The Second Year - The Second Six Months

The day Bella returned to Seattle Charlie came to visit me and he was not as calm as he had been with Bella present.

"What the fuck Edward, she is 17 years younger than you? I thought we were friends, how could you do something like this to me?"

I personally felt the fact that he hadn't hit me yet spoke volumes but I still had no idea how to answer his questions. How truthful should I actually be? "Charlie I am not sure how much I should tell you. I love her, she is an amazing woman. How could I not love her?"

"She is a child compared to you Edward."

"She is many things but a child is not one of them and you know this."

"She grew up too fast and has always been mature beyond her years. To be honest I always figured she would end up with an older man but I never expected this to happen. Did anything happen while she was still a student?"

No way in hell was I answering that question truthfully. "Sexually? No, nothing happened while she was a student. She has gone about every decision she has made very methodically Charlie, I won't pretend to know the ins and outs of the relationship you two have but I do know that your divorce and Renee not keeping in contact with her has greatly impacted how she feels about relationships."

"My relationship with Bella is fine," he growled out at me, "and it is not my fault her mother wanted nothing to do with either of us."

"I am not saying anything is your fault Charlie, please just let me explain what I can the best I can." He nodded and I took that as a sign to continue. "About two weeks before she graduated she came to me about what she was looking for in a relationship. I have to admit I was impressed, she is not out to party it up or sleep around and do the 'normal' things most college students do. She is looking for someone to settle down and share her life with. She told me how she had been watching the boys her own age and ruled them out almost immediately because they are just too immature. She essentially ruled out any male under the age of 25 because they are mainly looking to party and bed hop, not settle down. She told me at that point she started looking at specific men and how they treated the women in their life and that is when we noticed me."

I sighed and looked at Charlie, he just motioned me to continue. "Tanya and I had not been happy for a very long time and I had seriously thought about leaving her two other times. What Bella noticed is that even though Tanya would talk about me and our marriage all over town I always treated her with respect, it was how I was raised. I would never dream of disrespecting a woman. She said that is when she started comparing the men she looked at to me and they did not measure up. She called me out on not being happy in my marriage and the fact that she wanted to be the someone in my life. I was flabbergasted at first and immediately said no but she talked to me about how she wasn't in love with me but knew she could easily fall for me and how she needed an old soul to go with hers to be happy. We talked about how she wasn't breaking up my marriage because it was broken long before her. She was and is looking for someone to take care of her while challenging her to be the very best she can be."

"So she is looking for a father figure?" Charlie questioned.

I barked out a laugh, "God no. She is looking for a partner, someone that can be strong for her, take care of her but not try to control her. I am that for her and she is that for me. You have raised a remarkable woman, she keeps me sane in the middle of the insanity of my life and I love her Charlie, with all my heart. I can honestly say she is the only woman I have ever and will ever love."

"So what, are two going to get married or something?" He asked confused.

"I don't know. At this point neither of us wants to get married. We do want to spend the rest of our lives together but I really don't know if that will ever include marriage."

"Just live in sin for the rest of your lives? How is that fair to her Edward?"

"I don't know what will happen in the future but I assure you that we are being 100% percent honest with each other about everything. She knows that I may never be able to get married again but that is my hang up and has nothing to do with my feelings for her. I am not trying to trick her in any way, believe it or not the relationship we have is the healthiest and most fulfilling one I have had in my entire life. To be totally honest she is not thrilled at the idea of marriage. If we never get married it may be because of her and not me, only time will tell."

There was nothing else I could tell him, he was either reassured or he wasn't, the choice would be his to make. As selfish as it was of me I was not going to walk away from Bella because us, together, upset Charlie. I would only let her go if she asked it of me and then I knew it would break me if she ever did.

"Edward I am going to be completely honest with you." I nodded at him to continue. "I am having a very hard time with this. On the one hand I have never seen Bella happier and on the other I can see the trouble coming because of the age difference and people's need to judge others. Personally I like you Edward and consider you a friend...it is just very hard to swallow right now. I mean she went to your school, she babysat your kids for Christ sake...have you always looked at her like this because that would just be wrong?"

"No. I have always admired her. She is brilliant, lovely, compassionate and has a sense of fairness that can not be shaken. I always felt that whoever she ended up with would be a very lucky man and on some level thinking of her with another bothered me. But I did not look at her in girlfriend sort of way until she approached me and even then it took me almost a month to get back to her with my answer. I understand every point you are making Charlie and have thought about them all, I will not give her up, not ever."

"I respect your feelings for her and in some way am comforted by the fact that you will stand by her no matter what. I just need time to adjust to everything and I won't say anything to anyone. I understand the need to keep it quite. Ultimately I just want her happy and it is obvious you make her happy. Do not fuck this Edward, hurt her and I will make sure you regret it."

"I won't hurt her Charlie, you have my word." He nodded and then got up and left without another word. As I thought back over the conversation I figured it had gone well overall. He was at least willing to give us a chance to show him we could be happy. If I was in his shoes I don't know if I could be as understanding.

Starting with the new quarter Bella would be Junior and I was very proud of her. She loved her classes and had started looking into graduate school at U of W. She was pissed when I told her about Charlie's visit and as her Dom I had to order her not to come home and confront him about it. I was finally able to get her to understand that it was something Charlie needed to do as a father to make sure his little girl was happy. She wasn't happy about it but I think she understood his position, finally.

