Things start getting a bit steamy in this chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 4 – Fire Burning

On Thursday morning, Bella was preparing Jessica's notes for the meeting she was going to have later in the day.

Usually when she had to attend the meetings with Jessica, Bella wouldn't be in a very good mood but after last night, she didn't think anything could ruin the contentment she was feeling at this moment.

The meeting was three hours long, but Jessica had allowed her to have a one-hour lunch break afterward, so it wasn't that bad.

During Bella's break, Bella bought an apple pie from McDonald's. As she walked through the warm summer breeze, eating her apple pie, Bella thought about Edward and how well he had gotten along with her daughter. She was glad that they had connected so easily.

Hopefully they can bond some more.

Bella went back to the office at quarter to two to find Edward sitting by her desk. He seemed to be deeply engaged in something on her computer, which made Bella worry.

"What are you doing?"

Edward looked up at Bella and grinned. "I see you've been looking up my name on Google."

Bella tried to keep her cool; although it was obvious that Edward would see right through her.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe it was Jessica." Bella said, avoiding eye contact.

"Jessica has three computers in her office, why would she use yours?"

"Maybe because it was convenient. Why are you going through my history anyway?"

"I was curious." Edward replied before getting out of Bella's desk chair.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to ask Jessica whether she searched my name up on Google or not."

"Damn it Edward, don't!"

"So you admit you were stalking me?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Go away, Edward. I need to work." She said bitterly.

After hesitating for minute, Edward retreated into Jessica's office.

Jessica was sitting behind her desk with her arms crossed and a pout on her face.

"Jessica?"

"Are you interested in Izzy or something?" Jessica asked, sounding rather pathetic.

"You said I could look through her stuff. She could have been doing some dodgy stuff and you wouldn't have known."

Jessica huffed. "Did you find anything bad?"

"Nothing I wouldn't approve of."

"Fine. But if I find out something is going on between you and Izzy, you're not welcome here anymore. And neither is she."

"What? You're going to fire her if something happens between us?"

"I saw you first. You're mine."

Edward gave her a tight smile but said nothing.

"I'm sorry for being so insecure, Tony. I just really like you."

"I think you're pretty cool too." Edward replied.

"Just don't forget, Izzy is a slut."

Edward winced. "Technically, getting knocked up at a young age doesn't mean you're a slut."

"No, she's a slut. Like, she has one night stands and stuff all the time."

"No. Bella wouldn't."

Jessica's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Bella? As in the protagonist in your novel?"

Oh shit.

Edward let out a nervous chuckled. "Oh...I've just been doing so many press conferences and interviews, I don't know where my mind is at anymore."

Jessica laughed. "I can tell Izzy to go and get you some coffee from Starbucks or something."

Edward raised his eyebrows. "She can just come and go as she pleases?"

"No. More like she can come and go as I please."

"Well..." Edward said, trailing off. "Do you think maybe you could let her have the rest of the day off? I wanted to get you a present before I left for LA but I don't know what to get you. Maybe she could help me."

"Better yet, I could go with you."

"I wanted it to be a surprise though. Please Jessica, I promise you won't regret it." Edward said before putting on what Bella used to call his 'panty-dropping smirk.'

"Okay, fine. Could you get her please? Wait outside while I talk to her for a minute."

Yes! Victory!

Edward nodded before rushing out of Jessica's office.

"Hey Izzy, Jessica wants to see you."

Bella looked up at Edward. "Why?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told her you were looking up my name...she is so angry right now." Edward said with a look of regret on his face.

"Fuck." Bella muttered before trudging into Jessica's office.

"Look Jess I -"

"Shut the door, Iz."

Bella shut the door and went to sit in the seat across from Jessica.

"You have the rest of the day off. Go shopping with Tony for my present."

"What?"

"He wants to get me something but he doesn't know what, so go help him."

"But -"

"Just go Izzy. You should be thanking me."

"Uh...thanks."

"Make sure he gets me something expensive okay? Now go!"

Bella quickly got up and left.

Edward was leaning against Bella's desk when Bella came out.

"I hate you." Bella muttered before packing up her stuff and grabbing her handbag.

Edward chuckled. "I love you too."

Bella and Edward ended up going to Manhattan Mall. It was a Thursday afternoon so there weren't many people there.

"Do you want to eat?" Edward asked.

"I've already eaten. Aren't you supposed to be buying Jessica's present?"

Edward groaned. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

They ended up going to JCPenny.

