A.N.: THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE THAT IS STILL WILLING TO STICK BY THIS STORY.

Okay, so I know that no one reads these, but on the off chance you do, I cannot apologize enough about the delay on this chapter. It's finals time, and my life is going to be a little crazy for the next few weeks. I can almost guarantee that the next chapter won't be up until sometime after 15 May. Sorry in advance!

Either way, I hope you enjoy this installment. As always, reviews are needed to help me improve/greatly appreciated! 3

What I Own: A four play collection of Shakespeare's comedies

What I Don't: Edward, Bella, or anything the SM created.

Just a few, short hours ago, I was on top of the world.

I was getting ready to start a new mission, something that always put me over the moon, I had found a fantastic new outfit while I was on a girl's day trip with my best friend, and I had gotten to make out with probably the hottest guy I had ever seen.

A guy that I assumed lived in Manhattan. A man I never thought that I would see again.

I hate being wrong. UGH. I have no experience with this.

The universe was clearly messing with me, or my karma was totally out of whack, because this was just plain cruel. Of all the places to see Edward again, it had to be on my mission. And, of course, he had to be a part of it.

I don't know how I would feel if he had just happened to be here… maybe it would have been easier because I would have had to ignore him.

Either that, or we would have ended up going behind a tank and fucking like animals.

Which would not be good. Well, the sex would be great… but having to deal with the repercussions of the sex… not exactly how I wanted to be spending my time. I had a nuclear crisis to stop, after all.

I looked back up at Edward and he looked absolutely panicked. I could tell that he was trying to rein it in, because we were supposed to be acting like a couple. I forced the tension in my body to dissipate, before smiling a wide smile and wrapping my arms around his shoulders, pressing my hips against his.

"Sorry, baby. I was just so surprised to see you. You weren't supposed to be back from New York until next week." I said; my voice was soft, but loud enough that the people nearby could hear me. That meant Laurent could hear me. Perfect.

Edward caught on immediately, smiling down at me. "It's okay, love." Edward whispered, leaning down and ghosting his lips across my cheek. "I surprised you. Now, how about you tell me what I missed while I was gone."

"Well," I began, as he wrapped his arm around my waist and guided me away from the jelly tank. "I was in New York today. Alice and I went to Barneys to buy this dress." I smiled when he gripped my waist, not really sure where I was going with this.

"You do look gorgeous, Bella." Edward said, grabbing my hand and spinning me out so he could get a better look at me. I felt myself blush as his eyes trailed up and down my form, drinking in every line, every curve. Suddenly, he pulled me back to him, burying his face in my neck.

His breath was hot and sensual on my skin as he whispered, "You look good enough to eat." His gravelly voice shot right to my core, lighting every nerve in my body on fire. Just then, I felt his mouth open and the pressing of his teeth into the skin of my neck.

I repressed a moan, and forced myself to pull away, giggling. "Edward!" I said, swatting him playfully with my hand. "Let me finish!"

Edward's eyes flashed mischievously as he said, "Baby, you and I both know that I always let you finish." I started laughing, swatting at Edward's chest.

This was far too easy. I shouldn't be able to just… act this way with him. I've never been like this with anyone… so why is it so easy to be like this with him?

I was absolutely perplexed. One side of me argued that I was just putting on a really good show for the sake of the mission. I knew that this was probably true, but there was a tiny part of me that kept telling me otherwise. This part insisted that this was so easy because it was supposed to be, because we were supposed to be.

"As I was saying…" I said, rolling my eyes and laughing, "Alice and I were in New York today." "How was it?" Edward asked, his eyes darkening to a deeper shade of emerald. The light was dancing in his eyes, and it seemed as though it was lighting his eyes from the inside. His grip on my waist momentarily tightened, and the fire that erupted over my skin was more than a little shocking.

"It was fantastic." I said, in as sultry a voice as I could manage.

Edward pulled me to him, wrapping me up in a hug; I could feel his muscles trembling in his chest, and it surprised me; why was he shaking like that? Was he nervous?

Edward pulled away awkwardly after a few seconds, and in an attempt to divert his eyes, looked down; he noted that my drink was empty, and promptly swept the empty glass out of my hand, and pulled me towards the bar.

"What would you like Bella?" Edward asked, his lilting British voice still totally stunning me. I loved the way my name sounded on his lips. I shook my head lightly, trying to focus. "Cosmo." I responded, smiling at him. He brought my hand to his lips, kissing each knuckle before flashing me a smile and walking towards the bar.

I took the opportunity to turn around and scope out the area. I spun around slowly, trying not to make myself stand out anymore that I needed to, and let my eyes scan quickly, yet effectively, over the area in front of me. I saw Laurent standing over near a tank of some tropical fish, watching them intently, with what appeared to be a rum and coke in his hand.

Other people were mulling around outside the bar, waiting to get their drinks; some people were leaning over the bar, trying to get the attention of the bartenders, while others were more content with leaning against the bars edge, watching people.

I made quick work of committing the people I saw to memory, ready to pull them up later if I needed to.

I smiled when I felt a hand on my waist, the warmth already familiar to me. Edward leaned down, pressing his lips to my cheek. "Back, baby." He said, holding out the bright pink beverage to me. I grinned, taking it from his hands, immediately bringing the glass to my lips. Taking a sip, I looked down, taking notice of what Edward had gotten.

"Is that whiskey?" I asked, a grimace in my voice. "Yes. Jameson," he said, a smirk slowing forming on his lips, "it's good for the soul." I laughed out loud, before rolling my eyes. "Sure it is!" I started walking away, when his arm went around my waist, pulling me to him. Placing a kiss on my temple, he mumbled, "I adore you."

I smiled warmly, unsure of what to say.

I had been on missions where I had to pretend to be in a relationship with someone before. It was just a part of the game that I was used to. Maybe it's slutty, but I had no problem kissing, or even sleeping with, people that I wasn't dating. I never had. I had an uncanny ability to separate physical connections with love, and I intended on keeping it that way.

