Stephenie Meyer... owns everything except my story.

Beach had all the questions this week and Vampyregirl86 hardly changed anything - thanks again, girls.
You are both so different that between us, we seem to catch everything - I hope.

I loved how surprised you were to meet Jimmy! Bwahaha!

...

Chapter 25 – Stalker

Edward

It seemed like I had been lying there watching her for hours. The light morning breeze wafted in every now and then, catching her hair and adding to my overall fascination. She looked like a little girl when she slept, much different to the vixen who kept me up half the night.

She had shown herself to be a multitude of conflicting women. There was the girl who dearly wanted her mother, but acted as if she didn't care. Then there was another version who could disable a mugger, but who would also run naively into danger with a vulnerability that terrified me. She had no idea how beautiful she was, yet she could blossom into a siren if I made her feel sexy. She blushed by day and seduced me by night, bringing out my latent sexuality that had been buried for years.

She captivated me, making me wonder which Bella would appear next.

The one who woke up was an angel. She opened her eyes with a half-awake smile and raised her tiny hand to my face before running her fingers through my unruly hair.

"You're so beautiful."

"I was just thinking the same thing myself, Puss. I have been lying here admiring you sleeping."

Her eyes opened wide and she said, "Did that really happen last night?"

"Which 'that' are you referring to?"

"Hmm, you are definitely showing signs of having fetishes, Edward Cullen."

"Maybe," I said with a smirk, feeling a little self-conscious.

Keeping those sexy panties partly on was a very good idea.

I have to say, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself this morning. I had crossed a couple of things off my bucket list last night – I made my girlfriend scream the place down in the throes of ecstasy and I entered the world of anal – well not with my dick, just my finger, but I know it is coming – pun fully intended.

She was the one who said she wanted to investigate it, and I'd thought about it a lot since that day in France. I peeled the panties down just enough for me to fuck her properly and I was really enjoying the feeling of my fingers inside them, playing with her most sensitive bits while buried deep inside her, like I am when she's on all fours. It was right there in front of me, tempting me to do it, and she was already pretty worked up when the opportunity presented itself so there was plenty of lubrication on my fingers to use.

The thing was… she was clenching me so tightly that I was imagining exactly what her ass would feel like and when I decided to go for it with my finger, she spurred me on with a resounding 'Yes' and moans that started deep in her throat and ended up as high pitched wails as I went deeper. I had never felt an orgasm like this one. It went on and on, bringing on my own monster explosion.

The problem was that damn wooden headboard made a hell of a racket in the middle of the night and combined with the screams, I knew there would be consequences once we left this room and had to face the world. It wasn't that I felt guilty; it's just that I have a brother who will jump at any opportunity to make fun of me – even though he's nearly 30 years old.

I thought we looked normal when we came out, showered and ready for another day of physical labor and to his credit, Emmett didn't say anything directly to Bella. When we put the bags in the trunk while the girls went ahead to get us a table for breakfast, he banged on the roof of his car, air humping and mimicking her screams - he had definitely heard us. I didn't have to say anything. He knew what I went through with Tanya and he was pleased for me now but he just couldn't break out of the ingrained dynamic between us. I didn't really care. It felt good to be the bad boy just once.

The morning was a killer of backbreaking work, loading debris onto trucks and clearing blocks of land for hours, the sweat trickling down and stinging our eyes. When we arrived back at the tent for lunch, I saw a group of people in uniform, eating together and looking as hot as I felt.

My girlfriend, the angel, met us with freezing cold sodas and said she would bring us our lunch. When she returned, I asked her who the group was and she said there was good news and bad news. She said they were from emergency services, shutting the water off due to contamination and that there would be no shower in town before we left for Seattle. Fantastic – three and a half hours in the car after a day like this was not going to be pretty. Then she excitedly went on that she had loads to tell me about James and Jimmy. I asked her incredulously if that was the good news and she shook her head laughing, saying lots of families were staying at the lodge at Lake Crescent and we could all shower there before leaving.

She said that Brad had brought Jimmy in this morning so he could apologize and she brushed it off, saying he should never have left. She was telling Brad about Emmett's reaction to the photos he had seen of the home he had built and Brad said if we had time, we should call in on the way back and see it. Emmett said yes right away, even though I reminded him it would add hours to the drive back. He told me I was boring and said all I had to do was sleep in the back seat, so I just huffed and agreed. I didn't have the energy to argue.

