Hello, all! Sorry that this chapter took soooo long to get out. With the end of school, the fact that I have MONO (yeah, I freaking know. What the hell, right? Ugh.), and adjusting to home made me take a little longer to get this chapter out than I would have liked.

Sorry about that.

Okay, so Chapter Thanks:
1. Tyler Knott Gregson: I have used your inspiring haikus in this chapter (okay, just one, but I will use more...) If you guys want to check him out, go to www(dot)tylerknott(dot)com Want to read his haikus? Click search on the tool bar and type in haiku to the serach bar that appears. I'm serious, you'll fall in love with him.

2. Jack's Mannequin: Enough said.

3. Motrin: For allowing me to have enough sanity to type this right now.

4. IvoryAdulation (again) for updating her stories so I had something to do while I laid here like the useless lump I am.

Chapter Quote:

"Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship."

- Oscar Wilde

Things I Own: Countless containers of jello, because it's all that I can eat now. Dammit.
Things I Don't: Anything written by SM.

Alright, without further ado! (Sorry the AN is annoyingly long)

I walked into the shower, taking my clothes off and throwing them on the floor, before starting the water. I heard Alice jump up on the counter, and I imagined her kicking her feet like a small child.

"So," Alice said, a smile in her voice, "complicated you say? It seems pretty simple to me. He's already seduced you into sleeping with him. And you're falling for him."

I started to talk, but Alice cut me off. "Don't worry. He's falling for you too… if he's not already there."

That made me stop for a second.

There was no way that Edward was falling for me… what about that other girl… unless… he was talking about me… No. No fucking way. There must be some other slag he's involved with.

"Alice." I said, my voice as dead and emotionless as I could make it. "I'm not falling for him. He was just having a bad dream, and he was sobbing in his sleep. I could hear it from all the way in my bedroom… I went to comfort him and ended up falling asleep. That's it."

"Whatever you say, Bells. Now, tell me every piece of this story… I know you're holding out on me."

I laughed at my feeble attempt to bypass the mental prowess that is Alice Brandon. She knew everything, no matter how hard you worked to hide it. It is why she is so damn good as what she does.

"Okay, where do you want me to start?" I asked, as I began washing my hair. "The party." Alice said decisively.

I launched into a full blown play by play of the party, the conversation in the car, the absolutely amazing sex… everything. "But we're just friends, Ali." I'd said when she started squealing after I finished telling her about the sex.

"Sure. Friends don't fuck like that Bella." Alice said. I could practically hear her eyes rolling.

I laughed, "We just needed to get the sexual tension out of our systems…" I said, not even believing myself as the words came out my mouth. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised when Alice laughed.

"Please!" She said, "You two are a walking advertisement for sexual tension. Everything either of you does illustrates attraction for the other. Besides, Bella," Alice said, tisking at me, "It's written all over your face."

"What is?" I asked, as I reached out to grab a towel from the rack.

"You are attracted to him, Bells. Why are you fighting it? Just let go." Alice said, her voice was soft, but I knew there was an order in her words. If I didn't give this thing with Edward a serious shot soon, Alice was going to string me up by my balls.

Well… not that I had any. But still.

"I can't let go, Alice. We work together." I said, walking back into my room and standing in my closet. "Oh," Alice said, walking in behind me and throwing a bag I hadn't seen her holding at me, "How is that any different from Jasper and me?" She cocked a perfectly groomed eyebrow in my direction.

"AL!" I said, laughing, "You know damn well that it's completely different. Jasper works for you; I work with Edward. As a spy team!" I whispered the last part, laughing as I rolled my eyes.

"Okay," Alice conceded, "so it's a little different. But still, I think that you should go for it."

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Of course you do."

I slipped on some underwear before dropping the towel and taking out whatever Alice had purchased for me to wear.

I pulled out the most gorgeous red, orange, and gold sarong, with matching gold Prada sandals. Damn Alice. She was always finding ways to spend money on me.

"I'm just going to write it off as a mission expense, Bella. Relax." Alice said, no doubt sensing my tension.

Sighing, I pulled the sarong on, making sure that it was knotted in all the right places, before slipping the sandals on, and fluffing my curls down my back. I spun around, holding my arms out, looking at Alice. "Well?" I asked, my voice, and expression, hesitant.

Alice looked stunned. "Go." She said, pointing at the full-length mirror I had set up in the corner of my closet. I sighed, rolled my eyes, and walked over to the mirror, closing my eyes so I couldn't see myself right away.

"Open your eyes, Bella." Alice said, laughing a little.

Damn, she knew me too well.

I opened my eyes and was stunned by what I saw. "Holy fucking shit, is that me?" I said, laughter unintentionally bubbling out.

"Yep," Alice said, walking over and placing her hand on my shoulder, "you're one hot piece of ass, Bells. Now, go strike him dead." Alice winked at me, and shoved me out of the closet.

"Wait!" I shouted, planting my feet so that Alice couldn't shove me out of the room before I was ready. Alice just smiled, "Yes?"

"Before I go, two questions." I said, trying to get myself some time. Alice knew what I was up to, but she nodded, gesturing that I should go ahead. "One: you aren't coming with us to Thailand are you? And two: you and Jasper?" I asked, looking at her.

"To answer your first question," Alice began, looking at me dejectedly, "no, I am no longer going to Thailand with you. Jake and I talked about it last night, and we decided that it was a tad too conspicuous… even though I was just going to use the trip as an opportunity to take a vacation." Alice and I laughed, before I looked to her pointedly to answer my second query.

