“And so the lion fell in love with the lamb…" he murmured. I looked away, hiding my eyes as I thrilled to the word."What a stupid lamb," I sighed."What a sick, masochistic lion.”

“Do you truly believe that you care more for me than I do for you?" he murmured, leaning closer to me as he spoke, his dark golden eyes piercing.I tried to remember how to exhale. I had to look away before it came back to me."You're doing it again," I muttered.His eyes opened wide with surprise. "What?""Dazzling me," I admitted, trying to concentrate as I looked back at him."Oh." He frowned."It's not your fault," I sighed. "You can't help it.”

“I stopped in the porch and took hold of his face in my hands. I looked fiercely into his eyes. "I love you," I said in a low, intense voice. "I will always love you, no matter what happens now.”

“At least he's alive and well. I love him enough that I want that. I want him to have what's best for him." She sighed. "I just don't want to stick around to watch.”

“Is it really sick for me to be happy right now?" I asked. My voice broke twice.He didn't push me away. He pulled me tight against his ice-hard chest, so tight it was hard to breathe, even with my lungs securely intact. "I know exactly what you mean," he whispered. "But we have lot of reasons to be happy. For one, we're alive.""Yes," I agreed. "That's a good one.""And together," he breathed. His breath was so sweet it made my head swim.”

“Is the fire gone?""Yes," I sighed. "Thank you, Edward.""I love you," he answered."I know," I breathed, so tired.I heard my favorite sound in the world: Edward's quiet laugh, weak with relief.”

“He leaned over to kiss the top of my head, and then groaned. I looked at him, puzzled."You smell so good in the rain," he explained."In a good way, or in a bad way?" I asked cautiously.He sighed. "Both, always both.”