Stephenie Meyer owns all these characters. I just wanted to take them to play somewhere different for a while.

Lots of new followers arrived this week, so welcome and thank you for all the favs and reviews. I treasure every one of them.

Beach said I needed to refresh your minds about what was going on when we last left these two. Friends were interfering and boyfriends were avoiding. As one of you said in a review, "You better spill Edward!".

Yes, Edward, it is time to spill.

...

Chapter 14 - Cards on the Table

…"I think you had better leave her alone, Jake." Edward was suddenly right at my side.

"No it's you who neesd to leave her alone, Cullen! You didn't see what you did to her two weeks ago - she won't cope if you hurt her again."…

Edward

I slumped against the wall, alone and defeated, feeling like something was severely wrong with my chest. She looked like she'd just realized what he said was dead on because she shot me a look that pierced me, rendering me immobile.

When she said, 'Only you know the answer to that,' I knew I'd fucking done this to myself, putting it off, putting it off, knowing she was creating something in her head that was ten times worse than it was, and still I did nothing. I didn't give it the priority it deserved. Christ, it still seemed too soon to be talking about this shit.

She was just starting to thaw out again when Jake watered that giant seed of doubt in her mind and injected a vision in my head of her distress after I told her I didn't want to waste any more of her time. It was the fucking lie of the century.

You had better face it, Cullen. You have serious work ahead of you. You now have two people you need to convince you are not the biggest asshole in town. Of course she would choose to go with him rather than stay with you! He's her rock; he's the guy she runs to when she's hurting, not you – you're the idiot who hurts her and now you've done it more than once.

This is it man. This is what rock-fucking-bottom feels like – despair, terror and physical pain. It feels like an imminent heart attack.

I tried in vain to stand away from the wall, clutching my chest and then yanking my tie to loosen it. I still couldn't decide if this was one holy mother of a panic attack or if I really should be seeking urgent medical assistance.

Then suddenly a tiny hand cupped the side of my arm. "Aren't you coming? I found them and everything's okay." I felt like I'd been holding my breath for an eternity, so much air rushed out of me at once.

"I thought you left!"

"Only to find Jake. Please come with me and help me explain? I don't want any bad blood between my two favorite boys." The sweet questioning smile on her face seemed to repair my crushed soul and I pulled her to me as if we'd been parted for weeks. She held my face and made me look straight at her. "I want to sort this out tonight, Edward, all cards on the table." I nodded and nodded, fuck whatever she wanted as long as she wouldn't leave me again.

"So you'll come with me? They've gone across the road to have coffee." I was still having trouble standing but the pain had magically disappeared. "Edward, are you okay?" I just held her, never wanting to let go.

"Oh God, I am now. I really thought you had left me for good."

She looked puzzled at my statement. "How are we going to fall madly in love with each other if I leave?" She ran her hands round the back of my neck and over my hair. It was the most amazing feeling in the world.

"It wouldn't stop me, Bella. I'd still feel the same."

Her arms dropped and surrounded my waist. "Oh, Edward, me too."

I tipped her chin up to me, just to see her beautiful face. I gave her the tiniest kiss and then took a huge breath.

It was time to do this, finally to get past this shit.

"Okay, let's go get 'em - cards on the table – I can do that!" I let her take my hand and lead me past our table while she waved at the group. "We gotta go!" Everyone just smiled and waved, I guess expecting we were leaving for sex and thinking nothing of it. How I wished that were true and tonight if I did this right there'd be hope it would happen soon. I was suddenly ready to get everything out because I realized how insignificant it was, compared to losing this amazing girl.

The coffee shop was small and intimate with some smooth nondescript bluesy music playing. The booth they were sitting in was in the far corner near the windows. Jake stood, towering over me and we shook hands. I'm sure he could have crushed me but it seemed more like a bro meeting a bro kind of shake. There was no hidden aggressiveness.

"Bella tells me I have to give you a chance so I'd appreciate your telling me why I should." I looked at Bella for guidance but she just motioned for me to sit down. When I did, Jake looked seven feet tall and built like a tree. "She's the most important girl in my life, apart from this one right here." He sat and kissed Lauren's nose as she smiled up at him. "Lauren and I have absolutely no secrets so she knows everything about Bella and me."

Shit, it's a brave new world and high time I caught up.