By five, we were showered and ready to leave the lodge. Everyone was exhausted but in good spirits. We had accomplished a lot in two days and Charlie was very appreciative, so much so that he hugged us all with what looked like a tear in his eye. Renee said she would stay on for a few more days and asked if we would like to come visit her in Florida. Bella looked at me for an answer and when I smiled, she hugged her mother, saying we would definitely come down for a weekend and soon. Now the two of them were teary as well.

Rosie was the worst, however. The tears started as soon as we drove away. She asked Bella if she truly realized what a wonderful man her father was, crying to the point she had to blow her nose. It set Bella off as well and I ended up holding her in the back while she cried it out. It had been an emotional roller coaster, especially for someone like Bella who had grown up there, seeing it wiped out like that. She clutched on to me as I smoothed her hair, trying to comfort her.

I woke up to the GPS announcing we had reached our destination.

We were driving down a narrow dirt lane in a forest bathed in deep shadow. There was a break in the trees about 100 yards in and glimpses of the lake came into view. There it was - Brad Hunter's weird and wonderful creation. My mouth fell open – it looked like a giant wooden spaceship in the middle of a clearing in the forest.

Emmett jumped out of the truck, his hand covering his mouth and I shook my head in absolute disbelief. I had never seen anything like it.

"God, it's incredible. This is a one of a kind." Emmett leaned on the front of the car with a look of awe on his face. "Are there keys, Bella?"

She stretched and checked out the building before walking around to the left of the porch and fiddling with a combination lock. She opened a tiny door and produced a set of two keys. "Voilà!" she said with the cutest smile. "You want to see inside?"

There were three feet high posts supporting the giant yurt, making it appear to be hovering off he ground, with a set of stairs leading up to a narrow porch with beautifully crafted chairs. Emmett used the key to open one of the doors and folded it back, latching it onto a metal eye in the wall, chuckling at its perfect simplicity.

It was like walking into a Lord of the Rings set. The sloped roof towered above us and you couldn't help but look at the detail. It seemed like every piece of timber was lovingly placed and the joints were exact in their angles. Everything was on show. He hadn't covered anything with internal walls but there were woven hangings and other indigenous looking artifacts that decorated the design very well. No deer antlers here, for this was a serene relaxing place, not a hunting lodge. There were a few horizontal rods supported from the roof by ropes with fabric bunched against the outer wall on big wooden rings, ready to pull across to create a privacy barrier, but other than that, the whole space was open.

The engineering was incredible.

A circular bench formed a kitchen in front of a huge freestanding combination stove oven with a metal chimney that went all the way to the center of the roof.

Emmett's face lit up in awe. "Wow, that's a firebox! It circulates heat for the stovetop and for the oven below. That would keep this whole place warm in winter it's so amazingly efficient. There's a heat exchanger at the back that produces hot water as well. Jesus, come and see the bathroom!"

In the back was a beautiful claw footed bath, basin and an overhead shower. Bella said one word, "Um…" and we all looked at each other and laughed because there was no privacy at all.

While it was a crazy, artistic and well-built structure, it wasn't what I'd call a place to live permanently. I like doors on my bedroom and bathroom, big windows, and security. I'm a city boy, not a hippy – sue me.

I walked out to look at the lake and spotted what looked like the old house, no more than a shack 50 yards away. The front door wasn't even locked and revealed a gloomy room with a table and chairs, a tiny kitchen and one small bedroom. It amazed me to think how Brad could have lived here while working on the house. God I was so spoiled – and the pain in my muscles told me I had definitely gone soft.

I began to snoop around, picking up things, interested in how you would organize your stuff so you could live in this tiny space. I stepped into the bedroom and turned an old-fashioned key in the door of an ancient wardrobe. As I pulled on the handle, the whole thing wobbled and then something fell down on me – a cardboard box - spilling photos out on the floor. I dropped down to pick them up, suddenly feeling guilty for intruding on Brad's personal space, when one of them caught my eye, and then another.

They were all photos of Bella, some older shots of her graduating high school, looking so young and beautiful, but mostly more recent ones of her in Seattle, doing everyday things like getting into her car, leaving her old downtown office, out with friends, walking around the streets with Rosie, even some of her outside our current building. Whoever took the shots was obsessed with his subject. Some of the photos were grainy, maybe zoomed in on the computer before printing. I sat down on the squeaky bed, sifting through them, confused and frightened. I looked up to find Bella standing in the doorway with Rosie peeking over her shoulder.

