A/N: I am blown away by the love you guys had for the last chapter. Writing the ILYs always makes me nervous, so I was thrilled with all the positive reviews. Thank you!

Chapter 17

Things have been damn close to perfect between Bella and me since the night we confessed our feelings to each other. These days, we share a bed more often than not, even if there's no sex involved. It seems we're both cuddlers, and we sleep better when we're wrapped up in each other.

The only real difference for us would be the addition of the condoms. After having Bella with nothing between us, I can admit to hating the latex these days, but it's a necessary evil. So, I've conveniently stashed them all around the apartment. You never know when the mood will strike … and we've already christened most areas of our place.

Since we're still working on having Esme accept our relationship, Bella decides to invite her and my dad over for dinner. We tend to both be a little uncomfortable when we're in their house, so Bella thought we might be more at ease, more likely to act like ourselves, if they came here.

Before they arrive for dinner, Bella tells me that she's done putting on a show and she plans to be as affectionate with me as she usually is. I'm more than happy with that decision, and interested to see how it plays out.

Dad and Esme arrive with two bottles of wine and some kind of pie for dessert. I take their coats while Bella takes the food and drink into the kitchen.

"Make yourselves at home," I tell them, waving my hand at the couch. "I'll go open the wine."

I walk into the kitchen, which can be somewhat seen from the living room. Figuring this is as good a time as any to start, I step behind Bella and reach around her to get a bottle of wine off the counter, sweeping her hair off her neck and kissing it in the process. I feel her cheek lift in a smile against the side of my face.

"Love you," I say quietly.

She turns and pecks my lips. "Love you, too." I'll never tire of hearing those words from her.

I take the wine and grab the opener while Bella gets the glasses out. When I turn back to the living room, I see both Dad and Esme watching us. Neither says a word about our exchange when Bella and I hand them their glasses of wine.

The topic of conversation before and during dinner is the exciting news of Bella's permanent job at Forks Elementary. The teacher who was on maternity leave decided not to return, instead wanting to be a stay at home mom for a few years. Bella was offered the job first, and accepted it with no hesitation.

I make no qualms about putting my arm around Bella's shoulder while we're talking, and she shows no discomfort at my touch. I can see Esme still isn't thrilled with it, but thankfully she withholds any comments. Dad seems to take it all in stride.

Esme eventually steers the conversation into dangerous territory. "Have you heard anything from Jasper?" she asks innocently.

Bella makes a face but stays calm. "No, but according to Mr. Jenks, there's no use worrying about it. Technically, he can contest right up until the day the petition is granted, so just because we're close to the deadline doesn't mean he's not going to file."

"That must be rather nerve-wracking," Esme adds. It seems like she's trying to draw a reaction out of Bella.

"Actually, I've essentially put it out of my mind for now. There's nothing I can do but wait, so I'm just living my life in the mean time." She turns and gives me a smile. "Besides, I really don't think Jasper will be stupid enough to contest when he was the one who was unfaithful and he knows I can prove it."

"Hmpf," Esme mutters, clearly not getting the reaction she wanted.

I don't necessarily think she's against our relationship, but at the same time it feels like she's trying to point out anything that could break us apart. Too bad Bella and I have already been through these topics, and we're stronger for it.

We continue with holding hands and touching whenever possible throughout the rest of dinner and dessert, and things seem to smooth out with normal conversation for the rest of the evening. I notice Esme giving Bella an extra long hug before she leaves, so I question Bella about it once we're alone.

"She apologized for bringing Jasper up during dinner," Bella tells me. "And, she said she could see I'm happy, so she's happy for me."

I breathe a sigh of relief at that, hoping that Esme is now one step closer to accepting us as a couple. I understand how strange the situation is—I mean, if Bella and I ever get married, Esme would be her step-mother-in-law in addition to being her sister. But, that's still a long way off.

As March drags on, I can tell that Bella is getting more and more nervous about the divorce petition. When we talk about it, she admits that she's partly expecting Jasper to pull some last minute move just to make her life difficult. The fact that she hasn't heard from him in a while is what scares her the most.