Alice smiled as she began to address the second question, and giggled a bit. "He slept over last night." Alice said, laughing.

"You guys had sex last night?" I said, incredulous. "Of course not, we just slept… he has a long day ahead of him; we're going shopping…" Alice said, looking at me. She pushed me out the door before finishing her statement, "We had sex all day yesterday and the day before. Now, go get'em killer!" Alice shoved me out of my room, in the direction of my living room, before walking down the other hall way so that she could slip out of the apartment.

I walked back into my room with a sigh, chuckling to myself and grabbing a gold clutch and a messenger bag I'd secretly stocked with sleep clothing off of my purse wall, before walking into the living room to find Edward.

Edward was sitting on the couch in khaki cargo shorts and a red button up, the red color of the shirt playing well with the bronze tones in his hair. When he heard me walk in, he looked up, his green eyes blazing into mine. And these panties are ruined.

His shirt also, coincidentally, matched my dress. Alice.

Smiling, I walked over to him, stooping to press a kiss to his forehead before gesturing for him to follow me into the office. I ran a quick device scan, before securing the room, and opening the gadget case.

"What are you looking for?" Edward asked, coming up behind me. I continued rummaging through the cabinet as I replied, "Just some stuff to take with us. We are going to Thailand for recon. I need to be prepped. You never know who you might come across in the field." I said, looking over my shoulder and smiling at him as I began plucking devices off the wall.

"What did you pick out?" Edward asked; at this point, he was so close to me, his hot breath tickled the hairs on my neck, causing me to shiver lightly. I spun around, holding out a small bag I'd taken off the wall, before walking over to the desk to get everything out.

"Twenty audio bugs, ten visual bugs, ten GPS locators, foreign phone, ten cell bugs, glasses camera, computer monitoring software, maps, a compass, some caltrops, two small guns, ammo, and air needles." I said, holding up everything, before putting everything back safely in it's holding container. Edward just looked at me.

"What are the air needles for?" he asked, staring at me. "In case I need to kill someone conspicuously." I answered, winking at him. Edward walked quickly to me, closing the five-foot gap between us in a step. Our breathing picked up as he stood there, his chest hitting mine, as he brought his hands up to cradle my face. My body began to tremble as we stood there; I was completely overcome with an almost wanton need for him.

Just then, Alice busted into the room, causing Edward and I to fly apart. "Come on bitches; you're going to Thailand!" she shouted, the laughter she was suppressing evident in her voice. I looked at Edward before taking a deep breath and stepping away, gesturing that he should walk ahead of me before shutting down the room.

Walking out, I saw Alice shove a bag into Edward's arms before pushing him out the door. She walked over to me with another bag in her hands, shoving it into my arms before flashing me a smile and pushing me out the door as well. "I packed this bag for you. Now, give me the gadgets. You are riding public trans, so I'm going to need to put this in an x-ray proof container. It will come up on the screen as a bag filled with basic travel crap. A book, a pillow… that kind of thing." Alice said.

I nodded, helping Alice stow everything away in the container. She shoved it down into my carry-on, zipping it up, before stuffing it into my arms and shoving me towards to door.

Thank god she'd just packed me a carry-on. If my travels had taught me anything, it was that carry-on was the way to go. Having to wait around an airport for my baggage, which may or may not have been tampered with, was torture, especially when on a time sensitive mission. And this mission was nothing if not time sensitive.

I laughed as Alice used all the strength she had to move me towards the door. When we got to the entrance, I spun around, wrapping my arms around her. "I'll call you as soon as I get back." I said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Alice kissed my cheek as well, quickly switching to kiss my opposite cheek before walking out the door ahead of me, waiting as I set security and bolted the locks.

Many of the locks on my door weren't actually visible locks, but were radio frequency sensitive, and opened when I passed the sensor over the locks. I even had one that was fingerprint sensitive.

Hell yeah, I only worked with the best technology. Thank goodness I have Jake in my life.

I bid Alice adieu outside my apartment before getting into the elevator and heading down to the parking garage, where Edward was standing outside my car.

Reaching out, Edward took my bag from me and walked around the back of the car, waiting until I popped the trunk to gently place the bags inside, before walking back around to open my door for me. After helping me into the driver's seat, Edward brushed a kiss on my knuckles before walking around the front of the car to help himself in.

I put the car into drive, clicking through my iPod as I pulled out onto the street. Finally settling on Jack's Mannequin, I plugged my iPod into my car dock, and set the volume to a quiet background level.

I've got my things; I'm good to go

You met me at the terminal

Just one more plane ride, and it's done

We stood like statues at the gate

Vacations come and gone too late

There's so much sun where I'm from

I had to give it away

Had to give you away.

Oh Jesus. Not this song. I loved it, but the foreshadowing was a little bit too much for me to handle right now.

And we spent four days on an island at your family's old hotel

Sometimes perfection can be...

It can be perfect hell

Perfect...

Hours pass and she still counts the minutes

That I am not there

I swear I didn't mean for it to feel like this

Like every inch of me is bruised (bruised)

Don't fly fast

Oh pilot, can you help me?

Can you make this last?

This plane is all I've got, so keep it steady now

'Cause every inch you see is bruised

I probably would be bruised after Edward was done with me. With the way that I already felt about him… there was no way that I was going to get out of this alive. At the very least, I was never going to be the same person again.

I was the kind of person that didn't get attached very easily… but when I did, the connection, for me, was there for life. Unless, of course, the other person did something so completely deplorable I would never be able to get over it. But Edward didn't seem like that type of person. I would have figured that out already.

