Author's Note: And so the romantic espionage really begins! Hope you like it. I said weeks, but I also said this was my writer's block project…so when I was stuck Saturday night I switched gears and 2 hours later, voila! Almost 5,000 words for your reading pleasure about the week before Christmas and New Year's and New Year's Eve itself. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks as always for my bestie/beta/godsend/lovely/talented/supportive (I could do this all day folks) AgoodWITCH.

The week between Christmas and New Year's was intense. It seemed like someone was ALWAYS around and we had to watch ourselves every minute. We relished in the stolen seconds kissing in the front hall bathroom or when Edward would sneak into my room in the mornings to get me for breakfast.

Even though we had a hard time resisting kissing and touching, it still felt strange at first. Somewhere deep inside I still had that brother mental block that made me feel like I was doing something wrong. It wasn't until Thursday, the day before New Year's Eve, that we were able to get away from public scrutiny by offering to run to Port Angeles for mom to pick up a few things for the party the next night.

The second we were around the curve so that the car was out of the eyeline of the house, Edward reached over and took my hand, lifting it to his lips to kiss the back before bringing his hand back to the gearshift between us to shift without breaking our hold. He sighed as he rubbed his thumb over the web of flesh between my thumb and index finger.

"I've spent the last eight years resisting touching like I really wanted to, but knowing you want me to makes it SO much harder."

My heart sped as I smiled over at him before leaning across the console to kiss his neck gently. Edward moaned, his hand tightening on the one he still held on the gearshift as I moved to nibble his earlobe, earning a hiss.

"It's killing me not being able to touch you, and it's only been for a few days. How did you stand it?"

Edward cleared his throat. "Um, a lot of alone time in the shower and other similar distractions."

I felt his cheek warm under my lips making me chuckle as I slid my other hand to rest on his thigh, massaging gently. Edward's body tensed as I resumed kissing his earlobe and neck as I rubbed his leg, never even moving up or down the length, but rather just kneading the one place.

We were on the road all of ten minutes before Edward took an unexpected turn down a narrow road. I worried about getting stuck in the rutted, messy road, but Edward ignored my concerns as he pushed the car on through the muck to the edge of the meadow where he, Emmett, and I used to hang a lot when we were younger. We liked to pretend it was our special place that nobody else knew about, but in all honesty it was along a major hiking path and many people knew the beauty of our meadow. This time of year, however, it was completely isolated and abandoned until the spring returned, along with the blooming wildflowers.

Edward spun the car quickly to drive back out again before killing the engine and turning toward me to capture my lips with his as he tore off his seatbelt. I reached to do the same before shifting in my seat so I was leaning across the middle console, my hands buried in his hair, my breasts squeezed tightly between our bodies.

We moaned into one another's mouths for several long minutes before his hands began to drift over my ribs, slowly dipping over each and every one as his lips left mine to kiss along my jaw and down my neck to the juncture where it met my shoulders. My moans quickly shifted to breathy whimpers as his lips teased the sensitive flesh of my neck before moving up to nip at my earlobes.

The sensations were amazing and entirely overwhelming as I gave in to my desire for him, letting all my other issues disappear. For those few short minutes, we were not part of a mixed family unit, but rather a girl and a boy who were crazy about each other, lost in the delicious things we could do to one another's bodies.

We eventually stopped, but not before he discovered what the flesh of my breasts felt like under his palms and I had felt the full length of his hardness while concealed behind the thick denim of his jeans. We hated to leave, but we knew we had run out of time. If we were gone any longer, than we already would be it would make people suspicious and we didn't want that kind of scrutiny yet. We needed to figure out what we were on our own before we could deal with the judgments of anybody else…either good or bad.

With a sad whimper, Edward removed his long fingers from their ministrations on my hardened nipples before adjusting himself in his jeans and starting the car. The second we were back on blacktop, he grabbed my hand again, holding it all the way to Port Angeles.

As we walked through the party supply store in Port Angeles, I could feel my palms itching to touch his, my body dying to be closer, to revel in the new bond we shared, but too many people knew our family there. We couldn't risk someone who knew us seeing anything that might give us away. We walked stiffly, rushing to get our supplies before paying and rushing out.

Once we were on the road again, Edward grabbed my hand again, sighing with an exhaustion I felt. We'd only begun and I was already weary of the strain. He was worth it though.

