Rating: M

Stephenie Meyer of Twilight fame, owns it all, I don't, I just wish I did.

Tits and Ass you are the best…..T, you survived Bobby Long, A, you missed out on Rob, and I can only sit and listen to the tales of your awesome adventures. But most of all, you are the best betas ever.

Missvamp007, patience my little grasshopper….good things come to those who wait.

Stella….xoxoxoxo – I hope you survive EP

Jennifer – Write me a good lemon dammit

Creepy #1, you are the bestest girlfriend ever, luvvvvv youuuuuu.

CHAPTER 13

Bella

"Ow... Ow… Ow… Ow." I hear myself say over and over as I try to move my body.

Even my pinky finger hurts to move. After attempting to stretch out the kinks in my body, I recall the events of last night and my eyes snap open. I quickly look to the other side of the bed where he had been sleeping and there's no one here but me. Edward is gone. The feeling of loss is overwhelming and I tuck my face into the crook of my arm but the weight of it causes my cheek to ache. I throw my arm down to my side and can feel the tears stinging my eyes. He's gone my mind reminds me again. I can feel the heartbreak burn across my chest. I roll over onto my side grabbing his pillow and adjusting it under my head, burying my face into it, smelling his scent and that's when the tears begin.

I think about all that has happened over the last few days with Jacob suddenly appearing and making sick demands on me. Why? Why now? I can't get that one word out of my mind. Why? I know it's because of him that I have this sick defense mechanism in me that is preventing me from giving myself over to Edward. All he wants me to do is trust him. Why can't I give him that? I know the reason. It's staring me right in the face.

Of course, the night wouldn't be complete if I hadn't gone all postal on him simply because he was talking to a woman. I am such a dolt. I'd leave me too if I were him.

I blew it and now he's gone.

"Fuck." I say out loud, hitting the bed. I wish I could have at least said goodbye to him. I thought we could have at least talked about it.

"Potty mouth." I hear his beautiful voice say and I shoot up in the bed, my hair flying everywhere and landing in my face. I take my hands and quickly flip it out of my eyes.

"Edward! You're here!" I half shout, half whisper.

He looks so beautiful sitting in front of the fire. I watch him as he gets up off of the couch, seemingly in slow motion. I have never been so happy to see anyone in my life as I am right now. He sits down next to me on the edge of the bed holding out his cup of coffee to share with me. I take it, looking into his beautiful eyes as I take a sip. After I hand it back to him he sets the cup down on the night stand and turns back to me, looking over last night's damage.

"How do you feel this morning?" He says while gently touching my bruised cheek. "It looks a little bit better than it did last night. The swelling has gone down quite a bit."

I can see the concern in his eyes and all I want to do is have him hold me.

"I actually feel pretty good. My body is stiff but I think once I get moving I'll be okay." I close my eyes at the touch of his fingers on me.

"I'm so glad you're still here, Edward." I say to him, cupping his hand with mine. "I am so, so sorry. About everything. I've been such a fool." He closes his eyes and smiles, releasing a deep breath.

"We need to talk, Bella." He says and I nod my head in agreement.

"You first." I tell him.

He looks into my eyes and takes a deep breath before he begins.

"I want you to know that, for me, there is nothing going on between Tanya and myself. It wasn't until yesterday that I learned from her that there was more there than I thought. I had always believed that she and I were on the same page, but she confessed to me during a phone call I made to her yesterday, specifically to break it off, that there was more for her." He stops talking and hands me a glass of water and two Advil's.

"Bella, I told her I had met someone that I wanted to get to know better and that I wouldn't do that with her around, especially under the conditions she and I had. I knew from that first day, when you asked me if there were any Mrs. Cullen's, you would not tolerate infidelity and even though, for me, there wasn't anything with Tanya but sex, that alone is a serious offense in any relationship so I cut it off with her completely as of yesterday." He lays me back down on the bed and puts a fresh icepack on my cheek.

"I am promising you right here and right now with everything in me Bella, I do not love her, I do not want her and I will not, ever, see her in any capacity other than business." He pulls the blanket up under my chin and tucks it tightly across my chest and under my arms.

