Chapter Eleven

I had decided to give Bella some time off on Thursday, allowing me to spend some quality time with Juliette during her first ballet class, and let me tell you, it was a hoot. My daughter was a little ham - spinning and tiptoeing in all the right parts - and smiling like she was born to do it. I beamed like a proud papa, as she danced her heart out. I didn't want to miss out on something like this, and I'm glad that I didn't.

Bella was a godsend for sending Rosalie Hale into our lives. I would forever be grateful to the two of them for helping Juliette's dream come true. Juliette babbled constantly about the experience, and how excited she was for next week. It almost made her forget that she was going to her mother's house - almost.

I put Juliette to bed, only having to read Rapunzel twice, and made my way through the house. I stopped and stared at the numerous pictures I had displayed of her on the wall. I hated the weekends that she had to go to her mother's, but I really enjoyed being able to do the things I wanted to do without having to answer to my four year old.

I headed down to the basement, cliché, I know to put the playroom in the basement, but there was a hidden wall panel, so Juliette would never stumble across it. I entered the room, staring at the maroon colored walls which were draped with chocolate covered fabrics. Isabella would look stunning sprawled out next to the dark fabric. It would be a stark contrast against her alabaster skin.

I walked over to the various canes and whips that were displayed. We hadn't gone over any hard or soft limits, but that would be a discussion that would take place before we would do any sort of playing. I had no clue how to go about asking her what her limits would be, but we would have to be open and honest in our communication.

I hate it when Jasper is right.

There were so many things that we would be able to use to enhance each other's pleasure, and where as I was extremely well educated on how to use these various devices, I wanted to make sure that Isabella would be able to handle these things. I thought back to first night that Bella had stayed with us, not just two weeks ago. She had woken up to an awful nightmare.

When she had turned to put my shirt on, I noticed a long thin scar that ran down from her shoulder blade and had disappeared underneath the black chiffon nightie she was wearing. I wondered what would have caused the scar, and then I found out.

Fucking James Hunter.

What a fucking coward. I remember hearing about the story two years ago, and was completely repulsed by that sorry excuse for a man did to those women. But now those women had names, faces. My Bella was one of those women.

My fist hit the wall and I screamed at the injustice. That fucker had used a whip on her, tied her up, raped her.

She was so brave and I was not going to let our situation cause her any more trauma or pain. She couldn't handle that, hell, I couldn't handle that.

I walked back over to my canes and whips. There was no way I was leaving them out for the test run weekend. I was extremely skilled in handling the whips and canes, but I didn't want Isabella to be overwhelmed on her first day. The last thing I wanted was for her to have a panic attack and leave me because she saw the devices on the wall.

I sat on the edge of one of the benches, putting my head in my hands. Isabella Swan was rocking me to my very core. Jasper had warned me to get a hold on my emotions, and I knew that I needed to. I looked around the room one last time, pleased with the new setup. It would do nicely for my plans for the weekend. Isabella needed to be eased into the lifestyle, not shocked into it.

A soft humming could be heard as I made my way up to the kitchen. Bella was home. I cleared my throat, letting her know I was in the room.

"You know, I'm getting better at figuring out you are behind me," Bella teased slightly. "I have been working on paying more attention to my surroundings, as you suggested a couple of weeks ago."

"How did you know I was here?" I inquired, taking my usual stool at the breakfast bar.

"You smell," she replied. I could hear the smile in her voice.

"What do you mean? I assure you that I don't have body odor."

"Oh God . . . that's not what I mean, sir . . ." she stammered.

My cock hardened at the sound of her calling me sir. Around the house, she normally just called me Edward, but at the office she would call me Dr. Cullen. The slip of the tongue had me intrigued. Or maybe, it was her upbringing, with her father being a cop, maybe she was just more respectful than the general population. I took a deep breath, willing my body to calm down. I couldn't go walking around like a hormonal teenager with my junk raised a full mast. It was fucking embarrassing.

I chuckled, letting her know that I was joking around with her.

"Just so you know, you actually smell really nice, all sunshine and male." Bella admitted softly. She placed a cup of tea in front of me. I smiled gratefully at her. "What were you doing downstairs? I mean, if that is okay for me to ask."

"Of course," I told her. "I was preparing for the weekend trial."

