Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I do not own them.

Legally Bound

Chapter 11

EPOV

Before our night on the roof last month, an act as simple as brushing my teeth would have been a minor part of my morning routine. Something I did involuntarily while contemplating my day. But as we stood side by side in her bathroom, brushing our teeth wearing only our underwear and our hair still damp from our shower together, I had a moment of clarity. Everything about my life was right and she was the everything that put it all together perfectly.

I hadn't realized that I had completely stopped mid-brush when the lightbulb went off in my head. I found myself smiling, as my eyes locked with hers in the mirror just as she dropped her brush into the holder on the counter. She bent forward to rinse and I let my eyes trail down her body. Past her nipples barely restrained by the black lacy bra, over her sun-kissed skin that I knew felt like silk under my touch, and down to her delicious lace covered ass, which I openly admired while leaning back from the counter to get a better view.

"See something you like?" Her voice sounded like sleep, sex, and satisfaction. My body tingled in anticipation as she turned and looked me in the eyes. Judging by the smirk that covered her beautiful face, she was in as playful a mood as I.

"Maybe," I said, dragging out each syllable as I spoke before removing the toothbrush from my mouth, bending over to rinse, then turning sideways so that we were face to face.

She brought her hands up to my chest and skimmed the tips of her fingers slowly down my chest. She grazed my nipples and moved lower to grip my cock through my boxers before reaching around to plant her hands firmly on my ass, pinching hard. She gave me that she-devil look the whole time. The one I loved. The one that brought a different kind of fire to her eyes.

"Ow, woman!" I flinched. Laughing, I reached behind and grabbed her hands, trapping them on my ass. She laughed along with me and kissed my chin. Her lips, so soft, warm. There was nothing in the world like kissing this girl and just to show her I was ready to play, I bucked my hips forward, rubbing hard against her soft skin as my boxer briefs strained harder. I dipped my head, placing a kiss to her forehead and inhaling her scent. She smelled like summer time, fresh and slightly floral. I actually think it was some type of magnolia scented spray she used. Her sheets were covered in it, making me want to steal her pillow case and carry it around with me all day.

"You probably shouldn't start something you can't finish." Her words brought me out of my fog. When I pulled our hands around and between us, she stole a glance down at the bulge in my shorts as if I needed to know what she meant. I laughed out loud because I fucking knew I could finish it on the bathroom counter, up against the wall out in the hallway, in the bed or anywhere she wanted it finished. I was her man and work, be damned.

"You really shouldn't have said that, baby." My voice grew raspy and didn't really sound like my own. I flashed her wicked grin and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer as she snaked her hands up my arms to rest on my biceps.

"I'm not scared of you, Eddie boy."

I growled a little because even though I hated that name, I realized that it sounded awfully sexy as it rolled off her lips.

"Fuuuuck. You've done it now." I laughed and in one swift motion I moved my arms down her legs, grabbed her by her knees, and threw her over my shoulder. She immediately squealed and started slapping my ass as I stomped from of the bathroom and down the hall towards her bedroom.

"What are you doing? We're gonna be late for work." She giggled, breathless. I smacked her behind before I leaned forward dumping her on the bed with a bounce. Breathtaking.

I grinned because we both knew where this was going. I quickly shrugged off my boxer briefs, keeping my eyes on hers. She lifted her hips and slid thin black lace down her legs before kicking them in the air with her toes. She laid there, eyefucking me, open and waiting as I crawled slowly across the bed, hovering, withholding skin until the last minute.

I bent my head and tugged took her lower lip between my teeth, sucking, then grazed my lips across hers. "Fuck 'em," I whispered.

I continued to lick, suck, and kiss a trail from her chin down to her breasts. When she arched her back, pushing one of her nipples further into my mouth as I pinched the other, we both moaned so fucking loud that I thought the walls would vibrate. I lifted my head slightly so that I could look into her eyes. What I saw there was the same fire that I felt for her. It was there, always. I slightly lowered my hips as our breathing slowed.

