I heard a soft knock at the bathroom door. My eyes quickly snapped back into focus and I saw myself standing there, my clean, pink face reflected in the mirror. I wondered how long I'd been in that position, absent-mindedly running the brush through my wet hair.

"Bella?" I heard Edward call, a hint of concern in his voice.

I sat the brush down on the side of the sink and instinctively grabbed for the pink robe Alice had packed me, now hanging on a hook beside the door. I threw the thick terrycloth around my shoulders and hastily shoved my arms in the sleeves, wrapping the material around my waist before I reached for the doorknob.

"Yeah… Sorry," I muttered as I opened the door a crack and peeked out. My breath caught in my throat as I realized Edward wasn't wearing a shirt. It was hard to take my eyes off the perfectly sculpted muscles of his chest.

Edward eyed me curiously, raising one eyebrow in a questioning expression. "You needed to take a shower to go for a swim?"

"Umm…" I tried to regain my thoughts and looked back up at his face. "I wasn't planning on it, but then I looked in the mirror." The long journey to the island had definitely wrecked havoc on my appearance. I added flippantly, "A girl wants to look her best on her honeymoon, you know."

I decided not to add that my shower had only taken ten minutes; calming down the butterflies in my stomach had taken the other forty.

Edward lowered his eyebrow and smiled at the word "honeymoon." Anything that reminded him that I was now officially Mrs. Cullen brought an immediate grin to his face. As I pulled the rest of the door open to join him, his smile widened.

"Well, it worked. You look beautiful," he said.

"Thank you," I grinned back at him, feeling the blood rush to my already flushed cheeks. I glanced down again and noticed that he had changed into a bathing suit, and that little drips of water were collecting at the bottom seams and trickling down to the floor. "How's the water?" I asked.

"Lonely," he grinned. "I missed you… and I started to worry when your human minute turned into more like a human hour." He rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Oh please, " I muttered, reaching out to playfully shove his chest. I pushed his stone skin, not moving him a millimeter, of course. Before I had the chance to pull my hand back, he caught my fingers in his and brought them to his lips. I felt his cool breath raise the hair on the back of my hand as he slowly kissed each fingertip. My heartbeat stuttered as I glanced from Edward's lips to his gold eyes, and I knew from his grin that he could hear it, too. I guess the fact that I was now his wife didn't diminish his desire to "dazzle" me. I let out a small sigh and rose on my tiptoes to wipe the amused grin from his lips with a kiss.

As my lips met his, Edward's grip on my hands tightened slightly, and he gently maneuvered my arm so that it wrapped around the back of his neck. Following his lead, I raised my other arm until both arms draped over his broad shoulders and my fingers gently brushed through the hair at the base of his head. He released my hand, slowly tracing the length of my arm with his fingers as the press of his lips on mine became more intense.

His hands met my waist and urged me forward, pulling me closer. I took a step, still on my toes, and the movement loosened the folds of my robe so that the sides fell apart, exposing my naked body beneath them.

I gasped, unsure if it was from surprise or from the rush of cold air that met my warm skin. Edward pulled his lips from mine and glanced down, his eyes widening as he realized what had happened. His body stiffened for a moment at the sight of my bare flesh, and I tensed, not knowing if I should be embarrassed or worried.

I started to pull away, to give him some space, but his hands tightened around my waist.

"No… Don't move," he whispered.

He looked into my eyes with an expression I had never seen before. Desire…Hunger…Pain…Uncertainty? I couldn't decide. I felt his hands gently move from the outside of the robe, pushing the fabric aside with the backs of his hands so that his fingertips brushed against the bare skin at my waist. My body trembled reflexively at the coolness of his touch, despite the fact that I felt heat radiating from my insides out.

With his eyes still locked on mine, Edward moved his fingers along my bare skin, tracing up the sides of my waist, around to my shoulder blades, and down to the small of my back, sending shivers of pleasure down my spine.

My knees suddenly felt weak… Instinctively I tightened my hold around his neck and drew myself closer to him, trying not to ruin the mood by fainting and falling flat on my face. I definitely did not want to end up sprawled on the floor half naked.

I flattened myself against Edward, pressing my soft body against his stone skin.

"Oh, Bella," he moaned into my ear, obviously enjoying my sudden rush of intensity.

