Sorry for the delay in getting this epilogue to you all. We've had a rough few weeks in my family.
Many, many years ago, my sister and I married brothers... 27 yrs for us, 37 years for my sister... Three weeks ago, my
brother-in-law was diagnosed with advanced liver, lung and rectal cancer. (He thought the pain he was experiencing was from osteoarthritis in his back...)
He's had a few goes with radiotherapy but on Christmas eve, they couldn't give his does as he was just too sick
and now they think that chemo is no longer on the cards either.
This has not been a very easy time and even thought the doctors won't give a time frame, they have said that he could leave us at any time from now to a few months... Just over a year ago, he had the bottom half of his right leg removed because of diabetes (different hospital) and we now know that the cancer
was there in scans done back then but was either missed or overlooked...until now.
The epilogue went on for longer than I thought so I had to split it into 2 parts, the second part will post
either tomorrow or the next day... and then it'll all be done.
Thank you so much for your patience and all of your wonderful reviews.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Sandy.

Epilogue

Three months later...

Bella stood in front of the long oval cheval mirror admiring the white satin and lace corset set she held against herself; she'd picked it out as a surprise for her husband, she smiled every time she thought of Edward as that… her husband. After Aro had taken her from the shopping centre, Edward had become a little… over-protective.

She'd had to grit her teeth a time or two but it was always with a smile as she knew he was only like it because he'd realised how close he'd been to losing her that day. The little 'scratch' she thought she'd got from the stray bullet was a little more than a scratch, it had actually torn right into the muscle of her thigh like a hot knife through butter. The heat of the bullet had cauterised part of the flesh on its way through and stemmed a lot of the bleeding. It wasn't until they'd got into the car and her adrenaline rush had started to ebb that she realised how much pain she was in… well, she felt it a little before then but in the car, the pain got to the point where she could no longer hide it from Edward.

When they'd arrived at his parents' house, he'd had his father look over the wound and dress it so that when his mother came out from operating on Jacob, she could stitch it up. Carlisle had helped his wife on more than one occasion over the years and had quite the bedside manner… Bella still smiled when she thought of the teasing Edward gave his father, calling him a nurse…

Jacob had pulled through his surgery with flying colors and recovered quicker than she thought was possible. Rose was fine within a couple of days, having suffered only a mild concussion; she was as fed up with Emmett's hovering as Bella was getting with Edward's. Alec on the other hand didn't come out of his shooting as well as Jacob. He'd suffered a shot to the leg which had shattered his thigh bone. Esme had plated and screwed it together as good as she could but he would forever walk with a pronounced limp; but it didn't make him any less deadly.

A sound behind her had Bella snap out of her thoughts.

"Hey Bella." Alice said as she stuck her head through the bedroom door. "You ready to get started yet?"

Bella smiled as the women of her family walked through her door but groaned when Esme pulled in some sort of trolley contraption in behind her. Bella could only guess as what torture devices were inside.

"You excited, Bella?" Rose asked.

"Of course I am. I never would have thought in a million years that this day would be one I was actually looking forward to, but I am… well, I was until you brought that in here." She said indicating to the small trolley.

"Oh be quiet you… It's not going to be that bad." Alice said. Bella looked back at the three grinning women and wasn't sure she believed that statement.

Two hours and fourteen minutes later, Bella once again stood in front of the large cheval mirror and admired what she saw reflecting back at her. Her nearly mother and sisters-in-law and had primped and preened her within an inch of her life, but she couldn't help but smile at the result. She looked beautiful…

The dress she stood in was new yet not. It was actually a remake of the dress her mother had worn at her own wedding. Jasper knew how much Bella had loved the dress when she'd been growing up and had commissioned a replica to be made for her. The A line dress made of antique lace and soft, white silk spoke of a time long ago with its high neck design and long fitted sleeves that billowed out from the middle of her forearms. The form fitting bodice modernised it just a little but what Bella loved most of all was the Cullioni crest that had been hand embroidered into the bottom of the large silk train that fanned out over the floor behind her.

"I was so pleased to see this dress when Jasper showed it to us," Esme said smiling. "… and even more pleased when you liked my veil."

"I couldn't think of anything more fitting, Mom." Esme still beamed every time Bella called her that. The first time was the day they'd come to wait for Jacob's surgery to finish. It had been a long time since she'd had a mother figure and even after standing for hours on end patching up a man who had once been an enemy of their family, Esme Cullioni had walked up and wrapped her arms around Bella as if she was her own child that had been taken.

A soft knock at the door had all the women turn towards it. "Can I come in?" Jasper asked softly. Instead of answering, Alice walked over and opened the door just a fraction.

