Longer chapter... so tempting to split but I don't want to keep y'all from new stuff tomorrow!

Thanks for reading! :)


11

"My apartment isn't as clean or as organized as yours," I warn Edward as we walk up the stairs to my second-floor apartment.

"So?" he asks, uncaring.

We're each holding a pie but his empty hand is on my lower back, sliding up my spine and under my hair so his fingers can gently squeeze the back of my neck. His touch nearly makes me trip on the last step.

We make it to my door and I try to focus on pulling out my keys while also balancing the pie. This wouldn't normally be hard to do, but Edward is behind me, his body pressed close, leaving no room for discussion about what is going to happen once we're inside.

"Open the door, Bella," he whispers, pressing his front to my back and sliding a hand into my open jacket. That move alone kills me, but then he slides his palm up under my shirt to graze the underside of my boob.

I hesitate, even though I'm burning from his touch. "You're gonna judge my place."

He nuzzles his face in the crook of my neck, and I can feel his smile against my skin. "A little, but who cares?"

"Just wait out here for five minutes and—"

"I don't actually care, Swan," he murmurs, nibbling my earlobe and kissing the side of my neck. "I don't like you because of how clean or messy you are." I can feel a bulge in his jeans when he presses against my ass, and I moan. "Get us inside… please. Before your neighbors walk out and see me taking you right the fuck here."

I quickly stick my key into the lock before the door opens on its own from the inside, taking my keys with it.

"Alice?" I blurt, finding my sister standing inside my apartment. She notices how close Edward and I are, and zeroes in on his hand under my shirt. Edward quickly removes it, and I can feel him step away from me. "What are you doing here?" I ask in annoyance and grab my keys out of the door.

"We lost power an hour ago so we came here," she says, still eyeing Edward, and looking a little smug. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing?" I'm flustered because he was just rubbing his boner on my ass and I loved it and now I'm having a stupid conversation with my intruding sister. "What does it matter—this is my apartment. You should've told me you were coming over," I insist, and we step inside.

"I didn't know you weren't home, and I didn't think us coming over mattered since we had plans to hang out later anyway. I also didn't know you might be having company over… or that you'd be getting felt up."

I cough.

She laughs.

Edward stays silent, and it's kind of adorable how the tips of his ears turn pink. He follows me into the kitchen to put the pies away, and I stop, taking in the space.

"Did you clean?" I ask Alice, grateful Edward didn't have to see much of my mess.

"Well, I had nothing else to do and this place was a fucking disaster," she says.

I was going to thank her but not anymore.

We hear the toilet flush down the hall, and Jasper walks in, looking surprised to see someone else here.

He nods toward Edward. "Hey, man, I'm Jasper."

"I'm Edward, good to meet you." They do some hand-slap-clap-crap.

"Ohhhhh," Alice starts to say, recognition in her tone and her gaze after Edward says his name. I shoot her a look. I haven't said that much to her about Edward. Just that he's incredibly good-looking. And funny. And the only person I eat lunch with whenever I do get a break.

"This is Alice, my sister," I abruptly tell Edward to interrupt anything embarrassing Alice might say. "She likes to annoyingly break into apartments from time to time."

"It's not breaking and entering if you have a key," she points out.

"I'm changing the locks," I say, but she ignores me.

"We lost power and the utility company estimated it won't be back on until tomorrow," she says. "We aren't interrupting anything… are we?"

"No," I lie, pretending like Edward and I weren't about to rip off each other's clothes the second we stepped inside.

Motherfuck, I'm so annoyed that's not my reality right now and I need to fix this.

"Alice? My darling sister. May I converse with you in private, please?" I ask in a fake sweet tone before walking to my bedroom. She follows. "Dude," I whisper when we're out of sight of the guys. "Get the fuck out."

She laughs and laughs and laughs. "So you can get boned?" she asks, not as quietly as I did.

"I mean… yeah?"

She shrugs. "Okay. Wait, this is the guy you work with, right?"

"Yes."

"Is he a slave, too?"

"No," I say, rolling my eyes. "He writes for Swoosh. And as of today, I'm no longer a slave."

"You quit?!" Alice asks excitedly.

"No. Jane wanted me to bake her pies and I did—" She cuts me off with a groan. "But I didn't give them to her because Edward convinced me not to."

My sister looks pleased. "I like this guy. Do you like him?"

