EPOV

Bella disappears as soon as we get back from taking Marley to school, so I look for a home video we haven't watched yet. After loading Marley's first Christmas into the DVD player, I take a seat on my end of the couch and wait for her to come back down.

"Edward?"

I look up and find the girl of my dreams standing before me wearing nothing but a lacy bra and a pair of matching panties. My mouth waters, and I watch her slide one thin strap down her freckled arm followed by the other.

"Edward?" she whispers.

I toss my phone to the side and pat my lap. "C'mere."

She says my name and straddles my legs, running her fingers through my hair, making me shiver.

I grab her hips and situate her just right.

She presses her chest into mine, and I can feel how hard her nipples are through the fabric of her bra. Where did my shirt go?

When she moves her head to the side, I take the invitation to latch onto the skin behind her ear and groan out loud. She smells sweet yet spicy, like a snickerdoodle, and I just so happen to love snickerdoodles.

"Edward?"

"Shh," I utter and continue marking her, wanting the world to know who she belongs to.

Mine.

Her hands caress the back of my neck, holding me in place as her hips move, creating delicious friction we both crave.

"Edward, please wake up," she breathes in my ear.

I thrust my hips and moan. "I am awake," another thrust. "More than awake."

She feels so good, and she tastes even better.

"Edward, please. We're going to be late."

Late for what?

She repeats herself, and I cover her mouth with my hand.

"Totally worth it. Trust me."

I lean in, ready to give in, ready to kiss the hell out of her until she forgets her name and my eyes close on their own accord.

Her breath mingles with mine.

So close.

I'm caught off guard when, instead of her lips, I feel the sting of her palm striking my cheek.

"Ow, what the hell, Bella?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm desperate. You have to wake up now."

I shake my head. "One kiss. Just give me one kiss."

Another slap. This one harder than the one before.

"Ow." I open my eyes and just about jump out of my skin.

Bella is standing over me, wearing a set of pajamas with sloths on them. Sleep rumpled, hair a mess, and refusing to look at me, she's still just as beautiful as she was in my dream. I can't tell you how disappointed I am that it was all a dream.

"Good, you're awake."

"Bella?" I grab the covers and yank them up to my chin in an effort to hide my … situation. "What are you doing in my room?"

My question comes out harsher than intended, and she stands up with a red face.

"The power tripped last night, and we all overslept. We need to hurry if we're going to make it to the airport on time.

I clear my throat. "Where's Marley?"

"She's downstairs with Pooka. I got her ready and gave her something to eat before I came back up."

I nod. "It's a good thing we packed yesterday."

"Yup. I'm going to go jump in the shower." She nods to herself and walks out of the room without another word.

Thinking about her being just down the hall in the shower, naked with water pouring over her, makes it hard to get out of bed. Emphasis on the word hard.

Once I manage to get blood flowing back to my extremities, I take the world's quickest shower because we, unfortunately, don't have time for me to rub one out.

When Bella and I packed, we hid all the bags in the hall closet.

I'm rushing down the hall at the same time the bathroom door flies open and a towel-clad Bella runs straight into me. I try to keep her from falling and inadvertently rip the towel from her body.

Wet, naked Bella, pressed against me, all wet and naked-like.

"I'm so sorry," I tell her, grabbing the towel and practically throwing it at her. I can see that her blush goes all the way past her belly button before I realize what a lecherous pervert I'm being. "Sorry, Bella."

"It's okay."

Marley chooses this moment to come clomping up the stairs. I've never been more happy that my Muffin is a nosey busybody.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asks, holding her shirt away from her body.

"We're getting ready for your big surprise," Bella tells her, sliding past me. "Why? What's going on there?"

Marley grimaces. "Pooka peed on me."

I tell Bella to go get ready, and I take Marley into the bathroom. We don't have time for her to take a bath so I wipe her down with some baby wipes and send her to her room to get a new shirt.

"Knock and wait for Bella to invite you in, Muffin."

She nods and skips down the hall.

I'm pulling our bags out of the closet when I hear Marley ask Bella about the scars on her body.

"I got really badly hurt in a car accident on your birthday," she explains.

"Do they hurt?"

"No. I was asleep for a long time, and when I woke up, a lot of my booboos were already healed up."

"Don't be sad, Mommy. You're still beautimus."

I rush past Marley's bedroom door and manage to get all the bags loaded into the trunk before they resurface.

Bella and I work together tossing perishables and locking all the windows and doors.

One of the kitchen windows is stuck so I leave a note for my parents to take a look at it when they come to pick up Marley's guinea pig.

I asked them to wait until we were already gone to collect Pooka so it wouldn't upset Marley.

She buckles her seatbelt and asks a million questions before we turn off our street.

Where are we going?

Who's going with us?

Is she going to like it?

Bella takes it all in stride, deflecting and avoiding giving her straight answers.

When we approach the airport, Marley surprises us by bursting into tears.

"I thought you weren't leaving yet?" She bawls, and I have to pull into a waiting lot so Bella can take her out of the car before she makes herself sick.

"No, precious. I'm not leaving," Bella tells her when she finally calms down.

She's still clinging to her like Bella is going to disappear.

I kneel in front of them and wipe her little face with a tissue. "This is part of your surprise, Muffin. We're all going on a plane together."

She hiccups. "To Washington?"

"No, we're going somewhere just as special as where Mommy is from. Now, can we be a big girl and get going? We don't want to miss our plane."

She's still upset, a little sleepy and needy from the emotional outburst, but she manages to get a second wind by the time we make it to our gate.

She's vibrating with excitement when we get in line to board. Bella offers her the window seat and crams herself between us.

We're flying coach, space is limited, and I'm a rather tall man, so there are plenty of my parts touching her parts.

Knees, calves, and elbows.

She apologizes that she didn't think the seating arrangement through.

"It's fine, Bella." I use one finger on her chin to turn her head toward Marley, who's opening and shutting the blind. "Look at that and tell me it's not worth a little discomfort. Totally worth it."

Bella whimpers softly, catches herself, and her face turns crimson.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing."

"Just tell me."

The flight attendant starts going over take off and safety protocols, and Marley is hanging onto every word.

"Tell me, Bella. It can't be that bad."

She rifles through her carry-on and stares straight ahead.

"Let's just say that's not the first time you've told me it was totally worth it today."

Jesus fucking Christ. It's my turn to blush.

"No one has ever told you that you talk in your sleep, eh?" She hands Marley a piece of gum and still doesn't look my way.

I don't trust my voice, so I shake my head, and she grins. "Must have been a damn good dream this morning. For a while, I totally thought you were awake and talking to me."

Marley interrupts my moment of extreme mortification.

"Are we 'bout to take off, Daddy?" she asks, talking a mile a minute. "Mommy, why are those guys driving stairs. We didn't use a stair car to get on our plane. That's not fair. Oooh, can I meet the guy flying? Can we go to the bathroom? Is there a bathroom?"

I still can't speak so Bella takes pity on me.

"Breathe, Marley. The plane will take off soon, and the men use the stair car so they can make sure the plane's windshield is super clean so the pilots can see where they're going. You might be able to meet the captain when we land, and no, the bathrooms are really small and just for emergencies. That's why we went before we boarded the plane."

I blink once. Twice.

In such a short amount of time, Bella has become a mom, and she's doing a great job so far.