EPOV
Someone once said that certainty is the calm before the storm; I was certain about Bella's and my relationship, but it terrified me to think that there could possibly be more waiting for us, trying to interfere.
The two weeks we'd been back in the city after our trip to the Bahamas for Tyler and Lauren's wedding had been just short of perfect. I'd all but moved into her apartment, forgoing my own comfort or the closeness to my work in order to be with Bella as much as possible.
Bella got the promotion at work, and I'm so proud of her. She works hard, she's earned this, and we're finally going out to celebrate her accomplishments tonight. I'm gonna woo the shit outta her, and she's not gonna know what hit her.
It took a little bit of work and a lot of help from the realtor that Emmett recommended, but I managed to get everything together to surprise Bella.
"I don't know why we can't just go to Tony's for dinner," Bella whines a little as I navigate through the city toward her surprise.
"Because it wouldn't be special if we went to Tony's." I press a kiss to her knuckles and rest our hands on the shifter. "Besides, can't I do something nice for you?"
"Well, the last time you did something nice for me, I ended up agreeing to go to four weddings with you." She's laughing, but I know she's rolling her eyes.
When I pull up in front of an apartment building a few miles away from me, she looks over at me warily. "What is this place? This isn't one of those weird pop up restaurants, is it?"
I laugh as I park and jog around the hood to open her door. "This is your surprise. Just bear with me, okay?"
"Man, you're lucky I love you, Cullen."
"Mmm, don't I know it, princess."
I lead her into the lobby and check in with the doorman, who allows us access to the elevators, and when we're inside the car, Bella side-eyes me, hard.
"What the fuck are we doing here?"
"You'll see," I say when we step off the elevator, and she's whipping her head around, looking for some sign of things to come. I drag her down the hall, and when I dig the key out my pocket, she gets very quiet.
"What did you do, Edward?"
I open the door and push her inside to find the model apartment set up the way I wanted. Take-out from one of Bella's favorite French restaurants sits on the table with a vase filled with carnations and zinnias. Candles are lit, and the curtains are open over the dramatic view of the city, showing off the sunset.
"What is this?" Bella draws out the question slowly as she takes everything in. The large kitchen island, the hardwood floors, the large balcony, and the crown molding.
"Well, primarily, this is dinner," I say as I gently guide her to sit at the table and pour her a glass of wine. "The secondary purpose here is that I want you to take a look at this place. It's equal distance between our work, and I was thinking if you liked it, we could talk about moving in here."
My beautiful, crazy princess is gaping and speechless. She reaches for her wine glass and drains it in one gulp. "Okay, fill 'er up. Give me the details."
And just like that, Bella and I celebrate and plan the next step in our lives together.
That night, we tour the place, and Bella falls more in love with the building than she did with the spacious two-bedroom apartment. "A pool, Eddie. A POOL!"
She's giddy and a little drunk from the wine and the excitement at signing a new lease in the next few weeks. I've run the numbers, and while it might be tight at first after expenses, we can more than afford this.
After I've fucked her three ways from Sunday and made her scream my name so loud that the neighbors pounded on the walls, she curls into my side and lays her head on my chest. "So, you really wanna live with me again?"
"Well, I kinda like you." She pinches my nipple—hard—and I yelp. "Okay, okay. I love you. We basically live together already. I'm always at your place now. Doesn't it make sense?"
Bella silently slides her legs over my thighs and rests right over my pelvis, rocking lightly as my hands gravitate to her hips. "It would give me easier access to you whenever I wanted."
I can't speak because my mouth has gone dry as she rubs her heated self over my dick and grins as I begin to harden beneath her. "You'd be at my mercy," she says as she lifts up slightly and sinks down slowly. Her hair is a wild mane around her shoulders as she rocks back and forth.
I can't think, can barely move, as she takes me on this ride, slow and sensual. I've never had an issue with Bella calling the shots, whether we were dating or not, and this is certainly no exception. The moonlight shines through the drapes, and the way it highlights her, she looks like a goddess.
My name falls from lips in whimpers and breathy moans as my fingers roam her body until I prop myself up and buck into her with abandon. We come on a whisper and ride the wave with our lips locked. When we catch our breath and pull apart, Bella falls onto the mattress next to me and sighs.
"Yeah, I could get used to that," she says into my neck as I draw her as close as I can.
A week after we signed the new lease and moved in, and a few days before we were set to leave for North Carolina for Jasper and Alice's wedding, Bella calls me at work out of the blue.
"Hey, princess." I'm pleasantly surprised. It's been a day full of boring meetings for me, and Bella and I tend to leave each other alone during work hours.
"Have you seen the news?"
I lower myself into my desk chair and pull up my web browser. "No, what am I looking for?"
"Oh, you'll know it when you see it." Her response is dry, and I would bet a million dollars she's pacing in her office. "The shit has officially hit the fan."
I'm about to ask her to explain when I see the headline. "Maggie Murphy makes a multimillion dollar mess: stock market darling admits to secrets trades."
"O … h shit," I mutter. As I quickly scan the article, reading that Maggie had scooped up stock in a brand new company that was projected to explode on the market. It did, and she made out like a bandit … but she bragged about it to the wrong people, and someone she wronged turned her over.
"It's all anyone can talk about over here," she tells me, and I distinctly hear her office door shut. "I've already texted everyone to make sure they weren't doing any kind of business with her. I—"
"What?"
"Jacob Black is here."
"Do you want me to come over there?" I'm already packing up my belongings and pulling up my email to send a note to my boss.
"Uh, no. Everything's gonna be fine." I can hear her muffled voice, and I assume she's talking to Jacob. "I'll see you later. I love you."
"Love you too, princess."