Big thanks to beachcomberlc for her beta skills. She makes this shit work.

I don't own Twilight. Never have, never will.

More information at the end.

Chapter 17

"Me?" Bella replies, shocked by Edward's blunt admission.

She would be lying if she said she hadn't thought of him in a more romantic way. Being in such close quarters with such an attractive man for the past three months has done nothing to dissuade her feelings for him. In fact, over the last few weeks she has felt like they were both parenting Beth, and that fact alone has affected her libido because Edward is simply excellent to her daughter. "I'm kind of surprised."

"Why? You're beautiful, smart and very forgiving. I mean, not many people would forgive me for what I've done to you. However, I'd be a very lucky man if you were interested me in a romantic sense." Edward pauses, hoping that Bella will chime in and confirm that she too has feelings for him, but she says nothing.

Before Edward can get himself all worked up and frustrated for admitting that he cares for her, Bella grabs the front of his shirt and pulls him down to her for a passionate kiss.

Though his body is hard, Bella is surprised at how pliable his mouth is. She is also amazed by how quickly Edward wraps his arms tightly around her and pulls her onto his lap, their lips never once separating. When he does pull away, it is to pepper kisses down the side of her throat as his hands move down to cup her ass, moving her against his obvious erection. He's very bold and aggressive and Bella likes it. In fact, she can't get over how different he is from Jared, the only other man she has ever cared for in a romantic way.

"Oh God…how long have you felt this way?" Bella asks as she drops her head back and Edward kisses upwards to her chin as his hands knead her ass roughly, causing her to moan out loudly. Edward silences her with another kiss.

"Keep your voice down a bit, beautiful. We don't want to wake Beth. As for how long I have wanted you…a while," he murmurs softly against her skin, as he struggles to maintain some semblance of composure. "I couldn't help but fall for you, Bella."

Bella pauses and pushes her hand against his chest, causing Edward to lean back against the couch, his breathing labored as he takes a deep breath to calm himself slightly. All this making out and grinding with Bella is not an everyday occurrence for Edward, and he knows he is in over his head.

"What about all this 'mate' stuff? What if some vampire woman comes along and you can't resist her because she's meant to be your mate? What happens to me then?" Bella questions, her voice fraught with anxiety.

From the moment Bella determined she was developing feelings for Edward, the worry that he could leave her for someone who was meant for him had been nagging at her. Carlisle and Edward had both told her about concept of a 'singer', a human whose blood appeals to a vampire to an extreme extent, and she worried that Edward would find this person and immediately reject her.

With his fingers dancing lightly against the side of her cheek, Edward does his best to reassure Bella of his feelings for her. "I've talked to Carlisle about it and we both think that you are my mate, Bella. You are the one person who was meant for me and there will never be anyone as perfect for me as you are. I was intrigued by you back at the bar, but I had to keep my distance because of who I am and what I was doing there. Had I been closer to you, I think I would have known you were my singer."

"But when you found me unconscious…" Edward lifts his hands to her mouth to silence her, but Bella slips one of his fingers into her mouth and traces it lightly with her tongue, causing Edward to jerk his hips up into her involuntarily.

"Okay, stop for a second…" Bella releases his finger and Edward kisses her lips sweetly before continuing on with his theory. "Carlisle and I believe that I ignored my reaction to your blood because I was in the middle of some sort of rush from dealing with Marcus, and my brain couldn't process it. It's like…I can hear hundreds of voices in my head, but I need to focus on one for me to figure out what is being said. I had so much going on – killing Marcus, keeping you alive, keeping the baby alive – I just couldn't let myself think about your blood."

"So you think I'm your mate, right?" Bella questions, as Edward nods his head. "And that means we're meant to be together for eternity?"

"Yeah, I think so. Do you think you can handle that?"

"I don't know. You seem very high maintenance," Bella jokes as Edward kisses her neck once more, while his fingers tickle her sides, causing her to cry out with laughter. When Edward finally lets her calm down, Bella wastes no time yanking Edward's shirt off over his head. "Is it cheesy if I tell you that you've been running through my mind all month long?"

"A little," Edward replies as Bella kisses across his collarbone and then down his neck. Her hands drop in between them and she deftly begins to undo his belt, when Edward's hands stop her. "Umm… there is something you need to know, and you have to know it in no way means I am not attracted to you."

"Well, that's a shitty way to start off a conversation, especially given the last few minutes, but ok… what is it?"

"First of all, I apologize for how aggressive I was with you a moment ago. This is all kind of new to me and I got a bit carried away. Secondly, I'm a virgin," Edward blurts out uncomfortably, as Bella's mouth drops open in surprise. "You weren't expecting that huh?"

"Not even close," she answers with a small smile. "I was actually expecting you to tell me you were waiting for marriage or something archaic like that." Edward looks anxiously at Bella, because those were going to be his next words to her. However, because she has belittled his belief in waiting, he can't help but feel apprehensive, and she can sense this. "Oh shit, you are waiting for marriage, aren't you?"

"You were born in the late 1980's, Bella. I was born in 1901. Expectations were very different back then. It was very taboo to have sex with your intended before marriage. Obviously, it's not the same now, but I'm a traditional kind of guy," Edward reluctantly admits.

"Well, it seems we're at an impasse, because I'm not a particularly traditional kind of girl," Bella replies as she peels her own shirt off, leaving her in just jeans and bra. "I've had sex… obviously… and I want it again, as soon as possible, with you. However, if I have to take matters into my own hands, I'm not against that either."

Bella smirks mercilessly at Edward before lifting her hands behind her back to unclasp her bra, letting it fall to the floor beside them. Edward sits slack jawed, his eyes glued to her firm breasts and pink nipples, while Bella determined that though Edward has his beliefs, it doesn't mean that all is lost.

