EPOV

My heart is still racing as I try to control my heavy breathing. That was intense. I woke up not long ago wrapped around Bella's gloriously naked form. My wife. I couldn't resist, and my hands started exploring her body seemingly of their own accord. That woke her up, and she eagerly reciprocated. Now, she is snuggled into my embrace, a sigh escaping her lips. Rather than blissful, though, it's sounds more melancholy.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing," she replies. "It's silly."

"If it upsets you, it's not silly. Tell me," I urge her.

She looks up at me then, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"I was just thinking about yesterday, and how wonderful it all was," she starts. "Then I remembered I won't get to be Bella Cullen after today..."

"That's only temporary, baby," I try to reassure her. "As soon as this is all over, Jasper will have the judge file and process our marriage certificate, with yesterday's date."

"I know, that's why I said it's silly. I just can't help feeling sad over it, though."

"You're allowed to feel that way. All of this is really overwhelming," I reply.

She snuggles back into my embrace and I kiss the top of her head, my fingers dancing up and down her spine.

"Wanna know what else I arranged with Jasper while you were out with my mom and Alice yesterday?" I ask, to which she nods. "Well, I know where we're going tomorrow, but you're not allowed to mention it to anyone, not even Jasper, even though he arranged it." At her frown, I elaborate, "We don't want to risk anyone overhearing. So what I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room, got it?"

She nods, her earlier tears having dried up.

Tomorrow a US Marshall will be here to pick us up and take us to New Orleans."

Her eyes light up a bit at that.

"I've never been there before. Always wanted to, though," she confesses.

"You'll be my Queen of New Orleans," I reply teasingly, to which she giggles.

I'm glad to hear that sound and vow to always try to make her smile like this.

"The Marshall's actually a friend of Jasper's, and his wife Charlotte is a counselor."

"So that means...?"

"She'll be briefed on our case and can work with us. Peter, the Marshall, will set us up with housing and some low-key jobs."

Next, I move to the part I hope she'll like.

"I also came up with names for us, so Jasper can prepare our new IDs."

"Oh?"

"We're going to be Tommy and Gina Masen," I declare.

She appears thoughtful for a moment, before asking, "I get how you came up with Tommy and Gina, but where does Masen come from?"

"It's my mom's maternal grandmother's maiden name," I explain. "I wanted us to have at least some family connection."

Bella reaches up her hand to cup my face, pulling it toward hers.

"I love it," she says, then kisses me.

I've always loved kissing her, but since having been apart, I savor each time I get to kiss her again. My left arm is wrapped around her waist, leaving my right hand free to roam her body. Starting at her face, I cup her cheek, moving my hand down to her neck then back to run through her hair. My hand next moves down her shoulder and to the front, where I fondle her breast and tweak her nipple. Bella moans and pushes against me, rolling me onto my back. She settles on my lap, my growing erection resting heavily between us. She sits up, allowing me an enticing view of her mussed hair, flushed face, and breasts heaving with her labored breaths. Admiring the view, I reach up my hands to cup them, brushing my thumbs over her nipples. She gasps at my touch and crashes her lips back to mine, kissing me hungrily.

Shifting in my lap, she uses her hand to guide me inside her, both of us moaning. This feeling never gets old. If I could stay like this forever, I'd die a happy man. Our movements are slow and unhurried, savoring the connection. She grinds on top of me, the friction slowly building. I could probably come just from this feeling and the sight of her moving above me, but I want to make this last, so I focus on making her feel good. She teases me by rising up slowly and pausing with just my tip inside of her. I reciprocate by thrusting my hips up, eliciting a deep moan from her. She smiles and bites her lip at my cocked brow, then continues her movements.

~o.O.o~

Suddenly, there is loud knocking on the door to our suite. Bella freezes in my lap, while my body is desperate to keep moving.

"Who could that be?" she whispers, as though we're at risk of being walked in on.

"I don't know," I mutter, my brain trying to catch up with what's going on.

Moments later, the knocking resumes, followed by a voice calling out to us.

"Rise and shine, love birds! It's time for your make-overs!"

"Shit," I curse, reaching for the alarm clock on the bedside table.

It's already ten.

"I forgot to set an alarm," I tell Bella.

"Dammit," she mutters, then leans down to kiss me. "Later," she whispers against my lips.

I roll us over and reluctantly pull out of her.

"I'll go let them in," I say, grabbing pants and a t-shirt off the bench beneath the window.

~o.O.o~

I open the door to a dark-skinned man with dreads pulled back from his face, and a blond man with artfully gelled hair and guyliner. They're both carrying roller cases and a large bag.

"Hi, good morning," the guy with the dreads greets me. "Sorry if we woke you up."

"That's okay," I reply. "I forgot to set the alarm."

I let them in and they deposit their stuff just as Bella emerges from the bedroom, looking adorably rumpled in her bathrobe.

"Babe, these are..." I trail off, realizing they haven't introduced themselves yet.

"I'm Laurent," dreadlock guy supplies. "And that's James. We're here for your undercover make-overs."

"Is it okay if I take a quick shower first?" Bella asks.

"Sure, hon," James answers. "But you don't have to fully wash your hair. Just get it wet."

While Bella excuses herself, I call down to request some breakfast for all of us. While we wait, Laurent explains what he's got in store for me. At Jasper's suggestion, I stopped shaving a few days before the "bachelor party", so by now I'm nice and scruffy.

"We'll trim your hair to give it a more classic look," he starts. "It's a good thing your beard's already a bit darker naturally than your hair."

"How so?"

"It means that the color I'm putting in your hair will look natural. For now, I'll just trim your beard, but you should find a barber where you're going for once it grows more. They'll be able to sort you out."

I supply us with coffee from the small coffee maker in our room while we wait for breakfast to be brought up. After we've all had something to eat, James and Laurent direct us to the chairs they moved from around the suite and get to work. Laurent doesn't take too long in changing my hair and trimming my beard, so once we're done, he explains to me how I can help Bella maintain her new color. At the confused look on my face, he laughs.

"Don't worry, I'll write down the instructions for you. Better safe than sorry."

While he busies himself, I go over to where Bella is being made over by James. It's a bit of a shock to see most of her long, luscious hair scattered on the floor around the chair.

"Usually, I'd color the hair before cutting," James explains to me while applying a funky smelling paste to her hair. "But with such a drastic change it'd be pointless to color the lengths when I'll be cutting them anyway. I'll fine tune the style once we've got the color we're going for."

Bella is eerily quiet, so I walk to the front of the chair. She's biting her lip, looking on the verge of tears.

"Baby, what's wrong?" I ask her, squatting down so we're eye level and taking her hands.

James pauses his work and excuses himself to grab another cup of coffee, giving us some privacy.

"I know it's just hair," she hiccups. "But I've never worn it other than long..."

Wiping away her tears, I try to reassure her.

"I understand, B. Just remember: hair grows. You can grow it back out once this is all over. And you'll look gorgeous either way. I'm actually curious to see how you'll look like this," I confess with a smile.

"She'll be a knock-out as a blonde," James offers, moving back behind Bella's chair to continue his work.

"Thank you," she whispers, a small but brave smile shining through.

A/N Yes, I'm still alive and playing with this story in my head. Whenever inspiration strikes and I have a few spare minutes, I jot down snippets of scenes and conversations, hoping to build them into the chapter I'm envisioning. I hope this one was worth the wait.