Chapter 14: Impeding
Impeding: The act of physically obstructing or impeding the progress of an opponent. Also known as "Obstructing."
Upon entering Edward’s penthouse after our fucktacular make-up sex session, we make our way quietly through the darkened space, assessing any inappropriate noises within the vicinity. Edward takes my hand and guides us towards his bedroom, noticing it is silent in the guest room where Alice and Jasper are presumably holed up.
After closing the door behind him, he swiftly scoops up my legs, picking me up and unceremoniously dumping me in the middle of his gigantic bed. I let out a fit of quiet giggles as he climbs the bed on all fours, staring menacingly like a predatory cat about to pounce on his prey. I’m absolutely on board with what I think is about to be round two of superb make-up sex. Edward hovers over my body, his eyes raking over me hungrily. My body is on fire just from the look in his eyes and I want to be totally consumed by him.
“I’m going to take a shower. I stink. Stay right here. You’re perfect just where you are.” He kisses me, sprinkling little pecks on my cheeks, jaw, chin, eyes, nose and finally my mouth. I nod silently as he saunters into the bathroom and closes the door behind him. I lay there, reviewing all the events of the day. Well, it has certainly panned out better than I’d hoped.
A few seconds go by before I hear the muffled sound of the shower being turned on, which in turn, turns me on. Just knowing he’s in there, naked, and wet....well...let’s just say his request for me to stay where I am is null and void right now.
I open the door to the bathroom and see the object of my affection through the foggy glass doors. The view is fuzzy, but I can totally make out his muscular frame, his strong shoulders and neck as his hands tangle up in his hair, washing it furiously. His arms flex...and there’s just something about a man’s forearms that I’m all about.
I lick my lips absently and remove all my clothes, extending my arm to slide the door open. He must already know I’m here because he doesn’t look the least bit shocked at my arrival. He simply grins and helps me in.
“Couldn’t stay away, my love?” He whispers into my neck as his soapy hands encircle my waist.
“Let’s just say I want to make sure you do a thorough job of cleaning up.” My voice is thick with innuendo. His breath hitches as he lifts his head to look at me. His expression is a mix of surprise and hopefulness.
“Well, by all means, inspect away,” he smirks.
That’s all the invitation I need.
I kiss him from his collar bone to his fucking awesome chest and abs, and lick his fucking outrageous V that leads to my prize; my hands travel down his sides until I’m kneeling in front of him. His prominent erection is happy to see me and I’m oh, so happy to see him too.
I gently lick the tip and immediately hear him gasp and whisper a couple profanities. I love it when he does that. My eyes turn towards his face, which is now staring at my mouth as I wrap my lips around the tip and suck.
“FUCK, baby!” His growl echoes off the tiles while the spray offers perfect white noise. His hands immediately find purchase on my head, his fingers winding through my wet tresses. I am very confident in my ability to make him see stars so I take him in completely, his tip reaching the back of my throat while I use all the tricks in my oral repertoire. He seems to be very appreciative of my efforts, since his hands gently guide me back and forth, his hips bucking towards my mouth in perfect tempo. But suddenly he lets out a groan, his hands wrapping around my shoulders, urging me to stand. I’m confused.
“What’s wrong?” I pant, catching my breath. He looks feral.
“Nothing, baby. But I need to taste you...” Just like that, he drops to his knees, and before I can protest, my leg is brought to rest on his shoulder, his tongue darting out between my folds.
“AH! Shit!” Is all I’m able to verbalize as Edward devours me like I’m the last Coke in the desert. I’m surprised I’m still standing because I feel as if my standing leg will give out at any moment, but I can’t bring myself to care. In seconds, his fingers enter me and quickly curl to that spot that makes me speak several languages at once. At that moment, his mouth moves to suck on my clit, and I’m gone.
He continues to greedily drink me in while I ride out one of the most spectacular orgasms ever. When I finally come down, his body snakes upward against mine and I kiss him furiously, tasting myself on his lips. His hot hands massage my back and his body cages me against the wall. I want this every day.
He nuzzles my neck and growls as he turns me around, my chest against the cold tile, his hardness against my ass. Is he...OH....he is! Yeah me...
