A/N: We don't own Twilight. I do own a shiny brand new copy of Eclipse, though.

Enjoy :-)

Chapter 19 (BPOV)

Edward slid up behind me, his warm breath caressing my cheek as his hand snaked up the front of my shirt, tweaking my nipple between his thumb and pointer finger. I moaned, arching my back and pressing my ass into his groin. His mouth came down on my neck, his teeth grazing before gently sinking into the sensitive spot directly below my ear.

"Mmmmm...Bella...I want you so bad..." he groaned, his hand trailing back down my torso and wrapping around my knee. He hitched my leg up and back, draping it over his thigh and opening me up to him.

It was at that moment I realized that I wasn't dreaming, and Edward was in fact behind me, in my bed, feeling me up while I was sleeping.

"Edward?" I said groggily, pressing my face into my pillow. His fingers were grazing over my panties, before cupping my sex in his hand, pressing his palm into the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top.

"Happy Birthday, Baby," he whispered, sucking on my ear, my neck, and anywhere his glorious lips could reach.

I cracked one eye open and saw that my clock read exactly 12:02a.m. September 13th. My birthday.

"I'm taking your key away if you keep waking me up in the middle of the night," I mumbled, snuggling myself back into his warm body, intending to drift back into my blissful slumber.

Yes, Edward had a key to my apartment. We exchanged them shortly after the Lauren debacle so that we could come and go as we pleased from each other's places. It had been especially helpful since Edward was working pretty much non-stop, as they were still looking for a replacement chef. It wasn't unusual for him to crawl into my bed at 1:00a.m., immediately kissing my cheek and whispering that he loved me before pulling me into his arms and drifting off to sleep. It had been rough not seeing him, but those nights made it all worth it.

"Don't act like you don't enjoy it, Bella," he said, his fingers doing a delicious little dance up and down the inside of my thigh.

I couldn't deny it. I did enjoy being woken up that way. Especially one morning, just a week prior, when I woke up to find Edward's face between my legs.

"I didn't say I didn't enjoy it. I'm just trying to understand why you have to continually molest me in my sleep. Are you afraid you won't get it any other way?" I nudged him with my elbow.

He chuckled and rolled me onto my back, climbing on top of me. My legs automatically spread to welcome his body and I felt his weight settle down on top of me. My hands automatically wrapped around his torso and settled on his back, and it was then that I realized that he was already naked.

Mmmm...naked Edward is my favorite kind of Edward.

"No, Bella. I'm not afraid. I know how I make you feel...you wear your heart on your sleeve...and your blush kind of gives you away," he snickered, running his knuckle over my cheek. "You want me all the time, not that I blame you." He punctuated his statement with a roll of his hips into my now very aroused center.

"Edwaaaaaaard," I whined, pushing my body up into his, trying to gain as much friction as I could.

"What?" he asked, with a cocky smirk plastered on his face. He knew exactly what he was doing to me.

Starting at his shoulders, I trailed my hands down his back, feeling his lithe muscles beneath my fingertips. I ran them all the way down to his ass and then grabbed and squeezed. He bucked into me again and I smiled indulgently.

He shook his head at me, his gaze flickering over my face as his lips stretched into a grin.

"Happy Birthday to me," I said, hooking my legs over the back of his thighs.

He ducked his head to press soft, open-mouthed kisses along my collarbone, his day-old scruff tickling my skin.

"Happy Birthday to You," he sang, his voice growing steadily huskier, "Happy Birthday to You," his kisses on my skin became increasingly firmer and longer than the last. He hummed the last few bars as to make sure his lips never left my body.

My breath was stolen when he crashed his lips into mine unexpectedly, his tongue darting out to slide between my lips, tangling with mine. His long fingers kneaded the muscle of my thighs, before grasping at them and hooking them around his waist, urging me closer. He pressed his hips into mine, stiff and firm against soft and pliant.

It was a bit ridiculous how quickly he could turn me into a writhing ball of lust. Within seconds, I was keening and moaning underneath him, begging him just to rid me of my clothes and have his wicked way with me.

"Before I do that," he said with a grin, "I want to give you a birthday gift."

"What? Now?" I asked, confused. What could he possibly have to give me that couldn't wait until later?

"Yes, now," he answered with a laugh. "We finally found someone to replace Lauren. His name is Peter and he starts tomorrow."

"Really!" I squealed, throwing my arms around his neck. "That's awesome news!"

"Yeah, well, I still won't be able to take a lot of time off since I need to train him and get him acclimated, but it's definitely a step in the right direction."

