*EPOV*
I laid in the tall grass of our meadow gazing up at the stars that were just starting to twinkle against the clear blue-black sky. My hands were folded comfortably behind my head, and I hadn't bothered to get dressed yet.
9,856 blades of grass tickled my bare skin, still sensitive from the release, no, the eruption that was so powerful islands should have formed in its wake.
I had only ever imagined what Bella would sound like in the heat of passion. And even my very detailed imagination could not have guessed at the effect that the sensuality of her sounds would have on me. I could still hear her whimpering mewls, breathy sighs, and long, low moans echoing in my ears.
And then she screamed my name-my name. Not in the familiar way I'd heard before from fear or panic, or the desolation she felt after I'd left her, but in abject pleasure and passion.
For all of my heightened senses and mental capacity, the stars over my head could've been an illusion as seen by a cartoon character who had just been flattened by an anvil. Though, presently, I felt more like Wile E. Coyote after he'd blown himself up with his own dynamite.
I only wish I could have seen her face, but consoled myself that I would have that to look forward to on our honeymoon.
Isle Esme was Esme's idea, of course. I was initially reluctant to take her somewhere so remote when I would be risking Bella's life to make love to her while she was still human, per her ridiculous demand-which was just so...so...on-brand. I sighed in resignation.
There was just one detail of our honeymoon that I planned to keep from Bella. For my own peace of mind, Carlisle agreed to discreetly, and without Bella ever knowing, accompany us to Brazil. He'd fly on a different airline and would stay in a hotel room on the mainland, just a short boat ride away (or swim, if he needed to be there faster).
There was just no practical way to attempt something so dangerous with my family 7,000 miles away back in Forks. If something went wrong…
Alice said she was 70/30 that everything would go smoothly on the honeymoon. Shortly after the salacious phone call that had just transpired with Bella, I got a text from Alice that said "80/20."
Nevertheless, I still remember the rage I felt when Alice had suggested that if the worst happened, if I harmed Bella somehow, that I should just change Bella and get it over with.
"It's what Bella would want," Alice had urged. I snarled in outrage. As if I could live with myself if her human life were to end because of a slip on my part. On our honeymoon, no less.
Carlisle's presence was a contingency plan in case something went wrong. He'd either be able to save her human life or...stand by and make sure I didn't kill her if there was nothing else that could be done, assuming I didn't kill her outright, I thought grimly.
I launched myself to my feet in one smooth motion. I hurriedly pulled my jeans up over my hips and threw my sweater over my head. Once my sneakers were in place, I took off for the house. I wasn't sure how long Bella's dinner party would take, but I needed to get cleaned up before she called me to come over.
I had decided to call Bella from the meadow because, while my family had had decades to get used to the idea of being overheard during amorous moments, I had not. And while I wasn't shy about it, per se, I didn't want to share the experience with anyone either. Least of all, Emmett.
Not trying to draw attention to myself, I leapt up to my bedroom window instead of walking through the front door. But of course, there was no use in trying to fool Alice who was sprawled out on my couch.
"Pleasant evening, brother?" she greeted me with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.
I closed my eyes and exhaled loudly through my nose.
"Quite," I said curtly, snapping the 't'. "But as you undoubtedly already know, I need to go shower before I head over to Bella's." I flew over to my closet, but Alice was already there with a neat pile of clothing in her outstretched hands. I accepted them with a nod of gratitude.
"You can stop scowling at me, now," Alice stated derisively. "I promise I didn't peek, but sometimes things slip through. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it! Your honeymoon looks a lot clearer now, see?"
Alice showed me visions of Bella perched on my back, smiling beatifically as we jumped off a cliff into a lagoon of crystal clear water, then another scene of Bella snorkeling. The last vision was of Bella sitting in the wreckage of a decimated bed frame, feathers in her hair, looking bewildered but otherwise unharmed.
I wondered what caused the expression on her face, but took heart that it really did seem as if this foolhardy experiment might work out after all. I let out a chestful of air that I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
"Thank you, Alice. Truly." The corners of my mouth turned up into an apologetic smile.
"You can thank me after you see what I've packed for Bella for the island!" Alice rubbed her palms together mischievously, a devilish smile lighting up her face.
*BPOV*
As happy as I was for the chance to get to know Sue Clearwater better (and to see the smitten way in which Charlie fussed over her) it was difficult to think about anything other than what had just transpired with Edward. I was relieved when the dishes were finally cleared from the table.
