A/N: Two weeks went by pretty fast, huh? Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling with an absurdly wide grin on my face while Edward slept beside me. I didn't want to wake him as it was still very early, the light in the room slowly brightening from the sun's rising.

Rolling onto my side as gently as I could, I propped myself on my elbow to watch him sleep. He looked so peaceful, and I had to restrain the need to trace my fingers along the sharp features of his face. His breathing was calm, quiet, as he lay on his stomach. This was the first time I woke up before him - I could easily watch him sleep for hours. Edward's sinewy arms were mostly buried under his pillow and the ivory-colored sheet covered only his legs and lower back. I followed each line and contour of his back, my eyes starting at his neck skimming over his shoulder blades and down the center of his spine.

It wasn't until I reached his lower back that I noticed a small, jagged scar on his left side, just faintly lighter in color than his skin, but hardly noticeable. It could have been there for years. I wondered if it was the result of a childhood injury or maybe something from when he was a teenager. I found myself wanting to know so much more about him.

Edward drew in a deep breath, his eyelids fluttering slightly. I waited for him to wake, but he didn't, so I continued to study each mark and line of his body. By the time Edward had taken a few tranquil breaths, I had already counted six freckles scattered along his left arm and back.

I glanced back to his scar and absently touched it with my finger, following the short expanse of it down toward his hip.

"How did you get this?" I whispered so low the words barely escaped my lips.

When I glanced back toward Edward's face, his soft green eyes met mine, and I wondered if he heard me.

"Good morning," I said as he rolled onto his side and pulled the sheet up to his waist.

"Good morning." He took my hand, weaving our fingers together. "Were you watching me sleep?" he asked with a slight smirk on his lips, his drowsy eyes squinting.

I smiled. "You're very peaceful when you sleep. I couldn't help myself."

"You know that's a little disturbing…" Edward moved closer and crawled on top of me, "to watch a person while they sleep."

I wrapped my thighs around his hips, nudging my heels into his calves. Edward kissed the tip of my nose as I slid my palms up his back. He was hard as he pressed himself against my wetness and slowly entered me.

"You know what else is disturbing?" I whispered as we moved our hips together. "Morning breath."

Edward's cheeks flushed as did mine, because I was utterly aware my breath wasn't the freshest.

His slow thrusts remained constant as his unshaven cheek grazed mine while dipping his head as though embarrassed by my comment. He felt so good – his warm body enveloping mine, inside me yet again.

"I'd rather have morning breath than be considered a stalker," he said, his breaths coming faster.

I dragged my nails down his back and gripped his backside, pulling him harder against me. Edward bit and sucked at the nape of my neck, clutching the edge of the mattress as he pumped his hips faster.

"At least a stalker… Won't. Offend. Anyone. Withtheirstench," I panted between each thrust.

Edward's warm skin tasted salty as I licked and kissed the top of his shoulder. He moved his hand to the back of my neck, fisting my hair, and tugged, tilting my head back into the pillow. Edward moaned against my throat, and I could feel my release coming.

"Re… straining… order," he grunted.

Raising my knees, I dug my heels into the backs of his thighs, forcing my hips against his, needing to feel him deeper inside me. I clutched his upper back, my body trembling, as my orgasm peaked.

"Edward," I said breathlessly, "Jesu-"

"Bella… I… mmmm."

With another strong thrust, Edward stilled as he came. I clenched my muscles around him, feeling him throb and release inside me. Moving my hips slowly, my body continued to quiver.

Edward kissed lightly around my cheeks and down my jaw. I cupped my hands against his face, bringing him to my lips and gently stroking his tongue with mine.

We kissed for several moments. He pulled back and smiled.

"We have to get going," I said, glancing toward the clock. I had a little something special planned for him – something he'd either enjoy or completely hate.

He crinkled his forehead. "Why? We don't have to check out for another few hours."

"We have an appointment." I smirked.

"Do we?" He glided his fingertips down my side. "We haven't left the room yet, and I really think we should continue that pattern."

I shook my head. "Mm mm. We're heading out. You shared camping with me, and I want to share something I enjoy with you."

Edward conceded, and we quickly got ready, ate a light breakfast, and were on our way to our destination. It was only ten minutes from the hotel. I was lucky to have found something for us to do on such short notice and lucky this place had space available. My classes at home had always been full.

I pulled into the parking lot as Edward stared at the sign. "So, this would explain our attire," he said.

