Disclaimer: Sometimes, I dream I own it, but then I wake up and life is monotonous once more.
Muchos Gracias, as usual...THANK YOU times infinity and one
Minimeyer: lol...alrighty then. Volvo counting? Well, if it was a sport, i suppose youd win the gold medal, my friend. :D... how may I ask did you make a Jasper, and where can I? I like pie too. French silk is my fave...errrr...thanks!
Transfiguration: Awwwww (blushes) just...awwww...wow. Thanks. You might be a bit dissapointed with this chap. DONT HURT ME! I still love you...you were my favorite class at Hogwarts...
Thefuturemrsedwardcullen: YAY FOR FRIENDS! It's nice to have friends. HIS NAME REALLY IS JACOB! I swear on my grave. I lovedddd your pm. I cracked up for like a week. No ice cream...that's just sad. Ill have pandy stop at walmart on the way. Darn...i like gangstas...am one. We call ourselves (drum roll please) the BUTTERFLIES! Lol. Cya thanks
Albnal33: thanks. I tried. Tehehehe...had to put some comedic relief SOMEWHERE. And that's why i keep emmett around.
Meyarose: again with the bafflement! The first part I get, but the ellipses. Dot, dot, dot can mean so many things. Like "I'm going to kill you now", or "Walk my dog, will you?" or "It feels like rain." You never cease to keep my on my toes...thank you.
Nobodyparticular: I always get this fuzzy feeling when i know ive affected people some how. :D (ching) Newho, NOOOO i was so pissed.
Jalice14: I like that phrase...use it in everyday conversation actually. Maybe that's why they shipped me off, and my friends look at my strangely...hmmm...AWWWWWW!! THANK YOU! Bc shampoo is the bomb diggity. Hello, smells good anddddd makes your hair silky and smooth. But, if itll make you feel better, Ill pick up some ketchup and mustard along with a lava lamp.
Dyinginside: :D ROSALIE NOOOO!! Hide dying, HIDE! Newho, of course ill join your V8 revolt. I stand for all things vegetable! We can attack with heads of lettuce or something. THANK YOU
Eliane: kk...YAY (blushes) Thank you.
Polkadotjelly: FINE! Oh impatient one...but since you said the magic word. Lol...jk. Come again. Thnx
Allyg1990: thank you very much. And in all caps too. Snaps for specification. Wait no more...well, until you finish. Ditto on the smiley.
Dangermagnet: no im sorry, what was that? No, i dont think i quite undrestand you? A bit louder? Ahhhhh...Snore?! I dont snore...lol. jk. Your wish is my command. Enjoy.
Mattybabe: Well, thanks to your signs, I got him back, but he hung a rope from my ceiling fan and now trapezes around my dorm room. I commanded him to teach you tho. YAY BRILLIANCE...lol action, indeed. Pandy should have a brief cameo i think...lol. thank you.
Angelfromhell: cool...been there. Done that. And then I collapse...kno the feeling. Lol tell keisha i said hi. U share Edward? Is that possible/ sanitary? Mmmmmm mnms...yum. THANK YOU.
Angelgirl44: muchos gracias my friend.
Thrushflightedwardsstalker: Yes, yes, indeed. The evil one has no place in their wedding...are you KIDDING ME? Lol. Except for a little eensy one here. Bella and Jacob are officially banned from kissing ever again according to me. And thanks.
Clumsy318: THANK YOU!! I liked the word you used.
Selle: O. Mi. God. MY LONG LOST COUSIN!! Of couse we're related...lol. We wondered where you went...did you run away? Get shipwrecked? Eaten by wild Canadian goats? As always, I try to comply with reader's wants to an extent, so happy birthday...:D
Chapter 23
Our vows, we kept simple and sweet. In all honesty, I completely winged mine. Somewhere between the life/death situations, they'd slipped my mind. I felt it was understandable, though.
Ours were similar in many ways, simply both of us telling the other that we loved and needed them.
Edward rattled off some double-meaning clichés about "spending forever with you", with a twinkle in his eye. I finally confessed that he was my world, and we both squeezed the other's hand as we said that we couldn't live without each other. How I'd uttered such gooiness remained a mystery for a while, just more proof that love can turn a world around.
His voice was velvet, yet firm, when he leaned his face in close, eyes smoldering to say the two words that would forever bind me to him. "I do."
Now, it was my turn...not a problem. "I do." I smiled. For better or worse, but hopefully better, he was mine.
The second the words were out of my mouth, Edward lit up, and my mouth gaped open...again.
Topaz eyes closed, he tilted his face to the heavens, as if saying a silent prayer to God. But his eyes were locked with my amazed ones before I could be sure he actually moved at all.
