A/N: Just an FYI, only a few chapters (4 at most) and an Epi left. My thanks to everyone reading, reviewing & alerting.

Special thanks to Euphoria9 and TheQueenWriter. They read, suggest and bring me back from the ledge.

SM owns Twilight and it's characters.


Walk

Chapter 12

EPOV

I could tell by the way the light filtered into the room that it was still early. I looked down and saw the beautiful woman that was wrapped around me.

Bella's silky hair spilled around her shoulders and across my chest. I lightly ran a finger over her arm; her skin was so soft. Under the sheet, one of her legs was lying over mine, intertwined with the other.

I allowed myself to relive the previous night, which truthfully, only ended a few hours ago. I was no stranger to sex, but what we shared last night was more than mere sex.

Well, a couple of times it was just hardcore fucking. I chuckled quietly. Bella stirred just a little, hugging me tighter before she resumed her even, measured breathing.

She said she wanted no boundaries. I was all for that-I just wasn't exactly sure how to accomplish it. For close to eight years, I lived my life with a woman who showed little affection on a day to day basis. Our intimacy was practically scheduled and very basic. Kate wouldn't ever let me do what I did to Bella twice last night.

I smiled to myself, recalling the way she tasted and the sounds she made while I was tasting. I did that to her. Bella responded to every touch; sighs, whimpers and oh god, the moans. She was everything I ever dreamed of. She felt perfect in my arms, against my lips, wrapped tightly around my cock.

I was proud of myself for being able to keep up with Bella. I'm not too proud to admit- to myself anyway, that I had been a little worried.

"Hey." I heard Bella's sleepy voice. I was so lost in my thoughts, I hadn't notice that she woke up.

"Hey yourself." I kissed her forehead.

"You look like you're over thinking something again." Bella observed. I gave her half a smile, because in truth, I probably was. "What's going on?" she propped up on her elbow, her hair tickling me as it moved with her. I watched Bella's brows furrow. "Y-you aren't having regrets, are you?" she asked quietly.

I had put this doubt in her head, and now I was going to have to work to reassure her. I pushed her back gently against the pillow and kissed her softly, but thoroughly.

"No." I whispered against her lips. "The only thing I regret is pushing you away." I felt her smile.

"Then what were you thinking about?" Bella looked into my eyes. I wasn't used to sharing my thoughts. I had learned to internalize a lot.

"You," I smiled. "me...Kate." I said hesitantly. Bella wanted my thoughts, so I gave in and admitted to thinking about my soon to be ex-wife.

"Edward, you can talk about her." she brushed my hair back from my forehead, running her finger down my cheek. "She was part of your life. You don't have to pretend like she never existed." Bella looked up at me with great sincerity.

"I wish I could do just that." I sighed.

"She better hope that I never run into her." Bella muttered, as I laid back down. I smiled at that. I liked the feeling of her possessiveness.

"I'm sorry. This is not an appropriate time to talk about my ex."

I'm such a schmuck. I should be thanking Bella for giving me the best night of my existence instead of talking about Kate.

"Edward, I want you to feel like you can tell me anything, at anytime." Bella traced her finger lazily over my chest. I brought her hand to my lips, kissing her fingers.

"I've never had anything like last night before, Bella." I said quietly. "It...you, were incredible." I said, pressing my lips to her hair.

"Mmm," she hummed, "so were you." Bella lifted her lips to mine. "But, it wasn't like you tied me up and spanked me." she laughed, poking me in the ribs. Her words made my semi-hard cock dance under the sheet.

"Kate was always very straightforward. Kissing, a little foreplay, then get the deed done." I paused for a moment. "I really don't want to talk about my ex-wife." I really didn't; comparing her to Bella seemed almost blasphemous.

"I don't either. I'd rather make you forget all about her." Bella stroked her leg up mine, lightly brushing my erection.

"I need to get up and feed the horses soon." I groaned, thinking out loud. All I really wanted to do was stay right here in bed with Bella.

