Edward spent the soggy morning in a tree behind Newton's. From his vantage point he could see Mike's profile as he hung up the phone and put his head in his hands. He watched as Mike pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, a lame attempt to staunch the flow of tears. He was about to turn away once Mike's shoulders begin to heave as the cost of his failure moved through him. Edward had hoped spending some time in Mike's head would give him access to some flaw, something he could split open and use to worm his way back into Bella's heart. It had given him no such thing. All he learned was Mike did not have the business acumen to keep his parent's legacy afloat. As he watched Mike fall apart he felt the stirrings of pity for the boy he had made his sworn enemy.

That was until Mike reached for the phone.

"Bella? We didn't get the loan...I don't know... No you don't have to...O.k. See you soon baby."

Edward could not feel empathy for this useless boy who had everything he ever wanted. Nor could he convince himself to get out of the tree before Bella arrived.

He tracked her entrance through the eyes of the two employees on the shop floor. Edward had been growing impatient; it had been nearly half an hour since Mike had hung up the phone. He started to question if he had interpreted the conversation correctly.

As Bella entered the store she had to brace herself against the door as her heels slipped on the slick floor. She called out a quick hello but kept walking, clutching a lunch bag to her chest, Rose's borrowed trench coat soaking wet and fastened tight. Edward listened as he heard her soft knock on the door to her husband's office.

"Hey Mike I brought you some lunch." She kissed him on the cheek as she placed the bag in front of him on his desk. As Mike opened the bag, Bella stood behind him and rubbed his shoulders. She gave them a squeeze and stopped once Mike began eating.

"Mmmff... Baby this is so good. You really didn't have to do this you know..."

If Edward was capable of hearing Mike at that point all he would have heard was a series of appreciative sounds. But Edward could not hear Mike because he could see what Bella was doing behind him.

Edward leaned forward, horrified and aroused, as he watched her push through the last button on her coat and slide it off her shoulders. He had never seen such beauty, even when she was in his shirt the day before, as he saw now. There, not ten feet away from where he sat perched on a branch, was Bella Swan in black lingerie. His eyes followed the coat as it fell to the floor and then they slowly made their way back up. He had noticed the heels and stockings as she entered the shop but now he looked at them in their entirety. His eyes traced the stockings to the tops of her thighs where they ended with a band of lace. He noted the small black clip that connected them to a ribbon that disappeared under the black skirt of her...he didn't know the word for it... slip? Chemise? It clung to her figure. His eyes lingered on the slit at the front of her thigh before following the fabric to its bra like top that cupped her breasts. He didn't know the name of it, but he was sure it was meant to torture men. It certainly was torturing him.

Bella leaned over Mike's shoulder, pushing his sandwich aside. "Why don't you finish that when I'm gone dear?" She whispered in his ear. She kept her hands on his body as she walked in front of him. She momentarily paused as he sat back in his chair. She mirrored his actions and leaned back onto the desk.

"Holy fuck baby." Mike breathed out, pressing his hands down the tops of his thighs.

"So you like it then?" Bella smiled as she sat back on his desk, crossing her legs.

"I fucking love it! Seriously baby, that right there is the sexiest thing ever. Ever." Mike's words echoed Edward's thoughts, reminding Edward who Bella dressed for. He watched as Mike stood up while running his hand up Bella's stocking clad leg. He thought he needed to run away; Far away, now, as he watched Mike uncross Bella's legs. But, as Mike put one foot down on the arm of his chair and the other up higher, so it rested against the back of the chair, Edward stood transfixed. There was Bella, his Bella, exposed before him. And he was watching through the eyes of her husband.

Mike sat back down in the chair and ran his hands up Bella's legs again. Edward couldn't block out his thoughts now. He felt every moment of anticipation as Mike pressed his lips to the inside of her knee. Each eager thought: soft, wet, good, echoed in Edward's mind. As he watched Bella lean back onto her elbows, bracing her forearms against the desk, Mike fell to his knees.

