A/N: Thanks to my wonderful betas. For those of you that asked and I didn't message back, I'm sorry. No, that's not the end, there is so much more to come!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I do however own "White Carpets and Wall Sconces".
Edward's Point of View
She loved me. I shivered as I replayed the words in my head, over and over and over. Edward, I love you too. I shifted the car into park, and cut the lights in my driveway. I had dropped her off at her apartment, promising that I would call her, and headed home. We both needed time, and we'd need to be patient; not jump into things head first again right away. I knew I wanted Bella, and only Bella, but I needed to prove to her that she was far from second best. Number one was the absolute least Bella should settle for and I was going to prove to her that she was the most important person in the world.
She had taken the news of Charlotte, far better than I had expected. Trust Bella not to pity me, or tread lightly around it, but to face reality head on. I still had a lot to deal with, more baggage than was ideal going into a relationship; but I felt like there was a huge weight lifted from my shoulders once I had told her. She knew, she would try to understand, and I would do my best to deal with my demons.
I had killed someone; I had to deal with that, her blood was on my hands. That was something that would never change. No matter how many people told me that it was an accident and that it would have happened anyway, I knew in my heart of hearts that if I had been paying attention, Charlotte would have still been here.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and headed for the house. I missed Bella already; the way she smelled, the way she was soft in my arms, the way her thumbs caressed the back of my hands soothingly. Fuck, I was pathetic about that girl.
I found Jasper rifling through the fridge in a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and nothing else and I sighed. "Heard of clothes, Whitlock?"
He jumped back from the door, startled and rubbed his head where he'd hit it on the top of the fridge. "Fuck, Cullen. I am wearing clothes." He yanked the orange juice out of the fridge and took a swig, right from the carton. I liked Jasper, but he was getting far too comfortable in my house.
"Not enough to be in the same house as my little sister." I couldn't help it. That was Alice, my baby sister, the one who looked up to me. I taught her to climb a tree, and catch tadpoles, and not to eat the mushrooms that grew in the yard. She was not supposed to be shacking up with frat boys who didn't even wear togas.
"Talk to Bella yet?" He closed the fridge door and leaned one arm against it casually. His face was scrunched in thoughtful worry, lines forming a number eleven between his fair brows.
"Just got back. I told her everything."
He nodded thoughtfully. "She missed you."
"I missed her too. I do miss her. We're taking it slow. I want to learn all there is to know about her, and I want her to know me. She's so much more than just 'some girl' to me. She's putting me back together. She's the most patient person I've ever met; the most loving, the most caring. The situation is so different this time, this time I'm broken, but the most amazing part is that she wants to be there to put the pieces back together. And I want to be there for her no matter what. If she's hurting, I want to ease the pain. I want to be with her when she celebrates her victories, and wipe away her tears when something bad happens. I want to be that guy. She's my everything, and I want to be hers…I am hers."
"Jeez man, who would have thought, a month ago, that someone so deep and caring existed inside dark and dangerous Edward Cullen?" He half chuckled to himself and clapped me on the shoulder. "Glad to see you're figuring your shit out."
Jasper headed for the stairs and I called out to him. "Where are you going, Whitlock?"
He raised his eyebrows at me and smirked. "Monopoly."
Bella's Point of View
The next few days seemed to drag. Edward and I were back together, but the physical contact was nearly gone. He would hold my hand, or brush my hair from my face, but mostly he kept his distance, talking, asking questions, listening to my responses. I learned a lot about Edward Cullen in the days after his confession about Charlotte. I learned about his life growing up in Chicago, how Emmett had tried to teach him to play football, and the numerous broken bones Edward had earned because of it. He told me about how he used to let Alice paint his nails so she could practice getting a smooth surface with no lines. "Apparently that's very important," he told me with a crooked grin. I laughed at that story, because I could see Alice bullying him into it. That girl was pushy!
