Author's Note: This is a tasty little chapter, enjoy :) Also, I forgot to mention, there are pictures for this story on my profile for those of you who haven't checked.

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"Give me more

Well it's you I've waited my life to see

It's you I've searched so hard for…"

I got up around 9:30; I couldn't remember the last time I'd slept in that late. I slipped some socks back on and padded downstairs. I didn't see Edward anywhere and figured he was still sleeping until I heard the strange sounding thump of something hitting the house. I walked over to the big bay window in the living room and looked outside, then I giggled.

Which I'd like to point out, I never do.

It had stopped snowing and the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds. I couldn't see Edward anywhere, instead there was a rather large snowman impersonating him in front of the house. It wore the grey scarf Edward had been wearing the day before and had what looked like small rocks for eyes and a mouth; there were two small branches sticking out like arms. Edward poked his head out from behind the snowman with a grin on his face. I grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and stepped out onto the porch. I crossed its length to stand closer to him. I smiled, "did you throw a snowball at the window?"

He stepped out fully and shook his head. "It wasn't me," he nodded his head toward the snowman and I laughed. Looking around I got the full impact of the blizzard from the night before. The snow went up to Edward's knees and almost to the top of the porch. It covered everything for as far as I could see, which with all the trees was admittedly not very far.

"Aren't you freezing?" I pulled my blanket tighter, but shivered anyway.

"It's about twenty outside, not bad. There's a storm heading this way though. Oh, Alice called a little while ago and said the roads are still closed so they can't come out today and since tomorrow is Christmas they probably won't make it out until afterward." He shrugged, acting like he didn't have a care in the world. Was it just me or did he seem…happy about the news? It was hard to tell; sometimes he was impossible to read.

"Do you know how the roads are here today? I was thinking about going into town."

"Good luck, nothing is plowed here yet until you get to the interstate; I can't even drive my Jeep through it, I tried before you got up. Looks like we're snowed in."

"Great," I muttered to myself. "Well, I'm going to go inside." I turned to go back in, then did a quick about face, "I like the snowman, by the way."

Edward grinned and struggled over to the porch; he stomped his boots on the stairs and then opened the door, letting me inside first. He stretched himself out on the couch after pulling off some of his layers, shivering slightly from his romp in the snow. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were bright; he had this boyish look about him that made me smile. I took off my blanket and loosely set it over him. "I thought you could use it," I grinned.

"Thanks," he did the lopsided smile; I had to admit it was kind of growing on me.

I got in the shower upstairs and defrosted for a long while, most of the time spent thinking about Edward and then wondering why I was thinking about him so much. Although I couldn't understand his change of heart, I liked it. Maybe Alice was right, I just needed to get to know him. He was being awfully cute this morning and that is an attribute I never thought I would attach to him.

Once I was finished with my shower I realized I had a strange urge to get back downstairs faster. To get back to Edward? I changed into a soft, worn pair of jeans and a trim dark blue button down sweater. I noticed after I put it on that I matched Edward almost perfectly. His jeans were a little darker in color, probably newer, and his pullover was a lighter blue. I put on some socks and went downstairs, not willing to waste the time changing my clothes.

Edward was cooking; I was surprised I hadn't smelled it from upstairs. He appeared to be making waffles. He turned when he heard me approach and smiled. "My turn, I guess. Here, hang on a second." He put a waffle on a plate and set the plate on the kitchen island where there was already butter and maple syrup. And a flower. The rose was a very deep shade of red, and in full bloom, sitting in a narrow crystal vase. Where had he gotten that? And more importantly, why? I glanced up at him and he didn't say anything, but did hand me a fork and knife. He finished making his own waffles and sat down next to me. I waited for him to mention the flower, but he didn't. He was almost finished eating before he said anything at all. "I found a book of questions in the living room."

"What?"

"It's a book and it has nothing but questions in it, look," he stood up and grabbed my now empty plate and his own and put them in the sink. He grabbed my hand and it felt like something akin to static electricity, something I'd never felt before unless you counted shocking myself on doorknobs. He led me into the living room and handed me a small but thick black book. I opened it up at random.

"If you were to name someone who has been the biggest role model in your life, who would it be?"

"My father, if I could be even half as great as he is, I'd be happy." Edward was arranging wood in the fireplace; once the fire was started he sat down on the couch next to me. I opened the book to a random page again and looked at the questions. There was no way I was asking any of those; I started to look at another page when Edward stopped me.

"Hey, you can't pick and choose; you just ask the first one you see."

"You're making up rules, plus I don't want to ask any of those."

"I'm the one that has to answer them." He looked me right in the eye and I blinked first, going back to my original page.

I sighed heavily, already feeling the blush creeping across my face. "I really don't want to ask this…" I paused, waiting for him to give me a reprieve, but he didn't.

"Now I'm curious, so either you ask me or I'm going to ask you."

"Ok, you asked for it." I inhaled deeply; "if you wanted to turn on…your lover" I closed my eyes, "as quickly as possible, how would you do it?" I opened my eyes and kept them directly on the book, waiting for him to laugh and tell me to ask something different. When I couldn't take it anymore I looked up, he looked deep in thought.

