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Chapter 14

"So, what do you think?" he asked, almost shyly as he stopped the car at the bottom of a long, sweeping driveway.

A large, brightly lit house was nestled amongst a dense forest. It was set high up on a hill side with the most incredible view of the Puget Sound.

"This?" I looked up to the house and whispered, "Wow."

"Do you want to see inside?" He still sounded apprehensive, as if he needed my approval.

"Definitely," I said, still gazing out over the water. "That view is amazing. Is this yours?"

"No… not yet anyway. It's not officially for sale," he told me as we drove up to the house. "My realtor got me an appointment to view it before it goes on the market. The owners want a quick sale and apparently I'm a good prospective buyer."

We stopped outside a double garage and I looked up at the house, there were balconies and verandas leading from several rooms upstairs making the most of the incredible views. There were more windows than I wanted to count but whoever built it had the right idea, because it was something worth seeing. I was still staring when Edward opened my door. I got out slowly, reluctant to look away.

"I'd buy it for the views alone," I said quietly.

"I haven't seen inside yet come on." He grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind him.

"How do you suppose we do that without a realtor?" I asked. "You do realize breaking and entering is a crime?"

Edward pulled a key out of his pocket and waved it in front of me. "No breaking and entering necessary."

"You have a key?" I asked in shock and he nodded. "How?"

"My realtor has been trying to find me a house since I arrived in the city, Bella, and I'm not the easiest person to work with. She's eager for me to find something and earn her hefty commission, but she's also learned that I don't like having someone pointing out features and rooms when I view properties. I like to do things on my own—you know that. The owner relocated to the East Coast recently so we won't be disturbed." He unlocked the front door and we stepped inside the foyer.

The floor was covered in terracotta tiles which looked like they belonged in a rustic villa in Italy. The walls were simple and cream and the ceiling was decked in stained wood. There was a wide, wooden staircase with wrought iron railings led up to the first floor, which Edward walked me towards.

The floor tiles seemed to be a feature throughout the house, as did the cream walls and wooden ceilings, but it worked beautifully. Off the first stair case was a small alcove and a little seating area, which looked out onto the rear of the property and a very private garden. There was a large white kitchen overlooking the water and door which opened up onto a veranda. I pictured myself sitting out there eating breakfast with Edward and then forced the image from my head.

His house… just his house, Bella.

I followed Edward into the adjoining dining room with equally stunning views."This is really something, Edward," I said, totally mesmerized. "Wow."

"As soon as she emailed me the details I was eager to see it," he admitted. "But, I didn't expect this."

As we wandered around there were several other staircases leading to the upper floors, we headed up a narrow spiral one, which led to the very top of the house. There was nothing in here but two chairs, but as soon as I saw the sun dipping below the horizon I understood why.

"I could sit in here all day, every day," I said wistfully. "Who would ever want to sell this place? Even if I moved to the other side of the world I'd keep this and just use every excuse I could to come back here."

"Luckily for me, the current owner doesn't agree." Edward's arms snaked around my waist and he rested his chin on my shoulder, watching the view with me. "I like what I see so far."

"You are going to buy it, right?"

He chuckled. "We have a lot left to see, Bella."

"I don't care," I told him. "I'd live quite happily in this room."

"Come on," he said and turned me around to face him. "Let's see the rest."

"If you don't buy it, I will." I kissed him once and smirked.

"Oh really?" He laughed. "May I ask how you plan to do that on your new salary?"

"Trust me, if I brought my mother out here, she'd fall in love with it too and Phil hasn't learned how to say no to her yet." I patted his cheek. "Don't take too long, Eddie, or you'll have some stiff competition for this place."

We headed back down the spiral staircase and the next room we found was the huge master bedroom. The ceilings were gloriously high with floor to ceiling windows, and depending on which way you turned it was like you were in a different place. To the right was the sound, the sun now almost invisible, but its last few rays twinkling on the water's surface. Straight ahead, there was the green of the trees and bushes that surrounded the house, and I felt like we were in a cabin in the middle of the forest completely isolated from the rest of the world. Then, to the left was a set of doors which opened onto a small space with a very appealing hot tub and spectacular views of the mountain range.

