Chapter 12 (BPOV)


Song(s): "Not Strong Enough" by Apocalyptica ft Brent Smith


A/N: Thank you for all the love and support! Special thank you to our beta and prereaders!


It was late at night that I got a text from Edward, letting me know he would be available to hang out tomorrow. He also sent me his address, since I was so hesitant about my dad knowing what was going on. I went to bed and woke up the next morning excited. It was going to be fun to spend time with Edward, but I was also a little worried. I didn't know what to expect from him. We weren't in a relationship, so he didn't owe me anything. I honestly wondered if the reason I kept refusing to sleep with him was because that was what he wanted. So if he didn't get it, then he would stick around. My excuses were running thin though because he had told me he stopped calling his skanks. But fuck me if I didn't have the strength to keep my hands to myself when he was there with me, so close and kissing me, like last night. Add in that he could have just gone home after he got his, but he didn't. He stayed here all night.

Groaning, I finished getting dressed. I don't know why, but I wanted to dress nicely for him. So, I pulled on my blue skater dress. It was short, but not inappropriately so. Then I slid into my wedge sandals, grabbed my keys, and snuck out the front door without my dad hearing me. I didn't necessarily need to be home today, but I didn't want to have to lie about where I was going. Getting in my SUV, I put it in reverse, letting it roll down the inclined driveway before starting it at the bottom and taking off.

I headed to Edward's apartment. We were going to drive to the range together, but I couldn't have him come get me at home. I grabbed my bag that carried my gun. I walked to the front door and knocked, hearing Bear barking and Edward telling him to knock it off. He opened the door, and he was freshly showered. His hair was still wet, looking just delicious. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans that fit him perfectly. I smiled at him despite myself, and he smirked back, opening the door farther for me to walk inside. I could feel his eyes on my back and legs as I walked in front of him.

His hands gripped my waist and pulled me to him, my back to his front. "Just when I think you can't get any more fucking gorgeous, you show up here, looking like that." He dropped his hands to my thighs and dragged his fingertips up, dipping under the hem of the skirt.

I smiled and inhaled deeply. "I'm glad that you aren't wearing a suit again, but now I feel overdressed."

"You are utterly indecent, baby." Edward chuckled, dropped his hands, and kissed the top of my head before pulling away. "Did you bring your piece?"

I nodded my head, holding up the bag, confirming that I had it.

He twirled his keys around his finger and gestured for us to head out. I followed him to the car and put my bag in the back, so I didn't have to hold it in my lap.

We chatted on the way there, and I wondered if Edward would even have fun or enjoy this today. I guessed I was about to find out. He knew I owned a gun, but he had never seen me shoot it before. When we arrived at our destination, I grabbed my bag and got out of the car. Edward grabbed his own bigger one and followed me to the building. Once we'd made it to the front desk, we handed over our IDs and permits for our firearms to the attendant. After she'd entered our information into the system, she gave us two pairs of over-the-ear headphones for hearing protection and advised us where we could leave our things if we wanted and pointed out where we should head next.

Edward and I took the stalls right next to each other. I set down my things and put on my headphones. Pulling my gun out of my bag, I popped the chamber, making sure it wasn't loaded. I also pulled out the clip, making sure that I had a full one. There was more than one clip in my bag, so I just set it off to the side. I looked around the partial wall separating Edward and myself and saw he had two guns in his bag. Disengaging my weapon, I made sure the safety was still on and set my piece down before I walked over to stand beside him.

He looked at me over his shoulder with a smirk plastered on his face. The twin Glocks laid out in front of him were intimidating, but I could tell they were well taken care of. My gun—a purple 9 mm Sig—was smaller and kinda a girly gun, but I had only gotten it to have added protection at home. When Jazz and I went target shooting, he always brought me one of his Glocks. I was more comfortable shooting those, but I didn't own any.

I smiled at Edward and then went back to my stall. I flipped the safety off, and feeling like messing with him, I turned my handgun to the side, like a gangster would hold it, and used one hand to shoot one of the targets. It was way off because shooting like this made it hard to aim. Edward looked over at me, then he came to stand next to me. I looked at him expectantly.

"What is this shit? That ain't how you hold a gun, Bella," Edward said.

"How am I supposed to know that?" I asked dumbly.