I lace my Chucks, I walk the aisle,

I take my pills

The babies cry...

All I hear is what's playing through the in-flight radio

Now every word of every song

I ever heard that made me want to stay

Is what's playing through the in-flight radio.

And I, I am finally waking up

Sighing as I pulled onto the highway, I chanced a look over at Edward. He was listening to the words, nodding his head quietly to the beat, his voice quietly humming along with the melody, as he looked out the window. The early morning sun was flashing in his eyes, making it look as though they were lit from within, and his hair was reflecting the golden tones cast in by the sun. God, he is beautiful.

Hours pass and she still counts the minutes

That I am not there

I swear I didn't mean for it to feel like this

Like every inch of me is bruised (bruised)

Don't fly fast

Oh pilot, can you help me?

Can you make this last?

This plane is all I've got, so keep it steady now

'Cause every inch you see is bruised

As I drove, I got to thinking. The words of Andrew McMahon floating through my ears were inspiring me. I only had now… I should do something about my feelings for Edward now… but we had only known each other for three days. There was no way that I could go into a full-fledged relationship with him based on some limited knowledge of him. But I also couldn't miss out on what had the potential to grow into something great.

So read your books, but stay out late some nights (some nights)

And don't think that you can't stop by the bar

You haven't shown your face here since the bad news

Well, I'm here 'til close with fingers crossed

Each night 'cause your place isn't far

And hours pass...

Hours pass

She still counts the minutes

That I am not there

I swear I didn't mean for it to feel like this

Like every inch of me is bruised (bruised)

And don't fly fast

Oh pilot, can you help me?

Can you make this last?

This plane is all I've got, so keep it steady now

'Cause every inch you see is bruised

Bruised, bruised.

I sighed, allowing the playlist to play through, smiling as the upbeat lyrics filled my mind. At one point, during Swim, Edward had reached over, and placed his hand on top of mine on the gearshift.

I looked over at him, shocked that he was touching me, and smiled, before reaching my fingers up and intertwining them with his. Edward smiled, picking up my hand and kissing my knuckles, before placing it back down on the gearshift, his thumb rubbing over the place his lips as just been.

Was it hot in here, or was it just me?

I let the gentle motion of Edward's thumb moving across my skin calm me as I continued the drive to Baltimore/Washington International Airport.

We arrived about fifteen minutes later, parked the car in the long-term parking lot, before hopping on the next shuttle to our gate. "Who are we flying?" Edward asked. I looked down at the ticket, "Finnair." I answered, shoving the ticket back in my pocket. Edward chuckled, and stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. "That seems obscure." He said, his laughter shaking me slightly. I just shrugged, conveying to him that this was Alice's way of making our trip as inconspicuous as it could possibly be. Edward seemed to understand what I was getting at, because he hummed softly in my ear.

We stood in silence for a few moments, and I could feel Edward's eyes on me. I knew that he was trying to figure something out, but I had no idea where his head was. Suddenly, he turned his head so that he was facing my neck and whispered, "What's changed in your head, love?"

I sighed, knowing that I should have known that he would have sensed a change in me. I don't know how they train their officers (what the CIA called a spy) over at MI6, but the CIA sends you off to what we call the Farm.

The Farm consisted of a yearlong training program that was separated into two main parts: paramilitary training and tradecraft training. Paramilitary training was the best part of the Farm. Once you passed the Army's fitness test, you were allowed to enter the paramilitary training program, at the end of which, you became jump certified. It was definitely the peak of my training at the Farm. I mean hell, who doesn't love getting to jump out of planes… especially after you have been tortured with rope courses, mud pits, and obstacle courses for the past few weeks?

Tradecraft training taught you all about the ins and outs of becoming a spy. We learned how to recruit foreign agents, how to interact with people abroad, how to ensure that your mission was going off without a hitch… things like that.

It wasn't as fun as it sometimes sounded.

But, the training was invaluable, and I had used at least a piece of it every single day that I was on mission. Hell, it had even helped me when I was living the civilian life. You know, when I spent my time working on my cover.

God knows how MI6 trained their officers… I can only assume that their training is something similar to what I went through. Hopefully… because otherwise, I have no idea what I'm working with.

I looked over at Edward and smiled weakly at him. "I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Edward." I said. Edward smiled at me, leaning forward to kiss my neck.

"That feels like my line, Bella." He said, chuckling. I slapped his chest, before sinking back against him, allowing my body to rest comfortably against his.

I felt Edward physically relax against me, pulling me tighter against him, as he turned his head again and placed his lips right at my ear. "I'm glad you feel that way." Edward said, "Because, if I'm being honest, Bright Eyes, I think you could be it for me." I felt as though the world should have stopped at his words. Every single person on the planet should have just disappeared for a few hours, and it would just be Edward and me. My head should have exploded. But instead, the shuttle bumped along to the international gate.

I stood, my back resting against his strong chest in a shocked silence the entire way.

Edward hoisted our bags over his shoulder as we got off the shuttle and began walking towards security. After handing our tickets to the first official, we approached the next security gate. Edward and I separated into two separate portals, stripping off our shoes and throwing them into the bin, along with our civilian cell phones and wallets, before throwing on our bags, laden with spy gear. The best part was that the security guards had no idea.

God, I loved Jake. Damn, I say that a lot.

