AN: This was written for Fandom Against Domestic Violence 2011.

Thank you so much to Mollie, who originally beta'd it and Mel for pre-reading it. Also a huge thank you to jayhawkbb for helping me update it and make it all smooth and pretty.

Enjoy

~TIL~

BPOV

"Bella?"

Oh, shit! Not now.

"Bella?"

Please, God. Just make him go away.

"Bella, baby, wake up."

He's not going to givein, is he?

"I need you to wake up, sweetheart."

"Go. Away!"

"I can't go away. I need you."

"You don't need me. You're just trying to torture me."

"I do need you. Will you please get up?"

"No."

"Please? I need you to run with me."

"Oh, my God, Edward. No. Please leave me alone," I begged. His fingertips danced along my spine through my pajama shirt, giving rise to a serious case of goosebumps.

"If you get up and come with me . . ." he paused. I should have known by the seductive tone in his voice that he was about to say something to mess with me. "I'll fuck you hard and fast in the shower afterward."

My head shot up. "What?"

He grinned. "I thought that would get your attention, you dirty girl."

"How is that not supposed to get my attention? Jesus Christ, Edward."

I buried my head back into my pillow, but he'd put that thought in my mind and I couldn't forget it. No matter how hard I tried.

"Come on, baby girl. I need some company."

"You've got plenty of company. Call one of them."

"They're not as beautiful as you."

"Shut up," I groaned, clenching my eyes shut.

His fingers left my back and then began stroking the side of my face, pulling my hair back and tucking it behind my ear. I refused to open my eyes. I knew the look that would be waiting for me if I did. He'd used the same look on me whenever he wanted something since we were sixteen years old.

He threw the covers back and climbed in next to me, spooning my body. His hand trailed to my shoulder, making circles before continuing down my arm. He pressed his face against my neck. "Please, Bella?" he breathed, as his hand touched my hip and glided across the skin around my belly button. "You always make it so much better."

He kissed me lightly just below my ear; a light, cautious kiss. He wasn't sure how I'd react. To be honest, I wasn't sure how I wanted to react. It had been a long time since he'd touched me like this. Too long.

I stayed still, afraid he'd realized just how close I was to crossing the line – the invisible line between being friends and being lovers. It was a line we'd walked along for seven years; ever since I'd kissed him on a dare in Biology sophomore year of high school.

I was the popular girl. The one who had every guy fawning over her. It was stupid; they were stupid. Edward was the shy geek who hadn't come into his own yet. He was only an inch taller than me at that time. He wore terrible glasses and had a retainer, but he was sweet.

My cousin Jake and his meathead friends were teasing him mercilessly. They dared him to kiss the next girl who entered the classroom. Unfortunately for them, that happened to be me.

Jake snorted, coughing and laughing hysterically at his luck. Edward's face turned bright red. I pulled Edward to the side and asked him what was going on. After a few minutes of coaxing, he finally told me about the dare. It made me mad. Not that I was a pawn in my cousin's games, but that he was being such an asshole to someone who'd never done anything wrong. I wasn't about to let Jake get away it.

I told Edward to take out his retainer and demanded he kiss me.

The look on his face, I will remember until the day I die. It was horror and fear, excitement and embarrassment all in one. He leaned forward, eyes closed and lips puckered. It was kind of cute. I waited until he landed his lips on mine and I unleashed the beast. I jumped into his lap, grabbed his head, dragging my fingers through his hair and pressing myself against him. He gasped and the second his mouth was open I plunged my tongue into it. I heard Jake choking again, but out of shock, not laughter. The rest of the kids in the classroom erupted in giggles, cheers and applause. I pulled back, leaving both Edward and me panting, and smiled at him. He gaped at me and adjusted his glasses. Then the bell rang for class to start.

He admitted afterwards that I'd scared the shit out of him. It had been his first kiss and he'd had no idea what he was doing. I felt bad that his first kiss had been done that way, but he didn't. He thanked me profusely and offered to do anything for me. It was enough of a reward for me that we'd managed to shut my cousin up for a while, but after a second of thinking about it, I came up with an idea. I asked him to take me to the winter. At the time it was so that I didn't have deal with the douchebags who usually asked me. I didn't realize that I'd have so much fun.

After that, we became close friends. He was funny and smart. I liked spending time with him; he made me happy.