"So, you have a gun, but you don't know how to shoot the god forsaking thing?" he asked, eyebrows raised in question. His tone was full of annoyance.

"I've never had to shoot anyone with it," I retorted.

"Okay, first of all, your little water pistol. It's purple," he teased me.

"It's a Sig, Edward," I said, exasperated.

He scoffed, rolled his eyes, and went to grab one of his guns. "Try my nine. You'll like this one better. "

I disengaged my Sig and flipped the safety back on. I took the Glock in my hand, enjoying the weight of it. Edward grabbed me by the shoulders and steered me to my stall. "What are you doing?"

"Showing you how to shoot, woman," he said. He kicked the side of my feet. "Shoulder width apart. Stand up straight." I did what he told me, trying to keep from rolling my eyes. I knew all this, but I would let him have his moment. He stood right behind me. "You want to hold it with both hands. Lift your arms, and keep your elbows locked because there will be a recoil." He lifted my arms as he said this. "Now, do you see that notch at the top?" I nodded. "That's your aim. Look down that and then shoot the motherfucker."

"How does an entrepreneur know so much about guns?" I snarked.

"It's Brooklyn, Bella. It's not like Disneyland." he said, unbothered by the fact I was questioning him.

I nodded and pulled the trigger, shooting way too wide, again on purpose. I shot a few more times, getting closer to the center. "Speaking of, how did you get past my dad's security the other night?"

"Everyone has a past, Bella. I was young once, and I'm just that good." He said with a cocky smirk. "Why does your dad have so much security anyway?"

I shook my head and tried to keep the tremble out of my voice. We were getting to close to dangerous territory here. "My dad got paranoid after my mom died. I really don't want to talk about it though."

He nodded and we were quiet for a moment while I continued to shoot. I suddenly came up with a brilliant plan and smiled. "Hey, Edward. I want to make a bet."

He smirked. "Bet?"

"Yep, you name the terms of the bet. But if I win, I get to drive your car." I smiled brightly at him.

He smirked, thinking he was gonna win this bet easily. "And if you lose?"

"What do you want?" I asked, knowing what he wanted full well.

He chuckled and stepped closer to me so that he could speak quietly and still be heard. "You know what I want, baby. I wanna fuck you. In my car."

"Deal. So, what are the terms?"

He removed his gun from my hand, pulled the clip out, took out all the bullets until just five were left, set aside five more on the stand, and then slid the clip back in. He handed the gun back to me, then he went to pull the current target I was using down and put a new one up. "We each get five shots. The goal is to get at least three of the five in the nine ring or closer. Whoever gets closest to the middle, wins."

"Okay. I don't know if I'll be able to do that, so why don't you go first.." I handed him the gun, and he lined up to take his shots. His posture and aim was nearly flawless. The sight of him with the gun in his hand, how effortlessly he handled it, left me feeling hot and bothered, but I knew I needed to keep my head in the game. I watched as he fired in rapid succession, each bullet landing just inside the nine ring in perfect symmetry.

When he'd taken his last shot, he put the gun down at his side and turned to me with a cocky smirk on his face. After he picked up the spare bullets and reloaded the Glock, he held it out for me to take.

"Your turn. Show me what you've learned."

Exaggerating my movements, I got into my shooting position. I looked down the barrel through the notch like he "taught" me. Five times, I squeezed the trigger. Every single bullet went into the dead center ring of the target. I looked at the gun Edward had loaned me before I spoke. "You know, I think I do like this gun better."

When I turned to Edward, he looked shocked and bewildered. "How the fuck did you do that?"

"I guess you're just a really excellent teacher," I said. He glared at me in disbelief. "Fine. I hustled you, Edward. I know how to shoot. My best friend, Jasper, takes me to practice. Has been for months, actually."

"What the fuck for? Are you fucking shitting me? I got 'hustled' by a chick. This is rich. Madonna fucking mia, only me. Why? First Blondie, now this shit." He started spewing nonsense in Italian, clearly outraged.

I had to stifle a laugh, watching him have a tantrum like that. "I hustled you because I wanna drive your car. Jasper has been teaching me for protection. Like you said, it's Brooklyn," I explained. I shook my head, trying not to think about why I asked for lessons in the first place. "Eventually, I want to move out of my dad's house, and I don't want to depend on someone to keep me safe. I'll do it myself. When I told my dad I wanted to know how to defend myself, he gave me a can of pepper spray. He does every other month." I rolled my eyes.

