*EPOV*
When I returned, I found that Bella had ventured into the master bedroom and was absently fingering the gauzy fabric of the mosquito netting that billowed around the huge, white bed.
She was as white as a ghost, and shiny with the faint sheen of perspiration. I silently closed the distance between us and swiped away a dewy bead of sweat from the nape of her neck.
"It's a little hot here. I thought... that would be best," I rambled nervously.
Bella turned to face me. "Thorough," she nodded approvingly. The sound of my forced laugh filled the room and she raised an eyebrow at me, unfooled.
More words left my mouth, stilted, and barely intelligible. Why did I keep talking? Way to go, Don Juan.
I looked again at the intimidatingly large bed. Could a bed look expectant? This one did. Panicked, I deployed stalling tactics.
"I was wondering," I looked anywhere but at her or at the wide, placid, mocking expanse of the plush, four-poster bed, "if...first...maybe you'd like to take a midnight swim with me?" My voice sounded calmer now to my own ears. "The water will be very warm. This is the kind of beach you approve of."
"Sounds nice," Bella chirped, her voice an octave higher than usual.
The silence stretched out awkwardly between us. That was something of a first.
I offered her an escape route. "I'm sure you'd like a human minute or two...It was a long journey."
She nodded stiffly, appearing frozen in place. It would seem that I wasn't the only one having difficulty forming sentences, I thought with a chuckle.
I pressed a soft kiss over her carotid artery, feeling the familiar pulse of her blood pumping underneath her translucent, paper-thin skin.
As unnerved as I was, Bella looked even more tightly wound. Had I made some miscalculation? Maybe the locale was all wrong. I wanted to take her someplace where she would be warm that would also be private. But maybe a private island was too private. I hadn't considered that she might feel...trapped. I resolved to give her some space and let her come to me, if and when she was ready.
"Don't take too long, Mrs. Cullen," I murmured into the sensitive skin below her ear, feeling her quiver beneath my touch.
I stepped through the French doors onto the warm sandy beach unbuttoning my shirt and letting it slip off my shoulders behind me. When I was sure I was out of her immediate sight, I shed the rest of my clothes and hung them from a low-hanging palm frond. I dove quickly into the lukewarm waves and swam for deeper water.
I tried not to listen too intently to what she was doing as she puttered around inside the house, eventually turning the shower on. I couldn't not hear her, though, when she sank to the bathroom floor nearly hyperventilating.
"Don't be a coward," she admonished herself, the bravest person I knew. My heart broke for her then. So she was afraid. If not of me, then of what we were about to do. I could hardly blame her. I was terrified, and it wasn't my life at risk. Well, not directly, anyway.
I wished I knew what exactly it was that she was afraid of. Of me? Of the pain? Of being bitten or...broken? She'd never tell me, of that I knew for sure. Stubborn as she was, she'd never show her fear if she thought it would change my mind.
A new fear occurred to me. Would she try to hide her pain from me if she thought I'd put an end to this experiment? Anxiety rankled through me. The answer seemed obvious. Of course, she would. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply through my nose and exhaled out of my mouth.
Before I could spiral any further, I heard the snick of doors opening and Bella stepped unhesitatingly out onto the sand. She smelled of her usual hygiene products and of terry cloth.
She walked closer to the water. When I could no longer hear the chafe of her towel against her skin, I had to remind myself to breathe. It took all my restraint not to turn and look at her as she entered the water. I locked my body in place and kept my eyes on the moon. If and when she's ready.
Then she was there, next to me, placing her warm little hand in mine.
"Beautiful," she'd said as she joined me in gazing at the moon. I swallowed hard, telling her how the moon could never compare to her beauty, and finally turned to face her.
I quickly processed the stunning, bare state of her but made sure that my eyes never left her exquisite face. She placed her hand over my heart, and I covered it with my own, holding it there. I needed her to promise me something.
"I promised we would try," I whispered hoarsely. "If...if I do something wrong, if I hurt you," my voice broke, "you must tell me at once," I pleaded.
She nodded. Her face was the picture of sincerity. She took a step closer and leaned into me.
"Don't be afraid. We belong together," she had said. I could see it in her eyes that she wasn't just saying that for my benefit. She believed it to be true, and that made it that much easier for me to believe it, too.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into deeper water, reveling in the feel of so much of her heated skin pressed against mine.
