Disclaimer: Not that it will come as a surprise to anyone reading this, but Twilight and it's characters do not belong to me, Stephanie Meyer is the only one that can make that claim. I just like to play in the wonderful universe she created. As always, thanks to my betas Im2xshy and Kzintikiller for their invaluable support and input.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who is still out there reading and a gigantic hug to those that sent me feedback and were so happy to see a new chapter. Also thanks to the new readers and followers out there that signed up with the story. Just when I thought I wouldn't catch the eye of any new readers, I am blown away by the response.

As to the response to the last chapter, you all seemed to enjoy Jasper's POV and you have OH SO MANY theories as to whether or not Esme should have gone home or not and exactly where Victoria, Riley and Laurent are and what they are doing. I will say that some of you are definitely right, but of course I'm not going to say which ones 'cause that would ruin all the fun.

Also, I wanted to state for the record that the issue of Bella's change will come up and WILL be addressed in the story (but not in this chapter).

New Chapter: Bella has a dream and it leads to some interesting developments with Edward. I wrote this chapter with images of the sexy dream Bella had during her honeymoon in Breaking Dawn when she wanted to be with Edward again and he was reluctant to oblige her.

*****LEMON WARNING***** Okay maybe it's more of a half lemon, but there is definitely some hanky-panky between our duo in this chapter. Those under 18 and/or sensitive to the more intimate details, turn away now. If it's not your thing, read the first part (the dream) and then skim or skip the last part. Don't say I didn't warn you!

And to those of you who, like me, enjoy reading the lemony, intimate details... MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Chapter 36

BELLA

I was walking through the forest, but unlike the other times I'd been here, it wasn't dark, but filled with light and life. There were no boogey men here waiting to ambush and hurt me. Instead, I could hear the sounds of small creatures scurrying through the underbrush, and I even saw the occasional deer trotting through the trees, but they were shy and scampered away when they saw me.

I moved fluidly through the trees and the slanting shafts of sunlight and there was nothing to pin my feet the ground. In fact, it quickly became obvious that I wasn't walking but running through the woods. Running for the pure joy of it, not because I was scared or running from anything, but just to run. And what's more, the running didn't make me tired or out of breath. In fact, the more I ran, the more energized I felt.

Then, in a blur, Edward appeared laughing at my side. Of course, he had no trouble keeping up with me, and together, we continued running through the woods. The feeling of being with him like that, so easy and carefree, made happiness bloom inside me until I thought it would overflow and start oozing out of my pores like drops of light.

Ahead of us, the trees and brush began to thin, and suddenly, we were standing at the edge of a meadow.

Our meadow back in Forks.

Amazed, I walked forward and did a slow turn. It was so beautiful and just as I remembered it. Dappled sun flooded the area, and flowers bloomed all around me, the air heavy with their scent.

As I completed my turn, I caught sight of Edward leaning against a tree at the edge of the meadow, watching me with a soft smile on his face.

I held out my hand to him, and he walked toward me, his gait not unlike that of a lazy cat. My body went on alert at the thought. Stopping a foot from me, he looked down at me, his gaze going from lazy to heated in a flash.

He was so beautiful as he stood shimmering in the sun, and I had a sudden desperate need to touch him. Reaching up to cup his cheek, my hand froze. My skin was shimmering in the sun just like his. Not believing what I was seeing, I turned my hand back and forth in case it was just a trick of sunlight, but sure enough it shimmered just like his face did. Could that mean I'd been changed? Was I now like him?

Before I could do much more than mentally form those questions and stare at my hand in wonder, Edward tugged my upraised hand to his lips and kissed it. The touch of his lips on my skin made me instantly melt, and I leaned into him. Replacing my hand with my lips, I reached up and kissed him for what seemed like an eternity.

Vaguely, I felt our bodies falling, but I was anything but scared as we tumbled down into the blanket of flowers at our feet. My hands slid into the hair at the nape of his neck as I held on to him for dear life and put everything I had into kissing him. The weight of his body was firm and solid above me, pinning me down with a delicious heaviness, and there was no mistaking the hard length of him pressing against the cradle of my hips. The thought that two layers of denim were all that separated our bodies sent a thrill through me. One of his hands slid up my thigh and along my side until it was teasing my breast through the t-shirt I was wearing.

