Rating: M

Stephenie Meyer of Twilight owns it all, I'm just snaggin' the bread crumbs.

Big hugs to the best betas, LovinRob and amandac3. You should do this for a living.

LovinRob, I am so enjoying your Role of a Lifetime. Who doesn't want to role play with a handsome Edward? Yummy.

Amanda, I finally read Rip Tide….I so wish you would turn that into a full length story. That was really sexy.

CHAPTER 20

Bella

"You…." He says grabbing hold of my upper arms and pulling me to him. "You are fucking awesome at that, Bella." He says and I giggle.

Yes, we are going to be alright.

I feel him snuggle up behind me and then attach his hand to my breast, I smile. He really does like the girls.

"Is that you, Billy?" I say, rubbing his hand lovingly trying to keep from laughing.

"Very fucking funny, Lauren." He returns, squeezing my boob and I start to giggle.

I roll over and snuggle into his chest trying hard not to give him a dose of my morning breath especially after having had wine before bed last night.

"Mmmmm, I love this."

"What's that, baby?" He mumbles, rolling onto his back, bringing me with him.

"Waking up with you. I could get used to this." I admit before reaching up and quickly kissing his cheek.

I jump out of bed and run for the bathroom and brush my teeth. I turn on the hot water for a quick shower, and feel the warm water fall over my body. I am in and out fast because I want to get on the road so that we can check out the new snow that has fallen over night.

After I dry off, I put on my bathrobe and head downstairs, determined to start a pot of coffee. When I open the bathroom door, Edward is standing there at full staff and I can't help but giggle.

"Never lock a man out of the bathroom first thing in the morning, Bella." He says, grinning as he walks around me.

"Edward, there are two other bathrooms in this house; surely you can find one of them with your built in divining rod." I bust up laughing and run downstairs to make coffee.

"Ha fucking ha, Bella." He says, laughing as he shuts the door.

After I start the coffee, I set out two mugs and run back upstairs to put on the layers of clothing I need for a chilly day of skiing. I put my hair in a braid and decide against any makeup and I'm set. I run down the stairs, grab two cups of coffee and head back up the stairs, getting my warm-up for the day.

"Hey handsome," I say, knocking on the bathroom door, "your coffee is right here on the dresser. I'll meet you downstairs."

I pack an overnight bag with everything I need to take with me when my phone rings. I quickly pull it out of my pocket to answer, hoping it is Rosalie or Alice since I haven't spoken to them since they left.

"Hello." I answer hurridly walking toward the door and I skid to a stop.

"What do you want? You stay away from me." I scream and throw the phone across the room like it was on fire. Edward catches it at his chest as he steps out of the bathroom. He frowns and puts the phone to his ear.

"Who is this?" He asks into the phone.

"Ah, Jacob, how are you?" He says very calmly. Too calmly if you ask me. "How nice of you to call. What can I do for you?"

He grabs his jeans and pulls out a small box, opens it and takes out a small black thing and attaches it to my phone. What the hell? Why is he being so nice to him? I stand there, frowning at Edward with my mouth hanging open.

"No, you may not speak to her. You will never speak to her again, do you understand?" He walks over to me and wraps his free arm around me because I am visibly shaking.

"Shhhhh." He quietly says into my ear, kissing it.

"Listen Jacob," He returns to his phone call, "I am not going to threaten you. You have laid your hands upon Bella in a violent way. You held a knife at her throat… Oh, that's right. You only cut her bra with it." He looks down at me and smiles.

"Then you broke her jaw… Oh, okay, Jacob, I'll quit exaggerating. You didn't hit her that hard… That's different then, but you did pull enough hair out of her head to make a small wig. Oh, you don't remember that?" Edward exaggeratedly says into the phone.

"Well, let me tell you something Jacob, I still have that chunk of hair. I have photos of the damage you did to Bella's face and I have pictures of what she looked like when I walked into her house while you were about to sodomize her mouth." His voice breaks at that. "And I have witnesses."

Edward lets go of me to walk across the room to stand at the window. His demeanor has changed and I can tell he is getting more angry with each minute.

"You don't remember hitting her so hard that you nearly broke the bones in her face? But you do recall knocking her across the room. That's a huge difference isn't it, because that blow certainly wouldn't have broken her, would it?" Edward turns, pursing his lips and grinding his teeth.

