Thank you all for the amazing feedback.

As always, big 'thank you' to CoppertopJ for all the help. Mwah! All mistakes are still mine, because I can't help and change/add stuff in the chapter before posting it.

For all of you concerned about Edward too dominant...there is nothing to worry. He is a Sub in this story. This chapter will prove it, I hope.

The days leading to Bella's birthday were filled with packing bags, because Tia had been generous to book the flight for her first city to promote her new book on the fourteenth of September.

Bella had to convince Edward that he wouldn't be a burden no matter what he decided – either to stay home or tour with her. She had only five cities on the list, anyway, but it was going to be a couple long weeks.

Bella was currently enjoying a day at the spa, as a gift from Alice and Jasper. Bella ended up so relaxed that she didn't even care about the party being thrown at Rosalie's house later in the day. She was happy her friends had decided to do this during the weekend and not on her birthday, which would land on a Wednesday.

When Bella parked in front of her house, she had three hours to get ready and head to her party. She was surprised to find Edward wasn't waiting for her in the hallway, like he usually did when she had to run errands. She'd had a hectic week, and was ready to unwind with her friends, and then later, in the Playroom.

"Edward?" she called, checking the kitchen, but he wasn't there. Though, Freddie was under the table. He gave her the stink eye, and Bella wondered what the hell had happened in her absence. She ambled back into the hallway in time to see Edward leaving the Playroom with an anxious look on his face.

He stopped in his tracks when he spotted her, wincing and running a hand through his hair. "Remember how you lost the red dildo?" he said, before she could scold him for stepping in there uninvited.

"Yes," she answered, confused.

"I cleaned Freddie's spot. I found it chewed amongst his toys."

Bella wasn't sure whether to be horrified or laugh her ass off. "I left it on shelf to dry…in the downstairs bathroom, but it might have fallen during your wrestling match with him when you washed him."

"Oh, shit." Edward grimaced. "I'm sorry."

"Forget it. He didn't eat it, or anything, right?"

"No. It's just chewed and slobbered. I threw it away."

"That makes sense," Bella laughed. "He's under the kitchen table, looking depressed."

"It's not my fault he's a pervert."

Bella laughed some more, heading upstairs to start getting ready for her party. She wasn't a fan of celebrating her birthday, but it was a good excuse to have all her friends in one place.

Alice had taken her shopping, and Bella had ended up with a deep blue lace corset dress. It put all her assets discreetly on display, but she'd never be able to get dressed on her own. Alice had winked and reminded her that Bella had Edward there for a reason.

Bella opted for a shower to remove the excess coconut oil the masseur had used on her body. Then she did her hair in an updo, which took her an embarrassingly long time to accomplish. Next, Bella applied mascara and traced the most badass contour for her eyes she'd done in ages. When her lips were a deep burgundy red, Bella understood she couldn't stall anymore.

She grabbed her dress and went to Edward's room.

He was wearing his dark jeans, and he was in the process of rolling up his sleeves when she stepped into his room.

"Are you naked under that towel, Mistress?" His eyes darkened.

She stared at him, amused. "Yes. I mean, I'm wearing panties."

"Is this party a clothes optional thing?" He frowned.

Bella dangled her corset dress in front of him. "You're going to help get this on."

"Oh." He laughed tensely. "Come here and let me help."

Bella dropped the towel, stepping into her dress, before going to him, keeping a hand over the front of her corset. Edward directed her to brace against the drawers.

He started tugging at the lace ribbons softly, and when he was halfway down her back, Bella straightened to check how tight it was around her waist.

"No, no. Stop. Much tighter. This has to be against my skin. You won't hurt me," she promised.

"I'll tighten it once I have it all the way up. Give me a second, Mistress."

When he was done weaving the lace through the holes, he started tugging at his intricate work, making her lose her breath for a moment.

"Too much?" he checked.

"A tad too much," she confirmed. This was uncharted territory. She usually had control over how tight she tied her corsets, even if she needed Edward's help afterwards to take them off. And her newest models had zippers. With this dress, Bella didn't have the luxury to do the tying herself.

Edward kept tugging and pulling, checking with her every other tug. When he was finally done, Bella turned to look in the mirror and could barely recognize herself. Her breasts were pushed up so high, her nipples were almost showing. The hem of the dress's skirt would barely cover her pussy if she were to sit down or bend over.

As much as Bella loved wearing such daring clothes during playtime, she didn't like showing off in public.

"My God." Edward came to stand behind her. One of his hands was under her skirt, squeezing the flesh of her ass, while the fingertips of his other hands traced the top of her breasts. His eyes were in her cleavage from his spot over her shoulder.