As if a great bank of fog suddenly decided to creep in, everything began to fade away and the harder I tried to remain in that moment, the faster it slipped away from me until I was left to stare at the blackness on backside of my eyelids.

"No..." I murmured in disappointment.

"Bad dream?" Edward's gentle voice was soft in my ear, his breath a cool brush over my skin.

It couldn't have been a dream, could it? But I didn't see any other explanation. It had to have been a dream. The meadow in Forks was on the other side of the country, and I hadn't been changed. Edward didn't want me to be changed.

But it had all felt so real. My lips remained slightly pursed from our kisses, and I could still feel the specter of Edward's lips on mine. I could even feel the residual pressure of his body pressing me down and the languid heat that his kisses and his touch had flooded through me.

"Bella?" Edward said lightly brushing some hair from my face. "Are you awake?"

What I wanted to say was that, yes, unfortunately, I was awake after being ripped away from the best dream I'd ever had. However, I found that I couldn't say anything at all due to the large lump that had risen into my throat.

I considered trying to play it off as if I really was still asleep, but I didn't want to lie to him. Unable to avoid him or the truth any longer, I slowly opened my eyes. I knew immediately that my suspicions were correct. I'd been dreaming, and now I was looking at the morning sunlight and shadow playing on the ceiling of my room at the Cullens' house in New York as Edward held me close.

"Bella?" he tried again, now with a hint of concern since I hadn't answered him.

I opened my mouth to make an attempt to say something, but much to my mortification, I felt hot tears gather in my eyes. I was so disappointed. Why couldn't it have been real? Taking a deep breath to get my emotions under control, I turned my face away from him to swipe at the few stray tears that I hadn't been able to keep from escaping.

That was useless; of course, he'd be able to smell the saltiness of my tears as easily as a normal human would be able to smell bacon frying.

"What is it, Bella?" he said, nothing but gentle care and concern in his tone.

"Nothing," I finally choked out. "It's nothing."

He could have, probably should have, called me on my obvious lie. He knew better than anyone that "nothing" wouldn't have made me cry. But Edward, being Edward, he just gathered me close and rocked me softly as he crooned in my ear.

"You don't need to be scared," he said. I hadn't a nightmare since everyone had left to go to Alaska, but he was always on the lookout for them, and when I did have them, he always worked hard to reassure me that I wasn't alone. "I've got you now. You're safe. No one is going to hurt you."

Pressing my face against his throat, I breathed in his scent, which helped me to calm down and get a little perspective. I reminded myself that even though I was still human, my reality wasn't too shabby. While we hadn't progressed to touches that went under clothing, Edward had made a definite effort to be more physically tactile with me and to allow me to do the same with him. He found that he was more comfortable with him touching me than me touching him. As he explained it to me, my warm hands and mouth on his skin, even over his clothes, were amazing but overwhelming for him. But even that had improved a little each time, which I told him only proved my "practice makes perfect" theory.

After a few minutes, I had myself under control again, and I pulled back slightly so I could look up at him.

"Better?" he asked.

I couldn't help but sniffle slightly. It was that or wipe my nose on my sleeve. "Yes," I said quietly.

He brushed a knuckle lightly over my cheek. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I considered that. Part of me did and part of me didn't. I didn't want to tell him the part about me being a vampire like him in case it upset him, but the rest of it was something I was eager to tell him.

"It probably won't seem so bad if you did," he urged.

"Um, actually it wasn't bad," I admitted figuring I could tell him the edited version. "Just the opposite; it was really wonderful."

He blinked in confusion. "Then why were you crying?"

"Because it was just a dream and I wanted it to be real so badly."

He smiled softly at me, not in a mocking way, but in a way that said he found what I'd said endearing. "If you're willing, I'd still like to hear about it."

I nodded. "It all started with me running through the woods, but not because I was being chased or because I was afraid; just because it was fun. The forest was completely different than it was in my nightmares. It was light instead of dark and really beautiful."

His eyes took on a teasing glint. "You were 'running' through the forest and you didn't trip or fall?"

I would have elbowed him in the stomach if I thought there wasn't a chance I'd injure myself on his hard flesh, but instead, I just rolled my eyes and told him the edited version of my dream. "Well, it was my dream self after all," I teased back. "I could be Superman if I wanted to."

Or, you know, a vampire like him.

