Bella smiled as she felt Edward's finger slowly trail up and down her spine as she lay on her stomach on the bed next to him. He was lying on his side, propping his head up with one hand, watching her as she lay there with her eyes closed.

"How long will you be in California?" he asked as he leaned in and kissed her bare shoulder.

"Mmm, no more than a week," she replied softly, shivering as she felt his warm breath across the cool skin between her shoulder blades.

"So long?" he said with a sigh.

She chuckled huskily and shifted away from him so she could lie on her side and look at him. "A week is not that long."

"A week without you will seem like forever," he said in response as he his eyes trailed over her.

Edward didn't think she had ever looked sexier. She was laying there in his bed, her long dark locks in disarray, her lips swollen from his kisses, the bed sheet arranged so that he caught tantalizing glimpses while keeping what he considered some of the best bits hidden. An artist couldn't have draped her in a more sexy fashion. The way that her pale skin stood out again the charcoal grey sheets only made him want to reach out and run his hands along his iridescent skin.

As it was he hadn't been able to keep his hands off of her since they had left the Capital several hours earlier. They had planned to go to dinner, but instead they found themselves at his place, clothes being shed the moment that they were through the door.

At his words, Bella smiled and reached out to rest her hand against his jaw, her thumb lightly caressing his cheekbone before she leaned in to kiss him. "I take it you'll miss me then?" she said as she broke the kiss.

In response he chuckled and kissed her again, deepening the kiss as he parted her lips with his tongue. When he finally broke the kiss they were both breathless and he throatily replied, "Let me show you how much I'll miss you." And, with that another round of lovemaking started.

In the short time that they had been together, Bella and Edward had gotten to know each other intimately. As his lips trailed to the crook of her neck and he bared his teeth to nibble lightly at her skin he knew that it would make her shiver, just as she knew that her nails lightly scraping up his back would make him moan.

When they had first gotten to Edward's apartment they had been eager to shed clothes and be with each other in bed, now their lovemaking was slow, gentle, and loving. And, though they knew where to caress, lick, nibble, and taste, it was like they couldn't get enough of exploring each other.

As Edward's lips trailed along Bella's silky skin, shedding her of the sheet that had been so enticingly wrapped around her frame moments before, her own hands wandered, touching him in as many places as she could reach. He barely stopped long enough to sip on a condom and then they both let out sighs of pleasure and relief as they joined together once again. They were still a moment, just kissing slowly, before Edward started to move, causing Bella to groan into the kiss.

They moved in perfect rhythm with each other and were so in tune that with the slightest pressure of her thighs, Edward understood what she wanted and shifted their position so she was now sitting over him, straddling him, propping herself up with her hands on his chest as she moved on him.

Just when he thought she couldn't look more beautiful, he decided that the sight of her moving over him, her head thrown back in pleasure, her stunning breasts moving as she did, her lips parted with moans and cries of pleasure, was the most glorious thing that he had ever seen. It didn't take long for her to increase the pace of her movements and he willingly kept up, obliging her by lifting up his hips to press himself deeply within her.

As Bella felt him pressing into her and felt one of his hands trail to her hip while the other moved to cup her breast, his thumb trailing along her already taunt nipple, she whimpered and bit her lower lip, already close to coming. Making love to Edward was incredible and she hadn't known that it was possible to find so much pleasure in another person's arms. She knew that a good part of the ecstasy she found was due to his skills at handling her body, but she also knew that a large part of the passion they felt in each other's arms had to do with the way that they connected, body, mind, heart, and soul.

When Bella cried out and shivered as she came, Edward groaned and his whole body arched up towards hers as he tried to press as deeply into her as he could. As she continued to come he changed their positions yet again so that her body was under his and he thrust into her with wild abandon, as if he were trying to join their very souls rather than just their bodies.

Bella had just come down from one climax when she felt the other starting again as she wrapped her arms and legs around her Edward, crying out his name as he started to push her over the brink again.

Edward felt Bella's body contracting around him in another climax as he came, his own hoarse cry mingling with her own as he tensed above her, coming at the same time she did.

His body seemed to melt then and he let his body sink against hers for a moment as he panted for breath. Just as he was about to move to relieve her body of his weight, she wrapped her arms and legs more tightly around him and she whispered breathlessly, "Don't move."

He didn't have the strength to do more than nod and bury his face against her neck as he felt his heart pounding against his chest, sure that he could feel her own heart racing against his.

Bella lay there, just holding him, wondering if things could get more perfect. She ran her fingers through his hair, now damp with sweat and she moved her lips to his ear and whispered softly, "I love you."

He lifted his head from the crook of her neck then and looked down at her, his green eyes filled with adoration, but she also noticed a hint of fear there. Before she could remark on it he lowered his head and moved his lips against hers in a soft, gentle, loving kiss.

She knew that he wasn't ready to say that he loved her, and she really wasn't sure if he did or not, but she did hope. It was then she realized that things could be more perfect…he could love her back.

Later that evening as Bella lay sleeping against him Edward ran his fingers in a light, gentle caress along her arm. He stared at the ceiling, and even as he reveled in the feeling of her warm bare skin against his own, the weight of her arm across his stomach and the tickle of her breath against his chest as she used his torso as a pillow, he couldn't help but let his mind wander to her words.

She loved him.

She'd said it plenty of times now and each time she did he felt his happier than he had in such a long time. Honestly, he couldn't remember the last time he felt so happy, but at the same time he also couldn't remember the last time he felt so much fear.

Love left people vulnerable. He knew this from experience. All he had to do was think of his parents to see this. He had loved them and losing them had been the most hurtful thing that he had ever gone through.

Edward already knew that he was making himself vulnerable as he slowly opened himself up to Bella. Already he felt an ache at the thought of losing her, but he still couldn't say those three little words.

The thing was, he did think them. He just hoped that one day he was brave enough to voice how he was starting to feel about her.

Bella was already integrating herself into every aspect of his life. He usually thought about her first thing in the morning, whether she was with him or not, and throughout the workday he found himself thinking of her, wondering when he would talk to her or see her next.

It frustrated the hell out of him that Senator Volturi still was under the impression that he was using Bella as a political tool. And, every time that the Senator had mentioned Bella's name it had been like listening to someone drag their nails across a chalkboard. He had told the Senator that his relationship with Bella was his own personal business, but Volturi hadn't seemed to listen.

He was pondering how he should handle the Senator when Bella stirred against him, whispering his name in her sleep with a sigh and a smile. Seeing her like that, he couldn't help but smile in return and he lifted his head enough to kiss the top of her head.

No, he didn't know how he was going to handle things with Senator Volturi. He had no doubt that the man would be fishing for the information he'd supposedly been getting from Bella soon and while he had no clue as to what he would say, he knew one thing for sure: He was going to keep Bella Swan in his life no matter what the cost.

A/N:

Mostly citrus this chapter, but hey, that happens sometimes. Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I'm trying to get back in the groove of things after some stuff going on in real life.

Please continue to read, review, and recommend!