The summer between sophomore and junior year, Edward had a growth spurt – and it was a doozy. He went from five foot four to almost six feet tall. He was able to get rid of his retainer and he started wearing contacts. The muscles of his arms, chest and abs became strong and more defined from working construction for my dad all summer. In other words, he became a fucking hottie. My best friend, Rose, and I would sit and watch him walk around shirtless all the time, flexing his muscles and pretending he didn't know what he was doing.

I figured he'd get all sorts of attention from the girls when we went back to school and I was right. I heard the chatter and giggles all morning on the first day of school. It kind of made me sick to think that six months before, the same girls were making fun of him. I worried that he'd get all cocky since he'd turned into a super-stud and I expected that he would forget about our friendship. But that's not what happened.

I suppose we appeared like a couple to anyone who was looking. Edward and I were always extremely affectionate. Half the time I could be found sitting in his lap or straddling him in a chair with our heads close together. He took me to all the dances, held my hand and kept me close.

As we got older, our affections grew stronger and the sexual innuendos became more intense. We both dated other people, but they didn't last. No one seemed to be able to understand our relationship. At times, I'm not even sure we understood it ourselves.

When we moved in together before our sophomore year of college, we had to work really hard at convincing people, including our parents, that we weren't lovers. We definitely pushed the boundaries of our relationship a time or two when we were drunk. And I don't just mean the gentle little lip kisses. I mean hot and heavy, oh-my-God, mouth fucking. Most of the time, we would grind against each other while dancing and even got pretty worked up dry humping once, but we always stopped. We came close once. Too close. That's when I finally made the invisible line a little more visible.

Edward's fingers toyed with the waistband of my pajama pants, dipping below them just slightly before returning to safe territory.

"What do I get if I come with you?" I asked groggily.

"I already told you," he said, licking the shell of my ear playfully.

"I mean, what do I really get?"

"Mmmmm. Whatever you want, baby girl. Tell me what you want," he purred, once again dipping his hand below my waistband. This time he didn't bring it back up. His fingers danced lazily across my pubic bone. He was getting dangerously close. When his index finger passed over my landing strip, I heard and felt him suck in a huge breath. This was the closest I'd ever let him get before. Usually I was squirming away from him the second his hand started to invade my pants.

And why wasn't I squirming away now? I had no idea. Because I was too lazy. Because it felt good. Because...because...because I didn't want to.

We were quiet for a while as he repeated his strokes so close to my clit that I could feel it tingling. I debated whether to stop him, but before I could, he went for it – his finger lowering just slightly, pressing against where I was throbbing.

I let out a gasping moan. It felt so fucking good and yet so, so . . . no, it just felt good. He shifted and I could feel his massive erection against my ass. I had seen Edward before. All of him. I'd seen him hard, I'd seen him soft. I'd seen him in pants, in underwear, and completely naked. That's what happens when you spend so much time with someone, right? He'd often get a hard-on when I sat in his lap, but he'd always shrug and wink at me. He was a guy; guys get hard-ons. We'd laugh and ignore it. At least we tried to.

He added a second finger and started rubbing circles. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the sensation. I had to bite my lip when he parted my pussy lips and glided his fingers inside. He stroked me a few times, and then froze. He didn't remove his hand; he just ceased the movement.

"Why aren't you stopping me?" he asked so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

I gritted my teeth, willing him to keep going; willing myself not to think. "Because I haven't gotten laid in over a year. I'm finally getting fucked by something other than my own hand or my vibrator and it feels fantastic. Why aren't you stopping yourself?"

Without missing a beat, he answered. "Because your pussy feels soft and warm and amazing and all I can think about is getting my dick inside of it before we get out of this bed. You really haven't had sex in a year?" He started stroking me again; pulling his fingers out and pushing them back in at an agonizingly slow pace.

"Thirteen months and..." I counted in my head, back to the last time I'd been with Riley, "twelve days." I bit back a moan as Edward curled his fingers forward, hitting my g-spot.

"Shit, Bella. If I had known that, I would have taken care of you."

"Yeah, sure you would have. You were too busy taking care of Sarah and Julie and, oh, what was her name? Oh, yeah. Muffy."

"Her name wasn't Muffy," he laughed. "And I wasn't taking care of them. I haven't fucked anybody in over six months.

