Title: Worth the Wait

Summary: He was her best friend's brother, sixteen years their senior and hot as sin. But Bella didn't look at Carlisle that way. He was so far out of her league. But it only takes a kiss to change everything.

Pairing: Bella/Carlisle

Rating: M

Word count: 11641

~Senior Year~

"Come on, Bella. Frat boys aren't that bad."

Bella shook her head, laughing at Alice who sat on Jasper's lap. Why she had to be on top of him almost all the time, Bella would never understand. "I think you're biased."

Jasper arched a challenging eyebrow. "What, you think I turn into an obnoxious, sex-crazed ape when I'm around my brothers, or whatever stereotype you've got going in your head?"

"You are a sex-crazed ape, but I like it." Alice pressed a quick smack to the side of his hair.

"Hey."

Bella laughed. "I've never seen you detached from Alice, so who knows what you're like when you're not being supervised."

A knock at the door interrupted their bantering. Bella got up and went to the door. She was still grinning when she opened it, and her grin only widened when she saw who it was. "Carlisle, you're back," she said, throwing her arms around the man for a hug. "I didn't know you were coming."

His chuckle was low and warm near her ear as he hugged her back. "You make it sound like I've been away for a month." He let her go and looked over her shoulder when he heard Alice's laughter. "I'm sorry. I'm interrupting something."

"Never." Bella took his hand and led him into the living room of the apartment. "I can finally introduce you to Alice and Jasper. Remember I told you about them?" She sat in the arm chair across from Alice and Jasper on the sofa. Carlisle came to stand behind her, leaning against the back of the chair.

"Sure. Alice and Jasper. Both already entrepreneurs. Her, custom-made jewelry popular on Etsy and at craft fairs on campus, which is where you all met. Him, photography. You did your first wedding at seventeen." He squeezed her shoulders. "All of which makes Bella feel self-conscious because she's had to resort to the old fashioned way of making money: working for someone else."

"Hey." Bella laughed at the look on Alice and Jasper's faces. "Guys, this is Carlisle, Edward's brother." She craned her head back. "Edward's not here right now."

"I know," he said, his head tilted down to look at her. They were almost nose to nose. He brought his arm up and dropped a bag onto her lap. "I came here to see you. I found this on my trip."

Bella sat up with a squeak of pleasure as she hurried to get into the bag. As she'd expected, there was a book in there. "Severed: A History of Heads Lost and Heads Found," she read aloud, getting more excited by the second. "It's a history of beheading?"

"That's the idea," Carlisle said, his beautiful smile beaming as he looked down at her.

Bella reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing his head down so she could kiss his cheek. "I don't know why you're so good to me."

"Uh. Beheadings? Severed heads?" Alice looked more than a little horrified. "What the hell is going on? If you're a serial killer, I think it's only polite for you to let us know before you end up wearing our skins like a jacket."

"I wouldn't worry too much," Bella said with an air of nonchalance as she flipped through her new book. "You're too small to be anyone's jacket." She peered at them over the top of her book, letting her eyes roam over Alice's boyfriend. "Jasper, on the other hand…"

"Don't kill my boyfriend, or I'll be forced to kill you slowly." Alice shook her head. "Seriously. The book?"

It was Carlisle who answered for her. "You haven't seen Bella's collection of macabre books?" He pointed to a corner of the living room.

Alice wrinkled her nose. And Jasper snickered. He ruffled his girlfriend's hair. "Alice tries to ignore design disasters. If she looks at that shelf for more than five seconds, I get to hear about it all the way home."

In all fairness, the jet black shelf with its weird books and even weirder decorations did look out of place in the otherwise bland apartment. Alice hopped off Jasper's lap and went to peruse the shelves. She whistled. "There is some seriously weird shit in here, girlfriend."

"Death and the Afterlife: A Chronological Journey from Creation to Quantum Resurrection." Jasper made a face at the book. "What the fuck is Quantum Resurrection?"

An hour later, Bella's bookshelf had been well and thoroughly dissected—not unlike some of the subjects of said books. "I have to get going. I have court in the morning and a lot to prepare before then." Carlisle leaned down to kiss Bella's cheek. "Tell my brother I'm sorry I missed him, okay?" He looked to Alice and Jasper. "Nice to meet you."

Bella followed him to the door. She lingered a moment, watching him retreat down the steps before she turned back to her apartment. She gave a little yelp when she found Alice leaning against the wall right behind her. "Alice, what the hell?"

"That was Edward's big brother?"

Narrowing her eyes at her friend's tone, Bella pushed past her to go back into the living room. "What about him?"

"I thought he was a geezer."

Bella rolled her eyes. "No one ever said that. He was sixteen when Edward was born."

"Thirty-seven." Alice tapped her lips. "He looks younger. And he's hot as sin."

"What?" Bella asked, sure she was missing something. It was true, but it was Carlisle. It was weird to think of him like that. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Jasper looked at her, his gaze oddly serious. "He likes you."

Bella gawked at him. She gave a startled laugh even as her heartbeat picked up speed. "You're so full of shit." Both her friends just stared at her. "Come on. He's...Why would you even say that?"

"The way he looks at you," Alice said.

"The way he touches you," Jasper said.

"He brought you a book you loved just because he was thinking of you while he was away," Alice said.

Bella shook her head, dismissing the picture they were seeing. "That's just Carlisle. He's thoughtful like that. I've told you—"

"You've told us a lot about him," Alice finished for her. "You talk about him all the time."

"Because he's Edward's brother!" Bella crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't know why she was blushing, and she didn't like it. "He's here a lot. He's got a good reason to be."

"He's here when Edward isn't." Jasper's tone was gentle. "He likes you." He paused a beat. "And you like him."

"No. Not like that," Bella insisted.

But now that they'd put the idea in her head, her mind was working in overdrive, remembering.

~Freshman Year~

Normally, Bella liked that her father didn't hover. It was the kind of thing any teenager could appreciate. It had almost been too easy to sneak a boy up to her room in high school. But she was in college now. Truly away from either of her parents' influence, and maybe, kinda, sorta that had gone to her head a little bit.

She'd always been independent and responsible. Her parents had been barely more than babies themselves when she was born. She'd spent her early childhood with her mother and Gran Marie. Though Gran had done the heavy lifting, Renee was an adoring and attentive mother.

Still, when Gran got sick, it was Bella who started to fill in the gaps. She'd always paid attention when Gran cooked. She learned the days bills had to be paid and bugged her mother to pay them when they were due. She was the one who made lists of what they needed for the house and pantry. She even learned to scour the coupons every Monday to figure out what was on sale at which store.

As a teenager, after her mother had married a man with a firm grasp on adulting, Bella went to live with her father. He was a good man, a concerned father, and smart enough to recognize that Bella was pretty much done. She'd been raised. She had a good set of core values. He just needed to be there to pay the bills and offer advice the few times she needed it.

