AN- At last! Here is Edward's side of the practice session. Sorry it took longer than usual. I had a very busy weekend. I hope you deem it worth the wait!


A Morning of Freedom (2)

EPOV

Dawn broke and light began to filter through Bella's window. The soft glow crept toward the bed, gradually brightening the room. As the sun rose fully, a golden shaft fell upon Bella's pillow, causing her ivory skin to glow. Her hair was spread around her like a warm, chocolate halo. I smiled, my angel is so beautiful in the morning. As time passed, I watched the angle of the light change, catching specks of dust glittering around her head. I could watch her sleep for the rest of my existence.

But I wouldn't. The time would too soon come that would take these moments from me forever. I would keep Bella, but this part of her, the innocent frailty of her, would be lost to me. I knew it was petty of me to dwell on it, considering what Bella, herself, was giving up to be with me. But still, I would miss it.

I could hear her breathing change slightly as she began to wake. It was usually a slow process. She stretched a little. I smiled again. Then she really stretched. She arched her back and stretched her arms wide, yawing. She looked like an enormous cat, an adorable, yet sexy, cat. I chuckled both at Bella and at the picture in my head.

She heard me and one of her eyes opened, slightly. As I said, she generally took her time waking up. I laughed again and crossed the room to her.

"Good morning, Angel," I said, caressing her beautiful, if slightly creased, cheek.

Bella caught my hand and rolled over, pulling me into the bed with her. Of course, I let her pull me down, but I wasn't one to argue with Bella. At least, not about getting into bed. I laughed, both at her and myself. I slid one arm beneath her, so that my arms completely encircled her. Sleeping had made her body even warmer than usual.

"Now it's a good morning," she murmured sleepily. Then she sighed and snuggled closer to me. I had to feel like ice compared to her warm bed, but she didn't see to mind.

"I take it you're not ready to get out of bed just yet," I noted. Alice had been right. It might take some convincing to get her up this morning. I kissed her strawberry scented hair.

"Nope," she agreed. Then she sighed as though she bore a great burden, "But I supposed I should, or I'll be late for Alice." I could understand how being late for Alice could terrify anyone, but that wasn't a reason for her to get out of bed today.

"Alice has decided to give you the morning off," I said. I smiled, knowing how this would please her. Poor Bella had really had her fill of wedding plans. With it barely two weeks away, she couldn't understand what was left to plan. Alice always had something to plan.

"Really?" She asked, sounding like she was afraid to hope it was true.

"She said you deserved it." I assured her.

"Did she say why?"

"Apparently you were able to explain something to her that I've been unable to for years."

Which brought me to the topic I really wanted to discuss. Alice had not exactly been helpful in my efforts to protect Bella's virtue. On more than one occasion I had narrowly escaped intricately planned traps. But only by listening to Jasper's thoughts, and only when he was unaware I was listening. I knew it was hard on Jasper, but not as hard as it was on me. It was my choice, and Bella's. It was one of the facets of my relationship with Bella that Alice and I were constantly at odds about.

Then, suddenly it changed. Alice had gone against my very specific instructions and asked Bella directly about it. Now she and Jasper both not only respected our choice, but understood it. Alice had even solemnly promised to help us, whether we asked for it, or needed it. I was still deciphering that one.

"What's that?" Bella asked, bringing me out of my revere.

"Why we're waiting." I told her honestly, kissing her soft hair again.

"Oh." She said. I wondered if maybe she was embarrassed by the conversation with Alice.

"She refused to give me the details of the conversation," I said. Then I scowled, remembering the specifics. "She said, 'a lot of what goes on between me and Bella is none of your business, Edward'," I mocked Alice, using her same tone of voice.

Bella laughed at me. She knew I was only mocking Alice, because she had been taunting me with my own words.

"I am very curious, though. How were you able to finally explain it to her?" I asked softly. I hoped she would feel comfortable enough to tell me. It was amazing to me that Bella had gotten Alice to change her mind, about anything.

"Well, I told her all about souls and virtue. She understood, but still thought we were insane." Bella started, then she laughed, remembering something. "Alice was actually the one to put it in words that made sense, even to me."

