Chapter 95

 

EPOV

For a moment, one brief moment, I thought Bella was going to crack. Hawk’s questioning her about the comment she made of being sure James was not behind the stalking had rattled her. He was intent on her telling him the truth and for that small amount of time I thought she was wavering. Instead the anxiety washed off Bella like an entity all its own. The tears were one thing, the shaking and hyperventilating were something altogether different. She wasn’t ready to spill out the truth and I needed to put a stop to what was happening before the panic took away all of her control.

I won’t lie by saying I was disappointed, yet my feelings on the subject was not what mattered. Holding Bella close to me in support while gripping her shaking hands I pushed back my own regret to give Bella what she needed. Her welfare would always come before my own desires and as I listened to everything that followed my own guilt began to set in.

Perhaps even that was egotistical of me but I couldn’t help it, had I just not mentioned to Jess about calling the police, all of this could have been over. Instead there seemed to be a conspiracy looming with James at the helm or at the very least involved in one way or another. That thought frightened me to no end, mostly because I had met the man and he had no qualms about approaching me. Making snide comments about Bella making sure I knew that he had her first and had ‘broken’ her in for me. His mannerisms were lewd and disgusting as he suggested that Jacob and I shared her even going so far as saying ‘she likes that.’

I hated that asshole with every fiber of my being and wanted him gone from our lives, death would be the optimal solution however life in prison sounded good to me too. Because Hawk was right, James had no respect for the law and definitely no respect for Bella or the lousy restraining order. The piece of paper with a judge’s signature meant jack shit if she refused to prosecute, which was something James was banking on. Personally I was hoping one day she would get fed up or have enough fortitude to put his ass away.

But it wasn’t going to be this day.

That was part of the guilt I was dealing with too, my own desires warring with Bella’s best interest. Had the natural course of the law taken hold, the truth of Evan’s paternity would have been made known. DNA test would have been run, samples could have been matched and without Bella even being aware James could have been charged. If the whole thing was handled correctly there was a chance that Bella wouldn’t have had to do anything. The overwhelming evidence would have been enough to convict, plea bargains could have been made without a lengthy trail. Testimony wouldn’t even have been necessary after all the police already had her statement on file of the attack.

No, it was rape – she couldn’t continue to live in denial of that fact any longer, she had voiced it and I wasn’t going to put my head in the sand to allow her to revert back to refuting the fact any longer. I suppose I was likening Bella to an addict, the first part in recovery is admittance. She had bravely taken that first step; the next one was accepting the truth of what happened to her. There had to be realization of her being powerless to stop it. Once that happened Bella could relinquish all responsibility from herself to lay it solely at the feet of the responsible party – James.

The problem I was having was I wanted an immediate response from Bella, not tomorrow, not next week, next month or next year. I wanted it right that minute and it fucking pissed me off that my own actions were contributing to the postponement. Even with my own burning desire for that piece of shit of a human being to get what he has coming to him, I in no way could have thrown Bella to the wolves. Having the necessary evidence to put James away come from another source would have been ideal. Had the police questioned Karen, and the information came from her my little scenario of his going quietly to jail might have played out. After all there would have been corroborating evidence to support the claims. Having the police question James from out of the blue on his possibly of being the child’s father based only on Bella’s suspicion would have created even more problems.

Problems with far reaching consequences I was sure Bella had not considered which was why when Hawk asked if there was anything else he should be aware of I interceded. I wasn’t exactly sure she was going to say anything yet I had a strong feeling that was where her thoughts had headed. Squeezing Bella’s hand was about all I could do at the time and I was glad she seemed to comprehend the meaning behind it. There were just way too many uncertainties in the second scenario to allow that piece of information to be used. My other fear was despite Charlie’s assurance of keeping everything he heard from the private detective to himself, he just might break down and use it.

Perhaps that was the reason he was having a Deputy question James, then again maybe that decision had more to do with a conflict of interest. After all had it been me I’m not sure I would be able to look at James’s smug face knowing what he did to Bella without shooting him. The reasoning behind someone else running the interview was a question I would have to let Charlie answer himself. One thing for sure Chief Swan was definitely a stronger more rational man then I was.    

Unfortunately rationalism appeared to be a trait which seemed to have skipped over his daughter, who at that moment was in a tizzy over what to wear to lunch with my mother. Personally I couldn’t see what the big deal was; she had half a dozen dresses spewed over the bed and was standing in the closet shuffling hangers around like a man woman. Leaning back on the headboard with my legs stretched I watched in total amazement as Bella come out with two more dresses hung over her arm and one dangling off her fingers.

Standing in front of the dresser wearing only a beige colored bra and panties set, she held each item up to her body scrutinizing the reflection in the mirror with a look of total concentration. Throwing two of the dresses over the end of the bed she took a red one off the hanger and shimmied it over her body.

The long sleeved garment criss-crossed over her breast and hugged her curves until it fell just above the knee. Turning slightly she analyzed her side view, stood a little straighter and drew in a deep breath.

Putting her hands on her stomach she tilted her head back and forth a few times before glancing over her shoulder at me with an inquisitive expression.

“Does this make me look fat?”

My eyes widened in shock, I had been warned by my brothers about this question and I searched my brain for the answer I was supposed to give. Sure I had it right I kept my voice as positive as I could “No baby, that looks great on you” 

It must have been the right answer because Bella smiled “Yeah?”

At my nod she went back to surveying the reflection muttering under her breath “I don’t know…”

Ripping the dress off, she took one of the other ones off its hanger, slipping it over her head she repeated the same process as before. The light Army green colored dress looked like a men’s shirt with a sash tied around the waist. It was contoured to her body with cuffed three-quarter length sleeves, a crisp collar and front pockets.   

Looking in the mirror she asked “How about this one?”

Was she asking if she looked fat or just wanting a general opinion?

Perplexed at the vagueness I figured I should play it safe “That one looks even better”

That must have been the wrong reply as Bella’s head snapped in my direction “So the red one did make look fat?”