But Edward… Edward ignited something in me that I have never seen before. My relationship with him felt natural, where the others clearly felt forced. Never once did I feel even remotely uncomfortable when he grabbed my hand, or touched my skin.

Maybe it was because we were working on the same side… I told myself, blatantly ignoring the other times I had to "date" my partners.

Who am I kidding? I have no idea what's going on here.

I smiled, settling into Edward's side as we walked around the party. We walked in front of some tanks, stopping and admiring the colorful fish swimming around, occasionally talking to one of the other people that happened to be near us.

One woman, who introduced herself as Heidi, asked Edward and I how long we had been together. "You two look absolutely in love," she said. I didn't know what to say, because Edward and I hadn't discussed what we would tell people if they were to ask. Edward, thankfully, took this one. He smiled, pulling me into his side and leaning down to kiss my temple. "We've been together for about three years." He said, smiling down at me. "Well," Heidi had said, a huge smile on her face, "It's clear you two are crazy about each other. You better not let this one go, Edward." She winked, before turning around and walking away.

"I don't plan to." Edward mumbled. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear that or not, so I just pretended like I hadn't.

Did he really mean that? My mind started reeling, thinking about everything that he could have possibly meant by saying that.

Maybe it was a code or something that Jacob didn't brief me on.

Note to self, ask Jake about that later.

Brushing off the thoughts, I forced myself to think of the task at hand. Edward and I had yet to discuss what we planned to do in regards to Laurent. We needed to come up with a plan so that we could approach this thing cohesively. Nothing says suspicious like bumbling over your words and fighting with the person you are supposed to be partnered with in from of the target.

But first, I had to get Edward alone so that we could discuss this.

"Do you want to go somewhere… quieter?" I asked; I knew what it sounded like, and I probably shouldn't have worded my statement that way, but Edward knew what I meant. He smiled his panty-dropping smile at me, clearly picking up on the sexual connotation of my words. "Sure." he said.

We walked, arm and arm, through the crowds of people that surrounded us. I reached up, pressing my neck, and said, "Where do you think we should go?" I watched Edward shrug, and I wasn't sure if he knew that I was talking to Jacob.

"Hold on Bells," Jake said in my ear, "I'm pulling up the video of the place now. I'll find a place for you guys." I didn't say anything, but I knew that Jake knew that I had heard him. Nothing he ever made for me malfunctioned. Knock on wood.

"Alright…" Jake said, I could hear the concentration in his voice as he tried to maneuver the video shots to his liking. "There is a janitors' closet about 150 feet ahead, to the left, once you round the turn. No one will notice if you two slip in there, and I'll even short out the camera for you for a few seconds."

I hummed in agreement, and Jacob said, "Alright, just say "I'm so happy you're here" when you round the bend. Once you're in the room, throw the lock, and just let me know so I can let the camera go back online."

I took a deep breath, trying to force as much oxygen into my brain as possible. If I were going to be in a small janitors closet with Edward, I would need to be thinking as clearly as possible.

As we rounded the bend, I took hold of his arm, and said, "I'm so happy you're here." Edward just smiled, wrapping his arm even tighter around my waist as he pulled me into his side.

Then I heard Jake in my ear, "Gotcha Bells. Now, pick the lock and get inside. You know what to do from there."

I let go of Edward's arm as we approached the door, quickly pulling out my spyPhone, and x-rayed the lock, checking to see where the pins were in the door. Smiling, I pulled a bobby pin out of my clutch and unlocked the door. I smiled to myself, as I walked into the closet, reached back, and pulled Edward into the closet.

I smiled widely, impressed that I was still able to pick a lock so quickly, and said "Hey Jake, we're good. Thanks, man!" Jake laughed, and I could hear the clicking of his fingers on the keyboard, probably resetting the camera. I looked up at Edward, checking to make sure that he knew that I was talking to my techie.

His eyes were on fire, and the darkest shade of emerald I'd ever seen. They bore into mine with an almost overwhelming intensity, and I felt myself begin to walk backwards. Slowly, he began stalking forward; it appeared as though his muscles were shaking with restraint.

I backed up until I was pressed up against the wall. Edward stood in front of me, leaning down, pressing his lips to my neck, opposite the side where my mike sat. "Jake…" I said, my voice sounded wary and shaky, and I didn't like it. I loved the cause, but I didn't need Jake knowing what was going on. "Good deal Bells," Jake said with a laugh, just as I reached up to turn the mike off. "I'm leaving you two alone now."

I sighed, throwing my hand down to my side, fighting the urge to reach up and rake my fingers through my hair. I felt Edward press his teeth into the skin in my neck, and I moaned quietly. Fuck. "I-I-I… I didn't m-m-mean to do that. Disregard that." I said, hoping that he wouldn't think that I wanted this to progress.

"Bella." Edward growled into my ear, his hot breath igniting a fire in my belly that had long been extinguished. "Let me do this. Let us do this." I opened my mouth to say something, when he drug his lips up my neck, and began kissing the corner of my mouth, occasionally flicking his tongue out the trace my lips.

"I want you Bella." He said; his voice was like the best sex, rough and deep, but with tons of emotion behind it. It felt like I was literally on fire, and I casually glanced down at my arms just to make sure that I wasn't. He bent his face back to my neck, scraping his whiskers across my face, probably leaving a rash.

"I… we… can't." I said, dropping my head.

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SAYING?! Of course you can! One side of my brain argued. The other, my more logical side chimed in then; no, you can't. Just because you are pretending to be in a relationship doesn't mean you actually are. And sleeping with him will really fuck up the working relationship. Get your wits about you, woman!

Sighing, I pulled together the last bits of reserve strength I had left, and placed my hands on his neck, pulling his face up to mine. "Edward. We can't. We are working together. This isn't going to happen."