I was surprised, but still unbearably curious, "And the words?" I asked quietly.

"We love each other, even more than we want each other," she said clearly.

Her words resounded in my heart. I repeated them in my mind. We love each other, even more than we want each other. It was true. No, it was the truth. It explained everything. Why I could be near her, thirsting her blood without wanting to take it from her. Why I still shrank from taking her life, though it meant I could have her for eternity. Why, though I ached for her with every breath, I could not bring myself to steal her virtue. It all made sense. All the sacrifice, all the agony, I had felt it was all worth it. Suddenly I knew why.

Bella turned in my arms, looking at me with worry on her face. Why is she worried?

"Edward," she paused, "are you crying?" she asked, surprised.

Vampires don't cry, I thought automatically, but I knew if I could, I would be. Truth is a beautiful thing.

"Bella," I whispered, my emotions making it difficult to speak. "That is the absolute truth."

Bella smiled at me, her face radiant. I leaned down to kiss her, but she slid her hand between our lips.

"Wait," she mumbled behind her hand.

I laughed, remembering her paranoia about morning breath. I let her go and she ran to have her human moment. In record time, and still in her pajamas, she was back. She slid back into bed and pulled my arms around her again. Apparently she still wasn't ready to get out of bed. I still wasn't going to argue.

"Now, where were we?" she asked, the picture of innocence.

"I believe I was about to express how much I love you," I reminded her, smiling.

"Proceed."

I chuckled at her response, then leaned forward pressing my lips to hers. The kiss began to linger. I realized I was still too emotionally charged to let it go on much longer, or I would get carried away. I pulled back, but kissed both her sleepy eyes and her cute little nose.

"I love you, Isabella Marie Swan." I said, gazing into her warm, brown eyes.

"I love you, Edward Anthony Cullen," she replied. She snuggled into my chest, sighing with contentment.

I stroked her soft hair. We lay together for a long while in the comfortable silence. As the warmth of her body began to spread through me, I remembered Alice's suggestion for the morning. It was the only thing that could tempt me from Bella's bed. I decided to suggest it.

"Are you determined to stay in bed all morning, or would you mind if we went somewhere?" I asked.

"Where?" she asked, skeptically.

I put my lips to her ear and whispered, "Our Meadow."

"Let's go," Bella said, jumping out of bed. I laughed. Alice had been right, of course, that had certainly gotten her out of bed.

We were laying together in the clearing. I was stretched out, completely relaxed, one hand behind my head. Bella was curled next to me, her head on my chest. My other hand rested lightly on her hip. It was perfect. We sighed in unison and then laughed at ourselves. Nothing could touch us here. I could lay like this with Bella forever.

I felt Bella look up at me. My eyes were closed, I was absorbing every detail of the perfect moment.

"Edward," she said.

"Mmmm?" I said without opening my eyes.

"Do you feel like practicing?" she asked.

Now I was paying attention. I opened my eyes and looked at her with my brows raised, as if she had to ask. I smiled at her. She smiled in return. I raised myself up on my elbow. I waited expectantly for further instruction.

"I think we should try kissing again," she sounded more sure of herself than she had the other night. She smirked, "Since it didn't work out so well last time."

I laughed at the huge understatement and said, "Agreed."

"I also think we should sit up," she continued, then she blushed, "It might help my self control."

I smiled, loving the flush in her cheeks. I nodded my understanding, she wasn't the only one who needed a little help with self control. "Anything else?"

"Nope," she said sitting up and crossing her legs. I sat the same way, facing her.

She giggled. I love that sound.

"I feel like we're in that scene from the movie 'Sixteen Candles.'", she said.

I didn't know what she meant. She was surprised.

"You're kidding! You've never seen it? Molly Ringwald? It's an 80's classic!" she cried.

I rolled my eyes, "I try very hard to pretend the 80's never happened."

Bella shook her head. I shook my head as well. I had spent most of the 80's practically hiding under a rock. The vapid, ridiculously shallow culture of the decade had been too much for me to take.

I decided to change the subject. Taking her petite hands in mine, I asked, "Ready?"

"Yes," she agreed.