Please don't faint, I thought to myself. This is too good to miss.

With one quick motion he had me in his arms, cradling me, his head still nuzzling the skin below my ear. He walked me slowly, effortlessly, into the white room. The windows and the sliding glass door were open; I could just make out the sound of the ocean over the frantic whirr of my heartbeat in my ears.

Edward stopped at the side of the huge bed, deftly slipping the pink robe over the round tops of my shoulders so that it slid off my arms and to the floor before he laid me in the center of the white blankets. His hand cradled the back of my head, setting it down gently on a mass of pillows so that my hair spilled over the silk pillowcases.

In a lightning movement, he was there beside me, his bathing suit on the floor beside my robe, the whisper-thin sheet pulled up to our chests. "How did you--" I giggled as he reached his fingers up to stroke my chin. I had gotten used to his vampire speed; I just wasn't used to this result.

"I was anxious to get here." He smiled and ran his fingers down the length of my face. I slowly, tentatively reached out to touch his chest. He closed his eyes as I ran my fingers lightly along his body, feeling the contours of his muscles beneath my skin.

"That feels… amazing," he murmured, his eyes still closed. Emboldened by his response, I raised myself up one arm and inched myself closer, broadening the reach of my fingers. As I stroked his skin, I lightly kissed the base of his ear… down his neck… the base of his throat… the hollow of his shoulder blades… his chest. I tilted my head back to peek at his face, marveling at how I had gotten so lucky that this man, this piece of perfection, was my husband.

Edward was looking down at me, and he curled his finger under my chin and gently pulled me up to meet his gaze. His lips met mine, more hungrily than before. His hands left my face and roamed over my body, igniting fires everywhere he touched despite the temperature of his skin. A soft moan escaped from my lips and Edward smiled, rolling himself until he was above me. He held himself effortlessly, our skin touching, though I felt none of his weight. He was afraid of crushing me, I was sure. I put my hands around his back, trying to pull him closer—to feel his weight-- but he did not move.

"Edward…" I whispered… not sure what I wanted to say. The moment had come, and I wanted it more than I ever thought possible. I wanted him. I was not afraid.

"Edward…" My arms kept trying to pull him closer; at the same time my legs curled around his and my hips raised underneath him… an invitation. He looked in my eyes again, that same complicated expression on his face.

"I love you, Bella," he stammered, fighting his own desires.

"I love you, too, Edward"

"I… don't want… to hurt you," he whispered, looking away.

I reached my hand up to his face, turning it back towards me. Although I knew I couldn't move it on my own, he let me pull his chin so that we were eye to eye, our faces barely an inch apart. I stared deep into the golden depths of his gaze, willing him to see what was deep within mine. Willing him to see what I already knew—that he would never let himself hurt me.

His eyes softened a little under my stare. It seemed to be working.

"Edward?" I cooed.

"Hmm?" He continued staring.

"I trust you." I said it slowly, emphasizing each word.

The corners of his mouth turned up, and he nuzzled his head into the nape of my neck. Kissing the hollow at the base of my throat, he whispered, "I know…"

And he let himself go. I felt the weight of his body as he gave in, his kisses becoming more fevered as his hips moved in response to my own. I stifled a gasp as he entered me…slowly, carefully… holding himself back as much as possible. I had expected the twinge of pain I would feel at the beginning… what I was not prepared for was the flood of pleasure that would come afterward. I forced myself to savor everything about the experience.

I was aware of a million things at once…

The joy on Edward's face as he realized he was not going to kill me, and the pleasure that overtook him when he became more confident.

The shiver that went through my body from the cold of his touch… the heat of my desire that flushed it away.

Edward's cool breath on my shoulder—a heavy, fevered breathing, matching my own, that must have been a human instinct since I knew he didn't need to breathe at all.

The way our scents mixed together, creating the most amazing, enticing fragrance I'd ever smelled.

How Edward sank his teeth into a defenseless pillow so that he wouldn't be too loud, until he realized there was no one within fifty miles to hear him.

The way we murmured each other's names when it was over…Edward cradling my body so tightly that steam rose up between us in little puffs of white before they disappeared into the night air.

And mostly, I was aware of how I was more perfectly, insanely, beautifully, amazingly happy than I had ever been in my entire life.