DISCLAIMER: THE STORY DOESN'T BELONG TO ME; THE CHARACTERS ARE PROPERTY OF S. MEYER AND THE PLOT BELONGS TO DANNYSK.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME SHARE YOUR STORY IN ENGLISH!

¡GRACIAS DANNY, POR DARME ESTA OPORTUNIDAD!

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The water was so cold it would make anyone's balls shiver, but it didn't matter.

Lifting his face to the water, Edward closed his eyes, and though it was the last thing he wanted, his mind had other plans, and he recalled with total clarity what had happened only minutes before, when Bella had come to him, giving herself completely and without resistance. His chest had swelled with relief and pleasure in those seconds. Suddenly, an unexpectedly sharp image flashed quickly into his mind: Isabella with her head thrown back, lost in passion, half-naked and extraordinary.

She lay panting, her face flushed, her lips parted to reveal her pearly teeth and when he had pushed against her wet opening, he had gasped when Bella, rolled her hips invitingly, arching up for him. He shook his head but couldn't shake the memory of that slender body surrendered to the burning frenzy of her orgasm. The force of the vision made him gasp, so without thinking he found himself clenching his still proud erection in an attempt not to cum and regain control.

Clenching his jaw, he reminded himself why he was there, in the cold shower and not in the sweet, cosy place between his wife's legs. Although his blood boiled with the urge to have her again, he reminded himself to tread carefully as he was treading on dangerous and new ground. They hadn't had sex in eons, and if that wasn't enough, Leah, his psychologist, had told him it was forbidden so as not to further confuse his issues by allowing them to be clouded by sex. Right. Well, it seemed impossible anyway, the way things had been going, but being intimate with Bella, he thought he'd never talked to the therapist about giving other kinds of satisfaction... Shit, what he wouldn't give to still be with Bella there, in that little place.

Turning his face away from the stream of water, Edward ran his hands through his hair and arched his back. For God's sake, he'd always wanted her, to the point where he had to wonder how much of all this business of pulling away "for Bella's benefit" hadn't really been for his own benefit. He could feel his cock stretched wide, begging for attention, but he wasn't going to do anything about it. Bella deserved better than this, plus he felt dirty masturbating in the shower. He hadn't done it since... heck, he couldn't even remember. His desires were usually always satisfied because Bella had never said no to him, and he hadn't felt the need to masturbate either. He'd always belonged to her, hadn't he? As his erection hung there, unperturbed by that logic, he knew it was going to be a long fucking night.

O~O~O~O

Warm arms were around her, and at her back, a large, toned male body wrapped around her, holding her firmly in place. Strangely, Bella thought that instead of feeling trapped and imprisoned, she felt safe. At home. How long had it been since she'd felt at home? She couldn't remember.

Sighing, she glanced at the clock beside her, it was past six in the morning. She hadn't slept for more than a couple of hours, but the events that had transpired between her and Edward had torn her from her longed-for rest. She had to get out of those arms that were possessively cradling her. Yet she found herself giving in to a foolish desire, and she turned in his arms, gasping for breath at the sight. Unable to resist, she stared up at him and fell prey once again to his incredible attraction. When he was awake and able to notice what she was doing, Bella hadn't dared to look at him too much. But now she could take a moment to admire that perfect body that could only be compared to that of an athlete.

Thick muscles formed valleys across the naked male chest, descending to the marked abs that spoke of long gym sessions... Bella stroked the thin, almost imperceptible scar on her husband's shoulder. When she leaned over to get a better look at it in the light filtering through the window, she could see that there were more, but they were so faint that she doubted anyone could get a better glimpse of them. She had never asked him where he had gotten them before, but now she suspected they were the result of the accident he had had as a child.

"What are you thinking about?" Bella blushed at Edward's discovery.

"Nothing, I... I just thought you were asleep." He sighed, slowly opening his reddened eyes.

"Hardly. And... about what happened last night..." Bella closed her eyes, she could still taste Edward on her lips. He tasted delicious, she had always loved the taste of him, why couldn't he taste like onions or maybe garlic? And it would be amazing if he stank, too. But no, it had to smell as good as it tasted.

"Yeah, that... I don't think it was right..."

"No, actually it wasn't," he murmured, tensing her up for some reason with his answer. "Another time I want to do things nice and slow and right. In a bed preferably, and I want to spend the whole night making love to you." Edward continued to stare at the ceiling, hiding his expression. It seemed like an eternity had passed before he finally met her gaze, and when he did, her eyes had a predatory gleam that took his breath away. "Every other time we've been together, I've been drunk or angry or jealous. I don't want it to be like that again. Not ever again."

