Chapter 1: The Game of Seduction

It was my birthday. This morning I had officially turned 26 years old.

And I was not at all excited. So what if I was one year older? Nothing was going to change.

Squad 17 would disagree. The nine other members of my police unit constantly tried to convince me that birthdays were a big deal. That every stupid holiday mattered. Though that was probably because it was an excuse to party. That was why I was still turning up tonight. Though I wasn't interested in celebrating, I was interested in getting really, really drunk, and the guys had promised to buy me drinks all night long. They might be twenty something men with the maturity of five-year-olds, but they had their merits. Tonight, I would forget how lonely my life was.

Even though I would have been perfectly happy to get drunk on my own, I decided that since the guys were putting in the effort, I would, too. I pulled on a skin-tight blue dress that suited the color of my creamy skin and long dark hair. Looking in the mirror, I had to admit I looked good. Two hours of training every morning at the Seattle Police Department had left me lean and toned, and often made me a target of wolf whistles given the 1:100 female to male ratio at Seattle PD. Most of the time, I let the attention roll off me.

Not tonight.

The evening was going better than I'd expected. The guys had bought me my favorite donuts, which I happily devoured as I knocked back drink after drink. Emmett, the leader of our squad, surprised us all by offering to buy a round. Jasper, who was usually cool, calm and removed during work, was the life of the party off duty. There were several others too, and they took turns amusing me, talking to me, keeping me entertained. They were as attentive as any guy trying to lure a girl into bed for the night, more so even. The difference was that they weren't trying to sleep with me. We had a solid friend only relationship, like brothers and sisters. Usually it was something I enjoyed. And I did like it. But not as much as I thought I would.

It wasn't their fault. I tried to have fun. I tried to lose myself in the drinking and the laughing and the sometimes-playful-sometimes-not hitting among the group. But after more than five years in the police force, my brain was hard wired to be on high alert 24/7. I just couldn't let my guard down. And it was more than just not being able to relax.

Tonight, I had an itch. Tonight, something was off. I just didn't know how to fix it. I was so absorbed in trying to figure out why I felt so restless that I didn't even notice that Carlisle, who I had been talking to just seconds earlier, was suddenly leaving. Then, sliding onto the bar stool next to me in his place, was Edward.

"Hey Bella, look what I brought you!" He said in the typical too loud manner of a man full of alcohol. With a grin, he placed down a full bottle of tequila. My favorite liquor. If I wasn't already drunk, I was about to be. But right now I was still sober enough to wonder why he was here.

"Don't you have something better to do? Scoping out the females in the bar? Using your legendary charms?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow up at him.

Edward was a player. No questions, ifs, ands or buts about it. He loved the company of women, but never more than once, and didn't care who knew it. Surprisingly, I didn't hate him for his behavior. Edwards was never crass, never took advantage, and didn't kiss and tell. He was as classy as you could be if you had a different woman in your bed every night.

"Who says I haven't been already?" He retorted, pouring us both a drink in two shot glasses he snagged from the bar. "The night is still young, Bella. Plenty of time for all that later. Right now, I'm spending time with you." He explained, pressing the drink into my hands and holding his up into the air.

"To the birthday girl!" He toasted. Eager to drink, I clinked my glass against his and knocked it back. The fire down my throat was wonderful and familiar, making me shiver. Edward didn't seem affected by the liquor though. Instead he looked contemplative.

"No, that's not right. Can't call you a girl, not in that dress." He said, shaking his head. "And not now that you're a year older. Twenty-six. Two-Six. Closer to thirty than twenty!" He exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.

"Women never like talk to talk about age, Edward. You should know that." I replied jokingly. I didn't care about my age, but he seemed to think it funny.

"I do. But since I brought it up, we can't go back now!" He answered with a laugh, pouring a second round.

"To twenty-six!" He exclaimed, and again we both drank.

"So what are you going to do now that you're a year older?" Edward asked, resting an arm on the wooden bar top. I couldn't help but notice the muscles in his arms flexing as he did so, and I wondered if maybe I was drunker than I thought. Shaking my head I flicked my loose hair over my shoulder.

"I'm going to do whatever the hell I want." I replied. Edward grinned.

"An excellent plan. Does that happen to include doing things that are very immature and incredibly stupid?" He queried. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What did you have in mind?"

Too many drinks later, Edward and I were a mess. The question of whether or not we were drunk yet had long since been answered. But that didn't stop us from dancing, laughing, and taking the game of truth or dare we were playing with the other guys way too seriously. When the game deteriorated into Eric and Mike wrestling on the floor, Edward and I left the game to move to the other side of the room, leaning against the cool wall as we surveyed the packed bar.

