Nothing but smut and fluff. Honestly.

Thanks for the reviews and adds... Your love for the last chapter was amazing! And thanks for spreading the word on this little fic! I truly appreciate it!

With all the readalong stuff going on, I forgot to mention that the wonderful RoseArcadia made a blinkie for this! It's all E & B in the rain and so, so hot! You can get the link(s) on her blog, www(dot) RoseArcadia (dot) blogspot(dot) com.

Also, if you all ever have any questions, find me on Twitter... (at)JennyB0719. I'm much more accessable there than I am here. I'm so bad about responding to reviews! I figure, though, if I have free time, you all would rather I write than play, correct?

Thanks to Stratan for beta'ing this and being my hero :)

There's a comment Edward says about "football". For all you Americans, this actually means "soccer". Just so you know...

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Chapter 29

Edward

Bella looked so completely befuddled, in awe that I'd been able to accomplish something like this. I stared down at her, memorizing the way her expression morphed into one of pure delight. The knowledge that I'd given her that joy with just a few simple words with the museum's curator, coupled with the sounds of our family and friends cheering the priest's announcement of our marriage in the background had my heart feeling as if it would implode at any given second.

It was unfathomable to me that this beautiful creature I'd encircled in my arms had love for me so strong that she'd willingly come to Paris to marry me, regardless of all the madness surrounding us and that it had been so quickly after we'd met. Now I was beginning to understand why Bella hadn't been able to believe it was truly happening. We'd been slung into this all-consuming, overwhelming relationship… one that had started from an instantaneous attraction and evolved into something more under the shroud of my "interest" in Tanya and the indifference I pretended to have toward Bella in public for so long. She'd captured my heart with her looks, her wit, her boldness, her cleverness, her independent mind, and strong-will.

Before I could blink, I loved her.

"No sooner looked but they loved," I murmured.

"What? Are you quoting Shakespeare to me?" she laughed.

I nodded. "It's appropriate." So very appropriate.

Her mouth twisted up with the denial that was quickly rising to the surface, but I stopped it with a brush of my thumb across her cheekbone, wiping the few stray snowflakes away from her eye.

"We should go before you're soaked," I whispered.

"Do I have time to go back to the room and change?"

"No need," I replied. "I've something waiting for you."

She shook her head. "Unbelievable. But what about everyone else?"

"All taken care of," Alice chimed in from behind us.

I chuckled. "Would you have guessed anything else?"

Bella giggled. "No. The two of you… Jesus. Is this what my life is going to be like from now on?"

"I'm not entirely sure what you mean."

"The grand gestures," she said with a wave of her hand in the general direction of the Louvre.

"It is. Is that a problem?"

"Does it matter?" she countered.

I smiled arrogantly. "Not at all."

We finally broke free from one another and paid our family attention, welcoming their words of congratulations with the smiles that seemed permanently etched on our faces.

After we helped disassemble the few sparse decorations we had surrounding us, we all walked across the bridge and through the courtyard, stopping to examine the pyramid. Bella made a quick pass around the pyramid, before ducking inside to the underground lobby with us, citing that walking around in a wedding dress with Edward Masen was a dead giveaway that something scandalous had just gone down.

I couldn't have agreed more.

Bella took the jeans and black cashmere jumper I'd had the wedding planner hold for her and, ignoring every one of Alice's protests, disappeared with our guide into one of the offices to change.

"I can't believe you didn't bring her a dress. It's her wedding night!" Alice laughed. "She's supposed to be gorgeous all night long."

"She will be. She always is."

Alice melted. "Aw, I love that you adore her. But you still should have brought her a dress."

I shrugged. "Bella wouldn't have been comfortable walking around here in a dress. You know that."

Esme came over and wrapped her arm around my waist. She leaned her head against my shoulder and sighed. "You're married."

A wide grin spread across my face, along with a warmth from her words. "I am. Thank you for being here."

Her free hand came up to wave me off. "As if I wouldn't. She looked beautiful, Edward. You both did, standing there together. But Bella, she glowed in that dress."

Her words caused something to stir inside me, and with a quick kiss to the top of my mother's head, I disentangled myself from her and sought out Bella. I needed to see her in her wedding dress one last time; to feel the smooth, white satin under my fingertips, and listen to the sound of it rustling as she moved.

I'd never have the chance again.

The guide was standing just outside a door in one of the many corridors of the palace, and with a nod of acknowledgement, I slipped past her and into the office.

Bella had her back to me, pulling the pins from her hair and rolling her shoulders. Her dress danced with her movements, giving me the satisfaction of hearing it skim across her body one last time.

I quietly came up behind her and started helping her take her hair down. She craned her neck to see me and smiled affectionately.

"Hey, you."

"Hey." My fingers brushed along the column of her neck as I went to put the crystal pin down on the table, and a heat came over me so swiftly, I lost my breath. All the anticipation, the wondering and waiting for this day—the day I could finally make love to Bella as her husband—was almost too much for me now.

