Disclaimer:

Stephenie Meyer wrote Twilight. Morgan Locklear undressed Edward and made him dance.

To say that Edward Cullen was anal retentive was an understatement on par with the famous phrase, "He chose poorly." This trait, however, assisted him in becoming a gifted investigation attorney who never missed a detail and pulled at every last, loose thread.

Edward was well liked, popular even, but when not talking about the case at hand he usually was as silent as mouse slippers. His bold eyes and bright smile went a long way towards making him appear involved in any conversation but Edward was shy. Devastatingly shy.

Edward was also a tad obsessive compulsive, not to the extent of suffering a full blown disorder, but he did have particular habits and guidelines concerning a few things: shoes, produce, domestic pets (including goldfish), home security, driver safety, the Dewey Decimal System, Robert's Rules of Order, chopstick application and the proper placement of a salad fork.

As the week of Christmas brought the season's first snow storm to Portland, he drove his Volvo (voted CarSmart's safest car company nine years running) across the Steel Bridge unknowingly keeping pace with the Amtrak train below him.

The Rose City wore Christmas like a spiffy party vest. From the thirty foot tall lighted martini glass visible from the West Hills to the lighted garland that spelled the word 'Noel' over some neighborhood streets of Beaverton, inviting the kids riding back through the other way to shout "Leon!" out their car windows.

Edward had been working for a private firm downtown since the Christmas before and was rumored to be the youngest partner to ever have his name commissioned on their Fox Tower lobby sign.

He stopped by the nineteenth floor to drop off a few shared files (and make sure the vertical blinds in his office were straight) before he left the city to take his girlfriend to Mt. Hood's Timberline Lodge for the holiday.

The trip to the mountain was Edward's two year anniversary gift to her. Neither of them had ever been skiing and Edward didn't expect they were going to learn anytime soon.

He was going to ask her to marry him, but that's not what had him nervous to the point of perspiring in his black silk blend shirt.

Bella Swan was a few years younger than her boyfriend, Edward. She was still attending college at Portland State University and living on the edge of campus in a small building called the Maryann. She was studying special education with an emphasis on speech therapy and her friends called her bashful and handsome boyfriend, Special Ed. This was behind his back, of course. Anytime they were actually faced with having a conversation with him, they either stared at his hands or stuck their boobs out.

Or both.

Bella disliked the nickname on principle but knew that she had hit the boyfriend jackpot and allowed the teasing in lieu of passive aggressive jealousy from her friends.

The two of them met on the PSU campus just before winter break three years earlier. Edward was a graduate student and spending most of his time off campus but made a special trip to the upper Park Blocks that day to sample a chicken teriyaki rice dish that could only be purchased from a very popular cart located outside Smith Center. Bella was hooked on the three pound burritos that came from the same place and the two of them ended up in line together.

They fell in love that very afternoon and (three pound burrito jokes aside) were fierce lovers by Christmas.

Edward pulled up in front of Bella's pale building as the snowflakes started to turn from tiny ribbons to weighty wedges. Bella wasn't expecting him but continually encouraged his visits whenever he was downtown.

She heard his car door and met him on the stoop with a kiss. "What a nice surprise," she smiled. "Were you worried I'd go sledding without you?"

Edward laughed. He wouldn't put it past her. "How was your final Final?" Edward was a sucker for wordplay.

"Good," she chimed, "I feel so relieved now that it's all over."

"That's actually why I came to see you," Edward said. "I was hoping you would be available to go away with me this weekend."

"What? To where?"

"Mt. Hood. Timberline."

"But it's snowing," Bella keenly observed.

"Exactly." His heart stuttering grin unearthed one of his shallow dimples.

She looked at him suspiciously. "You don't have any other surprises up your sleeve do you?"

"Nope." Edward answered with a smile.

"Give me ten minutes," Bella replied and dashed around her small, creaky one bedroom apartment while Edward sat on her futon and watched as KGW News-Channel 8 reported the first real dusting of the year as though it were the storm of the century.

Bella was true to her word and ten minutes later appeared in the bedroom doorway with one large bag and a puffy blue coat that made her look like Violet Beauregard after she chewed Wonka's experimental gum.