When the fuck did I say the word fat?

Swallowing hard I wasn’t sure how to reply, my brothers hadn’t told me anything about the possibility of Bella expanding on the subject, so I was going to have to wing it.

Putting on my best smile in the hopes that if my words failed maybe I could dazzle my way out “No nâhtötse, the other one looked good on you. But personally I like this one better, it’s classic yet seems relaxed and looks very comfortable to wear”

Ah…success

Bella practically beamed at me before looking back in the mirror “It is comfortable… and not too formal for lunch. I could dress it up just a bit with some hoop earrings and a few bangles…yeah, I think this will do”

Who needs coaching from my brothers – I got this shit

Feeling damn proud of myself my shoulders relaxed just as Bella went back into the closet “Now which shoes do you…”

That was my cue to high tail it out of there, getting to my feet I cut her off “I’m going to go let Seth out so we can leave when you’re ready”

Getting down stairs I did leave the dog out before texting Emmett to make sure he was still meeting me at twelve-thirty. When Bella came down she still had on the same dress with a pair of stylish black wedged sandals. Her hair which had been down loose was secured in a ponytail at the back of her neck with a sheer black scarf.  Other than my collar which rested front and center on her neck the only other jewelry she wore was a pair of silver earrings.

Focusing on her hand I realized Bella wasn’t one of those women who wore a ring on every finger, in fact she never wore any at all. That led me to realize that like my collar, my ring on her hand would also be a very predominate claim on the woman who had captured my heart. That train of thought reminded me of the conversation we had over breakfast at her house.

I suppose I had jumped the gun a little in basically asking her to permanently move in with me. However Bella showed no sign of wanting to return to her home, in fact we were there for the sole purpose of getting more of her belongings. I didn’t know what her plans where but if she was going to put the house on the market, the summer was the best time for it. The initial reaction I received lacked any of the enthusiasm I had expected, hell at that time I would have settled for complacency.

The response I received had me worried for a moment that perhaps I had misunderstood and we weren’t on the same page at all. It was only the day before I had order her ring, if she was so averse to living with me, how the hell was she going to marry me?

Pain of rejection was my first response until Bella started stammering out an explanation, becoming so worked up it looked like at any moment she was going to burst into tears. Once she had told me her side I completely understood where she was coming from. And although I knew my family would never treat her adversely I still agreed with her. I had spoken of spending my life with her yet still there was no serious frank discussion about what our plans were. Then again what was I supposed to say?

Yes indeed Bella I want you to be my wife…oh by the way…the ring is on order... you’ll get it when I do.

Not highly likely.

I wanted to surprise her with my proposal, not that I had an extensive plan all worked out, first I needed the ring, then I had to speak with Charlie before even considering the when and how’s. The methodical part of me wanted to plan out every detail so it would be utterly perfect. Something grand and elaborate that Bella would remember for the rest of her life. However there was another part that was saying ‘just be prepared and you’ll know the right moment.’ I was kind of listening to the later voice which surprised me as I’m a man who thrives best on structure. However there was something intriguing about the possibility of my proposal being spontaneous that appealed to me.  Leaving the moment to fate, after all that was how the two of us got together in the first place.

Fate aligned all the events to fall into place so that the most amazing woman could walk into my life.

Damn that was sappy

Yet as much as I would have fought the prospect of some kind of divine interference having anything to do with my life, I certainly could not dispute it anymore. Bella was my destiny; we were brought together at the exact correct moment in time for a reason. If the powers that be can do something as momentous as that, surely I can trust them to let me know the right moment to ask her to marry me.

And after our discussion over breakfast I was absolutely sure that is what Bella was expecting to have happen. Oh, she didn’t come right out and say the words, yet the meaning behind what she did say couldn’t have been clearer. She had absolutely no intentions of ever again living alone in her home. Once I fully understood that point it was a whole lot easier for me to appreciate what Bella was saying.

The state of Washington did not recognize Common Law Marriage, there was no legitimacy in our playing house and therefore no legal rights afforded to Bella. It was a smart move on her part and believe it or not I was proud of her for considering the consequences should something happen to me. Of course my patient understanding was enhanced by the fact that I knew it wouldn’t be long before Bella had the commitment she would need to sell her home.

Until that point my suggestion to rent it out seemed to be a good compromise. It might have been sneaky of me because the business side of leasing the property wasn’t the only reason for the suggestion. It was true the rent would be welcomed, basic utility bills would be covered and the house would not be sitting unoccupied making it a target for vandalism. 

The other motive I had was if Bella rented it out, she would in a sense be forced to move in with me. I had suggested contacting the housing office at the college because they cover leases by the semester not by the year. That would give us a five month time period which I was absolutely sure by then Bella would have the commitment she needed to feel comfortable about putting the house on the market.

“Are you alright?” Bella’s question pulling me away from my internal musing.

“Yeah…I’m fine” shaking my head to clear it while Bella narrowed her eyes at me “I kept talking to you but you looked like you were far away”

“Sorry, I guess I was day dreaming”

“About what?” she wondered cocking her head to the side

“What else…You” that was the truth then again Bella is usually in my every waking thought along with most nocturnal ones too.

“Were you thinking about me being naked again?”

Actually, no but that’s a good idea

“Always nâhtötse. If I had my way, you’d never wear clothes again” the blush coloring her cheeks made me grin as I was indeed picturing her naked, imagining the flush of warm pink spreading over her skin, the added warmth producing shivers that cause her nipples to react and pucker, the feel of her….

“EDWARD!”

My attention snapped to her in surprise “What baby?”

Rolling her eyes Bella let out an exasperated sigh “Nothing…I’ll tell you in the car when your mind is on driving and not what my boobs look like.”

“I can think about both at the same time” I assured her as we headed out the door.

Pulling out of the garage Bella informed me again about what she was trying to tell me in the house. She had talked to Alice and the plan was that my sister was going to be dropping Vinny off around five-thirty.