"Don't talk about other women while you're fingering me," I grumbled.

"You started it."

Yes, I had. What the fuck was I doing? We couldn't do this. I'd spent too many years protecting our friendship to let this just happen.

"Ugh, we need to stop."

"Let me make you come and I'll stop," he murmured, pressing his lips against my neck.

"That defeats the purpose of stopping. The second you make me come, I'll feel the need to reciprocate."

"So?"

"So, you said you wanted to stick your dick in me. That's so far over the line that I don't think we could go back."

"I've wanted to stick my dick into you since the day you kissed me in Biology, probably before that. You know that. I'm so fucking tired of the non-existent line."

"Shut up and go back to your side."

Edward's hips had started rocking against me. If I didn't stop this, we would be screwed, both literally and figuratively. And as good as the literal sounded, it would most likely destroy our friendship, thereby causing the figurative.

I wanted to come more than anything at that moment, but I couldn't let it happen. I put my hand on top of his and pulled his fingers from inside of my body.

He sighed and rested his forehead against my shoulder, but he didn't argue.

"Let's go for a run," I said.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Let's go."

~TIL~

He was staring at me. I could feel it. I was drinking my coffee, eating a bagel, and reading the newspaper. I set my mug down and picked up my bagel. The crunching sound was loud in my ears, but not as loud as the uncomfortable silence of the room as I felt his gaze slicing through my skin and worming its way into my body.

"Stop looking at me."

"Why?"

"Because you're being all weird and I don't like it."

"I'm not being weird. You're being weird."

I lifted only my eyes and he smirked at me.

"Fuck you. Stop looking at me."

I returned to my bagel, coffee, and newspaper, and tried to ignore him as he chuckled.

~TIL~

"Bitch, what the hell happened?"

"What do you mean?" I stood in my sequined dress drinking a Mai Tai with Rose at our favorite Seattle nightclub.

"You. Edward. What the fuck is the matter with you two?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ro."

"You don't think it's odd that he hasn't touched you once tonight? I mean, really, Bella? I can't remember the last time we went clubbing where he wasn't all up in your coochie all night."

I looked at her and scoffed, trying to push back the nervousness. She was talking about Edward being near my cooch like she knew something "He's never all up in my coochie."

"Pa-lease. Who the fuck do you think you're kidding? What did you do to him that his ass is talking up the redhead at the bar?"

I looked over to where Edward was and sure enough, he was flashing his wicked smile at some gorgeous Amazon woman with legs as long as my whole body. She had her hand on his forearm and she was laughing.

"Maybe he just needs to get laid," I said flatly, looking back towards my friend.

"Really?"

"Yeah. He told me the other night that it's been awhile."

She rolled her eyes. "You guys are so ridiculous."

I ignored her comment. "Come on, hooker. Let's go make them drool."

Rose's eyes lit up and she reached for my outstretched hand. We downed our drinks and set them on the table before heading towards the dance floor.

We were such a mismatched pair. Where she was tall and fair, I was short and dark. But it didn't matter. That just meant that we appealed to many different tastes.

We squeezed our way through the pulsating bodies and found a spot where the two of us could do our thing. Sometimes it's the little things that catch men's attention. The way her hand slid up my naked arm, trailed over my shoulder and down my back before resting on my hip. The way we moved our bodies with each other as opposed to against each other.

I brushed my lips against her cheek. "I think you have an admirer," I sang softly before pulling back enough to look in her eyes. I glanced to my left quickly and then back at her.

"He's too big," she said, shaking her head.

"Shut up. You like them big. Just think about where else he's big. Look at the size of his feet."

"Doesn't mean anything," she said, pretending she wasn't actually calculating the size of his peen in her head.

Rose smirked, glancing at something behind me. "I think I'll go find out for myself, though."

I grinned and watched as she approached the guy who had been picturing her naked for the last ten minutes. And that's when I felt the hands around my waist. Familiar hands. I felt his breath against my ear – the scent of cinnamon and whiskey making me shiver.

"I've missed you," I said when he leaned down to kiss my cheek.

"I've been right here."

"You've been over there. With the redhead."

"She means nothing."

"You need to get laid."

"Yes, I do. But not by her."

"By who then?"

"Not by her."

