-xiv-

Rich warmth and pleasure exploded within him. Taking her neck didn't just feel right, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. Though her blood was sweet and finer than anything he could recall ever tasting, the feel of her against him and the way she moaned with obvious pleasure overshadowed everything else.

Drawing her in closer, he reveled in the way she felt there in his arms. He wanted to savor this experience she was giving him, wanted to make this last as long as he could possibly justify. Though he could have lapped greedily at her neck for longer, he found himself drinking slowly. Instead focusing on the sweet taste of her skin and the feeling of a soul deep connection she was stirring to life within him. She has to be mine; I would not feel this way otherwise.

He felt her little hands drop from his neck and cuddle between them. As if she wanted to tuck herself away with him and forget about the world. Still lapping gently at her neck, he wrapped his arms around her body like a band, wanting to hold her there against him forever. When he felt her sigh at the action, he felt victorious that he'd pleased her and was anxious to do it again.

Knowing he'd taken more than enough, he forced himself to release her neck, but in no way was he ready to release her body. She didn't seem to mind that he kissed the spot he'd just pierced, and noted the way she shivered against him, how her breathing began to quicken. She feels it too, wants me to hold her and kiss her like this. The idea of being the one to hold and care for her for the rest of eternity felt completely right to Edward. Though he'd never wanted a mate before or any other liability for that matter, the idea of having such a woman in his keeping pleased him more than anything ever had.

He nuzzled closer to her and found that he could still taste her on his lips and the sweetness of her skin pulled him back to what he'd dreamed of just hours before. With her in his arms like this and her essence coursing through his body, the inevitable truth that she was indeed his became even more evident.

Did he remember her yet? No. But he was convinced now more than ever that what she'd been telling him from the start had been the truth. Still kissing softly at her neck, the image of her being kicked and thrown around the alley earlier that morning came flooding through his mind. He gasped from the remembrance as much as from the act and he pulled her tighter against him as he buried his face into her neck. He waited for the anger to strike, was sure that at any second the savage need to kill for what he and his comrades had done to her would surface, but the only emotion he could feel was gratefulness, gratefulness that she was safe and here…gratefulness that she was in his arms and in his protection. Never again would he let her be hurt or harmed, he would make sure she was safe, would defend her with his own life. He didn't doubt that the anger would come, knew that at some point tonight the unabridged need to kill would be overwhelming him, but until that moment arose, he wasn't going to let himself feel any negative connotations.

"I'm so sorry..." he whispered at her ear, shaking still because he knew those words just weren't enough. No he didn't remember her, but how could he have hurt his mate in any state of mind, especially when his reactions to seeing and doing what he'd done had affected him so strongly. My mind screamed that it was wrong; I was sick to my stomach and could barely make it to the alley before I was heaving. I should have protected her! When she needed me most, I failed her!

He felt himself being traced by Isabella, and when they landed, it was at the small padded bench near the window. She was sitting beside him, her beautiful face holding a hopeful edge to her features. "You remember me?" He could see how badly she wanted him to, and he was angry with himself because he couldn't tell her that he did. Instead, he told her what he believed in his beating heart...

"I know that you are mine... I don't deny it. The way I feel for you is...I-I can't explain it, but I know that it is the truth. I don't know if my memories will come back, but I know that taking your blood will give me yours..." Her eyes were still hopeful and he knew it was because he told her he believed her. "Perhaps seeing us in your memories and understanding them anew will trigger my own, but either way Isabella...I believe you. You're my fated bride."

(***)

If he thought seeing her smile shyly was a beautiful thing, then what he was witnessing now was a total eclipsing of every joy he'd ever encountered. It was as if he'd just watched the sun rise for the first time, or witnessed a rose blooming in a garden on an early spring day. For Edward, she represented all the beautiful and lovely things this world had to offer …even to one as him, and though seeing her at ease with him had pleased him to no end, he couldn't shake the fact that he'd done the things he'd done to her. Edward had always reasoned that those he'd hunted and destroyed had deserved their end; he'd made himself understand that justice should be given to those who sought to change their laws, that an act of defiance by anyone was reason enough for him to be dispatched. But looking into her beautiful honey colored eyes, he found himself questioning everything he'd done in the last three years.