She held herself close to me, crushing her soft, pert breasts between our bodies. I bit back a groan as I felt her nipples harden against my skin.
I locked myself down, acutely aware of every muscle in my body, as well as every muscle in hers. Behind my eyelids flashed the stark white flower petals crushed beyond recognition in the palm of my hand. Bella's warm, wet palms on either side of my face broke me from my abstraction.
"Hey," she whispered, a determined edge in her voice. I opened my eyes, meeting her concerned gaze. The deep brown pools of her eyes were almost black in the light of the moon. "Don't overthink it. We'll go slow. It'll be perfect, you'll see."
Her smile was wide and warm, and her eyes were so soft and trusting. I kissed her as hard as I dared then. Her warm breath tore out of her in a wild gasp just before our lips collided.
I kissed her long and hard, to the point where I knew her lungs had to be burning from the lack of oxygen before I pulled away.
I immediately went to task exploring and committing to memory every new inch of skin that was revealed to me with both my hands and mouth. When she started getting a little bit too handsy for my comfort, I dove under the water and reemerged behind her.
We both groaned at the feeling of my erection pressed into the flesh of her perfectly round backside. I had had one forearm wrapped supportively around her waist. And with the back of my other hand, I traced the delicate curve of her face from her temple down to the adorable little dimple in her chin, while I whispered to her in a gravelly voice just a few of the ways I planned to worship her body that night, and for the rest of time.
"Please, Edward, please," Her voice was breathy and full of need.
A hard, dark laugh rumbled out of my chest. "Please what, Bella?" My question wasn't meant to be seductive as much as it was my desire for her to be specific. But if it achieved both purposes, so much the better.
"Touch me, Edward. Please. I can't take it anymore!" Her hands yanked roughly at mine, placing them squarely over her breasts. They were soft and warm, pebbled at the peaks, and fit perfectly into the palms of my hands. I cupped them as gently as if she were made of spun glass.
"Here. Like this," she said, holding my hands more firmly to her chest. "You can touch me that hard," she explained gently, patiently helping me calibrate my movements.
I nodded in understanding. "Thank you," I whispered. "That helps." She spun around in my arms to face me and smiled reassuringly.
"It's all for you, you know. There's nowhere that you could touch me that I wouldn't want you to."
As if she hadn't made herself vulnerable enough with that statement, she wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my middle.
I growled at the same time that she gasped as her heat made contact with my painfully hard erection, trapping it between our bodies in the furrow of her core.
"Bella," I groaned. This was going too far, too fast. Much too fast. And then her teeth began to chatter, and I knew it was time for a change of scenery.
"Come on. Let's get you inside before you get hypothermia," I muttered under my breath, already half-way out of the water.
Running up the beach toward the house, I cradled her in one arm while I plucked her towel off the trunk of the palm tree where it hung and wrapped it around her. I ignored my own clothes for the time being.
"Are you cold?" I asked as I carried her over the threshold of the French doors into the master bedroom. "Would you like to warm up in the shower, or maybe a bath?"
"Actually...I was wishing I was a whole lot colder, if you catch my drift," Bella bit her lip enticingly.
Too quiet for her to hear, I said a short prayer to whatever god was listening, and then laid her gently on the bed.
She was an absolute vision laying there bare and waiting. Her smooth skin was peaches and cream against the bright white of the duvet cover.
"Oh, Bella," I murmured, completely transfixed. "You are more perfect than I ever could have imagined."
"You must've been reading my mind," she breathed as her eyes hungrily raked over my body.
I lowered myself down so that I was on top of her, but that she felt none of my weight. I kissed her lips, her cheeks, her eyelids. I touched, tasted, and paid tribute to every freckle, curve, and scar.
Using one hand, I cupped her breast, feeling the weight of it in my hand. I marveled at how responsive her skin was there, stippling with goosebumps with just one cool breath over the stiffened peak.
When I took one of her rosy pink nipples carefully into my mouth, she gasped and arched her back, her eyes screwed shut. She knotted her fingers into my damp hair as if she were holding on for dear life.
I startled, thinking she was in pain. My reaction was immediate. At my swift retreat, Bella's eyes flew open and she propped herself up on her elbows to look at me.
"Why'd you stop?" Bella panted. Her chest was a mottled red.