He chuckled. "Well, you've got me there. So then what happened?"

I proceeded to tell him about coming upon the meadow and how we walked out into it. Then, with what I was sure was a blush on my cheeks, I told him about the kissing and the touching. As I told him, the amused interest faded from his expression, and by the time I finished, it had been replaced by slack-jawed hunger. And I was 100% sure that the hunger was for me, not for my blood.

"Show me," he said softly, but in a tone that begged me to comply.

I felt myself frown. "Show you what?"

"How we were in your dream," he said huskily. "How I touched you." His eyes went to my lips. "Kissed you."

Oh my.

Suddenly the room felt super-heated and the breath in my chest was heavy with expectation. "We were lying in the flowers and you... um, were... uh..." I began with a slight stammer. I swallowed and tried again. If I wanted to be intimate with him, I needed to be able to talk to him about this. "...you were lying on top of me."

He looked at me like I was a very cool drink and he was a very thirsty man. "I don't want my weight to squash you."

"I'll risk it," I said a bit breathlessly as I tried to continue my resolution to be bold. "If it's like my dream, it will be anything but unpleasant for me."

Part of me was sure he wouldn't do it, but the rest of me was thrilled when he pulled back the sheet covering me. With his eyes still locked on mine, he slowly slid a knee between my thighs and once I parted them enough to accommodate him, he carefully moved over me. In my dream, we had both been wearing jeans, but now, he was wearing jeans, and I was wearing a fairly thin pair of yoga pants over my even thinner underwear. As he settled into the cradle of my body, his expression was intense, and I could tell he was keeping a tight reign on himself as I felt a slight shudder go through him.

"Give me a minute," he said through gritted teeth as he pressed his forehead to my shoulder.

"Take your time," I murmured in what I hoped was encouragement.

Unless he was ready for me to start tearing off his clothes, he wasn't the only one who needed a minute. The feeling of his cool, hard body pressed so intimately against me was powerful, a little overwhelming, and definitely more intense than in my dream. I felt hot and cold, breathy and breathless all at once. My first instinct was to bury my hands in his hair as I had done in my dream and start kissing any part of him I could reach, but I knew that if I wasn't careful, Edward's sense of protection would kick in, and he would be away from me and across the room before I could blink so I remained still.

A few minutes passed with both of us silently processing the position we found ourselves in. Finally, Edward planted an elbow on each side of me and then lifted his head to look down at me. "Now what?" he said huskily.

"I put my hands in your hair like this," I said sliding my fingers into his hair gripping handfuls of it.

Edward's eyes fluttered almost closed and what sounded like a very soft purr emanated from him as I alternated between gripping his hair and lightly scraping my nails over his scalp. I knew the area at the nape of his neck had always been something of an erogenous zone for him. As if the purr wasn't enough of an indication that he liked what I was doing, I also felt his body harden against my core as we continued to lay there, and I felt immediately empowered over the fact that I could affect him so much by doing something so simple.

"And then...?" he said. Now, it was his voice that was breathless, which was some feat given that he didn't actually need to breathe.

"You were, um..." I had to pause to swallow. "...touching my, uh, my breast over my t-shirt."

His darkened eyes went from my face to my breast which was heaving slightly from the anticipation, and then back to my face. "Well, I want to be accurate, don't I?"

Shifting slightly, he looked down again and this time both our eyes followed the path of his hand as it moved to rest first on my waist, then began a slow ascent to my left breast. The anticipation of his touch had me all but holding my breath and my nipples had gathered into tight buds that were clearly visible through the thin cotton of my pajama top. It occurred to me then that in my dream I was probably wearing a bra where now I was not. The feeling of him touching me now was going to undoubtedly be more pronounced.

His fingers traced my side, sliding delicately over my ribs until they brushed against the underside of my breast. Even that soft touch had me doing everything I could to stifle a gasp of pleasure and keep from interrupting the moment. On the other hand, it probably wasn't doing me any good to try and stifle anything as Edward could hear and/or read nearly all of my body's reactions just as if I was hooked up to a bank of monitors.

"Do you like that?" he said as his eyes searched my face.

"Yes," I breathed, but couldn't help adding. "More."

Saying nothing, he nodded thoughtfully and his gaze dropped again to watch with heated fascination as he continued to brush delicately at the swell on the underside of my best. Then he turned his palm so that his hand was cupping my breast as if testing the size or the weight.