I thought that I sounded authoritative and serious, as though I actually meant business. Edward, however, must have heard me differently, because he started laughing. "I know that, Bella. I was just trying to make it look like we had done something. People weren't exactly oblivious to the fact that we were sneaking off earlier. If you didn't come back looking a little frazzled, they'd be suspicious."

"Oh…. Well good." I said, trying to sound genuinely pleased about his plan. Edward eyed me suspiciously but, thankfully, let it drop. "So," he said, stepping back and allowing his eyes to trail up and down my trembling form, "what's going on? What's our plan?"

I sighed, and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to ground myself in what was happened. I took two quick jumps in the air, and shook out my arms. "Okay." I said, a smile stretching across my face. Edward just stood there, looking at me. "What?" I asked.

"Uhm…" he gestured at me, running his hand up and down in the air in front of my body. I laughed. "I do that to loosen up sometimes." I said, blushing. Edward chuckled, "Do you always do that on missions?"

"Oh ha ha." I said, sarcastically. "I only do it when I'm alone." "Oh, I bet you do…" he said, eyeing me expectantly.

I scoffed, and slapped his chest.

"Look," I said, staring at him expectantly, "we need to talk about what we are going to do here. I just found out your name a few hours ago. M16 is very 'hush-hush' about who they assign to what missions, even to those that they are going to be working with. We need to come up with a plan."

Edward eyed me, considering what I'd said. "Alright," he said, picking up a bucket that was near the wall and flipping it over.

He plopped down, resting his elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands, looking at me expectantly. "Go ahead." He said, eyeing me. I rolled my eyes, before leaning against the wall behind me.

"Okay. We need to go and talk to this Laurent character. Has MI6 told you about him?" I asked, racking my brain to remember everything that we needed to talk about.

"Yes." Edward said, nodding his head, "they told me what I would imagine the same thing the CIA told you. At least, that's what Em told me they did." "Who's Em?" I asked, trying to squash the jealously that was brewing inside me.

Who was this "Em" bitch, and how long until I got to fight her?

"Em is short for Emmett… he's my mission coordinator. And my brother."

I sighed, mentally wiping my brow, as I remembered that Alice had mentioned that they were both working. Though, she never told me that Edward's brother was also in the business. I wonder if she knew. "Your Q?" I asked, a smile in my voice. Edward chuckled, "Yes, my Q."

"Alright, so we both have the same information on him… how do we want to approach this?" I began pacing back and forth across the room, in hopes of generating some sort of blood flow to my brain.

When I was younger, I had heard that moving around a lot before a test or a graded assignment can help stimulate blood flow, and can then help you do better. Sadly, I took that to mean that all I needed to do was run around before my tests in elementary school…. Needless to say, I learned that lesson rather quickly.

As I paced, I began to let my mind wander. Suddenly, I was no longer thinking about how Edward and I could approach Laurent, but how I could convince Edward to get a room with my in one of the hotels near by so I could screw his brains out.

I began thinking about all the things that I would want to do with Edward. What the sex would be like, how adventurous we would be, and when we would let that aspect of our sexual relationship develop.

I thought about the dates that we would go on, the memories that we would form, and the inside jokes that we would share. I imagined him getting down on one knee and proposing; the moment would be beautiful. The sun would be shining off of his luminescent skin, the wind ruffling his gorgeous bronze hair, and I would be laughing, and would probably blush profusely before–

"Why are you blushing?" Edward asked, looking at me mischievously.

" I, uh…" I stuttered, feeling my skin heat up even more now that I'd been caught, "just thinking about this assignment?" I hedged, the words sounding more like a question than an answer. "Sure…" he said; he put on his panty-dropping crooked smile. Normally I would be melting, but now I just wanted to slap it off of him.

Okay, so I was melting a little bit too.

"Look, we need to figure out what we are going to do. What's our back story?" I asked, finally getting the conversation going.

Edward and I sat in that room for probably about a half an hour talking about who we were going to play, and how we were going to approach the situation we'd been given.

We'd managed to keep it professional; exactly how, I'm not sure that I'll ever know. I had groped him in a dressing room earlier today, and now I had to work with him. Though, he said that he had no interest in going there with me; that he was just trying to play the part. I guess I could understand that… even if it did let me down a little bit.

Okay, it let me down a lot.

Once we had our plan set in stone, I moved to leave. "Are you ready?" I asked, "Because I need to tell Jake that we are getting ready to go so that he can shut off the cameras." Edward stood up, ignoring my question, and flipped over the bucket he had been sitting on.

When he turned around, he had the same look in his eyes that I had seen before. It was one of white-hot desire; his stare began to melt me at my very core, and I could feel myself getting wet. God damn it. I didn't want to ruin these panties!

Again, much like before, Edward began stalking towards me, slowly backing me up against the wall. When I felt my back press up against the cold cement, I looked down, trying to avoid his gaze. I knew that if I looked into his eyes, I would succumb to whatever it was that he wanted.

Sure, Edward. You want my dignity? Would you like that gift wrapped, or just placed in a bag?

Edward continued to move until he was pressed up against me, just lightly enough that I could feel every inch of him, but not hard enough to give me any actual satisfaction from the content. This man was a tease. And I loved it.

He reached his hand up, cupping my face in his large palm, and brought my eyes to his. "Bella…" he said, his voice coming out in a sensual whisper that set my insides on fire.

I felt myself blush as Edward reached up and knotted his fingers through my hair. He pulled me to him until our lips were only a few millimeters apart. "Frustrated yet?" he asked. It took me a moment to realize what he was saying because his lips were brushing against mine as he spoke. The light pressure of his lips on mine was enough to make my knees wobble.

Suddenly, my brain clicked, and I moved my head away from his as quickly as I could. I couldn't believe that he would do this to me; especially after he saw the effect that he had on me when we first got here. He said that he wasn't interested. And now… he was acting like he was going to kiss me?! Unbelievable. Bastard.

