Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its original characters. No copyright infringement is intended with the posting of this story.

A/N: Welcome back and happy weekend! Lots to digest in this chapter, so I just want to jump right in. Many thanks to my beta, myonlyheroin! She's the bestest and I'm so lucky to have her. If you're on Facebook feel free to friend me at, Taylor Dreama. You can find a link on my FFn profile. I've been posting some images that go along with the chapters, and I plan on doing more of that, as well as share teasers and updates for updates. :)


Chapter 10

Bite.

(.EDWARD.)

My mouth must have dangled open for a good solid five seconds while I tried my damndest to produce actual words. Bella was smirking and waiting patiently in front of me with her arms crossed, and her foot tapping the floor beneath her.

Before I could say anything though, the boat suddenly rocked us to the side, sending us both into each other in search of our balance, and also something stable to hold onto.

"Rogue wave?"

"Nah, just the universe trying to push us together again." I softly replied, paired with a playful wink. I was now feeling slightly encouraged by the impulsive turbulent waters, and also hopeful that she might actually drop the previous topic completely.

"Come on, tell me the truth. What do you guys really do at that office of yours all night?"

She apparently wasn't going to let this go, but I was nowhere near ready to tell her all about how we'd actually first met. Especially on her birthday. Even more so when we were a good five miles from dry land, and she'd more than likely want to get as far away from me as possible.

Nope.

Not going to happen.

Stay calm and feed her a creative line to distract her from the reality.

This is literally what you do for a living now, Cullen.

You'll find the right time to come clean, and it will happen soon, but this is not it.

I forced a smirk from my lips, after regaining my composure, then looked down at her again to offer her a rather nonchalant shrug from my shoulders, "Okay, fine. We're part of a super secret masked team of smooth talking vigilantes who go out at night to take care of business into the wee hours of the morning, helping people find ways to help themselves."

I mean, it wasn't a total lie? That had to count for something.

She gasped and covered her mouth, then gave me a playful shove from her hand in reaction to my well-scripted response.

"Seriously!? How did two guys like you and Emmett ever end up working a graveyard shift for a tech support company, but more importantly how does someone have friends with hookups like this, via working for this so-called tech support company? You have to tell me! Do you guys work for the Zuck himself, and are there any openings for someone with zero experience? Because I might be interested."

Damn Emmett and his apparent inability to just fib a little more in order to stay within a simple narrative. All he'd had to do was say he knew someone with the boat. He didn't have to tie his connection in with our job.

"No," I laughed, hoping my nervousness hadn't been exposed, "We have nothing to do with Facebook. We just help people with their uh, firewalls, and then reset things for them when all else fails and they've reached their limits trying to get it done all on their own. I guess sometimes they're so grateful that they insist on paying it forward with an after-hours perk, and our boss usually allows it. Just so long as it's nothing illegal."

The guilt I felt was unbelievable, but I did my best to not let that show on my face.

"So, the secret to a posh life here in this great big city is providing internet related favors to faceless strangers, and in return, you'll receive reciprocated back rubs? Good to know!" She further teased, then did a playful twirl in front of me to continue moving towards the end of the hallway.

"I don't think that applies to just here in Miami, or the internet, but yeah, basically that's how my job works."

Because of my obsession to keep my eyes on her at all times, I already knew she'd been pacing herself pretty well at the bar on the boat tonight. Up until the last double shot of Fireball she'd just downed ten minutes ago, I'd only seen her with one other drink in her hand, so I was rather confident I didn't need to worry too much about her tripping all over her feet while we walked down the wood panelled corridor to where all of the private cabins and bathrooms were located.

It was much quieter down here, below the main deck, but you could still hear the music booming from above us, as well as the rolling laughter coming from everyone we'd left behind. "You have good people, Edward. Good friends. They really have treated Alice and I like we've been a part of your circle for years. It's been kind of weird, actually."

"Weird? Why is that?" I questioned with a smug smile now spreading itself across my face.

"I don't know, people rarely had anything positive to say about Miami whenever Alice talked about moving here, back when we were home, I mean."

"Well, I've always strived to keep myself grounded in this city, even when my life was a little more… privileged. I like to think I've done that by keeping myself mostly surrounded by people who were like-minded and not jaded by the scene of it all. We can go weeks without talking sometimes, but then once we're all together again, it's as if no time has passed at all. Most of us have known each other since elementary school. Except for Cora. She moved here last year to get her Master's degree in Psychology. That's where she met Irina, on campus. Her and Jasper actually had a little thing going for awhile."

"Yeah, Alice already picked up on that. She doesn't miss a thing when it comes to that stuff." Bella laughed, then stopped walking after we'd reached the end of the hallway.

"Shall we explore further?" I questioned, raising my brow after eyeing the closed door in front of us that had a shiny gold plaque at the center of it which read, 'Master Suite'.

"You first." She seemed nervous, and it was adorable, but it was also profoundly contagious, so I felt my own anxiety start to rise again over the thoughts of being alone with her behind a closed door for the first time ever with a bed in the room.

