Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, nor anything related to Twilight, that honor belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I merely twist her world to suit my creative outlet.

A/N: So sorry for the delay it took to get this chapter out. My week has been awful, including three full days spent up in town away from my laptop when I lost my car keys. Finally home! Here is the next chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it!

The past ten days have been wonderful. When Edward and I woke up the day after our wedding, there was no awkwardness, just a tender kiss to the lips and him allowing me to use the master bath in our suite. He'd refused to tell me where we were going, just to dress for summer weather. Well, it was summer so that made sense! I'd gone for a casual dress with a red plaid handkerchief skirt and a black t-shirt bodice, one of my favorite outfits. After hours on his private jet, we ended up in Italy of all places! I was so excited when I found out.

Since then we have toured three different wineries(Cantina de'Ricci, Castello di Verrazzano, and Avignonesi) which were all gorgeous and had wonderful wines. I loved learning the history of the locations as well! Then we went on to Rome, where there was nowhere near enough time to see everything, but we saw a few highlights, such as the Pantheon, the Colosseum, St. Peter's Square, and the Trevi Fountain. Now we were on to another surprise, still here in Italy, for the last few days of our honeymoon.

"Pleaaaase, Edward? You said we're only a short flight, so can you please tell me where we're going?" I was begging, so not ashamed to admit it. I was tired of surprises and just wanted to be there already. He laughed, though, soft and sure, and reached his hand up to brush my cheek with his knuckles. That was another bright spot of our honeymoon. We'd gotten much closer; we hadn't been intimate in bed, though we continued to share a bed at night. Cuddling with Edward was one of the best parts of my day.

"Isabella! We'll be there soon, and I know you're going to love it. Just a little longer, dearest. For me, please?" Oh, how could I say no to that pout and that plea? The little rascal always knew how to get me to quit bugging him about our next destination. With a, mostly, feigned sigh of exasperation, I leaned over to kiss his cheek and muttered a soft, "Fine." He merely caressed my cheek again, before going back to his phone. He hadn't done much work, but it always seemed he pulled it out on our flights. I hadn't the luxury as the one time I'd tried to call the office my grandfather had stated, very simply, that the next time I called to work, he was demoting me to the mailroom. I had the next month off and he didn't want to hear from me until then.

Finally, the pilot announced we were getting ready to land. I couldn't look out the window as Edward had drawn the blinds closed so instead I counted my breathing as a relaxation exercise. When the plane pulled to a stop, Edward grabbed me up and swung me around in circles before placing me back on the ground. "My dear, welcome to Volterra, Italy." His announcement was complete with arm sweeping as the door to the plane opened and I saw the skyline of ancient, stone buildings. It was gorgeous. Then the name caught up to me.

"Volterra? As in Volturi? Edward?" I couldn't make heads or tails out of this. I remembered this from conversations with grandfather, but it still seemed too good to be true. I was visiting the home of my ancestors? A place that no Volturi had lived now since the early twentieth century. We'd all migrated to the United States, as the historical village made it difficult to conduct 'family' business. When Edward nodded with a grin that I was correct, I squealed and threw myself at him for a hug. This was exciting! Maybe I'd get to see the villa my family used to own. Would it be a ruin or well-preserved? Owned and operated or just a ghost of what it used to be? Plus the actual village itself which grandfather had walked the streets of just to see where his ancestors used to live. I was so excited!

Seeing Tuscany as we drove from the private airport to our hotel, the Borgo Pignano, was gorgeous, as well as the hotel itself. Edward had, of course, secured us the Executive Suite to stay in. Nothing but the best for him. We wandered the Palazzo dei Priori and visited a few shops, which he insisted he buy souvenirs for me. It was a nice low-key day.

Now, we were going out for dinner, a restaurant called La Vecchia Lira, which sounded fairly upscale. It was a two course meal, not counting appetizers. I let Edward order since I don't speak italian. We started with some big fancy Italian sounding things that turned out to be vegetable and pecorino cheese gateau on porcini mushroom cream with crispy leeks. Next, he ordered us spaghetti with octopus, clams, and yellow pumpkin tartare and pappardelle pasta with wild boar ragu. Finally, our third dishes were vegetable patties served on Mediterranean cream and marinated broccoli strips as well as a selection of local pecorino cheeses with honey and homemade jam. It was all absolutely delicious and I was glad no true dessert was offered as I was stuffed after sharing all of that with Edward.

