A/N Hi! Ready to see what was going through Edward's mind?

Good.

Read on, dear reader.

Aleea

Defrosting Edward

~~xx~~

Chapter 4

Smoldering

Epov

. . . . . .

Alice is reciting nursery rhymes. She started with Hickory Dickory Dock, and now she's well into an overly enthusiastic rendition of Humpty Dumpty.

I frown at her as I lift my fingers from the piano, the last few chords of the melody still hanging in the air. Until just now, I've been too concerned with the notes in my head to really pay attention to the thoughts in hers. Now that I am, I can't help but wonder what she's trying to hide.

"Alice?"

"Yes, Edward?" And all the kings' horses and all the kings… "Oh, Bella's here."

She skips to her feet and races to the door, and my frown deepens. Bella is here, I realize. I was completely engrossed in my music, but a small part of my brain had still registered her approach. Now that I'm really paying attention though, several other things become clear as well, and I begin to curse my preoccupation.

Listening intently, I realize that even as involved in my current composition as I was I should never have missed the familiar and grating sounds of her ancient truck. That I registered no such noise means she's arrived on foot. Alarm bells belatedly begin to ring in my mind, and it occurs to me that I've gotten much too complacent with her safety lately.

"Oh, Bella, you're soaked, get in here. What happened?" Alice's comments are overly dramatic, oozing with falsity, but I don't need them to enlighten me to the fact that Bella is drenched. Her normally intoxicating scent is positively drowning in rainwater.

I arrive at her side in less than a second, just in time to witness Alice tugging Bella none to gently into the house. She attempts to dig in her heels, but Alice only pulls harder.

"Wait, Alice stop, I'm dripping everywhere; Esme is going to kill me if I ruin her floors."

Concern makes me short tempered, and I chastise them both. "Don't be ridiculous, Bella. Alice, stop pulling on her and go get towels." I refrain just barely from bodily removing Alice's hands. Bella would be horrified at such an action, though not half as horrified as I am at the red marks Alice's fingers leave on her ivory skin.

Returning with towels, and a new more annoying set of nursery rhymes, Alice sets to work vigorously. I growl a warning low enough that Bella cannot hear it, and Alice switches her recital from English to Swahili. She's definitely keeping me out. If I wasn't so concerned with the thought that Bella could catch pneumonia, I'd jolt her out of her concentration and try and figure out why.

Admonishing Bella gently gives me little in the way of information about what happened, though she does tell me her truck died. On any other day this may have been good news, practically cause for celebration, but today it's not. I curse myself mentally for allowing her to drive herself here. I knew the truck was on its last legs; my actions are unforgivable.

Bella's teeth are chattering, and she looks very annoyed. There is also something about her scent that is slightly off. If she didn't just come in from the current torrential downpour outside I'd almost swear she was near fire. Her muscles are trembling, not just with cold but with a reaction I would most likely associate with shock or pain. Her hands are curled in towards her body in a protective way, and my level of concern rockets upward.

"Carlisle?"

As soon as I call his name Bella turns her adorable scowl from Alice to me, and if I wasn't worried before I definitely would be now. She is twice as pale as normal and her blue with cold lips are definitely pinched in discomfort.

"Edward, I'm fine. You don't need to bother…" She sighs heavily with irritation and turns her scowl onto Carlisle as he appears at my side asking me if she's okay. Not bothering to hide her anger from him is very unlike her, and his thoughts confirm my suspicions.

Carlisle's temporary amusement at her appearance quickly dissipates into concern. She's hurt, Edward. Burns? His thoughts confirm my senses, and I feel almost sick.

"I'm fine Carlisle; Edward is just being…Edward." Her scowl once again falls on me, though I barely notice as Carlisle's latest thoughts cement our suspicions.

Ah, yes, definitely burns. "Let me see those fingers, Bella." His voice and thoughts are calm, mine are anything but.

Not bothering to wait for her to comply with Carlisle's request, I capture her hands myself, horrified by what I see. Her small delicate palms and fingers are covered in raw red skin and already inflamed blisters. "Bella, what in the name of God have you been doing to yourself?"

Alice's nursery rhyme mind tangent slips just enough for me to see a sickening image of Bella grabbing hold of a steaming hot radiator hose. Not once, but twice. The image mercifully disappears as Alice begins reciting the Declaration of Independence in Russian. I somehow manage to pass Bella's hands to Carlisle, furious with myself for failing to protect her.

Needing to do something, I drop to my knees and wrap towels around Bella's legs. My mind spins through burn first aid while I try to ease some of her chill. I glance up only once to see Bella looking down at me with an indecipherable expression. Her heartbeat picks up, and I study her face feeling alarmed and helpless until she breaks my gaze and turns her attention back to Carlisle. If I didn't know better, I'd almost swear her expression was a familiar one.