It was then that crazy drunk me asked a crazy stupid question.

"How do you pick up women?" I said, speaking before thinking as the thought popped into my head. Edward stopped mid drink to throw me an incredulous look.

"What?" He replied, staring at me as if I'd grown a second head.

"How do you convince all these women to sleep with you? What's the process? The magic move?" I asked, suddenly intensely curious. Edward was still gaping at me.

"You can't be serious." He managed to reply. Standing up straight, I folded my arms over my chest.

"I am. I want to know. It's my birthday. You have to do what I want." I said defiantly. Edward ran a hand through his hair, collecting his thoughts. For some reason, my eyes lingered on him as he moved.

"Okay, well I guess the first step is finding a target." He said. He moved close and subtly pointed across the room.

"See that woman there? How she's watching everyone around her and holding tightly to her drink? She'll never go home with anybody. She's either too insecure, too worried about strangers, or just broken up with a guy."

"How do you know?" I asked, amazed by the deduction. Edward shrugged.

"Experience. Observation. Because I'm a master of seduction." He bragged. I playfully shoved in the arm.

"You are not, asshole." I retorted.

"Yes, I am." He argued. "I can prove it." He boasted. I gave him a disbelieving look.

"By what, having me watch you chat up some random woman? I don't think so. That's too easy, and too creepy." I replied. Edward turned to throw me an irritated look.

"Then how am I supposed to convince you of my epic skills?" He complained.

Impulsively, automatically, without thinking, I replied. "Use them on me." I said. Edward froze.

"Do whatever you usually would. Chat me up. Persuade me. Then I'll believe you." I continued. I had no idea why I said it. But suddenly, I was desperate for the attention. Edward's gaze on me was fierce, his green eyes intense and unreadable.

"Okay… But let's set everything straight right now. You're giving me permission to hit on you? To try and control you, possess you, seduce you?" He asked, his voice low and husky. Suddenly hyper aware of how close we were, I nodded.

He grinned. It was devilish, mischievous, sexy grin.

"Alright then. Let the game begin."

This wasn't going how I'd expected. I had expected Edward to flirt, but for the efforts to seem stupid and silly when there was nothing but friendship between us. I had expected for us to dissolve into drunken laughter, when he leaned forward to touch my arm or used an age old pick up line. We didn't. This game was not light hearted and stupid.

It was hot. Intense. Erotic.

I had noticed before that Edward was attractive, but had never considered anything with him. I liked being single, and didn't have plans to change it. But with a restless energy inside of me and tequila burning through my veins, suddenly I was very aware of how handsome he was.

Messy bronze hair that looked like it was ruffled from sex. Eyes that were too green and too intense. Defined cheekbones and a jaw line my fingers suddenly itched to touch. He was tall, too, towering over me even when I was wearing heels. At the moment he had me boxed in against the wall, one of his hands leaning against the bricks above my head. It had been one of the first moves he pulled, his reason that the close proximity built up tension and made things more private.

Well, he was right. So right. My chest felt tight and my breaths were shallow. When he purposefully dropped his police badge and 'accidently' brushed against me picking it up, my heart stuttered.

"Want a sip of my drink, Bella. Yours looks empty." Edward offered, giving me a winning grin. My drink was currently still half full, but that wasn't the point. It was a game. I nodded, and he took my glass from my hands and put it on a nearby table. Then, he handed his beer over, holding my hand for a little too long. As I took a slow slip, he didn't stop watching me, his eyes bright in the darkness of the bar. Shivering under the gaze, I quickly handed him back his drink.

Or I tried to. He was stopping me with another sexy smile, his hand snapping forward to brush the side of my mouth.

"Oops. You had a little something there." He said huskily, his fingers once again lingering. Instead of pulling back, his hand skated up to my hair, brushing it back from my face.

"You have really beautiful hair, sweetheart." Edward commented, as he twisted the dark brown strands around his fingers.

"Thanks." I replied automatically, flushed from his touches, which were growing in frequency.

"It's a bit hot in here to have it down though, isn't it?" He asked.

"Ummm, sure?" I answered, not knowing what to expect next. I jolted as his hands moved down to my neck and swept my hair over to the side, baring the skin of my throat to him. I stiffened at the touch, heat flooding through me.

Edward was right. It was hot. He was hot. We were both hot. Hot with the desire. Hot with lust.

Lust that rocketed up a notch when he suddenly leaned down so that his nose grazed my neck, and inhaled deeply.

"Your perfume is amazing. I've never smelled anything this good." He whispered, his mouth so close to my skin that I felt the air move as he spoke. Instinctively, I knew what was going to happen next, but I couldn't stop myself from gasping as he lightly kissed my throat.