I forced a smile and took the doorknob into my hand to give it a firm twist, then pushed it forward in front of us where a light instantly turned on showcasing a brightly lit wood-paneled room that was surrounded by large bay windows and blue and white nautical decor. In the center, up against the wall, sat a large queen sized bed facing all of those windows looking majestic as all hell, and extremely inviting.

"So, this is how the rich live in Miami?" She let out a low whistle from between her pursed lips, then pulled on my hand to bring me further into the room with her. I quickly pushed the door closed behind us with my extended foot and followed her towards the windows, realizing we were at the very front of the ship now looking directly out at the brightly lit city skyline.

"It's so beautiful." She whispered, keeping her eyes set to gaze out of the windows before us. I found myself looking down at her awestruck face and took in a deep breath, feeling everything at once wash over me all over again.

"You're right, it is."

When she looked back up at me and found me staring directly at her… talking about her and not the dazzling city lights a few miles away from us, she let out a rushed breath of her own then bashfully shook her head.

"You're too much."

"Am I? Or am I just right?" I swiftly questioned, causing her to laugh again, and her cheeks to turn a slight shade of pink. She shrugged her exposed shoulders with a playful smirk and wink from her eye, then slowly broke her position to begin exploring more of the cabin. I watched her for a few seconds but decided to take a seat on the edge of the bed and stuffed my hands into my pockets as a gentle reminder that I needed to refrain from throwing her down onto the mattress beside me.

"So um, are you going to fill me in on all your apparent family drama, or are you saving that for a drunken rant at a later time, further down the road?" she suddenly pressed after she'd turned herself around to look at me again.

"It's better I not poison your head yet with any fact-based ideas of where I came from."

She rolled her eyes and took a step closer towards me, and I felt my heart rate accelerate with her direct but guarded move to purposely close the space between us.

"Okay, fair enough, but only because I've yet to tell you all about the family tree I myself was spawned from. I guess I just want your sister to like me. Is it weird being a twin?"

That was a fairly typical question whenever someone would learn I was the product of a multiple birth, so I was used to hearing it, and I almost always gave the same response regardless of who asked.

"No, just annoying having someone else in the world that knows you as well as you know yourself. Sometimes even better."

"Then you guys ARE close? Because earlier it seemed like you kind of well...,"

"Hated her guts?" I laughed and shook my head, "No. There's just a lot going on right now. A lot of other stuff I've been trying to tune myself out from, which you've been helping me with. So, again, thank you for that." I teased, then reached my hands out to take her's into mine, pulling her in even closer towards me. "I feel like we've barely gotten to talk today. You were pretty quiet on the car ride over here."

She draped her arms over my shoulders, and I let my own hands find their way to her hips to hold her in place in front of me while the boat rocked beneath us again.

"Well, to be fair, Alice was hardly letting anyone talk."

I laughed out loud, realizing she was kind of right about that, but I could also tell she'd had something else on her mind. "As long as you're good, and you're enjoying your birthday, that's all I care about."

She smiled and looked down into my eyes then slowly nodded her head without breaking our locked stare, "Literally the best birthday ever. Even if Kate has been sending me daggers from her eyes since the moment we got to the dock." Bella snickered with a slight raise of her brow.

I'd already pretty much figured she'd noticed me walk off with my other ex for a few minutes, but I wasn't about to bring that up myself if she wasn't going to call me out on it. "Ignore her, she will warm up to you once she realizes you're not going away, and I'm not about to let you go anywhere, anytime soon, unless it's somewhere with me."

She forced a smile and leaned her weight backward, away from my hands, to slowly take me by the arm and pull me up from the bed so she could walk us both a little closer to the windows.

"How was work last night? Emmett really does seem like a fun guy. Are all of your co-workers like him?"

Her question caught me off guard again, and for a second, I panicked while trying to find my words, having thought we were well past all of this awkward talk involving my job.

She was clearly still digging.

"Um, good. I actually found out I'm going to be working from home now. I haven't really met many of my other co-workers, so I wouldn't know what they're like. We all kind of keep to ourselves during our shifts. Emmett trained me, and we ending up clicking on my first day."

This was also not a lie.

"Wow! That's awesome! I mean it is if you don't need the social interaction that comes with seeing the same annoying people five days a week, in a forced setting, under strict guidelines, eight hours a day," she laughed.

"Oh, I still get in plenty of social interaction," I replied, accidentally smirking, then hated myself a little bit for it.

I needed to change the subject again, but it needed to be subtle.

That was when I noticed the small pile of gifts on the counter over by the TV and realized Alice had come to my rescue without even meaning to when she'd actually brought everything down below the main deck at the beginning of the evening.

"Can I give you your present now, or would you rather wait until later?"

Her cheeks instantly flushed, "People really shouldn't have brought me anything. Especially you after making all of this happen. This night alone is the best present anyone has ever given me for my birthday."

Somehow, I'd known she'd be embarrassed by all of the wrapped boxes and gift bags, which was why I'd suggested to Alice that she hide them down here in the first place. I ignored Bella's comment though and left her by the windows to walk across the room and find the one wrapped box I'd brought for her, with its satin green ribbon tied off at the top of it.