"Forget work. Fuck me," she breathed as she wrapped her hand around my neck and pulled my lips to hers, deeping the kiss, sucking my tongue, and lightly biting my lip before she released it and smiled.

"Oh, I plan to. You better hold on tight, baby."

oo LB oo

I woke sometime later to butterfly kisses. Bella's eyelashes tickled my cheek. She said her mom used to do that to her when she was little to wake her up. My girl had a thing for butterflies. She says she always admired how they grew from something so lowly and quiet into something majestic that could soar above all the things that threatened them. I scrunched my nose and laughed as she kissed my jaw. Laying in bed all day sounded like the perfect plan except we had depositions in the Clearwater case at one o'clock that day.

"You know we have to get up."

"Yeah, I know. I can't believe I fell asleep." I scrubbed my face with both hands, then raised up on my elbows on the bed. "What time is it?"

"It's 8:45 on a Monday. They'll be calling if we don't hurry. Get dressed, I'm getting coffee." When she scooted off the bed, I noticed she was already dressed for work.

"You're wearing that today?" I pointed at her black pencil skirt and stockings which had a seam running straight from her heel all the way up her slender calf and thigh where it disappeared underneath her skirt. Clearly, she was trying to kill me.

"Yeah, is there a problem?" she asked as she looked back over her shoulder and down at her skirt, smoothing her hands down her backside.

"No, just thinking how uncomfortable I'm gonna be during those depositions today. That's all." I grinned, winking at her as I sat up on the side of the bed and fished around under the covers for my boxers.

"Well, you are planning on coming home tonight, right?" She smirked.

"Hmm, well, just in case, maybe you ought to show me some leg to hold me over." I tipped my chin up in a half nod, still eyeing her fantastic ass.

"Ah, but good things come to those who wait, my sweet," she purred as she walked toward the bedroom door. I watched her stop, then turn and hitch her leg up on door frame, sliding it down, while holding up her skirt with one hand. Sure enough, there were fucking thigh high stockings underneath. The band at the top was black lace and it had a red ribbon threaded through and tied in a bow on the front. Fuck me sideways. I swallowed thickly and shook my head as I pulled on my boxers.

"Killing me, girl. Killing me," I muttered to myself. Her giggle echoed off the walls as she retreated down the hall for coffee.

At the depositions later that afternoon, Bella fired question after question to Leah Clearwater concerning her story of the events leading up to the alleged rape. I watched as Bella carefully laid the foundation for the line of questioning concerning the gun. We had decided not to show our hand by presenting our theory prior to the trial. We took the approach that we should lay the groundwork in this deposition that would allow us to question her further at the trial, using the testimony of some of people Leah thought were her friends.

We had been able to secure statements from three individuals that had observed much more about Leah's behavior toward Seth and their relationship than she thought. They also had direct conversations with Leah at different times which suggested that Leah and Seth were trying to slowly work towards a reconciliation. In the meantime, Leah had been seen out and about with another young man on multiple occasions, after leaving from dates with Seth.

Seth completed a sworn statement to the fact that he was with Leah on the day in question, having consensual sex. At that point, he believed that they were trying to work things out and get back together. She had promised that her affair was a one-time thing and it was not continuing any longer. After they had sex on the day in question, she received a phone call, presumably from this other man. An argument ensued. She didn't deny that the phone call was from the other guy asking about plans to meet her later. Seth told her that it was over since she had broken her promise to no longer see the other man. He told her he would be meeting with an attorney the following day to file for divorce and seek primary custody of their child. He went home, made the appointment with the attorney, had dinner with his parents and went to bed. The next morning, he was arrested and charged with rape, tacking on the weapon charge because Leah knew he carried his hunting rifle in his truck.

Phone records and family statements supported Seth's version of the events. We also chose not to reveal this bit of information to Leah's attorney at this point. Basically, it was a he said/she said situation, which we narrowed down to a very small window of time consisting of the time spent at Leah's house on that day. Was it consensual or was it rape? The gun theory was literally our smoking gun. So we decided to sit on that for just a little longer.