"Mum?" A soft, sleepy voice was heard in the hallway... The children.

Bella didn't even bother to cautiously get out of bed, the thought of their children bursting into her bedroom and finding a gruesome scene of twisted limbs between her brother-in-law and her friend was enough to propel her out like a spring. It was only when she stumbled forward into the blankets and almost fell flat on her face against the door that she realised that they slept not on the spread, but on the bed. What time had Edward woken her up? The soft, husky laughter behind her back stole a shiver from her as she fumbled awkwardly for her T-shirt among the mess of blankets at her feet.

"Good morning, Isabella." His husky voice, typical of a person who had just woken up, sent a shock straight to her gut.

"Are you having fun?" She grumbled, heat covering her cheeks as she quickly pulled her T-shirt back on.

"A little, yes."

"We'll see if you're still smiling when your kids come into our bedroom and find Emmett." That certainly shut him up, pale even.

It was her turn to laugh as she hurried out of the room, just in the nick of time before the twins entered her bedroom occupied by her brother-in-law. They saw her and smiled, throwing themselves into her arms.

O~O~O~O

Walking down the stairs, Edward stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of his wife. Damn, she looked beautiful standing in the middle of the living room, barefoot, her pyjama pants ripped in several places, a narrow strip of flat belly peeking out between her waist and top as she bent over to look for a present under the Christmas tree. But the real dilemma was her hair, that glorious wavy mane the colour of chocolate that flowed over her shoulders and breasts in a tangle of wild curls. She looked like an Amazon ripped out of a magazine, and all she needed was for him to nail her eyes on him for his erection to finish popping and say more than good morning to her. And the only thing he was missing was a brain because he shouldn't be having those thoughts.

Shaking his head, he focused on the children, all passion instantly replaced by the purest, truest love. Right there, as his children hummed with contentment at discovering the contents of their gifts, as their laughter flooded the place, Edward knew that with them he had never struggled... to love. To love them with all that they were and would be, with all the faith in the world. To love them as he had never loved anyone, nor would he ever love anyone either. And the discovery didn't send him into a spiral of self-loathing or panic attack, as it had always done.

"Santa brought me a bike, Dad! He brought me a bike!" Sam shouted, running towards him, his face glowing and his eyes sparkling.

Edward smiled, bending down, and opening his arms to receive him, sinking his nose into his soft, unruly dark hair, delighting in the feel of her small body in his arms and his joyous, melodious laughter. Then he knew the true meaning of retribution. Something he was doing right now, without expectation or reservation. He knew that loving them was like jumping off a cliff without knowing the destination. Bella had done that, not once, but... shit, countless times, giving him the chance to redeem himself. Edward wanted to go back to any of those moments of vulnerability in his wife and beat himself up for not having allowed himself the chance she'd given him.

"This is the best Christmas ever, Dad!" his little boy crooned, wrapping his tiny arms around her neck.

Edward smiled, rising up with him, and then he felt in his heart the tie that bound him to his family, the invisible chain from one heart to another, the commitment to care about everything from mundane crap to, God forbid, true mortal drama. And the only thing more powerful than that connection... was being kicked out of there, out of his family. Maybe it was too late for what he was feeling, but Edward was just realizing that they had always been there for him, without hesitation, without question, without expecting anything in return. Bella had spent years simply living by his side, giving him looks of trust and goodwill.

At that moment, his wife looked up at him smiling, her eyes full of joy, her lips mumbling an "I told you so" as she held Elizabeth on the bicycle, effectively the gifts she bought forgotten. Edward blinked, he was pretty sure that someday he would remember and realise that this was the exact moment he realised that his children were his heart beating out of his chest, how much he loved this, his family... Isabella. And that it didn't matter if the outcome of loving someone was disastrous because he knew it would be worth the fucking time it lasted, long or short.

He staggered a little at the revelation in front of his eyes, so he held Sammy tighter in his arms, he felt fucking vulnerable and nervous, but he knew that at least for the next few hours he was safe, he was home.

It was a nice ending, huh?

I'm back! Thank you all for your good wishes :D Surgery went perfect but the pills made me really sleepy. Also, we hit 500 reviews! Thank you so much to you all, this wouldn't be possible without you.

So, since I keep my promises, when do you want that extra chapter? Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday? It's all up to you :D