TWENTY-TWO

I finished the chocolate bar and two more glasses of chocolate milk before settling down against him. He read a medical journal while I played a crossword puzzle. "What's an eight-letter word for weaken, beginning with the letter E?"

"Enervate." He sat the journal in his lap, and I could feel his smirk. "You are aware that employing my help to answer half of the questions is cheating, right?"

I smiled, not looking up from the small book I held. "It's not cheating if I were actually trying to do it myself." I did not have to see him to know he was quirking an eyebrow at me. "I find it amusing that you can be so engrossed in reading medical texts, but still successfully do a crossword puzzle that you aren't even looking at."

"You are entertaining yourself at the expense of my extraordinary ability to multitask?" he questioned, sounding more bemused than upset.

I grinned brightly as I filled in the answers to the easier clues. "Yep!" I popped the P at the end.

He leaned over, his cool breath teasing my ear as he murmured, "If you would like, mia streghetta, I can really give you a taste of how well I can multitask."

I turned my head and smirked at him. "If you're planning on having sex with me while reading a medical journal and doing the crossword puzzle all at the same time, I can assure, Carlisle Cullen, that I will be far less than impressed."

He burst out laughing and pressed a kiss to my temple before pulling me against him and settling me half against him with my head resting on his shoulder. "I promise you that while it is entirely possible, I would never do so. When I make love to you, cara mia, you will always be my sole focus."

I shivered, my face flushing with heat, and I tipped my head to the side to gaze up at him from under my lashes. "You do realize that if I didn't feel like crap, you would totally get laid tonight, right?"

His lips were pursed tightly together while he tried to suppress his amusement, but the twitching corners of his lips gave him away. "Bella mia, the extent of your romanticism at this particular moment in time utterly astounds me."

I grinned. "Thanks! I strive to do my best!" He shook his head and tried his best not let his delight show on his face, but failed miserably in my presence. I giggled in spite of myself before settling into the contentment that flowered between us. I was not sure how long I had worked on the crossword puzzles, bugging my mate at intervals for the answers, when a clue about cake caught my attention and brought to mind something that I felt guilty about for not addressing before now. "Carlisle… have you talked to Edward at all since my birthday?"

He sighed heavily, setting his journal down and pulling me tighter against his chest. "I have personally not, no. He refuses to call Emmett because he knows that Emmett likes you more. He will not talk to Jasper because he blames Jasper for this entire situation. He called Rosalie but was quite surprised by her reaction to the things he had to say. And of course, he called Alice to complain about her not having 'seen this coming.' Both of my daughters spoke their minds quite frankly to him, which did not make him happy in the slightest.

"From the overheard conversations, he is quite discontented with me at the moment. Alice tried to remind him that she told him from the very beginning that you were mine, but he is apparently unwilling to accept that at the present." He kissed the top of my head and purred to me comfortingly. "Jasper has called Eleazar and spoken on my behalf, and the family, explaining the rather stressful and dramatic events that seem to have popped up over the last few days. I heard Eleazar inform Jasper that Edward is, and I quote, 'hunting and sulking - when he is not doing one, he is doing the other.' Thankfully, the Denali clan have kept a very watchful eye on him and have made certain that he does not leave without their knowledge."

"What will happen if he comes back?" I questioned timidly.

I felt him shake his head above mine. "I honestly do not know, m'Isabella. What happens depends solely on Edward's choices." His purr became louder as he tried to reassure me. "I will not, under any circumstances, let him harm you or allow him to take you from me. He is my first child, yes, but if Edward attempts to fight me for you, I will engage him in a fight. And I must confess that if he attacks me and attempts to take you from me, there is nothing that I will not do to stop him. But I promise you, mia passerotta, that I will exhaust every possibility first."

I tried not to shudder as I realized his meaning. "Thank you... I'm sorry, Carlisle."

"Please do not apologize, cara mia," he whispered, "or feel badly for me. Edward is, indeed, my first companion, my first child, but you are my mate, the only heart and soul I have. I will not give you up to anyone, not even him, not now. I just hope that if Edward cannot be reasoned with and is beyond all sound thoughts that you will forgive me if the worst comes to pass."