After wishing Sue a good night, I excused myself to go take the dishes to the kitchen as an excuse to give Charlie some time alone with her before she had to leave.
I was daydreaming about cold fingers, butterscotch eyes, and a velvety deep voice when Charlie plucked a sudsy plate out of my hands. "I hope you don't think I'm going to let you do the dishes after you spent all day cooking," Charlie scolded.
"Not all day," I blushed, untying my apron, thankfully having an easier time of it than I did earlier this afternoon.
"Thanks again, Bella. It was really great of you to plan this. You know how much I love your pot roast. Sue wants your recipe! She was raving about what a great kid you are. You made your ol' man proud."
Charlie's eyes were shiny and his face was flushed, byproducts of the two glasses of merlot he had at dinner and more so from the heavy feeling that loomed over us both that our time together was drawing to a close. But there was something else in his eyes that wasn't just paternal affection.
Charlie was in love. It warmed me to see, and I fervently hoped that his feelings were returned. I would have to enlist Edward to do some mental espionage to find out for sure. But from what I could see of their body language at dinner, Charlie's bachelor days were numbered.
"Aww thanks, Dad. It was Grandma Swan's recipe. I'll write it down for Sue. I found it in Grandma's old recipe book that you keep in the hutch," I shrugged, a bit embarrassed by the praise.
Charlie's breath escaped him with a whoosh. "You made my mother's pot roast for my girl-" he asked with astonishment, cutting himself off before he could finish the word.
Uncharacteristically, he pulled me into a fierce hug, momentarily stunning me. We weren't the hugging type, but I returned his embrace, patting him somewhat awkwardly on the back. I felt him kiss the top of my head before his arms receded to his side and he loudly cleared his throat.
"Get outta here, kid. I'll clean up. I'm sure Edward must be missing you tonight," he nudged me toward the door.
"Thanks, Dad. I'm gonna go upstairs and call him," I said over my shoulder as I pushed open the swinging kitchen door. And then I was bolting up the stairs, phone in hand.
I paced my room, unsure of what I wanted to do. The plan was originally for Edward to sneak in as he did every other night. But this was not every other night, certainly not after the step we had taken this afternoon on the phone. And I doubted very much that any more steps would be taken with Charlie downstairs watching reruns of NCIS.
I quickly pulled a brush through my hair, slipped on Edward's favorite blue blouse over my head, and ran back down the stairs, poking my head into the living room.
"Ch-Dad, I'm going out with Edward for a bit. I'll be home by midnight," I announced to the back of his head, visible over the top of his recliner. He didn't turn to look at me when he gave his standard parting line, "Ok, Bells. Have fun. Be safe!"
I grabbed my keys and jacket off the hook and let myself out. From inside the cab of my truck, I sent Edward a quick message letting him know I was on my way to him.
Three dots appeared, then vanished. I smirked. I must've caught him by surprise.
A moment later the dots returned and my phone pinged in receipt of a new message.
What a pleasant surprise! Everything alright?
I typed back, Couldn't be better! Just wanted some fresh air. :)
His reply was instant. I'll be waiting. Drive safely, love.
I shoved my phone back in my pocket and started up my truck. It roared to life with less protest than usual thanks to the recent oil change, and I embarked on the familiar trek to the Cullen house.
When I neared the long, hidden driveway that I almost always drove right past in broad daylight, I slowed way down so that I could find it in the dark. That was when I noticed the small, unobtrusive red road reflector that had been recently attached to the trunk of one of the Hemlock trees lining the right side of the driveway. It was glinting in the beam of my headlights.
The Cullens did their best to stay hidden and unnoticed in everything that they did, but I knew instinctively that the road marker had been put there to help me find my way. My heart swelled at the gesture.
As I puttered up the long and winding driveway, I could see a figure, still as a statue, sitting on the front porch. It was Edward, of course. He jumped to his feet as soon as my truck broke through the trees.
As I pulled to a stop in front of him, I leaned across to the passenger side and in a slow and jerky motion, manually rolled down the window. It took a solid two minutes for the creaking window to sink fully inside the rusted passenger door.
For Edward, two minutes might as well have been twenty and he looked as if he was trying very hard not to laugh at the decrepitness of my truck. I ignored this.
"Hey, good lookin'! Need a date?" I crowed lasciviously. He cracked my favorite crooked smile and slipped wordlessly into the passenger seat.
