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Chapter Seventeen

"Time to go," Edward said as the sun began to set.

I groaned and stayed in my place. "No, I'm too comfortable."

He chuckled softly. "I am sorry, but we must. We must eat. I know we are both hungry."

My stomach growled, adding to his point. "Ugh, alright."

I lifted myself off of his chest and immediately felt sad from the lack of contact. I wasn't quite sure how we ended up cuddling like we had been. We started off sunbathing after swimming in the lagoon, but then it ended up with me sunbathing on his chest while he dozed a bit.

He grabbed his loin cloth and slipped it back onto his hips, covering his massively strange penis. I did my best not to stare at him as I had before. Feeling his self-consciousness had hurt me more than I'd like to admit.

"Would you like to tie my skirt for me?" I asked as I held it up on my hips.

He smiled and kneeled down on the ground to tie it for me. Once it was nice and secure, I grabbed my beaded top and placed it around my neck.

As soon as I had finished getting dressed Edward kneeled down in front of me and let me jump onto his back. At this point, I didn't even offer to walk since he seemed to like to carry me so much. Plus I was trying to make up for making his feel self-conscious earlier.

"I had a question." Edward said about twenty minutes after we left the lagoon.

"I might have an answer," I teased. "What's up?"

"I do not want you to feel badly if I ask it," He said. "I mean nothing by it I am just curious."

"Okay," I said slowly.

"When we were swimming, I noticed you had a strange mark on your pouch."

"My pouch?" I asked in confusion.

He set me on my feet and then placed his large hand on my lower stomach. His spread hand was as wide as my stomach.

"Oh, I've never heard anyone call it that." I chuckled. "I guess it is kind of like a pouch."

"What is this mark?" Edward asked as he pulled down the top half of my skirt and pointed to the slightly faded, but still visible surgical scar on my lower stomach.

"Oh, that's where I had my appendix removed when I was thirteen." I said. "It's a scar. You have scars. Why are you curious about it?"

His thumb stroked the line. "I have never seen a scar like this before. It looks like it was cut with a tiny knife. It is a straight line. Did you choose to have your app-apendax removed?"

"Appendix." I repeated for him. "And I didn't have a choice. It ruptured inside of me and if doctors didn't get it out of me, I would've died. They did use a very sharp tiny knife to remove my appendix."

He frowned and continued to stroke the spot. His brows were furrowed as he closely examined the scar.

"Edward it's fine. It doesn't hurt me. Having it removed saved my life."

He looked up at me. "Is your pouch damaged? Like Rosalie's is damaged?"

"Oh," I said. "No. My pouch is just fine. Are you worried about my ability to have a baby?"

"I am sorry," he said as he got to his feet. "I do not want you to feel pain."

"Pain? What pain would I feel?" I asked.

"The pain of not being able to bear a child. Rosalie is in a great deal of pain because of her damaged pouch."

"Oh well you don't have to worry. All of my innards work just fine." I looked up at him and grinned. "Are you already planning on impregnating me? Have you selected names for a baby yet?"

He stared at me for just a moment. "You are joking again?"

"Yes I am joking again," I said as I hopped back onto his back. "Well, kind of. Have you been thinking about having a baby with me?"

"I do not want to lie to you, but I also do not want you to be angry with me."

"So you have thought about it."

"Yes," He sighed somewhat bashfully. "I cannot help it though. I know you have not made a heartbond with me, but I had made one with you. I cannot stop myself from imagining our life as mates."

I loosened my hold around his neck and placed my chin on his shoulder as I bit my lip.

"Tell me about it." I said. "About what you imagine."

He inhaled deeply before starting.

"I have imagined you have made a heartbond with me before your first bleed. When it happens, you are in pain, but you do not have to suffer long because I have already completed the part of the ritual where I become a man. You give me a blade and ask me to cut your braids from your hair. I cut your braids and proudly take my lashing. I take you to the sun cave and I read you the promise." He stopped talking, but his jaw was moving as if he were working up the nerve to say the next part.

"I'm guessing you've imagined us consummating out mating?"

"Yes," he said in a somewhat ashamed tone. "I apologize if it makes you feel uncomfortable."

"No it's alright." I said; it truly was because I couldn't imagine that Edward was thinking of consummation in a disgusting way, like the men from the other side. "Would you mind telling me that part to?"

"Alright, if you are not uncomfortable." He said before clearing his throat. "I have imagined that after I read my promise to you, I take you to my most favorite spot on the whole island. We shed our clothing and swim in the hot spring. Afterwards, I would pluck one of the love flowers and place it in your hair. Then we would consummate our mating and I would give you my seed. And after we finished, I would hold you all the night. I would sing songs to you and to our growing baby inside of you."

"Hm, that sounds really nice." I said. "When you say give me your seed, what do you mean by that?"

"I will explain to you how my father explained it to me when I became a man." He said. "Men have the seed that turns into a baby. When we are born, we immediately begin creating our seed. Sometimes two or three can be created, but that was in the old time. We only give our mates one seed, while it is a very pleasurable feeling, it is also somewhat very painful for both men and women. Women take the seed and turn it into a baby. A woman's body grows the seed, feeds the seed, and the seed becomes a baby."

I pursed my lips as I thought about this. I didn't know if he was talking about sperm, or if there was a literal seed. Either way, I wanted to know.

"What does a man's seed look like?"

"If the seed is to be a male, it will be very large, if it's to be a female then it is still big but not as large as the male seeds. That is about all I know about the seeds. I have not given my seed to anyone, so I'm not sure what they look like."

"Wow that's incredible." I whispered to myself.

Twenty-Minutes Later

"We're here," Edward said softly. I was startled slightly, as I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep on his back.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said as he gently placed me on my feet.

"You are sorry?" He laughed. "About what?"

