2.

The French doors to the bedroom suite were still open, just as I'd left them to meet Edward for our midnight swim. I leaned against the doorjamb and stared at the ridiculously huge bed in the middle of the room while I waited for Edward to return from the beach. He said something about picking up our things, our clothes, from the palm tree by the water's edge, and then he disappeared in the moonlight. I tore my gaze away from the bed just long enough to confirm my complete lack of clothing, and my thoughts drifted back to the beach, the warm water, Edward's cold hands…. The air was warm and humid, but the memory chilled my skin.

I stared at the bed again.

I had made my decision earlier tonight, to gather my courage and face my insecurities. And to face my waiting, patient husband. But the butterflies in my stomach had returned as soon as I reached the door and saw that bed. It brought back all of my fears. How could I ever be good enough, how could I ever deserve him? How do I do this?

He soundlessly appeared behind me, gently nuzzling my neck. I sighed and closed my eyes as his scent filled the room. His hands rested lightly on my shoulders.

"What took you so long?" I murmured contentedly.

"I was admiring the view," he chuckled, and he ran a cold fingertip from the back of my neck down my spine, pausing at the small of my back, then slowly back up again. With one hand, he swept my hair aside and his lips moved eagerly from the nape of my neck to my throat. I leaned back into him, molding my body to his, my heart starting to pound again.

His mouth was at my ear.

"You are the most beautiful, most exquisite creature that ever existed," he whispered. "I will never get my fill of you…"

There was a new sound to his voice, a need, an urgency that I hadn't heard before. His hands moved from my shoulders down to my waist, sliding around to the front of my body, pressing on my stomach, pulling me back into him. His mouth moved hungrily over my neck, my throat, my shoulders, never staying in one place for long. His hands were everywhere, and everywhere he touched me, my skin was on fire. My blood was boiling, my heart pounding in my chest. The room started to spin, and I realized that I had forgotten to breathe. I greedily gulped air into my lungs and then opened my eyes to get my balance.

The bed was still there.

The butterflies returned to my stomach, that nervous, anxious feeling I'd had earlier in the bathroom. What if I wasn't good enough for him, what if I couldn't make him happy, as happy as he makes me? My hands turned to fists at my sides, angry with myself. Why did I do this, overthink every move? I knew Edward loved me and that we were destined for each other, and that bed shouldn't be an issue!

"Bella?" Edward's soft velvet voice interrupted my sulk. "What's the matter, love? You seem… distracted." He sounded curious, amused, not upset or worried. His lips continually brushed across my skin while he spoke.

"It's the bed." I bit my bottom lip nervously, my eyes never leaving the huge monstrosity.

He stopped what he was doing and followed my gaze across the room.

"You don't like the bed," he stated.

"I like the bed, but it's… intimidating… its just so big."

He thought for a moment and walked towards the bed. I watched him walk away from me, and I felt my face growing hot, suddenly embarrassed by our nakedness, but I couldn't look away. He was so excrutiatingly beautiful, his white skin, the hard lines of his back, the lean muscles of his legs. He turned, at that moment, to look back at me, smiling my favorite crooked smile. He reached back towards the bed, and with one quick movement, he pulled the bedcovers to the floor. The white fabric floated slowly down to the bleached wooden floors and settled in a soft cloud at the foot of the bed. He looked deep into my eyes and reached his hand out towards me, beckoning me towards him, towards our new bed on the floor.

"Come here," he said, his voice husky and deep and commanding.

I couldn't move. My knees were weak and trembling, and I knew if I tried to take a step, I would collapse to the floor. My heart fluttered wildly and my breath came in gasps. The look on his face was indescribable. He was still looking directly at me, his eyes locked with mine, his hand still outstretched towards me. But his expression was… raw, animalistic, hungry. He looked almost ready to pounce, his chin down, eyes looking up at me, knees slightly bent. He looked like what I thought he would look like when he hunted, except that now, he was hunting me. I was waiting for him to sink into a crouch, and then spring at me, and it would all be over quickly. It reminded me of that day in his bedroom, the day I told him that I didn't think he was scary, and he proved me wrong.

Seconds ticked by silently. Neither of us moved.

"Bella…" he said again, throaty and low, almost a moan. Thick with desire, with need. He walked slowly towards me, never looking away. My hand lifted, almost involuntarily, to meet his. When my fingers touched his, an electric current passed between us, like the first time I touched his cold hard skin.

The bed disappeared from the room. Or at least from my view. All I could see now was Edward, and I knew what I wanted more than anything in the world. I wanted him.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me to him, our bodies pressed together, his arms wrapped tightly around my back. I was suddenly overcome, by the moment, by my need for him, by a sudden… confidence. I took his face in my hands and slowly leaned up to kiss him. I stopped, less than an inch from his face. I could smell his sweet breath and it made me a little dizzy.

