Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: OK, this has an M rated warning so beware. It'll be marked - (X), although hopefully it's not too extreme. There's an epilogue after this so stay tuned.

Even with my eyes closed I could see the room in my mind and the people that filled it. Their scents culminated to form an intricate symphony of scents. Each bold and distinct yet harmonising.

I hummed as I breathed deeply and smelled Edward scent concentrated around me.

"Have I told you how exquisite you look tonight?" Edward breathed in my ear as his hand shifted from my waist, down to my hip.

I opened my eyes and smiled brightly as slid my hand from his to link them around his neck. "This is the fifth time, but it never gets old." He chuckled and placed a light kiss on my lips.

I moaned and pressed myself further against him, my back bowing as his hand pressed at the small of my spine.

"Hey! Save that for later. The countdown's starting." Emmett called to us and I turned to see my families standing around the TV, champagne glasses in the hands of the humans.

Edward kissed my temple and led me over to watch the countdown. We stood next to Ashleigh and Seth, and I wondered briefly if she'd let him kiss her at midnight. It seemed like the five years that had passed in the twilight world had done nothing to dim the spark Seth felt for my sister, although Ashleigh didn't seem as willing to get involved.

There wasn't the barrier of the portal for them now, the wolves knew all about it. Apparently it was a tender point between the wolves and the Cullens for quite some time after they found out the truth. They didn't like that the Cullens had kept it from them, given the treaty and everything.

Still as Ash cast Seth a shy glance over her glass, I wondered if she liked him more than she had let on. It had only been a couple of months since the portal re-opened, and once it had life had gotten almost back to normal. Or at least as normal as things could ever be here.

The wolves had been notified the moment Alice told the rest of the family, and Seth had been waiting at the house when Edward and I finally returned. From the moment he saw Ashleigh walk through the portal, searching for me, his face lit up and that smile had never faded since.

Sure they were young, and sure there was no saying if it was anything permanent, but it was there. That little spark, that little twinkle in their eyes. Edward and I had managed to work around the portal, so maybe they could as well.

I smiled as I felt Edward's arm wrap around my waist and clutch my left hand in his. His fingers traced the ring that sat on my third finger, a beautiful tanzanite gem surrounded by white diamonds, all set on a platinum band. It was breathtaking, and it was mine. For all eternity, just as Edward would be just a month from now. 2nd February 2010.

"I can hardly wait for the day when I can call you my wife." Edward hummed as his lightly ran his hand up the length of my waist, catching the side of my breast with each circuit.

"Mr and Mrs Cullen." Edward moaned lightly as I murmured in his ear, my hand creeping onto his chest.

"Mrs, Holly Cullen." I purred and his face took on a sexy grin.

"Say it again." Edward growled playfully as he pulled me towards him.

"Mrs Holly Cullen," I whispered against his lips and Edward groaned causing me to giggle.

I glanced at Mum and caught her smiling back at me, her eyes glistening as she cast a brief look at the ring on my finger. She hadn't lost that proud, emotional smile ever since our engagement party two weeks ago.

The only reason Edward didn't ask me to marry him earlier after our reunion was that we were, for lack of a better phrase, reacquainting ourselves with each other for quite some time. As Edward said, we had five years to make up for, at least we did in his world and I certainly wasn't going to complain.

I shivered as I remembered the pleasure he'd coaxed from me with his talented fingers, over and over until I saw stars and the world went numb. He ran those very fingers along my waist and down my spine, brushing his hand over my rear, skimming the mulberry coloured satin of my dress.

His face nuzzled my neck and his lips placed soft kisses there as he whispered in my ear. "I wish I could have you alone. You have no idea what that dress is doing to me." I giggled which changed to a sigh as his tongue traced the shell of my ear.

"It's New Years Eve, Edward. You just have to wait until midnight and then we can slip away somewhere private," I murmured as I brushed my lips against his, bringing my eyes up to stare into his darkened gaze.

Someone turned the TV up and I heard the countdown start, snapping my gaze back to the TV. All of a sudden my mind was all the way back to last year and Shevron's house party. The moment when Edward's hands cupped my face and his sweet breath fanned over my face, all the while my mind frantically chanting Bella's name to try and keep some composure.