"The dinner confirmation you overheard us discussing is the annual Napa Valley Vintner Association dinner that my parents are hosting this year and all members attend. With it though comes Tanya because she is an active member. Every year a different winery hosts and this year is Volturi Wineries and as CEO, I am required to attend. I am inviting you to attend that dinner with me as my date. With that in mind, I understand with you needing to be back at work in the city by Monday, you may not be able to accept my invitation on such short notice. I promise you, however, that there will be other invitations Bella." He stops and moves loose strands of hair from my eyelashes.

"You and I have discussed this thing we have between us before and even though we can't define what "it" is, we know it is something, correct?"

He looks at me for confirmation and I nod in agreement.

"What I do know, and I have told you before, is that I want to see where this is going. I don't know how we will do that once you go home to San Francisco and I return to Napa, but we have until next weekend to learn more about one another without any other outside interference. Are you willing to do that?"

I look straight into his eyes and nod my head again.

"I also need to tell you, like I said in my text to you last night, I am falling hard for you and if you think you are the only one that can walk away from this with a broken heart you are sadly mistaken. Not only am I asking you to trust me, I need to trust you as well. Can I do that, Bella?" He says staring intently into my eyes.

Starting to feel like a bobble head doll, I nod my head at him once again.

"I also need you to know that I want your body like I've never wanted anything before in my life and it is taking a tremendous amount of strength not to climb into that bed with you right now but I won't do that because when I do, I want you 100% healthy. Today, you need to rest and recuperate. Does that sound alright with you, Bella?"

Again with the nodding thing. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with my mouth?

"Is there anything you have to say to me, Bella?" He asks while he strokes the side of my head where my hair had been pulled. I can see pure lust in his eyes and all I want to do is drag him under the covers with me.

"Will I be healthy on Monday, Edward?" And there's that sexy smile I love so much and he lowers his lips to mine and ever so quietly he says into my mouth "Monday, Bella."

My world is back in perfect harmony.

Edward lays down beside me, and wraps his arm around me, putting my head on his shoulder and I look up and stare into his eyes. I take my finger and lightly run it across those perfect lips of his and when he opens his mouth and slightly touches it with his tongue, I take it into my mouth to taste him. It shocks me when he takes my hand and pulls my finger out of my mouth and puts it into his. I swear my heart skipped a beat.

I close my eyes and feel his tongue play with the tip of my finger and I flinch when I feel his other hand reaches around me and circles my hardened nipple that is peeking at him through my top. I allow myself to give in to both sensations and it is terribly erotic. When he gives my finger a long hard suck as he pulls it from his mouth, he lowers his lips to mine. That's when I feel the anticipation begin to build.

I feel his warm hand gently massage its way down my stomach and out to my hip slipping into the elastic band of my panties. He then stops and silently asks for permission to continue.

"Please…." I whisper, breathless. I've waited for this moment ever since I met him.

He slowly removes my panties and barely touches me and teases me before parting my lips when I hear him exhale and whisper, "Fuck, Bella… you're… bare".

I adjust my hips and part my legs to allow him better access to me. He inserts one long finger inside me then slowly removes it dragging it up my clit then takes it to his mouth and licks it clean before returning for more.

"Oh, my, god, Bella. You taste so fucking good" And when his mouth came down hard on mine our tongues meet and we experience that perfect, passionate kiss while he runs his finger firmly but ever so gently over my clit sending me into an instantaneous and intense orgasm.

"Edward… right… there, fuck….. I'm…. Oh… ohgodohgodOH…GOD" My head pushes back into my pillow and I can feel my hips move in rhythm against his hand and I let go.

He touches me long enough to allow me to ride out my first orgasm that was not self induced in five years and, I must say, I like his so much better than my own. I smile to myself at that and open my eyes to see him just inches from my face smiling at me in return.

"Shit, that didn't take long did it?" I say, giggling. I can feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"Thank you so much, Edward." I say to him while he puts his forehead to mine.

"Bella, if you respond to me like that with just a touch, lord knows what you will be like when I make love to you. Fuck!" He says, rubbing his nose along mine.

"Oh, Edward, you have no idea how badly I want you right now." I responded eagerly, and wrap my arms and leg around him, holding him close.

