Reaching out tiredly she grasped the plastic shower knob in front of her and turned off the rapidly cooling spray with a vicious twist. She hadn't meant for the movement to be as jerky and violent as it was, but sighed without care as she reached for the towel she'd left sitting on the closed toilet seat. For the past three days she had been alone, left to sleep by herself in her own bed while Charlie snored down the hall in his own room. Before Edward, sleeping alone had never been a problem, but now… Now the soft pillows and cushioning mattress left her sore, the thick blankets left her cold and she was tossing so much in her sleep that she had rolled out of bed earlier that morning only to knock her head on the bedside table.

She hadn't thought too much of the collision until she had seen her face in the mirror at school. Blowing out a heavy breath as she finished drying off and wrapped the towel around her body, Bella stood in front of the steam covered mirror and wiped away the condensation to see her reflection. Rolling her eyes at herself, she brought a hand to her cheek and grimaced at the too-sensitive feeling of her fingers touching her skin. Cursing herself under her breath, she lowered her hand and shook her head. She had thought the injury to look bad this morning when she had first seen it, but now that her body had been given a full day to develop the bruise, it looked as though she had been kicked in the face. The last thing she or Edward needed were the rumors her injury had undoubtedly already begun.

Running her hand through her dripping hair, she pulled the waterlogged locks back from her face and reached for the door, turning off the light as she stepped into the hall. She was tired, she was sore, and all she truly wanted was for Edward to kiss her and hold her while she slept. Tomorrow would be day number four and with the coming sunrise would be Edward's arrival home from his hunting trip. One look at her face and she doubted he would leave her alone again. Closing her bedroom door and locking it for good measure – she had no wish for Charlie to see her injury before she could prepare him for it – she rubbed her fingertips against her forehead and looked at her bed.

Empty. All she wanted was for Edward to be lying there waiting for her on top of the blankets. Closing her eyes and wishing for him to be there, she gasped at the feeling of cool hands tracing along her shoulder from behind. Keeping her eyes closed as she tipped her head to the side, Bella whispered Edward's name as he swept her hair away from her neck and trailed his lips across her skin. She whimpered, calling out to him softly as she fell back to lean against his hard chest, feeling at once both too hot and completely weightless under his caress.

"I missed you," he whispered to her, his lips moving up to capture her ear.

"I missed you," she returned and drew in a nearly silent whimper when his arms wrapped around her waist from behind.

She leaned her head back on his shoulder, her hand lifting up to cup his cheek as she turned her face toward his. She never noticed that he didn't seem to acknowledge or even see her bruise, too wrapped up in the feel of him surrounding her to care. His lips met hers, hungry, greedy and demanding, her body trembling almost violently under the onslaught of sensation and emotion. She whimpered again, her heart pounding a mad rhythm in her chest when she felt his hand slide up her side, his fingers untucking the edge of the towel from under her arm.

Bella gasped, pulling the air into her lungs deeply as the towel fell away and her body was left bare to him. His fingertips traced across her skin, his touch so light she barely felt it, but so arousing she felt out of control. He whispered to her, words that burned through her but that she forgot seconds later. Her body moved of its own accord, her chest pushing out into his hand when his fingers first traced and then closed around her left nipple. He nuzzled her neck just beneath the curve of her jaw, his teeth scraping against her skin, tempting and dangerous. Her legs fell open as she leaned against him for the support she needed just to remain standing.

Bella jumped, crying out when the arm that had been around her waist slid down, his hand slipping in between her legs. His cool fingers parted her folds, his lips and teeth scraping against her insistently as her voice abandoned her completely. Her mouth fell open in pleasure and surprise as she felt him stroke her, his fingers spreading her juices as he stroke her clit, massaging the stiff pleasure point before slipping down further and thrusting into her.

"God," she whispered, her voice erotic and guttural.

She panted heavily, soft mewling and whimpering sounds coming from her parted lips as he achieved a steady rhythm inside her tight wet channel. His thumb pressed against her, massaging her clit as his other hand gently twisted and plucked at her nipple. She turned her head, capturing his mouth and crying into their kiss as his tongue slid against hers inviting it to play. He increased the pace of his fingers inside her, her body trembling in response as fire flooded her veins in a burning cascade molten lava. She was certain that she would die under his hands, the feel of him wrapped around her and moving inside of her making her feel as though she were being incinerated. There would be nothing left of her but a pile of ash when he was finished with her.

She jerked in his hold, her mouth falling open as she cried out when he increased the speed of his fingers inside her again and changed the angle of his penetration. It was too much, she felt as though she were falling apart and the second she gripped his wrist to pull his hand away the world around her shattered. Bella cried out Edward's name as she came, her slick muscled walls gripping his fingers as tightly as they could, her insides trembling and spasming with the force of her orgasm. He whispered to her; spoke to her as he teased her down from one orgasm only to make her rise to another.

She felt herself being lifted, Edward carrying her to her bed and laying her down on the soft blankets. She couldn't move, couldn't make her body listen to her at all as her muscles weakened and bones turned to jelly. She felt him spread her legs, heard him ask something of her, demand something from her, but was unable to respond. He spoke again, his words insistent and teasing seconds before his mouth closed over her center and her world exploded for a third and then a fourth time. Just as she was ready to beg for him to stop, her body unable to take anymore, she felt him pull away only to cover her with the blankets from beneath her.

"Bella," she frowned as he called to her, his voice sounding farther away than it should. "Bella," he called to her again and she felt him smooth her hair back from her face. "Come on, Bella, open your eyes for me."

She was finally able to do as he requested, feeling as though she had been trapped deep down in a world far removed from this one. She frowned up at him to see that he was sitting fully dressed beside her on the bed, unable to remember him having been dressed previously. Flinching slightly and hissing when she felt him touch her face, she blinked up at him tiredly. She didn't understand what was happening and looked down to find that she was still wrapped in the overly large towel that she had been dressed in when she first stepped into her bedroom earlier. She watched through slightly out of focus eyes as Edward bent down low over her and kissed her brow gently.

"Bella, what happened?" Edward asked as he looked down on her.

"What?" she asked and flinched again when she touched her inured cheek.

"Your face, Bella," Edward said as she finally took notice that her room, once lit with sunlight, was now dark save the string of white lights hanging on her wall. "What the hell happened to you?"

"My face…but you?" she looked down at herself before looking up at him once. "That was a dream?"