A/N: **I'm so so so sorry, like grovel on my knees, sorry that this took so long. :( I've had some family drama happen that I'm still dealing with, but I hope I've put out a good chapter for everyone! :) Please PLEASE leave a review and let me know how I'm doing! I really love the feedback and I love talking with all of you! Thanks so much for reading and adding this story to your lists. It means so much to me! I love all of you! :) Love to the h00rs, sex moohahas, and all the chick (and some dudes) on Twitter! You are all so great!

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Love to AydenMorgen, my beta, writerinmydream for helping with the, ahem, sexy times, and to Cullenbanger9 for the input she provided! And hey! Join the contest I'm hosting with Lovingangels07 and Beegurl13 -- http://publiclovincontest (.) blogspot (.) com/

Disclaimer: Stephanie M. owns all.

BPOV

Stepping into Edward's apartment was always like stepping into some kind of personal sanctuary for me. The scent of Edward's world that clung in the air settled me and made me smile. The musk of his cologne. The laundry detergent that supposedly mimicked the smell of a mountain breeze.

These things were becoming wonderfully familiar to me, allowing me to forget about what had just occurred at Lauren's haunting apartment.

I followed him through the front door. Immediately upon entering, sensual tension flared between and penetrated straight down to my bones.

He grabbed my hand. We started towards the bedroom that I now considered mine, my heart racing violently in my chest.

He never looked back at me as we walked. His face was hidden from view, but I could hear him exhaling long, shaky breaths. I wanted to smile or even laugh, release some of the anticipation I was holding captive inside of me.

I stayed silent, relishing in the quiet intensity that surrounded us.

We reached the doorway to the bedroom, and he stopped. When he turned to look at me, I saw that he wore a sexy half-grin that made goosebumps rise on my skin. My already burning cheeks began to flame a deep red.

His beauty is as sharp as a knife, I thought to myself, recalling a similar line I had read in a book once.

He kept his smoldering eyes locked on mine as he tugged on my hand and walked backward, pulling me into the room. It was dark out. The many stars that littered the sky and bright moon provided the only light that was needed.

The back of his knees hit the foot of the bed, and he quickly sat down on the edge. I stopped in front of him, placing my thighs between his.

He reached for the waistband of the black yoga pants he had bought for me, and with a crooked grin, slid them down over my hips, taking my black lace panties with them.

Once they were down to my knees, he wrapped an arm around my hips and traced the fingers of his other hand across the silky wetness between my legs. A breathy moan fell from my lips, and I threw my head back when his fingertips came in contact with my throbbing clit.

"You're so beautiful, Bella," he said through strangled breaths. "Perfect."

My hands weaved clumsily though his hair. I tugged as he proceeded to slip one finger, then two, three inside me. The feel of his fingers pushing deep into my slit made my legs weak and my body yearn for him to make love to me.

I could never have imagined it would feel this way, being desired and wanted in spite of my troubled past. His breathing became jagged, and my name escaped his lips more than once as he slammed his fingers into me harder. His thumb pressed eagerly against my erect nub.

I cried out and would've come undone completely had he not pulled his hand away.

I brought my head down to look at him. His green eyes were ablaze, burning with lust.

I watched as he put his fingers in his mouth, tasting me on them. His eyes full of fire and want, a low moan escaping his lips. A rush of heat ran through me, mimicking his reaction. Leaning forward, he planted gentle kisses along my thighs, my stomach, my hipbones.

"I want you," he whispered against the skin of my thigh.

His tender voice, dripping with passion, made me shudder, and the only coherent word I could whisper was "please."

With that, he reached for the hemline of my shirt, and I helped him in pulling it over my head. I unclasped my bra and tossed it aside. I pushed my pants down further and let them fall to the floor. And then I was naked in front of him. Pale and small, but it was me, all I had to offer.

He looked at me in awe, and I diverted my eyes, blushing a deep, crimson red because I knew that he thought I was beautiful. I couldn't recall the last time anyone had looked at me as adoringly as he was right then. I wanted to lock the moment away and keep it with me forever.

Despite the world and all its ugliness, right here, right now, I am beautiful.

He pulled me to lay on top of him, and I straddled his waist. I opened the buttons of his shirt and ran my hands over his body. His eyes fluttered as I kissed the skin of his bare chest and reached my hand into his pants to feel for him. A soft groan escaped me when I gripped his rock hard length, forcing a current of moisture to pool between my legs.

The moment I wrapped my fingers around him and began to stroke his cock, he released a heavy breath. Pulling me up by my waist, he rolled me over until I was completely under him.

