DISCLAIMER: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight not me. I just love playing around with the characters we all know and love. :-)

Authors Notes:

***So Edward loves Bella and she knows it. Will he find out how she feels? I hadn't known who would say the big 'L-O-V-E' word first but as I was writing this felt right. :-) Hopefully it read well?

***A lot of you were a bit frustrated with Bella last chapter for not standing up to Tanya. Remember that she is naturally timid not to mention Tanya is the mother of her student. Making waves would not be a wise move. We can all mentally punch Tanya for her...or kick...or worse. Besides by getting Lizzie's attention and acting gracefully she showed who the woman of that house was. ;-)

***I got more feedback last chapter than usual and I FINALLY BEAT MY REVIEW RECORD. SO THANK-YOU all so much. The more feedback the better. I love getting a message on my phone that I have a new review posted. Then I can read them instead of working my job. lol ;-) ;-) ;-). Keep them coming

***32...is the new number of reviews per chapter to beat. ***REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW

***Happy Early VALENTINES DAY. Lots of love to my fans

*******This story has been nominated for "Best Undiscovered Gem" fanfiction. :-) :-) :-) If anyone wants to cast a vote for me the poll is on . .

Thank you all so much

#20: Passionate Encounter

EPOV

How can one person make you so angry in such a short time?

The answer... they can be your ex-wife and then it's pretty damn easy...apparently.

I took a few deep breaths after kicking Tanya out, unable to control anything else that came out of my mouth if I had to look at her for even one more second. I probably shouldn't have let her get such a rise out of me but the number of lines she crossed was enough to have me seeing red.

Her initial attack against me I was able to roll my eyes at. BLAH, BLAH 'mid life crisis', BLAH BLAH, 'you didn't tell me you were seeing someone', BLAH BLAH, 'how long has this been going on?', BLAH BLAH BLAH. But then she had to push me to God Damn Far. She insinuated that I was cradle-robbing and that Bella was essentially a gold digging whore.

Who the fuck does she think she is?

No one and I do mean NO-ONE will talk about Bella like that ever in my presence. She is the most amazing woman I've ever met and I...

"Hey." I turned away from my front door and Bella was standing there, looking nervous.

"Hey Beautiful." I closed my eyes for a quick moment as I took another deep breath, still needing a few seconds to calm down. I immediately felt Bella wrap herself around my middle and I had to smile before kissing the top of her head. It's funny how before her I'd always had a preference for taller women yet I loved our height difference. She was always at the perfect level for me to take her all in. I guess it's just her... all of her.

I rubbed her arms for a few strokes before pulling her face up so I could look at her. "I'm okay, I promise."

"I'm sorry about all of that."

"Why the Hell are you sorry?" I tried to sound amused but I was a little to tense for it to come off as intended.

"If I hadn't come over so early...that wouldn't have happened."

"Bella it was going to happen eventually anyway."

"Still I wasn't expecting her...onslaught. I probably didn't handle it very well."

I ignored the second part of her statement. "What the Fuck did she say to you?" Now I was even more pissed. I hadn't even considered what she may have said to Bella before Lizzie and I got home.

"Nothing important." She smiled while holding my hands in hers.

"If she upset you then it's important to me." I pulled her close to me again and kissed her just once.

"I was a little upset at first but I'm not anymore." Her beautiful smile showed she was being honest.

"Why not?"

"Because me upset is what she wanted." She leaned up to kiss my cheek. "You upset is what she wants, and I refuse to give her what she wants." She smiled proudly and I just starred in awe.

"Sometimes I forget just how smart you are, but then you remind me." I kissed her for real now, letting it deepen since our greeting earlier had been sullied.

"Come on, Lizzie is almost ready to go." I let her lead me to the stairs, hand-in-hand.

"Please tell me she didn't hear any of that." The thought made me cringe.

"No. She was in her room the whole time. We couldn't hear anything in there."

"Thank-you for doing that." Lizzie is to good for Tanya and I's drama.

"Of course." We stopped just outside Lizzie's room.

"Have I told you how amazing you are?" Never one to disappoint Bella blushed from my compliment.

"You always do."

"Just checking." I winked before leading the way into Lizzie's room.

"Bella! Daddy!" Lizzie was holding up a picture of all of us, and I do mean all of us. My whole family, including Lizzie, standing with Bella. I could spot her by the floral sundress and big smile.

"Oh my God that's beautiful." Bella held up the picture before hugging it and Lizzie.

"I made it for you so you don't miss me so much." I smirked as Bella snuggled Lizzie tight. She was trying to hide it but I could see her eyes welling up. She was such a soft soul and every-time I witnessed it, it was incredibly difficult to look away. I had truthfully never met such a genuinely good person until Bella. It was the thing that first drew me to her, the thing that made it so I couldn't get her out of my head, the reason I had to make her mine, the reason I was so lost in her, and the reason I've fallen for her.

I hadn't really realized how strong my feelings were until the events of downstairs. Tanya questioning Bella's motives, my motives just brought it all to light. Honestly the big reveal happening to my ex of all people was obviously not ideal but at least it had ended the conversation.

"Daddy, how far away is New York?"

"Pretty far baby. I think the flight is about 5 or 6 hours."

"Is it pretty there."

"Very pretty, especially in the square at night."

"Really?"

"Yep. I'm sure your mom will show you." Just saying the word mom had me back on edge with what Tanya had said. I tried to skate past it all though since I didn't have much time left with Lizzie.

"I wish you could come with me." She gave me a pout and I laughed.

"This is your mommy time. Don't you want to spend it with her?"

"Yes... but I want you there too." I was squatting down to talk to her and she had wrapped her little arms around my neck as she spoke near my ear.

"Baby girl..." I picked her up and gestured for Bella to follow us out of the room. She motioned to Lizzie's bathroom as she went inside and came back out holding Lizzie's toothbrush that I hadn't packed yet. She added it to the bag then took it with as she followed us out. "You and I will have so much fun when you get back okay?"

"But can't you come?" The Lizzie pout was working against me...

"I can't baby, but I tell you what, you can call me every night and tell me all about New York." I chose to change the subject of me going on a trip with her mother since Lizzie wasn't understanding my gentle No's.

"What if I can't?" I chuckled.

"Actually I have a surprise to help with that."

