*Disclaimer - Sadly, I own nothing of Twilight with the exception of merchandise, bought and paid for. I do, however, own my love for borrowing the characters and playing with them however I choose to. I thank Stephenie Meyer for creating the TwiWorld and for allowing us to have our fun with it. She owns Twilight, the insanity it created in my mind is my own.

Shug is my amazing beta-reader. A million thanks, hon. Thanks to msj2779 for reassurance and encouragement with our chapter for a chapter exchange, with treats. :D And readers, every review is so valued. Whether you love him, or hate him, whether you trust Edward, or not, your faith in my stories to keep reading week after week is so inspiring. THANK YOU!

And here we go...

Whatever Works

Queen for One Night

"Three times huh?" Edward quipped when I told him how un-virginal I was. "Whew! That's a lot of pressure on a guy to outperform."

"Three times total, Edward. Not three times at once."

He tugged me into his arms as he flopped back against the couch again, much more at ease now. "I know, silly. I'm teasing."

"Well, get it all out now. I'm sure there's more in there."

"Nope. That's about it, really."

No way. "Really? Nothing to say on the other end of it? My vast sexual experience is an easy target. Would it be better or worse to be a virgin?" Two can play at smart-ass.

"Um…" He tilted his head back and scratched at the growth under his chin. He was giving this some serious thought. I was either going to get one helluva zinger tossed at me or another mature talk… I hoped it wouldn't induce more tears. Either way.

"It's not that important –"

"No, it is. I'm going to answer. I'm just trying to figure out how to put it without sounding like a dick."

Okay. It would be a combo – a serious zinger. I was actually looking forward to that. "Out with it. Dick or not."

Low, evil laughter rumbled through his extended throat. "That goes with the theme – virgin or not," he quipped. "Okay. My thoughts… and I can't be held as judge and jury on this because my own record is highly questionable. Ready?" He shifted his eyes to me but didn't draw his head forward. I nodded. "Right. Better to be a virgin in that it would mean no other asshole has ever had his Pooh Bear in your honey pot."

I giggled. A lot. And then it made me think of the Flopsy Bunny talk and envisioned him… not floppy… Ahhhh… go on, witty beautiful man who can talk like a dick and still make me laugh harder than anyone ever could.

"Worse to be a virgin, because it's a lot of work for a guy. Not the leading up to part… that should be the same either way. It's just easier to drill for oil if the well is already prepped – no having to take it layer by layer, breaking through the Earth's crust."

"Gee, that is a lot of work. You drill?"

"I have drilled. It's not to say I have to drill. What about you?"

"I can honestly say, I've never drilled."

He chuckled and finally brought his face down to mine, smiling to match my own grin. "Have you been drilled, and if so, did you like it?"

I tossed my head back, as he had. "How do I put this without sounding like a bitch?"

Edward laughed and placed his head back with mine. "Be a bitch, my love. Let's hear it."

"Drilled, perhaps, but definitely not thrilled," I quipped.

He gasped and choked on a laugh. "James was not a considerate lover?"

"James was a horndog, straight and simple. He put it in, moved a bit, grunted, and pulled his pants back up. Pretty much it."

"Oh Bella!" Edward stroked my exposed jawline with his long, tender fingers. "You deserved so much better! I hate thinking of an asshole sweating on top of you, but it happened. And you should have been his queen. At least for those days."

My smile felt like it would extend to my ears. "See? There you go making a girl feel special."

He didn't laugh. He didn't crack a joke. He didn't caress me further. Instead, he eased out from behind me and sat on the floor in front of me, working his magic on my ankles and calves. "Bella, when I get my shit together, and I'm worthy enough… would you ever consider… I'd like to try to do better than that. You should have had better."

"A first time do-over?" I teased him, twisting my fingers in his already wild hair.

He nodded, wide-eyed. "With a different lover. Me, actually." A nervous laugh followed, and he buried his face against my lap. "I'm sorry. I can't believe I just did that. I have no right asking you to wait or go against your feelings about the contract we do have. Which, by the way, if you really think of it, you work for my mum, not me. I'm not your boss so it wouldn't be morally wrong to engage –"

"You don't think of me as an employee?" I cut off his rambling because that, right there, was paramount.

"No." He stared at me with a sincerity that touched me and then broke into a grin. "Conversely, these toes…" He ran his lips along the tops of one set. "…fucking own me. Even without a contract."

A fluttering inside ignited all sorts of emotions, and I willed myself not to cry. "I hate that I'm under contract," I whispered.

"Let's tear it up. I don't want you hating anything about being here. And I never want you to feel that anything between us will affect what you do with Mum. She needs you. You are the best thing that could have happened to her since the accident – no matter what, your place with her is secure."

That fluttering was full-fledged throbbing. "I don't ever want you to think you're not secure. I won't ever say or sell a word or picture or hair from your head, but you need the security behind those papers. I won't tear it up."