"Yes, but that can wait a while longer." she said seductively. The next thing I felt was Bella's lips on my chest and her slithering down my body.

"Jesus, Bella." I hissed as her hot, wet mouth wrapped around my cock.

She proceeded to give me the best blow job of my life. When the tingling started at the base of my spine, I gently tried to push her away.

"Bella, ungh...baby, I'm gonna cum. Fuck!" Rather than pulling off my cock, Bella sped up. I looked down to see her cheeks hollowed out and when I felt her teeth graze along my shaft, I was done.

It felt like Bella was making love to me with her mouth, something I never had the pleasure of experiencing before. Along with that, she swallowed everything I gave her, and that is what made it the best blow job I'd ever received.

When my body stopped convulsing, I reached down and hooked my hands under her arms, pulling her up to me. I kissed her mouth hard, not caring that it just had a load of my jizz swimming around in it.

I wrapped an arm tightly around her and gave her the pleasure she had just given me, but with my fingers deep inside her and my mouth all over the upper half of her body.

...

Bella told me that I could use Jake's shower. "If we do it together, I'll never let you go today." she explained.

I didn't have a problem not leaving her, but we both had things to do today. So, in the interest of getting something accomplished, I went into Jake's room to shower.

Jake's bathroom was small, almost like a closet that was made into a tiny bathroom. It had all the essentials though-a shower stall, a small sink and the john.

While I wasn't exactly sore, I could tell that I'd used some muscles that I haven't had to in a while. That being the case-the hot water felt great, but I wanted to save some for Bella.

I dried off my body, then put the towel on my head and turned the light off. I walked out into Jake's room, scrubbing my hair of the dripping water. I heard a manly gasp and knew instantly that I wasn't alone.

Tearing the towel off my head, I scrambled to cover myself.

"Too late. I've already seen the goods." Jake snickered. "And let me just say that Bella is one lucky whore."

I was slightly embarrassed and also...slightly pissed. Whore? I don't think so.

"Actually, I'm the lucky one. But if you ever call Bella a whore again, you and I will have words." I leveled my eyes at him, enjoying the image of him shrinking back from me.

I knew they were friends and that Bella saw Jake as more of a brother, but there were lines you didn't cross.

"Jeeeez, Edward." he exaggerated. "I was joking. It's like slang. Whore, girlfriend, woman...ya' get it?" he tried to explain. "Get with it, Daddy-O." he laughed. "I know you're older but, c'mon."

"Yeah." I guess I may have over reacted. "Sorry, I suppose I'm just not fond of that particular description being applied to Bella."

"No problem, man. I'll check myself in the future." he smiled. "No hard feelings?" he asked, eyeing me up and down with a furtive glance.

"Nah." I sighed, starting to feel uncomfortable standing mostly naked in Jake's room. "Thanks for the use of your shower." I looked down at the bed and saw the shorts I had borrowed a couple of days ago. They weren't there when I went in. Bella must have laid them out. "Do you mind if I borrow these again?" I asked, picking up the shorts.

"Not at all." Jake smiled, but still making no move to leave. "I can't wait to tell Seth that you were in my shower." he muttered. "I think he has a little crush on you."

If I was uncomfortable before, I was close to jumping out of my skin now. It wasn't the gay aspect of the situation; I couldn't care any less, actually. If a person was happy, and being true to themselves, then more power to them. I'd be feeling the same way right now if it was a girl that Jake was talking about. I was not used to being the object of anyone's obsession.

"I'll leave so you can cover that yumminess, but if you ever decide you want to switch teams, promise you'll look me up." Jake laughed. I shuddered then realized that Jake was still laughing. In fact, I heard him laughing his happy ass all the way down the stairs.

"He was fucking with me." I said to the empty room.

I threw on the shorts then ran over to my house to get dressed for the day. I was expecting UPS to deliver some of the equipment that James had me order. He was coming back once it was all here.

The rest of the day was a blur of activity. UPS showed up and had everything that I ordered. I called Emmett to let him know and he said he'd be by after lunch to get started. I also put a call in to James. He was surprised that it had all arrived, and that he'd get back to me with his travel plans.