"Well this is different," Edward remarked in a neutral tone, still smiling. "Where to?"
"I haven't quite figured that part out yet. I just wanted to be alone with you," I said somewhat sheepishly. Edward looked positively delighted. With a crunch of gravel, I looped around the roundabout and headed back down the driveway toward the road.
"I know the feeling," he murmured, squeezing my hand that was resting on the bench seat in between us. "Meadow?"
"At night? Is that safe?" I blurted unthinkingly. When Edward didn't immediately respond, I gave him a sideways glance. His lips were pinched like he was biting back laughter.
"What do you suppose is lurking in those woods that is more dangerous than your vampire betrothed?" the corner of Edward's mouth curled up in an amused smirk.
"You tell me, Mr. 'I'm not the most dangerous thing out there,' I sourly quoted him.
Edward's expression turned dark. "At the time I had been referring to other nomadic vampires who sometimes travel through the area. I guess you know about that already," he said acidly, his eyes glancing toward the steering wheel, at the crescent-shaped scar on the heel of my hand. I self-consciously tugged at the sleeves of my jacket.
"Well then I guess it's a good thing I'm not alone," I said, reaching across the seat for his hand.
"A fat lot of good that did you last time," Edward grumbled.
My eyes narrowed at his tone. This was going all wrong. Time to hit the reset.
"Soo..when do we get to talk about how you made me cum over the phone and how hot that was?" I asked with put-on nonchalance.
I bit the inside of my lip to keep from smiling when Edward's jaw flew open, completely staggered by my audacity
"I...er...Right now, it would seem," Edward floundered for words.
The truck lurched to a stop as I reached the end of the road where the woods began.
Before I could even reach for my seatbelt, Edward was there wrenching my door open and offering me his back to climb up onto for the run through the woods. I stood up on the door jam of the truck, secured my arms around his neck, and with a practiced little hop, wrapped my legs around his hips.
I was wearing a form-fitting knee-length khaki skirt, so when he caught me under my bare thighs with his wide, cool palms, I gasped at the sensation. Edward gasped too, but I guessed it was more in response to the feeling of my body pressing against his without the usual bulky barrier of my denim jeans in between us.
Once I was firmly affixed to his back, Edward turned around and reached inside the truck for a faded red plaid blanket that I kept for such occasions. He tucked it under his arm, kicked the door shut, and turned his head toward me to ask if I was ready.
I steeled my grip around his neck, and because I'm a bit of a brat, gave a little bounce with my hips that resulted in my thinly-covered crotch coming in even closer contact with the muscled granite of his back.
"Giddy-up!" I giggled.
"Giddy-up?" He growled in the playful tone that sent a flash of heat straight to my core. "You really shouldn't have said that," he warned ominously. And then without any further warning, we were shooting through trees as if shot out of a cannon.
In the darkness, and under the thick cover of towering evergreens, I couldn't see a blessed thing. We may as well have been traveling through space and time.
I melded myself to his body, so graceful and fluid in its movements that when he ran, I was barely jostled. Unable to see, I could have just as easily believed that he was standing still on a moving sidewalk at the airport.
Only the cool, damp night air of the Olympic National Forest whipping through my hair and the G-forces pulling against my face tipped me off to his blinding speed.
Edward had once told me a story about how Emmett, looking to make one of his famous wagers, acquired a radar gun to see once and for all who was the faster runner between him and Jasper.
'Couldn't they just race?' I had asked. Edward chuckled and had explained that, sure, they could race, but that they didn't seem capable of not cheating. Jasper was lither and had his extra ability to make Emmett easily distracted, while Emmett had his insurmountable strength and used it to supercharge his strides. In that regard, they were very closely matched.
Much to Emmett's dismay, with the radar gun they were able to ascertain that Jasper was in fact the faster runner, but he didn't come close to Edward's blistering speeds of well over 300 miles per hour. No wonder Edward hated my driving, I mused. To him, it must've felt like crawling.
As the moonlight began to filter through the thinning tops of the trees, Edward slowed as he approached the opening to our meadow and came to a smooth stop once we were standing under the brilliant canopy of stars. In the absence of city lights, they were almost as bright as I remembered them being in Phoenix.
Edward released his hold on my thighs, and I unclasped my grip from around his neck. The next thing I knew, I was falling gracelessly to the ground where I fell on my backside with a plop.
Edward exploded with laughter. "You know, that will never stop being funny," he said still laughing, and helped me to my feet.
