A/N: It's been a long time since I've been able to routinely do the daily WitFit writing, but as with the one that prompted the story "Finally Found", there were just some of them that stuck with me. As well as quite a few requests from readers to continue them a bit longer.

This Edward and Bella was one that stuck with me, even as a WitFit, as they got three of their very own on three different days. I had hoped to someday revisit them, and it's taken me almost two years to do so. They came knocking at my brain's door one day, and I got a little bit of a story for them in my head, so I went back and grabbed them from my document stash, cleaned up the original WitFits and started writing from there. Again, this isn't a very long story, but I hope you enjoy it. I am posting the original, cleaned up blurbs here first, and then the next two chapters will be the remainder of the story.

Thank you and take care!

Penname: kyla713
Creative Original or Derivative Fiction: Derivative

Rating/Warning(s): M

Prompt: Word Prompt: Vodka

BPOV

"Worst kiss ever," Edward challenged me from across the coffee table, raising his eyebrow with a smirk.

"There is not enough vodka in the world to tolerate you tonight," I sneered with narrowed eyes, tossing back another shot to avoid his cocky expression.

"Come on, spill it, Bells," my brother, Emmett, chuckled beside me, nudging me gently with his elbow. "I promise I won't kick his ass too badly."

At first, I didn't want to answer, especially with my brother sitting right next to me, and particularly not on the night before his wedding. However, after catching the look in Edward's eyes and the smile he wore, that grew with the level of discomfort he was causing me—along with the numerous shots I already had under my belt—it instilled a renewed vigor in me to reply.

"Mike Newton. After the rehearsal dinner. Tried slipping me tongue," I replied with a roll of my neck, finishing off with another shot warming down my throat.

"Right outside the church?" Emmett exclaimed, shaking his head with wide eyes, and I shrugged noncommittally.

When I glanced back at Edward, his face was a complete mask of calm, with the exception of the almost imperceptible flare of his nostrils and the instantaneous darkening of his eyes. I ran my tongue along my lower lip in an attempt to hide my own satisfied smirk in response.

"Okay, I take that back on kicking his ass, and I seriously need to rethink my groomsmen," Emmett muttered into his beer and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, calm down, Emmett. I'm twenty-one and can take care of myself," I growled through clenched teeth and glared at him.

"Doubt it," Edward muttered under his breath before tossing back another shot, and my narrowed eyes moved to him.

Being the only girl in the house since my mom left when I was a baby definitely had its disadvantages, particularly when I remained petite, even throughout my teenage years. Now, on the eve of Emmett's wedding, I was sure that my father would start feeling hints of the empty nest syndrome, and guard me even more protectively. However, the last thing I needed was that asshole passing judgment on me.

"Okay, your turn," Emmett called out suddenly, pounding his fist on the table and pointing to Edward. "Worst head you've ever gotten."

"Emmett, please," Rose groaned, her head falling back dramatically onto Emmett's shoulder. "It's disgusting enough to know my brother has a sex life, without the gory details of it being laid out before me."

"Then don't listen," Edward retorted as he and his sister exchanged a glare, before looking back directly at me. "Last night."

My eyes widened as he paused for effect, knowing exactly what he was doing to me, judging from the triumphant look on his face.

"Drive in, back seat of my car, Angela Weber," he continued, shaking his head. "Nice girl, but definitely too innocent for her own good. No idea what she's doing."

Our eyes locked across the table for a moment before I stood up from the floor abruptly; I couldn't take any more of him tonight. "I'll see you all in the morning. I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Maybe you should stick to wine coolers next time, Bella-Bear," Edward taunted me as I began to walk away, and I snarled at him over my shoulder without stopping, turning to flip him off with both hands, and then stormed up the stairs.

I could hear the roar of laughter erupting in the living room before I made it to the top of the stairs, slamming the door of my bedroom closed behind me. Edward's obnoxiously loud voice echoed up the stairs that he was going to head home as well…right next door.