I hadn't seen Bella and was feeling bad about running out on her earlier. I had not planned to just take off, my day just spiraled away from me. So when I heard her back door slam against the wood frame, I smiled to see that she was walking over to me.

"Have you eaten anything today?" she asked casually.

"Not really. I grabbed an apple this morning." I held my arm open from where I sat, inviting her closer. She stepped into my embrace and I kissed her softly.

"I'll make you some lunch, if you like." she offered.

"You don't have to feed me all the time, not that I don't appreciate it." I smiled up at her pretty face.

"I like to do it." she shrugged.

I brought her down to my lap. With a hand around her back and the other on her thigh, I held Bella against my chest and kissed her properly.

"I heard that you spoke to Jake this morning." she chuckled, barely able to hide the laugh. My head fell to Bella's shoulder as I groaned.

"He said that it was very enlightening. What did you two talk about?" she asked innocently.

"Like he didn't tell you? I can see it all over your face."

"Jake may have said something to me about being a lucky bitch." she giggled. "But, I have to agree with him." she said more seriously, pressing her lips to mine. I felt Bella's tongue lick across my lips.

Bella whimpered softly, wrapping her arms around my neck. I leaned back slightly in my chair and let my hand wander to her inner thigh. I wasn't going to take things too much further sitting out here in the open, but I couldn't resist kneading the flesh of her bare thigh. I relished the feeling of her in my arms. Her skin was so very soft and smelled lightly of something sultry, with a hint of flowery sweetness. At the same time, her body had a firmness without being too overly toned. Bella felt like perfection to me.

We slowed ourselves down to light kisses and shifted back to a fully righted position.

Bella pulled away, leaving a fluttery kiss at the corner of my mouth.

"We should talk about Jake some more, though." she spoke hesitantly, her eyes looking at me for some kind of understanding.

"Ah." I sighed. "He told you everything, huh?"

Bella nodded then turned her head towards the driveway as Emmett pulled up.

"Don't you two look cozy." he remarked through his open window. We made no move to change our position as he got out and made his way over to us.

"I should let you guys get to work." Bella said, removing her arms and pushing off my lap. "I'll bring you out a sandwich." she smiled at me. "Emmett, would you like one?"

"I'm all set, Bella. Thanks, though." Emmett said, rubbing a hand over his stomach.

Emmett and I set to work, taking some of the boxes into the barn to get to later. The others we opened right away and got to work on the staging area near the corral gate. Bella brought me out a ham sandwich then left to run some errands.

"The crew will be here first thing next week. I have a couple of jobs we need to finish, then we'll focus our efforts here." Emmett told me. It didn't escape me that Emmett was watching me as my eyes stayed with Bella until she drove off.

"I'm waiting to hear back from James. He'll probably be joining us..." I trailed off as my phone started to ring. I pulled it out of my pocket. "Speak of the devil."

I spoke to James for a few minutes, making plans for his arrival. I offered him my spare room, and he took me up on it.

"So things are good with you two?" Emmett asked, shortly after I ended my call.

"With James?" I asked, somewhat confused. "He's seems like an alright guy." I shrugged.

"No, you dipshit. With Bella." he laughed loudly.

"Oh." I smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. Things are great with Bella." I informed him. I glanced up at her bedroom window while images of our naked bodies floated around in my mind.

"Christ, you got it bad, Edward." Emmett sat back on his heels to look up at me. I looked at him for a moment, then decided to embrace it.

"Yeah, I do. I'm loving it, too." I admitted.

"Right the fuck on, man. It's about time." Emmett smiled, slapping me on the back. "A good woman makes everything better."

The next few days, I worked my ass off trying to get things in order. James emailed me some links to a few local sign companies. I was going to need to come up with a name for this place.

"Cullen's Therapy Ranch?" Bella suggested. She had stayed over the last two nights. I scooped my arm around her, bringing her backside closer to my front. The sex was great, but lying here like this was pretty awesome, too.