"Oh my god, Bella look!" Edward yelled out of nowhere.

Bella looked over at Edward to see him holding up a little shirt that said: 'If you think I'm cute, you should see my mommy'.

Bella laughed.

"I'm getting this for Carlie!" Edward said excitedly before taking the shirt to the nearby counter.

"Edward, don't! I'll never let her wear it."

"Well that's not very nice." Edward said while handing cash to the woman behind the counter.

"You're face isn't very nice." Bella muttered.

Edward chuckled and led Bella out of the department stall. They walked in silence, looking for an appropriate shop to enter.

"Oh look! They have Victoria's Secret here."

Bella raised her eyebrows. "You want to go in there? You just met Jessica a couple of days ago."

"Not for Jessica, silly. For you…and myself. You can give me a fashion show."

Bella rolled her eyes. "You're such a perverted bastard. Trust me, I have more than enough lingerie at home anyway."

Edward simply smiled.

They ended up in Perfume Heaven.

"Get me your most expensive bottle of women's perfume." Edward said to the man behind the counter.

The man brought out a pink bottle from the cabinet behind him. "This, Sir, is a -"

"I don't care what it is, just wrap it up, please." Edward said before handing the man his credit card.

"Wow, you sure put a lot of thought in to her present." Bella said sarcastically.

"Yeah, and then we'll go back to Victoria's Secret to get her a handbag or something."

Bella looked over at Edward sceptically but offered no words.

Edward was looking at the handbags in Victoria's Secret, though he wasn't quite sure what he was looking for.

"What about this?" Edward asked, picking up a blue and gold woven tote bag.

Bella laughed, shaking her head. She got one to the workers to assist Edward and went to look at a pair of heels that had caught her eyes.

The shoes were triple-buckle sandals. The heel was four to five inches high with a one-inch platform. It came in black and a dusty peach. I could wear them on stage, Bella thought. She looked at the price.

Two hundred and ninety dollars?

Bella sighed. She could never waste so much money on a pair of heels. She looked over at Edward who was talking animatedly with one of the workers. She decided to try the pair of shoes on.

Bella had to admit they looked pretty damn good. Bella suddenly heard a wolf whistle. She looked up to see Edward and the retail assistant looking down at her.

Embarrassed, Bella quickly took off the shoes.

"I'll get a pair of those too." Edward said to the shop assistant.

"What size?" She asked.

"Bella, what size?"

"Um...I'm not sure, I can give Jess a call and find out for you." Bella said, getting out her blackberry.

"Give me your phone, Bella." Edward said, extending out his hand.

Bella passed Edward her blackberry.

"They're for you, silly. What size are you?"

"Oh no Edward, I couldn't -"

Edward looked at the shop assistant. "Just get the size she was wearing before. Thanks."

Bella put her shoes on and stood up. "Edward -"

Edward put a finger to Bella's lips. "I don't want to hear it."

Edward and Bella had shopped at Manhattan Mall for hours. They had enjoyed each other's company very much, but at about quarter past five, Bella announced that she had to leave. She politely declined when Edward offered to escort her home.

At around seven, Edward was waking back to his hotel.

As Edward was walking, all he could think about was Bella. There was no doubt in his mind that he's feelings for Bella were still strong and even though he had just seen her less than two hours ago, he missed her dearly.

"Hi Eggward!" A little voice exclaimed.

Carlie Swan was holding hands with a tall woman with red hair and a little brown haired girl who looked a couple of years older than Carlie. They had all stopped walking when Carlie had called out to Edward.

"Why hello, Beautiful. What are you doing here?" Edward asked. He was surprisingly happy to see Carlie.

"We're going to have pancakes!" Carlie said excitedly.

"But its night time. Where's you're mommy?"

"Izzy's at work." The red-haired women replied with a wink.

Edward was furious, though he tried to keep his cool in front of Carlie.

"Well I have to go. It was nice to see you!" Edward said to Carlie. He turned to the red haired woman. "It was nice to meet you."

"I'm Vicky, by the way."

Before Edward could respond, his legs had already reacted and were taking him towards the strip club he was in two nights ago.

After storming into the strip club his publicist had taken him to on Tuesday night, Edward searched all over for Bella. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. After fifteen minutes of searching, Edward decided to ask one of the workers. There weren't many people surrounding the bar, so Edward went to ask the bartender.

"Hi, do you know where I can find Bel -" Edward cleared his throat, "I mean Izzy?"