Edward smirked, and his eyes softened when he looked at me. I noticed he had been doing that a lot recently, almost as if he were letting his guard down. "Well, from what I know about Italian fathers and their little princesses, they don't want them to do shit that's unnecessarily dangerous. He probably just wants to keep you safe and fucking sound."

"I get that, but I'm twenty-one, not twelve. I'm so tired of being Bella Swan, daughter of respected businessman Charles Swan. Free of the obligations and expectations, I just want to be Bella. Like, for example, if my dad knew I was hanging out with you, he would flip," I confessed. I didn't know why I was telling him all this. Maybe I just wanted someone outside this situation to say that everything was going to be fine and turn out okay. But I couldn't tell him the truth. My dad was the Don of the Cigno family and I had higher expectations resting on my shoulders.

"Your pops don't even know me," he said darkly, like he was offended.

I nodded and pleaded with my eyes for him to understand. But he couldn't. If he knew who my family really was, it would put him in trouble and I couldn't live with myself if he got hurt because of me. "I know. That's exactly the problem. I am expected to marry some rich guy who can take over my dad's businesses when he retires. I'm not allowed to date guys he doesn't personally vet himself. It's why I don't date because I'm not interested in all that arranged marriage shit."

He stepped closer to me, pressing me into the counter of my stall. "Oh, I don't scare so easily, Bella. I'm here now, and if I need to protect you, I will. Sorry to say, but I'm not fucking scared of your dad or any fucker you throw at me." He cupped my chin, running his thumbs across my cheekbone. I dropped my eyes from his gaze, needing a minute to gain my composure.

"I believe you." I breathed.

He nodded, and we stepped away from each other. "Let's get out of here. You have a car that you get to drive."

I smiled at him and we both started packing away our guns and ammunition. I popped the chamber on the Glock, making sure it was clear. Then I slipped the safety on and handed it back to Edward. I put my gun in its case and zipped up my bag. We walked to Edward's car, and he handed me the keys. "Keep it at the speed limit while we are around here. I don't need any fucking pigs messing with us. I'll tell you where to go so you can drive it fast."

I nodded and got in on the driver's side, adjusting the seat and mirrors. I turned the ignition, and the purring sound of the car got me all giddy. Edward actually laughed, and the genuine smile he rarely wore broke out across his face. My stomach flipped at the feeling that I was probably one of the few people who saw him like this.

I kept the beast at five over the speed limit, like everyone drove, and took the turns that Edward told me to make. We were heading toward the Belt Parkway. I looked at him questioningly—driving on the Belt would be the opposite of going fast—but he told me to trust him. When we didn't get onto it, he gave me the signal, so I floored the accelerator, and within a few seconds, I was edging on 100 mph. I handled the car perfectly and made turns without a problem, using a combination of braking and drifting. After about twenty minutes, we got to the exit for Owl's Head Park. I came to a stop and turned to Edward, shutting the car off. "Oh my god. I've never driven that fast before," I exclaimed, the adrenaline buzzing through my veins.

Edward just looked a little shocked and maybe like he regretted letting me drive his car. I felt jittery, like I needed to get out this excess energy. Kinda feeling bad that I had hustled him at the shooting range, making him think I couldn't shoot, I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled his lips to mine. When I ran my tongue across his top lip, he opened his mouth to me. Our tongues molded together.

I broke away from his mouth long enough to pull myself over the center and straddle his lap. Pressing my lips to his again, I reached down to his pants. Popping the button and working the zipper was hard because of how we were sitting, so he took over for me. He undid his belt and his pants. I reached in and grabbed his shaft. He was hard as steel.

I smiled at him, hiked my skirt up, and pulled my underwear to the side. When I sank down on him, we both moaned out. Him in surprise and me from being filled completely.

"Fuck, Bella."

"Oh, my god. Jesus Edward," I said. I didn't want to tell him he was big because, of course, he knew that, but I wasn't used to it. After sliding down his dick by swiveling my hips, I lifted myself up. He groaned and then thrust up into me, causing him to go just a bit farther inside me. I locked my arms around his neck but we didn't kiss. We just breathed and moaned together. "You feel so good," I whimpered.