I reached up and slapped him across the head before storming over to the other side of the room. "Jake," I said, pressing on my mike, "we're ready to go." I stood outside the door, waiting for Jake to give me the okay, when I felt Edward come up behind me.

"Bella…" Edward said. I could feel him very closely behind me, and when I turned my head slightly, I could see that he was hanging his head. "Edward," I said, interrupting him, "whatever you are about to say better be something that I would want Jake to hear. My mike is still on." Edward just sighed, and went back to waiting.

When Jacob gave us the go ahead, I walked out of the door first, making a scene of looking both ways before giggling and pulling Edward out of the closet.

I mentally willed him to cheer up before we rounded that corner. We needed to look like a couple that had just snuck off to have fantastic sex in the middle of a public New Years Eve party. Right now, Edward looked like I had killed his puppy.

As we rounded the corner though, Edward's smile was back. I clicked my mike off, smiling at him. "I love that it's just us now." I said, smiling.

Edward nodded in understanding, the smile plastered on his face. To anyone else, it looked legitimate, but it wasn't the shit-eating grin that I had come to expect from him. His eyes weren't alive and dancing like they had been when we were flirting earlier.

I guess we were working now.

We walked around the party area for about another hour, talking to random people about anything that we could think of to talk to them about. I also took the time to learn a little bit more about Edward.

Though Edward and I didn't have much time to talk and really figure each other out, which upset me, I was able to learn a lot about him through other people. I watched the way that he carried himself in a conversation with a stranger; how his shoulders were always squared with the person he was talking to, and how he never dropped his head in a submissive gesture. He demanded respect in a conversation, albeit subconsciously, but he was also immensely respectful of those he got into conversation with.

He never fidgeted while talking, opting instead to stand up straight, with his arm relaxing around my waist. Occasionally, he would squeeze my hip, or would look down at me and smile, sometimes he would even brush a kiss against my hair, but he was not overly affectionate. Perhaps it was because we weren't actually dating… though I have had men in the past that have gone to great lengths to convince people that we were together. Aleksandr was the worst of course… though he was Russian.

Eventually, Edward and I made our way over to where Laurent was standing. We had been watching him very carefully all night, so we knew enough about his mannerisms, and current state of inebriation, to feel comfortable approaching him.

As Edward and I had discussed, I quietly leaned up to kiss his neck and slipped from his side, presumably to go to the bathroom. I knew that Edward was going to be setting up a private meeting with Laurent now, so that we could get him alone and talk about the possibility of meeting with the dealers, Victoria and Riley. I rushed into the bathroom quietly going into a stall and immediately began rifling through my devices. I pulled out my spyPhone, and sent Jake a private message telling him that I was going to plant a tracking device and a microphone on Laurent, as well as turn on my mike to record the conversation with Laurent.

I heard him in my ear almost immediately after I sent him the message; "I got your back, Bells." I smiled, and mumbled a quiet, "Thanks." so as not to rouse suspicions.

I then pulled out a small tracking device and a tiny "freckle microphone" out of my hollowed out mascara tube, and placed it on the tip of my index finger on my left hand. Smiling, I slid the sensors under my thumbnail, ready to place strategically on him. Somewhere.

After taking a minute to actually check myself out in the mirror, I fluffed my hair, running my fingers through the light tangles that Edward had somehow managed to create. Grinning at my reflection, I nodded my head, trying to work up the courage to face Edward. "Here we go." I said, giving myself a miniature pep talk, and letting Jake know that I was getting on the road with this thing already.

I walked out, making a show of looking for Edward, before 'spotting' him in the corner with Laurent. I smiled, loving how this was already going so well.

I sauntered over to Edward's side, immediately slipping my arm around his waist, and leaning up to kiss his neck. Edward slid his arm around my shoulders, before leaning down to kiss my forehead. "Sweetheart, this," he said, gesturing towards Laurent with his head, "is Laurent. This is the man that we want to talk to about the business transaction we are looking to take part in."

I smiled, leaning slightly out of Edward's grasp to greet Laurent. I went in for the hug, pretending that it was my standard method of greeting, as a carefully placed the locator device and the mic on the back of his neck. I slowly pulled back, reaching out to shake his hand. "So nice to meet you." I said, flashing him a genuine smile.

Sliding back to my spot under Edward's arm, I looked up at Edward. "Have you inquired about Jenks yet, Edward, dear?" Edward smiled down at my sad attempt at checking to make sure that he had completed his assigned part of this interaction.

"Of course, I have, love." Edward began rubbing small circles on the back of my shoulder with his thumb, and I had to force my legs to keep still. As the pad of his thumb continued making circles on my shoulder blade, I felt my head fill with blood, my brain becoming clouded with hormones, begging for me to just jump him already.

Bringing myself out of the moment, I took a second to ground myself in reality.

This is a mission. I can't keep going off on stupid mental tangents about how much I want to jump him. No way. Time to act.

I smiled up at Edward, leaning back to rest my head on his shoulder for a second, before winking at him. He looked absolutely stunned. Haha, perfect. Payback is a bitch, Edward.

I looked back at Laurent, "Would you be interested in going somewhere a tad more private with us?" I asked, batting my eyelashes at him a few times for good measure. "Of course." He said, gesturing his hand in front of him, indicating that Edward and I should lead the way. Smiling, I slid my hand from around Edward, shrugging out of his arm at the same time. Looking up at him, I winked, and grabbed his hand in mine, our fingers intertwining perfectly.

Edward and I began walking, side by side, our hands swinging slightly between us. I caught him looking down at me a few times, I noticed that the glint in his eyes had returned, making them appear playful, while still containing the remnants of the burning they had held not too long ago. I looked up at him, trying to convey that we would speak later, without actually having to say the words. When he nodded minutely, I hoped that he understood what I had been trying to say.

