Disclaimer: I didn't write the 'Twilight' series. I wrote this, though. I hope that it's ok.

It was time to say my first line, I spoke slowly, hoping that I could keep my words clear. I knew that I couldn't imitate the voice that Rose had used when she'd demonstrated the whole performance to me, but I could make sure that he heard what I was saying. So I carefully enunciated each word, and said: "On. Your. Knees."

Edward dropped so fast and so hard that the whole room shook. The vibrations of the floorboards reached me and I had to grab onto the door frame to steady myself.

He noticed what had happened and smirked at me. But that was ok, I knew what to do if he smirked at me, "eyes down," I said curtly.

Again he obeyed me, but this time he protested, "Bella, love, I like looking at you."

"First rule," I said, "you don't speak unless you're spoken to." He didn't answer, and he didn't laugh. He stayed on his knees with his head lowered so that he was looking at the ground.

Oh, he was beautiful. They hadn't warned me how gorgeous he was going to look, kneeling on the floor like that, with his head dipped so that his hair hung down over his face. He was so beautiful. If I hadn't had a script to follow, I think that I would have run over and hugged him right then.

But, I did have a script and I was going to follow it. This was the only suggestion I had for fixing things between Edward and me, and I was going to follow this advice to the letter. I was going to give this plan every possible chance of working.

"This," I said calmly "is your default position. If you don't know what I want you to do, I want you like this. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," he said, with a sweet edge to his voice.

"Bella," I corrected him, "you call me Bella. Try again."

He was surprised this time, his head moved to one side, as though he was trying to see the floor from another angle, as though he thought that would help the situation to make more sense. "Yes, Bella," he said, more slowly.

I walked forward and stroked the riding crop down the side of his neck, making it clear that I had noticed his cocking of his head. "Second rule," I told him, "you don't move without permission."

"Now," I went on, turning away from him and beginning to walk up and down in front of where he was knelt, "we're going to have a chat. So, first of all, what happened to the petrol in my truck?"

Silence.

"Third rule," I said firmly, "when I ask you a question, you answer me straight away. Try again."

"I did take out some of the petrol in your truck," he said, "but I left enough for you to get home and I replaced what I'd taken the next day."

"Hmm." I said, trying hard to keep the emotion out of my voice. Rose and Alice had both told me that I could lose the whole thing if I go worked up. "Did you know that Victoria was coming back this weekend?"

He was confused again, he held still, but I could hear the frustration in his voice, "yes, Bella," he said.

"Did you deliberately keep that information from me?"

"Yes," I could hear that he was desperate to say more, but he was trying to stick to the rules. He was probably hoping that I was about to give him a chance to explain.

"Whose idea was it to keep me in the dark?"

"Mine, but, I had a good reason -"

I cut him off abruptly with a crack of my riding crop. Alice was right, he jumped. I wondered why that was. Perhaps with vampire hearing, the sound was even more shocking.

"Did I ask for your explanation?"

"No, Bella, but you said that this was a chat."

I stopped walking and stood in front of him, "look at me," I said, he looked up. His eyes were confused, but there was a slight smile on his lips. He thought that he was holding his own in this conversation. It was time to ramp things up a bit. "This is a chat with rules," I said calmly, "what are the rules, Edward?"

He frowned, obviously reciting things didn't make him happy. "First rule: I don't speak unless I'm spoken to. Second rule: I don't move without permission. Third rule: when you ask me a question I answer straight away."

"Good boy," I said, and I was surprised to see that he smiled in genuine pleasure, "offering explanations that haven't been asked for is speaking out of turn. If you break any of the rules again, I will be forced to punish you, understood?"

He raised his eyebrows, as if questioning what punishment I could possibly inflict, but he said, "yes, Bella," very sweetly.

"Alright," I said, "eyes down." I returned to my pacing.

"I don't like you sneaking around behind my back," I said, "I don't like you messing around with my car. I don't like you keeping things from me, and I don't like you asking other people to keep things from me. Do you understand all of those statements?"

"Yes, Bella."

"Are any of them a surprise to you?"

