I couldn't sleep.

I had no idea what time it was, but it felt like I had been lying wide awake for hours. As it had been an unusually bright and sunny day, Edward had left the previous morning to go hunting in the mountains with his brothers, leaving me to endure a day at school all alone. Alice had picked me up from school, attracting more than a little attention in the yellow Porsche, and explained how she had convinced Charlie to let me spend the night at the Cullen's, on the proviso that the boys would be nowhere to be seen - what he didn't know could hurt him right? As it was, Alice's story wasn't far from the truth, we had a real girl's night, complete with DVDs, popcorn (for me) and makeovers, but I was sure the perfect curls she had created in my hair would be ruined now after all my tossing and turning. Alice had promised to me that Edward would be back by the morning, and had sent me up to his room around midnight, despite my protests that I wasn't tired. So here I was, several hours later, lying in the huge gold bed that had appeared in Edward's room a few weeks earlier. I had to admit it was far more comfortable than the small single bed I slept in at home, and it smelt exactly like him as I buried my face in the pillow praying for sleep. I turned onto my side, gazing out of the wall of windows at the almost full moon that bathed the room in a pale glow. They didn't seem to believe in curtains in this house, not that anyone would be looking in. My mind wandered, wondering what Edward was doing, wishing that I knew where he was. It was silly, given his speed and strength, but I worried about him out there in the deep black forest.

I thought of the last time we were alone together, the previous night in my room, and a knot formed in the pit of my stomach when I remembered what happened. I had got a little... carried away as we kissed in my bed, underneath the tatty old blanket that I'd had since I was a baby. His shirt had dropped to the floor and my t-shirt was pushed up to reveal my stomach, and when his hands ran over the exposed flesh I couldn't help myself, my hips pushed against his before I could stop them. I felt the tears well up as he had taken my wrists in his hands and gently but firmly pushed himself away from me, putting his shirt back on before I could protest.

"Please Bella," Edward had said softly so as not to wake Charlie, "You know we can't." I just sniffed in response, unable to meet his eyes.

"You know that I wish we could, that I want you more than I've ever wanted anything," He took my chin in his hand and forced me to look at him, "But I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you... if I lost control." I didn't want to have this argument with him again, I'd lost count of the number of times I had tried to convince him that I trusted him, that I knew he wouldn't, and couldn't, hurt me. I just curled up against his side, trying not to cry, and let myself fall asleep in his arms. The rejection still stung a little, I knew it was silly but I couldn't help but feel that there must be something else stopping him, some other reason, that perhaps he didn't want me after all. Tears pricked my eyes once more as that thought hit me, but I was distracted by a rustling sound behind me.

My heart stuttered and my breath stopped as I felt the bed dip and a cool arm wound itself around my waist underneath the covers. His fingers spread across my stomach, sliding beneath the pale blue vest I was wearing, and he pulled me towards him, his lips brushing across the back of my neck.

"Breathe Bella." He whispered into my ear, sending shivers which I'm sure he could feel down my spine. I turned onto my back, eager to see his face, and as always he took my breath away. He was illuminated by the moonlight coming in through the huge windows, making his skin even paler than normal if that was possible, and he lay on his side gazing down at me with a smile on his face.

"I thought you weren't coming back until the morning?" I asked quietly, conscious that his family would be able to hear every word I said.

"I came back early," he replied, "I couldn't bear to be away from you any longer." He placed soft, light kisses from my temple down the side of my face to my throat, then up to my lips, eventually kissing me properly. I got lost in his kiss, my hands tangled themselves in his hair, holding him closer to me, almost like I was afraid it was a dream and that he would disappear if I let go. He shifted slightly, moving his body over mine, holding himself so I could feel his body pressing against me. His lips moved from mine, down the side of my throat to my shoulder, placing small kisses along my flushed skin as he went, and a small moan escaped my lips. My heart stopped again as his hand, that had been resting motionless on my stomach, slowly began to move upwards underneath my top, and brushed lightly against the underside of my breast. This was new.

