A/N: Thank you so much for your wonderful thoughts.

Very short update today. I apologize. It was a hectic day.

Most characters belong to S. Meyer. The rest of the story is mine.

After Christmas - Chapter 11


Kathmandu, Nepal – Christmas Night

Bella

Edward stood at the door with his beautiful green eyes wide and still bewildered.

"How…?"

"I wanted to surprise you." I shrugged, yet my ensuing chuckle quivered with nerves. Still, he stared, while I fidgeted with the already frayed strap to my shoulder bag. His cell phone remained halfway up, clutched tightly in his hand as was mine, and in the silence of the night, I could hear our voices' echoing through both. "So…may I come in?" I repeated.

For what to my frayed state of mind felt like an eternal moment but was likely only a couple of seconds, Edward kept right on staring. Then, he blinked, and in the next moment, his phone hit the floor, and I found myself crushed against his hard, unyielding chest.

"Oh, baby. Bella, baby."

When he buried his face in the crook of my neck, a sound tore through me part surprised gasp and part exhaustion. My own phone struck the floor, and my bag slipped off my shoulder as I reached up and wound my arms tightly around Edward's neck.

"Edward, I'm here."

"You're here." His voice was strangely hoarse, yet his warm lips showered me with wonderfully familiar kisses. He inhaled me deeply while his hands grazed up and down my body, fingertips pressing into my hips before skimming up my spine as if still struggling to believe I was real.

"It's you. You're here."

I knew exactly how he felt.

"I'm here."

He pulled away from my neck and cupped my face, a wide grin spreading across his handsome face before he pulled me in yet again and crushed his mouth to mine.

"You're here."

"I'm here, Edward," I smiled against his mouth.

Over and over he repeated the words in between hungry kisses. When his hands cradled my bottom, my legs instinctively wound around his waist, and Edward lifted me off the ground.

"I'm here."

Consumed by the tenderness of his mouth and the sweetness of his tongue, enveloped in his hold and his heady scent, I barely heard the door slammed behind me or felt the movement as Edward carried me through the house.

I'd arrived at Edward's doorstep both physically and mentally drained, in an unfamiliar country, unsure of where exactly I was headed, and with each ensuing phone call, more and more nervous about my reception. My poor mom would scream at the condition of my nailbeds.

But now, finally in his arms, finally having him in my arms, I marveled at the stupidity of doubting his reception. Whatever was wrong, this was right. At the same moment, adrenaline shot through me like a lightning bolt.

"Edward, I'm here…"

My memories of those first few moments with Edward in Kathmandu, like so many other firsts with him, are more sensory than imagery. The dipping mattress felt soft and supple as Edward lay me on his bed. I felt cocooned by his body on top of mine. The kisses he rained over my face and neck left behind a scorching heat I hadn't felt in months.

"You're really here…"

"I'm really here…"

I remember the heat spreading throughout my body despite the chill in the air when Edward began removing my clothes, piece by piece, leaving me in panties and bra. When he pulled away for a handful of seconds to remove my shoes, I sat up and pulled him back down as soon as he finished, unable to bear one more second of unnecessary separation. I remember the elation when his fingers worked my clasp, and my own hands worked clumsily on his clothing. I remember floating on air when his mouth wrapped around my breast, when his fingers slipped inside my panties and pumped me frenziedly, making me cry out. And then…I remember his eyes and his own hoarse cries as he pushed himself inside.

When I close my eyes, I can still feel his quick and deep thrusts, his hips grinding against mine, filling me the way I'd ached for him to fill me on so many lonely nights. I remember the sharp arch of my back, his fingers on the grooves of my spine, and his mouth on mine…on my throat…on my breasts.

I can still feel that flash of pure, unadulterated ecstasy, magnified all the more by the fact I hadn't felt it in months. I rocked my hips, chasing it, holding on to it for as long as possible as it radiated, rose higher, and spread to my very scalp and everywhere in between.

I can hear Edward's heavy breaths and grunts in my ear as he chased his own orgasm.

I feel his soft hair on my cheek and between my fingers in the moments afterward.

"I'm…I'm…I love you, Edward."

We'd agreed a while ago, when we first decided to name this a relationship, that we wouldn't abuse those three words by throwing them around back and forth.

"I love you, too, Jersey Girl. God, I love you."

And then, wrapped in Edward's body, sated and indescribably happy, I closed my eyes. I don't remember much else that happened until many hours later.


A/N: Thoughts?

We'll try for a longer update tomorrow. :)

BTW, Edward and Bella left the condoms behind long ago. She's on birth control. ;)

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