"It's like being in three places at once," I murmured, not sure which one I preferred, then I saw how much Edward was smiling and I didn't care about the views.

The master bathroom consisted of a two person shower and a sunken bath, again overlooking the Sound. There was also a vast walk in wardrobe with enough room for all of mine, Carmen, and Amber's clothes.

I want to live here.

As Edward examined all of the fittings and details I sat down on the bed and wished I never had to leave. I don't know how long I sat there, but Edward sitting beside me brought me back to reality.

"We've still got more to see," he told me softly.

"I'll just wait here," I said and he laughed. "I'm serious. I love this house. Did you bring me out here to show off?"

"Not at all." He rested his hand on my thigh. "I saw one or two pictures that my realtor sent me, but they were all of the exterior. I had no idea how amazing the views were and I certainly had no idea what it was like inside. Although, now I understand why she recommended viewing it before it went on the market."

"Honestly, I didn't see you in a place like this," I said to him and he smiled.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I saw you as a city boy… the hotel suits you. No fuss, no cleaning and no roots." I saw him shake his head.

"The hotel is convenient for work, but it's not home. I loved where I lived as a kid before everything went wrong, it was my favourite place in the world and I think I'm so fussy now because I want that again." He stood up and walked over to the window. "I like the seclusion and the serenity."

The silence was interrupted by my stomach growling loudly. Edward chuckled and turned around. "I hope that was your stomach and not a bear out in those woods."

"Very funny, asshole," I muttered. "It was my stomach, I'm starving."

"Let's go and get some dinner. We can come back and see the rest another time; I need to drop these keys off anyway." He held out his hand and we walked back through the house.

"Are you going to buy it?"

"There are a few things to consider, but I think so, yeah." He nodded. "I can't stay at the hotel forever. This is a little further from the city than I wanted, but it gives me the excuse to drive my car more often than I do."

"You and that car." I rolled my eyes. "Should I expect to see you on one of those bizarre television shows where people fall in love with inanimate objects and screw their cars up the tail pipe?"

"Where people do what up the tail pipe?" he asked in disgust and I laughed.

"I guess you don't watch much television?"

"No, and after that last remark I'm not sure I want to." He pulled a face. "What kind of inanimate objects are we talking about?"

"Um… there was one woman who fell in love with a wall… she kissed it and slept with a piece of it. For real she got turned on by it—so bizarre." I started to tell him about another, but he cut me off quickly.

"Actually, forget I asked. That visual is not something I need in my mind." We walked around the back of his car and I saw his eyes drop to the tail pipe and then he shuddered. "Jesus, there are some deranged people on this planet. Why would anyone do that?"

"I guess some guys just don't have a real girl to stick it in," I suggested and he laughed. "You'd better hope I stick around, Mr. Cullen or you might find yourself drawn to the rear end of your car. I guess if you turned the engine on, it would give a whole new meaning to the term blow job."

"You're so weird sometimes," he said, still laughing.

"I aim to please," I said and then kissed him. "Now can we go and eat, or my stomach rumbling is likely to turn into a full on bear growl!"

TBMOA

After he dropped off the keys at the realtors, I suggested going back to his hotel instead of going out to dinner. I liked being alone with him, he was so much less guarded and the pizza we had the other night was actually good.

"You don't have to read manuscripts tonight, do you?" I asked and kicked off my shoes.

"I spent most of last night reading manuscripts so I didn't have to read any tonight," he told me and held out his hand for my coat.

"No urgent phone calls from Phil or Emmett?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Nothing's going to happen until we fly out to San Francisco. Tonight, Bella, I'm all yours."

How about for much, much longer than that?

"I like the sound of that," I said and my eyes landed on his oversized, appealing bath tub. "How about a soak in the tub while we wait for room service?"

He pulled a face. "You are joking?"

"Why not?" I laughed to myself and started running the water.

"The fact that we'd be sitting in our own filth doesn't bother you?" he scoffed and I raised my eyebrows accusingly.

"Filth? You think I'm filthy?" I walked into the bathroom and started running the water despite his protest. "You're heading into dangerous waters there, Edward."

