17

"Isabella," Carlisle whispered, brushing his lips against my ear before dropping them down to my shoulder. I moaned, the feeling of his lips against my skin was amazing. "Baby, are you awake?"

"No," I mumbled, shifting so that I was laying on my back. The sheet had been pushed down to the bottom of the bed, leaving my nude body on display for him.

"I think you are," he laughed, sucking one of my nipples into his mouth.

"No . . . I'm . . . not!" I moaned when he gently bit down. "Jesus fuck, Carlisle!"

"Open your eyes," he ordered, his tone half serious and half playful. I pried my eyes open, gasping when I saw him nestled between my legs, his cock dangling between his legs — hard and thick, desperate to be inside of me. "Good morning."

I bit my lip as I leaned up, tangled my hands in his hair, pulled him down onto the bed with me, the weight of his body covering me and the tip of his cock pressing against my pussy. "I need you."

"You already have me," he murmured, shifting his hips forward and filling me in one, quick thrust.

"Oh, my God!" I cried out, tightening my fingers in his hair. "Don't stop!"

"I can't stop," he groaned, setting a quick and hurried pace. "I need your body too fucking much, Isabella. The way your pussy feels wrapped around me. It's fucking amazing."

I was speechless, the feeling of him sliding in and out of me took away my ability to speak. Carlisle leaned up on his knees, grabbing my hips and lifting me off the bed. The angle of his thrusts changed, causing us both to moan. He felt deeper in me, bigger than he had before. Needing something to do with my hands, I grab my breasts, pulling and pinching my nipples.

"Oh, fuck, that's hot," he growled, slamming into me harder. Almost to the point of being painful, yet I don't feel the pain. Only the delicious ache that comes when he was inside of me, when he was loving me. "You drive me insane!"

"You . . . me . . . insane," I stammered, knowing that I wasn't making sense. I could feel my pussy beginning to tingle, my orgasm building, and it left me breathless and vulnerable. "Harder!"

Carlisle's jaw tensed as his grip on my hips tightened, and somehow he managed to fuck me harder, to thrust his cock further into me. With one hand still on my breast, I slide my other hand down my stomach to where we were connected, my fingers pressing against my clit.

"Oh, fuck, oh shit," he grunted, and I knew he was getting close, too.

"I'm almost there, lover," I panted, fumbling with my clit. "So fucking close."

Carlisle moved his hand off my hip, his fingers covering mine, and pressed them down against my clit. My eyes snapped to his as I felt my pussy quiver and clench around him. Carlisle's mouth opened and he cried out, "Isabella," as he found his own release.

Once we'd both ridden out our releases, Carlisle collapsed on the bed next to me, his hands covering his face and his knees bent up in front of him. I rolled onto my side and slid my hand across his stomach, causing him to look over at me.

"That was an incredible way to wake up," I said with a giggle.

"Yes, it was, beautiful," he murmured, smirking. "But now, I'm hungry. Do you want to order room service or go out to eat? We've got just over two and a half hours before our first appointment with the realtor, so either way we're going to have to hurry."

Sighing dramatically, I said, "I guess we could order room service. You know, I could get used to this kind of treatment."

Carlisle laughed. "Good, because I intend on spending the rest of my life pampering you."

"Yeah?" I asked.

He nodded and leaned over and kissed me. "Forever, baby. Now, what do you want to eat? They have fabulous waffles here. Or maybe an omelet?"

"Surprise me," I purred, laughing when he narrowed his eyes at me. "I'm sure whatever you pick for me will be fabulous. I'm going to take a bath and get dressed. Don't open the door naked. Nobody else but me gets to see that delicious cock."

Carlisle groaned as I slipped out from under him and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. Taking a deep breath, I walked over to the large, whirlpool tub, and started the water. The bathroom alone was bigger than my bedroom at Renee's. She would have loved this bathroom, loved spending one night in here. Of course, that was before my father's death, before she let her anger and grief turn her into a different person. God, I missed her. I wanted to share my engagement with her, the real her. Not the bitter woman, but the one who told me to never settle for less than I deserved out of life. I wanted to believe, more than anything, that in the end she realized how much she'd hurt me, how much her bitterness had cost her, but I wasn't convinced.

With a sigh, I slipped into the water, using my toes to turn off the faucet. Leaning back, I closed my eyes, letting the warmth wash over me, enjoying the comfort it offered. After Carlisle proposed to me again on the beach, we'd gone back to the bungalow and made love. His hands roamed over my body, his lips found purchase on my skin, and I found myself falling deeper in love with him.

