Chapter 24

I had promised Edward I'd have him home in three hours. We were not going to make it, but neither of us seemed to mind. He'd called his friend Jasper to say he was on the way and I felt all girly and wiggly when he said into the phone, "Yes, everything is better than okay—it's spectacular," and I reached to stroke his muscled thigh. This was all new for me, this feeling like a girl. I needed to find a way to be okay with it, because it was happening whether or not I liked it.

It was more than just the fact that Edward had a penis and I had a place for him to put it—although that was all pretty damned magnificent—but that his entire body made the most luscious stuff. His smell. His sweat. His come. His blood, of course, but its appeal was becoming more about his pulse and heartbeat than about drinking him down.

I looked over at him. He was leaning against the door, his eyes closed and his enticing bottom lip drooping; he was exhausted. I could tell when we'd gotten in the truck that he had so many questions—I could almost hear his mind hamster-wheeling at top speed. I'd have to make sure we had lots of private time for him to ask whatever he needed to ask me. But for now, getting back into a routine was likely best for both of us. I'd missed several weeks of class and had a lot of catching up to do—no problem for me really.

And then there was the whole issue of Charles. How was I going to explain all this to him, one more time? We crossed the Tacoma Narrows and as the miles clicked by, I thought over my justifications for my actions and how I would defend them to Charles. I could feel my anger rising at the idea that I still had to defend anything to him. I was older than his wife, yet he never questioned anything Renee wanted to do. Of course, Renee embraced her time with Charles and had found rewarding ways to fill her eternal life with activity and success. Would those things always elude me?

While all that was irritating, I was looking forward to speaking with Tanya; I felt like I was on equal footing with her, finally, and I wanted to swap stories. I didn't want to disrespect Edward, though—would he think my talking with Tanya about him was wrong? Again, my frustration with justifying my actions to men rose up in me. I sighed heavily, knowing I had a lot more I needed to understand before I could truly trust in a relationship of any kind with Edward. At least for now, he was safe. He seemed, of not entirely comfortable, then reassured. And most important, he was here, with me.

As we drove through Seattle, a blaring horn woke Edward. He rubbed his eyes, and stretched. He looked out the window to get his bearings, then turned to me. He ran a warm finger down my cheek and gave me a sleepy smile. It made me go all gooey inside. I wasn't a gooey sort of girl. Something else to think about.

Edward pulled out his phone and called his friend. His voice, still husky from sleep, made me shiver delightfully. "Sorry to keep you up, but I'm almost there." He leaned over and rubbed his head on my shoulder, blanketing me in his salty, wooly, yeasty scent. I turned my face into his hair and inhaled. A wave of arousal washed over me. "God Edward, you smell like heaven." He yawned into my neck and even his breath was cat-like, moist and grassy.

I pulled up under the tree where I'd spent nights watching over him. I'd likely do that again tonight, just because it made me feel good to know he was protected. I saw Edward's handsome friend and a petite woman standing in the front windows. They moved to the door when they saw him getting out. I had already decided not to walk with him, letting his friends reassure themselves I was no danger to their loved one.

To my surprise and delight, he came around to my open window. He reached a warm hand to my neck, guiding me to his waiting mouth. He covered my lips with small sucking nibbles that had me gasping. He smiled against my mouth and murmured, "Soon," before turning to walk across the street. He must have known I was watching him, because there was a slight, but definitely extra, swing to his musical hips, and sure enough, when he reached the porch, he turned to look back at me. His eyes were shimmering in the streetlights, ocean bottom green, and I put my hand on the door release to fly to him—but the front door opened, haloing his lean frame, making his hair glow copper, and he stepped inside and shut the door, plunging the porch in darkness.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, taking calming breaths, just to enjoy the peace of the moment. I had so many things I wanted to write down, and I wanted to see if my bank card worked—I'd need a new phone right away—and I'd have to get my books from Charles—if he'd found Edward's sweater, then he'd also gathered up my texts—and I wanted to check in with my professors about make up work. But for right now, I just wanted to be motionless, quiet, and drift in the memories of Edward, half naked and all mine under the trees.