"Bella?", Edward looked questioningly into my eyes, asking my permission in not so many words. I just nodded, unable to speak, trying to control my breathing as his hand moved again. I gasped loudly as his cold palm covered my breast, and just as soon as the feeling had begun, it was gone, as he rolled away from me. I was confused, what had I done wrong? The familiar feeling of rejection bubbled up inside me again, and the tears returned to my eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "I shouldn't have done that, I'm a monster, you deserve better than that. Did I hurt you?" I didn't dare speak for fear of a sob escaping my lips, I just rolled onto my side away from him, hiding my face in the covers.

"Oh god, I did hurt you didn't I?" I could hear the panic in his voice, "Please Bella, talk to me, I'm so so sorry."

"Why don't you want me?" The words came out as a broken sob before I could stop them. I rolled back over to look at him, and his eyes were confused.

"You think I don't want you?"

"Why else would you keep pushing me away?" I replied almost petulantly, "I'm hideous aren't I? That's why you won't touch me?"

"How can you think that?" he asked incredulously, "I love you and want you more than anything on this earth, I promise you."

"Then show me."

It was like something had snapped inside Edward, he pulled me back towards him, rolling his body back on top of mine and pulling my lips into a passionate kiss. His hands were on either side of me, holding his body above mine, as his lips moved to my ear.

"You want me to prove how much I want you?" he whispered, sending yet more shivers down my spine.

"Please..." I replied, my stomach doing flips at the thought of what might follow. Edward was always so careful, his boundaries were so defined, it excited me to think that he might relax them a little. He looked straight into my eyes.

"If I do anything that you're not comfortable with, just tell me and we will stop, ok?" I just nodded mutely as his head dipped back down to my neck, kissing and nuzzling into my collarbone.

I knew better than to question his change of heart, I just tried to let myself relax and enjoy whatever he had in mind. His hand began moving back underneath my vest, pushing the fabric up and exposing more and more of my skin as it went. Edward sat up a little and tugged the fabric further, and I lifted off the bed to allow him to remove it from my body. I panicked a little when I realised how exposed I now was, and my arms moved to cover myself. Before they could get there though, he caught my wrists and pushed them back down to the bed.

"Don't ever cover yourself up my love," he said softly without breaking eye contact with me, "You're beautiful." Only when I had relaxed back against the sheets did he allow his eyes to wander, and I could see them darken as they wandered across my torso. The passion and hunger I could see in the golden depths made my toes curl, and my breathing quickened as he kissed me passionately once more. His hand moved slowly to my chest, stroking ever so lightly across my breast, causing goosebumps to appear all over my skin.

"So soft..." he murmured against my skin as his lips moved down towards my chest. I gasped as he began placing kisses from my throat, further down, eventually making his way to the dip in between my breasts. He brushed his nose against my skin, breathing in my scent, and moved his mouth to one of my nipples, brushing his tongue softly across the peak. The feelings that coursed through my body at that small movement were amazing, I felt a blush spread across my chest and a warm feeling begin to coil itself in the pit of my stomach. He closed his mouth over my breast, sucking ever so gently and I couldn't help it, the moan that escaped my lips was much louder than I expected. The others would definitely have heard that.

Edward looked up at me with a smile on his face, and continued his movements across my chest. I was writhing underneath him, wriggling and pushing myself upwards towards him, trying to get more of the wonderful feelings he was creating. Without realising what I was doing I pushed my hips towards him, and I froze as I felt something hard digging into my thigh.

"Now do you believe that I want you?" he asked me quietly, before capturing my lips in a fiery kiss. My head was spinning, I couldn't believe that he was affected like that by the sight of my body. He was holding his body above me, and when he pressed his hips down into mine it was like sparks were shooting all through my body. Instinctively I wrapped my legs around him, trying to get closer, but he chuckled softly and pushed my thighs back down into the bed.

"Not so fast..." he said with a smirk, "There's something I want to try first. Just relax..." He settled on his side next to me, propping his head up on one hand, and tracing the other across my torso, working his way down to my stomach. I gazed into his eyes, and the love and adoration I saw made me feel like the most beautiful creature in the world.

His hand dipped ever so slightly lower, brushing against the waistband of the cotton pyjama bottoms I was wearing, softly caressing my stomach. He looked questioningly into my eyes, and I nodded, giving him permission to do what I wanted so badly. His fingers slipped under the elastic, still stroking backwards and forwards across my increasingly heated skin, and a small groan escaped his throat when he realised I wasn't wearing anything underneath the pyjamas. I blushed furiously, well it wasn't like I was expecting anything like this to happen! Edward kissed the side of my face gently as he pushed the pyjamas down my body and dropped them onto the floor, leaving my naked in his arms. I moaned again as his hand began to make it's way up my leg, caressing my thigh before stopping centimetres away from where I needed him most.