At the sound of our front door closing, my eyes shot across the room to my open bedroom window. I clenched my jaw and stormed over to it, slamming it shut and flipping the lock. My heart was pounding, and my throat was dry, trying to block out the look on Edward's face as he enjoyed taunting me…and the intense wave of arousal it caused in me. I thrust my fist and the back of my head against the wall in frustration, wishing I could block him out. I hated the effect he had on me, the power he held. The pit of my stomach throbbed all the way down to between my legs, and I released a heavy sigh as I reached over to flip the lock back again.

I turned my head to glance outside, watching him cross the lawn over to his yard along with Rosalie, and the cocky son of a bitch had the nerve to look up and smirk. The moment he was out of sight, I opened the window again to allow the cool fall air to drift into my stuffy room and began to unbutton my jeans.

No sooner had I gotten them down my legs and tossed aside, I felt chilled fingertips gripping the skin of my hips and pulling me back roughly against a hard body. I could feel his breath beating against my flesh, the harsh rise and fall of chest nearly making an indentation against my spine. "Mike…Newton?"

His strained, seething words gave me a shiver of satisfaction, and I smiled until his hand slid down my abdomen to settle between my legs, gripping me firmly. "Angela Weber?" I asked in a whisper as his lips ran along my neck. "Were you that desperate for a blow job that you couldn't wait until midnight?"

His irritated growl rumbled against my back as his teeth grazed my neck. There were times I really couldn't stand the man behind me, with his cocky attitude and 'god's gift to women' persona. Yet, from the first night he'd snuck through my window at midnight after an entire day of taunting each other at every given opportunity, I knew there was one thing that I would never be able to deny again.

He was an addiction from the first night, and one that I never wanted to give up. So, we'd been meeting that way for months, with him sneaking into my bedroom at midnight, getting our thrills from each other, and going on about our lives. Never speaking about it outside and taking what we needed. Dating whomever we wanted, but somehow, always managing to come back to what we shared.

"Jealous?" he rasped in my ear as his fingers made slow, daunting circles over the cotton of my panties.

I swallowed hard and shook my head, grinding my ass back against his now prominent erection. He was driving me crazy, but there was no way in hell I was letting him completely take me over. "No. But I'm detecting a hint of the green-eyed monster back there."

"Fuck no," he hissed as his free arm locked around my shoulders, his fingers pressing more firmly against me and rubbing briskly. Even through the fabric, his ministrations caused my knees to buckle and my hand to fly back to grip his hair. He sucked his breath in through his teeth at the sharp pull, yanking aside my panties and driving his fingers inside me. "If you think Mike Newton can do this for you, then by all means."

"Maybe he can. Never know until I try. And there's not a damn thing you can say," I retorted in a whisper against his ear, followed by a light dragging of my teeth along his earlobe. "I'm not yours."

"But this body is." His voice grew harsher; his fingers gaining momentum as they moved back to my sensitive flesh, my legs threatening to give out beneath me. His arm tightened around my chest to support me as his lips spoke against my jaw. "No matter what you do, or who else touches you, it aches for me. Waits for me to climb in that window. Doesn't it?"

I was so fucking turned on that I could barely reply with more than a grunt, trembling in his hold as he skillfully brought me to orgasm. My jaw tightened in restraint, attempting to keep quiet so that my brother wouldn't hear from downstairs, and my hips jerked toward his fingers. My hand dropped from his hair and I slid it between us, rubbing it firmly against the bulge in the front of his jeans. "Well, by that same token, this is mine. And I know Angela Weber can't give you what you need."

I smirked as I turned to face him, nipping at his skin through his shirt as I lowered myself to kneel in front of him. His breathing picked up in anticipation as I began unfastening his jeans, as anxious as if I were opening a Christmas present, and my eyes locked with his. I stripped his pants down his legs, followed swiftly by his boxer briefs, and instantly gripped his length in my hand. His eyes closed as my hand began its movements, and I watched his head tilt back while my tongue made its long slow trek from base to tip, before I spoke again.

"But I know damn well I can," I said quickly and sheathed him inside my mouth, feeling him strike the back of my throat. The string of expletives that escaped his lips and his fingers driving into my hair sent a shiver down my spine.

