The Dancer and The Wallflower
Epilogue
. . . . .
"Puffins are picky about their homes, but if they find a burrow they like, they'll return to it year after year, often with the same mate. That's right, like us, they're mostly monogamous," Edward said and chuckled. Chaucer, always a hit at these kinds of events, sat on his shoulder glaring out at the audience as they laughed right along with Edward.
Bella watched him, dressed in black slacks and a crisp white button-up shirt, up at the podium with a sense of pride and admiration. He was talking to the Portland House Women's Club about his pet project of puffins and how he planned to return them to the coast, hoping to solicit donations from the well-to-do residents in the surrounding area. It was something she didn't think would be too hard, considering who was asking.
"Puffins like making their homes in the dirt or between rocks, so the coast here really is an ideal locale," Edward told them. On the big screen behind him was the video he'd taken of the little piece of coast down the hill from their home. It showed several small lumps of dirt, with a gray bit of fluff emerging from one mound to snatch at the bit of fish Edward had left for it. "I arranged to have some newly hatched puffins transported all the way from Newfoundland and right now, as you can see, I have some baby puffins that are residing in burrows I hand dug. I'm hoping that when they grow old enough to migrate, they'll return here to rear their young."
Edward's job with the Thoreau Society, which had brought them to the coast of Maine a few months ago, was heading a project to reestablish a healthy ecology on the chain of rocky islands that stretched into the Atlantic, but his real passion currently was the puffins. Bella thought the bird looked like a cross between a penguin and a duck, and had the saddest of expressions.
It had taken over a year to happen–to get the Indiana Wildlife Association to accept the land as a wildlife preserve with no commercial exploitation, forever guaranteed. It had been months of frantic fundraising, of compromise, and of having to turn to others for help, which hadn't been easy for Edward.
After that, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic buildings had taken over the mansion, and now tourists walked through the restful paths and quiet hallways of Edward's childhood home. It had been hard for him at first, letting go of the home he'd known and the memories he'd made there. Her mind went back to that sunny day in June when they'd learned that the historical society was going to accept the Cullen mansion into its fold. Edward had broken into convulsive gasps, and as she'd taken him into her arms, the force of his sobs had jolted her body along with his. That was the day Bella had sworn that she'd do or sacrifice whatever it took to ensure that Edward found his dream job. A few months later when he was offered the position in Maine, she didn't hesitate to encourage him to accept.
Today they were penniless, but happy and more in love than ever.
They had a tiny two-bedroom cottage in a small coastal village, and Bella worked at the local library there. It had been almost dead when she'd started, and she'd used her new fundraising skills to help breathe it back to life. The library now had a new cooperative babysitting program for parents, a scholarship search, and she was just beginning a new program delivering books to the elderly.
Bella sighed at Edward's pose of sexy ease while he absentmindedly stroked Chaucer's feathers as he listened to a question one of the ladies asked. Seeing his hands made her want them on her, hearing his voice made her want him whispering into her ear, and seeing the easy way he had with others while he spoke of his cause, made her want him to be not so easy with her. As if he sensed her thoughts, she saw him look her way and smile, and her heart jumped. When more than one head in the audience turned in response, Bella flushed and looked down at her hands in her lap. Edward often seemed to cause a mild disturbance among females, and it amused her. It definitely helped his success in accomplishing what he needed, especially when it came to raising funds, so she couldn't exactly begrudge the attention he got.
There was excitement up at the podium; Chaucer had closed his eyes, opened his beak and deposited a big brown lump onto the floor at Edward's feet. "He's fine," Edward was telling everyone. "It's his way of getting rid of indigestible substances like the bones and teeth of the prey he eats, although I wish he'd have chosen a better time to do it," he laughed easily. "Owls have gizzards that compress material that can't pass through their digestive system, which is then regurgitated into these little pellets. I know, it's rather ugly and a bit fearsome, but entirely natural, if a bit inappropriate at the moment." He turned his face to address the owl. "Chaucer, I wish you had better manners than this. I'm trying to raise awareness of a vulnerable species here."