Was it real? Could we really be this happy after just a few weeks together? Felt like we'd been together for years, and I suppose in a way we had. After meeting him the first time, I hadn't been able to look at other boys. Now I knew it was because Carlisle owned me from the beginning. He'd snatched up my heart, made me a part of his life, and gave me a family — a real family, one that didn't lash out at me because I wasn't the daughter they thought I should be.

"Isabella, are you okay?" Carlisle asked through the door.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I croaked out a strangled, "Yes."

Less than a heartbeat later, the door to the bathroom was thrown open and he was in the room, his eyes landing on mine. Sliding to his knees, he crawled over to the tub, his hands coming up to cradle my face. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I whimpered.

"Then why are you crying?" he asked, worry lacing each word.

"Because I'm happy," I cried, grabbing the front of his white, terry-cloth robe.

"I don't understand," he replied with a frown. "You're happy, so you're crying?"

I nodded, sniffing back my tears as much as I could. "After Daddy died, I locked so much of how I felt inside of me because Momma was hurting, and she needed me to be there for her. She needed someone to be strong for her, you know? But that left me alone. Other than Alice, nobody really saw how much I was hurting, how scared I was to grow up and have to face the real world. But you saw me, the real me. And now I have you and the boys, and your brothers and Kate, and Edward and Jasper, Esme, Emmett, and Rose, and I guess, I just realize how lucky I am. You helped me let go of so much fear and doubt."

"I did that?" he asked, a smile tugging on his lips.

"And so much more," I whimpered. "Carlisle, you don't look at me and see a child. You see a woman."

"A beautiful, gorgeous, sexy woman," he murmured, leaning over and kissing me. "The woman I'm going to spend the rest of my life with," he whispered. "I can't wait until we're married."

"Guess we need to start making some plans, huh?"

He smiled. "After we eat," he snickered. "Hurry up. Food should be here any minute."

"Okay, I'll be right out," I said, sliding my hand up to his face. "I love you."

"I love you more."

"Nope, not possible," I disagreed.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Whatever. I know the truth."

I laughed as he stood up, adjusted his cock, and walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Sliding down under the water, I closed my eyes and thought about just how lucky I was. I had a wonderful man, two little boys who loved me like I was there mother, and great friends. I was the luckiest woman in the world.

—TB—

Two hours later, we'd eaten, dressed, and were on our way to meet the realtor at the first house Carlisle had found. Though, I was starting to wonder how much more Carlisle hadn't told me, seeing as we were driving through a part of San Francisco that rivaled the photos of Beverly Hills that I'd seen in magazines. Shifting my eyes over to him, I wondered just how big the Cullen name was here in the city.

"Stop looking at me," he snickered, looking at me as he stopped at a red light. "You're distracting me."

"How?" I asked, smiling.

"You know how," he said, shaking his head. The light turned green so he looked in both directions before pressing down on the gas pedal. "You're fucking sexy, Isabella. And that tank top is not helping. It's like your tits are begging me to suck them."

"You're ridiculous," I laughed, shaking my head as I looked around. "Carlisle?"

"Hmm?" he hummed, making a left hand turn, into an even nicer area.

"Aren't these houses a little . . . pricy . . . for us?" I asked, chancing a glance at him. He pressed his lips together. "Carlisle."

He sighed, pulling over and parking in front a large house that had to be five times bigger than his house in Forks, and that was saying a lot. "I guess, I should have talked to you about this beforehand."

"About what?" I pushed, turning in my seat so that I was facing him.

He mirrored my position. "You know how I said that I have some savings?"

I nodded.

"Well, I might have more than just savings," he said, cryptically.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Carlisle sighed and grabbed my hand. "Well, you know how last night I told you that being a Cullen comes with a lot of responsibilities?"

"Yes."

"My family is . . . wealthy. Like, very wealthy." He paused, like he was waiting for me to say something, but I honestly wasn't sure what to say. "God, this is harder than I thought it would be."

"If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to," I said, not wanting him to be uncomfortable. "But I feel like I'm in a whole other world here, one that scares me."

"I don't want you to be scared. This is just a part of my life that I haven't really dealt with since my mother died," he told me. "My mother raised my brothers and me to work for what we had. We spent summers slinging food at the diner. Even when we moved to L.A., we had summer jobs, you know?"

