Adult-FanFiction.org : Books

Polar Night	By : belladonnacullen Category: Twilight Series > AU/AR > Het > Het Views: 8234 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
A/N: I lost my Portuguese beta... sorry in advance for butchering the beautiful language. I know I've got a Brazilian reader or two on here. Any help would be greatly appreciated... especially with the next chapter coming up! Anyway... enjoy!

The first thing I consciously felt on waking was cold. Like I was wrapped in a sheet of ice. I went to pull a blanket around myself, but instead of a blanket I found Edward’s hand wrapped around my waist. My eyes snapped open and I was completely awake. Everything that happened last night passed before my eyes in a flash, a wonderful, unbelievable, body-quaking flash. And now… I took a minute to let reality set in, this was not a dream… now Edward and I were naked in bed, and he was pressed up against my back, his body wrapped around mine. My breathing came faster. Half of me wanted to bolt from the bed. What if I was bruised all over again? What would happen then? I wouldn’t be able to take it.

But last night, afterward, I felt fine, I silently reasoned. So much better than fine. I closed my eyes to better remember how Edward’s eyes looked last night, glowing and flickering and warm and gentle, all at the same time. Last night I could almost see the human in them at the same time they were so very vampire. And then, at the end, he told me I could let go, and I did, and so did he, and we were both all right. Better than that. Edward was glowing afterwards. He was so happy, and he was still breathing hard and gently laughing. He tickled my nose with his, and kissed me so sweetly on the lips. And then he tucked my body into his, and I snuggled closer, before I fell asleep.

God. If I was bruised I might run out of the room crying.

“Bella,” Edward whispered in my ear, making my entire body tingle. “Love?” He tenderly kissed my ear, and pushed his body into mine a little more purposefully.

I was too scared to speak. I tried to inconspicuously look down at my body without moving my head to check to see if there were any new purple splotches.

Edward chuckled and pulled his arm a little tighter around my waist, leaving no space between his body and mine. “What are you doing?” he purred.

I squeezed my eyes shut. “How do I look?”

“What?” he almost laughed.

“Just tell me.”

“I don’t know if I have adequate words. Does delicious sound wrong? I would like to taste every inch of you.”

I hadn’t expected that. I opened my eyes and looked my body over. Nothing! No new bruises to speak of! I couldn’t help smiling. I’d been right, I was right! I wanted to shout it out at the top of my lungs, but I didn’t.

“Inventory complete?” Edward asked, tickling my ear with his lips.

“I’m okay,” I squeaked. Immediately, I wished I had better control over my voice. Where was that sexy voice when I needed it? I’d just sounded like a mouse.

“Not quite,” Edward purred, smoothly moving his hand from my waist to my breast. I jumped, surprised, excited, confused. I wasn’t okay? I felt Edward press himself against my backside. If I wasn’t okay, Edward was taking it remarkably well.

I felt his cool lips on the back of my neck. I hated to ask. I had to ask.

“I’m not okay?” I managed, and I quickly felt myself falling to pieces as Edward licked the little spot behind my ear where it felt so good, as he rolled my nipple between his fingers.

“No, you need to take a shower, Bella.”

“What?”

Edward moved his hips and my body burned, suddenly consumed with desire. “You’re not okay. You need a shower, right now,” he lightly growled in my ear.

“Oh!” I certainly did.

*****

Within a minute I had Bella’s back pressed against the cold tile wall of the shower, warm water streaming over both of our naked bodies, clouds of steam billowing in the warm air. I heard my breathing coming hard and heavy, and my arms were actually trembling as I held Bella off the ground. I’d waited years for this. It was overwhelming, to put it mildly.

I tried to steady myself. I was too excited, too wound up, and I didn’t trust myself to move the way a human would, or to use human force. I looked to Bella’s eyes for support. That’s when I saw I’d already made a mistake. Bella looked confused, nearly frantic. I realized I’d moved too fast and she was disoriented, bordering on frightened. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, another, and another, and placed Bella gently on the ground. I carefully squeezed her shoulders, then ran my hands down her sides and let them rest on her hips. I was about to apologize, but Bella interrupted.

“Hi,” she whispered. I smiled at the sound of her voice. It grounded me better than any amount of deep breathing could, and I was able to slowly open my eyes and gaze at Bella. She’d recovered. More than recovered. Bella was radiant, her skin pinking with the warmth of the water, and she was smiling brightly up at me. She reached her warm fingertips toward my face and brushed my cheek. I went to turn my head to kiss her hand, but she pulled it quickly away.

“What?” I asked, gently catching her hand, intertwining our fingers.

With the touch of my hand to hers, she took a sharp breath. “Force of habit,” she smiled shyly. “I stopped touching you there, for a couple of days.”

I brought her hand back to my face, rubbed it against my cheek, and kissed her fingers, still interlaced with mine.

“Is this real?” she asked.

“What?” It was as if it I were only capable of uttering one syllable at a time.

“I’ve wanted this for so long. I… I can’t believe it. This is all right with you? I mean, what can we… What’s supposed to…?” Bella’s breath was coming faster and she looked nearly panicked again.

“Shh,” I hushed, bending my head closer to hers. “We’ll take it slowly, Bella. But, this is certainly all right with me,” I added grazing my lips along her jaw, kissing slowly down her neck.

“It’s not too much for you?” she asked, her voice suddenly lower, almost sultry.

“It’s always too much for me, especially when you ask like that,” I whispered, brushing my lips along her collarbone. “But I’m willing to endure it, if you are,” I murmured, touching my nose to hers and looking into her bottomless brown eyes to make sure she saw my sarcasm.

Bella grinned back at me. “If I have to,” she joked. But her eyes darkened, and she looked up at me through her long dark lashes, her mood suddenly turning serious, as she ran her hands over my chest, down my abdomen, lower.

