Chapter 9 is finally here! I hope you like it.

Once again, thank you to Kiriny13!!!

Chapter 9

BPOV

In the weeks that followed the night we spent at my apartment, things between Edward and I developed nicely.

We even had our little routine by now. We would meet every night after work and he always had something prepared for us to do, whether it was going for dinner, taking a walk in the park or simply go browse through books in his favorite bookstore while we told each other about our day.

Once, he even made me catch a train with him just to, as he put it, relive the way we met. It was an interesting night…

He was always charming, sweet and caring with me, opening doors and holding me close to him when I got cold. I had managed to find myself a perfect gentleman.

He ended up sleeping in my apartment one other night, but we managed to behave ourselves on that occasion and simply ended up falling asleep in each other's arms.

All in all, I was very satisfied with how things were going.

My only worry was Alice. I wondered what her reaction would be once she found out that Edward and I were together. And there was no doubt she would find out because first off, I wasn't a very good liar and, second, Alice always seemed to know everything.

As I came to learn, Alice was very protective of Edward. She wanted him to be happy and she wanted him to be with the best person possible. I was afraid she would think I wasn't good enough for him.

Alice and I had grown incredibly close, but I was still afraid she would think that I working for her and being with her brother wasn't compatible and I couldn't lose my job. If I did, I would end up having to move back to Forks with Charlie. I would be proving to him that he was right and I couldn't make it on my own.

Sooner or later, I would have to get up the courage and tell her, though, while hoping Edward was right when he told me he was sure Alice would be happy for us.

I shook my head and tried to concentrate on the papers in front of me again. Thinking about Edward and his family's dynamic at work was probably not wise.

I would either forget to do something one of these days or slip and tell Alice everything just like that. I could already see the scene unfolding in my mind and the end result wasn't very good.

Concentrate on the damn paper, Bella! Alice needs her accounts in order so she can make those clothes you don't understand anything about but that are definitely beautiful!

"Hi." I lifted my eyes off the paper and found myself looking directly at Edward, who looked, as always, delectable.

"Hi! What are you doing here?" Without truly realizing what I was doing, I got up and walked towards him, letting him wrap his arm around my waist.

"I thought I could be a good brother and invite my sister for lunch." I smiled at him and nodded while he leaned in to kiss me.

"She went downstairs to the bank but should be back soon."

"Good. Of course that by coming here, I was also hoping I would see you and maybe steal a few kisses." He winked at me and I couldn't help but to laugh while wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Well, since you're already here, I might as well give you those kisses, no?"

"Definitely." I hummed in agreement and stood in my tiptoes so I could meet him half way and lost myself in his sweet kisses.

We kissed for a few minutes and only when the need to breathe was imperative did we pull back.

Edward ran his hands up my back and smiled.

"I'm starting to think I should've come to visit you sooner. I like being able to kiss you in the middle of the day." I giggled and kissed him again before stepping away from his embrace.

"Yes, I do too, but now behave because your sister will be here soon!" And as on cue, she came in the room and immediately stopped when she saw Edward.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" She danced towards Edward and he leaned in to kiss her cheek.

"I came to see if you wanted to have lunch with me." Alice smiled widely at him and nodded enthusiastically.

"Sure. Just let me drop these off and we can go." He nodded as Alice dropped the papers on her desk and looked at me. "Are you coming, Bella?"

"I don't know. Maybe I should—" Edward immediately interrupted me.

"Yes, Bella, come." I sent him a glare as well as I could without Alice noticing and controlled the urge to roll my eyes when he just smiled crookedly at me.

Needless to say, I ended up having lunch with both of them.

I didn't pay much attention to the subject of talk during lunch, though, since Edward's hand was on my thigh, caressing it and setting my whole body ablaze.

He wasn't playing fair at all and I would make him pay for it later.

All I knew was that Edward and I had apparently agreed to be at Alice's apartment tonight for an intimate dinner with her, Jasper, Emmett and his girlfriend.

I was in for an interesting night, no doubt.

--

When we got off work, Alice practically dragged me to her apartment, saying that she had made the perfect dress for me and that I would have to wear it tonight.

Apparently, dressing Bella up was one of Alice's favorite past times these days. I had to admit, the dress was beautiful and even though I had no idea how she had done it, it fit me perfectly.

The dress was midnight blue, ended just below my thighs and had straps that tied around my neck. Something told me Edward would like it and that realization had me smiling throughout the entire night.