Bella could see the well-dressed audience was charmed by him, and by the owl which continued glaring at them disapprovingly. It wasn't long before Edward was answering questions about the little screech owl, and telling them amusing stories about how his species mated. After his talk ended, she saw that many of them couldn't get their checkbooks out quickly enough. One silver haired lady even volunteered to host a luncheon for his cause, and Bella could sense Edward was ecstatic beneath his easy-going veneer.
"I love you for coming with me today," Edward said to her later as they made their way to his old truck. Chaucer was in his carrier in one hand, while the other was entwined with hers.
Bella aimed a quick look his way as their clasped hands swung between them. "But I come with you every time."
His smile was wide and beautiful, and still sent butterflies to her stomach. "I know, and I love that you're here with me every time."
"Well, there's no other place I'd rather be than with you, watching your dreams come to fruition. I love being a part of it. And the way you can work an audience? It should be illegal, so I'm glad you work for good and not evil," she quipped and squeezed his hand.
He set Chaucer's carrier down on the ground, then turned to capture her other hand. Bella was taken aback at the emotion she saw shining in his eyes. Right there in the middle of the parking lot, he drew her close to him and kissed her, his lips rocking against her slowly, then almost desperately. "I love you, I love you," he was breathing. "You know that right?"
"I know," she said breathlessly against his mouth, trying in vain to escape his embrace; they must be causing quite the scene.
"Marry me," he said with an urgent tone in his voice, and Bella inhaled sharply. Right there on the pavement, Edward sank to one knee and gazed up at her as if she was the one who hung the moon in their lives.
"Edward," she said, and her voice shook.
"I've wanted to ask you for a while, but there was so much going on in our lives and I didn't want you to think that that's only why I wanted or needed you," he said and took her hand. "I actually hadn't planned on asking right now, either, and I'm sorry I don't have the ring with me, but it just suddenly became too hard not to ask you," he whispered as she knelt on the ground in front of him. "I love you more than anything, Isabella Marie Swan. Say you'll marry me."
His beautiful green eyes actually carried a look of anxiety in them, as if he thought she would say anything but yes. "I would marry you a hundred times if you asked," she said fiercely against his lips. "So wipe away your fears, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, because I love you more than anything back."
There was a smattering of applause as they kissed, and although Bella was embarrassed, Edward stood in victory and pulled her up with him. "She said yes!" he cried and the ladies' clapping intensified.
"Lucky girl," one of them said.
"Isn't she, though?" her friend replied. "I haven't ever seen two people so much in love. My God, the way his eyes kept searching her out? And the fiery looks they share between them? It's enough to melt my old hard heart, let me tell you."
Bella traded glances with him as the words registered, and fire licked along her nerves at the expression on his face. My God, he was positively radiating sex right now. Her legs shook as she climbed into the truck.
"You know what this means, don't you?" Edward asked huskily and leaned across the owl's carrier to caress her cheek. "God, you've lovely. You're mine."
Bella huffed out a short, shaky laugh. "As if you need a ring or a piece of paper to know that."
"I need it," he insisted, kissing her hard on the mouth, his hand moving to cup her neck and tilt her face upwards. "I want to see that ring on your finger. I want others to see it. To know that we belong to each other."
"I think they already do," she whispered, their breaths mingling. Lifting a hand, she ran it across his chest and then, daringly, down his stomach. His eyes were teasing her, and she teased him right back. "You heard them talking about us."
He made a sound, nipped at her earlobe, kissed her with a sense of urgency. "I need you," he said, his expression growing stormy.
"Is this your mating call?" she asked with a grin.
His smile came, wide and slow. "I'm not like an owl, looking nervous and preening my feathers in order to impress you, but you could consider this my call."
"Melodious and a little plaintive, with an upward inflection at the end? Like a question?" she teased. "What happens if I ignore you?"