Our lips met, and for a moment I was lost, gone, my body moved against hers, water cascading over us. Bella’s scent filled the air, and the steam gave it weight so that it coated my skin, my mouth, my throat, my lungs. Bella pushed herself into me, trying to tug herself upwards, grabbing my shoulders, and automatically I wound my hands around her, ready to pick her off the ground again, but then I stopped. Intentionally slowing down. I’d waited this long and I was determined to do it right.

I placed my hands over Bella’s, and interlaced our fingers.

“Would you let me wash you?” I asked in a rough whisper.

Bella’s eyes grew wide and she bit her bottom lip in that way I adored, before shyly nodding her head and looking toward her toes. I kissed her cheek as I took great care to lather soap in my hands. As a vampire, I’d never cared about more than rinsing dirt and blood off of my body with water. There was no need for soaps, oils, washcloths, brushes, sponges, and various other tools that hung on hooks on the wall next to me, whose purpose remained a mystery.

So, for now, I stuck to soap and my hands and I took great care to gently rub Bella’s shoulders, her arms, taking her breasts carefully into my hands, then down her stomach, her hips, and I went to my knees to lather her thighs, her calves, her feet. From the floor, I looked up at Bella, still gazing at her toes, and now at me. She smiled shyly, closed her eyes and bit her lip again, melting my heart in much the same way the stiff sudsy peaks were dissolving and cascading down her warm, wet body. I moved my soapy hand between her legs, and rubbed gently, tenderly, and Bella pushed against my hand and leaned her head back against the wall.

I wound my arm around her waist and kissed her flat abdomen, pulling her body against me as I continued to very meticulously bath between her legs. I could feel her legs going weak, and I used my arm to support Bella, and her breathing came harder, her hands tugged at my hair. But I kept my touch soft, gentle, tender, nearly innocent, as I trailed my lips to her waist, her hip.

I felt tension building in Bella’s body, her hip jerked against my mouth, her little hands tried to push my head ever downward. I was quickly on my feet and pulled her under the stream of water with me. I watched the soap slide down her naked body; so wet and clean and shaking with desire. I put my finger under her chin and lifted her head so I could look into her wide chocolate eyes. “My God, Bella, you’re beautiful,” I murmured before kissing her hard on the lips, and her hands knotted in my hair. “I love you,” I nearly growled.

Those words didn’t do justice to my emotional state this morning. But I didn’t have the patience to belabor my feelings. It felt too good simply being with my wife. Feeling her instead of thinking about feeling her, instead of agonizing over it. Last night I’d discovered that there was something within myself that I could trust. And while it wasn’t easy to hold Bella, to take Bella this way, it was possible, if only because we both believed it was possible. Maybe it had been that simple all along.

I wrapped my arm around Bella’s waist and cupped her backside in my hands, and picked her up off the floor, pulling her against me. Bella automatically wrapped her legs around my waist. I held her against me firmly, as we kissed, her soft warm lips pressing against mine, moving along my jaw line, to my ear. I felt my chest vibrating against hers, her breasts pillowed against me, her center becoming warmer, her silken wetness pooling with shower water where our bodies were pressed firmly together.

And then, the same flash of hot primal fear coursed through my body with the knowledge that my mate was in danger. And self-loathing that came with it, because she was in danger because of me, because of my own ignoble desires. But I stopped myself from that train of thought and instead forced myself to think of last night: how my body responded to Bella’s, how I made the effort to protect her without willing myself to. How I held back almost naturally, how I knew, somewhere deep within myself, how a human would do this, and how my human would want it. Nevertheless, I gulped reflexively, and my dry throat scratched uncomfortably with the needless movement.

“Edward?” Bella whispered. It was the only encouragement I needed.

I moved myself under Bella, pressed her back gently against the wall for leverage, pulled her body a bit higher. I held my breath; Bella put her hands on my face and looked into my eyes, to try to keep me focused. I wasn’t sure I needed that any more. My body knew that she was mine and that there was something bigger than me that would help keep me from hurting her. But I’d take it; I wanted to look into her eyes as I entered her, as I made love to my wife.

I pushed myself gently against her. Bella gasped and wrapped her hands around my head, and I let her pull my head to hers. Her lips were so soft, swollen from last night, wet and slippery and I breathed her hot breath in, warming my mouth, my throat.

But I stopped, pulled my head away and clenched my jaw in frustration. Suddenly, all of my careful consideration turned to smoke, like so much steam in the shower stall. Why had I taken things so slowly?

“What is it?” Bella asked, taken aback. I saw the foreboding in her eyes, the fear that I had begun denying her again.

I set Bella on the ground and held her cheek in my hand. “I hear a boat docking. The cleaning crew must be here.”

“The cleaning crew? Oh.” Bella slumped a little against the tile wall and crossed her arms in front of her, and looked at the shadows of the trees through the glass block window. “Sorry, I’m being silly,” she allowed, her lips pressed into a pout.

“You couldn’t be more disappointed than I,” I whispered, pushing her wet hair behind her ear.

“I doubt it,” she harrumphed, pressing her cheek against my hand.

“I’d wager a bet. Do you know how many of your showers I’ve patiently waited through? How many nights I longed to slip into that tiny stall at your house in Forks? How many things I’d dreamed of doing with you in there?”

I was pushing things, but I couldn’t leave Bella upset. I pulled her away from the tiles and held her loosely in my arms, trailing my fingers along her spine, over her bottom, holding her. Bella let her forehead fall into my shoulder.

“How much time do we have?”

“Right now, we have about three minutes. I can hear them disembarking from the boat.”

Bella sighed.

“I promise I won’t let you leave this island until we finish what we’ve started here,” I assured her with a kiss.

But then Bella’s eyes flickered and she took a step so that she was directly under the spray, pulling me to her, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist. “And I promise you that I won’t go to bed with you again until you finish what you started here.” Her taut nipples rubbed against my chest, her hand caressed my backside, she wound her leg around mine and pressed her body into me, and I lifted her off the ground, and I used the next two and a half minutes to make sure I could at least get myself back into bed with my wife.