"I don't even know," I said as I blinked really fast. "I didn't even know I had fallen asleep."

He kneeled down and fiddled with the fire. "Perfect. We will be able to eat very soon."

"Excellent," I smiled as I grabbed my sketchbook.

Edward stood over and watched as I began drawing. After a moment I looked up at him.

"Can I help you?"

"I am just watching," He said. "Seeing you do it now makes me realize that we have done this for many, many years."

"Oh yeah?" I smiled. "You want to try?" I asked, offering my sketchbook to him.

"We do not do it like that," He said before he walked into the jungle.

I frowned and turned my head to watch him but he had disappeared. I chuckled and returned to my sketch. I had only gotten a few lines drawn when he returned with three large white rocks. My eyebrows raised as he sat in front of me and placed the rocks beside him.

He grabbed my sketchbook and carefully put it aside. I would've complained but I was interested to see where he was going with this.

He pressed his finger into the rock and started swirling it. After a moment the tip of his finger turned a very bright blue.

"Whoa that's—," I started but he ran his finger down the length of my neck. After that he traced my collarbone with his finger. It was then I suddenly realized that Edward was talking about painting, not sketching.

"This is how we do it," He said as he pressed his finger against another rock.

"So why do you guys paint each other like this?" I asked as I closed my eyes so he could paint my face.

"I am not sure. For decoration I think." He said. "The first females did this. They painted their faces and their bodies. We have just always done this as well because it is fun and beautiful."

"Hm, I wonder if it was meant to represent makeup. I'm sure women wore makeup back then too. Or something like makeup."

"I am not sure. But we all wear makeup." He said.

I chuckled at his use of the word. It was cute to hear him say it like that. The men where I'm from would've gotten embarrassed and angry, but Edward was certainly not like any of them.

"Can I paint you when you're finished?" I asked.

"Of course," He said before he placed his hands under my armpits and helped me stand. As I was standing, he began to paint the rest of me, but actively avoided painting my lower stomach.

"Why aren't you painting that part?" I asked as I pointed to my stomach.

"My mother paints that part," He said as he drew a purple line around it. "When the females become women, she puts her fingertips around it. When they become pregnant she will put her whole hand on it. And no, I do not know why she does it."

I laughed as Edward knew I was going to ask why she did that. He knew me way to well now.

"I finished," Edward said as he sat back on his hunches and smiled at his work.

I looked down at my limbs to see that I was painted in an array of bright beautiful colors. There was blue, purple, and orange. It seemed like Edward outlined a lot of my bones with the blue. The traced the fat line with thin purple lines. The orange showed up as pops of bright color in the form of dots.

I smiled. "It looks great. I can't wait to see myself in a reflection."

He smiled widely. "Your makeup is done. Would you like to do mine."

I giggled and nodded. "Sure. Show me how to do this though." I pointed to the rocks.

"You just take your finger," He said as he gently grabbed my hand and extended my pointer finger, "and just swirl it onto the rock. The colors will appear."

"Are they all the same, oh," I said as I was surprised to bright green show up on the tip of my finger. It felt exactly like paint.

"Okay, let's see," I said as I lifted my green finger to his neck and started painting. I placed two bright green lines down the side of his neck and across his collarbone.

Once I finished with the green, I placed my finger against another rock and watched as it turned bright red. I started from his neck again but this time I took my three fingers and stroked it down the middle of his neck between the two bright green lines.

It took me about an hour to finish painting Edward. He was so massive and I wanted to decorate him as much as he had decorated me.

"You're finished." I smiled.

He opened his eyes and smiled as well. He looked down at himself and then twisted so he could see his painted tail. His smile widened even more.

"It is beautiful," He said. "You are a good painter."

"Thanks," I chuckled. "I think the food is done. I'm starved."

Edward scuttled to the fire and checked the food before pulling it out.

"I am very hungry too," He said as he placed the food onto the large wooden plate. He grabbed a piece and held it up to my lips. I opened my mouth and took the piece from his fingers.

We fed each other until I was stuffed. Then after that, I fed him until he finished the food. It was a lot of food for the both of us, but it seemed as though it was just enough food for him and I. Edward ate a lot more than any normal man where I'm from did.

I stretched out, "Mm, what would you like to do now? It's not dark yet."

"Why don't you gather the things you want for our journey back home tomorrow?" He said as he handed me a large satchel.

"Good idea," I said as I hopped up and walked to the large trunk. "Did you open this for me? And leave all of those flowers?"

"I did," He answered as he leaned back against a tree. "It seemed as though you really wanted it opened."

"I did," I smiled. "And thank you."

I pulled out the book and tossed it into the satchel. There really wasn't too much I needed from this trunk. I didn't really need anything since I was with Edward now and he pretty much provided everything I needed.

"I guess this is useless," I said as I pulled out the walkie-talkie.

Edward gasped and jumped to his feet before hissing. His lip was lifted, showing his sharp canine. "Get rid of that weapon! It will hurt you!"

"It's not going to hurt me, Edward," I said as I lowered it back into the trunk. "It's called a walkie-talkie. Where I'm from, we use it to talk to people who are far away."

"It is a weapon and it will hurt you." He grumbled as he settled back down onto the ground now that it was back in the trunk.

I laughed. "I'm guessing when I turned it on, and it made that static sound it hurt your ears?"

"Yes," He grumbled again. "It is a weapon."

I shook my head laughing. "What should we do with all of this stuff? I don't need it."

"We will leave it and the jungle will take it." He said as he settled back for me to sit beside him. "What is that?" He asked as he pointed to the book I had pulled out of the satchel.

"It's a book." I smiled. "It's a story that's been written. Would you like me to read it to you."

"Sure." He said as he placed his arm loosely around my waist.

I hope you enjoyed this new chapter! Have a wonderful week!