A/N: All recognisable characters belong to SM. Enjoy!

4

"So how was your date with Jasper the other night?" Bella asked Alice as she settled herself at Alice's breakfast bar with a cup of coffee. It was Sunday and as yet, she was waiting to hear how to get the materials for the murals, so she popped over to Alice's for a coffee and a chat.

Alice swung herself up on the stool the other side of the bar and propped her chin in her hands, a goofy expression on her face.

Bella laughed "Oh like that was it?"

Alice grinned "All that and more! We had a yummy candle lit meal and each other for dessert. With him working so much the last couple of months I'd almost forgotten what I saw in him. He reminded me so well I'm surprised the neighbours didn't complain!" she laughed with Bella "Oh god it was good to have him back with me for a bit. I'm still glowing!"

"I can tell" Bella said with a grin.

"You know, you look kind of glow-y yourself! Been up to anything that's probably none of my business but you know I'll extract from you anyway?"

Bella laughed and rolled her eyes "You talked to Emmett didn't you?"

"Yep, uh-huh, so spill! What the hell happened? How did you end up kissing him?!"

Bella told her exactly as she'd told Emmett then looked down at her mug with a shrug,

"That's about it"

"You're hiding something!" Alice stated "I can always tell when you're lying to me!"

Bella didn't respond but refused to meet Alice's eyes, a flush creeping up her cheeks.

"You didn't!" exclaimed Alice

"Huh? What?" Bella's gaze shot to her friends in shock, wondering how the hell she could have guessed what happened.

"You slept with him!" said Alice, shocked.

"No!"

"So why are you blushing"

Bella sighed. "You wouldn't believe me"

"Try me"

"Well, we did just kiss on the floor like I told you, and ok, he had a bit of a feel, but while we were kissing, it was weird…"

"Go on?"

"Well his kiss just like let loose all these memories of how we were before together, you remember how lusty we were?"

Alice snorted "I think the whole house knew how lusty you two were"

Bella shot her a dirty look "Not helpful"

Alice grinned "Sorry"

"Well anyway, as I said, we were kissing and all these memories of us making love were just flooding through me, and… I came" Bella's face was scarlet by this point.

"Came? You mean you…? Oh my God! From a kiss?"

Bella groaned "I know! God I'm so embarrassed"

"Did he realise?"

"Oh yeah"

"Holy cow" sighed Alice "That's amazing!"

"Not the word I'd use right now"

Alice rolled her eyes "Oh you know what I mean. Jeez, imagine what would happen if you slept with him?"

"Alice!" exclaimed Bella annoyed "You know full well that it's all I bloody have done for the past twelve years; imagined sleeping with him again"

"Yeah I know, sorry, but bloody hell Bella, that is some incredible chemistry!"

"Don't I know it" Bella said on a sigh "But it's an impossible situation! He thinks I'm beneath him…"

"Well you were last night"

Bella ignored that comment "…and by all rights, I should hate him for the way he treated me. What kind of idiot would I be to sleep with him again?"

"I don't think it would be idiotic at all"

"You don't? But you can't stand him!"

"No, you're right, I can't. But I see no reason why you shouldn't use him the way he used you back then for kicks"

Bella frowned "And what if I can't keep it at `just for kicks'?"

Alice shrugged "You won't know unless you try. And me and Emmett will always be here to help pick you up again if that is the case"

"You know you have basically just said the same as Emmett?"

"Well you're outvoted then! Go for it!"

Bella laughed "Yeah, thanks mate"

Alice patted her hand "Just think about it ok?"

Bella sighed "Yeah ok"

Monday afternoon and her phone rang, jerking her attention away from the watercolour of Edward on her easel, his expression fiery with desire as it had been on Saturday. She walked over to answer the phone, wiping her hands on her painting shirt on the way.

"Hello?"

"Hello Bella"

Her heart jumped to her throat in shock "Edward! What do you want?"

"Nice manners Bells. It's about the murals"

Bella took a deep breath to steady herself for a minute "Right. Sorry. What about the murals?"

"I need a list of the materials you'll need to organise the funding. Can you fax it over to me?"

Bella rolled her eyes "Edward I'm an artist, not an executive, I don't have a fax machine"

"Well unless you get it to me, I can't order now can I?"