"I'm ready. Which part would you have me cover first, Jake?"

"Oh, so there are multiple parts."

"Just a few."

"Okay, explain to me why my best friend was dumped with no chance to explain herself and why you were too gutless to explain it to her."

God, how much can I say here? He did say no secrets but I shouldn't test it with sordid details.

"That's all true. I heard the messages you sent to her phone and I thought you two were involved. I have some serious problems with girls who run around and I assumed Bella was one of them. I wanted nothing further to do with her."

He started to play with the coffee cup in the saucer, very slowly spinning it around and then back. With his large hands, the effect was very intimidating. He turned his head imperceptibly, indicating he was still waiting on my answer.

"Is it about morals or territory or don't you want to catch a disease?" He was good. He never raised his voice above a murmur but I felt the intensity. He was her protector, in some sort of tribal sense I would never understand. I tried not to blink but he knew he had me. He knew what I was risking.

"It's all of that Jake. I want someone who I can trust."

He snorted. "Jesus, that's a laugh. You don't know how to pick them very well then do you. You wrote off someone who is dedicated to monogamy and the most careful girl I ever met. She made me jump through hoops before we ever did anything and she'd literally kill me if I'd ruined her perfect clean bill of health. She can be very scary." His eyebrows flicked up at Bella and her eyes narrowed back at him.

And there it was, the intensity completely gone as soon as he looked at her. He had a soft heart under the shield of a giant warrior. I chuckled, thinking how she'd scared me to death not ten minutes before. "I can imagine, Jake." Bella chose that moment to punch me lightly on the bicep.

"So why are you still sniffing around then?" Jesus, he's very direct.

"I couldn't stay away, even though I thought she was wrong for me. Every day was like torture because the feelings got stronger. Actually, Bella could tell you it all culminated at my parents home when she slapped me across the face." I glanced at Bella who was shaking her head with her eyes scrunched up.

"Way to go Swan!" He actually put his hand up to high five her but she scowled at him and the huge hand seemed to shrivel and drop.

"Anyway I've found that I can get my head around this unusual friendship you two have, even though I have never had a best friend who was a girl." I was determined the terms 'friends with benefits' or 'fuck buddies' would never escape my lips. "I'll basically do anything now if she'll give me a chance." She linked her arm in mine, leaning her cheek on my shoulder and I saw Lauren smile at us.

"Okay, Edward, let's test that one, shall we?" The powerful stare fixed me. I figured he would only give me one chance with her so I just went for it.

"Try me."

"She says you're holding back and you haven't told her why. Is that true?"

Oh, shit. I looked around and saw the closest couple ten feet away, talking closely and not taking any interest in us.

I dropped my voice. "There just never seemed to be the right time, Jake. She knows I want to tell her."

"What's wrong with right now, Cullen?" I looked at Bella who was watching me keenly and biting her bottom lip, urging me to go on. It was time.

"Okay, cards on the table." I took a breath and turned my attention to Jake. "I want her to have a test for STD's before we do anything. That's it." Then I turned to Bella for her reaction.

Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Jake choking on a gulp of coffee and Lauren hitting him on the back. I was watching the girl next to me who seemed to be speechless.

"You know she thinks your problem is some sort of performance issue?" What?

I glanced at him and then back at her, seeing her embarrassment. I shook my head. "No, I don't think so, no one's ever complained." Fuck, this was becoming like couples therapy. No, we had gone way past that point. We had enough right here to have Doctor Phil call us for the show. The friend she has sex with meets the boyfriend who does nothing about his overwhelming urges for her so she thinks he's no good in bed – Jesus. Bella had her face in her hands and I pulled on her forearm. "Hey, I'm just doing what you wanted." She nodded and rubbed her hands over her face.

"You don't have to worry about that with her, man. She's totally clean." Now Lauren was looking mortified and Bella grabbed a napkin and started folding it.

"Oh but I do have to worry about it. My delightful ex-wife gave me a dose of the clap. I didn't even know I had it and the next thing I'm testing positive for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia. It was charming, finding out I'd been walking around for six weeks with a disease."

Jake's cocky stare shifted and his eyes flicked to Bella. "Oh, fuck."