"Izzy? She should be around here somewhere." The bartender replied. "You should ask the club owner, Sue."

"Where can I find Sue?"

"Who's asking?" A voice answered.

Edward turned around to see the dark-haired woman who had dismissed Bella from work the other night.

"Um...Tony?" Edward replied.

"You're the trouble-maker from the other night. What are you doing here?"

"I uh...wanted to see Izzy dance, but I can't find her."

Sue eyed Edward curiously. "She's giving someone a private dance in one of the VIP rooms."

Edward saw red. He knew he and Bella were not together but for some reason he felt hurt and betrayed. In order to keep his cool, Edward took deep breaths and shut his eyes.

"Is he okay?" The bartender asked.

"Do you need some fresh air or something?" Sue asked. It probably a nice way for her to tell him to get out, not that there was a chance in hell that he was going to leave.

Edward slowly opened his eyes, giving Sue a small smile. "I was wondering, could I also buy a private dance from Izzy?"

Sue hesitated. "I'm not sure...you seem to be very well acquainted with Izzy. The fact that you call Izzy by her nametells me you know her on a much more personal level then I would like."

Edward sighed.

"Trust me, we're not that close." Anymore, he thought.

Edward took out his wallet and checked to see how much he had on hand. There was at least one thousand dollars. See Mom, withdrawing a lot can be handy sometimes.

"I'll give you six hundred for an hour with Izzy."

"We only charge two hundred for an hour."

"Well then I want two hours. You still gain."

"Its really up to Izzy."

"Okay, go ask her."

"She's almost done. Why don't I take you to one of the rooms and you can wait there."

Edward nodded and followed Sue into one of the rooms.

The room was small and dimly lit. The walls were scarlet red, which gave it a classy but also erotic look to it. On one side of the room, there was a black, loveseat and on the other side was a shiny, silver pole.

"Have you ever had a private dance before?"

Edward shook his head.

"Okay, here are the rules. No touching the dancer. Izzy can touch you but you are not permitted to touch her unless she gives you permission to do so.

"Izzy has every right to refuse to give you a dance. Even if she doesn't refuse, she has every right to cut the dance short and she will not be expected to give you refund. She also has the right to kick you out from the club if you break the rules."

Edward nodded. The anticipation and excitement had evidently taken away his ability to speak.

"One more thing, the toilets are around the corner," Edward's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I don't think any of my dancers would appreciate it if someone ejaculated while they're dancing for them, so if you need to cum, cut the dance short and cum in the toilet."

"Oh" was all Edward said.

Sue left Edward standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. After ten minutes of standing, he decided to go take a seat on the couch. Just as he sat down, Edward heard footsteps.

"What are you doing here?"

Bella was standing by the door with her hands on her hips. She was wearing a short, tight black dressed that showed just the right amount of cleavage and black knee-high boots. Her hair was in a ponytail and she had dark, smoky eyes, which made her look incredibly sexy.

"I could ask you the same thing." Edward retorted.

Bella stepped inside and shut the door. "I work here!"

"You know how I feel about you working here."

Bella's eyes narrowed. "And what, you expect me to quit just because you don't approve of what I do?"

Yes. "No…I just...You don't need to dance and show off your body in order to make a living. You're better than this, Bella."

"No, I'm not! I need two jobs, how else am I supposed to make a living? Should I write about personal things people tell me in confidence, like how they felt about me? You seem to know all about that! I can't believe you actually used my name in your stupid story!"

"You're name is Izzy now so why does it matter?"

"You seriously think people won't know?"

"Stop changing the subject!"

"I'm not!"

"Fine. You love dancing. Dance for me, Bella." Edward took out all the notes from his wallet. "Here's a thousand dollars. I hope that's enough." He said, bitterly.

Bella's eyes turned for showing anger to showing fear. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. Come on, show me what you got."

Bella really did not want to dance for Edward but a thousand dollars did seem pretty tempting. Sue had said he offered six hundred but this was even better. There were so many things Bella could use the money for. She gulped before nodding and moving towards the sound system.

Bella turned to Edward. "Um...did you want to go to the VIP room?"

"No that's fine. Its cozy here."

Bella nodded. "So…what do you want me to do?"

Edward raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Hm…Well firstly, strip down. I don't want you wearing anything but your panties and boots. Then you can dance around the pole, and after...maybe a lap dance?" Edward said, innocently.