"Whatcha got there?"

I handed the box to her and said, "Who the hell are these people?"

I watched her tiny fingers shaking as she went through the photos chanting the word 'fuck' repeatedly.

"That's me!" Rosie called out in surprise. "That was months ago. Who took these photos?"

Bella shook her head and handed Rosie the box, unable to look at them any longer.

Rosie kept on with her commentary on the individual photos. "Look at this one! It looks like you knew you were being photographed!"

Bella held a corner, biting her bottom lip. "Jesus, how close was the photographer?"

Five minutes later, we had calmed Bella down enough to call Charlie on speakerphone because this was not something we could ignore – whoever owned this had been stalking her and we were holding the evidence. Charlie wanted to know why I had gone into the shack and when I admitted that it was just curiosity, he told us to take photos of the room, the wardrobe, the box and its contents spread out somewhere, sending them to him by phone. He told us to put the box back and that he would talk to Brad as soon as he viewed them.

He sounded frustrated when he said he always thought there was something not right about Jimmy, not looking forward to the conversation with Brad, saying he sometimes hated his job. Charlie told me not to let Bella out of my sight until he got this cleared up before ending the call. I took the pictures with Bella's phone and she walked out. When I followed her, she had her face in her hands and when she saw me, she hugged me, asking me why this was happening to her.

She repeated what Jimmy had said, that James had seen a couple of photos of her before coming to Seattle. She wanted to know what this meant. Did Jimmy have more photos or did James take them in Seattle and give them to Jimmy? She was shaking and angry now, trying to make sense of it, saying she just wanted to go home. It was getting dark and I hollered out to Emmett, telling him we wanted to head out. He exited the house with a huge smile on his face that dissolved when he saw us comforting Bella. The keys were put back and we got out of there, leaving the tiny town of Lake Cushman behind us.

Heading south on 101 five minutes later, we drove past a casino lit up on the main road called the 'Lucky Dog' and we were stunned into silence. I think we were all sorry we had ever read one word of the damn book.

- bURN -

The only words she had said since leaving Brad's house were 'thank you' when I handed her a cup of tea as she sat at our table, staring blankly. I think she believed that if she didn't speak about it, the problem would go away, or I wouldn't know how scared she was.

"Bella, you said you had loads more to tell me about James and Jimmy." I said, trying to open up a conversation.

She breathed out a sigh and mumbled, "I really don't think it's important. It had nothing to do with me." Her eyes crossed to the window, trying to look anywhere but into my eyes. "I just wish I'd never met James." She looked beaten, but at least she was talking.

I ran my palm over her head and said, "Bella, your dad will sort everything out. I can't handle your silence, baby. Please tell me. I want to help you."

"Can't we just go to bed and forget it?"

I felt her tense and move her head away so I spoke very softly.

"Yes, but you seemed pretty eager to tell me this morning."

"Okay!" she snapped at me, taking the cups to the kitchen. "Let's talk in bed."

I checked that we had locked the front door and turned out the lights before following her into our bedroom. She had already taken off her shoes and jeans and now she was removing the bed covers, like a robot, ignoring my question.

"Well, go on."

She huffed and sat down on the bed. "Their father was on vacation after finishing college. He and two friends took a road trip across the States and were in Sequim for a week. He fucked Piper Hunter and Karen Hampton during his stay, no protection, and James and Jimmy were the result."

"Is there a reason they are both named James or is it just a coincidence?" I kept her going, while I undressed myself.

"Yeah, actually, he conned both of them into believing he was looking for a nice girl to become his wife. He's such an asshole. He called himself 'James the Second' and said his first-born son would take the name 'James' in the family tradition. These two poor sixteen-year-old girls expected him to come back and take responsibility but he never returned one single letter they sent."

I stacked up a couple of pillows each for us and got in under the sheets. "What a creep. You said before that James found his father, that he gave him money."

"Yes. He took off to kill the bastard when he found out who he was. His mother let the story slip one night when she was drunk. She's an alcoholic, Edward. The guy destroyed her life. That's why I say James has no-one."

I plugged in my phone to charge and patted the spot next to me. "But his father acknowledged him."

