DISCLAIMER: the wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns the characters and world of Twilight. I am just thankful to be allowed to sneak in and play make believe.

Inspired by Breaking Dawn, this is my version of Edward and Bella's voyage of sexual discovery from the night they go to their cottage in the woods, after the tumultuous day of Bella's introduction to vampirehood, motherhood and meeting the family as an equal.

Warning: there will be adult language from the start and zesty, zingy lemons through the story as from Chapter 2. A lemon juice a day keeps the doctor away!

Music is huge in my life, as it is with Stephenie Meyer, and so for this chapter, I have chosen Foo Fighters "Home" as the vibe to work from. I'm sure both Edward and Bella would approve – their journey has been a poignant one but they've come full circle:

CHAPTER 1: GENTLY DOES IT

BELLA'S POV:

It had been quite a day all in all, certainly not a birthday I would forget in a hurry. It had been filled with all sorts of new vivid sensations – thirst, fear, smells, bloodlust, wonder, bewilderment, wildness, anger, pure love and, most of all, scorching desire.

My mind flicked back over the course of the day as we walked the few remaining yards to the door of the cottage, our new cottage. Sharp images flooded my spacious new mind – the breathtaking first view with my new eyes of a flawless Edward staring back at me, the powerful and riveting first kiss, the shock of my new crimson irises reflected back at me in the mirror when they should have been pools of chocolate, the thrill of my new powers on the first hunt and the grin of satisfaction for both Edward and for me when I made my first kill, then the overwhelming experience of meeting our daughter properly for the first time.

How could Edward and I have created such a perfect child? How could life have been turned on its head so quickly? It was hard to take in that I was a new being and a new mother all at the same time. Goodness, but I was certainly going to need LOTS of room in my head to get around those thoughts.

First, however, we had this first evening alone together as vampires to get through. The tension between Edward and I was electric as my fleeting thoughts brought us closer to the front door. Alice's departing giggle had nudged into my head the proper meaning of this next patch of time alone with Edward. I realised that I would no doubt be sharing the experience with her visionary mind and that notion was in itself a little daunting, as well as disturbing. That was a part of Cullen life I'd have to get used to.

My darling Edward was of course determined to do his gentlemanly new ritual of sweeping me across the threshold of our new home. This romantic side of his nature was just one more element to add to the thousands of reasons why I so loved this elegant man, my treasure, my hero and my angel. He had fought many battles over the years since his transformation into a vampire, but it seemed that the toughest battle of all had been the one he'd fought with himself over me and how our relationship should develop while I was still human. Of course, events had overtaken us and now all his worries seemed to have fallen away to insignificance at this moment. I looked into Edward's eyes and saw a soul at peace at last. I couldn't have been more thankful, or so I thought.

Edward planted a kiss on my lips, winked at me and although he didn't need to, took a deep breath before sweeping us through the doorway into our marital home. My mind started processing all the details I could see of Esme's superlative interior design. She'd created a look so natural that it must actually have taken alot of talent and thought to pull it together. The whole vibe of the cottage was relaxed and, as I looked around, I noted the delicate touches which Esme had brought to our home – the worn but much-loved pieces of furniture, the artwork, the earthy tones and natural textures which she knew I loved, a touch of Arizona desert mixed with sandy beach and greenery which echoed our wonderful honeymoon location. The blue-green colours of the driftwood fire only added to the magical feel of the place.

The electric tension which I had felt between us outside the cottage increased palpably as Edward carried me through the rooms one by one, contentedly explaining how the family had pulled together to create this piece of heaven on Earth. With all the events leading up to our wedding, I could barely imagine how they'd had time to do this without my knowledge. The tour of the cottage culminated at the doorway to what I now knew would be our bedroom. The air was fairly crackling with sparks as Edward opened the door and I got my first glimpse into our own private nest.

With a kiss on the cheek, Edward set me down on my feet. I gasped as I clapped eyes on the scene before me: the bright white walls reflected back the light from a hundred candles nestled on every surface. The imposing bed, evidently a twin of the one we had wrecked on Isle Esme, stood big and proud to the left of the room, its bedspread covered with flower petals. On the thickly carpeted floor were a variety of large natural clear crystals and amethyst cathedrals, stationed around the edge of the room.

The candlelight bounced off and through the crystals, scattering myriad colours onto the walls which danced with movement, almost like fireflies or the woodland fairies in Fantasia. The delicious smell of jasmine and bougainvillea, from strategically placed plantpots, assaulted my nostrils and took me right back to the island for an instant. I smiled at the memory of that and turned to look at Edward. He gazed back at me, watching my expression with a gentle smile warming his face, waiting for my reaction.

"Wow, I really feel like I've come home" I said quietly, overawed by the beauty of the scene.

"Well you have, my love" he responded.

I entered the room ahead of Edward and stood there, looking around further, drinking in the atmosphere and noting some familiar objects which had migrated to the house. My gorgeous husband came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. Moving my hair to one side, he sweetly kissed my neck, putting his arms around me, swaying me from side to side in a gentle bearhug as I breathed in the scents some more.

"So do you like it?" he breathed in my ear.

"I swear if I were still human, I'd have goosebumps right at this moment" was all I could say. "Esme is truly an artist".

"Yeah, maddening as my family can be at times, they surely do have some talents. Nothing gives them greater pleasure than to make someone else happy and they were fairly giddy with happiness planning all this. Even Carlisle ditched his rounds for a few days to help put up shelves and hammer that copper hood over the stove in the living room. He's pretty good with his hands, you know...".

Edward was pretty good with his hands too. With that comment, Edward started to gently pepper more kisses down my neck and along my shoulder, moving the fabric of my ripped dress aside as he worked his way to the edge. He then moved slowly to do the same to my other shoulder. I leaned back into him and moaned a little, content to stand there in his arms. The feel of his lips on my skin was like being rubbed with static electricity. I was surprised to find that my newly formed skin, although tough on the outside, was actually super sensitive. I could sense that Edward was aware of how I might be feeling and he was enjoying bringing this new sensation to me. He chuckled as I shuddered under his touch. He then gentle blew over the surface of my skin and that's when my hairs stood on end. His hands moved slowly up the front of my ripped dress, lingering on the patches of skin they encountered on the way up, caressing me teasingly until they came to rest on my breasts. My natural reaction was to lean harder back into him. With that, I could feel he was also really enjoying himself - his evident arousal made the connection of our bodies more delicious.

Although we had of course been pretty intimate on our honeymoon, our lovemaking had necessarily been fairly controlled. As Edward's fingers gently made circles around my breasts, bringing my nipples to attention, I wondered how he would proceed now that I had been transformed. A twinge of heat flared in my belly, but for the moment, I delighted in his gentleness as he subtly warmed my soul with his touch and reminded me that vampires could indeed be very tender. My first instinct was to be bashful like I had been on honeymoon, but I knew that my Edward could now be the Edward I had wanted him to be all along – free to love me how he desired and how I had dreamed of since first acknowledging my own human attraction to him and his strengths.

As that fleeting thought gave way to a new wave of sensations from his caresses, I turned around to face Edward, clasping my arms around his neck and looked deep into his eyes. His irises were like charcoal, lids heavy with lust, an expectant smile curving across his face, making his eyes crinkle slightly. At that moment, with my chest snuggling pertly up to his, Edward just about purred before pressing his lips to mine, pushing his tongue forward into my mouth and breathing his delicious scent over me. That insistent touch triggered an immediate primal response in me and I surrendered, letting myself go in the passion of our kiss.

***

Phew! So that's the first snippet. Now for some lemony loving.....read on McDuff!