I nodded.

"But my father, he didn't grow up like that. He grew up with money — a lot of money. He didn't have to work for anything until he graduated from medical school and started his internship. And it was always a struggle for him to see us living beneath our status. Though, I don't really know what that means." Carlisle shook his head. "When my grandfather died, he left my brothers and I each a large trust fund, one that would make it so that we would never have to work, if we didn't want to."

"Oh," I said, still unsure of what to say.

"Yeah," he murmured. "Other than buying my house in Forks, and setting some money aside for the boys' futures, I've never really needed it. I work a lot of hours, save what I can, learned to be a smart shopper. I didn't want to rely on the money that came from that part of my family. I didn't want the boys to grow up and think that money was all that mattered. But living here in San Francisco again, it's different than living in Forks. People here are going to expect a certain lifestyle from me, from us."

"Like who?" I asked.

"Like the press," he said, shifting his eyes up to mine. "I wouldn't be surprised if we hadn't made the society pages already."

"Oh." I shifted in my seat and looked at the house to my right. "And this is the type of house we're expected to live in?"

"Yeah," he murmured. I took a deep breath. "If you don't want this, we don't have to have it. To hell with them."

I looked over at Carlisle. "This just isn't me. I'm the daughter of the town Chief of Police and his housewife. My dad gave me what I needed, and his pension saved the house after he died, but my mom had to work to pay the bills, you know? I just . . . I don't know if I can be that person, Carlisle."

He nodded. "You don't have to be. If this is not your thing, then we can keep looking."

I nodded. "I just can't imagine living in a house like these. Trying to clean it alone would take a week!"

"Well, we can always hire a housekeeper," he snickered.

I scoffed. "I don't think so."

"Okay, so we'll look at the first house, and then go from there?" he asked.

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed, sliding my hand on top of his. "Thank you for trusting me enough to be honest with me."

"I should have told you before. It's just a part of me that I don't really think of, I guess. Tanya never even knew. Of course, she barely met my family. Made it very clear that she wasn't interested in knowing them."

"That makes her an idiot, then," I groused, and when he cocked an eyebrow at me, I added, "Your brothers are pretty amazing men, Carlisle. They love you. And Kate, too."

"They really are," he agreed, shifting back in his seat and pulling back out onto the road. "After things with my dad went to shit, they tried to reason with him, tried to make him see that Mom hadn't wanted me to leave school just for her, but he refused to listen. After Michael was born, I thought maybe now that we were both fathers that he'd forgive me, but he refused to come see Michael, and Tanya refused to go visit him, saying that if her son wasn't good enough of a reason for him to stop being an asshole, then she wasn't going to make the effort, either. At the time, I was so hurt that he refused to visit his grandson that I agreed, but maybe I should have made more of an effort." He sighed. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just tired of always fighting with him."

"I'm sorry," I murmured, wrapping my hand around his bicep. "He sounds like an asshole."

Carlisle laughed. "He can be, but he wasn't always. There was a time when he was the best father a boy could have."

"No, I'm pretty sure you've gained that title."

Carlisle smiled, but didn't say anything as he turned through a set of iron gates, and along a long, narrow driveway. As he drove past the long line of trees, I gasped, causing him to laugh. The house — if one could call it that — was huge! Bigger than Forks High School! Dark red brick and pristine white shutters made the place feel posh and elegant. A wide porch with white columns, not pillars but columns that were at least three feet in diameter, had me feeling very uneasy as Carlisle parked in the middle of the large, circle drive. The front door to the house opened before we could climb out and a woman with perfectly styled dark black hair and a tight red skirt and jacket over a white silk blouse stepped out on the porch, waving at us.

"Yeah," I murmured under my breath as I opened the car door. "Definitely ain't in Forks anymore."

Carlisle must have heard me because he laughed as he walked around the car and took my hand in his, leading me up the front steps.

The woman, first looking from me to him and smiling, thrust her hand out to Carlisle. "Mr. Cullen?"

"Ms. Stevens?" he asked, taking hold of her hand.

She smiled wider. "Please call me Celia, Mr. Cullen. It's lovely to meet you."

"You, too," he said, releasing her hand and wrapping his arm around my waist. Celia shifted her eyes to me, and somehow, her grin got even bigger. It was odd, and disturbing, the complete opposite of the response we got while in Forks.