We continued on in silence, walking slowly away from the party area, when I heard Jacob in my ear. "Alright, Bells. Keep going straight; there is a conference room on your right in about fifty feet. It says "Employees Only", but just go in. It's unlocked." I squeezed Edward's hand, letting him know that Jake had gotten in touch with me; he squeezed back, and I looked up at him, smiling.

I loved that we were so good at the silent communication thing.

Normally, when I was on a mission with someone else, we needed to meet up at least a week before we started doing any fieldwork for the mission. We needed to learn about each other's mannerisms, and talk about the things that would be able to convey to the other through signals, gestures, and actions.

With Edward, these things came naturally. We didn't need to meet and talk about the things that we would be doing to signal certain things to the other person. We just… did it. Maybe he didn't understand everything that I was trying to tell him, but from my side, it certainly seemed like he did.

We reached the door to the conference room, and I stopped, reaching out with my free hand to turn the handle. It was, as Jacob had said, unlocked, so we quietly walked in.

The room was made of one solid wall, the one containing the door, while the others were three tank walls, allowing us to sit and watch the fish swim around in the aquarium while we discussed.

I took a quick inventory of the room, trying to determine what could be used as a weapon in case things went horribly wrong. I didn't think that they would, but it was always good to know.

Chairs and a few pens on the tabletop. Awesome. They couldn't have put something more useful in here… like a desktop monitor?

Internally sighing, I gestured to the table; "Let's get started, shall we?" I asked. Laurent nodded, walking over to the side of the table opposite from where Edward and I were currently standing.

Noting that lines had clearly been drawn, Edward and I walked over to the table. As we approached the chairs, Edward walked ahead of me, pulling out a chair and gesturing towards it with his hand. "Love." He said, smiling at me.

I smiled, the simple gesture burning me from the inside out. "Thank you, Edward." I said, as I smoothed my dress along my backside before sitting down. When Edward was sure that I was secure in my seat, he pushed my chair in, before taking a seat on the chair to my left, and bringing his gorgeous forearms to rest on the table.

"Alright, may I begin?" Edward asked, looking from Laurent to me. I grinned and nodded, gesturing out towards the table. Edward nodded at me before beginning. "We understand that you have File 33. Is the correct?"

Laurent looked down at his hands, and began fidgeting. He was probably thinking of something to say that would lead us to believe that he had direct control over who attained the file.

"I have access to it, yes." Laurent said, grinning up at Edward. "Why do you ask?" Laurent eyed us then, trying to make sure that we were being completely honest with him.

One of the most crucial parts about being a spy is making sure that you come off as though you are being completely honest. You don't want your story to be too complex, and you want it to be relatively easy to follow.

If you start coming up with something really elaborate, people are automatically going to assume that you are lying to them, even on the off chance that you are being completely honest.

My advice? Lie about as few things as you can manage. Though, usually, because I'm a fucking spy, I have to lie about everything. The key is just to keep your story straight. Oh, and to always stick to the plan that you've come up with, as long as nothing unexpected crops up.

So when I chimed in with, "We were interested in purchasing it," and completely disregarded the plan Edward and I had made back in the janitor's closet, I thought he was going to hit me.

"What Bella means," Edward said, reaching over to take my hand atop the table, "is that we are very interested in obtaining it. Now, we've done some research, and we know that you work with a certain Riley Cohan…" Edward trailed off suggestively, allowing Laurent to take the lead.

"What do you know about Riley?" Laurent asked, his voice becoming slightly panicked.

"Enough." I said, looking at him. "We always check our sources before we become involved in any backroom deals. Though, we usually get other people to perform these interviews for us."

"So why is this one any different?" Laurent asked, his voice leveling out and returning to its normal tone. Perfect, he was relaxing back into the situation.

"I believe we mentioned that we were very interested in acquiring the file." I hinted, looking to Edward with a smile.

"Alright," Laurent said, looking back and forth between us, "I understand that you are very interested in File 33. But you have to know that I don't actually have any control over who gets the file."

"If not you," I asked, feigning ignorance, "then who? We need to acquire this file as soon as possible. We have deadlines to meet, after all."

The idea of a deadline seemed to spark some sort of interest in him. "A deadline, you say? What kind of deadline are we talking about here?" He cocked his eyebrow, as he awaited our answer.

"Let's just say we have a project to finish." Edward said ambiguously. Laurent just silently nodding, as though slowly accepting the gravity of what we were insinuating.

"Okay," Laurent said suddenly, "I'll have to get in contact with Riley, and see what I can work out. I'm not sure that he is going to be so willing to sell it to some people that he has never heard of before…" he trailed off.

I smiled inwardly, knowing that Edward and I had fully anticipated this. We knew that he would try and get some more intimate details out of us, and try and figure out more about who we were before he wanted to connect us with Riley.

"We keep ourselves relatively hidden from the public eye. We don't typically even divulge names… tell Riley that he is lucky that he is even getting that information out of us." Edward said, the hardened edge to his voice making him all the more believable.

Laurent sighed, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. After hitting a few buttons on his cell phone, he brought it up to his ear. "Riley, it's Laurent." He said after a few minutes. "I have some people here that are very interested in acquiring File 33." He waited a minute or so while James responded, looking down at his fingers while he listened.

"I understand the policy, but they are the underground type. I have names, that's it. If you like, you can do more research on them –"

Edward and I sat uncomfortably in the room, quietly listening to Laurent get totally owned. "Look, Riley," Laurent said, raising his voice now. "Don't fucking talk to me that way. I'm doing all the work for you and Victoria. Now tell me what you want me to tell these people so I can get on my way." Laurent sat quietly, while he listened to whatever Riley was telling him on the other end.

As we waited, I felt Edward's hand drop out of mine atop the table and fall to my lap. He rested his hand on my thigh, and I felt myself sit up a little bit straighter. I wasn't prepared for this.