"Oh." She broke her gaze from me, settling on a spot on the ground. "How do you prepare for something like this?"

"I was rearranging my playroom a little bit. I put away some of the whips and canes, and set up a scene for us. I take my roll very seriously. I won't do anything that won't heighten your pleasure, or bring you hurt."

She stopped staring at the spot on the ground and looked straight at me. I could see the question in her eyes.

"You would never hurt me though," she whispered.

"Never Bella," I reassured her. "I am very skilled with canes and whips, but if those are hard limits for you, then I won't introduce them at all when we play."

"You enjoy using them." It wasn't a statement but a question. I knew to answer her honestly. The only way our unique situation would work was if we were both open and honest about what we wanted and needed.

"I do, but only if you will allow it. You have power in the dom/sub relationship. But, we don't have to discuss all of this tonight. Why don't we just relax for a little bit? Juliette went down right after ballet. She couldn't keep her eyes open enough for dinner at McDonalds."

Bella smiled at the mention of Juliette. "How did she do?"

"She cheesed it up."

"She's quite the little ham. You have done a wonderful job raising her."

I smiled at the praise. "It's hard being a single father to a daughter. I constantly worry about if I am raising her right, raising her to be strong and independent."

"You are," she assured me. "She wants to be a doctor just like you. Edward, you are her hero, don't ever forget that. She worships the ground you walk on, and misses you when she can't spend time with you."

"I have been so busy lately, but my schedule should be freeing up soon." I finished up my tea and gathered our cups. I glanced up at the clock, noting the time. "It's early, would you like to watch a movie with me if you don't have plans?"

"No plans," she assured me. This was another topic that we would have to talk about tomorrow. If Bella decided to wear my collar, there would be no other men in her life. I don't share.

"Do you have any preferences?"

"Not really. I haven't watched very many movies in the past couple of years."

I nodded, walking into the great room, pulling out Hancock. Bella walked into the living room several minutes later with two cans of soda and a bowl of popcorn. I smiled at her gratefully, as she sat next to me.

"This is nice, you know?"

"What's nice?" She asked me while grabbing a handful of popcorn.

"Being able to unwind with you after a long day. It's nice," I answered opening up my diet Coke.

I pressed play and we both fell engrossed with the movie. About an hour in, I heard Bella's breathing level out, and figured she had fallen asleep. On quick glance at her confirmed my suspicions, she did fall asleep. I took a minute to look at her sleeping form, knowing that I would stand by my promise to never hurt her. I played the scene I had planned for our weekend over in my head. It was nothing to terribly difficult, more of a way to see how she would respond to several different D/s scenes. More elaborate scenes would come later.

I picked her up and steadily made my way up to the third floor. I hadn't been up here too many times since it had been completed, but noticed already how Bella had already made her imprint on the rooms. Pictures of her father and mother were on her nightstand, and some shoes and clothes laid scattered about. It made the room feel homey instead of the catalog feel it had before she came to stay with us.

There were also changes not just with the house, but with Juliette. She laughed more and smiled more. I had worried for awhile that Juliette was growing up to quickly, but now, she was acting like the child she should be. Jasper had assuaged my fears during his session with her this week.

I stopped by Juliette's room and checked in on her, switching on the built in monitor. Upon closer inspection, I saw that Juliette had kicked off her covers. I tucked her back in, when she began to stir.

"Daddy?"

"Yes baby." I could hear the sleep in her voice, and knew that she would fall asleep quickly again.

"Did Bella come home?"

"She sure did Sweet Pea, now go back to sleep." I told her softly. I kissed her forehead, smoothing her unruly hair.

"Did you tuck her in?" She yawned out.

"I did."

"Good." She snuggled deeper in her pillow, and I knew then that sleep had claimed her again.

I made my way down the hall and quietly closed the door of my study, turning on the baby monitor. Juliette normally didn't need me once she went to sleep, except for when she had to go to Leah's house. Had it already been two weeks again? I sighed, cursing the stupid judge for her belief in second chances. If Leah screwed this up, I would fight tooth and nail to keep her from gaining access to my daughter again.

I stepped out to the scrubs I had been wearing all day, and dressed into some casual jeans as I tried to collect my thoughts. I poured myself a drink, and strolled over to the desk, wondering what I was going to do.