Because they had such varying tastes in music they traded songs on the way up Highway 26. Edward would put in something by Iron & Wine then Bella would put in something by Lady Gaga. It went like this for half an hour before Edward suggested that they listen to the radio.

Bella laughed heartily at the suggestion. "I just don't want you to get sleepy that's all."

"Impossible," he said with a low chuckle. He had felt butterflies in his stomach when he went to her apartment but now, as the road started to rise and the temperature started to drop, the butterflies turned into buffalo.

Bella found a radio station with a holiday selection and Christmas music filled the car for the rest of the short trip. With the snowflakes rushing at the windshield and the triumphant sounding songs at hand, Edward began to feel like he was streaking towards a great adventure.

Timberline Lodge was certainly beautiful from the outside but once entered it took on a quality that made it a character in one's memory. Bella thought that it looked like part log cabin and part castle while Edward noted that it smelled like pine trees and marshmallows.

They were met near the entrance by a loping but well behaved St. Bernard. She was a five month old puppy with feet so big that she looked like a Clydesdale horse. The pretty blonde girl at the front desk told them that the dog's name was Heidi.

The couple was given an old fashioned key to a room on the third floor. It was beautiful but rustic, not unlike a museum exhibit. Everything in the suite reminded Edward of his grandfather's house (except for the HDTV and the iPod dock). The queen size bed was a glorious affair with a huge rounded headboard and a footboard sturdy enough to dive off of.

Bella went straight to the bathroom and Edward heard her opening drawers and testing the complementary hair drier. "There's a jacuzzi!" she squealed a few seconds later.

Edward placed their suitcases on the sofa, which was situated next to a lovely desk (wooden, of course) in the sitting area, and opened his. He had packed three days of clothes even though he needed only two. He also packed his own towel and a bag of toiletries that had enough gadgets to make James Bond jealous.

Once he was alone in the room, he didn't think he could go through with it. He didn't know how to get started, that was the problem. He had worked out everything else but this was such an unfamiliar transition to make.

And besides, Edward thought, it was a silly notion anyway...

"Wanna take a bath?" Bella suggested from the doorway of the bathroom, immediately drawing Edward's attention away from his thoughts. She was already naked, her legs were coyly fused together but the tuft of ginger curls peeking out between them was lit intermittently as she rocked back and forth on her heel. Her nipples were hard despite the fact that there was a gas fireplace already pushing delicious heat into the room.

Edward couldn't believe his luck. She had just given him the perfect lead in. He was never going to be handed a better opportunity and at least now he would get it over with so he could relax for the rest of their weekend.

"Sit on the bed while I get undressed." he instructed in a thick voice. Bella obeyed, intrigued as she watched Edward reach into his suit jacket and pull out his Droid phone. He had his own music dock in the suitcase, but the one in the suite had a compatible jack and bigger speakers so Edward walked over and silently scrolled through his songs.

Bella scooted back on the bed and reclined on her elbows while Edward went to his suitcase and actually put on more clothes. He turned to her, having just donned an overcoat (that would have served him better in the chilly car) a red silk scarf and, of all things, a fedora. Bella thought he looked kind of like a gangster. She liked it, even if she was confused.

He went back over to his phone, took a deep breath and then music began to play.

The song was called "Shy" and Edward moved to it like he was anything but. The rhythm was strong and the lyrics were sassy and Bella watched with mounting desire as the prim man she fell in love with began to strip away all his inhibitions. And more.

He whipped the scarf off, maintaining strict eye contact with the delicacy on the bed and discarded it after a brief trip past his rear end (which was still unfairly hidden by the billowing coat). The coat was thrown off next but, before he peeled it from his shoulders and flung it over the back of the sofa, Edward whirled around a few times like a superhero in his cape.

Bella lay on the bed, dumbfounded. Edward was slinking like a cat while moving to the beat of the sultry music. He snatched his suit jacket off and tossed it towards Bella, careful not to actually let it land on her as he was thoroughly enjoying the view of his breathless prize gaping up at him.

Once he was down to his shirt neatly tucked into his pants Bella could see his waist and his chest better. She liked the way the fabric stretched around his biceps as he slowly loosened his cherry red and light silver striped necktie and pulled it over his head. It looked to Bella like a candy cane.