"Close your eyes." She said smiling. Bella heard her brother chuckle softly a moment before Alice pulled him into the room. Bella turned to face her brother and Esme and Rose fluttered around fixing her dress. When Jasper opened his eyes, his breath caught and his eyes watered at the vision in front of him. He couldn't get over how much Bella looked like their mother in that instant.

"You're stunning, Bella, absolutely breath taking." He said as he walked over to wrap his arms carefully around his twin sister. "Mom would be so proud of you; I hope you know that and so am I."

"Oh God, don't make me cry, Jazz." Bella said in a tight voice.

"Yeah, what she said." Rose said beside her. Everyone laughed but they all were a little choked up.

"Are you ready, little sis?" Jasper asked as he pulled back to look at his sister. He was so very proud her. Proud to call her his sister and in awe of the strength she'd shown since the nightmare of their lives began all those months ago.

"Yeah, little bro…" It was a standing joke between them. Just because Bella was a few minutes older than him, didn't mean anything as far as Jasper was concerned. Bella had always been smaller than him and he never let her forget it.

"Good because I don't know how much longer Emmett and Jacob can keep your intended from coming up here to collect you himself." Jasper never thought his life would end up the way it had, especially not living and working with people he'd been brought up to believe where his enemies but now, he wouldn't have it any other way. There was honour and loyalty in his new family that he never thought was possible in the world he'd been born into and it hadn't taken long for him to know that he'd die for any one of the Cullioni's.

As everyone in the room laughed at the image of two huge men having to hold Edward back, Jasper pulled Bella's hand into the crook of his arm and looked down at his beaming sister. "I love you, Bella and I'm so happy that you've found someone who loves you so completely."

"Same back atcha brother. Who would have thought, huh…" she said as they walked out of the room.

=x=

"I now pronounce you, husband… and wife." The priest said laughing. Edward hadn't waited for the priest to finish the proclamation before he pulled Bella into his arms and kissed her with as much passion as possible while in front of so many eyes.

"Okay brother, we get it… you're in looooove!" Emmett yelled out laughing. By the time the newlyweds broke apart, the whole congregation was laughing at the exuberance of their leader, it was something that many had never thought Edward had in him. At any other time, he would have threatened to shoot them all for such behaviour but he was currently in too good a mood to think about anyone other than his wife…

Edward smiled as the word filtered through his mind. He never thought this day would come or at least that he'd be happy as he was about it. He also couldn't wait to have a moment alone with his wife.

As the couple turned to face their friends and family, Bella looked up to her new husband and found him looking back at her with a look she knew quite well. "What are you planning in that handsome head of yours?" Bella asked quietly.

"Be a good girl and you'll find out."

=x=

Edward smiled and accepted all the congratulations given to him and his wife on the way down the aisle, with more restraint than he realised possible but he knew that once he reached the end of the red carpet, there would be no stopping him… and that's exactly what happened.

"Edward…" Esme called out behind the couple. "Where are you… Oh!"

"Edward!" Bella giggled as she grabbed the front of her dress in an effort to keep up with her husband's long stride. "We can't…". She knew by the look he gave her at the alter that he was not going to wait until the celebrations had come to an end to consummate their marriage but she didn't think he'd whisk her off straight away.

"Who says, Princess. I'm the boss around here, so who in their right mind is going to try and stop me?" Bella laughed as she got with the program and ran in front of Edward, heading straight for the stairs that lead up to their private wing. "Now that's the sort of enthusiasm I want to see."

It was only after Edward shut the door behind them that the laughter and ribbing shouts of everyone downstairs, finally became silent.

"You are so bad. You do realise that everyone's going to know what we're doing up here, right?"

"Mmm, I'm sure they do." He said as he took a step towards her. He reached up and undid his tie… "But here's the thing…" While keeping his tie in his hand, he started to undo the buttons of his shirt. "The moment you walked into my line of sight and took a step on that red carpet, my cock was hard as a rock and demanded his rights to take what was his."

Bella's breathing and heart-rate sped up as she watched her husband strip with each step he took. She matched his steps with ones of her own but hers were retreating… towards their king sized bed. Her mouth watered as she watched his hand lower to his belt. "Demanded, huh? Well, you could have told him that he had to wait like a good little boy…"

Edward smirked at her breathless reply, "You know very well that there's nothing little about him, Princess and just how demanding he can be." Edward's eyes roamed freely over the woman in front of him. He could see how her skin flushed as her eyes followed his hands down to his belt and could imagine just how excited she was underneath all of that white silk and lace. "On the bed, Isabella."

Isabella… Bella shivered as Edward practically growled out her full name. It was rare that he'd call her that now but when he did, it always meant she was about to be taken hard and fast. She gathered up the long material of her dress and without taking her eyes off her stalking husband, she climbed backwards onto the mattress then sat down.