He nudges my legs apart, his cock pushing against me as his hands grip my ass.
“I love you so fucking much, do you know that?” He growls again against my neck. “I can never get enough of you, you’re so fucking beautiful.”
I smile as his words flow over me as he guides his tip to my entrance and thrusts into me in one swift movement.
“Oh! Oh God!” I gasp, his girth filling me to the hilt. His movements are insistent and unyielding, purposeful and assured. He knows my body so well, it practically sings for him.
His grunts and groans into my neck drive me to the edge, and just when I think I can’t take anymore, his fingers travel to my center, rubbing my clit in all the right ways.
“Holyshit motheroffuck Damnnitalltohell” I yell as I slam my palm on the tile several times. Moments later, Edward erratically thrusts a few more times and spills into me, grunting my name over and over again.
We stay this way, waiting to come down from our orgasm-induced highs, until we both realize the water has gone cold. A shiver runs down my body, and Edward immediately turns off the shower and grabs two large towels. He wraps one around me, creating friction on my arms with his hands, kissing me soundly.
“You okay?” He asks, searching my expression for any signs of discomfort. Oh, Edward, little do you know just how okay I am.
I give him a lazy grin, kissing right under his ear before whispering, “Oh, I’m better than ok, Edward. Just take me to bed, baby. I want you wrapped around me.”
He smiles and after attaching his towel around his waist, guides me to he bedroom. The bed is warm, and we’re under the covers in no time, his body wrapping around mine as we fall asleep.
What seems like minutes later, my eyes open to complete darkness. I feel the warmth of Edward’s breath in spurts in my hair, his arm draped possessively around my waist. It feels wonderful, safe, and I feel...loved.
But I also feel his hard on...Oh boy. I can’t resist.
I turn to face him as he stirs to grab hold of me again. I kiss his shoulder, peppering him with my lips over the expanse of his chest and neck. When I lick the shell of his ear, I feel him grin against my skin, his hands flexing around my waist. He’s awake.
He seems to read my mind, because in one second, his mouth is all over me: licking, sucking, kissing, biting. All of it...is just....Holy Shit...
It’s just our bodies-- skin-to-skin connection now. He pauses briefly to look at me, his hands framing my face as his thumbs graze my cheeks.
“I love you, Isabella Marie Swan.” And it’s not what he says that catches me off guard. No. It’s the emotion in those words, on his face, the heat emanating from his hands and body, all wrapped up together, that makes me fall all the more deeper.
“Baby, I love you....” I trail off in an over-emotional whisper.
The rest of the night is bliss, making love slowly, taking each other in, both of us knowing, perhaps for the first time, that this is not fleeting. It’s long-term, lasting, and stronger than ever.
*~*~*~*EtS~*~*~*~
The smell of coffee and bacon fills my senses and for a moment, I think it’s all a dream. Suddenly I hear clanking in the far off distance. It’s enough to wake me, and after taking a human moment and slipping on one of his t-shirts with a pair of his boxers, I pad my way to the kitchen. Edward stands at the stove, back to me, in lounge pants and no shirt...the muscles making up the expanse of his back are almost too much for me, and I struggle to form a basic thought. My mouth goes dry, but my feet involuntarily move towards him, my body drawn to his automatically. I place a gentle kiss between his shoulder blades and he jumps minutely, before placing the spatula down and grabbing my arms, which I’ve wrapped around his torso. He places kisses on every part of my palms and fingers. My head rests against his back and I can hear the quiet chuckle reverberate against my cheek.
“Good morning, Sunshine. Sleep well?” He asks wryly.
“You would know,” I grin against him.
“Mmm, yes, I guess I would. How do you feel? Was I too rough with you?” He asks, sounding a little worried as he plates our breakfast.
“No, baby, there’s no such thing as ‘too rough,’ for your information. Everything you do is just right.” I give him a final squeeze before I take my seat at the kitchen table and dig in to his fuckawesome eggs and bacon. Edward chuckles as he sits next to me with his own plate. We eat in comfortable silence, giving each other glances and smiles as we simply enjoy each other’s company.
Just then, a very drowsy Jasper makes his way into the kitchen, giving us a sly grin as he opens the fridge.