*****

I was carelessly dressed, damp and smiling when I met Gustavo and Kaure at the front door. I’d heard their nervous thoughts as they walked up the sandy path to the house and I knew I’d have to do my best to put their minds at ease, but truthfully, I didn’t want to be bothered with that at this moment.

I could still smell Bella, wet and warm in the shower where I’d left her. I’d helped her to the shower bench, her legs had been weak afterwards, and she’d pressed her head to my abdomen, not wanting to let me go. The feeling was more than mutual. I needed to feel her skin against mine, and leaving her felt like I’d torn something vital, and that only her touch would allow the healing to begin. I reasoned that if I sent the humans quickly to work, telling them exactly what we required, they would soon be on their way.

Carlisle and Esme had made it clear that allaying their suspicions was my responsibility. Gustavo and Kaure’s family had helped to maintain their dwelling and the surrounding island since it had been purchased twenty-five years ago. While they had their misgivings, Carlisle and Esme had been overly kind and non-threatening, which flew in the face of their fears. The family had gradually become comfortable with my parents, and my brothers and sisters had only visited for a few odd days here or there, their presence going unnoticed by the caretakers.

However, my trip with Bella required some arrangements. Human food, for one, and the then there was the request about the indoor heat. I could hear that those changes hadn’t gone over well with the humans, as they spoke to one another in hushed tones in their native Portuguese.

“A son? What kind of son could that man have?” the woman asked her husband under her breath.

“So, the doctor has a family. It’s not a crime, Kaure.”

“Not yet, it isn’t! What about the food? What is he planning?”

“Oh, woman, be quiet! They have been nothing but generous to our family.”

“It’s like living with a man wearing blinders,” Kaure grumbled.

I took a deep breath, did my best to concentrate on the two humans at the front door and to ignore the sounds of Bella padding nearly naked from the bathroom to the bedroom to dress. I arranged my facial features into my most non-threatening look of welcome, and swung the door open.

Gustavo stood with his hand poised to knock on the door; both he and Kaure wore shocked expressions. In my haste, I’d forgotten to let them knock, as humans were wont to do.

I paused a beat, and then smiled warmly at the stout couple. “Bem-vindos, senhor, senhora. Vocês devem ser Gustavo e Kaure. Meu nome é Edward Cullen, filho de Carlisle e Esme.”

They shook their heads in the affirmative, their faces impassive.

“Another handsome American with perfect Portuguese!” Gustavo thought.

“His eyes are wrong, like the others. Perhaps this one is not as dangerous as I suspected,” Kaure mused.

“There isn’t much for you to do,” I explained in my ‘perfect Portuguese.’ “The kitchen and bathroom, and then in the large bedroom, I’m afraid we may have gotten carried away with… feathers one night,” I managed with a small smile, stepping back and motioning for them to enter. Both pairs of eyebrows were raised with mention of feathers, and both hearts beat frantically as they walked into the house.

I could just make out the sound of linen against skin coming from the blue bedroom. I closed my eyes and clutched at the wall for support, trying to anchor myself to the spot and the task at hand, while every cell of my body felt like it was being pulled toward my mate.

Gustavo cleared his throat. I remembered to open my eyes, to smile politely.

“My wife is in the small bedroom, we won’t need your help in there.” I had no intention of letting the pair see the headboard I’d turned to splinters the night before.

They nodded. I smiled. I wasn’t used to human help, and I felt a bit stiff. “I’ll be preparing my wife’s breakfast if you need me.”

“Breakfast… does he think I’m dense? No wife of his would eat food,” Kaure silently accused.

They smiled, small tight-lipped smiles, and then Gustavo tugged Kaure towards the white bedroom at the back of the house, nodding his head to me in parting.

“Meu Deus!” I heard Kaure murmur under her breath as they entered the bedroom.

“Quiet, Kaure! It’s none of our business. We are here to clean, not to judge the man’s sexual proclivities,” Gustavo hissed.

“Yes, and he can probably hear everything we whisper. We shouldn’t anger him. Perhaps we would end up as his wife’s breakfast,” she said a bit dramatically, in almost a stage whisper. I had to smile. Even Bella might have heard her voice.

Gustavo chuckled. “Silly woman.” But I could hear the man’s thoughts continue where his words left off. “I pray to The Lord she isn’t right!”

Satisfied that it could have gone worse, I turned my attention to Bella’s breakfast. But before I had a chance to crack an egg, Bella came skipping into the kitchen. I’d never known her to skip before. I turned to her and she threw her arms around me smiling, her eyes glittering, her wet hair cascading around her face.

“How was the remainder of your shower?” I asked, holding her in a tight embrace.

“Lonely,” she cooed. She was wearing a short white linen sundress, which contrasted nicely with her new light golden tan and freckles. I idly wondered if they would still be there in twenty-two days, if she would have them forever.

“I promise to rectify that as soon as possible. No more short, lonely showers for you for the remainder of our stay. In fact, I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave you alone like that for quite some time.” I pulled Bella’s body flush with mine. It felt better like that. If only there were no clothing in the way, and I could feel the way her soft human skin tickled the smooth surfaces of my body.

Bella smiled impossibly wider. “I was only in the other room.”

“I know.”

“You could make up for it now,” she suggested, tightening her hold on me, rubbing her body against mine, her warm breath wafting over my collar bone, that she was standing on tip toe to kiss. I picked Bella up off the floor and set her on the countertop besides me, fitting myself between her legs. I held Bella’s face in my hands, kissing her eyelids, her nose, her lips. She seemed impatient, wrapping her hands around my back, trying to pull me ever closer, and then reaching down and patting my backside. She been doing that quite a bit since last night, not that I minded in the least.

“We have guests, my love,” I reminded her.