"Originally, I'd gone out looking for something else with Jasper after Alice had given him a few hints, but then I saw these, and they just made me think of you."

I handed the rectangular shaped box to her, and she slowly took it from my hands then looked up into my eyes with clear and present apprehension taking over her expression.

"It won't bite. I promise." I joked with a slight nod of my head. I watched her delicate fingers pull at the ribbon and she smiled again when she tore the paper back revealing a shiny black glasses case with the Gucci brand embossed onto the top center of it. Her lips let out a tiny squeal when she lifted the lid to reveal a pair of bright red square framed sunglasses folded within the box she'd just opened in her hands.

"I know you said green is your favorite color, but I saw these, and they reminded me of you. They seemed like the perfect gift… Especially since I plan on us watching many sunrises together in our future." I lowly shared with her while she carefully traced the wide rimmed frames with her fingertips.

"I absolutely love them! They're perfect! Thank you so much, Edward!" She yelped out, then instantly wrapped her arms around the back of my neck after throwing herself against my body with an elated giggle, "But, I think I love your plans of future shared sunrises the most," she whispered beside my ear, before slowly pulling herself back to look me directly in the eyes. I watched her bite down on her bottom lip all nervous like and felt my heartbeat match her own rushed and true reaction.

"I think maybe it's time we get the awkwardness of our first kiss out of the way. As a thank you, of course, for my perfect birthday gift."

My enthused smile instantly gave away everything her words had just made me feel, but I didn't care. We'd reached the next step again, and this time I didn't need to worry about her best friend swooping in to pull her away from me, because this time, we had permission from all outside parties.

"You're thinking that, are you?" I softly questioned in return, as my fingers lifted themselves up from her hips to gently raise her chin a little further towards me. I began leaning myself downward to meet her partially opened mouth with my own, and I saw her eyes close just as my own vision went dark when I'd felt her warm breath on my face.

That was when a thunderous knock came from the door, followed by it swinging open with both Riley and Jasper stumbling through laughing together in drunken unison without a care in the goddamned world.

Bella pulled herself from my arms but then ran her body back into me to bury her head into my chest in apparent embarrassment.

"Whoa, sorry! We didn't mean to interrupt!"

I glared at my cousin already having a feeling that he had in fact meant to do the very thing he'd said he hadn't.

Jasper, on the other hand, was just being a douche bag and trying to push me to my limit in ways only he knew how as my best friend.

"What is it?" I asked, annoyance clearly taking control of my tone while Bella continued to giggle against me.

"Alice wants to do the cake, but if you guys are busy, we'll tell her to give you a couple of minutes to um… finish up in here." My so-called best friend informed us with a devilish smirk and brash wink from his eye.

"Tell her we're coming," Bella spoke up, with another soft giggle leaving her lips before I could say anything else in response. The feelings of defeat and betrayal continued to annoy the hell out of me, but I knew this wouldn't be our last chance tonight, so I did my best to swallow it down and compose myself again before opening my mouth.

"You two take your time… but, lock the door, E! You'd think you'd have learned your lesson with unlocked entrances by now!" Jasper called out from over his shoulder while pushing Riley back out the door to close it again and leave us behind. This, of course, prevented me from being able to throw something at their heads.

"Learned your lesson, huh? Do you have a history of trying to hook up with women while leaving opportunity for others to join in and observe?" Bella teased after playfully crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"No," I grumbled, "Pretty sure that was a reference to me being the one who usually walks through unlocked doors to catch the hooking up in progress."

Her face fell almost instantly, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think-"

"It's okay, Bella. I'm beyond over her. I was over her before it was ever even over, to be honest. Which is why Jasper knows it's okay to mock me with it now."

She forced another smile and reached forward to begin playing with the hair at the back of my head, "Can we try again later?"

I nodded with a sigh, feeling defeat once again sweep over me, but quickly realized perhaps this interruption had actually been a blessing in disguise.

Just as Bella had said, this would give us the opportunity to go in for another try later on this evening.

Later on this evening after the party had begun to die down, and it would be expected for us to disappear until the sun came up again.

"How about you meet me back here, right in this very spot when I give you a signal a little later on, once people start passing out for the night upstairs?"

She laughed and shot me a thumbs up from between us, "What's our super secret signal going to be?"

"You know what, screw the signal. I'll just pick you up over my shoulder and walk your flawless ass back here when I'm finally done sharing you with everyone else." I'd barely finished my last word before she was wrapping her arms back around me to embrace my entire body against hers. "Um… everything okay?" I questioned when she didn't release me from her arms but instead remained still and silent. She nodded against me, and I looked down to catch her with her eyes closed.

"I'm just still waiting for someone to pinch me. These last two weeks have been like something out of a dream. Sometimes, I find myself holding my breath expecting it all to end, just as quickly as it began."

I smiled above her, giving myself a second to fully process what she'd just shared with me, then began rubbing small circles against her back to press her even more deeply against me, "I told you before, I'm not going anywhere. Not until you've gotten your fill, and banished me from your world."

She giggled against me and then turned her head to press her lips into my chest where my heart was currently beating like a Conga drum, giving it a firm kiss before sarcastically pushing me away from her. "Okay, that's about as sentimental as I can get right now while being this sober… I hope you realize how far outside of my comfort zone I had to step to get all of that out into the open."