After hearing about Bella's past, I knew what I needed to do, I needed to help her and protect her. But there was no way I wanted to set her back in her recovery. This was going to take some thought.

I sighed, running my hands through my hair. I know I needed help, and I knew just where to get it from.

I picked up the phone and dialed the familiar numbers, hoping that she wasn't busy. Lara and I had met during a party. I was new to the lifestyle and needed a teacher other than my brother, and she was considered the best around. She taught me so much, that I knew I could depend on her now.

"Edward how nice to hear from you ,dear. It's been far too long."

"That it has been Lara, how are you doing?"

I heard her hearty laugh, as I imagined her sipping her wine with one of her "toys" at her feet.

"I'm doing well Edward. I actually got married a couple weeks ago to my long time submissive. We are very happy, so if you are calling for a session . . ."

"It's not like that Lara. I'm actually very surprised that you're married. You were always saying that this lifestyle and marriage doesn't mix," I told her as I was taking a sip of the Gimlet.

"You can make it work if you try. Patrick and I certainly do . . ." Lara trailed off. "So I take it you didn't call me after two years just to chit chat. What do you need Edward?"

"You always call me on my bullshit, don't you?" I sighed, pulling my hair again. I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to figure out where to start.

"Edward, if you are pulling your hair, or pinching your nose, I swear that I'm going to take you over my knee and spank you. And don't think that I can't."

I could hear the teasing in her voice. Lara knew me all too well.

"Edward, I heard through the grapevine that you were looking for a new submissive," She stated.

I wondered how the community knew, but knew that the rumors would fly when they heard that I was looking.

"I've finally decided on taking on a new submissive," I told her softly.

"That's great Edward. You haven't had a good one, well ever. I tried to warn you about Leah, but you refused to listen to me." She chastised me. "That no good, cocaine snorting bitch . . ."

"Lara, I didn't call you for a stern talking too." I needed to stop her rant and get her back on focus.

"Speaking of Leah, have you ever found a way to keep her away from Juliette? I can't believe the courts gave that coke snorting bitch visitation." So far with getting her focused. I sighed.

Her assessment of Leah was completely correct. "Supervised visitation. My mother is the liaison."

"How did that manage to work?"

"Since Juliette is so young, the judge wanted a family liaison, and since my mother is trained in that area, the judge thought it would be best to have her there. You know, to give her a sense of unity. It also gives me a sense of relief. Leah won't fuck up if my mother is there."

"Well that's nice. So tell me a little bit about submissive."

"Her name is Bella. She hasn't had the easiest of times, and she has some issues with trust . . ."

"That is a huge problem Edward," Lara told me cutting me off. "I mean, the basis of a D/s relationship is complete and total trust."

"I know Lara, and we have made some a lot of headway. She has trusted me with her past, and I know that we can work past it. Bella has had to work some things. And that is the reason why I called. I need to know what kind of exercises we can use to help her work through her fear of having her bondage, more specifically with her wrist."

"Ah, that could be a problem, but here is what you do . . ."

I listened to the process that she described, hoping that what she was suggesting would work for the two of us.

"Belwa . . . Daddy!"

The sound of Juliette screaming shook me out of my sleep, and glancing over at the clock and noticed that it was a little after 1 in the morning. Groaning, I pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms making my way to her room. I heard the soft sound of humming as I approached and was astounded to find Bella already in the room, rocking Juliette softly.

"No Mommy . . ." Juliette babbled.

"It's alright Baby," I reassured her as I walked into the room.

"I don wanna go to Leahs."

I scoped her up in my arms, and began singing softly to her. She must have had a nightmare about Leah. Juliette was prone to getting them the day before she had to go the Leah's.

Her sobbing subsided and she fell asleep in my arms. I tucked her back in and laid my hand on the small of her back. I guess it was time that Bella got some insight into Juliette's short life.

We went into the kitchen and I started some tea for the two of us. Bella had been eerily quiet, which was somewhat disconcerting. I poured the tea and sat next to her on the sofa.

"That was heartbreaking to see her like that," Bella said softly. "What the hell did her mother do to her to cause her to have those nightmares?"

I sighed, closing my eyes wondering how to start this conversation. "I was fresh out of med school when I met Leah. She was graduating from Seattle U with a degree in pre-law, and I was fresh to the scene," I told her, letting her know how Leah and I met.

