A/N: Fuck me, this chapter is so cheesy. Try as I did I couldn't uncheese it. I apologise in advance, but there you have it.

Chapter 38

Never Say Goodbye

Edward's POV

The next day wasn't our "fated day", nor was the day after that, or the day after that; or the fucking day after that...

We hung around the house, or I was dragged to the shearing sheds, while the girls rode the horses, and every night Bella stayed in the kid's room with me. She let me get more adventurous with her, but she always cut it off before the point of no return. It was fucking torture, and I was so horny it was becoming practically suffocating.

On our last day in Australia we headed about an hour out to an old convict town for breakfast, and afterwards hanging about while the freaking little ferret had her photo taken with everything she thought was historic.

Bella stayed close to Rach and Nummi. She had grown quiet.

It wasn't hard to guess why.

I knew it was going to be hard for her to say goodbye, so I figured I shouldn't be a selfish asshole and monopolize all her time. We'd be home soon, and we could have some kind of normal, at least. For now, I just had to accept the fact that we wouldn't be having sex in Australia, because yeah, that was pretty much all I could think of since the bonfire.

I rode back to Carol and Brian's house with John while the girls rode together, and by the time I'd packed my bags ready for our early departure the next morning, the sun was beginning to set and Carol was calling us to dinner.

She made it something of a special occasion for our last night there, and just before we began eating, she stood up from her chair and raised her glass of wine.

"Alice and Edward," she smiled over at us warmly, "it's been an absolute pleasure having you two here, and you're welcome back anytime." Her smile broadened before her eyes then rested on Bella; where it turned almost sad. "And, Bella, sweetheart," her voice softened, "where ever you are in this world, just know that you'll always have a home here."

Bella, who was sitting opposite me, next to Rach, had been flashing me that freaking smile of hers, when she turned to face Carol. She only nodded quickly, her brow bunching in an obvious effort to hold back her emotion, before Rach slung her arm over her shoulder and nudged her.

"Hear-hear," Brian added with a gruff sounding voice, raising his can of "Tooheys", and we began eating.

The mood was pretty sedate. Bella looked dejected, only when her eyes rose to meet mine, her face would completely transform, and fuck me if I could work it out. I wasn't quite ready to sigh with relief, but it seemed like, so far, she'd come through this whole ordeal and still had faith in me. Or more accurately, I hadn't fucked it up yet.

Out of respect more than obligation, I hung out with John and Brian after dinner and drank a couple of beers with them. Since arriving in Australia I had—pretty fucking ironically—come around to the taste of it; not to mention the ten pounds of muscle I was sure I'd gained during my days of "hard yakka". Nummi's family were genuine. What you saw was what you got, and they had welcomed Alice and me into their home without hesitation. They were also a part of the few people who'd supported Bella when her parents were either absent or fucking abusive. I hated to imagine what would have happened to her if she didn't have them in her life; in fact, it made me feel pretty fucking edgy.

But that could have been sexual frustration.

When I went down the hall to have a shower after my "piss up" with the boys, I could hear the girls laughing on the other side of Nummi's bedroom door. I hesitated, deciding whether I should interrupt them. I had barely spoken to Bella all day, and considering that over the last week she had been practically glued to my side, I missed her.

I decided to let it go, but by the time I got back to the kid's bedroom, Bella was waiting inside for me. She was sitting on the bed wearing this sexy little cotton nightshirt, and as I entered she glanced over at me intently as an almost apprehensive smile lit up across her face.

Of course, the first thought that had come to my mind was that Bella had decided tonight was our fated moment. My dick immediately had a knee jerk reaction, springing to fucking life behind just my pajama bottoms. It wasn't as if I could prevent it—or hide it, and Bella's eyes immediately dropped down to them, a smirk slowly replacing her smile.

"Happy to see me, Edward, or do you have a pen in your pocket?" she teased me, quirking an eyebrow, before getting up off the bed and approaching me.

Reaching out, I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her against me. She only gazed up at me, her palms flat against my chest while her grin turned knowing.

I bent my head to kiss her but paused, laughing softly as her brow creased. "There are rules when it comes to certain parts of me, and unless you want me to call you something that will make you look up yourself, you have to be nice," I teased her back—only my voice refused to cooperate, as usual. I was still strung out from of the previous few nights and was still trying to process the reality that Bella wanted to have sex with me.