“Fine, fine,” Bella mumbled, pulling her hands from around my waist and melodramatically twiddling her thumbs in her lap and looking at the ceiling. She was adorable. I peered down at her small little fingers longingly; I wanted to feel her fiery finger pads against my skin.

“I don’t think it would be improper for you to touch me. It is our honeymoon,” I suggested.

“If I touch you, I won’t want to stop,” she pouted. I smiled, placed one hand gently on Bella’s hip and the other behind her head, bringing her lips to mine. I listened to Bella’s heart stutter, and smelled her scent intensify as I traced her lips with my tongue. “I understand all too well, Isabella. And when our guests are gone, you won’t have to stop touching me until they return next week,” I whispered in her ear, finishing with a trail of kisses along her neck.

“Ah! Mue Deus!” Kaure exclaimed from behind Bella and I. Bella jumped, and I pulled her into my arms, and swung her gently to the ground at my side.

“It’s just as I’d suspected. He’s taken a human. This woman, she must run! I’ll get Gustavo, we’ll take her, somehow.” Kaure’s mind continued on like this as Bella blushed deep crimson and clutched at my hand. Kaure took two unintentional steps backwards, colliding with the kitchen wall.

“Com licença, senhor Cullen,” she mumbled, concentrating on the tiled kitchen floor.

“Kaure, gostraria introduzi-la a minha esposa, Isabella Cullen,” I said, choosing a very deep, warm voice that I reserved for soothing humans. I turned to Bella, and wrapped my arm around her waist. She blushed an impossibly deeper shade of red. “Bella, this is Kaure. Her and her husband have taken care of our property for many years.”

“He calls her his wife? The monster! The poor, beautiful girl. So misguided!”

Bella smiled at Kaure. “Hola,” she mumbled.

Kaure nodded and bustled past us. “I must tell Gustavo immediately.”

“I don’t think she liked me,” Bella offered after the woman disappeared into the bathroom.

“It’s not you she doesn’t approve of. She’s quite superstitious.”

“She knows about you?”

“She has her suspicions, and your presence seems to confirm everything for her.”

I saw Bella’s mind working. “So she thinks you’re one of the… the Lobisomem?”

I was caught off guard, and stood still with surprise. “You know about that legend?”

“When I was trying to figure you out junior year. I looked on line, and found that website with all the vampire myths, remember? It’s where I read about Carlisle, before I knew he was Carlisle.”

“It’s good you’ll be one of us soon. You know far too much for a human. But, about Kaure, I didn’t hear her think that exact word. However, I suppose when she saw you in my arms... The Lobisomem are supposed to prey on beautiful women…”

“I’m the beautiful woman you’re preying on?”

“Please don’t tell me you still doubt your own beauty.”

Bella smiled shyly. “I know you think I’m beautiful.” She paused and laughed a little. “You and Kaure, I guess.”

“Do I have to remind you how many other men admire you?”

“I only care about one man.”

I growled and pulled her into my arms, and decided to let the help think what they would. I had a wife to kiss.

*****

Somehow, I managed to eat a few bites of cereal and pop a few grapes in my mouth. But my stomach was doing flip-flops every time I stole a glance at Edward. And, well, since I was sitting snuggled up against him, we looked at one another a lot. And touched quite a bit. And then, when I knew that any more eating was going to be impossible, Edward lifted me in his arms and brought me to the den where we could stay out of Kaure and Gustavo’s way, and supposedly watched a movie.

I don’t know which film Edward put on. It was black and white and I might have recognized Marlon Brando, but that’s all I could say for sure. I was just stunned, still disbelieving that I could run my hands under Edward’s snug white T-shirt, over his rock hard abs, and he’d let me. Better than that, he enjoyed it, and well, I didn’t have to beg him to reciprocate. Astonishing. It took my breath away. Suddenly I felt like a regular girl, sneaking around in the den, trying not to get caught, turning up the volume on the movie, to cover up the sounds of our giggles and sighs. Except we weren’t really kids, and we were married. But maybe it made up for all those years we hadn’t been doing this.

Finally, we could hear the two housekeepers walking toward the front of the house. Of course Edward heard well before I did, and it took me a couple of seconds to understand why he was tugging my dress down and tucking in his shirt. Gustavo stood near the front door with Kaure and both had their lips pressed together in awkward smiles. I noticed that Gustavo had a large plastic bag of feathers in his hand, and I could immediately feel my cheeks turning red. Sure, we were married, but there was something quite embarrassing about two people old enough to be my grandparents cleaning up after sex with my vampire husband. I think anyone might blush a little.

When I looked back up from the floor, Edward was saying something in rapid Portuguese. I’d taken high school Spanish, but I couldn’t follow a word. All I knew was that, with every word he uttered, my body tingled a little more and I couldn’t wait for us to be alone again. The seconds ticked by like days. And suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the woman, Kaure, eying me intently. It seemed almost like she was motioning for me to leave with them.

I felt that little crease forming between my eyebrows as I tried to make out what she wanted. But Edward turned towards her rather abruptly, and she quickly turned away and found something very interesting to study on the blank wall to her right.

With that, Gustavo said something in parting, and tugged Kaure out the front door by her arm, as he waved to me and nodded his head.

“Adios,” I mumbled.

Edward smiled and waved and said something in Portuguese that sounded somehow polite and very sexy all at the same time, before shutting the front door behind the couple. And before I could blink, I was back on the bed in the blue room, bright midday light streaming through the window.

Edward smiled at me, and leaned his head down to kiss me. My body tingled all over, and Edward’s kiss quickly became more intense, as he trailed his lips down my neck, then across my shoulder, pushing the strap of my sundress out of his way.