I had to adjust myself no less than four times as I watched Bella work wearing that tight-ass pencil skirt and thigh highs. Knowing there was a little red bow at the top that I was dying untie with my fucking teeth made my cock ache under the table. It was all I could do not to rub one off as quietly as I could. It was fucking uncomfortable, okay? Sue me!

By the time we got back to the office, we were both feeling even better about this case and all I wanted to do was take my girl home. But she wouldn't let me. She said something about having to work today and she didn't feel well. When I questioned her about it, she just shrugged it off and said it was female problems or something. I'm not an idiot for sure, but one thing is certain, I have never been around a woman long enough to witness or help with any type of issues dealing with the female cycle, monthly. Whatever you call it. On this subject, I felt ignorance was bliss.

The truth was, I couldn't have been more wrong. As the week progressed, I saw Bella lose her shit over the stupidest things and she was fucking scary as hell when one of those "episodes" of crazy hit. Hell, I was in Emmett's office at the other end of the hall when I heard her yelling for me at work on Wednesday. I looked at him, he looked at me, and I did what any intelligent man would do. I fucking hid from her ass.

Yeah, I did. I have balls to protect and I wasn't ready to face whatever she was throwing shit over that time.

By the time we got home Wednesday evening, I was still running scared. She huffed and grumbled around the house in her pajamas which covered up every damn thing, while she slammed doors and quickly worked her way towards draining a bottle of wine. I watched all of this from the comfort of the couch. I kept my mouth shut until she slumped down next to me on the couch, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin.

"I'm sorry," she huffed, crossing her arms as she pushed out her bottom lip and leaned on my shoulder. Have I said yet, that her mood swings were making me crazy? Yeah, well, this was a fine example and since she was apologizing, I decided to just go with it, making sure to pull a throw pillow over my junk first.

"Why are you sorry? Talk to me, tell me what's going on." I set my beer on the coffee table and leaned back again, resting my head to the side, on top of hers.

"I think, no, I know that I've been crazy the last couple of days and it's not over, mind you, but I want you to know that it has nothing to do with you. It's just PMS and when I'm like this, it feels like everyone and every little thing is just clawing at my nerves. I can't explain it any better than that. And the pain, every time I have a period, seems to get worse. You're just getting caught in the crossfire so to speak. So I'm sorry." She looked up at me shyly, waiting for me to say something.

Hell, I was waiting for me to say something. I may have zoned out when she said the word period. I wanted to plug my ears and sing "la la la la la la". So due to my inner ramblings I might have missed something. Therefore, I took the high road.

"What can I do to help? I hate to see you feeling like this."

"Well, honestly, it could be in your best interest to lay low, like under the radar, stealth mode for a few days. Can you handle that?" She grinned.

I didn't know if I could go days without touching her for sure, but stealth mode, I could do. I would do it, to protect myself. For some reason the terms tuck and roll came to mind. Were these crazy hormones contagious? I was losing it.

"I can handle it. Whatever you need, baby," I said, looking into her eyes where I saw tears pooling. She nodded then quickly wiped them away and got up from the couch.

What the actual fuck?

"I'm going to bed. Are you coming or...?" she asked, as she started towards the kitchen, turning off the lights as she went.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a second. Can I get you some ibuprophen or a xanax... or three?" I chuckled as I made my way into the kitchen.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Obviously, that was the wrong thing to say. I have no idea what I was thinking because that couldn't have been a worse time to make a joke. I immediately smacked my head in frustration as I watched her turn around to face me with that fire in her eyes that I knew so well.