"I'm gonna make love to you the way I should have the first time," he said lovingly as he settled his hips between my thighs. My heart clenched at his words, and in that single moment, I wanted him in a way I had never wanted anything in my life.

He sat up and leaned back on his heels to remove his shirt. His hands played over my body like a whisper as his eyes took in my naked form, laid out and ready for him. I was in agony. The way he gazed at me with so much tenderness yet with the fervor of a lion ready to pounce on its prey, made me crazy with lust. He wanted me as much as I wanted him.

He leaned back further, unbuckling and peeling his pants and boxers off quickly before returning to me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and felt the hardness of his shaft as it grazed my aching clit. My back arched in response. We moaned simultaneously, and he rolled his hips into me as I raised mine, writhing against him.

He looked at me then, and his stare was intense, focused.

I need you inside of me.

Although the words were not spoken, he could see the desire in my eyes. Before I had to continue with my silent begging, he pushed himself between my wet folds, filling me completely. I gasped then his mouth was on mine.

Our tongues met and mingled, massaging each other as he began with slow and tender thrusts. I gripped his shoulders roughly, pulling him to me and melting into his arms. It was as if I could never be close enough to him.

He touched my face, kissed my eyelids, and breathed heavily against my neck. He clutched my breast in the palm of his hand, rolling the nipple, then dragged his mouth to it. My back arched, and I whimpered as he teased my stiff peak with his tongue and grazed it with his teeth.

The movements of his hips were becoming more urgent as he repeatedly pounded against my pelvis. Hot breaths blew across my face. His emerald eyes held mine, and I dug my fingers into his back as the sudden sensation of my orgasm coursed through my body. Every cell came alive. My moans of pleasure filled the room as every muscle tensed, my walls clenching and convulsing around him.

His thrusts became impossibly more fervent, and I couldn't help but buck my hips against him, wanting his relief to match mine. A moment later, his hands shot down to my hips, holding me there. I felt him twitch inside me. My fingers tangled in his hair, and I peppered his neck with kisses as he groaned and slammed into me one last time.

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We didn't sleep that night. We stayed awake, basking in a near constant afterglow as we laid side by side, our legs entwined.

His fingers lightly glided over my rib cage and stroked my breast, making my nipple hard and erect. The feel of his fingertips sent a shiver through me.

"How do you think your family is going to feel about me?"

He kept his eyes closed and sighed. "The same way I do; they'll love you." He stopped and looked down at me. "We just can't tell them about us. Not yet anyway. You know that, right?"

I nodded, fully accepted that this relationship would need to be kept secret, even from his family. Regardless of whether or not they accepted me, I still couldn't compromise anything, especially Edward's career.

He held me closer, and I smiled up at him. "I understand."

EPOV

The trip to Seattle was considerably quiet but revealing nonetheless. Newton followed in his car behind us, and I drove my Volvo. As we held hands, Bella and I talked about our feelings for each other, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her I loved her, even though at that point I knew I did. She didn't say she loved me either. It was unfamiliar feeling to me as I had never been in love before. The short time I had known Bella had been a whirlwind of dramatic events that made me closer to her than I had ever been to anyone in my entire life. As much as I wanted to tell her, I reminded myself that it had been less than a week, and it was too soon to say 'I love you'. Instead, we expressed ourselves through our fears of what could potentially happen that day.

"I'm scared, Edward," she said.

"Don't be scared. I know what I'm doing."

She gazed at me with worry in her eyes. "I just don't want to lose you."

I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "You won't. But I have to talk to this guy because I don't want to lose you either."

Her face became expressionless, and she turned her head to look out the window. "It's just that…I know what it's like to watch someone leave and wonder if they'll ever come back."

I would never be sure of whom she was referring to, but I assumed she was speaking of her mother's abandonment.

I didn't like when she said things like that. It broke my heart every time. Through these vague statements, I learned about her life and felt the emotions of events I hadn't experienced. I couldn't stand the idea of her fearing for my life or wondering if I would hurt her or disappear just as everyone else in her life had. I could never bring her that much pain. Even thought my job entailed many risks, I would do my god damn best to always be there for her. I brought our clasped hands up and lovingly kissed her knuckles.

"Bella, look at me."

She did.

"I'm not going to disappear on you, but I have to protect you. No matter what."

Relief washed over me when her lips turned up into the clumsy smile I loved so much.

"Yeah, I know." She sighed heavily. "I'll be okay. Don't worry about me."