The kids returned to school and were seeing a court appointed psychologist twice a week before the hearing. They would meet with her a total of 6 times before she would testify at the hearing about what was in their best interest. I never asked what they talked about in their appointments but the kids seemed to like her and were in good moods after each one so I took that as a positive sign. Tanya was allowed a supervised visit with them once a week for 4 hours. She also had to see a psychologist before the hearing and undergo random drug testing because the man breaking into the house was a known drug dealer.

Of course news of what had happened over break had spread like wildfire throughout Forks and my return to school was...interesting. I received several offers from the female teachers to come over and cook a meal for us or just to help with the kids in general, it was very frustrating. What was worse is it was no longer just the high school teachers offering I was also getting calls from the middle school teachers. I would complain to Bella about it and she would still laugh at me and say "I told you last year how to stop all of this Edward." Since I could not bring myself to do that I ignored them and hoped they would give up eventually.

Bella was giving serious thought to getting her Master's in British or European Literature so she had decided to take a European history class to match the history with the literature, neither of us considered that it would bring her closer to her old professor - James Damon. Two weeks into the quarter I received a call from an upset Bella.

"Edward, I completely forget about Professor Damon when I decided to take this class. He was outside the building this morning when I arrived for class."

"Did he try to touch or hurt you in any way?"

"No, but he followed me right up to the classroom door and kept trying to get me to talk to him. I told him to please leave me alone that I was not interested in even a friendship with him, then he asked if we would be attending any of the parties for Valentine's Day this year, I just walked into class without answering."

"Was he waiting for you when class was over or did you see him at all after that?"

"No he wasn't waiting and I have not seen him since and I was looking for him. He makes me very uncomfortable Edward."

"I know sweetheart. I will call Peter and see if he can speak with James again. He is overstepping a very fine line, if he won't leave you alone I will speak to him myself about leaving you alone."

"Thank you Edward you always take such good care of me."

"It is my job to take care of you Isabella. I know how stressed he makes you so I have a task for you kitten."

I heard her suck in her breath at the tone of my voice, "yes Master" she all but moaned.

"I want you to run yourself a nice hot bubble bath and soak for at least 15 minutes then while still in the tub I want you take Big Eddie and fuck that tight pussy of yours until you cum. Do you understand?"

"Yes Master."

"After you are done I want you to text me and let me know you have completed the task. You are not to draw this out Isabella. If I have not heard from you in 45 minutes then I will assume you need to be refused cumming for a few weeks so it will be easier for you to when I demand it."

She gasped, "I don't think that will be a problem Master. I love you, goodnight."

"Good night kitten, do not disappoint me. I love you Isabella."

Thirty-five minutes later I received a text from Isabella.

Master-

Task complete and thank you I am now very relaxed.

Sweet dreams -

Isabella

I was sure James was going to be a problem if Bella had a class in the same building as his. I called Peter and explained the situation to him and he agreed to bring it up to James but also suggested that if James approached Bella again to tell campus security about the problem. The last thing we needed to add to our plate right now was a professor who couldn't understand the word no.

The court date for the custody hearing was coming up so my attorney and I were on the phone or meeting several days a week. He was sure we had enough to get me full custody of the kids, the only unknown was what the psychologist would say and what type of visitation Tanya would be granted. Once I had the custody I wanted I was going to push her hard on the divorce. I would give her what she wanted as long as I was divorced by summer.

The hearing was set for first thing on a Monday morning and Bella was arriving in Forks late Saturday night. She insisted on being in town for the hearing. Tanya had a visit scheduled with the kids on Sunday afternoon. After I dropped the kids off with the supervising social worker I text Isabella to meet me at the movie theater in Port Angeles. I needed to destress and what better way than with a public blow job. I chose a movie that had been out for a while hoping the theater would be almost empty, it was something about the son of a Greek God. I didn't care the theater had only 5 people in it and it was very dark in the back.

About 5 minutes into the movie Bella walks in and it takes a couple of minutes to locate me in the dark theater. I motion for her to sit down and she looks at me like she is confused but sits anyway. I neglected to tell her why we were at the movies. We are holding hands watching the movie, which was not bad, for about 10 minutes before I move our hands into my lap and start rubbing them against my hard on. I hear her gasp and lean into her ear, "it is time for that second blow job I was promised Bella, on your knees kitten." I had intentionally worn loose fitting trousers instead of jeans to make it easier on her.

I groaned as she pulled out my cock and licked it from base to tip. "Mmmm so good Master, I love the way you taste." She whispered looking up at me.

"Fuck little girl, I have missed having your mouth on me." She was deep throating me and pressing her tongue firmly against the vein as she started moving up and down. "Damn...so good." She was moaning around me and rubbing her thighs together, my little vixen was really turned on. Well, she didn't mind kissing me after I went down on her so let's see how she likes this. She was wearing a skirt so I quickly pulled her up and turned her around, I went to rip her panties off and she wasn't wearing any so I just impaled her on my cock and covered her mouth to muffle her cry of surprise.

I scooted us down in the seat so she could lean against me as I moved in and out of her. "Shit baby you are so hot and wet for me. I am going to fuck you Isabella and you can cum whenever you are ready." I moved my thumb to circle her clit and she whimpered. "You need to be quiet or we will go back to you just giving me a blow job." She instantly stilled against me. "Once you cum you are going to get back on your knees and finish blowing me until I cum in your mouth. You will take everything I give you baby or be punished." She nodded her head and I picked up my pace.

