Disclaimer: The characters as well as any other reference to the Twilight series belong to their respective owner, Stephenie Meyer. Everything else belongs to the author of this work, Forever 17/Foreverx17.

Chapter Fourteen: Control

EDWARD

The guilt I feel right now is like an insect crawling across my arm. I feel it there, just barely. It startles me and I swat at it and it disappears for a moment before returning again, subtle. But I know it's there. It won't leave my skin. It's how I feel here, in Bella's room, lying between her open legs, kissing her senseless. I try not to think about Charlie, and it's getting easier to do so. But he's always there, in the back of my mind, lingering. But this girl distracts me. God, how she distracts me.

I'm on top of her. We're both shirtless except she's still wearing a sexy black bra. It turns me on, the innocence in kissing her with the material in the way, knowing we could easily take it off. In the last two weeks since we've been alone at the house, Bella and I have seen each other completely naked. Just never at the same time.

It was a few days after I went down on her the first time that I allowed myself to let go and proceeded to receive the best hand-turned-blowjob I'd ever gotten in my entire existence. I was eager to return the favor. Which I did later that same night. Twice. Leaving us both breathless and craving more.

Bella's hands move down to my hips and she squeezes her legs tighter around me at the same time that she lifts her hips and presses them flush against mine. I moan and grind down into her, giving her what she wants, getting the friction that I need.

I move my lips down her neck and lick my way back up to her ear before biting down.

"Oh, yea," she moans, grabbing my neck and pulling my mouth back to hers.

She pushes me and even though I'm stronger than her, I allow her to nudge me until I roll over and she climbs over me. When she's on top, she sits up and I follow her, wrapping my arms around her waist and finally giving in, moving my hand behind her and unclasping her bra. We move away just enough to pull the undergarment off and toss it to the side. My lips fuse back with hers and she's pushing again until I fall backwards with her now bare chest pressed flush against mine. Her nipples against my bare skin ignites a fire in me and I devour her mouth as she grinds her hips down into mine, harder.

Bella's become more aggressive in bed since the first time we were together. She had always been so responsive and eager, but now it fucking turned me right the hell on the way she took from me what she needed. And I gave her everything willingly. I crave her, I'm ravenous for her, and she matches my desire almost perfectly. I still feel like she can't possibly want me as badly as I want her. It couldn't be possible.

Her lips move down my jaw to my throat and shoulders and I throw my head back against the pillows and close my eyes. I'm so hard it literally hurts. The ache in my groin is alleviated only briefly when Bella rubs her jean-covered center against me. I shudder.
Her soft hands drift down my chest, down my stomach, until her fingertips dip into the front of my jeans, pulling it slightly away from my body. She unbuttons and pulls the zipper down and I sit up again, wrapping my arms around her and crashing my lips to hers. Her arms wind around my shoulders, fingers tangled in my hair, pulling, as we fight to dominate the other's mouth greedily.

Bella and I haven't talked about sex at all since we started this...whatever this is...between us. But I didn't think we were ready to go there just yet. So I slow down our kisses until I peck her once, twice, three times, then pull away, cradling her face in my hands.

We're both breathing heavily, panting as my green eyes meet her lust-lidded brown. After a moment, I gently but firmly lift her off of me and swing my legs over the side of her bed, palms resting against the mattress as I lean forward to catch my breath.

I hear her shift behind me. "Why'd we stop?" she asks quietly.

"If we keep going, we both know what'll happen," I say, my voice coming out hoarse.

"So?"

I'm taken aback by her response as I look at her over my shoulder, taking in her flushed skin and bed-mussed hair. She looks so beautiful in her arousal. She looks beautiful no matter what. I tell her she's stunning with her just-kissed lips and messy hair, eyes bright, and she blushes that blush I love and runs her fingers through her locks, taming her hair.

I stand up and button my jeans back up before turning to face her. She's biting her lip, her arms over her chest, covering her bare breasts. I lean forward, both hands and one knee on the mattress, until I'm an inch away from her. I move her arms away with my hand and lean forward, pressing my lips to hers once more.

"I should go," I whisper into the darkness. The only light filtering in is from the moon through the windowed balcony doors.

"No," she says, wrapping her hand behind my neck and holding my mouth against hers. I smile against her lips before pulling away and standing up again. She shakes her head. "I want you, Edward."