It felt so good, so normal. Well, as normal as a girl can feel with her sparkling vampire husband. Okay, it was better than normal, much, much better. When I say normal, it was the normal of knowing that you wanted to have sex with your husband, and you were going to have sex with your husband. That this kissing would definitely lead to removing one another’s clothing. The kind of normal where your husband unties the straps of your sundress, pulls the dress down a bit, and has his ice-cold hands on your breasts. The kind of normal where he moves his enormous, cold erection against you instead of hiding it from you, and then hitches up your dress, and rips off your panties and presses himself against you again. The kind of normal where I had to close my eyes for a second because it just… Felt. So. Good. The kind of normal where I almost hyperventilated, because I’m not used to normal at all.

And then a low purr rumbled in my vampire husband’s chest, vibrating against me, making my nipples tingle and sting. I tried to keep my head enough to unbutton Edward’s pants, and he didn’t pull away, but instead I could see the anticipation in his amber eyes as they flickered and glowed into mine. The normal way that Edward helped me along and kicked off his pants faster than my eyes could see. And I finally knew about my husband’s underwear! (Edward preferred boxer briefs.) How refreshingly normal! I reached to pull them off, and Edward let me, and he was finally, beautifully completely naked and sparkling on top of me in the broad light of day. I could understand why there were legends about someone like this, he was gorgeous and unbelievable and fantastic all at once. And he was mine. Mine!

“You’re mine,” I whispered.

Edward growled and carefully pressed his hard naked body against me, and I tried to wriggle to pull my dress the rest of the way off, and Edward simply tore it away. He carefully held his body against mine so that it felt like a wall of cold flames was searing my skin. My whole body became electrified as I felt Edward push himself into me, gently, carefully, then harder, completely, over and over again, as he held my face in one of his hands so that he could look into my eyes to help him remember that I was his. We were bound. I was his mate, and he wouldn’t hurt me, even though his mind changed and he couldn’t think anymore in the same cold and calculating vampire way of his, because of what I did to him. And what he did right back to me. His hands moved over my body faster than I could follow, exciting me before I knew what was happening, so that my whole body was buzzing, and Edward was breathing hard and whispering in my ear, but too quickly for me to hear. I could only pick out the words, “I love you Isabella… You and I forever.”

That was enough, more than enough, for me. I heard Edward growling, as he moved faster. “Edward!” Icy. Cold. Heavy. Hard.

“Edward, I… I…”

Sparks. Flames. Fireworks. His body trembled against mine, his forehead pressed against mine.

“I love you, Edward.”

Days and nights bled into each other. We made love until I was tired. Edward, of course, was never tired. I felt asleep in his cool arms, and I woke up with him pressed against me, naked, waiting, I think. Then it would start all over again, with scarcely a word spoken, until my stomach reminded us both that I was human.

Then Edward would wrap my in the sheets and bring me to the kitchen where he would dazzle me again, with food. He was dedicated to feeding me well. I think he was counting down my meals, and he liked to watch me eat. I could see that. Everything: eggs, omelets, frittatas, French toast, pancakes, steaks, pasta; the list went on, endless, always something different. I felt his eyes on me as I brought the food to my lips, as I licked the fork or licked my lips, in a way that made me wet with desire. It was all he could take to allow me to clean my plate, and then I was back in his arms. Sometimes we didn’t make it back to the bedroom, and he’d place my bottom on the countertop and he’d press himself against me, unwrapping me, smiling fiercely, his eyes on mine. And he’d effortlessly lift my body up and lower me onto to him, very, very carefully. And I’d gaze into Edward’s topaz eyes until my vision blurred and that feeling came over us, leaving us both shuddering and panting in its wake.

Finally, the reality of having a vampire for a mate had become quite clear. What was night? What was day? Did it matter? Did anything matter except Edward’s body and mine, and his whispered words of love, his cool, sweet breath, in my mouth, against my ear, the feel of his tongue, so strong and rough, all over me?

And finally, Edward had let me see him, and begin to understand him. He’d lay so still under me as I traced all of his secret planes with my hands, and my mouth. I’d watch what made him purr, trying not to smile like a fool at my incredible luck. I would get to do this forever. This beautiful, amazing, sexy man, struggling to stay still beneath me, would be mine forever.

When I did this, I knew it was a struggle for Edward. I could see it in every tensed limb and in the set of his jaw. I was grateful that he let me see. And I was overcome, what would it be like when he didn’t hold back?

I would find out. Not soon. I didn’t delude myself into thinking that I would be in any way ready for this right after I was turned. I’d heard about newborns. Would I even want Edward for sex? Would I attack him instead? Would I need him there to restrain me from killing humans? Would he have to bribe me with hunting trips in order to get me to bed? I hoped not. I didn’t know.

But it was something I worried about more and more as the days tumbled by in a sex-fueled haze. I knew this time with Edward was quickly coming to and end, and all of the sudden, I wanted more. I wanted my husband as a husband. Finally, I felt what it was like to really be with Edward. And finally, I felt like I really knew him. And I could see that he was happy, so happy. Why was I pushing this to end? What did turning nineteen years old really mean? I certainly felt better now than I did a year ago. And when I looked in the mirror, even I could see that I was more radiant than I’d been just a month ago. What if I let this birthday pass? Edward was one hundred and five.

*****

Bella and I were lying on the floor in a tangled heap of blankets and sheets, my body curled around hers, my fingers running through her hair. We’d made love on and off for seven days and nights, and it was the most exquisitely beautiful torture I’d ever endured. Every moment next to her naked body was like a moment in heaven, or what I imagined heaven must be like. The loss of my soul meant less lying next to Bella, because if I could have this on earth, what did it matter?

I kissed the back of her neck, and Bella sighed. I hadn’t tired of her in the least; in fact, with each moment I only wanted her more. And with each release my love grew, for only Bella could bring me to this place where I could trust myself, even love myself, and the world around me. If she hadn’t been so persistent, I would never have known this. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer, and taking her earlobe between my lips.

“Hmm,” Bella sighed and wriggled to turn to face me. How was she more beautiful today than she’d been yesterday? Maybe it was the way she held herself now, more relaxed and more confident all at once.