"Edward Cullen, I'm gonna let that one slide for three reasons." She took a couple of slow steps forward and braced herself on the bar in the kitchen, inching closer and closer to my face as she spoke. "First, even though I've been a cranky bitch, I don't mind you giving my shit right back to me. Even during this time of the month. Second, making wisecracks about anti-anxiety or anti-psychotic meds are not allowed, but you didn't exactly know that rule before now. And third, my body is just too fucking tired tonight to clean up a bloody mess. Otherwise I would gladly shank your ass for that comment. Now, it would be wise of you to remember this... tidy up your mess in here and get your goofy ass in bed before someone gets hurt." She pointed two fingers at her eyes and then pointed them to mine, as if to say she was watching me. Then, like Dr. Jekyl, she smiled sweetly and said, "Night, sweetheart."

I swear to all that is holy that the temperature in the room decreased by twenty degrees while she was speaking. I was shivering as I wiped down the counters and tossed my empty bottle in the trash. I even checked the fridge, twice, to make sure I hadn't left any containers of food that were more than a day old. I wasn't real sure how I was gonna handle the next few days, but I knew what I was doing first thing the morning. Google and I were going to have a nice little chat so I could get this shit straight. As a last resort, I would ask Jasper and Emmett for their thoughts. You know, solidarity and all that shit.

The next morning, Bella went to some kind of property damage trial or hearing or some shit with Rose. Alice had a child custody mediation outside the office. It was just guys in the office today, and that freed up my morning for the important things I needed to do. I started by Googling PMS and read all I could find. Symptoms, treatment, home remedies, you name it. I even lurked on some women's forums to find out what they were all bitching about so I could be better prepared. Jasper and Emmett wandered in my office and caught me looking this stuff up before I could even ask their opinion. It was probably a good thing, because I needed to be schooled on this shit. And fast.

For instance, I had been doing all the wrong things by accident. Like when I left my wet towel on the floor after my shower the other day. I had been rushing to try and catch her naked before work. I planned to come back and get it. But that didn't make it any more right, considering her "delicate condition."

I pulled my glasses off and scrubbed my face with both hands. "So how often does this happen each month?"

"Ed, I can't believe you are this clueless." Emmett shook his head and tossed the small basketball in his hands to Jasper.

"I'm not an idiot. I just haven't been around women when this type of thing happens. I've dated plenty, I just never let them be a part of my life, much less want to be part of theirs or even live with them."

Jasper tossed the ball back to Emmett. "Alice is like every twenty nine days. You should ask B."

"I don't even want to know why you have the exact details on that."

"Fucker, you better find out from B and put that shit in your blackberry with a loud fucking alarm. Trust me, you won't regret it." Emmett tossed the ball across the room, looping it through the goal attached to the back of my office door.

"You live together, you learn the signs. And about eight days before that time, well, it's time to disappear." Jasper shrugged, smiling at me over his cup of coffee.

"What do you do? I mean, she told me it would help if I laid low. But hell, I don't want to stay away from her for days," I sighed and closed my laptop. I didn't want this shit. I wasn't prepared to go back to my bed, my apartment, alone just because her hormones made her slightly homicidal. I preferred to take my chances.

"You don't have to leave permanently. Gah, Jasper and I hit the batting cages like every night for as long as we can. She'll eventually settle down a couple days before and then there's the tears. Rose has lots of tears. Then, you know you're needed and that kinda feels nice because I know I can hug her and make her feel better. But all that yelling and throwing shit? I'd rather take a fastball to the nuts than be around for that. We've got a good system here Ed. You better get on the wagon, dude."

"They say women get on the same hormonal cycle when they spend time with each other."

"That's just stupid, Jasper," I scoffed.

"No man, it's true. I read that shit in Maxim. Some doctor even gave his two cents. Besides, keep your eyes open around here. All these women are on the same wavelength. Trust me, even Kate. She came after me with scissors just yesterday because I didn't collect my messages as soon as I walked in. I had to fucking piss. I couldn't stop for that shit. But believe me, I will next time. Bitch is scary for sure."

"I've got to pay more attention."