His pants were heavy and desperate; his fingers tightened in my hair as I increased my pace and massaged him with my tongue. The fact that I could cause that level of reaction in Edward Cullen still affected me more than it should, but I couldn't bring myself to care at that moment. He was hissing my name, not Angela's or anyone else's.

My lips moved along him, and my nails trailed lightly over the skin on the inside of his thighs until my hand cupped him and massaged in time with my descents. I felt him tighten in my palm and go all the more rigid against my tongue; apparently, he was just as turned on by our banter earlier as I was. I took him into my throat, ready to finish him off when I felt his hands move to either side of my head. His hips thrust against me twice more before pulling me off him, panting heavily.

Before I could piece together what was happening, his hands slid under my arms, lifting me off the floor and tossing me onto the bed. My breath stalled at the predatory gaze in his eyes, a look I'd never seen before. His fingers gripped my panties and whipped them down my legs, dropping them to the floor before hovering above me on the bed.

"I want to fuck you, Bella," he growled, his eyes penetrating mine.

"But we don't—"

"I want," he interrupted me with a gravelly snarl, gliding his hardened length against me and groaning at exactly how aroused I was, no doubt. "To fuck you. Say yes."

My body arched of its own volition at the commanding tone of his voice, grinding along the smooth skin of his length. We'd never gone that far before, keeping strictly to our hand and mouth agreement. We both enjoyed giving and receiving oral sex, so it had always worked well for us. We'd never even so much as kissed, and now, he was asking to fuck me… and I wanted nothing more than to say yes.

"Not bareback. You have what we need?" I asked breathlessly, even though, in all actuality, I ached for nothing more than to tilt my hips and take him inside of me.

Edward rose from the bed quickly to kick off his shoes and pants as I sat up to lift the tight baby tee over my head, revealing my bare breasts to him and causing him to groan again. Reaching into the back pocket of his jeans, he pulled out his wallet to retrieve the stashed condom inside.

I crawled over to him, taking the packet and ripping it open, rolling the condom onto him as he whipped off his shirt. The moment it was on, his hands grasped my waist, pushing me back down onto the bed and settling between my legs. "You sure about this?"

My fingers wove into his hair and gripped, pulling his face close to mine. I lifted my hips toward him until his tip inched into me and my eyes locked with his intensely. "I just put the condom on you, right? Now, fuck me."

What I didn't expect was his lips to claim mine as he slid inside me, entering me in one fluid thrust. His kiss was urgent and passionate, surprisingly increasing the sensations caused by each movement of his hips. When his tongue parted my lips and glided against mine, it wasn't clumsy or uncomfortable. It was sensual and felt oh so good.

My legs wrapped around his and my hips began moving, meeting him thrust for thrust. Our moans resonated in our chests as he hitched my leg higher on his hip, driving into me deeper, faster. I no longer cared who heard the creaking of the bed, the sounds of our pleasure. My father could walk in at that moment to find the neighbor boy fucking the hell out of his daughter, and I wouldn't let Edward stop. The combination of his body gliding against mine, him filling me again and again, and his teeth dragging along my lip as he approached orgasm—I'd never felt better in my life.

My arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders, my fingers splaying across his back and feeling the lines of muscle contracting and releasing with each of his movements. Finally, they tightened one last time as he throbbed inside me, moaning against my lips as he came.

Fighting to catch his breath, he collapsed beside me, running his fingers into his hair. Silence filled the air between us as neither of us moved to speak. I finally sat up slowly; grabbing my nightshirt from the bedpost and sliding it on, hearing him draw in a deep breath behind me.

"Okay, so maybe a little bit of the green-eyed monster," he said with a sigh, and I looked over my shoulder at him. He stood to clean up and get dressed, and was sliding his jeans on when he glanced back to me. "But you could definitely do better than Mike Newton."

I gaped at him as he grabbed his shirt and slipped back out the window.

Rating/Warning(s): M

Prompt: Plot Generator—Idea Completion: New Year's Resolutions

BPOV

"Fucking hell!" I exclaimed as I collapsed onto his bed, thoroughly spent from the vigorous fucking I had received only moments before.