"You are beautifully and wonderfully made..." he murmured.

Still cupping my breast, he moved only his thumb until it brushed over the already rigid tip. I couldn't hold back a little cry of delight at the feeling of him teasing my nipple.

"Was I doing it like this?" he said very softly he continued to graze the tip with almost maddeningly lazy touches.

"Yes," I said breathlessly. "Exactly like that."

He watched me and my reactions - the blush in my cheeks, the quickening of my breathing, in fact, I would venture to guess that could probably even smell the increasing dampness between my thighs.

"What happened then in this dream of yours?" he asked.

With his touch turning my brain to mush, it took me a moment to gather my wits enough to answer him. "Uh, well, then I kissed you," I whispered as I waited for some signal from him that he was ready for me to do that.

Almost as if he could read my mind, his quiet answer was simple and succinct. "Yes."

Needing no further encouragement, I tugged his face down as I stretched up and pressed my lips to his, and threw everything I had into kissing him. We'd kissed before, of course, but this was unlike any other kiss we'd shared. Perhaps it was the physical position we were in, or the deeper level of emotional intimacy we were sharing, but whatever it was, the kiss I was sharing with him now transcended anything that had come before it. His hand left my breast and came up to cradle my face tenderly.

Without conscious thought on my part, my body instinctively did it's best to wrap itself around him. My legs moved higher on his hips until they wrapped around his hard waist, and I pulled him in as close to me as I could as we continued to kiss.

But my body needed more feeling and what it was straining for was friction. Being in such close proximity to each other, the cool of his body and the heat of mine started to merge into something in the middle, a perfect blend of both of us. I didn't even realize that my hips had begun to rock until I heard him groan into my mouth. I felt his body respond in kind, his hips moving in counterpoint to mine, and then it was my turn to groan, or not so much groan as whimper and moan, as even through the layers of our clothes the hard length of him rubbed intimately against my soft, sensitive core.

The sounds I was making apparently startled or concerned him because he froze and pulled back to look at me. "Are you all right?"

My breathing was hard and fast now and even though he'd stopped, I couldn't seem to control the continued rocking motion of my own hips. "I was incredible until you stopped," I managed, and I wasn't beyond begging. "Please keep going. If you stop now, I really am going to cry."

The concern melted away from his features, and he gave me just the hint of a little smirk as he stared down at me. Instead of leaning in to kiss me again, he began to thrust his hips just a little bit harder as he continued to watch me.

"Oh, God, yes..." I moaned as my head fell back and my back arched slightly, causing him to press even more intimately against me "... just like that."

Between the almost closed barrier of my eyelids, I saw he was watching me intently as my body began to writhe under him. I couldn't control the writhing any more than I'd been able to control the rocking of my hips or the motion of my legs gripping his waist. The pleasure rising inside me was, well, intense, was the only word I could think of. My body was straining... no, racing for something indefinable but as essential as my next breath or heartbeat; something that I thought I understood but had never experienced first hand. Something that I wanted to experience with Edward... something I knew that I would only ever want to experience with him.

Pulling my hands from his hair, he threaded them with his and pressed them into the mattress on either side of my head as he continued to slowly thrust against me as my breath got faster and my movements more jerky. What happened next was a little difficult to describe. It was as if my body fell in on itself, contracting until it was almost painfully pleasurable and then, suddenly it exploded outward with a force that nearly took my breath away.

Instinctively, I squeezed his hands and heard myself cry out Edward's name as what I assumed was an orgasm consumed me, although what I felt seemed bigger and more encompassing than what could be expressed in that one word. Entire volumes could have been written to describe what I was feeling. It was a good thing that Carlisle was at the hospital and Esme was out shopping, or I'm sure I would have been terribly embarrassed for making so much noise.

As the feeling began to ebb, Edward brushed his nose over my cheek as my body continued to vibrate with aftershocks. "So beautiful," he murmured with adoration thick in his voice. "I had no idea seeing you like that would be so breathtaking."

Breathing hard, I looked up at him and pulled one of my hands free to run my nails lightly through his hair and over his scalp again. "I think it's your turn," I whispered with a smirk of my own as I tightened my legs around his waist.

"It's all right, Bella. I don't need to..."