That would give us a half an hour to get him settled before Jacob and Leah arrived for dinner. Normally dinner with the Black’s would constitute a tex-mex feast. However Leah had been suffering from extreme heartburn so Bella was planning on ‘make your own pizza’ night.

“That should be interesting” I commented at the thought of four grown adults and a five year old boy tossing around pizza dough then adding whatever toppings they wanted.

“Yeah…I thought so and speaking of interesting” My eyes left the road for a moment to see Bella’s excited expression “I was thinking about our bet”

Ah our bet, the one she was going to lose. Ten minutes? I could do that without even trying.

“What about it?”

“Well…” stopping at a red light I glanced over just as Bella announced “…I know what the terms should be”

“I’m listening”

“Ok so…I figured if I win…I get to have Fruity Pebbles whenever I want” my eyes narrowed at the implication of the word whenever and Bella quickly amended “Within reason, which I figure no more than one box every two weeks”

While I was thinking it over she added another stipulation “Oh…and you have to eat at least one bowl with me”

The car behind me beeped and I realized the light had turned green; starting to drive my mind went into negotiation mode “I’ll agree to one box, once a month”

“Once a month!” Bella shrieked but I didn’t give her a chance to finish complaining as I stated my case

“I was told it was a Saturday mornings treat, that makes four of them a month and you should get six bowls out of every box…that will give you two discretionary servings. Plus…”

“There’s more?”

I didn’t mean to chuckle but she just sounded so dejected that I couldn’t help it.

The only problem was you never laugh during negotiations, it’s a sign of weakness and the one point I needed to make could not at all be misconstrued. Giving as stern a voice as I could Bella heard the one condition I would not back down from.

“At the first sign of your eating habits faltering, your prize will be forfeited and there will be no more sugar coated cardboard brought into the house.” giving her a sideward glance I asked “Agreed?”  

Bella nodded and while I focused back on the road in front of me she replied “My food intake has been really good”

“It has, and I’m really proud of you for getting it under control so quickly. It’s not an easy thing to do and I want to make sure it stays that way… capish?”

“Capish” Bella repeated with a grin and I had to wonder “Now what do I get…when I win?”

“Oh…” acting as if it wasn’t even a possibility Bella explained my prize “…if you win…then I just don’t get any Fruity Pebbles…”

“For how long?” It wouldn’t be much of a prize if on the next shopping trip a box miraculously appears in our cart or she’s off eating them someplace else.

“Ummm…three months?”  

That was a sufficient amount of time however I wasn’t sure it would be much of hardship for her to bare and since she was going to make me eat something I figured it only fair she do the same.

“Hmmm…I suggest two months” shifting my eyes I seen the smile on her face “but instead of eating Fruity Pebbles, your Saturday breakfast for those two months will consist of a cereal of my choosing…something that is healthy for you and packed with fiber.”

“Cheerio’s?” Bella questioned hopefully while I shook my head “I think we can do better than that”

“Oh god no…” she groaned “…you’re going to make me eat that crappy Fiber One shit that looks like straw and taste like rabbit food”

“It’s not that bad”

“The hell it isn’t, that stuff has no flavor and besides that, it makes me have to poop…a lot”

I laughed because she was right it was an automatic bowel stirrer “That’s just an added bonus; think how nice and clean your insides will be.” Adding with a smirk “Your colon will thank you for it.”

She sat there in quiet thought for a few moments before groaning “Ugh…I can’t believe I’m going along with this…”

“You could always concede right now, it might be the best opinion especially since you seem to be doubting your skills”

“I’m not doubting anything! You just put up or shut up, because you’re going down Cullen”

I smirked “And here I thought you were the one going down”

“Ha Ha…” Bella laughed sarcastically before sticking her hand out which I grasped giving a firm shake while she announced “Deal” and I agreed “Deal”  

It was just a playful friendly bet between lovers, the odds were fairly even, the stakes nothing more than child’s play. The only real thing up for grabs was bragging rights and to honest even though a few moments before I was so very confident of winning, there was a good possibility I could lose.  Bella had some amazing oral skills, in fact I would go on record to say she the best I ever had. And that was truly saying something; the only problem was I didn’t like to think about how she acquired the talent.

Not that I begrudged her have previous sexual partners – so long as that’s what they were…past partners. It was more the knowledge of knowing she didn’t learn how to massage a cock with her throat muscles simply because she wanted to.

That shit was forced on her.

It wasn’t a conversation we ever had, nor did I think we ever would. I just sort of chalked it up to Bella working through her distaste for oral much in the same manner she did anal sex. Slowly adjusting to the sensations until she could push past the fear and revulsion to the point where it became pleasurable. Then again for all I knew maybe she always found going down on a man enjoyable.

Ugh… I didn’t want to think about my Bella giving another man head. I knew Kim and Leah had at a young age schooled her in the basics with the intention of Jared being on the receiving end of the lessons. It was an education he never got the benefits of and I was very glad about that.

However the asshole certainly took full advantage of the expertise.

Ok, I was wrong, and even though I knew it to be hypocritical I really wished Bella wouldn’t have had any previous sexual partners. The idea of my girl using her body and mouth skills to bring another man pleasure or on the receiving end of…

  

I wonder if the asshole was as skilled at pleasing her.

Something in that thought triggered a memory, Bella had told me that the first time she ever orgasmed from the attention of someone else was with me on her couch. Did that mean the asshole never went down on her? Or was he rough and brutal to the point where it was only painful?

Glancing over at Bella she had a look of pure contentment on her face. She was so selfless, my girl deserved better, and she definitely earned knowing how it feels to be worship. That was one oversight I would be rectifying as soon as possible.

Throughout the rest of the ride we hashed out the finer details of our wager. The time and place would be up to Bella the only stipulations being she had to tell me before actually beginning. She would have exactly ten minutes and the bet had to be decided one way or the other by the start time of our usual Friday evening.  