My hands moved down her body, running over her breasts as they made their way to her hips. I moved my mouth to her shoulder and felt the shiver run through her as my tongue was met with the sweet taste of her supple skin.

Her head fell back, and she moaned quietly, her mewl causing desperation to streak through me. I fisted my hands at her hips, trying to restrain from ripping the fabric as I moved to ease this hunger drumming through me, but it was useless. The more I ravaged her with my mouth, the more the hunger grew.

'Excited' was too tame of a word. 'Passion' too simple. She managed to cause this indescribable reaction, this ache, in me every time we came together like no one else ever could or would again.

I unzipped her dress and managed to push it down carefully—without destroying it. She stepped out of it, spinning around to face me, and any words I'd thought about speaking had caught in my throat from her beauty.

Her thin, graceful form was only covered by a small sliver of white lace at her hips, and her white sandals were jeweled in pale blue at the top of her foot, making her petite legs look long and lean. A black and white garter sat on her thigh, and I hooked a finger around it to push it down while splaying my other hand at the small of her back so that I could bring her to me. I wanted to show her how much I treasured her, but that was impossible given the allotted time we had before someone came for us. It, unfortunately, would have to wait.

I dropped my head down to feel her lips against mine, and that desperation I'd felt seared our kiss. Bella hastily fought with my clothes, opting to finally just push my trousers down before shimmying out of her knickers. I broke the kiss as she ground her hips against mine, and dragged my mouth down her body until I could draw her breast into my mouth.

Her sharp gasp rocked me, and I lifted her up so that she was pinned against the wall and settled in between her thighs, marveling at how just the thought and the beginnings of foreplay could make her hot and ready for me.

"Baby," she moaned. "Please. Please fuck me."

I came undone, driving into her in one forceful push. She rolled her hips to meet my thrusts and tightened her legs around my waist as I took a handful of her hair and gently pulled her head back so that I could see her. Her eyes were scorching, intensifying every feeling racing through me.

Our movements became frenzied as we clawed at each other, attempting to somehow get even closer to one another, even though at this point—with our bodies joined and our glistening skin sliding together as we raced toward the finish—it was impossible.

She muffled her scream against my shoulder as she came, and after only a few thrusts, I followed her, bringing both of us down to the floor as I collapsed with exhaustion.

My breathing heavy, I placed my head on her chest and listened to the sound of her heart sprinting in my ear. Her fingers found purchase in my hair, lightly massaging my scalp and nearly causing me to fall asleep as we were.

I finally managed to lift my head, and I gave her a satisfied, crooked grin. "Not exactly how I'd planned to consummate our marriage."

Her nose scrunched up with her laugh. "What were you planning? Romantic seduction?"

"Something like that."

"No seduction necessary. I'm easy."

I laughed once and slowly stood up. "You'd better not be."

She frowned. "Edward, come on."

I pulled her up off the floor and onto her feet. "You cheat on me, I'll murder you," I said jokingly. Well, for the most part I was joking.

Her eyes flashed, and she fought with the grin that threatened to break across her face. "Same goes for you, big shot Hollywood actor."

I grinned wickedly. "As long as we're in agreement."

She turned away from me to start gathering her clothes. "We probably shouldn't have done that," she stated absently. "Really shouldn't have done that. What if that woman out there needed something and walked in? Or your family? My father? Emmett?" She shuddered on Emmett's name.

"They'd have heard your noises and turned away before ever walking through the door," I said unapologetically.

"My noises?"

I nodded and threw her a quick grin. "Your noises. You'd be very successful as a voice over for porn-style moans."

"You're so full of shit."

I reached out and slid my hand over her body, cupping her when I reached my destination. Her eyes fluttered, and she groaned breathlessly.

"That wasn't me."

"Fine," she pouted, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. "Good to know I have something to fall back on if… whatever the hell I decide to do after grad school doesn't work out."

"You've not decided anything yet?" I asked, buttoning my trousers back up.

"No," she sighed. "Pathetic, huh?"

"You've still time. There's no rush," I said comfortingly. "Or you could choose to do nothing at all. Stay at home with me."

She rolled her eyes. "Be serious. I can't sit and be idle all day. You know that."

I moved to help her take the rest of her hair down. "I know. You'll figure it out eventually, love."

A knock on the door pulled me out of the task of removing the thousands of black hairpins still in Bella's hair. I rushed to block the door, since Bella was still mostly naked, and found my sister standing on the other side with her hands on her hips. In the time I'd been in here with Bella, she'd managed to change into a pair of jeans and a vibrant, yellow shirt.

Which meant everyone else had, as well.

"We're all waiting for you. Stop shagging and come on," she complained impatiently.

"We're not shagging. Bella's taking her hair down," I growled. "Do you know how many sodding pins were in her hair?"

She giggled. "You may be doing that now, Edward, but you can't fool me. I can see it on your face. You two were… you know. It says so right here." She stretched up to run her finger along the width of my forehead. "'Just fucked'."

"She's my wife. I'm expected to try to keep my hands off my wife on my wedding day? I find that demand slightly unattainable."

