain white dress shirt, with the collar standing on end to accentuate her flat black bangs and her dark round-rimmed glasses she was so notorious for. Edith’s hair was pulled into a tight, no-nonsense chignon.
No other woman could pull off that circus outfit, except for Edith Head.
I almost chuckled out loud as she walked me from the spacious patio into the inner sanctum of Hollywood society. My eyes scanned the room of familiar faces from the Paramount lot. Everyone there held a certain status of elite royalty in American society.
I scanned the room with deliberate intent, checking if Bella snuck in without being noticed.
Highly unlikely, Cullen. When Bella walks in the room, people stop and stare at her undisputed beauty.
Instead I saw the kaleidoscope of Hollywood unfolding in its own brilliance: Cary Grant smoking a cigarette in the corner of the room with Audrey Hepburn toying absently with her drink, both captivated by Jerry Lewis’ comedic talents.
Cecille B. DeMille in his old age of loyalty, caught in yet another ass-kissing by studio president Leonard Goldensen. Goldensen’s hope was to keep the ripe-old golden boy, DeMille, within the studio’s handbag to help them with their current slump. The dip in revenue for the studio was the wake of the Supreme Court ruling made in ’48. It couldn’t have been as bad as it seemed considering the studio was still generating revenue and blockbuster hits. Goldensen’s hob-knobbing obviously proved lucrative.
Montgomery Clift was unsuccessfully trying to engage the always bored Alfred Hitchcock and the obscure beautiful blonde Edith referred to as Grace Kelly, with playful banter. Neither the blonde, nor Hitchcock was buying it.
As Edith and I made our way through other small groups of technical studio heads, I still kept my eyes open for Bella’s entrance.
I had worked with Edith on quite a few photo shoots for various movies and productions in the past. She was a very assertive, all-business type of individual that could quiet an entire room of production staff in the matter of mere footfalls. She was one of the few technical department heads that were recognized by the public. Off the lot, Edith was a personable woman. On the set, she could be nothing short of a bitch.
“Edith I would love to meet her later, love.” I gushed shamelessly as I lit a cigarette, not missing a beat of conversation. It would be unrefined of me to even think about saying no to Edith in her own home. By the time I made my rounds, grabbed my drink from the bar, and committed to any area, Bella will have made her arrival.
Hopefully.
Then I would be too occupied introducing her to pertinent people to even bother with Grace Kelly.
As I turned my attention back to Edith, I noticed she had stopped talking. She almost looked entertained as she sipped at her drink, “Edward, where is your muse, Isabella? She’s supposed to be here tonight, isn’t she? And what about your brother-in-law, Jasper? I still haven’t forgiven that bastard for not choosing me for his newest endeavor.”
I cocked an eyebrow skyward, chiding her with a playful smile, “Isabella will be here shortly. Jasper, as you know, is out of the country for another week. My brother-in-law would be so sad if he knew you were angry with him And honestly, I think working with Ms. Hepburn on that Roman Holiday project was the wisest choice Paramount could’ve made with you. And now you have won that Oscar for A Place In the Sun. All of this was possible because of the good studio heads at Paramount.”
As I tallied up her newest achievements, she smiled. I knew as soon as I inflated her ego a bit, I would be free to go about my business.
It was the way these parties were. As lovely of a hostess Edith was, it was all about egos and who-knew-who at these things. That’s why when you were invited to be amongst the kings and queens of Tinseltown, you never questioned, you just went and enjoyed, while making lucrative contacts within the industry.
I didn’t mind the glitz and glamour and the incessant parties, but at times, they could be cumbersome. It was, however, what kept me in my career.
And what would catapult Isabella into stardom.
Suddenly, Edith waved her hand with a dismissive air and turned her nose to the sky with a smile hinting at her bright red lips, “Dah-ling I could never be angry with Jasper. Now tell me, what have you been working on? I heard Jay Jenks has his clutches around your balls right now. He is drooling over the thought of having you on-staff at Life magazine.”
I nearly choked on the menthol-flavored cigarette smoke, “I have not given him an answer yet, Edith. Besides how do you know about that?”
“Tsk-tsk, Edward. News travels at lightning speed here. You know that. And oh, thank gawd, dah-ling. I thought he had you in his talons already. Hollywood wouldn’t be the same without you in it to capture its beauty, Edward.”
I put out my smoke in a nearby ashtray.
“You really are too kind, Edith.” I placed both of her hands between mine and pecked her on both cheeks, “Now, I am off to the bar for some sort of alcoholic concoction. Don’t stray too far, my lovely.”
“Yes, yes. Go. I will find you shortly.” Edith shooed me away with her hands like a pesky little puppy.
“I would not have it any other way, Edith.” My fake smile was starting to hurt my cheeks. I turned and headed towards the bar, the smile turning into a small frown.
“Scotch and water, no ice.” I shoved another stick of tobacco into my mouth and set it aflame. I pressed my stomach into the cushion of the bar, leaning into it. I shut my eyes and let the euphoria of the tobacco filter through my lungs. Her voice wouldn’t leave me.
“Tell me, baby.”
“I love you.”
“As I love you, Edward.”
My body felt deflated. Like I was missing a piece of me every minute I was away from her. I needed her next to me. I needed her presence. Her spirit. Her love.
“Did you miss me, Mr. Cullen?” The sexy voice replied in my ear.
I knew that voice. I knew it only too well.
I slowly opened my eyes as I let her scent overpower my senses. Strawberry fields in May. Someone needed to write a song about that….strawberry fields forever.
I chuckled as I turned to meet her gaze.
“Isabella.” I sighed, a maddening sense of bliss encompassing my being.
I breathed a sigh of relief as if she were the puzzle piece that completed me.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*Notes:
~All actors, actresses, studio heads, and directors mentioned in this chapter were under contract with Paramount in 1952. Every one of them mentioned I hold in high regard and mean no malice by how they may come across. Their represented demeanors were from actual reports that may or may not have been entirely true, but this is where creative license comes in. ;) Props to all of them, they were “Hollywood”.
~In 1948, Paramount Studios was taken to court by the US Supreme Court. In this case, Paramount owned a large chain of movie houses in which they released their own films. In the 1948 court ruling, production companies could no longer own and operate their own movie theatre chains. The decision brought an end to the classic Hollywood studio system. With this separation of production and exhibition by the US Supreme Court, Paramount was split into two companies, Paramount Pictures Corporation and United Paramount Theatres on December 31, 1949. Paramount went into a slow decline, cutting back studio-production, releasing contract players, and making production deals with independents. The only one who remained was Cecille B. DeMille who had been associated with Paramount since 1913. DeMille ended up being the studio’s saving grace when in 1956 he remade his film, The Ten Commandments. DeMille passed away in 1959. (Information for summary courtesy of Wikipedia)
~The “Have you ever killed anyone?” & “You can tease a man to death without lifting a finger.” lines that Edward says to Bella, I cannot take credit for…it will be familiar to Hitchcock fans. It is actually from Mr. Hitchcock’s 1959 film, North By Northwest when Cary Grant is on the train with Eva Marie Saint. It was too good of a line to pass up not to throw in there as a total throwback to my favorite director of all time, Mr. Hitchcock. Thank you, Ernest Lehman for writing a line so smart and so damn seductive. Now we know why you won an Oscar for this in 1960.
No comments:
Post a Comment