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Chapter 6
Interlude
Edward parked in the main house's garage and we started the short walk to our cottage. It was a clear night, so with the full moon and bright stars, it looked more like twilight than the late hour it really was.
We did not touch, we did not speak. It was not the same as the comfortable silence between Emmett and I earlier in the day, but it wasn't unpleasant.
A few feet in front of the house, Edward paused and took me in his arms, carrying me honeymoon style over the threshold. He didn't set me down as I expected in our little front room, but instead walked stoically into our back bedroom. I started to ask him not to put me on the bed, my skirt was probably black with mold and moss from the tree trunk from earlier. I took the breath to speak and sensing this he crushed his mouth to mine.
In a flash I was not only in our bed but my stop layer of clothing had been stripped away. The shreds were in a pile by the bed. Edward interrupted the kiss just enough to take his shirt over his head. His muscles ripples underneath his pale, shimmering skin, and I ran my hands over his back and through his hair, gripping him to me.
"You are mine. "
"Mine."
"Mine."
He repeated the word over and over into my mouth, over my cheeks, across my earlobe, and down my jaw.
"You will never be his. You are mine." He breathed down my stomach and with that, I decided I could wait until morning to figure out what he meant. There were some moments I allowed myself to be a mere mortal.
Edward and I had been connected for more than eight hours. In the glow of the day, it was hard to imagine that the preceding night had happened. The air was cool, swirling around in little waves near the windows, and the leaves hung on to the branches for dear life.
I was the first to speak, mumbling his name into his shoulder. He had been staring at the ceiling for hours, and while I didn't want to break his reverie, I simply couldn't hold it in much longer.
He turned from him back to his side, sliding me off his body and facing me, with one arm propped under his head. I missed his dancing eyes as soon as I looked at him. He recovered quickly, kissing my forehead, but I knew he was brooding.
"Sleep well?" he asked.
"Yes. Be quiet, though, Charlie hasn't left for work yet." I played along.
"Hmmm. Well I am in big trouble. If Charlie wakes up and sees me naked with you in this bed, what will he think?"
"You would know what he thinks, not me. But, what would he do? Probably shoot you."
He laughed and kissed my nose. "Actually, that is a thought that crossed his mind more than once."
"So are we going to talk about last night?" I asked, sounding braver than I felt.
"You mean you want to talk about our amazing lovemaking?" he joked.
"Just because I can't blush, Mister…" I punched him in the arm. "No, although I agree it was amazing. It seemed..different."
"Bella, I thought you liked new things? Can't have you getting bored with me now, can I?" he reasoned.
"Edward, you know that is not what I mean either. Why did you say something about someone else having me. I didn't understand." I said, getting frustrated by his playfulness when I was clearly being serious.
"Oh, that. I meant Jacob. He would never have you." He shrugged.
"Huh? What are you talking about Edward?"
"I am answering your question. What I meant by what I said was that Jacob as never going to get you. And, no one else for that matter, but I was speaking of him at the time." His tone was light, careless.
"Edward, what do you mean, "get me"? Have you forgotten he's married to our daughter and I am married to you?" My voice was rising now.
"No, love. I know those facts to be true, and I was simply stating another one. Jacob is going to stay Jacob, and he's never going to get you."
I started to speak when he cut me off. "Bella, this scheme that Renesme and Jacob have concocted is ridiculous. It's not plausible, let alone possible. They are grasping at straws because of their unwillingness to face the hard facts. You said it yourself, Jacob is not immortal and Nessie is. She will grieve and she will move on. I am not saying it won't be hard, but she is strong and she can do it."
"So if you think it's ridiculous, does that mean you don't want us to talk about it at all?" I tried to hide the hurt in my voice, "And you still haven't answered what this has to do with Jacob "getting me"?"
Edward dazzled me with a beautiful smile. "Bella, we can talk about it if you choose to, but it will be a short conversation. The bond that is created when a vampire changes another one is very strong. I know you have heard this, but I don't think you have ever have experienced it. You assume that our bond is based only on love, and the same is true for the rest of our family. While there is no doubt about our love, it is enhanced by the bond that was created when I changed you."
He went on, "You and Jacob have a sordid history. I know to you it seems like ancient history, but there are times that he still struggles with the past. Your memories, your emotions are remembered, but they are just not as strong as they would have been had you remained a human like Jacob has. He may love Renesme, and know she is his soul mates, but he still grieves for the loss of your companionship."
"Edward, " I interrupted. "It is ancient history to both of us. Jake does not still have feelings for me, friendship or otherwise. I am his mother in law. I see him as one of my children. You are imaging all this."
"Darling, it is not imagined, it is seen." With that, he tapped his temple. "Jacob does not love you as he once did, you are right. But he does not want to be seen as your child, Bella, even now. He misses your friendship that put you as equals."
"So, again, Edward, what does one thing do with the other?"
"You are mine, Bella. Forever. And that means I will not share you with Jacob, even if it means temporary pain to our daughter. I will not allow a bond like transformation to be created with the one person who has challenged our love, and who still has feelings of loss for you. I will not risk our family to war with Quileute's, or punishment from the Volturi. I will not watch my son or my daughter bear the pain of a failed transformation. "
"There is nothing to talk about, Bella, because I won't allow it. Not now, not ever."