"Hold out your hands."

"Fuck…" she whispered as she quickly complied. With his breathing now matching Bella's, Edward's jaw clenched in anticipation as he tied his silk tie around her wrists. Her unfaltering trust in him still pulled at his heart every time she gave it to him, it was something he'd never take for granted. He climbed up onto the bed and moved so that he straddled her hips.

Edward leant down and ghosted his lips over hers and whispered… "You are without a doubt, the most exquisite creature on this planet."

"I'm a creature…?" she giggled breathlessly.

"Mmhmm…" Edward murmured as he licked her lips. "Especially when you growl and pant and scream like a banshee."

Bella's whole body was on fire but she couldn't help but laugh at Edward's words. "Only for you." She replied as she lifted her head off the bed and kissed her husband hungrily. Their tongues slid fiercely against each other in an erotic dance learnt from lots of practice.

Edward growled as he pulled away, his eyes burning a path down the white satin of her wedding dress; the dress he planned for her to be wearing while doing a number of dirty things. It was only the fact that he knew just how many tiny buttons ran down the back of the dress, that kept him from stripping her naked; he knew he wouldn't get all night to feast on his wife before his brother came to drag them back down to the party.

As Edward moved down her body, Bella went to reach for him but realised her bound hands were now tied to the headboard of their bed. "When did you do this?" she asked.

"When you were distracted, my love. As much as I'd like to, we can't be up here all night and if you put your hands on me, that's exactly where we'll stay. Now… lay back and let me eat my entrée."

"Oh fucking hell…" she said as her head fell back to the bed.

Edward smirked as he moved to the bottom of the bed. He wrapped his hands around her ankles and pushed them apart. His thumbs circled the small jutting bones and his mouth watered as the scent of her arousal finally reached him.

"I can smell you already, Isabella." He said as his hands slipped under her dress and slowly made their way up her stockinged legs. When he reached the middle of her thighs, he could feel a band of lace under his finger tips and with not much searching, he came to the clip of hidden suspenders. He admitted to himself that the fact that everything was still hidden under the volumes of white silk turned him the fuck on. With deft fingers, he flicked the small clasps open front and back on each leg then continued up as he watched his wife's beautiful face. Edward loved how responsive his wife was and how much she craved him. He'd heard so many men complain over the years about their less than attentive wives and how they found satisfaction in the many other women on the side, he actually wondered if that's the reason he was never in a hurry to marry. Growing up with parents who were loving and committed to each other, he had no desire to have a wife and others on the side, so the fact that Bella's libido was a high as his, he knew he'd hit the jackpot.

The instant his fingertip came into contact with saturated, soft skin between her legs, Edward let out a moan of desire. "These are new." He said of the crotchless panties she obviously wore.

Bella's eyes opened as her back arched up. "Surprise…"

Edward couldn't wait anymore. Billowing up the material, he fell to his stomach and ducked under her dress and sure enough, before his very eyes, Bella's pussy was front and centre, framed in a lacy pair or peek-a-boo panties. It was a beautiful sight but he wanted more access than what they provided but before he removed them, he had to have a taste.

The moment Bella felt her husband's hot, wet tongue against her sensitive skin, she let out a moan that made her flush. She knew what he'd found under her dress and as much as she would have loved to have seen his reaction, seeing the shape of his body hidden under her dress more than made up for it. Then she felt her panties being pulled down.

Oh fuck… I love his tongue! Bella thought to herself.

Edward didn't waste time. Once her panties were off one leg, he attached his mouth to his wife's pussy with a vengeance. Her soft musky taste was all the aphrodisiac Edward needed; although her sounds and hair pulling didn't go unappreciated either. He was more than content to stay exactly where he was but he knew he couldn't take too long in their bedroom so he ate her hungrily until Bella exploded around his tongue.

"You are so good at that." She said breathlessly as Edward fought his way out from under her dress and moved up between her legs; the sight of his messed up hair and wet face made her giggle. He couldn't help but laugh under his breath at Bella's blissed out face. He secretly loved that look, it made him feel like a king.

"Not as good as I am at this." He said as he lined himself up and slammed his way inside his wife's willing body. His body shook and broke out in goosebumps at the feeling of her body gripping his. "Fuck, you feel better every time Princess, every fucking time…"

He fell forward on one hand while the other grabbed under her left knee. "Hold on tight, beautiful…"

Once Bella's legs were around his waist, Edward gripped her hips and consummated their marriage with a smile on his face.

Well, as I said up top, the 2nd part of the epilogue will be posted either tomorrow or the next day... So, thank you all again...