"Mmmm, and you taste even better." He murmured. My legs quaking, I clenched my thighs together.

Oh lord. This wasn't a game anymore. If he stopped I was going to kill him. But Edward definitely wasn't stopping. His mouth was kissing its way up to my jaw, along to my chin. My hands moved to clutch his shoulders and pull him closer, my body alight with electricity at his touch. Soon his mouth was just an inch away from mine, his lips deliciously tempting.

I wanted him to kiss me. I needed him to kiss me. Right now.

But he didn't. He was pausing, his green eyes meeting my own brown ones.

"Bella. I'm not playing around anymore." He said, his voice deep and urgent.

"You better not be." I replied, my voice a faint whisper.

"This is your last chance to stop things." He offered, though the words were a groan. He wanted this as much as I did. I shook my head.

"No. Don't you dare." I hissed, digging my nails into his skin. Then finally we were kissing, his hot mouth devouring mine as we pressed against each other. The gentle touches from before were gone as he roughly grabbed my hair, pushing me against the wall and making me his.

Controlling me. Possessing me. Seducing me.

I whimpered as our tongues connected, letting him dominate me with his luscious lips. The torturous distance between us was gone, his hard muscled chest touching all of my curves. I quivered with desire as one of his hands slid down my side, grazing my breast, my hip, my bare thigh. His fingers played with the edge of my dress for a second before slipping under it, quickly curling upwards to find my panty line. My body clenched as my core tightened.

Oh my fucking god. He was so close to my wetness. So close to giving me what I needed. Until he suddenly stopped, his lips leaving my swollen ones. I couldn't hold back a pained moan. I wanted more. I needed more.

"I know honey. But not here." Edward said hoarsely. My brain struggled to process the words. The bar. We were still at the bar. The public bar. The bar with all of our friends. Oh no.

Panic spiking, I quickly searched the room to see if we'd been caught. I sighed with relief when I couldn't see any of the guys nearby.

"I'm going to tell them we're both leaving. I'll say you left a few minutes ago because you were done for the night and I've found a woman. They'll never know." He said quickly. His words were controlling and demanding. There was no going back now. I nodded.

"Go outside and get us a taxi." He ordered, quickly kissing me. "I'll meet you there." He continued. Then he was suddenly gone, leaving me slumped against the wall. Leaving me hot, horny, and scatterbrained. Thank god Edward was the dominant one here, because I was a mess. It took few a few seconds to steady myself enough to walk out the bar, and I was still panting when I stepped out into the cool air.

Air that did nothing to quench the fire inside of me.

I hailed a taxi just as Edward came out, and we slid in together in a mess of limbs and lust. Edward quickly gave the driver an address, one I didn't know, but I didn't care. He was kissing me again now, my hands knotting in his hair as his mouth danced with mine. Edward pressed me back against the seat as we sped forwards, his hands on my hip and neck keeping me in place.

God, he tasted so good. His lips and tongue moved in tandem with mine, the kiss endless and full of passion and desire. If we hadn't been in the middle of a moving car, I would have pulled him closer, but right now it wasn't possible. I would have to content myself with Edward's blistering kisses.

But though I was prepared to settle for kissing only – for now – apparently Edward wasn't. The hand on my hip was sliding down to my thigh and back under my dress, like he had just minutes ago at the bar. But this time, he didn't stop. His warm fingers trailed along my panty line torturously slowly, until his hand was fully between my legs. Then he was pressing against my center through the thin material of my underwear, making me cry out in need. It was a good thing Edward's mouth was still sealed to mine, otherwise we would have alerted the taxi driver that we were getting hot and heavy right behind him. At any moment he could turn around and see Edward pleasuring me.

The thought only made me more aroused. Wetness was pooling between my legs as desire raced through my veins, making me squirm. I tugged on Edward's hair to let him know I wanted more, trying to make his hand press against me harder. He chucked slightly against me, his mouth on mine pressing harder as his fingers deftly slipped beneath my underwear to stroke my entrance. My moans were only barely muffled as he explored me, his fingers slipping through my folds and circling around my core. Then, he was pressing a digit inside, my walls clenching around him.

Holy fuck. Edward was fingering me in the back of a taxi. His entire hand was cupping my sex as he moved in and out, his finger curling and sending waves of pleasure through my body. Pleasure that was impossibly growing stronger, as his thumb started circling my clit. My whole body arched as he continued playing with the hot spot, and I was about to force Edward closer and deeper, taxi driver or no taxi driver, when suddenly the car was skidding to a stop.

No. Not now!