"You'll love it. I promise."

Edward and I walked through the front door of the studio to be greeted by a woman with dark hair with strands of gray flowing through it. It was loosely pulled back to the base of her neck, and she wore a tan unitard with a matching sarong tied around her waist.

"Good morning. Welcome to Bikram Yoga," she said quietly. "My name is Tia. Will you both be joining the class today?" Tia smiled, nodding toward Edward and me.

"Yes," I answered. "I made an appointment yesterday morning." I had called when I arrived at the hotel, but neglected to mention anything to Edward.

"Have either of you taken a Bikram class before?" she asked as she looked over a book on the reception desk after I gave her my name.

Edward grudgingly shook his head.

"I have," I replied, looping my arm through his and stretching on my toes to reach his ear. "It'll be fun, you'll see."

"It'll be fun watching you get bendy," he murmured.

Tia handed us two clip boards, stating we'd need to sign waivers since we did not have a contract. She explained how the class is run, and directed us toward the towels, extra mats, and where to leave our shoes.

Edward and I walked into the room - he stopped abruptly. "Jesus Christ!" he said looking at me with a pained expression.

"Oh, yeah," I said quietly with a sheepish grin. "It's also called hot yoga. The room is pre-heated to one hundred degrees." I waited, gauging his expression, which gave away nothing. "Do you want to do something else?"

The room was completely silent with the exception of the others in class unrolling their mats and Edward and I whispering very loudly.

"And pass up the opportunity to do a bird sits in tree while the moon rises in the East thing with you? No. I'm all over this," he said, attempting to look serious.

"You mock me?" We walked across the pale wooden floor to an open space in the back of the room and received several looks from the other attendees. Edward held his finger to his lips to silently shush me. I leaned into him, whispering, "Bears have nothing on Bik-" His lips were suddenly on mine and the heated room got even hotter.

The instructor walked gracefully across the room and stood in front of the class. I glanced toward Edward in my periphery and pressed my lips together to keep from giggling at the bewildered look on his face as he stared at the instructor.

"Good morning, everyone. I see we have a few new members in the class," he said, looking toward Edward and me. "I'm Craig. Welcome."

Craig couldn't have been more than five and a half feet tall. He was shirtless and wore skin-tight, black Speedo shorts. His dark hair was long and wavy and pulled into a tight ponytail. I didn't think it was actually Craig himself that Edward found so interesting, but most likely the awkward bulge he hosted in his Speedos.

Edward chewed at the inside of his cheek as he listened to Craig list the health benefits of practicing this type of yoga in a heated room. He also encouraged the class to remember to let our bodies relax and allow them to do what they needed to in order to gain the full stretch.

Edward looked at me questioningly.

"Try to ignore it," I whispered.

Edward shrugged with his palms up.

I rolled my eyes and mouthed, "You'll see."

"Shall we begin?" Craig asked.

Silently, everyone stood as Craig called out, "Pranayama!" I laced my fingers under my chin and glanced over at Edward.

Edward rolled his eyes at me and followed Craig's lead.

"Let your breath fill your body!" Craig called.

Edward handled the first of the twenty-six poses – basically just standing and breathing - really well, although a thin sheen of sweat covered his forehead.

By the second pose, Edward had removed his shirt and figured out the wash cloth we picked up with the towels was needed for wiping excess sweat.

Pose four, the Eagle Pose, had earned me one of those "Are you trying to kill me?" looks as he wobbled on one foot, losing his balance several times. I sank into the pose easily, smiling encouragingly at Edward as he struggled. I felt badly for him and decided to reward him when we got back to the hotel. He'd see just how bendy I could be.

Craig's reminder of allowing the body to fully relax had been explained when someone on the other side of the room had broken the silence, and for lack of a better word… farted. Both Edward and I pressed our lips tightly together to keep from laughing like a couple of twelve-year-olds. His face turned bright red and he picked up his bottle of water, silently excused himself and left the room.

Everyone else seemed not to have noticed and continued with their steady breathing and concentration. Craig looked at me oddly, as though not understanding what was so funny, and I nodded trying to compose myself.

I'd practiced yoga and Bikram several times and it was normal for people to squeak one out here and there, and it was easily ignored. But then again, I had never practiced yoga with Edward.

He returned moments later, his body dried off, and mouthed, "Sorry," attempting to copy pose number six, the Standing Bow Pulling pose.

