Hey all. Happy Tuesday.

Today's CG Reader encounter is brought to you by Twiddler83, or as I know her Ms. Mandi If You're Nasty. ;) It's short sweet and to the point.

"I met tony hawk - one word - asshat!" Gotta love her blunt honesty.

Lots of love to my wonderful team: Brie, Kitchmill, Jen, Kelly, and Kim

Chapter Twenty-Three

Dinner was fabulous last night. We had selected the tasting menu and dined on local fish dishes, and I had my first taste of duck. It was richer than chicken and definitely juicier. Dessert was melted chocolate with pears and it was delicious as well. The wines were unlike anything I had ever had before. While California wines were good, they still had nothing on the local wines in France. I was stuffed by the time the meal ended, so we went back to our room.

When we were ensconced behind the doors of our suite, Edward wasted no time in stripping me bare. He ravished every inch of my body before we passed out into a sated and blissful sleep. Waking up in his arms was as wonderful as always, but waking up in his arms in Paris was indescribable.

"Good morning," I whispered in a voice thick with sleep.

"Good morning to you, coffee girl." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Coffee…that sounds good, but I don't want to move yet."

He chuckled at my response. "I guess it's a good thing they deliver, huh?" I nodded and burrowed back under the covers while he called down for coffee and breakfast.

We cuddled and made out like teenagers until the knock at our door arrived. Being the gentleman that he was, Edward went and answered it after covering his beautiful body in one of the plush, white terrycloth robes the hotel provided. Then he brought the cart into the bedroom, making it so I didn't need to leave the bed yet.

The sheet slipped down my body as I sat up, causing Edward to groan and me to smirk. He was really too easy to mess with sometimes. "Eyes up here, coffee boy. It's your turn to wow me. I would like three sugars and a bit of cream, please."

"So demanding." He teased as well as I did. "Coming right up, your highness."

I giggled and then smiled as I watched him focus on fixing my coffee. It was fun to see him so out of his element. As soon as he finished, he carefully brought me the cup. I slurped the first taste, testing out the hotness. It was perfect.

"Good job, Eddie. If this acting thing doesn't work out, I'm sure Angela would be happy to have you at the coffeehouse."

He shook his head at my silliness and continued to prepare his own mug. "I don't plan on quitting my day job anytime soon, so you will always be the coffee expert in our house."

There it was again—thoughts of the future. Edward was determined to get me on the same page as he was…little did he know, I was already there. Maybe a hint would make his day? "I think I can live with that."

The brightness of his answering smile was worth all the pots of coffee and café au laits I would make us in the future.

When we were finished with our drinks, Edward told me to get ready; he wanted to take me out for the day. I climbed out of bed, giddy to spend the day with him, and did as he asked. I was ready to go thirty minutes later and had to wait fifteen more minutes for him to finish. I found it funny that it took him longer to primp than me sometimes.

During the wait, I grabbed my camera, coat, hat and gloves. I made sure everything I might need was in my satchel as well.

Edward was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He added a couple of additional layers to ward off any chill, and put on his hat and sunglasses before taking my hand and leading me out of the suite and into the city.

Henri, the driver, was waiting for us downstairs. We climbed into the car and Edward asked him to take us to his favorite café. When we arrived, Edward handed him some money and asked him to grab us a couple of drinks and sandwiches. I didn't think it was a part of Henri's normal duties, but he complied. I had a feeling Edward was an amazing tipper and so Henri went above and beyond his normal duties for him.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Henri was back and we were on the road again. He zipped through the crowded streets with ease, and it wasn't long before we arrived at Edward's surprise: Jardin du Luxembourg.

It had been on my list of things to do, so I was excited that it was something I could share with Edward.

The Jardin du Luxembourg was different than traditional parks back home. Large gravel walkways surrounded geometrical shaped patches of grass. There was an octagonal water feature that birds were swimming in, and a child was even sailing a model boat while other people were lounging around in the chairs that were scattered about the garden. There were statues everywhere, and my research told me that there were over one hundred of them throughout the park. I knew I wouldn't get to see them all, but it would be fun to try.

While we were walking and holding hands, I was snapping pictures every chance I got. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Edward was only watching me. "See something you like?"

He shook his head. Before I could frown, he responded. "Not like, love."

I swooned. Then it my turn to shake my head to clear out all the dirty thoughts Edward's sweetness provoked. We were in public and that wasn't the place to be thinking about mounting him. I had no idea what I had been missing before, but now that I knew…I had sex on the brain all the time, especially when Edward was nearby.

Before we found a table to eat at, Edward asked an elderly man to take a picture of us. Once he agreed, Edward pulled me into his arms. A huge smile lit up both of our faces as the picture was taken. After we said our thank yous, we sat down and ate the food Henri had chosen for us from the café.