As if none of this was affecting him, and we hadn't been doing very inappropriate things in the back of the car, Edward quickly pulled back and handed over a credit card to the driver. I gaped at him, trembling at the sudden halt to his ministrations and feeling boneless against the seat. When Edward tugged me out the car my legs refused to work and I almost fell over. He quickly scooped me up into his arms and carried me up to the doorstep of an apartment, which I didn't mind at all because it meant he was kissing me again.

Somehow we managed to stay lip locked as he unlocked the door, moving us inside and kicking the door closed behind us. Then I was once again being shoved against a hard wall, Edward's hands gripping my thighs and wrapping them around his hips. I could feel his hard erection through his jeans, and I groaned as I started grinding against him. His huge hardness was heaven against my aching center, and soon we were moving in tandem, his jeans rubbing against me in all the right places. His hands were roaming up and down my body, pushing my dress up over my hips so that he had better access to me.

I barely noticed when he stopped moving so that he could undo his jeans, his mouth moving from my lips to my neck. The open mouthed kisses made me shiver as he nipped and licked my skin, distracting me from the fact that he was no longer grinding against me. And it was totally worth it, because seconds later his hand was pushing aside my underwear so that his newly freed cock could slide against my wet core.

I cried out in pleasure, my inner walls clenching in anticipation as I felt his thick erection move against me, already sheathed with a condom I hadn't even seen him put on. After the foreplay in the car, we didn't bother pulling off clothes and couldn't stand to wait any longer. Without any words he was lining his cock up and pushing inside of me all the way to the hilt, my hips tilting against his to let him in deeper. My chest arched and I gripped him tightly as he filled me up. Then we were both moving, his thrusts hard and furious as we moved together. My body was on fire as he plundered into me, rolling and grinding and making every part of me his. His fingers were thumbing my clit and bringing me higher, the pleasure growing to an overwhelming level. But it wasn't until he hit that magic spot inside of me that I finally reached my climax, falling apart as we came together.

We both slowly slid to the floor, panting and trembling together as the aftermath of our urgent lovemaking rolled through us. My heartbeat was thundering in my ears, my nerves tingling so that I couldn't move. For a long time we both just stayed there, half sitting against the wall as we leaned against each other. The only movement was Edward occasionally brushing soft kisses against my neck, until we both eventually regained our senses.

"Wow. That was…" Edward started to say, before trailing off.

"A surprise?" I finished for him. He grinned.

"Definitely." He answered, before turning serious. "Was it a good surprise, Bella?"

"The best." I replied with smile, stretching against the wall. Edward's eyes lit up.

"So it was a good birthday present then?" He asked, one of his hands moving to lightly trailing along my collarbone. I shivered and nodded.

"I guess I should finish giving it you then." Edward said, smirking. I froze.

"You didn't think we were finished, did you? Fast sex is great Bella, but I want more. I want you in so many ways." He whispered, the dirty words making my heart race. He was moving now, his body shifting so that I was straddling him, his lips almost touching mine when he spoke.

"What do you say, Bella. Will you let me seduce you?" He asked, the words almost a purr. Just the sound of his voice made me shiver. It hinted at so many erotic and pleasurable things he could do to me.

I wanted it. Badly.

"Yes." I agreed, the word a breathless whisper as I tugged him close and kissed him. For a few wonderful moments our lips danced together, until suddenly Edward broke the contact. His fingers touched my lips to keep us apart as he grinned.

"No, Bella. I'm the one seducing you. I get to be in control. I decide how to bring you pleasure." He said. My breaths hitched, and I nodded. I didn't care who called the shots, I just wanted more of him.

Edward picked us both up off the floor, carrying me down a hallway. I got a quick look of the living room and kitchen before we moved into a bedroom, and he lightly sat me on the bed. But to my disappointment, he wasn't joining me. Instead he was kneeling on the floor and taking off my shoes. I would have protested, if his strong fingers hadn't started massaging my sore toes, his hands rubbing me in all the right spots.

"Ohh, that feels good." I said with a groan. Edward grinned, his talented hands moving upwards to massage my calves. If this was his first seduction technique, then damn it was working. And it seemed to not just be making me happy, but Edward too.

"You know, so many men do casual sex wrong the way," He remarked. "They're only interested in quick sex, in just getting off. But they're missing out. Women are so beautiful. And when you have one naked in front of you, you should appreciate her. Taste her creamy skin, feel her soft breasts." He continued, bending to press a soft kiss to my calf that made me shiver.

"But I'm not naked yet." I pointed out. As much as I was enjoying his massage, I wanted his hands in other more sensitive places. His mouth too. Edward grinned at my words.