Edward and I had been messing around for a year, since the previous New Year's Eve in Rosalie's hot tub; drunk, horny, and all alone. Despite the fact that neither of us could stand the other, we definitely knew how to work each other's bodies—and it kept us coming back for more.

However, everything came to a head six months previous, the night before my brother's wedding. After finally giving in to our desires and actually having sex for the first time, the need for my fix on him had only increased. And they'd led to nights such as this; me climbing in his window at three in the morning, waking him up by encompassing his unfailingly hard length with my mouth, and then crawling up his body to take him inside me.

Something was different about tonight, though, I thought— he'd been waiting for me. After ravaging my body at midnight, following yet another New Year's Eve party, where I'd taunted him all night in that short, black dress, I'd expected him to be asleep. However, the moment I was through the window, I felt his arm around my waist, his teeth at my neck, and his erection pressed against my ass.

Within seconds, our pants were dropped, my body bent over the side of the bed, and he was driving into me relentlessly. I loved it when he fucked me from behind, but that instance was different. We were still partially clothed, never taking the time to remove our shirts or free our legs from the fabric that pooled at our ankles. And he took me with such reckless abandon, I barely contained my scream as I came harder than any time previous with him.

As I lay there panting in the aftermath, my eyes shot open in realization as he fell beside me, and I sprang off the bed.

"You son of a bitch, you just came inside me! What the fuck, Edward!" I hissed as I backhanded his leg, lifting my pants up my body and running into his bathroom.

My brain was fogged and in a panic, unable to believe the carelessness presented by both of us – even within the already fucked up situation we'd gotten ourselves into. After taking a few minutes to collect myself, I returned to the bedroom with my arms angrily crossed over my chest. "That can't happen ever again. Do you even realize what you could have done?"

"You're right." His voice was uncharacteristically quiet, and I paused to fully take him in. He was leaning forward with his fingers driven into his hair, his eyes closed and his jaw tight. I swallowed hard; he almost looked angry. Until his hands dropped and his gaze rose to mine, shaking his head. "It can't. I think our New Year's resolution should be to stay as far away from each other as humanly possible."

I stopped breathing and felt my stomach drop out; staring at him as if looking at him long enough would erase what he'd just said. "What?"

"Honestly, Bella, how long can we expect to do this? Driving across town to screw each other's brains out, just for the sake of getting off? It's not like we're right next door anymore, and we're not just a couple of kids, either. I live over your brother's garage, for fuck sake," he replied in exasperation, shaking his head. "This isn't good for either of us, and all it takes is one fuck up."

Anger began boiling within me that I never even knew existed, his words stinging more than I ever thought they would. For the first time, I felt dirty and used. "Wouldn't want to knock up your whore, now would you?"

Edward's nostrils flared in response, sneering back at me. "Your words, not mine."

Grabbing my keys from the floor where I'd dropped them when he'd grabbed me, I climbed back out the window and down the ladder, running for my car. I glared to where I'd exited from, expecting to see him there. He wasn't. I turned the ignition, quickly pulling away from the curb and heading home. Slamming my hands into the steering wheel and my head back against the seat, I cursed and berated myself as angry tears flowed down my cheeks.

How could I have allowed myself to be so stupid? To let him use me for his pleasure, only to cast me aside when he was finally done with me. Yet, was I any better?

Maybe he was right, and it was best. We were grown adults and needed to start taking some responsibility for our actions. I didn't need him; I didn't even like him. He drove me crazy and made me angrier than anyone I had ever met in my life. He was arrogant and rude. Completely immoral; uncaring that he was screwing his best friend's sister night after night.

So why does it feel like my world is crashing down around me?

Weeks passed, and I still heard nothing. Edward had moved out of my brother's garage apartment and headed up to Seattle, removing any temptation I might have had. But tension still mounted within me until I was finally able to text him with the final severing of any ties between us.

I got it this month. You're safe. Have a nice life.