Edward tapped his finger on my thigh, first holding it, then a quick tap, which he then repeated, before leaving his finger on my thigh for a few seconds. I quickly recognized it as the starting signal for Morse code. Tapping my fingertips against the table (three quick taps, one long tap, and another quick tap) to signal that I understood, Edward began to tap out Morse code on my thigh.

I'm so sorry about earlier. Let me make it up to you.

I reached under the table, so the tapping on the tabletop wouldn't distract Laurent from his now very animated conversation with Riley.

Placing my hand on Edward's thigh, I quickly tapped out a response.

I don't know Edward. We work together; can't we just forget everything about our past?

Edward was quick to respond. As he typed out words on my thigh (which I kept careful track of in my mind), I looked over at Laurent. He seemed completely oblivious to everything that was going on, as he was still talking to Riley. "But what about James… I mean, he is still very interested. And you know how I feel about crossing an old friend, Riley." Just then, Edward finished his message.

Bella, please. I need to make it up to you. It's killing me.

I sighed, and quickly typed out Maybe. before turning back to the situation in front of us.

Laurent and Riley talked for a few more moments, before he looked over at Edward and I. "He would like to speak with one of you." Laurent said, looking between the two of us. Getting out of his chair, Edward walked around the end of the table and took the phone from Laurent's hand. "Riley? I understand that you are the man that I need to speak with in order to make this deal." Edward said, his deep, British voice still managing to wet my panties.

Fuck you, Edward. Fuck you, and your luscious voice.

"Yes, Riley, I understand that you have garnered many requests for acquisition, but I think that my… partner," Edward turned around and winked at me then, "can make the best offer here."

Edward was silent a moment, before responding. "Ah, so Laurent here is a good friend of another man looking to buy this file? Who dare I ask is he?"

I sat in silence as Edward finished up his conversation with Riley; "Alright, well look Riley, I'll give you the number to my personal line. I never give this out, so I would appreciate it if you would not share it with anyone. This is absolutely classified. 44-020-555-3683. Got that? That's a London phone number, so you might not want to spend a lot of time calling that for the sake of your phone bill." Edward chuckled and whatever Riley had said, before handing the phone back to Laurent.

Edward walked back to his seat, and sat down, immediately taking my hand into his. I looked up at him, his sad, reverent eyes almost breaking me down.

And then I noticed that he had tapped the starting signal on the back of my hand. Smiling inwardly, I squeezed his hand, allowing him to go ahead. His message this time was simple.

Thank you.

I squeezed his hand again, before Edward pulled his hand away slightly, so we could intertwine our fingers. His hand gripped mine lightly, before loosening it's grip, so that we were merely resting our hands together, our fingers laced like the lovers I so desperately wanted us to be.

When Laurent finished up the call, he walked back over to the table, sitting down, and placing the phone about a foot in front of him. "Well, it seems that Riley was very impressed with you, Edward. Though, there is another offer on the table that you should know about. So I wouldn't get your hopes up."

Ahhh. Defending his old friend. Good boy. Walking right into our trap.

"And who is this competitor, if you don't mind my asking?" Edward said, bringing his unoccupied hand up to the table, laying it palm up on the table.

When we are training to become spies, one of the first things that you learn is the importance of body language. They teach you how to hold your body, how to angle yourself, and how to handle your gestures so that you can portray yourself properly.

If you are trying to portray a convict or something of the like, you would carry yourself with a guarded stance, keep your arms crossed a lot, and generally look as though you are trying to keep people out.

If, however, you are trying to convince an employee for two illegal Italian dealers to give you some information about the other guy that wants to buy the goods, you need to come off as though you are totally trustworthy. So when Edward laid his hand palm up on the table, he is subconsciously telling Laurent that it is all right to trust him. The subtle body-language invite usually works, and this time was no different.

"His name is James Conklin. He is an old buddy of mine. I told him about the file a few days ago, when Riley first mentioned it to me. You are most certainly going to have to post up a lot of money to even have a hope of buying James out."

Shit.

"We have ample financial resources. Don't we, love?" Edward asked, squeezing my hand under the table, and smiling at me. "Of course." I answered, my voice surprisingly stable.

"Well, I'm glad that you appreciate the competition." Laurent said, chuckling as he leaned back in his seat, throwing his hands behind his head.

Edward and I laughed, his deep, rumbling laugh resonating in my head. "Well, it's been fantastic talking to you, Laurent, but I'm afraid that Isabella and I must be on our way." Edward said, releasing my hand before standing up and helping me out of my chair.

We walked over to where Laurent was standing, and each shook his hand. "What, no hug this time?" he said to me, with a laugh. I chuckled, and walked back over to him, wrapping my arms loosely around his neck.

Stepping back, I walked back to Edward, who immediately wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. We gestured ahead of us, allowing Laurent to go first, before following him out of the room.

Laurent quickly disappeared into the crowd once we left the room. Quickly, I said, "Got it, Jake. Thanks." And clicked the microphone off. I heard Jake in my ear a moment later, "No problem Bells. I'll put this on file under Laurent one."

Edward began walking us towards the exit, his head held away from me, as though he was trying to avoid any and all eye contact.

It felt so strange, walking in silence like this. Edward seemed like someone who always said what was on his mind, no matter what is was, no matter how controversial it might be. But now, when he had so many things to say, he wasn't saying a damn thing.

The pressure was palpable, and the stress was weighing down on me like a ton of bricks. I wanted nothing more than to just grab him by the lapels and shake him and start yelling, "FUCKING TALK TO ME! I KNOW YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY, SO FUCKING SAY IT!"

I didn't of course.

We had reached the exit, and walked over to the valet, before he finally spoke to me. "Give them your name?" he asked, his voice was quiet, sounding more like the defeated man I had left the janitors closet with earlier than the confident spy making deals in the conference room.

I smiled at the valet, slipped him a twenty and told him my name. He pocketed the money without checking the denomination, and immediately began walking back towards the car lot.

