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BIG Thank you and hugs to my Salacious team, Eternally Edward's Girl, Foolforedward, and Katie Boberg.

I love the reviews so much I wish there were more hours in my day to respond to each of you!

OH! I wanted to clarify something with you all... Edward has not cheated on Bella! Some misread but he is still true to her :)

Chapter 29

Epov

As I watch Bella walk into work, I can't help the worry that shrouds me.

"She'll be alright, Sir; Garrett has eyes on her. And after the way Ms. Hale handled Emmett, I would say Bella is covered," Alec says in an attempt to calm me.

"I know," I whisper, unable to say anymore.

"I drafted an email to Miss Weber, would you like to read it?" Alec hands me his tablet.

I read it over, and it looks good to me. I'm sure she'll agree to lunch.

By the time I arrive at my office, Angela has emailed me back agreeing to meet me at noon, at Joe's Chicago. It's lavish and right up Angela's alley. I plan on seducing her to the point of practically coming undone. By the time we leave the restaurant, she will be eating out of my hand.

"Sir?" Alec comes into my office at ten.

"What is it, Alec?"

"I spoke with Garrett. Miss Swan had a brief meeting with James this morning. According to him it went well, and he's taken the bait. They'll be having lunch together this afternoon," Alec affirms.

I feel slight pride that Bella was able to hook James. But in all honesty it shouldn't surprise me, the woman pretty much owned me the second I saw her.

"Very good; thank you Alec." I nod.

.

.

.

On my way to the restaurant, Alec lets me know that Bella is heading into James' office for lunch.

"Wait," I snap. "They're eating in his office? I want eyes on her." I can't help the rise in my tone.

Alec nods and is contacting Jake before I even finish my sentence.

That motherfucker better not lay a hand on her.

"Sir, if I may?" Alec shifts in his seat and puts the partition up to separate us from the driver.

"What is it Alec." I'm angry and annoyed.

"First off, you need to calm down. Going into your lunch like this will set off alarm bells, and Angela will bolt."

"And the second?" I say through gritted teeth.

"Secondly, you knew it was going to be like this. I'm not a fool to think that you aren't going to have to seduce Miss Weber; physically as well as mentally, and neither is Miss Swan," he affirms pointedly.

I let out a frustrated sigh and rest my head on the back of my seat. "Every part of this is horrific," I grumble.

"Agreed, Sir, but it's necessary." Alec is calm but there is nervousness in his voice.

Our conversation ends when the car pulls up in front of the restaurant. The valet opens my door, and Alec exits the vehicle first.

I smirk when I see Angela standing just inside the door, fidgeting nervously.

I know I look good. Carmen made sure my favorite black Versace suit was dry cleaned and pressed. Accompanied with a white dress shirt, onyx tie and sunglasses, I'm pulling out all the stops.

Through my Ray Bans, I size Angela up. Clearly, she is pulling out all the stops too. Her dress is satin, scarlet and sinful. It hugs every curve of her body. Her ivory skin contrasts dramatically against her ebony hair. She is quite lovely, not my Sweet Bird, but lovely all the same.

With her back to me I take the opportunity to sneak up behind her and whisper into her ear, "Good afternoon, Miss. Weber."

She jumps slightly, and I realize just how right Bella was about Angela being on edge. It only makes me worry more about Bella.

"Mr. Cullen," she chuckles and places her hand on her chest in a calming fashion.

"My apologies for frightening you," I say softly.

She shakes her head. "No, it's my fault for not paying attention."

"I will take responsibility for everything if you continue to look this good," I say with a smirk and slowly remove my glasses.

Her eyes widen and her lips part. "You're a charmer, aren't you Mr. Cullen?"

I shrug. "It helps when I have inspiration as beautiful as you." I take the moment to slip my hand to her lower back and guide her through the restaurant.

"Do you know where you're going?" she asks as she surveys the place.

Since this is one of the restaurants in which I have a majority investment, I happen to know that James has never brought her here.

"Of course beautiful." I smile, and she blushes.

The maître d' pulls back the red velvet curtain, revealing a private area. A small table with an elegant wrap-around booth is set to perfection for us.

"Wow," she says breathlessly. "This is amazing." Her eyes wander around the private bubble I've had created for us.

"I hope you don't mind the privacy, I'm not a fan of eavesdroppers." I shoot her a smile." And seeing you dressed like this makes me a little selfish." I caress her bare arm with my finger. The shiver that noticeably runs through her body makes me chuckle. She blushes the color of her dress, and in that moment I realize that this will be easier than I thought. The woman is screaming for attention, this is my forte.