Lifting her left hand to my lips I kissed the knuckle just above her ring. With my eyes I reminded her and myself of all the reasons we were doing this. Why we were doing it right. I was pulled forward by the deep pools of her brown eyes.

As her eyes closed, our lips met. But instead of crushing hers to mine, as I was eager to do, I parted my lips gently breathing into her face. She smiled beneath my lips and I brushed them together, turning to press my face against her flushed cheek.

I slid my cheek forward and up, breathing in her sweet scent. I brought my face back down against her other cheek, letting it warm the other side of my face. Then I softly brushed our lips together again. The tender caress had reminded of how incredibly soft her skin was. I decided I had better stay away from the rest of her, if I were to have any hope of self control.

Bella's heart began to speed up. I smiled at the sound, glad to know I wasn't the only one already warmed up. I pressed more firmly against her lips.

As our lips moved together, I was pleased to find Bella was remembering to breathe. When she parted her lips, my mouth was filled with her delicious breath. I grabbed her lower lip with my mouth, tasting the sweetness of it. I did the same with her top lip. She continued to breath and I was encouraged that we might actually control ourselves for once.

I gently traced her still open lips with my tongue, our quickened breath mingling. Bella tried to let go of one of my hands. I secured my grip by interlocking our fingers. I couldn't let her touch my hair. It inevitably led to our loss of control. However, I couldn't resist pulling her closer.

I entered her mouth, caressing her warm, sweet tongue with my own. A soft moan escaped us both, mingling our breath again. It was good our hands were secured together. If not, as I continued to press my tongue into her mouth with ever increasing intensity, her hands would not have been the only to wander.

I was just beginning to marvel at our self control, when as I entered Bella's mouth again, she rose to her knees, leaning further into the kiss. Her eagerness cut deeply into my resolve to keep her body away from mine. I gripped her hands tightly, reminding myself this was the only contact I was going to get, for now.

Then as I withdrew, Bella's warm tongue entered my mouth. My breath caught as I realized I needed to protect her tongue from my razor sharp teeth. As my tongue wrapped around hers, we moaned in unison again. The shock and the indescribable sensation of her moist tongue in my mouth sliced away the rest of my resolve. I threw her legs behind me and pressed her body to mine, one hand at the small of her back, the other between her shoulder blades.

Her legs wound securely around my waist, and her warm hands clung to my neck. She obviously didn't mind the new position. We were both still trying desperately to hold onto our self control. So, as we continued to kiss, our bodies held still while our tongues danced. As my desire began to build and rise, it drove me to want to be even closer to her. My hand slid from her back into her hair, twining my fingers in its softness. As my arm held her chest tightly to mine, my other hand moved even farther down her back, pressing her hips against my own. Bella's breathing was ragged, her heartbeat becoming erratic. I wondered, briefly, how much more she could take.

Then she began to pull at my neck, leaning backward. I didn't need much encouragement and we were quickly lying in the grass, my body pressing against her delicate frame. I began to wonder if we were really still in control. No one had lost it yet, though, so we continued to kiss passionately.

Finally, Bella's lungs gave out and she had to come up for air. Unable to keep my lips from her, I turned immediately to her ivory neck. I kissed and tasted her throat from top to bottom, feeling the blood pulsing beneath my lips. I could feel her chest heaving beneath me, gasping for air. Her scent was intoxicating. I was coming very close to losing my mind. I kissed back up her warm skin to her ear. Then I began to kiss and nip at it, trying to distract myself by having to concentrate on not cutting her with my teeth.

Suddenly Bella cried out. The sound of her voice, calling my name in ecstasy was sweeter than anything I'd ever heard. Her hands knotted in my hair, pulling my head down. Her body arched back, bringing her hips against mine. The heat I felt from her, even through her clothes, sent a flash fire of desire through me.

I gasped, thrusting my tongue back into her mouth. I moved it in and out, as our bodies melded together. The voice of reason in my head struggled to be heard, but it was drowned in passion and smothered by the fire of my desire.