I set my book aside and turned in his arms so my chest was pressed against his side. "I told you before, Carlisle, that there's nothing you can possibly do that I wouldn't forgive. In all truth, I'd be more worried for you, because I feel like the Edward that I know is not the real Edward, like he's nothing more than a lie that's infected my life. But you… he's your son, Carlisle. I don't want you to be in pain over him."

"I will not lie, Isabella," he said solemnly as he gazed down at me, "losing Edward would, indeed, be painful... but it would be a pain that I could bear. If I were to lose you now, mia cuore, I could not survive. Before, when I did not hold your heart and soul as my own, I could have let you go for your own happiness. But to lose you after joining our souls, after having you as mine, mia dolce streghetta, would mean my destruction."

He took me in his arms, lying me down on my back as he stretched out beside me, running one cool hand from my cheek to my throat. "Before, m'amore, I was so blind, so unwilling to see the blessing that I had in you. I should have accepted that gift before now, but I was so foolish." His hand caressed the curve of my breast. "But now that I have surrendered myself to you, bella mia, I am staggered by the beauty of your soul, the unassuming grace that you never knew you held before. You have awakened my heart of stone." He stroked over my left breast. "And now that it has found its place within you, I can no longer hide from what I am, who I am. I can no longer hide from you or keep any part of me from you."

His hand trailed down to my side. "How wrong I was to believe that I could be strong without you." His topaz eyes gazed deeply into my own chocolate ones. "For so very long, cara mia, nothing could move me; for so long, nothing could change me. But now I feel, for the first time in centuries, alive, simply because you exist." His fingers splayed over my hip. "You, m'Isabella, are the air I breathe, the ground beneath my feet. You truly are my heart come to life, and if I lost that heart now, there would be no reason for my existence."

My breath came out as a shaky sigh, and I raised my hand to touch his face briefly while my other clutched at his shoulders. "Carlisle," I murmured, rocking my hips upward, only to be stilled by his hand.

"No, m'amore," he whispered. "Despite your desire, I still know that you are feeling unwell. I do not wish to take my pleasure from you in that way tonight." He tilted his head. "Would you allow me to show you something, Isabella? I do not believe this is something my son showed you, and I do believe that after all the talk of Edward and of my feelings for you, this will bring you some measure of pleasure."

When I nodded, he pulled me up to stand with him then went to his closet to pull out a heavy black coat. Once I was sufficiently draped in the warm garment, he led me through part of the house and into his study. He then removed his shirt before guiding me out onto the open terrace, where I honestly thought my heart would stop.

If my mate looked stunning in the sunlight, it did not compare to how he appeared in the moonlight.

Instead of blinding and golden brilliance that came from the tiny diamonds of his skin, there was a subtle but breath-taking aura that surrounded him. The glow was far less intense, and it was not even a glow so much as a shimmer. It was like a phantom haze that surrounded him, gleaming out only a few inches from his skin. The milky shimmer unlike anything I had seen. The splendor of him in the sun, though utterly brilliant, was something like what I would have imagined. This was not. To be honest, I would have never imagined his skin to look anything other than normal in the moonlight; but as I studied his face, his shoulders, his chest, it made sense to me that his inhuman skin would indeed echo the moonlight, as was simply the reflection of the sun's beams on the moon's surface.

I walked closer to him and held my hands up to the silvery light he emanated, as if the unusual shimmering aura were something I could physically touch. I reached up to his face, not quite touching his skin but still running my hand through the soft glow as my fingertips traced the lines of his cheek down to his jaw, only millimeters away from his marble flesh. "Oh soul, you worry too much. You have seen your own strength. You have seen your own beauty. You have seen your golden wings. Of anything less, why do you worry?" I whispered softly to him. "Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you."

He graced me with the softest, most reverent smile. "Rumi and Oscar Wilde."

I nodded. "Both are true." I pressed my warm body to his cold one, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling his face to mine. I kissed him slowly, tenderly, and with all the love in my heart. "I love you, Carlisle. I love your mind, your heart and your divine soul. For now and for all eternity."

