I woke up a few hours later, the sun was setting behind the curtains in my room and I was alone. Looking around the room, Edward's clothes were gone and the spot where he'd slept no longer warm. I pulled the pillow over my head and groaned into it, kicking my feet against the mattress in frustration. "Dammit, Dammit, Dammit."

"Having fun," I froze when I heard his voice, slowly lifting the pillow off of my eyes to see him. He was standing against the doorframe, fully dressed and looking amused. Edward crossed his arms against his chest and watched me curiously, lifting the glass in his hand to his lips and taking a drink of the amber liquid.

"I uh… I thought you left," I admitted, my cheeks heating bashfully.

"Touching," he responded and I rolled my eyes, flipping him off before climbing out of bed and walking to my dresser. Edward was watching me, I could see him in the mirror, as I pulled out panties and a bra and proceeded to get dressed. My jeans fit tightly over my still sensitive core and when I flinched at the sensation, I saw Edward smirk.

"Hungry," I asked him, pulling my shirt over my head and turning to face him. He seemed to be contemplating something, something naughty, but then the cloudiness in his eyes cleared and he nodded in affirmation.

Edward sat at the small breakfast bar that separated my kitchen and my living room and watched me while I cooked. It was a little unnerving at first, if only because it was new, but not entirely uncomfortable. Eventually the feeling faded all together and it was just peaceful between the two of us. Occasionally I ask him a question as I seasoned his steak or threw potatoes in the microwave.

"You microwave your baked potatoes," he asked, a glint of humor in his eyes and I stuck my tongue out playfully at him.

"Judge all you want but they come out moist and cook much faster than they do in the oven." It was getting a little hot in here, with the stove on, so I walked over and opened the door to the balcony and let in the breeze. New York was beautifully in the evenings, the sun only a memory on the horizon, lights from office buildings throughout the city lighting the skyline. Sometimes I liked to pull one of my barstools out onto the balcony, turn off all the lights in the apartment, and enjoy a glass of wine with my feet propped up on the cool metal rail.

"You look much lovelier this way," Edward commented, almost absently, staring at the ice in his glass before taking another drink. His eyes met mine and I blushed, biting my lip bashfully and turning back to the stove to flip our steaks over. "Tell me about yourself, Bella."

I can't help feeling guarded the moment he makes his request and I don't turn to face him. "What do you want to know?" It's been a bubble since he came into my apartment earlier but I'm worried we're only a pin prick away from falling right back into the random hostility we shared before.

"Where are you from? How'd you end up in New York? Where are you parents? Do you have any siblings? What's your favorite color?" He rattled off his questions and I giggled a little at his monotonous tone as I started testing our steaks with a knife.

I pour myself a glass of wine, contemplating his questions and choose to simply answer them as simply as I could. "I'm from Forks, it's a tiny town in Washington; my dad, Charlie, died in a car accident when I was 18 and I haven't seen my mom, Renee, since I was 16. I came to New York because I wanted something bigger than Forks after Charlie died; I thought I could get into school up here… I thought wrong. No siblings; my favorite color changes but lately it's been green." I blurt out the last answer without thinking and immediately stop talking after I do, hearing a small chuckle from behind me. Ignoring him, I pull our cooling potatoes from the microwave and make plates for the both of us before joining him at the breakfast bar. "Bon appétit."

Edward offered me a smile and I began to cut my steak before he placed his hand on my thigh comfortingly, the unfamiliar feeling making me jump. "I'm sorry, about your parents."

I chew my lip uncomfortably and shrug, taking a drink from my glass. "It was a long time ago; a lifetime ago, really." Now his eyes are sad and I have to look back at my plate because I don't want to see his pity. Everyone had pity for the orphaned-and-abandoned prostitute; I hate that word, but it's how I feel when he looks at me that way. "Will you answer me a question," I ask, talking around the piece of steak I've just placed in my mouth. It's a disgusting habit, Rose hates it, but not one I've ever cared to break. Edward nods, his eyes guarded the way I'm sure mine had been a moment ago. "Why did you stalk me?"