I listen as Carlisle outlines the care she needs. I'm not surprised when Bella tries to sway him on his treatment plan. It's all I can do not to interfere. Standing, I instantly sweep her off her feet. Determined to speed up the process despite her obvious reluctance, I ignore her protests and carry her at lightening pace to Carlisle's office.

Placing her on her feet, she suddenly shivers violently causing me to inanely state the obvious. "You're freezing."

She looks like she wants to roll her eyes at me.

"Edward, why don't you go see if Alice has something for Bella to wear." I've got her, Edward. Go, she'll be fine.

Carlisle begins to clean her hands, and she makes a small hissing sound of pain. She instantly looks at me when I groan in reaction, her expression almost apologetic. It's almost as though her physical pain is inconsequential in the face of my emotional discomfort. I manage to place a small kiss on her cheek and slip away, needing to do something more constructive than heaping guilt on the woman I love. If anyone should be feeling guilty it's me, and though I do, I'm not the only one who should be feeling such an emotion.

I don't bother to knock on Alice's door. Jasper's thoughts are as clear to me as my own and I can both hear and feel him warning me to stay calm. He stands just inside the room, almost but not quite blocking my path to Alice. I ignore him completely. Alice has left the Declaration of Independence behind and is now blocking me with a twice as annoying rendition of Michael Jackson lyrics.

It doesn't matter who's wrong or right, just beat it, just beat it. Wooh. No one wants to be defeated…

"Very funny, Alice."

She sighs but doesn't relent.

"Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?"

"No, and before you go all ballistic on me, Edward, I'm only doing what you asked me to do."

Gritting my teeth, I turn my glare on Jasper as waves of enforced calm begin to surround me. His face holds a warning, and I roll my eyes at him. You know how sensitive she can be, Edward. Watch what you say. She loves Bella, and you know that.

Sighing, I pinch the top of my nose in frustration, knowing he's right yet finding no real comfort in the fact. "Do you want to tell me what you mean by that, Alice?"

"I mean you've forbidden me from looking at visions that have anything to do with your sex life, or have you forgotten?"

I stare at her, completely stunned. "What the hell could any of this have to do with my sex life?"

Or lack thereof.

I give Jasper a withering look, and he shrugs apologetically.

"If I told you that, it would mean I'd have to look. Do you want me to do that?"

"No, I do not." Groaning, I close my eyes and sigh in defeat as Jasper batters me with more calm. "Alice, she's hurt! Did you not see her hands?" I can't keep the pain from my affecting my voice. When I open my eyes again, Alice's expression matches my emotion.

"I know," she laments softly. "I'm sorry for that. You can't imagine what it felt like watching her reach under that hood. She made a split second decision. There wasn't time to do anything about it."

"Why didn't she call me?" The question isn't really meant for him but Jasper snorts in derision nonetheless.

"Jesus, Edward. You bought her one of the most advanced and complex cell phones available. The damn thing hasn't even hit the market yet."

I ignore him, hating that he's right. Satellite capabilities seemed like a good idea at the time.

"Listen, Alice, I am formerly amending my last request, okay? From now on you have my permission to look at my future sex life if it pertains to Bella's safety." Which of course it did, in every facet, so I just effectively gave Alice permission to play constant voyeur. I can't think right now of a way to amend my statement without leaving loopholes in the matter that could adversely affect Bella's health.

Hearing another soft exclamation of pain coming from Carlisle's office has me quickly leaving Alice to her Michael Jackson obsession. She's just begun Thriller, and she couldn't have picked a better choice to shut me out.

Back at Bella's side, I'm alarmed to see she is even paler now. My heart breaks for her. I can't help thinking about all the ways this could have been avoided as I gently press her face against my shoulder. I watch Carlisle's sure, quick hands wrap hers and feel a sudden overwhelming gratitude to him as he quietly reassures me with his thoughts.

She'll be fine; the burns are relatively minor, though most likely very painful. I wince internally. He wants to give her something more for pain, and I can see his mind spinning through possibilities. Knowing Bella as I do, I doubt she'll take anything anyway. In the end he decides to see if the anesthetic in the cream works before looking for other measures. I nod my thanks, knowing he'll understand, and guide Bella from the room. My only priority right now is getting her dry and warm.

As we enter the hallway we almost crash into Emmett who is, as usual, barreling full tilt down the hall forcing me to literally steer Bella away from him. Of course he takes the opportunity to tease her, making a sarcastic remark about cats and swimming pools, though I give him a dirty look in warning. When Bella doesn't rise to his teasing with anything more than a muttered shut up, he raises the bar.