"Fuck, Bella," I groan, leaning forward and giving her another searing kiss before pulling away yet again. "I don't think we should...do that yet."

Bella furrows her eyebrows at me. "Why?"

"It's too soon."

And our minds are too muddled with arousal to make good decisions right now. The cloudiness in my brain clears up just enough to let me know we need to stop.

"Okay," she says after a moment. She grabs her discarded shirt off the bed and pulls it on.

She's not upset, I can tell, but she's disappointed. I know the feeling.

"Are you gonna go to bed?" she asks me.

"I'm going to write a little and then I will," I tell her. I hadn't written in my journal for a few months, but in the last week I had started again and deep down I knew why.

"Okay," she says again, smiling. "I'm gonna sleep then."

I nod. Bella and I decided sleeping together in the same bed was another area we shouldn't breach just yet. Despite having been together intimately, the act of going to bed together just didn't seem right. At least not yet. Especially with the residual guilt I was still feeling in regards to Charlie.

After giving her one more kiss goodnight, I went down to my room. I only wrote about a page and a half from my stream of consciousness before my lids became too heavy and I turned out the light and went to sleep.

Charlie had been in Forks for two weeks now. He had called Bella the previous week to let her know he was staying longer than he originally thought. His friend, Sue, really needed him there to help her with her mother and he didn't feel right leaving her alone. Bella called him every other day or so, just to check in.

I had finished the deck four days ago and had waited for Charlie to get back to me on what project he wanted to start on next. I knew he wanted me to replace the hinges in some of the doors in the house, but after our conversation two days prior, he had told me he had to sit and think about which doors needed repair. I offered to check all of them, but he quickly shut my idea down, telling me to take a few days off and relax and he'd call me a few days later to let me know.

He was far too kind to me. So many times during our brief phone conversations I wanted to be a man and ask him if I could date his daughter, but I couldn't. I couldn't do something like that over the phone. It would be detrimental to our relationship. Probably to his and Bella's too. No, I had to tell myself. I need to wait.

In the meantime, Bella tries to ease my guilt. She tells me her father is an understanding man, and he trusts her to make her own decisions. Regardless of either fact, I still feel that pull, the one that wants to take me away from her because I'm not good enough and I know it. I don't know why Bella couldn't see it. Or maybe she did and she chose to ignore it. Why she would do that, I didn't know.

I had grown accustomed to waking up early to work so when I got out of bed that morning at six, I wasn't surprised to find the house quiet and still. In the kitchen, I pour myself a bowl of cereal. After finishing breakfast alone, I change into track pants and a t-shirt. After throwing on a sweater, I kneel down in the foyer and tie on my running shoes.

I grab my keys and my iPhone and head out the French double doors that lead into the newly finished deck. After making sure the doors are locked, I plug my phone in, turn my music up, and start jogging down the beach. I hadn't run in a while and I needed it to clear my mind, not to mention get rid of some of that unresolved sexual tension from the previous night's activities.

I couldn't lie to myself. I wanted inside of Bella. I was hungry for it. I needed it. But I wouldn't do it, much to both of our frustrations.

It scared me, how intensely I needed her after such a short amount of time. It had been a little over two weeks since that first kiss and already I found myself in her bed. But we couldn't keep our hands off each other. I was tired of trying to behave myself. She just made it too damn difficult.

When I make it back to the beach house, I'm panting harshly from the two hour run. I check the time and see it's just after eight.

The house is still quiet and I know Bella will be asleep for at least another hour. So I shower and change into some fresh jeans and white t-shirt, then make my way into the kitchen to make her breakfast.

I scramble some eggs and fry some bacon, keeping it simple. I hear footsteps coming down the stairs just as I'm putting the bacon on a plate and I smile when I hear her slow shuffle into the kitchen.

"It smells so good," she says, her voice thick with sleep.

I look at her over my shoulder as I place some eggs and bacon on a plate for her.

"I made you breakfast," I say, setting her plate on the table.

"Edward," she says, shock in her tone.

I quickly look at her, startled. My worry fades into a relaxed smile when I see her expression is happy.

"You like it?" I ask her as I go back to the stove and shovel some food onto a plate for myself. Even though I had a bowl of cereal before my run, I had worked up an appetite again.

"It's perfect," she says, sitting down in front of her steaming plate of food. "Thank you."

"It wasn't a problem," I say, pulling out the seat next to her at the round glass table.