"Oh, fuck is right. I thought I nearly caught her one day with the tennis instructor when I came home from work sick, but I stupidly believed her lies and kept our sham of a marriage going. Then two months later, she rings me in the office no less to tell me I have to be tested and of course, voila, I've got it! Do you know what can happen if you leave Gonorrhea untreated?" I counted them on my fingers. "Infertility, prostate problems, bladder cancer, septic blood, arthritis, inflamed heart valves and last but not least meningitis! All that and no symptoms – quite a bargain really! Chlamydia is just as interesting. At least she didn't give me aids or syphilis.

I turned away from Jake to look at Bella as I thought what I'd said would have had some impact. She was shaking her head and Christ; there were tears in her eyes. I put my arms around her and kissed her hair.

"Oh I'm sorry; I've wanted to tell someone for ages, so now you all know. It would make me really happy if you would agree to have the test, Bella."

Lauren chimed in. "I had mine last Friday. We didn't bother with Jake."

"How are you guys so cool talking about this stuff? It's been the hardest thing for me to bring the subject up. I was a baby last time I dated anyone and I obviously do not know how any of this works. It looks like the world opened up while I was growing up."

"Maybe it's just us." Jake had his arm round Lauren and pulled her to him, kissing her forehead.

"Edward, can we go?" Bella murmured into my neck.

"Of course. Looks like we're leaving guys, nice to meet you. It has been…interesting."

Jake nodded. "You're all right, Edward. Anyone who would bare his soul like that for her is okay in my books. I'd love to meet that bitch of an ex wife of yours though. You are divorced aren't you?"

"Yeah - cost me big time but it was worth every cent."

"Well I hope you know this girl is special. Pity she's not my type." Bella continued to cuddle into me as we stood and I kept my arm round her so we shook hands around her.

"Oh!" She grabbed her purse and started finding a note to pay the bill.

"No you don't Swan, put that away. You're paying for Italian at our place remember?" She nodded and smiled, putting the money away and clutching my arm. "You're welcome too, Cullen."

While she said her goodbyes to Lauren, he surprised me by grabbing me for a man hug. He whispered in my ear, "You need to keep a close eye on the James situation because he's a pet project of hers. She thinks she can fix him, okay?" He looked at me as if he had passed the baton and I nodded, not really understanding fully but willing to give it some importance.

We hit the street and a cool breeze washed over us. I undid my top button and enjoyed the relief in my chest. I hadn't realized until this point how carrying this shit around had affected me.

I grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Do you want to get going or go back to the bar?"

"I really want to talk some more if that's okay. Can we go to my place?"

"You mean Emmett's or your place?"

"Mine."

"Anything you want, my beautiful girl. Oh God, that feels so much better!"

She threw her arms around me and hugged me with everything she had. I ran my hand down the length of her hair and relished the silky feeling.

"Thank you, thank you so much for that, Edward. I thought it was going to be something terrible," she mumbled into my shirt.

"It's pretty fucked up, Bella."

"No, but I understood it."

"I really didn't think I'd have to touch on the subject so soon. My stupid idea of what dating was nearly brought me undone."

"Huh?"

"Come on, let's go get the car."

"Uugh!"

"What?"

"Stop doing that! You start something but you never explain. It has to stop now because it fucks with my head."

"Okay, give me a chance; I'm still working on change."

Her hand caressed my cheek. "I don't really want you to change. It's just little baby tweaks." Then she kissed me and I pulled her to me. It felt like the best kiss I'd ever had.

We drove back in complete silence. I could see she was deep in thought and I was happy to let her process what I'd said. She placed her hand on my thigh, squeezing me gently and when I looked over at her, she snorted, turning to face me.

"This is why you're so good at your job isn't it?"

What? "Sorry?"

"You made him like you, just like that. Hell, I saw his face; he's in awe of you now. Does everyone fall in love with you?"

"I wasn't trying to give him the come on Bella. I just did what you wanted."

She started to giggle. "God you are gorgeous. Get me home so I can kiss you."

Just keep that hand a bit lower if you want to get there in one piece.

"I'll pull over if you want."

She shook her head and giggled some more. It was quiet for a few minutes and I kept checking her body language. Then she piped up and turned towards me again.

"Are you going to have the test too, Edward?"

"Well there'd be no point, but I will if you want."

"Well there's no point in my taking a test either, but I will if you want." I glanced over again to see what her expression was telling me.

"Are you laughing at me?"

