IMPORTANT!: This story is kind of a hypothetical depiction of Bella and Edward's boundaries deteriorating as the wedding looms ahead. I like to think that after Bella and Edward very nearly made love in the meadow, things between them would shift. Sexual tension would ensue to an unbearable level. I think that considering Edward basically said the offer still stands, they would both struggle to stick by the vow of abstinence.

I'm writing this because even though it's been portrayed several times, the theme of fading boundaries never gets old with twilight fanfics. I'd like to try and make it as realistic as possible. The hottest part of these stories is when Edward and Bella are so themselves so I'm going to try my best to capture that.

Lover's Dance

Bella POV

I love you. I want you. Right now.

I scrubbed the dishes harder than necessary. They squeaked in protest. They were clean enough to first time around.

I love you.

I dried my hands too briefly, leaving the crevices uncomfortably wet.

I want you.

I began drying the dishes inefficiently, aware of the fact that I would put them away only half dried. My dish towel was too damp.

Right now.

I braced my hands against the countertop, dragging in a massive gulp of air like it was my last breath. I exhaled in frustration, feeling cold, comforting arms wrap around me from behind.

"Bella," he whispered, my name a silken question on his lips. He didn't need to say anymore. I had been like this all day, unable to hide my angst.

If you change your mind...

Edward's words from our time in the meadow circled my mind so insistently today that I had thought of little else. I remembered that raw, dark look in his eyes as he said the words. His voice has deepened, rough and mesmerizing.

Whenever I stopped the think of it, the butterflies in my stomach fluttered lower. It made me blush.

Sometimes, when I would glance at Edward, it felt like he knew what I was thinking. Usually, when I blushed, he would demand to know why. Whenever I blushed when thinking of him in that way, he never mentioned it.

"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

"Don't apologise," he breathed, his lips tenderly pressing almost kisses against my neck.

The butterflies swooped down. The sensation of Edward's lips on my skin did something to me deep inside, something that had begun pestering me ever since we nearly made love in our meadow.

Edward continued to speak lovingly into my neck as lust burned me, biting at me skin, my lips.

"I just wonder what's on your mind. You seem very preoccupied, love."

I could only imagine his reaction if I told him exactly what was on my mind. I blushed again, opening my mouth to reply, finding myself speechless.

"I can smell the blood pooling in your cheeks," he murmured lightly, resting his chin on my shoulder as he hugged me to him. I repressed the sudden urge to wriggle against his hard body.

Again, I didn't know how to reply.

Edward's hands tenderly rubbed circles on my stomach. Even through my striped sweater, the icy feel of him sent chills through me. And it wasn't just the cold that did it.

He began to slip away from me, clearly discouraged by my reaction. If Edward ever thought I was too cold, it meant I wasn't allowed to touch him.

And right now, if I couldn't be touched by him, I would simply combust.

"No," I whispered shyly, grasping his wrists. "Stay."

He complied, hugging himself to me tighter.

Do you even realize what you do to me? I wanted to say to him. Can you see how I ache?

His hands began rubbing circles on my stomach once again, picking up on the motion that must've been as comforting to him as it was torturous for me.

It was a subtle movement that began it. It might've been too subtle for me to notice, if I wasn't hyper aware of him. As he tenderly followed his circular pattern, his hands began to move infinitesimally lower with each passing stroke. I was hanging onto his every motion, suspended in time as the butterflies in my stomach battered their wings against me.

He seemed to pause at the hem of my sweater and I prepared myself for the distance. He would pull away in the next second, either that or restart his patient journey across my torso.

And then he did something that caused everything in me to melt.

When Edward's fingers, gentler than a whisper, slipped up beneath the hem of my top, I stopped breathing altogether. With any other girl my age, a touch like this from her boyfriend would be perfectly normal. A pleasant act of intimacy between two lovers. Between Edward and I, though, this level of intimacy was foreign.

The feel of his ice cold finger tips gliding along my abdomen was both maddening and perfect beyond belief. I needed more.

My heart was trying to thump out of my chest as my breath burst from between my lips in a gust. I had held it for longer than I thought. I told myself I was breathing so hard, so raggedly, because I was catching up on lost oxygen. It didn't have anything to do with Edward's cool hands on my over heated skin. It didn't have anything to do with his feverish kisses on my collarbone, my neck. I found my fingers winding into his copper hair of their own accord.

"Aw come on guys. Break it up," Charlie groaned uncomfortably. Edward straightened and moved away from me as I silently begged for the floor to open up below me. I didn't meet Charlie's eyes as he reached into the fridge. As he poured himself a glass of milk, I checked on the dinner.

"What's the grub for tonight, Bells?"

I avoided his gaze steadily as I cut us some fresh bread, still chagrined. Edward sat on one of the kitchen chairs, smiling a secret smile.

Hmmm. I'd investigate that later.

"Vegetable casserole, dad."

"Smells good," he noted with a tight smile. Oh dear.

The fact that Edward and I were engaged didn't deter Charlie from his fatherly duties. Any time he saw any trace of intimacy between us he all but had a stroke. Part of him was still wary of Edward. Even though, after that one awkward occasion where Charlie felt the need to give me his version of 'the sex talk', I had assured him honestly that Edward and I weren't having sex.

I think that now though, after walking in on that spectacle, Charlie must surely doubt it.

"Dinner's in five," I said too breezily, trying to sound carefree like Renee. My heart was only just starting to slow down. I couldn't look at Edward for fear of having a heart attack.

Charlie ambled awkwardly off to the living room, leaving Edward and I in the awkward bubble he'd created. Thanks, Charlie.

"Sorry, love. That was out of line," Edward said softly, his hand on my forearm as gently kissed me on my cheek. When I looked at him, his mouth was still curved up in his crooked smile.

"I like out of line," I said, leaning back against the counter.

"I know you do, love," he replied. His smile turned into a fully fledged grin.

That crooked grin did things to me.

"I should go," he said, leaning in for another kiss, but on the lips this time. He lingered a second longer than usual.

Don't stop.

"When will you be back?" I whispered, just in case Charlie was inadvertently listening.

"As soon as he's asleep."

And the moment he left, I longed for him to return. I could really spend forever with that man.

Chapter two will be out tonight. It seems like I ended that in a strange place but I want to keep the word count in each chapter fairly level. Please review it means the world to me.