Chapter 3

BPOV

Three little words.

Oh, how they can change your life.

...

So, I agreed to marry Edward Cullen of Cullen Enterprises the largest Conglomerate Industry heavy weight of mergers and acquisitions in America.

Cullen Enterprises was like pac-man, racing along behind any kind of successful small company or good idea, eating it up. But, they all seemed to come out the other end of Mr Pac-Man; shiny new and stamped 'Cullen Enterprises.'

That name was like Gold, it was enough to make anything a success, and I was going to use it to my advantage.

It was kind of like watching a car crash in slow motion, as the metal of the cars twist, buckle and bend on high speed impact. It was like me and my life slowly bending and shifting to fit into his life, into him, and my new life.

It was not going to be easy. This I was certain.

A gladiator-sized battle was raging within me, every time I thought about exactly what I was doing to myself. The consequences, should someone find out, would be cataclysmic. The word "trapped" didn't quite cover the feelings I currently had about my life. The loss of my Father's beloved publishing company—which he had entrusted the management of to me—would destroy him, not to mention the disappointment I would see in his eyes when he looked at me. I couldn't - wouldn't allow it.

I signed the prenuptial agreement on Saturday, and we were married in secret two days later at the registry office, where no family or friends were present. It made me a little sad not having my mum and Charlie there, but I knew it would have hurt me more, the whole thing being a lie. Besides, Edward Cullen was so well known, the tabloids would have pounced immediately. It would have been chaos.

We had spent every day together since then. It was strange to suddenly be spending so much time with someone I at first despised and hated the sight of (gorgeous or not), but now had the vision of his handsome face imprinted behind my eyelids.

Cullen was, in fact, the complete opposite of what I had first thought. He was a gentleman, an old fashioned one at that. The evenings after work were spent at his office developing our 'relationship' and the background.

The pretense was that "We had been dating in secret for months, and were madly in love."

...

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Urgh," I sighed. "Fine. I will move into the apartment, but I am not selling mine." I crossed my arms over my chest obstinately.

Edward smiled satisfied, his eyes twinkling a little, which had started to bug me.

"Don't you think it's a little fast… you know—" I resisted the urge to lower my voice and whisper. "People are probably going to wonder." I stated, honestly a little scared of the idea of having to move in with him.

We were discussing our "relationship" in his office, getting our stories straight prior to any public meeting. It filled me with sadness to think that the only relationship that I had in the last few years now required quote marks around it. How sad.

It had been three weeks since I first burst into his office, like a raging bull ready to tear the door off if he didn't give me answers. I was now Mrs. Cullen, a wife, and I had access to a lot—and I mean a lot—of his money, I still owned my company—well I would once I had met with Mr. Emmett Cullen who was working on the legal side of the partnership—and was going to be thrust into the limelight that surrounded the Cullens and everything Edward did, and in the midst of dealing with all this I was still trying to get to know my husband.

What a turns of events...

My emotions were on a roller coaster all the time, and I had begun to notice things about him… things that I really shouldn't be noticing. Like when he was nervous, he would tug a hand roughly through his hair. Or that he would lick his lips and I was watch his pink tongue snake out running along his lower lip. His proximity made the butterflies in my stomach flutter. The lightest touch painted my skin with fire, my heart thudding in my chest.

He shook his head confidently, "True love!" he explained with a light shrug of his shoulders. "People don't hesitate about time and rules of engagement when you utter those words."

I looked down, away from his eyes, a heavy feeling of sadness and embarrassment at how easily I could fall for him.

"Besides," he licked his lips and continued after a moment, "I don't really care what people think. If I did, I wouldn't be in business."

The look on his face made me think it best to move on with my questioning.

"Age?" I was gradually ticking off my list of questions. The more business-like my approach to this arrangement, I hypothesized, the easier it was to gag my patronizing and cynical attitude that took any and every opportunity to kick my ass with the obvious: I was attracted to Edward Cullen.

In my defense, who wouldn't be?

My inner-minx rolled her eyes at me. Okay, that was a lame defense.

As my best friend Rose would say, 'Edward was SEX with legs. Man with a capital Mmm.' And I had just signed my life over to him for 2 years.

Not only did he get under my skin—in an annoying kind of way of pressing all my buttons—but I wanted him under me—in the good, naked kind of way. Then he may press as many buttons as he wishes. Multiple times if he liked.

"28."

I gazed up at him, forgetting I had asked him a question.

...

EPOV

Bella sat across from me, her knees locked together as though she was aware of my less than clean thoughts of her. Occasionally she might cross them and I was gifted the view of her sexy legs, the smooth skin curving out from her calf, I wanted to run my hand up her legs, spreading them. Pushing her skirt up around her thighs.

Stop it!

I hadn't had a remotely clean and concise thought for the last three weeks where Bella was concerned.

...

BPOV

He was smiling, that lazy sexy smile, relaxing back against his couch in a disgustingly masculine pose, his legs spread and one arm slung over the back of the cushion. It made my feminine parts fire up, like someone had connected jumper cables to me and revved the engine. Of their own volition my eyes dropped to his crotch quickly, a sneaky look.

