Bella's POV

"What happened?" I asked, moving my hands around the darkness to search for Edward.

We were in his house, which was currently empty for the week. His family had gone hunting. Alice had told Charlie that we were going to have a sleepover and go shopping while everyone else hiked; they were trying to give us some time alone. We never got enough of that these days. Even when he snuck into my room late at night, my father was always in the next room. Now we could truly be alone. For a whole week!

We had been watching a bad television sitcom when the power went out, leaving us both in total darkness. Everything was black, there weren't even street lights outside; the mansion was far from any road, so I could see nothing. Edward on the other hand had perfect vision. I bet he was enjoying watching me feel my way through the darkness.

"Edward?" I called.

I heard a faint chuckle from behind me and I turned quickly, putting my hands out in front of me.

"Very funny, Edward! Since when am I the mature one?"

I walked forward, not seeing where I was going, and then a sharp pain ripped through my shin.

"AH!" I shouted, collapsing to the floor. "Ow! Dammit!"

Edward's cold arm was on my shoulder immediately. "Bella? Are you okay?"

"NO!" I yelled, grasping my leg. "My leg! I think I walked into something!" I tried to touch the spot that ached the most and winced in pain.

Edward lifted me effortlessly and it took all but half a second for us to both be in Carlisle's study, where two flashlights were perched on the desk, shining light in the blackness. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to their brightness and felt relief at being able to see again.

Edward placed me on the desk gently but I grimaced and moaned.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he said. I was finally able to see his face and it was masked with thick concern. "You're bleeding. I can smell it."

He gently traced the area that burned and was probably belled and I winced, my leg recoiling involuntarily. It took a few minutes of deep breathing but eventually, the pain started to die down slowly, allowing me to feel the gash other than the sting.

"Bella," Edward said, "I need to take a look."

I shook my head. "I'm sure it's not too serious." But as I spoke the wound ached in protest. I wanted ice. I was tempted to ask him to place his hand on it but for some reason, I was too embarrassed. Maybe it was because the pain was located from my shin all the way up to my mid-thigh. "I'll be okay in a little bit."

He sighed. "That's not a good idea. I don't want you to get an infection on the first day of our week alone. As if we didn't have enough bad luck." I rolled my eyes at the 'we'.

"Fine." I reached down to the bottom of my baggy jeans, prepared to lift up the sleeve.

He caught my hand. "Bella, it wouldn't be good for the fabric to rub against it. That would just cause a greater burn at the friction." I grimaced. More pain? "These jeans are far too big for you. I'm sure you would be able to slide them down your legs and avoid the wound."

I looked up at his face, trying to see if he was being serious. "You want me to take them off?"

He nodded, his face serious. "Yes. You're not wearing shoes. I'll help you."

I quickly shook my head. "NO! No! I mean, I can take them off!"

He chuckled softly and took out his cell phone. "Alright. I'm going to step out for a while and call the electricity company that's serves the house. I want to find out how long the power will be off."

I nodded and he walked out the door, already putting the phone to his ear. I was afraid that standing up would make my leg ache, so I carefully tried to maneuver myself out of my large jeans while staying in the sitting position and keeping as much pressure as I could off my leg. The light of the flashlights helped a little, but not much. I couldn't see beyond a few feet ahead of me. Once the jeans were safely off, I chucked them onto the floor, unable to see where they landed. I was scared to see what the wound actually looked like. Edward said it was bleeding and it was probably badly bruised. I could feel how bad it was. But I didn't want Edward to be the first to assess it so, hesitantly, I looked down and gasped.

From my thigh to the middle of my shin, was purple and black from the bruise, and there was a cut just below my knee that was surrounded my dried blood. The bruising wasn't very bad on my thigh, but I was more worried about my lower leg. I shuddered when I thought about what Edward would say. Maybe it was worse than it looked.

Edward sauntered into the room, tucking his phone into his pocket. "Well, they say theirs is a shortage of electricity in this general area that might last until Wednesday." Great, Two more days. This just fuelled my hatred of Mondays. "But I'm sure we'll be able to find something interesting to do during that time."

He walked up to the table and looked down at my leg.

