Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

AN: I know it has been 3 weeks, but I can't help it. This is a busy time for me, but I will still update, it just might not be as often. Thank you for your continued support!

Chapter 17

BPOV

The wave of shock the rippled through me at the sight of James looming in the doorway was almost crippling. I think part of me was still on a rush from the evening I had just spent with Edward and if I was honest, I never thought that I would see James again.

My feet stayed rooted to spot, unable to move or react. My mind was racing, but my body felt numb. Thankfully Edward took my lack of reaction as a sign that he needed to do something, and god bless him the first thing he did was walk over to me and wrap me in his arms. Almost immediately I felt the calming effects that only he could provide.

Knowing that I needed to reign in my reactions and emotions in order to deal with the current situation, I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent that was all Edward and turned to face James. Only I didn't let go of Edward. I wasn't that brave, and I knew that he was seeking comfort from my touch as well.

James had remained in the doorway, although he had relaxed somewhat by leaning into the doorframe.

Deciding to start with my previous question, I asked again, "James, what are you doing here?"

A smile slowly spread across James' face. Now to someone who did not have an intimate knowledge of this man, it would appear sincere and genuine, but I knew better. James never smiled out of genuine happiness, it was always a tool, a means to an end.

"I came to find you Isabella. I would have thought that was obvious. I've missed you a great deal and hoped we could talk," his voice sounded calm, but I knew that the unspoken undertone was anything but. His motives were always decidedly different than the outward appearance.

Choosing for now to ignore his explanation, I asked another question, "How did you find me?"

"It wasn't the difficult actually. I heard from the manager at the coffee shop that you worked at that you had been hired at a ski resort, not that far away and little calling around yielded the answer quite easily. However, I was expecting to be directed to your house, not someone else's."

With those pointed words James' gaze drifted to linger on Edward before returning to me.

"Well, now you've found me, James, what exactly do you wish to talk to me about? I thought that it was made perfectly clear that I had nothing left to say to you the last time we spoke," I could feel the anger in me starting to bubble up at the memories that were reemerging. At the time I had felt so betrayed and used, but now that I had someone who truly loved me, I realized that James had never cared for me. I was nothing more than a distraction for him until something else caught his eye.

I could see the hint of surprise flash across his eyes un reaction to my harsh tone and words. As a rule I never talked in such a manner to anyone, least of all him.

"Well I had hoped that we could talk about what happened and work things out, but I can see that you have wasted no time finding someone else to warm your bed, or should I say that you are now warming his," he was no longer trying to disguise his true feelings.

At those words, I felt Edward tense and his body shift to face James. As much as I would love to see Edward tear James apart, I knew that this was my battle to fight. James would never back down if I let Edward get in the middle. I needed to finish this on my own.

"Baby, he's not worth it," I whispered to him and kissed his cheek. I looked into his eyes, and they were filled with rage at James, and pleaded with him to hold it together, Edward simply nodded at me, but his jaw was still clenched with his anger.

"James, the only wasted time in my life was the time I spent believing that you had a decent bone in your whole body. I am honestly surprised that you have deluded yourself to believe that there was even the smallest chance that we would ever be together again. Even if I wasn't with Edward, I would never sink so low as to ever be with you again."

The shock that graced James' face felt fabulous, it was amazing to finally stand up for myself. I felt Edward kiss the top of my head and hug me closer to him.

James pushed off of the doorframe into a standing position and for a second I felt my anxiety rise. I knew that James could react rashly and I didn't want anymore of a confrontation than we had already had.

"I must say that I am surprised at you Isabella. I would have never pegged you for a gold digging whore," James sneered at me.

I can't say that I was overly shocked by his words, but the implication still stung. I had worked hard for everything that I had in life. My parents were hardworking people that instilled the same values in me as I was growing up. Deep down I knew James was just trying to goad me, but I flinched in response anyway.

My physical reaction must have been the last straw that broke the tenuous hold Edward had on his self-control. In less than a second, Edward had left my side and I heard the sharp crack as Edward's fist connected with James jaw.