This time around it was going to be so different. For starters I was Edward's fiancée and there was definitely no Bella in the picture. In fact I had learnt that Jake had imprinted on her a couple of years ago when she got back from college. Then there was the fact that my whole family was here, not a room full of drunken teenagers. I also had the love of my existences'' ring on my finger and his body in my arms.

Edward and I chanted the countdown with everyone else, although our eyes never left each others. As each number passed us by our lips came closer and closer until finally, as the fireworks exploded and cheers filled the room, our lips met in a deep, passionate kiss that made the whole world disappear.

"Happy New Year, my love," Edward breathed as we rested our foreheads against each other.

I opened my eyes and placed a light kiss on his nose. "Happy New Year."

No sooner had I said than we were separated to celebrate with the rest of the family. We shared brief kisses around the whole crowd as glasses chinked and smiles filled our faces.

Dad pulled me into his arms and kissed my hair. "Do you think I need to douse them with cold water yet?" He covertly pointed to Ashleigh and Seth who were still wrapped in each other's arms and giving each other googoo eyes.

I chuckled and looked up to see him grinning.

Only the water wasn't needed. "Down boy!" Emmett said to Seth as he pretended to bat him away from Ashleigh. I had never really seen my sister blush before, but she looked so innocent with a rosy glow on her cheeks.

I chuckled with my parents and the others as we watched Emmett wrestle Seth into a headlock. Out of all the wolves Seth was the most comfortable with us. I wasn't sure if it was because the Cullens were linked to Ashleigh, or because he just felt no real animosity towards them. Either way he never showed any sign of being uncomfortable. I guessed that was shown in Breaking Dawn as well, so in a way it was probably to be expected.

I smiled as I saw Alice and Ashleigh giggling over Seth while Rosalie rolled her eyes at Emmett's behaviour, a glimmer of enjoyment in her eyes.

I caught Jasper's gaze over the group as he stood smiling quietly at Alice. It was nice to see him happy again. After Edward and I returned and saw the rest of the family, it was hard to imagine that Jasper would ever really smile again. It seemed like the emotions he had suffered during my absence had ran too deep.

I made my way over to him, stopping to offer odd pieces of conversation and hugs to members of the family. We were all here together, each of us a part of the future family that would be formed when Edward and I marry in early February. Of course Seth was the exception, although I had a feeling he and my sister wouldn't be apart for very much longer.

"Hey, Jazzles, quite some party, isn't it?" I touched Jasper's shoulder as we stood beside each other, looking out at our family members.

"I don't think I ever imagined I'd be here after everything, at a New Year party, with all these people, all these humans. It's nice, the sense of family." Jasper cast a glance at me as I nodded.

"Look, Jazz, I just wanted to say..."

"You don't have to, Holly. Really I don't deserve it. I didn't try hard enough." His head drooped as he sighed, passing a look at Edward and wincing ever so slightly, no doubt at a past memory of the five years that passed.

"No, Jazz. You did so much more than you think. I don't know how you coped. I mean, I put my family through hell and that was just after five months. You stuck with him for three and a half years. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you, and I just want to say thank you." I looked up from fiddling with my fingers; I was never very good at this emotional stuff. "Thank you for saving the man I love from himself, you know, thank you for helping to make sure I had someone to come back to." I smiled weakly before inching forward and awkwardly wrapping my arms around him. Or at least it was awkward at first, then it became just natural. Maybe my initial discomfort wasn't because Jasper was usually quite reserved but more because of my own innate discomfort with open affection. Either way, once I jumped that hurdle, it was fine. Jasper gave me a grateful pat on the back before we separated, and as I looked at him I saw the gratitude in his eyes.

I didn't know why I hadn't said thank you before this moment, but I knew it had to be said and now that I saw his face I was even more glad I had.

"You're welcome, Darlin'. Now what do you say I distract Alice from cornerin' you and your mother for wedding plans, and give you and Edward a chance to slip away. Because, I don't think I can restrain him anymore." Jasper winked as I bit my lip to hide my smile.