"I don't think you're filthy," he groaned. "I just meant all the skin and… never mind. How about we take a shower instead?"

"No, I think I need to intervene, Mr. Cullen," I said as sexily as I could.

"Intervene?"

"Mm hm. Definitely an intervention required." I nodded and loosened his tie, pulling it slowly from around his neck. "You turned your nose up at Pizza the last time I was here and look how good that was?"

"True," he murmured and watched me intensely as I unbuttoned his shirt. "The pizza was good… when you were here."

"So might it be safe to assume that a bath could also be quite enjoyable?" I pushed the opened shirt off his shoulders onto the floor.

"The pizza wasn't as enjoyable last night when I was alone." He smirked and leaned forward to kiss me once. "So I think it would be beneficial to apply that same criteria to the bath."

"I can work with that." I smiled and turned off the water.

I wiggled out of my jeans and threw them across the bathroom, keeping my eyes on him watching me hungrily. I peeled off my shit and threw that equally dramatically and Edward laughed.

"I have a few rules, Mr. Cullen," I said standing in front of him in just my underwear.

"Rules?" he asked as he kicked off his shoes. "Not sure I like the idea of rules in my bathroom."

"My intervention, my rules I'm afraid. To fully appreciate the bath, you need to focus only on the bath and not your bathing companion." I winked and pointed to his pants and then to the floor. "And you need to lose those. Clothing is not permitted at any time in the bath."

"I think the focusing on anything but my bathing companion is unlikely," he mumbled and pushed his pants down to the floor. "Focusing on anything but you is hard enough when you're dressed, Bella. I don't stand a chance when you're naked and within touching distance."

"Naked and wet," I teased. "But, it's important you follow the bathing etiquette."

Edward didn't seem to want to play along anymore; he took a stride in my direction and grabbed my waist. Without a word he kissed me, hungrily attacking my mouth and almost making me forget all about intervention and bathing etiquette.

Almost.

"Tut, tut, tut," I breathed, mustering up all my strength to push him away. "I'm disappointed, Mr. Cullen."

"Go with it and trust me you won't be disappointed, Miss Swan." He tried to kiss me again but I put two fingers over his mouth and shook my head.

"Take off your boxer shorts," I told him, keeping my eyes north of his waist to avoid any possible distraction, because fuck he was very distracting. "Now get in the bath."

With a frustrated huff he stepped into the bath and slowly sat down, submerging under the water. "Am I supposed to feel something?"

"Relaxed? Comfortable?" I said and he shook his head.

"Nope. Frustrated, lonely, and definitely not relaxed." He indicated to his dick and I giggled. "This isn't doing much to convert me to baths I'm afraid."

"Oh, I'm not done yet." I winked and ran out of the bathroom to the bar. I grabbed two glasses, a corkscrew and a bottle of red wine before hurrying back to Edward.

"It's going to take more than a glass of wine to change my mind, Bella," he chuckled.

"How about," I handed him a glass and opened the bottle. "A whole bottle of wine and…"

"And?" He raised his eyebrow and I smirked.

"Company?" I took a drink of wine and then removed my bra and panties, slipping into the bath with him.

"Things are definitely improving." He grinned, pulling me up between his legs and rested his head on my shoulder. "But I think there is a pattern developing. Just like the cold hotel Pizza, it's going to be something I only enjoy with you."

He started to kiss my neck and I pulled away. "No branding tonight," I said and he laughed. "I'm serious, Edward, I'm in enough trouble as it is. Phil will no doubt tell my mother about my mystery boyfriend and she will not let it go."

"What will you say?" he asked, sounding amused and kissing my neck again—softly this time.

"I'll just tell her that the mystery neck sucker was some incredibly sexy and intense guy I met in a club." I refilled our glasses and took a drink.

"Sexy and intense? You got lucky, huh?"

"Yeah… intensely irritating, opinionated, bossy, sulky, and impossible to please," I teased, and Edward started tickling my ribs.

I squirmed around in his lap making a weird combination of laughter and squealing as I tried to move out of his hold.

"Opinionated?" he asked, laughing at my reaction. "Irritating?"

"Yes," I cried stubbornly.

