Song I listened to for this chapter: Crash Into Me by Dave Mathews Band.  (Actually one of my all time favorite songs.  Accidentally hit it and realized it worked well.)

After showing Peter the remaining pieces, they found the bugs on all of them.  Peter then proceeds to ‘fix’ everything.  Bella watches him, wondering slightly how he knows how to do it, but more upset that James has done this. As she watches Peter, she is noticing his set shoulders and how stiffly he holds himself, signaling his anger clearly to her.

Once Peter was done with eliminating the intrusion into their home, he takes his bag back to the den and puts it away.  He stands there leaning on his desk trying to calm himself.  Some of the bugs were new, but others had been added over a long period time.  He gathers the last camera that was installed about 6-8 months ago.  He remembers Bella mentioning James leaving her alone about that time, but it seems he had fed the sick addiction he had for her in another way.  Peter realizes he needs some physical activity and looks up, seeing Bella watching him, leaning against the doorway.

Bella watches him working to bring his temper under control.  When he glances up to her and she sees the look on his face, she feels her knees momentarily weaken.

Peter tells her, “I need to work off some steam, luv.  Do you want to take a kip or join me?”  He studies her, and realizes she was fairly knackered out, but he leaves the choice to her, as always.

Bella looks at him and tells him, “Since I don’t think I can get much rest without you, I will join you.”

Peter nods, and walking quickly around the desk, takes her hand, leading her through the house.  He walks into the garage, but turns right, moving down a hallway she never noticed before, and after walking for a minute, he opens a door and guides her down the stairs to the basement.  He mentions causally, “There is an indoor pool and a full gym down here.  If you go through the kitchen into the pantry, there is a door downstairs into the wine cellar.  The only other thing that is downstairs is me studio.  I will show you that later, it has both interior and exterior doors, since I usually don’t welcome people into the house.”

Bella stares at him, then around the room they entered and realizes this is probably why he appears so fit.  She notices the mats and mirrors on one side of the room and when he releases her hand, she makes her way over to them.

Peter’s eyes follow her movements and explains to her, “I box and have picked up some things on the streets, but you are more than welcome to use what you wish, Bella.”

Bella nods as she trails her hands over a punching bag.  She then turns, kicking it and that starts the release of all her pent up emotions.  She proceeds to kick and punch the shit out of the bag.

Peter watches her in amazement.  He had heard she was good, but watching her and knowing she was releasing her emotions, and not thinking clearly, amazes him.  He snaps out of it, not taking his eyes off of her, making sure she was alright, while he strips off his shirt and heads over to the weights, to work some of his own frustrations out.

As they both work their emotions out, Bella calms down, and after a while, she determinedly works herself hard.  She needs to feel the movements and slowly she drops into the state that allows her to work her body, calming her mind.  Her movements become smoother and more deadly as she doesn’t need to hold back against the punching bag.

Peter continues to watch her, and once his own emotions settle down, casually leans against the wall.  As he studies her, he realizes she really could take care of herself; but knows that while he was glad she could, it would never stop him from trying to make sure she didn’t need to.  He lets her continue, although he starts to notice her slowing down. She isn’t as physically fit as she was before she had been in the hospital, and waits for her to realize it.

Bella slowly comes out of her trance, she could feel her muscles singing to her and promising that she will be sore soon; but at the same time, she feels better. She stops, standing there panting, as she feels Peter’s arms wrap around her.  She leans back on him, barely able to stand as her exhaustion makes itself known to her, knowing that he would support her.

Peter bears her weight in his arms as he holds her.  He stares at her in the mirror and she stares back at him, sharing this time together.  Peter lowers his head, kissing her neck, watching her as he leaves open kisses on her sweaty skin, licking the salt as he moves down.  He hears her gasp and could feel her heartbeat picking up under his mouth. He continues to worship her neck and moves his hands down to her shirt, tugging at the hem.  He murmurs into her ear, “You’re overdressed, luv” and he then pulls her shirt slowly up, trailing his hands along her body as he took it off.

Peter tosses it behind him and pulls her back to his chest, feeling her smooth skin against him as he lazily trails his hands up from her waist to cover her breasts with his hands.  Her head drops back on him as he continues to kiss her.

“Bella, open your eyes.”

Bella snaps her eyes open at his voice, it is husky with more of his accent coming through.  She peers at them in the mirror, his hair sweaty from his own workout and sees his chest pressing against her back with his pants hung low on his hips, his happy trail visible.  Remembering what she had seen last night and knowing where it led, makes her go weak in the knees;  but watching him as he kisses her neck, feeling and watching his hands on her breasts, seeing the dark desire in his eyes arouses her and she moans out his name, “Peter…”

Peter’s arms tighten around her as he hears his name from her lips in that breathy moan.  He glances at her then releases her to quickly swing her around to face him. He kisses her passionately, demanding entrance into her mouth and proceeds to take ownership of it.  He ends the kiss and reaches down to her bum, lifting her up as he trails kisses down to her breasts.  He works on finishing what he had started upstairs before they were interrupted, and is encouraged by her sounds, proceeds to claim as much of her as he can.  He would not take her yet, but he will make sure she knows she is his.   He feels the warmth of her hands on his back as they hold onto him and could not only hear it in her voice when he does something that she likes, he could feel it in her hands, her body.