He told me about when he started dating Charlotte- the name and the stories weren't quite so taboo anymore, but I learned quickly to let Edward start that topic of conversation. He would talk about it when he was ready. If I brought it up, he shut down and a veil seemed to cover his face.
He told me about when Emmett first started dating Rosalie. She had actually, originally been interested in Edward, but Edward hadn't been interested in anything more than sex, and Rose wanted more than that. Emmett had run into her, stomping around angrily, muttering about the nerve of some people, and they'd hit it off brilliantly.
"They'll get married, mark my words. She's already pressing him for babies."
Esme left, three days after Edward returned. She seemed like a nice woman, but I was more than happy to say goodbye to her. The house was much more comfortable without her constant, hovering presence. She was worried about Edward and it showed in every action. She still didn't want to say much to me. Edward had explained to everyone the basics of what had happened on Valentine's Day. I now understood that I was not to touch the keyboard, Emmett's diary analogy had definitely shed some light on that mystery. Alice seemed to have accepted that things were going back to normal and was being perfectly civil to me again. Rosalie and I were getting along well, not that we really ever weren't. She apologized for the bad crossing of paths the day Edward left, and of course, she could have never known, so there were no hard feelings.
In the days following, I began to get more and more frustrated with Edward and his distance. It wasn't that he wasn't being affectionate, he held my hand, or put his arm around my waist when we were in public. If we watched a movie, he held me tight against his chest. He played with my hair. He kissed my head; when I left for the evening, he would chastely press his lips to mine, and then he would pull away slowly and smile crookedly. "I love you so much, Bella. Thank you." It was his response every time. And I would smile gently and tell him that I loved him too. I knew my smile was becoming sadder with each passing day. Something had to give, and it had to be soon.
It was nearly two weeks after Edward's return from Chicago that I finally broke. We were sitting together watching a movie, my back was pressed against his chest and one of his hands was absentmindedly tracing slowly from my shoulder to my hip. Bad Bella had been very well behaved but I could feel her start to pull at her restraints, and even the simplest touch was starting to make her very agitated. Good Bella had been keeping her in line, convincing her that this was obviously what Edward needed, and up until then Bad Bella had been grudgingly accepting, but when the tips of his fingers swept over my ribcage, it almost sent my body into spasms, I knew something needed to happen.
"Stop!" I nearly screeched at him, as I rolled off the couch onto the floor with an undignified thud. He stared down at me, confusion evident in his green eyes, his mouth pressed in a thin line that made it obvious he was trying very hard to hold back his laughter. I scowled up at him from the floor and sat up. "I can't do this!" Uh-oh, Bad Bella had broken free and she was frustrated.
"Can't do what?" He ran his long fingers through his hair, making it even messier, even sexier than it was before and even harder for Good Bella to keep any semblance of a hold on her very horny, very frustrated other half.
I groaned loudly and tucked my knees to my chest, holding myself together so I didn't explode. "This! I can't do this!" I motioned my hands around manically, keeping my eyes pressed into my knees.
"What is this, Bella? You need to be more specific!" I could hear his voice growing more agitated and I started to shiver.
"Why won't you touch me?" My voice was border line hysterical as I met his green eyes with my wild, brown ones. "It's like you're afraid of me! Or you're not attracted to me!" I was rocking back and forth, trying to control myself, but this breakdown had been a long time coming. "Am I not as good as her? Is that the problem?"
The silence in the room was deafening. Edward's eyes darkened and he pinched his lower lip between his teeth. He sat up and leaned towards me. My breathing picked up; he looked dangerous, and predatory, and downright irresistible. Bad Bella was turned on, Good Bella was scared.
"You want me to touch you?" His voice was dark, laced with venom I'd never realized existed. His eyes bore into my very soul, and I felt naked, exposed, and open. My eyes were wide with shock, but I nodded slowly, not sure what to expect. He fell to his knees in front of me and reached one hand out to trace down my chest. His fingers settled just under the waistband of my jeans and my body felt weak under his touch. Maybe you shouldn't do this, maybe he isn't ready. Good Bella was trying really hard to not fall into the trap.
