Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong solely to Stephenie Meyer. I intend no copyright infringement.

AN: A special thanks to my pre-readers, K, Kay, and KJ. Thanks as always to Fran. All mistakes are my own.

Chapter 19

Savannah, GA

Day 6

BPOV

I awoke to the harsh rays of the morning sun peeking through the curtains. As memories of my night with Edward flashed through my mind, I rolled over and discovered he was still asleep. Taking advantage of the moment, I studied his face, absorbing his every shape and feature, from the small scar above his left eyebrow to his chiseled jaw.

When my eyes landed on his lips, a shiver raced up my spine as I remembered the feel of his mouth on mine and how it had been demanding, yet gentle. A soft sigh escaped me as I recalled the way my body had responded to Edward's touch and how he had wrapped me in his arms before falling asleep.

It all seemed like a dream. Even now I couldn't believe Edward confessed to having feelings for me. How could I have been so blind? Deep down, I knew the reason, but before I admitted it to myself, a groggy voice snapped me out of my musings.

"What are you thinking about so hard over there?"

My eyes met his concerned ones. "Lots of things." I licked my lips. "Mostly, wondering if this is all a dream." He smiled, the wariness lifting from his face. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain near my left hip. "Ouch! Did you just pinch me?"

He chuckled then wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. "I wanted you to realize this most certainly isn't a dream."

"Well, I can think of a more pleasant way of proving we're both awake." I threaded my fingers through his hair.

"And what would that be?" His hands trailed up my sides, resting on my hardening nipples. He lightly circled them as he kissed a path down my neck and shoulders.

I uttered a low, broken moan. "I...I think you're figuring it out."

XXX

Three hours later, we loaded our luggage into Edward's car. He slammed the trunk and grinned. "See?" He looked at his watch. "We made it with five minutes to spare."

We had spent the entire morning in bed exploring each other, resulting in us losing track of time. We ended up scrambling to shower and pack before checkout time.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss near my ear. "Imagine how we could have spent those extra five minutes."

I slapped him playfully in the chest. "You're insatiable."

He smacked my ass and winked. "I'm only getting started. Just wait until we get home." He opened the passenger door for me then walked over to the driver's side of the car.

I sat and fastened my seatbelt while my mind focused on what Edward had said. Home. He wanted to continue our relationship or whatever this was when we got home. I waited for the familiar feelings of panic and uncertainty to surface and overtake me, but they never came. Instead, I felt excited and hopeful.

Turning in Edward's direction, I stared at him as he drove, wondering what type of voodoo he had performed to help me finally get over my insecurities.

"Do I have a bat in the cave or something?" He wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Wh-what?"

"Do I have a booger? Something on my face?"

I laughed. "No. Why would you think that?"

"Well, you're staring at me, and it's giving me a complex."

"I...I was just wondering if you had cast some sort of spell on me, that's all."

"Spell? What are you talking about, Swan?"

Suddenly, I felt nervous. What if I misunderstood what he had said, and he didn't want to continue seeing me? I cleared my throat. "Did you mean what you said about home?"

His brow furrowed. "What about home?"

I gestured between us. "That you want to continue whatever this is?"

He sighed then said, "Wait." A few minutes later, he pulled into the lot of a restaurant and parked the car. He unbuckled his seatbelt, turning to face me. "Bella, I've wanted to date you since your first day at the company. Like I said last night, I've tried to make my intentions known, but you've never seemed interested." He raked his fingers through his hair. "But as soon as we kissed, I knew it had all been worth the wait. See this silly ass grin on my face? You did this to me. So to answer your question, I most definitely want to continue this. The question is, do you?"

Not bothering to answer him, I took off my seatbelt and flung my arms around him, capturing his lips with mine. He groaned at my assault, running his hands through my hair then caressing the back of my neck with his long, strong fingers.

Edward sucked on my bottom lip then kissed me deeply as his tongue danced with mine. My breath caught when he grasped my hand and placed it on his straining erection. "See what you do to me, Swan? You're driving me insane."

