Chapter 3: The Angel

And there’s always a moment of clarity

In the midst of chaos

I’ve found mine,

Have you found yours?

~Author Unknown

BPOV

Detective Edward Cullen was indeed an angel. His celestial attributes included the lips which fell into a perfect pout, the thick eyebrows that appeared almost animated, and the emerald eyes that held an expression of hope laced with mysterious melancholy.

Even a blind person would take a second look at this man.

The tranquility exuding from him reminded me of lying in a meadow, amongst flowers rustling in the breeze, and only he could bring me to the place where I did not have to be afraid.

I could feel the eyes of both men on me as we sat in that prison-like room. But the Sergeant’s gaze held a different meaning than that of my angel’s.

Sergeant Banner looked upon me as though he were studying a textbook that was only mildly interesting. The answers to the questions of my personal life merely fluttered in the air, never reaching his ears at all.

Detective Cullen’s stare felt watchful, protective, and I was relishing in it.

He seemed to hang on my every word, and I couldn’t fathom why. The way his body leaned forward in the metal chair and reacted in various ways to my different answers made me feel strangely significant to him. Almost like he cherished me without knowing me.

This questionable concern he had for me reached its peak when inquiries of Lauren were brought up, and I lost control of my nerves again. My brain took over as my body went wild with tremors.

I went blank upon the mention of Lauren Mallory as though my mind was waging war with her very name entering my consciousness.

The interview was stopped at that point, the angel once again coming to my rescue when he looked to the fat man next to him and requested they speak alone for a moment.

We exchanged a glance (after the Sergeant spoke a request to me that I barely heard) that practically had me melting in my seat.

In the midst of inner pandemonium, his enticing green eyes managed to silence my world, and with a nod of his head, I was at ease.

He came back in the room alone shortly thereafter, the line of his eyebrows knitted together like he was in deep thought. His focus remained fixed on the floor until he sat down, at which point, he drew in a deep breath and brought his eyes up to meet mine.

“Uh, Bella. I mean, Miss Swan,” he fumbled, “we think a medical evaluation may be a good idea for you after what you’ve been through.”

Did he think I was crazy?

“We just know that you’re upset and may not be ready to talk just yet.”

Confused, I licked my lips and shook my head. “I’m not crazy. I wish I could remember what happened, but I can‘t.”

He leaned forward in the chair, placing his hands on the table in a gentle fashion. “I know you can‘t remember, and you‘re not crazy. We just want to get you checked out anyway, you know, to make sure you’re okay…physically.” He timidly diverted his eyes from mine.

“So I’m going to have to see a doctor?” My tone probably made it no secret to him that I detest doctors. I had had my share of shrinks dissecting my every thought, doctors prodding around my nether regions, and prescriptions for medications I couldn’t even pronounce being filled for me.

My mind reeled with clips of these unfortunate incidents, and I blinked a few times, bringing myself back to the present and the comfort of the man in front of me.

He shrugged, apparently not noticing my chaste anxiety and said, “It would only be a general check-up. And I’ll be the one to take you.”

My eyebrows perked, and with restrained yet still embarrassing enthusiasm, I asked, “You’ll take me?”

Either out of bewilderment or politeness, he chose to ignore the giddiness in my response. Instead, he creased his brow and answered. “There’s something else too.”

He stopped, and I waited for him to continue.

“Do you have a place to stay tonight?” He blurted after a second of apprehension.

The hesitation with which he asked the question did not go unnoticed by me, and I wondered where this discussion was leading to.

“No, I don’t anymore. I’ve only been here a week.” I froze and fought the bile slipping up to my throat. “…She was the only person I knew.”

His eyes nervously scanned the room, while mine stayed locked on him.

What is he thinking about?

Once he stilled his movements, he brought his attention back to me.

“Would you be opposed to staying with me tonight?”

Breathe, Bella.

“Staying with you?” I failed at my attempt to keep my composure, and the words came out sounding strangled.

“Well, sleep at my apartment, I mean.” He clarified.

Keep breathing.

“Um, yeah. I can stay at your apartment.” I bit my lip to hold back my grin.

His mouth turned up in a smile, revealing another heavenly characteristic.

EPOV

Newton managed to set up a nine a.m. appointment for Bella with Dr. Honaker, the psychiatrist that had an office in the next building over from ours. I was undoubtedly nervous at this turn of events as I hadn’t anticipated entertaining Bella for the entire evening.

Ideas of how we’d pass the time and rehearsals of possible conversations we’d have infiltrated my thoughts as we walked out to the parking lot.

I made my way to the driver side of my silver Volvo after having opened the passenger door, allowing Bella to climb in.

I slid into my seat and shoved the keys in the ignition to start the car but was momentarily distracted when I looked down and to my right.