The mention of the weekend reminded me of the guests we had set to arrive Friday. I hadn’t gotten a chance to speak with Bella about how to handle our usual during their stay. She didn’t say anything about cancelling so I could only assume she wanted to continue as normal. That was something we would need to discuss however at that moment we were just pulling up to Columbia Center so it would need to wait.

The valet quickly came around to the driver’s side, getting out I informed him it would only take me a few minutes inside the building. With a nod and a polite “yes sir’ he got behind the wheel while I met Bella who was stepping past the doorman as he held open her car door. Placing her hand inside my arm we moved into the building and she took in the grandeur of the lobby while we waited for the elevator.

“You’ve never been in the building?” I had known she’d never been up to The Tower but it was still possible that something of a business nature brought her there or that she just went up to the seventy-third floor observation deck.

“No…never” she answered with a shake of her head

The private elevator opened and I inserted my member’s key card so we could ride the seventy-six floors to the top where the exclusive Restaurant Club was perched high above the city. It wasn’t until passing the sixty-fifth floor that the worry which had all but disappeared started to rear its ugly head.  It was at that moment I realized Bella was going to be out of my sight. Completely warranted yet also irrational because there was no way someone could get to her there. Still the thought of leaving my Bella with my mother was almost more than I could bear.

The woman who meant more to me than the breath I took into my lungs gave me a reassuring smile “I’ll be fine Edward.”

Was I that obvious?

Nuzzling my face into her neck I took in a deep inhale of her scent letting it calm my nerves “I know baby”

The doors to the elevator opened and stepping out the first person I saw was my mother. She hugged Bella before embracing me “Hello Edward”

Mom must have been more eager to get Bella alone then I thought as she practically dismissed me “Our table is ready if you’d like to sit down”

Bella only gave a polite smile as she nodded but I wasn’t leaving until I was guaranteed of Bella’s safety “Is dad here yet?”

“No but I’m sure he’ll be along any minute”

Then I wasn’t leaving

“I’ll just wait for him”

“Edward…” resting her hand on my forearm Bella looked up at me through her lashes“…it will be fine. I’ll be fine. You said so yourself, no one can come up here unless they belong and I highly doubt Karen or Mike are members”

“I’ll just feel better about leaving you here Bella”

Cocking her head to the side she gave me them damn puppy dog eyes – those things are so fucking unfair- in an attempt to sway my judgment.

“Please…go met Emmett at the club so you can get done in time to pick me up at Leah’s. Your dad will be here any minute and all you’re going to do is put yourself behind for no reason”

As if Bella’s voice of reason wasn’t enough mom had to chime in “We’ll be fine Edward; I won’t let Bella out of my sight”

I stood there weighing the pros and cons of staying; it was true not just anyone could get up into the restaurant. I did have to meet Emmett and I was on a time schedule so it would be best if I got done with what I needed to do. On the other hand my insides were churning with anxiety, what I had to decide was if it was rational or not. Both women were looking at me with two very different expressions, my mother excitedly hopeful and Bella practically imploring.

Jesus Fucking Christ! What happened to doing things my way?

As soon as the thought ran through my mind I realized we were doing things my way. I had already tried to renege on the lunch date and compromised with the location. Still I would have felt a whole lot better had my father already been there. Sighing, I made sure Bella understood my position on leaving her there without my father present. 

“Don’t you dare get on this elevator without my father? I mean it Bella, if he doesn’t show up, then you call me and I’ll come get you. Do you understand me?”

“Yes…I promise” holding her finger out to pinky swear

Damn it!

I was calling my father as soon as the elevator doors closed because I didn’t like this one bit, yet I still knew I was being irrational.  Wrapping my little finger around hers I gave a tug pulling Bella towards me and nearly begged. “Please be careful”

“I will” She looked so absolutely beautiful I couldn’t help but to lean in for a kiss “I love you nâhtötse”

“I love you too ásgaya” the added ‘Sir’ making me chuckle as I felt all warm inside and I winked at her deviousness.

I had to swallow back my own fears, knowing as long as she stayed in the restaurant Bella was untouchable and I had to trust she would keep her word to not venture out alone. Still it was with reluctance that I agreed.

“Alright” squeezing her body to mine a little tighter I conceded “I’ll go”

The smile on moms face told me she was happy I was leaving her alone with Bella. Giving mom a kiss on the cheek she sounded awfully confident “Don’t worry dear, your father and I will take good care of her”

“Have fun” I told them with a weak smile as I walked backwards into the elevator before reminding Bella “If you have any problems call me and please let me know when you get to your sisters”

“I will”

As the door closed it felt like my whole world had been left behind.

Dad was only about ten minutes behind, or so he said. I wouldn’t let him off the phone until he told his exact location and even then I debated staying outside the parking deck entrance on the third floor until he arrived. It was overkill which my father quickly pointed out by threating to give me some Adivan so I could as he so eloquently put it “calm my shit down.”

“That’s some bed side manner you have there Doctor Cullen” putting as much sarcasm into the responds as I could while still internally debating my options.

“I’m not talking as your physician; I’m talking as your father. You can’t watch Bella every second of the day son, you’re going to drive yourself insane and make her resent you. She is perfectly safe where she is, I’ll see to it Bella gets to her sisters and I’ll even walk her to the door if that will ease your tension. But you have to back off a little bit Edward and give her some space to breathe. Because all you’re doing is making a stressful situation worse.”

Taking a deep breath I knew he was right, I just never been so damn worried about anyone before. The only time I truly feared losing someone was when I watched Mason laying in a hospital bed growing weaker by the day.  Then when the miracle I had been praying for didn’t happen and he died I was saddened and ashamed. Because towards the end, those last two days my prayers were no longer for his survival, they were for an end to his suffering.

That’s what god decided to listen to.

“I can’t help it dad, I just can’t…” my own fears bubbling to the surface caused my voice to crack “…I love her too much…I can’t…”

“I know how you feel Edward; believe me I know what it means to love a woman so much that it almost causes you physical pain at the thought of not being with her. None the less at the prospect of someone wanting to intentionally cause her harm. As a man I understand your anxiety as your father I’m asking you to please try and relax, all the added stress in unhealthy for you”

Standing out on the sidewalk I handed the valet my stub and took a quick glance around for anyone suspicious. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary – then again not really knowing what I was looking for. I mean really what did I expect a guy with huge sign on his back saying ‘Get out of my way I want Bella Swan’

“Where are you at now dad?”