I gesture for her to sit, and she quickly does as I ask. Jesus, she's like an obedient puppy.

After the waiter pours our champagne, I take a sip, keeping my eyes on Angela the entire time. My goal is to make her feel desired, not awkward. I take my bottom lip into my mouth, sucking up the excess champagne that lingers there.

Her eyes focus on my mouth, so for added effect I brush my tongue over my bottom lip; her breath hitches... Perfect!

She clears her throat and huskily speaks, "So, your email said you wanted to discuss the lunch I had with Bella. Can I just start off by apologizing for my behavior and..."

I hold up my hand to stop her and she flinches. The anger I feel coursing through me at the thought of any woman being physically harmed, is apparently evident on my face.

"Sorry, Mr. Cullen, I'm a little jumpy today." She chuckles and sips her champagne. Her eyes dart around the room like a frantic rabbit.

"Angela," I whisper and take her hand. She winces. Her hand is cold and moist. "Are you scared of me?"

She closes her eyes and takes a breath. "No, Mr. Cullen, I'm not."

I stare at her as she keeps her eyes closed and breathes deeply, over and over again.

"Open your eyes Beautiful," I speak softly.

When she does open them I smile brightly at her. "That's better," I say.

I rub gentle, small circles on the palm of her hand. I remember how effectively the calming hypnosis worked on Bella when I had the Q and A with her. I'm positive it can work on Angela.

Her obvious need to be worshiped makes me realize that it would be easier to get to her through a more physical, rather than a mental approach. So I wait until her gaze lands on my actions. Her eyes follow my movements and when I talk, it's soft, seductive and dominant.

"I didn't ask you to meet me so that I could berate you about how you treated Miss Swan." I make sure to refer to Bella as Miss Swan to show Angela my indifference to my relationship with Bella.

"You didn't?" she whispers all the while staying focused on my fingers circling her palm.

"No, I asked you here to seduce you." I lift her hand to my mouth and place a soft kiss on it.

"Wha... what?" she stutters.

"I'm enthralled by you Angela. I'm fooling myself trying to make this bid with Miss Swan work." I place her hand on my cheek and lean into it.

"But... I don't understand." She's staring at our contact.

"All these years, bid after bid, missing my chance to ask you." I sigh. "And when you stood up to Miss Swan at lunch, I would be lying if I didn't tell you it made my cock harder than steel."

She gasps and her nails dig slightly into my cheek.

"Oh my God, Mr..."

"Edward, please call me Edward," I say desperately.

"Edward," she whispers and I smile.

"I love how my name sounds on your lips." I look at her mouth; her parted lips, and I lean closer to her. "Can I taste them? Just once?"

"But..." She looks around the room nervously. "What about James and Bella?"

"It's just a kiss, one tiny..." I inch closer. "Little kiss," I whisper.

"Jesus," she says breathlessly, and I don't let her finish her sentence. I bring my lips to hers, and make her feel the want she's so desperately been screaming for since I entered the restaurant.

I moan as I take her bottom lip into my mouth and suck it gently.

Her hand glides up my arm and grips the back of my neck. She pulls me closer until our chests collide and our kiss becomes hungry.

I think of Bella, her candy lips, her body that sings to me, and her voice that haunts me. This is why I'm doing this; for Bella. I will make Angela think she's all there is in this world for me.

We part when the waiter places our salads in front of us. Normally in a place like this a waiter wouldn't dare interrupt, but I paid extra to encourage them to do so.

"Thank you," Angela says, as she wipes her lip with her finger.

She blushes and chances glances at me throughout lunch. We don't say much and I don't encourage much conversation; I want her to lead.

As our dessert is delivered Angela seems to have found her voice again.

"I thought that Bella was your everything?" she says.

I shrug. "A means to an end, maybe."

Confusion plays across her features. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sure that James has clued you in as to why I bid on her to begin with?" I look at her and she nods. "Yeah well, that was for Maggie. It was a promise I made, but she's more trouble than she's worth." The words feel foreign to me. I would do anything for Bella and to have to tell these lies about her makes me sick.

"Oh," she says. I don't miss the small smile that plays on her lips.

"Can I ask you something, Angela?"

She looks at me with excitement. "Of course."

"I know James won't cancel your bid, because he knows how much I want you and would do whatever he can to make my life miserable. So let me ask you this." I grip her hand like it's my last lifeline. "Say you will accept my bid when this is done; tell me you will climb the ladder of Salacious with me?"

"What?" she gasps. "You want me?"

