Chapter Nine

Edward couldn't help himself and spoke his mind; he did that a lot around Bella. "You smell good."

She quirked an eyebrow, but he wasn't sure if she wanted him to behave or to keep talking. Sometimes reading her was easy, like in that moment, but not all the time. Was it because of who he was?

According to her bio on her art blog, she had lived in the area all her life. She had seen the best and worst of what Hollywood had to offer, and even experienced it firsthand. Being cautious was understandable—he was, after all, one of Hollywood's highest paid actors. Keeping things friendly for a few weeks would undoubtedly be hard, but he was sure he could handle it, to some degree. Their banter was fun and hot, if he was honest with himself, and the tension between seemed to grow every minute.

It wouldn't be easy, but he already felt she'd be worth it.

She turned up the volume on her Bluetooth stereo and dipped the paint stick in the mix, slowly extending her arm out to get started on his shoulder. The heavy beat of the song playing seemed to make his blood thrum, and his skin felt ten times more sensitive. They each held their breath as she slowly drew the tip against his heated skin, stroking downward.

"Fuck," he hissed, trying not to recoil. "I forgot how cold that shit can be." She smiled, her eyes on his obvious reaction, the flat disc of his nipple had hardened under the touch and her gaze.

"Take a few calming breaths," she whispered, still not helping the situation. Her warm breath teased the goosebumps to the surface of his skin, sparking his imagination. He kept his left arm only slightly elevated as she instructed earlier, his eyes, however, remained on her. It hadn't been a line or lie; she really did smell good. Too good, in fact.

He shifted his feet for some relief, but found none. "Uh, you need to stop moving, Cullen. And yeah, there's no hiding that thing anyway."

"Christ," he groaned, looking up at the ceiling to count to a hundred. "Ten fucking years in the business and I never had this problem while working."

She laughed. "That's a nice stroke to my ego."

Fuck, she was using the voice, the one he heard over the phone when she teased him. All sex and heat.

"Don't let it go to your head, Swan." He grunted as she poked him with the paint stick, trying not to let loose a laugh. She was rather close to his ribs, the only ticklish spot he had.

"As opposed to yours." Her laughter was sweet, and not helping him at all. "Relax, Edward. I ain't gonna bite." He didn't trust himself to respond in any way other than shifting again. "What are those DVDs you brought with you?"

She bent down enough for him to catch a glimpse of a sexy bare shoulder, her wide-neck t-shirt draping halfway down her arm. It was obvious that she wasn't wearing a bra. Her milky white skin looked soft and flawless, the sprinkle of caramel freckles along her clavicle only added to the perfection. Fuck, he loved sexy shoulders. He looked away before he did something he wouldn't regret, at least if she let him take them where they both wanted to go.

She had asked a question, hadn't she? "What?"

"The DVDs," she replied, applying more of the mix a few inches above his waistline. Her brow tightened, her eyes on the button of his jeans. "I told you to wear something you wouldn't mind ruining."

"Gucci sends me jeans every few months. Besides, I can afford another pair. Even if you do get that shit on them, I can still wear them around the house." She tried hard not to roll her eyes, but walked over to a chaotic work table and grabbed a small blue towel from a stack of clean ones. She returned, silently asking if it was okay.

He only nodded.

Taking one end of the towel in one hand, she tugged slightly on his jeans to gently tuck the towel inside.

"Oh man," she whispered, her fingers lingering. "I don't know how much more I can handle." She fanned herself after freeing her hand, leaving him with a fucking hard cock and a clear understanding of how desperately he wanted her. It wasn't only the chemistry exploding between them, but a need to know everything about her. "Let's get this done before it hardens…"

"Too late." He had to clear his throat, ignoring how she blushed a little. If he focused on her skin, on how far the blush went, he wouldn't be able to hold back.

"Gah!" she hissed, eyeballing his crotch. It couldn't be helped; she was awfully close to the area. "You're killing me, Smalls." He snorted. "Don't even say it. Trust me, I know. I know it's not small." She continued to grumble, working to paint his side, shoulder and down his arm.

It was a stroke to his ego to know she was flustered as he was when he was around her. And when he wasn't, too.

"I did some research," she said, keeping them on task. Thankfully, one of them had the strength to do what needed to be done. "There were at least two versions of the arm on the set of the first movie. One that was basically two pieces, simple, and allowed for full articulation, then CGI went in afterward to add the details. There was also a full arm piece, but it was only good for scenes when his arm was only on his side, no bending required. We have a choice, if I make you a fully articulated version, I have to make the sleeve you'd wear underneath just as detailed as the arm but no matter what I do, it'll still look like more than one piece. If I make you one without any articulation, your arm will likely go numb after a while, no matter how lightweight I make it."