He shook his head at her, a look of playful regret in his bright gaze, then touched his fingers to her lips. "Do you want me to keep giving you my trill? Want me to bob at you like a jack-in-the-box? To moan dejectedly?"
"They don't," she insisted with a laugh.
"They do," he said. "He would. I would. I would be crushed, would sink my head all the way down into my fluffed breast feathers until my beak has all but disappeared, and then I would moan disconsolately."
Her smile was all crooked. "What would I do if I wanted you, then?"
In answer, he gave her his sensual expression and another slow smile. "You'd turn your head and look at me fully, kind of how you are doing right now, then you'd mosey closer to me."
"I don't think I can get any closer to you than I already am," she laughed and leaned over the carrier. He met her halfway, their lips touching softly, lingering.
"You want me," he said with a short, hard laugh.
Bella stretched and gave him another kiss, her hand raising to cup his cheek. "Oh, I want you."
In charged silence, Edward raced the truck home, Bella's grip hard on her seat. Sharp flickers of excited nerves raced up and down her back. Calm and cool Edward stirred her blood, but hot and explosive Edward brought on a molten desire. Their sexual chemistry was still off the charts and uncontrollable; she was ready to combust at his slightest touch already. He'd barely put the truck into park before he was leaning back over the carrier to slant his mouth across hers.
"I'll take care of Chaucer," he said raggedly.
Dizzy with need, she stumbled out of the truck. Moments later when he rounded the wall and came into their bedroom, she was sprawled naked on the bed. She watched his eyes fall to her rose colored nipples, feeling them tighten under his gaze. Palming her breasts and spreading her legs, she watched his bright eyes go cloudy as he licked his lips. The look on his face made her sex start throbbing.
"Fuck," he said and began tearing his clothes off. Edward didn't swear often, and when he did, it sounded extra dirty. She saw his pulse pounding at his temple, saw his tense shoulders as he bared them. Watching him unthread his belt through the loop, undo the button of his pants, and drag the ribbon of zipper down, became a lesson of aching impatience. Faster than she could imagine, he was on her, hot silk against her skin, then with no preliminary, forcefully inside her. She felt a reverberating pleasure-shock through her body as he took possession of her. The tension in him felt like a dark, dangerous current, a river of strength unleashed as he began undulating against her. Edward didn't often take her like this, and she felt a sense of thrill at his unrestrained fervor. He felt so hot, so hard, so right inside.
His lips covered hers hungrily and she began to clutch at his shoulders, lost in urgent sweetness as need clawed its way through her body. Edward gave a low groan that was almost a gasp as she tightened around him, and his hands slid down to cup her buttocks, to lift and tilt her against him. Deep, he was so deep. His fever-bright eyes met hers as they rocked together, and she arched, moaning gutturally as her climax neared, began mounting in intensity. Their tongues fought for dominance, and the double impalement was erotic, bringing on a blinding sensual pleasure, both of them riding the tide of feeling, moving with frantic urgency until her stomach clenched and she cried out. With a few more frenzied, powerful thrusts, Edward followed her with a long, low growl. Afterwards, Bella was shivering and weak from the powerful release, and he brushed his lips against her forehead.
"My God," she slurred. "I feel like I'm drunk."
Edward looked at her bemusedly, his eyes soft with love for her, and her heart unraveled again for another reason. "It just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" she asked.
"It does," he murmured. "My soon-to-be wife." A lilting excitement filled her at his words. "And it will, as long as we keep growing and changing together." He bent, and thinking he wanted a kiss, she puckered, but instead he bit at her bottom lip gently.
"Growing and changing together, I like that," she told him and licked at the thumb he'd placed on her lower lip to soothe the bite.
"I like it, too," he answered, lowering his lips again to hers. "And I like you. So very, very much."
They kissed and touched until the fire between them was burning bright again, and then they went for a leisurely round two.
A/N: Okay, I'm leaving the door open for possible outtakes/fleshed out scenes that didn't appear in this short story. If you'd like to see a certain situation, or if you'd like a scene other than the one that played out here, drop me a line and I might just write it.