When we got home, Edward released my hand once we were safely parked in the garage. We carried the supplies in together and presented them to my smiling mother. She thanked us cheerfully before sending us off to do other chores and reminding us that she would be counting on us to get ready and keep the party going the next evening.

The next twenty four hours were a form of torture as Edward and I worked side by side preparing for a party that we couldn't even attend together as we would have liked to do. I really wanted to be able to be his date, to curl myself into his arm and smile as we made conversation with our parents' friends. It was a beautiful daydream that I hoped would one day some true, but it certainly wouldn't be this year.

We worked all the way up until five when we all stopped for a quick bite before all rushing off to get ready on our own. The guests were scheduled to begin arriving at 8pm. I ran to my room, hurriedly showering and beginning the tedious process of drying my long, thick hair. Once that was done, I set about using the large curling iron to set soft waves in it before doing my make up with a smoky look I had chosen two weeks before when Mom had come into the city to take me shopping for my New Year's dress. She was all excited to get me something a bit more appropriate for a college age woman. It was far more mature and sexy than anything I had worn in the past, and I couldn't help but be excited for Edward to see me in it.

To be honest, I had been shocked when Mom picked out the silky feeling jersey and spandex red dress with the halter neck and low cut front that would show quite a bit more cleavage than I had ever shown before outside of a swimsuit. It was a versatile dress, so you could choose to wear it several different ways thanks to the long swaths of fabric that tied to make the neckline. After trying to tie it as a bandeau dress, mom finally decided we should go with a halter neckline, allowing the long fabric to flow behind me. After we settled on the best way to wear it, she came back carrying a pair of red heels. I stepped into them and turned to look at myself in the mirror, my back on display as well as a bit of cleavage thanks to the deep V of the front neck. Otherwise, it was quite conservative, with a skirt going just below the knee and a thick banded waist keeping everything in place.

I turned one last time examining everything as Mom stepped back in to see. She gasped and covered her mouth with tears in her eyes. "You look like Audrey Hepburn," she choked before crossing to tuck in something at my waist. "We have to get this! You are going to make them all fall in love with you in this dress, my beautiful Bella, just you watch!"

I smiled and shook my head, changing back into my clothes and giving our purchases to Mom to pay for while I slid back into my regular street clothes. As we made our way out of the store, Mom froze at the display of hair combs and ties. She picked up a set of simple black combs, dark metal tines covered the ends, small ruby-like accent stones dotted the vine like tiny flower buds about to bloom. She turned to me, holding them up with a smile before dashing back to the register to pay for her new find without even asking my opinion. Fashion wasn't my top priority, so she knew I'd acquiesce anyway.

An hour and a half later, we had managed to find an amazing silver dress for her along with heels and hair combs before she dropped me off at the dorms with promises of this being the best New Year's ever. At that point, I seriously doubted it. Edward was still knee deep in the quagmire that was his relationship with Tanya and I was with Riley, so I didn't see it being the epic event she envisioned. Little did I know how drastically my life would change.

Once my hair was dry, makeup and dress in place, hose and heels on, I stepped to the mirror to place the combs in my hair before checking my reflection one last time. I smiled at myself, looking forward to the expression that would most assuredly be on Edward's face after seeing me in that dress as I put the final touch in place. I clasped the heart shaped locket around my neck, which I had discovered later the day it was given to me that it held a picture of Edward and I from our St. Maarten vacation inside. I probably wouldn't have thought twice about the use of that particular picture before I knew about his Bella box. Now, it made me all the more excited in a "wanting to kiss him to death every time I thought of it" kind of way.

I adjusted his heart over mine one last time as the knock came at the door. I moved to it expectantly, opening it with a smoldering smile only to have it freeze into a frown when it was my actual brother waiting for me instead of the one I expected. He froze in the doorway, staring at me not with the appreciation I expected to see from Edward, but rather horror and fear before pushing me back through the portal and shutting the door behind him.

"Are you crazy! You can't wear that tonight. There's no way Mom will let you wear that to one of her parties."

I rolled my eyes trying to push my mountain of a brother out of the way and getting nowhere. "She picked it out, Emmett. Now would you please-"

He shook his head, refusing to allow me passage as he glared down at me. "There's no way."