"Some noble steed you are!" I said with a hard-edged laugh, brushing the dirt off my bottom. In spite of myself, I couldn't help but smile at the mirthful expression on his face. This seemed to remind him of something.
"As I said, you really shouldn't have said that," he repeated with a growl. Before I could form a reply, he launched himself at me, sweeping me off my feet in the iron cage of his arms where we landed several yards away with me on top of him, sitting astride his hips on a blanket of clover.
My heart thundered, and I gulped in enough oxygen to replace the wind that had been knocked out of me. My hands were planted on his chest to steady myself, and his hands were resting on my hips.
Our eyes met, and in an instant, his expression morphed from jocular to smoldering. As if by their own accord, my hips ground into his in pursuit of contact and friction. Edward let out a low moan, and his hands clamped down on my hips holding me motionless against him.
"For someone who doesn't care much for being compared to a horse, you sure like being ridden," I purred wantonly.
"Oh my Bella," Edward's eyes blazed up at me, wild with need. "If you only knew what it does to me to see you like this, so sensual and uninhibited with the moonlight shining in your hair. You are the most tempting creature I've ever encountered...You'll have to let my succubus friends copy your notes," he chuckled, then released his hold on my hips so he could prop himself up on his elbows.
I took his face in my hands and lowered my lips to his. It was a soft kiss at first but then deepened to something more. My mouth opened to him, letting his sweet breath wash over me. I sucked very carefully on his lower lip and he moaned at the contact. The sound of it set me aflame with desire, and I kissed him even more eagerly.
He kissed me back just as eagerly, but soon enough, his eagerness waned into cautiousness. He placed three last soft kisses on my lips, nose, and forehead before he lifted me off of him and set me on the ground at his side.
Abruptly, Edward was on his feet. Before I had time to ask what he was doing, he had run to the far side of the meadow and was back at my side, now holding the blanket. He shook it off before draping it over my shoulders, then settled cross-legged onto the ground. Though, now he was facing me.
"Now then. I thought you wanted to talk?" His face was shrouded in shadow, but I could hear the smirk in his voice.
"Talking is overrated," I grumbled,
"Fine, I'll talk," Edward exhaled loudly through his nose. "Bella, I don't have the words to describe just how incredibly turned on I was by our phone call this afternoon. It was something I've wanted to try for a while now, but it was so much more than anything I could have ever fantasized about. You have made me the luckiest man in existence. Thank you for sharing that with me.
"You have to know, though," Edward continued, "that I'm probably going to struggle a bit with using coarse language, especially with you. In the time I grew up, speaking that way in the presence of a lady was a grave offense. You can tell me not to worry about offending you, but I'm afraid it's a bit ingrained," Edward ducked his head ruefully.
"I love that you're such a gentleman. That's what makes it so unbelievably hot when you say dirty things."
"You liked that?" Edward suddenly sounded intensely curious.
I got the sense that if he thought it was appropriate, he'd pepper me with hundreds of questions about my sexual preferences in the same manner that he asked for all the minute details about every other aspect of my life when we first started dating.
I snorted. "I think I made that pretty obvious!... It was like talking to the romance novel version of you, the version I thought only existed in my head," I shrugged.
His eyebrows shot up at this admission and the corners of his mouth turned down into a slight frown.
"Maybe I've done, perhaps, too good a job of keeping things PG if you think that that side of me is only a fantasy, love. Trust me when I say that the only thing I want more than to please you is to keep you safe." Edward collected my hands in his own and kissed the skin stretched tautly over my knuckles.
"You do. And you will, on all counts," I said without a moment's hesitation.
I smiled and laughed lightly at a silly idea that just occurred to me.
"What are you thinking?" He asked in a hushed tone.
"Just that...after I'm turned, and I'm stronger than you, maybe I'll have to be the one to insist on keeping things PG for a while. After all, I wouldn't want you to get hurt," I teased with a mischievous glint in my eyes.
He exhaled sharply. "Hurt me, Bella. Break me. Just don't ever keep yourself from me. That's the one thing I couldn't bear."
Though my words had only been in jest, his were urgent and earnest. As if I could deny him anything, especially that. I held his hands tightly and then used them as leverage to pull myself up to stand. He looked up at me with questioning eyes.
I took a step closer to him so that I was standing to his left. Then I crossed my left leg over both of his. I was standing over him now, with a wide stance straddling his crossed legs. I looked down at his upturned face and ran my fingers through his perfectly unkempt bronze hair.