"A surprise?" Well that cheered her up really fast. Her voice was clearly excited now. Kids have the fastest mood swings.

All of us reached downstairs and I left both of them waiting on the couch while I went to get her surprise from my office. When I got back I found Lizzie curled up in Bella's lap with Bella whispering something that had Lizzie smiling wide. "Alright you want your present now or later?" I mockingly held the present to my chest, as if she wouldn't want it right now.

"Now, now, now." She spoke in a 'gimme, gimme' tone while holding her hands out eagerly. I had to laugh at her energy as I handed over the gift bag. She ripped through the tissue paper like it wasn't even there and pulled out the small box that she opened just as fast. She held out the large lime green wrist watch and her eyes got so wide.

"Now this is a very special watch." She looked up at me in wonder as I began fastening it to her wrist. It barely fit because of how small her little hand was, but I managed.

"What's it do?"

"Well it can tell time, but it can also do something that only big girls get to do."

"What?" Her eager eyes watched me closely as I smiled at her cute face. I showed her the touch screen on the children's smart watch and showed her the screen with 'Daddy' on it. "If you ever need me you can actually call me right here on your watch."

"I can?" Her disbelieving eyes and question made me lean in to kiss her head through my laugh. "Yep see." I pushed the button for my phone number and immediately my cell started ringing. I picked it up and Lizzie's eyes grew to saucer size.

"Hello Lizzie?"

"Daddy?" Her big green eyes kept flashing from the watch where my voice was sounding to me where I was fighting laughing.

"Hey baby girl." From there Lizzie wouldn't let me hang up my cell because she wanted to talk to me through her watch for the next 20 minutes. She even left the room to make sure she could still hear me.

"I'm pretty sure she loves the watch." Bella and I had cuddled up on the couch so Lizzie could call me a million more times from every room in the house. I tried my best to explain to her that she should only call me about once a day unless there's an emergency. Of course whatever a 5 year old classifies as an emergency is anyone's guess...

"Let's just hope that she shows some restraint."

"Restraint from a 5 year old... good luck with that."

I laughed with her while stroking her side with my fingertips. "Careful now. You know those watches can hold 3 phone numbers. I have an idea of who #2 should belong to."

"Is that supposed to be a threat? I love Lizzie." She laughed as I pulled her closer to me.

"You may love her but wait until you've received 30 calls in one day."

KNOCK KNOCK

"Ugggggg..." I was not emotionally ready to deal with Tanya again. I closed my eyes as Bella chuckled and slowly got up from where we'd more or less sunk into the couch together.

"It's almost over."

"Uh-huh, sure it is..." I rolled my eyes as I dragged myself to the door while Bella went to find Lizzie. I chose not to open the door right away as I would need Lizzie as a buffer. Amazingly Bella found her fast and met me at the door with a now clingy Lizzie.

"Daddy, I'm gonna miss you." The pout was back but it was more playful now, as she was happy about the watch.

I reached to take her from Bella who gave Lizzie a quick kiss before giving her up. "I'm gonna miss you too baby." I was proud of Bella for not leaving before Tanya saw her again. She stood right next to me and casually touched my arm as well as Lizzie. She may be timid but she still wasn't going to back down from Tanya, which was incredible considering Tanya's behavior. I opened the door but kept my focus on Lizzie so I wouldn't have to look at her mom. "Be a good girl and tell me all about New York okay?"

"Okay. I love you daddy."

"I love you too baby girl. Call me tomorrow night, any time."

"I promise. Bye." She took her mothers hand and waved with the other, to both of us. I silently gave the hand-led luggage to Tanya who took it without a word, thankfully.

"Bye Lizzie." Bella waved goodbye as Tanya strapped Lizzie in the car and took off without giving us another glance.

…...

"I would not have pegged you as a lover of spicy food." I laughed as Bella ate a whole Jalapeno pepper. After Lizzie had left we decided to eat out at a restaurant before seeing a movie. It was the classic dinner and a movie date, that we hadn't actually done yet. I was pretty excited for it too since I hadn't done it in years.

"I'm full of surprises." She smiled while offering me the other pepper off her fajita plate. I shook my head at her cute little face. "To hot for you?"

"I'm not as young as you." I laughed while she rolled her eyes before putting the pepper down and drinking some of her lemonade. I had told her the margaritas here are really good but she seemed uninterested in alcohol. It was surprising considering her newly legal status.

"So where were we?" We had been playing a game of twenty questions but with the spin of 'What if' added in. It was actually making for a lot of interesting and hilarious revelations about one another.

"I think it was my turn?" She nodded. "Okay I have a good one. What if animals could talk, which species do you think would be the rudest?"

She laughed at my random question and shook her head. While she had been putting forward more intellectual scenarios for us to discuss I had chosen goofy topics simply because I loved her laugh. "Hyenas obviously." I waited for her explanation. "Have you heard how annoying their laugh is?" I had to chuckle at her answer.

"Fair point, but personally I think it would be something more surprising... like puppies."

"Puppies?" She almost looked offended which had me fighting laughter. "You think puppies would be the rudest animal?"

"Yeah I mean everyone loves puppies. They are constantly cuddled, held, kissed on, told how cute they are... Think of how much that power would go to their heads. There's something to be said for humility." By the time I was done explaining myself she was laughing loudly and had flushed pink in her amusement.

"You're ridiculous you know that..." She rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her beautiful smile. Despite being sat at a large booth I had opted for us sitting together as close as possible on one side. Now that our weekend was finally here I didn't want to be far apart.

"You love that about me." I stroked her face as I whispered the statement directly into her ear.

"Among many things..." She blushed at her words and I leaned down to kiss her a few times. This time she tried to deepen it but I pulled away with a wink.

"Your turn." She pursed her lips as she considered her next question. The amount of thought she can put into such a silly game made me want to kiss her again. I really do love this women, and for so many reasons, including her intelligence. What she had told me earlier to pull me back from the rage Tanya had caused really helped to remind me just how incredible Bella truly is. Not that it was something I could exactly forget seeing as she reminded me everyday; always so patient, wise, and with a heart of gold.

"Oh I have a good one." I kissed her nose because she was so cute when excited. As soon as I did she giggled and playfully kissed my own. I motioned for her to continue. "What if you hadn't become a lawyer. What would you do instead?"

"Pianist." I didn't even need to think about that one. Music was always my Plan B career, as much as it could be anyway. She just starred at me and blinked a few times.