"Emmett Charles, our mother drove into Seattle two weeks before finals and took me shopping where she bought me everything I'm wearing with the exception of the locket Edward gave me for Christmas! If you don't believe me, then go find Mom, but I'm telling you now, this was all her idea."

His nostrils flared as he eyebrows curled down over the tops of this eyes. I wasn't sure I had ever seen my brother scowl that deeply. Finally he sighed and relaxed a bit. "Just to warn you, Mom invited half of your graduating class this year. I have a feeling Newton wrangled an invite too. Don't say I didn't warn you."

I rolled my eyes. "Emmett, they didn't touch me with a ten foot pole back then thanks to you, what makes you think they'll try tonight?"

He grimaced. "That dress for one, tons of alcohol for another, and that dress for a third."

I started laughing, smacking his arm with my hands. "Back the hell off, brother bear. I'll be fine. I'm not sure if you noticed, but I did grow up to be a big ole 19 year old. I think I can handle it."

He smirked at me, his eyes twinkling. "We'll see."

I rolled my eyes one last time before moving past him to walk down the hallway. I paused at the top of the stairs, scanning the crowd for Edward. My heart did a stumble as I spotted him by the fireplace smiling and laughing as he spoke with Lauren Mallory. I knew he hated talking to her, but something about seeing it that time around, knowing all I knew, it was like a sharp blade twisting in my chest, stealing my breath.

I heard a distant echo of my name on the air as I stared. The third time the echo came and actually registered, Edward looked my way, the smile falling off his face as his knuckles went white on the glass he was holding. Our eyes locked for a long time, his eyes burning with something I didn't recognize. Suddenly, I was rethinking my dress. Maybe he hated it. Maybe it was too much.

The voice said my name a fourth time, and I turned to see my Mom standing at the bottom of the stairs looking stunning as always. I smiled lightly and carefully descended the stairs to stand beside her and her proud smile. She tucked me into the side of her as she spoke to Lauren's parents.

"I'm sure you know our beautiful Bella. She just finished her first semester in college with a full scholarship. We are just so proud of her."

I blushed and reached to shake the Mallory's offered hands before asking if I could sneak off to get a drink. Mom nodded ecstatically before turning to greet another guest who walked up to her. I rushed to the kitchen where the drinks were lined up for the waitstaff to hand out. I grabbed a glass of champagne off a tray and downed it quickly, finishing it just in time to feel a presence appear behind me.

I turned expecting to find Edward, but was disappointed to see Tyler Crowley standing there instead. He smiled down at me, his eyes lingering on my breasts for a bit too long. I rolled my eyes before snapping my fingers in front of him and pointing to my face.

"Up here, Tyler. Um…can I help you?"

He smiled brightly before holding his hand out to me. "Bella, would you dance with me?"

My eyes grew wide and my mouth fell open. Emmett warned me, but damn if I didn't believe him. I began shaking my head and looking for words to turn him down as nicely as possible when I saw Edward standing in the doorway, glowering at Tyler's back. I was drawing a total blank when to my great relief, Edward stalked into the room, pushing himself between the two of us to gaze down at me, his eyes softer, and yet demanding of me all at once.

"Mom needs you in the living room, Bella. She wants you to meet someone." Without another word to Tyler, he led me from the room by my elbow, the feel of his touch there making me feel excitement from head to toe. As soon as we were out of Tyler's earshot, he leaned down by my ear as he continued to lean me.

"Are you trying to kill me, Bella? You look far too tempting and every available male here has noticed. You don't know the restraint it is taking to not drag you off to my room right now. I will keep my distance out of necessity, but don't forget who you will be kissing tonight."

He plastered a smile on his face as he led me toward the group talking to my Mother before leaving me wanting so much more. I wanted to tell him to stop resisting and just do what he wanted, but I knew that was a disaster waiting to happen.

Mom looked over at me with a devious smile before lifting her glass in my direction and taking a sip her eyes drifting back and forth between Tyler who was now watching me from across the room, making my skin crawl, and my frozen form. I walked mechanically to her side, asking if she needed me to help with anything before attempting to disappear into the crowd for the rest of the night in an attempt to hide from Tyler. Unfortunately, my red dress made that nearly impossible.