After another moment he scooted closer. I was already leaning against the arm of the couch and couldn't move any further back. "Well, I would try to catch her off guard, come up behind her and spin her around, press her up against me really close. I would kiss her collarbone here," he touched his own, trailing his fingers from the outer edge to where it met the hollow of his throat. He did it completely absentmindedly. "Maybe use my teeth if I knew she liked it. I would touch her and kiss her everywhere except for where she really wanted me to…and then when I couldn't hold back any longer, it would just be happening, right then and there."

I sat there and tried to keep my mouth shut. I cleared my throat.

"My turn now?" He asked.

I nodded and handed him the book.

We spent the rest of the morning passing the book back and forth. There wasn't another question quite like that last one and for that I was grateful. I had trouble answering all of them, not because they were particularly difficult, but because I couldn't get what Edward said out of my mind. I pictured what he said over and over and eventually I was the woman he was doing it to. I was being caught off guard, both literally and in my imagination. I began watching the small movements he made on the couch, the way he held the book, how lightly his fingers skimmed the pages before he turned them, and the way he always looked me in the eye like he saw so much more in my face than there really was.

We were camped out on that couch; we ate lunch there and spent most of the day sitting with each other. For a while we weren't even talking; I was stretched out along most of the couch reading my book and he was sitting at the end, his long legs crossed at the ankle and resting on the coffee table reading a book of his own. I kept sneaking glances at him; I couldn't help it. At one point he moved to hold his book in one hand and, not taking his eyes off the text, used his free hand to scoop my feet up and onto his lap; it was as if it were something he did with me all the time. The moment was so tender it took all my willpower not to sidle up next to him and kiss him.

By nightfall, there was a blizzard outside in full force and I had to admit, there was no place I'd rather be than here with Edward. I couldn't say precisely when or exactly why it happened, but I could feel myself falling. Had it really only been twenty four hours? I had no idea what to do about it, so I did as much as I was comfortable with, namely – nothing.

After dinner, we resumed our perennial couching, but this time in the den so we could watch a movie. I couldn't help but look at him; his skin took on this glow in the dim light. Finally, I got up; I needed to move to another room, clear my head. Normally, I would have left the house entirely, but we were still snowed in and it was probably worse now than it was this morning.

I excused myself and walked into the kitchen. I didn't know what I was going to do there, but it was the farthest point away from Edward without actually walking upstairs. I opened a bottle of wine and pulled a glass from the cupboard; I poured carefully and pushed the cork back down on the bottle and then put it back with the others. I turned the glass around by the stem a few slow revolutions before picking it up and taking an unhurried swallow. It was a little sweet and warmed me from the inside out. I took a second drink.

I could feel Edward behind me a second before he made himself known. At first I thought my overworked imagination had gotten the better of me, but no, this was happening. I felt his warmth against my back; it gave me a feeling not entirely unlike the wine. He was standing far too close to be an accident. I kept my glass in my hand and turned around. His eyes looked intent, as if he had decided something vitally important. Before I could do anything, his hands were on me. One smoothed across my jaw and into my hair, the other caught me around the waist and pulled me even closer. What I thought would be a crushing, altering kiss actually started out slowly. At least, it did at first. I parted my lips after a moment and let him in; I think that was what undid him. I felt what sounded like a low groan in his throat. He lifted me up onto the counter and I dropped my wine glass. It shattered at our feet, the sound splitting the silence of the room. His mouth was at my ear. "Leave it."

And then it was just happening. Our clothes were stripped away and tossed haphazardly around the room. I was pretty sure he'd ripped a button off my shirt. It felt like his hands, his mouth, were everywhere at once. I went into it with equal abandon. The scent of the wine rose from the floor, the sharp, sweet smell forever linked with his moans and my own, the feel of his skin, of what he was doing to me.

As we both tumbled into oblivion, Edward whispered my name.

When it was over, he wouldn't let me down from the counter because of the broken glass. Instead, he picked me up, cradling me against his chest and carried me across to the living room, setting me quietly on the couch. I watched, grinning, as he turned around and walked back into the kitchen to clean up. While he was kneeling down behind the island, I got up and ran upstairs, pulling all the blankets off my bed. I piled everything on top of each other in front of the fireplace and then lay down under the first layer of blankets, tugging it so it rested under my arms.

By the time he came back, I'd replayed the scene in the kitchen at least once more. I heard his footsteps as he came around the couch; he pulled up the blanket to get in and then pressed himself against me, putting one arm under my head and the other around my waist. We settled into each other and after a while, fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning with the distinct feeling that I was alone. The fire seemed to have petered out long ago and the space next to me was cold.

I am such an idiot.

What did I do last night? I couldn't blame the alcohol; I didn't even have half a glass. It was just my own asinine mind that thought maybe Edward really wanted me the way I thought I wanted him. Oh God, what's going to happen now? Are we still snowed in? Will we have to make awkward conversation or just avoid each other until everybody else gets here? I can't believe I let this happen. Maybe I can pretend it didn't matter; I can be an adult, these things happen. No big deal; it was fun.