Clearly she doesn't believe me...

"Are you serious?" Her tone suggested that she couldn't tell if I was joking or not.

"Yes. I've played the piano since I was about 7 years old."

"Really?"

"Yes, I was even accepted into Julliard after high-school."

"Now I know you're messing with me." She narrowed her eyes but I just shrugged.

"I can promise you that I'm not."

"What...how...huh?" She was so confused that I had to laugh at the completely confused face she was making.

"I love the piano and actually have a lot of talent with it." The curiosity in her eyes made me continue. "Even-though I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer some part of me wanted to prove that I COULD do something else so I applied to the art school. I even did the audition piece and everything. I was accepted but playing professionally was never going to be my goal."

"Why not?" Her inner artist was very interested in this which made me smile.

"Music isn't really a career to me or even a skill. That's to narrow a definition and it's so much more. To me it's...freedom, expression,... it's pure. Honestly if I did it for a living, if I had to do it on command like that, I think I would grow to hate it. I play when the feeling comes over me. Something like that should NEVER feel like work." Bella smiled as I finished explaining myself.

She stroked my face softly for a moment before turning a little red at whatever was passing through her mind. "I can't believe I didn't know that you...play. Wow." She whispered the statement and I saw an opportunity to have some fun with her.

I leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Does that excite you beautiful?"

"No." Her answer came a little to fast... Oh it definitely excites her.

"Hmmm." I managed to pull her body even closer to me so that I could hold her around the back with one arm while the other stroked her hair and face as I looked into her eyes. "You know I can play the guitar too." She tried to hide a smile as I purred the words.

"I'm not excited by musicians, Edward." Her soft voice said otherwise...

"So you don't want to hear me play?"

"Of course I do."

"Then admit it."

"Nothing to admit to."

"So stubborn..." I nuzzled her neck a few times and her breathing labored. "...and I disagree baby. I think you should admit that I have even more power over you then either of us realized." I teased her while switching from nuzzling to feather light kisses. She let loose a soft whimper and I drank in her vulnerability. It was yet another thing I love about this woman. She's just so beyond anything I could have expected or believed I could ever find.

"Just what you needed, more power over me." She tried to sound sarcastic but the breathy voice killed the delivery.

I couldn't resist chuckling. "Beautiful, trust me when I say that at the end of the day you hold all the cards."

…...

There hadn't been to much in the theater that appealed to either of us so we just chose a simple action movie that's showing was the closest to our arrival time. Luckily the movie had been out for a few weeks so that added into how late it was meant the showing was pretty empty. We sat in the very back and apart from the first 10 minutes or so where I pretended to actually be interested in whatever the hell was on the screen, I spent the whole movie either touching Bella or kissing her. Apparently she was about as interested in the film as me because she sure as hell didn't try to stop me. In fact she eagerly returned every affection I gave her.

I really had missed her this last week when I couldn't see her, touch her, be with her like this... Clearly I was growing more that a little dependent on Bella and it was such a different experience for me. I've always been the more independent type even when I was married, and it had worked for me. Tanya did her thing and I did mine. In hindsight perhaps it was one of the reasons we were doomed to fail. Yes we had similarities but neither of us ever took the time to actually include the other in stuff that mattered to us, even the little things.

I could never be like that with Bella. I hate being apart for even a few hours and I actually want her involved with all the things I care about. On the flip side of that I also WANT to be around for all the things that matter to her. Whether its the big things or the small ones... all of it just MATTERS with her. Kissing at the movies, joking over pizza, her art, my child, our careers, her schooling, our families... We both put effort into involving the other and doing so is as easy as breathing. Bella had told me that she's somewhat inexperienced with dating and I figure that's where a lot of her timidness comes from. However just because I may have experience that she doesn't I've still learned one big thing through THIS relationship and that's just how wrong every other one felt in comparison to being with Bella.

The arm of the chair between us had been up the entire movie so I of course used the access to continuously touch and hold her, as discreetly as possible. I couldn't resist smiling as we made-out through virtually the whole movie. Has she even looked at the screen once? Have I? Have I ever actually done the whole 'make-out during a movie' before? … No... not even when I was a teenager, probably because no girl had captured me in a way that I was just lost to her, like I am with Bella. Given her bookworm nature I doubt she has ever done this either. Of course this thought made me smile because I knew this was a first we could share.

"Beautiful?" I was holding her face to me with one hand while I finally broke away just enough to speak. We hadn't been completely silent through the movie but for the most part there hadn't been anything we'd wanted to say, at least not with our voices. Both of our breathing was ragged, sounding loud in the empty room.

"Yeah?" Her big brown eyes looked back at me and I smiled while fixing her now slightly messy hair. Taking in that, her swollen lips and bright eyes, had she ever looked more beautiful?

"The movie's over." She quickly looked to the screen where the credits had started. Despite the theater still being dark I could see her turning red. "It seems we missed it." I nuzzled her face and she smiled.

"I guess we had better things to do."

"I know I did." I chuckled then as I lead her out of the movie. We never stopped holding one-another as we walked to my car. My arm held tight around her shoulders as she wrapped both of her arms around my middle. It was getting colder and colder out so I rubbed her shoulder as we walked, still cuddling as close as possible, to the best of our ability.

"Did you watch any of it?" I had her pressed against the door of my car as I asked, not willing to stop touching her for the drive home just yet. It was cold but she was to enticing to resist.

"No." She tried to smile confidently but her innocent blush was right there.

"Me neither." With that I started kissing her again, even deeper then in the theater since now I didn't have to tone it down.

"Edward..." She pretended to protest yet her arms were holding me awfully tight.

"Bella?" I gave a cocky smile before pressing small kisses to her lips and jaw repeatedly. She looked increasingly more dazed as I did so.

She's all mine...

"How do you always do this to me?"

"Do to you? What ever do you mean?" I didn't give her a chance to answer because I was kissing her in earnest again. Her soft whimper did away with my restraint as I pressed her even harder against the car. I swear I could kiss her for hours and never grow tired of it. The little noises she makes, how soft her lips are, her sweet smell. It was all intoxicating.

Has she always felt so soft? Smelled like strawberries and vanilla? Every inch of her seemed to fit against me like she was meant to be there. "You know what you're doing." She smiled into our heated kisses and I smiled right back while chuckling into her mouth. Of course I know, but I refuse to admit it. I do however love the idea of her telling me what I do to her, in vivid detail.

