I do not own Twilight; I just play with the characters.

Okay, sorry it took me so long to update but I had a bout of writers block. This chapter is short I know but I just couldn't resist putting in a little something. Hope you like it and I will get to work on the rest of the story as soon as I can get to it. Enjoy and Review please.

EPOV

Over the next week Bella improved somewhat. She still hadn't spoken a single word but she was finally starting to feel safe. She no longer hid behind me but she still had to have some kind of physical contact with either me, Alice, Esme, and to my utter astonishment, Rosalie. Rosalie's dislike towards Bella had ebbed due to her attack. Rosalie had suffered far worse when she was human but still she felt closer to Bella because of their similar experience. I didn't object because it seemed to help Bella to know that someone else had been trough something like her.

Bella would now sit in the living room with my entire family including my brothers. Emmet and Jasper would keep their distance, of course, but it was still a huge step for Bella to sit in the same room with them. I didn't know whether it was because they knew that she needed space or if they were just afraid of Alice.

The week had gone by mostly incident free. I had to keep my promise to her so on the third day of her stay I went hunting. It tore my heart to shreds when I had to leave her but I couldn't let her stress needlessly about my thirst. I didn't wan to leave but she had insisted, in her own way, for me to go. She had put up a good front until I left. She just smiled at me and pushed me to the door.

My brothers had chased a small herd of deer close to our house so I was only apart from her for about thirty minutes but this was apparently too much for Bella to handle. When I returned home I found Bella in a full blown panic attack. She was on the floor in the living room cradled in Alice's arms with Rosalie stroking her back, trying to calm her. I rushed to Bella's side, pulling her into my arms.

"What happened?" I quickly asked my sisters.

Alice shook her head morosely.

Well, after you left, she just sort of fell apart. She seemed fine at first but suddenly she started gasping for air and she just collapsed. I caught her before she hit the floor but she just wouldn't calm down. Both Rose and I tried to comfort her by telling her that you would be back soon but there was nothing that we could do or say to calm her down.

Her thoughts were laced with sorrow as she showed me what happened in her mind.

I pulled Bella closer to my chest and looked into her eyes. Panic flowed through me as her eyes had that all too familiar not seeing glaze to them. I couldn't lose her again, not again.

"Bella ,love, I'm here now. I'm back, calm down," I tried to comfort her to no avail.

I kissed the top of her head, her forehead, her cheek but no response. Her heart was thundering in her chest, her breath still coming in gasps. I didn't know what to do; she had been doing so well. So I decided to do the one thing that I had refrained from doing since I had come back for her.

I kept my eyes locked on hers and leaned down, brushing her lips lightly with my own. She blinked twice and moved her eyes fractionally to look into mine. She pulled her hands up and entangled them in my hair, deepening the kiss and I let out a sigh of relief against her lips. I would never do this to her again.

I hesitantly pulled away from her lips. There was no place I would rather be but I needed her breathing to slow before she passed out and I knew form previous experience that our kissing only made her breathing more ragged.

My eyes never left hers as I pulled away and I saw her mouth pull down at the corners. She was just as disappointed as I was when our lips separated. This made my heart swell. I waited a few moments and her breathing started to slow and I smiled my crooked smile down at her.

"Feeling better?" I asked.

She dipped her head in embarrassment but I pulled her chin up so I could look her in the eye.

"Don't be embarrassed, love. I feel the exact same way when I have to leave you," I admitted freely.

"I think Bella could use a hot bath," Alice interrupted, "it will help calm her down." she finished the last part in her head.

"Would you like that?" I asked Bella and she nodded.

I moved to hand her off to Alice but Alice just put up her hands and shook her head.

"I can't, I'm going hunting," she gave me an evil grin and started shouting some obnoxious song by Brittany Spears in her head. I quirked my eyebrow at her

What did she have in that evil little mind of hers now?

"Rosalie?" I turned to my other sister.

"No, I'm going too," she said.

Her thoughts were actually on the hunt. She was feeling the burn in her throat more forcefully from being so close to Bella for so long. She wanted to hunt before things might get out of hand. I nodded my head to her; I understood her pain all too well.