Joy and bliss radiated from every invisible pore of his face. I was halfway expecting to be blinded by heavenly light when he opened his mouth.
Slowly, identical beams spread across our faces. I could've laughed and danced around the place if it wouldn't have ruined the ceremony.
Pshhhh...Who was I kidding? The only reason I wasn't doing such activities was because it would remove me from my husband, and that was unacceptable.
Leaving Edward... my smile faltered, but quickly returned to its former glory when I pushed that irritating subject from my mind.
I barely heard Carlisle pronounce us man and wife as we stood under that white arch adorned with blue roses. I had to remember to thank Alice for the flower choice. Blue roses – a timeless concept with a new, unique twist, just like Edward and I.
"You may kiss the bride," Carlisle softly addressed the groom.
I heard him whisper "gladly" as he pulled me to him with one hand.
In the Kiss Hall of Fame, if there was such a thing, I felt that the one Edward and I shared that moment ought to be inducted. It was soft, gentle, and cold... but, in an age-old paradox, it was closest that I ever came to catching on fire.
He kept his lips glued to mine until chastity (I could've snorted) demanded him to pull away, but not without softly tugging on my bottom lip first.
The audience clapped, and for the first time, I looked out at the crowd assembled.
The first thing I noticed was not someone I expected or really wanted to see... there in the front row was a recently-crippled werewolf sitting in one of Alice's outrageously expensive chairs like no one's business. I couldn't guess why he had come, except to ruin the day, but he hadn't objected when he had been given the chance.
Jessica Stanley sat beside him, looking close to tears.
Jacob seemed to notice my gaze, for he smiled sadly. And there, in the nighttime, I saw a little slice of the Sun I'd once possessed again. I couldn't help but smile back, and then glanced at Edward, brows furrowed.
He shrugged, and mouthed "I invited him". Sighing, I shook my head, but couldn't bring on the ire that should've accompanied it.
Strangely, I could hear a low-key keening behind me. Edward's head whipped to look at a whistling Alice, and I watched in horror as his lips slowly covered his teeth, and descended further downward into a frown. There was fear in his eyes.
He turned to give Jasper and Carlisle a pointed look. Leaning in closer, I whispered into Edward's ear, "What's happening?"
He plastered on a smile, a dim replica of his earlier one, and swept me off my feet into his arms.
The crowd laughed as he carried me back down the candlelit walkway towards his house, but this was no laughing matter. Something was seriously wrong.
Behind me, I could hear Jasper's soothing voice. I kept the appearance of an ecstatic bride as I pulled on Edward's lapels.
Jasper's words were confusing to me, the one that had been, once again, left out of the loop.
"Ladies and gentleman, as honored guests, you have each received a free, no expense paid vacation to Cancun. Unfortunately, due to bad weather, tonight will be the only day for a few weeks that you will be able to fly out. You won't need anything, as every necessity has been pre-arranged at your destination."
The rest of Jasper's speech was cut off when Edward kicked the door open, and I gulped, carried me over the threshold, though not in the way I wanted him to.
The moment his foot crossed into the house, his fake smile disappeared, and his features grew tight and enraged.
"Plan on telling me why you kidnapped me?" I asked, as he carried me up the stairs.
"Complications," was his annoying, thought-provoking reply.
"Stop being vague. I'm in this, too."
He chose to not comply with my first demand, and only respond to my second statement. "You are certainly not."
I gripped his jacket and pulled myself up to better yell at him. "You can't keep things from me anymore, Edward. Damnit, I'm your wife!"
He stopped on the stairway and glanced down at me, those breathtaking eyes of his bottomless once again. "Say that again, please."
"You can't keep things from..."
He cut me off. "No, the other part."
Blood rushed to my cheeks, and the butterflies had a seizure when they realized his sudden possessiveness. "I'm your wife," I repeated softly.
His eyes closed, and he looked like he was – there was no other way to say this – basking. I could feel his shudder.
"God, I love you," he cried, when his eyes opened.
My hand lifted to tuck a stray hand of unruly bronze hair. "Love you more."
"Not possible."
"Well, let's just go ask the resident empath so I can prove it to you."
He chuckled.
"Of course, though," I continued, "I can think of a hundred-thousand better ways I can prove it to you."
Now, we'd reached his room, and he kicked open this door, too. Esme was going to have a fit.
"They involve..." I started, then glanced around the room. The first object my eyes fell on was a blue-rose petal covered bed. This was a new one, huge, four-poster, with white sheers pulled to the sides. "A bed," I finished breathlessly.
He set me down, ever so softly, on the downy comforter. I ran my hands over the fabric. Embroidered vines were intricately winding over it.
"I thought you said that there wouldn't be enough time," I told the air, seeing as Edward was rummaging through a closet on the far end of the room.