"You're expected to share her with the rest of your selfish family until the two of you are alone. Then you have your wedding day sex. Surely you can keep it zipped up for a few hours, brother."

If she wasn't smiling that blinding smile of hers, I might've slapped her. "Go away, tiny person, before I step on you. I'll see you as soon as Bella's finished."

Her mouth dropped open. "I'm not that tiny."

I simply gave her a disbelieving look from her attempt to lie and shut the door. "We need to hurry," I said to Bella. "If we don't, we may wind up barricading the door against the angry mob of family members."

"So I heard." She shook her hair out and ran her fingers through it once. "I think I got them all. Let me just throw on my clothes, and I'm good to go."

Bella opened the door and asked the guide if she could keep her dress in the office while we toured the museum, and she fidgeted a little when the woman laughed and made a comment about "insatiable newlyweds" in her thickly accented English. I, on the other hand, shrugged unapologetically. It seemed to be the theme of the evening. It was my wedding night, and as the groom, I was privileged to do what I bloody pleased.

We met back up with everyone in the lobby, and I hung back with Carlisle while Esme, Alice, and Rosalie stole Bella. We toured through the first floor of the Richelieu wing and rounded past the crown jewels. Emmett, of course, couldn't resist saying something when he saw Bella's stupefied reaction as she stared at the Regent Diamond.

"Shut your dick smackers and move along, Swan," he boomed.

"God damn it, Emmett," she muttered. She snuck a glance at our guide who had what could only be described as a look of disgusted bafflement and flushed from head to toe.

"Allow me," Rosalie said smugly, stepping over to Emmett and slapping him across the back of his head. Hard. So hard, Jasper and I visibly winced.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, did you see that?" Jasper mumbled to me.

"Yes."

"Christ, that chick is fucking scary. Like in a supermodel-hot-I'll-tear-your-balls-off-and-pierce-your-spleen-with-my-stiletto kind of way."

"At times," I chuckled.

"Ow, baby," Emmett groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "Come on. I was just giving Bella a hard time."

"This is her day. Don't be an idiot on her day."

We continued on, and I watched Bella's reaction closely as we walked toward the Mona Lisa. Hearing her gasp and seeing her enraptured by the guide's brief speech about the painting itself had my heart threatening to implode all over again.

"So… Feel any different now that you're married?" Charlie asked me.

I thought about it. "No. Happier, I suppose."

"I have to say, it's very weird knowing my son-in-law is only three years younger than me."

"It is a bit odd," I admitted carefully, wondering where this conversation was headed.

"I talked to Bella before the wedding," he continued.

I didn't bother to hide my shock. "Oh?"

"I wanted to make sure this wasn't some kind of whim she'd regret later on in life. I was hoping she'd have a long engagement. She's so… young. I wanted to make sure that some charismatic actor who's used to getting whatever he wants wasn't pressuring her into something she wasn't ready for."

I kept my expression stoic, making sure I hid what I was feeling over his obviously low opinion of me. It wasn't like it could be helped; I'd only spoken to the man three times.

"A very clever whim, if I say so myself," Carlisle answered for me. "Given his extremely public lifestyle. We've had some close calls with journalists finding out who we really are to Edward in the past. He's always managed to out maneuver them and draw their attention elsewhere."

"That's what Bella said to me; that it was smart given his lack of privacy. And that she could have waited a year and still felt the same about him. So it didn't really matter and I should 'fuck off'."

I chuckled. "Not surprising, really."

"No. And I did, because the two of you fit. This," he said in reference to the Louvre, "wouldn't have been considered by anyone else as a gift. I, myself, would have just brought her during public hours. I'd have never thought to arrange something this extravagant for her, and I'm her damn father. You're in tune with each other in a way that I didn't know was possible. More so now than you were on Thanksgiving."

I cleared my throat and caught Carlisle's proud smile out of the corner of my eye. I felt like such a child all of the sudden. "Thank you."

He shifted on his feet, clearly showing his discomfort. "Promise me she'll come and visit. I don't see her nearly enough as it is, and that's partly—mostly—my fault. I know with your… job, you're busy-"

"Of course," I interjected. "You've been the one constant in Bella's life. I wouldn't dream of taking that away from her, or you, for that matter."

He let out a breath of relief. "Okay."

"Shall we interrupt the girls and see the painting?"

Charlie nodded and smiled a little. "It's not every day I get to stand in front of the world's most famous painting."

"It most certainly is not," I agreed.

After we finished our tour of the Louvre, we opted to finish our celebration with everyone in the hotel bar in an effort to keep the secrecy of the evening preserved. I knew none of the staff would contact the press for fear of losing their job, and I was fairly certain that the other guests wouldn't be a problem, either. Most of them were either too drunk to pay us any mind or already in their rooms.

Thankfully.

We'd broken off into smaller groups as soon as we'd walked in the door. Charlie chatted up the bartender while watching a football game that had taken place between Internazionale and Barcelona earlier today, even though I was positive he didn't care about any kind of football except American football. Emmett and Rosalie were snuggled up together, talking to my parents about London. Emmett made some lewd comment, and Esme fluttered her hands a little before regaining her composure and retorting with something that had even Emmett flushing.