Given all that, living on her own should have been a cakewalk. Same old, same old, right? Except without a parental unit checking up on her at least once a day.

Yeah, wrong. There was just one or two wrenches in that line of logic.

Her parents had both put away a certain amount of money for her to go to college. Neither of them being in great financial shape, it wasn't enough to pay her tuition. She figured she'd just have to get loans—start off her adult life in an obscene amount of debt like so many others. It turned out that she was eligible for a certain amount of automatic financial aid, and she managed to secure a few small scholarships as well.

With a little effort and some fast talking, she'd been able to convince her parents that she should get a small apartment near campus rather than go to the dorms. They could use the money they'd saved to help her with a deposit and the rent. She had every intention of finding a job; she'd always known she'd work as soon as she could. Forks was the kind of town that didn't have enough work for the adults, so getting work while she was still a kid had been out of the question.

The point was, Bella saw college as the start of her independent life. She'd found the apartment. She'd found a roommate to supplement expenses, and she told her father no, of course she didn't need his help picking furniture. It wasn't as though he'd given her money for much, which was fine. She had some bohemian idea in her head that it would be like The Sims. She'd start off with the bare-bones, uncomfortable basics—basic bed, card table in the kitchen area, folding chair, maybe a cable spool for an end table—and upgrade as she went along.

The first day of her new life wasn't turning out like she expected. First, even though she'd been the one to insist repeatedly she could drive herself to college—it just hadn't made sense for her father to follow her across four states when she had to drive her dilapidated truck there anyway—when she finally arrived and saw all the students milling around the campus with their parents, she felt rather abandoned.

She spent the night alone in her new apartment—her roommate was supposed to arrive at the end of the week—curled up on the blow-up mattress she'd brought. In the morning, she set out, determined to be a strong, independent woman.

In the midst of her full day of furniture shopping, she texted her soon-to-be-roomie to find out if she'd be bringing any furniture. She received a text back, annoyingly, toward the end of the day.

I'm so sorry. I chickened out. I'm staying where I am. You can keep my half of the deposit and first month's rent. I'm so sorry. Good luck.

Well, fuck.

So, after the requisite amount of time pacing around the furniture store, scaring the other patrons as she muttered to herself and typed furiously on her phone, she headed back home. What she should have done was take the furniture she'd managed to obtain back. Who knew if she would be able to find a new roomie, in which case, she couldn't keep the apartment.

She was so screwed.

And, because she was having such a great day, she had just figured out there was no way she could get the things she had bought up to her second story apartment alone. Because she'd told her father she'd take care of everything. Because she was a strong, independent woman.

She could be as strong and independent as they came, but she couldn't lift furniture and mattresses by herself. She ran her hand through her hair, scratching her head.

"Does the truck do tricks or something?"

Bella spun around and found herself staring at a pair of gorgeous green eyes set in a pretty, pretty face. The boy tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe it's some kind of modern art."

Again, Bella's head snapped, this time an inch or two up from the pretty boy's face. She took a physical step backward. The man standing beside the pretty boy was, well, he was pretty too, but it was a more distinguished kind of pretty. Well, no, no, in his case, pretty wasn't the word. Handsome. The sharp lines of his face were cut just right. His smile was soft where the boy's was a smirk.

The boy snorted. "This truck is older than I am. There's nothing modern about it."

"Hey, lay off my truck." Indignance was enough to break Bella's slack-jawed silence.

"Phew." The man's smile broadened, and Bella's heart did a weird sort of pitter-patter in her chest. He just had a great smile, that was all. "At least we know you weren't trying to figure out how to steal it."

The boy snorted. "Who the heck would steal this monstrosity?"

Again, Bella's eyes snapped back to the boy and narrowed. "What's your malfunction, pal? I like my truck."

"Even monstrosities need love," the man said. "Be nice, Edward."

Hands on her hips, Bella turned to give the man a piece of her mind, but his smile, again, was disarming. "Sorry," he said. "We shouldn't tease. It's just, you look like you're about to attack the mon...er, the truck. Trust me, it's not good for your knuckles."

Bella's lip twitched, and whatever was left of her defensiveness drained away. "It's not the truck. It's the furniture. The bastards won't get up and move themselves up to my apartment."

"How dare they," the boy said in mock outrage.

"You can't call any friends?" the man asked.

Bella gave a small laugh, trying to ignore a wave of loneliness. "I'm starting at the university in a couple of days. I'm from out of state."

The man hummed, looking between Bella and her furniture-laden truck. He gave the boy a tap to the back. "We can help," he said. It was an order.

"Oh." Bella was startled. "I couldn't… That's not…"

"We were just headed to the gym anyway. It's the real world equivalent of weight lifting." There was that smile again. Damn, it was such a pretty smile.

"Just without the eye candy," the boy said ruefully. "Gym bunnies are obnoxious, but they're nice to look at."

Looking at the two of them, Bella couldn't argue with that last part. "That's really nice, but I don't even know you."

The man offered a hand. "My name's Carlisle. This is my brother, Edward."

Bella took his hand and shook, ignoring the weird tingle that went through her as she smiled at him and Edward. "I'm Bella."

~0~

Some hours later, there were two extraordinarily attractive men sprawled on her floor, stripped down as much as they could be against the heat. She enjoyed the view for a minute before she groaned and flopped down beside them.

College was quite the adventure so far. Not even here a day and she was surrounded by sweaty men. Too bad one of them was as gay as the day was long and the other…

Well, she wasn't going to get anywhere thinking about the other one. It had to be some kind of wrong. He was a real adult—a job, a home of his own, plenty of money. In fact, she should stop looking at his muscular arms. He seemed tame and mild mannered, but his arms were pleasingly muscular.

Carlisle turned his head to the side, and Bella quickly looked to the ceiling, chastising herself for staring. All her last high school semester, and all this summer, her mind had been in overdrive. That was the problem. One too many clandestine fantasies about falling for her handsome professor.

If any of her professors looked like Carlisle, she was never going to pass.

Edward let out a sigh. "So, what do you think?"

"Huh?" Right. They'd been in the middle of a conversation. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll play the damsel in distress this once if it'll solve my roommate problem."

As it turned out, Edward had a complicated homelife. From what Bella gathered, Edward wanted to live away from home, but his and Carlisle's mother would have some kind of breakdown if he'd suggested he wanted to leave her side and go to the dorms. Helping out a friend who'd been left high and dry, however, was a whole different story. These men were raised to help others where they could.

Bella thought it was a great idea. Edward was wicked funny. Carlisle would make sure the rent got paid.

The first major disaster of her adult life didn't turn out so bad after all.

~0~

The second major disaster of Bella's life came toward the end of freshman year in the form of James Hunter, the quintessential bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks with his scraggly blond hair and the badass motorcycle.

Of course, he shattered her heart into a million pieces.

"Ughhh." Bella sniffled, raising her head from Edward's shoulder. "It's so cliché I want to die."

