Showers that dreams are made of

Though Edward wasn't with me that night, I was feeling pretty good about life. Renee even respected my wishes and simply sent me a short email wishing me a good Christmas and told me to have fun in London. She also said that she hoped that I would take pictures.

I would take tons. I had gotten several storage cards for my digital camera just for the occasion.

It had been a long time since I had any dreams. Well, since I remembered them clearly. Usually, it was just bits and pieces of stories and feelings.

I wasn't exactly sure where we were exactly, Edward and I. I just knew it was comfortable where I was. We were laying in a bright red room, it almost reminded me of a place they would show in the movies whenever they talked about harems. Soft beds, deep colors, lots of pillows and silk curtains. Edward was shirtless and sans shoes, looking beautiful and comfortable. I was wearing... nothing.

Neither of us seemed to mind.

"You look beautiful," Edward said breathlessly, running his finger leisurely over my stomach.

I ignored is sweet words as I bit my bottom lip, gently running my finger over his stomach. He had a few scars on his hips and the faded remains of stretch marks on his lower stomach, though we never spoke about them. I had marks, he had is.

And I was okay with that.

I moved down his stomach, tracing the marks with my lips. "I love you just the way you are. I love you for who you are," I told him firmly, nuzzling his belly button. Light wisps of red hair tickled my nose, making me smile. "I wasn't lying."

"When?" He asked, running his fingers through my hair.

"When I said I'd love you no matter what you looked like. I wish... I almost wish that, I..." I stuttered.

"What, my darling?" He asked, looking down at me with those large green eyes. They were so sweet. They were so loving.

They were indeed the windows of his soul. His soul was bright and beautiful.

"I wish I knew you before. I wish I met you sooner, so I could show you. It doesn't matter what you look like, now or then."

"I loved you before you changed," he whispered into my ear after pulling me up to his body. His arms wrapped around mine, kissing my shoulder. "I loved your full body. I wish I could help you mark that off your list."

"Mark what?"

"Loving yourself."

"You're helping," I assured him. "More than anyone else before. I don't think I could fall in love with you if I didn't love myself at least a little bit."

"You are a wonderful woman, and I intend to marry you one day," he breathed. I pulled back and looked at him in surprise. He was completely serious.

"Not too soon though, right?" I said, frowning slightly. Edward chuckled, kissing the top of my head.

"Not, not too soon. When the time is right, both of us will know. You'll know."

"Good," I said, snuggling my face into his chest. He rubbed my back, and it almost felt real. I pressed my face deeper into his sweet smelling skin.

"Bella," the whispering got a bit louder. "Bella, my love. Are you awake?"

"No," I mumbled. "I thought that was rather obvious."

My bed began to rumble with laughter. "You're adorable."

"You're pretty cute," I said, kissing his chest. I mean, really kissing his chest. I looked up slowly in confusion, my eyes crusted with sleep. And there Edward was, laying in my bed shirtless. I glanced over at the clock, it was five in the morning. "What are you doing here?"

"Surprising you," he said. "It seems like you started the conversation without me though," he teased. "What were you dreaming about?"

"I have no earthly idea," I said, closing my eyes and laying my head back onto his stomach. "Merry Christmas."

"Happy Christmas, my love," he said, kissing the top of my head. "I hope you don't mind me being here. I wanted to open our Christmas gifts in private."

"I love you being here. I always prefer you being with me. I thought you were a dream," I said, kissing his chest again lightly. He was salty sweet, and I traced my fingers along his ribs.

"You are my dream."

Bella Jell-O pile of love goo all over the place, gah- sigh.

"Ugh, can't we just stay in bed all day and make love?"

"Can you?" He asked shyly. I blushed slightly but nodded, thank god. He groaned, putting his head on my shoulder. "That's so cruel. I'd love to."

"We don't have to be anywhere until nine," I told him smoothly, kissing over to the side to his nipple. I flicked it with my tongue playfully, making him buck up towards me. "We have time."

"Yes, but I would like to give you presents first," he said, running his hand over my back. I ignored him, pulling his nipple into my mouth and suck on it- hard. He hissed, knotting his fingers into my hair. "Oh, god... baby, please..."

"Please, what?" I asked innocently.

"Behave," he pouted. "I had this all planned out, and it's not working out that way at all."

"I like my way better," I said, kissing downwards. If he liked the nipple teasing, he was going to love what I had in store for him next.

But somehow I ended up sitting up against the headboard beside a somewhat frustrated looking Edward.

"Woman, work with me here. Behave, please?"

"I was behaving," I said, crossing my arms and frowning. We hadn't had sex in a grand total of seven days, and I was getting slightly... very... extremely... horny.