~ BD ~

I look at the clock and see that it's 10:00, still plenty of time to get ready for Rosalie and Alice's arrival and to clean up the mess from last night. I know that this is going to be hard on both of them and they certainly don't need to see the destruction from the fight as well. While Edward makes us breakfast, I take a shower and get dressed in a pair of khaki cargo pants, a dark brown cowl-neck shirt with a matching vest. I look into the mirror to check on my eye and determine there's no makeup in the world that can cover this so I just let it go. I dry my hair and put some curl in it to distract from my face, if that is possible. I then make the bed, clean my room and go downstairs to see what Edward has made for breakfast. I am craving a cup of coffee and head to the kitchen.

Oh My!

That beautiful man is at the stove flipping French toast shirtless. I can't describe how much I want to run my hands over his back. The muscles are firm and…and….everywhere. He turns when he hears me come around the island and sweeps me into a warm bear hug. He buries his face in my hair as he takes a deep breath.

"Damn you smell good, woman." He says in a growl that is uniquely his.

I throw my arms around his neck to let him smell me all he wants.

"Me… need coffee." I say in my best monster voice turning to get a mug from the cupboard, but he already has a cup waiting for me.

"Right 'ere m'lady." He says in his best renaissance voice and offering me a bow and a kiss on my hand.

How freaking cute is that?

"French toast? Mmmmm… that smells so good. I'm starving." I say, looking at the pile of toast on our plates.

I turn toward the drawer to get knives and forks and set them at the breakfast bar. I accidently on purpose graze my body along his when I reach for two glasses to pour us some orange juice. He rewards me with a smile and a peck on my good cheek as he grazes my "fine ass" as he calls it. It's a good thing we are in the kitchen because there's a lot of grazing going on.

I stop to take a sip of coffee and to peruse the damage in the living room and see there is a new fire burning in the fireplace. The entire mess has already been cleaned up and there isn't a thing out of place that would indicate a struggle had taken place.

I feel tears of appreciation well up in my eyes and turn to look at Edward who is putting our breakfast on the counter. I walk up to him and wrap my arms around his waist then raise my hands across his back to pull him tighter to me.

"Don't you dare make me fall in love with you, Edward Cullen." I giggle, half joking and half serious.

"Would that be a bad thing?" He asks, chuckling, dropping his hand to my bottom, pressing himself into me. I am amazed at the way his body responds when he is near me. And even more at how uninhibited he is at showing me.

"You are the sweetest man I have ever met. Thank you for all this. You are the best." I squeeze him one more time before dropping my arms and turning toward breakfast.

We sit down to eat and when I put the first bite into my mouth I immediately taste the vanilla. This is so good!

"Oh my god, Edward, this is fantastic! Do you cook?" I look at him incredulously realizing I don't know much about him. "I don't even know where you live or if you live alone or with your brothers….. or….." We haven't generally asked personal questions so this one is as personal as I have gotten so far.

"I live alone. I have a place on the property away from the main house where the rest of the family lives." He explains. "There's enough property for all the brothers to build their own homes. I built mine years ago, but Emmett and Jasper are waiting until… well… that's really their story to tell." He turns back to his breakfast.

"Well, in any event, you make fantastic French toast. Thank you Mr. Cullen. I'll do the dishes since you cooked and cleaned up that mess in there already." I smile at him changing the subject and get to work while he finishes eating.

I am getting butterflies in my stomach because the girls should be here any time now and I really can't wait for them to meet Edward. I check my phone in case I missed any texts or calls; nothing. For the umpteenth time, I go to the living room window to check for them and for the first time, I notice that Edward has shoveled the sidewalk.

"Edward god dammit!" I shout at him and he snaps around, holding two logs in his hands that he was just ready to put on the fire. I run to him and he drops the logs to catch me into his arms.

"You fucking rock. (kiss) You are the best. (kiss) Thank you for making it safe (kiss) for my best friends to walk in the snow. (kiss) You are so getting lucky on Monday."

I smother him with more kisses and hugs. And just when we were getting into a serious, delicious kiss, a loud bang scares the crap out of me and the girls come barging into the house throwing the door against the wall. They both throw themselves at me with the force of a bull, knocking me onto the ground with hugs and kisses of their own. We are rolling on the floor laughing our asses off when Alice stops moving and looks at my face. I knew once she saw me she would start crying, and she does.

"Oh, Bella. You look so beautiful. Even with a black eye, he couldn't take that away from you, could he?" Alice cries, laying her head on my chest and holding me as tight as she can.

"I missed you so much, Alice. Only you could see the beauty in all of this." I say to her, returning her hugs.

