Seismic Shift Chapter 8

I'd give up forever to touch you

‘Cause I know that you feel me somehow

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be

And I don't want to go home right now

All I can taste is this moment

And all I can breathe is your life

Sooner or later it's over

I just don't wanna miss you tonight

~ Goo Goo Dolls, Iris

Despite the joy of seeing extended family, the tension in my muscles wouldn't abate. I said goodbye to loved ones, dutifully cleaned up the yard and house. I made a show of showering and putting on pajamas, making an appearance in the living room so my parents would understand I was headed to bed. Seth had gone to Jake’s for the night and Leah was in her room, sulking over the way Sam had acted. He clung to Emily as she and June tried to get in the car, and it took Alex to pry him off so they could leave.

When the moon was high in the sky and glowing with a full face, I snuck out my window in my blue and pink floral sleep shorts and the matching pink tank top. The humidity was at an alltime high; it was only a matter of hours before the sky let loose with its tantrum. I’d spent hours pondering my conversation with Edward and trying to arrive at any conclusion that satisfied the both of us. There was nothing that didn’t cause problems for the werewolves and vampires, or for Edward and I.

I felt sticky before I’d made it very far into the forest, walking for a change instead of running. The air smelled as thick as it felt; heavy with moss and the scent of dampness. The purple and white wildflowers that grew abundantly in this particular area were bent over, anticipating the rain that would slake their never ending thirst. The space that we considered our meadow was a near perfect circle, as though somewhere along the line someone had ripped trees out along the perimeter to create the ultimate lover’s hideaway. The constant canopy of leaves was broken here, and I could stare up at the multitude of stars and the full, white moon. She called to me, as always, beckoned me to forget myself and my troubles and turn into something wild and almost uncontrolled, if only for a few minutes.

It was tempting, so tempting, but I waited for something more than my wild inner beast. I waited for my love, the object of my imprinting. I’d done the research after Edward brought it up, and he was right. We were bound as mates, as imprints, and the only thing that could keep us happy and fulfilled was to be in close proximity. The alternative would leave us miserable and lonely.

I smelled him at the same instant that my spine buzzed with recognition, and he appeared in front of me a quarter of a second later. He never bothered to hide from me the speed he could conjure up without even pushing himself. I reminded myself to challenge him to a race one day.

Each of my senses went on full alert as I moved to him, as I melded my body to his and accepted his greeting kiss. And if that kiss kept going, his mouth slowly and sweetly dominating mine, neither of us was going to complain.

“It feels like days have passed instead of hours,” I mumbled against his soft, tempting lips.

Edward pulled slightly away, and I noticed the blanket he’d brought with him. My stomach trembled as my brain caught up to the place that he was already at. “I have felt your absence as a pulsing bruise, Bella-mine. I have waited endlessly for you to return to me.”

I’d found the definition of swooning, if the way I felt was any indication. “I want to stay here with you tonight,” I whispered, positive that he was feeling the same yearning that I was.

“I was prepared to beg you to be with me, here in our precious meadow, but you honor me by offering instead.”

“I love the way you speak, like you’re still in the era of chaperoned walks and lemonade on the front porch. It’s romantic and gentlemanly.” I pulled him to sit with me on the blanket he’d spread out, and wrapped my arms and legs around him. My head rested where his heart should have beat, if it had not been long silent in his chest of stone.

“Are you cold?” he asked at my shiver, his arms automatically tightening around me.

“No,” I breathed. Turned on, but not cold. “You set me on fire,” I admitted hoarsely.

I felt his tongue snake out to touch the skin of my neck, and my head fell to the side to allow him better access. My breath was coming rapidly, burning up and down my throat, heaving my chest against his. My nipples scraped the fabric of my thin shirt as Edward crushed me tighter to him, moving his mouth to leave wet kisses down the long column of my throat. He returned to my mouth, a long, languid kiss that pulled the coil at my center so tight I feared it would snap.

There was something erotic in the way he breathed loudly in my ear, because I knew he didn’t need the oxygen, but instead was just as affected by me as I was by him. There was no denying where we were taking this tonight, and the anticipation hummed along my skin, promising so much more to come. I memorized the intoxicating scent emanating from his diamond skin; the luminescence of the moonlight playing over his shoulders as I pulled off the henley he’d been wearing. The velvet feel of his flesh became indelible in my mind, stored next to the way his fingers felt brushing along my overly sensitive back. It tickled and enticed, his fingertips tracing the planes and dips of my muscles.

When Edward tugged on the bottom of my shirt, I only encouraged him. When he curled his hands around the backs of my shoulders and brought my eager flesh to his mouth, I cried out into the hushed night air. That perfect mouth closed over my breast and I came undone, the moan erupting from within me wanton enough to startle myself. He chuckled against my skin, then groaned loudly when I palmed the crotch of his pants.

“Not so funny now, is it?” I taunted, my breath coming out on a pant.

“Christ, not at all. Bella, you have to tell me if I become too rough.”

This man, this man right here, I would give up everything for. Concerned only for me, always for me and my well-being. “I love you, Edward. In case I’ve never made that perfectly clear.”

His eyes glowed as they met mine, feral and possessive. “I love you more than my own life. I have waited what feels like a lifetime to find you.”

He punctuated his declaration with another kiss, his delicate fingers moving to the waistband of my shorts. I had to move off his lap so he could slip them off, and I insisted he remove his as well. I stretched out on my side in nothing but my underwear to watch my vampire strip, unwilling to miss one second of him revealing his perfectly sculpted body.

There had been nothing in my upbringing to prepare me for the beautiful sight of Edward completely naked and standing in front of me. Unabashed, he stood for several long seconds as my eyes perused him from top to bottom. His hair shone in the light from the moon, his face breathtaking in its archangel glory. Broad chest defined by bands of muscle long perfected by his vampiric nature, running down over abs that reminded me of the statue of David.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t stare blatantly at what God himself must have gifted him; the long, proud cock that stood hard and strong like the man.

I caught his smirk as he lowered to rest beside me. He would be my strongest weakness; indeed, I had already succumbed to his charm. His hands brushed my hair over my shoulder, and he didn’t stare at my near nakedness, but he touched and stroked every inch of my body, reverently as a priest worshipping at temple. Love and desire surged through me, and I reached down to remove that last barrier between us.

Edward loomed over me, tenderness written all over his face as he cradled my overheated body in his arms. We were crossing a line tonight, and I prayed that we both came away unscathed.