Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own it.

A/N:As always thanks so much for reading and reviewing. It's so greatly appreciated. This chapter will mainly focus on what Bella went through last chapter. I struggled and struggled with this chapter. My muse, bitch that she is, took off for parts unknown and left me to my own devices. And that's never good.

Design For Life

"Your necklace may break, the fau tree may burst, but my tattooing is indestructible. It is an everlasting gem that you will take into your grave". ~Verse from a traditional tattoo artist's song, as quoted on , Skin Stories: The Art and Culture of Polynesian Tattoo

BPOV

Holy fucking hell, my head hurt. I attempted to reach up and touch my throbbing temple, but found that my hands wouldn't move. The first thought that went through my head was that I was paralyzed. Then I realized that I could wiggle my fingers. I quickly realized that my hands were bound by something. Rope, maybe?

"Ah, I see you're finally awake, Ms. Swan," a voice said.

Everything came flooding back to me after he spoke. Alec Caius had me. Well, fuck. That was no good. Struggling, I finally managed to sit up and found that I was in the backseat of a car with darkly tinted windows. I quickly surveyed my surroundings, but found nothing that would be useful in cutting the rope off my hands.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, hoping that my voice didn't betray the terror that I felt.

"To find my drugs, of course. I know that Laurent gave them to you for safe keeping."

I snorted. "No, he didn't. I would never have held drugs for Laurent. Hell, I didn't even realize that he was into drugs."

"Lies will get you nowhere," Caius told me in a thick New York accent.

I watched out the window as the trees flew by and before I knew it we were pulling up in my neighborhood. He got out and came around to open the back door. He had a deadly looking knife in his hand.

"You're going to show me where Laurent hid the drugs. Do anything stupid, and I won't hesitate to use this on you," he warned me.

I nodded as he dragged me out of the car and across the yard. I couldn't believe that none of our neighbors noticed me being dragged by a man with a knife, but apparently they didn't. There was police tape across the door to the house, but Caius cut it with the knife before ramming the door open. Jesus! Our living room was a disaster. The couch and chairs were overturned, desk drawers were on the ground, books were laying haphazardly on their shelves. It looked as though someone had destroyed the place looking for something. I narrowed my eyes. Mark was going to have a lot to answer for, and you could bet I would be making him clean up the mess he and his men had made.

"What the fuck?" Caius exclaimed, looking at the mess.

"Who the fuck did this?" he growled, his hand on my arm tightening causing me to wince in pain.

"Probably the police. Obviously, they had the same idea you did and searched the place"

Caius let loose with a bunch of swearing. Still gripping my arm, he pulled out his phone and called someone. The conversation was spoken in what I thought was Italian. A few moments later, he hung up the phone and turned to glare at me.

"What?"

"Where is First Beach?"

"La Push," I told him.

He gave me an evil smile. "Seemed Laurent was spending a lot of time down there. Let's go," he said, roughly shoving me out the door.

We headed to his car, where I was, once again, locked in the back. Could be worse. I could've ended up in the trunk and that would've really sucked. I gave him directions to La Push, and unfortunately we didn't pass many vehicles along the way. Not like anyone could've seen me anyway. Once we entered La Push, I directed Caius toward First Beach. I had a feeling that I would meet my demise there. He threw the car into park, and once again, dragged me out of the car.

The beach was littered with washed-up debris and sand. Not the easiest of things to walk across while being dragged. Whoever Caius had talked to had told him about some of the caves on First Beach. I knew without a doubt, that if Caius got me into one of those caves, I was as good as dead. That's when I started to struggle. I wrenched away from his grasp, but I wasn't able to get very far. I was yanked back as his hands caught my hair, and I let out a yelp of pain.

"Move, and I'll slit your throat," he warned, pushing the tip of the knife into my flesh. I felt a sharp pain as the blade pierced my skin. It fucking hurt, but having my slit throat would hurt a lot worse, and I knew that Caius wouldn't hesitate to kill me.

I stood still and waited to see what he was going to do. After a moment, he lowered his hand, and started dragging me down the beach. I could see the entrance to one of the caves not too far away, and panic really began to set in. If he got me into one of those caves, I was as good as dead. Unfortunately, I had no way to escape.

