Hello, people!

Happy Saturday!

Usual housekeeping:

- I still don't own any of it.

- Team Momo wouldn't exist without Midnight Cougar and Alice's White Rabbit with their red pens, or without AGoodWitch, Maplestyle, Mel, and Eternally Addicted who pre-read and tell me if I'm off my rocker or not.

- 1.8k reviews! Thank you, people! I read all of them, but I'm trying really hard to finish writing my upcoming story, so time for replies is at a premium. Be assured that I treasure all of them.

Last day of voting for the Golden Onion Awards today! I want to take a minute to thank YOU all for the nominations for my work and for Team Momo at large.

My other story Behind The Ivories was nominated as Best Je t'aime Fic, Best Nail-Biting Fic, Favorite Fic of the Year, and Masterpiece of the Year.

Shape The Narrative is nominated as WIP of the Year, and yours truly is nominated as Author of the Year.

I posted a voting link and details on nominees in my FB Group (LaMomo's Lair). Get your last votes in before 12AM EST today!

We're back with LawyerWard, being pampered at the Ritz Carlton Reynolds on Lake Oconee in Georgia. On with the show!


Chapter 48 – EPOV

"Oh, yeah. Right there," Bella moaned.

I tried to rein in my reactions to the tantalizing soundtrack she provided, but my efforts only went so far. Especially because my love was lying right next to me and was making absolutely no attempts at restraint. Of any kind.

"God, that feels so good."

"Unnng. Oh, shit. I can't …" She trailed off, glancing at me. "Edward …" She sighed, grasping my hand with all her might.

"Fuck. Oh, yeah. Like that. Just like that," she mewled. "Oh, God."

Hearing her cries of pleasure—though some of those could qualify as pain, too—did nothing to ease my own predicament at that moment. Until her keening dissipated into a satisfied sigh. Fucking finally.

"That is the end of our session, Mr. Cullen. Mrs. Cullen." The two massage therapists waved to both of us, then left.

I couldn't move even if I wanted to. First of all, most of my bones felt like Jell-O. Second, one prominent bone of my body most certainly did not feel like Jell-O—quite the contrary. To avoid embarrassing myself, I had to be sure the spa employees had left before I rose from the massage table.

That was one of the perks of places like the Ritz Carlton Reynolds on Lake Oconee—the charming oasis I'd chosen for my getaway with Bella. They had a top of the line spa facility for the guests, but through the cottage concierge, they'd agreed to set up their tables in our cottage this morning.

Just as well—Bella had been moaning in near ecstasy for the last hour, and I'd predictably ended up hard as a rock.

"Didn't you like the couples' massage, Edward?" she asked me with a saucy grin. The minx knew what she was doing.

"I'll tell you when I get some blood back to my brain, love."

Her giggle resonated through the air, and it made my skin tingle with anticipation. After a deep exhale, I shook my arms and legs to regain some control over my muscles. Then I turned on my side on the massage table without bothering to check where the towel that covered my ass had fallen.

Bella's table stood a foot or so away from mine, close enough to hold my hand and see me. When my gaze crossed with hers, her pupils were dilated, and she was biting her lip. She'd just gotten an eyeful. Before she could react in any other way, I sat up, jumped off the table, and pounced on her, caging her in my arms as she lay on that utilitarian table.

"I want you," I murmured, skimming my nose along her jaw. "But this piece of shit won't survive what I want to do to you, love."

"Then take me, Edward." Her hand landed square on my naked buttock.

Another detail I'd discovered about my Bella—she was a bit of an ass lady.

"Wrap your legs around my waist. Hold on tight," I instructed. With a loving nip at her earlobe, I looped my arms around her torso and pulled her up with me. The towels that covered her all fell to the floor in a heap. "Up you go."

"Whoop!" she exclaimed.

Without a care in the world while we traipsed around the cottage buck naked, I walked us back into our bedroom, then threw her on the unmade bed and crawled toward her. She giggled when she landed among the rumpled sheets, but stopped all sounds when she found me hovering above her.