I wrapped my arm around his waist as we walked around the hotel gardens after dinner, just enjoying spending time with him. We'd discussed so much already and neither of us felt like we had to talk. Our companionable silences were wonderful, just taking in the scenery and enjoying being with one another. We had kissed and cuddled, never quite reached the make out stage though. Tonight I tugged him to a bench, where I sat curled up against his side as the sun set, lighting the sky up in hues of pink and orange, blended with ever darkening blues. When he kissed my forehead, I looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, Edward, for everything. This has been a wonderful honeymoon and getting to know each other period. I wasn't sure about a honeymoon, but I am so grateful you all planned and executed it despite my doubts."

"Isabella… no, Bella. You should be called what you want to be called. I'm sorry I was so stubborn before. This was the least we deserved. I'd rather tour the world with you, but know we cannot be away that long, so we'll tour it in bits and pieces. Bella, after these past two weeks, I don't doubt we'll be a happily married couple. Your kisses are intoxicating, and your sweet voice can calm me already. Do you agree?"

Beaming, I nod my head eagerly. "I do, Edward! You're so easy to talk to. It's nice to have someone who knows all my secrets, but still wants to be with me. I never thought I'd be happy with vanilla, but I think with you, I could be content, though I'd still love to explore that side of things with you someday. I think we'd be compatible there, too, just based on how in sync we already are." I paused, my blush lit up my cheeks as I ducked my head and peeked up at Edward from under my lashes. "Oops, sorry, gushing and rambling."

I felt his fingers tap my chin, encouraging me to look back up at him. My breath caught in my throat at the adoring look in his eyes, "Bella, you're gorgeous and adorable. Quit worrying. I want to hear everything you have to tell me, I promise, but most of all, what I want right now is to kiss my wife." And with that, he lowered his lips to mine, pressing against them tenderly, slowly. His arms wrapped around my waist, practically dragging me into his lip as with a groan he deepened the kiss, ravaging rather than exploring as he kissed me.

My hands went up to tangle in his hair as we kissed for minutes on end, our bodies pressed warmly together as he slid a hand soothingly up and down my back. Finally, with a last nip to my lower lip, he pulled back with a sigh. "You make me lose myself, Bella. I want so much to do this slowly, yet anytime we're alone together, I find it hard to keep my hands to myself." I opened my mouth to speak and this time he tapped my chin in an admonishing gesture, before continuing, "But I still want to take this just one day at a time. At least give me a few more weeks before you try to knock back my resolve, you little minx."

I giggled with him, snuggling back into him, my head on his shoulder. I nipped lightly, playfully, at his ear before saying, "Fine, I'll do that. Just know that I feel as you do. I know we'll be okay, but I don't mind this slow pace, this slow build. Thank you for being mine, Edward. I promise I am yours."

With those words, he whisked me off to our room, so we could cuddle all night as we slept. I slept deeply, as normal when with him. We woke up to the sun coming through the window as neither of us had thought to close them. It was perfect, my head on Edward's chest, his arm around me, his cheek laying across the top of my head. I realized I could wake up to that every day and never grow tired of it. I didn't know if I could go so far as to say I was in love with Edward Cullen, but I was most definitely in severe like of him. It had only been two weeks after all.

We ordered room service for breakfast, just ciaffignone(pancakes) with strawberry preserves, some bacon, and scrambled eggs. As we ate and sipped coffee, I asked, "So will you tell me the plan today? That way I know how to dress."

"Casual, sweetheart. We're going out to a very special vineyard today. I know you'll love it. Jeans and a t-shirt will work great." Kissing his cheek, I rose to shower and dress, wearing exactly what he suggested. A nice pair of skin-tight, dark wash jeans, with a simple V-neck, dark blue t-shirt and simple converse. Edward was dressed similarly when I came out, but with an unbuttoned short-sleeve business shirt over his tee, and the pants were not quite so tight.

As we got in the car, he smiled and took my hand. "You'll see soon enough. It's only a twenty minute drive or so. I know how impatient you get about surprises." Kissing my knuckles, he sat our hands on his leg as he drove. It was quick and suddenly there was a sign that read, "Volturi Vigneto". I gasped, bouncing in my seat. "They kept the name!"

My husband's chuckle filled the car, "Yes dear one, they did. It was such a staple, the area had to keep it. It's thriving, though the locals do say the wine is better now than then. The new thing is the cheeses to go with it. They have delicious cheeses, but their specialty is their berry cheesecakes. They have wines to pair with various fruits and I entirely plan to hook the family up with baskets of them. They do ship, I'm told."