We dig into our food and there isn't much conversation between us, both of us too preoccupied with stuffing our faces to speak more than a few words to each other.

When we're done, she insists on doing the dishes and I know it's a battle I won't win, so I relent and take to letting her wash while I dry. When everything is cleaned up in the kitchen, Bella excuses herself to take a shower.

While I'm alone downstairs, I decide to take Charlie's advice and relax a bit. Laying down on the couch in the living room, I switch on the flat screen television and start flipping thorough channels. I watch a few news programs and the end of a sitcom.

Bella joins me an hour later, her hair still wet, her cheeks flushed from her shower. I inwardly groan at the small jean shorts and loose t-shirt she's wearing. I manage to control my urges and wrap my arm around her when she sits down beside me. We watch t.v. together in silence while I stroke her hair and place kisses on the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her shampoo every so often.

"What should we do today?" she asks me during a commercial.

"What do you wanna do?" I ask her softly, my hands stroking through her hair.

She shrugs against me. "I don't know."

"That's helpful."

She punches me gently in the stomach and I laugh before she pulls back and looks at me seriously.

"I need to talk to you about something."

I raise my eyebrows at her.

"These last two weeks with you alone have been…they've been the best two weeks of my life, Edward."

My heart tugs at her words, but my stomach drops at where she's going with this. I brace myself for the worst, keeping my face as blank as I can.

"And I want nothing but alone time with you." She lets out a heavy sigh. "But my friend, Alice, was supposed to come and visit me from New York. She just called and said she booked a flight for Wednesday."

I can't believe the relief I feel when she doesn't tell me that this thing between us is over. But then I do the counting in my head and realize Wednesday is just three days away and I can't help feeling slightly disappointed.

"I'm sorry I didn't mention her to you. It's just, when we started, you know…" She blushes. "And then I just forgot until she called this morning. Are you mad?"

I furrow my eyebrows at her question. "Of course not, Bella. She's your friend. I'm happy she's coming to see you."

Bella's shoulders visibly relax and a small smile forms on her face. "But you know what this means," she says, moving closer to me until she lifts one leg over my lap, straddling me back into the couch.

"What?" I ask, amused, my hands finding her hips immediately and pulling her flush against me.

She gasps when she feels my hard-on against her.

"It means we'll have to make these next few days alone count," she whispers, leaning forward until she's barely touching my lips.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" I murmur against her lips, still not pressing mine to hers.

Bella smiles. "I think you know."

I shake my head, placing a chaste kiss on the side of her mouth. "You need to tell me."

"Edward," she sighs.

"Come on, baby," I whisper, nuzzling her ear. "Tell me what you want."

Her body shudders and I don't know if it's because of the term of endearment I used on her for the first time, even surprising myself, or if it has to do with the way I'm kissing her neck. I decide it must be both.

"We could," she starts, gasping when I bite gently on the side of her neck. "We could keep doing this."

"I'm good with this," I say, moving my lips up her jaw to her cheek. "What else can we do though? Surely there must be more."

Bella smiles bigger at my teasing and weaves her hands through my hair. I groan in pleasure when she pulls the strands just the way I like and places a kiss against my neck.

"We could…go upstairs…to my room…and kiss…and lick…and touch," she whispers, following her words with hot kisses on my neck.

I'm completely frozen at this point as she takes over, her mouth leaving a wet trail from my neck to my shoulder and back again. She pulls back after a moment and looks down at me.

"What do you say?"

I swallow hard and press her against my erection once more. "Do you need a verbal answer?" I ask her. "Or is this good enough?"

Biting her lip to hold back her smile, she says, "This will work."

I can't take it anymore and Bella squeals when I suddenly stand up from the couch, carrying her to the staircase.

We make out along the way, I press her against walls, to take a break, but our mouths never leave each other. When we're finally in her room, I toss her on her bed, making her giggle in delight, before I'm on her again. Her legs automatically open and I nestle between them. I love this position, when I'm between her legs, on top of her, possessing her, claiming her.

Bella nips at my ear suddenly and I groan in pleasure and pain before pulling back and looking down at her. Her cheeks are flushed and she's biting her lip while she smiles up at me innocently.

"You wanna play rough, huh?" I murmur, pressing my hips against hers.

"Mm," she moans, her eyes closing for a few seconds before looking up at me once again.