I blew a breath out of my cheeks. "Because I'm on a hair-trigger and not yet familiar with your...reactions," I admitted ruefully.
She nodded in understanding, chewing on her lip. "Tell you what. If I need you to stop, I'll say the word 'red.' That way there is no misunderstanding."
I smirked. "We're probably the only couple in history to need a safeword for our maiden voyage."
She wrinkled her nose indignantly. "What am I, a boat?"
I barked out a laugh before playfully launching myself at her. She breathlessly fell back onto the mattress with her hair spilling out around her in dark, wet tendrils, in a Medusa-like effect.
I looked deep into her eyes. Being turned into a less mobile form of stone would've been worth the sight. I kissed her, again and again. On her lips, her jaw, her throat.
And then I continued where I left off. This time, giving my attention to her other breast.
I was now kneeling between her knees, bent over her perfectly sculpted body, and working my way down.
Her back, arched as it was, showed the clear separation of her ribs. On either side, I ran my fingers along the grooves as if I were playing a scale on my piano. This drew a sharp breath from her.
My own breath caught in my throat. She was already so many things to me. She was everything to me. My love, my muse, my peace. And I was beginning to understand that she was also the most magnificent musical instrument ever created; if I played her just right, she made the most heavenly music.
"Oh, Bella...I am going to make you sing," I crooned, too quiet for her ears.
I planted a meandering trail of soft, tender kisses from her sternum, down between the valley of her breasts, over her quivering abdomen until I came to her belly button. I tasted her there, drawing a ticklish giggle from her.
The closer I got to her core, the more ragged her breathing became.
"Breathe, Bella," I reminded her with a soft chuckle.
Her eyes narrowed. "We'll just see how well you're breathing when it's my turn," she growled.
I cracked a smile and laughed darkly. Then I gently cupped the soft curls of her mound, and she gasped my name.
Her skin was so soft and pink and glistening with her arousal. She smelled divine, as mouthwateringly as she always did, but amplified by the musky scent of her sex. I wanted to eat her alive, but I didn't think either of us was ready for that quite yet.
"I've wanted to touch you like this for so long, Bella," I told her. "You have no idea how many times I've dreamt of doing this," I said, gliding a finger through her moisture, exploring her most sacred parts.
I drew the moisture up around her engorged nerve center, and It was right around then that she lost her ability to speak.
When I slipped a cool, lubricated finger inside her, gently probing the thin barrier within, she alternated between grunts, groans, sighs, calling out my name and calling out God's.
She was very ready for me, but I wasn't sure I was. Instead, I used the pad of my thumb to rub small circles around the ruby red flesh peeking out of her soft folds.
She clutched at the bed linens, tossing and turning her head as she panted and moaned. Her muscles tightened and strained as I coaxed her to an ever-sharpening point.
"Edwarrrrrd," she begged, her need to the point of pain.
"Let go, Bella. Come for me beautiful girl," I urged, stroking her even faster.
She went completely silent. She wasn't even breathing. My own breath stalled in my chest as I watched captivated as her body finally gave way to an earth-shattering climax.
The sound of her deep, guttural groan was nearly my undoing. If I thought watching her bring herself to orgasm was a sacred pleasure, it was nothing compared to the feeling of giving her that release with my own two hands. Or knowing that I put the lazy, joyous look of pure euphoria on her face.
Bella laid there, chest heaving, covered in a thin sheen of perspiration. She was glorious.
"That was...that was…" she struggled for words.
"The most beautiful thing I've ever seen," I finished for her. "God, you're gorgeous," I said leaning over her and kissing her hard on the mouth.
"Was that...okay?" I asked, suddenly timid.
Her clammy hand reached up and cupped the side of my face. "Slightly better than okay." With her wide smile and slurred speech, she seemed a little drunk.
Smoothing her wild hair off her forehead, I returned her smile with all the love and warmth that existed from within every cold, dark corner of my being.
"So...now what?" I raised my eyebrows, not sure how much recovery time she'd need.
Her answering smile was nothing short of devilish. "Now, it's my turn!" She playfully shoved at my shoulders.
In doing so, she looked like she was using a fair amount of her strength, but the pressure she exerted may as well have been the graze of a butterfly's wings. Still, her intention was clear, so I rolled off of her and laid by her side..
