Disclaimer: All the Twilight stuff belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing in her sandbox.

Chapter 8 Present for my Wife

EPOV

I watched my wife interact with both my family and hers, effortlessly. She loved them all and they felt the same way about her. She must have been aware of my stare or sensed my need, or maybe . . . maybe she had an agenda of her own. Regardless, she yawned and told everyone she was tired and thanked them for the gifts and the party before taking my hand and walking with me toward the stairs. Some of my family smirked, Carlisle smiled at me, but the thoughts of Bella's parents were the ones I paid attention to.

Renee was genuinely happy to see her daughter so happy and so in love, she recognized our relationship for what it was and loved that Bella had that in her life. Charlie was borderline homicidal. He had not spoken to me unless it was absolutely necessity since he arrived and it drove him mad to see her happy with me. Though he was grateful to me for caring for Bella and encouraging her to recover, he had not forgiven me for all the hurt I had caused her and he did not trust me not to do it again. Somewhere in his mind, he had deluded himself into believing that our marriage had not been consummated and that Bella would leave with him when he returned to Forks. He watched us intently as we left the party and headed upstairs, Bella feigned being tired as an excuse to be with me.

"Are you ready for bed, Mrs. Cullen?", I whispered to her from behind as I hugged her to me, nibbling at her earlobe. She turned in my arms and ran her hands across my chest, kissing my neck and reaching upwards in search of my lips. I kissed her gently, breathing her in and tracing her lips with my tongue.

"Why, Mr. Cullen, I believe you're ready and I would love to go to bed with you!"

I picked her up bridal style and climbed the stairs to our room with her I my arms, never breaking our kiss.

When we got to our room I quickly shut the bedroom door and pinned her against the wall, kissing her passionately. I was trying not to bruise her lips, but they would surely be swollen by morning and I was finding it hard to care. She had been wearing something new today, skinny jeans I think they call them, and the way her hips and legs looked in them was driving me absolutely mad.

"Have I told you how beautiful you are tonight? How amazing you smell! My mouth moved down her chest to kiss the place where the pendant I had given her hung, over her heart. "God, Bella, your skin is so soft, so good . . . "

"Baby", she breathed into my mouth as I moved my lips to her neck so that she could talk, "I need a human minute, OK?"

"Alright, but only a minute, love. I want you", I said as she starred into my eyes. I was sure they were black right now with emotion, but all I cared about was keeping contact with her - all of her.

I set her feet down on the floor and kissed her once more before she went into our bathroom. I set about lighting the fire I had laid in the fireplace and the candles I had set on the window ledges and mantle in our room. I pulled the futon out from under the bed that I had bought for this occasion - it was down filled and incredibly soft, covered in midnight blue suede, and placed it in front of the now blazing fire, and threw several pillows and covers both over it and on the edges. I had a tray of cheese and grapes on the hearth and wine chilling in a decanter. I had tried to think of everything.

I just could not decide what I should be wearing. Clothing, or naked? I decided on a pair of black silk boxers. I sat cross legged on the futon watching the fire and waited for her to finish in the bathroom. She usually took about ten minutes to complete her routine, hair and teeth, but tonight it seemed to be taking a little longer. I jumped up and flipped on the air conditioning in our room. Happily I had a separate system installed in just our room for both heat and air conditioning. It was there primarily to keep it really warm in just our bedroom so that my cold body would not cause her to shiver, since we both insisted on sleeping nude with nothing between us and the excessive heat in the room had no effect on me. I was glad for this system now, as I could turn the cold air on and the fireplace would not make Bella too warm! I sat back down in front of the fire to wait for her. She stepped out of the bathroom and I turned my head to look at her. My jaw dropped open and I fell backwards, literally.

I fell over.

Never had that happened in my 110 years, as I considered myself as nimble and non-clumsy as all vampires, more balanced than most, really, but that was not the case tonight.

"Edward! Are you OK", she asked as she snickered at me. I was up and over to her before she finished asking me, my hands cupping her face.

"Bella! Are you trying to give a vampire a heart attack! I have never seen anything as beautiful in my life. Ever!", I said as I released a slow breath. My eyes trailed from the floor up the length of her body. The midnight blue silk gown she wore was magnificent. It accented her thin waist, full hips and breasts that had matured in the last year to be worthy of worship, the top of the gown allowing just a hint of her breast to show and the diamonds in her necklace to sparkle from their hiding place between her breasts. Tiny spaghetti straps held it over her shoulders and as my arms encircled her, I felt the bare skin of her lower back. Her lower back?

I took her hand and turned her in a circle in front of me, and then I saw. The fabric was held in place by thin, crisscrossing straps across her back the length of her body, down to the top of her but showed through the laces. I growled. Deep in my chest, I could not contain the sounds that came out.

"You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen!"

"Edward, what's all this?", she gestured to the candles and futon in front of the fire.

"I thought you might enjoy sleeping in front of the fire tonight", I told her as I nuzzled her neck and my hands drifted down her exposed back to the top of her hips.

"Edward! I really hope you don't expect me to sleep!", she said playfully as she walked over to the bottle chilling by the fireplace, "Is this wine, Edward?"