“Hi,” she grinned.

I smiled and pulled her lips to mine. “Why say hello? You haven’t left my side in a week,” I chuckled.

“I don’t know if we’ve really talked in a week, either.”

“That’s not quite true. Do I need to remind you what I was saying to you just twenty minutes ago?” I asked, running my hand along her ribs, holding her waist.

“Then we’d go right back to not talking again, I think,” she giggled, squirming a bit with my touch.

“Maybe that was my goal,” I offered, sliding my hand from her waist to her backside.

Bella pulled herself away from me and sat up. I felt the absence of her touch instantly.

“Please, Edward, I’m being serious.”

“So am I,” I admitted, using all of my strength to keep myself from reaching out to caress Bella’s breasts. She needed to say something. “But I’ll wait. What did you want to talk about?”

Bella reached out and held my hands in hers and my body relaxed with her touch. “I want more,” she said quickly, as if she were trying to get the words out before she lost the nerve.

I laughed gently, “I’m quite sure that’s not humanly possible, Bella. After you’re turned…”

“No, umm, that’s what I mean.”

I had no idea what she meant.

“Edward, when I’m a vampire, I’m not going to want you in the same way.”

I thought about the way I wanted Bella. She could have no idea what she was talking about.

“Bella, just wait. The way I feel for you… just wait. I have nothing to compare it to as a human, but, believe me when I say that being with you is the most exquisite thing I have ever experienced.”

“But, that’s after eighty-eight years. At first, that’s not going to be what I want, is it? I’ve heard all about it. From everyone in your family. More than anything, I’ll want blood.”

“At first. That will pass.”

“When? When will it pass?”

“It’s different for everyone.”

“Years?”

“Bella, I don’t know.” I tried valiantly to stay out of the sex lives of my family members.

“What about Emmett?” she asked. “He had Rosalie right after he was turned.”

I couldn’t imagine Bella’s newborn thirst would resemble Emmett’s and I was loath to make the comparison. I had to grit my teeth in order to steel myself to answer her. “It didn’t take years, but yes, he would have left Rosalie’s side in an instant if the opportunity for a meal arose.”

“For how long, Edward?”

“Emmett is a different creature than you are,” I tried to explain.

Bella shook her head in frustration. “What about Esme?”

“My mother? I don’t know, Bella. I don’t know. Not as long as Emmett. Six months, perhaps.” Talking about my parent’s sex lives while I was sitting on the floor naked with Bella made me suddenly uncomfortable, and I wrapped a sheet snugly around myself.

But Bella surprised me by moving quickly closer and stroking my chest. That hadn’t been where my mind was headed at all. “I’m not done with this yet, Edward. I want more time with you while I’m still human.”

“What?” I was more than shocked. I couldn’t quite comprehend the words in the order that she had chosen to string them together. What had she said?

“What?” I repeated, dumbfounded.

“I want to stay human a little longer.”

I couldn’t move. I’d longed to hear her say those words for so long. I couldn’t think past them. She wanted to stay human for a while longer.

“You’re upset?” Bella asked, clutching my hand tighter.

I forced myself to move. To blink. To focus on Bella, in front of me, naked. “Startled,” I somehow managed to say.

“I want more of this. Much more. I thought maybe if we went to college, then…”

“What?” I asked in a sharp enough voice that Bella jumped. “What?” I repeated, softer this time.

“I thought maybe we could go for a semester. We could have a few more months of… this. Just you and I together. We could get our own place.”

“But you’ve never wanted college,” I reasoned. I was out of my depths. When had everything changed? As I’d become more and more accepting of Bella's transformation, she’d decided to stay human a little longer. Even better, to attend college!

“I’ve always wanted you. And now I have you, and it’s better than I ever thought it could be.”

“You want to go to college?” After all of those admissions packets I’d forced her to fill out against her will. All of those course catalogues I’d left hidden in little places in her room.

“For a semester. Then I could come home and see Charlie for Christmas, for one more Christmas. And then, when I went back to school, well, really we could go to Denali. I’d have a whole semester to figure out what I’d say to him, to Renee. I’d need an excuse about spring break, but we’ll figure that out. I’d just need to find out if it’s too late, because…”

Two sets of emotions hit me suddenly and simultaneously, when I was finally able to process the fact that Bella wanted to remain human and attend college for the next four months. By making this decision, Bella was giving me everything I could ask for and I was elated, relieved, excited, and my body begged for me to start celebrating with my wife. But I was horrified. Bella had to be a vampire before the end of the year; otherwise Emmett and Rose were property of the Volturi. Christmas in Forks, a drive to Denali, three days to change… It left only hours before the end of the year. And what if she wanted another semester?

“Bella, wait!”

“What?”

But I couldn’t tell Bella. But… I had to tell Bella.

Bella looked at me, expectant, glowing, slightly confused.

“Can we?” she asked, breathlessly.

“Of course,” I murmured. I couldn’t take her humanity from her now that she finally wanted to keep it a bit longer.

“Oh, Edward, thank you!” Bella nearly dove at me and threw her arms around my neck. I held her to me tightly, suddenly very scared.

*****

It was the first shower we’d taken apart in a week. I told Bella I wanted to surprise her with dinner. I did want to surprise her; it wasn’t a lie. I’d planned on recreating the meal I’d made her at my parents house our last night together before the wedding. It was a silly little meal, but it held sentimental significance for the both of us. I saw that as the real beginning of our life together.

But I needed to call Alice. Bella wanted to wait until the very end of the year. What about Aro, what about the Volturi? Did they care about the difference between December 31st and January 1st? I needed Alice more than ever.

I dialed her cell and it went straight to voicemail. That wasn’t like Alice at all. I tried again. Voicemail. I tried Jasper. Voicemail. I resisted the impulse to bash the cell against the railing. I felt my anger mounting - irrational but present, nonetheless. I tried the house phone, hoping against hope that I wouldn’t get Carlisle or Esme.