I laughed.

Now that Alice had Bella to herself, she spent her time catching up with Bella a little and ignoring me entirely. Which was no matter. I was content to sip my water and watch everyone around me.

Jasper walked to the bar to get Alice another drink, and an extremely curvy woman with blond hair came over and started flirting with him. Jasper smiled politely at her, nodding slightly at something she said, and I glanced over at Alice and Bella to gauge their reactions. Alice was unconcerned; Bella seemed absolutely fascinated.

"You're not worried about that girl over there eye-fucking Jasper?" Bella suddenly asked Alice.

"Who? The blond?" Bella nodded. "No. She's not Jasper's type. I am."

"Well, no shit. But still, I get really aggravated when girls walk up to Edward like I'm not even there. And we're married for Christ's sake!" She held up her hand and wiggled her fingers, flashing her ring.

"No one knows you're married," Alice pointed out.

"Whatever. Engaged. Same difference. Either way, he's off the market."

I leaned over and placed a kiss just behind her ear. "Don't be mad, love. It's part of the job. You know I can't help it. I mean, it's not like I deliberately tell random girls to walk over and try to get into my trousers."

She pinched me playfully in return. "You be quiet. I was talking to your sister."

I held my hands up in surrender and grinned crookedly. "Fine. I'll stay on my side and drink my water."

"You do that, baby." She turned back to Alice. "So it doesn't bother you?"

"Of course not. I know who he comes home to every night. It would do you good to remember the same. My brother's not going anywhere."

"Can I interrupt?" I asked.

I simply ignored the dirty look Bella gave me and spoke, regardless of its welcome.

"She's right. You've ruined me for all the other women in the world. I can never look at another woman again because I will only ever see you."

"Aw, that was sweet, Edward," Alice crooned.

Bella pursed her lips. "It really was," she said reluctantly. "Thank you."

"Worthy of a kiss?"

Bella bit her lip and nodded. I brought my hand to the back of her neck and forced her to me while I took her mouth in a bruising kiss. Cheers and cat-calls—mostly from Emmett—echoed around us, and Bella jerked back, cursing under her breath and blushing in response.

"I thought you'd gotten over letting other people's reactions to us bother you," I murmured in her ear.

"I did," she groaned. "But Jesus, that was a little over the top, don't you think?"

"My kiss? Or Emmett's cheers?"

"Both."

I smiled warmly at her. "A bit."

Jasper slammed himself into his chair with a huff. "Why do I attract all the girls that wear dunlap jeans?"

Alice giggled.

Bella looked at me curiously, and I merely shrugged. I had no idea what he was talking about either.

"What are dunlap jeans?" Bella asked.

"You know. Dunlap jeans." We both stared at him blankly. "Because her stomach done lapped over her jeans?"

Bella snorted a laugh. "Where do you come up with this shit?"

Jasper flashed a cocky smile. "It's a gift."

I glanced at the drink in Bella's hands and noticed it was finally empty. I pointed toward the drink, and she shook her head, bringing her hand over to my leg and slowly moving it up…

It was time to leave.

"I think we're going to call it a night," I announced, moving out of my chair and giving Bella my hand to help her up.

"Edward," Alice whined. "It's only…" She glanced around for a clock.

"Two in the morning," I finished for her.

Alice frowned. "Oh."

We said our goodbyes and made sure everyone called us when they arrived back at their respective homes and finally made our way back to the suite. The moment I had the door unlocked, I scooped Bella up and kicked the door open.

She squealed. "Edward! Damn it! Put me down!"

I carried her, protesting and all, into the room before I finally set her down. "There. You're down."

"God, you're such a pain in the ass." My laughter died in my throat when she pushed me into the wall and nearly attacked me with her mouth. "But, I'm so fucking glad we're alone."

"Earlier wasn't enough for you, baby?" I rasped out.

"Nope. Not even close."

"Good to know."

She pushed her hands down my trousers, and I immediately moved away from her and captured her wrists. "Wait," I breathed. "Slow it down."

She pouted. "Why?"

"Because I rushed through it earlier. I want it to be right this time."

"Edward, it's right every time because it's you," she said shyly.

And how was I to argue with that logic?

I couldn't.

"All right, dance with me first."

"You want to dance?"

"I want to dance. It's tradition, is it not?" I asked with a crooked grin.

She laughed and shook her head. "I guess."

I wrapped my arms around her waist and began to move with her.

After a few seconds, she tightened her hands around my neck and giggled. "Baby? Where's the music?"

"No music. Just you and me," I murmured.

She smiled broadly through the biting of her lip and pulled my face down so that it was resting against hers. Her lashes brushed my cheek as she closed her eyes, and I couldn't stop myself from breathing her in as I moved us at an excruciatingly slow pace. In all the years I'd been in the spotlight, I'd never given my heart to someone so entirely before, and with Bella, it had been effortless. I realized I'd played every relationship safe, keeping my heart and career protected, until now. It could all end tomorrow, but standing here with Bella like this would be worth every second of pain. I'd throw everything I'd worked my entire life for just to continue to be with her.