It was enough, that when she leaned in and kissed his lips lightly to whisper that she was tired and wanted to rest, he'd gotten up from their little corner and prepared to journey away from her for the evening. As he turned to go down the hall to where he knew was an extra bedroom, her fingers gently wrapped around his wrist and she softly tucked herself into him completely. "Please stay…here in our room…with-with me."

His entire body shot tight with tension, he wanted nothing more than to stay in this room with her. He knew that laying in that bed with her warm body curled securely against his own would be like nothing he'd ever experienced before. Once more the dream of them kissing and touching each other so comfortably washed over him. Seeing the dream anew now with the eyes of a man who'd just felt what kissing her was like, reminded him of the ease in which the whole thing happened. . In that dream he didn't seem nervous in the least. He remembered that in the dream he had grabbed at her bottom and palmed at it possessively, and she didn't seem to mind that his shaft had been stiff as a pole for her as well. He wanted to feel that way again, but more than anything, he wanted to feel that way with her.

Even now, with Isabella holding him tightly, his imagination ran wild with how she would want to lay with him. Would she be shy if she were naked in bed with him? Would she want him to be the one to remove that devilish silk? He didn't remember those things or even know how to go about comforting her. He'd managed to do pretty well up until this point, but he wasn't sure what a night in bed together would mean.

Was this an invitation for more? Immediately his body shot tight with tension at that idea of the many different ways this evening could play out. His body was thrumming from just the idea that they would be side by side with little or even no clothing between them.

He turned to her, lacing their fingers together then bending down to kiss her once more. Never get enough of these sweet lips. "Are you sure you want me in here…in there…" he tilted his head to their bed. "I've done so much to you, Bella…" He couldn't even count the ways he'd hurt her, was too ashamed of all he'd done, had never been more ashamed, but then she kissed his lips and stroked at his cheek, doing what she could to ease him.

"I don't want to think about any of that right now" she murmured." I just want to rest with you. I've missed you so much, missed simply being in your arms and feeling your heart beat against me as I fall asleep."

She'd painted quite the picture for his imagination. He was already fantasizing about what he would do to her if she truly wanted him in that bed alongside her. Though he'd dreamed about having her soft and warm there in his arms, it still didn't seem real to him... like he hadn't been the one to experience it.

He was still in deep thought about that when she turned from his arms and made her way to the double doors that he could only assume was a closet. Inside she went straight to the left wall and calmly opened the second drawer.

Edward watched with bated breath as she lifted different silks and lace to her display shelf. He noted the soft red silk that she'd last placed at the table and silently prayed that she would pick it. All of a sudden his reasons for being ashamed to get in that bed with her no longer applied. He made the promise right then and there that he would do anything from now on to protect her. He'd kill any being, break any oath, even forfeit his own life if need be, but god help him, if that beautiful, soft and precious angel wanted him in that bed with her…he wasn't going to turn her down.

(***)

She'd been nervous as hell to open that drawer, but she'd reminded herself that this was Edward. It didn't matter that he couldn't remember her, what mattered is that he'd believed her and that he was trying so hard to get his memories back. She'd reasoned that if telling him that little bit of information on the floor of the abandoned hotel room had managed to get him to dream of them together and find their home, then seeing and feeling her the way he'd told her a thousand times made him mad with need, would have to score at least a dream too!

While she attempted a look of nonchalance at the lingerie she was appraising, she could feel his eyes on her, could tell he was anxious to see her in one of them. She could almost feel his excitement at the little red silk and lace number she'd just pulled out.

Though they'd only been together for about a week before he turned her, she knew how much he loved to see her dressed in these little pieces. After all, he'd been the one to buy them for her and fill her closet drawers with them. She already knew the excitement he would display when she would shut the closet doors for privacy then step out in the color of his choice. He would always stare first, as if taking his eye full of all the ways he could remove it and then when he was sure of a plan of action, he would trace to her and kiss her entire body before doing it.

Already knowing that he would say the red one, she grabbed it along with a light pink and black negligee then turned to ask him which he wanted to see her in. "Is there a particular color you'd be fond of me in?"

He seemed to be dazed by the question, and that delighted her to no end. When after a few seconds he still hadn't answered, she met his eyes and slowly made her way to stand in front of him. She'd never been particularly glad for her vampiric attention to detail, but in this moment, she was able to both gaze into his eyes and notice the way he swallowed nervously at her approach. She had to fight hard to keep the smile from spreading over her face at that.