.

The Sunday morning rain was falling softly on the glass when I woke, only serving to feed my crappy mood. Knowing that my mate was unable to feel cold, I grabbed the covers and tucked them snuggly around my body as I glared at the dreary cloud cover outside, grumbling without words. I felt a finger trace my cheek and I gazed up into calm gold eyes, a smile that I did not want to smile tugged at my lips.

"Morning," he whispered.

I smirked. "I noticed that you left out the word good."

He smiled brightly. "Well, it was apparent by the expression on your face that waking up this day was significantly less than pleasant." My look must have been remorseful, because he shook his head. "Do not feel badly, m'uzzola. Your body is under a lot of stress and is pained. I do not begrudge your wishing to sleep and not face the world."

I shook my head with a groan. "We both know that it will only be worse for me if I just lie around in bed. I need to move. I don't want to move, but I need to move." After saying those words, I just lay on my back and stared at him, much to his amusement. When I had stayed in the same spot for a good minute and a half, he laughingly inquired if I was planning on moving anytime that day. I sarcastically responded that I might need a push.

I regretted it instantly,= when I went from lying flat of my back to being on my feet in less than half a second. The displacement was altogether disorienting, so I had to cling to him for several long minutes - him chortling at me the entire time - to regain my balance while the spinning world slowly came to a stop. I half-glowered up at his smirking face. "I suppose that I deserved that." To my surprise, before I could step away from him, he turned me and guided me to the bathroom, where I found myself gaping at the sight before my eyes.

The lights were off, but dozens of votive candles in glass holders lined three of the marble walls around the Jacuzzi and what appeared to be a small sea of them were scattered around the floor. Red and white rose petals were also sprinkled everywhere, between the candles on the floor and around the tub. The television was already on and the channel was turned to a satellite music station that played nothing but soft acoustic guitar music.

I was shocked, giddy, impressed. Waves of various emotions hit me, and all I could do was stare for a few minutes. Finally, as my faculties returned to me, I twisted to look at him and lifted one finger, prodding his cheek, much to his confusion. "Well, you feel real," I whispered in awe.

He chuckled for a moment before gently nudging me through the door. "Have your human moments, and when you are done, I will bring your breakfast."

When he disappeared, closing the door behind him, I quickly brushed my teeth and took care of my other less-than-stellar human needs, before slipping into the deep tub and turning the jets on. The heat bubbled around me and drew a contented sigh from my lips. I leaned my head back, closed my eyes, and just basked in the sheer bliss. If there was a heaven, I was quite certain that this was a small corner of it. "Perfect," I mumbled happily.

"Instead of perfection," a soft accent whispered in my ear, "would 'just right' work instead?" I moaned in appreciation as he nuzzled my neck, hearing him purr in return. "M'Isabella… T'amo, mi bella passerotta."

I opened my eyes in time to see him strip and shifted my body forward so he could slid in behind me. As one arm curled around me, just beneath my breasts, I glanced to see a tray that he had balanced perfectly on the edge of the tub covered in a variety of fruits, yogurt, and to my utter delight, a chocolate-chip muffin. Of course, he brought a glass of chocolate milk, and it both elated and amused me that he had so quickly picked up on my little human desire. Yes, as my mate, it was an unavoidable instinct within him, but it still meant a lot to me. And it was adorable!

As he lifted a strawberry for me to bite into, he sighed into my ear. "Mia streghetta, you are going to be displeased to hear this, but I am afraid that I must leave this morning to—"

That snapped me out of my bliss and into a not-so-pleasant reality. "You have to go to work?" I interrupted despondently.

"No," he spoke quietly. He stroked my hair off my neck and pressed his lips to his mark, his purring growing louder. "Jasper took care of that for me Thursday, when he called the hospital pretending to be me with a family emergency. I do not go back in until tomorrow morning. However, there is something very urgent that I must attend to in Seattle. Thankfully, all business ends of the deal have been already taken care of and I simply have to go by the business and pick up the items."

