Thirteen

Of course, I dig out something sexy for when the knock comes at 2 am.

The house is still. He has an air of desperation surrounding him. Motivated by two things: desire and the need to share the truth.

"Come in," I wear a robe, covering what I'd prepared for him.

"Have you defrosted?" He shuts the door behind him.

"Not quite," I smirk, laying back on the bed, "maybe you could help me?"

"Look. I have been thinking," he begins.

My heart sinks.

Did I just shave for nothing?

He was about to destroy all the hope I'd built. How could I have been so stupid to fall for all of this a second time.

"I need to tell you what's going on. But you can't tell another soul," he sits on the edge of the bed looking at me.

"Oh. Okay," I sit up, eager, "you know you can trust me."

He's actually opening up?

"I know I can. It started with Edward," he let out a sigh he's been holding in for months, "she came to me and tried to spin some story about having something that could destroy my brother."

"Wait seriously?" my mouth drops.

"Remember Bella's boss? Jane?" he asks.

Jane was an absolute monster. She'd created a toxic environment to work in for my best friend - often sending her home to me in tears. But she crossed a major line when she revealed to Edward that Bella was hired by Alice to be her bridesmaid. She almost destroyed their chance at a relationship and Bella's potential new career. Fortunately, it pushed them closer together and Edward had her ass fired.

"How is Jane involved?" I take his hand, offering support for him to share.

"She is Cassie's step-sister," he reveals, "when she found out we we slept together, and worse Cass was pregnant, she decided she could use it."

"For what?" I feel myself getting angry.

"To take down Edward," he explains, "the brother of the CEO slept with and knocked up fired employee's sister. They threatened to spin it so she didn't consent. If I didn't propose she'd contact the media and spin some story about how Edward unfairly fired her sister and we conspired to use them. There's falsified emails, signatures from Edward that are forged. She threatened to go to my chief, but my chief got to me first. I explained what they were doing and he demanded I go along with it."

"What? Why?" I ask.

"I'm undercover. She thinks I'm going along with it. That I proposed," he shrugs, "she doesn't know I'm a police officer and I've ensured my family hasn't mentioned it. With sheer luck you haven't. I couldn't tell you not to bring it up because you ask questions and don't let shit go."

I couldn't argue with that. He's right. I'd ask 'why' until I turned blue almost all of the time.

"What are you investigating?" I move closer, intrigued.

"Drugs. They're dealing with high society members of New York. It's new and dangerous," he explains, "then the baby thing happened. My chief insisted I go along with it. Get closer but make it seem against my will. Make it seem like I'm fighting to protect Edward and my family. So she thinks she has the upper hand. So they all do."

"Is it real? Is the baby real?" I ask holding my breath

"Yes. But it's not mine. It's not possible. I'm pretending it is," he admits, "they know we have money. They demanded I marry her and she divorce months after, so she gets half of everything, plus child support. But I'm just gathering evidence."

"Who's baby is it?" I ask.

I'm trying to digest.

"My working theory is her step brother's. Alec is Jane's twin. But the way they text, the way they are around each other. It's fishy," he explains, "something is up there. I brought her here so it would be believable. Sharing with my parents. She knows you and I have history but I've shoved it off as nothing. I told her I slept at a hotel last night. Tonight she thinks I'm there again. I'm still in the dog house so it's believable. I parked my car down the street."

"Wait. You think she's fucking her stepbrother?" I restrict my hand in disgust.

"When I slept with her it was a month or so after we had stopped talking. We saw each other a few times here and there. She meant nothing and she still does. She showed up right as I was about to walk out the door to come to your apartment. I was sick of avoiding you and wanted to make it right. But she was there, holding up a pregnancy test," he explains, "I wanted to fix us two months ago but I couldn't. Then my chief made the whole investigation a thing and being around you could compromise it. I'm so weak around you."

"You're 21 Jump Streeting her," I'm so hot for him right now.

