A longer one for you this time!

It was strange for him seeing her like this in her costume when only earlier that morning he'd seen her as her usual Bella self. With her blonde wig, the differences between the two persons were even more distinct.

He hesitated when it came to her question. Did he want a dance? It was a difficult question. One part of him, the male part, was an instinctive hell yes. Of course he did! But the other part, the better part, balked at the idea of subjecting her to dancing for him like that.

But better you than any of the other pigs out there, right? A voice whispered in his head. If Bella was dancing for him, she wouldn't be able to dance for them… and Edward wouldn't hurt her. Hell, he wouldn't even touch her… Unless she said so. But certainly not in the way other men would.

"Yes." He said finally. "Thirty minutes. That is… if you don't mind." Edward said after a pause, his brow furrowing slightly as he realized how his request might have sounded to her.

Bella's pulse started beating faster as Edward conceded to a dance. She tried to tell herself it was the idea of getting the money that excited her, but truthfully she was more excited to be in a room with Edward, dancing for him… Having him watch her.

Maybe this time he'd touch her.

"Of course I don't mind," Bella said, she moved closer and took Edward's hand in hers, smiled up at him and then turned so that he could follow her. The room they'd used last time was taken by someone else, but a smaller room at the very back of the club wasn't occupied and so Bella chose to take him there.

"Why don't you have a seat," Bella gestured to the leather chaise lounge while she turned her attention to the stereo system hooked up. She selected a series of songs, with slow, seductive beats.

Bella had a goal in mind. She had a full thirty minutes, more than enough time to bring a guy to the brink and over it.

"Do you like my costume?" Bella asked as she turned back toward him, the music now pumping through the speakers.

Edward settled back against the leather seat as Bella busied herself with the music. This was quickly turning into a familiar scene and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

He paused, taking his time to answer her question. For the first time since she'd gotten dressed, Edward allowed himself to really look at Bella. His grey eyes moved from the ends of her blonde pigtails which rested just above her breasts to the soft, smooth skin of her taut stomach exposed by her white shirt and further down to the extremely short skirt that he knew would have easily gotten her sent to detention if she'd been in school. He remembered his own teenage days at his Catholic college where the girls had made a game about how short they could hem their skirts up before they got into trouble.

"Certainly brings back a lot of memories." Edward said dryly. But seeing the way her face seemed to falter slightly, he hesitated and amended, "I do like it. Although… I could think of a few things that would make it more improved."

He didn't understand why he had tried to save Bella's feelings. It was hardly like she cared about what he actually thought. She had probably used the same line on hundreds of guys.

Bella had picked the outfit with Edward in mind when she'd placed it in her bag. She'd wondered if he'd appreciate it. Had even fantasized about them being in this particular situation again and hearing him talk about how amazing she looked. She wanted Edward to like her costume.

Bella had thought she looked good but when Edward made a comment on things that could be improved on… Well, her smile faltered. She swallowed and tried to keep the coy smile on her face and not show how much his comment stung.

"Is that so?" She asked as she lowered herself into his lap, straddling his legs and running her fingers lightly over his arms. "Can you tell me of these improvements you would make?"

Despite himself, Edward found himself watching the way the hem of Bella's indecently short skirt rose up on her thighs and gave him just the quickest glimpse of the flash of flimsy white material between her legs. He closed his eyes in silent rebuke and before fixing his gaze on Bella's face.

He shook his head at the coy smile that played on the corners of her lips. "The socks." Edward said finally, one hand reaching down to just skim along her knees where the white socks ended. "I'm more of a thigh highs man." His tone was light.

"Not that you don't wear them extremely well." He added, his grey eyes softening slightly. "I just feel a little… perverse." Edward's lips quirked up in a wry half-smile, "I'm too old to be lusting after school girls."

"Well, lucky for you… I'm older than eighteen." Bella began to move her hips in time to the beat over Edward's body.

There was a low chuckle. "Lucky me." he conceded.

Fortunately, his comment about her outfit was relatively easy to hear. He had even said that she wore the socks well; the comment brought a smile to her lips.

As her hands went up to the black tie around her neck she began to remove it. "So what sorts of costumes do you like, Mr. Cullen?" She murmured as the tie fell off.

