Learning to Fly

Thank you to my beta mxpi1970 and my pre readers who do an excellent job each chapter.

I own nothing except a love of purple and teal.

As always, all characters created and owned by Stephenie Meyer.

~xxXxx~

CHAPTER 10

CPOV

We lay side by side, the sweat cooling on our sated bodies as we listened to other holidaymakers returning from their evening meals, their chatter drifting over the evening air.

I had gone against my medical training and risked Edward's health, all because I couldn't say no to him. I knew now he was okay – he had reassured me of that over and over again – but I mentally chastised myself for my selfishness and weakness. But the truth of it was that I hadn't wanted to resist him. Making love with Edward had been a life-changing moment; one I had fantasised about repeating since that night at his apartment. To be so close to someone again felt almost daring, as if I were flying high and free with no safety net to catch me if I fell. And so, try as I might, I couldn't regret a single moment of tonight.

Turning my head, I saw him gazing at me. He flushed a little at being caught openly staring, and I felt the smile tug at my lips. My thumb caressed his cheek, feeling the heat under the skin.

"Do you want to watch a movie or listen to some music? It's still early."

His arm snaked around my neck and urged me closer.

"No, I want to stay here." A mischievous smile crept across his face. "I really think we need to discuss those mirrors..." I chuckled and pulled him in for a kiss, my lips skating over his teasingly before pulling back.

"Well, if you want to stay here that's fine with me but I need a drink. Can I get you anything? Tea?"

He nodded and sat up, looking around the bed. His face brightened when he spotted his bathrobe and he pulled it on quickly, passing mine to me before changing his mind.

"Maybe not; I do prefer you naked."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Well you might, but I suspect the other patrons might object." I took my robe from him. Edward snorted.

"Not if they have eyes in their head." He widened his eyes for emphasis.

I stood up, wincing slightly, and I saw his immediate concern.

"Did I hurt you? Was I too rough?" I hated seeing that look of fear in his eyes and quickly tried to dispel it.

"No, love. No. It's to be expected; last week was my first time in a very long time." I pulled him to me by his robe sash, kissing away his concern before whispering against his lips, "Believe me when I say it was worth it."

Tying my robe, I headed upstairs to make the tea, hearing Edward's footfalls behind me. As I waited for the water to boil I felt arms snake around my waist and a chin rest on my shoulder.

"What am I having?" He eyed the mugs warily.

"Want to try the Lapsang today?" He didn't look convinced, and I couldn't hold back my laugh. "English breakfast it is then."

Carrying our steaming mugs to the sofa, I sank down into the cushions, Edward beside me. Finding the remote control, I turned on the radio, adjusting the volume down. The sun was setting and we watched as the sky was filled with a fiery glow before finally ebbing away. Remembering our shopping trip, I reached over and lifted my books on to my lap, showing them to Edward. My fascination with photography extended as far as beautiful coffee table books and art; I took a reasonable photograph myself but I was no professional by any standards. What I did understand was colour and composition, and as Edward asked me questions I was able to answer them, smiling at his interest. He too was fascinated by the stunning scenic shots, and together we made grand plans to visit each and every beautiful spot the book featured.

As we giggled and kissed, each plan more outlandish than the previous one, a song came on the radio that summed up my exact feelings for Edward at that moment.

Cos we belong together now, yeah

Forever united here somehow, yeah

You got a piece of me

And honestly

My life would suck without you.

Emboldened by the track, I voiced the question in my head that wouldn't go away.

"Can I take some pictures of you? When we get back, maybe? I just..." my voice tailed off and I dropped my eyes in embarrassment. I heard his quiet intake of breath and looked up. "I just need to... to keep you close to me even when we're apart."

I saw his throat work, all traces of laughter gone from his face as he turned to me.

"So where are these photos destined for? The lounge room?" His fingers slid into my robe sending shudders through me. "Your bedroom...?" His lips found my throat and I moaned, his fingers squeezing my nipple. He murmured hotly against my skin.

"Or are they private snaps for your wallet?"