Edward chokes on his laughter and a piece of steak, reaching for his drink while I pat him on the back. "I didn't stalk you Isabella; I'm simply a man of means." I raised an eyebrow at him and I smirks, "okay, perhaps there was some stalking involved. I wanted to be sure you were safe."

I snorted at his response and he, in turn, raised an eyebrow at me. It was much, much more attractive when he did it, I was sure. "I'm perfectly safe Edward, I always have been."

He tensed slightly and I could tell he didn't like the implication in my words. "That's not what I meant," his voice was dry. "It's a dangerous game that you play Bella and I feel drawn to you. Like a moth to a flame, I can't seem to stay away from you beautiful girl and I need to know that you're safe. To think of you… with those men…" he shakes his head and I don't know whether to be flattered, creeped out or pissed off. "I would like you to stop, Isabella."

There was the elephant in the room; the issue that would always be there, no matter who I brought home it would always come to this. "I can't quit Edward, it's my job." I was used to this argument, I had it regularly with Rosalie and I'd had it once or twice before when friends or guys I'd been seeing found out what I did. I could handle the name calling, I expected it at this point, but what I couldn't handle was the sorrow that I saw in Edward's eyes. Those beautiful green eyes shone for me and broke my heart in a very real way.

"I want you to be mine, Bella, and only mine. You should be dressed in silk and diamonds, not sleeping with men to put food on your table."

A part of me wanted to roll my eyes but the seriousness in his tone prevented me from doing so. "It's not like that Edward, I'm not just some two dollar whore standing on the street corner," he flinched at the word now and I wondered if he'd have done so only a few meetings ago. "Yes, my job keeps a modest roof over my head and I won't go hungry, but I want to go to school someday. I've nearly saved enough, but I need just a little more so that I can quit and not have to do… what I do… when I do go. It's not as if I like it."

"A small part of you must," he challenged, not unkindly.

I contemplated his words for a second while I finished the last bite of my steak and started on my potato. "It's a power trip, I'll admit that. When I get dressed up, when I play the part, I'm someone else; I'm desired, sexy and powerful."

"I think you're desirable, sexy," he responded, his voice a pitch deeper. I looked over and he was looking at me with hooded eyes, making me laugh and shake my head. "You don't have to do it you know. I could… I could take care of you, Bella."

This time my laugh came out as a bark and Edward seemed to shut down at the sound, tipping back his glass and finishing the rest of his whiskey. "I'm sorry but that's just a little crazy Edward. I'm not living in some Julia Roberts movie where rich guy falls in love with the heart-of-gold prostitute and promises to take care of her while she cleans up her life. It just doesn't work that way."

Edward stood from his barstool and grabbed my face, just not painfully, looking into my eyes with an intense blaze in his stare. "Bella, you think too much," his lips were on mine in an instant, tasting me with a passion and an urgency like I'd only ever experienced with him. He tasted of meat and whiskey, his tongue teasing my lips apart and delving in like he was clinging to life. Memories of what that tongue had done to me made my thighs wet; I grabbed ahold of his waist and pulled him between my parted legs as he deepened the kiss, if that was possible.

I moaned against Edward's mouth and he swallowed my cries, slipping one hand into my hair and placing the other one my breast. His thumb skimmed over my nipple and it hardened against the material that separated us. I was responsive to his touch, my body on fire where we connected. Our kiss was broken and Edward pulled back to look into my eyes before trailing a string of open mouthed kisses across my jaw and down the side of my neck. He nipped at the sensitive skin and I whimpered, causing him to grin before licking a trail back up to my earlobe and sucking it between his teeth.

"Are you wet for me, Isabella?" I whimpered again and nodded. "Do you feel this fire between us?" Edward placed his hand on the apex of my thighs and cupped my core through my jeans, eliciting a breathy moan. "I want to be the only one who buries himself inside this sweet pussy; I want to take care of you my Bella. You are mine, beautiful; only mine." He pressed harder and found my clit, rubbing it through my jeans. "Do you understand me?" I nodded, my eyes closing as the power he held over me overtook my senses and I raced towards bliss. "Good girl, now cum for me." And I did.