I watched as Jasper slipped away to talk to Alice and I took a moment to really look at the scene in front of me.

Esme and Carlisle were talking with my parents, just general conversation about work, future plans, mine and Edward's wedding, and the proposed idea for sleeping arrangements.

Next I glanced at Rosalie and Emmett who were exchanging banter with Ashleigh and Seth, the usual sexual innuendos being tossed around. I cringed when I heard the words 'doggy style' come up. I knew Seth was about nineteen now, but my sister was only fifteen so anything sex related was (at least in my mind) nonexistent for another year.

Finally I felt Edward's arms wrapped around my waist as his head rested on my head, placing a kiss into my hair.

"It's past midnight," he said lowly, and I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"So it is." I grinned as his hands spread across my stomach, pressing me against him just a little harder.

"Take a walk with me?" he asked as he drew my arm up to make me pirouette in front of him. I smiled in assent and followed him as he led us out into the frosty night's air. I took a final glance at my family over my shoulder. They didn't see us leave, although I was sure the vampires noticed. They knew not to distract us, not to interrupt the electricity flowing between mine and Edward's joined hands.

I breathed in deeply the chilling air, feeling it heat up in my lungs before I exhaled the misty cloud. It swirled in front of me, interrupting the dark canvas of the night-time forest.

With each step, the voices of the party behind us faded. With each step we became bathed in a magical silence. Just the faint noises of life, and whistling of the wind occupying our ears.

We walked in silence, weaving in and out of the trees until our bodies were bathed in a pool of moonlight. The meadow. It allowed a small pocket of silver light to burst into the otherwise pitch black of the surrounding trees. The grass moved like silver ribbons, swaying in the light breeze, revealing delicate silvered flowers or muted pastel shades.

I looked up at the moon, letting the pale light cast my face in silver. It wasn't until Edward's fingers traced my jaw that I looked back him and all his beauty. His skin glimmered in the moonlight, while his eyes almost glowed—the gold seeming almost silvery due to the reflections of the moon.

In that moment the only thing that mattered was this amazing man before me and the feelings we shared. My mind couldn't conjure up a single memory of that painful five months without him. I couldn't even feel a flutter of excitement for the wedding in our future. All that occupied me was the present. The now.

"Heylo," he said with a loving smile as his hand went to bring my own to his lips.

"Heylo," I replied as he placed a kiss on each knuckle before kissing the glittering ring on my finger.

I watched mesmerised as his lips placed soft kisses on my skin. My wrist, the crook of my elbow, my shoulder, my collar bone. Their journey was sweet and sensuous as they heightened my senses with every touch.

"I love you," he whispered in my ear as he moved back my hair and kissed the sweet point just below my lobe.

"I adore you." he murmured against my skin as he kissed my collar bone, slowly making his way down.

His hands skimmed the sensitive skin on my chest before they settled on my hips.

"And I want you, more than anything." He all but growled as his hands went round to my ass, pulling me flush against him, his lips brushing against mine. The sweetest torment.

"Edward, I'm all yours. You know that." I smiled against his lips before taking his bottom one between my own.

"When I lost you, Holly. When I had to live without you, for all those years." I cringed as he whispered his words; his forehead leant against my own.

"I couldn't help but regret..." he moved his hands from my hips to hold my own as he exhaled deeply.

"What, Edward?" I questioned as I searched his eyes.

"I regretted that I'd never just gave in."

"Gave in?" I queried and his eyes set on mine, their irises darkening as every moment passed.

One moment we were inches apart, our breathing passing between us, and the next our mouths moved in tandem and our bodies were too close for the clothes between us.

"Edward?" I gasped as I tried to catch my breath. His lips never left my skin, they traced every contour of my neck, licked every hollow there. There was no control there anymore, I could feel it in the way his hands raced over my skin. He wasn't holding back from me, he wasn't thinking of when he would have to stop. Did he plan on stopping, or was this it?

"Please, Holly," he groaned in my ear as he moved me back against a pine, his hips grinding against my own to create a delicious sensation.