"No, I'm just stating a fact. Look I'd hate to find out I had Gonorrhea."

"So you've never caught anything?"

"No, I've always been careful. Never had sex without a condom and I'm very choosey who I let in my bed."

"Have there been many?" God I regretted asking it as soon as it came out of my mouth but she didn't seem one bit fazed.

"Six."

"Shit, is that all?"

She turned back and looked directly ahead. "What's wrong with six? Would you prefer 16 or 60?"

Okay, now she's pissed. I need to find some appropriate words that won't inflame the situation. The last thing I want tonight is for her to be mad at me again.

"No, I just assumed you were more experienced. You said reading porn gave you ideas for lots of good stuff to try out."

"I didn't say I had tried them out, I just want to." The hand on my thigh moved down my leg and then back up again.

"Jesus." I think this girl might be the death of me. My mind flashed to a few recent pornographic fantasies I'd had about her and think I audibly groaned. "I'm shutting this conversation down when I can't do anything about it."

"So does that mean you might like to try out some stuff too, you know, one day in the future?" She squeezed the thigh a little suggestively.

"Maybe" Translation: maybe means yes. That's a big YES, not a maybe.

Christ, she could have lit Seattle with the smile on her face and she looked even more beautiful if that was possible.

Yes, Bella, yes.

Bella

We had already stopped twice for some passionate kissing even before we reached my front door, first as he helped me out of the car and then as soon as we entered the building with him pushing me up against the wall. He kept both hands on my ass as we climbed the small flight of stairs and as I was about to put the key in the door, he grabbed me and ran his hands all over my back then pulled me to him by my ass.

"Fucking fantastic," he whispered in my ear and then nibbled. "Thank you for wearing this dress for my birthday. I love it."

"It is a special occasion."

"No, you wearing that dress is the special occasion," he mumbled into my neck. "It's a thong isn't it? You're wearing a thong."

I squirmed out of his grasp. "Edward, come inside before someone sees us."

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry. I let myself get a little carried away again didn't I? I guess I really should go. I'm expected at Emmett's tonight."

"Noooo! It's not even ten o'clock yet. Can't you come in for half an hour?" I have a few questions of my own to cover before I let you off the hook.

"I know what's going to happen if I go in there," he said nervously, ready to leave. I pushed him against the wall to show him who was boss.

"Listen here you! You have been running this show for weeks now and I think it's my turn to direct for a while. If you want me to go get this ridiculous test then you had better do as you are told."

"Okay, I don't want to talk about this in the hallway. I'll come in for half an hour but I'm not staying." His hands went straight to his hair.

"Who said anything about you staying?" I said as innocently as I could and he rolled his eyes at me.

"Just get the key in the door, you."

He went immediately to the couch, looking nervous, still fiddling with his hair.

"How's the haircut?"

He didn't answer. He realized what he was doing and dropped his hands to his thighs, running them up and down a couple of times. Then he got up and picked up a piece of paper lying in front of the door and placed it on a side table before going back and sitting down again. The poor boy was so uptight. I thought now was the time to push him a little further to show him he was putting himself through unnecessary distress so I dropped my bag, went straight over and sat in his lap.

"Bella, what are you doing?" he said, but still buried his nose in my hair.

"I told you I want to talk some more and this seems like a good way to do it to me. Dad always made me sit on his lap for serious discussions."

He moved my hair back over my shoulder. "Hmmm, I'm not your father, and you're not a little girl anymore." His hand rubbed the side of my hip and I did an amazing job of disguising my reaction to it.

"Now, Edward, you know you've put me through some mental anguish this week, don't you?"

He just nodded, still playing with my hair. "I'm ssss…." I put my finger to his lips and cut him off from saying that damn word again.

"Stop…saying…sorry." He put his face into my neck but I pushed him back gently and looked him straight in the eye. "I need to know what happened – last Sunday you didn't seem to have a care in the world."

"I know. I feel like an animal." He pushed his face into my hair to hide.

"Why?"