Bella didn't smile. She simply nodded and went to organize the playlist.

Alejandro by Lady Gaga started blaring out of the speakers. Bella stood in the middle of the room and started swaying her hips as she was being moved by the sensuous melody.

Edward watched in awestruck as Bella's body moved to the beat. Her hands started moving down past her hips, towards the hem of her little black dress. She then pulled the hem of the dress in exaggerated slowness up over her head, effectively taking off the offensive piece of material.

There she was there before him, wearing nothing but her boots and matching black bra and g-string. Bella was an absolute goddess and Edward freely welcomed the strain he was beginning to feel inside of his jeans. Bella then pulled at her hair tie, letting her soft, brown curls fall freely down her back.

Without stopping the movement of her hips, Bella slowly started turning around so her back was facing Edward. She turned back to look at Edward with a coquettish expression before winking and slapping her ass. Edward smirked, winking back at Bella. Bella's confident demeanour changed and she gave Edward a shy smile and bit her lip.

The song ended and Bella walked towards the silver pole. Fire Burning by Sean Kingston was now being played. As Bella moved towards the pole, her hands moved to her back and she unclasped her bra, letting it fall to the ground.

Bella got her right hand and tightly gripped the pole. Her arm was straight, letting her weight hang away from the pole. She then bended her legs and began swinging around the pole.

Edward couldn't believe what was happening. Fire is definitely burning on the dance floor. I must have died and gone to heaven.

Bella turned to Edward with a small smile and hooked the inside on her right leg around the front of the pole.

Goddamn. I will never, ever get sick of that ass.

With her leg still hitched around the pole, Bella arched her body backwards. She was truly talented and Edward thanked his lucky stars for leading him to this moment.

Bella straightened her body, her right leg slid down the pole and she began swinging around it once again. She then leaned forward against the pole, which was now in between her breasts and she started slowly moving up and down.

Edward couldn't take it anymore. He needed her close to him "Okay, no more. Could you maybe come here now?"

Bella hesitated for a moment before slowly stalking towards Edward. Once she was directly in front of Edward, Bella put one leg up on the couch beside Edward's thigh and moved forward to whisper in his ear.

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

Edward gulped. Bella's warm breath tickled his ear. "Yes..."

Bella gave a small smile and moved back. She leaned down, placing her hands on Edward's thigh before opening his legs. At this moment, Edward had an extremely great view of Bella's breast so just as she was about to get up he quickly grabbed Bella's hands and pulled her towards him.

Bella stood up, gently pulling her hands away from Edward's grip and smiled sweetly.

"No touching, Edward." She said as she ran her left hand up Edward's left thigh.

"I know it's hard..." Bella said, lightly brushing over his hard on. "...But you need to control yourself."

Edward groaned and looked up at Bella. He could have sworn he saw her tongue poked out teasingly but he was much too intoxicated by her presence to be sure. The song had changed one again, though Edward was too distracted to notice.

Bella continued to dance gracefully in the triangle made by Edward's open legs. She slowly turned around and Edward had a close up of her bottom.

Although Edward wanted to resist, he seriously couldn't, so he broke no touching rule and pinched Bella's firm, round ass. Although Edward couldn't see, Bella rolled her eyes and went on pretending as though nothing happened.

Bella bent her knees once again, keeping her back straight as she placed her hands on Edward's knees. Slowly, Bella lowered her bottom towards Edward's lap so she was just touching Edward's crotch. With her hands still on Edward's knees, Bella began grinding down gently as she moved her hips in a circular motion. She turned to look over her shoulder at Edward who was smirking.

Without any warning, Edward groaned and cupped Bella's breasts with both his hands. Bella was slightly shocked. Although she was unsure of what to do, Bella still continued grinding against Edward. Edward's left hand was still cupping Bella's left breast when his right hand moved down Bella's stomach.

Fuck the rules, Bella thought. She was enjoying this way too much.

Bella began moving her hips back and forth at a rapid pace. She could have sworn she heard Edward cuss.

All of a sudden, Edward's right hand moved down from Bella's stomach and disappeared inside the front of her g-string. He began rubbing the soft flesh of Bella's pussy and Bella froze. Edward also stopped his movements, though his hands were still cupping Bella's pussy and left breast.

Bella grabbed Edward's arms and moved them away from her before getting up to leave.

Edward also got up. "Bella, wait. I'm sorry."

Bella picked up her bra and put it back on. "Its okay." She replied softly as she put on her black dress.