"I thought...the wedding," I panted as he hitched my leg around his hip and dragged his fingers along my thigh.

"This is what I want, Holly. I've lived without you, I lived longing to go back and do what I wanted, what I denied myself because my morals told me to. No more. I just want to be with you." As he spoke I was torn between his words and the creeping motion his fingers made towards the apex between my thighs. I gasped as his finger drew a deliberate line up the black lace of my underwear.

Edward shuddered, shutting his eyes before they reopened to revealed pools of pure black. His eyes searched mine, asking for permission.

Did I want this? I knew I had. It had been all that filled my mind at times, something I dreamed about once upon a time. But now? He wanted me; he wanted this. I had been longing for this moment. Could I take advantage of this situation, of his moment of abandon? Bella hadn't. In this very meadow, at the end of Eclipse when he was willing to just drop everything and give her what she wanted, Bella had refused because she knew he would prefer it to be after marriage. But I wasn't Bella. I'd never been Bella and Edward wasn't the same man as he was in the books. Our situation wasn't the same, not really. I was marrying him willingly. I wasn't human or bargaining for immortality. I hadn't begged him for this experience. In fact I hadn't mentioned it at all over these past few weeks, no matter how much I wanted it.

I guess that gave me my answer. I wanted this and if he did too, I could think of no reason to deny him.

(X)

Barely a millisecond had passed, the sensation of Edwards fingers tracing the lace patterns on my underwear was still tingling through my body.

I leant forward, wrapping my hands around his neck and pulled him towards me.

His finger dipped passed the fabric instantly, moving it from his path, searching for my innermost part. This was happening, really happening.

When skin met skin, he moaned, and moved us so his body pressed mine into the long swishing grass. The moonlight and the stars bathing their light upon us, our skin glimmering at the touch of their light. The scent of the winter flora was cool and fresh in the air around us, but that wasn't what caught my attention. It was the scent permeating from us, the scent of desire and wanting. It was deep and held a kind of warmth to it, although I found it almost indescribable.

I turned off logic, reason, and thought and gave the reins to my wanton body. My skin tingled everywhere his fingers had been and when he told me to undress... he was attentive and domineering and nothing like the boy he so resembled. Or the gentleman he acted like. His hands were rough and demanding, but I was more than willing to give what they asked of me. His obsidian eyes burned on me thoughtfully. Burned with all the love we shared and the truth that this moment was ours to treasure after all we'd been through.

With his left hand, he palmed my breast and roughly pinched the tip. I gasped and writhed beneath him. He slid his hand down my arm lightly, stopping to trace my collarbone with his index finger before he drew it down between my breasts. "You're perfect, you know," he sighed. He splayed his hands flat against my ribcage and brought his mouth to the spot behind my ear with some unreasonable tongue play that he then worked down my neck.

"I love you, Holly," he said, as he tilted my head back, nudging my jaw with his nose. He kissed the underside of my chin softly, drawing a slow wet path with his mouth down the centre of my body until he paused on my sternum.

"I love you too, Edward." I breathed as he dragged his tongue up the hill of my right breast and flicked it out at the nipple, tracing slow circles around the circumference before he pulled it roughly into his mouth and sucked. I was lost, so far gone that my conscience was hidden under layers upon layers of just ecstasy. It was just me and Edward, just us in the meadow. No one else existed, in fact nothing else existed.

"I've waited forever for this night," Edward murmured in between placing his lavish kisses upon the skin of my stomach. I could feel his hands running up my legs, inching further and further up my thigh with every cycle. Those hands... so skilled at everything he had ever done, from manipulating the keys of the beautiful piano he played my melody on to the way they eventually slid deftly down my stomach. The way they froze the whole world in place so that the only things that existed were Edward and I and the mind numbing pleasure he coaxed from me with every stroke of his forefinger. I closed my eyes and turned off thought, allowing myself the luxury of simply feeling.