I moved over near the fireplace, so I would be within calling distance of Edward if I was ambushed again. I cringed as Jessica Stanley threw back her head and laughed while resting a hand on MY Edward's forearm. I envisioned storming over and yanking her hand from her body, tossing it into the fire before dismantling her fake bit by fake bit until nothing was left of her but her designer heels. I was just about to her torso when I heard a voice clear behind me. I tensed and turned, expecting to see Tyler, but found myself face to face with Eric Yorkie instead.

He smiled down at me sweetly, his eyes at least having the courtesy to only take a short peek before returning to my eyes. "Did you have a good first semester at school, Bella?"

I smiled and nodded, taking the last sip of my glass before grabbing another off a passing platter. As a rule, our parents let us drink at these things as long as we were careful to be responsible. Tonight I wasn't really being as cautious as I should as I took a long drink of my second glass of the night.

We stood in the corner and carried on a nice conversation, but I couldn't help but notice it was turning toward more personal topics. Every once in a while I would see Edward out of the corner of my eye talking to one of his former harem, while frowning in my direction. I did not want to have to be mean to Eric. He was a sweet guy, but the last thing I wanted was another pass made at me that night…well another pass from anyone but Edward.

He was about to make his play when Emmett swooped in, smiling with deep dimples that screamed "I told you so" as he whisked me to help with a fake task supposedly assigned by Mom. When he got me back in the kitchen, he chuckled. "You can't say I didn't warn you, Bells. It's all on you, baby. You looked so freaked though, I had to swoop in and save the day. That's your one get out of jail free card from me tonight. You're on your own after this."

I walked back into the living room to find Jessica tugging on Edward's tie, trying to tug him onto the dance floor, while Edward looked pissed as hell and trying not to be rude. I saw red though, stomping over to remove Edward's tie from her nasty claws and smoothing it back over his black button down shirt. Did I mention he looked hot as hell in his black button up, red silky tie, that strangely enough matched my dress perfectly, and black dress slacks? Yeah, it was torture not to kiss the hell out of him.

"Mom needs us to go out to the garage and bring in the boxes of extra plates."

His eyebrows raised in surprise before a smile flitted across his lips briefly before he returned the mask. He was about to reply when a nasally voice behind me sighed and reached out to rest her nasty claw on his arm again.

"Please, the hired help can do those things. This is Eddie's family party. He's supposed to have fun."

Edward's eyes widened as he watched the fire spike and my control snap. I was seconds from beginning to act out my fantasy from earlier when Edward interrupted me, taking Jessica's hand off of his arm and turning to her with a look of disapproval.

"Just because a family appears to have money does not mean that they are incapable of doing things that need to be done, nor are they too good to help bring in expensive plates that Bella's mother wants treated with special care. Excuse me, Jessica. It was good to see you."

With that dismissal, he stepped around her, guiding me away with a hand at the small of my back. Jessica screeched behind us. Lauren smiled sweetly at us as we passed, but just before we were all the way past her, her gaze turned to Jessica with a look of haughtiness. Apparently, she hadn't been too happy that Jessica had replaced her as Edward's conversationalist earlier in the evening.

I steadied my breathing as Edward led me through the lower floor, past rooms of people and straight into the dark, empty garage. We walked to the far side and stepped into the supply closet at the far side, Edward turning on the small overhead light bulb as soon as the door was closed. I turned on him immediately, pushing him against the door and locking my lips over his. He froze a moment before his lips, tongue, and hands all joined in on my demanding kiss.

After a long minute, we finally broke apart, panting in one another's faces. "If Jessica, Lauren, or any other girl ever puts their hands on you again, I'm going to jail for murder because I promise I will hack them up and burn the pieces."

I latched onto his mouth again, tugging at his hair as his hands found my butt, pulling me tight against his body and his hardness. I whimpered as my body moved against his on instinct. He moaned, tipping his face to change the angle of the kiss as one of his hands slid up my ribs to cup my breast.

He massaged me eagerly as he broke the kiss to whisper to me in the dim light, his breath brushing my lips as he spoke. "Same goes for me. I wish like hell I could make a claim on you and tell all the jackasses checking you out that you're off the market, officially and completely. God, I want everyone to know, but I know that would be bad because of all the backlash. Fuck this sucks!"

I whimpered and nodded as he twisted my nipple between his thumb and index finger. Moments later, he spun us so that I was the one trapped against the cool wood of the door. The garage was not heated, so the air was quite chilly, making my body react even more to the heat of his body against mine, his lips ghosting down my neck and across the exposed portion of my neckline to nip at the cleavage the dress revealed.