Edward and I passed through security unscathed, as I knew we would, before we walked over to one of the many restaurants that lined the inside of the airport. "I'm starving." Edward said, a large smile on his face, and he leaned back a bit and rubbed his non-existent gut. I just chuckled and nodded my head in agreement. "I need to text Jake though, to let him know that we got here safely." I said, hoping that Edward knew what I was getting at.

I need to get this GPS locator turned on...

I pulled out my civilian phone and texted Jake our usual code text message: "Game plan still on tonight?" We initially came up with it because the first letters of the first three words could mean GPS and on obviously indicated that he was to turn the device on. Whatever words we added after on didn't really matter. Just like the response from Jake didn't really matter, as long as it made sense with what I was publically doing that day just in case anyone was tracking me.

I got a message back from Jake a few minutes later: "Yep, I'm going to ask her tonight. :)" I smiled, pocketing the phone, before turning around to Edward.

I felt the jolt in my neck as I turned around, smiling to myself now that I knew I was being tracked. "Jake going to do it?" Edward asked, grinning at me knowingly. "Yep, the game plan is still on for tonight." I answered, lowering my eyes seductively, before bringing my eyes back to his. Edward just stared at me for a few seconds, the sexual tension running rampant between us.

"So, we have two hours before our flight… what do you want to do?" I asked, clearing my throat awkwardly. Edward smiled down at me before reaching over and taking my hand. "I really want to get some food and then walk around. We are going to be in a plane seat for eighteen hours… my legs need exercise." I chuckled, and gripped Edward's hand in mine before spinning us around towards the nearest restaurant and walking inside. I was immediately annoyed beyond all belief.

The tall, blonde, 'my legs are miles long, please fuck me' hostess was totally eye-sexing Edward. He didn't seem to notice, because he barely looked up from me as he told her that we were looking for a private table for two, his hand still clutching mine, as though it were the only thing keeping his feet on the ground.

This woman, whose nametag read 'Chloe' didn't seem to care.

Get your eyes off of my man, bitch. I'll kill you! WAIT. My man? Oh shit…

After leading us to our table, Edward slyly sipped the hostess a tip, before pulling my chair out from the table and seating himself across from me. He was trying to pay attention to the millions of emotions that were undoubtedly swirling across my features, but he was so hungry that he was having trouble thinking about anything else. "Get your food selected, Edward, and then I will talk to you about what's wrong." Edward smiled his thanks, before throwing open the menu and searching it rapidly.

His eyes scanned the menu; when I noticed that his eyes had stopped moving, he smiled, and slammed the menu shut, and placed it down next to his plate.

I knew what I wanted as well, but I was avoiding his gaze. I wasn't ready to tell him that I waned to gouge out the waitresses eyes for even so much as looking at him. Hell, I had just decided that I would be willing to pursue this… this thing that we had going. How could I possibly tell him I was already turning into a jealous beast?

I slowly shut the menu, placing it to the right of my plate, straightening my silverware before allowing my eyes to travel up to Edward's.

The bastard was grinning cheekily at me, his eyes filled with recognition for the situation in front of him.

"You were thinking about killing her, weren't you?" he asked, a light chuckle infiltrating his voice.

"No!" I lied; Edward knew I was lying the second the word left my mouth. My tone was too high, and I couldn't look him in the eye. Damn it. I was a trained spy. I should be better at this.

Edward just smiled my smile at me, before winking at me. "Don't you worry, Bright Eyes; I prefer brunettes."

My jaw dropped.

Edward smiled as I continued to sit there, staring at him, my mouth embarrassingly agape. I heard the waitress coming from behind me, and Edward reached over, taking his hand, and pushing my chin my up, bringing my lips back together. Edward just laughed as the waitress approached, not taking his eyes off of me as she greeted him, "Ready to order, sir?" Her voice was slick and smooth, the wanton lust evident in every word. She even had the audacity to lick her lips at him, dragging her tongue 'seductively' across her lips, while she stared him the hell down.

I will kill her.

Edward never took his eyes from mine, as he gestured towards me, "You can address me after the lady has ordered. What would you like, love?" Edward winked at me, holding my gaze, as I saw the waitress turn her body slightly towards me from the corner of my vision. Our eyes remained locked as I stuttered through my order, and I laughed awkwardly, dropping my eyes seductively before returning them to his. "Okay…" the waitress said, her lack of comfort apparent in her tone, turning her body towards Edward again, "and for you?" Edward kept his eyes locked on mine as he gave her his order, picking up my menu, and placing it on top of his before reaching over to hand both menus to Chloe.

She smiled at us, before saying something about putting in our orders, and disappeared.

The second she left, I started to feel like I was going to catch on fire. I could feel Edward's eyes on me, more so than I could see them; it was as though he was staring straight through my skin, and into ME. He wasn't smiling cockily as me, he wasn't laughing, grinning, or even speaking.

We were both just sitting there, in a stunned, silent bliss.

"Tell me, Bella." Edward said, his words were quiet, but they ripped through me like a katana. The emotion behind them shocked me; it shouldn't have, because I was expecting my reaction once the conversation came up. But, for some reason, talking about my decision in regards to Edward was a little different than just telling myself I'd finally given in.

I knew that if I told Edward, he was definitely going to take advantage of his new freedoms… but I was so afraid that he would end up dropping… whatever this was at the end of the mission, and leaving me completely broken.

Because that was exactly what would happen.

I looked at Edward, and cleared my throat slightly, before bringing my hands onto the table; they were shaking slightly, and I prayed to the gods I didn't believe in to make them stop.