Bella feels like she burning from the outside in, every touch, every kiss, and breath leaves trails of fire on her skin.  She completely surrenders herself to this man that is claiming her with in his love. She is panting and moaning in his arms, wanting more…

Peter gently lowers them down to the mats, fighting to control himself.  He knows they need to slow down; he would not take her like this for their first time.  But he just could not get enough of her taste and with the addition of her completely surrendering herself to him, makes it hard to stop;  but he manages to get enough control to stop and lay there with his head on her chest. He feels her hands touch his head, her fingers softly running through his hair as they lay there panting together, coming down from their high.  When he manages to catch his breath, he raises his head, looking at her as he moves up her body to where he could kiss her tenderly. “Bella… Before this is all over, you may just kill me.”

Bella lays there, gradually feeling the thrumming in her body slide away, smiles up at him.  He has managed to loosen her muscles and she feels great.  She is no longer worried about why he stopped, he shows time and time again how much he desires her and with as much as he shows her, she could not deny his desire or her own desire, for that matter.  “Peter, before all this over, you may not be the only one dead.”

Peter smirks down at her and kisses her again.  He sighs, feeling her heart beating against his chest.  “You want to head upstairs and clean up, luv?”

Bella thinks about it and tells him honestly, “Peter, I don’t think I can make it up all those stairs.”

Peter grins down at her, jumps to his feet, and offers his hand to her. Once he helps her up, he tells her, “I will always be here to carry you, Bella.”

He moves about the room, grabbing their shirts, but when she reaches for hers, he yanks it away from her, “You promised me topless luv…  I be taking that promise now.” And he pulled her close to him, kissing her, feeling her nipples harden against his chest and smirks down at her when he pulls away.

Bella laughs at him as he turns to take her hand in his. They head to the stairs, and once they are standing at the base, she stops, looking around nervously. When he turns to look at her she asks, “Peter, are you sure?”

Peter tells her seriously, “I wouldn’t allow you to be walking around like that if I thought I had missed anything.”  He pulls her to him, telling her in a husky voice, his accent heavy, “Ya be mine, Bella.  I be not allowin’ anyone to see you like this but me.”  And he then kisses her hard.

When he breaks the kiss, Bella gazes at him and nods.  His lips meet hers in a sweet kiss, before leading her back to their room. She suddenly stops, looking at the stairs. Peter sees her tremble, picks her up, and takes her up the stairs, peppering her face with kisses whenever he glances down.  He carries them down the hall and to the bathroom.  He sets her down, starting the shower, then turns around, and peers down at her with a raised eyebrow.

Bella realizes what he was asking, and she smiles, “Can you handle it Peter?  There will be worshiping involved.”

Peter licks his lips and tells her seductively, “Aye, there definitely will be worshiping involved.  But we will go only as fast and as far as you wish.”

Bella glances at him, feeling her desire for him peak, she walks to him, pulls him to her, and reaches down to untie his pants.  Peter watches her as she loosens his clothing.  He steps out of his pants and boxers as she pushes them down.  He continues to gaze at her as she shyly removes her own clothes and he pulls her to him saying, “So beautiful, Bella.  Thank you.”

She ducks her head, amazed at her own daring, but trusting him not to take this further than what she wants.  She feels his hand lift her face up to him and he kisses her tenderly.  Then he opens the door to the shower and gestures for her to enter.  She steps into the shower, but is surprised when he doesn’t follow.  He holds up a finger and goes to grab the bag Alice had given him last night.  He grabs her essentials and brings them with him into the shower.  He sets them on the shelves, he picks up her shampoo then moves over and situates her gently under the main shower-head.  As she watches him, he pours some of the shampoo in his hand, then reaches back, putting the bottle back on the shelf, and then turns to her so he could wash her hair.

Bella feels herself relax as he gently massages the shampoo into her hair. Peter continues to wash her hair and her body, silently worshiping it as he has promised.  When he finishes, he cleans up quickly and goes to grab his own bottle of shampoo, but she beats him to it.  She looks up at him and realizing he is tad too tall for her, so she tugs him over to the bench built in the wall, seats herself on it and then pulls him down, He smiles, doing as she asks and sits down in front of her, in between her legs.

