A/N: So here is where we start the extended chapters. This chapter is actually the combination of 4 chapters. I like it a lot better this way.
BTW I forgot to add the little disclaimer thing. So yeah...I don't own Twilight or anything affiliated with it (except for my coveted copies of the books and movies.) So there all you lawerly people! ;)
We walked across the courtyard, perpendicular to Edward's original path. He reached over and put his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his side. My heart leapt at his touch and I knew he could hear it, though he did not say anything. I wrapped my arm around his waist and leaned into him as we walked. I was practically bursting with emotion. Hope that I might actually get what I wanted-Edward back in my life. Trepidation because I was not sure how he would react to my story. Edward had always been prone to overreaction and I was not sure what the outcome of this discussion would be. Terror that maybe he might decide once and for all that he did not want to be with me. I still didn't know what the reasons that Alice had mentioned were. Joy that for now, even if it did not last, that I was with him again.
My hotel was only a few blocks from the courtyard. The hotel was small, only four stories and was rather old, though I thought it had character. It was a warm limestone color and had a large maroon awning over the door. We walked through the lobby and past the desk clerk to the stairs. There was no elevator. I led him up to the second floor.
We walked to the end of the hall where my room was and I fished the key out of the pocket of the dress I was wearing. Even though I had cursed Alice for buying and packing it for me, seeing the way Edward's eyes seemed to glow when he looked at me made the torture of wearing it bearable. Not that I had much choice in wardrobe. Alice had somehow managed to take all my clothes out of my suitcase before we left Forks and substitute what she thought was appropriate attire. The only thing in my bags that I recognized was my bag of toiletries. She had even bought me new underwear, something that had made me blush crimson when I had realized it. Everything she packed was so girly and frilly it had been difficult to find anything that was not scary-looking. My lovely sister and I were going to have a long talk.
He followed me inside and I could saw him looking over the room, disapproval marring his smooth brow. I liked it though. The walls were painted a soothing caramel color and the bed was ivory. The dresser and the nightstand were in a dark wood that I did not recognize. The whole room felt comfortable, lived in. There was a largish ivory armchair with an ottoman and a small desk with a wooden chair. A television too but it looked as old as Charlie and I had been afraid to turn it on. The room was clean and the people here were very nice. I didn't speak Portugese but they were able to decipher some of my English and I used hand signals when I needed to communicate with them.
Well, I thought wryly, it's not the Ritz-Carlton but I didn't need a fancy hotel room. Alice had bought me my plane ticket and had given me cash and a rather scary looking black credit card to take care of expenses but that didn't mean that I had to waste money on unnecessary things. I had promised to pay her back, though I was sure that would take a decade, but she had cut off my protests.
"If you bring Edward back," she had said, "then you can call us even." I had mentally scoffed at that. Bringing Edward back had seemed so impossible then. Of course it was only slightly less impossible now. I still had no idea what he really thought about me being here.
I pulled him over to the armchair and pushed him into it. I wasn't ready to sit beside him on the bed yet. It brought back too many memories of all the nights he had laid next to me and sung me to sleep. The chair seemed a safer place to me at the moment. I was not ready to break contact with him though. He sat down and put his feet on the ottoman. I climbed up onto his lap. I leaned into the arm of the chair and hung my legs over the opposite side. He wrapped his cold hard arm around my back and rested his hand on my waist. Then he laid his other hand casually on my leg. His skin was just as cool as I remembered and my skin tingled where he had placed it on my knee. My heart beat faster at his touch. I took a deep breath to calm down and laid my head on his shoulder.
We sat there for a moment but Edward's curiosity could not be contained for long.
"So, are you going to tell me the story now?" I heard curiosity warring with impatience in his voice.
"I am not sure where exactly to begin," I said, biting my lip.
"Well, maybe start with what made you decide to come find me in the first place."
Of course that would make sense, if I wasn't terrified of his reaction.
"Well, just please don't freak out, okay?" I said hopefully.
I felt him tense instantly.
"Why would I "freak out?" There was suspicion in his voice.
"You have been known to in the past and I don't want it to happen now. There are parts of the story that you may not like and I am worried about your reaction. Just try and listen in an objective way, alright?" Even as I said it I knew it was impossible but I had to try.
"I will do my best." His body relaxed but it seemed a deliberate action. Not real relaxation but the appearance of it.
"Well, I had thought about coming to find you anyway, but I guess the accident is what finally decided it for me." I felt him go perfectly still beneath me. Not a good sign.