I felt the flush start at my chest and rise up my neck. Hell yes, they are.

I knew deep down that when Edward moved back home I would be bereft; the hours long and lonely until we were together again. I needed something tangible to make the empty hours pass quicker.

He pulled back, his hands on the curve of my neck.

"Didn't you bring a camera with you?"

I nodded.

"Well, no time like the present." His green eyes sparkled. "I promise to keep my clothes on, at least for the duration of the photo session." His lips brushed mine before he sank back into the cushions, his eyes expectant.

Heading for the bedroom, I located my camera and hurried back to find Edward sprawled on the sofa hugging a cushion to his chest, his head propped up on one hand. Looking up at me under his lashes he gave me a heartbreaking smile, and I snapped the photo that was destined for a silver frame by my bedside.

He reached for the camera, still smiling.

"Fair's fair." He took it, but instead of snapping a picture of me, he motioned me back to the sofa. "I don't just want one of you, I want one of us."

He set the timer and snuggled into my side, his head on my shoulder. As I rested my head against his, his soft hair against my cheek, the flash fired, capturing our first lasting memory; one that would later take pride of place in my wallet.

I set the timer again myself, this time capturing his bruised lips in a tender kiss that he returned and the camera recorded; a private moment for our eyes only. The kiss intensified and I felt my pulse spike. Pulling away he looked at me wickedly, his voice suggestive.

"Let's go downstairs."

Jumping up he pulled me to my feet, adjusting my robe over my burgeoning erection, leading me wordlessly across the room and down the stairs, closing the door behind us. His fingers deftly untied my robe, pushing it off my shoulders so that I stood naked before him.

His eyes were hypnotic, his voice commanding.

"Go and stand in front of the mirror, Carlisle."

I complied, looking at myself, noting my darkened eyes. I watched him walk up behind me, meeting my eyes in the reflection. He parted his robe, his erection a promise of the delights to come. He saw my appreciation and his eyes narrowed.

"Hands against the glass." My palms met the cold surface without hesitation, and I waited.

"Don't move."

Edward fetched the wooden chair from the corner of the room, removing the clothes hung over the back. He placed it on my right before discarding his robe. It joined mine on the floor and he kicked it away. I felt the heat from his palms as I watched him rest his hands on my shoulder blades; his nails scratched my back as they slid, painstakingly slowly, down my body and I shuddered. His mouth followed his hands' path with deliberate kisses, sucking and nipping the skin lightly all along my spine as he moved ever lower. As his hands reached my hips he swept them up and across my chest, finding my nipples. He pinched them firmly, my body jerking as I cried out in pain tinged ecstasy. His tongue ran up my back like a line of fire and my face contorted with delicious agony as my swollen nipples were twisted mercilessly.

When I forced my eyes open, I saw his calculating expression. I watched his fingers trail down my stomach and splay out to encircle my hips, his fingertips so close to my cock that I moaned. He leaned into me and I felt the steel hardness of his shaft press against my ass.

"Spread your legs."

As I obeyed, my breathing laboured, he dropped to his knees and positioned himself between the mirror and my body. When his fingers found and stroked the soft skin in my groin crease, my legs parted a little further, no instruction necessary. His tongue flickered along the line of delicate skin and I jumped, my cock straining toward him. I groaned desperately.

"You like that, don't you. Your cock is so hard." I could hear the amusement in his voice.

"Edward, please..."

With that, he dragged his tongue up the underside of my cock, and my legs trembled as I tried not to beg for his mouth around my flesh. Sensing my distress, he engulfed my shaft in his hot mouth and sucked hard; looking down at him, I watched as my cock disappeared between his hungry lips. My head fell back; I resisted the urge to move my hand away from the mirror, to fist his hair and thrust deeply into his throat. As if reading my thoughts he pulled away almost immediately, standing up and kissing me for the briefest moment, his tongue finding mine. His hard cock slid deliciously against mine, leaving a trail of pre-come on my stomach. His hand tightly gripped us both as I gasped into his mouth, my chest heaving for air, before he moved back behind me.