Bella works the shampoo into his hair as she smiles, enjoying the feel of her fingers in his hair; she loved his hair.  She rinses out the shampoo and before she could do anything else, she feels his lips brushing against her thigh. She looks down at him and he grins, tugging her until she slid off the seat and into his lap.  He holds her close to him and tells her softly, “I love you, Bella.”  They sit there for a while, cuddling in the warm room.

Peter nudges her gently, quietly telling her, “I need to check in on the club.  There is additional security detail and Jasper requests that we show up a couple of times.  Do you feel up to it tonight or do you wish to do it another day?”  Peter looks into her eyes and tells her gently, “I would like to date you Bella, to dance with you.  I was robbed of the chance before.”

Bella smiles up at him, “If you are with me, I will be happy to go.  But we’ll need to call Rose, Emmett and Alice.”  Her face and her voice turn serious as she continues, “I don’t want to be alone.”

Peter nods, knowing as well as she does that he couldn’t have her as close to him as he would like. He then smiles down at her, telling her, “I will make the arrangements, and you just get ready.”  He kisses her and they both get up.  He hits the stop button on the wall as he makes his way out of the bathroom, grabbing them some towels.  He hands one to her and uses the other to dry off.  He hands her a robe, grabbing his own from the back of the door, shrugging it on.

Bella smiles to herself.  She wasn’t as nervous as she thought she would be, going back to the club.  A lot of this has to do with Peter and her belief that he will not allow anything to happen to her.  Another part of it is the fact that she was already beginning to get tired of all the stress of having this hanging over their heads.  She just wants to get on with their lives and she knows that they couldn’t unless they take care of this.

Bella begins to get ready.  She inspects the bag she had seen Peter pull her shower stuff out of, noticing that it had new cosmetics and everything, realizing Alice must have put it together.  Alice is the one who had pushed most of it on her over the years.  She smiles as she gets ready, feeling a bit more feminine using her products.  When she is done, she hesitates, wanting to put them away but is unsure of where.  She is startled when Peter speaks up.

Peter makes his arrangements, puts on his clothes, and comes in to check on Bella.  He leans against the wall seeing her smiling and getting ready.  He has never cared about any other woman he ever had in his place in LA, nor could he even understand why anyone would enjoy watching someone getting ready.  But watching Bella, he loves watching her anytime and seeing her get ready, knowing she was doing it for him.  When she is finished, he notices how she hesitates, and understands why when he sees her look at the bag like she was trying to figure out what to do with her stuff.  “You can use the vanity and put the stuff away as you like.”

Bella turns and sees him standing there in a bright blue shirt left unbuttoned, black jeans and holding a leather jacket in his hands.  Her mouth waters, feeling that free fall in her stomach again.  God is he handsome! She blinks and looks at where he was mentioning.

Peter smirks at her look, then follows her gaze as he moves quickly, picking up the plant.  He moves it to the top of the shelving unit by the bathtub.  “Don’t worry about it tonight, luv.”  Then he frowns slightly and then glances up at her.  “Bella, I am probably going to be in the booth for a little bit.  I know you like me without a hat but…”

Bella walks over to him and kisses him. “Peter, I understand; I like the hats too.”  She smiles at him.

He pulls her closer, took a longer kiss from her and tells her, “Thank you… and before you ask, I am always Peter to you. That is, unless you need to tell me something, then use Hatter.”

She nods, remembering him mentioning they needed a way for her to tell him if she ever notices something.

Peter smiles and releases her, “You need to get ready, luv.”

Bella nods and leaves, throwing over her shoulder, “By the way, you passed the huggable test, but I will need to retest when you finish getting dressed, since there is no way any woman will see you like that.”  Peter laughs at her and goes to finish getting ready himself.

When he is finished, he walks into the bedroom, tossing his jacket on the armchair, and he is buttoning his shirt when he hears the closet doors open.  Peter glances up and stops what he is doing; he may be drooling for all he knows.

Bella walks out wearing a black dress and high heels.  It was sleeveless and simple, but on her it makes his heart stop.  She notices him staring at her and is suddenly very shy.  “Is this not alright?”

Peter moves over to her, pulls her into his arms, and crashes his lips on hers with all the feelings he has within.  When he pulls back, he tells her, “More than alright, luv.  But methinks I be making sure you be by me side at all times to make sure everyone knows whose you be.”  He then frowns, asking, “Bella, won’t you be cold?”

Bella smiles at his worry, telling him softly, “Well I guess you will have to make sure I won’t get cold.”

Peter moans and shakes his head.  “Be dead before the end of the night.”

Bella laughs while looking at him, and starts to finish buttoning his shirt.  He stares down at her; when she reaches the second button from the top, he stops her.  Peter captures her hands and raises them to his lips, kissing them tenderly.  “Thanks luv,” he murmurs.

Bella quietly tells him, “Told you, you needed to finish getting ready, since if I am yours, you are mine.”