Bella bit down on her temper, refusing to give in to the rise he was obviously trying to get out of her. "Fine. I'll bring it to you, where's your office?"

Edward gave her the address and hung up with a curt goodbye.

"And he lectures me on manners" she muttered to herself and sighed. She'd better get going with the lists if she wanted to get there while Edward was still at work, so grabbing her keys and the lists, she left for his office.

Half an hour later, arriving at his office not far from the House of Parliament, she caught sight of herself in some blacked out glass and realised her error. Her hair was tied back into a messy ponytail, she wore no make-up and her shirt and shorts were both liberally splattered with paint.

She groaned, "Nice going Swan" before pushing through the revolving entrance. Too late to worry about it now. The receptionist looked sceptical at her request to see Edward and put a call through to him.

"Okay, he says for you to go on up" she eventually granted "Top floor, right out of the lifts and to the end of the corridor"

Bella nodded "Thanks"

In the mirrored walls of the lift she tried to at least straighten her ponytail out, and cursed as she noted the fine paint spray in her hair and on her face too "Damn it!"

The lift reached his floor and she made her way to his office, knocking firmly.

"Come in Bella"

Bella grimaced, he made her feel like a naughty student called to see the headmaster. She pushed open the door to find Edward propped against his desk facing her, his feet crossed at his ankles, looking utterly casual in his expensive suit and plush office. She walked toward him, the lists held out to him.

"Here they are" she murmured waiting for him to take them. Instead of reaching for the wad of papers she was offering, he grasped the hand holding them his thumb lightly rubbing over the back of her hand sending tingles up her arm.

"You're smothered in paint" he said huskily.

Bella was a little confused as to why he should care but shrugged unapologetically "I was working and didn't have time to clean up"

He seemed to be drawing her in closer to him, scrambling her senses.

"I thought you didn't paint anymore"

"I don't, professionally"

He drew her in even closer, and using his free hand, he licked his thumb and rubbed it over her cheek removing a couple of paint spots. Bella sucked in her breath at his familiarity.

"Edward!"

He ignored her protest and leaned in until his face was next to hers and sniffed deeply, his nose flaring a little, ending on a groan.

"Oh God that smell" he moaned "I have to be the only man on earth to be turned on by the smell of a watercolour paints"

"Don't Edward" Bella pleaded breathlessly.

He pulled back a minute amount just far enough to look her in the eyes. "It would be good Bells"

Bella didn't even try to pretend she didn't know what he was talking about.

"We can't" she shook her head briefly.

"We most definitely could. I could make you come here and now like you did on Saturday and better"

Bella gasped in outrage whilst her nipples tightened at the mere suggestion.

"I'll prove to you that I can make you come, over and over, like I did before" he whispered huskily, cutting off her protest.

Bella frowned "Is this about your ego?" she asked "About what I said on Friday? If so, I take it back. You have nothing to prove"

"No Shorty, it's not about ego. I know it was as good for you back then as it was for me"

She clenched her teeth at his use of the old teasing nickname he'd given her.

"So what if it was? I'm not about to repeat that childish mistake"

"The only mistake we made was letting feelings get in the way. We should have kept it in the bedroom"

"Funny" she retorted, trying not to let her hurt show "I thought we did"

Edward's jaw clenched in annoyance "Well now we're adults, there's no harm in us doing the mature thing and just having the sex until the chemistry runs dry now is there?"

Bella gulped and mentally cursed. Could she do it? Could she separate her heart and mind to use Edward the way he'd used her before?

"I don't know" she whispered.

"Think about it Bells" he took her hand and pressed it against his straining erection, evidently he wasn't lying about the smell of paint being a turn on for him. "I want to take this…" he slipped his other hand between her legs and pressed up on the seam of her shorts, almost making her legs buckle with the bolt of lightning that shot through her. "…and I want to put it here" he concluded huskily.

Her gaze locked with his, blue fire to blue fire, both of them panting with need, a bead of sweat appeared at his temple giving her the insane urge to lick him.

"Damn it Edward" she groaned and unconsciously leaned closer to his mouth until their breath mingled. She licked her bottom lip and felt his cock jump in response. Her hand curled round him, making him moan softly.

His phone rang shrilly into the silence, punctuated only by their panting breaths, and he closed his eyes, clenching his jaw.

They separated by mutual consent to let him walk round his desk and answer the phone.

