Bella was not very happy this morning. She seemed a little shy and troubled by her thoughts this morning. I suspect this is something to do with my fervent lint rolling through the night to remove all traces of the accursed glitter from her hair. I'll admit she did toss and turn more than usual and there were repeated, adorable, grumbles at me to 'fucking quit it' several times. It seems Bossy Bella is not merely a diurnal presence! Excellent!

I do hope she is not tiring of me though. What if her acceptance to Whitman and all the work on preparing for finals is making her realise that she will soon be moving on and how much is changing in our lives? We have such little remaining time together before graduation and Bella will no doubt want to cut ties with me sooner rather than later. Oh god, is this the beginning of the end already? I cannot bear it. And yet I must. I must endure it somehow, because she deserves all the happiness and fulfilment that a living boyfriend will give her.

I do not know how to fight the urge to be ever closer to her, to bring my nether regions to heel and leave her unsullied for the life ahead of her, without me. The life she deserves.

Today was an abject failure on that front and while I cannot find it in me to regret it, I know unequivocally that I should.

At school Bella mentioned her mother again, it seems I shall lose a few days of our precious time together while Bella goes to see her in Florida next week. Renee had emailed Bella last night with a ticket to visit over Memorial Day weekend. I am grief stricken at the 72 hours together we shall miss, but feigned enthusiasm and reminded Bella how she had missed her recently. Bella seemed ambivalent about the trip, but I'm sure that is merely because of the tiring journey.

In English there was an incident with that young gadabout Mr. Berty. Upon entering the classroom, he immediately chastised me for wearing makeup, which was preposterous. I hissed at him as he had stepped before me, blocking my view of Bella's comely derriere. Then, when I shrieked at him he wrote me up and sent me to the principal's office. Of course I did not go and instead crawled into the ceiling cavity via that veritable sanctuary of mildew, the janitor's closet, and poked two small eye holes and a nose hole for sniffing in the drop ceiling tiles directly above Bella. She was initially curious about the gypsum flakes accumulating on her desk, but then looked up suspiciously when she heard my subtle, but continuous hissing at the cheese faced Mr. Berty. He needs to learn to respect his elders!

My view afforded me a few rather marvellous glimpses down Bella's blouse. And I suppose that was where the real trouble began...

A ceiling tile dislodged by my lower stirrings popped directly onto Mike Newton's greasy forelock - bullseye! This unexpected stroke of luck sadly brought attention to my hiding place and I had to scuttle faster than ever before to avoid detection from the class and their cabbage headed pedagogue.

I repaired to the janitor's closet only to find it now occupied by a very lustful Lauren Mallory and Tyler Crowley. This left me trapped and I was forced to wait out the remainder of the period listening to their inept prurient fumblings. Little does Lauren know, her own conception occurred in that very closet! Nevertheless things were not going to plan at all.

After an utterly interminable 40 minutes of groping, the bell range and the rutting fiends slithered apart from each other and out the door, allowing me to finally drop down into the closet and wage battle upon the ceiling tile that had become wedged to my face in the rush to remain undetected. It was eventually dislodged by a forcible hiss and karate chop to my forehead.

A glance in the (presumably never before used) mirror in the janitorial hovel above the festering sink revealed my face smudged not only with remnants of gypsum board, but a prodigious amount of glitter clinging to both of my eyebrows. I must have attracted it with static electricity worked up from my lightning speed lint roller manoeuvres the previous night. Curses!

Surrounded by only mouldering rags and mops I was unable to get the damned stuff off, and only succeeded in spreading it further around my face. It seemed to be breeding! I shall have to consult with Carlisle about that.

I started to scuttle as best I could in the cramped closet and hissed a great deal at the fetid mop glaring at me from the corner. Things were going from bad to worse.

Alice saved the day by setting off the fire alarm and I scuttled to the Volvo with my hands covering my eyebrows, hissing like never before. I made a frantic J turn, burning rubber and thanking the superior Swedish engineering as I hightailed it out of the school parking lot, before most of the student populous had even awoken from their scholastic fugue states and risen from their seats.

After texting Alice a quick thank you, I sped to Bella's and retrieved my lint roller from beneath my beloved's pillow, before engaging in a furious rollering session of my own. This left me glitter free, if somewhat fidgety.

Bella arrived home shortly after me, having been subject to a rather terse ride in Rosalie's M3. She found me burrowing upon her bed, which was somewhat calming my frayed nerves.

After a swift interrogation and explanation, followed by several rounds breathing into my trusty paper bag, I was entwined in Bella's warm embrace and sufficiently calmed.

Bella snuggled me as tightly as her measly muscles could muster and I was treated to a most delicious neck nuzzle, that had me purring within moments. Well, nuzzling led to kissing and our hands both began to plot rather determined courses across each other's torsos... I discovered three (possibly four!) new ways to elicit a lusty moan from my darling Bella before she even took her top off. That's when things really started to heat up to henceforth unvisited new heights.

Bella kept accidentally undoing buttons on my shirt, which I had to work to refasten so as she wouldn't see my awful corpse flesh. Luckily she mostly had her eyes closed and seemed to be distracted anyway. She started fidgeting after a while so I asked if she was uncomfortable or if I was too cold. She said no and carried on, kissing me, and stroking my hair as I lay over her as close as I could risk, kissing her chest and down her torso. The squirming continued though and I eventually opened my eyes. She was gazing at me most intensely and her cheeks bore a beautiful flush as she panted gently. I reached up and stroked her cheek, smiling at her.

