Seismic Shift Chapter 29

And just like that we were trapped in our own little infinity,

caught up in each other's smiles,

spinning round and round.

Shaming the stars with our own bright light.

~Kayil York

BPOV

Waking up in the city of Manaus was a little bit like a dream. I thought at first I was still asleep, with the gorgeous profile of Edward's strong jaw and high cheekbones as he sat in the driver's seat next to me. Beyond him was the descending sun, causing a glow to emanate from his face. Before I'd fallen asleep, there had been jungle; miles and miles of jungle, and waterfalls from breathtaking heights. But eventually the exhaustion from long days and the skill practice dragged me under, and I slept soundly.

"Did you sleep well?" Edward asked from beside me, and my eyes flew to his. He was staring straight ahead at the road in front of us, the throngs of people on the sidewalks, and not at me.

"How did you even know?" I laughed, shifting to a more comfortable position.

The side of his mouth curved up. "The cadence of your heartbeat changes when you sleep versus when you are awake."

"I did sleep well, pretty soundly, in fact." I looked around some more. "We're close?"

"Just a bit down this street to the water, and our hotel is there."

I made a humming noise and bit my lip. It had been about a week since we'd been alone enough to have sex. Everyone wanted to plan the trip to the Amazonian coven down to the last second, and I learned that planning for every last contingency was pretty much a vampire trait. They needed to worry about every little thing that could go wrong, and their brains came up with scenarios that were a little far-fetched for me. The number one concern remained the Volturi; though I admitted that I didn't want to come face to face with them in the least. I had also learned that I had more powers than I'd ever known, and so maybe I didn't need to be scared after all.

But all the planning had left me alone at night until I was asleep, and though I felt it when Edward joined me to hold me and sing to me, it was too late for me to be interested in anything other than cuddling up and going back to sleep. I missed connecting with him, and this would be the perfect way to wind down and be together.

He pulled up in front of a low white building with a red roof, and beyond the entrance it looked like it spread far to each side. There was enough shade at the front that Edward was safe to get out, and the sun was slipping closer to the horizon as we walked into the expansive lobby. I could see a pool glittering through the large open doors on the far side of the room, lush green palms and white archways completing a picturesque view. I stood to the side while Edward spoke to the concierge. He seemed to have a lot of instructions for the poor guy, but he turned on the charm and soon had the man smiling and nodding. It probably didn't hurt that Edward palmed the man some cash.

It wasn't long before we headed to the elevators and took them to the top floor, of which there were only five. Our room had warm wood floors and creamy yellow walls, with birds of paradise covering the repeating pattern on the bedspread and curtains. When I walked to the open double doors, I was thrilled to discover a balcony with a private hot tub in the corner.

I felt Edward's warm hands come to rest on my shoulders, and he massaged my muscles as he kissed the top of my head. "Are the accommodations acceptable, madame?"

I giggled as he ran his fingers down my arm to pick my hand up and kiss the knuckles. "Better than I imagined," I admitted. I turned in his embrace and wrapped my arms around him, looking up at his sculpted face.

"Fantastic view," he murmured as he pressed his lips to mine.

I sighed into the kiss, relaxing my entire body against his and feeling every inch of the hard muscles I could reach. In contrast, his touch was soft, barely ghosting across my lips. I strained for more, but he backed off and held me inches from him.

"I made dinner reservations. You'll find an array of appropriate outfits hanging on a clothing rack in the bathroom."

Raising one eyebrow at him, I backed up with a smile and turned to make my way into the bathroom. It was bigger than what I expected out of a hotel bathroom, but it was the dresses that caught my attention. They were lined up on a rolling rack, and as I looked through them, I saw accessories hanging with each of them in plastic pouches. I wondered who in the world he paid to have all these sent up before we arrived.

I decided to take a shower before worrying too much about what I wanted to wear. I took my time, shaving everything and washing my hair twice. When I stepped out, I found a fragrant lotion on the counter and slathered it on, then searched for a hairdryer. I only bothered to dry my hair part of the way, since it was so frizzy in this climate and I wasn't yet sure how I was wearing it anyway. I flipped the hangers along the rack again until I decided on a sleeveless black dress with sheer detailing in the front that dipped pretty low. I dug through the bag Edward had left in the bathroom when we arrived to find my makeup and underwear, and started the process of getting ready for a date.

Edward hadn't specified what time our reservation was, but I still felt like I shouldn't linger. I only bothered with a little natural looking makeup and left my hair down to curl crazily around my face. The dress fit me like a glove, which didn't surprise me, and the accessories were two black cuff bracelets, which I placed on each arm. I slipped into the ridiculous heels and thanked God I had a sturdy vampire that would never let me fall as I teetered just a bit, stepping over the threshold from the bathroom into our room.

The sight I was met with stole my breath away. Edward was facing away from me, the last of the day's sun shining down on him like it was showcasing a Norse god. His bronze hair shone like a newly minted penny in the rays, and his skin sparkled, throwing fractals against the walls behind him. His suit was charcoal grey, his hands in his pockets, and he turned as I walked fully into the room.

His eyes said everything in that moment, as he looked me up and down before his gaze lingered on my face. He broke out into a heart-stopping smile as he came toward me. "You are exquisite, my Bella."

His shirt was open at the collar where a tie would have been, and I placed one hand there as he approached to brace myself as I raised up on my toes to kiss him. "You don't look so bad yourself."

He ushered me out of the room and subsequently out of the hotel, where he had a car and driver waiting for us. We settled next to each other, and I looked past him out the window at the colorful buildings. All of the streetlights were on now. "It is the best time of night for us," he whispered to me.