Truthfully, it wasn't always that bad with me and Leah. Sure, we had problems, but every couple has issues. Ours though, were irreconcilable.

"After one night of weakness, we discovered that Leah was pregnant, and she wanted to get an abortion . . . " I trailed off, remembering how Leah argued that there was no way we could raise a child together. I didn't want to raise her with Leah, I was dead set on becoming a single father.

"She wanted to do what? How could she even thing of doing something like that! Juliette is the sweetest, most loving. I better not meet her in a dark alley," Bella grumbled. I smiled at her reaction. It had only been two weeks, but I could tell that they had already bonded deeply.

"Leah is a piece of work," I said, interrupting Bella's rant. "I ended up paying Leah to keep Juliette. Best use of some of my trust fund yet."

"She didn't want Juliette, so why does she have visitation right now?"

I sighed, continuing the story. "Unbeknownst to me, Leah had some major drug issues, and Juliette was born addicted to meth. Leah disappeared soon after Juliette's birth, leaving me to raise her on my own. There were nights I was up all night long, and working twelve hours the next day. I could have done it without my mother, and then Camille.

"But, when Juliette was a little over a year and a half, Leah came back, showing up on my door, begging for a chance to get to know her daughter. I was going to let her. I wanted Juliette to have a chance to know her mother, but all Leah really wanted was my money. And that is all she is trying to get. After I discovered several thousand missing from a dummy account I had set up, I confronted her. Leah was still on drugs. Now, Leah claims that she is drug free, and she really wants to get to know her daughter. She begged some bleeding heart judge named Sam for a chance to reconnect with her daughter. Juliette was three when the court proceedings started, she has had to go to Leah's for two months now."

"So when did her nightmares start?"

"The first visitation. Juliette was crying, clinging to me, begging not to let her go. Leah's a complete stranger, and she grabbed Juliette from me, strapping her into the car seat. It traumatized her."

Bella nodded. "I don't want her to go there," she whispered. "Leah sounds horrible and she should have left well enough alone."

"My mother goes with as the court appointed liaison now. I feel bad that she has to give her weekends up, but she didn't want Juliette going alone. Now, I breathe a little easier, but I hate that she has to go too," I admitted softly. "It tears me up that she has nightmares of Leah." I moved to place our teacups in the sink, and felt her standing behind me.

Bella wrapped her small arms around me, trying to bring me some comfort. "I know it's not much, but it's all I can offer you."

It was enough.

My mother came to collect Juliette around noon, and after a lot of tears, mostly from Juliette and Bella, we were left alone in the house that was all too silent for my liking. I was up in my house, staring blankly at the newest drug report, when I let out a frustrated cry. Nothing was getting done to my liking, and well, let's just face it, my thoughts were with a certain striking brunette who was down in her office tweaking my social calendar.

The journey downstairs was much too long for my liking, as I felt my resolve start to slip. We needed to sit and talk about what was going to take place in a couple of hours. She needed to voice her fears to me and I needed to have my expectations for the weekend clear to her. I was going to take is slow because of her circumstances, but there would be things that would probably distress her even though this was her choice.

I knocked on the doorframe, letting her know that I was there.

"Is your boss a slave driver or something?"

"He actually is pretty good to me most of the time," Bella answered shyly. "Is there something you need Dr. Cullen?"

"Please call me Edward," I reiterated. We were at the house working, nothing too formal. "I was coming to take you out for lunch. There are a lot of things that we need to discuss before we start the weekend trial."

She nodded. "Let me go upstairs and change. I'll be ready in five minutes." She told me, seeing that I was dressed in charcoal gray pants and light blue button down shirt.

Approximately five minutes later, she greeted me at the doorway, wearing a periwinkle sweater dress with heels that made her legs look impossibly longer.

"You look beautiful," I told her, helping her into the sweater she brought with her.

"I'm not over dressed am I?"

"No, it's perfect."

We took my Audi and made our way to The Greene, a local restaurant known for excellent cuisine and privacy. The hostess was standing directly in front of us as we entered. I had rented the private dining area for the afternoon, knowing that the discussion about the NDA and contract with limits would be lengthy and we would need privacy for this.

The hostess led us through the crowded restaurant to the quiet back room. I thanked the hostess for her services as I pulled out the chair for Bella. I sat in front of her, sipping from the wine I had ordered last night when I was booking the room.