"Fuck kitten you feel so good."

"Ugh Master so close...please...harder."

I started rubbing her clit harder and she was panting she was so turned on. "My little slut is going to love licking her juices off my cock isn't she?" That was all if took and she clamped down on me hard, it was work not to cum with her. Her body was vibrating and she was biting her lip trying not to make a sound, there was a battle scene in the movie and flashes of brightness in the theater. If she drew attention to us people would know what was happening. As soon as her breathing was under control she was back on her knees swirling her tongue around the head and greedily sucking her juices off., then I felt myself slide into her throat and she swallowed. "Fucking hell...take it all kitten...ugh." She put me back together and sat back in her seat as if nothing had happened.

When I thought there was about 10 minutes of the film left I leaned over and whispered to Bella, "I'm going to go. I'll call you tomorrow after the hearing." She nodded and squeezed my hand. I left the movies much more relaxed than I had been going in.

The next morning was very somber around the Cullen house. No one was talking very much and the kids were picking at their breakfast.

"Guys, it is going to be fine. I have told you don't worry so much. Go to school and when you come home I will tell you everything that has happened."

"Ok Dad," was the best I could get from the three of them.

Doug met me outside the courthouse to make sure everything had been ok this morning. When we walked into the courtroom Tanya and Newton were already seated and she looked like the cat that swallowed the canary. They both looked very confident and it made me nervous. The judge entered and called everyone to order, this was it.

Doug went first and spelled out all the reasons I wanted full legal and physical custody with Tanya only having supervised visits. Her non-involvement with the kids even when she is physically present, leaving them with a baby sitter all the time, everything right up to and including leaving them alone with a man trying to break into the house. Throughout everything she and Newton sat there looking as if they didn't have a care in the world. God I wanted to wipe that smile off their faces.

Newton stood to plead their case and the only thing they had was that kids need their mother and the incident at the Ford's house. There was just no believable way to paint Tanya as a good mother and when the Judge heard that Newton's kid was one of the ones trying to drug Emily I wasn't so sure that went in their favor. We recessed for lunch and then the psychologist would take the stand.

I had never met the psychologist, Maggie Carlton, so I was surprised when she took the stand. I had been expecting someone close to my own age but this woman was in her 60's and projected a grandmother image, no wonder the kids liked her. She started discussing Evan and how he was reacting to the divorce.

"Evan is surprisingly well adjusted. He is less concerned with the fact that he doesn't spend much time with his mother than he is with who the babysitter is. His nonchalance about his mother implies that when she does spend time with him it is not pleasant for him. When he is at his mother's it is his older sister that he turns to for comfort and love. Now the time he spends at this father's is almost the exact opposite, he rarely has a babysitter there and when he needs comfort or love he goes directly to his father. He trusts his father to keep him safe, after the incident at his mother's house I don't think he will ever feel safe there again."

Up until this point it had been as if she was doing a report, but Newton interrupted with a question. "Mrs. Carlton, how can you say he will never feel safe there again? In reality nothing happened that night, the children never even saw the man trying to break in."

"I understand that Mr. Newton but his mother was supposed to be there to protect him from that and she wasn't, he had no idea who the adult was at that point until his sister called someone for help when she was unable to reach her father." She was flipping through her notes looking for something.

"Yes here it is. We were discussing that night when I asked him what had worried him the most about it."

"Emily being so scared, she always knows what to do and this time she didn't. Mom hadn't told her she was leaving and the man was yelling for her. Em tried calling dad and he didn't answer. Bella used to babysit us and I know Em has talked to her a few times about something I'm not allowed to know about so she called her. Her dad is the chief so she knew what to do. She called her dad to come help us and then went to get our dad too."

"It sounds like she really helped you that night?"

"She did. She is the one who told Em to lock us in the bathroom in her room. She talked to each of us and told me it was really important that I stay quiet and not make one peep no matter what happened. She had us look through the bathroom for things that would help protect us if he did get in."

"What kind of things?"

"Like hairspray and the stuff Em uses to clean her bathroom. She had Em plug in that thing she uses on her hair so it would get hot. She told Em that if he got into the bathroom we needed to fight him until her dad got to us."

"Did he get inside?"

"No, the chief stopped him and then Bella got there with daddy. She told me she was proud of me for being so quiet."

"I'm sure she was very proud of you. Have you been back to your mom's house?"

"We only went back once and I couldn't go inside. I waited in the car while Dad got some more of our stuff to take to his house. I don't like that house."

She closed her notes and looked at Newton, "That is how I can say with relative certainty that he will not feel safe there again."

After Newton sat down, not wearing that stupid smile anymore, she moved on to her sessions with Ethan. "Ethan was much more vocal in what he wants. He wants to live with his father and have as little contact with his mom as possible. He has picked up on the fact that his mother gets a lot of phone calls from different men and that she leaves them with a babysitter so much to meet with these men. He also feels his mother views him and his siblings as a burden while his father truly loves and wants them with him. Ethan does not have the same level of fear from that night that Evan does but he recognizes that his mother should have been there to protect him and she wasn't. To make matters worse she has not discussed that night with them or why she wasn't there, he finds it hard to believe that she cares for him."