"Please stay, Bella."

"I can't…"

"It's only been like half an hour. I know I broke the rules but can't we just sit and talk?"

Bella turned to look at Edward. Talking sounded good, so she nodded and went to sit on the couch. Edward plopped down next to her.

Bella was obviously waiting for Edward to start talking so Edward said the first thing that came to mind.

"Things have certainly changed since high school." He said with a nervous chuckle.

"No kidding."

"I don't remember you being able to dance like that…"

Bella nodded.

"Did you get lessons?"

Bella nodded once again. Edward wasn't too pleased by the lack of response. She seemed so confident five minutes ago.

"There's something I really want to ask you, Bella."

Bella eyed Edward cautiously. "What?"

"Why did you leave me all those years ago? How did things become…this way?"

Bella thought her response through in her head before speaking out loud, making sure she edited where it was necessary.

"I don't know…my parents wanted to move to Phoenix and things just didn't turn out the way they had planned."

"What about us? You didn't even say goodbye…didn't our relationship mean anything to you? Even if you did move, we could have made it work…if we both wanted to…"

Bella's eyes were downcast. "It wouldn't have worked out."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do."

"How do you know, Bella? Are you some sort of mind reader?"

"No. But I know enough."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"I saw you, Edward…" Bella said, still avoiding Edward eyes. "At Mike's party…I saw you with Lauren."

"Saw me with Lauren? So what?"

"So nothing…it wouldn't have worked out."

"If you didn't want me talking to other girls, all you had to do was tell me. I would have obliged."

Bella scoffed and looked up at Edward. "Talking? If I recall correctly, Lauren was on her knees, leaning her forearms against Mike's bed with her ass sticking out and you were pounding the fuck out of her. I might not have graduated high school, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't constitute as talking."

Edward's eyebrows furrow. He tried to remember the events that took place at Mike's party…

Bella and I had gotten into a fight…I drank heaps and woke up next to…Lauren.

Oh. My. God.

"She told me nothing happened…" Edward barely whispered.

Bella gave Edward a tight smile. "Its okay. It doesn't matter anymore."

Edward ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Yes, it does matter. Bella, I'm so sorry. If I didn't drink like a fucking idiot, we might have still been together."

"Its not your fault, Edward. We wouldn't have been together much longer anyway."

"Wait…we were still together after Mike's party. We both apologized for whatever we were fighting over and everything was fine…"

Bella directed her attention towards her hands, which were on her lap, before answering nonchalantly. "Just because you didn't love me anymore, doesn't mean I didn't still love you. Even though I didn't mean anything to you, you still stayed with me…so I took what I could get."

Edward gasped. "You seriously thought that? Is that why you started having one night stands?"

How did he know? Bella thought. Oh duh, Jessica must have told him. Might as well be honest with him then.

"Don't worry, that didn't start until I was in Phoenix. I mean, you didn't want me…and I didn't want anyone else…so I just did whatever, you know?"

"I did want you! I've always loved you, Bella. Why do you think I published my novel? I did it to get your attention. You loved to read so I thought maybe if you came across it and realized it was about you, you'd come and fine me. Although that wasn't exactly what happened, it still brought me to you anyway."

"You wanted me to find you?"

Edward cupped her cheek. "Of course."

Without thinking, Bella smashed her lips with Edward's and began moving her lips against him. Without any hesitation, Edward reciprocated.

Without ceasing her movements, Bella threaded her fingers through Edward's hair and pulled him closer towards her. Edward wrapped his arms around Bella and splayed his hands on her back before shoving his tongue inside Bella's mouth.

It seemed so cliché; the couple that had just reunited a couple of days ago were kissing with such passion. There was so much energy in the room, both Edward and Bella felt as though they were going to explode.

As their tongues continued to mingle together, Edward moved his hands lower and cupped Bella's ass, pulling her even more closely towards him. He moved his lips against Bella's jaw before trailing her neck with kisses.

Bella snapped opened her eyes. What are doing, Bella?

She placed her hands on Edward's chest and pushed him away.

Edward looked at Bella with a look of hurt and confusion.

Bella got up and walked towards the door. "I'm going to end it here alright? I'm sorry you didn't get your two hours. You can keep your money."

Edward stood up. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Bella stopped when her hand on the doorknob and she turned to Edward. "That was really unprofessional of me. I'm sorry I kissed you, Edward." She said before opening the door and leaving.

Edward sighed. "I'm not."