"Uh-huh," I nodded, only half paying attention. It was hard to concentrate when my extremely gorgeous and extremely hard boyfriend was laying on top of me. I got the major points though, so I wasn't a complete failure.

New person hired...will soon get to see Edward more. A lot more. Now let's get to sexin'.

"Edwaaaaaaard," I whined again, my voice almost sounding like Janice from Friends. I couldn't help it. He was a gorgeous, hard, tease of a man.

"Patience is a virtue, Love," he chuckled, dipping down to suck lightly on my collarbone.

"Patience shmatience," I groaned. "You're one to talk about patience. After all, you're the one that woke me up."

"Maybe I should let you get back to sleep then," he said, and started to roll off of me. I clenched my legs tighter around his waist to keep him from moving.

"Nooooooo..." I pouted, sticking my bottom lip out for effect.

"What, Bella? What exactly is it that you want?" He smirked cockily at me. I wanted to simultaneously kiss and smack the smirk right off of his face.

"Do you want me to beg, Edward? Is that what you're going for here? Because I'll do it. I swear to God, I'll do it. Although, it's really not nice of you to make me beg on my birthday."

"Hmmm...actually, I would like to hear you beg. I want to hear how much you want me. Because I want you every second of every day. Tell me, Bella..." he groaned out, inching his fingers underneath my t-shirt. His touch was like an inferno on my skin, setting me on fire with every pass of his fingertips over my torso.

"More...I need more...touch me...please...I need to feel you...all of you..." I gasped out. He was driving me absolutely insane with need. My hands were groping and grasping every inch of his skin that I could get at...they wanted to be everywhere at once.

His lips brushed against mine as his hands continued to move under my shirt. "I'm yours. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you."

As his fingertips finally brushed the underside of my breasts, I gasped and arched into him. "Please, make love to me Edward."

He nodded and I gasped at the beauty I saw in his face. The raw need that he had for me was indescribable. He bent and used his lips to part my own and our tongues touched and caressed each other in a deliberate and delicate dance. My hands fell to his chest stroking him softly, before I moved them around his waist to pull him closer to me. He pulled his mouth from mine and looked at down at me through heavy lids.

"I love you, Bella."

"Please, Edward." It was all I could manage.

He slowly lowered himself in front of me, ghosting his hands down my sides and thighs. When he reached the hem of my shirt, he grabbed it and lifted it upwards, bringing himself up with it. I lifted my hands and he pulled the shirt off my body and over my head and arms, dropping it to the floor. He cupped one of my breasts in his hand while flicking my nipple that had already pebbled from his touch. He took my other breast in his mouth, sucking gently and licking the peak with his tongue. I gasped from the sheer pleasure of what he was doing to me.

I felt him hook his fingers in the sides of my panties and I lifted slightly to allow him to slide them off. He took my ankles and pushed them back, causing my legs to bend at the knees. He spread my knees apart as he crawled on the bed between them. I watched as he took a single finger and slid it between my folds. That touch alone was almost enough to make me come right then. I whimpered, not being able to form a sentence.

"You're so wet for me."

He began stroking me gently, softly, methodically.

He slid a finger inside and started pumping in and out slowly. I felt him add another finger as he continued his magnificent torture on my body.

My man was an absolute genius with his hands.

"Bella…Jesus…so beautiful."

I don't know if it was his words or what he was doing with his fingers, but the moment his thumb grazed my clit, I came quickly and hard.

"Fuck me!" I cried, unable to control myself.

He held his hand motionless while I came, his fingers still curled inside me as I rode out my orgasm. My whole body was shaking and I needed to feel him closer to me…inside of me.

"I intend to…Bella," He said, his voice low and husky and completely oozing sex.

I lifted my hands to him and pulled him down, closer to me. His mouth was on mine, kissing and sucking and biting my lips gently. My hands were fisted in his hair, bringing myself as close to him as I could. He moved from my mouth to my neck and down to my breasts. His strong arms held him above my body, his palms on either side of my shoulders. I felt his breath on my face and the physical need I had to feel him inside of me was more intense than anything I had ever experienced.

"I need to be inside of you, Bella," he said with urgency.

"Oh, God," I cried. "Me too…I need you too!"

He moved his hand down to his cock and I spread my legs out further to accommodate him. He stroked me with his tip, coating him with my moisture.

"Look at me," He commanded softly.

My eyes met his, and I knew that there would never be anyone else in the world but him. I felt him begin to slide in, until his hips finally met mine and I felt completely whole again. He began moving in and out of me slowly. I was whimpering and writhing underneath him, tossing my head from side to side on my pillow. He was driving me absolutely insane.