"I'm not sure I want my name on it." I hesitated with my next thought. I didn't know if Bella would be happy about my suggestion, or what.

"What would you think of 'Corrine's Heart?'" I asked quietly.

I looked down at her. My vantage point was the back of her head, but I could see the side of her face, as well. I watched her right eye crinkle up, and heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Bella? Baby, are you okay? I'm sorry. It was presumptuous of me. It was just an ide..." my words were cut off by a soft jab to my mid section, via Bella's elbow.

She turned in my arms and pulled herself to eye level. She looked into my eyes with a big smile on her face.

"You would do that?" she whispered.

"Your sister deserves to be honored, Bella. What better way to do that?" I offered.

"I love it." Bella kissed me gently. "Thank you." I watched her carefully for a moment as a look of consternation came over her face.

"What is it?" I asked, smoothing out her furrowed up brow with my finger.

"What if, umm...," she looked at me then darted her eyes quickly away. "what if this doesn't work out though? Us." she clarified.

"Bella," I turned her onto her back, and propped myself above her. "I know this is still new," I paused, searching for the right words. "but, it's like I've been suffocating, and you are the only air I can breathe. I don't know that I could go on without you." I placed a tender kiss on her lips.

Bella wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down to her. Just as I began to deepen our kiss, my phone started ringing. I had assigned my mother a particular ring tone, and now with images of my mother in my head, I pulled away from Bella.

"I have to get that. It's my mom." Bella smiled to let me know she didn't mind.

"Hello?"

"Edward, it's your mother." she said. "Your father is here, too."

"Here where?" I imagined my dad with his ear pressed next to her phone.

"Well, we're here, dear." she said carefully.

"I told you we should have called first." my dad's voice said. The next thing I heard was knocking, simultaneously on my front door, and through the phone.

"Fuck." I muttered. "Bella, my parents are downstairs at my door." I informed her, covering the phone.

We scrambled into our clothes and ran downstairs, with Bella stopping off at the bathroom.

"Just go let them in." she whispered. "I'll be right out." I kissed her quickly and went to the door.

"Mom, Dad." My voice held little enthusiasm as I greeted them.

"I'm sorry Edward. We were in Tucson for a book signing." My dad offered.

"Being so close, we had to stop in to see you." mom explained.

"Yeah, but," I looked at my watch. "You had to have known last night, you could have called." I griped.

"Well, I didn't think it would be a big deal if we popped in on you." Mom's voice stopped abruptly. Her eyes were looking past me, over my shoulder. "Oh." she said quietly.

I looked behind me to find a nervous, fidgeting Bella. She had her hands clasped tightly in front of her. I walked back to where she stood and put my arm around her.

"Bella, these are my parents, Carlisle and Esmeralda Cullen." I used my mother's full name because she hated it so much, just to get back at her for showing up unannounced. She winced however, and broke my resolve. "She hates that, however, and goes by Esme." I gave my mom an apologetic smile. "Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend, Bella."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bella." My father stepped forward first and took Bella's hand. He was always debonair, and with his warm smile, I'd seen many women fall under his charm. Bella was now included amongst them.

"Thank you," she blushed. "It's nice to meet you, as well."

"Forgive me, Bella." Mother said, joining alongside my dad. "I had no idea, otherwise we would not have intruded." she scowled at me, then smiled for Bella. "What you must think of me." she muttered, looking a little ashamed.

"Well, why don't you three visit while I go to the barn?" Bella offered. "I can make us some lunch at my house and we can meet up there later." she looked at me confidently.

"That sounds great, Bella." my mother said with a big smile.

"It was very nice meeting you." Bella said, placing her hands on both my parent's arms.

"You, as well, young lady." my dad said, watching Bella leave.

As soon as the door closed, the inquisition started. That might be an over dramatization, but, my mother lobbed question after question at me.

"Is this the Bella that owns this place?" my mom asked. "Do you think that is wise, getting involved with your business partner?" she asked again, not waiting for my response. Mom looked at my dad. "And she does seem quite young, Edward."