I sensed him again, his face mere inches away from the most private part of me. And then his mouth was there, and I couldn't fight off the heavy moans that bled from my lips. He lavished his skills and attention on me until my body began to shake while I begged him for more. I wanted him to push me over the edge more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. I felt like I was teetering on the precipice of something huge and a nudge in either direction would send me spiralling towards something incredible. I couldn't express what it felt like to have Edward on me, in me, like that, I was like nothing I'd ever known in my life and it was elysian, unadulterated bliss but I sensed there was, I don't know, more.

There was. Of course there was and it was like I couldn't get close enough to him. This burning feeling from low in my belly exploded out to my fingertips and toes, I could feel it thrumming through my soul, pleasure alive in me that vibrated from the inside out.

His lips covered mine, smothering my cry of pleasure as I grabbed low on his hips, wrapping my fingers into the V that was like a glowing neon arrow directing me to where the party was at. His open shirt lasted mere milliseconds, and his black trousers even less as they surrendered to the force of my hands ripping them away. I'd never done that, never even been in the mindset of wanting something so much that I couldn't have patience. But now was a different matter. I had no patience for buttons and zips, so the clothes were sacrificed. I rolled over on top of him, my soon-to-be husband with his black eyes watching me with anticipation and impatient need. His torso framed by my naked thighs and his chest lit with a gentle sheen from the moon above. He was no Adonis, no staute of David. He surpassed them all, and even better he was mine. This was the point of no return. Everything that had come before was intimate but nothing could top this.

I glanced down at Edward, locking my darkened eyes with his and seeing nothing but desire, passion, and love. Regret didn't feature, guilt didn't make an appearance. It was just me and him, lost for one marvellous moment of forever.

I tensed myself, I knew what was coming. My girls and I had talked about it more times than I wanted to remember. The pain, the blood, the extraordinary feeling once it was over. Yet with all the times we'd talked about it, I still felt unprepared and unsure of what was to come.

Edward's hand reached up and stroked my cheek. That was all the reassurance I needed. I didn't matter what came next, as long as I experienced this with him, had him with me, then that was all that mattered.

I lowered myself onto him, feeling an uncomfortable, tight sensation before I pushed on. The pain barely registered. It was there, burning at the pit of my stomach, but it was manageable.

I began to move and bit my lip as my skin started to sing a tune of wanton desire.

Edward's eyes rolled back in his head a little as we shared ourselves with each other, our pants and moans just another manifestation of the joy we couldn't hide.

"You have no idea how that feels," he said, hooking a hand behind each knee and pacing me.

I ran my hands through my hair and over my body, teasing the parts of me that begged to be touched. Edward's eyes glazed over as he watched me, his hands clutching at my skin as if he were trying to fill his senses with as much of me as as possible. His hands traced every part of my body, following in the wake of my own hands. Everything was so intense, like my senses were on fire. The burning it my belly was back and it was a delicious torture once I knew what was on the other side.

"Edward, please. I'm close."

With his hands on my ribcage, we switched positions once more. Hovering over me, he pressed his forehead to mine breathing heavily as he thrust into me.

"I love you. God, I love you," I whispered throatily to him as I pulled his lips back to mine.

"Holly, you're… I…"

I toppled over the threshold and instinct took over. I reached up and sunk my teeth into his bicep -hard- as my body exploded with something so mind-blowing, so extraordinary that for just a moment I felt numb to everything else in the world.

"You're mine," Edward growled above me as he raced to his own release.

"Yours, forever," I breathed as my body pounded with pleasure.

He let out something between a snarl and a moan. "Holly, I'm… I'm going to…" he looked at me, lust clouding his eyes. Then he did something totally unexpected; he bit my neck, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to mark me. It was so erotic that I tipped over the edge once more, whispering his name as wave after wave washed over me. Feeling my muscles tighten around him was sufficient to trigger his release, and at that point I knew without doubt, we really were joined forever.

A/N: So if you didn't read the (X) marked segment, let's just say Edward broke his own rule and the hundred-plus-year-old vampire virgin is no more. If you did read it, hopefully it wasn't too horrific, a little romantic, and not completely repulsive... Let me know. :)

Epilogue, and then we're at the end of the story of Holly and Edward, forever or maybe just for now.

Much love.

x