"Hey, Bella, nice boobies."

His crassness never ceases to amaze me. Without hesitation, I spin around, leap across the distance between us, and take him down hard. The impact carries us out of the hall, back through his bedroom door, and more than halfway across the room. I feel some item of furniture shatter under our combined weight while I easily avoid his left hook and land a right of my own directly in the center of his stomach.

"Aww, damn it, Edward. Rosalie's gonna kill me. She freakin loves that chair." Emmett looks more afraid of what Rosalie will do than of me.

If not for the fact that my main concern is still standing where I've left her, I'd continue to pummel him. My frustrations need an outlet and his body is the perfect vehicle for such a venture. Unfortunately, it will need to wait for another time. I growl a low but fierce warning, one that he can hear but Bella can't. "You will apologize to her for that, you ass. Oh, and Emmett, your apology better be authentic, got it?"

Standing up he grins. "Don't be so sensitive, Edward. I was only giving her a compliment. She does have nice ones. A little small for my tastes maybe, but you know what they say, more than a handful is a…"

I'm already heading out the door as he says this. When I turn around thinking I can spare a few more seconds, Emmett vanishes out the window with a laugh. I can hear his thoughts as he races around the house headed for the garage.

I'm going with Jasper to rescue her rust bucket of a truck, man, so no worries. You go get your girlfriend out of those wet clothes and warm her up! Oh, and if you need any advice, you know, step by step instructions, I've got my cell." His laughter is loud.

In my mind, I'm already planning some creative, painful ways to make him pay for this later.

I find Bella where I left her, one delicate brow arched in question. I ignore it and guide her into my room.

"Alice left you some clothes there." I gesture to the bed. She ignores me, her eyes flaring in anger as her arms come up to wrap around her chest in an attempt to cover herself up.

"You could have told me," she accuses hotly. "Oh, my God, Edward! I stood in front of Carlisle like this!" Her cheeks blaze instantly in pink and my venom lets down in a familiar rush.

I swallow, very use to the sensation, and fight not to smile, though I do feel a bit bad. The truth of the matter is that it was the least of my concerns, and I tell her so. What I don't tell her, however, is how much I've struggled to keep my eyes in their proper place. With the near transparency of her clothing, and her body's natural reaction to the cold, it's a struggle I haven't really been winning. Thankfully she hasn't noticed. I attempt to soothe her by pointing out that Emmett's comment exaggerated reality, but she's having none of it. I try instead to reason with her another way.

"Love, you need to get changed before you catch your death." A very violent shiver wracks her tiny frame, and I hate that my cold body can be no comfort to her. The feeling is painfully reminiscent of the night before Victoria and her brood of newborns made their ill-fated attempt to exact revenge. This time Jacob is thankfully not present. This day has held enough angst for me without his adolescent gloating and space heater abilities being once again flaunted in my face.

When Bella reaches for the clothes, I realize my instructions are not going to be something she can carry out on her own. With her hands swaddled in gauze and still obviously painful, she isn't going to be able to do much of anything for the foreseeable future. I see the same realization arrive in her mind as well.

"Uh, why don't I get Alice. She can help you." The instant the words are out of my mouth an odd expression crosses Bella's face. It's there and gone too fast for me to decipher. At the same time, my mind registers that there are no longer annoying pop lyrics running through my head. Alice has left the house, probably with Jasper and Emmett. Bella points that out as well. Again I'm not sure of her expression, but I'm beginning to smell a set up. Alice's cryptic comments about my sex life are beginning to make sense. Especially when I remember that Rosalie and Esme are also inconveniently gone, meaning that other than Carlisle, the house is suspiciously empty.

Bella shivers again. "Could you maybe..."

Our predicament might be almost amusing. Might be, if the sexual tension between us wasn't already at its all time high in the last few weeks. Ever since she agreed to marry me, and I agreed to try and grant her wish for one last human experience, things in that area are impossibly difficult. We both agreed to wait for our wedding night to make love for the first time, but we also agreed to work at increasing our intimacy with one another. At the time, I was certain my self control was up to the task, but Bella has been tearing down every wall I put up lately. And right now she's carrying a king size sledgehammer. The meaning of her previous and current expressions finally dawn on me. She's striving to look innocent, but I'm cluing in. My beautifully tempting girl cannot resist any opportunity to push my limits, and fate has handed her quite the opportunity.

I feel like I should stop this, but I can't prevent myself from contemplating doing as she asks anymore than I can keep my gaze from falling down to her breasts. Besides, she does need help, and I am apparently the only one here who can provide it. It doesn't help that she's impossibly alluring and the idea of caring for her is impossibly appealing in so many ways, not the least of which is one born of pure lust for the female I love and adore. I strive not to show it, but if she knew even one quarter of how incredibly aroused she makes me with even the most innocent of movements, all would be lost.