She pulled her t-shirt over her head and took off her bra. "No, he didn't, Edward; not really. Not how he should have, anyway. He gave James access to a bank account and told him to shut his mouth or the money would dry up. James threatened to expose him and that's the essence of their relationship – one threat against another." She picked up the jeans and threw the rest of her clothes in the hamper. Then she plugged in her phone as well.

I held up the sheet for her and let her nestle in my arms. "Does Jimmy know?"

She nodded. "They want nothing to do with him. Brad became the father figure in that family." She put her arm around me, snuggling in to my chest.

"So when did they find out they were brothers?" I started to play with her hair, taking long sections and trailing them over her shoulder.

She sighed contentedly, finally beginning to relax. "It was the ADHD that finally brought them together. They were both at the same high school, failing badly. Jimmy seemed slow and James punched holes in walls. The counselors suspected a problem and sent them off for brain tests at the hospital. The two women met in the waiting room, talking while the hours of testing took place and they worked it out."

"Do they see each other now?"

I felt her shake her head against my chest. "Karen has been drunk ever since then apparently. Finding out he had done the same thing to another child proved to her he was never coming back. The first-born-son thing was no longer important and I guess she gave up."

"That is so sad." I took in everything she had said and she pulled her extra pillow out from under her so she could lie down. I started to get mine when something occurred to me. "Hang on; aren't these people supposed to be on medication? Jimmy is still pretty weird."

"Piper actually spoke about that. James' mother did nothing about medication and James took off. Brad and Piper are totally different. They decided to use diet and lifestyle in the hope that Jimmy would grow out of it, but he's… he can't pass exams, like he's never even passed his learners driving permit test. That is why Dad couldn't find anything on him. He's not part of main stream society."

I grabbed a pillow and threw it on the chair. Then we settled into our comfortable snuggling position.

"So maybe they made the wrong decision. Everyone feels differently about those drugs. My parents would have done anything to help me get through it."

Her head lifted off my chest and she looked into my eyes. "Edward, your parents are wonderful. You don't know how lucky you are."

I smiled at her, watching her begin to perk up. "Hey, I think your Dad likes me. He asked me to come back soon."

She smiled back at me – yes. "My Mom thinks you are the best thing that's ever happened to me… I just wish…" The smile dissolved. I ran my finger along her jaw and tipped her face up to me again.

"Bella, I don't know what has gone down between you and your mother, but I can assure you that she loves you. She is very proud of you. She even invited us to visit her."

She blew out a breath. "We'll make sure we have refundable tickets."

"Why do you say that?"

"Edward, I know she loves me. She's just… mercurial. This has happened before. A week before the visit, she'll call and say she has something else going on that she forgot about and the trip will get cancelled." Her hand brushed over my chest and down my side. I rubbed my hand down her arm to encourage her.

"Don't write her off, babe. This weekend away gives us something to look forward to and we kinda need that right now."

"You know what? I have something else in mind." She leaned on me with her tits maddeningly pressing against my chest. I put my arms around her and smiled.

"Tell me."

"I think we should get a place of our own. It's time for me to spend some of that insurance money. I don't want to be living in Rosie's place forever. Don't you think it's a little small if we are going to stay with each other?"

"What do you mean, if I'm staying?" I just had to tickle her. She had no chance of getting rid of me now.

She started squirming and screamed, "Okay, okay, it's settled!" She pulled my hands away and pinned me down, beaming at me slightly out of breath.

"Can I bring my piano?" I looked into her beautiful eyes, which were now brighter than they had been in hours.

She kissed me again, touching my jaw reverently. "I want you to bring every part of you."

"I love you, Puss. So much."

"And I love you too, roommate. I really do."

...

A/N

Welcome to the new favs and followers this week! I do hope some of you will leave me a review.
And thank you to those who read over at TWCS, thinking I don't appreciate your reads and reviews. I do. I just don't feel comfortable responding on their website, not knowing if you'll even see it.

The rec of the week from Beach is 'Worth the weight' by mathisson. Light angst. No-one can resist an Edward who is hot, charming and kind, right? It's going on my list.

After what was supposed to be a routine heath check, Bella finds herself at a crossroads. Change her habits or face the consequences. Her decisions leads her to meet Edward, a nice guys who just wanted to help her. But when he wants more, will Bella be her own worst enemy? HEA as always. CC Rated M for a reason. All human.