Fingers caressed the curve of my ass before gripping tightly as he bit the soft flesh of my neck. My breath hissed inward as I watched him sink down, his gaze hungry when he drew level with my ass. Spreading me wide with his thumbs, I felt his breath on my hole; he made no move to touch it, and sheer anticipation caused my stomach muscles to bunch. When his tongue finally glanced over my entrance before gliding away, sweeping along my crease, my thighs shook. The next time I tried to push back into his face but he held me still, this time covering the delicate skin with teasing laps until I moaned for more, completely under his spell.

I was squirming, trying to encourage him to go deeper, to breach the muscle and taste me. He took his time, rubbing the pad of his thumb across my entrance; his manipulations making me crave his fingers deep inside.

He wouldn't give in; his tongue skimmed across the twitching flesh before unexpectedly pushing inside with no warning. I cried out, shudders of pleasure racking my body as his tongue moved within me. For an amazing few seconds he tongue fucked me as I writhed, my breathing hoarse and laboured, but all too soon he pulled out, circling my entrance and teasing the opening with the very tip of his talented tongue.

"Fuck, Edward... so good..."

He sucked at the quivering flesh, slipping his long tongue back into me for the longest moment so that I almost howled with frustration when he pulled away. My cock was wet and leaking, begging for attention, and I knew he could see that in the mirror. When he leant over for lube I didn't know for sure if he planned to fuck me, or just tease me some more until my cock couldn't take it and I came all over the mirror in front of me.

The coolness of the lube was delicious; even more so was the finger that slipped in, swiftly followed by a second. Rotating them easily, he stretched me just enough for a third, and I started riding his knuckles until he stopped me. I moaned in disappointment when his fingers left me until I watched Edward stand up, his eyes burning into mine.

"Admit it – you love watching me touch you in the mirror. That's the real reason you installed them isn't it. And now, you're going to watch as I fuck you."

"Yes, yes, god yes..."

I couldn't look away – he was mesmerising. I watched him stroke himself briefly before rolling on a condom, applying liberal amounts of lube to his cock. I felt cool, wet fingers at my hole and pushed into his hand as they slid all the way inside me before withdrawing, to my chagrin.

My voice was no more than a rough gasp as I begged for what I needed.

"Fuck me, love; fuck me hard..."

"I need your foot on the chair." His mouth was over my ear.

I obeyed, panting hard; his hot breath against my neck, he started to push into me, taking his time as I adjusted to his length. I almost cried out as he finally filled me. Looking into my own eyes, I barely recognised the man looking back at me, his eyes dark and stormy, brow furrowed in ecstasy. At that moment Edward pulled back before thrusting balls deep into me; my cheeks were flushed, my mouth open as I gasped for air. My eyes closed with pleasure, but I found that that wasn't permitted. Edward's lips were against my ear.

"Open your eyes, Carlisle; you don't want to miss this."

I forced my eyes open and simultaneously watched and felt Edward's slow, deliberate movements. It was both perfect and excruciatingly frustrating at the same time, his hips moving almost lazily.

"Ready for more?" his eyebrow quirked.

My response was a deep, guttural groan.

"You know I am. Give it to me. Please..."

As I watched, I saw Edward's hips flex with each wonderful thrust, his movements gaining more power now as his thighs tensed with every upward stroke. I watched him rise up on his toes and plough into me over and over, his hands holding my hips tightly; the only sounds I could utter were unintelligible grunts, rising in volume as the pleasure threatened to peak and consume me. He wrapped an arm around my stomach, keeping me tight against him while his other hand finally gripped my desperate cock. I leaned back into him as he licked the sweat from my neck. My body trembled and shook as he fucked me relentlessly, forcing the breath from my body on each thrust. It was the sight of him pounding me, his hand stroking my rigid flesh, that overloaded my senses and I tensed before crying out, my come spraying both the mirror and Edward's hand as my body tried to process the myriad of sensations it was experiencing. As I gasped and jerked he stayed inside me, still hard.

