A/N: Thank you for loving my story.

A good song for this chapter: "More of You" by The Avett Brothers

Sneak Peek: "If we weren't at your parents' house… Can we finish that later?"

As I've come to expect each and every Christmas Eve over the last three years, Benji crawls into bed with me around eleven o'clock.

"Dude, your feet are freezing," I tell him as he snuggles up to me.

"But you're warm, so they won't be cold for very long," he says, sighing as he settles down and hugs his teddy bear to his chest. "Do you think Santa will come soon?"

"Not until you're asleep. You know that."

He looks up at me and bats his crazy-long eyelashes. "If you scratch my back, I might fall asleep faster."

I chuckle but comply with his wishes. I can't deny the little guy anything, and he knows it.

"What's Santa gonna bring you?" he asks. "I hope he brings me a Wii."

"A Wii?"

"Yeah. I hope he still has plenty. All my friends want one, too. Plus, Mom wants it so she can exercise."

I squeeze him in a hug. "I'm sure Santa has plenty of them. But you heard me. He won't come till you're asleep."

He's quiet for a few minutes, but when I think he's finally drifting off, he whispers, "B? Can we listen to music?" I reach over and turn the radio on low. As I listen to my little brother's breathing even out and the quiet lullaby of Christmas carols over the airwaves, the calm lulls me into a deep sleep.

Christmas morning is a little chaotic, with Benji becoming more and more excited with each present he opens. He gets the Wii he wished for, as well as tons of Legos and Harry Potter loot. Mom and Dad give me a nice coffee maker and some books and clothes. As much fun as it is to watch Benji open his gifts, I'm most excited to finally give Edward his. After the sea of wrapping paper is cleared away, we eat a big family breakfast, then set up the Wii for a game of Mario Kart.

Benji is busy assigning everyone their characters when the doorbell rings. When I open the door, Edward's standing on the porch in a reindeer-covered Christmas sweater, grinning and holding a pile of gifts. "Merry Christmas," he says, leaning over his armful of packages to give me a quick kiss. "Pie?"

"Hi. Merry Christmas. Love the sweater." I try unsuccessfully to hold back laughter as I take two pies from him.

He rolls his eyes. "Tradition. Mom insists."

I giggle and help him bring the presents into the living room.

"Edward!" Benji yells.

My parents and Edward exchange greetings, and he carefully places brightly wrapped boxes on the coffee table. "How big was the lump of coal Santa left in your stocking?" he teases Benji.

"He didn't! He left me this," says Benji, pointing his remote at the television and shaking it around. "Wanna play with us? Bella will probably take turns with you."

"I think I'm good for now. Maybe later, okay?"

He nods, engrossed in creating his little Wii character, but then the colorful packages on the table catch his eye. "Are those for me?" he asks, eyes sparkling and hands folded in front of his chest.

Edward laughs. "Some of them are. You want to open them now?"

The only answer is the wild tearing of wrapping paper and little yells of excitement at yet another new Lego set, some action figures, and a Hogwarts t-shirt. Benji shouts a thanks to Edward and bequeaths him with a short hug. Then he puts his new toys in a pile with the others and goes back to bossing Dad around, telling him how Mario Kart works.

Edward picks up the last, smallest package and grabs me by the hand, leading me back to my bedroom. "It took me a while to figure out what to get you," he says once we're alone.

"Me too," I tell him with a shy grin. "But I think I found the perfect thing in the end."

"Not to be conceited or anything, but I think I might win." He presents me with the small box, and we sit next to each other on the bed.

I take it gingerly and begin to peel the tape from the paper, shaking the small white box next to my ear once it's unwrapped. "Hmm. No rattling."

"Just open it, Bella."

I lift the top from the box to find a piece of folded white paper. "What's this?" I ask, glancing sideways at Edward.

"Open it," he repeats, fidgeting with a throw pillow from the bed.

I unfold the square of paper to find a picture of a telescope. A really nice telescope. It takes me a minute, but I finally recognize the corner of my bedroom in my apartment. "This is…my room. You got me a telescope?"