"The soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, caused by the refraction and scattering of the sun's rays from the atmosphere," I said. The time of the day when it was safest for a vampire to walk among humans.

Edward merely squeezed my fingers and watched me as I looked at the scenery out the window.

The restaurant was nice, but I wouldn't be able to remember a single detail about it later, when the story was re-told countless times for countless friends and family. I would instead memorize the romantic words Edward said to me as we sat as close as we could without being inappropriate in public. I would remember the scent of his cologne, the rapid beating of my heart in my throat, and the tingling feeling spreading through my limbs as what he said sank in.

"The first time I heard my name from your mouth, the ground felt like a language I had never learned. I forgot everything I knew about gravity." He spoke close to my ear, sending shivers up and down my spine. "You make me more. More alive, more aware, more passionate. I desire to watch you talk just to see your lips move, to be around you regardless of what mundane task you are completing." Now he pulled back to look into my eyes. The world had narrowed down to this man, and this moment; the candlelight reflecting in his ocher eyes, the feel of his hand on my thigh, and the sexy man sitting so close to me his body heat was about to collide with mine and consume me.

"Edward," I sighed. I was melting with his words. "I feel like everything in my life has led me to you. Being here seems to prove it all the more; my choices, my mistakes and regrets, the circumstances around losing my parents and coming to the reservation to live. Everything. I know that my past is worth it, because if I had done one thing differently, I might never have met you."

"You have me. Until every last star in the galaxy dies. You have me." I felt his hand in mine, but I was so focused on his face that I almost missed it. There was a cold piece of metal in my palm, and I blinked and looked down.

"Bella, I laugh harder with you. I feel more myself with you. I trust you with me—the real me. When something goes wrong, or right, or I hear something funny, or I see something bizarre; a million tiny things each day, you are the first person I want to talk to about it. Please do me the extraordinary honor of being my wife, so that I will have a millenia in which to share everything with you."

I was suffocating. My mouth opened, but nothing happened. Edward frowned, and I gasped in a breath. "Yes!" I shouted on that tiny breath of air, and the diners nearest to us turned to stare. I threw my arms around Edward, and he eased me back enough to take the ring and place it on my finger, followed by a kiss to the top of it. There was a smattering of applause and even a few cheers from those that were seated nearby.

"My feelings for you transcend love, Bella. I do not think I even have the sufficient words. You are everything to me, absolutely everything. You have my eternal gratitude and devotion."

"I love you, Edward," I whispered as tears leaked from the corners of my eyes. "Forever," I whispered in his ear.

Edward accepted the champagne that was brought to us in congratulations, and even pretended to drink some after the waiter popped off the top and poured us some. I was already feeling buzzed and excited without the addition of the effervescent drink, but it still somehow added to my heightened emotions. I kissed Edward over and over again, heedless of the other patrons, until he finally took my hand and led me from the restaurant, back to the waiting car. I shamelessly ran my hands over every inch of Edward, eliciting a growl and a warning of what might happen if I didn't quit. It didn't make me stop, and he proved to me that his warning was quite deliciously serious.

We were already disheveled when we reached the hotel again, so I smoothed Edward's shirt as he ran his hand over my hair. I ran my finger under my eyes and around my lips to catch any stray makeup as we headed to the elevators. I behaved myself as we ascended with other people in the car, and we walked hand in hand down the hall to our room.

The moment the door clicked closed, Edward had me pushed against it, his hand snaking up my thigh and under my dress. He pressed his lips to the sheer fabric at my breasts and then licked, making me moan. I gripped his hair and pulled hard, enjoying the way my knuckles strained. He pulled my legs around his waist and walked us from the door to the bed, laying me out reverently for all the heat and urgency we'd been displaying.

"For the rest of time, I will never stop worshipping you," he breathed into my heated skin, looking up at me from where he was pulling the hem of my dress up. "You will never doubt for one fraction of a second how much I love and adore you."

I arched into him as he kissed my stomach and then helped him remove my dress. He stood at the foot of the bed and took off his jacket, shirt, pants, and shoes. Edward lowered himself on top of me, kissing my collarbones, my shoulders, my neck, as I cried out and gripped his back, sliding my hands down to his ass. I pushed at his underwear, shoving and panting until he helped me remove them. When his fingers slipped into my panties, it was obvious I was more than ready for him. I bit his shoulder as he slid his fingers around and inside me, and he didn't even bother to take off my panties before he buried himself in me.

"Fuck, Edward," I whimpered in his ear, holding him closely as he pushed in deeper, moving slowly and purposefully. Our bodies rocked together, his rubbing and pressing on my clit to encourage me to come, and mine trembling and quaking under the onslaught of desire.

Time and patience were not on the agenda, and I came silently, my head pressed into the pillow as I clenched around Edward's cock. It stole my breath with its intensity, and when I could finally breathe again, he was pulsing inside me.

I stroked my hands down his back, for once wishing he felt cold to me. I was burning up. "Let's go to the pool," I muttered.

"The pool?" he asked, picking his head up. "I believe it is closed this time of night."

"Good."

We took a surreptitious route, Edward's speed and stealth coming in handy, and I had to hold my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. The water was cool, just what I needed, and the sky was dark and filled with stars. There were only a few lights on, helping to hide us further. I clung to Edward as he navigated the deep end. Surrounding the pool was what looked like a natural river running through a wide concrete trough, and the white arches I'd seen from the lobby.

I couldn't stop staring at my ring in the moonlight; it was a round diamond, with teardrops on each side and surrounded by rows of small diamonds. It looked like it had been around as long as Edward himself. Eventually I asked him to take us back to our room.

There was a hot tub waiting to be defiled.