"Badly," he chuckled. "Be good for now, and I promise to make it worth your while. Now, may I give you your presents now?"

"You shouldn't have gotten me anything else, Edward," I complained. He gave me a pointed look, but I continued, "the flight to London was so much."

"I have more than enough for the flight to London and for this. I've got a good deal in savings. Now, shut up," he said, pulling two boxes from beside the bed. One was a shoebox size, and the other was tiny.

And looked like a ring box.

"This one first," he said, setting the smallest on my lap. "I think you'll like it."

"Is it jewelry?" I asked, picking it up slowly.

"Open it and find out."

"Edward-"

"Isabella!" He laughed, "open it. I swear..." He shook his head.

I popped the top off the tiny box, and inside was a very nice felt box. I gasped softly, looking over at him. He rolled his eyes but smiled. "What did you do?"

"Open. It."

As soon as I did, I giggled.

"A mood ring?" I laughed, "really?"

"Yes," he chuckled. "I saw it and thought of you. Sometimes I feel like I need something to help me figure out your moods. Maybe this will help. Now, may I put this ring on your lovely hand?"

I gave him my right hand, and he slid it on smoothly. "Thank you, it's adorable."

"Now, see, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" He chuckled.

"No, not at all," I smiled at him innocently. "I'm sorry I'm such a bad sport."

"It's just the way you are," he said, taking my hand and lightly kissing the top of it. "Now, ready for your present and promise to be a good girl about it?"

"Yes, I promise," I pouted at him playfully. I held out my hands, and he gave the box to me. It was oddly lightly for being the size it was.

I ripped open the paper, and sure enough, it was a shoebox. I opened the box, and there was another box inside nestled in tissue paper. And then another. And then another. And finally another, a much smaller one. I pulled out the box and opened it.

Inside were earrings. Pretty white gold ones with a square black stone.

"They're a half carat of black diamonds," Edward said as he took one of them from my palm. He gently pushed my hair behind my ear and slipped in the earring. He kissed my ear as I sat there speechless. He had completely surprised me. He turned my chin so that he could get to the other ear, sliding it in with an amount of grace that I normally didn't have. "They're not the finest jewelry in the world, and I wish I could have gotten you more. Don't worry, these weren't hugely expensive. But when I saw them though I wanted to see them on you. Do you like them?"

I touched my ears slowly, blushing as I looked down at my lap. It was an extraordinarily thoughtful and beautiful gift, and he totally threw me off guard with the mood ring.

He knew what he was doing, and he was good at it.

Dammit.

So, instead of saying anything I went to my closet and pulled out my gifts for him. Nothing amazing. But I knew one of them would have great value to him.

"Here," I said, handing him the white box with the big blue bow on it. "This is for you."

He smiled widely when he opened it. It was the cards I bought him, pretty black with silver writing on them. They had all his information, including the new website that I was able to launch the night before. "These are lovely, Bella. Thank you."

"Do you like them?"

"I'll tell you the answer if you give me yours. Do you like the earrings? If not, I can return them."

"I adore them," I said, touching my ears again. "Thank you so much for them. Now, open the rest of your gifts."

Edward laughed at the shirt I got him, loving his old school video game references. He also told me that he would rather see it on me. With no bra on. Or pants.

I told him if he was a good boy, he might just get his wish sometime soon.

Finally at seven o'clock when we could no longer ignore the rising sun, I sighed heavily. "I should take a shower. Do you need one?"

"Yeah," he muttered. "I didn't take one. It was far too early."

"You didn't have to come that early," I rolled my eyes.

"I can't sleep without you, my love," he said softly, tracing his finger over my earlobe. I sighed again, more softly this time as I relaxed into his touch. He lightly kissed my neck, tracing my skin where my flannel nightgown didn't cover.

It wasn't the sexiest of night clothes, but I didn't know he was coming over.

"We need to shower," I moaned as his hand slipped up my thigh, gently rubbing his fingers over my pantie covered ass.

"That we do," he breathed. "Shall I bring a condom?"

"Nope," I said, hopping out of bed and pulling off the nightgown. He frowned slightly but brightened when I ran my fingers over my breasts. "The shot, remember?"

We hadn't been able to have sex since I had gotten it done, without a condom anyway. We had to wait a few days for it to kick in and by then I had started my period.

I was more than looking forward to feeling him inside of me.

He bit his lip, his cheeks flushing slightly as he looked over my body. "I've only had sex without a condom once, and that was with you. I cannot wait to..." he trailed off, his thoughts reflecting my own.

