Thank you everyone for all the reviews and alerts! As I said before, I hope that each chapter gets better as I become more comfortable with fiction. In this chapter we enter into the beginning of some of the suspense portion of the story. I am a psychiatrist by profession, so I feel a bit more comfortable writing the "crazy" characters – I hope you like it!

SM owns all related to Twilight, but I own the crazy

Chapter 6

Edward woke up Friday morning feeling better than he had in a long time. His date with Bella had gone perfectly, despite the awkward encounter with Tanya. He knew his past entanglements would come back to haunt him at some point, he just didn't think it would be so soon. Dealing with Tanya needed to happen immediately – that woman was not allowed to hurt Bella in any fashion. Unfortunately, Edward knew how women like Tanya worked. It would take just a few well placed suggestions of social demise, which the Cullens could certainly deliver, and her mouth would stay shut.

Sighing he rolled out of bed and headed for the shower. The warm water cascaded down across his broad shoulders and he immediately thought of Bella. This shower would be so much better if she were in here with me…shit, now I'm hard. The images of her naked and wet with long hair falling around her shoulders were too much and he gave in to the desire to slowly stroke his shaft. Her top yesterday was not overly revealing, but had outlined her perfect breasts enough that Edward could envision the feel of them in his hands. He thrust into his hand imagining how her perky breasts would be topped with pink little nipples begging for his mouth and tongue. How she would writhe and beg as he made his way down her little body to her sweet pussy. In his mind's eye he saw her spread out naked before him and lost it, cumming with force. Hand pressed against the tile wall, his forehead resting on his arm, Edward shuddered as he came down from the hardest orgasm he'd experienced in a long time.

After his shower Edward headed out the door towards the hospital. Taking yesterday off meant a double shift in the ER today, which also meant missing Bella's concert tonight. Normally he would've wanted a few days of space after a first date, but this time was different – he never wanted space from the beautiful brunette. Additionally, he knew for a fact that James had the night off and would likely attend. Edward was not an easily intimidated man, but he had not liked how Bella didn't completely dismiss James' gift or invitation to attend dinner at his family's home. Crap, she had giggled at him! The feelings of jealously and fear steeled his resolve further to make Bella his, and only his, as soon as she allowed.

*H*S*

James prepared for his day at work, knowing he'd be alongside Edward until his shift ended at 5; the perfect time for him to make it to the symphony with his family. Seeing Isabella and Edward together yesterday had made his blood boil. Tanya's incessant nagging and whining about Edward for the rest of the night hadn't helped his mood at all. After they left the restaurant, his mother had pulled him aside and encouraged him not to give up on Isabella. James knew that his parents had a reputation in Chicago's upper circles as social climbers, being from newer money than some of the established families, but his mother and father had been very good to him, and James appreciated the encouragement.

The sound of a locker slamming next to him jolted James out of his thoughts and he turned to see Edward adjusting the string on his scrubs. Next to him was his brother Emmett, who was also working in the ER this particular shift. "Edward, Emmett," James greeted them with a nod. Turning to Edward he smirked, "It was nice to see you last night. Tanya couldn't stop talking about getting together with you and 'reacquainting.' I will say that it was even nicer, though, to see Isabella. She looked beautiful," James snickered that last part, clearly trying to bait Edward into divulging what exactly happened between the Tanya and the good doctor.

Edward clenched his fist and moved forward. Only Emmett clasping his shoulder and whispering in his ear that James wasn't worth it stopped him from pouncing. "I don't know why Tanya would even think anything about me. She is, and always has been, inconsequential to me in every way." Edward fumed at the man in front of him. If James saw his discomfort with Tanya and his jealously over Bella, he would certainly take advantage.

Emmett chose that moment to speak up. "Oh man Edward, I'm so glad you finally went out with Bella – Rose has been on my back to get to the two of you together since the minute she arrived in the city!" Emmett glared at James. He disliked him more than Edward did, if possible. Throughout elementary school and high school James had teased Rosalie mercilessly for wearing glasses and braces. Even when Rose moved out of her awkward stage James and his dreadful cousin had always looked down their noses at her, making her feel less than. Emmett thought his wife possessed an inner beauty that made her exterior shine, and he hated that James dared to make her sad. He'd be damned if he'd let James and Tanya stir up trouble where Bella was concerned as well.

