“Does this mean that you’re going to stop giving me such a hard time about him?” I tilted my head up and laid a gentle kiss on his chin, working my way to his lips.

“It means I’m going to try really hard not to let it bother me,” he conceded as he pressed his lips harder against mine. “Let’s go for a walk,” he murmured.

I knew where this particular path led. We’d been to our meadow enough times that I could have walked it with my eyes closed, yet it always seemed new and exciting as long as I was holding Edward’s hand. The moonlight glittered down through the thick canopy of tress, glistening on him from time to time revealing him as the god-like being that he was. It embarrassed me that something as simple as just staring at him was enough to bring my body to life and turn me into that sappy, naive seventeen year old girl that I used to be.

I opened my mind to him letting him fully experience what I was feeling first hand. I tried to be fair in that regard because I had a terrible time controlling Aro’s acquired power when I was physically touching Edward. He didn’t seem to think it was fair that I could know his every thought, when he needed to rely on me to let him into mine. I was getting better at restraining the new power, but sometimes, especially when we were intimate and I was distracted, I’d lose control and would have access to all his thoughts. You think you really want to know every single notion that plays through someone’s head? Trust me, you don’t. No matter how much you love one another, there are times when less than stellar thoughts circulate through your mind.

“Really?” He grinned at me. “I still make you feel the way I did the first time we met?”

“Yes. Not like you’re not entirely aware of the effect you have on me.” If I could have blushed, believe me I’d be scarlet right then.

He chuckled. “Never doubt how very much you affect me, love.” He brushed his soft lips against my temple and continued walking. “Thank you for letting me into that mysterious mind of yours. You weren’t reading mine, I would have felt it, so why?”