"You better because I'll tell you man, what you really have to watch for is when she goes dead silent. That's when you just know she's about to fucking blow. If you ever see that, run man..just run." Emmett whispered the last part like we were all a bunch of hardened criminals planning a jail break. I bit my lip to stifle my laughter, but somewhere deep inside I was a scared little boy cowering in dark corner. I had seen that look in her eye last night when she threatened to shank my ass and I was man enough to admit that this mutherfucker was scared shitless.

"Yeah, and if statistics are accurate on this, you are about to enter hell week my friend." Jasper smirked, looking from me to Emmett.

"Yep, me and Jas have the cages reserved three nights this week already, starting tonight. Are you in?"

"How'd you do that? They usually don't reserve more than one day at a time."

"I know the guy. I did the loan closing for him last year. He's married. He understands."

I nodded in response to Jasper then made my decision. Thanks to Google and these guys, I was finally feeling more in control of my feelings and felt like I could probably handle anything she threw at me, figuratively, that is. I would just do my best to be supportive. I wouldn't make jokes about anti-psychotics, even though I kind of felt that it couldn't hurt, just for a week or two anyway. I would be myself and fire back at her, but choose my words wisely so that I didn't say anything I would regret later.

This wasn't going to be easy.

"Count me in. Stress relief." I chuckled knowing that there was no way I could do this without them. I was going to need the laughs, and lots of them so that I could help Bella in any way she needed me to.

"You got that right. Well," Emmett paused to look at his watch before he continued on, "I've got a meeting at ten and they should be here any minute so I'm going to my office. See you tonight, seven sharp." He waved and walked out.

"When are you going to tell her?" Jasper stretched and stood up from the chair where he had been reclining.

"What do you mean?"

"When are you going to tell her that you love her, Edward?"

"How did you know?" I smiled and crossed my arms. Jasper, always the observant one. Even though we were only a couple years apart in age, I always looked up to him as a kid. He had to have been one of the most genuine people I knew.

"You've changed. You bring her coffee, you find out her favorite food and put up twinkling lights just to make a date the best it can be for her, you take all her criminal cases to make it easier for her to transition into a new job, and you Google PMS symptoms so you can better understand what she's going through. That right there is love. You used to be selfish, now you're selfless and it suits you. So, when are you going to tell her?"

"Soon, Jasper. Maybe when I know she's feeling better. I kind of have a plan, a grand gesture for a girl who likes things simple." I grinned, proud of myself as I thought about the idea I had been toying with lately. I wanted to tell her in a way that would stand out against all the other memories I hoped to make with her. I only had one person left to talk to about my plan and that was Charlie. I was going to call him next week after I had worked out the other details. I wanted to get his opinion on whether Bella would really appreciate what I planned to do or if it was just too much. I had a feeling he would say that it was perfect.

"Good. It's weird seeing you like this though. After college and all your adventures in L.A., I just never thought I would see you settle down, but I'm happy for you. For you both."

"Thank you, Jasper. That means a lot." He smiled and turned to leave.

"So, tonight..at seven. We'll come around and get you about six-thirty, okay?"

"Looking forward to it." I laughed as he walked out.

I quickly cleared my desk and began looking through some of the cases I had on the calendar in the upcoming weeks. I found myself smiling and focused as I worked. My heart felt light. Like I was living a daydream and I didn't want it to end. I had great friends, the best girlfriend I could have ever asked for, and I was actually in love, in deep. I found it funny that after so many years of wandering day to day, without any thought as to whether or not the life I was chasing was the right path, it now felt like the road had become smoother, less difficult to maneuver. The true journey had finally found me, and it all started with her.

A/N:

Thank you all for reading. It has been a while since I posted. The fact that you are still here, means more to me than you truly know.

Thank you to modernsafari1 who gives me the mom voice when she says "we need to fix this sentence." I giggle. Then, I do it just to see her smile. I love her like that.

Thank you to ameliakbedelia for her speed reading, thoughts and constant encouragement.

Rec:

Inordinate Passion by chantiemaya-

go read, give her some love for this fic, tell her I said hello.

Till next time..