"Yes", I walked towards her to open the bottle. Her mouth dropped open as she starred at me, well, starred at my crotch as I walked over to her. I was having a bit of a 'tent' problem with the boxers, but as I walked into the firelight, my wife burst out laughing. I was pitching a tent the size of Mount Everest and she was doubled over laughing!

I stopped cold, froze really.

I had no idea what to do as she continued to laugh hysterically, her hand covering her mouth and her other arm wrapped around herself apparently trying to hold her body still from the riotous laughter that was escaping her throat! I was, after all, trapped in a 17 year old body and laughter when I had an erection was less than good for my ego! I looked down to see what was so funny, then I breathed a sigh of relief as I remembered the boxers I was wearing.

I smirked, then grabbed hold of her shoulders and hugged her to me. "What's so funny, wife! You think this is so funny?", I gestured to the front of me.

"Edward, I love you so much. You never stop surprising me. From the 'up tight, no sense of humor, no you can't have the top buttons of my shirt undone and only chaste kisses ' man I fell in love with to this. I just love you more each day, you let go and show me yourself just a little more with every passing day and I am so in love with you!"

"All this over a fire and some wine? I have to remember to do this more often!", I smiled into her hair.

"You know very well what is so funny, I just can't believe you! BITE ME in big white letters across the front of your boxers!", she could barely talk she was laughing so hard, "Isn't that supposed to be my line?"

"So I forgot they said that! Alice gave them to me as a joke. I only put them on because they were black and silky and soft!", I answered somewhat indignantly.

"I love them and I love you", she said as she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me.

I offered her my hand to help her sit down, the cast on her leg made bending her knee impossible and she would need assistance to get to the floor. Then I noticed. There was no cast on her leg. I dropped to my knees in front of her on the futon and lifted the gown to look. Both legs. Both legs showed, soft and perfect, glowing in the soft firelight. I looked up at her,

"Bella! When did this happen?"

"Carlisle told me I could take off the cast to sleep. I figured that also meant that I could take it off to make love with my husband. I want to be able to wrap both legs around you, Edward", she said as she slowly sat herself down in front of me.

We sat in front of the fire and talked while she sipped her wine and nibbled her fruit and cheese, just enjoying each others company. I finally shoulder bumped her and whispered into her ear, "So I suppose sexy is out the window, huh?"

She set her glass down and gently scratched the soft hair that she loved to run her fingers through just above my neck. I ducked my head down, embarrassed, and felt myself start to purr. How unmanly. I was a 110 year old vampire and a 19 year old human girl had me purring, uncontrollably, after laughing hysterically at me when I approached her with a massive erection. This woman owned me.

She brought my chin up so that she could look into my eyes and kissed the corner of my mouth.

"Let me see if I can fulfill the bold request on your boxers, sweetheart!"

she said as her hand ran down my bare chest and over my abs, dipping behind the waist band of my boxers. She turned her body so that she faced me, dragging her tongue across my neck and biting my earlobe.

"Bite Me is my line, remember!"

She pushed the boxers down as I leaned towards her onto one elbow to lift up and help her rid me of them. Her hands were stroking my inner thighs and butt . . . where did she learn to do that, because I knew she had never been with anyone else and she had never done this before with me! I was on fire, my hips moved of their own accord, my hands in her hair.

This night was supposed to be about her and her pleasure, not me. I had to do something. I was so new at all of this, I hardly knew what to do, not that I could move my body if I wanted to. . . No, I had to make it about her, I had to give her as much pleasure as she was giving me. All the years of reading the minds of people about sex, what was good what wasn't, what to do and what not to do did me no good when I was with her like this. I couldn't think! This woman would be the death of me.

I gently rolled over so that I was hovering above her, God knows I did not have it in me to disturb her efforts, and when she succeded, she took my breath away. I wanted to make love to her. I was after all a vampire and she was my mate. I was hard again instantly and her moans continued only this time, she bit me. I was a vampire, she couldn't hurt me, but

She bit me!

I could not form a coherent sentence.

"Bella . . . what the fuck . . . please Bella . . . don't fucking stop . . . fucking hell . . . Bella!"

I screamed her name in spite of myself. I tried to be quiet, I knew her parents were in the house and I even heard Charlie listening. I didn't care. My wife had bit me . . . there. Hard. I wrapped my arms around her body and could not move, even if I had wanted to. She playfully rolled me over onto my back and crawled up me, her chin in her palms with her elbows resting on my chest. She looked down at my eyes half rolled back in my head and, as much as I thought I was dreaming, she said,

"I love you so much, baby, please can we do that again!"

God I loved this woman! I loved her beyond all reason and it seemed she felt the same way about me. How could I doubt that I did in fact have a soul when this woman with the most beautiful soul imaginable loved me, was a part of me. I was an ass for ever denying her anything.

"Baby, we can do that as long and as often as you want!"

She was serious, she wanted me again, right then. She had already had three orgasms and I had two, but it didn't matter. My baby wanted me again and she could have anything I was capable of providing.