"Yes, she is the Bella who also owns this property. Getting involved with her is a very good idea. We have it set up very neatly as to what is whose responsibility. Anything in the middle, we share and work together on." I stopped and took a deep breath. "Besides, I'm a grown man, Mother. I can do whatever I want."

My mom stared at me for a minute, then looked at my dad. I saw something pass between them, like an unspoken conversation. My mother's face softened and she kissed my father lightly on his cheek.

"Edward, as long as you are happy, that is all I am concerned with." she said, smiling at me. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding.

"I am." I smiled back. "Bella is everything I never knew I wanted."

"And...um, she is young, right?" mom asked hesitantly.

"Yes. She's 22."

I wasn't going to defend Bella's age to my parents. Many younger girls still had no idea what they wanted out of life, or had even begun to plan it. Bella was not like other girls. I'd let my parents find that out on their own.

"That's my boy." my dad said proudly. Mom elbowed him but smiled.

"If you love her, we will, too." she offered.

"Carl, why don't you go get our bags?" mom asked.

"Bags?" I said. They were planning on staying?

"Do you mind terribly if we stayed with you for a couple of days?"

"No, I don't mind. We'll just have to figure out sleeping arrangements. My designer is coming in tomorrow with his daughter. I offered him my spare room."

My mom looked disappointed. I did want them to stay. I wanted them to see what I was doing here, and to have a chance to get to know Bella. My mother was not as pushy as she came off. I was her only child and I knew she only wanted what was best for me.

"It's okay. Let me talk with Bella and I'm sure we can work this out."

I showed my parents around the house, then took them outside to see the grounds. Zeus took to my dad right away, my mom-not so much. But she was afraid of horses, and I'm certain that he sensed that.

I ushered my parents into Bella's kitchen and saw a massive amount of food. Much more than was necessary for the four of us.

"Babe, what is all this?" Bella was trying to reach a shelf far above her outstretched hand. I lifted the large bowl from the cupboard and handed it to her.

"Well, our little lunch has turned into 'Meet the Cullens'." she sighed. "If you all don't mind waiting another hour or so, my parents and my roommate will be here. They all want to meet you." Bella smiled. "If anyone is hungry, you can munch on this." she pulled a vegetable platter from the refrigerator.

"Excuse us just a moment." I said to my parents. With a hand at Bella's lower back I guided her into the living room.

"Make yourselves at home!" she called over her shoulder.

"What happened?" I asked her.

"My mom called and I told her that your parents were here." she shrugged. "She called back five minutes after we hung up and said that her and dad would be over and to expect Jake and Seth."

"And you've been in here the past hour and a half making food for everyone?"

"Yeah."

"Next time we get a bunch of people for an impromptu visit, tell them to bring food, too. You're supposed to be on vacation."

Bella stared at me with a curious look on her face. I watched her eyes get watery and began to wonder if I had said something wrong.

"Umm...what's wrong?" I asked.

"No one has ever supported me like that. You were looking out for me." she said with a big grin.

"Well, yeah. You shouldn't have to cook for all these people because they invited themselves over."

"Gosh, I love you." Bella said, still grinning. We stared at each other and for a moment, it seemed that time had stopped. I was about to respond, until my mother interrupted us.

"Bella, where ever did you get this serving dish?" she called from the kitchen.

"Uh," Bella answered her, but looked at me. "hold that thought." she whispered, kissing my lips.

Bella just told me that she loved me. The way she said it though, it could have easily been construed as more of a 'wow, you're great', and not an actual 'I love you'. It had felt real, though. I noticed that my step was lighter as I rejoined everyone in the kitchen.

BPOV

WOW!

I just told Edward that I loved him. I had already known this for a while, having felt it as it rattled around inside me, just begging for me to let loose and tell him. It was too soon when I first realized it. I don't think he would have been ready to hear it.

I sat down and talked to Edward's parents. They both seemed very nice and I was eager to get to know them. Edward stood behind me for a while with his hands on my shoulders. He'd give me a gentle squeeze every now and then, and even kissed the top of my head a few times.