His grin was infectious and with my already lifted mood, I laughed with abandon, and leaned over to kiss him full on the lips. He gasped in surprise as I didn't usually initiate kisses while he was driving, but I just couldn't help myself. I stared out the window, loving the countryside. You could see the vines in the distance, and pastures with sheep, goats, and cows, my guess for the cheeses they made. There were even a few horses, beautiful in their myriad of colors and body types and I do not know horses so I can't tell you what they were. Though I did see a pinto, and an appaloosa, as well as a rich golden colored one and marbled greyish one. Maybe Edward and I could go riding sometime.

When we finally arrived at the vineyard offices, I was just astounded. They'd kept the old stone buildings, and kept them older rather than more modern. The old tile roofs were redone, but looked aged still. We were greeted warmly and welcomed like family which made me giggle to myself since this used to be my family's home. The grounds themselves were spread out, obviously home to more than one family and I loved it. They started the tour with wine, cheese, and cheesecake tastings. I loved their triple berry cheesecake, with raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries which also had a drizzle of chocolate on it. It was paired with a fruity white wine and was just delicious. I told Edward the family would love it and he arranged to have that, mixed with their white chocolate truffle cheesecake with a locally made sparkling wine. They would get it before we made it home as it was specially shipped overnight and I told Edward not to tell me what that cost him.

Finally, we went on a golf cart tour of the vineyard, where they showed us which grapes they grew and where they grew the berries. They introduced us to some of the sheep and goats, the more friendly ones, and then, before ending the tour, offered a walking tour through the vineyard, with a chance to pick a few grapes and a chance to see those grapes get started in the wine making process. I instantly turned to flutter my eyelashes at Edward and he laughed softly. "You want to go traipsing the grapevines dear?"

"Oh yes! Please? Or do you want to go back for more wine tasting?" My smile was impish as I asked the last and he leaned in to give me an eskimo kiss. "You go, dearest. I will go on to the tasting house and await you there. Have fun, I look forward to you telling me all about it."

I kissed him quickly before catching up to the guide leading the tour. It was pretty crowded and I was grateful for the headset mic they had. As sprawling as the vineyards were, we didn't have much choice. There was a specific green grape and red grape neighboring each other and that's what we had to choose from, though they did say those two grapes made about five different types of wine depending on what they were paired with. I love white wine so I went along the green grapes, looking for my perfect stem. I was about fifteen minutes in when I felt a touch on my arm. Worried, I'd gotten lost in myself and wandered too far, I looked up and gasped.

"What are you doing here? This is so random!" I smiled up at my visitor and they smiled back.

"Isabella, what a surprise to see you here. I never got a chance to congratulate you on your nuptials. Where's the darling husband?"

I blushed, casting my eyes to the ground automatically at his tone of voice. "Oh, we split up so he could do some more wine tasting. I wanted to see the grounds. But you never answered, what are you doing here?"

"Ahh, well, you see, there was this beautiful girl I was madly in love with, but she never saw me as more than her dom. She just got married and I thought I would try one last time to get her to see reason. It's not too late to get a divorce after all."

"What?!" I gasped. "But, I'm happy! Completely happy with my husband and am looking forward to our future. You never said anything when you were my dom. I likely would have let you down, because I didn't care for you that way, but you can't be upset I didn't know when you didn't tell me."

He actually growled as he responded, "I shouldn't have had to! I was tender, I was caring, I was gentle! All the things a loving partner should be!"

Shaking my head, even though I tried to hide the trembling of the rest of my body(I truly did hate confrontation), my voice broke a bit as I said, "Which is why I didn't extend our contract. I didn't want to be tender and caring and gentle. I needed a dominant who would dominate me! None of that matters now, though. We ceased to be anything two years ago, almost three. You had your chance and now I have moved on. I got married, and I'm happy."

I turned to leave, but felt my arm tug back as Eric grabbed it. "And that's that? I don't think so, Isabella! I went through a lot of trouble to find you, and you're coming back with me. Lucky for me, you went on this tour and now I can do what I wanted to do from the moment I first saw you here." My mouth opened to ask what he meant when his other hand flashed up. I didn't even have a chance to process anything before I felt the tell-tale prick of a needle in my neck and then the world went black.

A/N: Yes, sorry about the cliffie! Next chapter should be up within two days. It's practically written in my head, I just have to get it to paper and let it stew a bit in my mind before I publish it. Don't hate me!