Edward noticed anyway, and reached over, taking my hands in his, rubbing his thumb across my knuckles. "Tell me, Bright Eyes." Edward said, smiling at me.

I smiled slightly at him, letting out a shaky breath. "So, I've been thinking about this thing between us…" I said, trying to avoid looking at him. "and I've " the last part bubbled out of my mouth, the words coming out quickly, as my hands started to shake in Edward's hands.

Edward sat looking at me, his eyes locked onto mine, his hands squeezing mine, to stop the shaking. I had no idea what he was thinking, no idea where his mind was… I hoped we were on the same page… I mean, I knew what he'd said, but that didn't mean that it eased my insecurity. If anything, it made me more worried that I would quite literally die when he undoubtedly got tired of this relationship.

I wasn't a person with self-esteem issues, and I didn't often doubt myself… the only time I had any problems was when I was involved (or thinking about getting involved in) a serious relationship. Which made no sense, because they'd all worked so well in the past! I internally rolled my eyes at my monologue.

You know you're insane when you start being sarcastic when you're talking to yourself.

Good lord, help me.

Suddenly, Edward stood up, keeping my hands in his, and walked around the table, kneeling beside me. "Bella…" he whispered, the words set my heart on fire. The way he spoke them seemed more like a caress than speaking, his tongue rolling over the syllables with care and ease. He pulled his body up straighter in the squat, and gently placed his lips to mine.

His mouth was firm, yet soft and unassuming against mine; he didn't move to deepen the kiss, just left his mouth on mine, smiled after a moment before and pulled away before walking back to his seat.

I sat in stunned silence.

The waitress came and went, dropping our plates in front of us, asking if we needed anything else.

Yeah… uhm, I think I'm having a heart attack. Can you fix that?

Edward must have noticed my… weirdness, because before he started eating, he reached over the table, took my hand in his, and said, "Hey, it's alright, love. We have an eighteen-hour flight ahead of us. We can talk about the semantics of this then. Don't stress… we'll make it work. This is right."

I took a moment to digest his words before chuckling quietly at myself, and nodded at him.

Throughout the rest of the meal, Edward and I had returned to our usual selves. We laughed, talked, joked, and verbally knocked each other down. Every time I saw the waitress coming over out of the corner of my eye, I would steer the conversation towards something mushy and cute, and reach out to take Edward's hand in mine.

He knew exactly what I was doing, but he played right along. I think he secretly liked it anyway.

Once we had finished eating, and paying, Edward and I walked hand and hand throughout the airport, stopping every once and a while to buy small snacks to shove into my bag so we had something edible to eat on the plane. At one point, we were in a shop that sold little games and activities for kids, reminiscing over the things that we used to have as children, and talking about the things we used to do when our parents used to force us on long trips.

I told him about how Charlie and I used to play with MadLibs whenever we would make the long trips to Seattle when I would visit him over the summer. Because we both loved reading, writing, and puzzles, these were our favorite games to play. I would sit in the passenger seat in the cruiser, my little feet pulled up in the seat, with the pad resting on my knees. I would ask Charlie for words, and then I would read the final story out loud, we would dissolve into laughter like children. When I was younger, they were soft and innocent, the blanks filled with my childish scrawl, and words like "bunny rabbit." When I was older and began playing with my friends, the game quickly became the dirty mess that I secretly think it was meant to be.

Edward knew that talking about Charlie wasn't the easiest for me, and smiled lovingly at me, giving my cheek a quick kiss, before distracting me with a hilarious tale of his and Emmett's childhood habits.

The first time they went to Yellowstone was also their last; something about raw salmon, a baby bear, the trunk of Edward's parent's car, and state park officials managed to convince his parents that the boys couldn't be trusted with wildlife.

If our kids are anything like the two of them were…

Oh god. I really just thought that.

I mean the idea of having children with Edward didn't scare me. In fact, it made my heart beat faster, my palms sweat, and my mind start to race… in a good way. The only thing that was a little nerve racking was the fact that I was already ready to think about taking such a step with him.

Yeah, we will not be talking about this on the plane ride. I just told him that I would date him… I don't need to go and tell him that I already have baby names picked out.

He snuck away from my side at one point in the shop, and by the time I realized that he was gone, he was back at my side, holding a bag by his side. "What's in the bag?" I asked, looking at him curiously, reaching for it.

Edward moved the bag out of reach, before shaking his head at me. "Nope, not until the plane." I pouted, but it was to no avail.

Edward just laughed, taking my hand in his as we walked to our gate.

We plopped down in a pair of seats near the door, and Edward pulled my feet into his lap, running his hands gently over my calf.

It should have freaked me out… but for some reason, it felt comfortable. It felt right. It was a blatant showing of affection in the middle of a hugely crowded public place, but I couldn't find it in me to care.

"This is actually insanely comfortable." I said, the blush spreading across my cheeks. Edward smiled at me, running his thumb across my cheekbone. "I'm comfortable too." He said, his gorgeous green eyes burning into mine.

I want to kiss him. I need to kiss him.

It was as though he heard my thoughts.

His eyes flickered down to my lips, before flicking back up to mine. Slowly, so slowly, he leaned in until his mouth was centimeters from mine.

I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe. I could feel his breath hitting my lips, the sensation teasing me, making me absolutely crave him.

He reached his hand up, cupping the left side of my face, shielding most of my face from people that could be watching us. I brought my lower lip into my mouth, biting it nervously, allowing my eyes a moment to flick between his mouth and his eyes.