She was the exception.


Bella

"Jesus, Edward! What did you do, buy a house in the middle of nowhere? We're never going to get there!"

Edward chuckled and pulled me into his side. "It's not in the middle of nowhere. It's in Villefranche."

I looked at him blankly. Again, the need for a world geography class reared its ugly head. "Um…"

"Villefranche-sur-Mer," he specified. "French Riviera. It's a short train ride from Cannes. I liked the availability of the house when coming to the film festival without being centered in all of the chaos."

"Oh. Okay." I snuggled up next to him. "So what are we going to do?"

"Stay in bed."

I snorted. "Fuck all day and night?"

"I really don't think I could handle that," he said thoughtfully.

"No?" I laughed. "Really? No?"

"No." He smiled ruefully down at me. "Is my wife going to try to break my favorite body part while on our honeymoon?"

I shook my head. "It's my favorite, too."

He cocked a brow in question.

"Well, it's my second favorite," I amended. "Your eyes are what drew me in. The dick is just bonus."

He burst into laughter, making me blush. The perfect, green eyes I loved so much were luminous against the dark train cabin as they scanned my face. He was just as happy—as in love with me and the moment—as I was with him. His head dropped down so that he could kiss me, and my heart physically hurt from the strength of the feelings I had for him.

He gently laid me against the window, cradling my face as his mouth continued to move with mine. The quiet clanking of the rails and the train's easy rocking as we moved down the track reminded me that we were in a public venue, but even that knowledge couldn't stop the sudden need I had for the man hovering over me.

He hitched my leg around his hip, allowing the friction I so desperately needed, and I moaned into his mouth. He lifted his head to stare down at me, so serious and inquiring, and I brought his hand to my breast to answer his unspoken question.

He rose back up, bringing me with him and sat me on his lap. One hand stretched out to lock the cabin door while his teeth nipped my neck. The new sensation coursed through me, and I grabbed the long-sleeved tee and yanked it over his head. I no longer cared about myself; I was solely focused on him and showing him how much he meant to me by any means I could.

I made my way down his body, feeling his chorded muscles tense and twitch under the skin with my hands and my mouth. I got to the waist of his jeans and smirked at the growl that came from his chest when I popped the button open and unzipped them. He raised his hips so that I could pull everything away from his body and hissed as soon as I took him into my mouth.

His head fell back against the seat when I sucked down on him, and I had to hold back the giggle that tried to escape my throat with the reaction he had each time I did so. It was so empowering to have this influential man—the man that dominated a room with his smile—so helpless with my touch and a simple act of sex.

His hips bucked, and he gripped onto my shoulders tightly. "Stop," he ground out.

I glanced up and saw his jaw tighten and his eyes blaze as he held off his orgasm. One last lick and I released him. "How come?"

He pulled me up to his chest and deftly removed my jeans and panties. "I want this," he said thickly, sliding his fingers over me with a seductive smile. "And it seems you want me, as well."

"When do I not?" I countered slyly.

He laughed once and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. "I do love you, Isabella."

I let him remove my shirt, reveling in the way his skin felt against mine. "I love you," I replied, though I knew those three words would never be enough to fully explain how I felt for him.

"Now, turn around and straddle me," he instructed.

I did as I was told and looked over my shoulder to see him. With a quick flick of his wrist, he had my bra unfastened and was running his hands down my back as it fell off my shoulders. He cupped my ass and lifted me up and guided me down on him.

As soon as he was fully inside me, my back arched against his chest, because it just felt so fucking good. He moved me fluidly on top of him until we found our rhythm, and then those graceful, skilled hands of his were everywhere, rolling my nipples and skimming over my clit.

Without warning, he pushed my hair to one side and bit down at the juncture of my neck and shoulder. The sharp streak of pain and the surprise had me coming almost immediately. I twisted my torso and buried my face in Edward's neck so that I didn't make too much noise and heard his low grunt with his own climax.

He wrapped his arms around me, bringing me closer to him, and placing a reverent kiss where he'd just bitten down. "You all right?" he whispered.

I nodded. "Feel free to try that again any time."

I could feel his smile against my shoulder. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind." His finger caught on the corner of the patch at my hip as he moved his hands to a different position. "You should take this off."

I laughed. Loudly. "We've been married for a day and you're already telling me to take off my patch?"

"I don't mean it like you think, love. It's annoying. You could try something else."

I laughed some more. "God, you're cute."

"So I take it that's a 'no'?"

I carefully turned around so that I was facing him. "That's a 'no'."

He chuckled and shrugged. "Can't blame me for trying. But if you get any more hormonal, I'm ripping it off in your sleep."

"Am I that bad?"

He shook his head and pushed my hair behind my ears. "Not particularly. Just a bit weepy since… well, since we did that interview."

"I'm overwhelmed," I answered quietly.

"I know. And for that, I'm sorry."

