A/N: I want to take a moment to acknowledge a review I got yesterday expressing very valid concerns. I want to thank you for bringing those to my attention and I definitely took them to heart. I am going to be taking care with the rest of the story to hopefully address them.

Happy reading!

12

He pulls back to look at my face, wearing a surprised expression, obviously not expecting those words to come out of my mouth. "Bella…" he starts but doesn't finish. It's clear he doesn't know what to say.

"Please." I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him in close. "Just be here with me." I repeat his words from earlier, placing a soft kiss against his lips.

He searches my face for a moment more. He must find what he's looking for, because in the next moment, his lips are on mine. This kiss is softer than all the others we've shared, and it's better, an even give and take. It's not about dominating the other, we're coming together as one.

Without breaking contact with my mouth, he carries me for the second time tonight to his bedroom. He placed me down next to the bed and I gasped for breath when he freed my lips, his mouth going to my neck. My body felt like a live wire everywhere he touched.

The shirt I was wearing hit the floor as we started to walk backwards, the back of my legs hitting the mattress. My hands go to the waistband of his boxer briefs, pushing them off his hips.

I yelped when he lifted me again, his knee coming down on the mattress as he walked on his knees to the top of the bed, placing me down on the pillows.

"Bella," he swallows, looking serious. "No matter what happens. I'll always be here."

My heart clenches at the truth in his words. No matter what we wake up to in the morning, he'll still be here. He'll still be my best friend.

"Wait." I say when he reaches to his bedside table, making him pause. "I want it to be just us."

His intense green eyes meet mine, brow furrowed. "Are you sure?"

I nod. "I'm sure." I swallow. "I'm on the pill and I'm clean."

"I am, too." He assures me, not that I expected anything else.

"I trust you." I trust him probably more than anyone. I trust that after everything that's happened, that tomorrow, he'll still be my best friend.

His lips meet mine as he starts to enter me, my fingers digging into the skin of his back. The feeling of him with nothing between us is an intense experience. As he bottoms out, I tilt my head back against the pillow, trying to catch my breath.

Edward places his forehead against mine as he starts to move. It's slow, slower than any other time, and that much better. Our lips meet, my hands roaming the skin of his back, feeling the muscles working beneath his skin.

"You feel so good." He groans, capturing my lip between his teeth.

I met him thrust for thrust, my nails digging into the sweaty skin of his back. My head rolled to the side, biting my lip as it became too much. One of my hands clutched the bedding, feeling my orgasm starting to build.

"Faster." I speak against his lips, feeling his hand come behind my knee, moving my leg to his shoulder. My back arches against the bed, feeling him go deeper, his movements speeding up as we continue to move together.

"Like this?" he asks, and I nod in response.

I lose track of time as I give myself over to the moment, my climax simmering beneath the surface. I didn't want it to end.

"I want to feel you come for me." He whispered in my ear, sucking the lobe into his mouth, a shiver rolling through me.

"Edward." I say his name, the intensity of the feelings stirring in my chest overwhelming me.

"I'm not going anywhere, Bella." His eyes burn into mine, searing into my soul. "I'll be here." He always knows what I need, and I feel tears burn my eyes.

When I come, I call his name, the intensity of the climax surprising me.

And it changed everything.

See you tomorrow!