Bella’s dress had hiked up when she sat down, exposing her chafed yet attractive knees underneath. I opened my mouth to ease the tension in my chest and tore my eyes away, turning on the engine and pulling away from the parking lot.

The drive started out silently as Bella kept her head facing the window. She was lost in her own oblivion, fixated on a certain turmoil in her life that I feared I could never understand.

“Do you have any clothes?” I asked to break the ice, knowing the obvious answer was that she did not.

“No.” She responded, peeking at me through her hair. “They’re back at the apartment, and I doubt we can go back there, huh?”

“No, we can’t. But you’re gonna need some clothes.”

Luckily, she didn’t refuse my offer to buy her a few things at the local Forks Outfitters, either because she was too exhausted or too frightened to say no.

She scanned the racks lazily as I looked on, amused at the way her face scrunched up when she studied a certain garment. Finally, she settled on a pair of simple black yoga pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt. I followed her and watched as she grabbed all the necessary toiletries, then began to wonder what she was doing when we started back towards the clothing section.

We passed the tops and jeans and pajamas and kept walking until she stopped at the underwear.

White cotton panties hung next to satin panties in the colors of red, pink, and black.

My face began to flush.

I frowned at myself as inappropriate images of Bella danced around in my head. Even the thought of her wearing the unflattering white underwear seemed to excite me more than the full fledged lingerie I had seen girls wear in my presence.

I looked away but out of my peripheral vision, I saw Bella grab two pairs of the white panties then tuck them in between the pants and shirt she held.

She smiled at me sheepishly, her cheeks just as crimson as mine most likely were, and we headed toward the checkout to pay for the items.

We arrived at my fairly large two bedroom, two bathroom apartment, and I let her in while uttering apologies for the messy state it was left in. She remained quiet during my ramblings, smiling and scanning the living room as I grabbed the empty beer bottles that I had left on the end table the night before and took them to the kitchen.

“I’m sorry. I’m usually not this fucking messy.” I lied.

“It’s not messy. It’s…homey.” She said, smiling.

I chuckled. “Well, I’m glad you don’t think I’m disgusting.”

We stood in the middle of the living room, lost in each other’s eyes for a moment before I snapped out of it and decided to give her a tour.

I grinned at her. “Come on. I’ll show you around.”

I took a chance and brought my hand out toward hers. I gave her an opportunity to refuse, but to my pleasant surprise, she took it and even lightly squeezed when her hand was fully in mine.

I motioned to the kitchen, which was obvious as it was directly off the living room, but she still nodded in acknowledgement. I then led her to the hallway, and the feel of the tender bulb of her thumb running over mine as we walked did not escape my notice.

“My room.” I motioned to the bedroom on the right side without entering or turning on the light.

“Bathroom.” I pointed out, turning my attention to the opposite side of the hall.

We came to the guest room that I fortunately always kept prepared for company, and I flicked on the light.

“This is your room.”

I led her inside while still keeping hold of her hand. I took the bag from her other hand that contained her clothes and other necessities and dropped it on the bed.

“The bed is pretty comfy, if I do say so myself…” My voice fell quiet as I trailed off, sensing the electricity suspended in the air as we stood alone in the silent room where she’d be sleeping. I swallowed hard, and my pulse accelerated in response to the sudden intensity between us.

Before I could stop myself, I allowed my fingers to trace along her soft knuckles as my eyes stayed glued to hers and I exhaled shallow breaths.

She stared back at me, and the warmth and gentleness in her brown eyes captivated me and almost put me in a trance.

You can’t fucking feel this way about her, Cullen.

“Um…,” I glanced at our clasped hands, breaking the trance and said, “I’m gonna go take a shower.”

I smirked when I saw a glimmer of disappointment cross her expression.

With one final squeeze, she dropped my hand and gave me an unconvincing smile. “Okay. If it’s alright with you, I think I’ll do the same.”

An eyebrow cocked involuntarily at her words, but I quickly gathered myself and nodded.

“Yeah, there should be towels and soap and all that shit in there. Help yourself to anything. I’ll be in my bathroom.” I needlessly said.

I left her in the room and scurried to my bedroom, sighing in relief once I escaped the electrically charged atmosphere I had been sharing with Bella.

The connection was intense, too intense for me to be able to handle much longer. I made it to my bathroom and pulled the holster that held my SIG-Sauer P245 pistol from my belt, placing it on top of the toilet.

I stripped off my clothes quickly, desperate for the hot water to calm my nerves and my growing desire.

And I imagined Bella doing the same.

BPOV

Edward held my hand. What excited me most about this was the fact that he didn’t have to. It was absolutely unnecessary for him to lead me through the apartment by the hand, so my heart leapt in elation when the only logical conclusion was that he did it because he wanted to. As he gave me the tour of his home, my smile never faded as I repeatedly glimpsed at our clasped hands, absorbing the sweet comfort it gave me.

