A/N: Thanks so much for all your wonderful thoughts!

So sorry I haven't had a chance to get back to your thoughts, but RL is kicking my butt these days, and unfortunately, sometimes, I've got to pick between review replies and updating. :) But please know I read and appreciate every single one!

We're getting there! And as I've said, this story will expand a bit beyond where Break left off. ;)

Most characters belong to S. Meyer. The rest belong to me. All mistakes are mine as well.

Broken – Chapter 24

Bella…and me…

At first, our mouths met with tender brushstrokes, with whispers and touches meant to mutually reassure, my hands gently cradling her beautiful face while her hands anchored themselves on my shoulders. We met breath for breath.

"You love me, Bella?"

"Yes, Edward. Yes, I love you, and thank you…for waiting for me."

"Always...I would've waited for always."

"Edward…"

"Bella…God…God…I can't…I can't…" They were strangled, barely-there words murmured into the air, while my heart attempted to escape my chest and climb into hers; words expelled in half-formed thoughts, breathed simultaneously to the soothing declarations she made while her warm lips skimmed upward and grazed my eyelids, ghosted over my cheeks, shifted back and forth against my jawline, and with a smile…tapped my nose.

"I always saw these green eyes in my dreams…always wanted to feel this stubble…wanted to kiss this jawline…adored this perfectly imperfect nose even before I knew why. I've loved everything about you for so long, and I'm sorry it took me until now to admit to either one of us."

"Shh. Stop." With my mouth on hers, I silenced any more needless apologies. "I don't care. I don't care how long it took. You're here now. Jesus, you're here."

My hands slid into her hair, and I pulled her closer, deepening our connection. In response, Bella gripped my shoulders harder, anxiously opening her mouth to me. I groaned at her eagerness and yes, at the heat emanating off of her, at the quiet whimpers she emitted at the base of her throat while our tongues moved together. They were sounds I'd never heard her make and sounds my imagination could've never approximated no matter how hard it tried. And it tried hard.

Because here's the thing: I'd be a bold-faced liar if I said I hadn't often dreamed of making love to Bella.

From the very beginning; from those nights on assignment back in Costa Rica, mere days after the events which occurred in that lobby, back in those days when everything in my head was still a jumbled mess; even then, I'd dreamed of being with Bella like this.

In the beginning, memories of my 'That Day' would mix and meld with memories of her 'That Day':

Bella rushing past me into the lobby; shapely legs in heels clacking against the sidewalk's concrete, then pounding the lobby's marble; her ensuing screams as she handed Jasper and my sister more than they'd bargained for when they planned their escapade; the fire backlighting her dark, tempestuous eyes as she stood her ground like an avenging angel; my arms around her waist as I tried to keep her from harm; and…at the hospital, when she was sedated – her languorous sighs, my name whispered on a lethargic, barely-aware breath.

All these pieces played a part in those first, involuntary, nocturnal fantasies. I'd close my eyes in the evenings, mentally and physically drained from a long day in the field and too tired to realize she was still there, in my head, lingering in my dormant thoughts. But, at night…

At night, my mind traveled to subconscious, nondescript and dark places where seemingly without premise, Bella's naked body was flush against mine as I lay on top of her, thrusting in and out. Here, I held her by the waist while she cradled my hips tightly between her shapely legs. In those wild dreams, Bella would gaze up at me through dark, fiery eyes, arching her back and alternating between screaming or sighing my name. And in these inventive replays of our entwined past, those few words we spoke to one another in the hospital took on wildly different meanings from what they'd meant on That Day:

"Edward…stay with me…"

"Bella…I've got you…"

I'd wake up from those blood-pumping, bewildering, yet vividly realistic dreams drenched in sweat, with a vague sense of guilt for where my latent thoughts had wandered…but rock hard, and for hours afterward, unable to sleep or lie on my stomach.

The dreams subsided once I returned to the U.S., only to return after that first encounter with Bella at the coffee shop. Each subsequent encounter increased their frequency, diminished the sense of guilt once associated with them, and instead provided a variety of scenarios for how Bella and I would initiate our fantasy encounters that night. For example, after a visit to the coffee shop, or after a stroll through the city, or after an early morning run…

Again, I'd be lying if I said the dreams completely ended with the abrupt end of Bella's and my friendship. The yearlong break in our relationship may have curtailed the frequency of the dreams, but it did nothing to diminish their graphic explicitness. In fact, every single time I dreamed we made love, I woke up and stared at the ceiling, blood racing into every extremity. I throbbed painfully from what I believed was a good approximation of the heat and constriction of being buried inside of Bella. I imagined the sweet taste of my tongue circling her belly-button. I assumed I knew what her screams and sighs as she came would sound like.

