Rating/Warning(s)/Note(s): T, Parkward
Disclaimer: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.
Prompt: Varnish
Phrase Catch: Cast the first stone

I could feel a trickle of sweat trail down the side of my face as I lay wrapped in a blanket, wrapped in Edward, watching a movie. I was just about to jump up and turn on the air conditioner when he noticed how hot I was.

"This bundling thing isn't working too well, is it?" he asked with a laugh as he reached to unwrap me. "Why didn't you tell me you were hot?"

"Because I like being snuggled by you and was afraid you might not hold me if I was unwrapped," I admitted as I fell back with a sigh as the cooler air hit my overheated skin. "Of course, as hot as I am, I'm not sure I want to be snuggled either."

"Hmm, I think," he crooned as he leaned in closer to me, "as hot as you are, you are crying out to be snuggled."

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. "Oh, Edward, that was so corny! I bet you could strip varnish with something so sticky sweet!"

He began to chuckle, "Yeah, that was pretty bad, but you don't have to wound my ego by laughing so much."

The little pout he got on his face only caused me to laugh harder. Clutching my side to stop the cramp that formed I started getting the giggles. "You should see your face!" I snorted as I lost control and tears began to form in my eyes. "You look like a wounded puppy!"

He raised an eyebrow at me, chuckling lightly as I continued to laugh. "You know, I can give you something to laugh about. Other than my face, that is," he threatened, lowering his eyebrows into a leer that was offset by the smile twitching at the corners of his lips. Of course I laughed even harder.

"Fine," he said as he jumped on me and began tickling me for all he was worth. I screamed as I tried to get away, but the lack of oxygen caused by the giggles, combined with my natural lack of grace, worked against me as I made for the hallway.

Two steps into my stumbling escape he grabbed me around the waist, threw me over his shoulder, and proceeded to torture me by squeezing my knees from behind. "NO!" I screamed with a laugh as I struggled to get away from him.

"You cast the first stone, saying my face was funny, now you have to pay for it," he laughed as he continued his assault on my knees.

I twisted hard to the side, making him have to grab me to keep me from landing on my head, both of us laughing like idiots as he pinned me against the wall to hold me up, or sideways as the case might be. The nice thing about this position was that it gave me wonderful access to his backside. Giving him a hard slap I told him to put me down, so he proceeded to pretend to drop me, making me scream. In order to keep me from hitting the ground he fell to his knees and pinned my body sideways with his chest.

I was able to put down one hand and foot so I continued to wiggle around, twisting first one way and then the other before I finally landed on the ground with a thud. Unfortunately it threw Edward completely out of balance as well so he landed hard on top of me. That definitely stopped the giggles as I no longer had any air to breathe with.

"Bella? Are you all right?" he cried sitting up and going into doctor mode as he ran his hands under my ribs where his arm landed. Pressing gently he asked if anything hurt but I wasn't able to answer him since I was sucking in great lungfuls of air. "Bella? You need to answer me love," he said, worry lacing his voice. So I nodded. "Does this hurt?" he asked again, and I shook my head.

We repeated this until he was right under my breasts and I felt his fingers brush the bottoms of them and gave a gasp. "Did I hurt you?" he said, pressing more tenderly in the spot he was at. I shook my head, but my eyes had gone wide at the sensation. "Are you sure?" he asked and I nodded, my breathing picking up, but this time from desire. He looked back down at my body and noticed where his hand was. "Oh," he whispered. I watched his face and could see how torn he was. As much as I wanted this contact, craved it even, I wanted it to be when we both were comfortable with it.

Reaching my hand down, I took his and lifted it from my body. Using it as leverage I sat up and leaned against the wall. "Sorry I lost it," I said as I pulled his hand to the other side of my hip, causing him to have to lean in close.

"It was actually rather amusing," he replied as he gave in to my encouragement, even going so far as to shuffle his body around so he could pull me onto his lap. "Much better than the movie."

I wiggled my way down into his arms so I could put my head on his shoulder, apologizing when I heard him hiss and grab my hips so I wouldn't run into anything, um, sensitive. "I really was looking forward to watching that movie, too," I said as I traced the lapel of his button-down shirt, my hand trailing downward until he grabbed my wrist.

"Behave, please," he begged. It's not even been a week and I'm wanting to do things I shouldn't with you. Don't make this harder for me."

"And by harder?" I asked.

He fixed me with a glare. "Not helping." He scooted around so he could lean against the wall and situated me again on his lap. "So, what about the movie did you especially want to see?"

"My friend, Angela, told me it had a really hot kissing scene," I explained as I looked up into his eyes, my head back on his shoulder.

He lifted his hand from where he was holding mine hostage and began to trace along my jaw. "You like hot kissing scenes?" he asked, his voice causing my insides to melt and once again taking my breath away. Unable to speak I nodded again. "Is this hot enough?" he asked again as he lowered his lips to mine.

Moaning my agreement my hands shot around him, one going around his waist as the other went to his hair. I could taste him on my lips and sighed as I pulled him closer. He let out a groan and in no time I found myself back on the floor, Edward on top of me, leaning on his elbows to hold his weight up, but his hips lined up perfectly with mine. I could feel that he was as turned on as I was and moved to wrap my leg around his. "Don't move," he implored against my lips before running his tongue over them, encouraging me to open up to him.

It was all I could do to keep my lower body still as he kissed me. His hands were twined in my hair as his tongue gently entered my mouth, tasting and testing, prodding without being demanding. I tried to suck him in, wanting to be devoured by him, but instead he treated my mouth as if it were fine crystal, afraid that if he put too much pressure in one place I would break. It was the most loving deep kiss I had ever experienced, bringing tears to my eyes.

He withdrew his tongue slowly, allowing me to follow with my own. I explored his mouth with the same gentleness he had shown me, finding that by focusing there I was distracted from other places I had wanted to fully explore.

Lifting his head he broke the kiss, softening the separation by placing chaste kisses to each corner of my mouth and the tip of my nose. "I know it's too soon, but I'm falling in love with you, Isabella Swan," he whispered as he rubbed his nose on mine. "I do hope I'm not misreading who you really are, or I'm going to be in for a world of hurt."

"I feel the same way, Edward. Please tell me this is real, that the man kissing me is who you really are and not some act," I begged, my heart wrenching in fear.

"You see me, Bella. I promise, I'm being who I am, and it's making it incredibly difficult to hold back." He let out a sigh and rolled off of me, pulling me onto my side. We lay there in the hallway, wrapped in each other's arms. "The truth is, when I see something I want, I reach out and take it. Trying to go slow with you has been the sweetest torture, and it hasn't even been seven days."

I laughed, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "So you aren't being the real you, or I would already be in your bed?"

"Oh, no, Bella," he chuckled, reaching behind him to pull my left hand from around his body and hold it in front of my face. "If I was being the real me, there would be a ring on this finger and I would be making plans for when I had you in my bed."

"Because you usually propose to girls in the first week?" I asked, confused.

He laughed. "Silly girl, haven't you been listening?" Reaching out he trailed a finger down my jaw from my ear and began tracing around my lips. "When I see something I want, I reach out and grab it. I've never seen anyone I've wanted until I saw you. Now I'm desperately trying to convince myself you are safe to go after while not scaring you away in the process."

My eyes were opened wide as I took in all he was saying. Just as I was trying to breathe so I could reply I heard a key in the front door and looked up just in time to see my own best friend waltz through it, all six feet seven inches of him. "Geez, Bells," Jacob laughed, "maybe you should put a coathanger on the door or something."

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xoxo!