"Yes, we had a wonderful date," Edward said turning to Emmett, "We'll go out again soon. Maybe we can meet with you and Rose for dinner?" Emmett nodded with a wide smile and headed out as his pager went off. Edward looked at James pointedly, "Well, are we going to get some work done today or what?"

James sighed and glared right back at Edward, not intimidated in the least. "I know you think you've won with Isabella. But trust me when I say that one date does not make her yours. I have a genuine interest in her and I don't plan on letting this go anytime soon."

"I hope you enjoy disappointment," Edward sneered through a clenched jaw, "because I have no intention of losing her. And make no mistake, James, I do have her." Fucker.

James stood tall, continuing to hold his resolve. "Edward, you don't know her mind. She's been here a few weeks. Once she has a chance to see what else is out there, I am confident Isabella will choose more savory company. Don't try and be self-righteous with me and pretend that Tanya is the only woman in town who will come out of the woodwork once it seems that you're off the market. It's no secret that you've been less than a gentleman in your past."

Edward lunged at James, pushing him against the lockers with a bang. "Don't threaten me James," he said with deadly calm. "I can crush you on every level and you know it. Bella is mine and will stay as such. Back. The. Fuck. Off," he said enunciating each word with a point of his finger into James' chest.

"Shit, Edward, what the fuck is going on?" The voice of his brother-in-law Jasper filled the room loudly. Edward let James down and turned to Jasper.

"Nothing. Just letting James know a few things. Let's head out." Edward stated, clearly not wanting to discuss the confrontation. Jasper looked at him strangely but followed him out the door.

As they rounded the corner they heard James mummer, "Don't worry Edward, I'll tell Isabella you said hello when I see her after the concert tonight."

*H*S*

Strawberry blond hair tumbled down her back as the brush smoothed through stroke after stroke of the brush. Tanya smiled at the beautiful reflection in the mirror, a maniacal smile gracing her full lips. Edward Cullen was hers, always had been. She was not scared of the tiny brunette violinist. In fact, Tanya Hunter was not afraid of anything. Her gift was making people see her way in every situation. Edward would not leave her. It didn't matter that it had been over ten years since the man had even touched her, she never forgot and was damned sure to make him remember.

The thing about Tanya was that she was good at holding together a façade of pouty perfection around friends and family. They all viewed her as a harmless socialite with a pretty smile and dim mind. But Tanya knew better. She was destined for greatness, and in Chicago that meant marrying a Cullen. In high school she had tried to get Emmett Cullen to see that his infatuation with that cow Rosalie Hale was absurd, but the sweet little bitch had beguiled him by the fact that she was so beloved by everyone that her lack of looks ceased to matter. When she realized Emmett was a lost cause her attention turned to Edward. He was much easier to seduce initially: A player by nature he had fucked her within the first twenty four hours of her showing interest. Their relationship had pretty much consisted of that – she asked for sex, and he complied whenever, wherever. It only stopped because her parents insisted she attend college in San Francisco to "become well-rounded." She stayed on the West Coast longer than expected because of a romantic entanglement that ended with some….well, not nice events. Her return to Chicago at the age of thirty-two was meant to be the perfect time to hook a supposedly more mature Edward.

Tanya sighed, but not in resignation, more in disbelief that she had seen him with that slut. Isabella Swan was in fact a very beautiful woman. Her aunt's blathering over the woman would've made her sick except for the fact that she planned to use it to her advantage. James had tried to play it cool, but his lust for Isabella was practically seeping through his pores. Between James' longing, her aunt's gushing and Edward's obvious need for a good fucking, Tanya's plan was set. If nothing else, she'd always had a sense of weakness in others, and an ability to manipulate her prey before they even knew what hit them. She smiled in the mirror, admiring her perfection one last time before turning off the light and going to bed. This was going not only to be easy, but so much fun.

Reviews are as nice as perfect strawberry blond hair