She began to feel a velvet warmth spread through her. She shifted her position on the bed, giving Edward a glimpse at her soft pink flesh as he started to unbuckle his belt. Bella was very curious as to what underwear Edward chose for this obviously planned striptease. She allowed herself to imagine him in everything from leopard print bikini briefs to leather ball-huggers while he slowly removed his belt from his trouser loops.

Edward grabbed his pants and in one quick move he shoved them down. He surprised Bella with his choice of under garment.

He had none.

His shoes were kicked off with a practiced ability and his already swelling gratitude for her was playing hide and seek from behind his shirttails.

Dancing before her in ankle socks (Edward didn't like his calves to get those creases that taller socks left) and a shirt that he was unbuttoning from the bottom up, Edward was beginning to enjoy himself. He had almost done it, and he could see that Bella was totally shocked by his uncharacteristic behavior.

His shirt fell open exposing his smooth muscular chest and the trail of fuzz on his belly that led to the shrub of hair above his massive trunk. He threw the shirt aside and then grabbed his hat like the way Michael Jackson did.

He did not, however, grab his genitals like Michael Jackson did. He let only the warm air touch that part of him for the time being.

The song reached a frenzied pitch and Edward gyrated and wiggled for his giggling girl. Avoiding tacky moves, (like making it spin like a helicopter) he allowed the music to move him and he stalked the woman on the bed like a vampire.

When the song slowed so did Edward who ended by picking the overcoat off the back of the sofa, putting it on and walking out into the hall.

A few seconds later there was a small knock at the door.

"Who is it? Bella called.

"I wasn't intending to close the door all the way but my hands are sweaty," came his muffled reply.

"You mean you don't have your key?" Bella asked playfully.

"No?" came his boyish reply.

The door was opened wide and his naked angel stood before him with her hand out.

"Bella!" Edward began, shocked at her lack of modesty.

"Jacket please," Bella said smartly and repositioned her hand closer to him.

Edward looked down at his open jacket (and his instantly dwindled maypole) "Quick before someone sees us," he said, quickly determining that the fastest way out of the quagmire was to pay the toll. He turned to allow Bella to help him out of his overcoat, which she did efficiently. Then he heard the door slam closed behind him.

Edward's eyes became planets of surprise. Noooooooo! His mind was wrapped around the word.

He spun fast enough to make his pendulum slap against his thigh but the door was opened again before it could settle back into position.

"Kidding!" Bella chirped as she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him inside.

She walked him to the bathroom and he flexed in the mirror while she ran hot water in the tub.

"I knew something was up when we were driving up here," Bella revealed, her voice echoing as she bent over the wide basin. "You were quiet. Quieter than usual."

Edward admired her reflection in the mirror. "I almost didn't go through with it," he admitted, "I was losing my nerve but you had perfect timing and so I figured it was a sign."

"Well, it was really..." Bella searched for the right word. Edward had done a very brave thing and showed her more trust than she could have ever dreamed of. Plus he had some great moves to go with the body. She grinned and finished lamely, "...awesome."

"Awesome." Edward spoke the word like he was tasting it. "That's better than rad right?"

"Totally!" Bella was up for a game of naked 80's. "Totally tubular even!" She turned around and sat on the porcelain, it was cold on her naked flesh and she hooted a cute protest.

"Well you looked bitchin' on that bed." Edward told her with a thumbs up.

Bella eyed him for a moment. "Seriously, Edward." She took a deep breath, (crying would not do if she was going to do what she was going to do). "Thank you. It was very...very hot and I can't believe you did that for me."

"Me neither," Edward muttered.

"You don't have any other surprises up your sleeve do you?" she asked.

"Nope." Edward said easily.

Bella eyed him again but Edward held under her scrutiny. All he had to worry about was keeping the ring box hidden and it was already so buried in his suitcase that even Howard Carter wouldn't find it. She brushed her feathery hair from her teardrop breasts and beckoned for Edward to approach.