"My eyes are up here, asshole," she joked. His green eyes met hers through the mirror, and Bella saw his cheeks blooming with color. "Keep your hands to yourself."

He whimpered, but dropped his hands from her body, and she felt his loss instantly.

Bella retrieved her stilettos and purse from her room, meeting Edward in the entry hallway.

They drove in silence to Rosalie's house, and when they arrived, Edward locked the doors, turning to look at her intensely. Bella clicked the button to unlock the doors, amused at his nerve. Edward reached across her to keep her door shut when she pulled at the clutch.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Please let me touch you, Mistress. I'm going to die if I can't touch you tonight."

"Is that why you're acting so childish?" Bella slapped his hand away from the door, opening it and stepping out carefully. Then she bent inside the car, making sure he had a perfect view at her breasts. "If you lay a finger on me without my explicit consent tonight, you're going back in the cage. Good luck explaining that at the airport."

"It's going to be interesting telling security about my piercing. What's another shock for them?"

"Do you want me to take you over my knee in front of everyone tonight," she hissed, glaring at him.

Edward had become quite brazen, and Bella wasn't sure how much she enjoyed this side of him.

"Is that a promise, Mistress?"

She felt like she was losing her touch. She had to find something to shut his mouth, but for the moment she allowed him to believe he'd won. If he was smart enough, Edward would understand he shouldn't push her further. Unless, he was an adrenaline junkie and wanted to test her patience threshold.

Emmett whistled loudly when he opened the front door to greet the guest of honor. Bella smiled widely, allowing him to hug her. She could hear Edward's teeth grinding. She was going to have fun for the rest of the evening. This was how she'd break him, though she wasn't sure she wanted to know exactly how he'd react when he'd bend more than he was able.

"Everyone's out in the back. Rose was wondering when you'd arrive."

"You guys said six. It's five-thirty."

"Hi, Emmett," Edward greeted him, extending his hand.

"Hey, man. Come on in," Emmett said, waving them to the back of the house.

Bella fell back in step with Edward, grabbing his elbow. "Behave," she hissed, looking at his expression, which looked taken aback.

"Of course, Mistress." His voice was small and only for Bella to hear.

Thankfully, Rosalie and Emmett's backyard was bigger than Bella's. They even had a cement sidewalk that went to a round patio area where they had a grill, a table with chairs, and even a swing. That was Bella's favorite spot, and it was empty.

"You made it!" Jacob exclaimed from where he was perched on a blanket in the grass. Seth was lying with his head on Jacob's chest.

"We're not late," Bella exclaimed. "We're early, actually."

"Blame Alice for having us here for the past four hours to get everything ready," Jasper drawled from where he was sprawled in one of the chairs at the table.

"Where are Alice and Rose?" Bella asked, sinking onto the swing bench. She quickly caught Edward's bicep before he could kneel on the uninviting cement. She patted the spot next to her.

The bench was so small, if two people sat on it, they were bound to touch.

Edward's jaw clenched, as he sat as far away from her as possible, which was barely three inches away. She could feel his body heat radiating.

Rosalie and Alice ambled out of the house carrying trays of drinks and snacks.

"Haaappy biiirthdaaay," Alice sang.

"Shh! It's not yet," Bella groaned.

"You're here to party with us celebrating your birthday, which is reason enough to toast," Rose declared, pouring drinks in all the glasses. First she handed the glasses filled with amber liquids to Bella and Edward. The others grabbed one from the table.

"Hand two over here," Jacob called from his spot in the grass.

Rosalie huffed. "I'm not your fucking slave."

Jacob pinched Seth's side, making him squirm away, but he went to bring them two glasses.

They toasted, and Bella grimaced at the taste of whiskey. It wasn't her favorite drink. Edward downed his glass. It was the first time she'd seen him actually drinking alcohol.

"If you get drunk, we won't play," she whispered.

His heated look reminded her how she'd played with him while buzzed. Though, he had no right to throw it back at her.

"How was the massage?" Rosalie asked, slumping in a chair and planting her feet in Emmett's lap.

"So good. Thank you, guys," Bella said appreciatively.

"That guy's fingers are magic," Rose acknowledged. "Of course, not better than yours, babe." She winked at Emmett.

Bella snorted, feeling Edward's eyes on hers. "Yeah, his fingers were something else." She wasn't even talking about her masseur. She turned to look at Edward, raising a brow. She was pleased to see him flushing when he caught onto her meaning, but a smug smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Anyway…" Bella leaned closer to the table to place her glass there. She could feel her skirt riding up and exposing her scantily covered ass to Edward. "What's new at the lounge, Jasper?"

"Business is going. I recently hired a jazz band and the patrons love it."

"Oh, I see. We should go there when we get back from the tour," she told Edward.