James reeled backwards from the unexpected blow to his face, and Edward took the opportunity to grab a hold of James' jacket.

"Now you listen to me you spineless asshole! No one speaks to Bella or any woman that way. You need to learn some respect and manners. You are not welcome in this house or on this resort ever again. If you dare try and see or contact Bella again the consequences will be far graver than a sore jaw. Now get out of our house!"

Edward's voice was lethal. I had never heard him sound so frightening before in my life, and surprisingly I found great comfort in the fact that it was directed at James.

Having said his piece, Edward released James with a shove towards the front steps and stood with his body filling the doorway until James started his car and drove off.

Edward quietly shut the door and turned the lock, before walking over to me and pulling me back to his chest. Once again I felt the safety and security of Edward's presence and felt myself start to relax against his firm chest.

"Are you okay, baby?" he questioned in a whisper as he rubbed his hands over my back, an action that was soothing to both him and myself.

I just nodded into his chest too overwhelmed to speak at that moment.

As always, Edward could read my mood, and he scooped me up in his arms and carried me up the stairs to his bedroom.

Once we were both snuggled into the soft blankets and wrapped in each other's arms, I finally allowed myself to relax and attempt to let go of the events of the night involving James. All I wanted to do was commit to memory the other amazing parts of the day. The rest was something I could happily forget.

Something kept nagging me though. In the midst of the chaos with James Edward had said something that he probably didn't even realize. He had called his house, "our house". It was mostly definitely a slip of the tongue in the moment, but I couldn't help relishing the sound of it, even if it was only a beautiful fantasy. With that particular fantasy running rampant through my mind, I inhaled Edward's sweet scent once more and drifted off to sleep.

EPOV

My sleep was restless at best throughout the night. The events of the previous day were all over the place as far as emotions were concerned. It had begun as such a magnificent way to share my life and love with Bella, but the appearance of James was a true test of my self control. The fact that I had only injured his jaw was a sheer miracle. Every fiber of my being had ached to tear him apart. Not just from the foul things that he said to Bella last night, but for all the pain he had ever caused her.

Feeling so utterly protective of another human being was new to me, and I now understood why the men in my family were so protective of their significant others. I now knew without a doubt that Bella was my life and that I would never let her go. The question was did she feel things to the same degree that I did. I had no doubt that she loved me, but this felt almost beyond love. This all consuming force was overwhelming and wonderful all at the same time.

While she slept the events of the encounter with James replayed in my mind over and over again. I kept coming back to the same two words that I had uttered when I was speaking to James before tossing his sorry ass out, "our home". At the time, I wasn't particularly cognizant of my individual words, but as I looked back I realized that it wasn't just an error in semantics. It was what I truly desired. I wanted a home with Bella. Hell I wanted a life with her for that matter, but I feared that going that fast would send her running for the hills.

I could settle for just having her with me as much as possible. I could already picture us cooking dinner together every night after work and cuddling together on the weekends in front of the fireplace. Hell even doing laundry together sounded fabulous.

The question was did I broach this subject with Bella. I wasn't even sure if she had registered my words last night. Hell I hadn't thought about it until all the dust had settled. For the moment I decided to wait and see what the morning brought. Knowing that I needed to attempt to get some rest, I snuggled up against Bella's back and tried to get some sleep.

***

I must have slept longer than I thought because the next time I opened my eyes the light in the room was bright enough to indicate it was at least mid-morning. Sure enough when I looked at the clockand it said that it was almost ten.

I rolled over to see if Bella was still snoozing, but her side was empty. and it looked like she hadn't been there in awhile. I rolled out of bed and walked to the en suite to quickly take care of my morning necessities. I wanted to find Bella and make sure that she hadn't suffered any lasting effects from last night's events.