Things improved when I began dating Riley, one of the guys in the office building next to the school where I was teaching. Regular sex tends to have that effect on a girl. And he was good…really good…but he wasn't quite what I needed. As soon as he'd roll over to fall asleep, I would finish the job myself – with Edward's face in my mind.

And I hated myself more every time.

When Alice announced that she was getting married, I knew it meant trouble. Not only was she one of my best friends, but she was also Edward's cousin. There would be no way that one of us would be invited and not the other. What exactly could I say? 'Hey Alice, would you mind not inviting one of the closest members of your family so that I won't feel uncomfortable being your maid of honor? I used to fuck him behind everyone's back, and really want to keep it on the downlow, thanks.'

I'd have to face him; there was no way around it.

The strain of the upcoming wedding began to take its toll on my relationship, until it finally dissipated into nothing. After six months, I was right back to square one…lonely and extremely sexually frustrated.

The instant I spotted him from the window as he stepped out of his car, looking impeccable in his black suit and doing nothing to disguise the length of his legs, I felt my knees preparing to buckle. His hair was combed to the side, which I knew wouldn't last long with his habit of driving his hands through it. His tongue running over those lips that had touched my skin so many times, causing phantom tingles to course through my body.

Damn it, couldn't he have shaved for his cousin's wedding? I growled internally, as his long fingers rubbed across the trace of scruff lining his jaw as Emmett spoke to him, nodding his head in agreement to whatever was being said.

"Hey, Bella. You realize that it's my job to look that pale, right?" Alice teased, catching my attention and smiling as I looked over at her. "What's going on out there?"

"Oh, nothing," I replied, attempting to calm my voice as I made my way over to her and straightened her veil. "Your cousin just got here. Late, of course."

"Bella…"

"Don't worry. We'll be on our best behavior. We made it through Rose and Emmett's wedding without killing each other, right? And we actually had to walk down that aisle together."

I watched her shoulders noticeably relax as she nodded, taking her bouquet in her hands and drawing in a deep breath. "Oh God, I didn't think I'd be this nervous."

Reaching for my own bouquet, I grasped her free hand with my own, giving it a gentle squeeze. We walked out of the room toward the doors leading into the church, and the moment I stepped through them, I spotted him right away. My eyes met his briefly in passing, but just as quickly looked away as I took my place at the altar.

Throughout the ceremony, I could literally feel his eyes burning into my back, the warmth searing through my skin as if he could see right through me. The minutes ticked by like hours before we finally made our way outside, where I immediately ducked into the limo, short of breath.

Just a few more hours, and then he'll be gone again. All of our close friends are now married or have no intention to be. No other big events to attend for anyone else that can't be declined with a polite RSVP. I'll never have to see him again.

Glass after glass of champagne flowed down my throat, yet, I barely felt a thing. His eyes occasionally locked with mine, but we continued to remain on opposite sides of the room for a majority of the evening while the reception whirled around us.

"Bella?" I heard his voice as I tipped back another flute of the bubbly liquid, slowly lowering it to find his green eyes directly in front of me. "Would you like to dance?"

I looked away to set my glass on the table beside me and shook my head. "I don't think that would be such a good idea. Seeing as that would mean you couldn't remain as 'far as humanly possible' away from me and all."

I brushed past him, heading for the exit and stepping out into the hallway, taking a steadying breath. The door burst open a moment later and my head shot up to find Edward standing there. His gaze was intense, and he took two quick steps toward me, driving his fingers into my hair at my neck and sealing his lips roughly to mine. My entire being responded to him immediately, my hands clinging to his back, almost in desperation.

I hated him. I hated the way he made me feel, and how I wanted him. I hated how weak I became for him. And I definitely hated the fact that he could so easily bend me to his will again, even after all the time that had passed. I thought I was stronger than that—and I wasn't.

We made our way down the hall toward the changing room, locking the door behind us before his body pressed mine against it. His hands hastily worked to lift my skirt and slide my lace panties off, as mine endeavored to unbuckle his belt and open the front of his pants.

I'd just wrapped my legs around his waist when I felt him thrust inside me and heard a deep groan rumble in his chest. My fingers tightened in his hair as his hips moved frantically against me, and he kissed me hard and rough.