He obeyed and she began petting his length. His response was immediate, (so much so that she narrowly avoided wearing an eye patch for the rest of the holiday). Edward watched her admire him, first with her hands and then with her mouth. She looked up at him while she worked and he ran his hand gently through her hair. Then she looked back at the slick skin in front of her. Bella liked to swirl her tongue around and lick him from base to tip.

Edward shivered.

Bella was concentrating as the act always required both mental and physical focus. She was also distracted by the sight of his taut butt in the mirror behind him. She was slowly losing her view to the steam that was rising from the rapidly filling tub, so she doubled her efforts and made him gasp a few times before coming up for air herself.

She turned the faucet off and slipped into the tub like a secret. "Hit the light, Edward. I want to show you something."

He dimmed the lights and watched as a square of white moonlight slowly swam into view. Most of it fell into the tub which sat beneath an old fashioned window. Bella bobbed there like an apple and he desperately wanted to take a bite.

Edward stepped into the spacious tub and knelt between her legs. She pushed herself forward to meet him, allowing her hair to dip into the warm bath. Edward placed both hands under the water and on her round rump, pulling her up even as he plunged his face into the matted nest of manicured hair in front of him. He poked his tongue out just far enough to brush the shiny pink canvas below.

Bella settled in as Edward grew more adventurous with his mouth and more aggressive with his needing (and kneading) hands. She would shudder when he suckled her most sensitive area, a tiny berry that hid like a shy pearl, and she would moan when he thrust his hot tongue deep inside her.

She sank her hands into his thick hair and moved his head up and down to her liking. Edward allowed himself to be led but when she threw her hands above her head he was free to explore new avenues of pleasure for her. His mouth danced over her flesh and when he pulled her towards him so he could taste each morsel that sat atop her breasts, she wrapped her arms around his head.

He rested his hands on the curve of her hip and lowered her, silky and super-heated onto his waiting salvation. By the time he did so, she was panting with anticipation. They hadn't even turned the jets on but the surface of the water was lively and lapped up the side of the tub. Bella's legs were spread wide, one foot hanging over the edge and the other close enough to the window to feel the chilled air still clinging to it. Bella bit her lip to keep herself from crying out while Edward grunted softly with effort and pleasure.

Edward playfully turned her over so her palms were flat on the smooth floor of the tub and she was looking at her moonlit silhouette in the water. He slid right back into her glistening pocket (which took them both a minute to recover from) then he grasped her plump swinging breasts as he pushed in and up causing her to groan with pleasure.

Edward moved his hands back to her hips and pulled her into him with each thrust. Her nipples skimmed the warm bath and tickled her as climax after climax ruled her mind and body.

Edward was a perfectionist (and a bit of a show off) and therefore made sure she was good and satiated before fully letting go and treating her to a serenade of his gruff vocalized delights. She flexed her muscles and squeezed him even harder with her body as she gasped with him until he erupted with warmth. The sensation of feeling him pulse inside her was something she never grew tired of.

Bella spun around after he extricated himself and sat with her back against the sloped tub and encouraged Edward to lay cradled in her lap with his head on her chest. Edward obliged much to his great satisfaction. Laying there nestled between her dripping breasts and listening to the duet of her heartbeat and her breathing, he was glad he had overcome a fear and shared something so special with her.

But next time he would need a pole.

Edward and Bella spent the night in one another's arms amidst the generous amounts of fluffy white pillows squatting on the oversized bed. They ordered a breakfast of French toast and bacon and stumbled onto "The Goonies" on television. It had just begun, (Chunk hadn't even done the truffle shuffle yet) and they spent the morning trading lines back and forth from a movie that had been released the year Bella was born.

Once they dressed, they toured the lodge hand in hand and even took a brisk walk on the grounds. Mt. Hood chaperoned the otherwise solitary couple as they left the populated ski area in favor of a small trail that led them through the foothills of the white Goliath.

"How many credits are you taking next term?" Edward asked as the crisp air filled his nostrils.

"Twenty, but I might drop one class," she replied.

"Oh well, that's not too bad," Edward said. "I might just see you more than three nights a week."

"You live too far away from campus," she reminded him. "And you never want to stay over at my place."

"Yes, but in my defense, neither do you."

"I love the Maryann."

"It smells like old books."

"You said that you loved the smell of old books," Bella responded in mock shock.