"No" he sounded a touch sulky now.

"Hang on," I said in faux confusion, "that doesn't make sense. If you already knew that I didn't like you sneaking around, messing with my car and keeping things from me, why did you do all those things?"

"I want to protect you," he said, "I don't mind getting into trouble as long as you're safe. As long as you don't get hurt, I've done my job. And I'm quite happy to take my punishment, it's a fair exchange for you being safe."

I grinned. "You're not being punished, Edward," I said, "this isn't punishment, this is training. I'm going to teach you how to behave in the way that I want."

He was so surprised by what I said that he looked up at me, then he remembered the second rule and realised that he'd broken it. He grimaced and hung his head back down, awaiting the consequence.

"Good timing," I said cheerfully, "just when you were wondering what the difference was between punishment and training. Now I have a good excuse to show you. You see, what we've done so far, that is training. What I am going to do to you right now, that is punishment. Ready?"

"Yes, Bella."

"I'm going to go downstairs and make myself a nice cup of tea," I told him, "you're going to write some lines for me. You're going to write out the three rules fifty times, which will help you to remember what they are, won't it?"

"Yes, Bella."

"Now you thank me for being so kind as to think of a punishment for you." I prompted.

He groaned very slightly, but he said "thank you very much, Bella."

"Good. You can move as soon as I shut the door, and when you've finished your lines, you may come downstairs and bring them to me."

I walked ever so slowly to the door, knowing that he would be waiting, aching for me to let him get on with his punishment, so that he could run back to me. I hesitated just outside the doorway, checking that he was going to obey me to the letter and not move until the door was actually closed. He was very good at this game. Maybe Alice was right, maybe we would end up playing again.

I wondered how long it would take him to write the rules out fifty times. He'd probably write them more quickly than I could read them. I put the kettle on to boil and began hunting around the kitchen for tea-bags. Since I needed to waste a bit of time, I decided to do the whole thing properly. I found a tea pot and warmed it, before added the tea and boiling water. I let the tea brew for three minutes, taking my time choosing a mug. The Cullens had a beautifully equipped kitchen. I noticed that, as well as tea pots, they had coffee pots and bean grinders and a rather swish filter coffee machine. I wondered if any of it had ever been used. I wondered if they even knew how to use half their kitchen equipment. In the mug cupboard I found that I had a choice, I could use a simple white coffee mug, or I could use a gold-edged cup and saucer. The cup and saucer would be a nicer setting for my tea, but I was pretty sure that I would break the bone china, so I took a mug instead. I poured my tea in carefully, I added milk and stirred my tea. I turned around, with my tea in my hand, and there he was. Already. I hadn't heard him come in.

He had knelt down more slowly this time, so the floor didn't shake. He was on his knees, with his head bowed, and one hand outstretched, holding out a couple of sheets of paper for me to take. I took them and tossed them into the trash without bothering to look. Rosalie had prepared me for this moment.

He knew (he'd just written it out fifty times) that he wasn't allowed to move, but Edward shivered involuntarily. He knew that he wasn't allowed to speak, but I heard him sigh.

"Is there a problem?" I asked sweetly.

"You didn't even look," he said softly.

"Of course not, why would I want to read the same thing written out fifty times? The punishment was for your benefit, not mine."

He didn't respond to my barbed comment. He didn't even grimace. He was taking the rules very seriously indeed now. That was good. That meant that we could move on to the next stage. I walked over and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Come over here and sit with me," I told Edward.

He sprang up off the floor and ran over to take the seat by my side. His face was full of delight, as though I had given him a wonderful gift, rather than just suggest that he sat down next to me.

I picked up my mug of tea and took another sip. As usual, Edward watched my movements intently. It was as though he'd never seen anyone drink a cup of tea before and expected to sit an exam on my technique later.

"Edward," I told him gently, "it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable when you stare at me when I'm eating and drinking."

His smile faded slightly and he lowered his eyes to the table again.