"Oh, and for the third time, you son-of-a-bitch, she doesn't want to see you and she doesn't want to talk to you. And as a heads up, this call is being recorded, so if you so much as even think about calling her or make another attempt to see her again, I will turn this evidence over to the police, the California State Bar where you will most assuredly lose your license to practice law, and my security team." He runs his hands through his hair again, pacing the bedroom floor.

"But, like I said, buddy, I'm not going to make any personal threats to harm you, but you will never hurt Bella again. If you even attempt to contact her again, she will have her firm behind her to represent her and she will obtain a restraining order against you."

I continue to watch in awed fascination and when he hangs up my phone, I follow him as he runs downstairs to get his own cell phone.

"Where is he?" Edward demands into his cell. "You're sure? Because if you aren't sure, I fucking need you to be in two fucking minutes. Call me in two minutes and tell me for certain."

I listen as I curl up in the chair with my coffee, observing Edward in action. Taking the steps two at a time, he runs back upstairs to get dressed, not making any contact with me. I just sit there listening and watch him do whatever it is he is doing when his phone rings again.

"Cullen" He says firmly. "I swear to God, Jenks, you better be fucking certain. Did he go up there and see him? I want him to go up that fucking elevator and see him sitting at his fucking desk do you understand me? Now, please, just do that and call me right back." He sits on the couch with his hands in his hair waiting for his phone to ring.

Watching Edward do this… this thing…is both impressive and terrifying. He is protecting me as much as he possibly can, but he has also changed into another personality. Who is this Edward I am seeing right now? I walk over to the couch and sit next to him and he grabs me, cradling me across his lap and holding me tight. His phone rings and for a minute there I think he is going to dump me onto the floor but he holds my waist to him and bends across me to grab the phone off the coffee table.

"Yeah. Are you certain? Okay, good." He says, exhaling in relief.

"Thank you. Don't fucking lose him. He made contact with her. I want to know where he is and what he's doing. You text me his every move." I can physically feel the tension leaving his body.

"Oh, Jenks, what about her? Is she still in the area?" He asks as an afterthought. "Good. Just keep me informed. I want to know when they sneeze." He hangs up and lets out an exhaustive sigh, resting his head on the back of the couch.

"Fuck, Edward, or is it James… James Bond?" I say in a deep man voice and giggle into the crook of his neck. He didn't think it was very funny though.

"Bella," he says, "I don't want you staying here in this house by yourself. I would feel better if you stayed with me, alright?" He says, squeezing me tight.

"Whatever you want, Edward, but as long as he is still in the city, I'm not concerned. Besides, I thought you and I would be together for the duration of our stay anyway, so I leave it in your capable hands." I kiss his cheek and jump up. "I don't want him to ruin any more of my time with you, okay? Let's ski." I say, getting up to go outside so I can put my skis in the rack.

When I get back inside the house, Edward is still sitting where I left him.

"Hey, baby, do you want to call it off for today? I can ski solo if you just want to go home." I say to him, smoothing my fingers into his hair.

He grabs my waist and pulls me down to his lap again. "Naw, I just need to settle down. You are safe for now, so let's go have some fun, okay?"

I palm his face in my hands and kiss him, gliding my lips over his, parting mine and wanting his to open for me as we deepen the kiss. I love the feel of his tongue with mine and his lips are so warm and soft and perfect. I open my eyes for a brief moment to peek at him while he is kissing me to find that he is doing the same. I wrap my arms around his neck and angle my mouth over his to envelope myself as deep into his kiss as I possibly can. After we slow the intensity, I look into his eyes, giving him small chaste kisses now.

"Thank you, Edward, for protecting me. You stepped up and took care of this situation whereas I freaked out."

"I love the hell out of you and he will never lay another hand on you as long as I can help it." He says to me with determination.

"And I love you back. Now let's go have some fun." I jump up off his lap and return to my task of getting everything I need for a stay at the condo and put it in the truck.

On the drive to Squaw Valley, I notice he is quiet and pensive. I keep sneaking peeks at him and I don't know who is more shaken by this ordeal, him or me. I knew I was safe with Jacob still in San Francisco, but I'm not sure why Edward is still upset.

"Edward, what is it? Is there something you aren't telling me?" I ask, wanting to get it out in the open.