"I do," Edward admitted. "I associate it with all our summer afternoons together so now when I have to visit the Records section of the library, I get an erection."

Bella's musical laughter escaped her lips and chased the breeze through the white trimmed trees. "Believe it or not I know exactly how you feel," she managed while she held her stomach. "I smelled your cologne in Pioneer Place last week and by the time I got home I was so wet that I needed a lifeguard."

"Sounds like we need to see each other more often." Edward allowed himself that one test suggestion before revealing his true intentions.

"I think I would like that very much." Bella squeezed his hand as they listened to the snow crunch under their feet.

They fell into bed together as soon as they returned to the suite and peeled chilly clothes off one another in an ever intensifying frenzy that nearly cost Bella a nice pair of frilly underwear. Their mouths found ears, necks and lips and the sound of their kissing was joined by the tiny ticking noise that came from snowflakes attacking the window panes.

Bella climbed on top of Edward, placing her hands on his chest and kissing his neck until he squirmed. She then eased herself down onto his hard reaction to her attention. He liked the way her hair tickled his face as she bent down to kiss him and he loved to watch her heavy breasts hover just out of reach of his mouth.

Bella moved her hips feverishly and watched as Edward was enveloped in overwhelming rapture. He held his breath and watched her piston up and down on him before she leaned back.

Her eyes and breasts were pointed to the ceiling as he began to match her movements, thrusting so hard that he had to keep his hands on her hips to keep her from flying off the bed.

She liked it when her shy guy let go and allowed passion to wash over him. This weekend he had done just that.

As she straddled Edward, Bella stilled her rambunctious breasts with her hands and opened her mouth wide as the ecstasy built up in her like a hurricane. Edward could tell that she was feeling waves of release by the way she tensed up a little bit every time she crested each summit and pounced on the opportunity to drive her wild with his nearly frantic pumping.

His climax came with her seventh or eighth and the beads of sweat on his chest quivered as his breathing steadily slowed. Bella collapsed on top of him, her breasts slick with her own exertions and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"I love you," she said in a breathless rush of affection.

"I love you, Bella," he replied tenderly.

They fell asleep and woke up only when the crisp shadow of twilight fell over the mountain, bringing sherbet tones in through the windows.

Dinner reservations were at nine. Late. But the lounge served food until ten o'clock and a jazz trio played until midnight. Bella ordered a tangy feta mandarin ravioli and Edward had the New York steak, medium. They both drank wine, an Oregon vineyard Pinot Gris, and listened as the piano swept around the room followed by the string bass and the trap set.

They were on their fourth glass when the dishes from the meal were cleared away and a single white rose was placed in front of Bella by a sure handed waiter whose wink to Edward was lost behind his thick glasses.

"What's this?" Bella lifted the flower to her nose.

"The hardest rose to find," Edward replied. "In order to get one you have to plan ahead and in order to keep one," he placed a white ring box on the table, "you have to be willing to hold onto it for as long as it lasts."

Bella looked at the box with fascination but kept her distance like it was a little bird that might fly away at any moment.

"I promise to hold you for the rest of my life, Bella. Will you marry me?" Edward was smiling, he knew this was right and he patiently waited for her to absorb the moment and pick up the box.

She answered his question before she even touched it. "Nothing would make me happier." He rose from the table and she stood up to kiss him. Edward touched her cheek as their lips met and she held him low around the waist. Edward closed his eyes and let her perfume jump to his skin as his lips moved like smoke over hers.

"Shall we dance?" Edward said as the musicians began a slow number that had the drummer brushing the high hat and the piano player adjusting the mic to sing.

"I'd love to," Bella answered, surprised again at the unlocked behavior in her usually timid teddy bear.

They walked to the middle of the empty dance floor and embraced. Edward whispered in her ear, he told her he loved her. She replied in kind and then asked, "You don't have any other surprises up your sleeve do you?"

"Actually," Edward said with a sly grin that went all the way to his hairline, "I might."

Author's Note:

Seasons Greetings!

The epilogue for Bella Voce, as well as the prologue and first chapter of Brutte Parole, will post in less than two weeks.

Happy Holidays to all and thank you for giving me such a memorable year.

MOG