We swayed together, his grip tightening, his hard-on pressed fantastically against my back. Sometimes I wondered what it would be like to suck him off. I was pretty sure he would not fit it my mouth. I would probably dislocate my jaw even trying.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

"I don't believe you. Your face is all flushed."

"It's hot in here and we're dancing."

"Liar."

"Maybe, but I guess you'll never know," I teased.

He gripped my thigh just below where my mini-dress hit and then slid his hand upwards. I guess Rose was right. He really was up in my coochie.

She apparently was thinking the same thing, because when I caught her eye, she glanced down at Edward's hand and started laughing.

"Fuck you," I mouthed, leaning back against Edward's chest. That only made her laugh harder as she ground her ass against the big guy who I could now see had the cutest fucking dimples ever. Oh, he was definitely going home with her.

~TIL~

"Whatup, slut?" I grinned as I met Rose for lunch a few days later.

"You're just jealous. You're gonna dry up like a raisin soon if you don't start using that twat of yours."

"Whatever. I use it."

Rose snorted. "If God meant for us to do it by ourselves, he wouldn't have created men like Emmett."

"Emmett?"

Rose smiled. "That big hunk of man from the club. Holy fucking crackers, Bella. That man is a-may-zing! I want to have his babies."

I choked on the water I was drinking. "Right now?"

"Whenever he asks me," she swooned. "His mother was born and raised in a little village outside of Paris. Every time he came, he broke out into a string of French profanities."

"Well, even I can swear in different languages," I laughed.

"I'm pretty sure that he said more than that, but he said he was just swearing."

"Every time he came?" I asked with wide eyes. "Shit, Rose. How many times did you do the guy?"

She looked upwards and pretended to count on her fingers, and then looked back at me with a grin. "Not enough."

The waiter brought us menus and we ordered on the spot. We had been coming to this place for years and knew every single item on the menu.

"So are you and Edward better now?"

I rolled my eyes. "There was never anything wrong."

"Yeah. Whatever you say, sweetie." She shrugged. We chatted and snacked on the bread that was on the table until the waiter brought our food. "So when are you going to put that poor boy out of his misery?"

I looked up at her just as my forkful of pasta made it to my mouth. She tilted her head with a smug expression as I finished chewing.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, annoyed that she was bringing the subject up yet again. We'd had this conversation at least half a dozen times. She'd given up on it for a few years, but apparently she was going there again.

"You two still haven't fucked have you?"

"Since you're bringing this up. . . again. You know we haven't. It's not like that with us."

"That doesn't mean it can't be. I have watched him want you for seven years and I've watched you pretend the feeling wasn't mutual for just as long. I wouldn't have to keep bringing it up if you'd stop avoiding the inevitable. "

"That would ruin everything," I sighed.

"Or make it that much better."

I shook my head. "I like the way things are."

"And yet you're still on your self-imposed celibacy kick? Tell me, sweetie, who do you picture when you're getting yourself off?"

I looked up to see our poor waiter standing next to our table, completely slack-jawed, and judging from the tint of his face, a little embarrassed at overhearing our conversation. I decided to be evil. Not that it was his fault that we were being completely inappropriate in a public place, but whatever.

"I picture you, Rose, okay? Only you."

Rose snorted and took a sip of her diet soda.

"I . . . I. . . is everything o..okay?" he stuttered in shock.

"Everything is fine," I sighed and smiled innocently at him. "Thank you."

He stumbled away.

"You're such a wicked bitch," Rose giggled.

I shrugged.

The rest of our conversation revolved around Rose's grad school and my work as an assistant editor for the Seattle Times. Yeah, I knew people who knew people and got an interview before I even graduated. Okay, so I lived with someone who was the son of people who knew people. Same difference. It got me my job.

We said our goodbyes more affectionately than we needed to, but the waiter was watching us and it was fun to mess with him.

~TIL~

"Hey, gorgeous, what's for dinner?" Edward asked, slinging his coat and messenger bag over the back of the sofa before walking into the kitchen.

"How was your day at the office, dear?" I teased as he kissed my cheek affectionately.

"Shitty. How was yours?"

Edward worked as a lackey in the Seattle branch of Cullen & Associates, a commercial real estate acquisitions company. Well, I called him a lackey. His uncle, Alistair, was the COO of the company and was trying to groom him for taking over the whole company someday. His dad, Carlisle, was the CEO, but worked from home back in Forks. Carlisle and my dad, Charlie, had become close friends and business associates around the same time Edward and I became friends. Now Charles Swan Construction handled all of Cullen & Associates' in-state construction and demolition."