Desperate to touch him, my fingers automatically went to the button of his jeans. Just as I unfastened them, a loud knock rattled against my door. Startled, Edward and I broke apart, discovering a group of teenage boys outside the car.

"Get a room," one of them said while the others guffawed.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment. "Little shits," Edward mumbled as he buttoned his jeans. He opened his door and stepped outside, but the boys ran off, laughing. When Edward got back inside, we looked at each other and erupted into our own bout of laughter.

"Oops," I said once I caught my breath. "I guess we got lost in the moment...again."

Edward grinned. "So, does this mean you want to give us a chance?"I returned his grin and nodded."But what did you mean about casting a spell on you?"

"Remember when you asked if I had recently dated anyone?"He nodded."Well, I haven't. In fact, I haven't dated at all since Riley. Anytime I've tried to put myself out there, all my past insecurities resurfaced, causing me to be too afraid to pursue anything new. I suppose that's why I invested all my feelings in an unattainable man like Aro." I rolled my eyes. "But today, when I thought about pursuing a relationship with you, I felt hopeful and so happy. And that's why I asked what kind of voodoo you had used on me."

Edward's studied me then tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm sorry that asshole ever made you feel anything less than you are because, Bella Swan, you are amazing. And if you give me the opportunity, I'll remind you of that every single day from now on. As for spells and voodoo, I'm innocent. My dick, however, is rather magical."

Laughing, I said, "I agree. It is certainly is, and so are you, Edward Cullen. As a matter of fact, you're downright captivating."

XXX

We decided to drive straight home, stopping only once to go through a drive-thru. Even though we didn't have to be back at work until the day after tomorrow, we decided it would be nice to have a relaxing day at home before getting back to our normal routine.

Around seven p.m., Edward announced he needed to refuel and pulled off at the Williamsburg, Kentucky exit. "Back at Cumberland," he said.

"I suppose it's kismet." I shrugged. "We started our trip here; we might as well end it here as well."

"But this time, without a run-in with that asswipe," Edward muttered. His hands gripped the steering wheel.

I rubbed his forearm. "Calm down there, slugger."

We parked beside the gas pump, and Edward hopped out. I joined him and said, "I'm going to run inside and use the restroom. Do you want anything?"

"Can you grab me a bottle of water?"

"Sure," I answered as I headed toward the building.

When I returned to the car a few minutes later, I discovered Edward having what appeared to be a heated discussion with Riley.

Holy shit.

"Edward," I said, gaining his attention. "Here's your water."

He turned in my direction and grabbed the water from my hand. Then he placed a soft kiss on the top of my head and wrapped an arm around my waist. "Thanks, love."

Love? My stomach flipped at the term of endearment. Even though I knew Edward was only marking his territory, I savored the moment and placed my hand in the back pocket of his jeans, giving his ass a gentle squeeze. At my touch, he gazed down at me and winked.

"Bella." Riley stared at Edward's hand, which was currently pressed against my hip bone. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

"Yeah, what are the chances? We're just on our way home from a trip."

A cold sneer appeared on his face. "That's what Edwin here was telling me."

Edward shook his head and chuckled.

"His name is Edward," I corrected. Ignoring Riley, I looked at Edward and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"Very."

As we turned to get in the car, Riley called out in a desperate voice, "Wait! I have the twins with me." He gestured to the van next to him. "They're in the backseat. I thought you might like to meet them."

I sighed then said, "Sure. I'd love to." Edward and I walked over to the van as Riley slid open the side door. Inside sat the two toddlers, a boy with blond hair and a girl with flaming, red curls. Their faces and hands were both covered with what appeared to be a mixture of chocolate and ketchup.

"Jimmy and Vicki, this is Bella. She was daddy's special friend during college. Can you say 'hello?'"

Suddenly, Jimmy hurled a toy car straight at Riley's forehead and screamed, "No!" Then he and his sister giggled as their dad cried out in pain.

Edward quietly snickered, and I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.

"They're rambunctious tonight," Riley offered as an explanation. "They get over-excited when they have a night out with Daddy. Right, sweetheart?" He attempted to tickle Vicki's cheek, but she turned her head and bit his finger, growling. "Ouch! How many times have I told you not to bite me?" Riley shouted before remembering we were still standing there. He smoothed his hair and said, "She's teething."