"Are you ok sweetheart?" I asked. Her eyelids fluttered and she blushed deeper before nodding slowly. This was most curious. Was she ticklish? What was going on?

She curled around me to kiss me gently, causing me to purr louder and I heard her breath catch.

"Bella?"

She kissed me again. When I tried to draw back to see her face she followed me with her mouth. Eventually I freed myself momentarily and Bella quickly hid behind her hair.

"Bella? I'm confused."

She was trying to hide behind the book now but I was determined to get to the bottom of this.

"Tell me what's wrong. Please."

"Nothing's wrong."

"Then why are you hiding?"

She ducked behind her hair again and whispered "It feels nice."

"The kisses?"

"Well, yes, they're lovely, but...your...purr. It tickles."

"It does?"

It took me quite a while to piece it all together, but I eventually ascertained that I wasn't the only one enjoying the proximity of my body with Bella's. She was clearly very embarrassed about it though.

"I'm sorry I've embarrassed you, sweetheart. Do you want to put your clothes back on? I'll stop." I stroked her arm, trying to soothe her embarrassment.

"Please don't…I mean, unless you want to stop?"

I retrieved her mouth from beneath her curtain of hair and planted soft kisses against her, whispering in between how beautiful she was and how lucky I am to have her in my life. She drew her body closer to mine and my purring redoubled.

Bella grabbed a pillow and covered her face with it as soon as I started to journey across her chest again, still too shy to look at me, but reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers, giving me a squeeze. I nuzzled her breasts and kissed her delicately there. When my mouth travelled to chart her soft belly, she squirmed again and her pulse picked up. I had never given much thought to my purr, it just happens with her nearby, it's not a conscious thing. I had heard others do it of course, but it was a reaction I hadn't had in the past.

"Nobody else has ever heard this sound Bella. I can't even do it on purpose. Only you make me purr. You make me so happy." I whispered as I kissed her soft skin and longed to explore ever further.

She ran her nails lightly across my scalp, pushing up against me a little. Her breathing and pulse were still increasing and I could feel the heat of her body growing as she flushed all the way down to her navel.

"You're so warm. So soft. So beautiful. Always."

A soft moan escaped her, muffled by the pillow, but still exquisite. I caressed the outside of her legs, running my hands up the outside of her thighs, which caused my own hips to move reflexively, pressing down into the bed. I ran my face along her belly, marking her with my scent further, and she responded by gently guiding my hand around to the back of her thigh, parting her legs a little and pushing into my chest with a gasp.

"Bella"

Her hands in my hair were more urgent now, urging me to move ever closer. I purred louder and whispered "You are incredible, so beautiful, I want you so much."

She pressed further against my chest, shifting her hips in a way that was all at once tentative yet demanding.

I mumbled against her stomach as I nuzzled her there,"I want you so badly. I want to make you mine."

Her fingers clutched at my hair, sending shivers through me as I panted against her, pressing her softly into the mattress and curling my fingers a little higher up her thigh.

"Edward. I'm already yours. Only yours." She said in a breathless whisper. "Yours. All of me... fuck. Edward."

Witnessing her desire had left me dangerously close to being totally overcome by my own. So, with a strength of restraint far beyond any I ever thought I could possess, I managed to still my movements, and huffed against her waist, purring loudly. I was too lost in my own need to stop the sound, I wanted to be inside her in the worst way. Stronger than ever before. I crave her.

"Always be mine." I growled softly into her, her taste on my lips. She flexed her fingers, pulling my head closer against her and I kissed her there forcefully. She was shaking now, the pillow abandoned as her head thrashed about and I lifted my eyes up to watch her.

Her face was deeply flushed, brow furrowed with need and her mouth was slack as she gasped deeper with each breath. She looked down and our eyes met. "Tell me you're mine" I purred into her as I held her gaze intently. She nodded "I'm yours. Only yours."

I felt spasms ripple forcefully through her thighs, against my chest and throat. She ground into me with each convulsion, clutching at me and breathing "Edward... Edward… Edward.. ." as she climaxed, never breaking my gaze.

She trembled as she came down, closing her eyes and turning into the pillow as aftershocks hit her and eventually subsided. I stroked her thighs gently, kissing her belly, softly this time, unable to resist another taste of her. She was beautiful, and I imagined how the rest of her skin would feel, the texture of her against my lips and tongue, what she might look like laid out before me. I stayed there drowning in my vision until she tugged on my arm to bring me up beside her.

We didn't speak. She buried her face in the crook of my neck, overcome with shyness again now the heat of the moment had cooled. I wrapped her in the coverlet and she curled against me. I cradled her, stroking her back and whispered "I promise you with my whole heart, that was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." It really was.

She lay against me as I kissed her hair as we shared a wordless embrace, until the most incredible woman in the world, beautiful, brave, fierce and pure, fell asleep in my arms.

Commenters get to have Edward purr on them.

Oh! Another little citrusy surprise for all you readers who waited over 200 chapters for them to get there! I love you all, thank you so much for your comments and reviews.

N: I love you so much, I am so glad I met you every single day. You're beautiful, brave, fierce and pure (of heart f not of mind!). XOXOXO