chapter 1 (continued)

“Edward, listen to me.” I started, staring into his eyelids. “I love you. I love you more than anything in the world and that’s never going to change.” I tapped his chin again but he didn’t budge. What a stubborn creature he was. “Edward! Are you listening?”

“I always do, sweetheart.” He whispered, keeping his stance.

“Good. Now, I never want you to feel this way again. There’s no reason to be upset. You’ve just given me the best day of my life. Don’t abuse yourself over one little almost accident. You can’t imagine how happy I am right now and I know it sounds impossible, but I think I love you even more!” I stopped there. I knew if I said how much I wanted to do it again, he’d get mad at me and call me reckless and tell me I have no sense of self-preservation.

“So, you’re not hurt at all? You’re not scared to do it again?” He slowly lifted his head, revealing his beautiful face to mine, eyes locked into place and serious. “You don’t think of me as a monster?” I can’t stand him.

“Yes you’re a monster. I am so scared of you. You terrify me with your sharp fangs. Oh wait, you don’t have fangs!” I struggled to get out of his grip. The water danced besides our figures. I was mad at for mistaking this for a happy moment. I glanced at him with angry eyes, and he was staring at me. As mad as I was at him, I couldn’t help but love him with every cell in my rigid body. If only he could read my mind now, so I wouldn’t have to abandon my pride and just say it.

“Say it, Steph.” He half smiled in my direction. His eyes pierced through mine.

I was relieved to sense his anger was subsided. I wasn’t sure what he had planned, though.

“You’re fighting back words. Your fingers are oscillating back and forth against your leg, you want to say something.”

He knew me better than I knew myself. I wasn’t even aware I was doing that little habit of mine. I bit my lip.

“Out loud! Come on, we’ve been through this before.” He muttered.

“It’s very hard for me to be mad at you.” My mood softened, and I turned to face him, folding my arms over my bare chest. My face turned red, I could feel the heat. This time, it wasn’t from the sun. Behind Edward, the sun was almost fully underneath the water, setting on us, rising somewhere else. The few rays that were left beamed on his back and around the contours of his flawless figure, making his body a perfect silhouette in the purple and blue water.

“I can’t stay angry with you for too long, ever.” I admitted. I shrugged my shoulders and threw him a smile as I looked down, peeking at his reaction through my wet, sloppy bangs. Batting my eyes at him always worked in ways I would dream about. This time was different, though.

Somehow, we had gotten closer to the shore. The water was a few inches shallower than where we were before, revealing more of his perfect masculine self. With every current, the “V” that formed his hip bones became more and more distinct, and where the two lines converged into a point was the spot I desired most now. I felt the water play tricks on my lower half. My longing for him was obvious now. I didn’t even realize how tense I had become. I shook my head free of these naughty thoughts but when I opened my eyes, Edward was crouched down, low in the water. He peered at me through his eye lashes, flashing a set of venomous teeth, sharp and keen. He hissed, and I was turned on. I’m a hopeless case.

In less than a second, Edward’s body lunged toward me, and we were soaring through the crisp air towards the sand. With a light crash, my back was on the sand and Edward hovered over me. He held me to his chest while his nose searched the boundaries of my neck, his breaths were short and exasperated. My blood was pulsing through my veins, racing the dark. I knew this killed him, so I stood perfectly still, a feather underneath his strength.

“Stephanie,” he breathed into my skin, “My life’s purpose is to make you happy, not upset, not angry, not disappointed. Happy.”

His lips traced curvy lines along my flesh, exciting different parts of me. But when his body leaned back up to kiss my face, a little piece of him collided where my legs met. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around him, holding him in place, allowing him to absorb me once again. In case he thought I wasn’t ready, I guided his hand to touch me. His fingers were cold inside of me, it was one of the best sensations. I exhaled and closed my eyes. When he took them out, they felt like the ocean just washed up on them. Our fingers intertwined, and his other arm held up my lower back, angling me to his form. He pushed forward with controlled force. My legs tightened around his waist, pushing him in deeper. This drove him wild. He let out an angry moan, through his gritted teeth. My fingernails slid down his back, until I could feel his animalistic movements below my palms. Rising and sinking, thrusting in and out in a rapid motion.

“Edward!” I managed to get his name out in one breath. “Oh my…GOD! Edward!”