As soon as I neared the top of the steps I could here Bella puttering around in the kitchen, and there was music coming from the radio on the counter. I made my way down the stairs and saw that Bella was busy making something on the counter, while she swayed her hips to the music. Seeing her like this, at home in the kitchen, only served to solidify my feelings from last night, I wanted her here all the time! Putting off this conversation wasn't going to work. I would have to do it soon.

I slid up behind Bella, and wrapped my arms around her waist and place a line of soft kisses along her shoulder.

"Mmmmm, morning," purred Bella in response to me greeting. "Did you sleep well?"

"After awhile, I finally fell asleep, but my brain was a little busy at first," I replied, not wanting to lie, but not wanting to make her worry.

"I guess I can understand why. I am so sorry that James came here last night, Edward. I would have never thought he would come after me. I honestly believed that he had moved on."

Her voice was soft and remorseful, and I was angry again that James had caused her to feel like I would be upset by his unexpected visit. I figure now was as good a time as any to get this all out in the open.

I spun her around and sat her down in my lap in a nearby chair. Holding her face between my hands, I forced her to look right into my eyes before I spoke.

"Bella, listen to me please, baby. You are not to blame for any of the asinine things that James does or says. You are not, nor have you ever been to blame for what he has chosen to do in his life. Honestly I am not shocked that he came after you because he had to realize what an amazing person he lost. However, I was quite serious when I told him not to come back here. You are safe, Bella. I will never let anything happen to you."

At my words several tears slipped down, Bella's cheeks. I kissed each one away as they fell, hoping to show her how much she meant to me. My life was irrevocably altered by having Bella in my life, and I wanted her to know the depth of my feelings.

She sniffled a few times and then buried her head into my neck, before whispering, "I love you so much that it hurts sometimes. I don't want to scare you off but I want you to know that I have never felt like this before about anyone. Thank you Edward for taking care of me last night and since the accident. Not to mention you are the sweetest, most loving man in the world. I am so lucky to have had you to taking care of me these last few weeks."

Hearing her words caused my heart to speed up. Maybe she did feel the same as me. Maybe her feelings were just as strong. I began to wonder if I should bring up the idea of her staying with me permanently. I knew that taking that leap was huge, but not telling her and always wondering would be far worse.

"Oh, baby, you have no idea how much those words mean to me. I love you so much, and I want nothing more than to take care of you for as long as you'll let me."

"I want to ask you something, but I don't want you to feel overwhelmed or obligated in anyway. You can even think it over for awhile if you want, but I have to ask," my words were coming out in a rush and I am sure I sounded like a rambling idiot, but I didn't want to lose my nerve.

Now it was Bella's turn to soothe me.

"Edward, just spit it out," she commanded looking slightly amused at my flustered ramblings.

"Bella, willyoumoveinwithme?" it all came out in a huge rush and probably was slightly unintelligble.

I could see her confusion as she processed my words, and then her eyes registered understanding.

"You want me to move in with you?" she whispered obviously shocked, but I couldn't determine if her reaction was positive or negative.

"Yes, I do. I know that it seems sudden, but I just can't imagine going back to not being with you all the time. I want you here with me every minute that you can be. I want to love you and protect you always. When I told James last night that this was our home I meant that. Before you came along Bella it was just a house, having you here makes it a home. Please say you'll think about it"

I knew that I would respect her decision, but I hoped with everything in me that she decided to live here with me. I wanted more than anything for this to be our home.

"When you said that to James last night, it didn't quite settle in until later, but I thought for sure that you had just been talking in the moment. I had to convince myself that it was just an errant slip up in your tirade at James because I knew that I couldn't let myself believe that you would want me to live with you if you weren't ready yet. Edward, I want nothing more than to make a home with you. When I am with you I am home. "

She punctuated her words by kissing me with such force and passion that I had no doubt that she meant what she said. I was exhilarated. Bella and I were going to live together!

I scooped her up off my lap, breakfast forgotten and started towards the stairs.

"What are you doing?" She giggled as I made my way up the stairs two at a time.

I kissed her nose before responding, "I am taking my beautiful girlfriend back to our bedroom we have some celebrating to do!"

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