I nodded obediently and gave her a sarcastic salute, then turned my shoulder to reach out and open the door, so we'd be able to return to our party and friends.

I wasn't about to press her for more, because I knew she was right. Sharing her sober thoughts with the outside world was not something Bella did easily. Hence, her late-night calls to me when I was at work, but I wasn't about to let myself overthink the moment we'd just shared.

That wouldn't have been fair to either of us, because we'd earned that moment, and it was ours to keep.

.


.

As the night progressed, good times were had, and established friendships were made between all of our new friends mixed with our old. Everyone, including Emmett, seemed to click and connect really well together which had been a huge relief when I'd allowed myself the opportunity to sit back and appreciate the group we'd all formed.

It was the first time in a long time where things just felt normal again, and because of that, I'd been able to forget about all the other bullshit we'd left behind on dry land.

Even Alice and Kate seemed to be getting along, which was huge compared to the way they'd interacted at the bar a few nights ago.

There were actually a few moments during the last hour or so when Jasper and I had shared a questioning look, implying there could be a very real possibility that maybe the three of them might retire to a cabin together later on in the evening.

Nothing would have surprised me with the way they'd all been drinking. Especially when you paired that with Kate's apparent need to get a dick between her legs.

People were starting to find spots to lay down and rest their heads with shared blankets once the alcohol had finally caught up with them, and the earlier morning hours had begun to take over. Bella had been chatting it up with my sister and Emmett for the last twenty minutes while I'd made my rounds, making sure everyone was comfortable and knew where to find more blankets and pillows.

Seeing the three of them together had initially made me feel anxious as hell, but then I realized Rose was actually smiling and laughing in a way that was genuine and not at all fake… which wasn't exactly typical of her. This provided me the ability to relax again, and also appreciate what was seemingly taking place right before my eyes.

"So, I think Alice and I are going to go ahead and claim one of the cabins downstairs. I assume you're calling dibs on the master suite for further celebrating with the birthday girl?"

"What?" I asked, snapping myself out of my deep thoughts to turn around and look at my best friend. "Oh, right. Yeah. That's the plan. We can let them decide who gets the third cabin, although it looks like most of them have already passed out for the night on the couches inside." I laughed after glancing behind us into the large lounge area of the boat, where the lights and music had been turned down.

"Yeah, they've never been able to hang like we still can once life peaked at twenty. See you in the morning. Good luck, brother! I think at the very least you've earned yourself a well-lotioned handjob." Jasper joked, then slapped the back of my shoulder with his hand before trotting himself over to Alice who had been waiting for him by the staircase, clearly watching us talk.

She sent me a wink from her eye, and an expressive thumbs up from her hand, causing me to laugh out loud and return her gesture with a slight nod from my head over her much appreciated approval.

Once they were gone, I made my way over to Bella where she was still sitting with Rose and Emmett, having what seemed to be a rather deep conversation. I'd been impressed with the way Bella hadn't drank herself stupid tonight, even though it was her twenty-first birthday. Part of me had to wonder though if that was because she didn't trust herself yet to get too tipsy when I was around.

"Hey E, your friends are starting to drop like flies and it's barely three in the morning, what gives?" Emmett teased once I'd taken a seat beside Bella, almost sending her into my lap thanks to the ridiculously plush cushions that were under us.

"Yeah, we're all getting too old for this kind of shit, what can I say?" I joked back, catching my sisters smile with my words. Jasper and Alice are taking one of the three cabins, that leaves one more free." I muttered beside Emmett's ear after leaning forward to speak to only him. He grinned and glanced at my sister, which ultimately made me want to hurl, and then punch him in the gut. I'd already been mentally preparing myself for this moment, though, ever since he'd asked me about her relationship status earlier in the evening, and I'd given him my blessing, but I wasn't about to sit here and observe it all go down.

"Ready for me to toss you over my shoulder, neighbor girl?" I asked Bella after turning to face her again. She gave me a soft smile and began to stand herself up, smoothing her skirt down in front of her legs before leaning over to whisper something into my sister's ear.

While this should have bothered me, for some reason it didn't, and because of that, I was able to feel a twinge of relief, and also respect the fact that they seemed to have honestly established some kind of connection themselves tonight.

"You don't have to throw me over your shoulder. My legs are still functioning quite properly, thank you very much, sir." Bella informed me with a smirk, then took my hand into hers after saying a final farewell to Emmett and my sister, who in turn wished her one last happy birthday.

Our walk was quiet. Except for when we'd passed the cabin Jasper and Alice had claimed. We both stifled a laugh and rolled our eyes, then cautiously entered the room we'd explored together a few hours earlier when things had just begun to get underway, and the night had still been young.

She released my hand from hers and walked over to the windows, then stood there silently looking at the city lights as they twinkled in the far off distance still miles away from us, awaiting our impending return. "Did you have fun tonight?" I questioned after stepping up from behind her to bring my hands around her hips.

"I did. You've set the bar pretty high. I'm not sure this can ever be beaten." She joked, leaning herself further back into me.