"No, it just shook me a bit with him threatening to come to see you again." He says, taking hold of my hand and kissing the back of it.

"Okay, but let's just forget about that for the rest of the day, alright? He isn't here and it's just you and me okay?" I try to calm him down a little bit and say, "I want to kick your ass on The Far Side and The Land Bridge today." These are the two runs we haven't skied down together, yet. I try to get him to lighten up but I'm not having any success.

"Sure." He says, distracted, "Whatever you want."

"What I want is for you to tell me what's going on before we get up there today." I say to him, frowning. We need to get to the bottom of this.

"We talk about everything and anything, right? Isn't that the deal?" I remind him.

"Okay." He says, taking my hand. "Let's talk about it when we get inside, okay?"

"Okay." I say to him as he parks the car.

We make our way up the stairs to the condo and he opens the door allowing me to enter first.

"Come on up to my room while I change and we'll talk." I'm excited that I finally get to see his room; it's like going to see the Holy Grail or something.

"Oh my god, Edward, this room is amazing." I say excitedly.

I turn in a circle staring out of the wall-to-wall window that overlooks the mountain. It is a sight to behold for sure. But what really has me mesmerized is the bed. It looks so comfortable and yummy. It has to be custom made because it's larger than a king and it looks like I would sink into it about two feet if I sat on it. So I do. I have to get a running start because I would need a ladder to get onto it otherwise. I jump up and, just as I suspected, I sink down into the downy goodness. I smell him immediately so I roll over and take his pillow with me inhaling the scent of him and peek over it, smiling.

"So tell me what's wrong, Edward." I say tucking the pillow under my chin. He walks over to me and sits on the edge of the bed, facing me.

"I am concerned about you being in the city by yourself. He knows where you live and I don't want you there alone. I won't be there to protect you and I don't like that." He says, looking down at me as he speaks.

"Edward, you don't have to…"

"I won't have it, Bella." He stands abruptly, saying, "I just can't. Look what he did to you. Do you think he will stop the next time? Do you think someone will be there to save you?" I can almost hear his heart beating from here.

"He fucking called you like nothing happened, Bella, like he was your best friend or something. Like Thursday didn't happen." He is near yelling now.

"Edward…" I say softly, raising my hand to his face.

"No, Bella. You are not going to be alone. I will think of something." He says running his hands through his hair again.

"Well, maybe I can stay at Rosalie's place?" I suggest, hoping he will accept that.

"That's not a bad idea, but I have a couple other ideas as well. Let me think about it and I will let you know a little later, okay?"

He walks back to the bed, looking down at me and crawls in next to me, rolling me into a big hug. He props himself onto his elbow and strokes the side of my face then lowers his mouth to mine in a very soft, sweet and passionate kiss. I love the way he slowly works his tongue across my lips. My entire mouth is included in an Edward Cullen kiss. He pays attention to my lips, my tongue and even my teeth when he kisses me, nothing is ignored.

After I have been thoroughly kissed, Edward finishes getting dressed and we walk to the lifts with our skis over our shoulders, our hands linked between us.

After a couple hours of good, hard skiing, we decide to head to the lodge for a warm toddie. It's snowing pretty hard and it's cold and beautiful and a hot Snuggler sounds so good. I order two because Edward has never tasted one before.

"Wow, this is really good. What's in it?" He asks, taking another sip.

"It's Peppermint Schnapps and hot chocolate." I say, blowing on the steamy brew to cool it down enough to drink. "Good, huh?" I ask and he nods, his drink nearly finished. That makes me smile knowing I have pleased him again.

We sit outside the lodge and I lean against his shoulder and as it snows on us, we watch the skiers come down the hill. I take a sip of my Snuggler when I notice an out-of-control skier headed toward the bottom of the run. One ski is on the ground and the other is lifted out to the side and his arms are flailing, seeking balance. Edward and I are encouraging him with our 'woohoo's' and are impressed with the fact that he was even still standing. Once he finally makes it to the bottom he crashes face first into the snow. We give him a standing ovation and hold up both of our hands, giving him perfect 10's for execution. The skier stands, recovering from his nosedive, gives us a gracious bow and skis toward the lift for a second go at it.