"Accident?" he said, his voice flat. "What happened?"
"About two months ago, I was in a car accident." I tried to say it as matter-of-fact as possible but I was still tense about his reaction.
"How bad was it?" His voice was strained now.
"Pretty bad."
I heard his sharp intake of breath. He knew my habit of downplaying everything. He must know that if I said it was bad it had to be really bad.
"Tell me exactly what happened." I could not even hear the sound of his breath now he was so still.
"Alright," I took a deep breath and plunged on. "Well, I was driving Angela's car because my truck was in the shop being repaired." I waited half a beat for him to say something disparaging about my truck, but he was silent. "I was going through a green light when a log truck ran the red and hit me on the passenger side. Which was a very good bit of luck they tell me." I would have been killed if it had hit me on the driver's side.
"And how badly were you hurt?" I had known he would ask that one, though it was the one question I really did not want to answer.
"I came out pretty well all things considered." I stopped, hoping that would be enough but knowing of course it was not.
"Bella, tell me exactly what your injuries were." His voice was firm and brooked no argument.
"The usual compliment of bruises of course," I smiled ruefully. "I had some scratches from the glass and some pretty bad gashes on my arms and one on my head. They say I lost a lot of blood." I heard him gasp. Might as well get it over with. "I had four broken ribs and my lung collapsed where the log hit me in the side."
"Log? What log?" his velvet voice was soft.
"A log came loose from the load when the truck hit me. It came in through the passenger side window and hit me." I could still remember the pain of the impact. My ribs still twinged me sometimes.
Suddenly I was pulled up tightly to his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in the crook of my neck. I could feel his cool breath on my collarbone as he whispered "Oh my God" over and over. I stroked his hair and crooned "its okay, I'm okay" until he raised his head and looked at me. His eyes were agonized. I put my hands on both sides of his face.
"No freaking out, remember? I'm perfectly fine now, okay?" He nodded then his eyes caught sight of the scars on my arms and he froze.
Gingerly, so gingerly I could barely feel his touch, he pulled my hands from his face and held out my arms for inspection. It had taken a lot of stitches for the nearly nine inch gashes and the skin, though healing and closed, was still pink and slightly indented. He took both my hands in one of his and softly traced the scars with his fingertip. I could not read the expression on his face.
"Hey," I said softly, "I'm okay, still here and whole."
He looked up at me and smiled sadly. "I can't stand the thought of you being in pain."
"Well, I was unconscious for most of it. I didn't really know the true extent of my injuries until I came out of the coma." I cringed when I heard him draw in another sharp breath. Damn, I thought. I meant to tell him about the coma more gently than that.
"Coma? You were in a coma?" The words sounded choked. "For how long?"
"Only three days. Not long at all." I echoed Alice's words. "I'm pretty sure it was Alice's voice that brought me out of it."
"Alice was there?" He sounded angry now. I was doing a terrible job telling this story. Everything was coming out wrong, coming out in a way guaranteed to send him into a full fledged freak out.
"Yes, she came when she "saw" me have the accident. She was worried because she could not see what the outcome was, what my condition was." I hoped that he would not be too angry at Alice; she had been my lifeline through all this.
I could see him considering everything I had told him and I stared down at his beautiful hands, still holding both of mine. "You said your accident was two months ago?" he sounded thoughtful.
"Yes, give or take a few days." I wasn't sure what the time frame meant to him but since he seemed a little calmer I wasn't going to push it.
"So I take it that Alice convinced you to come here?" he spoke it less as a question and more as a statement.
"No, I told you that I had already decided to find you." I wanted this point to be clear. He looked surprised at my words. "All Alice did was point me in the right direction. I didn't know where you were or how to find you and she did."
"So if it wasn't Alice, what really propelled you to find me? You said it was the accident"-he choked on the word-"but how did that make you finally decide to come here after all this time?"
I couldn't help it, I blushed. I had thought it would be embarrassing to tell Alice about my coma "dream" but having to tell Edward was a hundred times worse. Would he think I was an idiot? An obsessed idiot? I guess there was no way to know unless I told him. I took a deep breath.
"Well, it is kind of embarrassing really." I could not look at him as I spoke. "While I was unconscious I had a strange dream, or vision I guess you could call it." I felt the blood rush to my cheeks again and pushed on.
"It was a replay of all of out time together. I saw every moment we'd had together and watching it I knew that I had to find you again. I knew that with my horrible luck that any moment might be my last and that I wanted to spend every moment I had with you. We have not had enough time with each other; time might cease to exist before we have had enough of it."