He felt just as I'd remembered him, better even. Smelled just as good. Invoked sensations within me that only he could. Damn him.

He knew every breath, every beat of my heart that would tell him exactly when my orgasm was right on the brink of claiming me. And his hand gripped my thigh, inching it up along his side and thrusting harder into me.

"Don't you dare come 'til I do," I hissed, his lower lip between my teeth.

"Shit, Bella… been too long…"

"Not yet…almost… fuck!" I growled, biting into his shoulder to muffle my cries as my body shuddered in orgasm.

A loud moan rumbled in his throat as my teeth barely refrained from piercing the skin of his neck and I felt him release inside me a moment later. I was breathless as he continued to lean into me, motionless until he set me down and we both regained our footing.

"We didn't use a condom," he panted and swallowed hard, but made no move to let me go.

"I'm on the pill now. Do I need to worry about anything else?" I whispered, gradually releasing his hair from my hold and he shook his head. And somehow, I believed him. "What about the resolution?"

"Who do you know that actually holds to those past the first week of the New Year? This has to be some sort of a record." We both released an uncomfortable chuckle, finally opening our eyes to look at each other. "I've missed you, Bella."

Our lips were just about to touch again when a loud thudding sounded from the other side of the door. "Hey, you two. You might want to get your asses back into that reception hall, they're about to cut the cake."

I felt my skin burning as my brother's voice echoed through, my eyes wide as saucers. There was no way I could walk out there and face him.

"Honestly, Bells. Did you think I never once saw your car outside?"

Edward's gaze snapped to mine, the horror mirroring my own.

Rating/Warning(s): M

Prompt: Word Prompt: Morning

EPOV

My fingers firmly gripped the balcony railing I leaned back on, and I felt the warm sea breeze gusting softly against my neck. Yet, my eyes wouldn't move from where they'd been all morning.

Lying on her stomach with the white sheet tangled around her legs and resting low on her waist, Bella was still sleeping peacefully. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined her still in my bed on any given morning, let alone driving over a thousand miles just to see me.

Following our encounter at my cousin's wedding, we'd both implored Emmett to keep his knowledge to himself until Bella and I could figure the whole mess out for ourselves. I'd completely expected him to beat the living shit out of me for fucking around with his baby sister, but instead, he rolled his eyes and told us that we needed to do a better job at covering it up if we didn't want my sister, Rose, to find out.

And I knew I didn't. At least not until I could make sense of it all. She would beat the shit out of me; I had no doubt about that.

For so many years, I despised the woman in my bed at that moment. She'd been a snarky, uptight know-it-all throughout our entire childhood, the complete opposite of her friendly, outgoing brother, Emmett. It seemed the only thing they shared in common was a closet.

When she'd developed into a beautifully curved, sexy woman, I'd never know—as she'd hidden for years beneath baggy jeans and t-shirts at least six sizes too big.

So, when she arrived at that New Year's Eve party over a year and a half before in that tight, deep purple dress, my brain and my dick apparently decided to part company. The more I tried to remind myself that I hated the girl, the harder I became.

As the party began to die down—with everyone passing out or leaving—before long, it was just me and her… and my raging hard on. I may have groaned just a little too audibly when she began to peel off her dress, revealing a bikini underneath of the exact same shade, but I was too drunk to care.

She dropped the dress to the floor and walked toward the hot tub, her hips swaying with the movement, and I took another long drink from my bottle. However, I couldn't rip my eyes away from the way the shade of her suit contrasted with her pale, flawless skin before she slipped her heels off at the edge of the tub and stepped into the steaming water.

I'd stopped trying to figure out how I ended up in that tub with her. It was simple; I was drunk and horny, and so was she.

After that, we'd become insatiable, without ever really fucking. Bella's lips around me was the most amazing feeling, and even I couldn't deny that it was a beautiful sight as well. And it pissed me off that I wanted her as much as I did, that I felt jealousy raging through me when she flaunted her escapades with other men in front of me—which always led me to her window at midnight.