Edward snorted.

I nodded. "Y-yeah. Totally."

Riley slammed the van door shut then said, "I better get going. I hate to be away from Angela very long. You know how it is. Well, I guess you don't, but maybe one day you will." He shot me a smirk.

As anger boiled within me at his remark, Edward cupped my cheeks and brushed a feather-light kiss against my mouth. Even though the kiss had been gentle and tender, I felt every ounce of passion behind it.

"Let's go, love. This is a waste of our time...time we could be putting to much better use."

I arched an eyebrow at him. "I like the way you think, Cullen."

"And I like everything about you, Swan."

XXX

Once we were back on the road, I asked, "Are you going to tell me what you and Riley were talking about before I arrived?"

He grunted. "I'd rather not discuss that fucker ever again."

"Wow. Tell me how you really feel?" I deadpanned.

"This was Daddy's special friend in college," he mocked. "What a dick. I wanted to introduce him to my special friends...my fists."

I laughed. "Edward, jeez. Like you said, he's an asshole...nothing but a little weasel. He's not worth getting so worked up about." I massaged his neck.

"Ugh. That feels nice." He exhaled and moaned. "Anyway, he approached me while I was pumping gas. Asked about you. I might have said something along the lines that you weren't any of his damn concern."

Sure, Edward was being a bit of a caveman, but something about the way he said those words made me feel protected and cherished. "You're right; I'm not." I ran a finger down his cheek. "Thanks for standing up for me."

Edward turned his head and captured my finger in between his teeth. His eyes were full of mischief. We both started laughing hysterically.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," he said between laughs. "But you have to admit karma had something to do with those children."

"Yes, definitely." I shivered as I recalled Riley's spawn. "Did you hear the little girl growl? I thought for sure her head was going to start spinning."

Edward cringed. "And the boy. He stared at me like I was something to eat."

XXX

We arrived at my place just shy of nine o' clock. As soon as I unlocked the door, Colin ran directly to the foyer. When he saw that it was me, he lifted his chin in the air and walked off in the opposite direction.

"Uh-oh. Looks as if someone is pissed at Mommy," Edward said as he stood behind me with my luggage.

"He'll get over it in a day or two. He probably thought I was Dad."

"Where do you want these?"

"You can just leave them here. I'll get them later."

"Kicking me out already, Swan?"

"N-no, I figured you were anxious to get home. I didn't want to presume—"

He set the luggage down and shut the door. "Feel free to presume. Now, where's the bedroom? We both need a shower and some sleep."

A smile crossed my face. "Oh, do we?"

"Yes, we do. Are you going to tell me where to go, woman, or are you going to start arguing with me again?"

Feeling playful, I responded, "I have a place in mind where you can go."

"If that's the way you're going to be, you've left me no choice." He slung me over his shoulder.

I yelped then began smacking him on the ass. "Hey! What the hell!"

"Now, if you don't stop touching my ass, we're never going to make it to the shower. And quite frankly, you stink."

"I do not stink!"

He sniffed me. "You're most certainly rank. And that means I'm going to have to give you a thorough cleaning from head to toe."

Oh.

I gulped. "From head to toe?"

"And every crevice in between."

I took a quick whiff of my arm. "I think you're right; I do need a good scrubbing."

"See? Sooner or later, you'll learn to stop fussing at me."

"But what fun will that be?"

"Oh, don't worry. We'll have plenty of other things to do to keep us amused. Stick with me, Bella. The fun is just beginning."

"That sounds like a promise."

"Not a promise. It's a guarantee."

AN:

I am sorry for the wait on this chapter. The past couple of weeks have been rough. A family friend passed away, and I have caught the crud. I started a round of antibiotics, so hopefully, I will be better soon.

Thank you for your kind words about the lemon chapter. I'm glad it wasn't a huge disappointment.

The final chapter will include the epilogue. I wrote it this week, but I was sick so I need to do some serious edits.

I hope you are all staying healthy and safe.

Until next time,

HE