"My boyfriend is a major spunk—I already am up myself." She blinked her lashes all coy-like before her grin broadened and became cynical—as if she was rolling her eyes at herself, and fuck me, I never knew if she was joking with me or not.

Exhaling my breath, I half groaned. "Bella, that was terrible."

She released her breath into a humming sound. "It was really—but it's true," she murmured, before wrapping her arms around my neck and squeezing closer to me. Her breath washed against the top of my chest, and she pressed her lips against my skin, resting against me for a moment, before she suddenly laughed softly to herself.

"What…?"

"I'll say one thing, it's hotter than even you are," she answered, continuing to laugh to herself, her words mumbling against my skin.

I laughed along with her, dropping my lips to rest on the top of her head. "Technically, it's still me."

Nudging me, she leaned back to see my face, scowling at me; though, unable to wipe the smile completely from her expression. "Are you mocking me again?" I only grinned down at her, when she released me and grabbed my hand. "Anyway, I've come to hold you ransom with us girls tonight," she said, turning and pulling me in the direction of the door, but I refused to budge.

Turning back to me, she only raised her brow questioningly.

"Just ... hang on a minute," I said softly, drawing her back to me.

With my free hand I cupped her cheek, bending down to bring her to me. I kissed her almost cautiously, with my mouth only slightly parted, not wanting to let it get away from us again. I was torn between wanting to kiss her—wanting to fucking feel her up, but without making it become torture for me.

She didn't make it fucking easy, though…

When she kissed me back, it was deep and heated, before pressing her body tightly against mine as her breath rushed to flood my face.

It was all it took to crack the restraint I was hanging onto.

I pulled her flat to my chest, almost lifting her off the ground, as she wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. While I lost myself in the distraction that was her mouth, I began pulling up her nightshirt, slipping my hands against her naked skin. She was warm and soft, and fumbling slightly, I slid them down her body, connecting with her hips, before they came into contact with the cotton material of her underwear. My hands paused; though, Bella seemed oblivious, her mouth completely open to mine while her hands, wrapped around my face and neck, kept my lips pressed to hers.

My blood was coursing through me burning hot, making me feel weak and powerless against the pure physical desire I had for her. All I wanted was her body, and I wanted it with a fucked up, uncompromising urge.

My hands gripped the waist of her underwear, stiffly, as I muffled a breathless groan against her mouth. She pulled back, her breath washing over my lips, while I kept my eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"Bella ... we..." I began, my voice tight as I fought the horny fucking beast within me.

I felt her lips against mine again, only briefly, before she pulled back and let out her breath into a long, heavy sigh. Then reaching down, she took both my hands in hers and gently prized my fingers from the elastic of her underwear—only to place them higher up her torso.

When I finally opened my eyes to gaze into hers, they were deep and burning.

"Too much temptation?" she asked, teasing me gently, raising her eyebrows.

I only mumbled out an incoherent reply, before breaking into a fucking drunken grin.

In truth, having any part of her skin beneath my fingers was proving too much of a temptation, but I was glad she'd stopped me, because I didn't know if I would have been able to prevent myself from ripping them down. And, if I got them down…

I tried to force these thoughts from my mind, when I realized my hands were still cupped around the upper half of Bella's torso, feeling her chest rise and fall in sync with mine, while my dick was standing completely on end and digging into her stomach.

Groaning inwardly, I closed my eyes, feeling my forehead completely knot from the fucking pain I was in. I didn't remove my hands; in fact, I started caressing her skin with my fingers and inching them up. All the while I was an open fucking flame.

I was becoming more at ease with my bullshit body temperature, and I liked Bella's reaction to it. She never made me feel like a primitive bastard over it.

She sighed again, deeply; sounding almost as frustrated as I felt, before leaning up on her toes and kissing me again. It was only brief, but it fucking crippled me.

How the fuck did she know how to kiss me with so much goddamn tenderness, while being completely fucking erotic at the same time?

I was on autopilot. Leaning back to her, I pressed my lips to hers, wanting her so fucking much, when she pulled back again. She was ending it, and releasing my tortured breath, I dipped my head, resting my forehead against hers, while my hands dropped from her sides.