"Oh, an apology. An actual, verbal apology. You never give me those," I said playfully.

"Because I never do anything wrong. I'm a phenomenal human being." He flashed a cocky, crooked smile.

I kissed his cheek and moved off his lap so that I could get dressed. "Liar."

The train pulled into the station, and Edward and I quickly removed our belongings and found the car waiting for us before anyone recognized him. The distance to Edward's house was short, but the amount of twists and turns necessary to drive around the cliffs seemed to make it last forever.

We finally pulled up to this massive, tan colored stucco house built into the mountain. The clay tile roof was in perfect condition. Black shutters framed every window, and elaborate concrete railings lined the terraces. The garage was under the house, nestled inside the stoned foundation, and the door opened, revealing a dark blue BMW coupe.

I should've known.

Edward helped me out of the car and gave the driver a tip as he helped him get our luggage out of the trunk. I stood there, completely useless, and just stared at the flawlessness before me. Not only was the house unbelievable, but the view was incredible as well. From the spot I stood rooted to, I could see the Mediterranean stretch out before me for miles, curving against the sky with the earth. Houses and apartments scattered the mountainside, and people dotted the harbor below, bundled in their coats while they worked the boats.

"It's actually quite drab at the moment," Edward whispered in my ear as the driver pulled away. "There are three months of 'winter' here. Otherwise, there are shrubs that are in full bloom beside the palms. You can see sailboats anchored out in the sea from the pool and purple flowers actually grow out of the stones here," he said as he pointed to the right of the garage door, "as well as the back side of the house. They make the house visible from the beach."

"How many more of these mansions do you own?"

Edward spun me around and frowned disapprovingly. "I've only the houses in LA, here, and London. The family shares the Kent house. And they're not my houses, Bella, they're our houses now."

He was right. This was my life now. Might as well get used to it.

"Sorry. All this money is so damn hard to comprehend." I looked at him pleadingly. "You know?"

His frown deepened. "Not exactly. My mother and father were well off by the time I was old enough to understand how much I couldn't really purchase with five quid. Carlisle and Esme both make a respectable amount of money, so I never witnessed what it was like to struggle making the mortgage or putting food on the table. I was extremely fortunate. I still am."

"Must be nice," I sighed. "There were a few times I can remember having to eat Spaghetti-O's and Ramen for months on end so that we weren't evicted and we didn't die of heat stroke in the middle of the summer." Because my mother wouldn't hold a job long enough to provide for herself or her child.

I'll give him this; he refrained from that pitying look so many others would have given me. "Well, how about this…"

He pulled out his checkbook from the front of his leather bag and proceeded to write a check before handing it to me. I read my name and the amount and nearly choked on my tongue.

"What's this for?"

"It's your earnings for renegotiating my contract," he explained. "That ought to even things out a bit."

I think I started hyperventilating because the next thing I knew, I was bent over and Edward was crouched in front of me, his worried looks of concern barely registering through my oxygen-deprived haze.

"Oh my God," I finally gasped. "That's a lot of zeros." I'd done the math before, but seeing it written out on an actual check was too much for my tiny brain to handle.

Edward's hands ran over my face frantically. "Are you all right?"

I nodded and gulped.

"Remind me to never write you any check other than your paycheck again. I thought I was going to have to take you to the bloody emergency room," he snarled.

I nodded again and slowly stood up, slipping the check into my pocket.

"Show me the house so I can have some kind of distraction from the weight of this check on my leg."

Edward laughed in relief. "You're being absurd. It's paper. Meaningless."

"I've never had a check this 'meaningless' before, so you'll have to excuse me," I retorted as he led me into the house.

I took off my coat and started to walk into the white foyer but was stopped by Edward's hand lightly catching my forearm. His thumb ran over my skin, sending tingles down to my hand, and he smiled at me sincerely. "You earned it. Don't forget that, Bella."

"I'll try," I promised.

He sat our luggage down, and he held out his hand to me. "Ready for your tour?"

I grinned. "Finding something like the bathroom is extremely important."

His face brightened with the prospect of showing off the house. "So it is."

He ran through the house with me, making sure I knew where everything I could possibly want was in every pristinely decorated room. It reminded me so much of Edward's house back in LA, but without the color. Everything was white on white, in an effort—according to Edward—to showcase the blues of the sea and the oranges and pinks of the sunset. Or so his decorator had told him.

And I had to admit, as I sat on the window seat in the master bedroom watching the glistening, turquoise water foam behind a boat that moved through the harbor, it somehow looked even better from inside the house.

"Love?" Edward peered out from behind the bathroom door. He'd taken his shirt off and looked damn near edible. "Care for a shower before we scrounge up some dinner?"

I smiled as I realized that the peaceful, sublime feeling that came with the view had nothing to do with the way the house was decorated or even the landscape itself and everything to do with the man standing before me.

A shower sounded like fucking heaven right now. "No funny business," I said with narrowed eyes.

He laughed. "I've all weekend for that. I only want to get all this travel grime off me."