It was restful just to sit, playing back the feel of Edward's smooth warm skin under my hands, his hot hardness buried in me, my fingers tangled in his impossible hair. I was considering slipping a hand in my jeans, certain from the distance of any noises around me that I was alone, when I caught a movement in Edward's room.

I sat forward and watched as he pushed open the French doors and walked straight to the windows. He lifted both hands and flattened his palms against the glass and I was out of the truck and across the street before I even knew I'd moved. His grin lit up the night as he opened a window and leaned out. "I hoped you were still here."

"I will be here for as long as you want me."

He put out a hand toward me, grinning even more. "Oh, I'll always want you."

That was all the invitation I needed. "Stand back," I told him and sprung through the window in a neat vault, landing softly on the hardwood. Edward chuckled at my prowess and it thrilled me to be able to share it with him. But I had little time to think about that pleasure before I was swept up in another: his arms, his hungry kisses, his hands diving under my shirt, then sinking into my hair.

His mouth was a warm, wet demand. So perfect were Edward's kisses, I couldn't imagine what anyone else's might be like—nor did I need to: he knew all the kisses. He should teach doctoral level kissing. I didn't want to know who taught him to kiss like that, but I wanted to thank her all the same. And then snap my fingers in her face because she was never having him again.

How could one pair of lips—albeit matchless ones—deliver so many sensations? There were the barely-there brushes like big fat snowflakes on the first exhilarating day of winter; there were the explorations of nibbling grasping lips and probing flexible tongue; the dry ones, chaste and innocent; there were the soulful ones of barely suppressed desire; the urgent ones of crazed need; the alarming ones with digging fingers and heaving ribs; there were the bruising ones full of jaw bone and teeth crack; there were the sloppy deep ones conveyed by not just his lips and tongue, but by his entire body; melting candle wax warm puddle ones; famished cheetah fast and glittering glacier slow; fevered slippery heat with fragrant breath and whispered nonsense; grunting, pulsing, rhythmic stabs; battles of bites and suction; mouth hair arms hands cock hips legs toes Edward: I wanted desperately to suck his tongue in my mouth, but it would be too easy to cut him on my teeth, and I didn't know what even a small amount of venom in his blood stream might do to him.

I didn't think I could stop, but Edward was panting; I leaned back, looking at him. "You need sleep—you look exhausted."

"I am. But I won't be able to sleep tonight."

"I'll stay and watch over you." He pulled me back and spoke against my lips, "It's you that's keeping me awake." At that, I pushed him back, cocking an eyebrow, "Then I'll go."

"No. Bella, no," his eyes were smoldering. "Here or not, asleep or awake, it's you, Bella. Don't you see?"

I didn't want to; was he saying I meant something to him? Could I dare hope that after all I'd put him through, he might feel a little bit toward me as I did for him? If I thought about that now, I'd go mad. So I kissed him some more.

He sang his need into my mouth and I responded in perfect harmony. Our hands found skin, warm to cool, trails of lava and ice. Edward stepped back just enough to pull my shirt up and off. His eyes roamed ardently over my skin and his fingertips followed. They lingered on the underside of my breasts, making me twist and arch. They brushed over my ready nipples and traced every rib.

"Edward," I whimpered, "I need…"

"What do you need, my angel?" His voice was dark velvet. "This?" He palmed my breasts, lifting and pressing.

"Yes, but…"

"This?" He swept one arm behind my waist, bending me back and leaning down to heat my nipples with his mouth.

"Oh, yes! But…"

"This?"

He slid his other hand down over my jeans, cupping between my legs and pressing up hard and deep with his fingers.

