64

The rest of the weekend is a dream, and Bella swears up and down that our first night together was the best of her entire existence. From the blissed out look on her face when she said it, I knew she wasn't just lying for my benefit.

We took our time exploring each other and testing boundaries, finding out what worked for us.

I learned to have Bella hold on to the headboard if my hands planned on going anywhere below her perfect breasts because a bed is a lot easier to replace than my bones are. The bruises on my wrists can easily be covered by long sleeves, and she was apologetic but didn't dwell on it because we're learning as we go. She quickly mastered the ability to touch me below the belt without worrying about hurting me, and I joked she was a fast learner.

By the time the girls came home from their party, we'd both gotten our rocks off, agreed that we'd wait to tell them when they weren't riding a high from their night of excitement, and went back downstairs so we wouldn't draw attention to ourselves.

It was hard to keep up the façade when the girls got home, but as soon as they went to bed and Bella was sure they were asleep, we hid away in my bedroom and continued our exploration.

Now that I've felt her, tasted her, it's all I can think about.

Even at the most inopportune times. Like right now, when I'm sitting in on a budget meeting and all I can think about is the sound of her cries when she came apart on my lips. They still tingle after the scintillating kiss she gave me before I walked out the door this morning.

My office manager keeps giving me looks, and I wonder briefly if James can hear my thoughts or still smell my vampire on my skin even though I took a shower by myself this morning because the girls were still home.

"What are your projected numbers for the quarter, Cullen?" he asks, and I jump, fumbling around my portfolio for the answer to his question.

When the meeting is over, I go back to my office and hope that I can focus on my work because I sort of need this job to keep a roof over my kids' heads.

I skip lunch so I can go home early, hoping that Angela is tutoring today, and that Alice isn't hanging around. The need to have Bella alone, no matter how brief the moment lasts, is almost painful, but I'm sure I'll survive.

I make it through the day and contemplate breaking the law and using the vamp lane so I can get home to my vampire faster.

Maybe something will happen to my car tonight and Bella will have to play chauffeur.

On autopilot, I manage to get to the house in one piece while my mind wanders down the road of having her in the backseat.

She's in Angela's room, washing the windows, when I pull up, and her smile is blinding thanks to the sun that's shining particularly brightly this afternoon.

By the time I make it through the front door, she's there, throwing herself into my arms with a little too much force.

"I missed you," she whispers against my mouth, and I lift her, kicking the door shut with my foot.