I laughed at him, "you don't have to avert your eyes when I'm drinking tea," I said, "that's almost as weird. All I want you to do is relax, and pretend to be human. Let your eyes move a bit. Don't stare at me and don't ignore me. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, Bella," he said meekly. He tried to do as I had asked him, looking up and making eye contact. I smiled encouragingly, and he grinned at me again. Rose had been right, he loved knowing exactly what I wanted from him. He really was desperate to please me, how had I failed to see that before? It was so obvious tonight that just a hint of approval from me made his face light up like Christmas morning. He moved his gaze around a bit, and he did look perfectly natural. I shouldn't have been surprised, he could pass for a human all the time, so he ought to be able to sit next to me whilst I drank tea without freaking me out. It was very nice indeed to have him doing so, however.

"That's exactly right," I praised him, "I'm much more comfortable now. Please will you act like that when I'm eating and drinking with you in future?"

He was like a cat being stroked; being told that he had done something right, made Edward stretch in pleasure. "Yes, Bella," he said again, locking his eyes on me, so that I could see his earnestness. It was very sweet. I hadn't realised that he would take something so little so very seriously.

"Since you're doing so well," I told him, and I enjoyed seeing the boyish satisfaction on his face, "we're going to try something a bit harder. I'm going to give you a kiss, and I don't want you to pull away. I'm going to pull away when I think that it's time for the kiss to end, and I want you to follow my lead. Do you understand?"

He nodded, but he also frowned slightly. I guessed that he wanted to say something more in response than just 'yes'.

I took pity on him, it wouldn't be a good thing if this first Bella-led kiss went wrong. "Do you trust me to stop?" I asked.

He nodded again, then remembered that he was obliged to answer my questions and he said "yes, Bella."

"Are you ready?" I asked him.

He smiled now, I had convinced him that he was safe with me and I wasn't going to use the game as an excuse to push him too far. "Yes, please, Bella" he said.

I leant forward and kissed him. I kept the kiss short and sweet. It wasn't just a peck on the lips, but it wasn't the kind of kiss that would scare Edward. Whilst I kissed him, he kissed me back, moving his lips softly against mine. I tried to imagine when he would have stopped the kiss. I pulled back a moment before I thought that he would have done.

When I pulled away, he looked surprised, and there was a flash of dark in his eyes. I don't know what that was, the expression was gone too quickly for me to be able to put a name to it. Perhaps he was disappointed that I had stopped so soon. Perhaps he was considering following me so that the kiss continued and was angry that the rules didn't allow him to initiate a second kiss.

I drank more tea and watched Edward's face. He seemed to be thinking quite hard about something.

"Would you like me to kiss you again?" I asked.

Once more, his face lit up with delight, "yes, please, Bella," he said again. He was watching my lips now, as if he was trying to will them closer to his own. There has never been a more attractive sight than that of Edward, eager for my kiss.

Slowly, teasing him, I edged forward. He held himself still, but I saw him tense. It was an effort to keep himself from leaning in towards me. I stopped, holding my lips just an inch from his, enjoying the feeling of his breath on my skin. When I stopped so close to kissing him, I heard him whimper softly, he pressed his lips tightly together to stop himself speaking.

I closed the gap and kissed him. I let my lips move from his and trailed kisses down his jaw and down his neck. I felt him tremble with pleasure. Ever so slightly, so slightly that I would never have noticed it if I hadn't been watching for it, his body arched up, his neck moved closer, seeking out the touch of my lips, trying to make me press harder against him.

Abruptly, I pulled back and returned to my tea. Edward stared at me again, with something that was almost like pain in his eyes. His mouth twitched with something that he stopped himself from saying. I fought to keep calm and sipped my tea. I was beginning to see why he so often laughed when he pulled back from kissing me. It was flattering to see how much he desired me. Being the one to pull back, to witness my lover longing for my touch, it was kind of fun. I didn't like the hint of suffering in his eyes, but I loved the way his body reacted to mine. I loved that I could make him want me. I loved that he wanted more of me, that he was eager for my kisses. It was wonderful to feel so wanted. I could understand how Edward laughed in triumph when I made him feel the way that I felt now. I wondered if he was learning what it felt like to be in my position, to be the one who was left hanging.

