Disclaimer: All Twilight characters and some of the settings, ideas for action, are owned by S. Meyer. I just play with them. No infringements intended. Megan Harris is my own invention. Bella doesn't exist in this universe, some things are not canon and English is not my mother tongue. If you find any errors – I'm up to corrections.
Alternating POVs marked M=Megan or E=Edward. Mental conversation is marked in '…'.
Chapter 11 – -Afterglow (E POV)
I had to kiss her, a moment ago I would have fallen into wallowing in self-loathing when I realized that I had almost killed her. She had fixed my gaze while I had lowered my teeth to her and with my last inch of self-control I had managed to turn my head away from her throat. The effort had been enormous, but there had been something in her eyes... I shook my head. It had been my first time as well as hers and it could have turned into a blood bath! Now she had managed to turn my brooding into laughter. She couldn't stop giggling, so I decided to instill some respect into her. I jumped at her and pinned her limbs to the bed underneath me. I bared my teeth again to show her how dangerous I could be, but she didn't buy it. I could feel that she was not scared at all. She could read me so well that she knew she was safe and I had to kiss her. She broke my kiss softly and looked me into the eye. 'I love you,' I could hear her think. 'Forever,' I returned. She nodded. 'Eternally yours,' she vowed. My eyes widened. "You know it?" She smiled. "Alice explained it," she answered. My eyes narrowed. "Don't be mad at her," she chided me, "I am very grateful for her enlightenment." She'd figured me out, again. I hung my head. "Would you do me a favor, Edward?" she requested. "Anything you want," I answered. "Please, get off me." I laughed and let her go. We sat up straight and looked around us. Our movements had sent a cloud of feathers flying through the room and we both had to laugh at the sight. "Oh my," she sighed, "I hope I can catch them all with the vacuum cleaner." We snuggled close together at the head of the bed and I pulled the blanket around her. She had goose bumps as if she was freezing from the coolness of my body, but she didn't flinch and rested at my shoulder. I knew I would never forget this night, it had been amazing. I could still feel her touch on me, the smell of her body reacting to me, her mind linking with mine when we had exploded together with pleasure – it was heaven.
We had laid there for a while without speaking when she suddenly raised her head. "There is one thing I would like to know," she said. "What is it?" I replied. "Can vampires procreate?" She looked at me. I shook my head. "As far as I know that's not possible. There are myths from the medieval times, but nobody knows for sure." I raised an eyebrow. "Do you regret not taking precautions?" She lowered her eyes. "No," she said, "I cannot conceive anyway." I put one finger under her chin and raised it so that she had to look at me. "Care to explain?" I requested softly. She shrugged. "I suffered from an infection when I was seventeen. Our family doctor didn't recognize it for quite a while and when I finally got to a gynecologist, it was too late. I am barren." She looked away. I could see that she felt uncomfortable. I pulled her close again and nudged her with my nose. She turned her head to me. "I'm sorry," I said. She sighed. "It's okay, it has its advantages. It was harder on my parents because I am an only child. They had always hoped for grandchildren." She snuggled even closer. "Enough of the heavy," she said. "What do we do with the rest of the night?" She started to nibble at my earlobe. "Oh, I have an idea, or two," I purred, but all of a sudden we heard a deep growl coming from underneath the blanket.
"I think the monster called stomach has raised its head," she chuckled. "Haven't you fed him yet?" I asked. "No, I had lost all appetite during the day," she answered. "Think we should feed him now?" I winked at her. She nodded and jumped out of bed. "Care to join me for a shower?" she held her hand out to me. "You bet!" I said and followed her to the bathroom. We stepped into her shower and turned on some hot water. Of course we didn't leave it at getting cleaned, our hands were all over our bodies, with and without soap. We kissed under the shower head until she almost drowned and we only stopped because the water was getting a bit too cold for her. Finally we managed to get dry and dressed and went down into the kitchen. "I don't believe it!" she exclaimed as she opened the kitchen door. I rushed to her side to see what's up and gawped at the sight. The kitchen was decorated with flowers and the table was loaded with finger food, dinnerware and lit candles. We looked at each other. "Alice!" "She's definitely gone overboard this time," I marveled at the effort she had taken. She must have seen it in her visions and Megan went to the table. "There's a card for you," she waved it at me. I snatched it from her fingers and opened it.
