Book 4 – Chapter 3: Isle Esme
I didn't know where we were going until I looked at our plane. "Houston?" i ask as we board the plane. Edward grins.
"We couldn't get any tickets straight to where we're going" he says and I sigh as I lean against him in the first class seat. He smiles as he orders glasses of water and other things as we sit together in the seats before I sigh.
"I might stretch my legs" I say as I stand up. He smiles at me, his eyes trailing up my thighs to the dress. I sigh with a shake of my head. "You're worse but somehow better than any other stranger looking at me" I say and he smiles. "Want anything?" I ask him and he laughs and shakes his head. I walk over through the seats to a bar and put in for a bottle of water. Then, while I come back, a man walks towards me and touches my waist and rubs it. I move away from him and he grins. "I warn you, back away" I say and he laughs.
"No. you're way too young and pretty for me to do that" he soothes and I push him away, gently to me, but hard to him. He stumbles back and Edward walks up from the hallway. A frown graces his lips and I walk over to him,
"What happened here?" he asks as his arms wrap around my waist. The man looks at us.
"N…Nothing" he says and I look at Edward as we walk back. He growls under his breath.
"Not letting you out of my sight for as long as we need" he growls and I smile as I lean against him. Eventually we make it to Houston and then I see the sign Rio de Janeiro and I frown. "Yes, yes. Rio." He says.
The flight to South America was long but comfortable in the wide first-class seat, with Edward's arms cradled around me. We didn't stay in the airport to connect with another flight as I'd expected. Instead we took a taxi through the dark, teeming, living streets of Rio. Unable to understand a word of Edward's Portuguese instructions to the driver, I guessed that we were off to find a hotel before the next leg of our journey. A sharp twinge of something very close to stage fright twisted in the pit of my stomach as I considered that. The taxi continued through the swarming crowds until they thinned somewhat, and we appeared to be nearing the extreme western edge of the city, heading into the ocean.
We stopped at the docks.
Edward led the way down the long line of white yachts moored in the night-blackened water. The boat he stopped at was smaller than the others, sleeker, obviously built for speed instead of space. Still luxurious, though, and more graceful than the rest. He leaped in lightly, despite the heavy bags he carried. He dropped those on the deck and turned to help me carefully over the edge. I watched in silence while he prepared the boat for departure, surprised at how skilled and comfortable he seemed, because he'd never mentioned an interest in boating before. But then again, he was good at just about everything.
As we headed due east into the open ocean, I reviewed basic geography in my head. As far as I could remember, there wasn't much east of Brazil… until you got to Africa.
But Edward sped forward while the lights of Rio faded and ultimately disappeared behind us. On his face was a familiar exhilarated smile, the one produced by any form of speed. The boat plunged through the waves and I was showered with sea spray.
Then I saw it.
The shape grew into a squat, irregular triangle, with one side trailing longer than the other before sinking into the waves. We drew closer, and I could see the outline was feathery, swaying to the light breeze. And then my eyes refocused and the pieces all made sense: a small island rose out of the water ahead of us, waving with palm fronds, a beach glowing pale in the light of the moon. "Where are we?" I murmured in wonder while he shifted course, heading around to the north end of the island. He smiled a wide smile that gleamed in the moonlight.
"This is Isle Esme."
"Isle Esme?" I ask astonished and he laughs.
"A gift from Carlisle to Esme… Esme offered to let us borrow it" he says and I choke. Who on earth, vampire or human, would give an island for a gift? I thought there was no secrets now that I was in the family.
He placed the suitcases on the dock and then turned back, smiling his perfect smile as he reached for me. Instead of taking my hand, he pulled me right up into his arms. Even I didn't see it coming, and a surprised squeak came out of my mouth. "Aren't you supposed to wait for the threshold?" I ask and he laughs.
"I'm nothing, if not, thorough" he says and I smile as he walks us up the little house.
He carried me through the house, both of us very quiet, flipping on lights as he went. My vague impression of the house was that it was quite large for a tiny island, and oddly familiar. I'd gotten used to the pale-on-pale colour scheme preferred by the Cullens; it felt like home. I couldn't focus on any specifics, though. Then Edward stopped and turned on the last light. The room was big and white, and the far wall was mostly glass—standard décor for my vampires. Outside, the moon was bright on white sand and, just a few yards away from the house, glistening waves. But I barely noted that part. I was more focused on the absolutely huge white bed in the centre of the room, hung with billowy clouds of mosquito netting. Edward set me on my feet. "I'll… go get the luggage." After a minute, he suddenly was back, the luggage in the corner.
"Why am I a little nervous? You can't hurt me" I laugh and he grins as he pulls me towards him.
"I dunno." He says with a smile as he lowers his face down to mine in an intense and building kiss. Electricity sparked between us. His hands, wrapped around my waist, my hands threaded into his hair. Nothing mattered but him right now.
*At Sunrise; Rio de Janeiro, Isle Esme*
I smiled as Edward's breathing raised my head up and down his chest, perfectly chiselled and strong. He smiled as he traced patterns on the back of my back. "How are we ever going to stop?" I asked with a laugh and he smiles at me as I roll onto his chest, our faces so close that we could go again. He kisses me to explain his point but I pull away.
"We just don't" he says with another laugh. I smile. "Although it would be healthy to stop every now and then. So I don't wear you out" he says and I laugh.
"Well I will never get enough of this" I say as I kiss his jaw. He smiles.
"Neither will I" he says as he kisses me again, and we melt away into our honeymoon.