A/N: Hi everyone. I know it's been quite some time, but I've had a lot of things going on and writing just wasn't possible for a while. As always, I have every intention of finishing every story I start, and have more in my head. And as a bonus, ericastwilight will be visiting again next month to kick my rear into gear as well.

Since it has been so long, I am going to post two chapters today, as this first one is relatively short. Then I am going to try working on the next upcoming chapter while I have a chance. Thanks for sticking with me! Hope to see you all back here soon.

Edward

The moment I carried Bella across the threshold of our hotel room, it struck me with a sudden force—this is my wife. After years of longing and dreaming of her being mine in the most sacred of ways, that bond was formed between us. Whether we had one child, a dozen, or none at all, I would have the beautiful woman in my arms beside me, and I could hardly wait to see what our future together would hold.

When I set her down and closed the door behind us, she dropped the shoes in her hand to the floor, and we stood there for a moment, just gazing at each other. Finally, she stepped toward me, framing my face with her hands and ghosting her fingertips over my cheeks and jaw as her gaze flickered between my eyes and mouth.

"I love you," she whispered in a barely audible voice, brushing her lips softly against mine and circling her arms around my neck.

My hands ran along her sides and then linked at the small of her back as I held her gaze, pulling her closer. "And I love you."

I'd sworn to myself that I wouldn't be nervous on our wedding night. After all, it wasn't as if Bella and I hadn't made love in many different ways over the past few months, so performance anxiety should not have been an issue at all. Yet, the emotions coursing through me were so difficult to describe. I never thought that marrying Bella would have quite so profound of an effect on me, or on the idea of being with her intimately.

I wasn't nervous, but I definitely was overwhelmed.

Bella's fingers began toying with my hair, and she lifted onto her toes to press her body more firmly against mine. "So, now that you've made an honest woman of me, the appeal is gone?"

I growled softly at her laugh, noticing that the sparkle in her eye had not dimmed, and captured her lips in a heated kiss. "Far from it, baby. Just soaking it all in."

Bella smiled before she turned away from me and swept her hair aside, glancing over her shoulder and asking me with her eyes to help her with the zipper.

I stepped toward her, and my fingers went to task, while I peppered feather-light kisses along her neck. "You have no idea how much I've been waiting for this all day. You knew exactly what you were doing when you chose this dress."

"You better believe it," Bella whispered huskily as her hand rose to thread through my hair, and I lifted my head to catch the devilish glint in her eyes. "I know what my husband likes."

I groaned, grasping her by the waist and pulling her toward me, her back pressing flush with my chest. "Say that again."

Bella released a soft moan as she arched her ass against me, leaning her head back to kiss my pulse point. "My husband."

Those two words sounded like pure heaven as they passed her lips, but more than that, the way she said them in that soft, sultry voice—I was insanely aroused. I turned her to face me, and as gently as I could manage in my anxiousness to feel her body against mine, I guided the dress down her body until it fell to the floor, revealing the garments beneath. Everything about her gown had been reasonably modest, yet what it hid underneath, for my eyes only, was far from it.

The sheer fabric with intricate lace accents left little to the imagination, while somehow carrying the air of innocence. Then there was the white stockings with even more lace circling around her thighs. I moved toward her, sweeping her into my arms and stepping over the dress to carry her to the bed. Her fingers worked down the buttons of my shirt, reaching the last one as I set her to kneel on the edge of the mattress, and she pushed it off my shoulders.

"I have never wanted you more than I do right now," I whispered as I held her face between my hands before kissing her gently again. "My wife."

Bella's hands gripped the sides of my waist, pulling her head back to gaze at me fully as she began unfastening my pants, while I worked to kick off my shoes and socks. "I will never get tired of hearing those two words."

"Are you sure about that?" I asked in a teasing tone once my pants fell down my legs, and she nodded, lying back on the bed. Taking hold of her foot, I rested it on my shoulder as I knelt on the bed, gently gliding the first stocking down her leg and kissing the inside of her ankle once I pulled it free. "My wife."

Bella's body squirmed in response, and I set her foot down, repeating the sequence with her other leg. That time, she whimpered as I whispered the words again, and I dragged my lips along her inner calf to her knee, echoing the endearment once again. Her breaths increased even more when my fingers slid beneath the thin straps of her thong and I kissed her hipbone before guiding it down her legs as well. She rose to kneel in front of me again, her lips meeting mine passionately as she began tugging at the waistband of my boxer briefs until they fell to the floor, while I simultaneously unclasped her bra. "Make love to me, Mr. Cullen."

I watched as she lowered back onto the bed, her hair fanning out over the pillow, and I couldn't help but take a moment to gaze in awe at her. If anyone had told me the year before that not only would Bella and I have dated and made love again, but that she would also be my wife, with plans to start a family together, I would not have believed them. Yet, there she was, bare before me with my ring on her finger, looking up at me with more love and want in her eyes than I'd even been able to envision in my wildest fantasies. When I'd asked her to be the mother of my child, I never dreamed that I would be this lucky.

Crawling onto the bed when she reached her hand out for me, I settled above her, pulling the covers over us. "With pleasure, Mrs. Cullen."

Bella's eyes fluttered slightly as I pressed inside her, her fingers gripping my shoulders, yet our gazes never broke until we were fully joined, and I claimed her lips with mine. Physically, nothing felt different. There was just as much passion and fire as there had ever been between us as our bodies began moving together, and the pleasure was still out of this world.

Yet, as my heart was thrumming in my chest and I felt the cool metal of both her rings as she curled her hand around the back of my neck, I closed my eyes and realized that nothing was the same as well. No matter how many times we made love in the years to come, that moment would always stand out in my mind and heart—right up there with the day she agreed to marry me, our wedding, and someday, the birth of our children.

The first time we came together as husband and wife would always be special.

As if she could tell that I had gotten lost in my head for an instant, Bella trailed her hand across my neck and down along my jaw, hooking her leg over my hip to pull me closer. I lowered my forehead to rest against hers at the heady sensation that sparked, and I moaned softly. "Where'd you go?"

My eyes opened to look down at her, and I kissed her gently. "Nowhere. I am so very much here with you."

Bella's responding smile transformed into a gasp as I rolled my hips against her to thrust deeper, her neck arching while her lips parted, and I pressed a kiss to her exposed throat. Her hand trailed its way to my hair and threaded into the strands, tugging gently as her fingers tightened their grip with her accompanying groan when my movements began again. "You better be."

I lifted my head at her words—as if there was anywhere else I would be, mind or body, on my wedding night. When I caught sight of the mischievous smile she wore and then met her gaze, I responded with a firm thrust. "Even the wildest fantasies I've had of this moment with you pales in comparison to the reality. And I plan on thoroughly utilizing every second of the next three days here."

"And every day thereafter, I hope," she responded as she curled her leg around my thigh and lifted her hips to abruptly meet mine.

"I promise," I whispered in reply, claiming her lips with mine again and tugging gently on her lower one with my teeth. "You are the love of my life, Bella, and I intend to make sure you never doubt that."