"Seattle?" I felt my heart drop into my stomach. "That's three hours away."

He chuckled. "I can assure you, m'amore, that the driving portion of the trip is made much quicker when I'm the one behind the wheel." He licked my neck slowly, making my shiver. "And Alice knows that I do not wish to be gone long and has checked ahead for me to make sure that I do not get stopped. I should only be gone for a few hours. I will be back before Esme and Charlie come over for the afternoon."

This surprised me greatly. "They're coming over again?"

"It is best if your father spends as much time with the family as possible," Carlisle said calmly. "It will be easier for him awakening in a house of predators that he is familiar with, in comparison to waking up to us without having a better knowledge of who we are."

"That makes sense," I muttered. I made a grab for the muffin and pointedly ignored his bemused chuckles. "May I ask what type of items you are picking up?"

His laughter grew, his cool chest vibrating against my back. "Unfortunately, cara mia, that is a secret for now, but I assure you that you will know this evening."

I groused. "I don't like surprises."

The rest of my exquisite bath passed in almost perfect peace, with only two interruptions: the first being my attempt to persuade him that he just needed to tell me what he was getting from Seattle, and the consequence being the second activity, which resulted in the movement of a lot water from the tub to many of the candles on the floor.

I did not want him to go. I wanted nothing more than to beg him to stay with me. However, I knew that if I asked him that he would, and considering we had to be separated for the worst part of seven or eight hours tomorrow, I figured this would be good practice. Or rather painful practice. However, once we were both dressed, I gave him a small smile and accepted the parting kiss graciously, watching him walk out of our bedroom and biting my tongue to keep from calling out for him.

Dressed in dark jeans and green sweater, I trudged somberly down the stairs, feeling a measure of confidence and pride at having not fallen flat of my face, and attempted to make my way into Carlisle's study. Attempted was, of course, the operative word. Having easily sensed my feelings of discomfort and melancholy, it seemed that Jasper and his siblings were bound and determined to not allow me to sulk, and I was very quickly dragged into playing a video game with a rather boisterous Emmett, who won as always.

Between the four vampires, I was kept entirely occupied, and it was only during a verbal sparring between Jasper and I about cheating vampires that the music from my phone alerted me to the fact that I had a message. When I looked at the phone, I could see that the time was 9:50 and that my mate had texted me. I opened his message to find that he had picked up whatever was waiting for him and was on his way home, which surprised me as he had left a little after eight. How fast was he driving?

"Don't ask," Alice mumbled to me, "because if you do, he will tell you. And you won't like it."

I sent a text back, assuring him that I was more than anxious for his return and inquiring as to the status of the surprise. I sulked when he would not tell me. I was just about to drop the iPhone on a nearby table when my phone rang again, and I opened the newest message to see my mate's teasing words: Do not pout, mia passerotta. I'll have to spank you.

How the hell did he know? Or was it a guess?

I sent a message back, informing him quite plainly that I was not pouting and that he should not accuse me of such crimes, ending the text with one key word. Almost immediately, I received a one-word message back and grinned, not knowing who loved this little game of torment more. I suppose it really did not matter though, as we both seemed to take wicked delight in trying to see who could get to whom first. I briefly considered sending back a text telling him that I would put a hex on him if he did not tell me what the secret was, but in the end, I left it alone. I figured that the likelihood of my getting this secret out of Carlisle had as much chance as a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.

I was so wrapped up in my strange thoughts that when the phone rang a different tone than my message tone, I instinctively picked it up without actually paying attention to who was calling. "Hello?"

"Bella?"

I felt my blood run cold.

It was not Carlisle.

I tried to control my voice when I asked, "What do you want? Why are you calling me?"

"Why aren't you at your house?"

.

TBC

Today's Latin Proverb: Audi, vide, tace, si tu vis vivere (in pace). Hear, see, be silent, if you wish to live (in peace).

A/N: When I wrote this particular chapter, I was in some kind of a... mood. I was listening to Josh Groban's "My Confession", and if you go back and read, you can spot the lyrics.