The Heat of You
by Wizardtho
Chapter 15:
It took over an hour and a half to weed through Bella’s wardrobe for anything blue. Bella noticed that all of the clothes that certain shade of blue had all been bought by the little midget Cullen, then she pulled close one of 4 massive boxes that lined the floor of the closet before sitting on the floor in front of it.
Bella gasped at what she found, then looked at me wide-eyed. I crouched next to her, and she held tight to my hand as she said, “These are mine… my clothes from Phoenix, Paul. I thought they were gone. Alice had a fit… told Carlisle something wasn’t working, and something about the memories I had attached to these clothes? It’s murky, but it feels like a memory. Could the blue thing have come about because I was tied to these?”
I hummed in thought, “Very possible. Look through them. How do they make you feel now?”
My strong little mate dug right in, then sighed as she hugged a few t-shirts to her, “Good… comfortable… warm.”
I chuckled, kissed the top of her head, then said, “As you pull them out, if you get a bad feeling, don’t hesitate. Toss whatever it is. Listen to your gut, Swan.”
The house phone rang, so I went to the cordless, which was in the base on my nightstand. “Hello?”
It was Emily, asking if Bella was awake, so I said, “Hold on just a sec, Emily.”
I put my hand over the receiver, then walked to the closet, whispering, “It’s Emily. Do you feel up to talking? I can tell her you’re asl-”
Bella was up and snatched the phone from me with a kiss on my cheek before I could finish. She plopped down on the bed, so I went out to the kitchen to give her the illusion of privacy.
Bella sighed as a greeting, “Oh, thank god. Emily, I’m in dire need of your help. Is there any way you could come over?”
Whatever Emily said to her made her happy, then she offered, “No, Paul’s really great, actually. I just need girl time. Apparently, I’ve not really been taking care of myself lately, and my hair and nails are suffering badly. And holy crap, do I need a female ear.”
I tried to tune out her conversation, but Bella chuckled after a few minutes. As I pulled some chips from a shelf in the pantry, Bella called out, “Lahote!” When I walked out of the pantry, a chip already heading toward my mouth, she chuckled, “Emily’s coming over for a bit. She said Sam’s patrolling, but he should be done soon. I figured we could make lunch for both of you in a couple of hours. That okay?”
My eager nod at the mention of lunch was all she needed before she climbed back on the bed, “It’s cool. He told me I could do what I wanted, but still… this whole thing is new… and I still…”
I wondered, ‘still what?’ but after a second, Bella sighed, “Yeah. Exactly.”
Bella came out to the living room a few minutes later. The tv was on and I’d found one of the Fast and Furious movies to watch.
She plopped down next to me, took the bag of chips from my hand, then looked into the bag before pulling out the perfect chip. I growled softly, “There’s only one of those in every bag, Swan.”
She grinned, “I know. That’s why I wanted it. You keep telling me to take what I want, so...”
She was being cheeky with me, and I loved it. I hummed, then before she could realize what was happening, I had her in my lap and my lips against my mark. “You think you’re funny, Swan?” I licked the bite impression, then hummed against it, “Only you would I give up the best chip in the bag to, without fists flying.”
Her hand came up and rested against the back of my head, practically asking me to continue. Unfortunately, I knew she was nowhere near ready for anything, so I left a lingering kiss on my mark before righting her position. Bella blushed as her eyes met mine, so I chuckled while patting her hip, “Emily’s just turning onto the drive. Have fun for a few hours. I’ll take care of removing the blue from the room.”
For the next 2 hours, the master suite became a male-free zone. As soon as the last piece of that dreaded blue was bagged up, I was guided from the room, with Bella explaining, “Females only. Wolves have to entertain themselves for a bit,” as she kissed my cheek.
I kept an ear out only enough to make sure my mate stayed happy with her friend, but not enough to spy on their conversation. Bella needed another female to talk to about things she didn’t feel comfortable talking to me about. Emily had offered to be that female, and it seemed like my troubled little mate happily accepted.
After the first hour was up, Bella came out and plopped down in my lap, resting her damp head against my neck, just as Sam knocked on the back door and Emily rushed toward him. I smiled and waved him in, kissed the top of Bella’s head, then hummed, “That smells good. What is it?”
She lifted her head and smiled at me. “A coconut deep conditioner to put moisture back into my hair. Emily’s going to trim it for me after all the rest of the girly things are done.”
She looked at her watch, then offered, “Looks like your movie will end right about the time we’re done. Then I’ll make lunch for everyone. ”
I chatted with Sam for a bit as we watched the movie, and lunch was just what I had been craving… overloaded subs. Something she did when she made them was different, but it made them so much better.
I wasn’t surprised when Bella hugged Emily before she and Sam left almost an hour after lunch. I also wasn’t surprised that she placed herself firmly in my arms as she smiled her goodbye to Sam. Thankfully, Sam just nodded while telling her to take care, and that he would check in with us again soon… to call Emily anytime Bella wanted company.