Fuck off, Glinda-the-Good, Bad Bella snapped as my head fell back on my shoulders. His hand was running back and forth over my lower abdomen, his thumb, plucking the button open and gliding the zipper down. The fingers of his other hand were groping my right breast roughly while he placed, hot, wet kisses along my neck.
"Like this?" His voice was an angry growl that only spurred me on. "Is this what you wanted? Tell me, Bella. Is this what you wanted?"
I whimpered; it was the only thing I could think of to do. I forced my head to nod as his fingers began to dip into the waistband of my panties.
"You're ready for me, aren't you?" His voice was smooth and dangerous. "Ready for all the things I'm going to do to you." He laughed, almost darkly. I felt his fingers run smoothly between my folds. My eyes drifted closed and my mouth opened in a quiet moan. "Take your shirt off," he ordered, moving his hand from my breast and instead started running it up the inside of my leg.
We're in the living room! Anyone could walk in. Good Bella made a good point.
Shut up, you want this. Now strip. Bad Bella made a better point. I pulled the hem of my top over my head and popped the clasp on my bra. He raised his eyes to my bare chest and smirked.
"Perfect," he purred, reaching up and running his thumb underneath both of them slowly, teasing. His other hand picked up speed. I felt my hips press into his palm, needing more, basking in the feeling of Edward's hands on me once again. His face moved to my chest, his lips and tongue moving relentlessly as his hands began to pull my jeans and panties from my hips. I moved my hands to his gorgeous hair, lacing my fingers in and pressing him firmly to my chest, arching my back. Release was close, and he'd barely touched me.
His fingers circled my clit and I let out a tiny scream, squeezing my eyes shut as I tightened my grip on his head. He shook his head and pulled back to look at me. "Not yet," he ordered, the dark tones still underlying in his voice. I nodded in understanding, trying to relax.
He broke his face away from my breasts and began to place slow, hot kisses across my stomach, causing me to squirm in anticipation. He bent my knees and set my feet on the floor holding my hips to the rug firmly before coasting his lips from hip bone to hip bone before slowly, softly settling the tip of his tongue at the very top of my slit. I fought for control. He'd barely started and I was already teetering on the edge.
"Anxious, Miss Bella?" The vibrations from his words caused me to gasp. I felt his lips close around the bundle of nerves and I moaned quietly, my hips jerking upwards to meet the resistance of his hands. He ran his fingers slowly back and forth in time with the ministrations of his mouth, and I felt the electrical currents start to slowly pulse through my body. I tensed. He stopped. "Not yet," he whispered, still the dangerous edge to his voice, turning me on even more than I already was. This was definitely a Bad Bella evening.
I wrapped my fingers around his wrists and squeezed, trying to calm my raging body. "Fuck," fell softly from my lips as I took a deep, shaky breath. I opened my eyes and looked down. I met his wide, green eyes, staring back at me, deep and penetrating and soulful. He stopped his movements for a short moment, and then, keeping his eyes locked on my darker ones, he pressed his tongue hard into me, and closed his bottom lip to his top one. I felt my body shudder and my lips parted slightly.
"No, no," I whispered, trying to hold off the release for another moment, my fingers digging into his wrists.
He nodded briefly once. "Yes, now," he mumbled, barely understandably and his tongue drew quick circles over my heated center. My back arched, and my hips bucked through his hands. I felt his tongue at my entrance, probing gently as I let the orgasm wash over me.
I lay there, heaving in deep breaths, spread eagle on the living room floor as Edward placed soft kisses over my sweaty body. His fingers were raveling themselves in my damp hair as his mouth finally found mine.
"I love you. I love touching you." His voice was reverent, apologetic.
And then the one thing happened that I never wanted to happen. We were lying there, I was basking in post-orgasmic bliss, when Emmett came bounding into the room. "Edward! You'll never….holy hell Bella. Lookin' good."
