My fingers ran through Bella's hair, dismay at the yarn-like texture knitting my brows.
Alice had left to deal with some of the finer details of my proposal.
Namely working around Charlie's reaction.
Not for the first time, I desperately wished I could peer inside her mind; crack open the shell to her psyche and eavesdrop, if only for a fleeting moment.
Abruptly Bella began to twitch, a soft moan escaping her lips.
A piercing arrow of panic shot through my chest.
I was right next to her.
This shouldn't be happening.
Agony felt like a fault line shuddering across my stone body, violently shaking me in two.
Were things truly so bad she was feeling the infernal destitution even as I lay pressed against her?
"Mm, Edward... don't stop."
Her voice was lazy and mumbled, licking me like a languid flame.
Until I heard Jasper, snickering from somewhere below.
It was strangely unlike him to find any joy in anyone's misery.
I reached out tentatively, desperate to understand what emotion he was getting from her.
The wave of pure, erotic lust that slammed into my mind felt like a blast of jet fuel.