When she reached him, she bent down and kissed his lips lightly with a peck then held the pieces up for him to see. "Don't you want me to wear one to bed?" He seemed shocked that she'd said it again, but more than that, he was imagining what seeing her in the pink would be like. He wondered if the pink nighty would match the pale pink of her nipples. He shivered at the thought and coughed into his fist, "I think red would look beautiful against your skin." He punctuated his words with one hand running the backs of his fingers at her collar bone and the other grabbing the negligee from her grip.

It was her turn to flush, but instead of being embarrassed about it, she was flattered. Memory or not, this was her man. She smiled softly to her vampire and leaned in to kiss his cheek before nodding her acquiescence. She gently took the silk from his hands then went to stand at her vanity with her back to him.

There she began removing the pins from her hair that had held each meticulous curl in place. When that was done she set about readying for bed, just as she'd done many times before with her vampire watching. Though this was indeed a new experience for him, it wasn't for her. The thrill of knowing he was with her in this room while she did these things was all she had ever wanted. The thrill of feeling his eyes on her while she did this made her skin tingle and her nerves flutter. She tried to remind herself that this was going to be new to him, that the vision of her simply stripping and changing in front of him might not be comfortable, at least not at first anyway, but that wasn't going to stop her.

If he was going to come back from this dark abyss his mind had been captive in, then he was going to need her help, and the only way she knew how to help him, was to appeal to everything he loved the most about their small amount of time together before.

(***)

My little bride is far from modest, he thought to himself. He was watching her with rapt attention as she moved about the room and readied herself to retire to their bed. He was perfectly happy watching her remove the pins from the luscious hair, but in an instant he realized that he'd just referred to her as his… as his little bride.

Something about watching her in this moment had caused his mind to think that and though he was done fighting the idea that she wasn't, he hadn't thought that he'd completely absorbed the fact that she was. But apparently his mind and his heart were beginning to get on board with the idea as a whole, because as he watched her modestly turn and remove her shirt and bra, he felt his chest bow with pride at the knowledge that he had such a fine woman in his keeping.

He stared with bated breath once more as she gently tugged at her jeans and revealed the thin line that made a v down the curves of her hips and bottom. He nearly went to his knees at the sight and he thought he saw the hint of a smile at her cheeks as he hissed mercy just low enough for himself to hear.

When she looked over her shoulder to smile fully at him, he raked his gaze over her body, then shook his head in that way men did, as if he was a goner. He noticed the small rush of color that flooded her cheeks and he smiled right back at her, because knowing she found his approval flattering only endeared her to him more. When she laced her arms through the silk, he found that he was anxious to remember everything about this beautiful creature.

He didn't want to be in the dark with her anymore, he didn't want her to feel like she needed to do these things to help him remember. If anything, he was angry with himself for even making this necessary. How could I have forgotten her? How? But it didn't matter how many times he asked himself that question, because what was done was done. He couldn't go back in time to change things; he could merely start to look forward. It was something he wasn't used to doing, because life in the guard was monotonous. But now, with his little bride here before him, and a life with her on the line, the idea of tomorrow suddenly held a whole new promise, and he wasn't going to let it go…not for anyone.

(***)

Turning slowly to face her vampire, she found herself feeling as nervous as the first night she'd been with him. But there was one difference right now and that was that she'd been with him in exactly this way long before.

As she approached the bed where he sat, his shoulders became stiff with tension, each step seeming to accelerate it. She didn't want him to feel uncomfortable, they had been through so much in their short amount of time together and he'd seen her in her absolute worst that the idea of holding back from each other just wasn't going to do. When she was right in front of him, Isabella smiled his smile before whispering softly to him. "It's just me, just your Bella." He stared at her with eyes like fire, drinking her in with each movement she made. "Let's go to bed, love…"

Without a word, he lunged forward lifting her into his arms then tracing them to the bed in an instant. The fire in his eyes alarmed her, but she shook it off, he's mine…the good and the bad, she reminded herself. Confident, she lay back and opened her arms for him.

His brows drew together in an anguished expression, as he followed her down. "God help me, I think I already love you…" With that, he took her mouth as gently as he could muster and when he felt her soft hands cupping at his face, he knew he was home.

I'll have another chapter up this weekend, I hope you enjoyed this one.