I smiled back at her and decided to change the subject to something more lighthearted.

"So, what's one thing you loved to do when you were younger, you know, for fun?"

"Um…" She thought for a moment. "I loved taking marathon baths," she said with a chuckle.

I peeked over at her, amused by her answer. "You liked to take baths?"

She shrugged. "No one ever bothered me when I locked myself in the bathroom."

Her tone was still playful, but my smile faded. It was another statement that broke my heart a little.

------------------

We arrived at my parents' rather large three story house, and I stepped back to Newton's SUV to tell him that I'd be right back.

"Make it quick, rookie," the asshole said.

I ignored that, even though I wanted to strangle him a bit with the cheesy floral tie he wore over a plain white button down shirt.

Why the fuck is he wearing a tie anyway?

I casually led Bella to the door, resisting the urge to reach out for her hand so as not to tip off Newton. I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Bella turned her head in my direction, and we exchanged calming smiles with each other just as the door swung open. My mother stood before us, beautiful as always. He caramel colored hair glistening in the sun.

"Edward!" she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

"Hey, Mom," I said with a smile.

"Good to see you! And I'm guessing this is Bella?" she asked kindly, looking to the girl standing next to me.

"Uh, yeah. Bella, this is my mother, Esme."

Bella smiled brightly and extended her hand. "Hi. Nice to meet you."

My mother took Bella's hand warmly. "Pleasure to meet you, Bella. Come on in."

She moved aside, allowing us to step into the foyer.

I let Bella go first, and as I passed my mother, I quietly asked, "You didn't invite everyone over, did you?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, I heard someone yell, "Little brother!"

I rolled my eyes and chuckled, recognizing the booming voice of my brother, Emmett.

My mother's expression was amused but held a hint of sympathy. "Sorry, Edward. They kind of invited themselves." She laughed lightly.

I waved her off, letting her know it was no big deal and shifted my attention back to Bella, who was anxiously standing next to me. I took in her nervous expression with dismay, and my hand ached to hold hers. All I could do was reassure her with a smile and lead her into the living room where the rest of my family waited.

Everyone was seated on the three couches that adorned the immaculate living room. Everyone except Emmett, who approached us first.

My big brother pulled me into a tight hug. "So, you finally decided to stop by and say hello, huh?"

I laughed. "Sort of. I just came to drop Bella off for the day so I can do some work. Bella, this is Emmett."

"Hey, Bella," he said cheerfully.

"Nice to meet you," she answered politely.

The rest of the group stood and joined us. My business-like but sincerely kind father introduced himself next, welcoming her and instructing her to "make herself at home." Jasper, my tall and reserved brother-in-law greeted her with a quiet but friendly hello. Rosalie, Emmett's wife and Jasper's twin sister uttered a simple "hi" in her usual standoff-ish fashion. Bella readily shook all of their hands, pushing aside her discomfort with being in the midst of the large group.

She reached out to my petite little sister, Alice, after exchanging introductions with her. But rather than accepting Bella's hand, Alice gently pulled her into a warm embrace, saying, "No need for handshakes. I'm happy to meet you!"

I could see that Bella was stunned by the sudden gesture and for a moment, she froze. Alice did have a tendency to be a little over bearing at times.

Then Bella smiled and lightly patted Alice's back. "Thanks," she said.

We all chuckled at my sister's usual forwardness, not surprised at all that she would be so quick to hug a complete stranger.

My mother then offered her a drink and invited her to sit down. I nodded encouragingly at Bella and watched as she settled in with my family while I hung back, knowing I needed to leave but not wanting to. She seemed comfortable enough, but leaving without holding her, kissing her, promising her once again that I would be all right was slowly tearing me apart inside.

The conversation of my family filled the room. I was on the verge of turning towards the front door when Bella abruptly turned in my direction, and we locked eyes. The sound of everyone speaking faded from my ears. Her powerful gaze held so much love that my pulse quickened in response. I did my best to match her stare, showing her as much love and reassurance as I could with my eyes.

She didn't smile, but she didn't have to. The look in her eyes was enough to compel me to move forward, so I could get the job done, learn more information, and then come back to her.

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"Is this it?" Mike Newton asked as we stood across the street from the house Jessica Stanley had pointed us to during her interview.

"This is where she said the guy was," I answered.

"But she said she wasn't sure he was directly involved, right?"

"Right."

The house was old, worn with age. White paint was chipping everywhere, the roof was sagging; not a place you'd want to be stuck in during a rain storm.

"What a pile of shit," Newton commented as he took in the dilapidated house.