"You're taking Edward on the tour?" Jacob asked, shocked.

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes, he's accompanying me." Edward became interested in flipping his empty glass between his fingers. Bella pried it from his hands, and leaned to the table again.

"Ah, young love," Jacob chortled. "Can't be separated for a couple of weeks."

"Grow up, Black!" Rosalie threw the cork of the whiskey bottle in Jake's direction. Sadly, it hit Seth in the chin. "Sorry, Seth."

Seth rubbed at the spot, mumbling that it was okay.

"Yo, cunt, I don't go bruising your boy toy," Jake snapped, not moving from his spot, but he tilted Seth's head to check the damage.

"Can you two ever get along?" Bella groaned, shifting on the swing and bringing her legs under her ass. Her knees were now pressed against Edward's thigh.

While the evening wore on, Bella rocked them on the swing, chatting with their friends. On the outside, she didn't let anyone see how disappointed she was, Edward had decided to act impeccably again. He kept his muscles locked and barely talked to anyone, unless addressed directly.

Suddenly, Edward leaned closer to her, while Bella was busy looking through the nail photos Alice was showing her on her phone. His hot breath washed over her ear.

"I have to use the bathroom, Mistress."

"Go." She dismissed him with a hand. "This one is something I'd like to try." Bella pointed to a photo of short red nails with slim curves drawn on them.

"I don't know the way," Edward said.

She turned to him sharply. He knew the way very well. He'd used the bathroom in Rosalie's house before.

"Excuse me," Bella said, standing and seizing Edward's wrist. She dragged him inside the house, pushing his back against the hallway wall. "Why are you acting like a fucking brat?"

His eyes dropped, but when he realized they were now on her pushed-up breasts, he closed them.

"Edward, what happened?" Bella asked softly. She should have realized sooner that Edward's shift in behavior wasn't him rebelling, but it had a deeper meaning.

"Nothing happened, Mistress."

She glanced through the net door, seeing her friends blissfully unaware of their intense moment. She led Edward to the downstairs bathroom, locking the door.

"Sit." She pointed him to the closed lit of the toilet, while she leaned against the sink. "Talk to me."

He hesitated, staring at his hands.

"Edward, talk to me," she repeated sternly. His behavior was scaring her more than his brazenness from the past week.

"I don't know how to ask you, Mistress."

"Just tell me," she urged, going to stand between his legs. She cupped his face between her hands, tilting his head up to see his anxious green gaze.

"All that we've done…I hope I'm not coming across as ungrateful…I loved every single moment of it…"

Bella felt like her world was crumbling at her feet. Edward wanted out.

"Say the word," she said in a voice she didn't recognize as hers.

Edward frowned. "Uh…I need you to pull me under deeper, Mistress."

She took a moment to process his words. "Our playtime wasn't enough?"

"Sometimes I need more. I once told you, I like being tied up. I didn't mean my wrists and ankles restrained, but all of my body." He chewed on his lips, staring into her eyes desperately. "I crave this, Mistress. I don't know if it's because we don't play twenty-four seven, or because for the first time I don't like just living with you without having an actual job."

"Okay. Relax." She stroked his hair softly. "I need your complete trust for you to be able to go into subspace."

"I trust you with my life, Mistress." His confession made a shiver run down her spine.

"We won't stay much longer. I have to talk to Jake about something, before we go. You should have told me," she added, upset.

"I was an idiot. I thought if I acted up, you'd get so upset you'd pull me under."

She laughed dryly. "And I've been trying to find your breaking point since we signed the contract. We're quite the pair, Edward."

"I wouldn't have gotten the courage to talk to you about this, if you hadn't forbidden me to touch you. I guess that's my breaking point, Mistress."

"Good to know. Come." She interlaced their fingers, taking him back to the swing. She didn't sit next to him, but went over to Jacob, kicking the sole of his shoe, jerking her head for him to follow her.

Groaning loudly, he got up, telling Seth to stay put.

"Everything okay?" he checked, when they were on the other side of the backyard.

"It will be," she said, looking at Edward. He looked so small and fragile. "He wants me to pull him under by binding his body. I don't think that's the best idea."

"If it's what he needs, it's your job to help him. I have to do this with Seth sometimes when he gets too much inside his head before opening nights at his gallery shows."

"What if I can't bring him back? Edward wants to go all the way. He needs it."

"If there's enough trust in your relationship, he's going to listen to you. He'll do anything your voice says."

"Thanks, Jake."

"You got the rope work under control?"

Bella snorted. "I won the contest for the best Shibari knots if you remember." She'd let Edward in on that secret when they arrived home. He had to be as comfortable and confident in her ability to help him as possible.

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