We entered the cave, and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. The cave was small and empty. There was no way Laurent hid anything in there. Caius, realizing that as well, let out a curse before dragging me with him to the next cave. The second cave was empty as well. When we climbed into the third cave, I was exhausted, bruised, and a bit battered. Caius had smacked me, letting out his anger on me. Like it was might fault, Laurent stole his drugs. Upon entering the third cave, we saw a sleeping bag in the corner, and some trash littered about. Someone had obviously camped out there at some point. Didn't mean that Laurent had, but it was a start. Caius ordered me to start looking around.

"You gonna untie me?" I asked.

"No."

"How am I supposed to search for your drugs if I'm tied?"

"Just fucking do it," he growled.

Asshole. Using my shoe, I poked around the garbage that strewn the cave floor, keeping an eye on Caius at all times. He headed further back in the cave, and I chose to make my escape then and there. I slowly inched closer to the opening and making sure that he wasn't focused on me, I took off running. I hoped to hell that he wasn't some kind of expert knife thrower because that would really suck if he was. I heard him let out a shout, and I ran faster. No way was I fucking stopping.

I ran back the way we had come and saw flashing lights over one of the sand dunes. Thank fuck!

"Help!" I screamed as loud as I could.

"Bella!" I heard Mark yell.

I felt my body sag with release, but I didn't stop running. I stumbled over a log and fell to the ground, scraping my hands. Hands helped me up, and I'd never been so glad to see Mark in my life. He handed me over to some of his deputies that were waiting for me, before taking off with a group of deputies to get Caius.

I sat in the passenger seat of one of the police cars and I waited, impatiently, to see if Mark and his deputies were okay. Shots rang out in the air startling me as well as the men beside me. All I could think was that Mark had been shot ,and I would never forgive myself if that happened. Minutes crawled by before I saw Mark emerge with Caius bleeding and in handcuffs. I sagged with relief that, not only Mark was okay, but that Caius was in custody. I watched as Mark shoved Caius into the back of the cruiser before heading toward me.

"Call Edward. The man is frantic,"Mark told me, handing me his phone.

Immediately, I dialed Edward's number and almost sobbed when I heard his voice.

"Mark?" he asked.

"Edward?"

"Oh, God. Bella!" he cried out, and I sank to my knees ever so grateful to hear his voice.

We talked for a few minutes reassuring each other that we were fine, before I handed the phone over to Mark. They spoke for a few minutes and after they hung up, Mark had one of his deputies drive his car with Caius back to the station while we went to the hospital. The drive to Port Angeles was long and my neck and head were really hurting. Eventually, we arrived at the hospital where I walked in and found Edward waiting for me. I ran to him, throwing myself in his arms.

Edward's arms wrapped tightly around me, and I felt his tears begin to fall. I clung tightly to him, never wanting to let go. We broke apart, and he frowned seeing the damage that Caius had done to me.

"I'm okay," I told him. "I promise."

After the doctor patched me up, Edward and I went to the Port Angeles police station with Mark. With Edward clutching my hand, I recounted the events of the past few hours. By the time I was done, I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go home and be with my Edward.

Later that night, we were curled up in bed, but neither of us could sleep. I was afraid to close my eyes. Terrified that I would wake up to find it was all a dream and that Caius still had me. Edward held me, telling me how glad he was that I was safe and relatively unharmed. I couldn't even begin to express how much I loved him and before I even realized what I was doing I asked him to marry me.

My question was met with a stunned look, and I sat waiting impatiently for an answer.

"Edward?" I asked, afraid that I'd upset him somehow.

"Yes."

I wasn't sure if he was answering my question or asking me one.

"Yes?"

A huge smile lit his face. "Yes, I'll marry you. I was planning on asking you, but you beat me to it,"he told me.

I couldn't contain the big smile that came over me. He'd said yes! I could hardly believe it.

"You mean it? You'll really marry me?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "Of course, I'll marry you. I want you be to mine forever. Hang on a sec,"he said before climbing out of bed and heading out the door.

I sat there puzzled. Where was he running off to? A few moments later he came back and climbed into bed. Sitting next to me he held out a little black box. I felt tears well up in my eyes, but I willed them back. My hands were shaking a bit as I took the box from him. Opening it, I found myself staring at a beautiful diamond ring.

"Oh, Edward. It's perfect," I told him.

Taking the box from me, he took out the ring and with his own shaking hands slowly slid the ring onto my finger. It fit perfectly, and I felt a thrill shoot through me as I gazed at it sitting there.