"I didn't expect… I should have known there was something different about you. When you left with Em and Rosie on Sunday night, I was so desolate I had to fight against the urge to follow you home. I had two erotic dreams about you that night. Two! Then this whole dating thing flew out the window the first time I entered this apartment. I really thought there'd be a kiss at the door, maybe a little squeeze if I got lucky and we'd build up to something more. Then I could tell you why I needed you to get the test without insulting you. The reality of coming in here alone with you and the way you kissed me knocked all those ideas straight out of my head. I had this overwhelming need to rip your clothes off and fuck you till you couldn't walk. It scared me because I've never had such a strong reaction to a woman before and it's getting worse."

"Or better." I couldn't help it. He was so uptight about nothing. Hell, I had similar thoughts about him all the time. I just wanted to act on them.

His eyes flared for a moment before he settled himself down. "Bella, I'm trying to tell you what I've been going through. I feel like I should be getting to know you like we agreed, not thinking about fifty different ways to try and get inside you!"

"Is that all you think about – penetration?"

Okay, I had better stop with the smart mouth now. I can see he is getting touchy.

"Stop it!"

"No, I'm serious. I'll see your fifty ways and raise you a few with some of the dirty action that has been through my head in the last few weeks. You fuck very well in my fantasies but you do other things as well. You have no idea how much I want to make them real."

He closed his eyes and scrunched up his face in exasperation. "Thanks very much, now I'm hard again."

"I know, I can feel it and so you should be! You are too tough on yourself Edward Cullen. You are just a man who needs to get laid."

"Now you sound like Emmett!"

"The way I see it we either need to stay away from each other for the next week or desensitize if we are going with this asinine test."

"Asinine? I've never heard anyone actually use that word before," he said as his eyes crinkled with amusement.

I was fuming. I was trying to be serious and show him how ridiculous he was being and he was quibbling about the use of a word.

"Okay, how about senseless, stupid, idiotic, daft, silly, absurd, half-witted and don't forget unnecessary! Couples have those kinds of tests done when there is a chance of an infection, when they're not sure. I'm sure and you say you've been tested so what would be the point? Can't we just trust each other?"

His shoulders slumped as he tried to explain. "It's not that I don't trust you Bella, its Jake I don't trust. You can't be sure of what he was doing."

"I trust Jake with my life, Edward. I know he has not been with anyone else so I am positive I'm clean. Oh and I get the shot so I can't trap you if that's going on in your head as well." I tried to get up but he held on to me.

"Bella, please don't be like that."

"Your logic is so flawed and fucked up and you don't even see it!"

"Why is it flawed? Can't you just get the damn test done for me?"

It was obvious he hadn't thought this through objectively.

"I could have the test done tomorrow and screw six other guys before you got your precious results. Don't you see it means nothing if you don't trust me?"

"I said I trust you. I do trust you!" He still wouldn't let me move.

"Well let's see if that's true."

"What's that supposed to mean? Now you are making me nervous."

"See, you don't trust me!" I tried to stand but he still held on.

"Oh Bella, tell me what you want me to do to prove it to you." He looked like there was no fight left in him, no reasons left to continue the argument.

I ran my fingers over his ear. Emily had left just enough length there for it to feel very soft and it was hard to stay away from it. I looked into his eyes and decided what the hell I was going to find out if he really did trust me.

"Close your eyes." A little frown appeared and he turned his head to the side but he did it. The eyes closed.

"Okay, here's the scenario. You want me but you'll never have me because say I'm married or not interested or whatever. You know I'll never let you touch me but you get the chance to look at me, you know naked or partially clothed. You get to choose. Just think look but don't touch. What do you see?"

A smirk appeared on his face. "You're lying on the bed on your stomach - in your underwear. I want to see that ass in the thong and a bra ready to be undone."

Jesus, he's quick to get with this program.

I tried to stay serious. "Very good, Edward. I like a man who can make a decision. Come on, let's do it. You know I won't let you touch me."

"This is crazy. I won't be able to control myself." He looked at me as if I was an idiot and loosened his hold on me. I took the opportunity to stand, as it would give me a little more power in the conversation.

"It's your choice. Then we'll have the tests done during lunch tomorrow and I'll stay away from you for a week. I'll just see you at work over the coffee machine. It will be fine. It's just one week."

"Why are you doing this?" He stood up with his hands in his hair yet again. Unfortunately for me, he now looked like the hottest thing I'd ever seen and it was getting harder to keep a straight conversation going.

