January
Chapter Two

Rosalie was sitting in the family room when her dear brother returned home. She didn't see him enter the house, but knew he had arrived by the flurry of chaos that ensued as Alice streaked down the stairs screeching about how much she missed him. The rest of the family followed soon after, greeting him with varied looks of concern and relief. Rosalie hung back, rising from the stylish chair she had been lounging in very slowly and sauntering across the room with a dangerously placid look on her face. She met his eyes over Emmett's monstrous shoulder and raised an eyebrow. He met her eyes with a familiar questioning look.

Oh I have words for you, Edward Cullen, she said to him in her thoughts.

A frown creased his forehead, surely unaware of what she had in store for him. With that she darted gracefully up the stairs, throwing a look over her shoulder signaling Edward to follow her. She decided his room would be the best place to take care of this. Somehow it just felt wrong to fight this out in hers and Emmett's sanctuary. It would somehow taint it. As she walked through the door to Edward's bedroom, she looked around considering where she would wait for him to meet her. Considering the available seating options, she realized each of them had some kind of previous sexual history attached to them that she really did not need to be thinking about right now. With a frown she strode over to the large window and stared out at the beautiful landscape that surrounded their home, one arm wrapped around her waist and her other hand worrying her perfect bottom lip.

It was a few moments before Edward joined her. She was sure he had waited until it didn't seem conspicuous that he was running right up the stairs after her. It wasn't as if they were best buddies most of the time, so an immediate private reunion would be a little out of the ordinary, to say the least. Her temper tantrum following his departure was suspicious enough. She heard him drop a bag on the floor near the door and then his footsteps approaching her. He leaned against the wall next to where she stood, looking like a perfect Greek statue.

"What is it, Rosalie?" he asked, his tone slightly impatient.

She whirled around to face him, the absent, placid look on her face replaced with a mask of icy fury. "What the hell were you thinking, Edward? What on earth possessed you to just pick up and leave like that without any indication of when you would come back, if ever?" She was aware of the fact that her fists were clenched again, thankfully this time not around the steering wheel of her car.

He looked surprised, "Is that honestly what this is about, Rose? I wasn't aware that you would have cared so much. I was under the impression you had pretty much everything you needed right here—Emmett…mirrors…"

She fumed, "How dare you. I can't believe you didn't take anyone else's thoughts or feelings into consideration before you just whipped out of town in a melodramatic cloud of angst and self loathing. And for what? A stupid, insignificant child. And now you stand here and insult me and doubt my care for your well being?"

His eyes flashed with anger now, replacing that look of glib amusement. "Rosalie, could you please refrain from being so incredibly self involved for a moment and realize that the reason I left had everything to do with my consideration for this family? I was going to kill that stupid insignificant child, as you've so charmingly referred to her as. Do you understand what that would have meant for us? Or are you really so shallow that you can't make that connection?"

She actually growled this time, infuriated by the fact that he was questioning her intelligence now, "I just don't understand why this girl could do this to you. Why she could have such a strong effect on you that you actually have to run away. I've never seen you react like that to anything in your entire life." She tried to keep the heavy meaning out of her words, but she knew it was no use as he could just read her thoughts anyway.

Realization dawned on his features and he rolled his eyes, "Get over it, already, Rose. You're only the center of your own universe. You're certainly not the center of mine. Not anymore." With that he strode back out of his room, slamming the door behind him. She stared at the polished wood for a few moments after he had left, partially shocked that he had acknowledged having feelings for her, and partially hurt by his biting words.

Snapping out of it finally, she exited the room herself, giving the door a resounding slam of her own.

Still furious, Rose paced down the hall into her room and slammed the door so hard it threatened to snap off its hinges. It took a minute for her to adjust and realize that Emmett was sitting on their overstuffed leather couch, gazing at her curiously. He was used to her moods and tantrums, but this was a particularly fiery one. She regarded him warily, hoping that he didn't interpret Edward's last words too seriously.

"You and Eddie having issues, Babe?" he asked, his eyebrows raised in a look of part concern, part confusion.

She frowned and sat down next to him, shaking her head, "No. Not anything significant anyway."

Emmett wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against his body, squeezing her tight in a one-armed bear hug. He took his other hand and placed it under her chin, tipping her face up to meet his gaze, "You okay, love?"

She considered the question. Was she okay? She shouldn't have been affected by his harsh words. On the other hand, she shouldn't have been affected by anything in this entire situation—everything that passed between she and Edward was ancient history and should have no bearing on her life now. Yet, why was there this nagging jealousy around the edge of her brain? It annoyed her.

"Yes, darling, I'm fine. Just annoyed with him. He's acting like a child."

