=oooOooo=

TEN

The girls had had a fun night with Jasper and Alice, and both of them were babbling excitedly in the backseat of Edward's car as they drove home late the next morning.

Edward had been standing in front of Bella's door shortly before ten, holding two steaming mugs of coffee. She'd still been in her pajamas, looking sleepy and disheveled, and unspeakably sexy. They'd had coffee, and Bella had made scrambled eggs while Edward distracted her with little kisses and whispered endearments.

Alice and Jasper had smiled knowingly once they had set eyes upon their brother and best friend, and Alice had been thrilled after they'd left, jumping into her boyfriend's arms and squealing, "They did it! They did it!"

Edward looked over at Bella when they stopped at a red light. She radiated contentment and joy, a slight smile on her delicious lips, her dark hair so silky and shiny that Edward had to control himself not to reach over and run his fingers through it. They had not spoken about the parameters of their relationship, but he hoped with his whole heart that Bella wanted this to be something permanent as much as he did.

"And what did you do?" Paulie asked from the backseat.

Bella's smile became even bigger as she turned around to the kids.

"Edward took me to a ball," she told them. "And we danced all night."

"A ball?" Lucy asked excitedly. "Like Cinderella?"

"Yes," Bella laughed. "But I kept my shoes on."

"You didn't run away at midnight, either," Edward smirked, quickly touching her hand.

"Can we watch Cinderella?" Paulie asked. "Alice has a bed like Cinderella, Mom. I want one like hers!"

"Well, let's wait and see what Santa brings, sweetie."

"I want to watch Cinderella too," Lucy piped up.

"We can get it from the video store," Edward suggested.

"And have a movie night?" Lucy asked hopefully.

The grown-ups looked at each other, their shared experiences creating a new bond between them. Both were more than eager to spend time together, and so they said, almost simultaneously, "Sure."

Everyone laughed, and they were still giggling and talking by the time they were on the elevator. Edward had some work to do, and Bella needed to do the laundry, send a few emails, and help Paulie tidy her room. They parted, Edward sneaking in a kiss that was closer to the corner of Bella's mouth than her cheek, and went their separate ways for a few hours. At five, Bella and Paulie went upstairs, Bella's heart and stomach so tense with excitement that she had to laugh about herself. She hadn't seen the man for five whole hours!

Edward and Lucy welcomed them with glasses of red wine and children's punch, and they went to the kitchen, where Edward had started to prepare pizza dough. He himself looked good enough to eat, Bella decided, in his usual low-riding jeans and a black v-neck sweater. God, that chest hair peeking out would be her undoing…

They worked together, the girls cutting mushrooms, bell peppers and zucchini while Bella grated cheese. When Edward had rolled out the dough on a pizza pan, Lucy put the tomato sauce on the pizza, Paulie spread it, and then they covered it with the ingredients, finally sprinkling the cheese on top. Edward put it in the oven and refilled Bella's wine glass while the kids scampered off to play with Fred.

"Hi…" Edward stepped behind Bella and enfolded her in his arms, lightly kissing her neck. Her enticing scent and the feel of her body made him giddy.

Bella closed her eyes and relaxed into his embrace. Things always felt so natural and easy with Edward. She wished everything could stay like this forever. Bella wasn't a woman to rely on a man for her sense of self-worth, but Edward made her feel cherished and pretty.

"I can't keep my hands off you," Edward whispered, his warm breath making her skin tingle.

"I love it that you can't," she replied, turning around in his arms. "But…"

"But?" He raised his eyebrows, his hands meeting at the small of her back.

"The girls…"

"I know," he said softly and kissed her nose. "Maybe we should talk to them?"

"And what do we tell them?" Bella asked anxiously.

"That we like each other? That we want to spend time with each other?"

They were both aware of the fact that they weren't really talking about their daughters any longer, but about themselves, and how they defined what was happening between them.

"Yeah, but what…" Bella stopped and bit her lip, a nervous habit that Edward had come to adore.

"If it doesn't work?"

She blushed slightly, and nodded.

"We don't need to rush things," he said. "But I guess they'll understand that we like each other… Because I do like you, Bellababy. In fact, it's more than just liking…"

Loud barking resounded from the living room, destroying their moment. A second later, Fred came running into the kitchen, chasing his own tail a few times. The girls followed, looking slightly guilty.

"What did you do?" Edward asked his daughter sternly. Her aunt Alice had given Lucy a sense of fashion, which, unfortunately, Lucy liked to act out on her dog.

"We wanted to make a bow around his tail," the little girl explained. "For Christmas. I'm sorry." She patted Fred's ear, the dog luckily having regained his even-temperedness.

"Lucy, he's a dog, not a doll," Edward said. "You can't play dress-up with him."

"I'm sorry." Lucy looked very downtrodden.