“Mornin’. I take it you two lovebirds kissed and made up? It certainly sounded like y'all did.”
I blush at the possibility that Jasper and Alice heard our...enthusiasm, until of course I realize, I don’t give a shit. I used to have to hear Alice banging her boyfriend back in college all the time. Consider this payback.
“Let’s just say we came to a rational agreement and decided to seal the deal,” Edward says, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and I giggle at his ridiculous expression.
Edward decides to start his own inquisition. “So, how’d it go last night with Alice? Have a nice sleepover? Is she still sleeping or something?”
It’s Jasper’s turn to wiggle eyebrows. “Ah, but a gentleman never kisses and tells and my mama taught me well. And no, she left earlier this morning. Oh, Bella, she told me to tell you to check your phone...probably left you a message or somethin’.”
“Oh, ok...umm...thanks,” I say as I pick up my phone on the coffee table in the living room before returning to the kitchen. Ah, yes. There’s a text message from the one-and-only.
You better call me ASAP. SO much to discuss. ;) -A
I roll my eyes and catch the rest of the boys’ conversation.
Edward laughs out loud. “Yeah, ok, Jas, just keep saying that. I know the only reason why you’re claiming that right now is because her best friend is present. Believe me, if Bella weren’t here, you’d be spilling your guts.”
Jasper throws a cautious glance my way. “Do I have your sworn secrecy to everything I’m about to say?”
I nod excitedly, all the while crossing my fingers behind my back. Hey, there’s a best friends code that should never be broken. Don’t judge me.
Jasper looks pensive as he debates what to say. “Alice is...perfection,” he says, grabbing a couple of grapes from the refrigerator and popping them into his mouth.
“Wait, correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Alice reject you the other night? How’d you manage to gain her good graces so quickly?” Edward asks.
“You doubt my skills, Eddie? All I did was ask her for some help buying some clothes to wear during my trip here, since I know she’s into all that fashion business stuff, and well, that’s all she wrote. I guess she felt pity for my lack of style and decided to fix me up. We ended up fixing each other up in the mens fitting room.” He grins slyly before popping another grape in.
I’m speechless. This man was able to crack the Alice Code rather quickly. Jasper may have special powers after all. My mouth must be agape because Edward pushes my chin up in an effort to close it. I quickly glance towards Edward; his smug I-told-you-so smile makes me roll my eyes yet again, but I have to know more.
“So Jasper, let me get this straight. All you had to do is invite her to pick out a new wardrobe for you and what? She basically gave herself to you?”
“Oh no no no...nothin’ like that. It still took some effort on my part, she wasn’t easy to crack, that one. She’s spunky though, I love that. But once I got on her good side, you know, turned up the charm as only a Whitlock can, she lowered her defenses, and we connected. Boy, did we connect.” Jasper chuckles and shakes his head at the memory.
Edward joins in the laughter, and these boys are just too much.
“Wow, looking at the both of you, I can just imagine the kind of trouble you two were in college. The girls didn’t stand a chance, did they?”
“Woman, you have no idea. I was the charmer and Edward here was the brains of the operation. No one could resist him. All the coeds were takin’ a number,” Jasper muses. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Edward lower his head to his chest. When I finally look at him straight on, his eyes lift to catch my gaze, and he looks almost....embarrassed?
I laugh it off. “Ha. Well, I’m sure we all have stories like that...”
Jasper raises his brow in surprise. “Really? Do tell. I bet a looker like you got her fair share of play time,” he says, chuckling.
I suddenly feel my cheeks burn, and my eyes quickly scan to Edward’s direction, where he is no longer looking bashful, but pensive, searching. Oh, I don’t like where this line of questioning is going at all. Deflect, Swan....DEFLECT!
“Um, well, yeah, I mean, didn’t we all? I mean, college is where you try to find yourself right?” I laugh nervously, trying to find a rock under which to hide. “I wasn’t exactly into having long-lasting relationships back then. It was all about my studies...”
“And gettin’ play. Yeah, I hear ‘ya!” Jasper finishes my sentence with a grin. I want to run away now.