He ran his tongue over his bottom lip before leaning the rest of the way, bringing his mouth to mine.

I sighed softly, bringing his bottom lip between mine, nibbling on it gently. He smiled against my lips, curling his fingers back into my hair, and pulling me closer to him, his chest gently brushing up against mine.

The things that I wanted to do to this man right now were not appropriate for public. Damn him and his trickery.

I smiled, and pulled back, staring into his eyes for a few seconds before reaching up to run my fingers through his hair.

"They're going to call us soo –"

I was cut off by the announcer: "Finnair flight 8642 to Bangkok is now boarding their VIP First Class passengers; please report to the gate. Again, Finnair flight 8642 to Bangkok is now boarding their VIP First Class passengers; please report to the gate."

I swung my legs off of Edward, and hopped up to my feet, reaching down to help Edward up. He chuckled at me, grabbing my bag from my hands and swinging it over his shoulder before grabbing his bag, taking my hand, and walking us over to the gate.

We showed our tickets to the woman, and walked onto the plane, throwing our overhead bags into storage, before I took my messenger bag and shoved it under my seat.

I walked in, taking the window seat, and sat down, followed by Edward, who took the aisle.

"I love flying first class." Edward said, reaching between us to move the seat partition up. "Two large seats, better food, no one to bother us…" Edward smiled wickedly at me, before spinning me in my seat, bringing my legs into his lap again, allowing me to rest my head on the wall behind me.

"Edward!" I shrieked, laughing as other people began filing onto the plane, "There is no way the flight attendants are going to let me sit like this the whole time." Edward just smiled, leaned over and gave me a soft kiss. "Don't fret, love. They won't say a damn word."

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't stop the warm smile that was spreading across my face.

Edward winked, before reaching around me and said, "You know what the best thing about these seats is?" I shot him a questioning look, and Edward flipped a switch settled on the armrest I was leaning on.

I yelped as the seat started moving down, all the way down, and a footrest began moving up. "It makes a bed!" I said, surprised. I started laughing, "Does yours do that too?" Edward nodded and moved his back a bit to prove a point.

"Even better…" Edward said, his face taking on a wicked smile. He reached under his seat and pulled out what looked like a shower curtain. "This goes around us. People can see our outlines, so they are able to tell if we are doing anything we shouldn't be doing, but we get a little bit of privacy."

The dirty thoughts began flooding my brain. I started thinking about things we could do without getting in trouble, how we could do… other things and not get caught, how amazing it would be to fall asleep in Edward's arms.

Edward smiled at me, pulled my seat up a bit, leaving our seats reclined just enough to let us rest comfortably in our seats. He smiled, pulled me into his lap, and scooted over into my seat, leaning half on his back against the wall, the other half against my seat.

He settled me down between his legs, and bent his legs at the knees, wrapping his arms around my middle and pulling me against him.

"When I look at you

and when my hands find your skin,

can you feel my love?"

He whispered the haiku in my ear, and I felt my body come alive at the words. "Where did you hear that?" I asked, leaning my head back onto his shoulder so I could look at him. "Tyler Knott Gregson wrote it. I read his blog every single day." Edward said, smiling down at me.

I grinned, lifting my body just a bit to press a kiss to his lips. "It's lovely, Edward. It's almost as sweet as if you had written it…" I said, sarcastically, winking at him to let him know that I was joking.

He growled quietly, his chest rumbling against me, and nibbled my neck. "Check yourself, Swan." He said, his teeth scraping across my skin.

I laughed, swatting at him. Just then, a flight attendant, a tall blonde guy about my age, walked over to us.

"Hi, I'm Mike, and I'll be the VIP Flight Attendant for this trip. I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to you, and let you know that, while you are able to sit in any manner you like during the flight, we insist that you sit in your own seats for take off and landing."

Edward smiled at him, tightening his hands around my middle, squeezing me to him; "Of course," he said, his smile gorgeous, "now, what about the sleep partition? We wanted to get to sleep right after take off to get acclimated to the time change." Edward's fingers began tracing shapes on my abdomen, and I nearly let him have his way with me right in front of the entire plane.

"You can put it up as soon as the plane is in the air. If the seatbelt sign is still lit up, just alert me, and I will put it up for you." Mike smiled at Edward and I, before reaching to grab something out of his pocket. "These are meal cards, if you could just check off what meals you would like to receive, and give it to me whenever possible, I would appreciate it."

Edward plucked a pen from my back pocket, scanned the list, and checked off whatever he wanted. "Same as mine, love?" he asked, holding out his list so that I could see it. "Sounds good." I said, smiling at him. He quickly checked off the selections and handed it back to Mike, who nodded his thanks and walked off to give cards to the other First Class VIPs.

We heard the overhead system click on, and a voice of a woman I'm assuming to be another flight attendant came on; "The plane is fully loaded, and we will be pulling onto the Tarmac in a moment, so please return your seats into their fully upright position, buckle your seat belts, and put trays in their upright and locked position."

I sighed, moving out of Edward's lap and into his seat, pulling both our seats back up into the right position.

I saw Edward buckling his seat belt as the plane started to move, but I made no move to buckle mine. I merely moved the belt so that it wasn't dangling in the aisle, and shoved the ends under my thighs.

"You don't buckle your belt?" Edward asked, taking my hand in his. "Nope," I said, a smile on my face, "never have, never will." "And why's that?" Edward asked me, grinning like he was about to win some sort of contest. "Because if they plane is going to crash and catch fire going 600 miles an hour, I'm going to die either way. Besides, I hate seatbelts."