I knew the last part sounded very melodramatic but there was no other way for me to describe it. I wanted to spend every second with Edward. There could never be enough time.
He was quiet for a long time. So long that I was worried that I had finally said the words to drive him away again. Did he think I was crazy?
He spoke. "You're right, we haven't had enough time. There is no such thing as enough time." My heart swelled and beat faster in response to his words. Hope blossomed in me. "I was the biggest kind of fool, leaving you, thinking that was what was best for you. And it only ended up hurting us both." He shook his head sadly.
Hold the phone. He had left me because he thought it was best for me? That it would somehow be better for me not to be around him? He had told me that he didn't want me, was that a lie? Had I been tormenting myself with my inadequacies for the last six months for nothing?
I was abruptly angry. He had broken my heart for my own good?
"Is that why you left, you thought it was what was best for me?" I could not believe that he would do such a thing! Didn't he know that no matter where I was or who I was with I attracted danger? I pushed at him in, knowing it wouldn't do any good. I tried to get up but he held me to him, looking at me pleadingly. I settled back down into his lap, my arms crossed over my chest as I waited for his explanation.
"Bella, just being around me is dangerous enough for you, especially with as potent as your scent is to me. But when I saw the danger you were in from others of my kind-James, Victoria, even Jasper for a moment-I knew I could not allow you to be hurt by what I am."
I had always known that he was worried about my safety, obsessively so really, but I had no idea that it would lead him to do something so drastic. His words in the forest came crashing down onto me again. They had been so devastating.
"But-in the forest-you said…you said you were leaving because you didn't want me. That I wasn't good enough for you." The pain of the words he had said choked me and my throat was tight with tears. I willed them away so I could hear his answer.
"My love, I had to tell you those things. I could see that there was no way you were going to give in, to let me leave without you. I knew I had to convince you that I didn't want you anymore, to make you believe that I was moving on. It was the only way I could think of to make sure you went on with your life after I had gone. But every word I said to you was a lie. When I told you I didn't want you," he shook his head sadly, "I can't believe that I was even able to say it. The words were choking me, tormenting me the entire time. But I knew I had to say them, to make sure you were safe, that you had the chance to have a full and happy life."
I couldn't believe it. Everything he had said to me in the forest had been a lie? He had been acting to keep me safe? He wanted me after all? Really? Could I believe that? My heart screamed Yes! But how could he have let me hurt so much? Did he even know how much pain I had been in?
"Edward, the only time I can be happy is when I am with you. All the time you have been gone I have been drowning, sinking farther and farther below the surface, into despair. Thinking of you, of seeing your face again, it is the only thing that pulled me up out of it, back into my life again. Whatever danger I might be in from your company can never be as bad as the emptiness when I am not with you."
He pulled me up against his chest and cradled my head beneath his chin.
"I love you Bella." He said. I gasped and started to tremble. It was the first time he had said the words to me in so long and my heart felt like it would burst with happiness.
"I told you that you were not good enough for me but the truth is, I can never be good enough to deserve you. I will try every day of my existence to be the man that you deserve."
He pulled my face up to his and wiped away the tears that were coursing down my face. Then he kissed me so gently, so sweetly and I knew that no matter what else happened, no matter what life and fate chose to throw at us, we would be together. We were two sides of the same coin; neither was complete without the other. We sat there staring at each other for a long moment, his eyes filled with such joy I could not speak. For the first time in months I felt completely and truly happy.
He wrapped his arms around me and I sighed with contentment. I snuggled up against his chest; I never wanted to move.
"What does Charlie think about you being here?" he asked.
Charlie. He had been a little harder to convince than Alice had originally thought.
"Brazil!" He had practically shouted. "You want to take Bella to Brazil for a month?"
Alice had been calmer.
"Charlie, she will be perfectly safe. Jasper and I have both been there before. She will never be out of our sight." I had to look away at that point so as not to give Alice away. We both knew I would be searching for Edward alone.
"It will look great on Bella's college applications. The big colleges really go for the humanitarian angle." It had taken a little more cajoling on Alice's part but Charlie had finally agreed. He made sure I checked in with him every few days, using the cell phone that Alice had given me to save him long distance charges.
"He doesn't technically know that I am here looking for you actually," I answered Edward now. I felt bad about lying to Charlie but being in Edward's arms made it worth it.
"Where does he think you are?" He sounded amused.