Edward decides to change the subject, thus shifting the uncomfortable subject of our rowdier days to something more neutral. “Uh, so what are you planning on doing today, Jas? I have to get to training today, and meet with Felix to go over some of the finer points of the investigation and appeal process.”
“Yeah, well ‘ya know, Alice will probably be hijacking me. She mentioned somethin’ about showing me around her side of New York, whatever that means.”
“Ha! Prepare yourself, Jasper. When Alice says stuff like that, it usually includes copious amounts of sight-seeing and touring the design houses in the Fashion District, good luck with that,” I offer.
“Well, hell, that’s just fine with me. As long as I get to stare at her, and then some.” Once again with the cheesy eyebrow wiggling and the innuendo.
“That’s good then. You’re perfect for her if you just go along with everything.” I glance at Edward who seems to be off in another world. “Hey, you ok?” I ask him.
He snaps back to reality, “Oh, yeah..I was just thinking...” he trails off. I know what this is about.
“Edward, you need to tell me exactly what happened the night before and the day of your testing. If you think you were framed, I have resources at my disposal...”
“No, Bella, I don’t want you involved. It’s enough that they know what you do and that you’re involved with me. If it comes out to the media that you’ve been snooping around, they’ll just assume you’re trying to get me off the hook,” he interjects.
Jasper pipes in. “So you really believe someone’s out to get you, Cuz? That’s fucked up. I mean, I’m sure you have your fair share of enemies, but what would be the point to drugging you?”
I answer before Edward opens his mouth. “Simple. Whoever did this has something to gain. Maybe it’s not a personal enemy. Maybe it’s someone from another team trying to take you down,” I suggest.
“Who knows? I’m just going to leave it up to my lawyers with the Union, and we’ll see...”
“NO! You can’t leave it up to the suits! They’re only out to make sure they get you back on the field and get their paycheck. Don’t you want to have some kind of vindication? Edward, you’re reputation could be on the line here. Do you really want to start your MLS career with this in everyone’s mind?” I try to convince him to go along with my way of thinking. I just want to know who would do such a thing. And in the process, expose them so Edward won’t have to keep wondering if someone is still out there trying to bring him down for whatever reason.
“Yeah man, she’s got a point there.” Jasper says.
Edward sighs in defeat. I think I won this round. “I guess. Ugh, you guys are bullies.”
I giggle lightly as I pat him on the back, moving my hand up to the back of his neck while I massage him there. “We just want to clear you...completely...no doubts. Look, I won’t even take on the actual investigation. I’ll give all your info to Rose. She’ll take care of the exposing part. Tell me what happened. Anything you remember?”
He looks at me cautiously and starts to think back, his brow creasing pensively.
“Well, after that night I surprised you at your apartment...”
“Wait, what did you do?” Jasper interrupts.
“Jasper, shut up,” Edward snaps.
His cousin laughs, “Alright, alright. I’ll be good.”
Edward eyes him threateningly, as he continues. “Well, as I was saying, after that night, I had to attend that press conference, and we had breakfast right before at headquarters...”
“Wait, you had breakfast, I remember you said that before at some point. Who was with you there? Wait...hold that thought!” I’m in full investigative mode now. I hurry to my purse and grab my notepad and pen and run back to sit with the boys again. “Go on.” Edward looks at me like I’m a nutcase, and Jasper looks amused.
“Ok, so yeah, breakfast. Um, well all the coaches were there, some of the suits, the head of the Club, his associates, some of the Union reps, a couple of representatives from all the departments...Public Relations, the legal team, the team doctors...”
I write furiously, “...team doctors, hmmm...ok, anyone else?”
“Um, no, that was it. Everyone was pretty light-hearted, everyone was joking around...”
“What did you eat?” I ask.
He looks up at me, confused. “Eat? Why does that matter?”
“Most steroids come in different forms, don’t they? I mean, I know most of them are inject-able, but that ATD stuff that was in your results can be taken in pill and liquid form too, right?”
“Oh, yeah, I guess. I never really thought about that possibility...” he trails off pensively.
Jasper interjects again. “So Bella, you’re implying that maybe someone slipped somethin’ in his drink or the like?”
Duh. “Um, yeah, that’s exactly what I’m implying. Ok, Edward, I need you to think for me. Who was serving the food? Was it in-house? Outside catering? What?”