"Well, shall we get started?" she asked, shifting her body to the side and waving an arm toward the inside of the house.

Carlisle simply nodded as he nudged me forward. As we followed Celia inside, I knew immediately that I was in way over my head. The entry room, if you could call it that, was humongous. Bright white granite flooring spread through the house, to the right of the entry room was a posh living room with brightly colored furniture that looked like it had been arranged for a magazine spread, which it probably had. To the left of the main room was another living area, this one seeming to be more relaxed and comfortable, probably the less formal of the two.

"The house is just over seven thousand square-feet. There are seven bedrooms, six and a half baths, two living rooms, a formal dining room, a breakfast nook, laundry room, and guest house in the back, on the other side of the pool," Celia rambled off, leading us through the rooms. Each new room was more pristine than the one before, and the kitchen reminded me of one I'd seen on a cooking show. There were three ovens — two built-in convections and one more beneath the glass stovetop. The fridge was twice the size as a normal fridge, and the sink was one of those large, industrial sinks.

Carlisle tightened his arm around my waist as we walked through the sliding glass door to the backyard. There were hundreds of exotic looking flowers and bushes and all I could think about was how the boys would have them picked within the first week of us living in a place like that. A large, oval shaped pool was surrounded by the guest house and a covered patio.

"There's a state-of-the-art sprinkler system. The timer is located inside the garage," Celia said, gesturing to the set of double doors on the far end of the yard. She paused and looked back at us. "Are you ready to go upstairs?"

"Actually, I think we've seen enough," Carlisle told her, causing both of us to look up at her. "This place isn't for us. It's too much. We're looking for something smaller, more . . . down to earth."

"Down to earth," she repeated. "Um, okay. I'm not sure what that means. Can you give me a better idea of what you're looking for?"

"Something close to Berkeley, or at least no more than a fifteen minute drive, but nothing in the heart of the city, either," Carlisle explained. "Three to four bedrooms at the most, a couple of bathrooms. Nothing like this," he added, gesturing to the house.

Celia smiled and nodded. "I've got the perfect place. Can you meet me at 56353 Oceanside Drive in, say, an hour?"

"Sure," Carlisle said, looking down at me. "Is that okay with you?"

I nodded, because honestly, all I wanted to do was get out of there. The place made me uncomfortable and small — very, very small.

"Excellent," Celia cheered, digging her phone out of her bag.

Carlisle led me out of the house and back to the car. Once we were both in, he started the engine and drove around the rest of the circle drive, down the driveway, and pulled out back on the road. "Well, it was nice."

"Yeah," I murmured, because it was nice.

"Thank you for indulging me," he said, and I looked over at him. "I knew it wasn't your style. I should have thought about what you'd want, or at least asked you before setting up that appointment."

"It's not that I didn't like the house," I told him.

"It just wasn't you," he replied.

I shook my head. "All I could think about were the boys. They'd never fit in there."

"You're right," he agreed.

—TB—

An hour later, Carlisle pulled up in front of 56353 Oceanside Drive. Climbing out of the car, I found myself completely enthralled with the house that sat in front of me. Located on the beach, the small house was perfect. White with dark blue shutters and a large porch that wrapped around the house, the place was just a bit bigger than our house in Forks. There was a white-picket fence around the front and back yards, which would give the boys plenty of room to play.

"You like this one?" Carlisle asked, wrapping his arm around my waist.

I nodded. "So far. Of course, the inside may be horrible."

"Or it might be perfect," he countered. "Shall we go look?"

I agreed, and the two of us traveled up the small, cobblestone pathway to the house. Celia wasn't there yet, so we couldn't go inside, but there was a porch swing hanging from the rafters. I could imagine myself working on homework while the boys played in the yard, imagine Carlisle and I sitting out and watching the stars, listening to the waves as they washed up on the shore.

"Carlisle," I murmured, wrapping my arms around myself as I leaned against the railing of the porch.

"What?" he whispered, sliding his arms around me.

"Will you teach me how to swim?"

"Sure," he said, softly. "But only if you promise to wear a bikini."

"Deal," I laughed and turned to face him. "I can see us living here."

He smiled. "I can, too. The boys would love it."

"They would," I agreed, resting my head on his chest. "I miss them."

"Me too," he whispered. "We'll call them in a bit, okay?"