"Hmmm. My mind is a little fuzzy right now..." I dropped a few kisses to her neck before returning to her lips. "...so you will have to be very, very clear. What do I do to you?"

"You make it so I can't focus on anything... just you." Her voice was quiet but sure. Always so soft yet strong. My girl is a walking contradiction that I just can't get enough of.

"Fair's fair beautiful since you've never left my thoughts since the day we met." I wasn't lying because from the moment I looked at her and saw everything that she is, everything she wears on her sleeve... I was lost. I had fought a pointless battle when it came to resisting because in the end there was no way I wouldn't have done anything to make her mine.

"How do you always make me feel special and like I'm the most beautiful woman in the world?" She was blushing pink all over as her eyes bored into mine, never looking away.

"It's the easiest thing in the world to do. Have you seen you? Do you see how incredible you are?" I did my usual thing and stroked her hair down her face and pushed it behind her ear. I loved doing it because her eyes got so bright each time. She always looked so happy when I touched her like this and that smile got me every single time. God, I'm so fucking in love with her that it's incredible I hadn't realized it until today.

"I love you." She whispered the words, but the volume didn't matter because I heard her loud and clear.

I pulled back from her, just slightly and my hand, which had froze for a moment at her words, wrapped around to the back of her head so that I could lean my head against hers. I took a few breaths as my shock and hormones processed what she'd just said. "I love you too Beautiful. How could I not?" She sniffled a gasp but didn't move and neither did I.

There they are... the big words I had doubted I'd ever say to another woman. My usually timid girl even said them first, which just made me smile. She's always surprising me. I took a couple breaths as I held her closer. She loves me and I most certainly love her. I hope she knows how significant those words are for me as I have said them to so few people in my life. I hadn't planned on feeling like this let alone saying the words to her yet but that didn't mean I could ever regret it. I had planned to wait on telling her because of what she'd told me about men in the past manipulating her into having sex to early. I'll be damned if I EVER make her feel like that. I want her to know that my feelings aren't mutually exclusive with our physical relationship. I love her even if she's far from ready to take the next step.

She clung herself to me tightly as she began sniffling, desperately trying to fight tears that were going to come anyway.

There's my girl... I smiled as I held her tighter as she fought crying.

"I'm such a mess." I laughed before pulling her tear streaked face up to look at me. She tried to pull away to hide the wetness from my gaze, but I didn't let her. Gently I wiped the tears away with my thumb. First one eye then the other.

"You are so fucking beautiful, do you know that?" I cursed to make her smile as she often did when I swore. It worked and she took a staggered deep breath while watching me. She kept her gaze on me and I continued to wipe away any small remnants of her tears. Eventually the tears stopped and that look in her eyes I loved so much was back. She was happy, and because of me. "I wasn't expecting to feel like this so fast but I do... I really do love you." She let lose a few more tears and smiled while wiping them away herself this time.

"I really love you too. I can't believe I can't stop crying." Her irritation with herself was loosing a lot of it's weight in the face of how happy she looked.

"My sensitive girl. I wouldn't change a thing about you." I kissed her temple then her face. "I still can't believe you said it before me. Such a brave little lamb." I chuckled, trying to get her to laugh with me. I love her laugh, it's so sweet and innocent, it's simply bright to be around.

"Actually..."

"Actually?"

"I heard you say it...earlier." She avoided my eyes and I shook my head. She heard that huh?

"...So..." She looked up at my pause with a slightly worried face. "... does that mean I get credit for saying it first?" She laughed hard as my competitive nature showed itself.

"Not a chance Mr. Cullen." I narrowed my eyes and she smiled wider. "What? It's not like you knew I heard you so...no. No credit for you." She laughed the whole time she argued which made me laugh.

"Oh really Ms. Swan?" She nodded and I moved my arms to her waist as hers found my neck and shoulders. "The way I see it, without my confession you wouldn't have been able to muster up the courage to say the words to me. Am I wrong?" I quirked my brow up at her and she just smiled blissfully back.

"We'll never know, will we?" She laughed while continuing to sniffle.

"Hmmm. I'm still taking credit, beautiful."

"You do that." She laughed again and then I kissed her hard.

…...

"Why didn't you bring your bag in the house earlier?" We had just gotten back home and she told me her suitcase was still in the SUV. Since it was raining I wanted to get inside fast so I used my own set of keys to open the hatch and pull the bag out.

"I didn't know where to put it."

"Anywhere would have been fine, Beautiful." I closed the hatch then carried her bag inside, following her through the door before clicking the button to close both garages.

"Well I didn't know which room was yours and I didn't want to snoop."

"Hard to snoop when I said you can make yourself at home."

"True." She smiled as I carried her luggage up the stairs, unwilling to let her carry it up herself. My room was the opposite side of the upstairs as Lizzie's was so Bella was looking around the loft curiously. I smiled thinking of this being the first of many times Bella would be staying here.

"And here we are." I opened the door with flourish, making her laugh as she stepped inside. There wasn't really anything special about the space but it was comfortable. In the exact middle of the room, across from the door I had my large raised bed with white and navy blue bedding. On the far right of the room, in it's own nook I had a large chair that Lizzie and I often snuggled on to watch a movie before bedtime. There was also a large 60" T.V. on the electric fireplace stand in front of it. We both used my sitting t.v. area as I didn't like the idea of a safety hazard, like a television, in my little girls bedroom considering her energy level at times. There was also a small sitting area with couches, another t.v., bookcases, and some small toys in the loft of the upstairs but Lizzie preferred to be in here with me.

On the left of the room was my dresser and a desk with my laptop. My main office was downstairs but I kept my mobile computer in here just in case. "This is huge." I laughed as her eyes took in the high ceilings and open space. "Seriously I think my whole apartment could fit in your room."

"Not the WHOLE apartment... just your kitchen, dining room, maybe living room..."

"...okay, okay so most of it could fit." She rolled her eyes as I lifted her suitcase onto my desk after moving the laptop. She opened it up and grabbed a clear bag with her bathroom items.