"Is that how you want it?" I ask her, my hands moving down her body, grasping her arm and pulling it up above her head, doing the same with the other one until I have both her hands above her head, holding them in one of mine, pushing them gently into the mattress as my free hand strokes down her body and grasps her waist, my fingers digging slowly into her flesh.

"Please, Edward," she whispers, flexing her hips up into mine. I lean forward and place wet kisses against her neck.

"You're driving me crazy," I whisper against her ear.

"Then do something about it," she says firmly.

I'm taken aback by her challenge for a second before I resume kissing her neck, my hand moving lower.

"Edward," she says. I move my mouth to hers, but she doesn't reciprocate so I pull back, my hand stroking the skin between her shirt and her shorts.

"What is it?"

She sighs and I let go of her hands. She moves them around my neck, her fingers stroking the back of my head. "It's just…don't start something you can't finish."

"What do you mean?" I ask, my eyebrows knitting together.

"You know what I mean," she says, arching an eyebrow. I'm still so confused and she must see this on my face because she sighs loudly and pushes my chest. I sit up and back on my heels, watching as she moves up the bed so she's leaning against the headboard, her arms across her chest.

I run a hand through my hair and run it down my face before I meet her gaze again. "Bella, what's wrong?"

She shakes her head so I reach forward and pinch her thigh gently. She glares at me and pushes my hand away.

Okay, now I'm really fucking confused. How did we go from making out to her glaring at me to keep my hands to myself?

"Bella—"

"When are we gonna have sex?" she asks.

My eyes widen and I'm sure I look like a fucking cartoon character. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Yea, I did. I just didn't realize that this was a prelude to sex."

"Edward, I just…we've been doing…whatever this is," she says, motioning between us, "for weeks now and I just…I mean…don't you want me?"

"Of course I do. So fucking badly."

"Then how can you stand it? How can you be so…restrained? I feel like I'm going to explode if you don't touch me."

"I do touch you," I say, reaching forward and placing a hand on her thigh just to prove my point. Thankfully she doesn't push me away this time. "Hey, come on, talk to me."

She shakes her head and sits up, throwing her legs over the side of her bed. "Never mind. I'm not going to embarrass myself any more than I already have."

"What? Bella," I say as she stands up and walks to the door. "Bella!"

"I'm going for a walk," she calls over her shoulder before disappearing through the doorway.

I'm left kneeling on her bed, both hands shoved in my hair, wondering what the fuck just happened.

….

I don't leave the bedroom for a good half hour, wanting to give Bella her space. But soon I'm restless and head downstairs. It's quiet in the living room and kitchen. I check outside and sure enough she's sitting on the sand, a few yards away from the house, watching the ocean. With a heavy sigh, I open the door and walk towards where she's sitting.

The light wind whips her hair this way and that, her arms flying up to tame her strands. If she hears me approaching, she doesn't allude to it. I take a seat beside her, resting my arms on my bent knees as I gaze out at the ocean for a few minutes, watching the waves crash against the shore. When I can't take the silence anymore, I finally look over at her and see her eyes are fixated on the sea.

"Bella," I say, swallowing a lump in my throat. I don't exactly know what to say. So I decide to just be completely honest, regardless of what her reaction might be. "Bella, I don't want to cross a line with you that we can't come back from. I don't want to do something we'll end up regretting."

She finally whips her head around to look at me with stormy eyes. "You think you'd regret something?"

I shake my head. "No…no…it's not…" I trail off, not knowing how to say how I feel.

"Edward," she sighs. "Even if this is just for the summer? Even if I've created this fantasy in my head? I just want to enjoy what we have right now. Nothing else matters."

Her honest words hang in the air for me to digest. Could I just forget everything and enjoy the time I have with her? Looking in her chocolate brown eyes now, it strikes me how easy it is to forget everything and just be with this girl. Despite the lingering doubt always in the back of my mind, Bella makes it so damn easy to forget the problems, the stress, the worry. I want to just be. Be here, be with her, any way she'll have me. I can't say this with words, but I can show her.

Lifting my hand up to cup her face, I stroke the apple of her cheek with my thumb. She sighs and leans into me.

"I just want to be with you, Edward," she whispers.

I nod. "I know, Bella. I want that, too."

Closing the remaining distance between us, I lean forward and place my lips against hers, moving them slowly, neither of us moving to rush. When we're both breathless, I pull back and smile slightly at her.