Edward wiped her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. "Don't feel stupid. We've all been there."

Their front door came open then. Bella's head shot up, but she shouldn't have been surprised. The only other person who had the key to the apartment was Carlisle. Sure enough, there he was, carrying a bunch of bags. Bella hopped off the couch, running to help. Those bags looked heavy and it wasn't like her apartment had an elevator. "What's all this?"

It wouldn't be the first time Carlisle stopped by with groceries. He refused to let them live off Ramen noodles and grilled cheese like normal college students. But these weren't the usual groceries he brought by.

"This is your 'boys are stupid' starter pack," he said, settling the bags on the kitchen table.

"Present company excluded," Edward said.

Carlisle scoffed. "Present company included. Especially you, but not the dumb boys in question right now." He started to take things out of the bags he'd brought. "Dinner."

Bella's broken heart warmed slightly when she saw that he'd brought food from her favorite Italian restaurant. "Double breadsticks, even."

"Yep." He set out the next items. "Chocolate, ice cream, and cookie dough." And the next bag. "Darts, in case you have a picture of the bastard you want to desecrate."

Bella bit her lip, smiling a little in spite of herself.

"Booze. Either wine coolers or hard lemonade." He set two six packs of both on the counter.

Bella's eyebrows shot skyward. "Encouraging underage drinking?"

He grinned. "See, that's the benefit of being the cool older brother instead of the parent. I won't tell if you won't."

She made a show of zipping her lips.

"Last category." He took several Blu-Rays out of the last bag. "Entertainment for distraction purposes. We've got action, in case you want to see guys being blown up or beat up. Romance, in case you're in the mood to remind yourself that good guys still exist. And then there's this." He handed her three DVDs.

Bella gasped, grasping them to her chest to hide them and then dropping them all together. "Carlisle, what the—" Her eyes went wide, and she stared at him.

"Lesbian porn. In case you decide to play for the other team after this," he said, completely straight-faced.

That did it. Bella threw back her head and laughed, cheered for the first time since this whole debacle started.

Many hours later, Edward had passed out—damn lightweight—and Carlisle told her the story of why his relationship with their mother was so complicated.

"Our mother met our father the first day of university. She was pregnant with me three weeks later. He was a controlling, abusive asshole, and when she was finally in a place where she felt like she could leave him, he sabotaged her birth control."

"Jesus Christ," Bella muttered under her breath.

"Yeah." Carlisle's arm had been draped over the back of the couch most of the night. His fingertips skimmed across her shoulders in a soothing motion, absent motion. When she looked over at him, he was staring straight forward, lost in memory. "Edward was ten before I could get him out. Mom… Well, the mind of an abuse victim is hard to understand. Put it that way. Really long story short, it was just me and Edward until about three years ago. Mom was finally able to get away from Dad. Got her life together and got Edward back."

"Damn." The stroke of Carlisle's fingers on her skin was making her sleepy. She yawned. "If you're trying to get me never to date again, it's working."

He made a face. "I was going for, the 'at least it wasn't that bad' angle." He ruffled her hair. "You're going to be okay. There are a lot of assholes out there, but there are a lot of good guys too. And you have time, Bella. All the time in the world."

She yawned again and rested her head tentatively on his shoulder, needing the warmth and easy comfort. Good guys. "Hey, Carlisle?"

"Hmm?"

"Your dad's a dick, but that you turned out to be such a good guy makes you pretty awesome."

He sighed. She thought she heard him mutter, "I'm not that good," but she was already mostly asleep.

~Sophomore Year~

Edward turned out to be some kind of music prodigy, and as a result, he was a busy, busy, busy bee. After missing him one too many times when he dropped by, Carlisle and Bella had gotten around to plotting a surprise party to remind him he was only nineteen years old.

"Although, speaking of which, he's not the only sophomore who may be taking school a little too seriously. Are you still at the library?" Carlisle asked.

"Ah, yeah." Bella glanced at the time in the corner of her laptop. "Shit, it's almost midnight."

"I was going to say. Aren't they closed?"

"In fifteen minutes." Bella sighed and rubbed at her eyes. "Maybe majoring in biology isn't a good idea after all."

"Good thing you haven't officially declared your major," Carlisle said with a chuckle. "Where's your truck?"

Bella considered and cursed again. "Shit. I walked today. I really wasn't expecting to be at the library this long."

"Can you call the Campus police to escort you?"

"I could, but it usually takes forever for them to get here." Bella had made it to the front door of the library now and stared outside. She could see the wind whipping the trees back and forth. "That's if they answer at all." She shook her head. "I'm just going to walk. It's well-lit. Mostly."

"Bella, no." She could hear rustling as he moved around his apartment.

"You don't have to worry about me. I got the pepper spray my dad gave me."

"Isn't James still being a creeper?"

Bella grimaced, a tendril of fear racing down her spine. Her ex was indeed being a wee bit obnoxious. Nothing too horrible, but the thought of him lurking wasn't entirely out of the question. "I haven't seen him in days. He was just being stupid. You really don't have to worry. There are so many books in my bag, I can use it as a weapon." She tried to joke, but judging from the silence on the other line, it fell flat.

"Just sit tight," he said, and she heard a door close on his end. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Carlisle, you have work in—"

"I'm not going to get any sleep anyway until I know you're home safely. Ten minutes."

True to his word, Carlisle and his way-too-fast, sleek car pulled up in front of the library. Bella hurried down the steps. She tossed her backpack in the backseat before climbing into the front.

"Whoa." Carlisle stared into the backseat where her bag had landed with a loud thump. "You really could kill someone with that thing."

"Told you." Bella buckled up and flashed him a smile. "Thanks for coming all the way here just to save me a twenty-minute walk."

"At midnight." He shook his head as he put the car in gear. "You can call me any time for any reason. I hope you know that."

"I do. I would have been fine, though."

"Better safe then—" Carlisle was cut off when Bella's stomach gave a loud rumble. A very, very loud rumble.

Bella clapped her hands over her face. "Oh, man. Because that wasn't embarrassing."

"You've been in the library all day, haven't you?"

"I told you I lost track of time. Don't worry about me. I have—"

"If you're about to say Ramen…"

Bella made a face. "There's nothing wrong with Ramen every once in awhile."

"There's nothing right with Ramen. Unless it's an actual Ramen place, but I know that's not what we're talking about here." Carlisle waved one hand out. "So, Denny's. Buffalo Wild Wings is open until one. There's also that twenty-four hour sandwich place."

"Don't be crazy. It's already crazy that you're out here when you have work in the morning." Though, now that Bella thought about it, she was really hungry.

He turned to look at her. "Do I look like I'm tired?"

"You look like someone who should be watching the damn road!" Bella ducked her head, squeaking as she stared outside. "Cripes, you're worse than your brother, you know that?"