I slipped off my panties and slowly ran my fingers between my legs. "Me either."

"Holy shit," he said, eying me hungrily. "Get your ass in the shower, you little tease."

It was then my turn to say 'yay.'

I struggled to get his jeans off as we kissed wildly, Edward shoving me against the wall. I groaned, finally yanking them down and was greeted by the wonderfully boxer less sight. His erection pressed against my stomach as he pushed himself close to me, using his feet to remove the jeans the rest of the way. My hands automatically went to his ass, squeezing it tightly.

"Fuck," he said, bucking his hips into me. I felt a small bead of moisture spread across my stomach and it was my turn to buck towards him. "Turn on the water," he ordered me, pointing to the tub.

I knew what he wanted me to do. I bent over, bracing myself with one hand on the tub as I turned on the water with the other. Edward moved in behind me, pressing his fingers deep inside of me.

"I love looking at you like this," he said huskily, moving his fingers over my lips before rubbing them roughly against my clit. I had to use both hands then, bracing myself for more. "I'd love to take you like this. Later though."

"Fuck!" I whined, pouting as I came to stand up. "Cruel."

"I'd rather have you bent over the vanity so I can watch your face in the mirror as I fuck you."

With those words I grabbed his cock, making him a lot less cocky. Gently, but with a firm hand, I brought him closer to me. "You are the tease."

"I'm not teasing," he said, jutting his hips forward so that he was massaging himself with my hand. "I fully intend on taking you that way. Soon. And over and over again. Now, shower time."

He was going to end up killing me.

I stumbled into the shower, fully realizing that he owned my body. He was in a second later, grabbing me up in his arms and kissing me again. I moaned softly, the warm water hitting our chests as it flowed between us.

"Hands on the wall," he whispered in my ear. "One foot on the ledge and hold on."

I did as I was told, the water flowing over my back and down my ass. Edward moved in behind me, teasing me with the tip of his hardness, rubbing it against my swollen and aching lips. I pressed backward, but he playfully swatted my ass. I giggled, doing it again.

"Fuck me," I demanded.

"You're impatient," he said pressing himself inside of me just slightly.

I pushed myself all the way back, taking him fully inside of me. "Very."

"Jesus, you feel so good," he groaned, holding onto my hips as he pulled back before slamming right back in. The water splashed around us, trickling down my legs in the most delicious way. Then he did it again, and again.

He slid one of his hands over my ribs, pulling me up against him. He moved at a steady pace, the hand that was one of my ribs now teasing one of my nipples. I leaned my head against his shoulder, closing my eyes tightly as he twisted it and tweaked with the hot water beating against my skin.

"Play with yourself," he whispered against my ear. "I'm going to cum. Fucking play with yourself.

Didn't have to tell me twice.

I slid my hand between my spread legs and began to rub, feeling him occasionally brush against them. Finally, it became too much, and I could do no more without falling over. Edward picked up the slack, leaning me fully against him as he fingers ran circles around the tender flesh between my thighs.

"Oh! Uh..gh...gah..." I said, shivering and writhing against him as I began one of the longest orgasms of my life. It felt like it went on for hours. His other hand twisted my nipple sharply as he bit down on my shoulder. "OH! SHIT!"

"God," he mumbled as he filled me, one hand pressed against my stomach and the other still on my breast. I could feel him all the way inside of me, almost against my belly button. It was exquisite, the twitching and throbbing as he emptied inside of me.

Best. Shower. Ever.

Too bad we couldn't stay in there all day.

"Happy Christmas!" Carlisle said brightly as we met them at a lovely Jazz brunch at the nice hotel they were staying at. They already had champagne and orange juice waiting for us. "You look happy."

"It's Christmas! Of course, I am," I said innocently, blushing as I looked over at Edward. He smiled crookedly, pulling out a chair for me. He then went to his mother and kissed her on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Mum."

"Oh, you too, baby," she said, putting a hand on his cheek. "I missed being with the family. This is so nice," Esme said, her accent thick. It reminded me a lot of my own. "So, Bella, how are you feeling, darlin?"

I knew what she was asking, and I blushed furiously. "Let's just say the passion killers have made it back into the drawer."

Carlisle laughed loudly then covered his mouth quickly to hide it as a cough. Edward snickered, running his fingers through his hair before looking over at me. "You're just as blunt as them, you know that?"

"You love me this way." I rolled my eyes but smiled as I picked up my menu.

"I do," he said, placing his hand on my thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"So, breakfast? What are we having?" Carlisle asked, smiling at us kindly. "I think I'm going to have a waffle, some sausage and maybe some bacon and hash browns."