"Let's go inside," I say.

She bites her bottom lip. "Okay."

We walk silently back to the house and when we're in the living room, I spend more time than necessary locking the door before turning to face her. Bella is standing in the space between the kitchen and living room, chewing on her bottom lip and shifting on her feet as she gazes at me questioningly.

One side of my mouth lifts up into a smile as I slowly approach her.

"You look nervous," I say, gently placing my hands on her waist and pulling her flush against me.

She swallows hard and gazes up at me. "Not nervous."

"No?" I ask, my voice low.

She shakes her head. "No."

"Then why are you blushing?"

"I'm not nervous. I'm…anticipating."

"Anticipating what?"

She looks down and shakes her head, but I place my hand under her chin and lift her face up so I can meet her eyes again.

"Do you want to go to my room and…hang out?" I ask her, hating that I sound like I'm in high school, asking a girl out for the first time.

She smiles at me and nods. "Okay."

"Okay."

When we're in my room, things get a little awkward. It's the first time she's been in my room with me and I'm not sure if I should close the door, if I should sit on the bed or the couch in the corner. Or should I stay standing?

When Bella takes a seat on my king sized bed, I close the door and walk over to her, hesitantly sitting down with a few inches of space between us.

"I like your room," she murmurs, looking at the mostly bare walls of my bedroom.

"It's a nice room," I say. I shake my head at how lame our small talk is.

Clearing my throat, I turn to face her fully. Moving my hand to her shoulder, she watches me closely as I move down her arm, goose bumps raising on her flesh, until I reach her hand and take it gently in mine. She shivers. I smirk. She shakes her head and rolls her eyes. I chuckle and scoot closer to her. Lifting my other hand, I cup her face again, then do the same with my other hand until I'm framing her face in my palms, stroking her cheeks softly.

"You're so beautiful," I tell her. "So beautiful."

"Edward…"

"Yea?"

"Kiss me."

I nod and lean forward, pressing my lips to hers. This kiss is different than the ones before. It's more fervent, passionate, there's more behind it. This kiss has intention and we both know what that is.

Bella scoots backwards on the bed and I follow her, never taking my mouth or hands off her, until she's laying back against the pillows and I'm lying on top of her, one of her legs between my thighs. Stroking down her neck, both my hands move to the hem of her shirt and I lift it up halfway, stroking the soft skin of her stomach, moving up, up, up, until the shirt is bunched above her breasts. We pull away just enough for her to take the shirt off. Her hands move down to the hem of my shirt and I waste no time lifting it up and off, tossing it aside.

My hands move to the clasp of her bra, and without too much trouble, I have it opened and am tossing the fabric off to join the rest of our clothing. Shifting slightly under me, Bella moves her leg out from between mine so I'm lying between her thighs. She pulls me down on top of her, pulling on the waistband of my jeans, until she unbuttons and pulls the zipper down. It's in this moment that I have a bit of clarity, the fog of lust a little less thick, and I pull away from her, a small trail of saliva between our mouths. I lick my lips and look down at her, flushed and breathing heavily.

"Are you sure you want this?" I ask her, because I need to hear her say the words.

"Yes."

"Because I want this. So fucking much," I tell her, wanting to be completely honest.

"Edward. I want this. I want you."

I don't say another word, instead letting my body do the talking for me. First things first, I fuse my lips back with hers, a renewed vigor taking on our movements as Bella pushes my jeans down my waist. I reach for her shorts and undo them quickly. She lifts her hips off the bed and I pull back, pulling them down her supple thighs until their off and tossed to the side, forgotten like the rest of our clothes. I take the time while I'm sitting up to pull my jeans the rest of the way off. And then I'm on her again, pressing myself flush against her, only my boxer briefs and her thin panties in the way. I can feel her heat through the fabric and it is such a fucking turn on that I press my hips hard against her, knowing she can feel my erection. I'm so hard, I don't think I've ever been this hard in my entire life. I feel like if I can't be inside her soon I'm going to explode.

Moving my hand to her stomach, I stroke her smooth skin before moving down to her waistband and pulling on it softly, showing her my intentions. When she rests her hands on my hips and presses me down onto her, I take that as my cue and pull the fabric down down down, down her legs and off. And then it's just Bella. Nothing else. No clothes. No covers. Her skin is white and smooth and so fucking flushed. She smiles up at me and bites her lips as her hands move to the waistband of my boxer briefs and she tugs them experimentally, gauging my reaction. And I almost laugh, because if she thinks I'm going to fucking stop her now, she's crazy.