"Eh, same as usual. Your mom called."

"Yeah?" Edward said, sneaking pieces of the bread I'd just taken out of the oven and hissing when I slapped his hand. "What did she want?"

"She asked when we were going to stop living in sin."

Edward laughed. "Well, at least she's off the 'when are you gonna give me grandbabies?' kick."

"She's going in the wrong direction."

"She doesn't believe that we're not having sex."

"I know that. I tried to tell her again, but she just scoffed at me."

"What else did she say?"

"Our dads are coming up this weekend."

"I know."

"What's that all about?"

"Some huge deal in Tacoma. They own a property that some billionaire wants."

Edward lifted the lid on the crock-pot. "Holy fuck, woman. Beef stew?"

I smiled and nodded. It was his favorite.

He dropped to his knees and crossed the floor. I started laughing. "Get up, you nut job."

"Isabella Marie Swan. You are an amazing woman, a fantastic cook and your body is slammin'. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and your beef stew. Please marry me."

"Get the fuck up, Edward."

"Not until you agree to marry me."

"Where's my ring?"

Edward frowned. "You gotta give me a little break here, baby. This was kind of a spur of the moment thing. Say yes and I'll buy you a ring."

"How romantic," I said pushing his forehead with my index finger. "Buy me a ring and I'll say yes."

Edward stared at me for a minute. "Really?"

"Sure, why not?"

"You realize that you'd have to have sex with me first, right?"

"Why?" I asked, playing along.

"Because you may be a lousy lay. I'm not committing myself to you without testing out the goods."

"That's unfortunate. I'm gonna be a virgin when I get married," I deadpanned.

Edward snorted. "Virgin, my ass. I was practically in the room the day you lost that card."

He wasn't really, but he showed up at my dorm room two hours afterwards when I called him crying. The douchbag who popped my cherry finished, got dressed, said "thank you" and took off. Edward let me cry and snot all over his favorite shirt, and then held me all night. Then he beat the shit out of the guy, although he still won't admit that it was him. We joked about it now, but it was traumatic back then.

"I'm born again," I assured. "It's been so long that I'm probably tighter than a virgin at this point."

Edward groaned. "Don't tease."

"Get up, loverboy. It's time for dinner."

~TIL~

"Hi, Daddy," I grinned, kissing my father.

"Hiya, Bells," he returned, giving me a tight squeeze. I let him go and moved to the side. Carlisle was standing with his arms open. I went to him easily. He hugged just like Edward did. It was very comfortable.

"It's good to see you, sweetheart," Carlisle smiled.

"It's good to see you, too."

I turned around to see Edward and my dad gripping hands. Edward was leaning in, whispering something and my dad was laughing.

"What are they doing?" I asked Carlisle in an amused tone.

"Who knows?" he chuckled.

Dinner was pleasant enough. The men asked me about my job and I told them about Rose and the possibility of her new boyfriend. Carlisle told us all about the baby that Esme delivered in the parking lot of the Thriftway. She was an OB-GYN and luckily happened upon Katie Denali, a girl Edward and I had gone to school with. The poor girl was in full labor and couldn't move. Ten minutes later, she welcomed a bouncing baby girl. The baby's daddy was Mike Newton.

Edward smiled and winked at me. Mike Newton had the hots for me in high school. I'd once panicked over the idea that it would be meworking in the Thriftway and popping out his kids. Turns out that role was meant for Katie. She was the first girl ever to go down on Edward. Yeah, I walked in on that shit. That was the first time I'd ever seen Edward's dick. To this day I think he planned for me to see that. He knew I was supposed to be at his house to study that night. Katie thought I was going to kick her ass and she never offered to service Edward again. He blamed me for his lack of action. I blamed it on his inability to keep his hands off me.

When the talk turned to real estate, it was time to excuse myself.

"I'm sorry, gentleman, but I have to go home," I announced. "I'm tired and I just can't handle all of the business talk. I gave my dad a hug and kiss, and then moved to Carlisle. "I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks, right?"

"Yup," my dad smiled. "Your mother and Esme are about to come kidnap you, though. If you put off the trip home one more time, don't be surprised if they show up on your doorstep."