"Bossy? Impossible to please?" He was laughing more than I'd heard. "Is that what you said?"

"Yes," I continued to cry and squirm. "And impossible to please… don't forget that."

My legs were thrashing about and we managed to knock the bottle of wine into the tub, turning the water red.

"Oops," Edward said and stopped tickling me.

"What a waste," I said and pushed away to the other side of the bath. "That was perfectly good wine and now it's all gone thanks to you."

He smirked. "Sorry."

"Don't be." I smiled. "I'd take that every day to hear you laugh like that. You'd surprise so many people if they ever saw this side of you."

He shook his head. "I don't think anyone has ever seen this side to me, Bella. I didn't even know this side of me existed until recently."

Oh God, I love you.

I didn't tell him that of course, I just revelled in the feeling for a few seconds and then changed the subject.

"As much fun as it was, I'm still disappointed in your blatant disregard for bath etiquette… there should be no spilling of alcohol in the bath tub." I shook my head and added, "I was actually quite enjoying that wine."

"I think I'm going to enjoy it more now," he said roughly.

"The wine or the bath?" I asked.

"Both." I started to remind him of the rules, but he clamped his hand over my mouth. "Fuck bath etiquette."

This time I just nodded and decided going along with it was going to be much more fun than messing with him. He pulled me into his lap and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

"You couldn't do this in a shower," I reminded him as he leaned into kiss me and he laughed.

As he kissed me, something felt different. It was still as intense and passionate as before, but there was something I couldn't quite place… something more between us. I felt it and I wondered if Edward could too. Fuck, I hoped he could feel it too.

As we kissed, his hands roamed over my body, sliding across my wet, soapy and winey skin. "Baths are pretty fucking good," he moaned against my mouth.

Edward's lips left mine and wandered down my neck, paying extra care to be gentle and not leave another offending mark. He then trailed his tongue along my collar bone to my shoulder and it left a burning trail across my skin.

He placed one hand on my chest and slowly encouraged me to lean backwards, arching my back. As soon as I did, he lowered his head more, covering as much of my body with his tongue as he could.

"Oh God, that feels so fucking good," I breathed when he flicked his tongue on my nipple. "Edward, come here."

I tugged on his hair, pulling him back up so I could kiss him. I shifted in his lap gasping when the tip of his cock, brushed against me. "Bella," he hissed as I moved just enough for him to slide inside me. "Jesus."

Edward braced his legs on the side of the tub so he didn't slide around, then his head hell back as I started to roll my hips around. It wasn't easy and it certainly wasn't the most comfortable position, but watching him… feeling him more than made up for the discomfort.

His fingers dug into my hips and his eyes squeezed shut. "Fuck," he groaned and then reached between us with one hand to rub my clit.

I felt my stomach clench almost immediately and the rest of my body stiffened in anticipation. I held onto the side of the bath, my arms shaking and Edward opened his eyes to watch me.

This time it was my movements that faltered, I couldn't move as my orgasm tore through me, Edward thrust his hips upwards two or three more times and then he came. As he did, his entire body relaxed and he was no longer bracing himself, so we slid down the bath, sloshing even more water around and over the edges.

I turned around and lay back against his chest, sighing in contentment. "See, baths aren't so bad. Even when you don't follow bath etiquette."

"I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I'd like to point out something, Bella," he murmured and I craned my neck to look at him. "We are currently laying in rapidly cooling water, mixed with wine and spunk."

I pulled a face and nodded. "You make a very good point there. Shower?"

"That depends, are there going to be more rules and etiquette to follow?"

"No rules." I kissed him. "I promise."

Edward…

She did it again... every damned minute I spend with her I feel like I'm a different person. Is it normal to crave someone so fucking badly? At the house all I could see was Bella. Every image in my mind wasn't me… it was us… Fuck!

A/N

Thank you so much as always for reading and your incredible reviews. I should be back next Sunday

There will be a teaser posted in the FB group MrsK81 fic and I'll also post photos of the house Edward took Bella to see posted in there if you want to have a little looksy ;)

I do also hope to post a new chapter of Somehow I Found You soon… I'm just about finished with the next update. Please bear with me a little longer.

TTFN

Katy

xoxo