We probably stayed in that closet longer than we should have, but I just needed to be close to him…to feel him. When we came out, we were a bit of a mess. I stood in front of the sideview mirror of Pop's SUV so I could sort out my hair and try to smooth my smeared makeup while Edward adjusted himself in his pants and tried to tame the insane mess I had created in his hair. After we were more or less straight again, we made plans to come back one at a time. Edward was to go first. Before he walked through the door, he turned to me with a smirk.

"Nobody kisses you at midnight but me, Bella. Meet me out here just as the countdown hits. I refuse to start next year without kissing you."

I smiled and nodded, leaning against Pop's clean and covered Vanquish, now in storage for the bad weather season. When the five minutes had elapsed, I slid back into the house, sliding up the back stairs to the second floor to stop by my room and redo my lipstick before making an official appearance back at the party. My eyes locked with Edward's across the room, now trapped by Victoria Howard, another lovely little blast from the past. Edward was being nice, but there was definitely an enforced distance there. I smiled as I made my way across the room to stand with Emmett and Rosalie, hoping that close proximity to Emmett would scare off any potential suitors.

Mom's eyes landed on me a few minutes after I got settled, a soft smile in her eyes. She raised her eyebrows in question and I nodded to let her know I was doing fine. She smiled brighter before turning back to her conversation with Pop and another doctor from the hospital.

Eventually, Edward gravitated toward our small group and neither one of us had any more passes thrown our direction as we laughed and joked with Emmett, Rose, and a few of their friends from high school. The longer we spent time in our little group, the happier I felt. This was what it was supposed to be like, and if fate hadn't brought Mom and Pop together eight years ago, it probably would have ended up that way anyway, but in that situation we wouldn't have to resist that urge to touch, wouldn't have to find innocuous moments to slap at his arm just for the brief contact. I sighed as I hoped that one day it would be possible.

The clock quickly marched toward midnight as Edward and I eyed each other hopefully. I tried several times to slip away and failed, as had Edward. The disappointment was palpable as the countdown began, happy smiles all around. When the shouts of "Happy New Year" rang from all around us, I wanted to cry.

People around us hugged and kissed, including Emmett and Rose. Once they broke, Emmett turned to me, sweeping me into a big bear hug before kissing me sloppily on the cheek. Meanwhile Rose hugged Edward, kissing his cheek as well. My heart began to pound with slight hope.

Once Emmett put me down again, I turned my eyes toward Edward who was looking at me with a similar expression. With a smirk he crossed the foot between us. "Happy New Year, Bella."

I smiled back. "Happy New Year, Edward."

With a slow pace, Edward rested his hand on my bicep as he leaned in kissing my cheek right at the edge of my lip. I sighed and closed my eyes before leaning in to return the kiss in the exact same spot on him. My heart pounded in chest as I stared up in the emerald eyes of the man I loved and before I knew what I was doing, I whispered the words.

His eyes grew wide, before they narrowed again, burning bright with something different and tangible. With a seriousness I had never seen before he leaned in close to whisper in my ear, his hand still resting on my arm.

"I will come to you tonight. Leave the door unlocked for me. I have to have a real kiss from you before I go to sleep tonight, my love, my ONLY love."

I took a deep breath and held it as he stepped away. We watched each other closely a moment before reluctantly turning to greet other revelers. Newton tried to kiss me, as did Tyler, but I managed to deflect both quite skillfully, to my great relief.

Once the last of the party goers left, we all padded slowly up the stairs and to our rooms, Edward locking eyes with me just before opening his door. He was reminding me of his promise, as if I'd forgotten. I cleaned up quickly and slid into jammies before climbing between he covers.

Within minutes of me climbing in bed, I heard my door open and smelled the familiar scent of Edward on the air. He climbed onto the bed beside me, lying on his side before curling me up to meet him.

"I love you so much, Bella Swan. More than you can ever imagine. This is the beginning for us…just the beginning."

With that he leaned in to kiss my lips sweetly, his tongue tangling with mine, relaying love and lust all at once. We lay there kissing for a long time before Edward finally, with much regret, left to return to his room for fear of falling asleep in my bed and getting found out the next morning. I hated for him to go, but knew it was a necessity, although I couldn't help but look forward to when we returned to school and the benefits of having roommates who were a mated couple.