Edward crouched down and kissed her cheek. "It's okay, honey. Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy."

A few minutes later, the pizza was ready and they ate it in the kitchen, sappy Christmas music blaring from the radio while they talked and laughed. Edward watched Bella as she ate, thoroughly happy that this gorgeous woman had stepped into his life.

After dinner, they started their movie night, dimming the lights and setting popcorn, wine and apple juice on the table. The girls made themselves an extra cozy place of pillows and blankets in front of the large sofa, Fred falling asleep between them. Bella was leaning slightly against Edward's side as the movie started, and they gradually moved closer during the film. Edward's arm dropped from the back of the sofa and around Bella's shoulders, her head fell against his chest, and his nose skimmed her hair. When the movie ended, Bella's hand was splayed across his belly, and Edward's fingers were running up and down her back. They moved apart before the girls turned around, missing each other's warmth the second they did so.

Saying good-bye was hard, and Bella felt cold and lonely when she snuggled into bed that night.

The following week was the one before Christmas, and it was filled with last-minute errands, shopping trips and holiday preparations. Edward and Bella still saw each other daily, sharing dinner, going for walks with Fred and the girls, baking sugar cookies and simply enjoying each other's company. They would be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with their families, as they did every year, and both were a little gloomy at the prospect at not being able to celebrate together, so they decided that they would have a pre-Christmas dinner on December twenty-third. The girls were delighted and wanted to have a sleepover, which was readily approved by their parents.

Bella and Edward had been kissing every chance they got, and one night, after Lucy was asleep and Edward had come downstairs for his good-night kiss, there had been some major touching and groping, but they still hadn't made it beneath the sheets, and Bella felt that she couldn't wait another day without combusting, so the sleepover seemed like a fantastic idea to her. The kids would be in the same apartment, so there was no need to part, and since they would be at Edward's larger place, there would also be enough distance between them so the girls wouldn't wake once things got going…

Bella was inwardly rubbing her hands as she got ready for the night, choosing a long blue sweater with a rather low neckline, and leggings that showed off her shapely legs. She was nervous about undressing in front of Edward, her body being far less perfect than his, but her longing to be with him was stronger than her nerves, and besides, they had been touching so much that he had to know by now she was no skinny supermodel.

Dinner was a fabulous affair. Edward had prepared everything for a fondue, and they had great fun cooking their pieces of chicken and beef and vegetables, enjoying the various dips and sauces he had made. Bella had done apple crumble for dessert, and it was still warm. They had vanilla ice cream with it and Edward moaned because it was so good. Somehow, he managed to get ice cream on the tip of his nose, making the girls giggle.

"What?" he made a funny face. Edward was very good at making funny faces, and the girls giggled more.

When Bella saw it, she laughed as well and wiped it off with her thumb.

"You've got ice cream on your nose, silly," she smiled.

Edward grabbed her hand and kissed it, realizing only a second later what he'd done. Instead of letting go, he gave Bella's fingers a little squeeze, his eyes posing a question. She squeezed back.

"There's something we want to tell you," he said, addressing the girls.

"Jazzy already told me there is no Santa," Paulie said, "and I told Lucy, like, a long time ago."

Bella smiled. Their daughters had known each other less than four weeks.

"It's no big deal, Daddy," Lucy assured him. "But I still get presents, right?"

"Of course, honey." Edward chuckled and ruffled her curls. "But we want to tell you something else, since you're such big girls already."

"What, Daddy?"

Edward swallowed, and Bella's heart swelled when she saw how nervous he suddenly was.

"Well, you two like each other, right?"

Paulie and Lucy nodded.

"And, well, Bella and I, we like each other too. We like each other very much, and…"

"Are you having a baby?" Lucy asked excitedly.

"What? No!" Bella was so shocked that her reply came out a little harsher than she'd meant it. "I mean, no, Lucy. Your dad just wanted to explain to you that we… like each other, and, if, sometimes, you see us, I don't know, maybe kissing…"

"But you're kissing all the time," Lucy pointed out and Paulie nodded in agreement.

Edward and Bella felt quite sheepish, understanding that all their restraint had been in vain.

"Are you okay with that?" Edward managed to ask.

"Sure," said Paulie.

"Yeah, I like Bella," Lucy added. "Are you going to have a baby someday?"

The lack of a baby still seemed rather lame to her. In her book, grown-ups who kissed and hugged had babies.

"We'll see," Edward said, his voice rather hoarse.

"Okay," Lucy shrugged. "Can we watch My Little Pony?"

"Wow," Edward said once he returned from putting the TV on for the girls and choosing the channel. Most channels were coded anyway, because he didn't want Lucy to accidentally watch the crazy bullshit that was shown all the time. "That was easy."