"Will you wait then? She's getting much better."

"No." Heat joined the throbbing, and I couldn't take it anymore. "I can't wait." I pulled myself forward abruptly, and his head slammed against my pelvis. I apologized as he shot up, and he apologized and stood, rushing over to the bar and then pacing towards the balcony, and then back to the bar.

"I… fuck… I need a smoke…" He finally located a crushed package under the bar and headed for the balcony. "Bella, I'm really sorry I put you in this position. I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable. Please know that wasn't my intention."

"Edward!" I flew off the couch, stopping him in his tracks before his misunderstanding went any further. "I can't wait… I want you… I need you. Now." And then I was on him, connecting, all lips, and tongues, and teeth, hands everywhere. Breathing felt impossible. For all intents and purposes, I attacked him. I didn't want to stop long enough to think about breathing, and all I could think about was Edward and how his voice, his mouth, his hands, and eyes, and arms holding me so tightly made me feel. I was floating and drowning. And if he was flotsam, I was the tide hauling him away from anything else that he was drawn to – I wanted all of it. He gave it freely.

When we parted for an essential breath, he held my face in his hands, eyeing me with wonderment. The lust in his eyes showed he understood and matched my desire. A soft moan escaped his lips as he peppered my face with tender kisses, and that moan did me in. I was practically climbing him, trying to get every physical connection I possibly could with him. With an appreciative chuckle, he hoisted me up, grabbing hold of my butt as my legs clenched around his waist. No Flopsy Bunny here!

He staggered across the room, gripping my ass as we kissed and I mauled him – as if I'd fall if he let go. No chance. My legs were locked in place behind his back. The steel rod in his pants was a homing device for me, and there was no way I was losing track of it. He snickered when I stubbornly refused to release him but eventually coaxed me into letting him set me on the bed. I kneeled and worked on his shirt buttons as we kissed. He tugged my shirt over my head and paid homage to every inch of flesh on my shoulders, neck, collarbone, finally dipping his tongue between my breasts as he reached behind me to unclasp my bra. I stripped his shirt down his shoulders, and he let it fall behind him, both of us topless.

His eyes glinted in the moonlight as he admired me. I wondered briefly if I looked even a fraction as good to him as he looked to me. He was a demi-god, standing there in the shadows. Smooth white skin with just the right ripples. Soft scatterings of hair, in just the right places. It reminded me of how I wanted to rub my nose on his forearm – so I did. He exhaled sharply and pulled me against his torso as my face slid across his arm with the barest of touches. His eyes were closed when I looked up, and when my fingers replaced the touch of my lips on him, he opened them and smiled, gently urging me to lie back on the bed.

He kissed my lips with a grin, my cleavage with a groan, and then my bellybutton with a snicker before he slid off the bed. "Just putting some music on. Don't move." He docked his iPod and started it hastily, returning to me in seconds. I hadn't even had time to regulate my breathing. Crawling up the bed, he moved one of my legs to the side so that he was in between them, and then his lips met mine with the sweetest, most tender kiss imaginable.

The music started, and I vaguely recognized the soulful voice of Van Morrison, but not the song. Edward chuckled softly against my skin as he kissed his way down my torso, sliding his fingers into the waistband of my pants. He slid them and my panties off together, and I felt completely vulnerable as he stared down at my totally nude form. Did he see a stick bug when he looked at me like this?

Van sang:
I will come to you
And tell you of your many charms
You'll look at me
With eyes that see…

His lips were on me again, this time starting at my toes and working his way up. Gently he twisted my hips so he could run his tongue along the back of one knee. My entire body quivered at the sensation and practically seized as his lips moved up the back of my thigh. His breath blew against me in quick spurts as he laughed before nibbling on the crease between my thigh and backside. I sucked in a breath as he sucked in a cheek, returning me to lie flat before I even registered that he had just bitten my ass.

I was in sensation overload as the tips of his hair tickled my pelvic bone, and his tongue teased my upper thigh, and Van crooned on – I'll be your king, you'll be my queen…

Gah! So perfect!

Edward chuckled again and peered up at me from between my legs. "I swear to God, I didn't put this on intentionally. It's on shuffle."

I hadn't noticed, but sometime during his utterance, he had spread my legs further apart and bent one knee. He had his palm on my inner thigh while his thumb swept across my tender folds. My hips bucked at his touch, and he brought his mouth down, joining both thumbs that now tickled and tantalized. I sucked in a noisy breath, and he blew one out with a moan, his breath hot on my flaming sensitive flesh. If I thought his mouth did magic with lips and toes and arms, the new sensation he created was positively enchanting. I began squirming as I felt the rare tingles of the big O approaching, and he didn't let up on his tender movements; instead he added a long finger to the mix as he kissed me and whispered, "Just relax, sweetheart. Let me do this for you… please…"

It's not polite to refuse someone who's being so nice – he did say please – so I obliged. With force. And a mewling whimper, and a leg-lock on the man's head. As soon as the crest ended, the mortification kicked in. Oh my god. He is NEVER going to do that again!