“I’m just pulling into the rear parking deck”

Resigned to the fact my parents cared for Bella I decided to trust them in seeing to her welfare yet I still wanted to be sure “Would you do me a favor…”

Not even needing me to finish the sentence dad answered “I’ll call you the second I’m up there and see that Bella is safe” 

“Thanks” I said hanging up just as my car was brought.

Dad texted a few minutes later with a message but I was driving so I couldn’t read it until after I pulled up next to Emmett’s Jeep in the small lot behind New Moon.

‘Bella is perfectly fine; she and your mother are enjoying lunch and giggling like school girls.’

For the moment I felt like I could relax again and go about my business as if it was just like every other Tuesday. The club needed to be stocked, inventory gone over and the alcohol order checked so we would be ready for the upcoming weekend. It was mundane, typical everyday tasks that needed to be done and I was looking forward to the mindlessness of the work.

Emmett was sitting at Jane’s desk with two beers and a box of pizza “Hey Eddie, I was just ready to start eating without you”

“Sorry I had to drop Bella off, and stop calling me Eddie” He just laughed and lifted the box top of the meat lovers special before twisting off the cap on one of the bottles and handing it to me “So how’s the whole…lockdown thing going”

I took a drink while he opened the other beer without taking his eyes from me “Well lockdown didn’t seem to work so Bella’s sort of …grounded”

Narrowing his eyes Emmett’s head turned just the slightest fraction as if he was making sure he heard me correctly and then he burst out laughing “You fucking grounded her? Oh my god…”

“It’s not funny” I tried to insinuate however his laughter was so boisterous I couldn’t keep the chuckle from coming out.

“You’re right…” he laughed some more “…it’s fucking hilarious… you grounded a grown woman…too fucking much.”

“It was your idea” I reminded him with a grin while getting a slice of pizza.

“I was just teasing little Bells…I didn’t think you would really do it” shaking his head he got a slice adding with a chuckle “Too fucking much. I could just see me telling Rose she was grounded.”

“Well you and Rose have a different relationship, besides I’d be willing to bet if someone was stalking your wife you wouldn’t be so damn understanding either”

Emmett’s eyes narrowed in curiosity “What the fuck happened?”

We ate while I brought my brother up to speed on what had occurred just the day before starting with Bella’s car breaking down and ending with the earlier visit from officer Hawk. Once the pizza was gone and we had each down two beers Emmett leaned back with his hand grasped behind his neck and his feet resting on the desk. For the longest time he just stared at me before his eyes narrowed while he shook his head.

“Something is just not adding up. I mean come you know Newton, would you honestly say he was some kind of criminal mastermind or a wacked out demented serial stalker? It’s one thing for him to put Jess up to breaking in your house, it was a stupid thing to do but it makes sense. But what is he going to gain from hurting Bella? And if he wanted to get to her out of some kind of fucked up loyalty to that Karen chick he could have done that easily. Cornered her right here at New Moon or gotten to Bella before you were even aware of what was happening.”

I wasn’t really following his logic “What are you saying?”

Putting his feet on the floor, Emmett sat forward on the chair with his arms resting flatly on the top of the desk, giving me a pointed glare. “Just think about it for a second, if you were intent on hurting someone or attempting to extract revenge or wanted to make someone suffer, would you warn them first? That’s illogical because the only thing those pictures served to do was cause Bella to be even more unapproachable then she already was. Which leaves me to think…”

I sat there with batted breath waiting to hear what Emmett had to say, pursing his lips he thought for a long moment before telling me something I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear. “…if it is that Karen chick, she’s not trying to harm Bella but rather alert her about someone who is. Or she’s trying to send some kind of message that she thinks Bella should know. That is if it’s her, for all you know she’s with Newton half way to Mexico by now and those pictures were left by some disgruntled husband of one of the women at The Center”

Oh that’s just fucking great, now I have to worry about some anonymous woman beater coming after Bella.

Something in the back of my head clicked, it was a passing comment made by Kim when we were in Forks. She had asked Bella if they ever found out who was sending the threating letters. As usual Bella blew it off,  still the first night we met Jacob was worried about Bella being out alone at night. He had made the comment that with what she did it was unsafe, and he certainly didn’t mean teaching a college course.  

It was possible someone other than Karen was trying to rattle Bella. Although my money was still on the connection the girl had with James as being the source of what was going on. Apparently Emmett must have come to the same conclusion as he said. “I’m tending to agree with little Bells. I don’t think the babies’ momma means her any harm”

“What?” my irritation starting to return.

How the fuck could he say that?

“Just listen” trying to be rational “If she wanted to cause Bella injury, she would have cut the brake lines not sliced a hose. It’s almost like Karen wants to get Bella alone, she wants to talk to her or she has something for her. It’s a fucked up way to go about it, but you’re the one who said she has mental problems, so she’s not thinking right. Karen already tried contacting Bella through normal means, now it’s almost like she is getting desperate. Maybe the best thing to do is get the two of them together”

With that suggestion rational was completely out the window “Are you crazy!”

Even with my raised voice Emmett remained calm “Look I know it sounds bad, but if Karen is so hell bent on getting together with Bella, wouldn’t it be better to have a meeting in a controlled space. Somewhere safe so you could be there with them, because Karen is going to keep it up until she gets what she wants. You just might have to be proactive Edward…”

“Proactive?”

That was the same thing Bella said

“Yes if you could somehow contact the psycho, she would be satisfied, you would know what the fuck she wants and then you could stop looking over your shoulder wondering what the fuck is coming next.”

What he said made sense yet there was just one thing I needed to know “And you would be ‘proactive’ with Rose?”