"Ha." Carlisle thankfully didn't take his eyes off the road again. "My brother still owes me from the last speeding ticket he got, so I know for a fact I'm better at speeding than he is."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Strange things you Cullen men are proud of."

"We all have to be good at something." Carlisle pointed a hole-in-the wall place with an Open sign. "How about a taco?"

Deciding that Carlisle was a big boy and could deal with being exhausted, Bella decided sandwiches were the way to go.

Some minutes later, she was settled across from Carlisle, enjoying a BBQ pork, Vietnamese style sandwich on a crusty French baguette and talking about potential majors. "Genetics seemed like the good way to go, you know? It's fascinating stuff, and it's the key to fixing so many devastating diseases." Bella shrugged. "But that's doctorate level stuff, and I'm getting a headache on the 200 level class as it is."

"Nothing worth doing is easy." Carlisle shrugged. "Though, there's no sense in hanging on to a major you picked on a whim, if that's what it was. You're free to change your mind and explore your options. That's what your general education units are for."

"Sure, but it drives me crazy that some of my gen ed courses can be used toward my major if I could only decide." She made a face. "I hate having decisions hang over me."

"I know," Carlisle said with a soft smile.

She eyed him. "How did you decide to be a lawyer, anyway?"

He snorted and looked down, his smile tightening considerably. "Pure obstinacy, actually." He took a long sip of his drink. "I learned from a very young age to control myself, my emotions, my actions. But inside my head, it was very loud. I was always arguing internally because I couldn't do it externally.

"So, the first thing I did when I got to college was enroll in an argumentation and debate class. Because when I was finally able to speak my mind, I wanted to do so with eloquence, class, and irrefutable logic.

"After that, it was kind of a one thing led to another situation." His cheek twitched. "My charming father consistently told me I was the worst thing to happen to the world, so I decided I was going to help people. Which…" He laughed. "I guess it might not seem like that given that I practice contract law, but it was the same principle. The little guy is still screwed over by the big guy, you know?"

"Hey." Bella, her heart aching, reached out and brushed her fingers over his on his coffee cup. She waited as his eyes, troubled and heavier than they had been just minutes before, met hers. "Your dad's a dick."

He smiled and ducked his head. "Yes. You've mentioned that before."

"Hey, you know what I was thinking?"

"What's that?"

"This is the first time we've had dinner just you and me. No Edward."

Carlisle considered her a moment, thinking. "It is, isn't it?"

"And you're here looking out for me. I guess I'm officially your honorary sister, huh?"

His smile was oddly rueful as he looked down at his coffee. "I always did want a little sister." He looked up at her, his smile more genuine now. "A sister from another mister."

Bella laughed. "Yeah. My dad's a great guy."

"Thank goodness for that."

~Junior Year~

Bella was about to go out of her skin. She was perched on the edge of the couch, her feet up, and her fingernails in her mouth. She gave a startled yelp when she heard keys in the door.

Stepping into the living room, Edward stopped and looked at her. "Bella?"

"Thank fuck you're home." Bella threw her book to the side and got up. She ran across the room and threw herself into his arms.

He hugged her back. "What's going on?"

"Come sit with me," she pleaded, taking his hand and hauling him toward the sofa.

"Okay. Honey, are you…" He trailed off, and Bella saw his eyes were on the book she'd discarded. He stopped short, making her spring backward. "For fuck's sake, Bella. One of your books is freaking you out, isn't it?"

She screwed up her face.

Edward pulled his hand from hers and crossed to the sofa. He picked up the book that had fallen to the side. "The Demonologist. The True"—he spoke that word scathingly—"Accounts of the Paranormal Investigators Featured in the film 'The Conjuring'." He shook the book. "You can't possibly believe this, right? Demons?"

"I don't believe it, but I don't not believe it." She shook her head. "It's fascinating regardless, okay? It just…" She shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. "It's creepy, that's all. Come on. Just sit with me. I'm almost done. I'll read it out loud for you."

Edward shook his head. "Sorry, kiddo. I only came back to get my stuff."

Bella stared at him. "You're leaving? You can't leave."

"I haven't seen Benjamin for five days, B."

"A little distance is healthy."

"I want to get laid."

"You can't do this to me," she whined.

"I'm capable of doing that to you, but I don't want to. Which is why I'm leaving you to go visit my boyfriend."

Bella wrinkled her nose. "Well, fuck. Fine. Who would want to have sex with you anyway?"

"Benjamin." He kissed her nose. "I'm going to get my bag, and I'm leaving." He headed for his room.

"You're leaving me here to be eaten by demons," she called after him. "You realize that, right?"

"There's no such thing as demons, Bella," he called back. "Just substitute the word demon for vampires. You said that vampire book I got you didn't scare you."

"Because vampires are ridiculous. Burned by the fucking sun. Give me a break. That's not plausible."

He reappeared, backpack over one shoulder. She put on her best puppy dog expression. "Please stay? Just for a little while? Or tell Benjamin to come over here."

His expression was wary as he eyed her. "What happened to that boy you were messing around with? The freshman? Jacob."

Bella made a face. "Bleh, I cut him loose. He was way too obsessed with my boobs. You fucking swear. He always had his hands on them just because he could. Honka honka. Was he twelve?"

"I'm not going to say I told you so…"

"Except you just did." Bella stuck out her tongue at him.

Edward chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Okay. Be good. I'll see you tomorrow."

"No!" Bella grabbed his hand. "Edward, please."

He looked exasperated. "Boyfriend, Bella. Sex. Lots and lots of athletic sex, and I, for one, wouldn't mind if he keeps squeezing my fun bags." He looked down his own body and waggled his eyebrows. "Bye now."

"Don't go! I'll… I'll.. I'll tell your brother."

Edward stopped short and looked at her, his lips quirked in amusements. "Seriously? You're going to tell on me?"

Bella was already dialing. "Hey, Bella." Carlisle picked up on the second ring.

"Your brother's being mean to me."

Edward rolled his eyes and shouldered his bag. "You're ridiculous. Goodnight, Bella."

"Are you okay?" Carlisle asked on the other end of the phone.

Bella huffed. "Yeah. Sorry, I was giving Edward a hard time for leaving me to be eaten by demons so he can get some."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "See, I know that was all in English, but I'm pretty sure I missed something."

"Bleh. Don't mind me. I maybe, kinda, sorta creeped myself out reading this severely disturbing book, and I'm here all alone and spooked."

"And Edward wouldn't stay home," Carlisle finished for her.

"Yeah, the bastard."

Carlisle chuckled. "Do you want me to come over?"

"What? No. I'm not actually that ridiculous," Bella lied.

"I'm only doing some research. Nothing I couldn't do anywhere."

Bella hesitated, biting her lip. In her head, she could see Carlisle at the other end of the couch, laptop on his lap and feet propped up on the coffee table. Warmth spread through her chest at the thought, chasing away the creepy-crawly sensation that threatened after Edward left.