"Gaaaah! Yes! More, Edward…"

I scrabbled at the zipper of his jeans, wrenching it down and releasing him to my eager touch. He growled and my eyes darted to his—was he still sensitive from the venom?—but his face showed only pure longing. I stroked him, testing how hard I could grasp; when he hissed, I backed off the pressure just enough, delighted when he rocked in my hand. His own snaked inside my jeans, wriggling down and around, his long avid fingers curling against the bone to find purchase just inside me.

"Fuck, Bella, it makes me so fucking hard that you are this wet for me," Edward panted against my collarbone, and started walking us backwards around his couch until we fell on his mattress in a hard tangle of gripping and grinding.

He traced his tongue tip down my belly, stopping to suck against my navel until I was quaking, undoing my jeans and working them down to my knees where I could kick my feet and shed them completely. He hiked my knee over his shoulder, settling between my legs and I was moaning before he even touched me. He didn't move for enough seconds that I raised my head; he sensed my prompting look and spoke quietly, almost reverently, "God Bella, this is for me?"

I snagged my fingers in the thicket of his hair and he needed no further urging. Every kiss he had bestowed on my mouth, he repeated between my legs until I was blind with lust, teetering while he held me on the edge, and he was moaning his need with me, and I blurted you better not fucking come in your sheets this time, and he was licking and laughing and lapping and nipping, and I was shaking and bucking, and from the top of my head and the soles of my feet, two waves broke loose, rippled and surged toward each other, until I crashed over Edward's face, pulsing and laughing and gasping, and before I could slow down he was over me and in me, pushing and driving, and the waves rolled out curling and slammed back across us both, and we ate each other's ecstatic cries, swallowing moans, puffing kisses, giddy babbling, whispering down to stillness, quiet, calm.

He rolled off to face me, propping his head on his bunched bicep. The skin around his eyes was dark with fatigue and residual shock, but his eyes sparkled green and gold. His lashes were long and thick; women paid a lot of money trying to achieve what was naturally his. I brushed the leaping flames of his hair back from his face, and scratched my fingernails lightly through his jaw stubble. He sighed, but continued to study my face. I could sense his gaze on my eyes, my lips, my hair, my neck, as if he were touching me. I looked in his eyes, wondering what he was seeing. He surprised me when he said, "You are really beautiful, you know."

If I could have blushed, I would have. I shook my head in denial. Edward captured my chin between his thumb and fingertips, holding my eyes with his, "Bella, you are lovely." His voice grew husky and molten, "I can't believe you're here with me."

"Why?" I was genuinely puzzled he would say that.

"Because you are extraordinary. I can't match you in anything you do." He gave me a rueful smile, "When I think about you running with me…"

It was my turn to hold his eyes, "I loved running with you, Edward. I suggested it, remember? I'd love to run with you as often as you'd let me."

"Really?" his voice rose up like an excited child. I nodded, feeling suddenly shy.

"Edward…" I hesitated to ask this question, but I had to know, "…what did you tell your friend… about me?"

There was a sweet softness to his eyes and mouth when he said, " Angel, I don't even know what you are—how could I tell anyone else?"

Suddenly my recklessness got the better of me and I held his face in my hands, meeting his eyes with unwavering conviction. "There is so much to explain. You're knowing about me puts you in danger. It puts me in danger… and Charles and Renee." Edward was too tired and relaxed to be alarmed, but I saw in his expression that he took me seriously.

"Who from?" he asked, but then immediately yawned, a gigantic dog-like stretch of the jaws and throat that made me smile. I drew him into my arms, cradling his head on my shoulder and smoothing his hair. "Shhh," I whispered. "Sleep now. Answers later."

"Promise?" he muttered drowsily, his eyes closing.

"That you'll get answers?"

"That you'll be here later."

"Yes, my darling love," I said, but he was already asleep.

Author's note: shout out to awesome review-johns vmarie, WolvGambit, and ehee; Edward wanted to know if you gals like the way he kisses?