AN: Chapter 2 as promised

Edward is a bit of a douche to start off with but try to forgive a conflicted man

There will be more in Edward's POV, which won;t be posting for around 6 weeks or so

My thanks to MeteorOnAMoonlessNight and annaharding for their tireless work, correctly commas and finding better words to put story to the pictures in my head

I hope you like this and I'd be happy to hear all your comments

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the copyright to Twilight and all it's characters

A Little Piece of My Heart

Summary

After moving to San Francisco for her dream job, Bella lives her life to the fullest, even though a little piece of her heart is missing. It's small enough to be missed but large enough to know something is missing.

A story of not knowing what you have until it's almost too late.

Chapter 2

I jumped out of my skin as the front door to the apartment slammed back against the wall and then rebounded into the frame before clicking shut.

Hearing the sound of keys hitting the bottom of the china bowl on the hall stand, I winced, waiting for it to break, and was surprised when it didn't. There were a few minutes of almost silence, and I got to my feet, taking the necessary steps to be able to see down the hallway from the living room.

Edward was slouched against the door, his head in his hands, his fingers tugging at his hair. His suit jacket was on the floor in front of him and his tie was yanked free of his collar, his top button undone. He looked disheveled; as if he'd been rolling around in bed, although I knew it was more than likely his own fingers that had caused the mess.

Knowing that he was prone to being a little dramatic, I took his look of frustration with a pinch of salt. "Are you okay, Edward? I thought you were out with Kate."

He sighed heavily and straightened. "I was, but we had a huge fight—again."

"What was it about this time?" I leaned against the wall, waiting for him to get it out of his system.

Edward sighed and yanked at his hair again. "Same old, same old. Her parents want to buy her a house. She's banging on about us moving in together; she just won't listen to me. We've had this same argument over and over—it's like she doesn't even hear me. This time, I just lost it with her and before I knew it, we were screaming at each other in the street. That didn't go down well—you know what she's like, always wanting to keep it all behind closed doors—and she lost her temper, and she dumped me." He looked at me, his face drawn and tired; his exasperation showing. "Her family already thinks that her involvement with me is beneath her and I'm nowhere near good enough for her family. Her brother even had the gall to call me a gold-digger. Can you imagine what he'd say if I agreed to move into a house provided by her parents?"

I snorted and then held my breath to stop the laughter that threatened. He sounded so aggrieved, and I honestly did feel sorry for him. Kate was okay but a bit full-on, so maybe it would be a good thing if they spent some time to think about what they both wanted.

Edward was very sensitive about the fact that her family was so well-off, and mommy and daddy saw that she didn't want for anything. She'd lived at home all through college, partly because her parents wanted her to, but mostly because of the allowance they gave her, not to mention the servants to do their every bidding. I don't think she'd ever done a day's housework, or laundry, or cooked a meal in her life.

Personally, I thought she played on it, and that definitely wasn't the way to get Edward to agree to anything. He and I'd had this discussion before, and I knew that he wanted to do things his own way and move forward under his own steam. Being kept, even if it was just in the form of a house, didn't, and never would, sit well with him. His pride wouldn't let it.

They'd met when we all attended the same college, and for a while she'd been pretty jealous of my and Edward's friendship. Time had cleared that up and she was okay with it now.

"I just wish she would slow down a bit," he grumbled. "I want for us to buy a house together when we're ready, not take advantage of the fact her parents are stinking rich."

I held out my hand, and when he took it I dragged him along the hallway to the living room. "Come on, go and get changed out of your suit and we can get comfortable on the sofa. Why don't I get us a couple of beers and we can watch a mindless movie?" He nodded and toed his shoes off before grabbing them and heading down the central hallway to the bedrooms.

I'd already gotten ready for bed, but Edward was so wound up that I knew he'd never sleep at the moment. It wouldn't be the first time we'd sat and had a couple of beers and watched television into the early hours. Usually, a movie and some conversation allowed him to calm down.