"You're amazing…you feel…god…so wet…hot…around me…god…Bella!"

I felt my legs wrap around him. I wanted to pull him closer. His hands were on my breasts, squeezing and stroking. His movements became thrusts and I felt my body heat with slow, creeping warmth. He leaned down to kiss me, still maintaining constant contact with my eyes.

My body was pushing up to meet him in frantic need. His thrusts were deeper and faster now. He moved his hand down to where our bodies were joined and began to circle my clit with this thumb, his other hand around my back pulling me closer. I felt it approaching and I knew he did too. It was like I was standing at the edge of a cliff, ready to drop off. I was crying loudly, screaming even. I wanted to close my eyes, but I didn't want to break the contact we had maintained.

"Come for me Bella," he cried.

I felt my muscles clench around him and light exploded behind my eyes as I finally closed them reflexively. It was almost too much to contain. I felt Edward release into me as he collapsed on top on my body. He stayed inside me as we both came down from the intensity and it took a minute for everything to come back into focus.

When my breathing returned to normal and I was able to form a coherent sentence, I lifted Edward's face to look at mine. "Best birthday I've had in a while," I said with a grin.

"It's only just begun," he replied. "You still have the rest of today to look forward to."

I stared at him quizzically. "What are we doing? Please tell me you didn't plan anything big..."

He placed his fingers over my lips to shush me and gave me a stern look. "Bella, don't complain. Please. I love you and I want to do something nice for you. Now...I have to go into work in the morning, but Alice and Rose are coming over to help you get ready. I'll pick you up at seven."

"Edward, what are we doing that requires Alice and Rose to help me get ready?"

He grinned and shook his head. "Okay, fine, not exactly helping you, but they're bringing stuff over for you to wear. I'm not telling you where we're going. It's a surprise." I scowled at him. "Don't look at me like that."

"I have my own clothes, Edward."

"I know you do, and I love you in your clothes...I love you out of your clothes too. Just-let them do this for you...they want to spend time with you on your birthday too, alright?"

I nodded regretfully and rolled him off of me so that I could snuggle into his side. I draped my leg over his thigh and rested my head on his chest, closing my eyes as soon as he started gently raking his fingers through my hair.

I had just hung up the phone with my mother when there was an obnoxious pounding on my door. "Bella! Open up!"

And so it begins.

I opened my door to see Alice and Rose; Alice with a garment bag strewn over her arm and a shoe box in the other, and Rose with her hands full of coffee.

"Hey, Birthday Girl!" Alice cheered, pecking me on the cheek and then depositing her belongings on the couch. Rose followed suit, handing me my coffee and then plopping down on one of the stools at the kitchen counter. I headed over towards the garment bag and snatched it up, eager to see what kind of fancy dress I was going to have to pour myself into for the evening.

But when I unzipped it, I saw...

"Jeans?" I said, completely astonished. Apparently I had been way off base with Edward's plans for the evening.

Alice just smiled. "Mmmhmmm...he told us just to let you get ready yourself. There's some adorable shoes in the box. He said to dress comfortably."

Ok...that I can do. I didn't want to spend my evening all gussied up, inside a fancy shmancy restaurant anyways.

By the time seven o'clock rolled around, I was dressed in jeans and a nice shirt and had my jacket thrown over my arm in case it got cold.

I heard Edward tap on the door a few times to alert me of his presence before he pushed it open, and...

Oh. My. God.

He was not even close to being dressed up, but the combination of his form fitting jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket, and motorcycle helmet tucked under his arm almost threw me into a complete frenzy. In his other hand, he was grasping the most perfect bouquet of flowers that I had ever seen.

I beamed and crossed the room in four huge steps, throwing my arms around his neck and almost knocking him off of his feet.

"Happy Birthday again, my Bella," he said, swooping down for a kiss and then handing me the beautifully arranged flowers. I went to the kitchen and put them in a vase before grabbing my coat again and letting Edward tug me out the door and downstairs.

"Where are we going?" I asked, trying to keep up with his long strides. He was clearly excited to get wherever we were going.

"It's a surprise," he answered, leading me through the lobby and out to the sidewalk where his very expensive and extremely sexy bike was parked.

I ran my fingers over the soft leather seat. "Are you finally taking me for a ride?"

"You get to ride my bike now," he said, wrapping his arms around me from behind. "and me later."

My face immediately flushed. "Edward! You're such a horn dog!"

He shrugged and laughed, placing a quick kiss on my neck. "Alright, come on then. Hop on."