When I finally relaxed, he slid free and helped me stagger to the bed. As I sat down I saw his swollen flesh in front of me and knew what I had to do. Removing the condom, I leaned forward and took him deep into my mouth, intent on pleasuring him as he had me. My hands found his balls and tugged them lightly; licking my finger I grazed his hole, and he cried out as the tip penetrated. Pushing inside, I finger fucked him until he stilled, shooting his load deep into my throat. As he cried out my name hoarsely, his hands on my head, I swallowed it all and together we collapsed back onto the bed, breathing noisily and grinning like idiots.

When we could speak again, Edward turned to me.

"One of us should really clean that mirror..."

~xxXxx~

I looked again at the pictures of Edward on the camera. He was beautiful; there was no other word good enough for him. I reflected on our lovemaking, and the thrill of his dominant side emerging for the first time as his confidence grew. My body craved his, and surrendering to him had given me more pleasure than I could ever have hoped for. I hadn't been joking when I said I needed reminders of him around the house. Seeing him once a week had been hard enough before we got together; now that I had spent lots more time with him I realised just how lost I was going to be when we were both back at work. I had, at best, two more days with him before he moved back home. I fervently hoped he would stay the weekend and practice on the piano. I wanted him to enjoy it, play some for me and by so doing ensure that a small part of him was always in my house, even when he wasn't living there anymore.

When would we get to spend time together? Sundays, definitely, unless work called me in. Evenings? Edward worked til closing most days. I sighed heavily; this was going to be harder than I thought. Our time was so limited. Perhaps I should try to get later shifts so we could be together in the mornings? No – the Chief wouldn't go for that. I had responsibilities at work – I couldn't just work when I wanted to.

Kissing the top of his head, I felt my heart grow heavy. I wanted to come home to him every night when we both finished our shifts. I wanted to fall asleep with him curled up next to me. But I knew it wasn't all about my needs. I could only hope he missed me as much as I was going to miss him.

I played with the soft strands of his unruly hair. He was fast asleep, his leg crooked over mine, while I lay thinking.

As it was, I slept fitfully and woke early. The outside world was quiet, the silence broken only by the distant rumble of another cruiser making an early exit for pastures new.

Edward lay with his back to me, one arm hugging his pillow, the other hanging off the edge of the mattress. I slid out of bed, dressed quickly, and made my way upstairs and out on deck. It was a cool morning, the water calm as the ripples from the wake rocked the boat rhythmically. Further down the jetty I saw other people getting ready to move on, perhaps making the most of their weekend getaways. I thought it might be fun to move on to another island, one more secluded, and spend the day on our own. I breathed deeply, the air washing away some of my worry. Things always looked worse at night, when the mind had time to dwell. Tonight we'd be home, and tomorrow Edward would get one of his lifelong dreams granted. I was as excited as he at the prospect of the piano's arrival and I wanted him to feel free to visit whenever he wanted, without feeling the need to ask for permission. I had nothing to hide from him – I was an open book. Edward held the key to my heart and tomorrow he would also have the key to my home.

I nodded good morning to the family moored next to us as they appeared on deck to cast off. More people were now preparing to leave and, with a smile, I headed back inside to go wake Edward. Closing the bedroom door, I shed my clothes and climbed back in beside my love, pressing my cool skin against his warmth and hearing a quiet yelp.

"You're freezing!" His head turned to me as I ran my foot down his leg.

"Then warm me up."

~xxXxx~

We finally greeted the day an hour later after an extremely pleasurable shower. We sat on the deck, dressed for the day ahead and eating toast while we watched boats come and go come and go from the dock. I had proposed a visit to the next island and Edward was all for it so, after breakfast and coffee, we slowly made our way out into open water once more.

It was cooler than the day before, although the sun was bright and cheery. I pointed out the island on the map as we travelled and he looked endearingly sad when I told him that he most likely wouldn't see any whales today either. I could definitely see a whale-watching trip in the future – I hated to see him disappointed.

It was a short hop to the next island, and soon we were approaching the entrance channel, slowly making our way inside the breakwater. I manoeuvred New Beginnings to an empty stretch of dock and moored her.