"God yes, for as long as I can remember. I told you that every time I went to bid on you, someone else snatched you up. Why do you think I cancelled so many bids in the last two years alone?"

Her eyes widen. "I thought it was because Victoria was crazy and Tanya wanted to trap you?"

I chuckle. "No, I just couldn't do it. Everywhere I went, all I saw was you. With Liam then with Peter and finally with James. It was too much. I'd rather be alone."

"Are you cancelling your bid with Bella?" she asks as she pulls herself closer to me.

"I want to, but I fear it will draw James attention. He might see what my intentions are with you." I screw my eyes shut. "Please, Angela, tell me you'll wait for me."

When she doesn't say anything, I open my eyes and find a beaming Angela.

"For as long as I can remember I wanted to hear you say those words. The whole reason I stayed as a bid in the Society was for you. And now, here you are, telling me that you've always wanted me." She grips the side of my face and crashes her lips to mine.

"Is that a yes?" I ask in between kisses.

"Yes, so much yes," she says with a chuckle.

I gently pull her ironclad grip from my face. "Angela?"

She kisses my cheeks, forehead and chin." Mmhmm?"

"You can't tell James," I say and she halts her assault.

"I would never, he'd kill me. How are we going to get through the next months?" she asks as she plays with the hairs at the nape of my neck.

"You let me figure that out. You just keep doing what you're doing. I need to figure a way to keep James off our trail." I take her wrists and go in for the kill.

"If he ever hits you again, you call me!" I snap with a sound of worry and desperation.

She shakes her head. "He checks my cell phone every night, I can't call you."

I nod and turn toward Alec. I gesture for him to come over to the table.

"Sir?"

Send someone to the store, now. I need an untraceable cell phone arranged for Miss. Weber," I snap with authority.

"Wow, really?" she asks.

"I can't stand the thought of his hands anywhere on what belongs to me," I growl as I ravage her neck.

"Fuck," she moans.

"Oh, that time will come beautiful," I mumble into her hair, as I bring my lips to the lobe of her ear and suck it gently.

"I can't wait," she whispers sexily.

She finally lets me go and finishes her dessert. I kiss her one last time before the maître d' pulls back the velvet curtain, revealing us to the world. Alec hands Angela the cell phone before we step outside. He informs her that my number is programmed under one. I watch her get into her town car before walking toward mine.

When the door to the car shuts, I punch the upholstery of the seat and scream. Alec says nothing; the driver keeps his eyes on the road.

When we pull up to my building, I don't get out.

"Sir?" Alec says.

"Take me home," I answer hoarsely.

"Home?"

I snap my head up. "I need a shower," I respond. Alec doesn't say another word. Realization dawns on him, and he instructs the driver to take me to my complex.

As we ride up in the elevator Alec's phone buzzes.

"Hello? Yeah, okay... I will let Mr. Cullen know." He slips the phone back into his pocket.

"You'll let me know what?" I ask only half interested.

"Bella's lunch with James."

I look at him like he just jolted my body awake. "Yeah?"

"It was a success," he says and speaks no more.

"That's it?" I ask.

"He didn't say anymore. I'm sure we'll hear more later."

The elevator dings and I enter the penthouse. I rush upstairs, tear my clothes off and jump into the shower before the water has even had a chance to get warm.

I can feel Angela in all the places Bella has been. I feel like a bastard, like a dirty asshole. I scrub every part of me until it almost bleeds. I brush my teeth twice and still it doesn't feel clean.

The rest of my afternoon is spent pacing the penthouse, waiting for Bella to walk through the door.

Finally, at six o'clock she walks in with Jake.

"Bella!" I say and rush toward her. I don't even think about what I'm doing. I scoop her up and crash my lips against hers.

If she's shocked or upset about my much-needed attack, she doesn't let on. Within seconds her body is molding to mine, and she's kissing me just as frantically as I'm kissing her.

"Did he touch you?" I ask when we part to breathe.

She shakes her head. "Not really, I hugged him though, just for effect."

I wonder if she feels as complete as I do in this moment, touching her skin, inhaling her intoxicating aroma.

I pull her to me again and wrap myself around her as much as my body will allow.

"Edward, are you okay?" she asks as she rubs my back.

"I am now," I whisper.

She looks up at me and smiles faintly. "I'm fine, really I am. He didn't touch me."

I nod. "Alright."

"Did Angela touch you?" She stands a little straighter. "I mean did you…?" She waves her hand at me. My guess is she is asking if I slept with her.

"No, I didn't sleep with her. I did kiss her though," I answer with serious regret.