Alice looked beautiful in her green dress as well and once Jasper got to her apartment, I could immediately understand why she had dressed up. She was completely committed to seducing him. Not that I thought she would have to try very hard because it was more than obvious that Jasper was entirely enthralled by her.

They made a cute couple.

Shortly after Jasper arrived, Edward, Emmett and Rosalie did as well and I was surprised by how comfortable I was with them all.

During the dinner, we fell into an easy conversation and I had to confess I found myself blushing every time I caught Edward looking at me for a little longer. Every time I could feel his eyes trailing up and down my body, stopping at my legs for a little longer.

I knew he would like the dress! I would definitely have to thank Alice for this later.

I learned quite a lot about Emmett and Rosalie's lives and their jobs and even about Jasper, who seemed to be a little more reserved and was mostly paying attention to Alice.

Once the dinner was over and Emmett had eaten most of the food, Alice asked me to go back to the kitchen to get the cake she had bought earlier and it, apparently, gave Edward the perfect excuse to follow me.

I was glad for that because I certainly needed a few moments alone with him before the urge to jump on his lap and kiss his lips, his jaw and his neck took over me.

I felt his eyes on me while we walked to the kitchen and I couldn't help but sway my hips from side to side just to tease him a little.

Once we got to the kitchen, I turned around to look at him but before I could say anything, his arms were around me, my back was pressed against the kitchen counter and his lips were on mine, kissing me in that amazing way he did that reduced me to silly whimpers.

In a matter of seconds, I was completely and totally lost on him and didn't even care where we were.

My hands gripped his shoulders for support as we explored each other's mouths.

When we pulled back for air, he kissed the tip of my nose and smiled down at me.

"I've wanted to do this all night!" I nodded as his lips found mine again and couldn't help but to moan into his mouth when he nibbled on my lower lip.

When we pulled back again, I kissed his jaw and looked down at where the cake was.

"We should probably take the cake before Alice comes looking for it." Edward laughed.

"Or Emmett…" I laughed as well and hummed in pleasure as his hands moved up and down my back massaging it.

Edward kissed my nose and then placed his lips against my ear, sending a shiver down my body.

"You know, this sneaking around thing is kind of thrilling!" I giggled at him, but my giggle quickly became a muffled moan as he nibbled on my earlobe before kissing down my neck.

"That's very kinky of you, Mr. Cullen!" I felt him nod against my neck and I wound my fingers in his hair.

I moaned again as he sucked on the pulsing spot on my neck and threw my head back.

"That's good…"

"I'm glad you think so." I nodded as he kept on kissing me. "You smell so good."

When his hands moved down my waist to my ass, I knew we had to stop, though. If Alice walked in on us, I couldn't imagine what she would do, but I was sure it would include a lot of squeaking.

"Yes. We really should stop, though. I don't want Alice to catch us."

"Alice wouldn't mind." I sighed as he kept lavishing attention to my neck.

"I'll be fired."

"No, you won't." Yeah, right! You say that because you don't know about all the details I gave her about her own brother… "She loves you and I'm her favorite brother."

I rolled my eyes at him and pushed him back. As much as I liked kissing him, this wasn't the right place for it.

"Rational. I know you're right, but I don't know... Either way I don't want her to find out we're together by walking in on us while we are making out in her kitchen!" He chuckled at me, but took a step back.

"I can't help it! You look too tempting in that dress." His eyes trailed up and down my body as I blushed.

"Yes, well, it was Alice's doing."

"Then I have to find a way of thanking her." I nodded and he got closer to me again, kissing me.

"You really do look beautiful today." I smiled up at him.

"Thank you." He smiled back at me and softly kissed me once more, taking a few steps back just as Alice came in.

"Where's that cake, Bella? I've been craving it all afternoon!" I immediately picked the cake up and handed it to her.

"Craving, huh? Should we be expecting a little Cullen anytime soon?" Edward raised an eyebrow as Alice shook her head and I smiled.

I was teasing her, but the truth was that the damn cake was mouthwatering. I would have to make sure I tasted it before Emmett got to it.

"Not unless Emmett or Edward knocked someone up!" She looked directly at Edward who simply smiled.

"Well I certainly didn't knock anyone up, but you might want to ask Emmett if he and Rosalie are planning to start a family anytime soon." Alice laughed and turned around, walking back to the living room.

"As if I want to give them the opportunity to talk about their sex life!" I couldn't help but to laugh as well at the distressed look on Edward's face.

I guessed that when it came to their activities as a couple, Emmett and Rosalie knew no boundaries!

I could easily come to like every single one of these people.

A review for a teaser, yes?

Happy holidays, everyone!!!