After we sit back down and finish our spiked hot chocolate, we see a couple at the bottom of the run having a serious make-out session and I can swear he's going to lay her down right there in the snow. Edward looks over at me and smiles, lifting his eyebrow.

"We need to give your little girl a break, Edward. She's really tender and sore right now. You gave her quite a workout you know. How about tomorrow?" I ask, looking at his disappointed face.

I transfer myself onto his lap and nuzzle his neck. "If it means that much to you, Edward, I will do anything for you, sweetie." I say into his ear.

"Bella, I want you, that's no lie, but I don't need it so bad that I would risk you hurting more than you already do. But I could kiss it and make it feel better though if you want." He growls, looking at me with that sexy half grin thing of his. How can I ever say no to that?

"And did you say 'your little girl'?" He asks, smiling at me.

"Yup. She's yours now you know." He laughs out loud and scoots me in tighter to him.

"I love the sound of that." He says, burying his face in my neck, inhaling me.

I reach around him for my Snuggler, turning back around to watch the skiers.

"Hey, Edward," I begin, looking at him, smiling. "Did you know an Italian study shows that women who drink two glasses of wine a day have better sex than those who don't drink at all?"

"No, I didn't know that, Bella," He banters, matter-of-factly, "But did you know that in ancient Greece, a dinner host would take the first sip of wine to show his guests it wasn't poisoned, hence the phrase 'drinking to one's health'?" I look at him incredulously at that important piece of information.

"Hey, Edward," I return, and giggle, "Did you know that women tend to be better wine testers because women in their reproductive age have a better sense of smell than men?"

He is really smiling at me now.

"Hey, Bella," We both start laughing. "Did you know that early Roman women were forbidden to drink wine, and a husband who found his wife drinking was at liberty to kill her? Divorce on those same grounds was last recorded in Rome in 194 B.C."

"Bastards." I reply. "Thank god you wouldn't divorce me for drinking wine." I giggle.

"Bella, if I were fortunate enough for you marry me, I wouldn't divorce you for anything in the world." He declares, squeezing me.

With that, he smacks my ass and says, "Let's go back up to the Chute. I'm feeling nostalgic."

We ski hard the rest of the day and I am tired, sore, and hungry. All in all, I'm just plain exhausted. I don't want anything but a hot bath, a good glass of wine, and Edward.

After we return to the condo, we pack our gear away and head upstairs. I start stripping, abandoning my clothes in the corner, too exhausted to even think about picking them up. I enter Edward's bathroom and turn on the shower and stand under the water, I sit on the seat provided in the corner, too tired to stand up on my own.

Edward finds me propped against the wall, sound asleep.

"Oh, Bella, baby," He whispers, lifting and carrying me into his room. He wraps me in a huge bath towel to dry me off. "Oh, sweetie, are you tired?" He asks, rocking me in his lap.

I don't have the strength to speak so I just nod my head.

"I'm going to put you in bed now but I am going to make us something light for dinner and I'll bring it up to you okay? I just want to make sure you eat something."

"Okay Edward…"

The next thing I know, it's 11:00 a.m. the next morning. I shoot up in bed and frantically start looking around and see Edward in his recliner with his laptop watching it snow.

"Edward?" I exclaim, "Why did you let me sleep so late?"

"Because we are taking a vacation day and that's what one does on vacation… they sleep in." He lays his head back against the chair to watch me. "You are so beautiful, Bella."

I drop back onto my pillows, throwing my arms out to the side and exhale.

"Did you have somewhere to be?" He asks.

"No, I was just disoriented for a second and it frightened me is all. I'm good now. Is there coffee?" I ask rolling onto my stomach taking my pillow with me so I can angle my head to better see him.

"No, but I will make you some." He says, making a move to get up.

"No, I'll get it Edward. You look so peaceful sitting there. I'll get it here in a minute, after I wake up." I am content just watching him watch me. He is so lovely to look at.

When I watch him get up from his chair and slowly stroll over to the bed, I feel the tingling begin. I can see it in his eyes what he wants. He stops at the edge of the bed, slowly pulling the duvet off my body down to my feet. I feel my body react as his fingers drift over my body starting at my toes, continuing up my leg to my thigh, making a brief but thorough stop at my pussy, taking a moment to suck the evidence off his fingers. Once he finishes there, he continues up my stomach and ending at my breasts, giving each one the love and attention he bestowes upon them any chance he can get.

