Chapter 30

The next

morning , Alessandra and

Edward said their farewells to Alessandra's mother and father, with

the promise that both parents would travel to Edward's estate in

the coming months.

Once on their journey,

Edward and Alessandra both started to think about the night ahead,

staying in the same inn once again. Edward found himself fuelled at

the thought, but now also worried about her being pregnant. He was

desperate to not do anything that might harm her or the life

growing inside of her.

After greetings at the

inn, they calmly followed the innkeeper up to their room, and

immediately closed the door behind them. Once there, Edward found

his desire to maintain control was forcefully counteracted by his

wife wrapping her arms around him and kissing him

passionately.

Alessandra heard him

groan deeply, but then felt him pull away from her.

"What is it?" she asked him and

could see conflict on his face.

"Are we going to hurt the

baby?" Edward asked shyly.

Alessandra smiled broadly

at him and pulled him closer to her again.

"No, the doctor said that

everything will be fine for months yet," Alessandra said. When

Edward didn't say anything, she continued. "Edward, all is well. My

body is hardly changed at all yet."

She leaned in to kiss him

tentatively, to feel her way and make sure she wasn't pressuring

him. Slowly he melted against her, having missed her warmth so much

in previous nights.

~~~~~

Lying in bed, still connected

to his wife, Edward relaxed after the vigour of their lovemaking.

He relished the feeling of being so close to her, lying on top of

her as he rested inside her. As she kissed him all over his face

and stroked his hair, he felt at rest.

"I love you so much," he

whispered to her, wondering how he was going to get through months

without such intimacy if she carried the child to full term.

Alessandra kissed him

deeply, perceiving that he was still concerned for her.

"I love you too, Edward,"

she said. "Please stop worrying. You and I both know that babies do

not always survive through to birth, or after birth. I do not want

that thought to stop us from enjoying our love for one

another."

Edward said nothing in reply,

instead quietly moving beside her, cuddling into her further, and

holding her tighter.