Emmett grinned wolfishly and smoothed a hand over her hair, "Well, he IS the younger brother after all."

She loved that smile. It lit up his face and truly embodied the nature of everything that was Emmett. She was overcome with the need to just be close to him. She just needed to feel the things that were right to her. She reached up and ran her fingers through his dark curls, smiling into his eyes with an obvious mix of lust, love and need. His own eyes darkened in the way they always did when he needed her too.

"You know, you don't really need to think about him anymore him tonight…" he said, lowering his head to scatter kisses along her collarbone.

"I was hoping you would say that," she said, and with that she pulled his face up to hers and began ravishing his mouth with hers. He knew that he would match her passion easily and willingly. She ran her nails across his shoulders, down his muscled back and clutched at his waist wantonly. He pulled her shirt up over her head and went to work on the sensitive skin just above the edge of her bra. She let her head fall back and moaned in pleasure.

He trailed his lips down her chest, down her abdomen and then dragged his tongue back up to her neck to nibble the delicate skin he found there until she was whimpering. She felt him grin against her as she wrapped her legs around his waist and clutched at his back. A low growl rumbled in his chest…

Her eyes snapped open, horrified that the memory had flashed through her head at that particular moment. It was so wrong that Edward had somehow infiltrated this perfect moment she was having with Emmett. This time that was specifically meant for forgetting her past withhim.

Emmett must have felt her stiffen and he lifted his head to look at her quizzically, "Rose?"

She smiled reassuringly, hoping the look was convincing, "Everything's fine darling. I just need you so much."

He accepted that easily, as she hoped he would, grinning again. He went back to work—ironically nibbling on her neck. She smirked dryly.

She reached down and lifted up the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head swiftly. She needed the skin to skin contact, hoping it would erase every other thought from her brain. As he bit down on her earlobe lightly, she arched against him, rewarding him with another husky sound of approval. He lifted his head and his eyes burned into her with more serious fervor than most people probably thought Emmett was even capable of. He wrapped one arm tightly around her waist and one lightly around the back of her head, and in a fraction of a second, they were on the plush rug in front of their fireplace, he poised above her, his hands everywhere all at once.

Her hands clutched the thick carpet, threatening to pull out the soft cords of expensive yarn. A shock of bronze, tousled hair was all she could see of the man at work between her legs. She writhed against him, trying not to scream his name. His hands raked up the sides of her body to her breasts, burning into her despite their iciness.

She turned her head into her carpet frowning, infuriated with herself that she had let her mind wander again. She was even more livid with herself that the memory matched with Emmett's hands on her was almost too much for her body to handle. She was vibrating with need and grasping at his hair, his neck, his back, trying to pull him closer to her than he already was. She let out a frustrated growl and ripped—not removed, ripped—his pants off in one quick movement. The similarity of the action to another past action didn't escape her, and she groaned again, feeling tortured.

Emmett was obviously affected by her wild need. Her behavior exceeded even some of their most raucous recent tumbles. He was breathing heavily, an intense, gorgeous look of concentration on his features. His beauty was different from Edwards, but still took her breath away. His strong jaw, her favorite dark curls, the broad cheekbones, the perfect, long, sculpted nose.

Not being able to resist her anymore, he parted her legs and thrust into her as slowly as his self control could manage. She let out another moan of ecstasy, matching his growl of pleasure.

He slid into her at an achingly slow pace, teasing her mercilessly. She arched her back, "Oh god, Edward…please." She heard him chuckle, cursing the smug bastard, but not feeling very angry at all. She'd made a monster.

She moved against Emmett even more fervently now, wanting to think of only him, even if having both of them with her for this was making her hotter than she had ever been. She rose to meet his every thrust until she could feel herself reach her peak, screaming and clenching around him. He came soon after, not able to withstand the intense desire that was practically seeping out of her every pore.

She fell back on the rug, deliciously spent, but feeling disturbed and guilty. Where had that come from? Why had, all the sudden, she not been able to get her brother out of her head. She would have to find a way. When Emmett's hand slid up her stomach, she turned her head to kiss him, "I love you, so much."

He smiled contentedly back at her, looking like a little boy who had just been given a treat, "I love you too, Rosalie Lillian Hale Cullen."

She stood up and strode over to her closet to retrieve clothing that wasn't torn at the seams. She had things to do today and she needed to clear her head after that rather confusing episode of flashbacks. She threw one last smile over her shoulder at Emmett, and then exited the room.

As she closed the door and turned around she was rather unpleasantly surprised to find Edward leaning against the wall next to the doorway. As her eyes met his gaze, he lifted an eyebrow. She gritted her teeth, more angry now than ever that he could see everything that had just happened playing through her mind.

"Well, that's interesting."