Edward just laughed and squeezed my thigh as we pulled onto the runway. We sat in silence until the plane took off, and was leveled off in the sky.

"Finally." Edward said under his breath, reaching up to hit Mike's alert button, and taking his shoes, and mine, and shoving them into a pocket under his seat. Mike came over, and hung up the curtain handed us two blankets and two pillows, and Edward leaned back our seats. "Enjoy your rest. If you are not awake by the time your first marked meal is served, would you like me to wake you?" "No; stop by before and check our status before serving, please." Mike nodded, shut the curtain, and left us to ourselves.

Edward took his blanket, shoved it down in the crack between our seats and smoothed it out so we would have something nicer to lay on, before turning on his side and pulling me to him.

"Before we do anything," Edward whispered, reaching his hand up to brush away so wayward strands of hair that had fallen into my eyes and tangle his fingers into my hair, "I want to talk to you."

"OH thank goodness!" I sighed, unable to control my relief.

I had been worried that he was just going to take this new change of heart for what it seemed like: an okay for the two of us to engage in a casual hookup. But that wasn't what I wanted at all. I wanted something deeper… something real. Because that was what I felt for Edward: something deep and real.

Don't get me wrong… I was scared as shit. I had never ad feelings like this for someone before, not even for the men that I had dated for long, extended periods of time.

And my biggest concern about all my old relationships didn't exist here: Edward already knew what I did for a living. I didn't have to hide anything from him, didn't have to pretend… I would have to talk about the "sleeping with targets" thing with my bosses at the CIA because it was sure to come up in my future missions. I hated it when it happened, but when I was sent on a mission like this, I usually ended up sleeping with someone.

I've found that it's easier to convince men to work with you after you've just made them cum.

Edward smiled and placed a kiss on my lips before gesturing towards me, "You should go first." He said, "Ask me anything you want to know."

I immediately became nervous. I wanted to ask Edward about why he cried in his sleep… and I refused to ask him that right now. It would tire the both of us out, and we would probably never get to the other conversations that we needed to have. So I smiled, shook my head and said, "Nice try, doll. You go first." Edward just chuckled, before securing his arms around my waist and looking deeply into my eyes.

"What made you change your mind?" he asked, his words sincere. I was so confident in my feelings for him, that I was able to hold eye contact the whole time as I answered.

"I thought about what was keeping me back… and it was stupid. I didn't want to pursue anything with you because I was worried that it would ruin my professional career, it would conflict with the mission… a bunch of stupid things that I never should have been thinking about. When I think about you, when I hear you, see you, smell you, touch you… I am overwhelmed with the most fantastic emotion I've even been allowed to take a part in. I realized that the parts of myself that I usually hide don't need to be hidden here. I realized that I wanted you to know everything about me… like you said you wanted. And I actually believed that you were telling the truth." I sighed, shutting my eyes for a second and taking a deep centering breath.

When I opened my eyes, Edward's were on fire. It took all the self-control in the world to finish what I was saying.

"I think that what we have is real; that it could turn into something that this world has never seen. I'm falling for you Edward; hard." I chuckled awkwardly, reaching a hand up to run it through his hair, before leaning up to kiss his neck a couple of times.

Edward groaned before pulling back a bit and looking at me. "You really feel that way? You really think that this could… go the distance? You want this too?"

He was beside himself.

"Of course I want this, Edward. I wanted this from the second I actually started getting to know you. At first, I thought you were just a hot piece of ass, which you are, but you are also so much more than that." He gave me a look that indicated that I should continue and I stifled a laugh.

"You're insanely intelligent, compassionate, quick-witted, hysterical, loving, you care about your family, and the fact that you are almost disturbingly rich doesn't seem to affect you at all. You are able to see me for who I really am, and you know what to say and what to do to make me feel like everything is going to be okay. I feel safe when I'm with you… I feel… whole. And that's something that I have yet to experience in my life."

Edward's face broke into a heart-breaking smile and he pulled me so tightly against him I thought I was going to suffocate.

"I feel the same way, Bella. The exact same way. Do you know what it feels like to know that someone you've been telling your parents about feels the same way about you? What it feels like to know that the person that you are thinking could be THE ONE has told you that she feels the same way?"

I smiled, "I think I have an idea…"

Edward chuckled quietly, before leaning over and beginning an assault on my neck. His lips were tugging and pulling at my skin, and though the feeling was completely overwhelming, and making me want to do extremely naughty things to him, I knew that I needed to talk to him.

"Edward… I need… I need to talk… to talk to you." I somehow managed to get out, despite the fact that he was now sucking on my shoulder, definitely leaving me a mark.

Leave a mark. Mark me.

Holy shit… who knew I was into a little S/M shit? Hmmm… we will explore that more.

Edward grunted against my skin, before pulling my ear lobe between his teeth. He nibbled for a few seconds, before I heard his husky voice in my ear.

"After? I need you love, I need you right now."

Now, who was I to argue with his very convincing logic?

My sigh, and the fact that I had now wrapped my fingers into his hair and pulled him roughly against me, must have signaled him to the fact that I had decided to give in.

He continued to attack my neck before whispering, "Bella… I need you to get your panties off without sitting up. I have to do the same, but I want you to lay facing me."

I moaned quietly, pressing my face into his shoulder to silence the sound.

"That's another thing," Edward said, pulling my face up and putting his mouth on mine in a searing kiss, "no. Noises."