Edward looks at me wide-eyed and scrunches his brow in thought. “It seemed like it was catered, I don’t even think they have an in-house food department.”
“Never mind, I’ll look into that later.” I waved dismissively, before continuing. “Ok, So after this breakfast, you attend that press conference. Then what?”
“Ah, they took me to the team training room for a physical. Normal stuff like weight, reflexes, blood work, asked me questions about medical history and stuff.”
“Nothing before that? In between the press conference and the physical? You just went straight there?”
“Uh, actually no, not straight there. We stopped by the locker room, where they showed me to my locker and stuff. All my jerseys were there, equipment, supplies, vitamins on the shelf...”
“Wait wait wait...vitamins on the shelf? Where did those come from?” Something in me doesn’t like the sound of that.
“It’s common, don’t worry. The team makes sure you have all the amenities you’re used to at your disposal. They were all my personal supplements. They just transferred all the stuff I brought with me from London into my personal space.”
“Did you take any at that point?”
“Yeah, I did actually. I try to take them right after my meals, and since I had just had breakfast and I was going to my physical, I figured I’d just keep up with my normal routine. Why, what do you think....” And this is why I love him. He finally gets it. I can almost see the light bulb turn on above his head.
“Wait, you don’t think...” He looks at me disbelievingly.
“Um, yeah, I do. Someone drugged you either at breakfast or laced your vitamins.”
“Holy shit, Bella may be on to somethin’ there, Eddie. It’s totally possible. It’s actually pretty damn simple...too easy.” Jasper finally looks serious, no trace of humor on his face. Edward and I lock eyes, and it’s all silent communication. He knows I’m right about this. I ask him one last question to seal my suspicions.
“Edward, how much time passed before you went to get your physical after you took the vitamins?”
His eyes gaze up at the ceiling, deep in thought. His head comes down and he looks at me again. “Maybe about an hour? I was stopped by a couple of trainers who I guess were a little excited to meet me, fans apparently. They started asking me a bunch of questions about Arsenal, if I liked London, how they were so excited to have me play for the Bulls. One of them was really insistent on talking to me. A bit of an annoying little fucker. I finally told him I couldn’t answer any more questions, and left towards the training room.”
Hmm. That bit of information makes all kinds of alarms go off in my head. A pushy fan-slash-trainer? It’s almost like he was trying to be annoying on purpose, maybe? I’d have to look into that, and soon. This is the point where the next step is evident. I have to get this to Rose. She’s the only one that will be able to snoop around openly without being questioned, even though she’s dating Emmett.
Emmett. I don’t know what to make of him yet. After listening to Edward’s account of that fateful day’s events, I’m more inclined to believe someone or some other team is jealous of the Red Bulls’ acquisition of Masen as their star player. Is Emmett capable, or even that jealous of the guy? Emmett’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, albeit not as supportive of his friend as I think he should be, but hey, who am I to judge their relationship? Something’s not right, and suddenly I really don’t think McCarty has much to do with it at all.
And what about Jasper? All this fuckery started right around the time he arrived. Could he be jealous of Edward’s success and popularity enough to pay someone to drug him? No. Can’t be. According to Edward, Jasper’s pretty happy coaching at the university level back in North Carolina. He’s got a cushy office and a good salary, and he never showed interest to want to even play professionally.
So that leaves who? Another team, maybe...or someone who’s not very happy with Masen for some reason. Ugh. My head hurts.
“You okay there, baby?” Edward whispers in my ear, bringing me back to the present scene. His eyes are pure jade, and they’re pleading, almost scared. I suddenly long for our mornings at the Sacred Cafe in London. Everything was much simpler. I want to see him happy again. He needs to smile.
“Yeah, I’m just thinking. I’m sure you can hear my gears turning in my head.” I turn to kiss him lightly on the lips. He returns the gesture.
“I can actually. Listen to me,” he ushers me between his legs, pulling me closer to him, his hands on my hips. “I want you to steer clear of this entire mess. Promise me you’re going to give this info to Rose and stay out of it. I would never forgive myself if your professional reputation was tainted because of me. I won’t have it. Everything will work itself out. I’ve got the appeal, I’ll retest, and I’ll be cleared. End of story. We move on, okay?” He kisses me again, this time more passionately. He’s trying to cloud my vision with his tasty kisses. I know his game, but I’ll let him think he won. And plus, kissing him is the best activity in the world....next to fucking him... of course.