Craig and his awkward bulge walked over to us, obviously seeing Edward's difficulty with standing on one foot while holding his leg curved out behind him and reaching forward with his free hand.

"Breathe, don't forget to breathe," Craig calmly told Edward. "Here, raise your arm just a little more." Craig braced Edward's arm with one hand and his thigh with the other, "That's it. You're doing great. What's your name?"

"Ed-ward," he grunted through his gritted teeth.

"And yours?" Craig, ignoring Edward's discomfort, looked toward me.

"Bella," I answered with as much ease in my voice as I possibly could and stared straight ahead so as not to receive another glare from Edward. He wasn't angry, but I had a feeling I wouldn't hear the end of it when we got back to the hotel.

Craig nodded slowly. "You've got great alignment, Bella. Nicely done. Edward, we're moving onto the Tuladandasana next. Would you like me to come back and assist you?"

Edward released his pose and wiped his face and arms with his cloth. "That's very kind of you, Craig, but I think I'll be okay."

Craig nodded, and he and his bulge walked back to the front of the class.

Somewhere between poses eight and twelve, Edward had left the room again, presumably to cool off.

Craig walked around the room, intermittently commending the others on their postures and work. He'd say, "You've got a great body. It does exactly what you want it to," to several people. Craig was sort of an odd, bulgy little man.

The thirteenth pose had us lying on our backs with our arms and legs stretched out.

"I can't believe you're making me do this, Swan."

"You're loving every minute, admit it."

"Mm hm, absolutely. I could show you something else I love doing as soon as we get back to the hotel."

We continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Oh, yeah? And what might that be?" As if I needed to ask.

Edward chuckled. "Something that doesn't involve stretching your body in directions it wasn't meant to be stretched."

"I see. But I thought you were enjoying yourself. We still have another thirteen poses to go."

"Oh, I am enjoying myself, and another thirteen poses sounds just great, but what I have in mind involves more pleasure than pain."

For a moment, I had forgotten where we were and honestly could not have cared less if anyone heard our banter. I also had my fill of Bikram for the day and suddenly realized my time with Edward would be ending too soon.

"Why don't we get out of here and you can show me."

Edward rose from the floor and extended his hand to me. "Let's go."

***

We barely had the door closed to our room before our hands were all over each others slick, sweaty bodies - his tongue plunging against mine. Edward hoisted my legs around his hips and carried me to the unmade bed, and we frantically ripped each others clothes off.

Moments into Edward pounding me against the headboard, there was a quick rap at the door.

"Maid service," a woman's voice called.

"No, thank you!" I yelled.

She knocked again. "Towels?"

Come on! Could she not hear the two of us grunting and moaning – my head hitting the headboard?

"NO, THANK YOU!" we yelled toward the door.

Edward and I looked at each other, grinning. I clutched the back of his head, pulling him close until his mouth was on mine. He looped his arm under my knee and brought it to my chest. I moved my other leg up as far as I could, my calf resting on his upper back and heard a buzzing sound somewhere in the room – my cell phone.

Edward smiled against my mouth. "You are bendy, aren't you?"

I chuckled as I raised my arms above my head, searching for something to grasp, and Edward took both of my wrists in his one hand, pinning them to the mattress.

My cell phone buzzed again and, really trying not to pay attention to it, I slid my leg down his side as he moved his hand to mine. It buzzed again, and I sighed in frustration.

"Ignore it," he said. Edward let go of my wrists and held my hands, intertwining our fingers, as I locked my ankles together around his back. He moved his hips in some sort of circular, thrusting kind of motion. What was that? I pushed my hips against his, moaning loudly as I climaxed.

Edward gently leaned his forehead against mine. "Bella," he groaned, coming inside me.

The annoying buzzing sound returned. Stupid freaking cell.

"You know tricks, Cullen," I praised and kissed his soft lips.

"A few." Edward slowly pulled himself out of me and kissed a trail from my neck down to my stomach. My phone buzzed again, and I pouted as Edward climbed off of me. "You should probably get that. I'll go start the shower."

Wrapping the sheet around me, I admired Edward's very fine ass as he walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him, and quickly hopped out of bed to find out who had been incessantly calling me.

I dug through my bag and pulled out my phone, but it showed that I had only one missed call: my assistant, Shelly. Apparently she called while we were at the yoga class. As I listened to her voice mail telling me that she would not be coming to work on Monday because of something to do with her family and the big move, the buzzing sounded again.

