Her soft, lithe fingertips trailed across the cool skin of my back leisurely. The harder she pressed against my skin, the more relaxed and unperturbed my muscles became. I lifted my head off of the pillow slightly to glance over at her. She lay on her side, her eyes following her hand as it moved up and down my back slowly. I removed one of my arms from beneath the pillow to place my palm against her flushed cheek, letting my thumb glide across her lips gently. Her lips parted faintly at my touch, resulting in a gust of her warm breath fanning over my finger.

A sudden desire to feel her sweet breath against my lips made me act on pure impulse. Using my other arm as leverage, I propped myself up on my elbow and leaned towards her. I scanned her expression quickly as she watched me close the distance between us, her eyes flitting to mine momentarily before I met my lips with hers. Moving my hand from her cheek to cradle the back of her neck, I added more pressure behind the kiss and parted my lips against hers. The moment I felt her tongue glide across my bottom lip, a breathy groan escaped my throat and any form of self-restraint I had left, deteriorated.

"Bella..."

Our tongue's danced hungrily together, battling for dominance that neither of us were willing to succumb to. Bella pushed against my bare chest forcefully, breaking the kiss in order for her to tug her shirt off over her head. Once she'd done so, I curled my hand around her waist and dragged her small body beneath mine, placing every line of mine against hers. A small smile played across my lips as I saw the unadulterated lust pooling in her eyes, but instead of kissing her again, I placed my lips at the hollow beneath her ear and gradually made my way down her neck, covering her neck and chest in small, wet kisses. I felt a sudden tremor course through her and I glanced up at her inquiringly. Her bottom lip was caught between a row of white teeth and her eyes were shut blissfully. I grinned to myself as I leaned down to place my lips against her skin once more. I left a trail of kisses around the curve of her bra, gradually making my way down past her bust and towards her smooth stomach. I slid my body lower above hers, making it simpler to shower her in kisses. Her skin was so soft and warm beneath my mouth and I abruptly allowed my tongue to slip past my lips and taste her skin. At that abrupt moment, a quiet moan reached my ears and it took everything in my power to not be one with her.

I let my tongue glide down the V shape of her hip until I reached the hem of her shorts, her moans escalating the lower I went. Biting my lip, I moved up her body swiftly and smashed my lips against hers. "Edward..." she moaned quietly against my lips.

"I've missed you so much, my love," I whispered, pulling out of the kiss to gaze down at her.

Bella's brow furrowed and she averted my gaze. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything. I know I should've said goodbye, I should've called, should've come back to you sooner-"
"Bella, stop. It's okay. It hurt me, a lot. I missed you and I couldn't understand why you'd leave me that way. But...I understand why you did. Your mom needed you. I get why." I said, cutting her off and tilting her chin in my direction between my thumb and forefinger. "I have to be honest with you, I did some bad shit while you were gone. Many of which I'll regret sooner or later. But everything will be fine...everything will be fine as long as you're here with me, again. As long as you're home."

She nodded and stared up at me with apologetic eyes. I leaned down to press my lips to her forehead gently and wrapped my arms around her shoulders, crushing her to me in a tight embrace. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, Edward," her sweet voice whispered into my neck.

Bella was here with me, in my arms again, she's my real home. I chuckled darkly to myself at the thought because we were in my actual home, well Stephen's home now. Thankfully, he won't be back until a few hours because of his job. I brought Bella here because she'd never stepped foot in this house before and because she pleaded to be alone with me, so I unfortunately complied. I hadn't been here since the last time I instinctively showed up to play. A pang of deprivation and guilt sliced through me at the thought of not playing again. That was the one thing, apart from Bella, that kept me sane, that kept my feet planted solidly on the ground: my piano.

A sudden crash emanating from downstairs dragged me out of my thoughts. Every muscle in my body stiffened instantly, I could feel the vein at my temple pulsing vigorously as I quickly met Bella's perplexed gaze. I knew what it was that was making the ruckus downstairs, or better yet who. He was home early today. "Stephen."

Maneuvering robotically, I leapt to my feet promptly and kicked up Bella's and my shirts, catching them in the air. Tossing her hers, I pulled mine on over my head and waited for her to slip hers on.
"Edward?" she asked, rising from the bed to stand in front of me, running a hand through her hair. "What is it? Is that Stephen, your step dad, downstairs? Oh, can I meet-"
I flinched slightly, "I'd rather we avoid him. Let's go."

Seizing her hand in mine, I tugged her along behind me as I swiftly exited my bedroom and ambled down the staircase that led to the kitchen by the front door. I kept my gaze forward, locking it straight on the door as we approached it but a scuffed black boot stepped in my path before I could take another step. I dragged Bella's body completely behind me, blocking her from Stephen's line of sight, and gripped onto her hand firmly.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here," Stephen slurred scornfully, "I was wondering who that nice silver car parked out front belonged to. How'd ya snag that one? And who do ya have there, eh?" he sneered, motioning towards Bella and taking a small step closer.

I shoved Bella back as far but as gently as I could and took a large step towards Stephen, leaving me inches away from his grimy, oily face. "Listen to me carefully. You don't speak to her, you don't ask about her, you don't even look at her. We're leaving now."

Stephen chuckled darkly, his reeking breath wafting across my face. "Oh, but I'd rather you stayed a while. I'd love to get to know your little friend here. What's your name, darlin'?" he asked her, beginning to side step me.
Before he could make any other move though, my jaw snapped furiously, and I shoved my palms out against his chest, sending him soaring towards the ground.

Stephen's head snapped up in my direction, a menacing glint sparkling in his vile eyes as a slight grin spread across his face. "Not the smartest thing to have done right now, Edward."