"Well, that's a challenge I'll happily accept and eventually meet. You'll see." I teased beside her ear, then noticed the goosebumps my words had elicited across her arms. "Did you bring anything to sleep in?"

She laughed and shook her head, "No, even though I knew this would be a sleepover party. I guess my head was elsewhere when we left the apartment."

"It's okay" I gently informed her, "I brought an extra t-shirt."

"Aw! Another souvenir for keeps?" She quickly toyed back after I'd released her from my arms to walk over towards my bag. I opened it up and rummaged through its contents to grab the spare shirt I'd brought, specifically with her in mind, then turned around to toss it in her direction. She caught it in her hands and held it out in front of her body.

"Hm… This one is a little smaller than the other one you gave me," she snickered with a suspicious smirk, having apparently caught on to my own personal foresight while packing my bag this afternoon.

She thoroughly shocked me when she slowly lifted her dress up from her thighs, bringing it up and over her head to finally expose her body in her tiny black bikini. Something I'd been waiting to bear witness to all damn night, but she'd never made it into the hot tub to grant me this one blissful moment.

This was much better though.

So much better.

Getting to appreciate her, with all of her perfect curves in all the right places, right here in this room for only my viewing pleasure.

I could almost die a happy man.

"Christ woman, what are you trying to do to me?" I demanded, with a slow grin spreading across my face.

"I'm changing for bed, perv."

She carefully positioned the shirt I'd given her back into her hands, then raised her arms up to pull it on, instantly killing all my hopes and dreams with the returned covering of her body. Her hands swiftly reached back up behind her neck to untie the bowed straps of her bathing suit top and I watched, barely breathing as she pulled the entire piece of clothing out from underneath the white cotton fabric to toss it across the room towards the pile of presents she'd yet to open.

I was having a ridiculously hard time now not speed walking myself across the room to take her back into my arms to feel her perked nipples against the pounding of my heart beneath my chest.

"I'm going to use the bathroom, don't you dare fall asleep before I get back out here," I warned her after grabbing my bag up into my hand. I needed a minute to release some… pent up… energy before we began anything. I already knew there would be no out of the park home runs hit here tonight. Because of that knowledge, I needed to make sure I'd be able to keep my head in the game by clearing my um… other head before we got started.

Once I'd locked the bathroom door, I pulled my phone out from my bag and saw I had six new text messages.

All of those messages had, of course, come from Tanya.

My friends had been busy posting pictures from their Facebook accounts most of the night, and my ex had become witness to the fun she'd missed out on, now that she'd been cut from my life and the random benefits that came with it.

She wasn't at all happy. Nope. Not at all.

This, of course, made me very happy, and I let myself gloat a little by sending her a three thirty a.m. reply letting her know I was turning in for the evening, and she likely wouldn't be seeing me until tomorrow afternoon sometime when I did get home from my 'little excursion at sea', as she'd worded it.

With the vision of Bella standing in front of me in her itty bitty black bikini. I turned the sink on full blast and took my hard-on into my right hand to release it of all the sexual tension she'd been forcing me to harbor and keep locked down throughout most of the evening.

There was no way I'd be able to share a bed with her, and also behave myself if I hadn't taken this plotted step. Especially when I knew there would still be a solid line in the sand that I wouldn't be allowed to pass yet.

After meticulously cleaning myself up, I changed into my loose fitting gym shorts and purposely decided to also keep a t-shirt on my body. I'd made this decision because I didn't want to test her own limits too soon or make her any more nervous than she probably already was sitting out there waiting for me.

When I came out all the lights were off, and for a moment I panicked thinking she might have actually fallen asleep.

"I'm awake. Don't trip on your feet, neighbor boy." Her soft voice called out to me. I looked over as my eyes began to adjust to the darkness and saw her sitting on the bed with her bare legs extended out in front of her, and her back press against the headboard. "The lights from the city are so mesmerizing. They're even more amazing laying here in the dark." She further shared, then patted the mattress with her hand, signaling for me to take the spot beside her.

She was right, it was a pretty amazing sight to see from here. One I rarely got to appreciate or take the time to ever even notice these days.

Truthfully, I'd always been more of a sunrise kind of guy, rather than a night-time observer. I, of course, attributed that to having grown up in the city where our night skies were usually filled with heavy clouds, smog, skyscrapers, planes and barely a handful of stars.

Once I'd taken my place beside her, I very purposely positioned myself to be right up against her hip. This allowed me the ability to feel her leg against the side of my own after I'd draped my arm around the back of her neck to pull her in further against me.

She didn't hesitate, and this too was another win towards absolute progress for things to come.

"If I had to pick one thing I miss the most about the mountains and being home, it would be the dark night sky and the bright stars that would litter every inch of it as far as your eyes could see. Out here, you can't find that. Everywhere you look there's this glow of light coming up off the ground, drowning out all of the greatness that comes from above."

The innocence and softness in her voice, with its slight escape of country twang, caused me to slowly increase my grasp around her to the point where I could now feel her heart beating against the side of my chest.