"He thinks I am traveling with Alice and Jasper doing volunteer work abroad. You know, to fluff out my college applications."
"Jasper knows you're here too?" He was surprised. Alice had argued, threatened and finally begged until Jasper had gone along with the plan. I secretly thought that he was holding out deliberately, making Alice work for his acquiescence, to teach her a lesson about interfering. I knew that he missed Edward too. He had held out longer against Alice than I thought he would (he could not really deny Alice anything she wanted) but had finally given in.
"Yes, it took a lot of convincing on Alice's part. She knew that Charlie wouldn't allow us to travel without a male escort." I laughed at the thought of Alice needing protection. "Charlie still didn't like the idea of me traveling to another country though, no matter how worthwhile the cause is. But Alice has Charlie wrapped around her finger and he finally agreed."
"Where are they now?"
I had to think about that. "Um, Santiago, I think. I am supposed to check in with Alice everyday. It seems silly to me since she already knows what I am doing or going to do, but it makes me feel better to talk to her. She always knows the right things to say." Alice had encouraged me every time I had called, telling me not to give up hope, that Edward loved me and wanted to be with me. It was reassurance that I had desperately needed.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it has been difficult to track you down. I knew you were in the city but it is not like I could put up signs or something. You know 'Have you seen this man?'" I laughed at the thought of Edward's reaction if I had. He smiled slightly. "And I don't speak the language either so trying to make people understand has been interesting too. But she really just helped me keep my resolve."
"Your resolve?" I could hear a touch of wariness in his tone.
"Mmm-hmm. My resolve to keep looking for you. Alice has been encouraging, telling me not to give up hope and soothing my anxiety about seeing you again." I saw his lips turn down at the corners.
"I'm glad you didn't give up. And I'm sorry that you were so apprehensive about seeing me again. The way that I have treated you is abominable and I can never make it up to you but I will never stop trying." There was conviction in his tone but there was sadness too. I didn't want him to be sad.
"Edward, I am just so glad to be with you again like this. I was so afraid that you would turn me away, that Alice was wrong and that I was making a fool of myself. But being here, having you hold me again, it makes me so happy. Nothing else matters except that I get to be with you now."
"Bella, I promise you that I will never, ever leave you again." His voice was strong with conviction and I knew he meant it. "Being without you these last months…I don't ever want to feel that kind of pain again. And now, after seeing you and being able to touch you and have you in my arms again-there is nothing that could ever take me away from you again." We sat together quietly. I was content just to be held in his arms, knowing he was mine again.
"How long have you been looking for me?" He asked after a moment.
"I've been here for a week now. I wasn't sure where to look for you so I chose a hotel that was in the center of the city. I've kind of been working my way around, showing your picture to people to see if they remembered you. It has been slow going, not only because of the language thing but also because I wanted to be back at the hotel before it got dark. I really didn't want to get lost in the city at night."
I had enough trouble finding my way back to my hotel during the day; the city at night terrified me. I felt him shudder and hurried to continue before he was able to say anything about me wandering around the city alone.
"Then I found someone, a woman of course, who remembered seeing you a couple of times." I remembered the glow in the woman's eyes when she had looked at the picture. I understood completely. Even in a photograph Edward was stunningly gorgeous. Fortunately the woman had also been able to speak English and had given me the information I needed.
"She told me that she had seen you in the courtyard and that it was probably my best bet. So I have been camped out there for that last few days, waiting to see if you came by."
I had been so worried that he would not show up. I had planned on only spending one more day there after today before looking around the city again. It was a good thing he decided to go for a walk today. Thinking about that reminded me of something.
"I have a question."
"What is it?" he asked.
"Earlier, when you first saw me, why did you turn and walk away?" It had been so shocking and I wanted to know what he had been thinking. To my surprise he looked almost embarrassed by the question.
"To be truthful, I didn't think you were real." He looked sheepish.
"Really?" I was surprised. I couldn't believe that he had been having doubts that I was real. I had thought he was angry at me for being here.
"Yes. I thought that my imagination had run away with me, giving me delusions. I thought that because I was so desperate to see you again that my brain was giving me visions of your face to appease me." His perfect lips twisted self-consciously.
I shook my head. It still thrilled me that he wanted me as much as I wanted him. I had been thinking he would disappear and he thought I was a delusion. The thought of Edward having hallucinations was funny to me for some reason and I giggled.
"Are you laughing at me?" He scowled but I could see the amusement in his eyes.