Now, I was beginning to realize that all those dreams had been nothing more than a wildly abstract representation, an uninformed fantasy…a lonely man's sad substitute for reality. Because never, not in my wildest fantasies, had I been able to approximate the sensations Bella already engendered in me…or how hard she already had me.

And with reassurances given…accepted…believed…the air around us seemed to suddenly shift. The city lights shone brighter through the large, industrial windows, and Bella's hands tugged me closer, fisted my hair, tongue dancing frenziedly, and I swallowed it up with a hunger two years in the making.

"I love you. I love you, Bella," I repeated in between kisses.

"I love you too, Edward." She shifted, pulled me flush against her and rested us both horizontally on the seat cushions. And those legs…those legs I'd dreamed of for so long wrapped themselves around my thighs as she ground against my hard-on.

"I don't want to hurt you. Your foot…"

She chuckled impishly. "My foot's all the way down there, and you won't hurt me. Ohhh…"

I thrust my hips, and the city and its lights disappeared. I pushed and she pulled and all that existed was her warm body moving against mine, her hands in my hair, her soft whimpers in my mouth...and the thin layers between us.

"I always knew you'd fit like this. I knew…"

"I know now. We're a puzzle."

"We are," I smiled against my mouth.

"In every way."

"We are." The taste of her neck, a thousand times better than in my dreams. Her collarbone…indescribable…the arch of her back, sharper…

"Edward…" My name breathed in pleasure, and every hair on me stood on end…hardened me all the more.

My mouth dragged past her collarbone…stopped at the top button of her blouse…

"May I…?"

"Yes…yes…"

My fingers desperately, clumsily unbuttoned yet somehow got the job done. But, my mouth was too greedy to continue without a taste…and lips molded around a hardened nipple.

"Ohhh…"

My fingers found the front clasp.

"May I…?"

"Yes…yes…"

Unclasping…pushing aside…incomplete thoughts swirling while my mouth swirled…holy…so soft…heart-pounding...wrapped around a soft mound and then the other…her sighs…like relief, and no; no approximation.

"So soft. I knew…"

"Edward…Edward…" She breathed, pulling my hair, moving against me.

"I love you…"

"I love you too…please…please…"

One soft kiss to her quickly-beating heart. "Are you sure? I've waited for you for so long; I can wait longer." True; difficult to say, but true.

In contrast, her reply was firm and sure, while already pulling at the drawstring to my sweatpants.

"I don't want to wait."

In the space between her perfect breasts, where her heart pounded, I expelled a series of successive sighs. "Okay. Okay."

My hand dropped between us, fumbled with the buttons to her pants. The next couple of minutes were a frenzy of ridding one another of clothing, until finally, Bella lay under me, completely bare…and Jesus, no, there was no goddamn approximation.

"You're even more beautiful like this than I ever imagined."

She offered me a languid smile. "You imagined me like this?"

"So many times," I acknowledged with a grin. A finger instinctively traced the perimeter of one nipple, then the other. "But not well enough. For example, these sweet freckles you have…I could've never imagined these."

Bella chuckled softly. "You're insane."

When she sighed, our eyes met, and for one, long moment, we gazed at one another wordlessly, and I committed the moment to memory. It was one of those everlasting moments: the moment before the first time I made love to Bella.

I was about to ask a question when her hand reached upward, and one fingernail traced the intertwined eagles on my chest. The question was instantly forgotten, and I hissed sharply while my stomach muscles contracted.

"What's good for the goose…" Bella smiled impishly before finally, finally asking the question that had burned in her eyes so many times when we ran together.

"What is it?"

"The Celtic symbol for strength and health."

"I should've known," she snorted.

"I was always waiting for you to ask," I grinned.

We chuckled together, but not for long because by then my erection was becoming painful. While Bella's fingernail and gaze continued their maddening exploration, trailing lower and across my abs, teasing past my groin and down to my thigh, I swallowed and forced myself to recall what I'd been about to say.

"Bella, I've got condoms up-"

Her finger stopped, and as her eyes flashed back up to mine, she rested her palm flat against my thigh.

"Edward, I don't need you to wear one."

For an instant, my heart stopped because there are certain lessons you're taught – or should be taught early on in life:

Say 'please' and 'thank you.'

Be mindful of other people's feelings.

Wear a condom when you have sex with someone for the first time and/or when you're unclear about your partner's sexual history. Love should have no bearing on this. What's more, my career at the CDC meant that a lesson such as this one should've been ingrained into my psyche.

"Are you sure?" I asked, even as I nudged her legs apart.