Bella and I finally got to find SpongeBob on demand. After curling up with her in front of me on the couch, we started at the very beginning. It took less than 10 minutes before Bella was fast asleep, so I stopped the episode and rested my lips against my mark.
I took the quiet time to think about what needed to be done. First, of course, was talking to Old Quil. We needed to confirm the reason for her eyes being a completely different color, and we also needed to find out just what an effect all that had on her. What other changes did the fight between my mark and the venom cause in her small body?
Next was Bella’s actual health. I needed to talk to her and see if she would be willing to have the pack doctor take a look at her. Neither of us knew the extent of what the Cullens did to her, and I wanted to make sure she was alright. Melody was trustworthy, and she would understand the delicate nature of the situation.
I was so lost in my thoughts, that I didn’t hear the footfalls until the person was nearly at the door. I looked up but frowned when I saw Jake. I said softly, but in a tone I knew he would hear, “Come in… but don’t wake her. She just fell asleep.”
He came in, then immediately frowned. I ignored it, saying, “She woke from one of those damn memory nightmares and went on a cleaning frenzy this morning. We did everything but dust before she finally calmed. She’s worn out.”
He nodded, sitting in one of the chairs, “She’s like that. Said once that it was a way to clear her head… unwind her thoughts. No matter what you think of me, Paul, I’m still her friend, and you can’t keep me away from her.”
I shook my head, purposefully letting out a long sigh to keep my temper in check. I didn’t want Bella to wake up afraid. “I’m by no means keeping you from her. I just said you needed to check your attitude toward me and your lust toward her. She was never meant to be yours, Jake. You need to accept that, or you will eventually push her away all on your own.”
Jake’s response was louder than it needed to be, “You don’t know that. Not for sure. She could still pick me.”
My retort of “Fat chance,” died on my tongue as Bella jolted slightly, then her eyes popped open. I quickly shushed her, reminding her as I stroked her arm, “It’s alright, Bella. You’re safe. Jake was just being a little too loud.”
She turned her head up toward me, saying sleepily, “You let me sleep through SpongeBob?”
I chuckled, “Nope. I stopped it as soon as you fell asleep. We can watch the rest anytime you feel like it.”
She smiled, then turned her head and said hello to Jake. After sitting up, she stood and patted him on the shoulder, then disappeared into the spare bathroom.
It took over an hour and a half to weed through Bella’s wardrobe for anything blue. Bella noticed that all of the clothes that certain shade of blue had all been bought by the little midget Cullen, then she pulled close one of 4 massive boxes that lined the floor of the closet before sitting on the floor in front of it.
Bella gasped at what she found, then looked at me wide-eyed. I crouched next to her, and she held tight to my hand as she said, “These are mine… my clothes from Phoenix, Paul. I thought they were gone. Alice had a fit… told Carlisle something wasn’t working, and something about the memories I had attached to these clothes? It’s murky, but it feels like a memory. Could the blue thing have come about because I was tied to these?”
I hummed in thought, “Very possible. Look through them. How do they make you feel now?”
My strong little mate dug right in, then sighed as she hugged a few t-shirts to her, “Good… comfortable… warm.”
I chuckled, kissed the top of her head, then said, “As you pull them out, if you get a bad feeling, don’t hesitate. Toss whatever it is. Listen to your gut, Swan.”
The house phone rang, so I went to the cordless, which was in the base on my nightstand. “Hello?”
It was Emily, asking if Bella was awake, so I said, “Hold on just a sec, Emily.”
I put my hand over the receiver, then walked to the closet, whispering, “It’s Emily. Do you feel up to talking? I can tell her you’re asl-”
Bella was up and snatched the phone from me with a kiss on my cheek before I could finish. She plopped down on the bed, so I went out to the kitchen to give her the illusion of privacy.
Bella sighed as a greeting, “Oh, thank god. Emily, I’m in dire need of your help. Is there any way you could come over?”
Whatever Emily said to her made her happy, then she offered, “No, Paul’s really great, actually. I just need girl time. Apparently, I’ve not really been taking care of myself lately, and my hair and nails are suffering badly. And holy crap, do I need a female ear.”
I tried to tune out her conversation, but Bella chuckled after a few minutes. As I pulled some chips from a shelf in the pantry, Bella called out, “Lahote!” When I walked out of the pantry, a chip already heading toward my mouth, she chuckled, “Emily’s coming over for a bit. She said Sam’s patrolling, but he should be done soon. I figured we could make lunch for both of you in a couple of hours. That okay?”
My eager nod at the mention of lunch was all she needed before she climbed back on the bed, “It’s cool. He told me I could do what I wanted, but still… this whole thing is new… and I still…”
I wondered, ‘still what?’ but after a second, Bella sighed, “Yeah. Exactly.”