I can feel the wetness begin to pool with anticipation of what his intentions are. As I watch him remove his t-shirt and then his sweat pants, I can't miss how hard his cock is for me. I reach out to touch it but he pulls away. My baby is in tease mode again and I love tease mode.

He braces himself against the bed while he spreads my legs. I bend my legs at my knees and open myself to him. When he takes my knees and drops them all the way open, I am so fucking turned on as his eyes are glued on mine as he climbs above me ever so slowly. I prop myself up on my elbows as he continues to hold my eyes while he lowers his mouth.

When I see his tongue come out of his mouth and touch me licking from my opening, tasting my juices, then slowly up to my clit roaming his soft tongue over it, I throw my head back at the shear sensation of it.

"Oh God… Edward. That is the… hottest thing to watch." I say between labored breaths. I drop back down on my pillow and just allow myself to feel what it is he is doing to me.

My back arches when I he inserts two fingers inside me finding my sweet spot immediately. But when he attacks my clit and my sweet spot at the same time I can feel it coming.

"Fuck, Edward…Oh, baby you so know how to do that."

"What, Bella? What do you like, baby?" He asks while he circles my clit with that magical tongue of his.

"I love what you are doing right there But I what I want is for you to fuck me right now. I need you inside me bad."

"How do you want me to fuck you, baby?" He had to ask.

"I want to feel your cock enter me slow and easy. Let me feel the length of that hard dick move in and out of me and then I want you to pound the hell out of my pussy." I elaborate for him.

" Is that what you want baby?" I say to him as I fist handfuls of his beautiful hair.

"Oh, that's what I want alright." And with that, he thrusts himself inside me with a force that moved me up the bed about a three inches, but damn if that didn't feel good and that's exactly what I wanted.

I wrap my legs around his waist to hold on to him while he pummels my pussy and I focus on his eyes as I move and meet each of his intense thrusts. I can feel myself tighten around him and he knows I am ready because he changes positions, rising higher on me as I stroke my clit down the length of his cock and fuck if that doesn't send me over the top.

"Christ, Bella… Fuck… I need you to… cum for me Bella, now…" He says as he watches himself move in and out of me.

I move harder and faster and grab his legs for support and I can feel him work so hard to please me.

"Edward, baby, I'm… Edward… here it comes, I'm…cumming, baby"

"FUCK, Bella... " He shouts letting his head drop and I feel him explode inside me.

I love the way he drops down on me and just holds me afterward. I love to hear his labored breathing.

"Damn, Bella" He says.

"I love you." He whispers into my neck.

"I love you too, Edward." I return laying there with my arms around him, feeling his body on mine and loving every moment of it.

After a while of silence, just laying in the same position I blurt out, "I'm thinking I'm ready to go home."

"O...kay. Why?" He asks.

"Don't know…been here for over a week… drama… I'm done skiing… Not much to do other than that with the snow and all…"

"Do you need to be away from me?" He asks, raising his head to look at me.

"No, never…I just found you." I say to him, squeezing him tighter, holding his head down with my hand.

"Maybe we can do something else for a few days. What about Grass Valley? Nevada City? Or we could stay here, but I am done skiing I think." I say, throwing out some ideas.

"Grass Valley is beautiful this time of year. There's a great place where you can rent cabins and chalets. It is rather romantic. I've stayed there before and I think you would like it." He says getting up to grab his laptop. "I'll google it and see what I can find. We can see about returning your car somewhere close and just take mine. How does that sound?" He added.

"Did you take someone else there?" I have to ask.

"No, I was there with a group of vintners attending a seminar." He explains, smiling at me to reassure me.

"Then as usual, Edward, I leave it in your capable hands." I reply. "Do you have any juice or something?" I ask while he is busy typing away.

"Hmm, I think there is some in the fridge." He replies, lost in thought and I slowly make my way downstairs. I pour myself a glass of juice and wander over to the large window that overlooks the mountain. I can see why Edward likes to sit here, the view is phenomenal.

I push the recliner back and watch it snow, it's hypnotic. My mind recalls Jacob's phone call and the night he stormed through the door.

"Why is he doing this? I whisper into my hands and I feel the tears begin to fall down my face.

"Bella?" Edward kneels down next to the chair, "What is it?"