I see that secret look fleetingly cross her face again, and I know she's reading my expressions just as easily. She may not know the extent of her powers, but she isn't oblivious to their existence. Hiding my desire for her has become a physical impossibility as of late.

"Or I suppose you could just get me a blanket, I guess I can air dry."

My integrity goes to war with my failing will power and it takes everything I have not to take her in my arms and end this increasingly painful denial. I want her with a desire bordering on madness. Somehow I reign in my need and watch as her expression falls. She's taking my lack of a reply to her ridiculous comment about 'air-drying' to mean I'm about to refuse her.

"Never mind." Bella turns away looking hurt, her hands rising to tug at her clothes. I hear the small hiss of pain she makes and it galvanizes me into action.

I'm moving before she can take more than a step away, turning her back to me. "Come here, Bella."

Instead of looking triumphant as I expected, she instead looks even more dejected and oddly resolved. Sighing, she lifts her chin in stubborn acknowledgement and waits.

The shadows in her eyes sadden me. I kiss her, both from the pure need to do so that always exists, and the desire to dispel the notion she constantly has that I don't want her as much as she wants me. She quits breathing almost immediately, and I can't help but chuckle against her lips as I remind her to do the necessary.

My fingers seem to move of their own accord and the buttons of her blouse slide open beneath my hand. Her skin feels so cold. I know I should be concerned, but it's hard to focus on anything except the way she feels.

Groaning because she makes me feel so many desirous things, I move on to the snap and zipper of the wet, cold denim encasing her lower body. Undressing her is a necessary task, and yet that makes it no less erotic to me. Her scent is stronger now as I push the material down her legs, her heartbeat carrying it to me in delectably fragrant and warm waves as it begins to race. I've imagined doing this more times than I would ever admit, and my mind and senses hungrily devour every nuance of sight and touch and scent revealed to me. I'm in heaven and hell equally. As I lift her away from her jeans, I'm fascinated by the bumps that cover every inch of exposed skin. In nothing more than an open barely-there blouse and matching panties and bra of the most delicate ivory color I've ever seen, she is the most desirable creature in existence.

"You are absolutely covered in goose flesh." I want to touch and caress every inch of her. I want to do things to her that will make her blush, right before they make her moan. My comment about her goosebumps was meant to be reverential, but I realize she doesn't interpret them as such. She takes a small step back and frowns, pulling the edges of her blouse over the skin I can no longer bear not to see.

"Don't." I have to swallow the sudden pooling of venom in my mouth as her heart stutters and then ratchets up yet another level in speed at my tone. I carefully pull her arms away, holding them out so she can't cover up again. "Don't cover yourself. My God, Bella. Do you any idea, any idea at all, how exquisite you are?" The question is absurd, the answer that she does not have any idea is even more so.

She tries to move closer to me, and I can see in her eyes that it is a move made from two motives: a desire to hide and another to be held. Her teeth begin to chatter again as she says my name in frustration when I can't allow the movement. If I hold her now I will not be able to stop myself from pulling her down to the floor, tearing off the rest of her clothing and putting my mouth and hands over every inch…

I groan, trying to choke off the thought and kiss her hungrily. Even the inside of her mouth is cold and it's that fact that finally brings me to my senses. Here she is probably only a few degrees from possible hypothermia and I'm ready to take her on the floor. Disgusted with myself, I pull away, determined to not add to her discomfort with my icy touch.

"You can't shower with your hands this way, but I could draw you a bath?"

She seems slightly dazed, and I can't help the thrill that alleviates a small amount of my guilt. She wants me almost as much as I want her.

I repeat my question and watch in fascination as different emotions paint themselves across her face. Disappointment, rejection, annoyance, and finally approval of my offer. She has to be uncomfortable being so cold. I watch as she smiles and nods, pleased I can offer something to ease her discomforts. I release her so I can run the bath, somewhat grateful for a very short yet entirely essential reprieve.

I need to gather my wits about me and re-strengthen my resolve with reminders of my very realistic fears. However, as I run the water for her bath, I find myself amending my earlier thought. It's not a king size sledgehammer that Bella is wielding at my walls tonight. It's a jackhammer, and those few remaining articles of clothing that remain to be removed are going to tempt me in ways I can't even begin to imagine.

I am unbearably excited by the prospect.

A/N Oh, Edward. Ever the protective, gentleman vamp, lol. Of course you all already know he's doomed. You just don't know how he feels about it. Read on to find out if you're at all curious. ;)