“I think I would” Emmett said after a moment of thought “I sort of already am with contacting the DA. She’s scared shitless, and I’m worried for her but it’s better than letting the shit come to us. At least this way we can be mentally prepared rather than being sucker punched”

With everything going on with Bella I had forgotten all about what was happening with Rose “How’s she doing?”

Pain laced Emmett’s face as he shrugged “She’s hanging in there, mood swings are driving me insane but I don’t know if those are from stress or the whole pregnant thing. Little Bells put Rose in contact with someone who is going to accompany us to the DA and that made Rosie feel better. She is going tomorrow to talk with woman at The Center so we’ll know more after that.”

“If you need anything” it was a small consolation to my brother who looked so defeated.

Narrowing his eyes he asked “Have you ever been to The Center?”

Giving a nod I wondered “Are you going along?”

“I’m not letting my wife go alone, I was just wondering what it was like. Am I going to see a bunch of women with black eyes and broken bones?”

I thought back to one time I was actually inside the building, it was the day Bella had gone to save Sally and I ended up carrying the battered woman up the stairs to the infirmary. She had a black eye and her ankle was so badly injured she was unable to walk yet that was the only woman I saw so I couldn’t be sure.

“You might see a one or two but I think you’ll more than likely remain in the area where the offices are.”

“They keep it separate?”

“Well the women live there and I guess they try to keep it as normal of a home life as possible…do they know you’re coming?

“I don’t know…why?”

“They don’t allow men to be there.” I got a look of pure bewilderment “You go there”

“I’ve only ever been in the building one time, and they called me to go down there because Bella was missing”

“Where the fuck was she?”

Just thinking about the stunt she pulled was enough to piss me off all over again “Bella decided it was a good idea to go rescue one of the women. So against The Center’s policies she drove to ….((9)) and to keep from being interrupted she turned off her phone. She didn’t tell anyone what she was doing, so no one knew where she was and they couldn’t reach her by phone. So dad called me wondering if I had heard from Bella or if I knew where she was. I got to The Center; everyone is frantic wondering what the heck happened to her. And then about half an hour later Bella comes back with two small children and the woman who she went to rescue. Who was all bruised and bloody and unable to walk so I had to carry her up the steps. I was furious, it was one thing to go put herself in danger but a whole other thing to turn off her phone. I was so damn mad I had to call Aro for a pep talk before I could even think about how to handle Bella.”

The last thing I expected was laughter “Bet she couldn’t sit down for days”

“No…I told you I don’t hit Bella” Emmett raised his eyebrows and I quickly amended “not as punishment.” At his knowing nod I continued “Sometimes it gets difficult to be creative and work around the no spanking clause. There are times when I think this would be a whole lot easy if I just spanked her. And believe me when I say there have been times when it takes everything I have to not just put her over my knee instead of coming up with an alternative method.”

“So what was your alternative?”   

I debated telling him but then figured there was no harm in it “I wrote my name on the bottom of her foot in permanent marker.” Not completely sure if the look I was getting was skepticism or amusement I went on “I told her if she was going to walk all over me, she might as well do it with my permission. Then she wasn’t allowed to orgasm until all the marker had worn off her foot”

“How long did that take?”

The smirk on his face telling me it was more amusement which I really didn’t share. It was the first harsh punishment I gave Bella and probably the one that sticks in her mind and has the most lasting effects.

“Four days” I said stoically and warned ‘Don’t tease her about it, the whole thing is done and over with and she’s learned her lesson.”

“I won’t say anything” giving me the boycott pledge before shaking his head with a grin “How the hell did you think of that? I mean is it something you’ve done before, the foot writing?” 

“No…had it been anyone else a good canning would have taken place, but I can’t do that with Bella. So I was thinking how to dispense punishment and the idea just came to me. And I have to say, it was very effective. I can pretty much guarantee Bella will never turn her phone off again”

“Uh…” he huffed gathering up the garbage “writing on her foot, I might have to try that with Rosie”

It was my turn to laugh and I did “Can I watch? Because I want to see how far up your ass she can shove the marker”

He grinned “Yeah I guess that wouldn’t work very well”

It wasn’t even a possibility, sometimes I wondered if Rosalie had a submissive bone in her body. She played at it and there were times she acted the part but never for any length of time and certainly not with any life altering consequences. She was a True Play Submissive who on occasions was just as comfortable being The Top.  That worked well for Emmett as his taste had always leaned towards the sexual side of D/s play where mine was more all-encompassing.

We had already wasted enough time sitting there for over an hour and I was on a time constraint, picking up the files Jane had laid out of her desk we got to work. Emmett started on the third floor with stocking and preparing the private rooms. I started on the second floor bar area to replenish and take an inventory. Since Laurent and Mike were gone I wasn’t expecting to find anything out of the ordinary.

Laurent’s dismissal was a blow to Aro, he was more than upset at the idea someone he trusted would betray him. I didn’t get the full story out of my uncle just that Laurent had indeed given out information. Most of it all having to do with the operation of New Moon, Caius had received bank account numbers, access codes and income receipts. The one saving grace was it was all business related, Aro’s personal accounts were inaccessible. There wasn’t much Caius could do with the information he received, it’s not like any of it was going to help him in his cause. In fact it seemed unusual that he would go to such great lengths because of the sale of some stock options that were already sold. It’s not like he was going to be able to buy them back, unless his intent was to find something incriminating against Aro and Bella. Maybe he thought if the news was filled with enough scandal perhaps he could in a sense black mail them into relinquishing ownership.  

Caius was another problem all together, his underhanded schemes were about to get him sanctioned from the club. Once Aro got back from vacation, his membership was to be stripped, his name removed from the book and he would have no more access to the property. I had suggestion Aro take care of the problem before he left but there just wasn’t enough time to handle all the legal issues. So we had been warned to allow Caius his normal access but to keep an eye on him. I would also have to remind Bella about not speaking with him. I figured he would sort of surmise his time was short and I didn’t want him making any last ditch efforts at confronting Bella. 