He coaxed my legs apart by tickling the underside of my butt cheeks, placing a soft, wet kiss on each thigh before coming up for air. At least he was still able to breathe. He had a self-satisfied look on his face, so I figured I hadn't actually damaged him.

"That was beautiful." His voice was hoarse and so fucking sexy it made me want to shove him back down where he was heading away from. "Do you want me to go rinse before I kiss you?" He was licking the fullest parts of my breasts, holding onto my hips.

He wanted an answer. Um… did I? I had no idea. No one had ever kissed me there let alone kissed my mouth afterwards. Is that what usually happened? "What do you usually do?" I asked tentatively.

He smiled at me, not a condescending smile for the almost-virgin, but rather one that said he wanted to show me everything that would make me feel like I just had. "I would request that –" he tipped his head towards my pelvis "– every morning and every night. You taste even better than I imagined." His fingers dipped down, swirling around and gathering some of my wetness, and he brought his fingers up to his mouth and licked one, easing his body further up mine, he pressed the same finger against my lips.

It was like an aphrodisiac, sucking my flavor off his divine fingers. I then tugged on his head to taste his mouth and got high on the mixture of our scents and tastes. It was then that I realized he still had his pants on. He had seen – and sucked on – every inch of me, and I hadn't even gotten a glimpse of him naked… at least not the front view. That had to be rectified.

When he was as naked as me and back between my legs, he stroked my cheek and looked longingly into my eyes. "Are you sure about this?"

"I want to feel you," I replied in a voice that didn't resemble anything I'd ever heard from myself.

He kissed the tip of my nose and raised his hips, bringing my hand down to introduce me to what I dared to hope would soon be filling me. It was both steel and silk at the same time.

"Not floppy," I remarked with a smirk.

"Nope," he agreed with a chuckle. "Um... I've been tested. Every time I start a new job – which is like, four times this past year, so I'm good." His voice was soft, apologetic.

I kissed him in a way that I hoped he understood meant I trusted in him. 'Use Somebody' came on, and even though I loved Kings of Leon, Van's haunting melodies still swam through my mind. Edward was reaching over to the drawer in his nightstand.

"Do you have a preference?" he asked quietly and smiled when I shook my head. "We'll go with mine then."

He expertly took care of business, tossing the empty wrapper aside, and as he slid inside, he kissed me like I was his queen. With each stroke, he gazed lovingly at me, like I was his queen. After every pulsating muscle in my body ceased contracting in ecstasy, he kissed me like I was his queen. And when his eyes squeezed shut and he issued the most erotic moan I'd ever heard, he kissed me like I was his queen.

~ 0 ~

Edward lured me into the shower after our lovemaking. I had been reluctant, preferring to stay wrapped in his arms in bed, but once enticed, I wasn't disappointed. He had shampooed my hair for me, massaging my scalp and kissing my shoulders. He let me lather him up as well, his chest, his luscious white ass, and everything in between. Even after what we'd just done together, I felt my cheeks redden when he grew stiff in my hands as I bathed his most sensitive parts. He lovingly rinsed off my very tender bits between my legs, stating that soap may irritate right now. He used plenty of water in a gentle stream instead, and then dried me off and carried me back to his bed.

Lying across his chest, Edward drew lazy circles on my back, lulling me with his easy touches and soft breaths against my damp hair.

"So...?" His low voice broke the silence. We didn't even have music on at that point. "Was that a little better than the other three?"

I snickered euphorically against him, hugging him tight. "You can't even begin to imagine. Thank you."

He snorted. "Don't thank me, Bella. That was the bare minimum of what you should have. You still deserve everything else that should have come with that."

Silly man – didn't he know he had given me everything? Lying in his arms, I was his queen. "Edward, what was that song? The Van one... I've never heard it before."

He snickered and kissed my head. "It's called 'I'll Be Your Lover Too'. Great love song. I never fully got it until..."

"Until what?" I encouraged him to continue when he cut off his words.

He shook his head. "Nah. Nothing says pussy more than crying after sex. Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

Just you, my king... my lover, too… "I'm good. You should get some sleep."

He mumbled his agreement, and we kissed each other goodnight. I slept, wrapped in his arms, dreamless. My best dream was reality – I was his queen. At least for one night.

A/N ~ Well, Bella threw caution to the wind and went with her own emotional pull in the moment. Ever had a moment where you were so certain about something, you just acted on impulse this way? Regrets? I'd like to think Bella is not the only one who ever just went with her heart. Thanks for reading, all. XX ~ SR