We showered and dressed, and then got in the BMW and drove to a little grocery store down the street to pick up everything we'd need over the weekend. As soon as we got back to the house and everything was unpacked and put in its appropriate place, I shoved Edward out of the kitchen.

"You've spoiled me rotten since the day I met you. Let me do something for a change," I said when I was met with his resistance. "Please?" I added for good measure. "It's your honeymoon, too."

He grumbled something under his breath and nodded, leaving me to make dinner for us myself.

I pulled the shrimp out of the fridge and peeled the shells off of them before I set a pot of water on to boil. I cut up asparagus, red onions, and green peppers while working on a lemon butter sauce. I sautéed everything with cherry tomatoes and served it over angel hair pasta, along with a salad and a garlic loaf.

Totally worth every second to see Edward's reaction when he stepped back into the kitchen.

"What do you think?"

"I think you put in a lot of effort," he said as he poured the white wine.

"You've made every second of this trip special for me. I wanted to do something in return. Other than anything involving books, this is the only thing I'm good at."

He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "That's not all, baby."

"Ha. Ha."

Edward forked a piece of shrimp out of his plate and held it up for me to try. "Tell me something about your childhood that I don't already know. Anything at all," he said as I chewed.

I sipped my wine and tried to sort through my memories and could only come up with the ones I didn't want to spoil the mood with. "Why?"

He shrugged. "No particular reason. I suppose you telling me about Spaghetti-O's and Ramen earlier reminded me that there's still quite a bit I don't know about you."

"And yet here we are… married," I joked.

He rolled his eyes. "I know enough to know that nothing you could say would make me fall out of love with you. I just don't know all the details of your life yet."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing we have the rest of our lives," I said with a cheesy smile.

"Corny, Bella."

"That was the point."

"So?" He gazed across the table expectantly.

I closed my eyes and searched for one thing good in the midst of all the bad. "Okay, I thought of something that happened at Charlie's that's kind of funny. I didn't have a lot of friends in Forks, but there was this summer I played with the girl that lived down the road." I stopped, trying to remember her name but couldn't. "Anyway, we put on this play for our dads-"

"You put on a play?" Edward asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I know. Very unlike me." I grinned. "We had this ridiculous scene all thought out and worked hours on the dialogue. We got dressed up and used Charlie's deck as our stage while Charlie and her dad sat in chairs in the grass.

"I got halfway through this monologue that I'd worked my ass off memorizing when I suddenly felt something literally plop down on my head from the sky."

"A bird? Some sort of tree nut from an annoyed squirrel?"

I giggled. "No, not exactly. More like bird shit."

Edward put his fist up to his mouth and laughed. "You had a bird shit on your head? How old were you?"

"Eight? Nine, maybe? At least, we're pretty sure it was a bird. There are so many little creatures in those trees, there's no telling."

Edward laughed some more. "What did you do?"

"I did what any respectable girl would do. I screamed and cried to Charlie."

"That's what I want for us," he said determinately. "I want a normal life. I want our kids to run screaming to me when a bird decides they've had enough of their hideous acting and shits on them and only my words and comfort will make them feel better."

"So do I. I only wish I'd have had more of that growing up," I said sadly.

"You can make up for it with our family, Bella."

We finished the entire bottle of wine and eventually cleaned up the kitchen before we watched a movie in bed. When the movie was over, we made love one last time and then fell asleep in each other's arms.

And that was basically the extent of our weekend together. Edward made good on his promise; we slept in and made love and were content to just be together without anything on the agenda to interrupt us or cameras flashing in our faces.

It was perfect. At least, until I'd gotten too much rest and found myself lying wide awake in the middle of the night, glancing around the blackened bedroom.

I stretched and moved closer to Edward's side of the bed, hoping that the steady beat of his heart and the sound of his breathing next to my ear would lull me back to sleep. Instead of lying down immediately, I propped myself up on my elbow and stared down at him, wondering how many true vacation days he'd ever had in his life. Even when he wasn't filming, he was still getting up early to work out, attending meetings and the occasional photo shoot, and giving interviews. His life had consisted of nothing but work, and while I admired his work ethic, I was so glad that he wouldn't be wearing himself out all the time anymore and he wanted that average, everyday life that I'd lived until recently.

I finally decided not to wake Edward and moved back to my side of the bed. I flopped down and stared up at the ceiling, huffing with frustration.

Edward's sleepy chuckle sounded beside me. "You want over here; just come on."

"I didn't want to wake you," I whispered, crawling over to his awaiting arms.

"But you did."

"Sorry."

He shrugged and kissed the tip of my nose. "Why are you awake at…?" He turned to see the time. "Oh, for pity's sake, it's four in the morning!"

"I can't sleep," I said sheepishly. "I've gotten too much sleep."

"I suppose that's a bit of a problem." He paused. "What do you want to do?"

"Nothing. You go back to sleep. I can get up and find a movie or something if I need to," I mumbled against his chest.

He sighed. "Get up. I'm not making you miserable so that I can get a three more hours of sleep."

