The next morning, everything looked better. The first sight my tired eyes saw was Edward leaning on his elbow, smiling down at me and looking at me like I was glittering gold. I imagine I looked back at him with the same expression. To me, Edward was gold.

"Good morning," I whispered, raising a hand to trace the side of his face.

Edward smirked. "More like good afternoon, Sleeping Beauty. You're lucky Charlie never poked his head in here before he went to work."

"More like you're lucky."

"Good point," he smiled. Then his face turned serious. "We need to talk some more."

I groaned. "I'm so sick of talking. But I know, I know – we need to."

Sighing, Edward sat up and rested against the headboard. "I suppose we should start with why you didn't want me to come to England with you."

"I don't know, myself," I admitted after a pause, toying with the edge of the sheet. "I guess it just felt like too much, too fast." I inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. "I was just getting used to us as a couple… All of a sudden you were coming across the water with me on a trip that… originally was supposed to just be about me." Edward tried to control his face but I saw the sadness in his eyes. I stroked his face and closed my own eyes. "I realize now how stupid I was being. We're in a relationship. It's not just about me."

"But what you think and feel matters, Bella."

My eyes opened and I nodded. "I want you to come to England with me. I'd miss you desperately if you weren't by my side, supporting me."

"I can still support you from here," Edward pointed out. "I'd call you every day… multiple times."

"That's not the same as having you with me," I whispered.

Edward smiled and kissed my nose. "It's my turn to confess." He, too, took a deep breath before beginning. "I was feeling insecure. I was adjusting to us being together, too, and in the process I think I ended up coming on too strong. It's good for us to be able to do things by ourselves, to have our time apart. I'll miss you desperately, as well, but you need this. And I need to work and save up some cash." He sighed and wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. "I don't know how I'll survive being so far away from you, but it's only three weeks. It'll feel like an eternity but it's only three weeks. And I trust you. I don't think I did at first, or trusted 'us' together, but now I realize how stupid I was being. And unfair. I love you, Bella, and I'll love you no matter where you are or what you do."

I was speechless and so in love.

"I love you," I breathed, wrapping my arms around his waist.

Edward kissed me fervently but I didn't let it get too deep, what with my morning breath and all. He groaned but understood and let me get up and hop into the shower. As I lathered up my body, I wished he'd join me but I figured he felt that our "new" first time together shouldn't be in the shower (as hot as that would be). Still, I firmly intended on having a taste of Edward Cullen again before I left.

It had been far too long.

I only had three more days before I left. It was a Friday and Edward and I had already planned on having dinner and going to the movies. I decided to make as much of the evening as I could.

Edward came around dinnertime to pick me up. Of course he looked absolutely mouthwatering and it took every ounce of willpower I had not to jump him right there on my stoop.

As he led me to his car, he held me close and whispered in my ear. "You look ravishing, as always."

"You, too," I said with a smile, trying hard not to snort at the absurdity of Edward saying something like that to me with the way he looked.

"Tonight you're mine, Isabella Swan. In every way." Then he opened up the door for me and suppressed a smile over the (I'm sure) absolutely ridiculous, dumbfounded expression on my face.

It took me a few moments before I realized he was still standing there, holding the door open, no longer bothering to hide the grin playing at his delicious lips. The cold jarred me and somehow I stumbled into the passenger seat. I could hear him laughing as he walked around the car

He gracefully slid into his own seat, still slightly chuckling. With a smirk, he looked over at me. "And Isabella… I mean what I say." His green, twinkling eyes travelled down and up my body, sending tingles down my spine and right to the place that wanted him most. "I will have you tonight. All of you."

With that, he twisted the key in the ignition and sped off to God knows where.

All I knew was Edward was apparently "having" me tonight and I couldn't help but picture it. It didn't help that I had very lucid memories of our last coupling to help spur the already out of control flames of my unending desire.

It was going to be a very long night, indeed.