Bella rolled onto her side to face me, propping her head up on her hand. She tentatively extended her other hand out to touch me, but I intercepted it, stilling it with my own. I nervously toyed with the rings on her finger as I spoke.
"Bella, do you remember our first day in the meadow? How you needed to move very slowly and deliberately around me when I was first learning how to be close to you…so that I didn't lose control of myself?
"You need me to do that again." She interjected with a firm nod of her head. "Sure, I can do that. No surprises."
"I know it's not very romantic," I frowned apologetically. "It's just...when I'm startled, that's how mistakes can happen, so I need you to be very vocal about what you're doing..just until I have a better idea of what to expect."
"Whatever you need," Bella smiled encouragingly.
A vision of my palm full of savaged flowers flashed before my eyes.
"And Bella?" The anxiety in my voice was palpable. "...If I don't touch you at first, it's not because I don't want to. It's because it's safer if I don't."
"Edward?" She asked in a neutral tone.
"Yes?" My voice came out unnaturally high.
"May I kiss you now?" Bella asked sweetly.
"I might die if you don't." Cheesy and a little dramatic, I'll admit, but I was a sucker for the classics. Cary Grant, Gene Kelly, Humphrey Bogart (and Carlisle, of course) were the men who showed me what it looked like to love a woman.
Bella's lips were upon me then, warm, soft, and open. When she finally pulled away, she tugged her hand out of my grasp and very slowly raised her hand to my face. Her thumb stroked along my cheekbone, while her fingers curled into the hair that grew behind my ear.
She traced the hard line of my jaw, the cleft of my chin, and glided the pad of her thumb along my lower lip. I pressed a gentle kiss on the ridges and swirls of her fingerprint.
Bella's exploration continued down the column of my throat, dragging the tip of one finger over the protrusion of my Adam's apple to the small hollow between my collarbones. She followed my clavicle over the curve of my shoulder, and using fingers splayed wide, she placed her whole hand on the plane of my chest, just over my heart.
"I'm going to readjust so I can use both of my hands," she mumbled. I nodded appreciatively at her communicativeness.
She repositioned herself so that she was kneeling at my side, now with both hands splayed over my pectoral muscles. I hissed pleasurably at the sensation of her gently scraping her fingernail over the stiffened peak of my nipple before running her fingers down the length of my long, lean torso.
Warning me first with her eyes, she very slowly dipped her head down to the level of my chest and pressed a soft kiss in the lightly furred patch of skin above my heart.
It honestly felt a little sacrilege...backwards to let her prostrate herself like this for me. It should be me, always, kneeling at her altar. But I was hers now, body and soul (what was left of it anyway.) And if the goddess wanted me this way, then she would have me.
I felt the sublime heat of her fingers blaze a path across the ridges of my abdomen as she paid special attention to the thin line of hair just below my navel. I hissed, fists clenched in the bedsheets, and my whole body tensing in surprise. Her hand froze in place; her eyes flashed up to meet mine.
"I'm sorry, too fast?" She asked concern etched across her face.
I smiled ruefully. "No, love. It just...goes against the grain letting your hands wander below the belt."
Bella snorted. "Tell me about it. It goes against the grain feeling your hands below the belt. It's kind of weird that, like, we're married now and, poof, none of the old rules apply," she shrugged indifferently.
"Some of them still do," I said softly, flashing a toothy smile.
She smirked and raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "For now."
After a beat, she blushed, seeming to remember what she had been doing before being sidetracked. "May I?" She asked, absently raking her fingernails through the thatch of hair on my lower abdomen.
Unable to find my voice, I nodded.
"Edward, I'm going to touch you now," she whispered, hand poised over me. She waited for me to stop her, but I just fisted my hands harder in the sheets and nodded again.
Gently, one finger at a time, she curled her hand around my painfully hard erection, her petite fingers not quite long enough to circle the base.
She waited, letting me get accustomed to her touch before she slid her up my shaft.
Her dry hands on my skin created more than the desired amount of friction, so I reached for a tube of lubricant that was stashed in the bedside table and squeezed out a small dollop on the palm of her hand. "This should help," I added.
She slowly glided her hand up and down my shaft, building up speed and confidence along with it.
When she started getting into a rhythm and experimentally twisting her hand around the sensitive glans at the tip, I shuddered. I was already getting close, and I needed her to stop, but I feared I lacked the control to touch her.