Though I tried to avoid caressing his fingers with mine, it was no use, and I couldn’t fight the urge to gently squeeze and trace the lines of his hand with my fingertips as he introduced each room.

Being in Edward’s residence was abnormally comfortable, and I experienced a strange sense of normalcy standing in his full-on bachelor pad. The living room was expectantly unorganized and decorated with the boyish colors of deep blues, dark greens, and black. A large pricey looking flat screen TV sat on a black entertainment center. The kitchen was dull with only the basic appliances on the counter tops as though he rarely went in there.

The guest room was simple, containing a queen sized bed with black bedding and a small dark wood dresser on the other side of the room.

He ushered me in, tossed aside the bag I was holding, then made a comment about the bed that made my heart palpitate.

Why do the words “bed” and “comfy” sound so sexy coming from this man?

The answer was indisputable: This man could make any word sound sexy.

Right then, it happened. He stopped speaking, and the air inside the bedroom began to change.

I knew the room was silent, but the distinct hum of electricity flowing between us seemed to attack my ears, and we just looked at each other.

The hold his eyes had on me made me dizzy, almost triggering vertigo, and the next thing I felt was the rubbing of his fingers over mine.

My euphoria was short-lived, though, as he pulled his eyes away and announced that he was going to take a shower.

I informed him that I wanted to do the same, which seemed to throw him for a moment, and then he walked out, leaving me dazzled.

I timidly made my way to the bathroom after picking up the bag of necessities from the bed and removed my clothes. The moment I shed the last article of clothing, I heard the water turn on in Edward’s bathroom, and my breathing hitched.

Even though there was fifty feet or so separating us, we were now both naked and alone in his apartment, and my cheeks flushed at the thought.

I ran the water in my shower until it was hot, then stepped in.

And I imagined Edward doing the same.

EPOV

I stepped under the hot steam, allowing the heat to wash over my face as I closed my eyes. I tried to concentrate on the task of washing myself, but the water droplets cascading down my back felt like fingertips, and I couldn’t help but imagine that they were Bella’s.

Fuck…

I threw my head back, releasing a heavy breath as images of her delicate hands in her wet hair incessantly started playing on my inner eyelids. I was becoming almost painfully hard as the scene traveled down to her soft neck, her bare shoulders, over the mounds of her pale breasts, then on to her petite waist.

Excitement and tension began to build in every muscle with each passing second, and I could feel that I was gradually losing control as I eagerly anticipated the part of her body I would see next.

Before my lust filled eyes could venture further south, the water turned cold as all the heat had been used, and I reached down to turn it off. I dried off quickly, forcing my body to calm down and stepped into my bedroom to search for my pajamas.

Once I was dressed, I stopped to listen for any movement coming from Bella’s room. Hearing nothing, I decided to walk out of my bedroom towards hers, uselessly convincing myself the whole way that I was only checking on her. When I reached the doorway, I grew brave enough to look in.

The room was dimly lit as Bella had only flicked on the little lamp on the nightstand.

Her back was to me, and she was pulling and tugging at her hair with a brush in a way that made me wonder if she was angry.

Maybe I should knock.

But I didn’t.

Instead, I shakily said her name, and she turned in the direction of my voice.

BPOV

The bathroom began to cloud with steam as I mindlessly washed my body with a soapy blue loofah. My thoughts refused to stray from the exquisite man just down the hall that was currently naked and dripping wet.

As I dragged the sponge over myself, I closed my eyes, and suddenly he was there, and the loofah became his hand.

The feeling of his phantom hand tenderly running over the most intimate parts of my body brought goosebumps to the surface of my skin in spite of the extremely warm water.

My breathing became jagged, and I giggled mutely as I saw his glistening bronze hair, matted with water, and the playful smirk on his pink lips that teased me. My imagination then feasted on the sculpted planes of his chest that my hands ached to explore.

Although I was merely fantasizing, the lusciousness of his body was almost too overwhelming.

Could I handle it, if he were ever actually standing right in front of me?

My gaze proceeded to travel further down his body but was interrupted when the chilliness of the water startled me out of my daydream.

I turned to quickly shut it off and got out, grabbing the dark green towel off the rack to dry myself. I threw on the black pants and long-sleeved t-shirt and brushed my teeth, then turned off the light and shuffled to the guest room.

As I sat on the bed with my back facing the door, I brushed my damp hair and listened for any sign of Edward. I heard nothing at first, concluding with dismay that he must have gone to bed, and continued yanking at the knots in my hair.

But a moment later, I heard my name being faintly called from the doorway, and I turned in his direction.
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