Then Edward and I were alone.

Immediately, the air buzzed to life; it felt as though there was an electric current pulsing through the air, pushing it's way through every cell in my body. My fingers itched with the urge to reach over and pull him to me, and my whole body trembled in restraint.

I have never been more thankful that our skin wasn't touching, that we weren't touching. I know that the contact would have just been too much, and I would have had to jump him, right here up against the valet stand.

And that isn't exactly one of the classiest things you can do.

Besides, the last thing that I waned to do would be to ruin our mission. And sleeping with Edward… would definitely ruin the mission.

Maybe we would just give up on it, and have sex forever.

Or, and this was the more likely option, I would get a partner change, and Edward and I would no longer be in contact.

He, like so many of the other spies that I've worked with, will essentially have to fall off the map after our missions are over.

I mean, technically, I have to disappear from the public eye for a little while too. After I've been on a mission, I am typically not allowed back on another one for at least a month.

They want to make sure that those that you helped put away, that the people that you've come in contact with don't remember you, don't remember your face; sometimes that's easy, and sometimes it's extremely difficult.

Having sex with Edward… would make that separation most difficult.

It's always a little difficult to be separated from your mission partner after a mission is over; you become so attached to them, and so used to them always being there, that it is almost like getting slapped by reality when the mission is finally over. It involves a lot of readjustment, which would only be made more difficult if I had meaningful sex with him.

Pointless filler sex is one thing. Meaningful (okay, it would only be meaningful to me) sex with Edward… would be fucking fantastic; but it would also kill me later.

I ground my heels into the ground, as though bracing myself for an impact, and slowly began trying to slow down the trembling throughout my body.

And then I made the mistake of looking up.

I looked up in Edward's emerald green eyes, his irises looking as though they had literally been set aflame. The look on his face was one of sheer dominance, and I could almost see the desire seeping from his pores.

Slowly, he began walking towards me and, as though by instinct, I immediately began walking backwards. I stepped back until I felt the hard wood of the valet station pressing into my lower back. Edward smiled, and stepped forward until his chest was brushing up against mine.

His breathing was ragged, and his shoulders were trembling. His dark, fiery eyes continued to gaze down into mine as he began to angle his body over my own. I leaned back over the valet station, trying to resist the urge that was growing inside me. Slowly, he leaned forward, stooping his head down so that his lips were aligned with my collarbone.

I leaned my head up so I could look at him; our eyes locked for a few seconds, the heat of the moment overwhelming us both. Suddenly, he winked at me, and lightly brushed his lips up the column of my throat.

I moaned out loud, the rumbling in my throat probably vibrating against his lips. Just then, someone clearing his or her throat interrupted us.

Edward shot up, and literally leapt away from me, as though I had just told him I had a penis or something. I slowly uncurled my body from the valet station, reaching into my clutch to pull out another twenty.

"For having to see that." I said, winking at the valet. He chuckled, "No worries, miss. It was the most fun I'll have all night." I laughed, walking around the back of the car to my door.

When I got there, Edward was already there, holding the door open for me.

"Isabella." He said, slightly sweeping his hand in front of the car door. I chuckled lightly, and rolled my eyes, sliding into the car, and immediately buckling my seat belt.

Edward walked around the front of the car and settled into the passenger side seat, much to my surprise.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking at him in shock. "Well, we can't leave separately. Besides, I was dropped off. MI6 wanted us to leave together. Something about believability…" Edward dropped his head, obviously ashamed of the fact that he had waited so long to tell me that I was going to be stuck in a car with him for god knows how long.

Lord knows, the sexual frustration all night wasn't enough, was it? Nope, now I had to deal with him for an unknown amount of time.

"I know, I should have told you." He said suddenly. "But if we can get going, I swear I will tell you everything." I sighed, but put the car into gear and pulled out.

"Where to?" I asked, after a few moments of silence. "Can we just go to your place? It's late, and I don't want you out anywhere by yourself once you're done with me."

I sighed, and rolled my eyes, but continued the motions that would take us home.

The car stayed silent the whole way.

After about two minutes, I got so fed up with the silence that I leaned over to turn the radio on. I guess Edward must have had the same idea, as our fingers collided on the radio knob.

The electric current that had permeated the air before was now very tangible, and shot up through my arm. The jolt made me rip my hand away from the radio, and practically throw it back onto the steering wheel.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward click the knob to turn the radio on, before mumbling a quiet, "I'm so sorry, Bella." and dropping his head into his hands.

I sighed quietly, trying to get out all the thoughts that were threatening to overwhelm my brain.

Why was he behaving like this? I thought he said that he didn't want to be with me. Why was he ALWAYS apologizing… ugh!

Forcing my brain to silence, I listened to the muted tunes flowing through my car speakers. After realizing that I recognized the song, I began mumbling along with the lyrics:

Jesus Christ, that's a pretty face

The kind you'd find on someone that could save

If they don't put me away

It'll be a miracle

Do you believe you're missing out?

That everything good is happening somewhere else

With nobody in your bed

The night is hard to get through

And I will die all alone

And when I arrive I won't know anyone

Jesus Christ, I'm alone again

So what did you do those three days you were dead?

Because this problem is going to last

More than the weekend

Jesus Christ, I'm not scared to die

But I'm a little bit scared of what comes after

Do I get the gold chariot

Or do I float through the ceiling

Or do I divide and pull apart

Because my bright is too slight to hold back all my dark

This ship went down in sight of land

And at the gates does Thomas ask to see my hands?

I know you're coming in the night like a thief

But I've had some time, O Lord, to hone my lying technique

I know you think that I'm someone you can trust

But I'm scared I'll get scared and I swear I'll try to nail you back up

So do you think that we could work out a sign

So I'll know it's you and that it's over so I won't even try

I know you're coming for the people like me

But we all got wood and nails

And we turn out hate in factories

We all got wood and nails

And we turn out hate in factories

We all got wood and nails

And we sleep inside of this machine

I frowned to myself as the song ended, a more than little annoyed that the universe had managed to find a way to throw my emotions in my face like that. I was full of thoughts and feelings, and I was absolutely confused as hell. I had no idea what to expect from this, and that scared me beyond all belief. I wasn't scared in the way that most people are scared when they realize that a potential relationship is blooming.