My own, personal, sexy detective. As he spoke my pride grew for him. He was kicking her ass this whole time without her even realising.

"She showed me emails between Edward and Jane that are completely falsified," he explains, "she tried to spin it as the CEO's brother is taking advantage. But they're lurching off Edward's name to find a clientele to deal to. I've heard Jane's spreading shit that he fired Bella himself to fuck her, that he's inappropriate so that people buy into her. So she can proposition them for drugs with juicy gossip. Edward hasn't heard it because it's not getting back to him. The people buying are agreeing to stay silent so the shock factor of the gossip remains. The brother is also working on it. I'm closing in. I need evidence of where they're getting the shipments and keeping them."

"You need to tell Edward," I begin to move off the bed, prepared to go get him right now.

"No, baby," he grabs my arm, "he just got engaged for one. For two, this is top secret shit. You can't tell anyone about this, beautiful."

"This could destroy his life," I hiss at him with more venom than I intend, "if they leak that shit how will the public know it's fake."

I was furious. How dare this crook bitch come after this family in such a horrid way.

This was my adopted family. I'd be damned if she got away with this.

"Why don't you invite the brother as you said. Maybe we can catch them flirting," I kneel back on the bed and move toward him, "we can film them getting freaky."

"Already working on it, baby," he nods, "I'm pitching it as an 'apology' for defending you."

He huffs and moves to tuck my hair back behind my ear, smiling sadly at me. His job is preventing him from public affection. It's kept him away from me. But he's doing it to protect people. To protect his family and me.

I love him. This is the man my soul has selected for me.

"I'll marry you one day," he whispers, "I know you get freaked out by commitment, but I need you to know that you'll be who I end up with."

Flutters of warmth overwhelm my chest. He says all the right things.

"I'm not freaked out," I shake my head, "you're all I want and I know that now without a doubt. I can wait for you to save the day in your sexy cop uniform and then we'll ride into the sunset to fuck on a giant pizza."

"That's a disturbing image, baby," he snickers.

But then he turns serious.

"I can tell you are all in. Something has changed. Your eyes this time are so much deeper," he looks over my face, "you don't even need to tell me. I just see it."

"You can see it?" I move closer to him.

"Yeah," he nods, "when you talk about your feelings I believe it because you do."

"Would you believe me if I admitted that I love you?" I place my hands on his shoulders, shuffling to straddle his lap.

He takes ahold of my hips, smiling like he's won the lottery.

"Say it one more time," he wraps his arm around my lower back, the other stretching up between my shoulder blades.

"I love you," I whisper, "I'm so so in love with you. What we shared across the wedding, the hookups, the distance, the thinking it through. This trip. I can't fight it anymore because it was always inevitable that I was going to fall in love with you."

"Then telling you I've been in love with you for over a year is appropriate right now?" he smirks.

"It would be yeah," I nod, feeling my cheeks hurt from how wide my smile is.

"I love you, Rosalie Hale. With every fibre of my being and every second for the rest of my life I'll love you," he leans in to place a treasured kiss against my lips, longing and love rushing to the forefront of the gesture.

Pulling back I grin at him.

"You said pineapple," I whisper sensually, feeling his hardness grow beneath me, "are we still up for pizza?"

"Is that really a question?" his wicked grin zaps a warmth in me where I want him most.

"Good because I dug you out some extra toppings," I untie my robe, push it off my shoulders, "something spicy."

His eyes bulge out of his head. Every time he looks at me in this state it's as if it's the first time. He worships me. He is the reason I feel sexy and confident.

Lace covers my stomach and breasts. The corset pushed my tits up, my ass on display thanks to the unforgiving g-string. I'd pulled it on thankful I'd packed it in case of emergency.

"Red," he groans out, "Oh the pizza is fucking burning."

I laugh and wrap my arms around his neck, as he crashes me back into the mattress.

thanks for reading x