"It's just funny because I was kind of thinking the same thing when we were talking before. I was worried you would disappear." I giggled.
"Not a chance. You are stuck with me now." He smiled as he said it but I could hear the promise in his voice and smiled.
"You're damn right I am. I've followed you this far and you are not going to get away."
Now that I knew he loved me and wanted me I would follow him anywhere. I reached up and kissed him on his cold flawless jaw. He bent his head down and captured my lips with his. One arm held me to him and his other hand moved to my neck, holding me in his kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran my fingers through his soft hair. I could kiss him forever but too soon he released me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest, totally content.
I am not sure how long we sat there, just holding each other, when my humanity reared its head and my stomach grumbled.
"Dinner time for the human?" Edward asked, amused.
"I suppose so. I don't remember the last time I ate." I had been so nervous about seeing Edward I hadn't had much of an appetite. I realized now I was ravenous.
"Well that won't do. Let's go get you something to eat." He put his arms under me and lifted me up, standing at the same time, but he didn't move. Curious I looked up and he was staring down at me, his eyes soft.
"You don't know how happy it makes me, having you in my arms again. I had thought I would never see you again and now to be able to hold you again…I can't even find the words to describe it." He bent down and brushed his lips to mine, before lowering me gently to the floor. Before he could release me completely I wrapped my arms around his waist.
"I feel the same way. I have missed having you hold me and thought I would never be able to feel your arms around me again. Now I feel like a kid on Christmas morning." I laughed. Edward was better than any gift I had ever received.
He kissed my nose. "Come on, let's go get some food into you." He unwrapped my arms from his waist and took my hand.
We walked down the stairs and out through the hotel lobby into the now darkened streets. I had never been out when it was dark outside. I knew that it was dangerous at night for a woman alone no matter where she was, much less a foreign country. There were lots of people in the streets and I could hear music pouring out of a cantina across the street.
A drunken man stumbled towards us and stopped, looking me up and down. He reeked of sweat and alcohol. I could feel Edward stiffen next to me. The man leered at me and said something in Portuguese that I did not understand, though I was able to pick out the word "beautiful". Edward growled something back at the man and I could see him register Edward's presence for the first time. He backed away quickly from the furious look on Edward's face. He crossed the street and ducked into the cantina.
"What was that all about?" I asked. Edward took a deep breath and smiled down at me.
"Just another man who can't help but find you irresistible." He laughed at the dubious expression on my face. "I just made sure he understood that you were taken."
I laughed. The look on his face before told me he had let the man know more than that. "Okay, but next time try not to scare them so badly." I laughed again.
"Next time?" His voice was amused.
"Well you said yourself I am sooo irresistible." I pretended to bat my eyelashes at him.
He laughed. "Indeed you are." Then he bent to brush his lips against mine.
There was a small restaurant on the corner and we stopped there. It was an enchanting place. The tables were small and round with small candles in jars in the middle. There was soft music playing in the background. The atmosphere was very intimate and it felt like we were the only two people in the world. Edward translated the menu to me in his velvet voice and told the waitress what I wanted. She pointedly ignored my presence and flirted in Edward's direction but he ignored her, staring at me the whole time. She looked at me disbelievingly before leaving to get my food.
I reached across the table to take his wintry hand in mine. He raised it to his lips before setting our entwined hands back on the table.
"So what are our plans from here?" I asked. The word our secretly thrilled me.
He smiled. "I was thinking we could spend a few more days here, give you a chance to really see the sights, before going to see my family in Denali. We can spend a couple of weeks with them before we have to be back for the start of school."
Before we have to be back…the words were so beautiful to me and I felt tears form in my eyes. It hit me for the first time that Edward and I would really be together again. He saw the tears in my eyes and became alarmed.
"Bella? What's wrong? We don't have to go to Denali if you don't want to; we can stay here or I can take you back to Forks or-." I cut him off before he could panic.
"No, I want to see your family again. I was just starting to realize that I really do get to be with you, that's all." I wiped my tears away and beamed at him.
He smiled at me adoringly.
The waitress delivered my food, still looking hopefully at Edward; he continued to ignore her and she walked away. After I ate, we paid the bill and walked hand in hand back to the hotel. I retrieved the cell phone Alice had given me from a drawer in the nightstand.
"I have to call Alice. Of course she already knows what is going on but if I don't call she gets upset." I dialed the number and she picked up immediately. Then promptly gave me no chance to speak.