"Bella. That feels incredible, but... you have to stop," I said through clenched teeth.
Her hands flew off me in an instant. "Did I—"
"No, you didn't do anything wrong. I just won't be able to last, and this isn't how I wanted to…"
Bella's mouth formed into a perfectly round "o" as she came to understand my meaning. Then she smiled, seeming pleased by my response.
"Got it. Well...uh, I'm ready whenever you are," she blushed and bit her lip.
I definitely didn't have the control for that. I needed to draw things out a bit more.
"First thing's first," I grinned. "I want to try something." In a flash of movement too fast for her weak eyes to process, I rolled onto all fours then playfully stalked toward her.
She let out a little wide-eyed shriek of surprise, and fell backward against the mattress, catching herself on her elbows.
I took a deep breath, centering myself, and focusing hard on regulating the power flowing through my limbs.
I gingerly took hold of her ankles and using as little force as possible, gave a little yank so that she was now lying flat on her back. She let out another yelp, followed by a nervous-sounding giggle.
I bent her knees and settled myself on my stomach between her legs.
"Edward!" she exclaimed in a whispered gasp. Her eyes were bright with excitement, but I could also see the shadow of apprehension.
My shoulders were pressed against the back of her thighs, and I hooked an arm over her pelvis, keeping her still.
"Is this ok?" I asked, not wanting to do anything she was uncomfortable with, but desperately wanting to please her in this way.
She propped herself up on her elbows again to look at me. "Um, yes?" She sounded unsure, "But you don't have to…"
My dark eyes burned up at her.
"Yes. Yes, I do."
I swallowed hard, ridding my mouth of residual venom. Then, keeping my eyes on her face, I slowly, languorously licked the entire length of her. I moaned, luxuriating at the salt and tang that was exquisitely Bella.
A long, drawn-out groan tore out of Bella's throat—the sound of it made my impossibly hard cock throb in anticipation.
My tongue explored her softest skin, following the sounds of her pleasure. She whimpered and keened, and once I slid a finger inside her slippery heat and clamped my lips around her most sensitive flesh, she was begging.
"Please, Edward, please!"
I moaned loudly into her folds at the urgent sound of my name on her sweet lips. Sing for me, Bella, I thought, with a single-minded focus on bringing her the release she was chasing.
She went dead quiet again. I smiled knowingly into her skin. It was the calm before the storm.
From my decades of mental espionage, I knew this was the pivotal moment where many men failed. When a woman was this close to the edge, constancy was key. I changed nothing about my pace and rhythm and patiently waited her out, letting her climax build.
I felt her inner muscles tighten around my finger and her entire body tense. With one last shallow gasp, she went to pieces.
Bella's head was thrown back. Her hands were fisted in the sheets and her toes were curled. I would have laughed at the blasphemous language exploding out of her, but my mouth was busy.
Hypersensitive after her release, I could feel Bella trying to pull away from me, so I relaxed my grip and she collapsed bonelessly onto the bed behind her, chest heaving with exertion.
I moved up so that I was lying next to her. While her nerve centers were still firing on all cylinders, I used the tips of my fingers to lightly trace swirling patterns over her sensitive skin. She giggled and shuddered convulsively at my touch.
"Jesus, Edward, holding out on me much?" She leveled a teasing glare at me.
I chuckled and ruffled her tangled mop of hair.
"I'm nothing if not old-fashioned. You had to buy the cow if you wanted the milk," I smirked.
"I guess milk really does do a body good. Very good. Exceptionally good."
I rolled my eyes at her but mentally noted that her generous feedback was 'exceptionally good' for my ego.
"Might I get to have a go at reciprocating the goodness?" Bella asked shyly, laying a gentle palm on my stomach that was slowly creeping south. I entwined my fingers through hers, stopping its descent.
All of my alarm bells sounded. I could hardly think about Bella on her knees taking me into her mouth. Broken, mutilated flower petals sunk into the dark depths.
"I...don't think that would be a safe thing for us to try tonight," I said gently. She nodded in understanding.
"But we can still—?" Bella asked hopefully.
I let out a long breath. "We can try if you think you're up for it." She nodded eagerly. Despite myself, I chuckled at her enthusiasm.