Because my eyes were wide open, and the consequences of my actions were clear. My entire life had taught me the consequences: Disease. Pregnancy. Yet, I knew Bella well enough to know that the first consequence wasn't a possibility or she wouldn't have suggested it. She was faithful; she was responsible.

As for the second possibility…

Hovering above her while I waited for her answer, Bella offered me a wistful smile. "It's not like I'm going to get pregnant."

And as I gripped her hips, I confessed one more truth. "I wouldn't even…Bella, I wouldn't mind."

Her hand cradled my cheek, eyes locked on mine, and I pushed…

Later on, while Bella lay asleep in my arms, I'd grin up at the ceiling as I recalled how...wrong I'd been about so much.

We exhaled into one another's mouths, hers was the sweetest moan while mine was the guttural groan of a man who'd been searching…searching, and finally reached his haven; a haven which was more sheltering, warmer, and more welcoming than the man could've ever hoped for. I dropped my head in the sweet surrender of being hers, of being owned by her, while Bella's back arched and claimed me.

Then, instinct took over.

Loud cries abruptly filled the loft, mixed with subdued car horns, ambulance sirens and vague voices beyond the windows. She wrapped her legs tightly around my waist, while our hips moved together in addictive friction. There was no build-up, no search for our mutual rhythm because it simply was, and it grew exponentially. We alternated between loud groans and silent bewilderment because holy fuck.

So we chased that rhythm with primordial, instinctive thrusts and intuitive actions. I lifted her uninjured leg over my forearm, and Bella's mouth fell open, for a few seconds making no sound before she released a cry of pure…unadulterated…pleasure. In turn, she reached between us and cupped me, and I cursed harshly up at the ceiling, squeezing my eyes shut to keep from passing out from the overwhelming bombardment of want.

We wanted it, and Jesus, did we chase it.

I chased it with my mouth on hers, with my tongue on her neck, with my teeth around her nipples. Bella chased it with her nails down my back, biting down on my lower lip, hands curved around my backside.

I pulled her hands above her head.

She dug her fingers into my shoulders.

We whispered half-sentences we understood perfectly.

"So good…never…so good…"

"I know...so hard...please…faster…"

And when she squeezed me from the inside, so tight I could barely breathe, I gripped her hips and together we burned until we were ashes floating in the fucking clouds for what I was sure was an eternity.

Afterward, we shared soft, languid kisses totally incongruous with the previous few minutes.

"I love you so damn much," she breathed tiredly.

I smiled against her mouth. "I love you too."

When she turned in my arms, I pulled her against my chest and swept her hair aside, ghosting kisses against her damp neck, back and forth. I inhaled the indescribable scent of our lovemaking lingering in the air until it slowly faded. Then, when Bella's even breaths let me know she'd drifted, I pulled the throw off the top of the couch, cocooned us in it, and grinned up at the ceiling.

No; imagination had never been my strong suit. That was always Bella's realm. I dealt much better with the tangible. This...Bella, finally in my arms, finally mine, and fast asleep after our love-making…this was tangible.

OOOOO

She awoke about an hour later, with one long breath and a sigh, molding her body around mine. The action instantly made me hard, and as she angled her head sideways and smiled, taking me in peripherally, she purposely pushed herself against my groin.

"Mmm. Now, that was a nice nap."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." I kissed her nape and gripped her hips. "Now, stay still if you want to nap some more."

"Maybe I don't want to nap some more."

I chuckled lowly. "Bella, stay with me tonight. I'll carry you upstairs to bed."

"I can walk." I heard the smile in her voice. "But I'll have to text Mack."

My hands stiffened around her hips. My mouth stopped moving against the back of her neck.

And all the while, Bella rocked against me, drawing in deep sighs of contentment. With wary apprehension, I lifted my head and forced myself to ask.

"Who…is Mack again?"

"My roommate," she replied, sighing, nestling deeper into me. "Otherwise, she'll worry."

'Otherwise, she'll worry.'

She'll worry.

She.

In my memory, I replayed that early morning phone conversation from about a week earlier; specifically, the line I'd overheard Bella breezily utter as she left her apartment, a line which had tortured me ever since for what I assumed it implied:

'See you later, Mack!'

She lived with Mack…but Mack was a she.

God, I'd gotten so much wrong; enough to make me wonder how the hell I was so successful at my career. But, I only vaguely wondered because Bella was in my arms, and when I wrapped them around her midsection, she weaved her fingers through mine.

"All right, Bella." Chuckling, I drew in a deep breath and released it against her neck, watching the fine hairs there stand on end. With a kiss to her temple, I dropped my head against the cushions again and allowed myself to enjoy a tangible moment I, once again, could've never imagined.

"All right."

A/N: Thoughts?

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Chapter Song Rec: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

"See" you soon.