Enjoy the night and don't dare to leave her at home tomorrow.
Alice –
I let her read it and she smiled at me. "Seems like your family invites me to your house?" I had to grin. "That's typically Alice. She has to be very fond of you." Megan smiled. "Yeah, we had a nice 'girl's' night yesterday." I went to the table and offered her a chair. She looked surprised, but accepted it. I sat down opposite of her. "Looks like we're having a candle light dinner," I raised my glass of champagne to hers. "Cheers!" I toasted. "Cincin!" she replied and took a sip. "You know Italian?" I asked while I watched her eating. "My mother's ancestors came from Italy around 1800. I know only a little bit," she answered. "What about your dad?" "Oh, he is Irish. His family emigrated from Ireland during the famine times." I smiled at her. "That's an interesting mixture: Irish-Italian, the most stubborn and impulsive Europeans." She raised her glass again, "Sláinte!"
After she was sated, we collected the remnants and cleared the table. Then we settled on her couch and listened to music. I had placed her on my lap, reveling in the feel of her warm flesh against my cool skin and I wanted to touch her constantly. "Don't you think I'm too heavy for you?" she said. I shook my head and pulled her closer. "I could lift you up with one hand," I replied. She looked puzzled. "Can I ask something?" "Anything you want," I kissed her cheek. "What about all those myths regarding vampires?" I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" She cocked her head. "Can silver bullets or crosses kill you?" I laughed. "It's a myth." "Do you sleep in coffins?" "Nope!" I grinned. "What about sunlight?" "We don't burn to ashes, but we can't go into the sun either." I answered. "Why not?" she inquired. "I will show you sometime," I answered and kissed her, looking forward to seeing her reaction to me sparkling in the sunlight like millions of diamonds. My fingers traced lines on her arms. She absently minded played with my chest hair. "What are you thinking, love?" I asked her. "Huh?" she raised her head. "Your thoughts keep wandering, it's hard for me to follow," I indicated to her. "Oh, I was just wondering," she returned. "About what exactly?" I inquired. "If there was a reason why this all happened so fast? I mean, five days and I got laid, that's not my style," she looked flustered. "Hm, I don't know if there's a reason, but I wouldn't want to change it, even if I could. Would you?" I cocked my head. She shook her head. "No, I'm happy with it," she smiled at me. "Then I'm happy too. Although I must admit my acquired manners have left me completely." She raised an eyebrow. "Acquired manners?" I nodded. "Think of the times when I was growing up. I had been raised to cherish a woman, to admire from a distance. If I'd met you back then, I would not have touched your body like tonight before our wedding night. I would have kissed you once or twice in a chastice manner, but only after asking your parents if they'd allow me to court you." She kissed me softly on my lips. "Then I am glad that you forgot all your manners today," she said and lay her head against my chest again. Suddenly she yawned. "Oops, I think somebody is tired," I grinned at her. I put my arms around her and lifted her up with me. "You know, one day you'll get back problems from lifting me," she teased. I chuckled as I carried her to bed. "Stay?" she asked as I laid her down. "I hoped for it," I answered and stretched out next to her. She snuggled close to my chest and after a few minutes, she had fallen asleep.
For me she was a sight to behold. My eyes drank every curve of her face, every subtle change of her skin's texture, the soft twin arches of her slightly parted lips, the fine hair spreading from her cheek onto her earlobe... I just looked at her while she slept. The soft curves of her body made me think of other things than just admiring her, but I willed my hands still so that she could sleep. Emmett had been wrong. Her ass wasn't fat at all, only a bit too well rounded, just like everything else on her. She looked like one of Rubens' paintings, but everything on her had the right proportions. Her dark hair had some red sparkles in it and was cut shortly, like Alice's, but I could imagine her with long hair. Her eyelashes were very long and the color of her iris was an intense emerald green. I guessed that was the Irish genes showing. The fair skin had a light shadow of bronze on it, but she would probably never get an intense sun tan. I closed my eyes and snuggled closer to her body. I listened to her even breathing, to her heart beating in a steady rhythm, her blood pulsing through her veins. I was grateful that she wasn't my singer. Having to stay away from her and being her mate would have been impossible. She sighed in her sleep and turned around, pressing her back to my chest.