"That sounds amazing. Maybe someday I'll get to see it with my own eyes with you beside me, just like this." I whispered, smiling to myself after I'd begun running my fingers through her hair. I felt her nod against me, and her silent approval over the future possibility I'd just wished for us instantly caused my smile to grow even more.

"The best, though, was always right before the sun would come up over the mountains. Both worlds colliding all at once-"

"Opportunity for last minute fate driven moments, before a new day would take its place." I impulsively added, not meaning to interrupt her, but doing so anyway.

She let out a light laugh and then released a forced sigh, "Fate is a funny thing. My entire existence all I ever heard was that my life had already been defined for me… written for me… decided… and I never really challenged that... but since coming here and meeting you, I've slowly begun to realize that's never actually been the case, and that it's okay to stray from fate. Especially if it means you'll get to experience something more... something other than what you're so-called destiny had been pushing you towards all your life."

I couldn't get over how serious her tone had turned, or stop myself from reading between the lines of her words. I hadn't learned much about Bella's family yet, aside from the basics, but the more I did learn… the less I found myself liking them.

"Everyone has choices, Bella. What would ever make you think you didn't have options or a say in the path you'd take?"

My own father and his choices came to mind the second that question had left my lips, but I wasn't about to share any of that with her.

No.

Not right now.

Right now, this had to be about her.

I felt Bella take in another deep breath against me, so I loosened my grip around her, before placing my chin at the top of her head to rest it there.

"Your heart is beating so fast." She whispered, noticeably changing the subject, just as I'd expected her to once I'd begun to back her into a corner with my direct line of questioning that involved the life she'd left behind.

"Yeah... well, I've got a beautiful girl laying beside me in nothing but a short t-shirt, and a romantic view in front of us. I think you should be impressed I've managed to keep my hands where they are, and that the beating of my heart is the only thing you're feeling right now."

"Impressed, or disappointed?" She snickered almost tauntingly, causing my breath to hitch and my body to react to her's when she'd suddenly left my arms to sit herself up in front of me, straddling my hips from her knees to face me.

I could barely think as I looked at her with the moon's reflection shining behind her shoulders off of the ocean water, and the city lights dancing in the distance as her background, "Is that an invitation?"

"All I've thought about since this night started, was getting to this very moment." She dared to share with me, just above a whisper.

Without waiting another second, I sat myself up and reached out to take her against me. I brought my hand into her hair to give it a purposeful tug at the back of her head, locking our eyes for a few solid seconds where nothing else was said between us, but everything was felt.

"I'm ready for you to bite, Edward. I really kind of need to taste you on my lips."

My opened palm stayed positioned where it was, completely lost in her tangled locks, and I carefully closed the space between us to finally bring my lips to hers.

When we met, I felt my entire world ignite and threaten me in ways I'd never even dreamed possible.

First kisses were usually awkward with a learning curve that took a few seconds to master.

This was absolutely not the case with Bella.

With her, it had been instant, and mercilessly complete, and I could absolutely tell she'd felt it too with the way her body had melted into mine.

Her fingers grabbed passionately at the back of my neck, keeping me there against her while our lips continued to move against one another's parted mouths, her tongue finding its way to meet mine in perfect sync, and her heated breath creating shock waves across every part of my needful body.

This was dangerous.

The two of us, here like this… letting this moment take control… I'd never wanted anything more in my life than I wanted her right now.

She wasn't slowing down, and I wasn't about to pull the brakes on anything myself. Especially after she'd climbed herself even further on top of me and pushed me backward onto the bed beneath us to rub herself with purpose against the most sensitive part of my body.

Her teeth found my ear and she bit down playfully, then continued to explore my neck with her mouth while her hands grasped at my wrists to take the lead and hold my arms in place beside my head over the pillows.

Bella was now controlling everything, and when I'd realized that, I found myself even more hungry to taste every part of her with my own mouth. This was, without question, why she'd kept herself in check tonight with her drinking. She'd wanted this to happen, but she'd needed to be able to keep things within limits of what she was ready for when it came to us returning to this room together.

I was okay with that.

I would take whatever she was ready to give me, and appreciate every blissful second of it.

When she lifted my shirt up from my waist to pull it over my head and toss it across the room, I grabbed at the back of her neck to return her mouth to mine, then pressed my opened hands into the swell of her back to push her even further against me.

At the very least, she should get to feel what she'd done to me, and also get a small preview for what awaited her, whenever she did decide she was ready to kick the damn line in the sand, and truly open all of herself up to me.

"Jesus," she breathlessly whispered after pulling her lips away from mine to press our foreheads together in order to catch her breath for a moment, "I want you so goddamned bad, it's almost killing me."

"The feeling is mutual, beautiful. So unbelievably mutual." I replied back, refusing to hide my smile over the truth that had just left both of our tongues. "Remember, we don't have to rush this."

She sat herself up further, then hovered over me on her knees again before sensually running her hands through her wild and messy hair, sending another impulsive tremor to my awakened cock that was still aching beneath her. "I didn't expect it to be this hard." She softly shared with me, creating another easy smirk on my face.