She began running her fingers through the back of my hair, before she ran one of her hands down my face, resting it on my cheek.

I opened my eyes. Her gaze was lowered; she looked troubled, before her eyes flickered to meet mine.

"I don't mean to tease you, Edward," she said softly, her eyes dropping again, while her hand on my cheek moved to rest on my chest.

"I know you don't," I replied, clearing my throat.

She only stared deep into my eyes, and again I had no fucking idea what she was thinking, only that she was beginning to look... lost.

Bringing my hand to her face, I ran the back of my fingers across her cheekbone. "You okay?"

"I'm okay," she said quietly, nodding at the same time, before her lips curved into a small smile, her expression relaxing. "I'd be better if you weren't so bloody hard to resist."

I laughed this time, gently. "Well, you know, I am a spunk, after all."

Looking up at me squarely she threw me a feigned frown. "Always mocking me."

And just as she moved to shove me, I cupped both my hands about her face, pressing my lips to hers briefly, before completely releasing her.

. . .

"Fifteen minutes—I win!" Alice exclaimed the instant we walked through the door to Nummi's room.

"Huh?" I asked her, blankly.

"We had a bet to see how long we thought it would take Bella to get you in here," Nummi explained with a knowing grin. "Alice was the closest. I said half an hour."

"I was the most bloody naïve. I said five minutes," Rach piped up, rolling her eyes to herself.

I broke into a semi awkward smile and glanced down at Bella; she was flashing Rach a wry smirk.

"I'm so glad you guys are finding amusement in us," she huffed good-naturedly, squeezing my side before she released her arm around me and jumped onto the double bed in the middle of the room. Then, settling herself amongst the pillows she looked over at me and motioned—too freaking seductively—with her index finger for me to join her.

I climbed on the bed beside her and folded my arms. As much as I wanted to completely grope her, I didn't like the prospect of three girls, one of them my pain in the ass sister, seeing the reaction Bella brought out in me. But Bella simply snuggled against my side, taking one of my hands and playing with my fingers as she chatted.

I was happy enough to listen. When Bella was relaxed, her Australian-isms were a lot more prominent, and almost too freaking funny to keep a straight face. With my free arm, I wrapped it around her waist, pulling her closer against me, trying to hide the fact that it was all I could do not to start laughing. A few times, I was forced to cough it back into my hand; though, it seemed to go unnoticed by everyone, except Alice.

Bella seemed comfortable to have me there, without being as conscious of her language like she would have been in Forks. And all the time her hands didn't sever contact with me. She seemed fixated on playing with my ear, while a few times she brought the back of my hand to her lips, before continuing to chat away.

I don't think I'd ever seen her so at lease, and my eyes rarely left her.

When she caught my gaze, I leaned in and kissed the side of her forehead.

"Um ... Okay, you two are cute and everything, but I'm starting to feel the urge to chuck," Rach spoke up, her voice dry.

It took me a moment to realize she was speaking to Bella and me, and when I met her all too knowing gaze, I only grinned. Breaking into a smirk she turned to Bella and almost openly rolled her eyes.

"I'm still in a state of shock that it's Bella!" Nummi added, before her eyes met mine and she continued, "In the past if a guy even looked at Bella the wrong way, she'd give them a look that said she'd cut their balls off if they got any closer!"

I inhaled a mouthful of saliva and almost fucking choked to death.

"She's looked at me a few times like that," I finally admitted in a tight voice.

She nudged me. "Well, that's because my mother is the town slag and all the boys thought I was the same—you think I didn't know why they hung around waiting for me to faint?" Bella replied, her tone turning cynical again.

This surprised me, so much that I quickly gained control of my restricted throat and turned to her—just in time to see her expression completely darken.

I squeezed her hand reassuringly, and she looked up and smiled at me kind of ruefully. With my fingers wrapped around hers, I reached over and ran them down her cheek. "When did you faint?" I asked, teasing her.

She looked down again, smiling this time with an edge of embarrassment before she again met my eyes and sort of half shrugged. "Every day between October and March."

"Bells is allergic to summer," Nummi explained, beginning to chuckle.

"In Forks, between October and March, it snows," I murmured into her ear.