As I listened to Mrs. Carlton I wondered how long the kids had felt this way. By staying with Tanya for so long had I made things even harder on the kids or had this behavior escalated since I had moved out? I think it had escalated some but it had always been there, too many times the kids and I had done things without her because she was off doing...I didn't know what. As much as I had tried to make up her for indifference they had still noticed and now that we weren't together it was obvious to them. I was brought out of my thoughts when she was sitting up a tape recorder to play a part of one of Emily's sessions.

"My mom and I have never been close. I have always felt as if we were a burden to her. I don't think my dad ever knew exactly how bad she treated us because we didn't tell him about it."

"Why didn't you tell him about it Emily? Didn't you think he would help you?"

"He would have moved out quicker if he knew the mean things she used to say to us. Telling us the only thing we were good for was keeping him around. One time after she had been drinking, she said something about how she trapped with a kid and that is how she kept him around too."

"She said that to you Emily?"

"No, she was on the phone with someone and I overheard the conversation but did she think I didn't know she didn't want us around? She has never been there when we needed her and the few times I have needed a mom she could care less."

"What do you mean? Did you go to her for help and she let you down."

"Yes, she always has. When my friends got their periods and I started having changes in my body I asked her about it. She laughed threw a box of tampons at me and told me I was a smart girl I could figure it out on my own like she did. I was really hurt but luckily a few days later we ran into Bella at the mall and she took me to her house and explained everything to me. I talked to her about my feelings and my weird mood swings and just everything. She didn't make me feel stupid, she actually made me feel good about myself and pointed out the one person I could always count on and who had never let me down."

You could hear Emily's sobs before Mrs. Carlton spoke again. "And who is that dear?"

"My Dad. She didn't tell me why but Bella was raised by her father and they went through all this together, he learned about all this stuff for her. She made me realize that my dad would do that for me if he had too. The minute she said it I knew it was true, he loves me, loves us and would do anything for us."

"Yes he does Emily. Have there been any other incidents besides that one?"

"Well, after the thing at the Ford's house when I was telling mom about it I left out the stuff the boys had said about her because I didn't want to hurt her feelings. When I finished telling her she started saying how it was my fault and I must have done something to make them think it was ok and maybe I really did want it. I got mad and yelled at her what they had said to me and that is why the treated me that way. She laughed at me and told me not to push my issues off on her."

Emily was crying hard on the tape now when Mrs. Carlton asked her, "Then what happened?"

"Nothing I stayed in my room until it was time to go to Dad's and didn't talk to her but I had a nightmare that night and it woke Dad up. He told me if I wasn't going to talk to him I had to talk to Bella or Rose. I agreed to call Rose and she was able to help me talk through the nightmare and how what happened was those boys' fault and not mine."

"I'm glad you have someone to talk to about that."

"Yeah, Rose is great. She is a friend of Bella's and something happened to her when she was my age and well, she just really understands what I am going through."

You could Emily fidgeting like she was uncomfortable with the conversation now. "The only other big thing with mom was the night the guy tried to break in."

"Can you talk to me about that Emily?"

"I was really scared, especially when I realized mom wasn't home. It had happened once before and Dad made me promise to call him if it ever happened again. The guy was just knocking at this point and I was worried what would happen if he was still there when Dad arrived but I tried to call dad anyway and he didn't answer. Then the guy started yelling and really trying to get in and I was so scared that I called Bella. I didn't know who else to call and she always said I could call her anytime for anything. She called her dad, the Police Chief, while she was on the phone with me and driving to my dad's to see if he was at home. She told me everything would be fine and to wake the boys and get us all together in my bathroom. She had me look through my bathroom and tell her what all I had in there I could use as a weapon in case he got in the house. I ended up heating up my curling iron and giving the boys my hairspray and cleaning chemical spray bottles. I heard Bella at Dad's and they way she was talking to him I don't think he understood exactly what was happening. He wasn't talking much but Bella kept telling me they were on their way and asked if I could hear the sirens. When I told I could hear the sirens but it sounded like he was close to getting in she told me if he got to where we were hiding to fight back, under no circumstances was I to allow us to be removed from the house by him. I remember her exact words 'Em if he tries to drag you out of the house you need to fight like your life depends on it because it probably does Emily. We have no idea what he wants, do not let him take you somewhere else he will not you go when he is safe Em. I mean it, your life depends on fighting him.' She was scaring me but with who her dad was I figured she knew what she was talking about and it turns out she did. Later I looked up the facts at school and in almost all cases of a kidnapping like that the person is killed. I still can't believe that my own mother brought someone like that into our lives. If I never have to see her again I would be very happy."

With that Mrs. Carlton shut off the recorder. I thought back to the last things Emily had said and didn't remember any of it. I would have been in the car with Bella when she was saying that to her and couldn't remember it. I knew I was out of it that night but until this moment I hadn't realized I was probably in shock from what was happening.

The judge looked at both attorneys' and asked if anyone wanted to add anything, Newtown said no and Doug looked at me and I shook my head no. The judge looked at Tanya and I and told us he was ready to rule. Doug turned to me shocked, "This is very irregular Edward. A judge almost always takes some time to review things. Whatever he is about to rule he feels very strongly about. I think this is good for us, very good."

"Mrs. Cullen," the judge said addressing Tanya. "I find several things I have heard today disturbing. First, I can not believe you would attempt to blame your daughter for what almost happened to her. Second, I find it very telling that after someone tried to break into your house with your children alone you didn't bother to check on them until the next morning. I think what astounds me most is you are here telling me how much you want your kids and how you are best for them but you were given 4 hours of supervised visitation every week and while you showed up every week the longest you ever stayed was 2 hours and 20 minutes. Nothing, absolutely nothing, in your manner tells me that you want these kids, not one thing."