Personally I was hoping the man didn’t come anywhere near the club, he had to know that Laurent’s firing had something to do with him. If I was in his place, I’d be so embarrassed by my actions I’d never show my face again. But that was me and my momma raised me with class and dignity, which were qualities it seemed Caius didn’t process.

I was so lost in thought and tallying the alcohol bottles that the ringing of my phone startled me, looking at the caller ID I was slightly apprehensive as I answered “Hi Mom, everything alright?”

“Everything is fine.” Breathing out a sigh of relief as mom questioned “Now when are you planning on proposing?”

Completely caught off guard I stammered out “Ah…Ah…what?”

“Don’t you play dumb with me Edward Anthony Cullen; your father already told me you were planning to go ring shopping. I want to know when, where and how because you’ve played the field long enough. Now I see my new daughter in sight, so you better do everything within your power to secure her hand…because I want her”

Wow, that must have been some lunch date they had

  

“You want her?” for some reason that statement made me laugh

“It’s not funny Edward. There is only so much a mother can put up with. You are going to be twenty-eight years old. It’s time, and Bella is absolutely perfect”

Finding humor in my mother’s demanding tone yet I said with just a hint of smugness “I’m glad you approve…”

“I do very much; I liked Bella before, now I just love her. She is everything I would want for my son and she’s going to make a wonderful Cullen. ” Happiness bubbled inside at my mother’s words; I knew Bella fit right in with my family. Hearing the second most important woman in my life approve so adamantly with my choice for a wife was better than I could have imagined.

“Now…when are we going shopping?”

“Going shopping? For what?”

“The ring…don’t you want me to go along? I helped your brother with Rose’s ring and even went with Jasper to give some ideas”

She did?

“It’s already done mom, I ordered it yesterday”

“You what? Edward what did you get? How many Karats is it?”

“Mom” I tried to stop her buts she just kept rattle off questions

“What about the color and clarity? Did they show you the scale? What shape did you get?”

I tried again with a little more force “MOM”

 “Did you get yellow gold or white? Where did you go? Did you look at more than one?”

“MOTHER!” Finally having to resort to yelling so she’d shut up

“What?” the happiness she had seemed to have diminished but there was no need for her to worry.

“I’ve been glancing at rings for a few weeks just toying with the idea but nothing struck me as being perfect. Yesterday I went to Santorum’s…”

“Santorum’s? Why didn’t you go to Tiffany’s or Cartier’s they have a beautiful selection”

Yeah, overpriced, over rated and mundane

“Because Demetri Santorum is a friend of mine, I told him what I wanted and he is personally designing the ring for me.”

“So it’s done?” she sighed on the phone “I wish you would have let me help you, the ring is very important Edward…what size karat did you get?”

I figured it would be a good thing to just tell my mom everything I knew or we would be here all day “I order the band in eighteen karot white gold, with lots of little diamonds and sahpires to make it sparkle. The center stone is square and weighs somewhere around two karat’s”

“Two? That’s all…both your sister and Rose have over three…ohhh…” she grumbled “…I should have gone with you…” letting out a sigh she finally said “well I guess it’s done…unless you can call them up and tell them to go bigger…I wouldn’t want Bella to feel slighted…”

Has she met Bella?

“Mom, Bella is a simple person who likes simple things. I could give her a piece of glass and she’d be happy”

“Edward every woman wants diamonds and the bigger the better” I was going to dispute that claim when mom chimed in “Oh and by the way Bella absolutely loved the banquet room at The Tower.”

Why the hell did she take her to the lower level banquet area?

The question was on the tip of my tongue when mom quickly added “But don’t worry I made it seem like it was just part of the tour so she didn’t catch on”

“Catch on to what?”

“That I was showing her the hall for the reception…”

What?

“Now about the proposal…how are you going to …”

The conversation was going into a direction I didn’t want to get into and it needed to end “Mom, I’m in the middle of work here and I have to get done so I pick Bella up on time. Can we talk about this later?”

“Oh sure, we have some time to get specifics out of the way, but don’t wait too long because it can take over six months for dresses to come in and then we need time to allot for alterations…”

Mom was going on and on about dresses and ordering invitations and registering and hiring a Harpist and I think she said something about live Swans before finally running out of breath. After she had inhaled again mom’s tone of voice became almost reverent “I’m just so happy for you Edward. Bella is going to be a wonderful wife and give you beautiful babies.”

“Yeah” There wasn’t much else I could say.

The wife part I totally agreed with, the beautiful babies’ thing had no bearing on my life. I just hoped that in her zeal to be accepting of Bella my mother didn’t inadvertently say something to cause her any sorrow. If in her Esmeish way she wants to go on and on about babies she had better keep those comments reserved for my ears only. Better yet she should just keep out of our business altogether, and that’s what I was going to have to tell my mother.

Based upon our short little talk it was fairly obvious my mother had some elaborate monstrosity of a wedding planned. She was excited and certainly means well and I’m sure given another girl mom’s plans to rival ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ would be well received. However this was my girl we were talking about. Mom might think all women want big flashy diamonds and grand princess style weddings but something tells me she is very wrong. I just hoped when the time came my mother wouldn’t be too disappointed when all of her plans fall through. Because when it came right down to it, Bella will have what she wants. And it didn’t matter to me if that was a drive to Vegas, a backyard picnic or a royal extravaganza. The only thing that matter was at the end of the day she’d be Mrs. Edward Cullen

Oh yeah…I liked the sound of that

The rest of the afternoon went off without any problems, all the inventory was accounted for with absolutely no discrepancies. I placed the order for Thursday’s delivery, spoke with Emmett about weekend coverage and emailed Aro to tell him everything was taken care of. Just as we were getting ready to leave my phone rang with a number I didn’t recognize. Answering tentatively I was rather surprised to hear from my favorite Seattle Police Officer. The man was actually cordial as he explained that Jess was brought in for questioning.