"Esme," I groaned. "No more. I'm so tired."

"Bella, I promise if we don't find your dress in here, we'll stop for today,"she said, grabbing my hand and dragging me into the bridal shop.

Esme and Seth had dragged me all over Seattle looking for the perfect wedding dress. Even though Leah was my maid of honor, she had no desire to go wedding shopping. I couldn't say I blamed her. None of the six million dress that I'd tried on were the one. I was getting fed up and wanted my Edward.

"Hey, Bells! Come look. I think I found the one," Seth hollered from across the shop.

It cracked me up to see six foot five Seth wandering around a bridal shop picking out dresses. I hadn't known it at the time, but Seth was a sucker for weddings. Esme and I wandered over to him and found him holding out a beautiful dress. I knew even without trying it on, that it was the one. It was an elegant strapless dress with a blue ribbon around the waist. It was perfect for a meadow wedding. Taking the dress from him, I quickly went to try it on and was astounded when I looked at myself. I was a bride!

"Bella!" Seth yelled. "Let me see!"

Rolling my eyes, I stepped out of the dressing room. Esme and Seth let out gasps upon seeing me.

"That's the one," Esme whispered. I nodded my head in agreement.

After getting the dress altered a bit, I went to pay for it and was stopped by Esme.

"You mom and Charlie are paying for your dress," she told me.

Three long hours later, I was dropped off at our house. I walked in and found Edward lying on the couch watching reruns of Doctor Who.

"Hey, sweet girl," he called out.

"Hey, baby."

"So how was the shopping trip."

I flopped down on top of him, resting my head against his chest.

"I found my dress."

"Yeah?"

"Yup."

"Well?" he asked.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to tell me what it looks like?" he asked.

"Nope. You'll just have to wait and see."

"I can hardly wait," he said, pressing a gentle kiss to my lips.

I could hardly wait either. It was funny. I had never pictured myself getting married before I met Edward. Upon meeting him, I found myself dreaming and wanting things I'd never wanted before. I wanted it all. The wonderful husband, the nice house in a quiet neighborhood, and even a couple of kids. Sometimes it scared me how much I wanted it all.

"Just think, sweet girl. In a week, you'll be Mrs. Edward Cullen."

"Hmmm. I like the sound of that," I said.

"Not as much as I do," he growled before bringing his lips back to mine.

Eagerly, I opened my mouth letting his tongue slip inside. Slowly, passionately we explored each other's mouths, enjoying a sensuous kiss. Moments later, his lips moved to my ear kissing it lightly, then down my neck. I tilted my head to give him better access, loving the bites and nibbles that he placed along the way. One of his hands that had been on my back, slid down my lower back to my ass, gripping it gently and holding me tighter to him.

I let out a moan, thrusting my hips against his, loving the feel of his hardness against me. His other hand moved to my waist then around to my front and slowly slid up to cup my breast. I let loose with another moan upon feeling his large hand cupping me.

"This needs to come off," he said, tugging on my shirt.

Sitting up, I straddled his lap and teasingly pulled my shirt up, inch by slow inch.

"Bella," he growled out, obviously not enjoying my teasing as much as I was.

Rolling my eyes, I removed my shirt, tossing it on the floor, so that I was now straddling him wearing nothing but my bra and jeans. His hands slid up and around my back and unclasped my bra before returning to my breasts. Both his hands came up and palmed them, rubbing my hardened nipples with his thumbs.

"I love your breasts."

I let out a moan as he continued his ministrations. "I love what you're doing to them."

Sitting up a bit so that he was propped against the couch, he leaned forward and brought his lips to my breast. He teased me, placing small kisses here and there, but never actually kissing me where I wanted him to. Finally, he brought his lips to my nipple, catching it between his teeth. He tugged it gently, before suckling hard. My head fell back as a loud moan fell from my lips. My hips undulated against his, and I knew that I could easily come just by rubbing against him.

Suddenly, his lips left me, and I found myself being gently lowered to the floor. He laid down next to me, propped up on one arm while his other hand slid down my stomach to my pants.

"Help me," he requested.

I gladly did, sliding my jeans off until I was left in my panties. Edward traced a finger over my panties, stopping to rub my clit gently. I thrust my hips upwards trying to get more friction, but he continued to tease. Finally, he hooked his fingertips inside my panties, and I lifted my hips so he could remove them.