The Judge looked from Tanya to the courtroom in general. "I hereby grant full legal and physical custody of the minors in question to Mr. Edward Cullen. Visitation for Mrs. Tanya Cullen is strictly at Mr. Cullen's discretion, however it is to be supervised at all times and no overnight visits. If in the future if Mr. Cullen feels a change would be appropriate he may petition the court. Court is adjourned."

I turned to Doug shocked, "What the hell just happened?"

He smiled and clapped me on the back. "You won Edward, you got what you wanted. Congratulations."

"You son of a bitch. How could you, you fucking bastard." I heard Tanya shriek as she ran towards me. I grabbed her arms before she could hit me.

"You did this to yourself Tanya."

As a bailiff led her away I turned to Doug, "I have what I want from her. Set up a meeting about the divorce, it is time to show her everything we have and force her to sign the papers or I go public with it." He nodded as we walked out of the courthouse.

I called Bella and told her the good news, she was as excited as I was about it. With this we came one step closer to being rid of Tanya. I could hear a commotion in the background, "Where are you?"

"I am at your house making dinner for you and the kids. It is late Edward, didn't you notice?"

I looked at my watch and it was almost 5. "No, I didn't. I should be home in about 30 minutes. Thank you Bella and I love you."

"Love you too see you soon."

When I arrived home Bella had made chili and cornbread, it was delicious and just what was needed on a cold day. I told all of them what happened in court and we discussed how often they wanted to see her, which turned out to be not that often. I had to talk them into once every two weeks and then only Sunday afternoon. Tanya had really screwed herself with the kids, the question was did she even care?

After dinner and the kids were in bed I told Bella about the conversation with Doug concerning the divorce, the gloves were going to come off now.

"Are you sure you shouldn't hold something back Edward, just in case."

"I don' think so. I plan on pulling things out one at a time and hopefully she will give in before I have to use it all."

She moved to straddle my lap and kissed me deeply before whispering in my ear, "I have missed my time with you Master."

I slapped her on the ass, "And is that how you are supposed to ask me Isabella?"

She quickly climbed off me and kneeled next to the couch, "No Master, I'm sorry."

"Go up to my bathroom, strip and assume your position Isabella." She stood up quickly to leave, "Oh Isabella, expect to be punished." She shivered and ran upstairs. I wondered if she would notice the addition to my shower, probably not from the outside. I walked into the bathroom and she looked glorious kneeling there.

"You look beautiful kitten, I love seeing you like this." I tell her as I run my fingers through her hair. "Look at what you do to me my pet." I unzipped my pants, my cock sprang out and I heard her groan. "Stand up kitten, get in the shower and face the wall." As she moved to obey she noticed the additions, I had installed some hooks and a short bar near the ceiling as a hand hold, she didn't question me but did go stand in front of them.

I stripped and stepped in behind her. I knelt down to attach the cuffs to her ankles and secure her to the wall. "You will be punished Isabella. Do you know why?" She was silent. I stood up and started attaching the cuffs to her wrists. "You may answer?"

"Because I wasn't respectful when I asked for playtime."

"You didn't actually ask for playtime though, did you?"

"No Master."

"What you did was imply you wanted it while you were sitting on my lap. Do you deserve to be punished?"

"Yes Master."

"Why?"

"We were in vanilla time and if I wanted to change that I should have assumed my position and waited for Master to either address me as his sub or his girlfriend. That would have given me my answer."

"Yes it would have. Did you do this because you wanted to be punished? Have you done something else that you feel you need to be punished for but haven't told me about?"

She whirled around and looked me with her eyes wide, "No Master." She quickly remembered herself and turned around with her head lowered. I attached her wrists to the hooks above her head. She was stretched out flat against the wall and looked really good like that. I turned the water on and adjusted it to an acceptable temperature.

"Then why?"

"To be honest I forget. We were sitting there and it was out of my mouth before I really thought about it. I am truly sorry Master." She looked really upset about it.

I moved the ball gag so she could see it. "I know how you love to be loud but with the kids here we can't have them hearing you so I am going to gag you." I whispered to her as I was gagging her, "You will not cum Isabella. If you do I will get the crop and make that ass of yours so red it will be a very uncomfortable drive back to Seattle for you. When I ask you a question I expect you to nod or shake your head as an answer, understand?"

She nodded her head. I started to lube her ass, my girl loved to be double penetrated and I was itching to use the anal beads on her. "I have missed playtime too kitten." I said as I started inserting the beads. "Had you asked properly this would be all pleasurable for you." I brought my hand down on her left cheek and she tried to yell out from behind her gag, the water made the spank sting more. "I love hearing you scream." I moved my thumb to her clit and started circling slowly, she was writhing trying to get more friction. "I am going to get my pleasure baby and I want to give you yours." I moved my cock so it was stroking her folds but not inside her pussy. "But my horny little slut has trouble being respectful to her Dom, to the one who owns her orgasms."