He disappeared down the hall to his room while I made popcorn and headed back to the living room with two beers. Edward was already lounging back on the sofa, dressed in his usual sleep pants and worn band t-shirt. I had to admit that my best friend was a handsome man; some might even say he was beautiful. His hair always looked as if he'd rolled out of bed, but really it was his hands that did the damage to the mop on top of his head. His eyes ranged from deep malachite green to a stormy blue, depending on his mood and his clothes, and were rimmed in thick lashes any girl would kill for. His jaw was sharply defined and, at the moment, covered in a couple days' stubble.

Kate wasn't too fond of that; she always wanted him dressed to the nines and clean shaven. He did clean up well, of course, but I always liked the easy, casual look, even if he could definitely rock a suit. He was much taller than me, by more than a foot, but not overly muscled. He did work out to keep fit—both of us did—but didn't take it to the extreme. I'd always thought he was an attractive man, and the occasional thought of him drifted into the sex zone, but neither of us had ever acted on it.

"How about we watch Friends With Benefits again?" I suggested. "A little Mila Kunis for you and a little Justin Timberlake for me."

Edward agreed and we cuddled up together on the sofa, his head in my lap, stopping the movie a couple of times to retrieve more beer, until I was feeling a little buzzed. As usual, my hands stroked through his hair, lightly scratching his scalp and then smoothing the strands down. He shifted, turning over so he was facing me, his eyes now closed, sneaking his arms around my waist as he nuzzled his face deeper into my lap. "Mmm, you smell good." He kissed the skin along the edge of my shorts and his breath rushed across me as he breathed out, the heat hitting me between my legs.

My hands stilled for a second and I held my breath as goosebumps rose across my skin, radiating out from my already throbbing clit. They raced down my legs and over my body right to the top of my head, raising the small hairs on the back of my neck.

I'd never had a reaction to Edward—or anyone else—like that, and put it down to the fact that no one but myself had touched me intimately since Riley and I had broken up almost a year ago. I slowly let out the breath I'd been holding in, watching Edward's face.

Surely he was aware of his actions? What did it mean? Was he attracted to me like that?

My eyes gazed sightlessly at the television screen without hearing or seeing the movie, every inch of me aware of Edward's body practically lying across my lap. His breathing slowed as he drifted into sleep and, eventually, I was able to take a deeper breath which I then let out.

Unfortunately, I could still feel the throbbing between my legs where his hot breath had landed. Now all I could think of was taking care of that, and my mind began to form pictures of Edward and me. I shook my head to try and get rid of the thoughts that were running through my mind, and shifted slightly in my seat.

Now Edward's soft breaths were hitting my bare legs and I wish I'd had the forethought to change into my sweats instead of staying in my usual bedwear of short shorts and a spaghetti strap cami. I could feel myself getting wetter with each breath he emitted.

Lost in my thoughts, I almost missed Edward's eyes opening. He said nothing, his eyes catching and holding my gaze for a few minutes. His eyes dropped to my breasts where the evidence of my arousal could clearly be seen. My nipples were hard enough to cut glass, and each breath I took rubbed the fabric of my top against them. I could feel my face color and moved my arms to cross them in front of me, hiding them from his gaze.

The movement lifted my top, showing a strip of skin between it and my shorts. "When did you get this, B?" He pulled himself up until he was facing me, one hand resting on the sofa on the other side of my legs while his fingers traced around the belly button piercing that had been revealed when I shifted, and then tugged at it.

A shot of heat blasted through me from where his hand touched me, zinging straight between my legs, and once again I found myself holding my breath. I swallowed, trying to get rid of the tension in my body before answering him. "Umm, Riley persuaded me to get it on my birthday last year?" It came out like a question.

"It's sexy; I like it." Edward's voice was quiet and husky. I was too much of a coward to look in his eyes and, instead, watched as his fingers tugged at it again. His hand was so close to where I wanted to be touched. I gasped and looked up to find his eyes burning into mine. His hand changed direction and he tucked them inside the waistband of my shorts, leaving fire in their wake.