"Shhhh," I said pressing my finger lightly to his lips. "No one knows about your self-control better than I do, but I need to be able to give to you what you just gave me." I stared at him. "Please? Besides, we're supposed to be practicing, right?"

I saw in his eyes he was considering that, then he nodded. "Yes, you're right."

I smiled at him. "Good, so just close your eyes and feel."

Much to my delight, he did as I asked without further argument and he began to slowly thrust against me again. Grinding my hips against him in response, I sucked in a little breath at how sensitive I was.

The sound caught his attention and he froze and opened his eyes to look at me. "What?"

"Nothing, I'm just a little sensitive... down there."

He frowned. "Bella, if it's going to hurt you..."

"No, no, not sensitive as in painful," I clarified. "Sensitive as in I have a feeling you may not be the only one getting a turn, or in my case, getting another turn."

Continuing to frown a little this time in confusion rather than concern, I could tell when the light bulb went off in his head. Suddenly, his expression changed and he looked very pleased with himself. "Really? A second one?"

I couldn't help but giggle. "I think so, but you're going to have to start moving again to find out."

Obviously, I didn't need to tell him twice, because he closed his eyes, dug his hands into the bedding on each side of me, rested his forehead against mine and started thrusting his hips again. Sliding my hands back into his hair, I used them as leverage to rock my body harder against his.

Now that Edward was focused on his own pleasure rather than mine, it didn't take long until he was the one groaning. Which was a good thing because I didn't think I was going to last very long either, but I still tried to keep my focus on him just as he'd done earlier with me.

"Don't you see how well our bodies fit together, Edward?" It wasn't quite dirty talk, but I figured just the sound of my voice would encourage him, although I didn't think he needed much. Judging from the fact that his strokes were getting longer and harder, I thought he was just about there. "It's so good… so perfect."

His groans became low growls, but I wasn't afraid. In fact, if anything it turned me on even more. His hips started to go faster and I had to bite my lip to keep from gasping at how good it felt. I was determined to let him get there before me.

"Let yourself go, Edward," I whispered. "Show me what you look like when you come."

My words must have pushed him over because his response was immediate. "GOD, Bella!" he growled, his voice low and rumbling with his head thrown back. He thrust once more against me and I knew he was there, so I gave in to my own body's needs, and I cried out with him as the second orgasm washed through me. This one was different than the first; it was deeper and more intense and where the other had left me feeling satisfied but fairly energized, this one left me feeling so languid that I didn't want to move.

Once we both stopped trembling, the only movement we made was when Edward held me close and turned us over so I was resting on top of him. I don't know how long we laid there enjoying the quiet stillness and the aftermath of what I supposed could be called lovemaking after a fashion anyway, but it was a feeling I relished. I'd never felt closer to him.

"How are you feeling?" he said softly.

"Wonderfully lazy and like I could lie in this bed with you for a few more days."

"I like the sound of that," he replied.

I lifted my head and rested my chin in my hands on his chest. "And just think," I finally said. "That was with our clothes still on."

Edward looked down at me and chuckled lazily as he brushed some hair back. "It was pretty incredible." He shifted the lower half of his body and grimaced just a little. "However, I'm definitely going to have to shower and change clothes very soon. I'm a bit ... messy."

"Maybe we could take that shower together," I suggested.

I expected him to laugh off the idea or just turn me down flat. "That could be ... interesting."

"Really?" I asked in surprise.

"Sure." He grinned and sent my earlier words back at me. "After all, we are supposed to be practicing, right?"

I grinned at him like a crazy person. "Absolutely," I said before giving him a little hug and resting my cheek back on his chest.

I was going to get to shower with Edward. Just as he'd said, that would definitely be interesting. However, despite his comment about a shower, neither of us moved for a long time. I didn't mind the delay though; I had the feeling that we both just needed some quiet moments to process the new direction our relationship was taking and to just enjoy being close to each other.

"I love you so much, Edward," I said softly as I toyed with the ends of his hair.

"I love you too," he said tightening his arms around me. "What I feel for you is so much bigger than one simple word, but it's all I have to give you."

I snuggled into him. "Then it's everything I need."

TBC...

Next Chapter: More lemony goodness for Edward and Bella before the bad part starts. I'm guessing that the next chapter will be up shortly after the first of the year.

I hope you all have a very safe and Happy Holiday!