"Sorry about that," I swiftly teased, even though I knew she was talking about her limits, and not so much the erection she'd triggered between my legs. She giggled nervously, then let herself fall forward on top of me again to press her ear against my chest after threading her fingers between my own beside my shoulder.

"I really love listening to your heartbeat."

"Well, I really love a lot of things about you, including the way you make my heart beat, even when it's about to lift straight out of my chest," I replied back, grinning before I could manage to shut down my damn mouth.

She laughed against me, and I looked down just in time to see her lips kiss the center of my pulsing chest two times before she returned her gaze back to mine from where she'd gently turned and positioned her head.

"You make me feel like I can just be me when I'm with you. That I can let go and go after anything… do anything... without holding back, but at the same time, there's this voice in my head, reminding me that I still need to hold back… that I'm supposed to because of everything else that's always kept me anchored in this life, out of fear of disappointing everyone else in it who's ever mattered to me. Do you have any idea how neurotic that can make a person feel?"

"I think I do have an idea." I quickly replied, slowly running my hands up and down her back to keep her in place over me. "I wish I could help take some of that away from you. I never want you to feel pressured to be someone you're not when it comes to me."

"I don't. I don't feel pressured. If anything, I feel more comfortable around you than I've ever felt around anyone else in my life. Including Alice."

This surprised me.

"I guess that's part of my fear though, worrying that things might happen too fast, and then everything will come crashing down, and I won't know how or where to land."

"I won't let that happen." I softly reassured her, then placed my index finger under her chin to force her to look up at me again. "We can move as slowly as you want, or as fast as you might need. I'll be here for all of it, as long as you'll have me with you for the adventure of it all." Her smile, in response to my returned promise to her, sent another rushed wave of lust filled adrenaline across every part of me, but I knew better than to react to it right now.

"There are just things you need to know before you'll ever be able to really understand what brought me here… to this city… to meet you, and bring you into my twisted world."

"Try me," I carefully challenged, smoothing the hair back at the top of her head. She forced a smile and let her cheek, once again, fall against my chest before taking in another deep breath to let it all out.

"All in due time, future lover," she teased, creating a fresh new grin on my face and making me want to attack her all over again with my mouth. She'd let out a soft yawn with her last word though, and nuzzled herself deeper against me. I knew sleep was catching up to the both of us. I'd had a long day as it was, with barely five hours of rest between my shift and getting some adulting done before heading out here with her and our friends. "Thank you," I'd barely heard her, but she'd managed to say it just loud enough for my ears to catch.

I reached over to grab at the comforter to my side, then pulled it up over us while I listened to our breathing slowly begin to sync. Having her here in my arms, sharing this moment with her, here like this… it had been everything I'd needed it to be to justify everything I'd felt since the very second our eyes had met that first morning outside of our apartment doors.

Before I could say anything else, she was asleep, and I followed closely after, preparing myself to get the best rest I'd gotten in the last two weeks of my life now that I had her here in my arms.

.


.

I came to with Bella's lips placing a gentle kiss at my cheek before she'd whispered a soft, 'Wake up or you're going to miss it' into my ear where she was still laying beside me.

My mouth opened to release a low yawn, and I stretched my legs out where her own were still entangled with mine

"The sun is about to come up, I set my alarm." Just as the words left her mouth, my own alarm had begun to also go off from the nightstand beside the bed.

"I set an alarm, too."

She giggled and shook her head in smitten disbelief, and I reached my arm over to secure her back against me again. "I mean, I did promise you many sunrises together, did I not?"

"I like a good promise keeper," she snickered back, then pushed herself even further over me to bring her lips to mine.

It was a slow kiss at first, but within seconds, it built itself up into something neither of us could barely control.

"Christ, I think I could wake up like this every day for the rest of my life and never need another goddamned thing to make me smile." I teased as soon as she did finally pull away from me for some air. She giggled over me, then repositioned herself so she'd be able to look out the opened windows just as the sun had begun to come up over the horizon of the ocean.

We both laid there in silence, and I counted each second that would pass between her inhale and exhale until she'd reached over to take my hand into hers to bring it to the center of her chest. "I wish we could just take this boat and disappear. Leave everything else behind and never question anything else for the rest of our lives."

I smiled, loving the simplicity of her dream reality, then heard the boat's engine come to life, signaling that the captain was up and he was about to start bringing the boat back inland.

"Arg! I don't want it to end."

"It doesn't have to. I'm off all day. Let's carry things over back to your place." I suggested, already hoping she'd have had the same thought herself.

"Sounds like a perfect Sunday to me."

"The best part is, we don't even have hangovers to nurse," I added, making her laugh again, and snuggle further against me just as a knock came at our cabin's door. "Nooooooo." I toyed pulling the covers all the way up over our heads. She smiled against me then wiggled herself free from my arms to see who was there but not before blowing me a kiss from her hand.

Before I knew it, Alice and Jasper were both in the bed with me, hopping themselves over the mattress, inevitably ending our perfect moment with pastries and bagels in their hands.

.


.

After saying goodbye to everyone and going our separate ways at the dock, Bella took the passenger seat beside me, putting Alice and Jasper in the back of my car. Our ride was quiet, but her hand had remained attached to mine, positioned over my knee the entire way back to our building. I'd, of course, noticed her and Alice share a few looks, and more than a couple of text messages had also been sent back and forth between the two of them.