Jasper clears his throat, “Alright, you two...I’m off. I’ll let you, uh, get down to business. I must get dressed and see my lady love.” Edward and I break our connection to see Jasper walk back towards his room and shut the door. Just then, my phone chirps. I already know who it is without even checking.
“That’s Alice, probably wanting to expel every dirty detail from her night, and no doubt wanting to know everything about ours.” I roll my eyes and sigh. Edward chuckles as his green eyes gaze at me amusingly.
“Yeah, you should probably talk to her before she explodes. You heading into work today?” He asks.
“Yeah, in a couple of hours actually. I should probably head out. I need to change and stuff...” I start to make towards his bedroom but his hand reaches out to grasp my wrist gently, pulling me to his warmth. I want to stay right here with him.
“But I like you in my Wake Forrest shirt. You should really just wear that and nothing else all day,” he coos against my neck, nuzzling and exhaling his warm breath. I really want to stay.
“Ah, but that would require that I stay here with you, and as much as I’d love nothing more, you also have to go to training, don’t you?” I whisper as my hands travel around his neck and down his bare back. Oh, Jesus, I love tracing the lines and valleys of his muscles. I really want to stay.
He sighs against me, spreading goosebumps all over my body. “Yeah, I guess reality beckons.” He rises, taking me by the hand back to his room, where we get dressed...but not before we have a quickie...you know, as a parting gift of sorts. Shut up. We have a long day ahead.
~*~*~*~EtS~*~*~*~
With an extra spring in my step, I enter the war zone that is my office’s floor and immediately seek out Rose, who I find knee-deep in papers and phone calls. She’s currently on one now, looking quite exasperated and aggravated. She raises her gaze to me when she notices my presence and lifts a finger for me to wait for her to finish her conversation.
“Well I don’t care that it’s classified, that word doesn’t mean shit to me. I want that info on my desk before the end of the day, got it?” Ooh, angry Rose is a scary Rose.
She slams the phone on her desk and plops down in her seat. “What’s up?”
“Rough morning?” I ask, amused.
“You have no idea. Seems like some third baseman from the Yankees was just arrested for aggravated sexual assault. Some chick he met at a club. Seems she says he took her back to his hotel room and it didn’t end well. Of course, he denies it, and we’re just waiting to hear back from the reps. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing. This is huge.”
Just then, some lackey drops off some more papers and coffee to her and I realize this may not be the right time for what I have to share.
“So, what’s up? You look worried about something. Everything work out with Edward? I heard he’s got an appeal in place, that’s good,” she says dismissively while tapping furiously on her laptop.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about his case. I have some info you might find interesting...”
Rose interjects, “Bella, I’d really love to help you out there, but Edward’s case is old news. With this Yankees thing coming up, it’s going to be front-page news, and all our efforts have to go towards getting the story. Edward’s thing is wrapped up already. As soon as he retests, he’ll be cleared...See? Old news.” She continues typing away.
This...could be good. This might be great, actually. Rose doesn’t have the time to look over the details I got from Edward this morning, so maybe I can delegate myself to the task.
“Oh, yeah, sure, don’t worry, Rose. I can always take care of things on my end. You know, wrap it all up...maybe a side article for the weekend edition.” I hope this works.
“Yeah yeah, sure, you do that. That sounds like a plan to me,” she waves her hand in the air, gesturing that the conversation is most likely over.
“You got it, Rose. I’ll take care of all of it.” I say over my shoulder as I make my way to my office, closing and locking the door.
That was too easy.
I power up my laptop and immediately search for contacts at the Red Bulls’ headquarters. Edward mentioned being around several RB employees, so I quickly make a call to their corporate office’s HR department for any public records that list employees and date of hiring. They manage to fax over a two-page list of all employees hired within the last two months. I quickly scan names and departments until certain ones catch my eyes. Several new hires within the coaching and sports medicine departments. Things are about to get very interesting.
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