"Aren't you tired? You had a long, emotional day yesterday and then got right on a plane and flew for over 16 hours…"
"Two planes. And a boat. What's your point?" She chirped without the slightest trace of fatigue.
I shook my head in amazement. Adrenaline was powerful stuff. When she sensed my capitulation, her face lit up like the sun and she scrambled off the bed and to her feet.
"I just need a minute!" she called over her shoulder, shutting the adjoining bathroom door behind her. I heard a pained cry and a muted curse on the other side of the door and jumped to my feet.
"Bella! Are you alright?" I called anxiously from the other side of the door.
She huffed in exasperation "Fine! I'm fine! Got my hair caught in the door." I then saw the bedraggled ends of her hair caught in the door jam.
I blinked once, then again. I was doing everything I could to keep her unharmed...and the very moment she was alone, she nearly scalps herself. The irony. I bit back a hard, humorless laugh.
The door cracked open and she collected her delinquent hair, then just as quickly shut the door again with a loud click.
"Please be careful, love," I finally said, not knowing what else to say.
I walked over to the desk picking up my mobile phone. Bella's human moment was well-timed because I needed to check in with Carlisle, who—as planned, was waiting to hear from me from his hotel room in Rio in case something went awry and he was needed.
I typed out a quick text. "Please stand by."
Carlisle replied simply with the thumbs-up emoji.
That done, I looked helplessly around the room. What else could I do to make this perfect for her? I zoomed around the room lighting candles and turned on a curated playlist of slow jams. The recently installed thermostat was set to a toasty 78 degrees.
Rifling through my bag, I saw the ziplock bag full of rose petals that Alice had packed trying to be helpful.
I tossed the bag aside untouched. Under the circumstances, I thought scattering blood-red flower remains around the room might trigger an anxiety attack, which would be the opposite of helpful.
Underneath the bag of flower petals was the black leather pouch I was looking for. To anybody unfamiliar, it probably looked like a standard-issue day planner. I unzipped it, making sure the morphine and syringe were all in order.
I briefly considered pre-loading the syringe, because in the event that it was needed, every second mattered. But that felt too much like betting against myself, and I was determined not to do that. She needed me not to do that. Wasn't it enough that Carlisle flew halfway around the world for my peace of mind?
So I snapped the leather case shut and tossed it in the drawer of the bedside table with my phone and tried not to think of it again.
I straightened the bed linens before climbing under the covers, modestly pulling the duvet over myself, and waited for her. I hoped she was alright. She was taking a while even considering I had handled those particulars in vampire speed.
**BPOV**
Way to go, Swan...er...Cullen. Reeeeal smooth getting stuck in the door like some kind of airhead. How did he not laugh at that? I rubbed at the tender spot on the back of my head.
I sighed, hoping the sound of the running water on full blast would disguise my anxiety.
I splashed cold water on my face and over my arms and yanked a brush through the rat's nest that was my hair.
I blanched at my reflection. Somehow, I thought 'sex hair' would be sexier.
Why was I so nervous about this anyway? It's not like he didn't just have his face buried between my legs I thought in utter mortification. Was I really so scared of his...his...Ugh. I groaned in frustration. I couldn't even say the word in my own mind!
It's just sex, Bella, I mentally coached myself. People have been doing it for millennia. And most people think it's pretty great! So just put on your big girl panties and go out there and….take them back off again.
I took a deep breath and switched off the flow of water with a quiet screech of the knob.
I felt suddenly vulnerable standing there stark naked. And it was then that I understood why the aftermath of every love scene depicted a woman covering up with a sheet.
I rummaged through my strewn open suitcase until I found what I was looking for; a short, silky white robe. I carefully removed and discarded the French tags and slid it on over my shoulders, briefly marveling at how nice the slinky fabric felt against my bare skin.
It's now or never, I thought, tugging on the ends of the narrow sash, and marched hurriedly through the door before my 30 seconds of courage expired.
On the other side of the door, Edward had been busy. The walls were flickering with the gentle glow of lit tapers placed artfully around the room. John Legend's "So High" played softly on the stereo, and he was waiting for me in bed like a bare-chested angel of sex.
I swallowed hard and tried to appear nonchalant as I approached him, sashaying my hips a little more than was probably necessary.