My entire body shivered at the tone in his voice, and I could just imagine what it would be like if we were going to be having this kind of dominant sex somewhere where I was allowed to yell.

Oh, I cannot WAIT for that.

I shimmied out of my panties, folding them, and handing them to Edward so that he could discretely place them in the basket with our shoes.

Lying bottomless on an airplane seat just feels wrong.

Edward had managed to pull his pants off as well, and I noticed that he had a foil wrapper between his teeth. "I'm on the…" I started, but Edward just shook his head at me. "I know, it's not that. I just don't need to worry about clean up with these. I'll just put it in a Ziploc or something." I nodded, and smiled at him, reaching back to pull his mouth to mine.

As we kissed, he pulled his body so that it was closer to mine, his impossibly hard erection stabbing against my thigh. I nearly moaned at the contact, but I knew better than that, as most people on the plane were still up, and instead reached between us to stroke him lightly.

Edward began moving my dress up, before swooping down, and plunging his fingers in my folds, and my entire body was overcome with pleasure. I was physically shaking with the restraint it required to keep from crying out.

This is going to be one of the best orgasms of my life.

Edward ripped open the foil package quietly, and rolled the condom onto himself; for once, I was grateful that we didn't take a lot of time on foreplay.

For once? We've only ever had sex one other time…

Edward took his hand, and wrapped it around my upper thigh, lifting it, and hitching it around his hip. The move wouldn't draw attention from the outside, as it could have very easily have been my arm going around his waist…

At least, that's what I was hoping.

Edward grabbed my face in his hands as he pushed himself into me, kissing me to silence the sounds that we both would have otherwise made.

The feel of him inside me was exquisite. As though I would have expected anything else.

We both knew that we needed to finish quickly, so he began thrusting as deeply and quickly as he could, while still remaining absolutely silent.

The feeling of his hot, sweaty body against mine was even better than I remembered.

As he thrust, I shoved my hands up his shirt, tracing my fingers over his muscles, and even stopping to tweak his nipples, watching his face for a reaction.

I want to lick every inch of his skin.

Edward soon returned the favor, reaching behind me to unhitch my bra, and shove his fingers under the fabric. He pulled out his fingers, and ran them over my clit for a moment, making me arch against him and seep juices out onto his hand.

Thank god we put that blanket down.

He soon slid his hand back up under my dress, using my juices to moisten my nipples; his now slick fingers were tweaking and pulling at them, driving me absolutely mad.

I could feel my stomach begin to tighten, and I knew that my release was going to be here very soon; but I could tell from the look on Edward's face that he was going to finish before me.

And that worried him.

He brought his hand out of my dress so quickly I couldn't see it, immediately working my clit with his talented fingers.

"Cum for me, Bella. Please, cum for me. I want to see that fucking sexy look you get, I want to feel your pussy clamp down on my and milk my cock. Come on, Bella… cum for me…"

That did it for me. Dirty talking Edward was someone that needed to make a daily appearance. He could get all the ass from me he wanted, as long as he promised to talk to me like that every day for the rest of our lives.

I felt myself clamp down on Edward, my back arching, and my mouth opening in a silent cry. I felt my lungs working up a sound, so I pulled my body tightly against him, sinking my teeth into his shoulder.

My orgasm spurned Edward's.

As I sunk my teeth into his shoulder, he bit mine, his fingers grabbing so tightly onto my hips, I knew that I was going to have bruises. But I didn't care. I needed this moment with Edward to last, and last, and last…

Once our bodies rode out their respective orgasms, we collapsed against each other, desperately trying to control the erratic breathing that was threatening to overtake us.

I sat up and pulled out my messenger bag, pulling out the pair of sleep sweats Edward had bought at one of the stores in the airport. I pulled out my outfit as well, sitting the shirt and pants on my lap, contemplating how to best pull them on without causing a scene.

I handed Edward his sweats, before untying my dress, pulling on a t-shirt I had stolen from Edward's room this morning, and the gray pair of "Baltimore Marathon" sweats I had stashed in my pack when Alice wasn't looking.

There was no way that she would have let me out of the house with a pair of sweatpants at my immediate disposal.

I yawned, untying the dress, allowing my body to fall out of it, shimmying it down my body as discretely as possible.

I pulled the t-shirt over my head like a sweat shirt, and laid back, pulling my sweat pants on with an amount of skill I wasn't aware I had.

I rolled away slightly, allowing Edward enough room to pull his sweats on, and tie off/store the condom for later disposal.

Once we returned to our fully clothed state, Edward laid down on his back, pulling me against his chest, allowing my to rest my head in the crook of his neck, where he knew I liked it best.

"Okay, now what did you need to speak about, Bella?" Edward asked, laughing lightly. I frowned, reaching up to push back the hair that had fallen into his eyes and stuck to the sheen of sweat that had emerged after our… activities.

"It's not pleasant, Edward. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. But I need you to know that I need to understand this about you. It would kill me not to know."

Edward looked nervous, as he should. He had no idea what my crazy ass was talking about, and he knew that he probably wouldn't like it once I told him what I was talking about. But he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

"Whatever it is, Bright Eyes, I know that we need to talk about it. And I would tell you and give you anything that you ever asked for." I smiled half-heartedly at him, before snuggling closer to him and running my fingertips over his chest.

"Edward… uhm, why do you cry in your sleep? What happened to you?"

REMEMBER, I LOVE REVIEWS!

Two Questions for you this time:

1. What do you think Edward's issue is?

2. What do you want to see happen in Thailand?

Thanks lovelies! Can't wait to hear from you.