I laughed. "We'll be there."

I grabbed my coat and purse as Edward stood up. "I'll take you."

"No. You stay here and talk shop. I'll catch a cab."

Edward turned to face our fathers. "I'm just going to get her into the cab. I'll be right back."

My dad and Carlisle looked at each other, and then back at Edward. "Sure, son." Carlisle winked at me and I shook my head. Ridiculous man.

I felt Edward's hand on the small of my back as we walked out. On Friday nights, catching a cab was as simple as walking outside. I had no idea why he felt it necessary to guide me.

Edward whistled and held out his hand. "I won't be too late," he promised.

I laughed. "Okay. Do we have plans?"

He smirked. "I always have plans for you."

"Whatever, dork. Take your time. I'm sure I'll find some way to entertain myself. Just don't take my dad to any strip clubs. I'm not sure if his heart can take it."

Edward lifted his eyebrows. "You don't know your dad very well, do you? That man loves a good lap dance with big fake titties in his face."

"Ewww, gross," I shrieked, pushing him laughed and opened the door to the cab, allowing me to get in.

When I got home, I changed into a pair of sweatpants and a cami. I was in the mood to bake, so I mixed up a batch of chocolate chip banana bread. While I waited for it to cook, I curled up on the sofa and started watching True Blood reruns on HBO.

At ten, my phone vibrated. I picked it up.

"What are you doing?" I sang.

"I'm about to get myself laid. What are you doing?"

"Really?"

"Yep."

"So why are you on the phone with me?"

"Just thought I'd check in, make sure you're not missing me."

"I'm always missing you," I cooed.

"What are you doing right now?"

"Taking my bread out of the oven."

"Banana?"

"With chocolate chips."

"Shit. Save me some."

"I suppose."

"You going to be able to get yourself off tonight, baby?"

"Fuck you!" I laughed.

"Just wanted to make sure you wouldn't be needing my services."

"I'm quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you."

"Yeah. I know. It's a shame really."

"Whatever."

"Goodnight, lover."

"Goodnight, Rose. Be good."

"Not if I can help it."

~TIL~

I must have fallen asleep on the couch because I was suddenly jolted awake by the sound of the front door slamming shut. I heard a loud bang, and then a string of profanities.

I looked at the clock on the DVD player. It was after midnight.

I stood up and stretched my arms above my head, causing my cami to rise up.

"Fuck!" I heard Edward grumble from the other side of the room.

"Well, you guys must have had a good time." I yawned. Edward's hair was wild, his tie crooked and halfway undone. I had to admit, he looked totally fuckable.

"Yeah, we did."

I walked toward him and reached for his tie to remove it. "How was the titty club?"

"Sadly, no titties. We went to the Whiskey Bar."

I looked at him. That place was fucking expensive. The boys never went there without some reason to celebrate.

"What was the occasion?" I asked, getting the knot out and pulling it from around his neck.

"You're too smart for your own good," he said, wrapping his arms around me.

"Well?"

"We got some good news." He'd tried to cover it up with his cinnamon gum, but I could smell the whiskey on his breath. "You didn't drive home, did you?"

"I'm not drunk."

"Edward?"

"I didn't, but I'm not drunk." I was about to pull away, but he refused to let me go. "You smell so fucking good," he moaned, palming my ass. "Why do you insist on tempting me like this?"

"Like what?" I laughed. "I haven't done anything. It must be the bread."

His right hand came up, slid the strap of my cami from my shoulder, and brushed his fingertips over my collarbone.

"Everything you do tempts me."

The look in his eyes was that of a starving man. They were dark and heavy. I needed to defuse him; lighten the mood. The only problem with that plan was that it's not so easy to do when your body reacts like mine was at that moment.

"Everything?" I challenged jokingly, trying to ignore the sudden surge of lust that was coursing straight down my body and concentrating between my legs.

"I've lived with you for three years, woman. Yes, everything."

Warning bells were going off in my head, but for some reason, I was pretending I couldn't hear them. I felt his lips against the skin of my neck, moving towards my ear and along my jaw.

"So, what were you celebrating?" I swallowed thickly.

"The billionaire is buying. Demolishing what's on the lot and putting up a ninety-million dollar business complex."

"Holy fuck," I gasped, reacting to both the news and to the fact that Edward had just pulled my hips to his and was grinding his erection against my stomach.