But, no. "I'm a big girl. I'll survive."

After she hung up and because she was the biggest moron ever, Bella picked up the book again. Twenty minutes later, she'd dragged her comforter out to the living room so she could hide under it, cringing away from the book in her hand.

When someone knocked on the door, Bella actually screamed. She fell to the floor, tangled up in the comforter, which only made her more panicked. It took her forever to wrestle herself out of the confines of the blanket, and when she did, she wasn't entirely surprised to find that Carlisle had let himself in. She yelped anyway, landing backward, resting on her elbows as she looked up at him.

For a few seconds, they just stared at each other, Bella catching her breath and Carlisle pursing his lips as though he didn't know quite what to make of her. He breathed in through his nose and spoke calmly. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

He nodded. "That's good."

She narrowed her eyes. "Because you don't want to laugh at me if I'm actually in some kind of danger?"

At that, he couldn't keep his grin from spreading as he laughed. He was lucky he had such a pretty smile, so she couldn't' be angry at him. He chuckled again and put a hand over his mouth. "I'm sorry. It's just that you look…" He gestured with his hand at her.

She didn't have to guess how this must have looked. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair and clothes disheveled after her wrestling match with the blanket. Yeah, possibly not her best moment.

Carlisle offered his hand, and Bella took it, letting him pull her to her feet. "Did you really come over here because I'm scared of demons who probably don't exist?"

"See, but you can't rule it out. So why take a chance?"

"Ugh." Bella covered her face with her hands, embarrassed. "Oh, man. I'm such a little kid right now. Like I woke up from a nightmare and I need the real adult to chase away all the invisible monsters."

"That's the thing about nightmares. The monsters aren't invisible to the person having one."

"But I'm not even having a nightmare." Bella sat on the couch in a huff, pulling her legs up to her chest. She picked up the book and thrust it at him. "And in my defense, all of this stuff supposedly happened."

"Hmm." Carlisle sat beside her. He flipped open the book and began to read.

Bella was self-conscious at first, wondering if the words sounded ridiculous to his ears. But Carlisle didn't make fun of it the way Edward would have. In fact, he piqued a curious eyebrow and read in an interested tone.

After a few minutes, Bella was really getting into the story. She scooted closer and closer to him until her toes were brushing his leg. Chills ran down her spine as he read about an encounter with a possessed doll. He lifted his arm, and Bella didn't hesitate. She threw her legs over his lap and curled into his embrace, hiding her face at his shoulder as he read on.

When he got to the part where the doll spoke, the voice he put on was so eerie it made her skin crawl. She lifted her head with a gasp. "Oh, my god. Don't do that."

With a devilish grin, he tilted his head so his lips were near her ear and read on in the same creep-tastic voice. Bella squeaked, splaying her hands against his chest and pushing back. He held her fast, though, not letting her get away.

"Oh, I see how you are. You come over here like a white knight, supposedly to slay the monsters, but noooo." She smacked lightly at his chest. "You just want to creep me out more. Who's the real demon here, huh?"

He chuckled. The sound was a low rumbled she felt against her palm, and when he spoke, his voice was huskier than she ever remembered it being. "Yes, that's me. The scary demon. Don't pretend you don't like being scared," he teased.

"No one likes being scared." She argued out of habit, but she was curiously dizzy and distracted, suddenly very aware of his nearness.

"You're right. The horror industry does absolutely no business, and all those haunted houses that pop up around Halloween time aren't popular at all."

She made a face at him. "You're a smug bastard sometimes, you know that?"

He hummed in response, his eyes on hers. Fuck, he had such pretty eyes. And a devastatingly handsome face. And his arm was strong and firm around her.

In the space between breaths, the air around them changed. The creepy-crawly sensation that ran along her skin was replaced by an electric buzz that made her breath catch in her throat. He raised his hand, skimming his fingers along her chin. The touch coiled something deep in her gut, making her heartbeat pick up speed. Her eyes darted to his lips.

The moment lingered and passed. Bella breathed out in a huff, realizing what she was doing and what she wanted. "I, um…" She got hastily for her feet, her throat tight and her heartbeat going wild. "Pizza." Her voice was distorted. "Do you want some pizza? And maybe we can watch The Conjuring, because you know, I never have actually seen that movie." She'd paced away, heading for the kitchen where she kept a magnet of her favorite pizza place.

"Uh, yeah. Yes. That sounds good," Carlisle said.

In the kitchen, Bella tried to catch her breath. She braced herself against the counter, trying to sort out what the hell had come over her.

She couldn't look at him the way she just had. It was out of the question. He was Carlisle, for fuck's sake. He was… Well, it was just dumb, that was all. What the hell was wrong with her? She'd been a millisecond away from starting some kind of awkward drama.

It was just her body's reaction to being that close to a man, that was all. He treated her the same way he treated Edward—like a sibling. She hadn't grown up with siblings. And he was so damn attractive to boot. Her psyche had just gotten tripped up, that was all, had read the signs wrong.

Except, she had no problem being that close to Edward in a sibling-like way, and he was damn attractive too. She could hang off him and cuddle him, and she'd never wanted to do what she'd almost done a minute ago.

It didn't matter. There were about three thousand ways the whole thing was just dumb. She was twenty-years old to his thirty-seven. Maybe if she'd been a bombshell, or powerful in her own right, he might have glanced twice at her. But even then, she didn't think so. The women Carlisle dated were always around his age and sophisticated. They had fancy jobs and did interesting things.

And here she was, a broke college student in her ratty pajama bottoms, faded t-shirt, getting spooked over a fucking book. So alluring.

It was absolutely pathetic that her eyes started to sting, and it was just dumb. She didn't see Carlisle that way. Her body had just had some kind of reaction.

"Bella?"

Bella took a deep breath, and when she turned to face Carlisle, she'd put on a bright smile. "Sorry. Spaced out for a second. What did you want on your pizza?"

He studied her for a beat, his features painted in concern. Brotherly concern, as always. "Anything but pineapple," he said lightly.

Bella snorted, and the heavy, awkward atmosphere dissipated. "I keep telling you that you're missing out."

"I keep telling you fruit doesn't belong on pizza."

"And yet you were the one who took us to that overly-fancy pizza place that served pears on the pizza."

"They were delicious," he said indignantly. "You said so yourself."

"They were. And so's pineapple."

"Blasphemy."

~Senior Year~

Bella stared at her friends. "But...that makes no sense."

Alice and Jasper both laughed. Jasper turned to his girlfriend, running the backs of his knuckles down her cheek with a smile so beautiful it made Bella's heart ache. He turned to look at Bella. "It's not supposed to make sense, sugar. That's kind of the beautiful thing about it, you know?"

Bella groaned, slumping over in her seat with her hands over her face. "This isn't beautiful." Her head was a mess, her thoughts racing as quickly as her heart. She felt blind and so stupid. Because now that they'd made her recount it all out loud, it was obvious.