"Edward, sit down, boy. You're giving me a crick in my neck." his dad finally said.

My parents arrived and joined us all in the kitchen. Edward offered his chair to my mom as we introduced them to each other. Mom asked where Jake was and I then had two curious faces looking at me. I decided to tell the Cullens about Jake, so there weren't any misunderstandings after he joined us.

"My roommate's name is Jake." I laughed nervously. I wasn't used to explaining Jake's situation, and even at that, I almost felt like it was wrong to explain. But I wanted them to accept him and not have him, or anyone else, feel uncomfortable.

"Your roommate is a man?" Esme asked, looking at her husband then at her son.

"Yes. We grew up together and he is my best friend." I defended. Something about Esme's tone irritated me.

"Jake is the sweetest boy." my mom said, intervening. "He and Bella are more like siblings than friends." My mother's statement and smile seemed to take everything down a notch or two.

"Jake is gay, Mom." Edward explained. "Please don't make him feel uncomfortable in his own home. He really is a great guy."

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. Edward sticking up for Jake just sealed the deal in my eyes. I hugged him tightly and kissed his chest.

"I don't care if the boy is gay or not, Edward." Esme laughed. "I'm a modern woman. The only thing I was concerned about was that your girlfriend is living with another man. Now that I understand things, I have no issue."

My mother rose from her seat and approached Bella. "I'm sorry, Bella. I hope that I didn't insult you. That was not my intention. Edward has been through a lot and I played a part in that." Esme patted Edward's cheek lightly. "I suppose that I harbor some guilt over it, and I'm just trying to look out for him."

"Esme." Carlisle's tone implied that this was something they had talked about before.

"Yes, dear, I know." she answered him. "I'm doing my very best not to influence Edward. Lord knows where that got us before." she sighed, then cast her eyes downward. "My apologies to you all."

"Aww, Es." my mom sighed. "You're just being a mom. I get that." she stood from her seat. "Let's get some coffee and sit on the front porch. I'd like to get to know you a little better. Charlie, you sit here and talk to Carlisle. Bella, is everything ready?"

"Yes. The meatballs are in the oven, the rest is done." I smiled. My mom just took all the tension and swept it out the door. "Thank you." I whispered as I gave her a hug.

Jake and Seth showed up about thirty minutes after our discussion and everyone seemed to be getting along just fine. Jake told everyone about the success he was enjoying, and how he thanked my mother most of all for that.

The afternoon was easy and enjoyable. Esme pulled me aside at one point to apologize again. She said that she had just been caught off guard with all the changes in Edward's life.

"But I've been watching him this afternoon, Bella. I've never seen him more at ease and happy. I think you have a lot to do with that." She gave me a big hug, and I knew from that point on, everything was going to be fine.

It turned to dusk and we started to clean up. Everyone pitched in so it didn't take long. Edward's parents went out on the porch with mine as Jake made margaritas.

"Damn!" he yelped. The lid wasn't all the way on the blender and he got the front of his shirt sprayed. Jake pulled it over his head and excused himself to get a fresh one.

I saw Edward looking at him as he walked out of the kitchen.

"What happened to him?" he said quietly. Seth came over and put his arms around me, laying his head on my shoulder.

Edward was asking about the scars on Jake's back. They weren't hard to miss.

"He was jumped one night coming out of a bar." I said in a hushed tone.

"The first gay bar he had ever went to." Seth interjected.

"A bunch of drunk red necks jumped him and pulled him into the alley. They beat him and cut him with a broken bottle." I said softly. I didn't like remembering what had happened.

"Why?" Edward asked, totally missing the reason.

"Because he's gay." Seth answered sadly.

I watched Edward's face and saw a lot of things pass through his eyes. He dropped his head, shaking it as he looked at his feet.

"But," Seth's voice was lighter, "that is how we met. Jake and I have been together ever since." he smiled.

Jake came back and none of us let on what we had been talking about. Edward walked over to him though and clapped him on the shoulder, asking if he wanted any help.