She sat up on my hips, her beautiful soft gown flowing over me. She was truly, the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! Her alabaster skin was perfectly complimented by the midnight blue of the nightgown. My eyes rolled the rest of the way back into my head as she raked her nails across my chest. Her hair hung down long enough to brush over my thighs as her head was thrown back with the pleasure she was feeling. I loved seeing her like this. I reached up and cupped her breasts in my hands, they were such a perfect fit. I loved the weight and feel of them above me, running my fingers over the silky fabric that covered her. I realized that I had paid no attention to her breasts tonight! Blasphemy! This had to be remedied with all haste. I sat up and reached for the hem of her gown, moving to take it over her head and admire it on the floor away from her body. She stiffened, her movements stopping as she crossed her arms over her body.

"No, Edward. I don't want you to take it off."

"Bella, what's wrong?", I said as I kissed my way from one breast to the other, "It's not that I don't love the gown, I do, but nothing compares to you. I need to feel you, I haven't yet kissed every inch of you this evening!"

Tears formed in her eyes. I held her tightly to my chest, my advances forgotten. "Sweetheart, what's this about! Please, please tell me what I've done to upset you!"

"Edward", she whispered, "You haven't done anything but be the sweetest most loving, gorgeous man alive. I am so lucky to have you and I just don't want to disappoint you. I don't want you looking at me!"

"Not look at you! Bella, I love looking at you! Why would I ever stop?"

"I saw myself in a full length mirror this morning. I saw the scars. I never want you to have to look at them", her head dipped down and she would not meet my eyes. I didn't know what to say. I was totally caught off guard. There was no way I was going without looking at my wife.

"Bella, take this off", I demanded. She looked at me like I had struck her.

"Take the gown off. Now. I don't want to rip it because it is really beautiful on you . . . but I will."

"Edward, I . . . ", she fidgeted with the front of the gown and her hands and would not meet my gaze.

"NOW!", I insisted. I was never this forceful with her, but she needed to get over this, and quickly.

She pulled the gown over her head and crossed her arms over her stomach as though she was holding herself together. She was crying. I took her hands in mine, uncrossing them and holding them out to her sides so that I could gaze on her torso as she still sat straddling my lap.

"Baby, what is this . . . I'm your husband, sweetheart and I love you dearly. You are so beautiful, please don't stop allowing me to look at your body! I love looking at you!"

Her chin lifted slightly and I was able to catch her gaze. She saw nothing but truth in my eyes, as that was all that was there. I ran my hands down from her collar bones, tracing the outer edge of her breasts and down the soft skin under them to hold her ribcage and gently run the backs of my fingers over her stomach.

"I love you", I said softly as I kissed her neck.

She threw her arms around my neck and hugged me to her. "I'm just so sorry you have to see these scars, Edward, that I don't look like you deserve. You deserve to have someone with you that has the same beauty as you!

"Bella, you are way more beautiful than I could ever be. I love you. Never ever ask me not to look at you, please, please don't ever do that to me!", I begged her.

She started to move on me, ever so slightly, but it was all the encouragement my body needed. I held her hands as I laid back down to look at her sitting on me. Where did she learn to do that, she was driving me crazy with desire for her. I purposefully moved my hands to trace each scar with my fingers, softly, lovingly. I had to make her understand how beautiful she was to me, how much pleasure looking at her gave me.

My hips were taking over while my mind was occupied by the sight of her. I flipped her over onto her back before she realized that I had moved. It was excruciatingly blissful. I continued to stroke her belly and kiss her breasts. I came before she did, throwing my head back and barely remembering to stifle the roar that was trying to escape my lips. She stifled the sound with her tongue in my mouth instantly, not wanting to wake the entire house of humans with my inhuman sounds. They would surely think I was killing her. I had never done that before, come before she did, and she seemed to love it. I was instantly hard again of course and we continued.

I lost count of how many times I made love to my wife, it never got old. It was all just one very long session of our love for each other being expressed physically. We were the other half to each others whole.

She lay beside me, hours later as I fiddled with her new necklace.

"You really like it, love?", I asked her as she was settling down to sleep just after we had watched the dawn breaking. "Of course, I love it. It's us, inseparable. We will have all eternity together."

I looked at her and the crooked smile that she loved appeared on my face, I could feel it. She grinned from ear to ear as she asked me what as so funny.

"You're sure you want eternity, Bella. You are absolutely sure?"

"Yes. Edward, I'm absolutely sure."

"Then I'll share a piece of information with you, but only if you are sure, I don't want it to influence your decision in any way!" She looked fearful of what I was about to say, like I was going to try and talk her out of it or something.

"These scars you are so worried about", I traced them with my fingers as I spoke to her, "the ones you think bother me so much . . .", I paused to look into her eyes and see her reaction as I said the words, "They will be gone when I change you. All scars will disappear, love. It won't matter at all to me, but I thought you might like to know."

"Edward!", she smacked her hand against my chest, "I cannot believe you haven't told me that before! I would have been even more insistent that you change me!"

I laughed at her, "I will change you whenever you want, sweetheart!" Then I paused and added,

"Just promise that you'll bite me again!"