I wasn't thinking about losing my freedoms, or how horrible my life would become if I were committed. I wasn't thinking about how difficult it would be to move all our stuff in together, and what it would be like waking up next to the same person every single day.

Nope. I was thinking about what I was going to do when this all blew up in my face. What I was going to say when we got up into that apartment and Edward told me to back the hell off; when he told me that we were merely working partners, and that was the extent of our relationship.

I wasn't ready for this… this pull that Edward seemed to have over me. We had just met this morning. Granted, I had already seriously violated him, but that didn't mean that I had any right to a relationship with him. And, if I were being entirely honest with myself, I think that that is what scares me the most: the fact that I just met Edward, and I am already prepared to give up everything for him.

As I pulled into the basement-parking garage, I thought of ways to address the situation with Edward. I couldn't just fall into his arms and tell him that I thought that I was rapidly falling in love with him. I also couldn't tell him that I wanted to fuck his sexy, British brains out.

No, neither of those options were feasible. Or normal.

So I decided to let him handle it.

I parked my car, and leaned back to gather my things from the trunk of the car. When I spun back around, Edward was at my door, holding it open for me.

I smiled awkwardly and said, "Thank you, Edward." He grinned at me, but it wasn't the crooked, panty-dropping smile that I was really starting to miss.

We walked quietly to the elevator, and stood in silence all the way up to my penthouse. He stood behind me silently as I unlocked the door, and walked in behind me with his head hung low, eyes focused on his feet shuffling into my apartment.

The silence was really beginning to kill me.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a glass. I filled it with ice and filtered water, before turning around and looking at him. "A water…? Something?" I asked again. "An ice water would be brilliant, thanks." He said, his eyes flickering with just the littlest bit of light.

I gave Edward my glass of ice water before returning to the cabinet to grab another glass.

When I finished making my glass, I saw that Edward had wandered around the counter and had taken a seat at the breakfast bar.

He looked like he belonged there. And it scared me.

He saw me gazing at him, and smiled, patting the space on the counter next to him. I grinned, sliding my glass to the spot he had indicated, before turning my mic on quickly. "Jake, shut off my locater please." Jake responded almost immediately, "Of course, Bells."

I waited for the jolt in my neck, before thanking Jake, and shutting my mic off, and placing it back in the hollowed out mascara tube in my bag. Next, I popped out my earpieces, setting them carefully on the counter. Placing everything carefully in my bag so as not to lose it, I finally walked around the counter to sit next to Edward.

"I'm really sorry that I've been all over the place tonight, Bella." Edward said, dropping his head into his hands. "It's okay." I said, grabbing my glass and taking a sip of it.

"No, Bella. It's not. It's really not. I have no right to be treating you this way." His voice sounded like one of a man in agony.

"No, Edward. It's fine. We're partners. I should get this through my head. But you need to know… you are going to have to lay off the 'being really close' to me thing for a while. I am really attracted to you, and I need some time to get over that." I sighed, the weight of the truth finally lifted from my shoulders. I wasn't looking at Edward, because I couldn't bear to see his face as I said the words, but as the silence stretched on between us, I chanced a look in his direction.

Edward was looking at me, in total and complete disbelief. "What?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly. "You think… you think that I don't want you?!" he asked, his voice incredulous.

"Well, yeah." I stammered, "Isn't that what you said back in the closet? When you got really close to me…?"

"Oh Bella." He said, shaking his head. "I just said that because I thought that you didn't want us to happen. I want us. I want us so badly."

The look in his eyes was so intense it could have stopped a thousand hearts. His eyes burned with repressed sexual need, the tendons in his arms bulged slightly as he lightly gripped the countertop.

I felt myself almost give in to him. I wanted to. No, fuck that; I needed to. I needed to know what it felt like to have his body over mine, to hold him inside me. I needed to know what kind of lover he was, and how it felt to be completely full in a way that I'm positive I will have never been before. I needed to know what it felt like to wake up next to him in the morning, to share playful banter over breakfast, and to have to stumble back to bed when the sexual tension becomes to great.

But, sadly, I had my wits about me.

"But… we're working together. There is no way that we can balance that." I said, my voice stronger than I intended it to be. Edward sighed, raking his hand through his hair.

"Make a deal with me Bella." He said, the question sounding more like a statement. "Anything." I answered, the reverent tone to my voice bothering me.

Fuck, I didn't need him KNOWING that I would literally do anything just to make him happy.

"Let's be friend's first, then see what develops. If we end up working out better as friends, than I won't push you for anything more. But…" Edward said, his voice trailing off as his eyes raked up and down my body, "if it's just too difficult, let's give us a try. Deal?"

His liquid emerald eyes burned into mine, forcing my blood to begin pumping feverishly through my veins. "Deal." I answered, the word coming out as a quiet whisper, that I wasn't even sure he heard.

Edward smiled my panty-dropping smile almost immediately, the sight both warming my heart, and dampening my panties.

"Oh, and one more thing…" Edward said, as he stood up, moving to stand over me. He leaned over so that his lips were mere millimeters from mine. "We should probably have sex right now. Just so we have something to compare our friendship to." His lips brushed against mine with every word, and I swear I felt my eyes roll back into my head. But I felt the smile form on my lips, and I opened my eyes to look at him. "Deal." I whispered.

Question of the Chapter:

What do you want to see in the story? Any plot lines you would like me to try an incorporate? Anything you want to see happen? Let me know in your review, and I'll try and make it happen.

(It can be as clean or as dirty as you want. Hehehe ;) )