"Yes?" he practically barked into it. As the caller identified themselves, he sat heavily in his chair and sighed "Hi Dad".

Bella rolled her eyes, Lord Masen wasn't exactly her favourite person with his stuffy and old fashioned views, even when she had worked for him. His telling her that his son thought her beneath him hadn't exactly endeared him to her either.

With a sigh she sat in the chair opposite Edward's desk to wait out the call. She crossed her legs to get comfortable and let her gaze wander round his office, trying not to listen in too much on his conversation.

Edward was struggling to uphold his end of the conversation as his heated gaze fell on her bare legs. Dear God he'd always loved those legs.

"Um, what? Yes Dad" he suddenly realised his Dad was waiting for an answer "It's the Party's decision not to go ahead with that conservation centre". He watched Bella roll her eyes at him, obviously thinking he was in agreement with his political party on that score too and wondering where the hell his own policies had gone. He had to admit, he'd been wondering that a lot himself. Too long had he spent trying to gain his Father's approval after letting him down just that once in his life - by sleeping with a maid. Ever since then he'd felt that nothing he did was ever right for his Dad, even when he'd made it into the Conservative Party, his Dad had barely nodded his approval before he'd started telling him how to follow the more experienced Conservative MP's. He closed his eyes briefly in annoyance as his Dad rambled on fully expecting Edward to follow his own rather shallow guidelines. He opened them again to dig in the pile of paperwork on his desk for a document relevant to the conversation. As he did so, the stack of lists Bella had brought him got pushed off the other side of the desk, scattering on the floor. He watched as Bella crouched down to get them, firstly giving him a very distracting view of her rounded bottom, then she turned and he almost choked as he could see directly down the neck of her baggy painting shirt, all the way through to her shorts. And she wasn't wearing a bra. She glanced up at him as he stopped talking and froze as she saw the hot blush of desire cross his cheekbones. She glanced down at herself, saw the reason why and quickly straightened, flushing. His heated gaze bore into her, inflaming her arousal again, her nipples standing proud against her shirt.

"Edward?" his father's annoyed voice grumbled in his ear through the phone "Edward!"

"Oh, sorry Dad. I've actually got someone with me" he apologised, hoping to get him off the phone and continue his earlier conversation with Bella.

"Well who is it with you? It had better not be someone important?"

"No, no-one important" murmured Edward distractedly, knowing his father meant a senior politician of some sort. He realised his mistake as he noted the blaze of anger storm across Bella's face. She narrowed her eyes at him, threw the papers at him, turned on her heel and stalked out.

"Wait! Bella!" he called "Dad, I've got to go, I'll call you later" he said quickly into the phone before hanging up and going after Bella. He caught up with her at the lift, catching her arm to turn her toward him. "That wasn't like it sounded Bella" he said

She pulled her arm free "Why deny it now Edward? We both know you always thought I was beneath you and unimportant anyway. Stupid of me to forget for a minute" The lift doors opened just then and she stepped into the empty car. Edward put his hand on the door to stop it from closing.

"Wait just a damned minute! Where do you get off throwing round accusations like that? I have never claimed to be superior to anyone!"

"Oh give me a break. You and your father are just the same, except that he hired loads of maids to make himself feel better about his importance, you just screwed them" she said nastily.

"I only slept with one maid Bella, you. Your motives weren't exactly pure though were they? Just how many rich guys have you taken to bed now?"

Bella growled with frustration, "Hundreds Edward, couldn't you tell? My bedroom door is a revolving one. I take what I want and wait for the guy to walk out on me"

Edward was fuming, he couldn't even talk. Instead he grabbed her and pulled her to him roughly and kissed her hard, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth, ignoring her initial protest, relishing the moment she relaxed her body against his and her mouth softened, taking what he had to offer. He broke off the kiss and rested his forehead against hers for a minute, breathing shakily as he looked into her eyes.

"Why can't I hate you?" he whispered.

Bella shrugged, pulling free of him and manoeuvring him out of the lift. She lifted her watery gaze to his. "I can't hate you either" she whispered as the doors to the lift closed.

Edward sighed, resting his head against the cold metal of the closed doors for a minute. "Damn" he whispered.

A/N: Oh these two! Both far too stubborn and hurt to communicate properly! Will they ever learn?!