Well, at least her own emotions were obvious. But when? When the hell had she fallen? And she was head over heels, tongue-tied and twitterpated. It made her want to giggle, and it made her want to sob, and it made her want to run out the door and find him.

"Oh, hell. What do I do?" she moaned into her hands. "And this is crazy. You're both crazy. He doesn't… He couldn't… I mean, I'm...I'm just…" She crossed her arms over her chest and slumped down in her seat. "I think you guys are full of crap."

"I think you didn't see the way he looked at you," Alice said.

Was it possible?

She thought of the million different scenes over nearly four years of knowing him. His kindness—how he quietly swept her expensive textbooks in with Edward's when he took them shopping before each semester. The man who'd sat down with her and painstakingly reviewed each and every major until they decided, together, on one that opened doors and still made her happy. All things a loving big brother would do.

Or a partner. A man who knew that loving and caring should go hand-in-hand. Not someone who was all heat and flame like James. That had been exciting and dangerous and ultimately destructive. He was no boy like Jacob—a puppy who was just thrilled he had access to her body.

What could a man like Carlisle do with her body?

Bella shuddered, feeling her nipples tighten with the thought. Oh, hell. "Give me back the fucking wool over my eyes. What am I supposed to do with this?"

Alice brightened. "Now that's the fun part."

~0~

Fun, Alice said. Fun Bella's ass.

The problem with Alice was that she was a meddler. The problem with Jasper was that he was a charming bastard with an artist's soul. Damn artists. He believed in beauty and love, and he spun fanciful tales about taking risks. With Alice to add the cheer of rah-rah girl power, they were a dangerous combo.

Which was how Bella found herself in this ridiculous position, about to make a complete and utter ass of herself. "This is such a bad idea," she muttered to herself. For one thing, Edward was going to kill her whether this ended well or badly. She could lose both of them.

Except that she didn't really believe that last part. Edward and Carlisle loved her. They'd both forgive her this severe lapse in judgment.

Bella tried to calm her erratic breaths. She repeated Alice's little pep talk. She was a strong, independent woman. There was no reason she couldn't go out and get what she wanted. She didn't have to wait for any guy to get off his ass and woo her.

Besides that, Bella knew damn well that if she wanted this particular thing, the only way it was going to happen was if she instigated it. Carlisle had told her once that he kept himself under tight control—the result of his heartbreaking upbringing. If he did want her, he'd never let himself show it.

She'd read this story before. The woman who thought she was too young and silly to be with a man like him. The man who thought he was too old to tie down a woman like her. But fuck that noise on both accounts. She was young, but old enough to know there was no script, no perfect way, no magic recipe to guarantee success or failure.

So, she could do this. Whatever happened, it wasn't going to kill her.

Before she could get the gumption up to actually knock, the door came open of its own volition. It wasn't Carlisle who stood there but another man. A handsome giant of a man in a crisp, black suit.

Startled, Bella took a few steps backward. The man's size made him intimidating, but his grin was disarming. He looked over his shoulder. "Carlisle, I think this chick is here to sell you cookies."

Bella scowled. "I'm not a Girl Scout." She straightened her shoulders, even more self-conscious of her age than she had been a minute before.

The door opened wider, and Carlisle stood there next to a gorgeous blond woman. Was he dating again? He did, of course, but it had been a while that she knew. Bella shrunk back again, her stomach twisting painfully, but she didn't miss that Carlisle's whole face lit up when he saw her. "Bella." His bright expression turned concerned. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, um… Everything is fine." The blond was seriously throwing Bella off her game. She had the distinct impression she was being appraised. "I was just in the neighborhood."

That was when she noticed that Carlisle too was wearing a crisp, black suit. Bella hadn't ever seen him in a suit. She had to press her tongue to the roof of her mouth to keep from groaning. This was just plain unfair. "Um." Her throat was dry, which made the words come out scratchy. "I didn't know you were busy. I should have called." She took a step back.

Carlisle shouldered past his friend and grabbed her hand. "No, it's okay." He nodded his head at his guests. "This is Emmett McCarty. He works at my firm, and his wife, Rosalie."

Oh. The blond belonged to gigantor. That pleased Bella a little too much. She had to press her mouth into a thin line to keep from grinning like a fool.

"This is Bella." He let go of her hand, but his fingertips were close enough to brush her. Bella curled her toes. It was unbelievable how her skin tingled as though sensing his nearness.

Emmett's eyebrow arched. "Bella? Wow, wait. Bella is your brother's age?"

Bella glanced at Carlisle in surprise. Emmett had heard of her?

Carlisle cleared his throat. "I thought you had to leave."

Bella bit the inside of her cheek, another smile threatening. A giddy rush went through her, making her want to giggle like a schoolgirl.

Emmett too looked amused, and Rosalie's eyes were on Bella, her glance a little too knowing for Bella's comfort. She ducked her head, wondering if everyone there could read her thoughts so easily. What the hell had changed? Yesterday she was blissfully unaware. Today, she was strangely conscious of every little thing—how his body angled toward hers, how he hadn't stepped away from her personal space—and she couldn't quite keep her reactions off her face.

"Yep. We promised our kids we'd retrieve them at some point today," Emmett said, putting his arm around his wife. "You two play nice."

"It was nice to meet you, Bella," Rosalie said, a smile about her lips that suggested she thought Bella was just adorable.

Bella's cheeks burned. "Yeah, same."

"Give me a minute," Carlisle murmured, ducking his head to speak directly to her.

Nodding, Bella slipped between Emmett and Rosalie to go into the house. Once inside, she could breathe a little better. She scrubbed her hands over her face, once again wondering what the hell she was doing. With a sigh, she ducked around a corner, out of sight of the three in the doorway, and leaned up against the wall in the darkened dining room. She closed her eyes, tilting her head up.

She'd only been in Carlisle's house a few times before, but never like this. Never on her own. The only times she'd been to Carlisle's house had been occasions. He'd thrown Edward a twenty-first birthday party the likes of which Bella had only seen on television—a house packed full of all Edward's friends, an open bar, and waiters with trays of fancy party foods.

Carlisle never bragged about it, so it was easy to forget that in his line of business, he met rock stars and powerful actors. He'd brush it off saying he was just a legal necessity, and his life wasn't glamorous, but he was full of shit. He was rich, powerful, and desperately out of her league. He was quiet and self-effacing, but that didn't change the facts.

Bella could accept the idea that he was attracted to her, but that didn't mean anything. She was attractive. Not Rosalie attractive, but she was pretty enough to lust after. Maybe that was all it was. She was an itch he wanted to scratch, but he was way too honorable for that.

"Bella?"

Bella sucked in a sharp breath. His voice was close. She could feel him—his heat.

"Are you sure everything's all right?" He tucked her hair back behind one ear.