Rach suddenly groaned loudly. "Okay, so I doubt Edward's balls are in danger, but do you guys mind being sensitive to those of us who are forcefully celibate?"

"Erm ..." I mumbled, muffling my laughter under my breath and feeling my face flash. I was forcefully celibate as well—until I could get Bella alone, that is.

"I think that's just you, Rach," Nummi added quickly.

"You guys just aren't desensitized to Alice and Jazz," Bella spoke up, flashing Alice an affectionate grin.

In reply, Alice cleared her throat loudly and with feigned offense. "Excuse me, but I'll have you know that Jazz and I never got as hot and heated as you two the other night at the bonfire, when we were only dating for two weeks."

Oh, fuck me sideways.

"Really ... got pretty heated under the swag did it, guys?" Rach drawled, her smirk turning fucking canny again.

Bella only bowed her forehead against my chest and groaned softly to herself, and even through the fabric of my shirt I felt her face burning.

I only cleared my throat, rubbing my forehead if only to break Rach's gaze, but what the fuck could I say? And my skin fucking crawled with the knowledge that my fucking sister saw us.

"Seriously, we all thought Bella would become a nun," Nummi explained to me, before breaking off to laugh.

"Nah, I knew she wouldn't be single for too long over there," Rach replied. "Gotta give Edward credit for cracking her, though."

"I'll say!" Nummi agreed. "It couldn't have been easy."

"It wasn't," I confessed, before Bella promptly whacked me in the chest.

"Oh my god—will you guys stop talking about me as if I'm not right here!"

"So, how did he crack you, Bells?" Nummi asked her this time, seeming genuinely interested, while I started to feel fucking awkward.

"He just refused to take no for an answer," she said simply, pausing to yawn, before wrapping her arm around my waist.

Well that was the fucking understatement of the millennium.

. . .

It was 8am, and we stood on the platform of the station waiting for our train. Alice beside me was blubbering away, while Bella, hugging Rach and Nummi to her, while the silent tears ran down her face in streaks.

I knew she'd tried to hold strong, but she'd started crying the moment Carol hugged her goodbye at the house, and the minute she turned to them, after we'd put our bags down on the platform, Nummi and Rach promptly burst into tears and pulled her to them.

"It won't be forever," Rach insisted, pulling back to wipe Bella's tears away, while she struggled to hold back her own. "I promise."

Bella bowed her head, nodding, her tears falling to the concrete at her feet.

"Yeah, Bells, we're coming over there next time," Nummi insisted.

Burying her head in her hands, Bella made a pitiful attempt to wipe her face dry. "You guys had better," was her muffled reply, while her voice continued to break.

They hugged and kissed the way girls do, before Rach pulled away and nudged Bella teasingly. "I'm gonna give your boyfriend a kiss, Bells, before I don't get another chance."

Bella only laughed softly and nodded, before Rach glanced up at me and smiled warmly—but still in that canny fucking way, as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. "Come here, you."

I hugged her goodbye, and then bent down to meet the kiss that she planted on my cheek. She then motioned to me, leaned in closer and dropped her voice. "If you hurt her, I'll get on a plane and I will cut off your balls." Her tone was light and teasing but when I pulled back there was conviction in her eyes.

I had no doubt she would!

"I won't. I promise," I mumbled, awkwardly. I was serious, though, and I wanted her to know I was serious, because if I had to guess, I'd bet she knew all about the shit I'd already put Bella through.

She quirked an eyebrow at me, not looking altogether convinced. "Well, okay..."

She turned to Alice then, letting me off the hook, and the next minute Nummi was hugging me tightly. "It was great meeting you, Edward," she burst, planting a rather mushy kiss where Rach had a moment ago.

"You too, Nummi—what's your real name, by the way?" I pulled back and asked her, suddenly curious.

"Naomi," she answered, with a small grin, "and how tall are you?"

I laughed lightly. "Six-one, Naomi."

She chuckled. "And are you sure you're Alice's twin?"

I laughed, this time fully. "The jury's still out."

"He's right, because unlike him I have normal body temperature," Alice piped up, smirking like the pain in the ass she is.

Rach and Nummi were awesome and I loved them, but goodbyes are always as awkward as fuck, and I knew it was killing Bella, so when the train finally pulled in, I let out my breath in relief.