"The bathroom is over here." I led the way to the furthest door in the room which opened up into my favorite part of the upstairs. The people who owned this house before I bought it had done serious renovations on the master bath, all of which were amazing and nothing I would have thought to do myself. On either side of the door there were sinks complete with built in cabinets and drawers in cherry wood. Honestly each set of cabinetry held more stuff than probably any 4 people could use but it was nice to have. Straight across from the door was the ginormous jacuzzi tub that could easily fit 2 adults with room to spare. On the right of the tub was an enclosed space with a door for the toilet. Next to that was more built in cabinets with a small countered sitting area that I suppose was designed for a woman to use for getting ready. I'd never had a woman stay here before so currently it was unused.

"The best part is over here." I casually grabbed Bella's bathroom bag from her and put it on the sink area opposite of the one I use and showed her the best thing in the whole house, my shower. It took up the entire left side of the bathroom and was built out of dark stone that flowed beautifully with the bronze fixtures

"Oh my God. How many shower heads is that." She walked right into the shower since it didn't have a door. It wasn't necessary considering the well placed drains and see through glass wall that stopped any splashing. It was one of the things I loved about it because it made the space feel open and like a natural waterfall.

"Two here, here, here, and the one in the ceiling." I pointed up to the ACTUAL waterfall shower head. God I loved this shower.

"How do you ever leave?" She laughed and I shrugged playfully.

"Truthfully with a great deal of difficulty."

"My shower must have been a let down compared to this..." She spun around a couple times with her arms slightly extended to show the space it allowed. My mind immediately went to images of her USING this shower. Oh what I wouldn't give to witness that... She gave my shower a furrowed look while taking in every detail while continuing to spin slowly.

I wrapped my arms around her small form from behind and she smiled as I did. My arms held her tight beneath her breasts and her own arms rested over mine. "The only let down was you not joining me, Beautiful." I whispered into her ear and she of course blushed. If that had been the case I wouldn't have cared how small the shower had been, because there was no way in Hell I would have been looking at anything but her.

As unwilling as I am to push Bella sexually I wasn't going to ignore the elephant in the room either. I want her, I want her so bad that sex is constantly on my mind. Places, positions, everything has past through my head... and I have thought about her in this shower with me every single time I've used it since we met,... yes MET not just since dating. I can't help my bodies reactions since I've wanted her from day 1.

I'm only human...

She didn't say anything so I hoped I wasn't going to far. "Are you okay?" I kissed her temple and she turned to give me a big smile and nod. "You'll let me know if I'm making you uncomfortable right?" I wasn't the type to mince words and speaking my mind has served me well in life. I didn't like unanswered questions and after our phone conversation about her past and the pill situation I realized that we hadn't opened up with each-other like we should. I want her to be honest with me. I can take it.

"You're not." She was soft but genuine as always.

"Really?" I couldn't resist flirting with her knowing the shower comment hadn't crossed any lines.

"Yes really." She smiled in challenge of whatever she thought I was going to say next.

"So would that be something you'd be interested in then?"

"Interested in what?" She turned around so that we were now facing each-other. I grabbed her arms and put them on my shoulders so I could kiss her before answering.

"Showering together. Would you be interested in that?" She was instantly as red as an apple which had me fighting laughter. How can she turn so red so fast and not pass out from the head rush? It was so fucking cute how she does that. "Hey I have to ask. Luck favors the brave." I chuckled while her red dimmed to a dark pink. She couldn't hold back her smile though.

"I guess we'll just have to see if you can play your cards right." She smiled wide at me through her nerves and I'd be lying if I said her words didn't shock the Hell out of me. "Are you up to the challenge?"

Oh baby girl...

THAT challenge is more than accepted. I smirked at her while mentally going through a hundred different things I would love to do in that shower with her... TO her. "You should never challenge me Bella. You know I always win." I spoke the words against her lips before giving her a deep open mouthed kiss that made her whimper. FUCK that was a sexy as hell sound.

I may need a cold shower soon...

…...

I took her on a tour of the rest of the house that she hadn't seen the first time, which just left the upstairs so not to much. "So where's your piano?" I chuckled when she asked me that. We'd settled down together on the chair in my bedroom to talk for a bit before calling it a night. I wasn't ready to end this, I still wanted to talk and touch her as much as possible. I was up against the arm with Bella laying on my chest at an angle so we could both watch the rain outside my window.

"So you do want to see me play?" I was playing with her hair as she tried to hide her smile into my chest.

"Of course."

"Will you admit to having a thing for musicians?"

"No, because I don't."

"Sure you don't." She laughed but didn't say anything.

"Well... there's a reason I don't have one right now."

"Which is?"

I took a deep breath, trying not to get emotional. "I really do love my piano. It was a gift from my grandparents when I graduated high school and it's one of a kind, especially since both of them died only about a year afterwards." She moved her head off me so she could see me.

"I'm sorry."

I smiled while rubbing her jaw and starring into her eyes. "It's okay, a long time ago now. Anyway... so my piano... it was damaged awhile ago."

"How?"

"Piano's do require maintenance you know." I was trying to make light of a still very sore subject for me.

"I know." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "I also know you." I smirked, waiting on elaboration. "Edward there is no way you would let harm come to something valuable like that. I know how much your family means to you... and you wouldn't treat the last thing they got you poorly." She smiled timidly and I got the feeling she was trying to make me feel better though she most likely didn't know how. "Plus you don't do things half-way. I wouldn't be surprised if you knew how to tune and take care of a piano... all by yourself." I had to laugh at her statement. She wasn't wrong...

"You know me well baby. Unfortunately I didn't realize the damage right away." Her silent question of 'how' was loud and clear. "During my separation/divorce I was forced to keep it with Tanya at our condo, where she still lived." I HATED talking about Tanya with Bella, at least in regards to things like 'Our' or 'marriage' as none of it was true now. It felt weird to think of my home with Tanya, even past tense.

"How big is it? A baby grand?"

"No a concert grand. They are a lot bigger." Her eyes widened. "Yeah... that's why it wasn't especially easy to move. I needed to have my new place in order first as something like that wont fit just anywhere."

"Okay." She nodded as she started to understand.

"Anyway when I did finally find this place it needed some renovations on the first floor, new flooring and such..."

"I'm guessing you were worried about the piano getting hurt?"

"Yes, so I had it moved to my parents home since that was the only place big enough to hold it. I hired a moving company that specialized in valuable large items..."

"They damaged it?"

"No..."

"What?"