“Hey, Edward!” Emmett answered. “You so bored playing Monopoly on your honeymoon that you’ve gotta call home?”

“Very funny, Emmett,” I sneered. I caught myself, Emmett had done nothing but help Bella and I. I took a deep breath. “Listen, is Alice around?” I asked in a smoother voice.

“Nope. Not even close,” he answered, obliquely.

“She’s not picking up her cell. Neither is Jasper. I need to speak with her, Emmett.”

“Dude, they’re not here. I can’t help you.”

“What do you mean?” My frustration was rising again. Emmett was being anything but helpful.

“Well, uh, you know, Edward. Jasper and Alice were apart for almost a month, and they wanted some time alone. Or maybe you don’t get that, seeing as how you’re on the telephone with your brother on your honeymoon. Do I need to give you a little talk about the birds and the bees?”

I rolled my eyes and reminded myself to make sure Bella wrestled him to the ground when she was finally turned. Which sent me into a tailspin of sorts. What if Emmett wasn’t around when Bella was turned? When exactly would Bella be turned? I needed to speak with Alice.

“Emmett, please, when will Alice be back?”

“I don’t know, maybe another week? Just send her a text. I’m sure she’ll get back to you when her and Jasper come up for air.”

Not good enough, I thought. I sighed, paced, ran my hands through my hair.

“Edward, what is it, man? Is something wrong with Bella?”

“She’s fine,” I admitted miserably.

“Things don’t sound fine.”

“Things are going well, Emmett. Really.” That may have been the biggest understatement of my existence, but I was a gentleman, and I didn’t plan on putting my marriage on display like Rosalie and Emmett had.

“So, that means you generally win when you guys play dominoes?”

“She enjoyed watching your copy of Notorious. Shall I tell Rose?” There was significant silence on the other end of the line and I chuckled.

“Truce?” I asked.

“For now,” Emmett allowed, reluctantly. “Listen, Edward, you called for a reason. What’s wrong? You can tell me. I can’t see the future, but if you’ve got to talk, go ahead.”

I sighed, confused, uncertain whether or not I should worry Emmett if there was a chance that everything was going to be fine.

“You’re sure you don’t know when you’ll see Alice?”

“Edward, dude, what is it? Did you knock up your wife?”

That joke actually hurt. I’d never be able to knock up my wife, and Emmett knew it. Of course, he didn’t know my feelings on the matter. I’d hardly acknowledged them to myself, and I planned on burying that particular longing deep inside. There was no use pining for something I could never have, when everything I’d ever wanted had fallen into my lap.

“Dude, why are you so quiet all of the sudden? I was kidding. I mean Bella’s not pregnant, right? I’d kill that wolf.”

A growl tore through my chest and Emmett was lucky he was several thousand miles away. I stopped myself from crushing the phone for the second time in five minutes.

“Edward?”

“Emmett, Bella wants to go the college,” I blurted out, no longer feeling quite as protective of Emmett’s feelings.

“This is why you need Alice?” Emmett laughed. “Bella spends almost as much time as you do with her nose buried in one book or another. And she sleeps! Dude, of course she’s gonna go to college one day.”

“No, Emmett, she wants to go to college next semester, as a human.”

“Whoa! How’d you get her to change her mind? She’s gonna be another year older than you! I mean, all she was waiting for was… You dog!” Emmett’s laughter carried easily over the phone lines, nearly as loud as it would have been in person.

“I didn’t change her mind, she brought it up to me this morning,” I tried to clarify.

“Like hell you didn’t. I didn’t think you had it in you. You’re playing dirty. It’s the sex, isn’t it? You did it! With a human. I don’t even understand how that’s possible, really. But, HO-LY! What was it like? I mean, how the hell?”

“Emmett, I didn’t use sex. I would never.”

“Like hell you wouldn’t. How bad have you wanted her human?”

“Emmett, you’re missing the point.” Leave it to Emmett to get sidetracked by intercourse. “Bella wants a semester in college. Then she wants to spend Christmas in Forks as a human. That’s December 25th, Emmett. The very end of the year.”

“Oh.” Emmett paused for two entire seconds. I sighed. “I get what you’re saying.”

“It’s why I need to talk to Alice. Bella’s plan is cutting it too close. Even if we leave for Denali on the 26th…”

“Denali?”

“Things are more complicated in Forks: the wolves, her family. Denali’s a better place for her to make the change. Emmett, I have to tell Bella. She doesn’t know what she’s asking by staying human this long. It’s not fair to her, or to you and Rosalie.”

“Wait a second, Edward, just stop. Rose and I knew what we were doing, and you know we can’t tell Bella.”

“She’s my wife, she’s part of this family now. She deserves to know.”

“Don’t you think Carlisle deserves to know?” he challenged.

“You’re right. He does. Bella and I should come home. We have to have a meeting. This has gone on long enough.”

“Edward, no! Number one: no one is here except Rose and I. Carlisle and Esme are still in Brazil somewhere, and Alice and Jasper are frolicking in Ireland, where apparently there’s no cell service to speak of. Number two: Alice has seen that we can’t tell Carlisle yet. If we do, she says everything goes wrong. We lose. I don’t aim to lose when I finally face those bastards. Number three: Rose and I knew what we were doing when we agreed to this. Number four: Even with Bella’s timeline, we’ve got time.”

“It’s too close.”

“Christmas in Forks, then we could get to Denali in about a day.” I thought about Bella’s fear of speed, and then considered that my brother and sister’s lives were on the line.

“Let’s just say thirty-six hours.”

“To Denali?”

“Travel with a human. It complicates things.”

“I don’t know how you put up with that crap. Even so, three days, tops, for transformation. She’ll be vampire before New Years Eve. It will be fine.”

“That’s cutting it dangerously close, and you know it.”