I chuckled. "You're right about that."

We walked up to the porch. The first thing I spotted was the security camera nestled above the front door, pointing down at us. We exchanged a knowing glance.

Yeah, druggies live here.

I knocked on the door, and we were met with a few moments of silence. Just as I was beginning to wonder if anyone was home, the door opened and before us stood a scraggly blond haired kid who couldn't have been much older than eighteen.

A plethora of emotions flooded me at the sight of him. I attempted to block out the immediate anger and suspicion that flared inside me as I stood face to face with the man who could possibly be a threat to Bella's life.

Surprisingly to us, he let us in with little trepidation. We openly announced ourselves as Detective Cullen and Detective Newton, but this didn't seem to faze him. We may as well have been two guys he saw everyday. We followed behind him as he sauntered into the house wearing a snaky grin that made me think he had an over-sized ego.

He pointed out a couch for us to sit on while we had our talk, and from where I sat, I could see a clearly nervous Jessica Stanley leaning against the counter in the kitchen. She was fidgeting with an apple and staring blankly at the floor.

"So, what can I do for you guys?" the kid asked.

Newton was ready with a notepad and a pen.

"Well, first of all, is you first name James…and your last name Dye?"

"You already asked me that one," he said sarcastically.

"It's a simple question. You shouldn't have a problem answering it again."

He huffed. "Yes, my name is James Dye."

"Do you know a girl by the name of Lauren Mallory?"

He took in the question in a nonchalant manner. "Yeah, I knew of her. She was pretty well known around here."

"She 'was' pretty well known? So, then you know she was murdered five nights ago."

"I heard about that," he answered.

"How?" I asked quickly.

"Like I said, she was known around here."

"What do you mean by that exactly?" Newton asked.

"I mean, she did business in this area."

"Okay, what kind of business are we talking about?"

"The business of selling. I know she sold for a few guys."

"And you're talking about drugs, right?" I got straight to the point. Much of this, we had already learned from Jessica's interview.

"Yeah, Lauren was just a tool for some people. It's more common than you cops know," James said in a smartass tone.

"Did she sell for you, James?" Newton inquired, pointedly.

We waited for his answer, and he leaned back, smirking. "I'm not involved in that particular business, sir."

I glared at him, anger burning inside of me. I knew he was lying. "So, you're saying that if we were to rip this place apart, we wouldn't find any drugs? Maybe some pot, cocaine, pills of some kind?"

"Go ahead and look. You won't find anything," he said seriously. "Besides, I already told you, I'm not involved in that shit."

"Then you know who is."

"There's a lot of people around here that Lauren was mixed up with. It could've been anyone. Good luck finding anyone that will talk to you though."

This guys was either directly involved, knew who was involved, or simply was keeping quiet so that he wouldn't fall victim to the same fate as Lauren Mallory. We weren't ready to give up just yet, however.

"Did you hear about any jobs or any particular job that went bad? Or can you think of any reason why she may have been killed off?"

He shrugged, clearly not intending on answering the question fully. "Maybe she just wasn't of any use anymore."

He wasn't going to give us anything, and we had nothing to use against him. We walked out the front door none the wiser than we had been when we entered. I was beyond frustrated. Desperation would be the most adequate term to describe my state of mind as we walked across the lawn to our cars.

"Cullen," I heard in a loud whisper.

I swung my head around to see Jessica Stanley leaning against the side of the house in a narrow space beside the house next door. Newton hadn't heard her, and I yelled at him to go ahead, making an excuse that I had dropped something on the porch. I took my time, watching as he pulled away from the curb and headed down the street. I reached Jessica, and her face held the usual expression of worry I was all too familiar with.

"I have something to tell you," she said quickly.

"Jessica, I can't talk to you like this. If you have more information, come find me at the station."

I turned, and she grabbed my arm forcefully. "Wait!" I stopped dead in my tracks, slightly taken aback by her abruptness. "If I disappear again so soon, they'll be on to me. I have to tell you now."

I sighed and relented. "Okay, fine. What do you know?"

"I heard James talking to someone on his phone today. Someone else who knows what Lauren was doing."

"Did you catch the name?"

"No."

I huffed, exasperated. "Then what am I supposed to do with that, Jessica? I need a name, anything to go on."

"All I know is, it was someone in Forks. Someone in Forks was a customer of Lauren's."

So, What did you think of the lemon? Did I fail or was it yummmy? :) And who do you think is the customer in Forks? Let me know if you loved this or hated this! Review, Review, Review! I love you guys! --Andy