Bella came out to the living room a few minutes later. The tv was on and I’d found one of the Fast and Furious movies to watch.
She plopped down next to me, took the bag of chips from my hand, then looked into the bag before pulling out the perfect chip. I growled softly, “There’s only one of those in every bag, Swan.”
She grinned, “I know. That’s why I wanted it. You keep telling me to take what I want, so...”
She was being cheeky with me, and I loved it. I hummed, then before she could realize what was happening, I had her in my lap and my lips against my mark. “You think you’re funny, Swan?” I licked the bite impression, then hummed against it, “Only you would I give up the best chip in the bag to, without fists flying.”
Her hand came up and rested against the back of my head, practically asking me to continue. Unfortunately, I knew she was nowhere near ready for anything, so I left a lingering kiss on my mark before righting her position. Bella blushed as her eyes met mine, so I chuckled while patting her hip, “Emily’s just turning onto the drive. Have fun for a few hours. I’ll take care of removing the blue from the room.”
For the next 2 hours, the master suite became a male-free zone. As soon as the last piece of that dreaded blue was bagged up, I was guided from the room, with Bella explaining, “Females only. Wolves have to entertain themselves for a bit,” as she kissed my cheek.
I kept an ear out only enough to make sure my mate stayed happy with her friend, but not enough to spy on their conversation. Bella needed another female to talk to about things she didn’t feel comfortable talking to me about. Emily had offered to be that female, and it seemed like my troubled little mate happily accepted.
After the first hour was up, Bella came out and plopped down in my lap, resting her damp head against my neck, just as Sam knocked on the back door and Emily rushed toward him. I smiled and waved him in, kissed the top of Bella’s head, then hummed, “That smells good. What is it?”
She lifted her head and smiled at me. “A coconut deep conditioner to put moisture back into my hair. Emily’s going to trim it for me after all the rest of the girly things are done.”
She looked at her watch, then offered, “Looks like your movie will end right about the time we’re done. Then I’ll make lunch for everyone. ”
I chatted with Sam for a bit as we watched the movie, and lunch was just what I had been craving… overloaded subs. Something she did when she made them was different, but it made them so much better.
I wasn’t surprised when Bella hugged Emily before she and Sam left almost an hour after lunch. I also wasn’t surprised that she placed herself firmly in my arms as she smiled her goodbye to Sam. Thankfully, Sam just nodded while telling her to take care, and that he would check in with us again soon… to call Emily anytime Bella wanted company.
Bella and I finally got to find SpongeBob on demand. After curling up with her in front of me on the couch, we started at the very beginning. It took less than 10 minutes before Bella was fast asleep, so I stopped the episode and rested my lips against my mark.
I took the quiet time to think about what needed to be done. First, of course, was talking to Old Quil. We needed to confirm the reason for her eyes being a completely different color, and we also needed to find out just what an effect all that had on her. What other changes did the fight between my mark and the venom cause in her small body?
Next was Bella’s actual health. I needed to talk to her and see if she would be willing to have the pack doctor take a look at her. Neither of us knew the extent of what the Cullens did to her, and I wanted to make sure she was alright. Melody was trustworthy, and she would understand the delicate nature of the situation.
I was so lost in my thoughts, that I didn’t hear the footfalls until the person was nearly at the door. I looked up but frowned when I saw Jake. I said softly, but in a tone I knew he would hear, “Come in… but don’t wake her. She just fell asleep.”
He came in, then immediately frowned. I ignored it, saying, “She woke from one of those damn memory nightmares and went on a cleaning frenzy this morning. We did everything but dust before she finally calmed. She’s worn out.”
He nodded, sitting in one of the chairs, “She’s like that. Said once that it was a way to clear her head… unwind her thoughts. No matter what you think of me, Paul, I’m still her friend, and you can’t keep me away from her.”
I shook my head, purposefully letting out a long sigh to keep my temper in check. I didn’t want Bella to wake up afraid. “I’m by no means keeping you from her. I just said you needed to check your attitude toward me and your lust toward her. She was never meant to be yours, Jake. You need to accept that, or you will eventually push her away all on your own.”
Jake’s response was louder than it needed to be, “You don’t know that. Not for sure. She could still pick me.”
My retort of “Fat chance,” died on my tongue as Bella jolted slightly, then her eyes popped open. I quickly shushed her, reminding her as I stroked her arm, “It’s alright, Bella. You’re safe. Jake was just being a little too loud.”
She turned her head up toward me, saying sleepily, “You let me sleep through SpongeBob?”
I chuckled, “Nope. I stopped it as soon as you fell asleep. We can watch the rest anytime you feel like it.”
She smiled, then turned her head and said hello to Jake. After sitting up, she stood and patted him on the shoulder, then disappeared into the spare bathroom.