Peter nods as he smiles, then kisses her briefly and tells her softly and seriously, “Always luv.  Always.”

In an attempt to lighten the mood, he cocks his head to the side and says, “Well this dress of yours is certainly huggable and is very kissable…I guess I can allow it.”  He then flashes his cocky grin at her.

Bella grins back at him and tells him, “Well since that is what I was aiming for, I guess I hit my mark”

Peter gazes down at her and asks, “What mark?”

Bella turns to walk out of the bedroom and tells him, “To drive you crazy, of course.”

Peter laughs as he goes to grab his hat and jacket; he knew that he loves this interaction between them and he loves his woman.  He will never be bored with her.

He catches up with her before she starts down the stairs and he escorts her down.  She made to go to the garage, he instead tugs her gently out the front door.  In the driveway, was the car she had admired two days ago.  She grins as he walks her to her door and then opens it for her.  As she slides in, she found it warmed already and glances at Peter as he shut the door.  He moves quickly to the driver’s side, gets in, and tosses his coat and hat in the back seat.  He put the car in gear as he glances at her and asks, “You ready, luv?”

She grins at him and tells him, “Extremely.”

Peter grins back at her and takes off.  Bella laughs in enjoyment and his smile gets bigger.  They slow down for the guard shack, but after going through it, he opens the car up on the road.  He loves this car; enjoying how it hugs the road, it is a joy to handle.  There are only two in the world, but he feels it was well worth the money for the enjoyment it brings to him and now to the both of them.

He takes them to Ambridge and Bella casts a glance at him.  He casually mentions, “I just wanted to stop so we could grab a quick bite to eat.  Nothing fancy.”  She nods.

They pull into a small restaurant and she looks up at the sign and smiles sadly.  Peter notices it when he opens her door and remarks, “If you don’t like it here, I can take you somewhere else.”

Bella smiles at him, kisses him on his cheek and tells him, “This is fine, Peter.  I will tell you more once we are seated.”

Peter looks into her eyes, and saw she was being truthful, nods and escorts them inside.  Once they are seated and place their orders, he takes her hand in his.

Bella knew he was curious and as she looks at him, she quietly tells him, “When my mom was pregnant with me she had a craving for this place’s macaroni and cheese.  She begged my dad to pick her up some and he thought she was joking.  She only asked the one time and after being told no, she let it drop.  Later when he found out she had been serious, he had felt bad about it.  She teased him about it until the day they died.”  She smiles wanly and a tear slides down her cheek as she fondly remembers the story.

Peter reaches out and brushes the tear away, “If your mum was like you, she probably gave him hell about it too.”

Bella laughs, “Oh yes she did.  It was one of those stories passed around at parties.”  She sighs smiling.

Peter watches her and tells her softly, “Thank you, Bella.”

Bella looks at him quickly and realizes that she never speaks about her family.  “Peter, my family and I were very close.  For them to die when I was young, it is hard to think about them.” The only other person she could speak with about her family, and hurts as much as she does lives in New York…

Peter studies her face and speaks in a quiet tone, “I understand Bella.  They be sounding amazing.  I just like to hear about you and they are a big part of you. Whatever you want to tell me is fine.”

Bella smiles as she recalls memories of her family.  For the rest of dinner, they talk about them.  He laughs at the family traditions that had started from one of her grandmothers wanting nice pictures for the albums, and gave the children one Christmas present the night before that were always pajamas, and how the generations have carried it on.  How her mom and dad redecorated the tree after her every Christmas night when she was younger.  He enjoyed hearing about the little miniature schnauzer named Noel eating more meat than she weighed in less than a minute when her dad had turned away from the grill or the other dog that carried spaghetti jars in his mouth.  These stories and more show Peter why Bella acts normal in comparison to how another woman would growing up with her wealth.  He also sees her relaxing as they talk and he makes sure to pay attention to how much her mom and dad was around.

After dinner, he pays the bill and pulls out her chair.  He leans down and asks, “You are fine, luv?”

Bella gazes up at him and nods, “Thanks Peter, I haven’t thought of those stories for years.”

Peter smiles and opens the door to the car for her.  She gets in, and once they are back on the road, she turns to him and smiles, “Now on to the entertainment.”

Peter cocks his head at her while keeping his eyes on the road as he makes his way to Duquesne Incline and his club.

Bella tells him with her smile getting bigger, “I will enjoy watching the women there hate me when I walk in with you.”

Peter chuckles as he pulls into the club, he then turns to her and kisses her. “Not as much entertainment as I am going to have with the men, luv.”  He laughs and grabs his jacket, puts on his hat, then gets out of the car, tossing the keys to his valet.  Peter warns the other valet away from the car with a look and then opens the passenger door to help Bella out of the car. He leans in close to her, “This is going to be lovely.” And he escorts her into his club.

 Fairfarren~