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This is unbeta'd. All mistakes are mine.

Word Prompt: Intense

Wednesday, 21 March


After paying, I led us back to the car, her hand in mine, and couldn't wait to get back to the hotel, where I had one more surprise up my sleeve.

When I pulled our car into the hotel parking lot and shut it off, I turned to see Bella looking at me. She was looking at me, her head resting against the back of the seat and a lazy smile was on her face.

"I love you," she said softly as her hand brushed against the top of my thigh.

My heart swelled. Hearing her say those three words… there was just nothing like it.

"I love you, too, Pretty girl."

We sat there, with matching smiles, just looking and loving each other, until I couldn't take it any more.

After opening her door, helping her out, and walking her to our room, I stopped. I turned to face her, my hand cupping her cheek. "I meant what I said before. Thank you for sharing this week with me and just… for everything."

She sucked in a breath, as if my confession had caught her off guard. Maybe it had. But it didn't matter because then her mouth was on mine, hot, eager, demanding, and mine was moving, claiming, tasting just as intensely as hers.

We stumbled into the room after I managed to get the door open. The sound of tinkling piano notes caught Bella's attention, and we broke apart. A fire was roaring in the fireplace, lit white candles had been placed in little glass dishes all over the room, and the bed was covered in rose petals. It was exactly like I'd hoped – romantic and warm - and Mary would be getting a very nice tip from me.

Bella's jaw was hanging open as she looked around. "Wha- When did you do this?"

I smiled and pulled her to me. "I told you I had surprises up my sleeve. Now… where were we?"

She turned toward me and wrapped her arms around my neck. "You're amazing," she whispered as her mouth found mine again.

My lips slid against hers as I slowly pulled her body against mine. With my hand pressed into the small of back, I began to move, swaying her from side to side to the beat of some unknown song.

We didn't talk. There was no reason to say anything, both of us lost in the moment. Dancing gave way to tender touches, the slow shedding of clothing, and eventually the two of us on the bed, the earthy smell of roses all around.

I teased that soft spot I loved at the bend in her neck as her fingers wove through my hair. I buried my face in the gentle slope of her breasts, the dip of her hip, the curve of her elbow, and everywhere else I could reach and touch.

She was perfection and mine.

"Edward," she moaned as I pressed my tongue against her, swirling and tasting.

Mine. It would never get old.

Her nails dug into the tops of my shoulders as my fingers moved inside her.

I was aching. She was panting, writhing, then coming.

And I couldn't wait any longer.

My mouth was on hers, rough and wanting, as I pushed inside her.

I pumped my hips, sliding in and out as I held onto her, then the headboard for leverage. A wet sheen of sweat covered me, her, as I continued pounding into her. My movements were frantic, just like my mind, full of jagged fragmented thoughts of how she felt beneath me, around me.

There were whispered words I could barely comprehend. I was lost. In her. In the overwhelming sensation of the warmth and want of her body.

At last, she cried out, and as I looked into her almost black eyes, it was… there were no words for the way she gave herself to me as her eyes fluttered closed and her body stilled beneath mine.

I followed after her, my orgasm so intense I almost blacked out. Tender kisses along the length of my jaw brought me back to her. I was putty in her hands, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would spend the rest of my life trying to show this woman how much I loved her.

And it would never be enough.

~*WS*~

Friday, 23 March

Bella's phone buzzed for what felt like the fifth or sixth time in a matter of minutes. She hastily pulled it out of her back pocket and scanned the contents before quickly typing out a response and shoving it back into her pocket.

She had been acting strange all day, the scene above playing out several times over, and I couldn't figure out what was going on. I didn't really want to ask, but after it vibrated again I finally asked, "Everything okay?"

She looked up at me in surprise. "Yep. Just texting with Angie."

I nodded and turned back to the random assortment of gifts and trinkets before me. I didn't buy it. There was something… off in her voice. We'd decided to spend most of the day taking it easy. We wanted to get some gifts for people back home, and I was looking for something for the apartment.

I tried to shove aside my misgivings, but the weird feeling in my stomach twisted and rolled every time she pulled out her phone. And it continued for a good two hours, off and on, as we made our way from shop to shop.

She'd tap out a message, shove her phone back into her pocket, all with a furrow in her brow.

After the fifth shop and another frown, I couldn't take it anymore.

"Bella, what is going on?" I couldn't help the exasperated tone of my voice.

"It's nothing."