I nodded and closed my eyes, just enjoying the feel of his arms around me, the cool ocean air, and the sense of contentment. However, the sound of a car parking in front of the house pulled me out of my moment of serenity and I opened my eyes and watched as Celia made her way along the path to where we were waiting.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she said, fumbling with the keys. "There was a wreck six blocks up and they had traffic blocked for fifteen minutes."

"It's okay," Carlisle said, quietly.

Celia smiled. "So, this place is more of what you want, I think. There are four bedrooms, two and a half baths, and an outside shower just outside of the garage."

She unlocked the front door and we followed her inside. While the house was empty, I already knew it was perfect. The living room was large enough for our furniture, but wasn't so big that it would feel empty with just our belongings.

"The floors are natural woods, and were just refinished six months ago," she explained, gesturing around the room. "The fireplace works, though I don't know how often it's been used. Through here," she said, leading us through the living room into another room, "is the dining room. There is a built-in breakfast table in the kitchen."

Celia led us into the kitchen, which was amazing. The appliances were clearly new, and prefect for us. The breakfast nook was just big enough for the four of us and I could already see the boys sitting there while I cooked dinner.

"The laundry room is located in the garage," she said, opening the door to the two car garage. "The door on the far side leads to the outdoor shower. Perfect for afternoons spent on the beach."

Closing the doors, she led us inside and showed us all four bedrooms, and the two bathrooms, all of which had a lot of large windows and natural lighting. With each new room, I found myself falling in love with the place, and knew that it would be perfect for us, if Carlisle liked it, too.

As we made our way back out onto the front porch, Celia turned and looked at us. "So, what do you think?"

"It's nice," Carlisle said, sliding his arm around my waist. "How much is it?"

"Two point two million," she stated, like it wasn't an outrageous amount. "That includes the house and a large part of the beach."

My eyes bugged out of my head while Carlisle simply hummed and nodded. "Hmm, all right." He looked down at me, a smile tugging at his lips. "We'll be in touch."

"Okay, I look forward to talking with you both," she said before locking the house and leaving.

Carlisle turned and faced me. "Breathe, Isabella."

I laughed. "Two point two million?"

"It's a fair price. Especially for something right on the beach," he said.

"Oh, okay," I scoffed, shaking my head. "This is just . . . wow."

"You don't like it?"

I looked up at him. "I love the house. I do, but that's a lot to spend on a house. And I mean, you're the only one working, so you'll have to cover the mortgage on your own."

"Isabella, there won't be a mortgage," he said, slowly.

"Huh?"

"If this is the house you want, I'll buy it for you today."

I simply stared at him. "Carlisle, you can't just drop a couple million dollars on a house like that!"

However, before he could say anything, his cell phone rang. He laughed as he pulled it out of his back pocket. His forehead furrowed as he slid his finger across the green talk arrow and brought it to his ear. "Hello? . . . This is Carlisle Cullen . . . What? I'm not prepared to interview today . . . I see. . . Okay . . . Um," he paused and looked over at me. "Sure . . . Three O'clock sounds good . . . I look forward to talking with you, too . . . okay, thanks . . . goodbye." Carlisle ended his call before shifting his eyes back to mine. "Um, that was the director of a new medical co-op. He heard that I was looking for a job and wants me to come in and talk with him."

"That's great," I said, smiling. "At three?"

Carlisle nodded.

"Well, that gives you time to drop me off at the hotel, right?"

"I'd rather you come with me," he said.

"What? Carlisle, I can't! They're not going to want your fiancé present for your interview!" I exclaimed.

"I know, but I'd like you to get a feel for the place, see what you think. I mean, this would be completely different than working for a hospital. Normal hours, which means home in the evenings and weekends. Please?"

"Carlisle," I murmured, warily. "I don't want to cost you the chance at a great job."

"You won't," he said, and when I started to shake my head, he brought his hands up to my face. "If they can't accept you as a part of my life, then they can go to hell. Please? Besides, we're supposed to be on vacation. I don't want to lose one minute with you."

Shaking my head, I couldn't keep the smile off my face. "Fine, but I swear if our relationship costs you this job . . ." I trailed off, just thinking about how much I'd already cost him and the boys.

"Then it's not the job for me," he murmured, tilting my face up and looking me straight in the eyes. "You are more important to me than any opportunity that could come my way."

"I just hope it doesn't come to that," I whispered.

"It won't."

But I wasn't so sure.

Thank you for all the reviews. Still around 4-5 chapters to go.