The afternoon was quickly coming to an end. Edward was going to have to head to the set soon and I would be on my own again. Jet lag was starting to set in, so we headed back to the hotel so he could rest before he had to leave.

We had a quick dinner together in the room before Edward left for work. I spent a couple of hours uploading the pictures I took today into my laptop and then caught up with my mom on Facebook. She mentioned that she was sad there were no new pap pictures of Edward today and I was happy about that. We had been able to spend the day in peace. While I knew it wouldn't always be like that, I was grateful for the reprieve we did have when it happened.

I climbed into bed just after nine o'clock in the evening. I fell asleep easily and woke up just after eight the next morning. I couldn't believe I had slept so long. Edward was asleep next to me and I had no idea when he got back or how long he had be asleep for, so I carefully crept out of bed and went about getting ready for the day.

I figured I'd do a little exploring and bring back breakfast. The concierge recommended Angelina's which was just up the block. I set off on foot and arrived just after eight. The sweet smell of pastries combined with the rich aroma of chocolate and coffee filled my senses.

Once I reached the counter, I relied on my standard, "Parlez-vous anglais?" and was met with a nod. Thankful, I ordered an assortment of breakfast pastries as well as a bottle of their famous Angelina hot chocolate to go, or take away as I had already come to learn was the preferred method of ordering to go. I spent more Euros than I had intended but had come to realize it was bound to happen. Breakfast in Paris was much more expensive than a cheap trip to Mickey D's back in the States.

With our food in hand, I made my way back to the Westin. I was surprised to see Edward sitting in the living room when I arrived.

"Morning." Someone was obviously still exhausted and the little bit of sleep he'd gotten wasn't enough.

"Hey. I grabbed us some breakfast. I didn't know what you would like, so I got a little bit of everything. I didn't get coffee, though, so you may want to call downstairs for some." He nodded and I went about setting everything out on the coffee table.

Breakfast was a quiet affair. I answered the door and signed for the coffee when it arrived. Edward looked so beat that teasing him seemed out of the question. I prepared his coffee for him and then sat back down and continued to stuff my face with the delicious chocolate croissant I had ordered for myself. Once we were done, Edward laid his head down in my lap and I began stroking his hair.

"What time did you get back?" I kept my voice low as I spoke.

"After three…I go back in about two hours." He didn't sound too excited. "What are you going to do today?"

"I thought I'd check out the Louvre. Maybe a little bit of window shopping, too."

He nodded and then burrowed himself against me. I ended up humming him back to sleep and just sat there for the next hour, watching him sleep. Edward slept so peacefully and child-like. His lips were partially open while his eyes fluttered behind their lids. He really was beautiful, whether asleep or awake.

When I felt it was time to wake him up, I did so slowly. He awoke with a smile and thanked me for keeping him company. No matter how much I wanted to see and do around the city, there was nowhere else I wanted to be more than right there and in that moment with him.

After he was ready to go, they dropped me off at the Louvre. Henri promised to stop back by and pick me up at four, so I set my alarm on my phone to vibrate at a quarter till. With a quick peck on the lips, I was off to attempt to discover exactly what the Mona Lisa was smirking about.

In the end, all I learned about the Mona Lisa was that she was tiny, much smaller than I imagined she would be. There were paintings everywhere, but what I was surprised to learn was they had an assortment of jewels on display as well. It was amazing to see such fine pieces up close. There were incredible marble sculptures as well as a whole section dedicated to the Egyptian mummies and artifacts.

I could have spent days in there and still not have seen everything that they had to offer. To witness so much history in one place was surreal. But my alarm was signaling way before I could see it all. I made my way toward the exit and waited for Henri to arrive. I didn't have to wait long. We arrived back at the hotel in no time after we left the Louvre. Edward had said he wouldn't be back until well after eight, so I watched some television before I went down to the Toiletries Bar for dinner.

The bar was decorated in dark woods and rich reds. It was very masculine feeling—definitely designed with men in mind. I sat down at one of the small tables in the corner and ordered a cheeseburger. Not original, but it sounded good. The oddest part about the meal was the wine I was drinking with it, but a well-bodied Merlot does go well with any red meat and a burger did have that.

I could not resist getting dessert. Créme Brûlée had always been a favorite of mine, so getting it from where it originated was a must. The burnt sugar combined with the sweet vanilla flavored custard was heaven in my mouth. I couldn't stop the moans from leaving me as I devoured every last bit of the sweet concoction.

With my belly full and my feet sore from all the walking I had done these last two days, I went back up to our room to wait for Edward. I didn't last, though, and ended up falling asleep on the couch before he arrived.

Edward must have carried me to bed when he got back because I woke up in his arms the next morning. A girl could get used to that.

Thanks for reading. See you on Friday with more from their Paris adventure. xx Dee