He himself conducted the interview via the internet and after about an hour she did finally admit to the break in at the house. When asked why she allowed Newton to influence her behavior Jess replied said her and I were having an affair. She agreed to place the listening devise in the house so she would know and could warn me if Bella found out.

The girl was fucking delusional   

Perhaps I had been wrong about Officer Hawk’s job performance because he assured me that story only lasted a few minutes. Other than pure jealousy and spiteful retaliation Jess had no good excuse for her actions. Right before hanging up Hawk informed me that there still was no contact with Newton and he was absolutely positive Jess didn’t know his whereabouts either.   

After taking it all in I had to ask “So what happens to Jessica?”

“Right now she is being held until she has an arraignment, then I won’t lie to you she will probably be out on bail and I would think more than likey probation is in her very near future. That is if you continue to press charges” He sounded unconvinced 

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Miss Stanley seems to think that due to your ah…friendship…you wouldn’t follow through”

“Oh…believe me I’m following through”

“Good… wish all citizens felt that way”

There was no need to ask because I knew the comment was directed towards Bella. He wanted the same thing I did, to put a sleazy rapist behind bars. The thing he didn’t understand was Bella needed to come to the conclusion to report him on her own. Forcing her was only going to make it worse. Looking over at Emmett I was reminded of the conversation we had. It was right after Bella freaked out over the canning demonstration at the club. The nightmares kept her from sleeping, she was irritable and moody and I wanted so damn badly to just shake her and demand to be told what the problem was. Emmett with his own words of wisdom told me in order for Bella to truly heal she would have to do it at her pace. He equated the process with popping a pimple before it was ready, all you do is get the stuff on top without touching the nastiness that lays beneath.

Bella was making progress, she just needed a little more time before really giving it a squeeze and Officer Hawk had to understand that. “She’s afraid”

“Of what?”

The best I could make him and me understand was to just lay it out on the line “Have you seen the report? The aftermath of what she went through, the disgrace, derogation and disgust she feels about herself. Do you know that it has taken all these years for her to even admit she was raped? The pressure you’re putting her under is only creating more guilt and shame.”

“Alright then you say the name”

Damn wasn’t he fucking listening?

“I can’t do that”

“Can’t or won’t?”

Both

My quietness only made him more determined “You know Mr. Cullen you can be charged with obstructing justice”

If he was going to go there I could play hardball too “I don’t know what you are referring to, I don’t know anything”

“Alright” he said with a sigh “have it your way but when Ms. Swan’s ready…”

“You’ll be the first to know”

Hanging up the phone I had to wonder once again what it was going to take for Bella to do the right thing. I could understand the reluctance but I knew my girl and before she could ever think about making that call she was going to have to come face to face with cold hard reality. In a sense she was going to have to hit rock bottom.

Looking up I was met with my brother’s concerned stare. Emmett had heard much more then I wanted him to. At the moment he was dealing with his own emotions on the subject and I certainly didn’t want him to start badgering Bella on civic obligations. I wanted to ask him to please be discrete about what he had overheard but I really should have had more faith in him.

“We good to go?” He wasn’t going to bring up the subject yet in his own way he was asking if I wanted to stick around and talk about it.

I did and I didn’t

No matter how much it would have been nice to get the dirty secret out into the open, I couldn’t do that to Bella.

Giving a nod all I could say was “Yeah”

Clapping me on the shoulder he changed the subject to some mindless chat about baseball, we locked the door and left.

It was after four when I pulled into the small driveway on the side of Leah’s, ringing the doorbell brought the barking of a dog.

How the hell did Set get here?     

I was slightly pissed that Bella had walked to get the dog, at least I was until she opened the door. That was when all the blood in my body converged in my dick and I’m not embarrassed to say I fucking moaned. Bella answered the door wearing nothing – at least it looked like nothing – except for some kind of fur wrap. Her hair was up in the way I often requested, with the silver hair combs I had given her tucked into it. The soft fluffy fur was draped across her back leaving the length of her neck exposed with just a hint of bare shoulders.

“You’re late” the smile wasn’t one of irrational at my tardiness it was more of…eagerness.

What the hell does she have in mind?

I could play along “Just a few minutes, I got hung up on a phone call”

“Well I forgive you”

“I don’t know if I forgive you.” The joy remained even as she tilted her head in confusion which I quickly clarified “Do you always answer the door naked?”

“Only on a Tuesday and when I know there’s a handsome man on the other side of it”

I felt a nudge on my leg and remember the dog “How did you get Seth?”

“I brought him with me, he seemed lonely at home” she said dismissively

She did go home!

“Come on…” she said taking my hand

“Bella?” grasping her elbow “When did you go back to the house”

“After lunch”

“You promised you wouldn’t go anywhere without my dad”

She looked at me through narrowed eyes “I didn’t, Carlisle took me there. He even insisted on coming into the house with me.”

“Oh…” releasing her arm something else struck me “…dad let Seth ride in his car?”

“Of course” she said rising up on her toes to place a kiss on my chin. Taking a step back Bella slowly turned lower the fur on one side and looked seductively over her shoulder at me.

“Come on big boy, we only have ten minutes and need you to undress”

Frozen…I was caught in the force of her stare, I heard the words but they didn’t completely register until Bella giggled.

Undress? Ten minutes? The bet?

Bella giggled again and started walking towards a door under the stairs and I followed her like a lost puppy. I was definitely game for the bet; my dick was throbbing so hard I thought it was going to explode. It might have given Bella an unfair advantage but that was alright because just the thought of her warm mouth engulfing me was sending tingles up my spine. The excitement was overwhelming and I was kind of gitty as I wondered where Leah was. Did she have to step out for a few minutes; is that part of our time constraint?

Coming to the doorway Bella had just entered my eager anticipation came out in the slightly shaky tone of my voice “Where’s your sister nâhtötse?”

The room was not at all what I was expecting, muted lights, camera equipment and a very pregnant woman with a smirk on her face “Hi Edward”

My attention went to Bella who was giggling like crazy “You should see your face”

Oh she was going pay for this one