Yet, when I heard the name Mike Newton fall from her lips, something inside me snapped. He'd been wanting to fuck her since high school, even sucking up to her brother for a chance to get between her legs.

I might not have been Prince Charming, but I wasn't the complete douchebag that Mike Newton was, either.

I fought fire with fire, watching her brown eyes go almost black as I stared right at her when I told the entire room about the head I'd gotten from Angela the night before. I'd fibbed just a little; Angela wasn't nearly as innocent as she led everyone to believe. She definitely knew what she was doing and had no qualms about telling me to drop the pretenses of a 'date' next time – she only did 'friends with benefits' arrangements. No commitments.

But as good as she felt with both her mouth around me and then finally riding me in the back seat of my car… she wasn't Bella. Her lips weren't nearly as full, her sounds not as sultry. I hadn't envisioned her body lowering onto mine and fucking me to oblivion in my mind a million times.

No sooner had I dropped her off and gone home to take a shower, I was in Bella's room with her in front of me, on her knees. I was a jerk, I knew it—but I couldn't get enough of her.

The night before Emmett's wedding, on the other hand, was like nothing I'd ever felt before. The need to touch and claim her was so strong, it completely consumed me. We taunted and teased one another as she came against my fingers, then dropped to her knees in front of me. And I knew the moment she began taking me into her throat, that it wasn't going to be enough for me that night.

So, we fucked. Hard. And I kissed her; finally, after all that time, I felt her lips against mine, and they were just as intoxicating as her body. I was in dangerous territory, and I knew it, but I couldn't be brought to care as she moaned and writhed, fucking me back.

And so opened the can of worms that led to that ridiculous New Year's resolution. My need for her only increased in the six months that passed between Emmett's wedding and the next New Year's Eve party. I'd watched her all evening in that fucking black dress, the way it flowed around her thighs and hugged her breasts. I wanted to pull her out back and take her against the house, but I waited until she left around eleven, giving me a knowing look. I then made the drive to her house and fucked her in that same black dress that had been driving me crazy all night.

I knew I had gotten in way over my head with her when I drove home, and I was still hard and aching for her. I jerked off in the shower and even that only abated it for an hour. It was obvious that there would be no sleep for me until I had her again—so I waited for her until three.

The instant I had her in my arms, my body shifted into autopilot. I fucked her harder than any time previous, without any thought or caution. Came inside her without warning—and definitely deserved more than the smack on the leg I'd received from her.

We were a lethal combination and I knew it. Neither of us would be able to sustain a normal, healthy relationship with anyone else as long as we remained addicted to each other that way. I tried to leave, to put enough miles between us that the distance would eliminate any purpose to seeing each other. By the time either of us reached where the other was, it would be pointless and not worth the trip at all.

Yet, when I received her text, telling me in not so many words that she had gotten her period after the last reckless time we were together, I couldn't describe the feeling that came over me. Obviously, there was relief that, in my carelessness, I hadn't gotten her pregnant, but also the realization that she was still raw from our final verbal exchange, and all because of the toxic need we had for each other. And then there was the unfamiliar knot that began to form in my stomach at her easy dismissal.

I had to put distance between us before we completely destroyed each other.

Though it worked for its intended purpose, it had all been in vain the moment I spotted her coming down that aisle at Alice's wedding. I was beginning to doubt that there was a single color that the woman could wear and not look fucking amazing, as she passed by me in that turquoise dress.

Before I knew it, we were in that dressing room with her legs around my waist and I was buried deep inside her. Six months of avoiding temptation completely negated. We'd lost none of the fire together; all the need and want was still there.

With one major difference.

"I've missed you, Bella," I whispered as I gazed into her eyes, my forehead resting against hers.

Honesty. Pure, unfiltered, non-cryptic honesty.

Until, of course, Emmett knocked and broke the moment, neither of us able to wrap our heads around the fact that we had just fucked with her brother on the other side of the door. Or that he'd just called both our asses out on something we thought was just between us.

I returned to Seattle that night without another word to Bella and began making arrangements the following morning to head down to California. Putting over a hundred miles between us hadn't worked in the long run, so I just needed to add more.