He was watching me with a look of such wonder, such reverence. I'd seen the same expression of worship on the faces of the people who knelt before statues of saints and angels.
My fingers traveled from his hair down his temple to trace the shell of his ear, then settled on the side of his face. He turned his face to kiss my palm, then tucked his chin down towards his chest. Head bowed, he leaned forward pressing his forehead against my lower abdomen, and reached around to hug my legs.
I gently scratched at the skin at the nape of his neck, running my fingernails through the shorter, baby soft hairs there until he looked back up at me a moment later. Holding his shoulders to steady myself, I slowly lowered myself until I was sitting in his lap, facing him with my feet planted on the ground on either side of his hips.
"You said that hearing me was better than anything you could have fantasized about," I mused, remembering a question that I had thought to ask him earlier
"That's not a question," Edward probed.
"Well, I was just wondering what else you fantasized about?" I smiled shyly.
"A better question would be, what don't I fantasize about?" he chuckled. "At night, when I'm holding your warm little body in your tiny bed and you say my name, or you press yourself against me…" He made a rumbling sound in the back of his throat that was equal parts excitement and frustration.
"It's hard enough to control my thoughts when you're sleeping. When you're awake…," he shook his head, exhaling loudly with exasperation. "I know you think that it's so easy for me to refuse you, but when you start kissing me and your hands start to wander, the only way I'm able to stop myself from completely ravaging you is by imagining that you're pleading with me to kill you rather than make love to you."
Now it was my turn to look shocked.
"You what?" I gasped appalled.
"Well, you kind of are, Bella. Please, grasp that. What you are asking me to do has a non-zero percent chance that I kill you or hurt you very badly. Even Alice can't deny that." Edward's eyes were laden with grief. I took his face in my hands.
"Edward, every day that I get out of bed and go about my life there is a non-zero percent chance that I will die or hurt myself very badly," Edward flinched but didn't disagree. "It's my curse. And before you get all anxious, just remember, all we agreed to do was try. Just try."
Another silly thought crossed my mind and I snickered.
"What could possibly be funny?" Edward asked flatly.
"Do nerves affect a vampire's ability to perform like they do in humans? Because I'm imagining you being so nervous that you have..er..technical difficulties." I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep from giggling.
"Are you really asking me if vampires get erectile dysfunction? I think it might be time for the human to get some sleep. You are clearly delirious," Edward's voice was flat, but his eyes were amused.
"Nooo," I protested, "I'm not ready to go home! I'm not done begging you to kill me yet." And I wasn't.
Edward blanched and opened his mouth to scold me for my macabre joke, but I quickly closed the distance between us and kissed him before he could speak the words. I folded my arms around his neck, attacking his mouth with my own, and brazenly rocked my hips against his. Edward groaned into my mouth and his stone hands tightened around my hips, effectively immobilizing my gyrations.
I thought he was about to rebuff me, but instead, in a very slow and measured movement, he rolled his hips against my core. I gasped at the intimate contact. He made it very apparent that there was absolutely nothing dysfunctional about him.
My breath came out in a ragged whimper. "Please, Edward. Don't stop. I need this. I need you," I panted, grinding against him with abandon. My hands explored the impeccably defined musculature of his shoulders. I could feel his whole body tensed beneath mine, coiled like a spring ready to explode with unspent energy.
"Anything, Bella. Tell me what you need, but please don't beg. I can't take it," Edward pleaded with a sob in his voice.
"Touch me. Touch me anywhere. I need to feel you," I breathed huskily into his ear as he kissed down the column of my neck. I placed my hands over his and guided them up over my torso until, with some initial hesitation on his part, they were resting on my breasts. I squeezed his hands, encouraging him.
"You are utter perfection, Isabella Swan," Edward murmured. "You feel like heaven in my hands." And then he was grasping me tightly, so tightly like it would kill him to let go of me. His face was buried in my neck, breathing me in. Just as suddenly, his hands were gone, then he sighed. I knew that that would be the end of our boundary-pushing for tonight.
**A/N**Thank you my lovely readers for bearing with me on this chapter. I'm not super thrilled with how I ended it, but I just wanted to get it posted before I picked at it for another week lol. If you're American like me, you're probably having an ulcer watching this incredibly stressful election. Hopefully, this provides a welcome distraction. Thank you, as always, for taking the time to read my fic, and I always love hearing what you think!