Midnight sun (sequel)

COMPLICATIONS

It was well after midnight when I found myself slipping through Bella's window. This was becoming a habit that, in the light of day, I knew I should attempt to curb. But after nighttime fell and I had hunted-for though these visits might be irresponsible, I was determined they not be reckless-all of my resolve quickly faded.

There she lay, the sheet and blanket coiled around her restless body, her feet bound up outside the covers. I inhaled deeply through my nose, welcoming the searing pain that coursed down my throat. As always, Bella's bedroom was warm and humid and saturated with her scent. Venom flowed into my mouth and my muscles tensed in readiness. But for what? Could I ever train my body to give up this devilish reaction to my beloved's smell? I feared not

Cautiously, I held my breath and moved to her bedside. I untangled the bedclothes and
spread them carefully over her again. She twitched suddenly, her legs scissoring as she rolled to her other side. I froze.

"Edward," she breathed. "Please."

The thrill of hearing her call my name had not diminished. If only I could know what she wished of me. I would do almost anything to give her what she wanted.

My fingers burned at the memory of touching her skin. The sensation flashed up my arm
and across my chest, causing me to inhale sharply. The breath carried the electric burn through my midsection and lower, spreading downward in a rush.

Aaahhh...the pain, the pleasure...a confusing mixture. Hastily, I retreated to the corner rocking chair to calm myself. A new level of urgency had been unleashed in my body. The electrical charge between Bella and myself continued to awaken my dormant human side.

Our plans for Saturday began to seem more and more reckless as I measured my growing desires against Alice's visions. How selfish would I prove to be when I had Bella alone, with no witnesses to curb my appetites? It was a mistake, a huge mistake, even to consider pursuing this path-it was taunting the monster.

Bella's breath quickened and she spoke, "I'm okay...miss you." The endless rain drummed on the roof. Neither of us was at peace tonight.

As usual, the hours passed like minutes as I sat, fascinated, watching her eyelids flutter,
her hands twitch, her feet kick. I heard my name several times, but the context was unclear. Once she softly said, "Perfect," and I longed to know her dream.

As dawn approached, Bella seemed to relax and settle. I tread silently to her bedside, tidied her covers, then carefully...so carefully...pulled a wayward lock of hair away from her eyes and smoothed it behind her ear. Resisting the urge to stroke her creamy white cheek, I thrust my restless hands into the pockets of my trousers and stepped back.

Recalling an earlier curiosity, I knelt on the floor and examined the stack of books lying
near her bed. Bronte's Wuthering Heights, a trio of Shakespeare's plays, the compendium of Jane Austen novels which had frustrated her that afternoon outside, a book of Flannery O'Connor short stories, and Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. I recognized several titles from the junior's English reading list, but noted the others she had collected. She seemed to prefer classic authors closer to my era than her own. I shuffled through a stack of CDs sitting on her bedside table, smiling to learn we had musical, as well as literary, preferences in common.

When the sun pushed its way up near the horizon, I reluctantly left through the window and raced home to change clothes for school. I longed for a day, an impossible day, when I never would be compelled to leave her side.

After changing and retrieving my car, I drove aimlessly around Forks as I awaited Charlie's departure and the appointed time to meet Bella for the drive to school. I felt drained,
but oddly lighter, by the outpouring of secrets I had divulged yesterday. It was time to turn the focus away from me and back onto Bella. I began enumerating questions in my head. It seemed impossible to discover all there was to know about another person without the benefit of mind reading. How did unendowed souls ever accomplish it? There weren't enough hours in a day to
ask everything that I wanted to know.