"Obviously." I almost swoon over how much I like him. "Probably too much."

"This is a first."

"I know," I agree. "Oh, and the fucking weirdest coincidence happened. I was telling him how Dad used to be super into Christmas—"

"You talked to him about Dad?" she asks, but I ignore her because I know this is a big deal but I kind of just want to keep it not a big deal… for now.

"And before I even told him where we grew up, he said he used to drive down Candy Cane Lane with his family and the house that was his favorite was the one that sometimes had the real snow in the yard. Our house, Al."

Alice drops her snark for a second and her face softens. "Aw. That's actually really sweet."

"I know."

"It's like a Hallmark movie."

"Yeah," I agree, then pull a face. "I'm gonna need it to be an R-rated Hallmark movie though which is why I need you to get the fuck out," I say with conviction. "Or at least just go to the bar across the street and give us like, ten?" I want more than that with Edward but I'll take what I can get.

She laughs. "You got it."

We walk back into the kitchen and Edward and Jasper are caught up in a conversation about Seattle's hockey team.

"I get free tickets all the time through work," Edward tells him. "Next time I go, you should come with me and my buddies."

Jasper grins. "For sure, man. That'd be awesome, thanks."

I love that they've already bonded, but I need to be alone with Edward now.

"Come on Jasper," Alice says. "We're gonna brave the snow and walk to the bar across the street for a little bit."

Alcohol is Jasper's biggest motivator and he immediately pulls on his coat.

Jasper glances between Edward and me. "Are you two coming?"

"They will be soon," Alice says, tossing a smug smile my way.

"Subtle," I mutter.

Edward looks confused, unsure about what's going on.

"Yeah. We'll be there in a few," I tell my brother-in-law.

"We can wait for you," Jasper offers.

"We'll meet them there. I need to grab something from the car, anyway," Alice lies because she's the best sister ever.

"Oh. What do you need?" Jasper asks.

"My scarf."

"You didn't bring a scarf, babe."

Alice shoots him a not-so-subtle look. "Jas."

"What?" Still not catching on.

Alice grabs his arm and literally pushes him out the door.

"We'll grab a booth and order a pitcher of beer. Have fun! Oh, and you're totally getting grilled after this, Edward!" she casually tosses out over her shoulder, and then they're gone.

"What just happened?" Edward asks, fisting his hair, but thankfully looking amused.

"You said we needed to be alone for you to make me feel good. So, I told my sister to scram so we can pick up where we left off," I say with zero embarrassment.

Edward smirks and walks toward me. "You didn't."

"Oh, hell yes I did. I'm tired of getting cockblocked. That's like, the second or third time today. I can only take so much, you know."

He grabs my hip and pulls me flush with him, his arm snaking around my lower back then down to my ass. I want his hands everywhere. Mouth, too.

"Damn. You want my cock that bad?" he asks, voice teasing and low. I know he's joking and making fun of me because of the way his eyes light up, but his dirty words undo me.

So I answer him with my mouth crashing against his.

There's zero finesse behind our kiss, but I don't think either of us cares.

It's frantic and needy and perfect. He kisses me hard but I kiss him back harder. It's a war of soft mouths and warm tongues, and neither of us has the potential to lose.

His hands are in my hair and mine greedily slide up his hard chest before I fist his shirt.

There's desperation behind our touches. An entire day's worth of pent-up frustration guides us. But it's also months of secretly liking each other, being unable to act on it, and using flirtation instead of foreplay.

"Bedroom?" I ask between kisses because fuck if I'm gonna start this thing only for us to get interrupted yet again.

He kisses his way to my neck, then murmurs, "Wherever you want."

I'm about to guide us to my room but pause when I remember how fucking dirty it is. Between my sad excuse for a bra and my disastrous apartment, I really, really did not think ahead. But there's zero way I could've planned for any of this today.

"Wait ten seconds and then come in," I tell him.

He frowns, holding me in place. "Why?

"To build up the anticipation," I lie.

"We've been building up the anticipation for months. If it's built up anymore we're gonna implode."

I smile a little, loving that he wants this as badly as I do. "Okay, well, I have stuff everywhere and—"

"I don't give a shit," he half-laughs, half-scoffs.

"Ten seconds!" I insist, pulling out of his grip and then running down the hall. He doesn't chase after me, and I'm able to shut and lock my door behind me.

