Chapter Eight


Before leaving Emmett's house, Edward decided to let Bella stew a bit for making him believe Jake wanted to kick his ass. Jake had wholeheartedly agreed and said he wouldn't answer her calls for a few hours.

He checked his Bella phone and realized it was a lost cause; thankfully, he had enough forethought to memorize her number. As he waited at a signal light, he entered her number into his personal cell phone.

It wasn't long before he reached his neighborhood, waving with his middle finger at a few recognizable paps across the street from the gate. He couldn't reach his friends Alec or Garrett to help scatter the assholes before heading home. People would now know he owned a silver fucking Volvo. Safe, reliable, boring. He didn't give a shit what they thought about it, but they knew what to look for when he left the house.

He grumbled as he parked in his garage a few minutes later, needing a drink or three. It had been a long day and all he wanted to do was watch a movie and relax. After a quick shower, he put in Captain America, deciding to study the Winter Soldier's habits and the way he moved in the movie. He wanted to fully encapsulate the character for Comic Con.

It had been several hours since he'd left Bella's house, but he wanted to see her again. He could call her and let her know he had a copy of Civil War already, and how they should watch it together, for research purposes. Research, right.

He paused the movie and grabbed his cell phone, deciding to play with her since she wouldn't know the number he was calling from.

Hey, beautiful. I had a real good time this morning. Any chance you'll send me a picture to remind me what I'm missing tonight.

It didn't take her long to reply, but was surprised to find a picture attached instead of a message. "She wouldn't, would she?" He'd only just met her, but she didn't seem the type to send dirty pictures to anyone. He snapped his eyes shut the second the picture opened, nearly hissing at what she sent him. A picture of the biggest dick he'd ever seen, and he used to watch porn in high school.

His phone pinged again in his hand. He deleted the dick pic first before reading her text.

Jake is this you? ISTG if you harmed one little hair on Edward's head, I'll cut you off. I'll never cook for you again, and you can forget the cooking lessons. You'll have to settle for TV dinners forever!

Bella thought his original text was from Jake, making him wonder how many times Jake had changed numbers, just to annoy her. It was the perfect opportunity to get a read on her, figure out what she was really thinking about him. Blushing and fangirling aside, he wanted to know what was going through her beautiful mind.

He that important to you?

The phone rang, but he ignored it. She sent another text immediately after.

Really Jake? Really? I'm calling your mother.

Edward laughed out loud, Jake's mother was as scary as her son when the occasion called for it. The one time he met the woman, along with his father, she had swept Jake up in a hug, lifting over two hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscles, and made it look easy. He dialed Bella's number, but said nothing when she answered.

"Jake, I mean it. If you hurt Edward, I don't care if it's your job to protect him, I'll kick your ass." When he said nothing, she continued. "Please, please don't stop him from going. Can't you see it in his eyes? He needs this." She sniffed a little, shocking the hell out of him. "He needs to experience something real."

How had someone he'd known for five minutes seen the desperation in him for something more than the same bullshit every day when people he knew and worked with for years couldn't see it?

Because they don't want to. No work means less money for them.

"Yeah, I do need this." And you.

"Edward!" She started talking too fast to catch everything, but he caught the gist. There was genuine concern about him not being able to go. She wasn't worried about possibly losing a big project or an opportunity to go out with a big Hollywood star.

"He's not stopping me from going to Comic Con or seeing you, Bella." She sighed and he wished he was there to see her body instantly relax, knowing everything was okay. The silence on the other end made him call out to her, and she groaned suddenly. "What's wrong?"

"I sent a dick pic to Edward fucking Cullen, that's what's wrong." How he wanted to see her blush at that moment.

"I'm more concerned by the fact that it took less than five seconds for you to send it to me."

She huffed in what sounded like annoyance. "I get a lot of private messages and DM's with dick pics, so I started a collection so I can do the same to them."

Smart woman.

"And even if I had those pictures for other reasons, nothing is wrong with a woman having some visual inspiration when she takes matters into her own hands."

Did she just admit that she masturbates to dirty pictures? Shock and arousal competed for the top spot in his body, but considering the state of his dick, the latter won.

"Edward?"

He cleared his throat and shifted on his couch. "I'm sorry, Edward is currently rebooting his damn brain. Are you trying to send me on a midnight drive to your house just to see you?"

"What are you wearing?" she asked, a sexy rasp to her voice.