It was torture and he couldn't move. Through his own eyes he could see her profile, the bend of her knee, the arch of her back. He watched her chin rise and her breasts fall out of the demi cups that barely contained them in the first place, as she threw her head back, arching further into the actions of Mike between her legs. He didn't need to be in Mike's head to hear her soft whimpers and cries grow more frequent as her heart rate sped up. He could hear her blood as it pulsed through her body. He watched Mike run a hand from where he held her at the hips, over her stomach to briefly roll one of her small, rose nipples through his fingers before continuing over her throat, stopping at her mouth. He watched as her body arched impossibly further, her chest spasming as she bit down on Mikes hand, muffling her cries. The sound of her body exploding, then pulsating, roared in his ears.

He didn't need to be in Mike's head, but he was.

He remained there while Mike kissed his way up her body all the while frantically undoing his belt. He watched, through Mike's eyes, a grinning Bella push herself back up before she pushed his pants down his legs. Mike held Bella by the hips and pulled her to him, pausing briefly at her entrance. He spoke the words as they entered his head.

"Baby, even if I lose everything, as long as I have you I'm the luckiest fucking man on the planet."

As Mike entered Bella she whispered, "you'll always have me. I'm yours Mike, I'm yours."

It was the single most painful experience of Edward's life. It was also the most erotic.

Jasper felt the force of Edward's anguish at the house. He had a quiet word in Emmet's ear and the two headed off to retrieve him. Jasper couldn't get within 500 feet.

"I'm sorry brother" he called out to Emmet as he abandoned him.

It was the only warning Emmet would receive as to what he was about to encounter. He understood immediately why Jasper left, even without his gift this was unbearable. Edward was lying as though he had fallen out of the tree, his body twisting in anguish, hands fisted in his mouth to silence any audible sounds to humans, but a low growl rumbled from him.

The second thing Emmet noticed were the sounds coming from the window above him. He recognized the quiet groaning of wood before he even registered the soft moans and grunts, the reverently whispered cursing.

It took Emmet less than a second to realize his brother had been sitting witness to Mike and Bella's afternoon delight. He wanted to kick his ass, but instead he hauled him over his shoulder and carried him home.

"So what are you going to do man? I told you it would be impossible to watch her have a life. You may think it is the right thing to do, but it isn't what you truly want."

"Em you need to spare me the 'I told you so bullshit.' I can't right now."

"It's exactly what you need right now. Have you talked to her? I saw her fly out of here in your underwear yesterday. I know you wanted her. Dude, you really need to come with a plan. You need her. We need you. Ergo, we need her." Emmet grinned.

"Seriously?"

"Come on man, you look like you needed some levity."

"I don't think I can stay here. I can't handle this."

"No, you are staying. You are trying. You are fighting for her this time. But you have to stop spying on her. That I'm serious about. And you need a plan."

"A plan?"

"Definitely. Last time you just freaked the fuck out and ran. I told you yesterday there are things you need to consider here. She's a woman. A married woman. I think you saw today she is fulfilling her marital duties."

"Emmett! Please"

"You need to understand that. She has ten years experience on you, in things you have no idea. So you need to get that experience." Edward's expression was enough to tell Emmett that wouldn't be happening. "Fine! But you need to understand what you are up against. You need to be willing to put sex on the table. You want to seduce her away from her husband."

"That's not what I want."

"Seriously, enough with this 'normal life' bullshit! That's not what you want either. You need to be honest with yourself about that-"

"I agree, that's not what I want either. God help me I am far too selfish for that." Edward pulled at his hair as he leaned forward. The gesture of a man in pain.

"Then what do you want Edward?" Emmett was uncharacteristically tender.

"I just want her to love me."

Emmett sighed as he leaned forward and gripped Edward's shoulders, forcing eye contact. "She does. You just need to remind her."