"Don't… move…" I whispered. I moved closer, still not touching him. His lips parted slightly, waiting for my kiss.

"Stay… very… still…" I whispered again. We were close enough that I knew he could feel my breath on his face, intoxicating him, burning him.

He started to say something, I think it was my name, but I touched my fingers to his lips to stop him.

"Shhh," I said softly. He moaned at my touch, and I could feel his desperation building as he tried to kiss my fingers, his mouth hungry.

I gently pulled my hand away from his lips and traced the hard planes of his face, a face I knew so well, every curve, every soft dip, every hard edge. My fingertips ran across his jaw, barely touching his skin, down his neck. I lingered for a minute in the hollow of his throat, and then brushed across his shoulders and his collarbone.

I placed both hands flat against his chest, marveling at the hard, smooth muscle, the coolness of his skin. I moved slowly, memorizing his body with my fingertips. When I slid my hands across his stomach, he shuddered and moaned again.

"Bella… please…" he whispered, pleading, desperate.

I felt oddly powerful, euphoric. This was so new to me, this feeling of control. Since the day we met, I had always felt that Edward had the upper hand in our relationship. He set the rules, he enforced them, and I allowed it, anything to be near him. He had remarkable self-control, and I had none when it came to him.

Part of me wanted to keep going, to continue my slow exploration, but I knew it was not a good idea to test the limits of a vampire, husband or not. And as much as I was enjoying the moment, I truly could not stand to see him in any kind of pain.

I took both of his hands in mine and pulled him down to the floor with me.

The bedcovers were soft, but the floor was hard beneath me as we lay together on our makeshift bed. His fingers stroked my arm gently, and he turned his face to mine.

"Bella, I… I promised that we'd try. If I hurt you…" he said nervously.

"I know," I whispered and touched his face. "But you won't. We belong together."

He looked deep into my eyes for a moment, then bent his face down to kiss me. As our lips moved slowly together, I pulled his body tightly to mine. His hand moved down my leg, and with one sure movement, he pulled my leg up and wrapped it around his waist. My hands were in his hair, on his back, pulling his body even closer to mine. He held himself carefully above me, but not as he usually did. I could feel his weight on me, pressing me into the hard floor. He pulled his face back slightly to look into my eyes again, hesitating for a moment, and then I felt him inside me. We were one person. Joined together for eternity.

His eyes searched my face, and I could tell that he was wondering if he should stop, if he was hurting me. I wrapped my legs tightly around his body, and reached hungrily for his mouth. Surely he would see that as permission to continue. He kissed me carefully at first, then more urgently. Our bodies moved together on the hard floor, his hips keeping us in a slow, burning rhythm. I could tell this was difficult for him. His face was taut, his jaw a hard line. He was using all of his restraint to bring us to this point without killing me, but I didn't care. I wanted more of him, whatever the price.

"Edward…" I whispered between breaths. "Tighter… hold me tighter."

My words ignited him, and he pushed his body hard against me, the cold granite of his hips grinding against mine. As he moved quicker inside me, I noticed that the bedspread started to slide across the floor, just a little, and I knew I would remember that, after, and smile. But all I could think of now was the feeling building quickly in my body, and that it was Edward taking me there, again. Just as before, in the water, I felt the slow burn start in the pit of my stomach, spreading to my arms, my legs, my fingers, my toes. I gasped, my body surrendering to the feeling.

Edward's eyes were wild, his teeth clenched together. He held me even tighter, just for a moment, and then I heard a low gutteral noise coming deep from within his chest.

"Bella!" he growled my name, his body stretching, arching. His hips pressed tightly into mine one long, last time, and then finally, he relaxed, falling into my arms.

The room was quiet, except for the sounds of our breathing and my pounding heart. He started to roll to his side, but I stopped him.

"Wait… not yet," I said, and I wrapped my arms around his back, holding him tightly to me. "Don't leave me yet." The weight of his body on mine was comforting, and I never felt as close to him as I did now. I wanted this feeling to last forever. Lucky for me, forever had a different meaning for us.

We lay there for a while, neither of us moving, completely happy to lie here on the floor forever in each other's arms. I looked at the bed again and smiled to myself. Whatever issues I had before were now gone. It was just a bed. Our bed.

"Edward?" I asked.

"Hmm?" he murmured contentedly. His eyes were closed, and he was absently playing with a lock of my hair.

"I was thinking…"

"Ah," he said softly under his breath. "Finally. You volunteer, and I don't have to ask."

I smiled, and took a deep breath.

"The bed… it doesn't bother me anymore."

He opened his eyes and slowly turned to look at me. He looked deep into my eyes for a moment, and then he started to grin. He scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the bed. Forever starts tonight.

7