No one was in the mood to get hammered, so we each had one drink and started saying good night. Edward walked his parents over to his house to help get them settled, telling me that he would be back shortly.

My parents waved as the Cullens started for the bunk house, and Jake grabbed some clothes, telling me he was 'outta here' too.

I was left standing all alone in my house rather abruptly. It seemed fitting, given the way the day had started. All I wanted to do was take a nice hot bath and get into bed. And I didn't want to do it alone.

I sent Edward a quick text to let him know where to find me, and proceeded to start my bath water.

No sooner had I got into the tub, I heard Edward's heavy footfalls on the stairs. As he made his way closer to the bathroom, the butterflies were dancing around in my belly. This man reduced me to a pile of goo with his very presence.

He walked into the dimly lit bathroom and my breath caught in my throat. He had taken his shirt off and stood before me in only his jeans. They sat just below his belly button and gave me a great view of his sexy chest and stomach.

Edward didn't have rock hard, solid abs. You could definitely see them, though. He was perfectly hard and soft, at the same time. Just enough give to his belly. The light smattering of hair that covered him was very sexy, as well. Not too much, but just enough. It seemed as if he was made for me. I found everything about him sexy.

"What are you looking at?" he said quietly, as I eye fucked him from the water.

I looked up at him and smiled. "Today was pretty crazy, huh?"

"Yeah." Edward slid out of his jeans and jockeys, and walked over to me in all his naked glory. "Sit up." his voice was thick and rough.

Edward eased himself into the steaming water and sat behind me. I pulled the plug to let some of the water out, so it didn't slosh out. Edward ran his hands over my back as I waited for the water to get to the right level.

"That feels so good." I told him, pushing the plug back into the drain. Edward didn't respond to me. Instead he ran his hands along my arms then across my stomach.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked him.

"There's so much that happened today." he chuckled quietly. "But, there are two things that stand out above the rest."

"Oh? What's that?" I asked, allowing my own hands to stroke his legs.

"What you told me about Jake. You two have been through a lot together. The impact of it hit me today. I see him differently, somehow. Like I have more respect for him, or like him more than I already did." Edward sighed.

"Yeah, we have been through a lot." I agreed. "So, when he refers to me as 'slut' or 'bitch', you don't have to defend me. I love that you did, but there is no malice in his words."

"I get that now." Edward said softly.

"It makes me very happy that you and Jake get along. It would kill me to have to choose between you."

"You don't have to worry about that, Bella. I'd never make you choose." Edward leaned his head down and kissed my neck. "It's basically a moot point, though, so let's not talk about that."

I hummed in agreement. I closed my eyes as I laid against his chest. "What was the other thing?" I asked nervously. I knew what it was. My declaration.

I listened to the water drip-dropping from my hand and heard Edward sigh.

"Earlier, you uh... you said something. I was wondering what you meant by it." I felt his fingers tracing the skin on my shoulder.

"I said a lot of things today. You'll have to be more specific."

Internally, I smiled. Make him work for it, Bella.

"Specifically," he softly laughed, "you said that you loved me." Edward finished quietly, almost reverently.

"I did say that," I agreed.

"Yes. What exactly did you mean?" he asked so sweetly. I had to put him out of his misery, and to be honest, coy wasn't my thing. I could only sustain it for so long.

I turned in his arms and faced him. Looking deeply into his eyes, I gave him what he was looking for.

"I love you." I said simply. "I can not envision my life without you."

Edward kissed me so passionately, his lips telling me what his voice wasn't ready to say. I knew this, and I could continue to be patient with him.


A/N: Thank you for reading! What did you think? Kind of a fluff chapter, but the 'rents needed to meet. I think Edward has made a lot of progress and is almost where he needs to be!

On my TBR: Letters to Coporal Masen (wip) by solostintwilight

The Lonely Rain (wip) by MrsRobward

Oh Captain, My Captain (C) by Kim Ginsberg

The Demon in my Dreams (wip) by littlecat358