It was always cute when girls thought us guys didn't pick up on their ninja-like silent communication skills.

All I'd needed to do was give Jasper one look earlier and he knew Bella and I didn't actually do anything more than makeout or dry hump last night. He didn't need a full page text giving any bullet point descriptions of the evening we'd shared... Yet.

When we got to our parking lot, I pulled into my usual space and noticed Tanya's car parked a few spots over.

"Ew, the she-devil is home." My best friend snickered after leaning between the seats to make sure I'd hear him.

"Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious."

"That's okay because Edward was coming over to our place for a continued hot breakfast and nap anyway." Bella swiftly replied, rather matter of factly, then threw me a wink, before opening her door to remove herself from the passenger seat of my car. Alice followed after her, and Jazz and I remained inside for a few more seconds so he could give me the ribbing I knew he was dying to do.

"I honestly can't believe you didn't seal the deal after all that! You've lost your touch. Tanya has officially ruined you!"

My arm reached over to give him a firm shove, and I warned him through my clenched teeth to keep his voice down when Bella and Alice turned around to see what was taking us so long to join them.

"I'm doing this my way. The right way. She's got skeletons. If I force them out too soon, she'll lock it all down."

"Yeah, yeah. So I've heard, but who doesn't?"

This, of course, grabbed my attention.

"What have you heard?"

If he had information he was keeping from me, I was going to kill him.

"Nothing, dude. Forget I said anything. Let's go eat some bacon and eggs, then go back to bed. My head is seriously pissed at me for being up this early after all my drinking last night."

I narrowed my eyes and shook my head. He'd already said too much, but Bella and Alice were clearly getting impatient.

"Look bro, I say this with love, but you're both coming out of fucked up relationships, and two fucked up people should never collide without having a full exit plan in place for when that finally catches up to them."

I scoffed at his warning and pushed my door open, not wanting to hear anything else he had to say. I wasn't sure what he was implying, but I knew it wasn't worth entertaining for longer than a millisecond because I'd already made up my mind that I was in this, for her, no matter what.

Once I caught up to Bella, I put my arm over her shoulders and pulled her into me to land a purposeful kiss to the top of her forehead, and then her lips before we started walking towards the elevator together. We'd almost reached the metal doors when we heard someone whistle from behind us. Bella stopped dead in her tracks and spun herself around to look back out towards the parking lot.

He is not here.

There's no god-damned way in hell he is here!

"Bella! Is that- Holy mother of God! When did they- how did they even-" Before Alice could finish her sentence, Bella had left my arm and was speed walking herself towards two ridiculously tall looking guys, who were wearing well-worn jean jackets that matched the jean pants they'd stuffed their hands into. Oh, and cowboy boots.

These motherfuckers we're wearing brown leather cowboy boots in Miami… in the dead of summer.

"I should have known they'd do this." Bella's best friend suddenly snickered from beside me after she'd crossed her arms in front of her chest with a nervous laugh.

"Who are they? Is that her boyfriend?!" Jasper asked for me while scratching his head and squinting in their direction.

"That would be James on the left, and Sam on the right… the annoyed looking guy, still sitting in the rental car behind the steering wheel, that's Charlie. The only three people, aside from Jake, in our girls' life who have always been able to make her jump, and then look over her shoulder. She loves them, though. She loves them with all of her heart."

Charlie, the guy behind the steering wheel, literally looked like he wanted to kill me.

Then it hit me like a damn freight train.

"Shit… is that her… her dad?" I finally managed to get out, just above a whisper after I'd turned my back to him to face only Alice.

"YUP, the one and only, Charlie Swan. The other two guys are her older brothers. Oh man, what a first impression you've just made! Keeping his baby girl, and their kid sister out all night on her birthday when they flew out here to surprise her! This is too good!"

At this point, Alice was having an extremely difficult time holding in her laughter. Jasper looked almost as delighted by the scene that was now taking place about twenty feet away from us. "What is it with you mountain people just showing up uninvited whenever you want? Is that like part of the whole southern-living-charm thing?" My buddy questioned with a hard laugh, following his words. "Wait! Is this why you always have a pitcher or iced tea in your fridge?"

Alice rolled her eyes and smacked my best friends arm, then turned to face me again, "I hope you're ready to have your entire life hacked into, and then dissected, E." She softly shared as we watched her dad get out of his rental car, keeping his eyes set on only me.

I swallowed hard and forced a smile. On the inside though, I was already in full blown, kill me now, panic mode.


A/N: Major progress for the most part... But Edward still hasn't come clean, and now it looks like he'll have someone snooping around in the worst of ways. How much longer can he hold out before he's standing at the edge of it all?

Next chapter you'll get answers about Jake and his past hold on Bella... but not before Bella makes an internet call. ;)

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

*Reviews make me smile*

As thanks for making me smile, I'll pay it forward with an outtake from Bella's POV at the dock when everyone has left the boat, and they're all saying goodbye. Let's just say Kate gives one more twist with her dagger of persistence into E's side before they part ways.