"Well we, Tanya and I, were in a very bitter stage of our separation, especially on her end considering she didn't even want the divorce to begin with..."

"She didn't?"

"Oh God no. That was all me." She nodded but continued listening intently. "Anyway as a result I wasn't exactly welcome at her/our condo when the moving company picked up, wrapped, and moved it. They moved it to my parents home and it stayed there... still wrapped up."

"You never wanted to play it in between things? Check on it?"

"I did but my parents still had my baby grand that had been my piano growing up so I used that. I didn't want to take mine out of the professional wrapping/box that it was in because... ironically... I didn't want to risk it getting hurt."

"What happened?"

"As soon as I was able to move it here I unwrapped it and instantly knew something was wrong."

"What happened?"

"Tanya happened." She looked confused. "The keys had all been loosened and the strings were brittle and falling apart, and a few other issues that honestly it hurts to think about."

"Oh my God! She did that?"

"She did though she 'claims' it was from storage and moving it. They aren't exactly meant to be moved around."

"Bitch." She gasped at herself saying that and covered her mouth as her eyes widened in shock while I laughed loudly at her shy loyal outrage.

"Ms. Swan did you just cuss?"

"Uhhhh." I pulled her close and kissed her through my laughs. Her hands were still covering her mouth so I kissed both hands instead of her lips.

"I love you, you know that?" I laughed as she lowered her hands while nodding and sporting a big sheepish smile. "Anyway...long story short I had to give my piano to an expert to make sure it didn't get hurt worse. Mine wasn't just any piano it was custom made so I sent it to the best to repair it."

"That sounds expensive."

"That's putting it mildly."

"Can I ask how much the repairs were... or will be?" She sounded shy as she asked.

"More than a couple grand. Truthfully no matter how much damage it has, the cost of replacing it would be astronomically more. The piano is the best therefore replacement parts and the expertise to fix it are also expensive... and rare."

"I'm sorry." She was still rubbing my arm.

"Not your fault beautiful." I kissed her head and rubbed my fingers down her spine. "That piano is actually worth more than my car."

"Seriously?" Her head snapped up and she starred at me wide eyed. I shrugged with a nod. She looked so sad for me and her support was sweet.

God I can't wait till I have it back so I can play for her. I suppose I could find a different one to play in the meantime but mine really is the best and I want her to hear it.

"I can't believe she was that petty." She sat up so she could rub my arms and I just stared up at her, relaxed, as she sat on top of me. My hands rested on her thighs as she sweetly comforted me.

"You have met her right?" I chuckled and she shrugged.

"Still she has to know what that piano means to you."

"She does... Why do you think she did it?"

"She must live a very sad life to be like that."

"Not everyone is an angel, Beautiful." She smiled while I readjusted her so that she was now flush to me, chest to chest so I could stroke her face.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." She bit her lip as she thought through her question.

"How did you and Tanya...start out. You seem so different from her." She was so nervous asking about it that I had to smile. It was a normal thing to be curious about but also given all the second hand knowledge Bella has had about me and Tanya it made since that she's reluctant to hear the answers.

"Believe it or not we used to have a lot in common. Career, interests, dis-interests. Things were once as easy as breathing with her."

"So, she changed?" Her beautiful curious eyes watched me as I tried to explain. I continued touching her face, never being able to pull away from touching her for long, and she smiled at my attentions. It was nice in a weird way to be able to talk about this stuff with her. I wouldn't have thought discussing Tanya would be something I would ever be okay talking about with a girlfriend but Bella is more than that. It feels good having her involved.

"No... I did."

"What do you mean?" Clearly that response surprised her, judging by her furrowed brows.

"We were both so career driven. I was set on becoming CLO and she was determined to be budgeting director and perhaps CFO one day."

"I don't understand." She was probably confused since I am CLO now. Her eyes screamed 'What changed?'

"The real change came when we had Lizzie."

"Lizzie?"

"Believe it or not Beautiful, I never wanted children."

"What?... You... Edward Cullen. Everything a daddy's girl could want... You didn't want to be a father?" I laughed at her description of me, as well as her wide eyed shock.

"Nope. It had never been in my 5, 10, 15, etc... year plan."

"I honestly can't picture you not being a dad. You love Lizzie so much."

"She's my world. No doubt about it."

"So..."

"Tanya got pregnant by mistake. Neither of us ever wanted kids, probably Tanya less so than me actually... Anyway she got pregnant and nine months later... There Lizzie was."

"I bet you were lost to her instantly." She leaned up to give me a kiss as she smiled.

"Oh I was. She changed me, right down to my core. My job and narrow little world shifted so that she was the new sun I revolved around. My job, my interests, and even my marriage were a distance second to her."

"And Tanya?"

"She loves Lizzie, don't get me wrong, but..." I didn't know how to phrase it. "...at the same time, as much as I know she loves our daughter... she's just not the way a parent should be." That didn't explain much but how do I find the words?

"How quickly did it start coming to an end... you and Tanya?" She was shy again.

"I remember our first outing with Lizzie as a newborn. I was so incredibly paranoid about germs and didn't want Lizzie out of the safety of home." I smiled at how over protective I'd been... Hell I was still pretty bad. "She so seldom ever left my arms because I wanted her safe. I even took care of all her middle of the night needs because I had read about SIDS and it scared the Living Hell out of me." Bella laughed but still listened. "Anyway Lizzie was probably 1 ½ weeks old and we went to my parents for Lizzie's first official outing."

"Awww. Did you actually share her?" She was playing with me so I had to laugh.

"Begrudgingly... yes."

"How did Tanya do?"

I sighed heavily at the memory. "I still remember my sister nagging me and nagging me about sharing the baby. Alice was probably about 19 at the time..." Bella nodded. "So she was holding Lizzie and handed her off to our mom, who hogged her the longest... well after me."

"Obviously." She rolled her eyes and I kissed her lips tenderly in response. I love her lips, so soft and always ready for me.

"So by the time everyone in my family had held my beautiful and perfect newborn little girl she'd been away from us for probably about 3 hours or so... I'm not going to lie... I was loosing my mind. I swear I was twitching needing her little body back in my arms. She was so small when she was born, just under 6 pounds."

