A/N: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, not me. I own a big screen TV upon which I'll watch the ball drop tonight, but as vampires go, I'm sadly under-stocked. *pouts*

Chapter 10: All I Want For Christmas Is You

"You're Mrs. Claus," I repeated, completely incapable of reining in my shock.

How could this be? This was Bella—sweet, innocent, girl-next-door Bella. Reconciling her with the perception of my mystery woman was impossible. The woman leaving me notes was experienced, forward, maybe even a little wild. She was the exact opposite of what Bella appeared to be.

"Mrs. Claus?" she asked, bending over to take something out of the oven.

The contrast of the black lace trim against the shiny red fabric of her panties stole my attention, at least until I realized the panties were peek-a-boo style. At that point my brain short-circuited. Every electrical impulse that remained in my body focused on pumping as much blood to my groin as was physiologically possible.

"My mystery woman," I squeaked. "The note-leaver, the Christmas countdown creator, the anonymous gift giver, the deliverer of clean scrubs and correct Starbucks orders. Holy fuck! How did I miss this?"

Bella stood up and moved back to the counter, never once looking my way. "I've asked myself that same question," she said quietly.

"But you… I… you..."

"Your last note is right there." She pointed to the corner of the counter. "I'll be insulted if you don't read it, so go ahead."

I reached for the card with a great deal of apprehension, feeling like now was really not the time to be looking at it.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my lover gave to me: twelve condoms—bought with you in mind—and I intend for you to use every single one before I'm done with you.

Under the note was a box of condoms. I smirked when I realized she'd purchased the larger sized ones. Apparently my mystery girl had been paying attention. I knew that stupid tuggie was a joke, or maybe a vehicle to tell me she wanted to suck my cock. Either way I was good with it, though given the choice, I avidly preferred the second option.

With my brain still in the middle of a nuclear meltdown, I said the first thing that came to my mouth that didn't divulge the fact that I approved of her checking out my junk. "Cute panties."

She laughed nervously, making the Santa hat she wore slide forward and cover one of her eyes. A fresh sprig of mistletoe was tied to the tip of the hat. It was adorable. She was adorable.

The Santa hat, the mistletoe, the nervous laugh—these were all the Bella I knew.

"Sorry I never got a chance to deliver it. I was busy making dinner."

"Bella…"

She pulled off the oven mitts one by one, and then lifted the strap of the apron over her head. Standing there in front of me in her corset and panties had the desired effect. She was breathtaking, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

True to the side of Bella I was familiar with, she fidgeted nervously, her hands flitting in perpetual motion. She was a little unsteady on her feet, probably from the amount of wine she'd consumed, although it could have easily been due to the shoes she was wearing. I tried to remember if I'd ever seen her in stilettos. Alcohol notwithstanding, a man with even a smidgen of male pride should forever be able to recall a sight like that—one so sexy it was capable of causing spontaneous orgasm—so I was pretty sure I'd never seen her in a pair. They made her legs look fantastic, but only because her legs were fantastic. The shoes were simply the last prop in her costume of mass seduction.

As good as she looked, I didn't want her to think she had to dress up or be someone else to get my attention. It wasn't her fault that I'd been so blind. I was more than willing to be seduced, but I wanted this to be more than a drunk hookup.

Earlier in the kitchen when I'd held her hand so I could bandage her cut, I'd blamed what I felt—the tingling on my skin and the butterflies in my stomach—on my state of intoxication, but she was the intoxicating one.

Her notes had shaken up my life, but the pieces had somehow fallen into place. I'd been dense enough to miss every hint she'd dropped along the way, but I was not so obtuse that I couldn't see that she was what I'd been searching for.

Can you tell a woman that she's exactly what you need in your life when you're drunk and horny, without it sounding like a come-on? I was pretty sure that the sincerity of anything I could say in my current condition would be misconstrued at some later date as me trying to get a piece of ass. Make no mistake: I wanted that piece of ass. There was a part of me that would argue I might die from blue balls without it, but if being with Bella tonight prevented me from having a relationship with her, then I'd be a moron to go through with it and jeopardize my chances with her.

I was so confused. It was impossible to concentrate for more than a second at a time with Bella in front of me, so scantily dressed. God, she looked good in that corset. I'm sure the fucker was horribly uncomfortable, but it pulled her in and pushed her up in all the right ways. In exactly the right ways to start a fire in me, until I was making a list of all of the places I wanted to explore. The list was getting longer by the second.

"Bella, we're both drunk."

"Yes, doctor. That's what happens when one drinks beverages that contain alcohol." She was bolder than me, determinedly closing the distance between us. As if she could sense my hesitation or knew what I was thinking, she added, "Don't overthink this, Edward."

"How is it overthinking, if I'm trying to make sure we both get what we want?"

She sighed and hoisted herself onto the counter of the kitchen island. She was eyelevel with me now, and so, so close. Her proximity made the impulse to reach out and touch her virtually impossible to ignore.

"Just kiss me then; one little kiss on the lips."

The pleading in her voice gutted me. She had no idea how ill equipped I was to resist her, or how badly I'd wanted to kiss her all night long. But that was Bella. She was oblivious to her own beauty and magnetism.

I leaned in slowly, opposing the pull between us so I was acutely aware of each second. I wanted to remember the fall. I knew once I touched her, there was no going back.

A/N: First off, Happy New Year! We're about 3 hours away here. I hope everyone has an amazing night. Stay safe, and have an awesome 2012!

I'm hoping to update tomorrow, but realistically it will be Monday.

I'm opening my bottle of Jackson & Triggs 2006 Silver Series Entourage Méthode Classique Brut tonight to celebrate, and I'll toast all you wonderful souls! Thanks for all of your support in 2011. You'll never know how happy it makes me that you read and review my work.

Until next time…