He knew she was joking, or maybe she was testing him. "Bye, Bella."

She laughed. "Fine, I'll pull out my trusty little rabbit." She had to say that, didn't she?

"I'm going now."

"Where to, handsome?" The purr in her voice was gone and he missed it already.

"To take a cold shower."

"Nice visual, Cullen. Don't forget to shave!"

They ended the call with a confirmation for their appointment on Wednesday.

.

.

.

"You know, for the sake of my modesty, you should remove your shirt, too." Edward only smiled as Bella rolled her eyes. She'd been mixing some blue latex polymer for the mold, a mixture she would soon slather over his arm, shoulder, and half his chest.

"You've already seen my tits, Edward," she teased, snickering as she worked.

"A painting is not the same," he groaned playfully, hovering over her shoulder to watch. "Is everything okay with you and Jake?"

She looked at him, confused by his question. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"You basically outed him to his employer." He hadn't realized the implications when he last spoke with Jake or Bella the night before.

"He was going to tell you soon," Bella said, but it wasn't hard to miss how her shoulders curled forward, like a shield. "And Jake has made it clear that if one of my uh, boyfriends got jealous of our close relationship, I could tell them the truth."

"From the look on your face, you've lost a few uh, boyfriends because of your friendship with him."

"They would come over and Jake would be asleep with his head on my lap. Or we'd fall asleep in my bedroom watching movies. Or he was always there, you know?"

"I get the picture."

"The last one, he had major trust issues," she said, pointing at the canvas on the floor for him to stand on so she could get started. They walked over and she positioned him where she needed him. She turned on a couple of studio lights so she could see better. "His ex-girlfriend cheated on him with a friend of her brother's, someone who was always around. It didn't feel right to tell him without Jake's permission, so he broke up with me in the middle a restaurant, creating a huge scene. It was awful."

"What an ass, I'm guessing at that point Jake told you it was okay to tell them if you feel it's right."

"I never felt I had to until…yes."

"Until me?" he asked, stepping closer to her. "Does that mean you trust me?"

"Take off your shirt please," she said instead of answering. She watched as he grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling it overhead and tossing it aside.

"Bella?" It wasn't hard to miss how her eyes lingered on his stomach. He ran and worked out for hours every day, keeping him in the best shape of his life.

"May I?" she asked, gesturing toward his chest. She wanted to touch him, and damn it, he wanted her to as well, before he lost his damn mind. Those kaleidoscopic eyes of hers seemed to brighten at his nod. The muscles along his torso tightened under her fingertips, and he couldn't help the shiver of desire. Fuck, he wanted her.

Bella could hardly believe her eyes; Edward was even more stunning than she imagined. His fans had found countless pictures of his basketball days, but back then, he'd been leaner and his biceps and chest hadn't been very defined. Her fingertip slipped over heated skin, gasping when he caught her hand and pressed her palm against him fully.

"Bella." He visibly shivered, his jade eyes darkening. There was no mistaking the desire in his gaze and she wanted to explore it. "Remember our deal."

She nodded, swallowing deeply. The deal, the one she asked him to adhere to—no mixing pleasure and business, for their protection. A rule she never had a problem following, until now.

"I don't want to lose your trust, and breaking our deal would probably do that, right?"

She shakily turned away from him, needing some space. "Yes, you're right."

"Don't think for one second that I don't want you." The firm tone made her look up at him, to find his hand extended to her. Grabbing the bucket and brush in hand, she placed the other in his.

"All right, Cullen," she said, smiling to entice him to do the same. He did and it took everything in her not to melt at his feet. "Time for me to paint you in latex, you ready?"

He tucked a curl around her ear, being all sweet and swoony as he stared in her eyes. One side of his kissable lips lifted, and with her hand still in his, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Latex, sounds kinky." Since he had a hold of her hand, she couldn't poke him. "Relax, beautiful." He released her but held out his arms, then struck a pose, grinning like a loon. "Paint me like one of your nudes, Bella."

Hot, sweet, loyal to his friends, and to add to the list of reasons to make her fall hard for someone, Edward made her laugh and smile often. She didn't stand a chance.


AN: Sorry for the late post, but two of my kids started school today and tomorrow the other two, way too many things to do. Hmm, it looks like ten chapters isn't happening. More like fifteen, the horror?! Now Edward has to convince Bella to watch the CA movies with him for research purposes.