I thrust up into her as I grabbed her nipple ring and tugged, her muffled scream was very rewarding. "Squeeze me hard baby, this is going to fast, rough and dirty and you are not to cum Isabella." She pushed her ass back into me and I gave her two swats quickly. "Keep still this is for my enjoyment, not yours." I moved my hands to her hips and pushed them against the wall. I started thrusting into her harder and I could feel her walls quivering. I bit down lightly on her shoulder, "Do not fucking cum kitten and squeeze me harder." She clamped down on my dick the hardest she has in a while and I was instantly cumming. I kept thrusting into her riding out my orgasm and tugging on her nipple ring. "Fuck little girl you always feel so good."

I slipped out of her and quickly washed her hair and body before undoing the cuffs and rubbing her wrists and ankles. I wrapped us both in towels and carried her to bed. I rubbed the balm on her wrists and ankles as she tried to control her breathing. "You did very good Isabella." She was rubbing her thighs together trying to find relief. "You are not to cum kitten I mean that. I am proud of how you took your punishment, don't disappoint me now." She immediately stilled. I put the balm away and moved her under the covers, "I'll set the alarm for early and you can leave before the kids get up to head back." She nodded at me and we drifted off to sleep.

Bella did not sleep very well that night, her tossing and turning woke me up around 3am and she was whimpering in her sleep. I almost felt bad for not letting her cum earlier but she looked so good holding it back. I had not removed the anal beads so I slowly pulled two of them out and she groaned and pushed her ass back against me. I moved my one arm under her head so I could place my hand over her mouth quickly if need be. I pulled another one out and started circling her clit slowly, she was so wet. "Mmmm so good" she moaned in her sleep. I couldn't believe she hadn't woke up yet. I gently lifted her leg and slid it over my hip as I entered her from behind. Fuck but she was wet and hot and still sleeping as I slowly moved in and out of her. I pinched her clit as I picked up my pace, "fuc..." was all she got out before I clamped down on her mouth.

"God but you feel good baby. I am so close already, I want you to cum when ready." She moaned against my hand and I felt her clamp down on me hard. I was thrusting harder now and rolled her onto her stomach so I could go deeper. Her walls started to quiver and she was starting to moan loudly, I could feel she was cumming and waited while she rode out her orgasm then I pulled the last 3 beads out and pinched her clit hard. That was all it took for both of us to cum. "Fuck Bella...yes baby are you cumming for me again?" She just nodded and whimpered. I removed my hand from mouth and as she was drifting off to sleep said, "thank you, thank you so much." I chuckled and let her sleep for a few hours before waking her to return to Seattle.

The earliest we could set up a meeting with Tanya was almost 3 weeks later, right before Valentine's Day. I was hoping as a Valentine's Day gift for Bella I could give her a copy of my divorce papers. I had found a nice woman in her 50's, Mrs. Call, that was willingly to watch the kids for me when needed. They didn't really need a babysitter, Emily was 13, but since that night at Tanya's she is not comfortable it being just them for long after dark. I was going to take Bella to dinner at Michael's in Port Angeles and give the papers and another small present I had for her.

The day of the meeting I was in a great mood, I had told the kids I had a meeting about the divorce but that was it, they didn't need to know I was praying this would be the last one. We were meeting at Newton's office and when we arrived the both looked very smug, I was going to enjoy wiping that smirk right off their faces.

"Why are we here today Edward?" Tanya asked.

I turned to Doug for the papers and slid them across to her. "You are going to sign the divorce papers as they are so we can finalize this. You are done controlling me Tanya."

"Is that a fact? Who is she Edward?"

"What do you mean?"

"A friend saw you buying a necklace for Valentine's Day. Who is she?"

"How do you know I wasn't buying that for Emily or Esme?" I saw the uncertainty cross her face and knew she was bluffing.

"I on the other hand have proof of what I am saying." I reached for the manila envelope next to me. "I have dated photos of you and Seth Clearwater from 3 years ago, when he was 17." I slid the photos over for her to look at. "I also have photos from 6 months ago of you with, I believe their names are Quil and Embry, in very compromising positions. While Quil is 19, Embry was 16 at the time." I slid another stack of photos across the table to her. "I have photos of you getting stoned, doing lines and in one of the most disturbing you are smoking a crack pipe. You will sign those papers Tanya or I will mail copies of those photos to your parents and several other 'friends' that would love to see them."

"You wouldn't Edward! Why are you doing this to me?" she screamed.

"Tanya you are under the misconception that I care about you. I never loved you and only tolerated you because of the kids. Our entire marriage was nothing but a big joke, you know it and I know it. Accept that I am done being your meal ticket and move on. Sign those papers, as is, you walk away with the house and everything in it or I will use those pictures. Some of things you are doing in them are felonies."

"You fucking bastard," she screamed lunging across the table. I grabbed her arms and pushed her back into her seat.

"Sign the fucking papers Tanya, I am not saying it again. I will walk out of here and use those pictures." She sat staring at me for 5 minutes before I stood up and started to walk out.

"Wait...wait...fine. There you prick I signed them. Happy now?"

I smiled at her, "very." I signed myself, handed them to Doug and walked out. I was very excited for dinner with Bella on Friday.

We met near the cabin on Friday to go to dinner. Bella looked fabulous in a dress that was a deep purple color, it was great against her skin, it was backless and she knew she was driving me crazy. Dinner was very laid back, I was sometimes surprised that Bella and I had as much in common as we did but I never tired of talking to her about anything. She was very intelligent and her insight into things amazed me, she truly tried to see things from every side. I gave her the other present first, it was a new collar, a black velvet choker with a diamond pendant hanging from the front. The diamond was etched with names on it Isabella on the front and Master on the back.