His silent footsteps returned him to me, and my heart split somewhat as I saw his downcast eyes. In his cold, agile hands rested a small, dark wooden box. A letter was held to the lid by a crimson ribbon neatly tied into a bow.
"Edward..." I started.
Before me, he dropped to his knees, all the way to the floor, and set the box gracefully on my lap.
Gradually, his eyes lifted up to me. "I'm so sorry, Bella." He looked like he could cry if he could.
Why was he sorry? He'd wanted this for forever. "What?" I asked. "Why?" My voice sounded broken.
"That there's no time to give you what you want. I want to, Bella, really. I want you. And I apologize that I rushed this against your will...that it wasn't perfect." He rested his face against my knees. "I'm so sorry."
I ran my fingers through his hair. "Look at me," I commanded.
He obeyed, looking as a criminal facing an executioner. I continued. "You think I care about that stuff. I care about you, and being with you forever. And, while I'm sure you'd disagree, all that matters to me is what you want. So," I lightly brushed his cheek, "please don't be sad."
He smiled his crooked smile, and I returned it. "Now," I scrutinized him with my eyes, "What's in the box?"
"You can't open it yet," came his reply.
I threw myself down on the bed. "Again with the vagueness. Am I going to open this and have something jump out at me, or find out your a spy, or what?!"
Edward's face came into my view. He was hovering over top of me. "The second one sounds right," he said, brushing his lips over my forehead.
"Cullen," I quoted. "Edward Cullen."
He laughed, and then was blinded by something soft covering my face.
"What?" I cried, grabbing the fabric and removing it. It was a pair of jeans and my favorite T-shirt.
"Put those on."
I followed his voice across the room, until I finally found him holding the bathroom door open for me. I set the box to the side and rose.
"Not until you tell me what's going on."
"Things are just happening much, much earlier than planned."
I cocked my head to the side, but then reality hit. "The war, you mean..."
Solemnly, he nodded.
"Where am I going?"
"Cancun," he said, eyes directly staring into mine, daring me to challenge him.
"With you?" I asked him.
He looked away. It was all the answer I needed.
I threw the clothes across the room. "Fat chance." I knew it was all talk though.
"Fine," he said, stalking towards me with the calm measured pace of a predator. Baser instincts told me to step backwards. "Then, you'll go as you are. Bottom line, Bella: you are going."
A glint in his eye told me he wasn't joking. I gave him the evil eye. "You wouldn't dare."
I gulped as he started circling me. "Wouldn't I?" he challenged.
I shook my head. Edward was trying to intimidate me, but it wouldn't work. An idea suddenly popped into my head. Could I pull it off? Could I really sink that low?
My head bowed. "I knew you'd do it again." Indeed, I could.
Behind me, I could sense his pause. "Do what?"
"Separate us for my own safety."
Mere milliseconds passed before he was cradling me against him. "No, Bella, God no. It's not like that. This is...Bella, it's a war! Bloodthirsty vampires are coming here tonight. It's dangerous, more dangerous than I could ever be. Please, Bella, do this for me." His voice sounded sad, and I instantly regretted my plan of action. "For me?"
Against his chest, I nodded. "You have to do something first, though."
He waited.
"Help me get this dress of," I commanded.
His laughter set the smile back on my face. "Turn around, Mrs. Cullen."
I shivered when he said my new name, but did as I was told. He started to unlace the corset top, and my heart sped up twentyfold. I felt a cold hand come to touch that spot on my chest where my heart was flying. And my heart rate doubled again when his chin came to rest on my shoulder. "Your heart's racing again," he said.
"Has it...done that a lot tonight?" I asked shakily. His hand was still right there.
"It rarely slowed," he told me, and I blushed. "Don't be embarrassed," he continued. "If my heart could beat, I think it would surpass yours right now."
I smiled. He removed his hand and chin and continued to undo the back of my dress. When he reached my lower back, I felt his cold fingertips brush my skin. I shuddered. "Now," he said, "Off to the bathroom with you."
The clothes were dangling from a finger held above me. I, however, would win this battle.
Before he could stop me, I pushed the dress down, where the lace pooled at the floor, and turned around to face Edward in my midnight blue lingerie.
He looked like he was in shock as his eyes scanned me from head to toe. I felt the fabric brush me as the clothes he had been holding fell to the floor.
A temptresses' smile graced my face. "Bella..." he whispered.
Then, he smacked his hand over his eyes and backed away, pointing to the direction of the restroom. "Bathroom. Now. Go!"
I smiled as I picked up the clothes and skipped off in the appointed direction to change.
A/n: Alright, so i lied...some things came up...but oooooo, this chapter is my gift to all you dirtyminded readers (100! 100 alerts and only 18 reviews...you people should be ashamed of yourselves)