Bella tried to get up so I helped her to her feet and she took my hand in hers. She led me upstairs and into the bathroom. She started the water in the large tub and reached for the bottom of her shirt. I quickly turned my back to her and gave her some privacy. I heard a frustrated huff escape her lips, a few moments later the water splashed as she got in.

The sound of her washing her body flooded my mind with impure thoughts and I shook my head to try and dissipate them. Thinking about her being in the water, naked, just inches from me was not helping with my thoughts and certainly not with the now growing bulge in my pants.

I heard a louder splash and suddenly the back of my shirt was soaked.

I reflexively spun around and said, "Hey!"

Bella had slumped down in the large tub, only her eyes peered over the edge looking at me. The smile in her eyes exhilarated me. It was a mixture of joy and mischief; she was starting to resemble the old Bella. I narrowed my eyes at her playfully and pulled my dripping shirt over my head, throwing it to the floor in front of her, and turned back around.

Another splash and the whole right side of my jeans were wet. I turned again to glare at her but her eyes were filled with mirth so I just smirked and kicked off both my shoes and socks.

I watched with satisfaction as Bella's eyes widened when I unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans, sliding them off. I turned my back again and snickered to myself. I knew she was just playfully teasing me but I also knew that she was not prepared for me to be standing in front of her in just my boxers.

We had never gotten as far as being almost undressed in front of each other, well except for her in the bath. I had made her keep our touching and kissing PG-13 for fear of me losing control and hurting her. I was really starting to struggle with that rule.

After being apart though, I was sure that now I would not hurt her. I loved her too much to even think that I ever would. She was everything to me and my entire being would never allow any harm to come to her because of what I am.

I still couldn't allow us to go too far though, as disappointing as that sounds. I would love nothing more than to just take her to my bed and make love to her over and over again but my morals were stopping that from happening. We were both virgins and the way my human mother raised me, you remained that way until you married.

Stupid morals.

I heard another splash but this time I moved.

"Enough, those aren't coming off," I pointed at my boxers. I couldn't help but smile at the innocent look in her eyes.

"Don't give me that look. Now stop making a mess and hurry up so we can get dressed," she just rolled her eyes and I turned around to let her get out.

She pulled the plug to let the water out. She stepped out and I heard the sound of the towel rubbing her skin and I imagined me rubbing that lovely skin.

Stop it Edward, control yourself.

She wrapped the towel around her body and stepped closer to me.

She slipped her arms around me from behind and laid her cheek on my back. Her skin was deliciously warm against my cold body. The way her hands felt on my bare chest stirred up feelings inside of me that I had been trying to suppress since that day at the hospital.

This is not good.

I felt my boxers getting tighter around me as my arousal became erect.

This is not good.

She slid around me, trailing her fingers across my back, until we were facing each other. She placed both of her hands on my chest and slowly slid them down to my stomach where she stopped. She looked up at me through her long lashes and blood rushed to her cheeks. I knew that she seen the effect she was having on me.

This is not good.

This is the first time that I had seen her blush since I had returned and it was because of me.

I reached my arms around her and pulled her closer to my body. She felt my erection press against her stomach and gasped. The feeling of her body pressed up against my throbbing member was heaven.

I leaned down and gently pressed my lips to hers.

God how I've missed this.

She reached her hand down to the waistband of my boxers and I froze.

This is not good.

I had never let myself be in this position, so tempting, so right, so wrong.

This is not good.

I kept repeating to myself. I wanted Bella more than I had ever wanted anything, ever. But I shouldn't allow this, not now, not after what she had been through.

She slowly slid her hand down the front of my boxers.

This is not good. This is not good. This is not good.

Oh... My... God...this is great!

She wrapped her delicate fingers around my shaft. It was the most amazing felling in the world.

I can't do this, not now. She was too important to me to allow her unstable emotions to get the better of her.

Holy shit!

She moved her hand up and down once, stroking me.

No, this is wrong. I can't do this. As much as my heart and my hard on want to, I can not. This is not the right time.

I heard a loud scream come from the other side of the door.

"Edward! No! You can't!" Alice screamed at me as she burst through the door.

Well now what do you think Alice is talking about? Well stay tuned and find out(evil grin). Thanks for all the reviews and alerts. I do answer every review so please let me know how I am doing so far.~pixdog~