A/N: Better late than never? A slightly shorter chapter. And just so you know, this isn't the typical... 'innocent' ExB I tend to write. You have been warned ;)

III. Sensitive

"I could really appreciate him now – could properly see every beautiful line of his perfect face, of his long, flawless body with my strong new eyes, every angle and every plane of him. I could taste his pure, vivid scent on my tongue and feel the unbelievable silkiness of his marble skin under my sensitive fingertips.

My skin was so sensitive under his hands, too."

Breaking Dawn, page 482

"This room is so beautiful," I whispered, nuzzling into Edward's neck to bring myself just a little closer to him.

I felt rather than saw him nod, his sweet breath released in a content sigh. "She had the idea even before we left for the isle," he told me, a smile in his voice when he mentioned Isle Esme. "I wasn't allowed to a single word, under some very serious and frightening threats."

At this I tried to glance up at him, curious. "What threats could they possibly make?"

"No alone time," he answered after a very brief pause, chuckling with the words. "Emmett swore he would literally exist between us every single second for a solid week if I ruined the surprise for Esme."

I laughed too – it was something I could see my big brother (for all intents and purposes) doing. At the same time a different part of my mind tried to recall the circumstances under which those threats had been made. No pregnancy, no emergency transformation. I highly doubted even Emmett would have been able to keep us apart with my newfound strength.

Eventually we fell silent, and our laughter faded into the night as minutes ticked by.

Edward's free hand started tracing a featherlight path up and down my arm, from shoulder to wrist and back again. His satin fingers left a quietly simmering path under my skin. We were both perfectly still, his arms cradling me to him. My arm – the same one he was tracing – was draped possessively over his middle. Now that I thought about it, we were were finally on the pretty white bed, and all I immediately wanted to do was to bask in this quiet moment. It was comfort, relaxation... peace.

I could hardly believe it.

My cheek rested on his chest, and I could hear his quiet, even breaths near my ear. From time to time I could feel his lips drifting to my hair, pressing light kisses on the top of my head. It was after one of these moments that I returned the gesture, lifting myself up just enough to press my lips to the hollow of his throat. But unlike his chaste kisses, I found it impossible to restrain myself to one or two.

Instead my lips continued their journey up his marble throat, slowly at first and more feverish as I gained momentum. I kissed up to his shoulder, then across until I reached the side of his neck. It was the juncture that I let my tongue dart out, tasting his deliciously sweet scent. Edward had leaned his head back now, his eyes closed. I heard a small moan reverberate in his throat when I dragged my teeth gently along the base of his jaw, his breaths uneven. "Mm, Bella."

My name was a soft sigh on lips, and the way he said it sent a fiery sensation straight down to my toes. It was full of longing and desire, so sexy. And I couldn't help but remember what had happened earlier, when I had so intimately touched him. The way his head had fallen back, mouth slightly open, his expression unclouded. He gave me so much just in allowing me to see him vulnerable, yielding, open. It evoked an impossibly deeper level of love for him, to be exposed to that part of him in a way no one else was. I was seeing it even now. For a brief second, it made my desperate movements stop, my breath catch.

For a moment, I found myself struggling to comprehend how beautiful Edward truly was.

Edward sensed my pause, his eyes opening and looking down to meet mine. A moment of silence passed between us. And I don't know what exactly he saw in my eyes, but before I knew what was happened, he had shifted both of us. I suddenly found on my back, my body parallel to his, and half under his weight as he leaned over to kiss me fiercely. He was on his side, propped up on his elbow, and I buried my free hand into his hair. I wanted to drag him fully down on top of me, relish the feel of skin on mine, but he resisted – just barely.

Breaking our kiss, he lifted his face until it was a few inches above mine. In an impossibly seductive voice, he whispered, "I want my turn."

I didn't have much time to consider his comment before he had pressed his lips to mine again. I responded more than eagerly, my body arching, trying to meet its perfect complement. I was rewarded only when he broke our kiss, and the hand that had been innocently resting on my waist started moving down my body.

It was innocent enough at first. He was still moving languidly, lacking the desperate aura that I seemed to emanate whenever I got a hold of him. As his lips traced an invisible path along my jaw and neck, his free hand drifted down to my hip, where his thumb started rubbing lazy circles on my skin. Very slowly, his mouth journeyed farther down, his body somehow smoothly following the movement without seeming to actually move. Soon his face was level with my chest, his hand still resting in the same place. I saw him open his mouth, holding my breath in anticipation. I couldn't have predicted what he began doing next.