"Alistair's taking over operations in Tacoma until the project's done," he grunted as he walked me backwards. I was too distracted to notice the direction that we were going.

"Who . . . who's taking over here?"

"Mmmmm, that's what we were celebrating," he mumbled, resuming his oral assault on my neck.

Lips, tongue, teeth, and lips again.

It only took me a minute to understand what he was saying.

"Oh, my God, Edward. Really?"

He looked up at me and grinned. I screamed and jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist. In a split second, his lips were on mine, my back against the wall. It had been about a year and a half since he had tried to kiss me like this and I was completely taken off guard. I took in a huge breath and he used the opportunity to plunge his tongue into my mouth.

It was then that I realized that we were in the hallway just outside of Edward's bedroom. I wanted to keep kissing him. He tasted so good.

Whiskey. Fuck!

I reluctantly withdrew my tongue from the wrestling match it was having with his and dropped my legs to the ground. Edward attempted to reattach himself, but I pushed him away.

"Stop, please."

"I don't want to. Not this time."

"Edward, we're not doing this."

"I'm tired of fighting it. We're always fucking fighting it."

He pulled me back into his arms.

"Get off me," I growled. "You're drunk." I turned and walked back down the hallway.

"Goddamn it, Bella, I'm not drunk. Come back here." I managed to get to the kitchen before he reached me. "Please, Bella? Stop fighting."

I stared into his eyes. He didn't look drunk. He looked...desperate. I knew what he was asking. Could I do it? Did I want to?

"Oh, God," I cried, crashing my mouth back to his. Apparently, I could and I did.

We were frantic; uncontrolled. Hands fumbling, teeth knocking. It seemed like it took me forever to unbutton his shirt, but finally I got it undone and off his shoulders, only to be faced with his undershirt.

"You're wearing too many clothes," I grumbled. I grabbed at his second shirt, yanking it up over his head, and then throwing it to the floor as he lifted me onto the counter top.

The bowls that I'd used to mix the banana bread crashed to the floor with a crash. He pulled the straps of my cami down my arms far enough to expose my breasts. His lips attached to my nipple and I cried out as he swirled his tongue around it, and then sucked on it hard.

"Fuck. Do that again," I whimpered. He brought his mouth up to mine and nipped at my lower lip before returning to my nipples. I ran my hands through his hair and threw my head backwards against the kitchen cabinet. The line was fading quickly; becoming hazier with every lick and suck and bite.

Without detaching his mouth from my tits, he grabbed the waistband of my pajama pants and yanked them down. I didn't even have a chance to lift my hips. He just applied enough force to slip them out from underneath me, leaving me in a pair of black boy shorts. He fumbled with his belt before I slapped his hands away and took over the job. I was about to push his slacks down with my feet when he stopped me.

"Wait," he squeaked. I ignored him. "Bella, fuck. Wait."

"What?" I snapped.

"I'm not fucking you in the kitchen."

"Couch?"

"Bed."

"Too far."

"I'll carry you."

"Whatever. Let's just go."

Edward lifted me from the counter. I held on tight and continued kissing him as we bumped and stumbled our way back down the hallway. He kicked open his bedroom door and laid me down on the bed.

He pulled my underwear down my legs and I swear his eyes and my pussy must have been magnetic. He appeared to be physically incapable of looking away.

"You want to take a picture?" I joked.

"Don't ask me things like that unless you're serious," he said, smirking and licking his lips. He finally let his pants down, along with his boxers, and climbed on top of me.

He hovered above me on his forearms; his chest heaving, the tip of his cock poised at my entrance.

"We can't go back," he warned.

"Are you really trying to talk me out of this?"

"No. Oh, God, no."

We didn't need to talk about protection or safety. We knew everything about each other. Edward probably knew my cycle better than I did. It was survival for him. Knowing when I would PMS allowed him to bring me chocolate and stay out of the way.

He knew I got the shot and we had gone together to get tested less than six months ago. We were good to go.

He grabbed his cock and rubbed the head up and down my opening, spreading my wetness and his pre-come around so that everything was slippery and wet.

"I've been waiting for this for a long fucking time," Edward murmured.

"I know," was all I could say. Why was it so hard for me to admit, even to myself, that I had wanted him, too?