"So, you must be him, eh?" Rosalie jumps up and walks over to Edward, checking him out.

"I'm Edward if that's what you mean. You must be Rosalie?" He says, holding his hand out to shake hers but she doesn't take it.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Bella?" She says, looking down at me still sprawled out on the floor with Alice. "He is fucking gorgeous." She turns to address Edward again, "But you know that already don't you Edward? I will not shake the hand of the man that surely saved the life of one of my best friends. Alice and I are forever indebted to you mister." And with that she throws herself at him. Alice then jumps up to do the same. He looks at me from between both of the girls, shrugs and wraps his arms around both of them.

"Hello Edward, I'm Alice. Rosalie explained to me what happened with Bella and how you and your brothers saved her. I want to thank you for being there when you were and I can't wait to meet Emmett and Jasper to thank them as well." She is standing directly in front of Edward holding his hands with tears running down her face, trying not to cry but not doing a very good job of it.

"Alice, it is indeed a pleasure to meet you. My only regret is that I wasn't able to get here sooner. But believe me when I say, he will not go anywhere near Bella again." He brings her into him, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, comforting her.

"So, when is this party starting tonight, Bells?" Rosalie claps her hands together in anticipation.

"They will be here at 6:00 so we need a run to the store for provisions but I really don't want to go out like this…."

"Fuck them, Bella! You are going. Who gives a shit what they think. We know what happened and that's all that matters. Edward? Do you want to go with or do you have other plans?" Rosalie asks.

"I should head home. Em and Jazz have been alone for far too long as it is so God knows what condition the condo will be in once I get there." Edward turns and walks toward me.

"I need to borrow your car Bells." He says repeating the nickname the girls have for me. I smile at him and hand him my keys.

"Will you be okay with the girls? Do you need me to stay? I will if you want me to, you only need to ask." He rubs his hands up and down my arms and it feels wonderful.

"I will be honest with you Edward, I am a little nervous but I think Rosie could take him down though." I say and we both start laughing.

"I don't think he's in the area to tell you the truth. But how about this, why don't you guys do your shopping and visiting, and instead of 6:00 we come over earlier, that way you won't be here alone for that long." I nod, amazed at how giving this man is.

Edward looks at Rosalie and Alice, "You ladies are going to go out and do your shopping and visit a while and my brothers and I will be over at 4:00. Since you are cooking for us tomorrow, why don't we bring dinner with us tonight? Pizza sound okay? It's easy and quick and we can just start the party that much sooner."

"Okay, we will get the drink fixings. Is there anything in particular you and your brother's drink, Edward?" Alice gets out her iPhone and starts a list. God, I love her.

"We all like Heineken and we all like Chivas. Anything else you girls decide, we are just along for the ride." He chuckles at his own rhyme.

Edward pulls me into the kitchen and holds me like it is the last time he will see me. He then bends his head and whispers in my ear, "God, it feels like a part of me is missing already. I miss you already. Four hours is too long to be away from you, Bella." He pulls back to look at me and kisses me sweetly and then hugs me again.

"I don't want you to go either. This is silly isn't it?" I lay my head against his chest, hugging his waist.

"Shit. I hate this but I will see you in a few hours and remember, I want to see Em's face when he gets a load of Rosalie." He steps away and we both start laughing.

"Okay ladies, see you at 4:00 and would you please make sure she doesn't overdo it, she needs to keep an icepack on her eye for the swelling and she needs to take Advil every 6 hours?" I can see Edward blush when the girls look at him playing my nursemaid. We look at each other and start laughing.

"How cute is that?" Alice says.

And with that, Edward leaves.

"Oh. My. God. Bella. He is fucking beautiful." Rosalie says with her eyes wide open watching him out the window.

"I know right? And he likes me. He said so." I turn, flipping my hair and stick my tongue out at them, laughing, while I run up the stairs to get my boots.

"Wanna go to the store first or fight over who gets what room?" I yell at them from the top of the stairs.

We decide we need liquor and pile into Rosalie's brand new Land Rover. I swear she bought it just for this trip!

I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful and inspiring reviews. They keep me motivated. I read each one of them and try to respond back. Your response to my story has been overwhelming and it pleases me that you enjoy it. It's what this is all about. Okay, enuff mush…..Sunday…..the hot tub.