He went to climb on ahead of me, but stopped and reached on the other side for something. "Wait a second...you need this first," he said, handing me a helmet.

I stared dryly at him in response.

"Bella...you have to wear it. You'll look cute, I promise," he tried to reason, reaching up to slip it over my head.

"Alice is going to kill you for messing up my hair," I shot back, hating the heaviness of the offending object on my head. I twisted my neck from side to side, trying to get used to the feeling of it.

He laughed and tapped the top of it before climbing on to the bike and offering his hand to help me on.

"I hope you know what you're doing," I said, wrapping my arms around him as tight as possible. As excited as I was, I was also scared shitless, never having been on a motorcycle before.

He started it up, and I felt rather than heard his laughter vibrating through his back. "Just hang on," he warned, and then eased onto the road. New York wasn't really ideal for going over 30 mph, so I wondered where we could possibly be headed. I doubted that Edward would want to putt around the busy streets all night when he could be out on the open road.

"Now will you tell me where we're going?" I asked when we stopped at a red light.

He turned his head and I could just barely make out the word "No" over the engine. He smirked at me from underneath his helmet and then turned back to the road. I sighed and concentrated on how it felt to be completely wrapped around him as we navigated through the streets of New York.

After a long while I noticed that the buildings were getting smaller and smaller in stature and that we were getting away from the hustle and the bustle of the city. He entered the freeway and then we were off, flying down the road with the wind blowing cool and gorgeous over every inch of my body. It was a thrill. A terrifying sort of thrill.

The landscape whizzed by. I smelled the grass, the changing fall air, and the leather of Edward's jacket. I felt the vibration of the bike between my legs and Edward's warm body pressed up against my chest.

It was sexual and arousing, something that I hadn't anticipated. It was surely the reason why people rode these death traps. If I wasn't afraid of falling completely off of the back, I would have thrown my arms up in the air to feel the wind whipping over my palms.

As soon as my legs started to feel a little numb, Edward exited the freeway and drove down a couple of roads that were much more secluded and quiet than what I was used to. We turned into a gravel drive and back through some trees, and then he killed the engine.

I eased the helmet off of my head and looked around Edward's shoulder to see a beautiful serene lake in front of us. The top was completely still and reflected back the huge trees that surrounded it. The sun was setting, turning the early fall sky different shades of yellow and orange.

It was completely and utterly gorgeous.

Edward grabbed my hand and I climbed off the bike, and then waited for him to climb off also. He took my hand and lead me closer to the water, where I finally noticed a blanket and a basket sitting about 15 feet from the water's edge.

"Edward?" I gasped, gazing up at his face. "How did you do all of this?"

He smirked, turning to wrap me in his arms. "I have people," he said simply. "I wanted this to be special for you. I wanted us to just have time alone, completely alone, away from the noise and our everyday, chaotic lives."

"Well, it's perfect. I love it. And I love you," I said, standing up on my toes to kiss him. He grabbed the back of my thighs and hoisted me up, allowing me to wrap my legs around his waist. He carried me over to the blanket and sunk down onto his knees. My legs stayed wrapped loosely around him but my back came to rest on the plushy blanket and I smiled up at him.

"You're so good to me," I said, as he leaned forward and captured my lips between his own. His mouth trailed down my jaw and neck and his nose nudged the fabric of my shirt aside so that he could have better access to my collarbone. I sighed out loud at the wonderful feeling of having his lips on me, but then I remembered that we were there for a purpose. That purpose was not to have sex on a blanket where all of the birds and frogs could watch. Exhibitionism was just not my thing.

"Edward," I half sighed, half moaned, "Food."

He mumbled incoherently against my neck, but didn't budge. I untangled my legs from around him and tried sitting up. "C'mon," I laughed, "I don't wanna get caught."

He picked his head up briefly to look around and then dove down for my collarbone again. "There's nobody around, Bella. Plus, it's getting dark," he mumbled.

"Does your mother know you're an exhibitionist?" I asked, wrapping my legs around his waist again.

He groaned, dropping his forehead onto my chest. "Bella, don't ever, ever, mention my mother when I'm trying to get you naked. Ever."

I giggled and ran my fingers through his hair as he unhooked my legs and sat down on the blanket next to me. He pouted as he opened up the basket and began unloading food, wine, glasses, and paper plates, setting everything down in front of us.

"Awww," I cooed, leaning over to peck him on the cheek. "Don't worry, baby, I'll make it worth your while later," I whispered into his ear, trailing my fingertips down his arm. He shuddered under my touch and I smiled, loving the way I could affect him with one simple gesture.