She tended to ramble when she spoke of her work, but with a passion he found endearing. He hadn't felt the same way about his job in a while. Maybe Emmett was right; he needed to find roles that spoke to him, and not to his and his agent's bank account.

"I guess it all depends on how long we plan to stay there during the day. If we sit down and discuss which panels we want to attend, maybe we can go back to the house to take a break."

"That would only work if we were staying close by. Are we?" Edward shook his head. "Maybe I should keep my room at the Marriott and we can use it for breaks, like you said."

He had a feeling they'd need to take a lot of breaks, especially since they'd be free to explore this chemistry between them. And if word didn't get out he was attending Comic Con as Winter Soldier before he had a chance to experience the event as a fan and not an actor.

What would happen if it did get out? Would he call it all off and not go? Never see Bella again? The idea didn't appeal to him at all, unless she was the one who exposed him. She wouldn't do that, but unintentionally was always a possibility.

"We'll sit down once you shower to discuss the details."

He swallowed hard. "Shower?"

"You'll want to shower after this, I guarantee it. I told you to bring what you needed." She stood up on her toes to make sure she was getting every inch of his shoulder, before moving to his back. "You never did answer about the DVDs, Cullen."

"I brought Winter Soldier and Civil War with me, thought we'd watch to study the Winter Soldier's mannerisms and such."

Civil War was out of the theaters already and wouldn't be available to buy on Blu-ray until early fall. Money talks, so he had a copy in his hands the day after it was released in theaters.

"Are you fucking serious? I get to watch Stucky beat up the playboy?"

"Yes?" Who was Stucky? Wait, did she mean Bucky and Steve? As in, what did the fans call it when they liked certain couples on a show or movie? Ships?

She fucking squealed, giggling and dancing around him. Not that he'd classify what she was doing as dancing; it looked more like a cross between a seizure and flailing. Until she started to roll those beautiful hips. The same ones his hands itched to touch from the moment he saw her standing on her porch. It hardly helped how her shorts, basically denim underwear, clung to her curves.

He made to grab her but she countered his move, slipping away and laughing. "Stay still, Cullen!"

"Can't help it, it's those hips." A sound similar to a growl—something he would deny to his dying day—slipped from his lips.

"Shakira! Shakira!" She bounced over to her phone and put the perfect song on, returning to her work. "Hips don't lie," she sang, smiling up at him. The sun happened to peek through some clouds, filtering through the window and highlighting her eyes.

Three weeks suddenly seemed so damn far away to him.

She stilled as he stared, her smile slipping into something more potent, parting as if in anticipation. The desire he'd seen in her eyes on a few occasions sparked hotter than ever.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're lethal, Cullen?" He gave his award winning smile, watching as her hand playfully fluttered over her chest in a fake swoon. "Shit! I got blue crap on my top." She slipped off her shirt, without a second thought, making him choke out a few curses. "Relax, Cullen, I have a bikini on."

It was blue and strapless. Her breasts appeared to be more than a handful and perfect; he wouldn't mind if her bikini fell off at this point.

"Why am I so lethal?" he asked, for some idiotic reason. As if he needed more reasons to grab her and kiss the smirk off her face. She went back to work, brushing him a little faster, since she only had so much time to work with the latex.

"Your eyes are just mesmerizing, your body is too die for, and don't get me started on your intellect, sense of humor, and your pop culture knowledge. Then, to top off all that off, you have the sexiest set of dimples I've ever seen." She made a kissing sound, instantly making him hard again.

He looked over his shoulder to look at her, her eyes on what she was doing. "I don't have dimples."

One corner of her pretty mouth tipped upward, her eyes meeting his gaze. "I wasn't talking about the ones on your face." Her gaze dipped down to the small of his back, where his jeans hung a little low. The tip of her tongue sliding across the soft pink of her bottom lip, made his head spin.

"Bella," he said firmly, trying to keep the desire from his voice. He'd failed, if her reaction to it was any indication. She gave him a sheepish smile and drew an imaginary halo around her head, but pretended to cock it to one side.

She was no angel.

AN: These two are just not letting me skip time, I want to write everything. Thanks to all your reviews, I appreciate each and every one. I've been trying to reply to them, but my internet keeps timing out. I wanted to say thanks to everyone recommending this fic, to TLS and Iris for including it on the site.