I let her push my briefs down until my erection springs up, hard and at attention, straining towards her. I pull my briefs off the rest of the way and then carefully, I lean forward and place a sound kiss against her lips, moaning when the head of my dick strokes her wet heat.

"Oh, baby," I whisper against her skin, moving my hand down to her thigh, stroking the skin right next to where I want to touch her most.

"Edward," she gasps as my erection rubs more forcefully against her center. I can feel her wetness coating me and I have to take a few deep breaths to control myself.

"I want to be inside," I murmur against her lips. "Right here." I flex my hips to punctuate my point, enjoying the low moan it elicits from the back of her throat.

"Yea," she says, her voice shaking.

"Let me in."

"Yes."

Kissing her on the mouth once more, I move to her neck, sucking on the skin there before pulling back. She whines and groans in protest.

"Just a second," I say, leaning over the bed to pull my bedside drawer open. I hadn't gotten laid in a really long fucking time, but I had a box of condoms in my drawer, courtesy of Jacob and Jasper, who thought buying me the latex would inspire me to go out and get some. Which it didn't. But I was pretty damn happy with their meddling right about now. I pulled out the box and opened it, taking one foil packet out and returning to my spot between Bella's legs.

She giggles up at me. "I see you're always prepared."

"I swear it's not what it looks like," I chuckle, kissing her cheek. "It was a gift from the guys."

"I'm glad they gave you such a thoughtful present."

"Right now? So am I."

With another lingering kiss to her lips I pull back and rip the foil packet open, rolling the latex onto my erection. When it's on, I look down at Bella and see her eyes focused on the way my dick stands against my stomach. She licks her lips and her dark eyes meet mine again as she lays back completely and lifts her arms above her head, arching her back as she stretches. Unable to hold off any longer, I cover her body firmly with mine and reach down to grasp myself, rubbing the head of my dick against her heat. She moans softly and arches her back further and I slip inside just barely. And then I'm pushing and pushing and then my hips are pressed flush against her.

"Fuck." I groan and drop my head to her shoulder. She's so fucking hot and tight.

"Mmmm." Bella nudges my face with hers and our lips are melting against one another's as I pull back a few inches and push slowly back in. I do it slow and soft the first few times until she starts panting and moaning and asking for more.

I push up on my hands and pump in and out of her, still slow, but firmer, my eyes trained on the way I disappear inside her, then come back out, the condom covered now with Bella's juices.

"You feel so good," she murmurs, closing her eyes.

I pick up the pace and she gasps, her eyes popping open as I continue to move in and out of her, becoming more forceful with each stroke until I'm entering and leaving her in quick rhythmic movements, the sound of slapping skin and the smell of sex permeating the air.

"Bella," I say gruffly, leaning down to wrap my mouth around one of her nipples. "Oh fuck. Oh yea."

I can feel the coil in my stomach tightening and I move my hand down to where we're joined, pressing down on her slippery clit, making her cry out against me as I continue moving in and out of her swiftly.

"Bella, come," I practically beg, unable to hold off my own impending release.

I feel her tighten around me and I'm gone. A sharp heat exploding in my abdomen and my dick as I spill into her. She moans and cries out my name over and over as her own orgasm washes over her. I keep moving until my movements turn into a slow, circular grind against her heat. I feel myself begin to soften inside her and I pull out, placing a heated kiss against her neck, moving my mouth up to hers and claiming her eager one, our lips slick with saliva, our lower halves pressed against one another.

I can feel my dick already stirring as I gently rub myself against her wetness. I can feel Bella's arousal on her thighs and on my lower stomach and for some reason it really turns me on. When I gaze down at her blissful expression, eyes closed, biting her lip, a swell of pride takes over and I press another sound kiss to her lips, leaving her breathless before I pull away from her and pull the condom off, tossing it aside until I can dispose of it properly. I move back towards her and wrap my arm under her shoulders, pulling her against me.

Bella lifts her leg up and drapes it over mine, her cheek pressed against my chest.

"Mmm," she hums. "You're heart's beating so fast."

I place a kiss on the top of her head. "That's what you do to me."

She smiles up at me, stroking my chest softly. And by the look in her eyes I know. We both fucking know. Everything is different now.