I took a deep breath thinking back to the moment that in my heart I knew my marriage was over, even if my head hadn't caught up yet. "The entire time we visited my eyes were rarely off Lizzie but Tanya... she would talk with us or even on the phone, but she didn't even seem to notice Lizzie very much and didn't try to hold her even once, the whole visit. There was no desperation to have her back or anything. She was fine... That was when it hit me and I realized that she'd been like that from the start. Even right after the birth Tanya was content, without Lizzie... and it really upset me."

"I'm sorry."

"Still not your fault beautiful." I kissed her nose as her eyes averted slightly. "Anyway that was the start of the end for us. I needed someone who wanted an actual family with me, not something to ignore."

Bella surprised me by kissing me deeply. We were still laying on my large comfy chair and I was thoroughly enjoying her lips and body pressed against me. "I love you." The soft words were said right into my mouth and I grabbed her tighter to deepen it. We exchanged soft kisses for a few minutes as I rubbed her back in deep strokes from her shoulders all the way down to her thighs.

Can I keep her here forever?

Bella yawned after we pulled apart to take a breath and I laughed. "Bed time, beautiful?" She looked in the direction of the bed.

"Wow, it's 2am." I followed her eyes to my alarm clock. Sure enough it was 2. She slowly pulled herself off me and my body felt cold immediately without her on me. Luckily soon enough we'd be in bed together and I could hold her close.

Oh how I missed sleeping with her.

She pulled some things from her bag and went into my bathroom to change so I did the same in the room. I stripped down to just my underwear and grabbed my clothes to throw in my laundry basket in the closet. I had just closed the closet door and plugged in my phone when Bella stepped out of the bathroom.

DEAR FUCKING LORD...

At this point I have seen Bella in every manner of clothing. Skin tight pants, floral dresses, short skirts, black satin... So many colors and textures and she looked beautiful in it all... but I have NEVER seen her in a nightie before. It was a soft lavender color with dark purple flowers and lacy trim with spaghetti straps. No word for it but WOW.

Well, well, well... Who knew that beneath my sweet innocent girl lay an evil seductress?

Her hands played with the ends of the dress nervously while I openly looked over her whole body. I do mean openly too as I took in every inch of her. God she's beautiful... In truth there wasn't really anything RISKY about what she was wearing but she looked so sexy in it that I could barely even think.

...AND she's going to be sleeping next to me in that! Dear God and Heaven...

"Why are you staring at me like that?" She was bright red under my lewd gaze but I wasn't going to apologize for it.

"Because you are just complete...wow. Where else could I possibly want to look?" She smiled while brushing her hair behind one ear. I love when she does that. I had to step into her space and touch her. I just couldn't resist. My left hand held her hip through the thin material while my right played with her hair at her temple.

I could feel her nerves and I wished I could get inside her head. What was she thinking? We've already done the sleepover thing before so it can't be that. I rubbed her arms then took her hand to lead her to bed. I let her pick her side which was conveniently the right as I sleep on the left. She rolled over onto her side to face me as I got under the covers next to her. My bed was large so I had to pull her body to me to make sure there were no wasted inches between us.

"I've missed this." I kissed her nose which made her giggle.

"Me too." She snuggled into my neck and I chuckled as she yawned again. She gave a tiny squeak when she did, so fucking cute. Just not fair... all this power she has over me.

My hands wondered over her soft clothing hiding her even softer body. It was shorter than the shirt she had slept in the night of her birthday and I could see so much more of her now. "I never thanked you for taking care of me that night."

"What do you mean?" She blushed and hid her face for a moment before looking back up at me.

"On my birthday... I know that I asked you to...dress me and you did...without doing anything. I never thanked you for that.

"Well I was very tempted to look, if I'm being completely honest." She laughed so I rolled on top of her and kissed her neck in the spot I knew was most ticklish. She giggled and tried to push me away.

"But you didn't."

"That you know of..." I winked and she laughed harder. "I would never do that without your permission baby."

"I know." Her eyes stayed on me and she suddenly looked so serious. "I'd let you look though."

"What?" Did she just say that?

"If you want to look... you can."

Please tell me she's not joking right now...

"Are you sure?" I kept my eyes on her and she didn't look away as I held her gaze. Her honest eyes stayed right on me.

"Can you kiss me some more?" I smiled before leaning down and giving her what she wanted. I really didn't know why she was so nervous but from what little she'd told me I gathered her few sexual experiences had been lack-luster at best. I intend to change that.

All she has to do is let me.

"I'll always kiss you." I whispered into her ear before gently nipping and sucking her lips, deeper with each pass. She smiled while her breathing got heavier. Her body was shaking a bit but holding me to her as close as possible. I rested my weight on my left arm while I used my right to explore as much of her as I could reach. I was much slower with my soft caress's than I wanted to be but clearly this was something Bella needed so I would do it happily. "You should wear purple more often." I pulled away to see her blush.

"I should?" The catch in her voice showed her nerves but that beautiful smile was right there.

"Absolutely." I watched my hand trace down the spaghetti straps and over the patterns on her gown. I could see every one of her curves and the thin material didn't hide the fact that she had nothing on underneath, at least above the waist. I leaned in and kissed her hard while I slowly brought my hand down and underneath the bottom of her dress. Slow but very deliberate strokes of my palms rubbed against her stomach and hips before moving upward. Her breath hitched but she moaned at the same time I reached under her breasts. "Is this okay beautiful?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

Please tell me this is okay...

"I'm sure." She giggled through her anxiety, showing how silly she thought my repeated question of concern was. How many times have I asked that tonight? 3? 4?

"Look at me baby." She listened and her trusting eyes stayed on me as I spoke. "I'm going to stop asking if this is all okay." Her eyes never left me as I spoke. "I trust you to know what you want beautiful. So if you want me to stop, at any point, just tell me." She nodded with a soft smile. "Whatever you want or need okay?" I nuzzled her nose and her breathing eased up just a bit.

"I want you to keep kissing me." I laughed before shutting up to obey her request. We kissed deeper and deeper and her hands weaved into my hair as my right continued to touch her beneath her gown. My hand made it's way up and surprisingly she gave no response to stop me.

