"Whatever you have planned for today Edward, you can forget it. I want to stay in bed."
It's late in the morning and Edward is flat on his back in bed with Bella propped up on her elbow gazing down at him. They've been on the island for a week, and while Edward has given up on trying to keep Bella occupied for every waking moment in an attempt to distract her from her hormones, he still wants her to experience everything the island has to offer.
"Bella," Edward frowns. "There's a lot you haven't seen yet and we won't be here forever. Wouldn't you rather take advantage of our location while you can?"
"Maybe we can go swimming later," Bella offers with a hopeful smile, and Edward rolls his eyes.
Bella's definition of swimming is different than Edward's. Despite Edward's insistence on snorkeling and swimming in some of the underground caves around the island, Bella prefers to float lazily around in the water near the house where they shared their first swim together.
"Bella, you have to trust me. I have a wonderful and exciting day planned for us." Edward offers his most charming smile, the one that Bella is usually unable to resist.
Bella is unmoved. "You've spent almost every day dragging me around this island. It's my turn to decide what we do, and I say we stay right here."
He debates for a moment whether or not to scoop her into his arms and carry her out of the house ignoring her protests, but when Bella leans down to press her lips to his, her hair grazing his face and her sweet, delicious scent washing over him, he decides that staying in bed is a fabulous idea.
Despite the fact that he worries about hurting Bella every time, Edward is very glad that he stopped trying to resist her seemingly insatiable desire. The first night had been the hardest. He thought he knew Bella so well, but no amount of kissing and touching with the barrier of clothes and blankets could have prepared him for the way it felt when she was stretched out naked beneath him, warm and soft and so eager. It was like nothing he had ever experienced – terrifying and surprising and perfect, all at once.
Each time it gets a little easier to find that delicate point right on the edge where he can revel in the intense pleasure of their bodies twisting together without losing control, but it takes every ounce of concentration and discipline that he has. Being with Bella is a never-ending lesson in restraint. Edward is strong – stronger than he ever imagined – as evidenced by the fact that Bella is still alive, but that doesn't mean it's easy. In the beginning, it was a constant struggle not to think about sinking his teeth into the soft flesh of her neck, but now the danger Bella faces is different.
After the second time when he realized he was able to harness the intensity in the face of his desire, he is determined to prove that he can do this without breaking anything – not the pillows, not the headboard, and certainly not Bella.
Edward turns Bella over onto her back and gently peels off her nightgown, taking care not to ruin like he's done with so many others. Every fiber of his being wants to frantically rip away the fabric and pull her tightly against him, but he forces himself to modulate all of his movements.
Bella giggles at his exaggerated slowness, but when he lowers his face to kiss her newly bared skin, her laughter is replaced by a moan that Edward can feel vibrating through his entire body.
Edward traces his hand down the side of her neck, along the curve of her breast, before coming to rest on her hip, delighting in the pink flush that blossoms across her pale skin in response to his touch. It's easier to control himself when he takes his time with her, letting his desire slowly build, but Bella is impatient beneath him, and when she urges him to iplease, hurry/i, he can only obey.
Their bodies are pressed tightly together, and Edward can feel the rush of her pulse against his skin every place where they touch like a million tiny pinpricks. The burn in his throat is nothing compared to the fire he feels deep inside of him and he considers the irony of the situation: if he hurts Bella now it will not be because he gave into his desires as a vampire, but because he gave into his desires as a man.
He watches as she falls beautifully to pieces beneath him and he knows that in this moment he has all of her. Bella has surrendered every part of her body and soul to him, and he wants so badly to do the same, but he can't – not while she is so delicate. Instead Edward holds her with a gentleness that is at odds with the frantic urgency he feels inside and relishes in the way Bella clutches him with all of her strength.
Edward thinks that this must be some kind of exquisite torture – the agony of holding part of himself back in the face of the greatest pleasure of his existence, but as he tastes Bella's skin and listens to all the pretty noises she makes, he decides it is worth every second.
His senses are overloaded with the her taste, her smell, her sounds, and in one agonizing moment he teeters on the brink of losing the control he's worked so hard to maintain, so he closes his eyes against the sight of her with a groan and squeezes her hip hard enough to leave a bruise as Bella arches up to meet him, and the waves of ecstasy course through his body.
When it's over, Edward listens as Bella's pulse slows and her breathing returns to normal. She's soft and agreeable in his arms, and her warmth is comforting and familiar.
"Now that we've started the day your way, what's next on the agenda?" Edward asks as he brushes Bella's tangled hair out of her eyes.
Bella turns to meet his gaze, her face still flushed, and her eyes bright with happiness. Edward is overcome with love and affection, and he realizes, not for the first time, that despite his superior strength, he is powerless before her in so many ways.
"Anything you want." Bella answers, reaching up to twine her fingers with his.
"Really, Bella. I suppose it's only fair to let you have a say."
Her smile is utterly satisfied. "We already did everything I wanted to do today."
Edward can't help but laugh, and he kisses her, softly this time, and lifts her into his arms and carries her out into the sunlight.