"I knew you didn't have one, and I thought…well…astronomy…"

I blink a couple of times, staring at the photograph, and repeat, "You got me a telescope?"

"It's not a super top-of-the-line model or anything," he answers quickly. "Just a little something…" He trails off, and I realize that he's trying to gauge my reaction. I look up at him with a huge smile and throw my arms around his neck.

"Thank you so much! This is the seriously best present ever, Edward."

I feel him sigh and bury his face in my hair. "You really like it? I was nervous for a second there."

"I love it. I really do." I kiss him softly on the lips. "I can't wait to play with it later."

He snorts at the double entendre, but he knows better than to say what I know he's itching to say. I ignore it and cross the room to pick up his gift from my desk. "Here you go," I say, presenting it to him with a flourish. His gift to me may be amazing, but I'm still confident that he'll love mine.

"Wow." He takes it from me and tries to shake it. "It's heavy."

"Open it!" I say, bouncing on the bed next to him.

"Okay, okay. Miss Impatient." He winks, and my anticipation grows with the sound of ripping paper. When the box is revealed, I'm beyond excited to watch his jaw drop. "Bella… Oh, wow." He turns the box around and examines the picture of the vintage-style turntable on the front.

"I saw it and thought of all those old records wasting away in your closet. I can't wait to listen to them."

"Neither can I," he says, setting the box aside and kissing me. "This is amazing. Thank you." His hands go to either side of my face, and the kiss lingers. It's soft and playful with gentle nips at first, then heavier. Hotter. But it ends way too soon. Like magnets, my lips follow his as he pulls back. He chuckles, and when he speaks, his voice is low and rich. "If we weren't at your parents' house… Can we finish that later?"

"Can we go soon, then?" I ask, in a daze.

"I think your family might be upset if I whisk you away so soon on Christmas. And my parents want to see you, too."

I shrug. "It was worth a try."

We split the remainder of the day between my family and the Cullens. Dinner at the Cullens' house is surprisingly a much smaller affair than Thanksgiving. Edward's grandparents are there, and members of his family drop in throughout the day. I'm relieved. Thanksgiving Day at their house was overwhelming. Jasper and Rose are there as well, and the happiness practically shines on Esme's face. I think she's dipped into the eggnog a few times, because she tells us all multiple times how much she loves us and how glad she is to have us as part of her family.

I'm exhausted by the end of the day when Edward drives us back to my apartment. While I missed Rose at first when she started staying with Emmett every night, now that Edward and I are together, it's nice to have the place to ourselves. After such an eventful day, bliss is stretching out and relaxing without interruption.

We lie on my bed in pajamas, talking in between kisses. The length of conversation grows shorter each time, and the making out becomes more heated.

"Plans for New Year's Eve?" Edward asks huskily, attempting once again to break the steamy sexual tension. I open my eyes with some effort. His are heavy-lidded, and his lips look as kiss-bruised as mine feel. I know he's worried about me feeling rushed, but I'm caving quickly. And at the moment, I'm a little too dazed. The room spins a bit too much for me to be coherent.

"Uh…no? I mean, I don't know. Let's just do this," I murmur, diving back in to kiss him again.

Every time our lips meet, my whole body tingles. When he tilts his head and thrusts his tongue into my mouth, tingles turn to warm waves that spread from my chest out into my limbs, down into the pit of my stomach, and end between my thighs. I want so badly for him to touch me, but his hands never quite make it there. I press myself against his chest, and his hands rub slowly up and down my back, over my butt, my thigh. He hooks my leg around his and pull me against him, and I can feel how hard he is. He drags his lips from my mouth, across my jaw, down my neck, leaving a path of open-mouthed kisses. The feeling of his tongue underneath my earlobe makes my heart stutter. He bites lightly and soothes it with his tongue.

"You're so beautiful, Bella," he whispers. He hesitates—like he wants to say more—but just grins before kissing me again. I think I know exactly what he wants to say, because I feel it, too.

I also know we won't be "taking it slow" for much longer.