"Just because we can't go all the way, doesn't mean we can't have a little bit of fun, does it?"

"Um… no," Edward chokes out as Bella grasps his hands in hers and raises them to her breasts, making sure he gives them both a strong squeeze. Her hips rock and back and forth against him, urging him on, while he continues to hold her breasts in silence.

"I am going to have fun trying to corrupt you," Bella muses as she presses her lips against Edward's once more. She effortlessly climbs from his lap and dances toward the bedroom with a grin on her face. "Are you coming with me?"

Edward quickly follows her into the bedroom, where Bella is now sprawled out on the bed in her only her jeans. Though Edward had no real use for the bed before, he can't help but find himself excited that he let Alice purchase it. Bella pats the bed softly beside her and Edward tentatively climbs up, before she slips herself right against his bare chest, kissing the spot on his chest where his heart should be beating.

Sensing that Edward needs a little encouragement, Bella kisses him desperately, while rolling onto her back, bringing him on top of her and between her spread legs. "Just do what feels natural," she instructs him as he rolls his hips against her and presses his very obvious erection against her overheated body. They both moan as Bella pulls Edward's face down to hers, kissing him madly as Edward pulls away and leans down to suck one of her nipples into his mouth.

"Oh…that's good," Bella purrs, driving Edward on. With Bella's encouragement and her rather lascivious words, Edward can't seem to stop himself from helping her reach the pinnacle of pleasure. His hips grind against her, his cock hard and aching with every press against her warmth, and his lips suck and nip at every inch of skin he can reach. When Bella reaches down to undo his belt and pants, slipping her hand inside his jeans to stroke his cock, he can't find it in himself to stop her. In fact, he finds himself pumping into her hand mere seconds later, a loud growl falling from his lips as he comes.

"Oh god," Edward groans as Bella smirks proudly at him. "That was…"

"So much better with a partner huh?" Bella jokes as she slips her hand from Edward's pants and cleans it off with a Kleenex before undoing her own pants and sliding her hand inside, desperate for release.

"Let me help you with that," Edward murmurs quietly as Bella nods his head and begins to peel off her pants. She lets them drop to the floor beside the bed, and Edward looks at her anxiously before Bella grabs his hand and puts it right against the wet fabric of her panties. He begins to rub tentatively and when Bella presses her hand against his, wanting him to be firmer in his touch, Edward tenses.

"It's better if you are under the fabric," Bella advises him as Edward's eyes grow wide. "Try it… please?"

Edward doesn't need any further prompting. If he thinks it will help Bella come, he's all for it, with the exception of actual penetration, for now. Trying to act all confident, Edward reaches up and pulls her panties from her small body, as Bella spreads her legs wide for him to have better access. Within seconds, his fingers are exploring every inch of her pussy – flicking, rubbing and squeezing – her clit as Bella writhes and moans under his ministrations.

Feeling emboldened, Edward slips one long finger inside her, as Bella bucks up against his hand and her cries become louder. As Bella fists the comforter beneath her, Edward continues to fuck her with his finger before adding a second, finally driving her over the edge.

As she struggles to relax, Beth begins to cry from the other room. Edward doesn't think twice before slipping some clean shorts on and leaving to go get the little girl he's beginning to consider his daughter. Sure, she's not his flesh and blood, but she means the world to him and he would adopt her in a heartbeat if he could.

"Hey beautiful, what's going on?" Edward asks as he approaches her crib and sees her fussing. He can immediately smell the issue and sets about changing her diaper, as he hears Bella slip in behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist as she presses her head against his back.

"You are awesome with her. Thank you," Bella says softly.

"It's easy to love her," Edward answers as he finishes clasping Beth's onesie and picks her up, cradling her gently in his arms. "She looks just as beautiful as her mother, and she smiles at me like I hung the moon." Bella curls into his side and they both look down at the small child, unable to stop their own smiles. "I think if we were married, everything would be perfect in my life. Beautiful wife, lovely daughter… it's more than I ever thought I'd have."

"Is this your half-assed way of proposing to me?" Bella asks with a grin. "We haven't even been on a date."

"I'll have to rectify that as soon as possible then, won't I?"

So, this is kind of bittersweet for me, but this is the end of the road for me and this story. I've seen the best and worst in the fandom in the four years that I have been here. I've met some of the most wonderful people, both online and in real life, during my time here, but I've hit a wall and just have no more words left in me.

Will I be finishing Heart of Stone? No... I won't. I am utterly stuck with this story. I think. Sure, it's technically unfinished, but it's not like I am leaving it with a cliffy. I will be posting a one shot tonight. Then that's it.

Will I be gone completely? No. I'm still reading and reviewing, like usual, just not as often.

Where can you find me? I'll always be on twitter as coldplaywhore being my usual sarcastic self. My facebook account, coldplaywhore words, will remain active for the time being though I can't tell you when I was on there last. You can also find me under my real life twitter name LynnGood77. Cat's out of the bag, my real name is Lynn. LOL

Wait... you have a real life twitter? Does this mean you are writing fiction? Nope. It doesn't. When I say I'm stuck, I mean it. I have no fiction, whether fan fiction or otherwise, in me right now.

Will I be pulling any of my stories? Nope. You want them... you got them. Just don't steal them and say they are yours. I will be watching. LOL

Will I write again?You never know what will happen. Several years ago when I discovered the books and movies that are Twilight I never thought I would be here for four years. They helped me get through a difficult time in my life and it led to me finding Fan Fiction. I am forever thankful that I found Wide Awake by AG003 recommended over on a Twilight Fan Page, otherwise it never would have led me to all of you.

So, thank you. It's been a wonderful ride, and you will all forever hold a special place in my heart.

coldplaywhore out!