A light wind gently blew as Edward very gently pulled me closer to him. I tucked my face into the crevice of his strong neck and breathed in his sweet smell. My knees went weak, and he chuckled a little, probably at the sound of my heart speeding up. I nuzzled him a little, then looked up into his eyes and smiled. His crooked smile beckoned me in, and I leaned in to kiss his perfect marble lips. I could feel his arms wrap around me some more, and he picked me up into his embrace ever so carefully, as though I was a china doll that could break under the slightest pressure, and to him, I was. But I couldn't form any more thoughts at that moment, as I was, once again, swept away by Edward's magnificence. Our embrace ended quickly, too quickly for me, but Edward slowly lowered me back to the ground, his hands gently caressing my cheeks, and he kissed my forehead.

"Mmm…" I sighed softly, as his cold lips brushed against my skin. I didn't want this moment to end. Edward's statuesque hands dropped from my cheeks down to my neck, sending shivers through my spine. Edward smiled for a moment at me, then gave me a exasperated look.

"Bella," he sighed, but still chuckling softly, "would you please let me take you home now? You're shivering, and I don't have a coat to give you." He frowned slightly, breaking his gaze from me and looking at the night sky. "That's what I get for listening to the weatherman, I suppose," he grumbled. "Clear, warm night with slight southern breeze, perfect for stargazing," he imitated the 6:00 newscaster.

I laughed quietly at his frustration, "It's only May," I reminded him, "and Alice will be back soon enough so you won't have to check with the weatherman anymore.

Edward grinned, "How do humans put up with that everyday?" He playfully mocked me, fluffing my hair a little bit. He glanced down at his watch, "Charlie's going to want you home soon, anyways," he observed.

I glanced at his watch. "We have a half hour," I retorted, "besides, I'm not cold, really!" Truthfully, I was wishing that I'd grabbed a light jacket before Edward took me for a nighttime picnic and stargazing in our special clearing in the woods. I glanced around at our surroundings. Everything was absolutely perfect; a red checkered blanket, a weaved basket with delicious chocolate covered strawberries, and nothing but the light from the moon and the stars. Even more perfect was my vampire, my Edward, the love of my existence. His radiant white skin shined in the moonlight and his strong, sculpted body, in its absolute perfection, moved fluidly through the dark.

Unfortunately for me, the temperature, which had been fluctuating around 80 degrees before, had dropped over the past hour, to a more seasonable temperature for Forks. But I didn't want to leave. It had been a wonderful, perfect night with Edward, and the thought of it ending made me sad.

Edward, although he couldn't read my mind, saw right through my lie. "Bella, we have all summer. I can see you shivering." He tugged lightly, "come love, let me take you home-"

I interrupted his plea with another kiss, the kind that he didn't allow very much because it fogged his will power and his ability to refrain from killing me. But I didn't care; I wanted to show him, at that exact moment, just how much I loved him. My right hand twisted around in his soft golden locks and my left arm fell down from around his neck and crept under his white cotton shirt, feeling the crevices and lines of his body. My lips crashed into his, molding around the strong, chilling, yet ever so soft lips of a vampire.

He kissed back fiercely, and our mouths synchronized almost immediately. I pulled my body closer to his, forgetting the chilly temperature of the air and his even colder body. I wanted to be closer to him, to connect to him in a way that had already been deemed impossible, by his standards. I linked my arms around his broad shoulders and kissed him back, full of force. His lips responded, then moved down my jaw line to my neck. I expected him to jump back then, as he always did when I was able to sneak this passionate embrace into our relationship. But instead, he did something he'd never done before. He kissed my neck and he kept going. I'd never felt this pleasure before, and he crooned in my ear and playfully moved lower down my neck. My legs turned into gelatin and I grasped his neck so I wouldn't collapse.

"Oh, Edward," I moaned quietly, coaxing him on. He looked up at me with his loving golden eyes, and then leaned his forehead against mine.

"Bella," he sighed, "I'm sorry, please don't-" I watched him as he struggled to find the words, something I was not accustomed to as he was the most well-spoken person I knew.

"What is it?" I whispered back, not opening my eyes yet, fighting to keep this moment going forever.

"Bella you know we can't." He stroked my arms gently as they still remained connected around his neck. "I can't, I mean," he paused, "you know the reasons, and you know the danger you would be putting yourself in, that I would be putting you in. I just cannot allow that to happen." I silently nodded, fighting back the emotions that were rushing towards my tear ducts.

"But," he whispered into my ear

I glanced up at him in shock. "But what?" I demanded, never expecting him to counter what he had just said.

"Oh, Bella, don't you see what you do to me?" He wrapped his arms around my waist once more, "it kills me to not give you what you want, because you deserve everything you've ever wished for."

I looked up at him, slightly confused, what was he saying? Edward smiled at my perplexed expression then slightly placed his hand on the edge of my chin and angled my head so he could place another glorious kiss on my lips. "I'm tired of this, too," he whispered, getting words in as our lips parted and connected. "I never imagined I'd be in this situation, feeling this way about a human, needing to be with a human, the way I need to be with you."

I nodded at him. "And I never dreamed that all I'd ever want is to be with a vampire." We both laughed at our dilemma for a moment, and then Edward became very serious again.

"Bella, love, I understand you not wanting to get married right away. I understand that you are only 18 and the idea sounds a little crazy. I want to respect your wish, then, to wait to be married." He said slowly, as though he'd given a lot of thought as to how he was going to say this. He then stared into my eyes, waiting for me to process what I had just heard.

I was still confused, though. "Edward," I began, "where is this coming from? I thought we had decided to go through with it. You do know how much I want to be married to you. I want to be with you forever-" Edward cut me off mid-sentence.

"You're misunderstanding me, love," he comforted, "I do know all of those things. But what I'm trying to say is, we don't need a timeline anymore, now do we?" He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, and his hand brushed against my cheek.

"So this means…" My mouth spat out. In my head, my thoughts were whirling around, and I was trying immensely hard to slow down the beating of my heart, which was now racing with anticipation.

Edward answered my question without words by pulling me up into another powerful embrace. But this time, my legs quickly straddled his torso and his one hand held my body close to his, while his other hand quickly began exploring all other parts. He broke apart and I gasped for air, although I was sure at that moment I no longer needed oxygen. Edward was my oxygen.

He gave me a crooked grin and raised an eyebrow. I simply nodded and threw myself back into his lips. I could feel him smile and he laid me gently on the blanket. His arms supported his body over mine so that I could feel him lying on top of me without him crushing me.

His kisses became slow and soft, but full of passion. I was glad, I wanted to take things slowly and do everything right. It would be a first for both of us. I tugged at his shirt first, and he grinned at me as he sat up to remove the rest of it. My breathing stopped at I traced his perfect abs with my eyes. He then removed my shirt and my heart melted as I watched him look at me the same way I'd looked at him. The rest of our clothes slowly came off and Edward began kissing me again, this time, his kisses exploring other regions of my body that he'd not yet conquested.

I positioned my legs around his again and would have screamed had my breath not escaped me again, as he slowly penetrated inside me. It was a sensation I'd never expected, even in my wildest dreams. His smooth, hard coolness caressed me perfectly from inside and my labored breathing soon evened out so I could let a soft moan escape. Our bodies grew more and more tangled, yet fit together so perfectly it was as though we were one person.

It was the best night of my existence.