Suddenly someone threw a bucket of water on us. We both jumped and I rolled off of Bella, thinking Alice actually had the audacity to come and stop us in person. As I lay panting, I realized it wasn't Alice, it had begun to pour rain on us. Then I laughed to myself. It might as well have been Alice with a bucket. She had seen this, the whole thing. She knew we would need the rain to stop ourselves. I concentrated on calming myself. The rain didn't feel cold to me, but it's rhythm was enough to distract me.

"We aren't very good at using our safe word," Bella noted, I could hear the smile in her voice.

"You think?" I replied, laughing. I took a few more deep breaths. I was glad Alice was on our side. I had been able to completely lose myself in Bella, without crossing the line. I realized this is what Alice meant by the help we wanted, and needed. Alice was my new favorite person. I was going to have to think of some way to thank her. I decided to ask Bella for ideas.

I opened my eyes to look at Bella.

Oh. . . . . . . . my. . . . . . . god.

Bella's hair was dripping wet, strands of it across her face. Rain glittered like diamonds on her eyelashes and lips. Her cheeks were flushed from pleasure. Her chest was still heaving as she struggled to regain normal breath. Her blue shirt was now almost black, and it clung wetly to every luscious curve of her body. Our passion had wrinkled it and pulled it up a little at her waist, exposing a few inches of pale skin, including her delicate navel. She sat with her legs curled gracefully behind her, leaning on one arm. She was smiling radiantly at me.

I stared at her, the vision of Aphrodite in flesh. How the hell am I supposed to resist that? Then she shivered. Something in my brain snapped. My instincts took over, as when I was hunting. I slowly sat up. Her eyes widened, but it was not with fear. Her reaction only encouraged me. I crawled across the grass slowly toward her. Her breath caught and I could hear the excitement in her heart rate. As I neared her, every muscle in my body wound tight, ready to spring. This doe would be mine.

Then my phone rang, effectively smacking my instincts on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper. I blinked, my rational self coming back. Bella reached around me and pulled my phone from my back pocket. Smiling at the look of annoyance in her eyes, I gently caught her wrist before she could fling my phone into the woods. I glanced at the caller ID and looked back at Bella.

"It's Alice," I informed her, lifting an eyebrow.

Bella sighed heavily, knowing it would do no good to ignore her. She pressed the answer button and I put the phone to my ear, still holding her wrist. Maybe I could get ten more minutes from Alice.

"Not a good idea, Edward," Alice scolded me, "The two of you don't have ten minutes of self control left."

"Right," I knew it was true.

"Besides, if you keep Bella out in this weather, she'll catch pneumonia, or a least a nasty cold, and we don't want her all bleary eyed and red-nosed for the wedding, now do we?" She went on.

I smiled, "No, we wouldn't want that," I agreed.

"Exactly, now take her home to change before you come over. The rain will stop before you get here." She ordered.

I thought again about Bella's wet shirt.

"Edward, don't you dare set foot on those stairs, lock yourself in the damn car if you have to." Alice scolded me again, "For goodness sake, I knew the two of you would enjoy yourselves, but really, Edward, get a grip!"

"Okay," I laughed, "See you soon." I thought about how Alice had saved us from ourselves, twice, "and Alice, thanks."

"Of course, now hurry up." Then she was gone.

I lowered the phone from my ear. Bella pushed the off button. I put her wrist to my nose and breathed her scent in deeply. She smelled even more amazing in the rain.

"Alice says, if we don't get you home to change right now, you'll get sick." I smiled down at her. No need to go into detail.

"Does she, now?" Bella asked, I could tell she knew I had edited. She sighed again. "I guess I should be glad she's so willing to help."

"Yes," I laughed, standing and helping Bella to her feet. If she only knew! I hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her sweet smelling hair, "very."

I helped Bella onto my back, she clung tightly to me. As we ran, I could feel her warm breath on my neck. She began to shiver as her wet clothes chilled her. So help me, I actually had to concentrate on not hitting any trees. Alice was right again, I really would have to wait in the car.


Well? Was it everything you hoped for? I hope I did not disappoint, especially considering the wait. Now, while you wait, again, for the next chapter, pray for me. I'm going to attempt to do Rose. So help me, if I do it right, it will be fantastic. If I can get it right. Be patient, please, this one might take a while. 8D