He thrust up again powerfully, and his dick hit somewhere inside of me that made me see stars. I let out a gasping moan. "You like that, baby?" His voice was husky and deep.

I nodded, not able to form the words right now. I felt like an exposed nerve. Sensations hit me over and over. I buried my head in his neck, trying to muffle the embarrassingly loud moans he was pulling from me. "Fuck," I ground out.

We escalated into a faster pace, with me riding him and him thrusting into me. I could feel my orgasm building in my belly, and I could tell that it was going to be powerful. My rhythm faltered, my stomach clenching and my walls fluttering. I stopped moving, overwhelmed by the climax barreling over me.

Edward stared at me, and my pleasure-overloaded brain noticed how green his eyes looked right now. He pushed my hair back off my sweaty face and cupped my cheek. "Are you okay?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, just a little tired."

"Good, because I'm not even close to being done with you."

I chuckled tiredly as he pulled out of me. I squealed in surprise when he flipped me over and got on top of me, grabbing behind me to recline the seat. He pulled my underwear off me and bunched my skirt up again. He kissed me and thrust inside me again. "Oh, my god." Why did this feel so good? I'd had a lot of sex, and it wasn't all bad, but most of it was mediocre. There was some great sex, but Edward just blew them all out of the water.

Lying underneath him allowed me to watch his muscles clench and move. His eyes hooded as they watched me, momentarily locking with mine before he was looking down. From this angle, I could look down and see him sliding in and out of me. God, that looked so erotic.

I shifted my eyes upward, staring at the ceiling, absorbing all the feelings he was eliciting in me. He wrapped his arms around me, lifting me just a little, allowing him to bury himself to the hilt. "Edward," I pleaded, not quite sure what I was asking for.

"I know, baby. I'm getting close. Are you?"

I reached down to rub circles on my clit, wondering if I would be able to climax again, and I was surprised to feel the warmth start to pool in my belly so soon. He moaned while I nodded my head. I felt my walls clamping on him, and my stomach clenched, the pleasure rolling over me. He thrust a few more times and then stilled as he spurted inside me.

He fell down on top of me, both of us catching our breath.

"I think that was better than the first time," I said quietly, awed.

"Yeah. I may have jacked off before I picked you up." He chuckled. "You have been driving me crazy with your short dresses, so it helps to not walk around with a boner all night."

I laughed. His blatant honesty one hundred percent of the time was refreshing. He never held back and I appreciated that. "So, you can go more than once a night?"

He smirked. "Just wait until I get you in a bed. You won't be sleeping, that's for sure."

"You had me in a bed, but I don't know. You sure you won't miss the car sex?"

He chuckled and nodded, that smile in place again. He lifted off me and sat in the driver's seat, buckling his pants and doing his belt. He fumbled in the glove box, handing me a couple napkins to clean up. I did so, then pulled my underwear back on and righted my dress. Turning the ignition, he fiddled with the knobs, and cool air started pouring out of the vents. I smiled at him in thanks.

He pulled onto the road, heading back to his house. I knew I needed to get my car and go back home, but I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay, but I hadn't really been invited, so it was a moot point. When we got back to his place, we exited the car, and he walked me to where my vehicle was parked.

"It's not late. Do you want to come inside my crib?" Edward asked nonchalantly.

I chuckled and nodded, following him inside, thinking I would only stay for a little bit.

~TCOS~

I woke up with a start. I was in an unfamiliar room, and I rubbed my eyes, waiting for my brain to catch up. We were in Edward's living room. Edward and I had eaten some dinner, and I was surprised that he could cook. We watched a movie, but it was boring so we started making out. After giving each other orgasms, I must've fallen asleep. Oh no, no, no! I grabbed my phone, and it said 6 AM. My dad was gonna be so pissed. I saw I had several texts, missed calls, and voicemails. Understandably, they were all from my dad or Rose. "Fuck!" I jumped off the couch and pulled my dress back on.

Edward jolted awake and watched me for a minute. "You thinking of sneaking out while I was asleep?"

"It's six AM, Edward. I'm so fucking dead. My dad is going to put me on lockdown, so get a good look 'cause you probably won't see me again."

"You're an adult, Bella. He can't keep your ass locked up."

I scoffed. After a long time, I found my shoes and put them on. I rushed to him and gave him a kiss and then left.