"Hmmm, you're right. And I will be fixing that very soon." He replied, starting to rise from the floor. Then in one smooth move, he was grabbing bowl from his nightstand and sitting down in front of me. He plucked one of the small red fruit in his fingers and held it to my lips.

"Strawberry?" He offered, his eyes bright. I opened my mouth in silent reply, biting into the juicy sweetness. Edward quickly swallowed down the second half, one of his hands starting to lightly stroke up and down my arm.

"Do you always happen to have strawberries in your room?" I asked. Edward chuckled.

"Yes, lovely Bella. But it's not by chance. They're oh so good at making women swoon, and tasting the sweetness when I kiss then is so fucking good." He replied, gathering me into his arms and kissing me to prove his point. The strawberry juice was indeed heavenly as his lips moved against mine, nipping and teasing as his tongue explored my mouth. I barely even noticed he had pushed me down to the bed, his hard body covering mine. It wasn't until his hands grabbed my dress and started tugging that I realized what he was doing, and we broke apart so that he could pull it the rest of the way over my head. Then he quickly shucked his own shirt off before his mouth started moving over my skin.

He trailed kisses across my jaw, down my neck, along my collar bone, as his hands traced patterns across my stomach. Soon his lips were trailing across the tops of my breasts, as one of his hands deftly unhooked my bra and tossed it across the room. I moaned as his mouth immediately latched onto my right nipple, sending spikes of pleasure through me and making my inner walls clench. His fingers swirled and teased my other breast as he licked my pink flesh, making me squirm with desire. Then his hands were shifting and he was gently pushing me to roll onto my stomach.

"Roll, sweetheart." He whispered as he moved me. I couldn't help but protest, wanting him back where he was.

"Why?" I asked breathlessly. I couldn't see Edward's face, but imagined him grinning at the word.

"Because I want to taste your smooth back, Bella. And because you'll feel everything so much better when you can't see what I'm doing." He replied, his lips kissing the back of my neck as he brushed my hair aside. His hands rubbed up and down my sides as he kissed and licked his way down my back, making me tremble. Edward was right. Not being able to see, only feeling his touch made my senses heighten. My nerves were buzzing with anticipation. He was getting lower, lower, close to where I wanted him. His fingers hooked into the sides of my underwear and slid them quickly down my legs as he kissed the end of my spine.

Then he was quickly pulling me upwards, my back against his chest and my ass against his hips. I gasped at the sudden movement, my breaths turning into desperate pants. I could feel his hard erection pressing against my ass, his strong thighs beneath my own. We were completely pressed together, one of his hands cupping my breasts as his other hand trailed down my stomach to lightly circle my clit.

I moaned loudly as he thumbed my bundle of nerves, leaning heavily against his bare body as he sent desire radiating through every fiber of my being. Furious heat was building in my lower stomach, wetness pooling between my legs. I sighed in relief as two of his fingers dipped between my folds and pushed into me, finally going where I wanted him most. Unlike in the taxi, where we had been restricted by clothes and positions, Edward wasn't holding back this time. He was exploring every inch of me, moving deep, stretching me wide and making me quiver. Soon he added a third finger, relentlessly teasing my clit and rapidly bringing me to my climax. I cried out and shook in his tight grip, the orgasm he had built up overwhelming.

But still, I wanted more. I needed more than his hand, I needed his thick cock. And he knew it. He had done this to me. He had well and truly seduced me. He could control me. And now he was about to possess me. I hadn't even finished calming down and he was already sliding his hard length through my slick folds, teasing me, tempting me, torturing me. It wasn't until I whimpered with need that he finally grabbed my hips and lifted me so that he could slide firmly in, impaling me on his erection. He was all the way in, as deep as he could go, his head pressing against the end of me and letting me know I was totally at his mercy. That I belonged to him.

Unlike the furious sex against the wall we had had earlier, his movements were now achingly slow. With every roll of his hips he slid all the way out and all the way in, claiming every part of me. He grinded and thrust at every angle, hitting the best spots inside of me until I was on the edge of my climax and then slowing again, refusing to let me shatter. His hand was still playing with my clit, bringing me high when he wanted to and leaving me gasping when I got to close to orgasm. It was ecstasy, the most extreme pleasure, the most overwhelming elation. Eventually not even Edward could stop me from succumbing to the blissful euphoria, my climax wracking through my body so fiercely I thought my heart would fail beneath the onslaught.

Only it didn't. It kept beating, as Edward and I fell to the bed, his cock still buried inside of me. It was then that I knew there was no longer any question.

Edward was just as good as he thought he was. Better even.

He had controlled me. Possessed me. Seduced me.