"You're doing very well," I said, this time he didn't look thrilled by my compliment, he looked eager, hoping that I would agree to push him further next time, "I'm proud of how well you let me lead those kisses. That was very nice for me. Now, you'd better wash up my tea things before I go home."

His face fell. I didn't think that he was upset because I had told him to do the washing-up. I looked pointedly at my empty mug and he quickly swept it off the table. I saw him glance once at the dishwasher, but he obviously decided that it would be better to do exactly what I'd asked, and he washed everything by hand. He dried the things carefully, and returned them to their places in the kitchen. I was amused to see that he opened almost as many cupboards as I'd done, looking for where everything belonged. He obviously wasn't overly familiar with the layout of the kitchen.

When he'd finished what I'd asked him to do, he knelt back down in the centre of the kitchen, waiting to see what I was going to do next. I had actually expected him to sit back down at the table, but I suppose that he was right: this was what the rules dictated.

"Look at me," I said, "you may come over here and say goodbye nicely, then I'm going to go home. I'll be back tomorrow morning and we'll continue with your training, alright?"

He acknowledged my words with a submissive 'yes, Bella', then he dashed over to give me a hug. "How long may I take saying goodbye nicely?" he asked, smiling his crooked smile at me.

I laughed at him, "you may walk me to my truck," I said, "but you mustn't hold on to me and stop me leaving."

He sighed, "it's still early, you could stay longer," he said, "please stay longer, Bella."

"I'm a bit surprised that you were enjoying the game so much," I said, taking his hand and leading him out of the kitchen and through the hallway, "I thought that you would be glad when I left and you could get up off the floor."

He chuckled, "I think that the game had its moments," he said, "and I'd rather be kneeling on the floor with you, than doing anything else without you. Being with you is my favourite thing." We got to my truck and he politely held the door open for me.

"Remember that tomorrow, when I keep torturing you," I said, climbing into the truck.

He nodded, so I pulled the door closed and started the engine. Edward watched me pull away and drive down the drive before he returned to the house. Once I was out of sight, I pulled over and waited for my phone to ring.

I didn't have long to wait, "how did it go?" Alice asked.

"I'm in my truck on my way home, still dressed in a catsuit and scary boots," I told her.

Alice laughed her chiming laugh, "just do your coat up," she said, "Charlie won't notice. Did you make Edward cry?"

"Of course not. And I wasn't aiming to make him cry," I told her. "But, I was pretty horrible. I don't know if he'll really want to see me again tomorrow."

"Did he say that he didn't want to see you again?" Alice asked, she sounded genuinely puzzled, so I think that she managed to keep her promise and not watch us until I left.

"No," I said slowly, drawing the word out as if I wasn't sure it was quite the right answer, "he didn't say that at all. But I did most of the stuff that we talked about, so it would make sense if he didn't want to see me again. I wouldn't want to see someone who bossed me about like that."

"Um . . . Bella, you're dating Edward, the King of Control-Freaks. I'll bet he loved every minute of it. Did he object to any of the rules or ask you to stop at any point?"

"No" I said, wondering for the first time why Edward hadn't objected to the rules.

"Well then," Alice concluded with delight, "he was having a good time. Our Edward is never backward in coming forward, as Emmett would say. If he didn't like the game, he wouldn't have played. You should prepare yourself for tomorrow, he'll probably try and push you to see what you'll let him get away with. You should be a lot stricter tomorrow."

"I thought that you weren't looking," I said.

"Relax," Alice scoffed, "this isn't me predicting, this is me giving you the benefit of my experience as Edward's sister. He'll have all night to think about his game plan for tomorrow, and you'll have to be strict if you want to remain in charge. Now, you should drive off, because, though you're far enough away that he can't hear you, you are close enough for him to hear the truck. If you don't drive on soon, he'll think that there's something wrong with it and he'll come down to try and help out."

"Alright, bye, Alice, and thank you for tonight."

"No problem, bye, Bella."

I hung up the phone and drove the rest of the way home.