Chapter Ten

EPOV

I've known it was too good to be true, this goddamn life I'm living. This fantasy world with tender kisses and early morning love-making sessions is all a hoax, a mirage taunting me from the hell I've been living since the wreck. And it's my fault, dragging Bella down with me and agreeing to live in the pool house knowing good and damn well this living situation is more than indecent.

"Don't do that," Bella whispers. "Don't close yourself off from me. You're blaming yourself again."

"Your mother spoke to you like you were shit on the bottom of her high-dollar heels." I shake my head, tossing the ball cap across the room. It misses the hat rack and lands on the floor. "And it's my fault. That's why I'm fucking blaming myself."

Bella smiles and it's sad, heart-wrenching. "You think you're the reason why she spoke to me the way she did? If you weren't here she would have found another excuse to pick away at my ego. She's always like that."

I gape at her, my shame transforming to rage. "She treats you like that all the time?"

"All the time." She shrugs, glancing down at her fingers, picking her nails. "I've never been good enough for my mother. She's always been giddy to find some sort of flaw within me and throw it in my face."

"Unbelievable," I mutter. "My mom would never speak to me that way."

"I'm sure most mothers don't talk to their children the way my mother talks to me," she says. Crossing her arms over her chest, she bites her bottom lip and stares past me, unblinking. "Are you leaving?"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"Of course not." She scoffs. "I never want you to leave. Never."

"I'll only leave if you ask me to." Her arms fall from her chest as I approach and pull her into a tight embrace. "Even then, you'll probably have to file a restraining order to get rid of my persistent ass. There's no way I'll ever be able to stay away from you. I'm in too deep. I've fallen in love with you."

She stiffens in my arms. I don't dare to look her in the eye. Instead, I focus on burying my face in her hair, transfixing myself of the softness of it, on her fragrance now so familiar. She doesn't respond to my statement and I don't expect her to reply. Bella is quiet, contemplative most of the time. She'll fall asleep tonight, stew over my words, and bring it up tomorrow. I know her better than I know myself.

"I wish there was a way she and Jasper could get to know you better," she murmurs, her fingertips massaging the muscles in my upper back. "I know they'd love you if they'd give you a chance."

"We'd need a buffer between us." I laugh, the sound catching in my throat at the thought of Bella's family and … me sitting around trying to get to know one another. "Someone who can speak on behalf of my character."

"Like who?"

"I don't know," I say, sighing. "My parents?"

She pulls away, tilting her head back and staring me dead in the eyes. "Won't they think this situation is as completely absurd as my family does?"

I consider her words, stroking the curve of her cheek. "Probably, but they'll be thrilled to know I'm finally happy. That's all they've wanted since the accident and since Kate left."

"Sounds like a dream," she says. "Having parents who only wish for your happiness." My heart breaks for her. And the moment she says these words I vow to always show this woman happiness, always shower her with affection, and to never leave her side.

She sleeps soundly, twisted sheets clinging to her naked body. My fingers travel from her navel to the center of her breasts, those soft, round mounds of lickable flesh. I tease her nipples, a devilish smile curving on my face as she moans in her sleep. Thighs rubbing together, she squirms and wiggles, whispering my name.

The phone on my nightstand glows and vibrates. Abandoning her sinful body, I pick up the phone. My mother's smiling face beams back at me from the screen of my phone, killing the half-mast boner inside my boxers.

"Hey, sweetie. Sorry I missed your call," Esme says, yawning between words. "Your father took me to this fabulous new Thai restaurant tonight. We've only been home for a few minutes."

"That's great," I say, sitting on the edge of my bed. Bella turns her head to the side, facing me. Thick, brown hair streaked with butterscotch from the summer sun fans around her face. Tiny bumps erupt on her nipples as a warm breeze flutters the curtains of the open window. I lightly thumb one, erect bud, feeling like a pervert for doing so with my mother on the phone. Bella's soft moan is more of a heavy sigh. My mother gasps on the other end of the line.

"Edward, do I hear a … woman in the background?"

"Don't sound so shocked." I chuckle. "What did you expect to hear? A man?"

"No." She scowls and my chuckle becomes more hardy. I imagine the frown on her face and her hand swatting me, as she had when I teased her as a child. "Who is she, Edward?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I mumble, groaning and standing. I pace the floor, my hand massaging my forehead, hoping the brisk movement will rub away my worry. "Mom, I'm in love. I thought I loved Kate, but … that was nothing, nothing compared to the way I feel when I'm with her."

"Honey, that's great. Why do you sound so distressed?"

"There's complications." I walk to the window and peer into the darkness. Flashes of a car's headlights ease down the road. Leaning forward, I try to catch a glimpse of the car but the tall, wooden fence lining the property makes it impossible.

"What kind of complications? Edward? Edward, are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," I say, lowering my voice as Bella becomes more restless in her dreams. "A car was going down the road. Strange, there's usually not a lot of traffic here at night."

"You live near the highway, don't you? Baby, what's going on?"

I take a deep breath. Turning from the window, I gaze down at Bella. She appears much younger in her sleep. And innocent, as though she hasn't been through hell the past few years. Mumbling my name below her breath, she turns on her side and wraps her arms around a pillow, clutching it to her naked chest.

"A lot, Mom. Too much to talk about on the phone. Do you mind changing your vacations plans? I know Kentucky is no Hawaii, but I really could use the help of my family."

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