"I'm scared, Edward. More than I thought." I say, sniffling.

He lifts me from the chair and sits down with me in his lap and I cry silently. It is then that I realize that I have not cried since the incident, so when it all came out in a rush it was no surprise.

"I know, baby, I know." He says, softly into my ear. "I'll take care of you, Bella. Don't worry, you are safe." I kiss him and my phone rings indicating that it's Rosalie.

"Hey you! Did you make it home alright?" I ask her, trying to sound normal.

"Yes, we had a blast with you and Edward, Bella. Thanks for introducing us to Emmett and Jasper, they are the best." I can hear the excitement in her voice.

"I'm glad you're happy, Rose." I say in return.

"Hey, Bells, what's the matter? You and Edward okay?" She asks.

"Yeah, yeah, we're good. Jacob called me on my cell, Rose!" I say in a rush, "I just want to know how the hell he is finding shit out about me. Like where I vacation and where I am staying and my cell phone number?"

"What the fuck?" She exclaims. "What did Edward say?"

"He talked to him and hopefully took care of it, but I have a feeling this isn't over. I just want to know why. Why now? Why after five years is he coming after me? I haven't attempted to contact him whatsoever, nothing, but he shows up and beats the crap out of me? I want to know why!" I start crying again. I look at Edward and he shakes his head. He wants to know that as well.

"Bella, is Edward there with you?" She asks.

"Yes, why?"

"Put me on speaker, would you?" I put the phone down on the table so Edward can hear.

"Okay, Rose." I say and Edward looks up at me to listen.

"Hey Edward." Rose says.

"Hi Rosalie." He replies, looking down at the phone.

"I don't know the answers to your questions, Bella," She says, "But when you get home, I want you to move into my house with me. You can have the east wing all to yourself. It has a private entrance and you will have all the privacy you need. I have a security system too, as you know. You are not going back to your place without anyone there with you, okay?"

"Rosalie, you are a Godsend." Edward says, "Bella and I had thought about that and the fact that you have offered makes the decision much easier." He says, and I lay my head back against the chair in relief.

"Okay, Rose, I'm glad you and Alice made it home safe and sound, we will talk more about this later. I think Edward and I might be coming home early. I'm pretty much done with the drama to last me a lifetime." I say, closing my eyes, wanting to erase everything with Jacob.

"Okay honey. Alice and I will get you all set up here at my place and by that I mean Alice." She says and we all chuckle. "You won't have to do a thing. Have a safe trip home and I want to talk to you more about this, alright?" She instructs.

"Alright, Rose. Hello to Alice for me. Love you." I say.

"Bye, Edward."

"Bye, Rosalie, hello to my brother since he can't be reached anymore because of you." Edward says jokingly.

"Yeah, it's weird how things worked out, huh?" I can hear her smile.

"See you both soon." She says and then hangs up.

"Hey, what do you say we pack up and go to my house in Stateline for a few days? He says excitedly. I look at him and ponder his idea.

"What about naked Sue? I don't want any more shit, Edward. If she says one word, I just might have to kick someone's ass." I joke with him.

"I promise you, no more shit. I just want to enjoy being with you, Bella." He says, giving me his devilish grin.

"We can ski Heavenly for a day or two, alright?" He asks. I can think of nothing I would rather do than be alone with Edward, it doesn't matter where.

"I would love nothing more than to spend a couple stress-free days with you, Edward. When do you want to go?"

"Today too soon?" He asks.

"Let's pack you up first and then we'll head back to my place to pack me up." I say and after Edward nods his head yes, he starts packing up his bag and ski gear.

It doesn't take long because he didn't arrive with much. While he loads the car, I call the landlord to let them know that I am leaving early and to thank them for the use of their beautiful home. Once he has locked our skis in the rack, we drive to Tahoe City to get me packed. While I am upstairs in my room, I hear Edward on the phone making arrangements for someone to pick up my rental car and return it to the local rental agency. I look around the house for anything I may have missed and then I am ready to go.

"Wow, time alone with you, finally." I say, staring at him as we drive toward Stateline.

"Finally. I can't wait." Edward says in his velvet voice and I can feel my little girl get all tingly at the possibilities.

A/N: Thank you all for supporting the efforts in the FanFiction ban. It will be interesting to see if any changes are going to be made. Please review and let me know your thoughts.