"You're beautiful, Bella," he said in a husky voice.

He slid down between my legs, and I spread them trying to give him a better view. I could feel his breath on my lower lips and I moaned. His hand slowly moved forward, his fingertip brushing against my outer lips.

"Fuck," I hissed, spreading my legs even more. I could feel him slide it up and down my slit. He slowly pushed his finger inside of me, and I groaned, feeling the pressure building. I was so wet that it didn't take long for him to be sliding in and out faster and faster, adding another finger after a few strokes. My hands dug into the carpet beneath me, and I felt myself getting close.

"I'm close, Edward," I whispered, opening my eyes finally and meeting his.

"Come for me," he begged before lowering his lips to my clit.

I arched my back screaming as I tightened around his fingers. I writhed on the floor.

"Fuck!"

I felt my body go limp after I came, and I kept my eyes closed. I felt like my whole body was tingling. I felt Edward press a kiss to each of my thighs before slowly working his way up. He leaned over me and caught my lips in a fierce kiss.

I'd had my fun, it was his turn now. Bracing my hands against his chest, I pushed until he rolled over, and once again, I was straddling him. Slowly, I trailed my tongue down his chest, stopping to nibble here and there. Once I reached the top of his pants, I quickly undid them and yanked them down.

"My, my. What have we here?"

My dear Edward had gone commando.

"I ran out of clean boxers," he told me sheepishly.

"I certainly don't mind," I said before leaning down to lick his shaft.

His head flew back, and he let out a moan as I continued to taste him. I swirled my tongue around the tip, while my fingers stroked and teased his length. He let out a guttural moan the minute that I took his length in as far as I could.

"Bella! You've got to stop. I want to come inside you."

Like I would say no to that. Sliding back up, I hovered over him so that my breasts were hovering over his face. He lifted his head up and grabbed my nipple gently with his teeth while his hands massaged and kneaded my breasts. I was going to lose it before we got started. Slowly, I lowered myself onto him, and we let out loud moans. Nothing ever felt as good as he did. Our thrusts were slow and loving, but soon we both wanted a bit more. Edward pulled out of me, and rolled me over, positioning himself behind me. He sheathed himself back in me in a long hard thrust.

I let out a whimper as he started thrusting harder and harder. One of his hands reaches down and starts to play with my clit causing me to lose all control. I let out a cry as my orgasm overcomes me and moments later, Edward follows.

The week flew by and before I knew it was the day before my wedding. My mom and Charlie had flown up the day before and were staying at the Cullen's house. I shuddered to think of what stories Renee was telling them about me. Renee had tried to convince me to stay with at the Cullen's house, mumbling some nonsense about the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding. Screw that shit. Edward and I were anything but traditional, and there was no way in hell I was going to be separated from my man unless it was necessary.

"You excited?" he asked me as we sat down to eat breakfast.

"Fuck yes. You?"

He gave me a beautiful smile. "I can hardly wait."

We spent the day getting last minute things done. Edward and I went to our meadow and enjoyed the peace and quiet for a few moments. We were interrupted the ringing of his phone.

"Hey, Emmett."

They spoke for a few before hanging up. Emmett was going to be our DJ for the reception which was being held at the Cullen's house. Esme had done all of the cooking except for the wedding cake, and Edward and I had taken charge of decorations. We knew what we wanted and where we wanted it so it worked out well. Looking around our meadow, I was pleased. The chairs were lined up in rows, there were torches lighting the way, and we'd set up a wedding trellis to be married under. It was simple and elegant and perfect for us.

"What did Emmett want?"

"To finalize the playlist," he said, rolling his eyes.

We'd had to veto a few songs that Emmett had put on the list such as The Bloodhounds Bad Touch. Well, I didn't mind the song, it wasn't exactly wedding appropriate.

Later that night, we were all seated at Cafe garden in Port Angeles having our dinner reception. All of our family and friends were in attendance, and we had a blast until Alice began drinking. Okay, so we'd all been drinking, but apparently some people just can't hold their liquor very well. Our parents had left and it was just us kids and our friends, and that was when the claws came out.

"I still can't believe that you're doing this to me," she slurred, shooting me an angry look.

I was sick of rehashing all that shit with her. "Get over yourself, Alice. The world doesn't revolve around you. I'm not doing anything to you. Stop before you get yourself in more trouble."