"I'm merely demonstrating that there are options here, Edward. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. There are other possibilities apart from fucking or orally pleasuring each other." I made sure I flicked my tongue at the side of my mouth as I said it. "You should probably be getting off to Emmett's anyway. The half hour is up."

He looked at me, trying to analyze what I was doing. His eyes roamed over my hips and my boobs and then he said, "I get to unzip the dress first."

I smirked back at him. "I guess that would be okay, but then you wait here until I call you and come in and sit on the chair. Just the zipper, right? No touching my skin."

I watched him nod. This was working. I had him right where I wanted him.

Little steps, Bella.

I pulled my hair over to one side and turned my back towards him. First he put both hands on the back of my shoulders and I told him no. Then he took one side of the zipper between his fingers, holding it away from my body while pulling down slowly with the other. It exposed most of my back and a black bra. I heard him hiss. Gotcha Cullen, you are in so much trouble now.

I walked away slowly and fisted the front so the back gaped as much as possible. I knew he'd be watching. I turned on the bedside lamp and as silently as possible, I slipped out of my shoes and dropped the dress before running the brush through my hair a few times. Then I lay down on the bed and looked back at the chair, getting the perfect angle for maximum exposure and leaving enough room so he could come and sit down easily.

"Edward, I'm ready!"

I heard him come into the room and suck in a breath before hearing the squeak of the chair. I didn't look around; I just waved a foot up occasionally and pointed a toe like I was lying there flipping through a magazine.

"This is better than what I had in my head."

"Oh thank you, that's very sweet."

I let things settle for a minute to make sure he was calm.

"I love black underwear."

Okay, he's into it. Let's try one more baby step.

"You can come a little closer if you think you have it under control."

I heard him take in a breath and blow it out heavily. "You're not going to let anything happen?" He was suddenly like a little boy, needing my reassurance.

"Of course not Edward. You're absolutely safe."

I heard him get up and then felt the bed sink down. I still didn't look at him. The sound of him being in the room and even the scent he gave off was enough to turn me on. I hadn't anticipated that part.

"Tell me how you're feeling. Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah, surprisingly, I'm good."

"So if I said you could touch me without being too sexual, would you like to?"

"Yes." That was a definite.

"Well go ahead, you've had your hands on me in a bikini before and I'll stop you if you do anything wrong."

He breathed in again and made a soft humming sound as he breathed out. I think he was at his limit but this limit was moving, bringing him closer to me, and closer to what I wanted. I was luring and desensitizing him at the same time. I was interested to see what he'd go for first.

Indecision, I could hear it in his breathing and in the movements of the bed but I was determined to keep looking forward. He had to work this out for himself. He very lightly touched his fingers to my ankle, then I heard him hum again and his hand gently rubbed over my ass. The breath that came out was excruciating to hear but he soon settled and then both hands moved up my ass with a little more force. He squeezed and then traced over the top of the thong. He moved closer on the bed and ran his hands up my back under my bra and around to the sides, grazing over the side of my boobs. Then he pulled my hair over to one side and smoothed his hands up to my shoulders, pulling at one of the bra straps. I had to watch him here. He was gathering momentum.

"Sit up, Bella." I wondered if I should stop him, but the look on his face was not hungry, it was tender, so I turned over and sat next to him. His eyes were glued to my boobs. He pushed my hair back and ran his finger under the bra strap, utterly focused on what he was doing, pulling it down slowly, then repeating on the other side, an imperceptible hum with a deep breath showing he was reaching the limit again. I was already wet. I'd found myself in the middle of an erotic fantasy and there was nothing I could do but watch it unfold. Edward Cullen obviously loved the undressing part.

He kissed the swell above the bra and then looked up at me before laying his head on my shoulder.

"Can I touch them? I haven't felt a real breast in over two years."

"What about Tanya?"

"She had them done, increased, augmented. They felt weird."

The poor man – a wife who had boobs that felt weird.

This was a quandary. We were moving into unknown territory and I said I would keep him safe. I don't know how I'll handle it if he touches me or how he will react.

"Please. I'm okay. I'm under control, really. They're just so beautiful I have to touch them."

I cupped his cheek and looked into his little boy eyes. I saw only sincerity, no out of control hunger. I acquiesced. "Of course you can, but we had better leave the bra on I think."

He nodded and blew out a quick breath. He started by gently playing with one of the straps lying on my arm. Then he traced all the lines of the bra, breathing a little heavier and fingering just under the lace at the top.