The film had finished and the room was silent and only lit by the blue screen; the tension in the air obliterating reason. The green of Edward's eyes was almost obscured by the black of his pupils. Without taking his eyes from mine, he lowered his head until his mouth was adjacent to my stomach and finally dropped his gaze. I gasped as I felt his tongue swirl around my piercing, his lips closing around it and tugging again.

Edward straightened and crashed his mouth to mine, swallowing my first moan. He slid his hand along the skin on the inside of my thigh, and involuntarily my legs opened to give him more access. His fingers skimmed the edge of my shorts and then dipped under the fabric and brushed over my clit, which throbbed in response. I threw my head back against the sofa and a deep, throaty moan found its own way out of my throat.

My own hands found their way into his hair and my tongue into his mouth, my mind overtaken by instinct and lust. I explored his body, my hands making the journey from his hair, along his jaw, and under his t-shirt where I could feel his heart beating as wildly as mine.

He drew back for a moment, but before I could protest, he turned and leaned back against the sofa, pulling me toward him. I found myself straddling him, his hard cock between our bodies. Rational thought took a backseat, and I willingly followed his lead. His mouth found mine again, and my hands ignored the voice in the back of my head, slipping under the waistband of his sleep pants to find him naked beneath the material.

For the first time, my hand gripped Edward's cock, which was rock hard and already leaking pre-cum. That only served to allow me to grip him and lubricated the passage of my hand as I stroked and squeezed. His hips were already beginning to thrust his cock into my hand in time with the movement of his tongue in my mouth.

I drew back to take a breath, and rested my head against his collar-bone, and took the opportunity to push his sleep pants down enough to free his cock from their confines. With no boxers underneath, his cock was on display, the almost purple head slipping through my fingers as he thrust upward again and again.

Edward's cock was a spectacular sight. Thick enough for my fingers to not quite fit around and long enough to touch places I imagined nothing else could. I couldn't deny that I'd wondered what it looked like erect—the bulge in his swim shorts had always looked large even when he was soft. My panties dampened more as I thought about what that would feel like inside me.

I raised my head, caught in his gaze, and then his lips landed on mine again. Lost in that feeling, it took me a second to realize that his fingers had found their way back inside my shorts, the backs of them brushing over my covered clit. I pushed myself against them in encouragement, and he slipped them underneath the thin material, taking the arousal he found there to lubricate my clit. I was embarrassingly wet which allowed him to easily thrust two fingers knuckle-deep inside me, rhythmically rubbing his thumb around my clit.

My legs opened wider as I rubbed myself against his hand, and as a third finger found its way inside me, I dragged my lips away from his again and closed my eyes, panting and moaning as the pleasure from his fingers and thumb made the muscles in my stomach contract.

His lips found my neck and planted wet, sucking kisses on every inch of skin he could find while his groan of pleasure echoed in my ear.

"I'm really close, Edward. Please don't stop," I whispered. I was absolutely sure I was about to combust as the coil in my belly tightened.

The ringing of his phone from the coffee table in front of the sofa pierced through the fog of moans and groans, and his fingers stilled inside me. He raised his head from my neck and looked at me almost apologetically before sliding his fingers out of me.

We glanced at the phone to see Kate's name and picture flash across the screen before the ringing stopped. We stayed still for a minute, my body still tingling, until the phone began to ring once more; her name flashing again. "I'm sorry, Bella, I have to get that."

I moved off his lap and watched as he grabbed the phone, swiped to answer the call, and went into his room, the door banging shut behind him. For a moment I thought that I might cry; I felt emptier than when he'd pulled his fingers from my body, and if I was honest, somewhat used. However, I wasn't one to wallow, and took a deep breath before standing. I straightened my clothes, feeling my clit throb as I resituated my underwear, and then—practical as ever—cleared up the bowls and bottles and headed for the shower to take care of myself—again—this time to images of Edward's cock and the way it might feel inside me.

~ oOo ~