"Whatever happens, we'll face it together," I promise her as we lay in her bed together one night. For no specific reason, her bed has become the one we spend most of our nights in. I couldn't care less, as long as I have her next to me.

"Thank you," she says with a sigh. "For always understanding."

I kiss her forehead and pull her body tighter to mine. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she says. "I just want to be here … with you."

"Want me to take your mind off of it?" I ask with a wicked grin and a waggle of my eyebrows.

She laughs. "What did you have in mind?"

"Why don't I just show you, instead?" With that, I pull the covers up over my head and scoot my body down the bed. Grabbing her legs, I roll her onto her back and pull her knees up in one smooth motion. She's already naked since we tend to forgo any type of pajamas these days, so I don't waste any time burying my face in her pussy.

"Oh, god … Edward," she moans out as I suck her clit into my mouth.

I moan at her taste, which is something I will never tire of. "You taste so good, baby," I tell her as my fingers play near her entrance. Slipping one inside, I hum against her at the feeling of wet heat surrounding it.

I get her good and worked up, and then slow my movements when her hums and whimpers tell me she's close.

"Please, babe," she whines, causing me to chuckle against her body.

"Not yet," I tell her, increasing my motions only slightly.

After a few more minutes, when I can tell she's getting close again, I switch up my tactics. My tongue enters her heat and the thumb of my free hand rubs circles on her nub. When her moans increase a little more, I use the finger still wet with her arousal to rub her back entrance.

She jumps at the contact. "Edward," she says reproachfully.

I pull the covers off my head. "Just relax, baby. Let me make you feel good. I promise to stop if you don't like it."

I apply a little more pressure when she nods her head slightly, and let my tongue get back to work in her pussy. As I work her over some more and feel her body relaxing again, I slip my fingertip inside. Her muscles automatically clench, but I keep up my other movements and she eventually relaxes.

"Okay?" I ask.

"Yeah," she responds breathlessly.

I continue working and slip my finger in a little deeper, swirling it around a bit in the process. Her hips are bucking against my face, so I know she's getting close. I rub harder and tongue faster until I feel everything clench around me.

"Oh, fuck … Edward!" she cries out as her orgasm takes over.

I pull my finger out gently but continue rubbing her lightly, extending the pleasure as long as I can. When I look up at her, she's breathless and flushed with her eyes closed in bliss. I love being the one to make her look like that.

I leave her momentarily to come down from her high while I slip into the bathroom to wash up. When I come back to bed, she's completely sated and beautiful.

"Feeling okay?" I ask, chuckling as I crawl in next to her.

She turns to me with a goofy smile. "Yeah, definitely didn't expect to enjoy that."

"See?" I say defensively. "This is why you have to just trust me to take care of you."

She laughs loudly and slaps my chest. "Okay, you've convinced me," she says finally. "I'm willing to try whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?" I ask, wiggling my eyebrows.

She smirks before amending her prior statement. "I always have veto power."

"Always, baby," I agree, kissing her passionately.

The night before the deadline for the divorce petition, Bella tells me that she's planning to take the day off from work.

"I just don't think I'll be able to concentrate on the kids all day, knowing my phone could ring at any time and have bad news," she says.

"Or good news," I remind her. "But I understand. Do you want me to stay home with you? We could just relax together."

"You don't mind?" she asks with hopeful eyes.

"Not at all, Angel." I kiss her forehead and hug her tight to my body.

We both play hooky the next day and sleep in late, making love in the morning before getting out of bed. I love feeling her warm body pressed up against mine, and I hope the orgasms I gave her helped her to relax.

Much of the day is spent on the couch, watching movies and eating junk food, cuddled up under a blanket. We laugh together and forget about the outside world for a while. I massage her shoulders, hoping to keep her body relaxed throughout the day.

When her cell phone rings at two fifteen, she stares at it and bites her lip. "It's still early in the day," she says quietly. "That could mean bad news."

"Do you want me to get it?" I offer.

"No," she sighs. "Here goes nothing …" she says as she reaches for the phone.

A/N: Sorry for leaving you with a cliffie! Let me know what you thought.

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