We ate in a comfortable silence, gazing at our surroundings and stealing kisses between bites. After we were finished, we were far too content to head home, so we laid and stared up at the stars, simply happy just being together.

Edward took a deep breath next to me and I turned my head, only to see him staring at me.

"What?" I asked, swiping a hand over my face to make sure I didn't have any errant crumbs sticking to it.

"Nothing," he replied, turning his face back towards the sky. He seemed a little nervous or sad, but I didn't want to pressure him into talking to me. He'd come around when he was ready.

A few minutes later, he suddenly shot up from his back, sitting on his knees next to me. "It's not nothing...I guess...I had this whole thing planned out, and it's been so perfect and I-"

Confused, I sat up on my knees, facing him on the blanket. "Shhhh," I said, cupping his cheeks in my palms. "Slow down. What's got you so worked up?" I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his forehead, trying to erase the worry lines that had taken up residence there.

He took another deep breath and grasped onto my wrists, looking me in the eye. He still seemed nervous for some reason, and I couldn't think of anything that would get him this worked up...besides either breaking up with me or proposing to me.

Wait. He wasn't doing either of those things, was he?

I wasn't sure I could handle it if he decided to break up with me, but I didn't think that he would plan this elaborate birthday dinner to just drop me in the middle of the woods somewhere. He was too much of a gentleman for that, and I was sure that he still loved me.

So, was it the latter? My heart started racing at the prospect of having Edward as my husband. Was it too soon for that? Would I say yes? Inside, I started panicking. Not because I was afraid of spending my entire life with him, but because I couldn't think of a single reason why I would say no. The concept hit me like a freight train. We had talked about being with each other for a long time, but the marriage concept was brand new to me. I couldn't help but think that it would be too soon, but my heart was shouting 'Yes, Yes, Yes!'

It took another moment to realize that Edward was saying my name, and I snapped out of my thoughts to concentrate my attention on him again.

"Are you alright? You looked a little frantic," he asked worriedly, brushing my hair out of my face.

I blew out a long, slow breath and nodded my head, smiling at him to let him know that I was fine.

His long fingers raked through his hair before disappearing into the pocket of his jeans. His other hand grabbed my left one and brought it to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss onto the back of it.

He was stalling...and he still looked really, really nervous.

"It's alright, Edward. You don't have to tell me now, if you don't want to," I said, but deep down I really wanted him to just spit out whatever was eating at him.

He shook his head, and then nodded, and then raked his fingers through his hair again. He was making me dizzy. Finally, he took one more breath and nodded his head slightly. It seemed as though he was giving himself an internal pep talk. I couldn't help but smile at how utterly adorable he was when he was nervous.

He finally pulled a small, velvet box out of his pocket and I gasped. "Oh my god, Edward, is that...?" I stopped. I couldn't even finish my sentence I was so flustered.

"Oh, no, no," he replied. "It's not that. Not yet, anyway." He smiled and took a deep breath before continuing.

"I love you, Bella. You are my entire world and I can't imagine a life without you. I do want to marry you. Not now, but one day, when we're both ready. So, I'm giving you this," His fingers flipped open the small box, and inside sat a white gold ring with two intertwining hearts on top. In the center of each heart was a small diamond. It was simple but elegant.

"It was my mom's. Dad gave it to her when they were dating, and he wanted me to give it to you. He gave it to me when we went back to Washington to see your dad." He pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it on to my finger. "This is my promise to you that I will be with you forever. There will never be anyone else for me. That is, if you'll accept it."

I wasted no time in launching myself at him. We both tumbled onto the blanket, me on top of him, as I rained kisses all over his face. "Of course I'll accept it, you silly man. You have got to be the sweetest, most considerate man I have ever known," I said, grinning so hard that I thought my face would break in half. He laughed underneath me, wrapping his arms around my back and pulling my torso down on top of his.

"I love you Bella," he said, sincerely, drawing my hand up to place a kiss on top of the ring he had placed on my finger.

We laughed and kissed and hugged for awhile but then suddenly, he got a mischievous glint in his eye. "So...you thought I was really proposing, huh? What would you have said?" he asked playfully, but I could tell that he really, really wanted to know the answer.

I let out a content sigh. "I honestly don't think I could come up with a reason to say no."

He remained motionless for a second, his eyes burning into mine so hard that I thought I would catch on fire. "Oh, Bella," he whispered, kissing me again. "Someday, Love."

I smiled. "Don't keep me waiting too long."