He watched the tie fall to the floor, trying not to let himself get carried away by her seductive words or the way she seemed to caress his name like that…

"Costumes that don't require this," Edward said instead, tugging gently on her hair. He cocked an eyebrow at her, "Did Rosalie convince you that blondes have more fun or something? It's just a wig, I hope? Nothing permanent?"

"No, it's nothing permanent." Bella's fingers went to the tip of her plait. "It's a wig… I figured, if you could recognize me so easily before I even saw you… Then I needed to make sure that it didn't happen again. Like with my boss at work or something…" She grimaced.

"Mmmmhm… doubtful. I would've recognized you anywhere." He promised, his nose twitching. "Wig or no wig."

And he found to his surprise that it was true. Edward had spent far too long staring across at her face during their many arguments to not recognize her when he saw her. Bella was striking, one of a kind with a face that had no right being in a strip club.

Edward hesitated before he asked quietly, "Would it be okay if you took it off for me? In here at least?"

Edward's questions surprised her but a slow smile spread across her face and she paused in her movements as she reached up to slip her fingers under the cap of her wig. "Do you prefer brunette's?" she asked, mischief dancing in her eyes.

Edward laughed at her question, but while his eyes were light with amusement, he made no move to answer her and focused his attention instead on her fingers that were quickly unfastening the wig from her head.

She tossed the wig aside and let the brown hair that had been piled underneath the wig fall free. Edward's hands immediately went up to touch the long tendrils that fell past her breasts. "It's not too messy, is it?" She asked.

Instinctively, his hand reached out to touch one of the long curls that tumbled down and over her shoulders. While Bella's hair was normally sleek, smooth and straight, he guessed the waviness in it now was due to how she'd had to tie it up for her wig.

"No," he assured her as he glanced up to meet her hesitant hazel eyes. Edward smiled, his grey eyes softer than they'd been all night. "It's perfect."

"You know… I didn't think you were going to come tonight," Bella admitted as her hips began to rotate again. "Especially after the last time things ended… You're not here to question me a whole heap again, are you?" Her hands massaged Edward's shoulders from the front. "Because I have a few better things in mind that we could do to pass the time…"

"I'm not." He agreed. His nose twitched with amusement. "I'm not here to interrogate you tonight."

And he wasn't. He had devised an entirely new plan of attack, which he thought might work better. Bella's guard seemed to relax slightly when she was dancing and he was going to take advantage of that. Instead of trying to sit her down and force it out of her, Edward figured that the best tactic would be to slowly coax it out of her over time. He would talk to her casually, befriend her and make as many efforts to appease rather than unnecessarily antagonize her. Whether she confessed it to him or merely let a little detail slip from her lips, Edward would be there to hear it. She wouldn't be able to stay silent forever.

Edward's ears pricked up at the suggestive note in her voice, not quite liking the way his body reacted with tremors of pleasure that went down his spine at her husky words and the way her soft breath fanned across his cheek. "We only have 30 minutes," he pointed out lightly. "Perhaps you shouldn't get too carried away with your… ideas."

Although he couldn't help a twinge of curiosity. What exactly did the siren in his lap have in mind?

"I think you underestimate me, Edward." Bella lifted her hands to her white top and slowly undid the tie that held the fabric together. There were a couple of buttons there too which she also gradually undid.

"A lot can happen in thirty minutes."

She pulled the fabric apart, her eyes on Edward's face as he took her actions in. She was wearing a white, sheer bra underneath. The white to symbolize the innocence of the schoolgirl costume, but the sheer material, which did nothing to hide her pink nipples, showed the naughtier side of it.

She knew that Edward must have seen her entire outfit on the stage but he hadn't been sitting in the front row seats and so would not have had a view close up. Well, he was certainly getting that now. Bella revealed inch by inch of skin all while grinding slowly against Edward's lap.

She was only wearing the short skirt now; Edward's arms were motionless on the armrests of the chair he was sitting on although Bella could see that he was clenching his hands rather tightly. He wanted to touch her, she could tell.

And so casually, she ran her hands from his shoulders, down his arms and to those clenched fists and moved them so that they were now resting on her hips. She leaned forward, her lips brushing over his ear. "You can touch me, Edward. I won't tell anyone."

This spells trouble. I don't think Edward is gonna stand a chance, do you?