Bella turned to Rach and hugged her one last time, before doing the same with Nummi, until all three of them hugged together.

"I love you guys," she whispered to them, kissing them both quickly before she turned toward me and looked up to meet my gaze.

The look on her face was pure, fucked up heartbreak, and her eyes, like they did altogether too much, were drowning with it. I only smiled down at her gently, but I was feeling pissed off all of a sudden.

Grabbing her hand, I practically had to pull her on to the train. She kept her eyes locked to the ground until we stepped inside the cabin, where she turned back to them and held up her hand to the window of the doors.

"Bye..." she whispered, the tears continuing to pour down her face.

"Seeya, guys," I said softly, keeping my hand clamped tightly to Bella's. She was trembling; I could feel the energy of it traveling up my arm. I glanced down at her before back to Rach and Nummi, and in a fucked up way I felt guilty that I was taking Bella back to Forks with me. I was going to miss them; I was going to miss this country.

As the train pulled out we made our way into the carriage to find our seats; I shoved our bags into a small compartment then went to sit beside Bella. She was sobbing, and looking completely fucking pitiful as Alice wrapped her arm around her.

I sighed and took my seat before pulling her against me, where she dropped her face to her hands.

"Hey…" I said gently, attempting to prize her hands away.

"I'm okay, Edward," she said in a shaky, broken voice, but refusing to budge.

I only smiled slightly to myself, but didn't reply, letting her cry it out, and after a while she grew calm enough to pull herself together.

For the first hour of the journey, she was quiet, sitting with her back against me and gazing out the window, until eventually she began to loosen up.

Wrapping my arms around her waist, she snuggled closer to me, before leaning her chin on my shoulder and turning to me.

I turned to face her.

"Edward?" she asked softly.

"Hmmm?" I mumbled, pressing my nose and lips against her forehead and closing my eyes. It had really fucked me up to see her go through so much the last two weeks. It made me feel edgy and irrational because I felt like I was suffering along with her. As much as it made me feel like a selfish bastard I was so fucking tired of it, and I just wanted it to be about her and me.

She continued to just stare at me, when the smallest smile curved on her lips. "You're doing that face again."

I grinned, pushing it through my nose, while Alice, sitting across from us, snorted.

"What face is that?" I asked.

She lifted her chin from me, and sat up straighter. "You get about ten emotions across your face—all at once and the vein in your forehead looks like it's about to burst." And as if to verify it, she pressed her fingers to my temple.

"And he looks like he's going to kill you and hug you at once," Alice added, to which Bella broke into laughter.

"Um ... not quite, Als. If Edward was looking at me the way he looks at you, I'd be worried."

Grinning to myself, I kissed the side of her brow impulsively. This was the Bella that I was getting to know just before Kel died. The same Bella who was texting me with her Forks jokes, teasing me on the phone, and sitting beside me in Bio and writing me adorable freaking notes with the pens I gave her. The same Bella that almost literally made me feel like I was walking around in a constant state of fucking heat stroke, while I was hornier than I had ever been in my life.

The same Bella I feared was gone forever.

In fact, the further we traveled the more Bella became her old self. She curled herself into my side, resting her hand on my leg, running her fingers absently across my jeans as she chatted. She laughed more, while the smiles she flashed me began to become playful. She kissed me—a lot, even with the little rat beside us smirking at us like a wise ass, and she whispered things to me that I could only pray Alice didn't hear.

But, fuck me sideways, this girl was going to be the end of me—that was, if sexual frustration didn't kill me first.

Alice fell asleep about half way into it, and Bella gradually went quiet again, gazing out the window as she played with my fingers. If truth be told I was fucking shattered, and I knew she had to be as tired as I was. But I had just closed my eyes when I felt her lips against mine.

"Have I told you how amazing you are, Edward?" she murmured into my ear, nuzzling it with her nose, before pressing her lips to the side of my face.

"Shut up and go to sleep. You can tell me how amazing I am when we're back in Forks," I mumbled without opening my eyes, grinning slightly to myself when she immediately nudged me.

She eventually fell asleep before I did, waking me up five minutes before we arrived in Sydney.

To be cont...