We spent a couple of hours on the island, exploring the State Park. It was peaceful and beautiful, and we walked in comfortable silence, looking around for reclusive wildlife. After spotting a pair of otters, we stopped for a while to watch them play before Edward quietly led me away to the beach. Pulling me down onto the rough sand at the water's edge, he leant over me, his head resting on his hand, his expression serious and a little sad.

"I wish we didn't have to go back."

"Just travel the world like nomads, you mean? Stop wherever we want, see the world?"

He laughed. "That book has given me a few ideas, that's for sure. It's been amazing, being able to do what we like, and no responsibilities. I've not had a proper holiday before." He looked self-conscious as if this was something to be ashamed of.

"This is the first of many, believe me. I plan to kidnap you whenever I get the opportunity. Resistance is futile!" I fisted the air dramatically and Edward collapsed back on the sand, his body shaking with laughter. Jumping to my feet, I kicked off my shoes and walked into the water, wincing a little at the sharp stones underfoot as the cold water lapped at my feet. Closing my eyes, I let my head roll back and breathed deep, feeling the shackles of everyday life wash away.

When Edward's hand folded around mine I felt totally free.

After we dried off we returned to the boat, retrieving the food that I had brought with us. We made our way to the barbeque huts and set about cooking dinner. While I grilled the steaks, Edward served the salads; this little task took mere seconds, leaving him unoccupied and able to distract me in my task, something in which he took great delight. By the time he had nibbled my neck and nipped my ears I was swaying slightly and leaning into him. Consequently the steaks were a little more cooked than planned. Remembering how he liked his meat cooked, I realised I had been played as he couldn't control his satisfied smirk the whole time we ate.

All too soon the time came to head for home and rejoin our lives. Determined to enjoy every last second of our trip, I showed Edward how to operate the controls and let him take over. I was then able exact my revenge, distracting him with kisses and touches as he tried to concentrate on his task.

Arriving back at the marina, we moored before taking our time packing away everything we had used. Edward looked impressed when I swiftly changed the bed, using clean linen from the storage cupboard. As we left the bedroom, he looked round for a moment with a smile. As I locked the main doors behind us and set the alarm, I turned to him.

"Does that smile mean you want to do this again sometime?"

Very subtly, the back of his hand glanced over my ass.

"You bet I do."

I couldn't rein in the grin that spread across my face as we walked to the car. Throwing the bags into the trunk, I reluctantly returned to reality and switched on my phone. Three missed calls from Alice. I chuckled; I hadn't told her we were going away and she was probably going insane with curiosity. Edward looked up.

"Problem?"

"No, it's just Alice. I'll call her when we get home."

The drive back was relaxed. Edward chattered about the piano coming tomorrow and where was it going to reside. I answered his questions willingly, all the time acutely aware that we had just two days (and two nights) left before I returned to work on Monday.

When we walked in I dropped the bags in the hallway. Edward walked through to the kitchen to fetch a drink and I noticed the flashing light on the answering machine. Pressing play, I turned for the kitchen and then stopped dead, hearing Alice's panicked voice. I felt the colour drain from my face.

"Carlisle? Are you there? It's Alice... pick up..." There was an audible sigh. "I need to speak to you before Monday. There's been an incident at the hospital. Lauren... Lauren was there a few days ago, telling everyone who would listen that her dad was dating one of his patients. I tried to get her out of the ward before people heard but, well, now another person has come forward, claiming they saw you being intimate with a man outside the aquarium. It doesn't look good; rumours are rife on the ward and the Chief has been told to conduct an inquiry. Call me back as soon as you get this. Where the hell are you anyway?"

The machine clicked off and Edward appeared next to me, his eyes huge.

"This is bad – could you lose your job?"

My face in the mirror was ashen and I turned to meet his worried eyes.

"I honestly don't know."

~xxXxx~

I am thrilled that Learning to Fly has been nominated for Best Slash in the Tomato Soup awards.

My boys have some serious competition and so I invite you to check out the blog:

www(dot)thetomatosoupaward(dot)blogspot(dot)com/