"So fucking beautiful."

I watched his face closely and he was transfixed, unconsciously licking his lips, totally irresistible. I could feel myself reaching my own limit, unable to tear my eyes away from those lips, wanting them on me, wanting desperately to know what it would feel like. When he palmed my boobs and squeezed, I looked into his eyes and saw something different. They were wild and dark, needing something more, just as I did.

"Bella," he whispered as his thumb ran over an erect nipple and the next thing I knew he'd undone the hooks on the bra and had taken it off, breathing like crazy, pushing me down on the bed with his tongue circling a nipple. His fingers pulled on the other nipple so hard I called out in ecstasy only to be silenced by a blinding hot kiss and a five star erection pushing onto the inside of my thigh. My hands found his neck and then his hair, pulling him closer to me and I moaned so loudly into his mouth that the sound made me snap out of it.

I broke away, tried to catch my breath and work out what was happening. I'd lost control of him and was failing at my promise not to let this happen.

"Edward?"

"Unbelievable," he mumbled with a mouthful of boob.

"Edward?"

"Hmmm?"

"Stop now or something's going to happen."

"I think it's already happened." He continued sucking and kissing.

"Edward. This is your dick talking. You don't want this."

"I've never wanted anything more in my life. God you feel so good."

"No, you have to stop! You told me not to let this happen!" I pushed up on him and he seemed to clear his head enough to get up on his knees with a groan. If I thought the pants were a little tight this morning, it was nothing compared to what was in front of me right now. They were straining. He tried to adjust himself but God knows where he thought he had room to put that huge cock. I watched it, mesmerized and when I looked at him, he had one eyebrow raised so I quickly pushed on his arm so he'd let me up and I sat on the edge of the bed. He ran both hands back from his forehead and blew out a huge breath before coming to sit with me, groaning as he sat. It must have been killing him.

"Fucking hell! There's no way on this earth I'm going to be able to wait a week now!"

"How long has it been?"

"Over nine months."

"Then you can wait another week, can't you." I looked at him lovingly and smoothed my hand over the back of his head.

He touched the side of my neck and kissed my cheek. "Thank you for turning me down. I really lost it there for a minute, didn't I?"

I looked at him smugly. "I don't think we have to worry about enjoying each other in bed, do we?" He shook his head and then blew out yet another heavy breath. "Do you still want to have the test?"

He put his thumbs on his cheeks and his fingers rubbed up and down his forehead. "Five minutes ago? I would have said fuck it, but I do. I think once I see it for myself, every fear I have had, every fit of anger she put me through will be gone. Can you understand?"

I wanted him to be whole again. "Of course I can. We will both have it done."

For a moment he narrowed his eyes at me and I think he was contemplating an argument before he nodded and said, "Okay, we'll both have it done. We should go away somewhere next weekend and make our first time really special though. It will help me by giving me something to do while I'm trying to fight off the erection I'll get every time I think of this." He snorted but I could see he was serious. His eyes were scanning my chest once again.

"It's probably good timing anyway. I want to finish reading the book so I can decide whether to go ahead or not. Rose and Emmett are going to read it as well. Will you give it a try?"

I don't think he'd heard a thing I said. His fingers were gently tracing around my boobs again. "These are really top shelf you know."

I held his wrist and he stopped. "Maybe you could spend the time thinking about all the things you've wanted to try out in bed…or in other places. I already know what mine are." I beamed at him. "Listen, I need to go take a shower and put something on. Do you want to stay and have a birthday sleepover?"

He blew air out of the side of his mouth.

"What a day! Well, I do have my stuff in the car and I'm not leaving you here on your own. Do you think you can keep those tits away from me?"

"I can't take them off, Edward. I really don't know where they'll end up while I'm sleeping."

"I don't know how I didn't notice how good they were last time we slept together. You really are improving daily you know."

How the hell am I going to get through the next seven days?

...

A/N - Sorry, but I think she had to do the right thing and stop him. I love that she is making him take the test too! Ha ha!

I know I don't thank you enough Beach for your help with this fic. Please know how much I cherish every word of guidance you give me.

No rec's this week - haven't started anything new because there are so many great WIP's updating! It's hard to keep up and remember which one is which sometimes.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Please leave me a review and make my day.