Bella! You found him! I'm so glad! Jasper and I will be there is Denali when you get there Friday. I am so happy! Bella you are the best sister anyone could ever have! Thank you so much!
"Hello Alice," I said dryly. She was always so enthusiastic. "I'm happy too. And we will see you in Denali I guess." It was funny confirming plans I hadn't even made yet but that was a side effect of being around Alice.
"Tell Jasper I said hello." I hadn't seen him since my birthday I realized. We had told Charlie that Jasper would be with us but he had not actually traveled with me.
"You know, I just realized I haven't seen him in over six months? I am going to have to come up with some Jasper and Bella stories to tell Charlie so he won't be suspicious. And since I know you won't be able to keep it a secret, tell Carlisle and Esme and everyone else that I said hello."
I will Bella. See you soon! Bye! She hung up and I closed the phone. I laughed and shook my head.
"Alice." She was the best sister anyone could ever have.
Edward was looking at me quizzically
"I thought Jasper and Alice both brought you here." he said.
"No, Alice flew with me to the airport here, and then she got on a different plane to go meet Jasper in Santiago." I replied.
"Why didn't they travel together?"
"I don't know. I wondered about it too but Alice just said that Jasper had gone on ahead to get things ready."
I shrugged but I secretly thought that Jasper hadn't wanted to see me again. I didn't blame him for what had happened on my birthday but it must still bother him. I hoped I would get a chance to tell him I had forgiven him long ago.
Edward looked deep in thought when I spoke next.
"So according to Alice we are going to be in Denali on Friday. That gives us two more days before we have to leave." I was thrilled that I would have some more uninterrupted time with Edward.
"Yes, I plan on showing you some of the local culture before we go. I will call the airlines to see what flights they have open. Though I'm willing to bet there is a flight out on Friday." He laughed. You just didn't bet against Alice.
"Alright, while you do that I will go ahead and take a shower." I kissed him on the cheek before grabbing some pajamas and my bag of toiletries. I went into the bathroom and closed the door behind me.
The hot water felt good. I washed my hair and scrubbed myself, then turned the water off and spent a few minutes combing out my hair and brushing my teeth. I put on the pajamas that Alice had packed for me. They were a pretty shade of blue and were the least scary of all the ones that she had packed. There was a whole pile of lace ones that I had shoved into the back of the dresser. There was no way I was going to put those on. Way too scary.
I opened the door to the bathroom and walked back into the room. Edward was sitting propped up on the bed and when he looked in my direction he went still. He looked me up and down then his glowing eyes caught mine and I blushed. The pajamas were of some sort of silky material and Alice being Alice there wasn't much to them-just a camisole top with thin straps and a pair of shorts.
He cleared his throat before speaking. "I don't think I have ever seen you wear that before." His voice was like honey and he cleared his throat again.
I felt myself turning even pinker. "No, it is new. Alice stole all my clothes and replaced them with new ones." I was silently thanking her for this choice when I saw how Edward looked at me. He continued to stare at me and for a moment I felt as beautiful as he always said I was.
I walked over to the bed and pulled back the blankets. Edward's icy skin meant the blanket was necessary but at least I got to cuddle up next to him again. It felt like coming home to have my arm around him and him stroking my damp hair. I snuggled up against him, resting my head on his silent chest.
"Were you able to find a flight out?" I asked.
"Yes, for Friday morning. I also talked to Carlisle and they are expecting us."
"I've missed him and Esme." I couldn't help myself; I yawned. It had been a long emotional day.
"Okay, time to sleep." He said, turning off the lamp. The room was almost dark; there was just a little moonlight coming in through the curtains. There was something I wanted before I fell asleep.
"Edward?"
"Yes, my love?"
"Will you kiss me goodnight?"
He pretended to sigh resignedly. "If I must." He said.
I raised my head and he pressed his lips to mine. Of course my heart took off at the feel of his lips on mine and I reached up to trace his perfect jaw with my fingers. Edward responded by pulling me more tightly against him and kissing me with more urgency. His fingers tunneled into my hair, trapping me against him. My head started to spin and I had to remind myself to breathe. My fingers found his hair and I wanted to hold him there forever. I didn't get my way though. I felt his kiss become gentler and he pulled my hands from his hair. I couldn't help the disappointed groan that escaped me.
"Alright, time for you to rest." He said, laughing at my pout. "I know, my love, but I only have so much self control. Now get some sleep."
I sighed. I knew he wouldn't kiss me again so I lay down next to him. He started to hum my lullaby and I was soon asleep.