I looked away, feeling my insides clench in frustration as I ground my teeth. "It's clearly not nothing. You guys have been going at it for the last two hours. You're frowning and clearly upset about something. What is going on?"

She huffed but looked away, and I knew my suspicions were right.

I wrapped my hand around her elbow. "Love… talk to me. Is Angie okay?"

She turned and looked at me, tears shimmering in her eyes. I drew in a breath; I wasn't expecting that.

"Hey," I said, soothingly, as I pulled her stiff body against mine. "Don't cry. Just tell me what's going on, Bella. We can deal with whatever it is."

"Princeton doesn't have any openings."

It took me a minute to figure out what she was saying. Princeton? And then it dawned on me. She had said weeks ago that she'd put out some feelers to different universities to see what she could find. I knew she'd sent one to Princeton, but I hadn't given it much thought. Until now.

I held her against me, oblivious to the shoppers and tourists around us, while she cried.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

I had no idea why she was sorry. She couldn't help them not having an opening.

"Hey," I said, pulling back enough that I could look at her. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Pretty girl. We'll figure it out."

She sniffed, her eyes already turning red. I hated it. "But if I had done more or maybe written more books or presented more…"

"Enough, Bella. Do not go there. Not only is it completely ridiculous, it's simply untrue. This has nothing to do with your competence and professionalism. Not even close. Princeton wasn't meant to be. It's not the end all be all, and we will figure it out."

I knew I was being a harsh, but I had to make her understand how asinine her line of thinking was. Her lip quivered as a fresh wave of tears rolled down her face. I moved us to a more secluded location and held her while she cried. All the while, I was racking my brain, trying to figure out the next step. There were certainly other universities in the area she could tap into, but I wasn't sure if she would be interested. There was also the Connecticut option. I had sort of hoped to wrap that project and move on, but there were probably an option there for me to do more.

Her sniffling brought me out of my thoughts. I stopped running my fingers through her hair and let her sit back.

"I'm sorry."

I started to speak but she held up her hand.

"I'm sorry I didn't just tell you right away. I found out this morning and didn't know what to say. I didn't want you to be disappointed, and I knew Angie would understand. I should have told you," she said, her voice a low whisper.

I pulled her back against me, my arms wrapping around her waist. "Baby, please don't shut me out. We're a team. Partners. And hopefully more when the time is right. I don't care about Princeton or where we ultimately settle down. As long as we're together – and we will be – that's all that matters.

"I know. I just… I don't know what to do now."

"Where else did you send inquiries?"

She took a deep, shaky breath, and sat back, her brow furrowed in thought. "Yale, Albert Magnus, Wesleyan, Quinnipiac, Southern Connecticut State, and Rider."

As she ran through the list, I mentally tried to locate each one. I knew Rider was in Princeton and a pretty decent liberal arts school. All the rest she'd listed were in Connecticut.

"Okay, so we've got options, Love. Let's just take it step by step. Will you have a chance to connect with any professors from those schools at your conference in a few weeks?"

She tentatively nodded her head.

"Let's see if that opens any doors. I can put out some feelers for the long term in Connecticut. I know Ben had casually mentioned some possibilities for additional work there. I'll see what he has to say, and I'll also see if anyone there or in the Princeton office has contacts with the local universities. With the research connections, we'll almost certainly find someone. Even if they aren't in English or E-Lit.

"More importantly, though, I want you to stop taking this on by yourself. We're a team, Pretty girl. And that means we do this together. This is not just on you to figure everything out. I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. I should have been doing more."

"Okay."

I could hear the hesitance in her voice. "Hey, you're doing it again. Stop."

She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and looked at me. Really looked at me. I could see the fear and sadness in her eyes and I knew I had to replace that with something better.

"I love you, Bella. More than anything. We will figure this out. Do you hear me?"

She nodded.

"Do you trust me?" A ripple of residual fear crept up my spine at how far we'd come and how hard it had been to earn her trust and respect again. I didn't want to do anything to put it in jeopardy.

"You know I do, Edward."

"Okay, then. I promise we will get through this. We knew it wouldn't be easy, but I will not let you down. If I have to move, if we both have to move… whatever we end up doing it will work out. I know that. You're all that matters to me, Love."

"I love you so much."

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking through each of the universities over a bottle of wine out on the lawn of one of the wineries. By the evening, things seemed to have lightened, and I think we both felt better.

Just for good measure though, I spent the evening loving on her, running her a bath that I subsequently joined, and then showing her exactly how good of a team we could be.