"Edward-"

"Get up," he repeated with a laugh, sliding out from underneath me. "I already am."

I scrambled out of the bed and gave him a curious look. "What are we doing?"

He grinned. "You'll see."

He placed his hand at the small of my back and led me out of the bedroom and into what I considered to be the best room in the house—the sunroom. I loved being able to stare out at the water or up at the stars while sitting in the warmth of the fireplace that sat at the only solid wall. We walked toward the black baby grand piano sitting in the center of the room, and Edward motioned for me to sit down. I warily sat down, stealing glances out at the moonlit harbor as Edward scooted in behind me.

"Um, I thought I wasn't allowed near a piano with you anymore."

Edward laughed. "I thought if I engaged your mind, you couldn't assault me like you did before."

"I think it was the other way around, baby."

Edward placed a kiss to my hair and brought my hands to the keys. "I'm fairly certain you were the one who initiated the attack when you got down under the piano while I played for you."

I smiled with the memory. "Oh, right."

"Now, this is Middle C," he said, placing my thumbs on an ivory key in the center of the piano. "Press it."

I did as he said and grinned as the note played. "Now what?" I asked eagerly.

"There are only seven letters you need to remember. C, D, E, F, G, A, and B—in that order." He moved his long fingers over the keys, showing me each one. "This," he said in reference to a key to my right, "is C again."

"It repeats?"

He nodded. "Each note can be found multiple times on the keyboard." He demonstrated by pressing all the C's on the piano. "Hear how they all have the same pitch and are merely lower or higher on the scale than others?"

"Yeah."

"Good. That's called an 'octave range'. Each time the notes repeat, they're considered in a different octave than the last."

"Okay."

"Those octaves consist of eight notes."

"Like this?" I choppily played the eight notes in front of me, starting with Middle C and ending with the C that began the next octave. "Would that be an octave?"

"Exactly," he said, a smile playing at his lips. "That's also a C scale. Next time, though, reach your thumb behind your hand for a smoother transition when you've run out of fingers to play the notes."

I repeated the scale, doing what he said and was stopped when Edward's hands snuck around my waist and in between my thighs.

"Hey! You started this, now finish it," I admonished.

"All right," he chuckled, his hands retreating back to our sides.

He continued the lesson, explaining to me that the black keys were the sharps and flats of the notes beside them. Depending on whether you went up or down determined whether the note was flat or sharp, along with which "key" (I had no clue what that meant) the piece was written in. I thought this was entirely too fascinating for my own good. Each little black key had two different note names. The specific key we were focusing on could either be G flat or F sharp.

No wonder Edward loved playing so much. It was like a puzzle that played beautiful music as soon as you solved it.

He had me running through the C scale again—this time with both hands, as awkward as it was for me—and then changed the key to B flat, reminding me to play the B flat key and the E flat key. I started with the little black note I'd remembered as B flat and raced through the scale, hitting a sour note when I forgot about that damn E flat.

"Whoops."

"Try it again."

When I had the basics of the piano itself figured out, Edward reached over and pulled out an old, worn book from the black wooden bin that was underneath the piano and sat it on the little stand.

I blinked at the tiny notes dancing over the page. "This is nothing but gibberish to me."

Edward laughed. "It's very simple. It's one of the books I learned on."

I only looked at him incredulously.

Edward patiently showed me how to match up the keys on the piano with the notes on the pages and explained a whole hell of a lot more, like about certain notes having so many beats in each measure and that the numbers at the beginning of the song told you how to time your counts.

Or whatever the fuck it was.

"Don't bother with beats, measures, or time. If you want, I can teach you more of that technical rubbish later. Just play the song as you know it," he said lowly. His finger grazed down my spine and dipped under my panties, teasing the sensitive flesh there.

I wiggled my ass, partially turned on and partially annoyed. "You'd better quit," I warned.

He kissed my shoulder and removed his finger.

I hesitantly put my hands into position and took a deep breath. I played tediously; there were unnecessary breaks in between notes as I struggled to remember everything I'd learned, but damn it, there was no doubt about what song it was.

"I just played London Bridge!" I exclaimed.

"You're a natural," he said proudly.

I snorted. "Hardly."

"You are," he argued. "It takes most people weeks of lessons to figure out as much as you did in a span of only hours."

I let my head rest against his shoulder. "Thank you."

He ran his hands over my arms soothingly. "You're welcome."

"You know you're never going to get a chance to play your piano back home now, right?"

"We can always purchase another," he said sensibly.

Of course we could.

"And put it where?"

"Not quite sure," he replied. "I could possibly put it where that dreadful pool table is."

I snickered. "Jasper would kick your ass."

The sun was peeking out over the horizon, casting blues and purples all around us. We watched it come up for a bit before Edward shifted us so that he could kiss me.

He pulled back with heavy eyes. "Want to defile this piano, as well?"

"Can we?"

"By God, I think we can, Mrs. Masen," he replied in perfect Scottish brogue, succeeding in his attempt to be goofy and making me laugh.

"I love the way your laugh sounds," he whispered.

"So you've said."