Yup, that had worked, too, I thought sarcastically as I shook my head, watching her bare back rise and fall with each breath. Only that time, she had come down to me, banged on my front door with tears in her eyes, and smacked me across the face when I finally opened the door.

"Quit running away from me, asshole!" she snarled through clenched teeth, before stepping toward me quickly and wrapping her arms around my neck, her lips crashing against mine. "I can't give you up."

My hand drove into her windblown hair, while my other arm gripped around her waist as the kiss grew fierce and rough. Her fingers grasped the front of my shirt and pulled me into the closest room, which happened to be the living room, breaking the kiss only long enough to begin removing our clothes.

We fucked on the couch. On the floor. Against the banister of the stairs. Before finally making it to my bed, thrusting and clawing at each other until we were both completely spent and fell asleep.

I'd awoken as the first hint of sunlight began invading the room, causing me to curse as it glared right in my eyes. The shifting beside me caused them to open and look, finding Bella still asleep there. I carefully slipped out of bed and grabbed a pair of loose pants from my dresser, and I'd been standing out on that balcony ever since.

Bella deserved better than that; better than me. She deserved someone who completely adored her, who would make love to her and marry her, and give her dozens of beautiful babies. She deserved an intelligent, competent man, not a high school dropout, living off the inheritance from his dead parents.

Yet, as much as I wanted to continue hating her as I had nearly all my life, it was clear after the night before, it just wasn't gonna happen. Bella made me feel the way no other woman ever had.

Despite everything, I felt needed. Wanted. Truly desired.

Slowly making my way back inside, I crawled back onto the bed, brushing my lips against the small of her back and working my way up her spine. By the time I reached her shoulder, her eyes were still closed but a smile hinted at her lips.

"Morning," I whispered against her skin, kissing up her neck.

Bella's eyes opened slightly, brushing her fingers gently along my jaw as she gazed up at me. "Morning."

Her voice was groggy and still heavy with sleep, but her body turned beneath me and her arms slid around my back. Her cheek was still warm and flushed from where it had rested on the pillow as I brushed the backs of my fingers against it. "I don't want you to leave."

Bella raised an eyebrow and took my lower lip between hers, pulling me closer. "I didn't drive over a thousand miles for a quick lay, just to turn around and go back."

"Or three or four," I mumbled against her lips, at which she groaned, pushing me away and rolling out of bed.

"God, you always have to be such an ass, don't you? Makes me wonder why I even bothered," she muttered under her breath as she stormed across the room to my dresser, pulling out a t-shirt and sliding it over her head. I sat up and gazed at her curiously, to which she rolled her eyes. "If you think I'm walking around this dump naked, you're out of your damn mind."

I slid across the bed quickly, racing toward the door before she could slip out of the room and pushing it closed. "Why did you?"

Bella's eyes shot up to mine and then quickly lowered again. "I already told you. I was tired of you running away all the time."

"Okay," I replied slowly, leaning back against the door. "Why?"

"What are you, three years old? Why, why, why?" she retorted in an annoyed tone, but never lifted her gaze to mine and folded her arms around herself. She mumbled indistinctly under her breath and shifted uncomfortably, leaning back against the wall beside me and turning her face away from me.

"What?" I mocked in a whisper, leaning my ear closer to her.

Bella sighed heavily and pursed her lips, turning to look at me again. "Fine, I missed you, too! Happy now, jackass?"

My eyes widened in surprise; not at her words, but the fact that she had just screamed in my ear, and it was now ringing. Slowly, the meaning behind her statement began to settle into my brain and my gaze moved back to hers. "You did?"

"Yeah, I did," she replied in a much gentler tone, but still keeping a slight distance from me.

I reached for her arm and pulled her toward me, sealing my lips over hers and wrapping my arms around her waist. Her hands clasped my face as I lifted her from the floor and carried her back to the bed, falling back onto it with her on top of me.

"We are so fucked."

Bella sat up, pulling the shirt from her body again and nodding. "Yes, we definitely are," she whispered breathlessly, capturing my lips again and rolling me on top of her. "Completely fucked."