“Rose and I talked about it. We’re going to try to get some information out of Eleazar, to see how we could get away from the Volturi if we did have to go to them, but without telling Eleazar anything, of course. We have some ideas. We won’t be gone forever, we’ll be together again as a family.”

“No. That’s ridiculous and wrong. How could Rose live like that?” I thought about Rosalie who prided herself in never having tasted human blood. Rosalie, who despised being a vampire, living at the heart of vampire culture.

Emmett took a second to respond. “She knew what she was doing, Edward.” But his voice was flatter and noticeably uncertain.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Listen, I don’t know how she’ll deal. But I’d be there to help her.”

“No, I can’t let you do it.”

“We’ll talk to Alice when she gets back. We have plenty of time to prepare. I’ll see what I can find out from Eleazar, just in case. We’ll make this work.”

“Tell me exactly how you and Rose plan on making it work while you’re living with the Volturi.”

“Listen, Edward. You’re getting your wish. Bella’s gonna be a human for a little while longer. She’s going to college. She still plans on changing before the end of the year. And I’m guessing Bella’s a little better than ‘fine’ and things are going a little better than ‘well’ if your wife suddenly wants to spend a little more time in that cute little human body of hers.”

“Emmett, you’re walking a line here you don’t want to cross.”

“Good. Get angry with me because I saw your Bella’s --”

“Emmett!”

“I did it to get your mind off that other crap. Go back to your wife. Stop dwelling on all the possible negatives and enjoy getting everything you’ve ever wanted. Okay?”

“Not when ‘the negative’ involves the lives of my family.”

“I’m about to hang up.”

“Emmett!”

“You’re on your honeymoon. I got your message. I’ve got things covered here. Now get back to your wife.”

“Emmett.”

“Good-bye Edward. Say hi to Bella for me.”

“Emmett, this isn’t over.”

“Bye, Edward. See you when you get back.” And with that the phone went dead.

*****

“Who were you talking to?” Bella asked, sitting next to me on the steps of the deck, overlooking the silver-blue water. After the phone call, I’d gone still and I’d lost track of time. I’d hardly heard Bella as she’d approached.

“Emmett,” I answered flatly.

“Emmett?”

“I called the house. I thought someone should know that our plans have changed.”

“Of course. Now they don’t all have to pack up for Denali right away, I guess.” Bella said, trying to make some sense of my terse replies.

“They’re all gone. Carlisle and Esme are away, and so are Jasper and Alice.”

“Oh. Huh. I guess I thought everyone was just hanging around at the house.”

“Me too. I suppose everyone needed a little vacation after everything that’s happened recently.”

“After the newborns, you mean?”

I nodded. That was certainly part of it. “Your family has done so much for me. And then for me to ask them to go to Alaska to help… Maybe it’s too much,” Bella sighed.

I smiled despite myself. She had no idea how much my family would do. “They’d do much, much more. Bella, you’re one of us. They’d give their lives for you.”

“I’d never ask them to.”

“Then, can I ask you to promise me something?”

“What?” Bella looked suddenly wary. Perhaps she knew something was amiss. We were connected now, more than ever before.

“I’d like a promise,” I asked, holding her hands in mine. The late afternoon sun was sinking lower in the sky, and its golden rays shined around Bella’s darkening silhouette.

“That’s usually my line, Edward,” she said softly, smiling a little and squeezing my hand.

“Would you do something for me, Bella?”

“Anything. You know that.”

“You might decide that you like being human, going to college, being with me. If you find yourself thinking that you need more time after this semester…”

“But I won’t,” Bella interrupted.

“Bella, you’re human. You change your mind. I never thought you’d ask for more time. And now you have. Who’s to say that after a month, you won’t want another year or two?”

“A year or two of this, well, I can’t even imagine it. But no, after the semester’s over, I want to start the rest of our lives together. This is just a small, and very pleasant, stop along the way.”

“Bella, just listen, please. I need you to give me time. Please, if you think you’re going to want more than a semester as a human, please give me time to change things. I need some warning.”

“I surprised you, didn’t I?” Bella asked.

“Yes.” As always, Bella managed to grossly understate her effect on me.

“Are you disappointed?”

“I could never be disappointed to hear that you want to remain human a bit longer.”

Could I be disappointed? Was I disappointed? No. I was concerned about Emmett and Rosalie. If she changed her mind again, then I would do something. And the more advanced notice I had, the better. Until then, I would figure out a way to set things right if Bella was still human on January 1st.

“Edward, it’s just a semester, that’s all I want. I won’t put off my life indefinitely. All I want is you and I, happy, together, forever.

“I… well… I want these memories to hold on to while I’m changing. Rose held on to horrible memories, and Emmett held onto the bear, and Esme, I think she thought of her son. I want to be able to think about this time with you. I want to make so many memories with you, that they fill three days. I want to think about this time, when I got to really know you. And I want you to read to me too, maybe, about all the other stuff. The things I wrote down for you, for the wedding. Maybe the things you wrote down too. I want to hold on to us, more than anything. So I just want a little more of you to take with me. Okay?”

“A semester?”

“Yes.”

“And if you realize you want more time, you’ll tell me immediately?” I asked, with a bit more intensity than I’d planned.

But she shook her head. “I won’t.”

“But if you do?”

“You’ll be the first person I tell,” Bella smiled, kissing me on the cheek.

“We’re really going to college?”

“Not right now. First I think you should take me back to bed,” she said, moving her lips to my mouth.

“No, not a chance,” I corrected, pulling away from her.

“What?”

“I’m making you dinner, and then we’re going out.”

“Out? Why?”

“You’ve hardly seen any of the island, and apparently, we’ll be leaving soon to pack for school.”

“All I want to see is you,” Bella countered, trying to move in for another kiss.

“Bella, there’s been something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time, and I won’t leave this island until it’s done,” I grinned.

“You’re really making me leave the house?”

“I don’t think you’ll regret it.”
- 10
- 11
- 12
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Polar Night