"You are so goddamn beautiful," I whispered reverently. "Sometimes, I can't believe you're mine."

Her hand came up to cup my face and she pulled me down toward her, ravenously capturing my lips. I leaned on my elbows, trying not to squish her, but longing to be as close to her as I could be at the same time. The pull that tied me to her never abated. I felt it in how my heart fluttered whenever she looked at me, how my breath spiked when she touched me, and in the way my inner possessive bastard roared whenever I made love to her. Like now.

"This isn't going to be gentle or slow, love. I can't … Oh, fuck … right there, Bella."

She'd gripped my length without warning and was lazily pumping me. My restraint frayed with every movement of her delicate hand.

"Oh, shit. Bella, love … please. Ung."

"Yeah, baby?"

I moved to grasp her hands in mine, pinning them behind her head. "I want to come inside you," I growled in her ear.

Then with one swift movement, I entered her, and she gasped, stretching out beneath me, pushing her center against my groin, pulling me deeper and deeper within her.

"Oh, yes," she keened.

"Now's the time to say that," I ground out, timing my words with my thrusts.

I wouldn't last long. That one-hour couples' massage had been one solid hour of teasing—her sounds had already brought me to the brink before I even touched her.

I released her hands and pulled her leg over my hip. The change in angle elicited a hiss from me and another keening cry from her.

"Edward … so close …"

"Mine. All mine," I roared. Then, feeling her walls flutter around my cock, I spilled inside her.

Our mutual cries of pleasure filled the room until we collapsed in each other's arms, sweaty and spent, buried in a heap of wrinkled sheets.

&& &&&

Later—much later—I felt movements and noise around me. I cracked open an eye and spied around me to get my bearings.

The French doors out onto the porch were open. A light breeze and the distant sounds of the golf course and forest filtered through. The cottage was surrounded by enough greenery that nobody would see us from the main trails. The golf course lay too far away beyond the tree line.

"Bella, love?"

"In here," she hollered from the bathroom.

I rubbed remnants of sleep from my eyes, then stepped out of bed. I plucked a pair of clean boxer briefs out of my duffel bag, and for good measure, I closed the French doors. It was a nice May afternoon, but the cottage sat in a shaded area. The air felt a bit nippy, and judging from the descending darkness, Bella and I had napped for close to four hours—our couples' massage having been scheduled from one to two p.m.

I padded toward the bathroom, where I found Bella standing in front of the sink. Clad only in my discarded shirt from last night, she was dabbing at her face with a plush towel.

I circled her waist with my arms and perched my head on her shoulder, planting a kiss to the uncovered skin at the base of her neck.

She shivered and leaned back in my arms, dropping her towel on the counter.

"Hi, love. I woke up and couldn't find you."

She hummed, looking at our reflections in the mirror. "I woke up and felt a little icky, so I had a quick cat bath. I still want to try out that soaking tub with you."

Her stomach rumbling preempted my next question. "What about dinner?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah. I could do dinner. What are our options?"

It was a little comical to have a conversation by looking at her in the mirror, but I wasn't about to move from my spot. I loved feeling her in my arms.

"The steakhouse is out because we don't have a reservation. We could try the place by the lake or the Barrel Room."

She narrowed her eyes in a pensive expression. "How late are they open?"

"Not long enough for us to soak first and eat later."

When her stomach grumbled again, she apologized. "Oh, man. That's embarrassing. Sorry 'bout that."

"I guess we have our answer," I countered.

"Eat first, soak later."


Three chapters left after this one!

Also, reminder that the 13th anniversary re-read of my first story, Business Class Girl, is still going on in my FB group, LaMomo's Lair.
A special outtake will be posted there (and on the usual online accounts) AFTER the re-read is complete.

Teasers and info about my upcoming story Dreams Unwind (#RockerWard) will also be posted in my group so come and join the fun!

See you all on Wednesday!