She frowned as if she couldn't comprehend what I'd said. Hell, she probably couldn't.

"Oh, puh-lease. It's obvious you think the world revolves around you," a female voice said from behind me.

I turned and saw Rosalie standing there, arms crossed over her chest, anger on her face. No, no, no. I did not want to deal with any crap the night before my wedding.

"What are you doing here, Rosalie?" Emmett growled out from beside me.

She shot him a haughty look. "It's a public restaurant. I can be here."

"Yeah, well this is a private party, and you weren't invited so you need to leave," Edward told her.

She pulled out a chair at a table next to us and sat down, obviously having no intention of leaving. That was fine. I was ready to go anyway, and I let Edward know. Getting up, we said our goodbyes. Rosalie got up to follow us, but Emmett leveled her with a glare.

"Sit!" he barked out. "We need to have a talk."

Jasper had give Alice a talking to, and she apologized to us before we all parted ways in the parking lot, but I wasn't buying it. The only reason I was even allowing her to be at the wedding was because I knew Edward would feel awful if she wasn't there.

The next morning, we woke up and started our day off with a romp in bed. No better way to get the blood flowing. By eleven, I had been swept away by Esme and Renee to get my hair and makeup done.

"Oh, Bella! You're so beautiful," my mom cried once my hair and makeup were done.

Looking in the mirror, I agreed with her. I did look a good. Moments later, surrounded by Esme, Renee, Leah, and Sam, I was helped into my wedding dress. I didn't really need help getting into it, but I let them help me anyway. Taking a look in the mirror once more, I felt tears well up in my eyes. I was about to become Edward's wife. Holy shit! I wasn't nervous, just terribly eager to get it done. I couldn't wait to become Bella Cullen.

Everyone had insisted that Edward and I arrive separately and it was just easier to give in than to argue. I arrived at our meadow with Charlie and Renee as well as Leah and Sam. I got out of the car and took Charlie's arm when he offered it to me. Not too much later, I heard the music begin. Leah walked down the aisle with Emmett at her side, and then it was my turn.

"Ready, Bells?" Charlie asked.

I gave him a huge smile. "More than anything."

We started our descent down the aisle between the chairs, and I could see all of our friends and family sitting there smiling. Then my gaze was captured by the beautiful and gorgeous man waiting for me. He was standing under the trellis in a charcoal gray tux, looking sinfully delicious. Oh, man I couldn't wait to get him alone! When we got to Edward, Charlie gave my hand to him, and I clasped his tightly, doing my best to convey all my love to him.

I barely remember the rest of the wedding. I knew that Reverend Weber spoke a bit, I remember gazing into Edward's eyes and saying I do and him repeating the words. I remembered the kiss, but it was all a blur. All I could really focus on, was the man beside me and that I was officially married.

"Happy?" Edward asked me as we danced at our reception.

"Immensely," I replied, tilting my head up for a kiss which he was only to happy to give me.

We didn't plan on having a honeymoon at the moment, mainly because we couldn't really afford to go anywhere. But Esme and Carlisle surprised us. After Emmett and Jake gave their toasts, Esme and Carlisle told us that we would be taking a week off and spending it on Isle Esme, a tropical island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. An island that the Cullen's owned. I had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that they owned an island. I mean, really? Who owned an island?

"Wait. You own an island?" I had to ask, staring at Esme like I'd never seen her before.

"Carlisle gave it to me for as an anniversary present," she explained.

I turned to look at Edward. "Don't even think about buying me any islands."

He let out a snort. "No worries. I couldn't afford an island right now."

After it set in that we were going to spend a week alone on an island, I couldn't wait. I was more than ready. Esme handed me our plane tickets, and I noticed that we would be flying out of Seattle tomorrow afternoon.

"We figured you'd like to spend your wedding night at home and not on a plane," she told me.

She was right. Not too much later, we left, getting hit with tons of rice. I never understood why people felt the need to throw rice at the happy couple. Couldn't they just say congrats and be done with it?

The ride home was quiet, but filled with sexual tension. Tonight would be the first time we made love as husband and wife, and I couldn't wait.

a/n: Next chapter will cover the wedding from EPOV and the honeymoon. Ffter that, will come the epilogue and perhaps a few outtakes as well. We'll see. As always, let me know what you thought!