"Oh, Edward it is beautiful. Thank you so much. I love it." She squeezed my hand that was on the table.

"It is actually a collar for you." Her head whipped up to look at me. "The one you have on now will be your everyday collar but when we are going out like this, I want you to wear the new collar."

"Thank you Master," she said lowly. "Will you put it on me now?"

I stood and moved behind her, I removed the everyday collar and placed this one on her with a kiss to the back of her neck. I sat down again, "It looks perfect on you Isabella, Happy Valentine's Day."

"I have a present for you to Sir. I will show it you when we are leaving if that is alright?"

"I can't wait Isabella. I actually have another one for you, I think it may turn out to be your favorite." I gave her the packet of papers.

"Oh my god - your divorce is final?" she asked.

"No, not yet. She signed the papers and there is a 90 day waiting period but by the end of May I should receive the final divorce decree." She was beaming at me.

"You were right, this is my favorite gift."

As we were standing to leave I helped Bella with her shawl and that is when I noticed the tattoo. I sucked in a breath and she chuckled, "Happy Valentine's Day." As I held her car door open I stopped her and pulled the dress down to get a better look at the tattoo. The words were in black but the whip was color, the braid was a deep green with a dark brown handle. It looked fantastic on her. "Thank you Isabella, I love you." As much as we both would have loved to play in the cabin I had to get back to the kids. Her Easter break was about 6 weeks away and web cam would have to be ok until then, it had gotten us this far. Well, that and Big Eddie, kitten loved that dildo and swore it was the only thing that got her through the long periods when we didn't see each other.

My return to school on Monday was interesting, word had gotten out that the divorce was in the final stages now and every available female teacher took that as a sign to hit on me. It wasn't until Wednesday that I heard the rumor about me dating someone already, one of the new teachers asked me.

"So Headmaster, dating already?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard you were seen at Michael's on Friday having a cozy dinner with a woman and it definitely wasn't just friends."

"I have no idea what you heard but my divorce has been ongoing for close to 2 years so if I choose to date that is my business."

I wasn't hostile when I said this but I wasn't friendly either and she got the idea to back off the subject quickly. The rumors continued for several weeks but when I wasn't seen with anyone again they finally died down.

Although the kids had said they would be willing to see Tanya every 2 weeks she didn't call to set anything up until their spring break in March. She wanted me to be the one to supervise the visit but I reminded her it had to be a court social worker. She still did the visit but it only lasted 2 hours, I was beginning to wonder if she would give up her rights altogether. Bella went to Texas with Rose and Alice for spring break. She left me a message were Alice was ranting at her for not bringing any string or thong bikini's, but I knew she had to keep the tattoo covered or blow our cover.

We had agreed that before her summer sessions started I would tell the kids about her and she would tell Rose and Alice about me. She said they never asked anymore and was pretty sure they knew anyway but she wanted to confirm everything for them. She asked if I wanted to be there and I honestly didn't know if I wanted to see their reactions or not. I told her I would let her know.

March rolled into April, the kids and I had our schedule down pat, Bella was doing great in school, the only problem was her old history professor. She was done with the class in that building but he was still turning up on campus where she was more often and it made both of us nervous. She had her pepper spray with her at all times and had started going to a gym again to keep up on her self defense classes. Peter had talked to him several times and had not been able to get him to back off. I had called and personally talked to him. He tried to convince me that Isabella was over reacting. I warned her that if he stepped up his following her we would tell Charlie and see about a restraining order.

The week of Easter arrived and the kids were looking forward to spending sometime with Grandma and Grandpa. I left my mother all the contact numbers and explained what to do if Tanya wanted to see the kids, I didn't think she would but stranger things have happened. Tanya's parents had contacted mine about seeing the kids, I didn't want them to but I couldn't keep the kids away from their grandparents. I gave in and said fine but they had to come to Forks and it had to be supervised just like Tanya's. I didn't trust them, they blindly believed Tanya's bull shit and I was worried they would try to run with the kids. After everyone was settled I left for Seattle, I would pick Bella up and then we would go to the airport.

We were spending the long weekend at the Seascape Beach Resort in Monterey Bay, California. I pre-scheduled several couples in-suite massages and rented a sailboat for our last night there, I hoped Bella would like sleeping on the water. The resort was everything I hoped it would be and Bella loved it. The resort was on a gorgeous beach with beautiful gardens, Bella loved the aromatherapy massage while I enjoyed the bamboo fusion one. We made love every night, toured the wine country and visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was nice to be Edward and Bella without worrying if someone would see us, we were very comfortable with each other and almost never fought.

As strange as it sounds, I think they way things started forced us to communicate openly from the beginning. When a situation is as complicated as our had been at the start you couldn't afford misunderstandings, so we have communicated in ways I know most couples married for 25 years don't. No matter how hard, embarrassing or potentially hurtful a conversation may be we did not stop talking until everything was worked out in a way both of us could live with. She has taught me that compromise really is an art and is not overrated.

Our last evening there we went out on the sailboat, I used to love sailing but had not done much once I was married. Bella seemed to enjoy it also, she sat on the deck with the wind in her hair and her face upturned catching the sunshine, she looked like an angel to me. I had the resort pack us a picnic dinner and right before sunset we anchored in a small inlet and ate while watching the sunset over the water. As the stars started to make their appearance I realized the woman in my arms and my kids made up my entire world. If I lost everything else I had and still had them I would be a very lucky man.