She nods. "I figured Angela would be needy like that." She caresses my chest with the tips of her fingers. "I can't say I blame her."

She looks me up and down. "Did you shower already?" she asks.

"Yeah, I came home after lunch, I needed a shower."

"That bad?" she asks.

"Bella, I really just want to forget about it for a little while." I place my hands on the sides of her face and tenderly kiss her perfect lips. These are the lips that make sense. Bella is who fills every void in me.

"Okay, Edward, we can forget." She takes my hand and guides me up the stairs.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"We're going to forget." She smiles.

Realization hits me like a freight train. "You don't have to Bella..."

She cuts me off. "I know I don't have to, I want to though."

Her steps don't falter and my grasp never lessens. I follow her upstairs like a thirsty man being led to water.

Without a sound, she opens the bedroom door and leads me to the bed.

"I'm just going to get a quick shower, then we can talk, or whatever." She shrugs as if she's unsure what the "whatever," might be.

"I don't blame you; I scoured myself when I got home." I look down at my arms. They're still a little pink.

I lay back and stare at the ceiling while Bella showers. I listen to the water and her sweet humming that echoes through the room. She seems so at peace, and I'm fighting to stop hell from dragging me down.

"You asleep?" she whispers as she walks out of the bathroom.

"No," I say and sit up on my elbows.

She's wearing a light lavender silk robe. Her hair lies damp over her shoulders; and a kiss of pink dances over the apples of her cheeks.

"You look beautiful," I say softly.

She chuckles. "Edward, listen to me, because I think you need to hear something."

"What?" I ask, suddenly concerned.

"I am aware that you are going to have to seduce Angela. I don't want you feeling bad because you had to kiss her. Hell, I threw myself at James because I figured men respond better to the physical. Sure enough, I think it's what got me the lead I needed." She sits beside me and the power of her aroma washes over me, and I find myself leaning closer to her, greedily taking it all in.

"I hated it," I whisper as I rub my cheek over the arm of her robe. She runs her fingers through my hair, and I involuntarily purr.

"I hated it too," she says.

"It's going to get so much worse," I affirm as I look up into her gleaming eyes.

"Especially, if Emmett keeps getting drunk and professes his love for Rose in the lobby of my workplace," she says with a chuckle.

"He did what?" I snap.

"You didn't know?"

I shake my head. "What the fuck!" I jump off the bed and grab my cell phone ready to rip Emmett a new asshole, when I hear Bella's sad sigh.

Turning, I see her slip off the robe revealing matching, lacy lingerie. Her face looks withdrawn.

"What's wrong?" I ask; my need to talk to Emmett slips from my mind and the need to make Bella smile again becomes my priority.

She looks up. "I thought you were calling Emmett?"

"I was, but you're upset, so I'll deal with it later," I answer and her face instantly lights up.

She was upset that I was pushing her away for something else; that has to be it.

I place my phone on the nightstand, and I smile as Bella purses her lips and narrows her eyes playfully when I start unbuttoning my shirt.

"So, what do you want to do this evening Bella?" I push the shirt off my body and feel the heat rise from deep inside me, when her eyes sweep over my chest. "Are you hungry?"

I unbuckle my belt and her eyes widen.

"I am hungry actually," she says with a voice thick with lust.

I raise my eyebrows. "Really, well, what can I get for you?" I ask as I undo my pants and let them pool to the floor.

"Maybe nachos and a Shock Top," she answers and I burst out laughing.

"Feeling nostalgic?" I ask.

"Well, it does feel like forever ago," she laughs with me.

I walk around to her side of the bed; she turns her body, steps into my embrace; like a magnet to metal.

"I'll give you anything you want," I whisper as my lips claim hers.

"Right now, I just want you. Nachos can wait." Her eyes are filled with a need I desperately want to fill.

"Anything you want, Sweet Bird, you can have all, or none of me."

She closes her eyes, wraps her arms around my neck and crushes her lips to mine once again.

Together we collapse onto the bed. Her touch, her lips, her love; I take it all greedily. And for the first time ever, I let myself love her.

A/N: SO I know a few things that are going on in your heads right now...1) EEW about Angela but please keep in mind Edward is NOT enjoying himself! Regardless of how he thinks Angela is pretty, he's not blind just in love with Bella and can't admit it...

2) WHERE ARE THE LEMONS! Okay... next chapter you'll see it through Bella's eyes promise.

Leave me love :)

Fic Rec:

Deviant by Planetblue ~ The author of Barefoot in Texas is at it again with yet another brilliant tale. Only chapter 1 has posted but you can't help but love this Edward and Bella and the double lives they clearly live!