Slowly, Bella opened her eyes. He was much closer than she'd expected. He leaned with one elbow against the wall not a foot from her; his brilliant, green eyes searching hers. He was beautiful, and yes, he was powerful. That suit. That face. His kind eyes.

She didn't have any words. She didn't know how to articulate why she'd come here, and what she wanted—just how much she wanted now that she realized how she felt. If she opened her mouth, nothing smooth or suave would come out; she knew this.

Reaching out, she drew her hands down his suit. It felt good, smooth, against her skin.

"Bella?" His brow wrinkled.

Bella fisted the fabric in her hands and pulled him toward her, tilting her head up to catch his lips. It was a quick kiss but firm. Undeniable.

Carlisle gasped, but he didn't pull away. His eyes had gone dark and hectic. His breath was hot on her mouth. There was electricity running under her skin, sparking in the air between them.

Oh, hell. She couldn't take it back. She couldn't unknow what it was like to kiss him, to taste him. If he pulled away now—

He cupped her cheek, tilting her head back up. He kissed her, skimming his thumb along her cheekbone as he took her upper lip between both of his. As the kis went on, Bella's head spun. She hadn't known until that moment that it was possible to be intoxicated by a kiss. She was drunk. Deliriously and delightfully drunk.

With a gasp, he pulled back, though he kept her in his arms, his hand still against her cheek. "You know how to kiss," she murmured, still drunk and stupefied.

He laughed. It was a breathless sound. He ducked his head, but he didn't kiss her, though she tilted her head up invitingly. He moved his hand so his fingers curled around her chin, and his thumb brushed over her lips. His eyes followed the movement before he looked at her with a surprisingly vulnerable expression. "What is this, Bella?" he whispered.

Fuck. Right. Grown-ups talked about things. And he deserved an explanation. She'd waltzed into his house and drastically changed their dynamic in the space of a heartbeat.

Nerves twisted in her gut. Okay. She wasn't going to be suave or charming or alluring. She'd have to settle for stilted and awkward. She licked her lips, steadying her breath and reminding herself he still hadn't let her go. "It was like a switch had been flipped, and I had to know."

"Know what?"

She bit her bottom lip, searching for the right words. Finding none, she took his hand and pressed it against her heart, letting him feel the rapid beat. "I had to know if you felt this."

For a long, heavy moment, he only stared at her. She gnawed the inside of her cheek, and then soothed it with her tongue, letting her eyes drop down to study the patterns of his fancy tie. "Tell me I didn't just make a huge fool of myself."

He exhaled in a gust, tilting her chin back up. "No. No, you haven't." He took her free hand and pressed it likewise against his chest. His heart was a jackhammer. His eyes searched hers. "I didn't mean to be so quiet. It's just that my switch was flipped so long ago." His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, his eyes beginning to roam her face with a look that was part longing and part desire. His voice was husky when he spoke. "And I've spent the last four years trying to convince myself I couldn't want this."

Her lips tugged up at the corners, the wide, goofy smile threatening again. "You can want this," she whispered, splaying both hands wide over his chest beneath his suit jacket, feeling the lines of him. "You can have this. Me."

They stared at each other for one, two, three heavy, charged seconds, and then the whole world changed.

Carlisle leaned in, swallowing every last inch of space between them as he claimed her lips. The hard lines of his body pressed into hers, pinning her back against the wall. These kisses were fevered and hungry, like he was ravenous. She whimpered into his mouth but returned his kisses in kind.

No, it wasn't like starving. It was like she'd been without air for too long, and now she was gasping it in in huge lungfuls. She needed more. She needed him to fill her, to consume her.

And for as calm and measured as Carlisle always was, he was anything but controlled now. Her words had unlocked something in him, and this was a part of him she couldn't have guessed existed. Who'd have known he could kiss like this—hard and demanding and intoxicating, but lacking the utter inelegance she'd experienced from the men she'd kissed before.

He didn't shove his tongue down her throat in some kind of dominant attack. Instead, his tongue parted her lips with a gentle insistence, and when she opened to him, it lapped at hers, caressing.

His hands slid down her body, one at her side and the other cupped around her back. He alternately pulled her up against him and pinned her back against the wall. His unrestrained fervor surprised her—the best kind of surprise—and she moaned, the sound vibrating between them. When he reached around, cupping her ass in his hands and pulling her almost roughly against him, she squeaked.

With a groan, he broke their kiss. "Bella," he whispered, panting and breathless as she was. He groaned again, his hands on either side of her head as he held himself just a little off her. "I didn't mean to go from zero to a hundred like that."

Bella shook her head quickly. Her fingers, curved around the back of his neck, tangled into his thick, soft hair, tugging him back down to her. She could sense the return of calm, controlled Carlisle, and fuck the hell out of that. She wanted to see more of this side of him. She pushed up onto the balls of her feet to kiss him.

"I know you," she murmured against his lips. She kissed him again. "And I trust you." She reached up, circling his wrists and pulling his hands down. She brought them around her, putting them back on her ass. "I'm a big girl, Carlisle. All grown up." She guided his hands into her pockets, watching his eyes darken as he gasped in a breath, finding the familiar foil wrappers she'd stashed there. "I know who you are. I know what I want." She let her lips brush his ear. "And you don't have to go slow."

His eyes locked with hers for several tense seconds. "You want this?" he asked.

She almost moaned at the feral look in his eyes. He wanted her. She could see it, though she could see the tenderness there too. "I want you," she whispered.

With a groan, he gave in. He brought her up against him, squeezing her ass as he kissed her. For minutes he kept her tight against him, his hands roaming up and down her back as his mouth moved with hers.

"You know, this was the first thing I noticed about you." He nipped at the side of her mouth, caressing her over her clothes now. "You were standing there, with your back to us, your hands on your hips and this." He squeezed her again.

She laughed, turning her head to catch his lips. "You're an ass man. That's good information to have."

He pinned her against the wall with a thrust of his hips. She gasped, feeling him hard against her. Lust burned brighter in her, and her nipples pebbled at the sensation.

"You have no idea what this is doing to me." His voice was a rumble. "To have you come in here like one of my fantasies of you come to life." His eyes had found the bumps of her nipples, straining as they were against her shirt, and he brought a thumb up to press over one, circling. "I've thought about these too. You have such perfect, perky little tits."

Bella felt the walls of her pussy actually contract. Oh, fuck her running. Was he going to talk dirty to her? Because she wasn't sure if she could get through that without combusting. "What have you…" She pressed her lips together, muffling a moan as he traced the outline of her breasts, thumb still brushing over her sensitive tits. "What have you thought about?"

"How you taste." His eyes flicked up to hers, and the devilish smirk playing at his lips stunned her stupid. "Did you mean what you said about not needing to go slow?"

"Oh, hell yes." She licked her well-kissed lips, thrilling in anticipation.