He slid into me slowly. It hurt a little and I had to close my eyes. Edward must have been holding his breath because all of the sudden he let it all out across my face.

The invisible line had officially disintegrated.

"Holy fuck, Bella. You weren't kidding," he gasped. "I'm not even halfway in and I'm about to fucking blow."

Not even halfway in? Was he kidding?

I looked down to where we were joined and sure enough a large portion of his cock was still outside of my body. I couldn't help but watch as he continued to push forward ever so delicately. I'd certainly never seen his dick like this before. It was quite fascinating.

"Like a band-aid, Edward," I encouraged. The slow pace was just making the torture that much worse.

"I don't want to hurt you. You're so fucking tight. I'm beginning to believe in the born again bullshit."

I giggled. That was fucking funny. "It hurts now. The sooner you get in there, the faster the pain will go away. Then you can start rocking my world."

Edward snorted and lowered his head. "It would figure you can't even keep your smart mouth out of our lovemaking."

Lovemaking? Is that what we were doing? I loved him, he loved me. Yeah, I suppose that is what we were doing. Not in the traditional sense, but whatever.

"Just shut up and fuck me."

"I love your sweet words, baby. Are you ready?"

I nodded. He thrust his hips forward and I thought that maybe I was being ripped in half, but only for a minute. As my cooch adjusted to the invasion, the slight burning disappeared and I found that I needed him to start moving.

With one look, he understood. He began thrusting, slowly, making sure that I felt every inch, but soon he was speeding up. He put just enough weight on me that his pelvis was resting on my very swollen, very needy clit. With every thrust and rock, push and pull, my sensitive flesh squealed in pleasure.

I was sure that I sounded like a wild animal, but I just couldn't bring myself to give a shit. The pressure was building and building, like a shaken can of soda about to be popped.

"Tell me you're mine," he growled, pumping into me wildly. "Tell me you've always been fucking mine."

"Always," I whimpered. "Always yours."

"Show me," he demanded. "Come on my cock and fucking show me."

He changed his angle just slightly and I was done for. I grabbed his pillow and bit into it to cover my screams. Not that I really needed to. I was pretty sure that our neighbors, who were newlyweds, couldn't care less how loud we were. At the same time, I also couldn't be sure that they wouldn't send the cops thinking I was being murdered. It was a good precaution to take.

I could feel my pussy contracting around him and moments later Edward spilled into me with a deep, throaty cry.

He rolled over, taking me with him without pulling out. Our bodies were covered with a thin sheen of sweat. I could smell the whiskey again, this time seeping from his pores.

I pushed away from him abruptly and he hissed as his dick slid from me, dripping come all over my leg and his sheets.

"You are drunk!" I accused incredulously.

"I'm not," he chuckled.

"I can fucking smell it."

"All I can smell is our sex," he smiled lazily. "I had a couple of drinks, baby. I'm a big boy, I can handle my liquor."

"Fuck," I moaned, the guilt finally seeping through.

"Don't," he said sharply, leaning over me and shoving me back to the mattress.

"Don't what?"

"I know exactly what I'm doing, Bella, and so do you. Don't try to find reasons to regret it." He kissed me softly, licking my bottom lip, and then sucking it into his mouth. Maybe he was right. "Let me make you feel good."

"You just did."

"Let me make you feel even better."

"I don't think that's possible," I said, finally relaxing a little.

"You wouldn't believe what's possible," he smiled wickedly. "I've been saving up for you."

"Oh, uh, um...oh, God..."

~TIL~

"Oohhhh," I groaned as I shifted from my stomach to my side. The muscles in my arms and legs were aching, but nothing was as painful as the throb between my legs.

It took me all of 3.2 seconds to remember exactly why my most intimate of intimates was suffering.

"Motherfucker," I whispered to myself.

"Isn't it a little early for you to be calling me names?" Edward asked from beside me.

"It's never too early for that," I sighed, turning to face him.

"Of course, I should have known," he mumbled, stretching his arms above his head. "So, Bella, not that I'm complaining, but what the hell are you doing in my bed?"

I gaped at him for a moment. He looked dead serious, but the twinkle in his eye as he reached out and pulled my naked body to his told me he was messing with me.

"Fuck you," I barked half-heartedly.

His chest, which my cheek was now resting against, vibrated with his laughter.

"Yeah. Fuck me, indeed."