"It's actually not as bad as I imagined it would be, Bella." He let his hand hover above the skin for a second before ever so gently grazing it with the tips of his fingers. I winced. "I'll go get a cloth for the blood and some Tylenol for the pain," he said. "By tomorrow, you should be able to walk again." I looked at the clock. It was only 8:15pm.

"Great," I grumbled.

Edward left the room and I counted the seconds. It took him only three to get 2 Tylenol pills, a glass of water and a damp towel in his hands. He laid the glass of water and pills on the desk beside me and put his hand on my un-marred knee. I winced as he gently dabbed the cloth over the blood.

"You don't have to endure this, you know," I told him. "I can do that."

He chuckled. "I've told you I'd gotten over that a long time ago, Bella. It's fine. I'll have you cleaned up in a second." The he looked up so he could wink at me.

It took several minutes of careful and light dabs before I was finally clean. Without speaking, Edward pulled a long bandage from a tiny box on the table and wrapped it around the cut. The bruise still showed but the pain was starting to subside already. I smiled, pleased with the progress. Once the bandage was secure, he proceeded to rub some strange-smelling, yellow liquid on the surrounded area. I immediately realized it was an anesthetic because of the numbness that spread through my entire leg at that instant. My entire leg felt dead. The pain was gone, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

Edward smiled up at me apologetically. "I'm sorry. I'm no doctor. That should be more than enough."

I chuckled. "That's perfect, thanks." I looked down at the pale pink lacy and ribbon-covered underwear I had on and blushed a deep crimson. "Alice bought them for me yesterday," I admitted. "Maybe she saw this coming and wanted me to be . . . prepared." I blushed deeper realizing that I was saying way more than necessary and just embarrassing myself. I shut my mouth.

"Hmm," he muttered, placing two ice cold hands on my thighs. "Prepared for what, I wonder?"

I tried to remember how to breathe as he leaned in closer. "I-I don't know," I stammered. "This?"

He chuckled and his breathe blew onto my face. "You know," he whispered. "You're going to have to remind me to thank Alice for this when they get back . . ."

My breathing hitched and my pulse hammered in my ear. He left one of his hands to travel up my un-bruised thigh and let his other one rest on the small of my back. Gently and slowly, he pushed me down until my head touched the desk and our bodies were pressed flush against each other. My breathing was erratic and I was sure he heard me heart pounding.

"Edward," I whispered longingly.

He seemed to sense what I was trying to say. He leaned down until his lips were hovering just above mine and paused. I groaned and lifted my head up so that our lips crushed together with such force it knocked the breath out of me. His lips moved against mine with enthusiasm and I opened my mouth to allow him better access. His icy tongue was suddenly against mine, his cool breath filling my mouth. I moaned into the kiss and moved my hands to his neck, holding him against me. I got brave and lifted my legs up so that my feet rested on the table. He pushed his hips into mine but didn't pause his movements. I had to breathe so I unwillingly pulled away from him, but his lips never left my skin. They traveled from my neck all the way down to my collarbone and back again. I panted, trying to catch my breath, and then I pulled his hair until his lips met mine once again, with even more force than before. I locked my legs around his hips and moaned again, tracing his lower lip with the tip of my tongue. I shivered at the exquisite taste. He groaned suddenly, and grew stiff. Then, as I expected, he pulled away and, after taking a few deep breaths, he chuckled throatily.

He gazed at me as I watched the excitement in his eyes die down.

"Bella," he whispered. "I think you've pushed yourself enough for tonight."

I blushed and he straightened himself up into a standing position. I stubbornly kept my legs hooked tightly around him and he picked me up with him.

"Bella," he mock-complained.

I giggled. "What?" I asked innocently.

He shook his head, dismissing it. I didn't feel bad because I knew he could easily withstand my weight. He picked up the two torches in one hand.

"Why don't we take this to the bedroom," he suggested, already walking. "You must be exhausted."

I rolled my eyes. "And we can continue with more of this?" I asked, tightening my legs around him.

He laughed. "Whatever you want, love. This is our week."

I smiled. I liked the sound of that. I frowned knowing that the first day had already passed, but knew that I still had six glorious ones ahead of me. This was going to be the best week ever.