His hands dropped to the hem of her shirt, and he pulled it up and over her head. Now it was him who gasped. He drew his fingers along Bella's one concession to Alice's planning—the prettiest bra and panty set she'd ever owned in her life. It was a dark blue lace and mesh number that managed to scare up some cleavage from god only knew where. "Is this for me, Bella?" The fingertips of his other hand brushed along her stomach, making it contract under his feather-touch.

She wanted to snap something snarky—a quip about how she didn't dress sexy for him; she did it for herself, but that was a bunch of bullshit. "S'all for you," she said, highly distracted. He'd ducked his head to kiss her neck with a light, wet suction.

"Hmmm." His hum vibrated on her skin as he trailed kissed down along her collarbone. "If you have matching panties on…"

She tilted her head back against the wall, drawing her fingers along his shoulders. She bit her bottom lip as his fingertips teased the line of her jeans. "I guess you'll— Ah." She squeezed her eyes shut as his mouth found her breast and he nipped lightly through the fabric of her bra. Why was that so much fucking sexier than if he'd yanked the damn thing off like she'd imagined he might? She swallowed hard. "I guess you'll have to find out for yourself."

He hummed again, and when his questing fingers found the button of her jeans he undid it, tugging her nipple between his teeth. He didn't bother pulling the zipper of her jeans down. Instead, he put his hand down her pants, exploring. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for—the ridiculously tiny panties in matching mesh and lace.

With a growl—a fucking growl that rumbled low in his chest—he pulled back. "Christ, Bella." He took her face in his hands and kissed her. There was nothing proper or soft about this kiss. It was gratifying. He had her tangled up in knots and twitterpated. It was good to see that maybe they were on the same page.

Bella tugged at the edges of his suit jacket. He shrugged out of it, and then his lips were gone from hers. When she opened her eyes, she found his on hers, dark and wild with desire. His fingers hooked into the waistline of her jeans and, still looking her in the eyes, he pulled them down her hips.

She couldn't help it. She was self-conscious, her heartbeat going a mile a minute again as her jeans puddled at her feet. Feeling foolish and uncoordinated, she kicked them and her shoes off and away.

"Bella." Carlisle spoke her name with reverence now, and when she finally looked up, she found his eyes traveling up and down her body. She shivered as though his gaze had touched her physically. How was it possible for someone to undress her with his eyes when she was already undressed? "My wildest fantasy couldn't have done you justice." He rested one hand at her side, the other fingering the design of the panties. "You're perfect."

With those words and the look in his eyes, Bella's nerves settled.

But then, his eyes locked on hers, he dropped to his knees.

"Carlisle, what—"

"I told you." He hooked his fingers in her pretty new panties and slowly, so slowly, drew them down, uncovering her sex. "I want to know how you taste."

To that end, he wasted no time. Before Bella could process his words, he'd hitched one of her legs up over his shoulder. She gave a little cry, grasping at him to steady herself. He didn't give her time to adjust but used two fingers to part her pussy. He ducked his head between her legs, taking her clit between his lips.

"Jesus. Oh, hell." Bella had no context for this. This was some kind of porn-star shit. Her hand scrambled against the wall, as though it would somehow grow handles to hold onto. Her fingers of her other hand tangled in his hair.

He was good at this. He lapped and sucked at her clit, skimming his teeth along the sensitive nub. His fingers explored and teased along her slit before finally entering her. It was no time at all before she forgot to be self-conscious about her moans and the way her hips bucked up to meet him.

She screamed when she came. That had never happened before.

He set her foot down and stood, his arm coming around her to steady her. She needed it. Her legs were jelly. He had such a beautiful smirk on his face as he caressed her flushed cheeks. "Delicious, in case you were wondering."

She blinked. "What?" Her brain was too blissed out to process words yet.

"Your taste." His hand to the small of her back, he pulled her up against him. She tilted her head up, and he needed no more invitation. He kissed her, and she could feel he was still hard, straining against his pants.

"You're wearing too many clothes," Bella said when they parted. Her fingers had long ago loosened his tie, and now she slipped it off.

"Well, I have a solution for that."

Before she could ask, Bella found herself being hoisted over his shoulder. She gave a startled shriek and then laughed, breathless as he climbed the stairs. "This is not gentlemanly behavior," she said, taking advantage of her position to smack his ass sharply.

"Hey." He tossed her on a huge, obscenely comfortable bed and climbed over her. He kissed her hard, stealing whatever was left of her breath, and grinned wickedly when he pulled back. "I never claimed to be a gentleman."

He stood then, and Bella pushed up onto her elbows, watching him as he undressed. He watched her back, and she felt strangely like she could read the look in his eyes like a book.

It was intense, this thing between them. She couldn't comprehend how she'd been so oblivious for so long. Though there was something so painfully beautiful about that too.

The love and attraction that got the most attention was the hard, fast kind. The kind that struck like a wrecking ball, like a voice in your ear that shouted, "him," or "her," from across a crowded room. That perfect moment of meeting, attraction, and falling together.

But this…

There was something to be said about a connection that formed gradually. Like all of Earth's masterpieces, they'd been shaped, drawn together by providence. Like canyons cut by winding rivers or rocks buffeted smooth by winds. He was underneath her skin. Her friend. Her confidant. Her partner, and now her lover.

He was beautiful. They were gorgeous together.

Bella sat up, scooting to the edge of the bed and cupping her hand around the back of his neck as he came to stand between her spread legs. He'd retrieved the condoms from her pants pocket at some point, and she watched as he rolled one on his cock.

He had a beautiful cock. She didn't know quite how to articulate that, so she merely watched the rubber to conform to the thick shape of him.

She swallowed hard, looking up into his eyes. "I love you," she whispered, needing him to know what this was to her.

He kissed her, whispering her name against her lips. He brushed a single knuckle down the side of her face, looking in her eyes. "You have me. All of me." He took her hand and kissed it. "Wrapped around your little finger."

He kissed her again and reached between them, lining up his cock with her entrance. Her legs spread to welcome him, and he pushed inside her, stretching her, filling her. They both moaned, frozen for a moment of completeness before they began to move together. She wrapped his arms around his neck and brought her knees up, taking him in deep. His hands were firm on her back, holding her up as he kissed her, panting into her mouth.

Later, when they were both sated, they lay tangled up together in his bed. She was draped over him, her head cradled on his shoulder. His fingers played along the ridge of her spine and hers explored the contours of his chest, tangling in the sparse hair there.

"Why me?" she asked, breaking the silence because there were so many things they needed to talk about now that they'd spent their unresolved tension.

He chuckled and pressed a long kiss to her forehead. "Because you're strong and fierce. Because you're funny and smart." He crooked a finger under her chin, tilting her head up so she was looking in his eyes. "Because I love you."

Her heart had never been so full, and yet it ached. "I feel...I wish…" She swallowed hard and tried again. "I wasted so much time."

He shook his head and kissed her soundly. "This, you being here with me, should have been impossible." He kissed her again. "Believe me, love. You were worth the wait."