Rushing, I pick up clothes from my bed and my floor and shove them in my closet. I move toward my bedside table and a stick coffee mug, a stemless wine glass, and a plate with day-old toast inside the drawer before closing it. Everything else gets kicked under my bed with zero regard for what it is.

"Bella," Edward says from the other side of the door, jiggling the doorknob. "You're killing me."

I shake out the duvet so the bed looks decent, then open the door and pretend like I'm not out of breath.

"That was like, a full minute, not ten seconds," he says, walking in.

"I underestimated how bad it was in here."

He sits on my bed and then lies on his back. "Comfy mattress. Do you think all of the shit you shoved under your bed makes it more comfortable or what?"

I laugh and lie down too, on my side next to him. "I hate you." I say it too softly and too breathily that it almost sounds like the exact opposite sentiment.

Almost.

Edward rolls onto his side, too, so we're face to face. "You don't hate me, Swan," he murmurs.

"You're right. I don't." I swallow back the vulnerability that creeps in. "Can I ask you something?"

He slides an arm over my waist. "Yeah."

"When you nuzzled your face in my neck this morning—" He breathes out a laugh, but I go on. "Were you actually asleep?"

I know his answer before he speaks because his face gives him away. "I was awake for ten or so minutes before you. The nuzzling was definitely on purpose. You were facing away from me so I didn't know you were awake. Although I don't know if that would've stopped me from doing it anyway."

I stare at his mouth. "I love your honesty."

His gaze softens, and he nuzzles his face in my neck and hair the same way he did yesterday. "I love the way you smell. And feel. And taste." He kisses my neck, letting his tongue lap at my skin. "Fuck, I really, really love the way you taste."

Fucking hell.

"Oh…" I moan when his tongue makes another pass along my neck.

Gently pushing me to lie on my back, he hovers over me, holding himself up with his arms as he stares down at me.

"I think I love everything about you, Bella," he says sincerely, stealing a kiss.

We've shifted from using like to love and I'm not sure if it was on purpose or not but… I love it.

"Surely not everything," I argue because that's safer than dying from his words. His lips ghost over mine but we're not quite kissing.

He stays serious. "Every. single. fucking. thing."

His mouth melts against mine and he releases his weight so he's lying on top of me, settling between my legs.

We make out for a few minutes, and I'm trying not to think about how much time we have left. I stupidly told Alice we'd be ten minutes but there's no way. No fucking way. I can't end this now. I need more time with him.

Eventually, his hips grind against mine and the bulge he presses into me makes me moan.

"Feels good," I pant.

He pulls back but still moves his hips. Slowly and fucking purposefully.

"I could make you feel even better, Bella…"

His mouth is parted and his eyes are glazed.

"Okay," I say softly.

With one last kiss, Edward rolls off of me and his hands move to my jeans.

"Can I…?" he asks, and I nod, giving him the okay to unbutton and unzip me. I lift my ass a bit so he can tug them further, and I assume he's just going to get them down enough to slide his hand inside my underwear. But he pulls them all the way off, leaving me in only my T-shirt and underwear.

He hums appreciatively at the sight of me and slides two fingers up and down the front of my underwear a few times. Hard. Soft. Harder on my clit.

"Tease," I breathe out, squirming a little.

His grin is nearly sinful and leans in so he can suck my neck. He distracts me with that sensation as he slides his hand into my underwear and touches me with no barrier.

"So fucking sexy," he whispers, watching my face while he touches me.

And then his hand moves further down and I open my legs a bit more. I love that he doesn't look away from my face. Like he wants to see the exact moment his fingers are inside of me and what it does to me. His touch is tentative and soft before he slides a finger, then two inside.

I moan.

Sigh.

Die.

"Do you like it?" he asks, kissing my mouth.

"Mmhmm." His fingers pump in and out, and it feels so fucking good with the heel of his hand rubbing against me, too, but eventually, I need more. "Will you…" Why am I so embarrassed to ask him to rub my clit? "Just, rub more… like… here?" I reach down to put his thumb there.

"Yeah, but… can I use my mouth instead?" he asks.

"You want to—what?" I ask breathlessly. He just grins. Again, it's sinful and laced with so much fucking sex. "Okay, yeah. Yeah," I agree because who the fuck would say no to that?

He moves off the bed and drops to his knees, then pulls my legs until my ass meets the edge of the mattress.