"You really didn't notice Miss Perky Boobs oogling you, did you?" Bella said, breaking me from my thoughts.

I laughed at the nickname she had given the hostess. "Bella, I have been dealing with women throwing themselves at me since I left the awkward phase of adolescences behind. I just ignore most women anyway. I have no need to pay attention to them, when I have someone like you around. You, Ms. Swan, are all I need right now."

She nodded, looking at me. "I assume that this lunch is a precursor to what you expect of me tonight, Dr. Cullen."

Good girl. She was already getting herself into the mindset by switching to my more formal name.

"Yes, I thought it would be nice to talk about expectations on both of our ends while enjoying a good meal. I booked the entire room for the next couple of hours. No one will bother us other than the waitress."

"You seemed to have thought about everything Dr. Cullen."

"I'm a Dom, it's in my nature. Now, let's talk about your nature, your wants, your needs. I expect for you to be open and honest with me Isabella."

She flushed for a second, ducking behind her curtain of hair. This wouldn't do. I reached out and caressed her cheek.

"There is no need for embarrassment right now," I assured her. "We need to talk about things, especially given your background."

She nodded in agreeing with me and was getting ready to speak when the waitress came in. Bella gave me the go ahead to order for her, trusting my tastes, as she seemed to be gathering her thoughts.

Once we were alone again, I could tell she was struggling to figure out where to start. Finally after several minutes of silence, she began to speak.

"I did a lot of research on our relationship. There were a lot of things to consider, and I don't regret wanting to do this with you. I'm worried though that I won't be able to give you what you need, and that is my job."

I looked at her, wondering what she meant.

She sensed my confusion, and clarified. "It's your job as a dominant to make sure my needs are met, to push me to levels only you can bring me to. It's my job as your submissive to be able to give you myself fully, to trust you unconditionally, and to give you everything that you need. What if my panic attacks and past keep me from bringing you pleasure? That wouldn't be fair to you. I want to bring you pleasure too," she explained while staring at a spot on the tablecloth. "I want you to be happy with me."

I smiled at her admission. We were getting off to the right start, open and honest communication. I reached out, bringing her gaze to mine.

"Listen to me Isabella. There is nothing that we can't work through. There will be times where I do push you, and you may have a panic attack, but it isn't anything that we can't work through. I will protect you, work with you, and worship your body. As long as you want to serve me, I will accept your submission and work with you through everything. It won't always be easy, but we can make it work."

Tears formed in her eyes, and I wiped them away. She assured me that those were tears of joy, that she felt safe with me, and that she wanted to continue discussing the finer points of our arrangement.

I handed her the paperwork as our lunch arrived. Throughout lunch, we discussed her limits. Caning and whipping were understandably a hard limit, but she said that as she became more comfortable with me, that she would reconsider her limits. Bondage was marked off as a soft limit with understanding that we would work toward eliminating the fear all together. Amazingly, there wasn't as many hard limits as I thought there would be. The only limitations she put on role play was no rape scenes, which I understood completely.

We sat in silence after hashing out the details, enjoying a little bit of desert. I feed her a bit of cheesecake off of my fork, something out of characteristic for me, but seemingly easy to do with her.

I helped her into her sweater as we made our way out of the restaurant.

As we turned into the estate, I noticed the time. I had two hours until the weekend trial officially started, and there was so much more prep I wanted to have done.

I turned to her, as we walked into the house. "Isabella, meet me in the basement at the bar in two hours. If you are completely committed to this weekend I want you to be completely bare and ready for me. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

With that, I turned, leaving the house for the next couple of hours. I needed to get my wits about me if this was going to be a successful weekend.

AN: Sorry it has been awhile everyone. I am sending this out unbeta'd only because I kept it from you long enough. I didn't mean to take that long of a break, but I had been going through some major changes with my full-time job and have started a new job search. I also rewrote the chapter about four times, just not happy with the direction I had it in, and I wanted to get them to the playroom sooner rather than later. Please bare with me and send me your prayers that I find a job that will be just as fulfilling as my last job.

Coming up: their first time together in the playroom.

I'm a little nervous about it, but as I should be on vacation for the greater part of this week, I might be able to get it out to you sooner rather than later.

And last but not least, reviews rock my socks.