Thanks to my ingenious idea of a Christmas gift, Edward and I lounge around his bedroom on New Year's Day, listening to his collection of vintage albums. As Abbey Road comes to an end, I sit on the floor in front of the crate full of vinyl and flip through. I choose a Dire Straits album on a whim and put on one of my favorite songs, "Romeo and Juliet," then go back to browsing the titles.

Suddenly, I feel Edward kneel behind me and wrap his arms around my waist, singing along with the song. "You and me babe, how 'bout it?"

I giggle. "I've always loved that part."

He kisses behind my ear. "And I love you." My heart leaps into my throat. There's a shocked pause, and his whole body tenses against me. "I—that just slipped out," he says quietly.

My hands start to shake slightly, so I pull them into my lap. I don't know what to say. He lets out a long breath and moves to sit next to me on the floor, taking one of my hands in both of his. "I do, though. I wasn't going to say anything yet because I didn't want to push." He runs a hand through his hair, then tilts my chin gently so I'll look him in the eye. "But I do. I love you, Bella."

I know he does. And I feel badly for making him feel like he'd scare me away by telling me. I swallow thickly and blink as my eyes start to sting a little. "You're not pushing. I never want you to feel like you have to hold back." I grin at him, and he smiles back at me tentatively as I climb into his lap. I trail kisses up to his ear and whisper, "And I love you, too."

His head jerks back. The expression on his face is heart-melting and humorous all at once, eyebrows raised and mouth quirked up on one side in my favorite smile. "You do?"

I nod.

"You're not just saying it because you feel like you have to say it back? Because you—"

I cut him off by pressing my lips to his. "I love you, Edward. I'm saying it because I mean it."

He locks his arms around me in a bone-crushing hug. "God, that's amazing. I was afraid you'd think it was too much, too fast. You said you wanted to take things slowly."

I shrug. "Maybe slow's overrated."

He chuckles and pulls me closer. I wrap my legs around him and attack him with my mouth. It doesn't start out slowly, and there's nothing overly romantic about it. Our tongues slide together immediately, and pure want thrums through my body. I press myself against him where I feel him hard and ready. The friction makes us both moan and utter oaths between breaths.

His hands go to my hips and pull me tighter against him. "So good," he mutters into my ear, sending a wave of heat from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I curse the layers of denim between us as the throbbing between my legs becomes unbearable. I lift up briefly to move to my knees, giving me a better angle to grind myself against him.

"Oh," I utter lowly. "That's..." I don't actually have words for how blissful it feels.

"Yeah…" He trails off, his hips moving up to meet mine as best as he can while sitting cross-legged on the floor. He moves us backward until he's sitting up against the wall with his legs stretched out in front of him. "That's better," he says huskily, his eyes on mine. His hands move from my hips up my sides and slide underneath my shirt. He wastes no time pulling the cups of my bra down and sliding his thumbs over my hardened nipples. "Bella," he mumbles, sounding as incoherent as I feel. I moan, and my head lolls back as his hands play at my breasts.

The sensation sends shockwaves straight to my center, and I feel a familiar pressure building there. "Oh, God," I groan into his neck. "I think…" I whimper slightly as the feeling mounts and narrows to a point, then explodes outward. I'm shattered, making sounds I don't recognize and shaking in his arms.

He pushes harder against me, groaning and tightening his grip on my hips, pulling me down hard. His head thumps back against the wall, and I slump forward on his chest, my face buried in his neck. As I slowly come back to myself, I feel somewhat sheepish. That feeling is short-lived, however, because the radiant smile on his face when I raise my head tells me that he's not embarrassed at all. He pulls me forward and kisses me lazily. "That felt…"

I nod. We apparently both have trouble finding words for a moment.

"Hey," he says, nudging me so I'll look at him. "I love you."

"I love you, too," I whisper against his mouth.

After a minute of basking in his presence, in his words, I climb off him, knowing he'll need the bathroom. When he disappears to clean up, I sit breathless on the floor for a few seconds before sprawling out on my back with a giant, satisfied smile on my face.

Edward Cullen loves me.

And I love him back.