I'm impatient but also nervous.

He places a kiss on the inside of my thigh.

Then the other.

Small kisses.

Lingering kisses.

And then his mouth is there, between my legs, giving me the best kisses.

Hot kisses.

Wet kisses.

"Oh," I breathe, closing my eyes. "Oh, God."

He licks and sucks and uses his fingers again, making the best feeling spark within me.

I tangle my fingers in his fucking sexy hair and open my eyes to watch him, sitting up a bit. The sensation builds. And builds. And it's right there and so close, but I'm not sure if I can grab it. I never have. Not from anyone's mouth. But they weren't doing this, and they weren't him.

"Holy shit," I gasp. My hips instinctively buck against his face and I pant his name. "So good, please don't stop, please."

His eyes flick up toward mine. "Not gonna stop until you come from my tongue," he murmurs against me, and I'm done.

I fall back against the mattress and cry out as I come. As the most intense pleasure bursts through me. All too soon, it fades away, leaving me tingling.

Edward's mouth is gone and it's such a travesty.

He moves to lie next to me, kissing my shoulder, then my neck, then my mouth.

I kiss him back harder.

"Was it good?" he asks, searching my face.

"Um. Yeah. Understatement of the fucking century."

He grins, and I move my hand between us to palm him through his jeans.

"You don't have t—"

"Like hell, I don't. I want to, Edward."

"Okay, but I thought we had to go?"

"And you're gonna waltz across the street with yet another boner? Don't think so. They can wait another fifteen minutes. Or an hour."

"Well, I'm definitely not going to last an hour… or even fifteen minutes," he laughs.

I ignore his self-deprecation and undo his jeans before dropping to my knees. Sticking my hand inside his boxers, I stroke him a few times, coaxing him to move toward the edge of the bed. He does, and pull him out and take him into my mouth, earning a satisfied and sexy groan from him.

I spend a few minutes licking and sucking, using my hand to slide up and down the length of him. He makes the best sounds. Growls and groans and when he tangles his fingers in my hair, I look up at him to make sure he likes it. His eyes are clenched shut tightly, but then he opens them and watches me. His gaze grows darker and his mouth parts, and I realize he doesn't like it.

He loves it.

"Feels so fucking good, Bella," he breathes. "Fuuuuck."

His body tenses and he grabs my shoulders like he wants me to move, but I don't stop what I'm doing until he's sated and relaxed and spilling into my mouth.

"Holy… fuck," he sighs, sounding spent as he lies back and melts against the mattress. "Get over here." He tucks himself back into his jeans then lifts his arm, and I crawl onto the bed to curl next to him.

We just quietly lie here for a minute with his fingers trailing along my arm. I hadn't thought about the aftermath of hooking up. I hadn't entertained the idea that things might be awkward. But maybe that's because things aren't ever awkward between us, and this is no exception.

"Do we have time for a nap?" he asks, a slight hint of humor in his tone.

"Um, that would be your second nap of the day," I laugh softly, my fingers grazing his stubble. "But sadly, no. Zero time. We have beer to drink. And my sister wants to grill you."

"What about time for round two?" he asks hopefully.

"Says the man who came a minute ago."

"Hey, I'm eager. Can you blame me?"

"No." We kiss. "Let's just go get a beer or two with my sister and Jasper, and then we can come back here and order dinner."

"Fine, but I'll make you dinner instead."

I sigh, loud and dramatically, but love this idea. "God, why do you always have to fight with me?" I joke.

He laughs and gently grabs my chin to kiss me. "Because pretending to fight with you is the fucking highlight of my day, Swan."

"God, why do you always have to say the most perfect thing?" I ask with less conviction than before because this man kills me.

"I don't try."

"That's even worse," I pout, but I'm not actually upset.

"Okay, so drinks, dinner made by me, and then I'll eat your pie—" I playfully slap his chest at his crass comment and he laughs deeply. "What? Literally, eat the pies you made."

"Sure, sure."

"We'll eat the pies, then we can come back to your bed and—"

"Watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation?" I offer, and he just laughs.

"Sure, Bella. Exactly what I want to do. Climb back into your bed and watch a classic Christmas movie."

"Well, that's what we'll do after."

"After?"

I suggestively raise my eyebrows, already anticipating being with him again but even more intimately next time.

"After," I say again, and then seal our plan with a kiss.