AN: Notes at the end. All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer. The remainder of the perversion is all mine. ;)

CHAPTER 14

Fuck, man, I was gonna come in my pants if she didn't stop, and soon. This was the hottest fucking thing I had ever seen in my life. My own private anger-porn channel.

I laughed at the absurdity of the situation, which was apparently the exact wrong thing to do. She just stared at me, heaving breasts and all, and then screamed at me. No words, just a long, garbled "Arghhhhh!" of frustration.

I wanted to fucking applaud, but I was already in enough shit with her.

She stormed out of the room, through the kitchen door, and out of my apartment.

Fuck.

Fortunately, for me, she showed back up after an hour or so. Grumbled about having to cool off or something, then started rattling around in the kitchen again.

I really needed a fucking drink and a Lortab, but I was too fucking pigheaded to ask for her help. So I just sat there, the pain increasing by the minute, and the more I thought about it, and how I wasn't going to feel better anytime soon, the worse it got. I even tried, stupidly, to get up and get it myself, which I immediately discovered was a really fucking bad idea. I instantly and uncontrollably screamed in pain, throwing my crutches across the room with a loud crash.

Bella bolted into the room, still angry at me, apparently.

"Edward? What the fuck? What happened? What -" She stopped then and just stared at me. I guess the expression on my face told her everything she needed to know.

She ran back to the kitchen, got me a glass of water and a pill, then sat on the couch next to me, while I took it. She look so fucking concerned, and it really pissed me off. I much preferred the angry, yelling Bella. Much fucking hotter. And much less pity.

After about thirty more minutes of torture, the meds finally kicked in, and I must have dozed off. Bella woke me up with a drink and dinner in front of me.

"It's not much, but you need to eat. Taco salad."

She sat next to me on the couch, and we ate in a strange but comfortable silence.

After the third day, she told me I stunk like a homeless person covered in my own shit, and if I didn't take a fucking shower, she was going to flush all my meds down the toilet. That was a glorious fight, one for the books, and after she helped me get to the bathroom, stripping me down to my boxers, I screamed at her until she left the room, slamming the door in her face.

I took my dick in my hands for the first time in weeks and came explosively in less than twenty seconds, thinking about how hot her tits looked when we fought.

That, combined with the physical effort of cleaning myself up and putting on clean clothes, and I was wiped out.

She was waiting outside my bedroom, helped me back to the couch, and handed me a pill and a glass of water.

It was like that for a few weeks. Bella showing up at my apartment first thing in the morning, cooking for me, doing my laundry, cleaning up, leaving only to grab a shift at the bar or go home to sleep.

After that first night, I stopped trying to convince her to go home. Fuck, I wanted her there, and I was getting used to her company really quickly.

We continued to fight and argue, but it was ... different. We both dished it out pretty well, so I didn't feel like I was being a dick or anything. It wasn't like she hated me anymore, not like before. More like two friends who knew each other well enough to say whatever the fuck was on their minds.

She got me up and walking, told me I needed to get my strength back, and we got into the habit of taking long walks around the neighborhood before dinner. I never wanted to admit that she was right about anything, but I was feeling a lot better, and it got to where those walks were the best part of my day. We would talk, about anything and everything, our pasts and our present, and it was on the streets in my neighborhood that I got to know who Bella really was.

One night, after dinner and a shower, I grabbed my guitar before I plopped back down on the couch. It was the first time I had picked it up since that night.

I started tooling around, playing nothing in particular, just exercising my fingers, and Bella came around the corner from the kitchen, and leaned against the door jamb, her hands in her pockets, just listening.

I was feeling pretty good about where I was, so I launched into a few of my favorite songs from my old set. She walked slowly to the couch and sat next to me, not saying a fucking word, just watching and listening. Every now and then, I would look up and meet her eyes, wide and dark, and I would sing to her. My audience of one. And she would get this look, strangely similar to when we fought, that stormy look, her chest heaving, a pink flush spreading across her creamy, white skin.

I wanted to look at her tits so badly, but I knew that she would catch me. She was watching me too closely, too intensely. So I looked down at my guitar instead, following the motion of my hands.

I finished the last song of the set, thinking that I was done for the time being, but Bella was entranced, sitting comfortably on the couch next to me, close enough for me to smell the flowery scent of her hair. Goddamn but did that fucking turn me on.

She looked at me, expectantly, waiting for what was next.

And what was next, I had no idea. Well, I had an idea, but it was more of a fantasy, and I didn't think it was the right time to grab her and pull her on my dick.

Maybe later.

I looked down at the coffee table in front of me, needing to clear my mind of the increasing filth and debauchery, staring at the tray of dirty dishes from dinner. More evidence of Bella's presence in my life. But I saw something I had completely missed earlier… a small water glass at the corner of the tray holding a small, pink flower. The petals were wide and pointed and completely open, and the instant imagery hit me hard, like a bag of bricks.

"Uh, Bella?" I said cautiously. "What is that?"

My tone must have been less than appreciative, and she looked up at me in a minor panic.

"I-It's… um…, " she stuttered. "It's a… you know… a Tiger Lily. I thought that… well… you always call me Tiger, so… I thought… I thought that meant that you liked lilies, so I got you one."

Holy fuck. I mean, she really had no fucking clue as to why I called her that. It was sweet of her, but it was also fucking hot as hell. All I could think of as I looked at that beautiful pink flower was how beautiful and pink her pussy must be, how badly I wanted to see it on display for me, spread open like that.

Jesus.

"Yeah, Bella," I grinned, wanting to quickly put her at ease. "I like it. I like tiger lilies. A lot." I had to clear my throat to keep from laughing at my inside joke. Yeah, I liked lilies, one in particular. "Uh, thanks."

She relaxed a little and gave me a small smile, her cheeks growing pink before my eyes. I stared at that growing blush for a beat or two, wondering if she knew, or had any idea what that flower thing meant to me. And if she did… did she like it?

AN: Yeah, so the tiger lily thing. I really love that, and it will be a theme till the very end of the story - very meaningful for Edward and eventually, for Bella too. Whoops! Did I just give away a plot point? Not me!

Things are progressing for Bella and Edward... and I promise there WILL be a payoff before I say "finis!" So please don't lose patience for me. If you've read ANY of my other stories, you KNOW that my characters always get their... um... satisfaction. That's why my stories are always rated "M!"Tee hee!

I love each and every one of you, and I read every single review. When my email dings with a new review, I get SO excited! So thank you for reading. Thank you for your comments. I appreciate it, truly.

Looking like it will be about 21 chapters, total. I started with 24, but then I've been cutting up the chapters a little differently as I post so I can give you a little longer chapters.

Next chapter on Friday! I started to write about what happens next, and then I had to erase it! I mean, that would be cheating, right? You'll just have to wait! :)

Mucho gracias, as always, to my lovely, wonderful, and talented beta and RL BFF, LibbyLou862 (and the writer of THE SONG).

Until Friday!

Di8