"You're going to have a heart attack," Edward smirked. "I'm getting a bowl of fruit, omelet, and some sliced tomatoes."

"Oh! That sounds good. I'll get that with a croissant too," his mother chimed in.

"Make it two of those," I agreed with Esme. "That sounds great. Ham and cheese omelet?"

"With extra cheese," Esme smiled brightly. "Just the way I like it."

After breakfast, we went up to his parent's room to exchange gifts. There was a huge box waiting for Edward. I mean huge. And several smaller ones. I noticed two of them had my name on it.

I was very grateful that I got them something as well.

I pulled the gifts, both Edward's and mine, out of my massive purse and placed them on the table. Edward insisted that his parents go first. He wanted to see their reaction to them.

Esme squealed loudly when she saw what was inside. It was a sterling silver charm bracelet with several charms on it. One was of Texas with a heart in the center, there were was an E, a heart, a star, and a snowflake. She put it on right away and jangled it.

"Oh, Edward! It's wonderful! Thank you so much!"

He leaned over into me and whispered softly, "now I have a built-in gift for the next two years. I can just keep adding charms to it."

I giggled, smiling at Edward as he tossed a box at his dad. "You know it's hard to shop for a man who has everything," his son informed him. "Hope you like it."

It was a very nice pen and pencil set, engraved with his name on it. He loved it, right away testing it out. Apparently, the coolest feature of the pen was that it was able to write upside down and that it was the type the astronauts use.

I didn't know that pens couldn't write upside down, but I wasn't curious enough to try that when I was at home alone. Though I did consider it.

"Edward, why don't you open yours?" Esme said, waving her hand towards the box. He hopped up like a little kid, rubbing his hands together as he grinned wickedly. "Like you don't know what it is."

"Sweet!" He cheered, ripping the box open. It was a new silver electric guitar with his initials gracefully painted with black on the side. There was also a new small amp. "Thanks, Mum."

"Hey! I picked out the amp," Carlisle teased. Edward went over to him and quickly hugged him tightly before kissing his mother.

I felt a little out of place in the center of the happy family. Esme seemed to notice. "Bella, your turn, my dear."

There were two small presents, but they were heavy. I took one and tore open the paper quickly. I read the title book out loud. "A traveler's guide to London. Awesome! Thank you! I needed this."

"One more," Esme said, "it goes along with it."

It was a lovely tan leather bound travel journal. "Life goes by so quickly," Carlisle said softly, "sometimes you just need to write things down so you won't forget. Especially when you go on trips."

"Thank you. Both of you. This is very nice," I told them sincerely. Carlisle just smiled, and Esme beamed happily.

"Edward," Carlisle said as he clapped his son on the back, "why don't we go down to the bar for a moment and have a drink and a cigar?"

"I'll skip the cigar. Ladies, want to join?" My sweet boyfriend asked.

"You're not very bright sometimes, son," Carlisle murmured, putting his arm around his shoulder. "Give the ladies a moment. Your mum wants to chat with Bella a tick, I believe."

"Call me if you need me," Edward whispered, giving me an apologetic smile.

"I'm not going to hurt her, honey," his mother rolled her eyes. "Go on. We'll go down in a minute to meet you."

"Ma'am?" I started politely once they were out of the room. "Is something wrong? Have I done something to offend you?"

"Oh! Dear! Of course not," she smiled, touching my hand gently. "No. I just wanted to thank you. And don't worry, the entire family approves of you."

"Thank me for what?"

"Edward was a very shy child. He still is. I haven't seen him this happy in years. Even after he lost the weight. He was proud of himself, but he was lonely. I don't see that now. It's nice."

"I haven't done anything special," I said, shaking my head.

"You have. You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"That's all you need to do. Love him, I mean. Carlisle and Edward are very much alike. Carlisle seemed to bloom the more and more he got around me. The more we fell in love. The Cullen men need that. I just hope you keep it up," she said, patting my hand again and standing up.

"I'll try," I said, shaking my head at a sad thought that skittered across my brain. "I can't imagine my life without Edward now."

"I feel the same way about Carlisle." She smiled at me. "Now, come on, I'm sure Edward is thinking the worst right now."

"Do you blame him?" I said with a soft giggle. "What would you think if your mother pulled Carlisle to the side to talk to him?"

"Mm, good point," she snorted. "You know, she did once. She threatened to cut off his head, both of them, and then stick him in the freezer if he ever hurt me. And then she welcomed him to the family."

"Sounds like something my dad would say," I commented.

"I think I'd like your dad."

I smiled widely, "I think you would too."

Aw, love this Esme.

Thanks for reading!