I ran as well as I could in wedges and got to my car quickly. Thankfully, the traffic wasn't bad given the early hour as I raced the short distance home. When I pulled into the driveway, I shut off the car before I hurried up the front steps and opened the door as quietly as I could, hoping that I'd luck out and my dad would still be asleep. The coast was clear in the foyer, so I started to head up to my suite. After I'd made it to about the fifth stair, Charlie and Rose ran out of the living room. I turned and my dad was standing there, with his arms crossed, his face beet red while the vein in his forehead throbbed. I hadn't seen my dad this angry since I was in my second year of college.

"Explain! Now!" he said through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I fell asleep at a friend's house."

"Which friend, Bella? I know all your friends. I called every one of them. Funny enough, except for Jasper, none of them have seen you for a while. But you're always gone. So where are you going?"

"You don't know this friend."

"You're going to stop seeing this friend. I know it's a boy, otherwise I would have met this mystery friend already. Whoever he is to you, whatever you've been doing, it stops now."

I shook my head. My early morning freak out and getting so little sleep had my temper high. "No! That's not fair. Rose has friends you've never met, and she doesn't have a curfew, either. Why do I?"

He gave me a hard look. "You know why, Bella."

"So, I get punished for that? I did nothing wrong."

"This isn't a discussion. Go get dressed appropriately for work. You are acting slutty, and you look like one in that dress."

Rose looked at my dad in shock, and my jaw dropped. I covered my mouth to keep from crying out. The tears clouded my vision as I ran up to my room and slammed the door. "Don't cry. Don't cry," I chanted to myself.

Once I'd calmed down, I grabbed my two duffel bags from the closet. I got changed into leggings, a t-shirt, and a light zip-up hoodie. I threw the dress I had just taken off into one of the bags. I was methodical with which items of clothing I grabbed, knowing I may not have a chance to come back and get the rest. My bras and underwear were in a drawer, so I dumped the contents into my other bag.

I ran around my room, grabbing sentimental items and things I didn't want to lose. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and logged onto my banking app. Rose and I had bank accounts in our names that were set up by our dad, meaning he could control them, too. I transferred my entire bank balance, including savings, into a secret savings account I had opened in just my name at the same bank, knowing my dad would cut me off when I left as a way of trying to get me to come back. I had my trust fund that I got control of when I was twenty-one, but I hadn't spent much of it.

I grabbed both of the duffel bags and rushed downstairs. Rose was still standing at the bottom of the steps and her eyes grew wide when she saw me. "What are you doing, Bella? You're supposed to be getting ready to go to work with Dad."

"No. As of right now, he has no more control over my life. I'm leaving," I told her, still mad.

My dad came into the foyer, probably wondering why I was yelling. "What is this? You're not ready to go."

"Nope. I'm not going. I'm moving out."

"Bella, no. You aren't safe out there by yourself. Please rethink this," My dad pleaded, looking panicked, his condescending attitude evaporating immediately.

"Really? Your memory can't be that short, Dad. You just called me a slut not more than ten minutes ago because I was wearing a short dress." My anger and temper were at a boiling point. My dad had never seen me this angry, and Rose looked like she was going to throw up or cry. "You're one of those people that blames rape victims by saying that dressing slutty is why they got raped, so they were just asking for it. Tell me, Dad! Was Carmen asking for it? Did we deserve to get pulled into a dark room and slapped and punched because we weren't cooperating or being easy victims? I had to go get help for her so she didn't get raped. You can go fuck yourself because I'm your daughter, not one of your soldiers or commanders. I flung open the front door, ignoring my dad and Rose calling my name. I threw my bags in my SUV, then when I pulled out of the driveway, I made sure I peeled out of there.

I drove to the only place I could think of. When I arrived, I sat looking at the apartment, wondering if this was a mistake or not. I carried my bags with me to the front door and knocked a few times before there was an answer. When the door opened, a very sleepy-looking and rumpled Jasper stood there. He became more alert when he took in the bags at my feet and the tear tracks that had dried on my cheeks. Reaching forward, he pulled me into an embrace, and I couldn't control the way my body shook with my sobs. He whispered soothing words to me and stroked my hair.

After I had calmed down a little bit, he grabbed my bags with one arm and kept the other around my shoulders, ushering me inside.


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