"Are you sure Bella?" he whispered, "We don't have to do this."

"Edward," I replied, trying to make my voice firm even though I was shaking, "If you stop now, I won't be held responsible for my actions. I want this." He laughed softly, placing a soft kiss on my lips before his hand started moving again.

The first time his fingers brushed against me, I honestly thought I would die from the pleasure, my head dropped back into the pillows and my eyes closed as he slowly caressed my soft wetness. The sparks shot through my body once more, and my hips pushed up off the bed, I couldn't believe how amazing it felt. It was like everything else had fallen away, and me and Edward were the only two people in the world, nothing else mattered apart from the two of us. I heard a gasping noise, and it took a moment before I realised that the noise was coming from me, my breathing was erratic as Edward's fingers slid up and down me. Just as I thought nothing could ever feel any better than I did at that moment, he dipped a finger ever so slightly inside me and I heard him growl deep in his chest so softly that it was more like a cat purring.

"Love you feel absolutely amazing," he murmured into my neck as he placed gentle kisses all over me, "so soft and warm and wet." I couldn't form words by that point, I could only whimper and push my hips towards his hand, inadvertently causing his finger to slide deeper inside me.

Ok, now I was sure I had died and gone to heaven. Edward slid his finger in and out of me achingly slowly, caressing every inch of me so gently and carefully as though he thought I might break in his hands, which I guess wasn't so far away from the truth. Although it felt incredible, it somehow wasn't enough, I needed to feel more of him.

"Edward please," I breathed, beyond caring about how desperate I sounded, "I need...."

"Tell me what you need baby," he purred into my ear.

"More," I gasped as he hit a particularly sensitive spot inside me.

"Your wish is my command my angel," he replied as he slid another finger deep inside me and sped up his movements. I cried out, having forgotten all about the super sensitive hearing of his relatives. I could feel the tension building, the warm feeling in my stomach was beginning to spread, reaching out all over my body, my skin must have felt like fire under Edward's hands. I reached out for him, tangling my hands in his hair and pulling him towards me, needing to be as close to him as humanly possible. I was on the edge now, the tension in my body had reached a crescendo and the slightest movement could push me over the edge, when Edward stopped his movements.

"Look at me Bella," he said, and I could hear the passion in his voice. I forced my eyes open and met his gaze, and the depth of feeling in his dark eyes made my heart stop. He suddenly began moving inside me again, faster this time, curling his fingers to stroke the most sensitive spot without breaking eye contact with me. That did it, I came apart in his hands, calling out his name as the most amazing feeling rushed through my body, and I could feel myself tightening and convulsing around his fingers. He held me tight and continued to stare deep into my eyes until the waves coursing through me eventually subsided, and my breathing and heartbeat began to return to normal.

"That," he said in between placing kisses all over me, "was the most spectacular... beautiful... amazing... thing I have ever seen in my life. I love you."

"I love you too Edward," I heard my voice crack with emotion, "thank you, that was..... wow." I could see the satisfied grin form on his face, he was obviously proud of himself.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself my love," he said as he rolled onto his back, pulling me into his arms and stroking my hair softly.

"What made you change your mind?" I asked quietly, not wanting to ruin the perfect moment but my curiosity got the better of me, "I thought you didn't want to."

"It was never that I didn't want to," he replied, "I was just so afraid of losing control, of hurting you."

"What changed?"

"While I was away hunting, I had some time to think. I realised that my love for you far overpowers any other desires I may have." I didn't need to ask, I knew he was referring to his desire to drink my blood.

"So does that mean that we can do..... more?" I asked tentatively, wanting so badly to reciprocate the amazing experience he had just given me.

"Bella you're exhausted," I tried to protest but a yawn escaped my mouth before I could stop myself. He laughed softly and pulled the covers on top of us. "Get some sleep, we have all the time in the world for more..." I relaxed into his arms and felt myself slowly drift off to sleep, a smile on my face in anticipation of what would happen now that Edward's boundaries had been relaxed.