His eyes raked over my body appreciatively. "As always, Mrs. Cullen, you're worth the wait," he murmured. I blushed at the compliment and slid in beside him.
"So...how do you-" I was cut off by his lips on mine.
"Shhh. No more talking," he insisted in between kisses that he lavished upon the sensitive junction of my neck and shoulder. "Do you remember your safeword?" He asked, now hovering over me. I nodded solemnly.
"I mean it, Bella," his voice was stern. "If anything feels wrong-"
It was my turn to cut him off with a kiss. "Shh. No more talking," I held a finger up to his lips. He nodded and let out a breath. He then settled himself in between my legs, supporting his weight with one hand planted next to my ear. The other hand reached down to untie the robe and -oh!
He leaned down to take one of my nipples into his mouth. It hardened instantly against his wintry tongue, and then I felt the coolness of his fingers at the apex of my thighs. He flicked his thumb over my swollen clitoris a few times, sending a renewed trickle of lubrication to my heated flesh and making me whimper with need.
"Please, Edward. Now," I pleaded.
He took his intimidatingly long and thick phallus in his hand and guided it toward my slick folds. I could feel his entire body locking down above me. I could see his jawbone nervously clenching over and over again
"I...I love you, Bella," he said simply, then gently but firmly pushed just the head of his manhood inside me. I could feel tears prick my eyes as the freezing cold burning sensation intensified.
"Bella!" His face was twisted with worry.
"Just give me a minute," I said, blinking back the tears. He looked uncertain but nodded tensely. Soon enough, the pain had faded to a dull burn, and I signaled for him to press on.
"It's better if I do this next part quickly," he muttered, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. I pasted on a smile, not wanting him to think I was hating this and nodded my assent.
With a short jab of his hips, a harmonized visceral groan, and sharp, tearing pain, Edward broke through my barrier and fully sheathed himself inside me. I screwed my eyes shut as I tried to regain my breath, but a rogue tear slipped past my lashes.
"I can't stand to hurt you, Bella, maybe we should-"
"Do that thing with your thumb. Distract me," I ordered. I sure as hell wasn't about to let him pull the plug now!... Then his fingers were there, and the pleasure began to compete with the pain until it won out completely.
We rocked together, two pieces of the same whole, for an immeasurable amount of time. I was blissfully unaware of everything except his coal-black eyes, his hands, and the sensations coursing through my body. If the house was falling down around me, I probably wouldn't have noticed.
I felt the urgency start to build back up in my core, and then I was falling over the edge again, wracked with sobs of ecstatic joy. When my body tightened down on his, Edward finally unraveled with a frightening animalistic growl. When I opened my eyes, he had vanished from our bed.
Confused, I sat up, looking around for him, and found him lying on the floor halfway across the room. He was covered in sweat-mine, I guessed- and his chest was heaving. A hand covered his eyes and he looked like he was crying, or wanted to.
"Edward?" I whispered, my heart breaking for him. I moved to leave the bed to go to him, but I stopped, feeling sore, hollowed out, and not in control of my limbs just yet. At the sound of my voice, he returned to my side.
"Are you alright?" His voice was so gravelly he hardly sounded like himself.
"I'm perfect. Or, at least, I will be once you get in this bed and hold me. See? I told you that you love me too much to hurt me." I flashed him a wide smile hoping he would hear the truth in my words.
He crawled under the covers and gathered me into his arms.
"Thank you, Edward. Thank you for this night. It's all I could have ever wanted," I snuggled down into his chest, enjoying the feel of his cool skin against my heated body,
"Thank you for this life, Bella." And with that, he kissed me on the forehead, hummed my lullaby, and my heavy eyes finally gave way to sleep.
*A/N*
Welp. There you have it, the wedding night. I really hope you liked my version of things. If there's a certain line or part that stuck out to you, I'd love to hear about it. If you think I totally got it wrong, I'd love to hear why you think so. As this fic progresses, you will probably notice that I start to stick more to an EPOV. That's intentional because I don't really see the need to rewrite BD. But what I LOVE to do is fill in the gaps because SM tends to leave so much to the imagination. Oh, and if you've read this far and are wondering WTF happened to Victoria and newborn army and all that...yeah, sorry, lol, action scenes aren't really my thing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
As always, thanks for reading and reviewing! 'Til next time! Have a healthy and Happy New Year!