Her moans were all the encouragement I needed so I moved up the last bit until I was touching her breasts. Perfect, of course, just like every part of her. The moans turned ragged and raspy as my finger tips rubbed her nipples with the lightest of touches, teasing her. In all fairness it wasn't just her I was teasing as I doubted I've ever been this hard before. Touching her for the first time, listening to her labored breathes, those whimpering moans, and looking into her perfect face had me in actual real pain. CHRIST, the things she can do to me when she's doing absolutely nothing at all. God I want her naked so bad and I want to explore every inch of her. My tongue reached out to stroke hers slowly causing her breath to hitch, but the breathing shift never stopped our kissing. I circled first one breast then the other slowly, taking in every inch of her while never pulling away from her mouth.

She really is flawless... How can she doubt how beautiful she is?

Her moans got deeper which signaled she wants everything we're doing. Did she want more? Does she want us to just keep at this? I held true to my promise and I wasn't going to keep asking her if she was okay. It felt condescending and unfair to dismiss what she wants by questioning 'if she's sure', almost like I'm saying she doesn't know herself. Nothing could be further from the truth. Despite Bella's shyness she's amazingly self-aware and all with the wisdom of someone in their sixties. I love her strength and I know she will let me know where her lines are. "Christ you're soft."

"I love you."

"I love you too." I brought my hand down to stroke her stomach again, loving how soft it is. It was cute how she was just a little bit ticklish there, so not enough to pull away from my light touch but enough that she would jump just a little bit. With slow calculated movements I moved off of her but took her with me so that I was now sitting back on my legs while she was sitting up in front of me. My kisses turned slow but long for a few moments before I brought both hands to the bottom of her nightie and looked to her for confirmation that I wasn't going to far.

Let me see you Beautiful...

She raised her arms wordlessly and I brought the nightie up. Our eyes held each-other as I raised it up and off her head. The moment felt erotic, her watching me undress her. I loved it. A couple soft tugs and the gown was finally gone. My eyes took in this perfect woman in front of me. Is there a better word than perfect... because that unknown word is what Bella is. The first thing my eyes drank in were the rest of her slim legs, pale with pebbled goosebumps as she her thighs together under my gaze. Next my eyes went to her...of course... purple panties to match the nightie. That's the only thing stopping me from seeing this goddess in front of me in her entirety... Then I took in her chest, not huge, and not anything less than perfect. She knew exactly where I was looking too because she brought her arms shakily in front of her self but seemed to fight the instinct to cover herself up entirely.

I looked back to her eyes and smiled. "How in the world are you mine?" She started sniffling but smiled as she reached weakly for me to hug her. I took her in my arms and pulled her into a straddling position over my thighs. I kissed her long but soft, trying not to think about her bare chest touching mine right now.

So soft... so warm... just so her.

I needed to be inside her in whatever way she would let me so I deepened our kiss, as much as possible, with my tongue teasing hers. I had never needed someone with this level of desperation before. I'm not sure why that is but I could care less about the answer.

I watched her shy face as she nervously stared back at me. How can she be insecure about herself? She's a Fucking Angel and if any men in her past made her feel differently then they were complete idiots. "Look at you." She blushed deeper as I listened to my own instructions, allowing my eyes to slowly survey every inch of her. Her nipples were pebbled as her breathing got more labored under my gaze. "So gorgeous..." I brought my hands up to stroke her breasts again and she whimpered while biting her lip.

... She fucking whimpered...

"FUCK." I eased her back down harder than intended as I more or less pounced on top of her. The sounds she made... Christ... My control was razor thin now. I had been wound up from the moment we came into my bedroom tonight, then when I saw her in that purple gown... Next kissing and touching her as she smiled in her cute innocence. Now she was practically naked beneath me.

PRACTICALLY naked... Can I change that?

Her arms were around my neck as I pressed my weight on her this time, needing to feel as much of her as I could. Our kisses were messier now, needy with how aroused we both are. Can I go to the next step? I brought my hand down her side and she didn't seem to notice as I was writhing on top of her, rubbing myself against her with each pass. That whimpering moan wasn't stopping and it was succeeding in making every brush against my boxers actually send tingles down my spine. How can I be getting harder? Got how it hurts but she feels amazing. So worth every second of pain for me.

I reached her panties and as I stroked down I could feel how wet they were. She's fucking killing me... I need to touch her. I stroked over her last piece of clothing wishing with everything in me that they would disappear. Her whimper became a full moan as I circled where I knew her clit would be. "You're so wet..." Her only response was to nod while continuing to hold me close with both arms wrapped around my shoulders tightly.

I moved my hand up and into the band of her panties so slowly I was barely moving.

She noticed though and the moment I touched her underneath the underwear she froze, and not in a good way.

Oh no...

"Bella?" I pulled back immediately, removing my hands from her completely. She instantly covered her face with both hands and curled up as small as she could.

"Oh God." She sounded mortified. Fuck... what had I done? She was okay until I got under her underwear? Was that to far? That was the line wasn't it... God dammit.

"Baby..." I stroked her hair and she shook her head, still not looking at me, so I stopped touching her. I'm not going to lie, her not wanting my touch hurts but whatever she needs... "Bella I'm so sorry..."

"Please don't apologize." What?

"Beautiful?" She shook her head so I waited as she took a couple deep breaths and seemed to slowly calm herself down except her hands stayed up, covering her eyes. I readjusted so that I was laying next to her, both of us on our sides towards each-other. I tentatively guided her body close to me.

Please look at me baby...

She followed my wordless guidance but stayed hidden beneath her hands.

"I'm so sorry." Why is she apologizing?

"No... I pushed you to far. I'm sorry."

"Edward... you didn't..."

"No I knew you had reservations about this. I shouldn't have..."

"That's not..." She interrupted with a sad whisper that broke my heart but I wasn't done trying to apologize to her.

"Baby I'm not disappointed. I love you and... I know that in the past you felt like you were forced before you were ready..."

"Edward..."

"We'll wait... it's not a..."

"Edward I'm a virgin."

END NOTES:

-*******Again this story has been nominated for "Best Undiscovered Gem" fanfiction. :-) :-

-Remember REVIEWS are writing fuel. ;-)

-The movie date was actually modeled off my favorite date with my husband when we were first seeing each-other. We were kissing and giggling the whole time. I can't even remember what movie we saw... So much fun... Ahhhh to be young and in love...

-They've now said the big I LOVE YOU to each-other. Awwwww

-I admit to being awful at writing sex scene type scenarios but I do my best. I hope you liked it.

-Yes there will be at least a third part of their weekend. Sorry to much I wanted to put in plus I wanted to change up POV's