Just as his tongue ran lightly over the peak of my breast, the hand resting on my hip slid down to brush against my inner thigh. Once, twice, and again as my soft moans and pants filled the room. I had thought that my skin couldn't possibly feel any more sensitive under his touch – apparently, I had been wrong. His featherlight touch electrified me, sunk under my skin and funneled all the way to my very core.

Edward's mouth kept working wonders, alternating suckling and nibbling my skin even as his hand drifted higher. At first it was only his thumb stroking the sensitive skin, but soon he switched to his whole palm, fingers dangerously close to the area that burned most. When he was centimeters away my legs spread wider of their own accord, and I felt him smile against my breast.

He lifted his glorious mouth from me then, eliciting a quiet whimper from me. I met his eyes for a brief millisecond. They were darker, half-lidded, but surprisingly lucid and curious. I might have tried to decipher his expression, but at that precise moment he flashed me my favorite crooked smile, and then lightly brushed his fingertips along my sex.

I gasped loudly, my head burying back into the pillows as my body arched towards his touch. If I wasn't true already, I was sure his delicate caress would have made my heart stop. It was too much to handle. A whole new degree of pleasure. My enthusiastic response seemed to encourage him. I felt his long fingers probe more boldly, two fingers sinking further into me. He was being playful, teasing me as he stroked up and down without ever penetrating. Had I been able to, I'm sure I would have protested.

Edward dragged this on for a few moments before focusing in on the most sensitive part of me. His thumb brushed over my delicate bundle of nerves once, and I heard myself crying out softly. From then on his teasing touches were relentless, and more maddening because of this. He was keeping his strokes and flicks so light, so careless, that before long my body was writhing under him, wanting more.

Just when I thought I couldn't handle it any longer, when I was about to forcefully pull him to me to finish the job, he abruptly slipped a finger within me. Our throaty moans mingled together as I relished the feeling, as he realized how truly ready I was for him. Within seconds he had slipped in a second, and, with his thumb still teasing the other part of me, began to purposefully slide in and out.

My hips stared undulating against his hand, matching the short movements, my hands clutching for dear life the sheets underneath me. This was a new type of pleasure. It was different than what we had shared before, together. I couldn't say it was better or worse, just that it was good. His slender pianist's fingers seemed to know all too well what they were doing, hitting the perfect spots within me at the exact perfect moments. Together with his thumb, his palm, his ragged pants matching mine, I knew I didn't want this to end. But at the same time, I knew I wasn't going to last long. I didn't have Edward's self-control, to stop him halfway through and have him join me, so to speak. I would have to pay him back later, because this was feeling much too good to stop.

I felt the tension building deep within me, near that particular spot Edward was hitting so perfectly. My hips still rose to meet him, my hands still clutched the sheets. I was desperate for release, and it felt like he was just as anxious. In the last moment I forced myself to open my eyes, to gaze at Edward. It was his look that finished me.

His mouth was slightly open, probably to taste the charged air around us. His hair was rumpled, messy, and unbelievably sexy. His godly shoulders and chest and abdomen were slightly shimmery, reflecting the moonlight coming into the room. And his eyes. His golden eyes were traveling freely long my body, but lingered most on my face. I could see wonder in them, together with his love and desire. I could see myself, my earlier sentiments, reflected in him.

Too much. Overload. His look finished me.

The building tension snapped, bringing me over the edge. It seemed like I fell an endless distance. I felt the pleasure radiate from my center outward, curling my toes and arching my back. Again, it was different than before – not better or worse, but so enjoyable. Before I was fully down from my high I buried my hand in Edward's hair again, and pulled him down to me.

Our kiss was passionate, fiery, and the weight of his body on me felt delicious. Once my mind and body had calmed down, his lips left mine. He pressed soft kisses to my cheeks, nose, forehead. Then he lifted himself up just enough so that I could see his face.

He was grinning from ear to ear, his smile bright even in the surrounding darkness. I could tell he was pleased with himself, and quite frankly, I was pleased with him too.

I pretended to pout though, letting out a dramatic sigh. His expression faltered for a second, and I could tell he was hanging on to my every word when I spoke. "Honestly, Edward, must you be good at everything?"