If anyone's still with me, thank you. I know the writing isn't quite spot on, but hopefully the longer chapter will make up for it.

PS: I still own nothing. No copyright infringement is intended.

Kisses...

~()~

Bella knocks softly on her bedroom door. A muffled "come in" makes her stomach flip flop. She's ridiculously nervous considering he's her ex-husband. There isn't an inch of him that she hasn't seen before, and vice versa. But everything is brand new again.

She turns the knob and speaks before pushing the door all the way open. "You decent?"

Her words, or maybe the shaky tone of her voice, make her blush.

A dry, masculine chuckle sets her to flame. "Yeah, come on in."

She schools her expression and exhales a breath as she steps inside. His feet are bare, she sees this first because she's looking down. His jeans come into view next, followed by his plain undershirt. She glances up at his face, feeling like a school girl all over again as she closes the door behind her.

"Hey."

He smiles, his blue eyes sparkling. "Hey."

"Feel fresher?"

"Yeah. Thanks for washing my clothes last night."

She shrugs. "No big deal."

Something flickers in his eyes and then he's stalking toward her. She sucks in a breath as he wraps his arms around her waist.

"It is a big deal. To me," he says, pulling her to him.

She blushes again and moves her hands to his back. "Okay. Well . . . you're welcome."

He watches her for a moment, adjusting his hold on her to give her some space. "Are you all right? With everything?"

She nods and leans her head against his chest, taking the space back. "Yes. Never better."

He says nothing for a moment, and she wonders if he feels as she does. Like there are a million things to say and no right place to start. Like they only have today, even if they really have all the time in the world.

There's no rush.

The words, spoken in Edward's voice in her memory, ring true and lessen the urgency with which she holds him. Still, the minutes until she has to return to her life and her job, three hundred miles away, are drawing to a close. She doesn't want to let him go. She wants to talk. To be held. To be kissed. To laugh. To cry. To just . . . be together. With this man that she loves.

She knows without a doubt that it's truer and healthier than the way she loved his younger self. They'd been nearly obsessed with each other then, but not now. Now they have mutual respect, friendship, and admiration. They also share more common interests than they did as kids, while still having some independent interests. Hobbies and—

"Am I losing you?"

His voice startles her. "Huh?"

He leans back. "I thought you might be falling asleep on me again."

"Oh." She smiles and shakes her head. "No. Just thinking."

"About?"

She sighs, fists his shirt in her hands and pulls him toward her. "Just . . . that I love you."

Her whole body trembles with the admission and Edward sucks in a breath. He stares down at her for several heart beats.

"You have no idea how grateful I am every time you say that," he whispers.

She lifts her chin. "I love you."

"God, Isabella." His voice is gruff and his chest presses into hers with each breath. "I love you, too. So much I don't know what to do with it all."

She's afraid to move, afraid to think too hard on his words. She wants him to kiss her, but wonders if that wouldn't be rushing things even more than they've already rushed them. She just can't seem to stop herself from pulling him closer, though. And maybe that's okay. They are together now.

"Can I please kiss you?" he asks, as if he's read her mind.

She nods, never taking her eyes off his. The deep, green orbs only darken as they draw nearer to her. She almost can't stand it. When she feels the first press of his lips against hers her eyes flutter closed. She grips the back of his shirt, holding on for dear life as he clutches her to him and opens his mouth, pulling her bottom lip between his. Moaning, she opens to him. His tongue brushes ever so slightly against hers, and then withdraws. She follows after it.

He grips her tighter as she lifts on her tiptoes and kisses him and kisses him and kisses him. His hands begin to roam until one is in her hair and the other's around her hip, and he's bending her backward, and she's arching against him, fueling a passion unlike any she's ever experienced. She feels dizzy and weak-kneed; like it's the first time anyone has ever kissed her this way.

Perhaps it is.

Edward breaks away from her mouth with a muffled curse. He's panting, harder than she is, and trembling. He drops his forehead to hers and backs her up against the nearest wall. A small part of her wishes it had been the bed.

"Lord in heaven," he says.

"Yeah," she answers.

He nuzzles his nose against hers. "Any regrets yet?"

She laughs breathily, though she knows he's part-serious. "No."

"Good. That's . . . good." He still seems to be catching his breath.

She untangles her arms from his and lifts a hand to his hair. "What about you?"

He gives her a sheepish grin. "Nope."

She smiles and lifts her chin to press her lips against his chin. "Good."

"We should probably . . . talk at some point."

"Mm-hmm. We should."

He adjusts one arm, plays with a lock of her hair. "A lot happened yesterday. We sort of . . ."

"Skipped a few steps?"

He nods. "Yeah."

"At least we were already heading in this direction." A ripple of self-doubt creeps in as the words leave her. "Weren't we?"

He tilts his head to one side and strokes her flushed cheek. "I thought so." His voice is soft, earnest.

Nodding, thinking, she says, "It's been a month since we said we would try."

"Are we going too fast?"

She shakes her head. "No. I think we're doing okay, but . . ."

"But?" he asks, now concerned.

She smiles. "If you keep kissing me like you just did, then we might have some trouble."

He laughs, looking both embarrassed and smug at the same time. "I might have to agree with you there."

She giggles. "Proud of yourself?"

"No," he says, but his shrug and lopsided grin give him away.

She laughs and then lifts up on her toes to press her mouth to his. "Well, you should be."

He groans as she ducks under his arm and out of reach. She feels giddy and a little wild as she crosses the room, stopping in front of the bed. She takes note of his clothing folded atop her comforter and sighs. She almost forgot he had somewhere to be.

"I guess I better let you finish getting ready," she says.

His footsteps sound behind her, and then he's right there, his hands on her shoulders. "It's not like I have a lot to do," he says with an affectionate squeeze. "Stay if you want."

She says nothing as he releases her and reaches past her for his sweater. His chest brushes her back and arm when he pulls it back. She holds her breath while he pulls it over his head. She wants to step away but she's riveted in place, held captive by the familiarity, the sheer intimacy of the moment. When he's finished with the sweater, he slides around her and reaches for the socks. He turns and sits down, keeping his eyes on her the whole time.

It feels like her cheeks are on fire. "You're staring."

He smiles and shrugs. "Because you're beautiful. And because I'm still thinking of that kiss."

She bites her lip, grinning as she watches him cover his feet. Part of her wants to crawl into his lap and kiss him again. The other part knows they need to talk about some things before the roads are cleared and he has to leave.

"So, my dad will probably call soon."

"Yeah. About that," Edward says, scooting back and making room for Bella beside him.

"What's up?" she asks, sitting.

He takes her hand in his, and toys with her fingers a moment. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to spend some time with me at the bookstore today."

She smiles instantly. "I'd love to."

He glances up. "Really?"

"Of course." She can't imagine why he's surprised. "I was going to ask if I could come by before I left town anyway."

"You were?"

"Mm-hmm." She nods, still smiling.

He leans closer and raises his hands to her face. "I'm relieved. I'm not ready to let you go just yet."

"Me either."

"Praise God for that."

Bella's not sure who leans in first, but before she can blink her hands are wrapped around his wrists and her lips are pressed to his. It's soft and tender. Sweet and safe. She wants more. She tries to tell herself not to go slow, but he takes her breath and her sanity away in an instant when he moans and pulls her closer still.

The bookstore will just have to wait.

~()~