My breathing was heavier than ever. I was covered in sweat. My toes curled when I felt him plunge even deeper into me, sending a current of pleasure straight up my spine. I screamed. He sat up on his knees and held my waist down to the ground, hindering me from moving. This was it. Whenever he would thrust into me, I wouldn’t budge, instead he would just move into the depths of me. I felt him even more now. Something I thought was impossible. His movements became too fast for me to count. But that didn’t stop me from feeling them. Every pound and bang was like a shock of euphoria. Every nerve ending inside of me was alive and spinning. I felt a wave of shock traveling through that piece of him, a tidal wave, emptying out into my throbbing tunnel of endless pleasure. His hands pressed into me, crushing my fragile body. I liked it. He liked it. His movements became slower as I continued throbbing on him, squeezing it inside of me, and releasing him. Squeezing on him, releasing him. He bent down to kiss me. His hair hung in front of his face, messy and chaotic. His lips were parted, crimson red and hard. His eyes were shut, he was beautiful. I felt his cool breath on my face, and I was suddenly moving in mid-air towards the bed inside.

Edward’s movements were always performed with extra caution. He laid me on the bed making sure every inch of me was comfortably carved into the feathery comforter before his arms slipped out from under me. Sometimes I wish he would just throw me across the room. The covers were cool, but his arms were colder. Instead of shivering at his touch, my body welcomed it. It was refreshing.

He wiggled his body next to mine, bent so that we molded together perfectly, like puzzle pieces to the clay.

“I picked a place with a hot temperature so you wouldn’t mind having me in bed with you. If it gets too cold for you I’ll move…”

I turned my head to look at him. “Edward, I don’t care if we had to sleep on a bed made of ice. I will always want you next to me.” I kissed his cheek and felt his lips curve up into a smile. I smiled, too.

“Steph?”

“Yes?”

“What are you thinking right now?” He was twirling my hair in his long fingers, pondering deeply while gazing into his fingers’ motions circular motions.

I sat up to face him, my eyes glowing and my heart sped up. He did the same thing, releasing the ribbon of my hair he was playing with to slide his arms under me so he can cradle me. He held me close to his chest, his head resting on my hair, kissing and smelling it. He whispered, “I need to know in order to keep my sanity.” He quietly laughed and kissed the edge of my ear.

I wrapped my arms around him and took a deep breath.

“I’m thinking of how whole I feel, here in your arms. I’m thinking about I never want this moment to end. I’m thinking about how lucky I am to be with you, when in reality, I don’t deserve you…” He was annoyed at that last part because I felt him sigh and hold me tighter. He continued to kiss me, now on my cheek and corner of my lips. “I’m thinking of all the times we had together, and how I never imagined I could be happier than I was. But I am. It’s inexplicable, Edward. I can’t believe how much I love you. And best, I can’t believe that you might actually love me as much as I love you.”

Edward extended his arms a little so that our faces were a normal distant apart, appropriate for talking. “You can’t believe that I might actually love you as much as you love me? You are absolutely out of your mind, sweetheart, do you know that?” He said that giggling, while lightly tickling my stomach with one hand, lowering his face to mine.

“This is when I wish you can read my mind.”

“Maybe one day. I doesn’t matter though. I’m complete right here holding you.”

“So am I. That’s exactly what I’m thinking.” I smiled at him, it was like a reflex, really. Every time I saw his flawless face I couldn’t help but smile. “Confession. I’m also thinking about how perfect this day was. Everything that happened. It was more than how I ever dreamt it to be. I still need to thank you for that.” I reached to kiss him. His lips were like liquid marble moving against mine. He pulled back to speak.

“It was perfect for me, too. And I had 107 years to dream about it! So you deserve and ‘thank you’ as well. Thank you my Stephanie!” He smiled that crooked smile that makes my head spin.

I pulled myself into his chest and he held me there, kissing my head in various spots, like he was creating a ‘connect the dots’ on my hair. He was gentle, so different from 2 hours ago, when he lunged towards me, surrendering to his lust and desire. I loved both sides of him.

“I love you, Edward.” I said, as I hugged him tight and rested my head on his chest.

“I love you, too, Stephanie.” He leaned down and kissed my lips. “Always.”

“Always.” I smiled as I tried to fight back a yawn, but I was weak.

“Sleep, my love. Dream of me, I’ll be here when you wake.”

“Goodnight, Edward.” My eyes were shutting as I spoke the words. What an exhausting, perfect, beautiful day. I slipped away in the unknown with images of Edward and I in perfect harmony. The last thing I felt as I fell asleep were his cool arms laying my down and holding me against him, his lips on my shoulder.