"Edward," I called. It was his phone that had been ringing. He didn't answer, and I stared at his travel bag for a few moments biting my bottom lip.

Should I? No. Yes. No. Just look. No. Okay.

My eyes darted between the bathroom door and his bag. The tip of his phone was peaking out of the side pocket. It wouldn't be as if I was going through his things. It was right there; I could take the phone out of his bag and bring it to him. If I just happened to glance at the caller ID, that wouldn't be snooping, right?

"Bella!" he hollered from the other side of the bathroom door. "Are you comin', babe? The water's nice and warm!"

He was already in the shower, and I was already crouched next to his bag with my fingers hovering over the top of his phone.

"Be right there!"

It buzzed again, startling me. Don't. Just leave it alone and… fuck. I pulled it out just enough to see the screen.

Alice.

Alice? Who's Alice? Who the hell is Alice?

My mind went in a thousand different directions. Maybe she was his assistant, although I still had no idea what he did for a living. Or maybe she was his girlfriend or wife. No, he wasn't…

Fuck.

No, he can't have a girlfriend, and he can't be married. There weren't any signs of another person living with him at his lake house. But whoever she was, she really wanted to talk to him. Maybe she was a third cousin twice removed or maybe she was his-

"Bella, Let's go!" My head shot toward the bathroom, and I frantically pushed his phone back into the pocket.

I went into the bathroom, pretending as though I hadn't just violated our privacy pact.

"'Bout time," he said, smiling and opening the glass shower door.

I apologized and stepped into the shower. His hair was slicked back and white soapy froth ran down his chest in rivulets. He put his hands on my arms and positioned me under the stream of hot water. Looking into his green eyes as he lathered his soap – it smelled strongly of sage - I thought how kind and honest they seemed. Edward's eyes. And in that moment, as he washed his scent over me, I decided whoever Alice was, whatever role she played in Edward's life, it didn't matter. I refused to believe that he was deceitful.

But then again, was it really any of my business?

Edward and I packed our things, and I casually glanced at him as he looked at his cell. He pursed his lips, seemingly scanning through his missed calls.

"Anything important?" I asked.

He pressed a button on his phone and shoved it into his bag. "No. Nothing that can't wait until later," he answered.

I smiled and busied myself by straightening up the bed.

Edward walked toward me, guiding us to sit on the edge of the bed. "I'm going to be out of town for a couple of weeks, and I don't know how available I'll be during that time." I nodded, convincing myself I would be just fine not having any contact with him for a couple of weeks. "But I'll call or email you when I can."

"Sure, no problem," I said and rose from the bed.

Edward grabbed my hand, stopping me from walking away. "You're okay with that?"

"Of course, Edward." I forced a smile and reminded myself that this was just about the sex. "You've got your things, and I've got mine, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah." Edward crinkled his forehead and glanced toward the floor. "Stay one more night with me," he asked, looking back at me.

My heart melted. I wanted to. I really did, but I couldn't.

I shook my head. "I can't… I'm sorry. I have to work. I should have been working this weekend." This was true; I had only been in my new position for just weeks and couldn't take off this soon, especially if Shelly was going to be out too. Tanya's warning for me not to fuck up echoed through my mind.

Edward sighed as he rose, and wrapped his arms around my waist. I placed my palms on his chest. "I will miss you, Swan."

"I'll miss you too. Where are you going?" The words just fell out of my mouth.

He hesitated for a moment. "Hawaii."

I raised my eyebrows. "Hawaii… wow."

Edward pulled me into him, burying his nose in my hair, and inhaled deeply. "It's not for a vacation, trust me." He kissed the top of my forehead and let go of my waist.

After we checked out of the hotel, Edward walked me to my car to say goodbye.

"I'll call you," he promised while opening the door of my car and tossing my bag onto the passenger seat.

I shut the car door and leaned against it. Slipping my finger into his belt loop, I pulled him toward me and promised, "I'll answer."

*****************

A/N; Thank you, Mac, as always you are the bombdiggety. Sncmom totally rocks my world by sending inspirational jawporn almost daily. SueBob, hugs to you and all of your anecdotes you share.

So… Alice? Hawaii? WTF? Why don't you leave a review and let me know what you think is going on…

Stay tuned for a new character to be introduced in the next chapter, which really might be another 10 days or so. Back to work on Monday! Argh.

Thanks so much for adding Hints to your fav/alert lists!