Bella was already loading the dishwasher and storing the leftovers in containers. He took a stack of plates from her.

"You don't need to do that, love." He kissed her temple, putting the plates into the dishwasher.

"But I can, can't I?" She smiled and wrapped her arm around his waist. "Now that we're official."

"God…" Edward closed the dishwasher and pulled her against his chest. "Our little girls had it all figured out."

"They're smart girls," Bella smiled. "After all, they're ours."

With that, their lips met in a tender kiss, the relief at no longer having to hide their feelings making them lightheaded. Edward was everything Bella had ever wanted in a partner. He was thoughtful and caring, intelligent, funny, responsible and incredibly sexy. She, who hadn't believed there'd ever be a man who would fit into her small family, was overwhelmed at the enormity of her good luck, and she still found it hard to believe that this beautiful and perfect creature wanted her.

Two hours later, they put the girls to bed and Edward told them a goodnight story about a beautiful princess who had been living all on her own with her horse and dog until she met a prince who had been lonely too, and how they had many adventures and lived happily ever after.

Edward opened a bottle of wine and they cuddled up on the sofa, Bella's legs draped over Edward's thighs, his arms around her, their fingers entwined.

Kissing and touching, they talked about the next two days, aware that they would miss each other tremendously during that time.

"We'll have a fantastic breakfast tomorrow," Edward murmured against Bella's collarbone. "And we can text, and talk on the phone…" He kissed her milky white skin, going lower until he was above her breast. "That thing you're wearing," he whispered, "has an indecent neckline, did anyone ever tell you that?" He ran his fingers over her cheek and down her neck until he reached her breast, cupping it gently.

"It's a sweater," she sighed against his lips.

"No, Bellababy. A sweater is something you wear with jeans. This," he tugged at the material, "is immoral." He kissed her, his lips pulling and sucking.

"You're quite a tease yourself, you know," she moaned softly.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Your ass. You show off your delicious ass all the time… And the way your hair peeks out… here…" She ran her fingers over his throat and lower.

"Baby…" His voice was rough as he pulled her on top of him so she was straddling his thighs. He kissed her with such fervor that they were both fighting for breath when they parted an inch.

Edward's hands were at the small of her back, his fingers splayed over her bottom, which felt sensational. She was wearing only those damned leggings, and he could feel her, all soft and warm, pressing down on his erection. No amount of masturbation he had done over the past days - hell, weeks - was even close to the real thing, Bella's body. To Edward, it was like heroin, and he was getting hopelessly addicted.

Bella ran her hands under Edward's shirt, sighing once she felt the smooth skin of his back. She couldn't wait to feel all of him, to feel him inside her.

"Edward," she whispered, lightly licking over the side of his ear. "You feel so good…"

"So do you…" He squeezed her ass.

As unromantic as it was, though, Bella needed to go to the bathroom, had, in fact, been needing to go for some time, so she decided to do it now before things really got going.

"Edward…"

"Yes…" He was busy kissing the base of her neck.

"I… Ohh…"

"Mmm…"

"Edward…" This time, she tore herself from his lips, making Edward stare at her in alarm.

"Is something wrong?"

"No." She kissed his cheek. "I have to go to the bathroom…"

"Oh." He smiled goofily. "Okay." He playfully slapped her behind when she stood up. "Don't take too long…"

Bella looked at herself in the bathroom mirror as she washed her hands. Her cheeks were rosy, her lips a deep red. Her hair was crazy, but she didn't mind that. She was in her very own paradise.

She expected him to still be on the sofa when she returned to the living room, but Edward had gotten up and was looking out the window, watching the snowflakes tumble around in the black night.

"Hey." She leaned into his side and he put his arm around her, kissing the top of her head.

"I loved tonight," he said softly. "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?" she smiled. "I loved tonight too. Still do."

"Hmm." Edward kissed her forehead. "Does Paulie like chocolate-chip pancakes? I thought I'd make them for breakfast."

"Um, yeah, sure," she replied, startled by his apparent change of mood.

"Lucy is very excited about giving Paulie her gift," he said. "She had a hard time choosing it."

"So is Paulie," Bella said, but her breath caught. She didn't quite understand what was happening.

"I'll take you downstairs, okay? It's almost two, and we have two big days ahead of us."

They walked downstairs and Edward kissed her good night with the same tenderness and passion she was used to, but Bella was confused and upset.

"See you around nine?" he asked, his soft lips still so close to hers that their breaths mingled.

"Yes," she said. "If Paulie wakes up…"

"I got it," he said. "You're just a flight of stairs away." He kissed her again. "Sleep well, Bellababy."

=oooOooo=

A/N:

Thank you for reading, and thank you, dellaterra, for betaing!

Remaining mistakes are mine and I do not own Twilight.

I'd love to hear from you…