But it was so much more than just fun.

I got up and looked around; I couldn't hear anything. I went upstairs and took a shower, scrubbing every last bit of Edward's scent off of me. I am such an idiot.

I had a vain hope that I would walk downstairs and he'd be there, making breakfast and waiting for me, but he wasn't. I walked over to the front door and put my coat on and stepped outside; the road had been plowed. It looked like Edward had shoveled off our drive as well. Was it so bad that he had to escape this fast? I checked the time, it was nearly eleven o'clock. Merry Christmas to me.

I stayed away from the kitchen and the living room, choosing instead to sit in the den and turn the television on to drown out my sorrows. I switched it from the happy Christmas movie that was playing to a movie where some guy was being hacked to pieces.

It was almost noon when I heard the door open. I was determined to play nonchalant and didn't turn around; I stared at the screen as a big breasted girl was chased through the woods. She wasn't going to make it.

"Bella?" I heard him call out and as much as I had convinced myself to play it cool; I knew I couldn't. I got up and walked to the entryway, fully intending to confront him about the last night. "You would not believe how hard it is to find a tree on Christmas morning." Edward's voice sounded a little breathless as he walked in, carrying a big, thick Douglas fir under his arm. Once the tree was all the way in, he stood it upright. "What do you think? I thought we could put it in the living room by the window."

Edward bought a Christmas tree?

"Or somewhere else…if you want," he said, waiting for me to say something. "Do you like it?"

I swallowed. "Yes."

His face brightened. "There's some more stuff in my truck, I'll be right back," he lay the tree back down on it's side and walked out. I ran over to the doorway; it was freezing but I didn't care. His big Jeep was pulled up right in front of the porch and he was taking big plastic bags out of the back. I watched, still unable to form any coherent thoughts. Once his arms were loaded down he came back inside, his cheeks were flushed. "Hey," he grinned at me, setting the bags down on the floor and almost lifting me off the ground in a hug. I pressed my face into his cold chest and slipped my arms inside his jacket, trying to warm him.

"Want to see what else I got?"

I nodded, not letting go of him. He chuckled and pulled back to look at me; he lifted my chin. "I planned to be back before you woke up; I wanted to surprise you with everything. Sorry, it probably came across…badly. It's just that this doesn't happen to me often…ever." He pressed a lingering kiss on my lips. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head slightly; I was just happy he was back. I laughed to myself, thinking about everything that had gone on in my head since I woke up. "So, what'd you get?"

"Let's get out of the entryway and I'll show you."

I tried to help him carry the bags in, but he insisted on doing it himself. I don't know how he managed, but he held all the bags plus the tree without dropping anything. "Here?" He asked; he was positioning the tree in front of the center part of the large window. I nodded and helped him put it in the stand he bought. Before he could show me what else he'd gotten, his phone rang; it was Alice. "Hello?" He laughed at whatever it was she said. "Ok…she asked to be put on speaker."

"Merry Christmas you guys! The roads are looking better over here so we're heading out there first thing tomorrow. Don't you dare open any gifts until we get there!"

"Alice, you have all of mine," I reminded her. I'd wrapped everything and left them with her to bring up.

"Oh, that's right, well regardless. We can all open things together tomorrow, ok? See you soon, be good you two." We said goodbye and got back to work.

Edward had managed to find lights, bulbs, and even a star for the top of the tree. I couldn't figure out where he got the energy for all of this. There was still one more bag once we were done with the tree, but he wouldn't let me look inside. I was very glad I'd thought to buy him a gift. I wasn't going to at first, but felt bad because I'd gotten everyone else that was going to be here something and thought it would be rude to leave him out. He wrapped whatever he'd gotten me in the den and then came back to set it under the tree. It was about the size of a tissue box, only a little taller.

We had lunch when we were finished with the tree. After that well…we spent some time in bed.

We'd ended up in his bedroom (it was closer) until it was dark outside. "Can I ask you something?" I was laying on my back with Edward over me; he was resting his head on my chest, but very careful not to put much weight on me.

"Mmhmm," he answered.

"What was it that made you change your mind about me?"

"What do you mean?"

"What made you like me after all?"

Edward propped himself up on his elbows to look at me. He seemed to study my face for a while before answering. "I always liked you." He cast his eyes downward, "I know I came off as rude, it's just…I never thought I had a chance." He looked up at me again. "I get so wrapped up in the idea that I'm going to end up hurting someone that I push them away and then they're hurt anyway…I don't know, does that make any sense?"

I nodded. "So, you liked me this whole time?"

"Yeah." He moved up to kiss me; he tasted sweet.

"Wait," I said, out of breath. "How long have you felt this way?"

He chose not to hear the "wait" part; currently his mouth was making its way down my neck to my collarbone. I tried to hold my rapidly beating heart in check. "Since I first met you."

I thought back to when we met, that was over a year ago. "We should make up for lost time then."

I felt him smile against me, "yes we should."