Bella turned in my arms and cradled my face in her soft hands. "I love you so much Edward. You do so many things for me, take such good care of me. I don't think you know the depth of my love for you or the gratefulness I have for you coming into my life. You are the only person I feel completely safe with, that I can show the true Bella to and know that I will be 100% percent accepted. It is such a liberating feeling to know I don't have to do anything or take care of anything when I am with you, I am free to just be."

She pulled my t-shirt over my head and then removed hers. She was undoing my belt when she spoke again, "Let me show you what you mean to me. I don't think words will ever convey the true depth of my feelings for you. My I show you please?" She spoke with such sincerity and her eyes were full of love and passion all I could do was nodded my head. That was the moment I realized she loved me as deeply as I loved her, she would never let me go and I was awed by her feelings.

She stood and quickly removed her shorts and then removed my pants and boxers before kneeling between my legs. She started lightly running her hands over my calves and thighs, "I love your legs, so powerful. Able to support you while supporting me." She was running kisses and licking the inside of my thighs and I felt as if I was going to lose my mind. "You are always there walking along side me or ready to carry me when the load becomes too much. You are the inner strength that I draw on to get through everything."

She licked my cock softly placing a small kiss on the head before moving to sit on my chest. She removed her bra and placed my hands on her chest as both of our breathing picked up. She was running her fingers up and down my arms, "Your arms, I love those too. They hold me loosely when I am happy letting me know that I always have a place in them and tightly when I am sad or angry letting me know I am safe and even when we are apart I know they are wide open just waiting for me to return to them, where I belong." She picked up one of my hands and was playing with my fingers.

"But your hands, god your hands, they speak volumes for you." She released my hand to remove her bra, then started playing with my fingers again. I was so turned on I could feel the tension vibrating between us and at the same time so very touched by her words that told me how much she needed me too. "When I am overwhelmed a simple touch from you has a calming effect. When you take my small hand in your large one I know that you would never hurt me and it reminds me that I am engulfed in your love as my hand is in yours. Sometimes they touch me so lightly and with such reverence that I can feel your love seeping into my skin and other times they grip me tighter, never too tight, but hard enough that I feel the passion and desperation to claim me that is barely restrained and my heart races because you want me that much." She slowly moved our entwined hands down her body until we were gently rubbing her clit. "I love knowing that you are the only man to ever have his hands on my body, the only man that will ever know my body in anyway." She moved my hand back to her breast and then she positioned herself over my cock. I couldn't stop the groan I made when she slid down onto me and I gently tugged on her nipple ring. "Ughhh, what I love most about your hands is that they know how to play my body and they know this because I am important to you. Important enough to have watched my reactions and to want to give me pleasure."

She started slowly moving up and down my shaft and it felt like heaven. "Belllaaa, you are driving me insane. I love you so much Bella, so much."

She leaned forward so she could look in my eyes and it changed the angle I entered her, going so much deeper. "I know Edward, I know. That is why I love your eyes. Your eyes never lie, they show me what you are feeling, always. There are times, like now, when I look in them and swear I can see your soul and it is beautiful. I look in them and see the love and passion you have for me but mostly when I look in your eyes I see our future together and I want that future with you Edward. I love you." She leaned down and kissed me deeply before moving her hands to my chest as she started to ride me slightly faster.

"Fuckkkk Edward, I love your cock. The way you fill and stretch me, it is like you were made just for me. Your cock is the physical proof of what I do to you and what you feel for me. I love that you get hard when I whisper naughty things in your ear and bite down on you. I love that you are my Master and your cock will be the only one inside me...ever. I love that when I take you deep in my throat and swallow you cum instantly, every time."

"Damn Bella, I am so close baby, so fucking close. Cum with me please. Made for me...only one to touch you...mine. Please Bella."

She shifted again and placed her right hand over my heart. "But this, this right here," she said as she flexed her right hand. "This is the part of you I love the most, your heart and have chosen to give it to me. As much as I admire your mind and worship your body, your heart is the best gift you could ever give me. You have so much love to give and when I watch you with your kids or me or your parents, your heart is a beautiful thing to see in action."

"Close Edward...cum with me baby...please." I pulled her to me to kiss and pinched her clit. I felt her walls tighten around me and I started to climax. We both whispered "yes" and then Bella collapsed on my chest.

I carried Bella to the bedroom and pulled her to me under the covers. "Bella that was the most intense, erotic yet intimate thing I have ever experienced. Thank you for sharing that with me, I love Bella."

"Love you too Edward," she said as she drifted off to sleep.

We returned to Washington the next day and it was harder this time to part from each other. In six weeks Bella would be in Forks for a week before starting her senior year. By then Rose and Alice and the kids would know about us to some extent. I was looking forward to not having to hide from everyone. I didn't want to flaunt our relationship in Forks but I didn't want to hide her either. I should be receiving the final divorce decree in the next few weeks, I spent that time thinking about that night on the boat. That night really changed things in our relationship, in a good way. For the first time I was truly at ease with difference in our ages, I had no doubt that Bella knew exactly what she was doing with me and that we wanted the same things. I also had my first flash of Bella and I getting married, it scared the shit out of me but I began to think maybe, someday it could happen.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters.

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