But, when the muscles in my lower abdomen clenched suddenly I swallowed hard and looked away.

Oh God! I just looked at his crotch!

I took a deep breath hoping a blush wasn't about to give me away, before I looked up.

His deep green eyes were intensely bright, flaring as he smiled again, a lopsided panty-wetting smile with his white teeth showing. Again, I felt as though something was awry and I was the last to know; kind of like when you go all the way to work on public transport with your fly down. All the smiles and winks you were getting were NOT a result of your new hairdo, but your cherry covered panties that had been displayed for all to see.

"Pets?" surreptitiously I ran my fingers down the buttons of my shirt, confirming that nothing was bursting out that shouldn't be.

He shook his head.

...

EPOV

I licked my lips as Bella's chest rose and fell in a deep breath, her nipples had gone hard suddenly and were pressing against her blouse. The thoughts that crossed my mind in those mere seconds were typically male.

Was she wearing a lacy bra. Black, maybe red? Perhaps it was silk, or sheer lacy where the dark rosy pink of her nipples would be visible through the fabric. Would her panties match, black lace that would slip intimately between her thighs.

Her hand touched the buttons of her shirt her fingers tracing down and I felt my cock jerk at the idea of her suddenly undoing the buttons and stripping off her clothes in front of me.

Holy Shit!

"Brothers and sisters?" She began asking me more questions again.

"Older brother, Emmett, the buffoon. Little sister, Alice, the annoying pixie." I rolled my eyes.

I did not want to talk about my family—least of all my brother and sister—when I was this turned on. So I changed the subject, sidetracking back to her.

...

BPOV

"What do you do in your spare time?" he asked shifting in his chair, placing his feet on the coffee table, his work pants riding up slightly and his black socks peeking out from the bottom.

I noticed that he had removed his tie, undoing a few of the buttons of his black business shirt, allowing me the sight of a few hairs from his chest. The crisp fabric pulled taut against his chest, outlining his muscles. The sight made me lick my lips.

I squared my shoulders, rigid and tense in the cushy leather, and diverted my gaze, instead fingering the spiral spine of my notepad that was balanced on my knees.

"I like to read," I shrugged, not really sure of what I did do with my apparent 'spare time.' I couldn't remember the last time I actually had any. "…listen to music, work." I twisted my hands together and pushed my reading glasses back up my nose, trying to avoid the feeling of being at a job interview.

He smiled, his eyes brightening. I couldn't believe that that was the summation of my life. I used to go out, I used to go to the movies with girlfriends, even shopping but it seemed like a forever ago. Now, just the idea of 'going out' made my eyes lids droop.

"Read. Read what?" One dark eyebrow raised in interest.

"Umm," I took a deep breath, filtering my book collection, no need to divulge my extensive romance novel collection. "I love Jane Austen and Emilie Bronte, Romeo and Juliet." a knowing smile crept along his lips before his tongue swept out wetting them. "I tend to re-read a lot of my favourites. Mostly I've been working, so I don't really have any time to try anything new."

"So the classics..." He paused. "Brothers, sisters?"

I was going to correct him and explain that I read others as well, but thought better of it when he broached the topic of family, the one I had being trying to avoid. "I am an only child, my parents are separated. My father is the chief of Police, back in my home town. My mom follows her new husband around with the baseball season." My tone was a little clipped and I pursed my lips, my body language closing the door on that subject with a resounding slam.

He seemed to sense my anxiety on the subject and asked his next question.

"Sleep naked?" he asked deadpan.

I choked. My eyes widening at his innuendo, his eyebrow raised impishly.

"What kind of question is that?" I blurted out, the heat from my cheeks was burning around my ears, I couldn't meet his eyes, but I could feel him staring at me.

...

EPOV

I wasn't able to help myself. I wanted to break the stale mood we had veered into. It just so happened to be that the precise moment that my body needed to supply blood for my head, it was being diverted to my other head. The idea of her nude body in my bed was the final factor that allowed the question to slip out.

The red in her cheeks was beautiful, and her deep brown eyes flaring in shock. She caught her lower lip with her teeth and slowly released it, and it was almost too much, because I wanted to kick the coffee table out of my way and slip my hands in her hair and crush her lips against mine.

She was struggling to respond, she tucked her hair behind her ear self consciously.

...

BPOV

Don't even think about it Isabella Swan, you don't care whether he sleeps naked. Damn-it!

"A perfectly logical question. I'm just trying to find out what kind of person you are. We will be sleeping in the same bed and all." His lips curved up in an impish smile.

"What?" The thought hadn't occurred to me, and although it mostly made me nervous, my girly parts went on hyperdrive.

"Well, the thing is, if we're sleeping in separate rooms, someone is bound to notice. We may be newlyweds, but my family isn't well-known for giving anyone their space."

I tried to recover from my extreme shock, but it was hopeless, his revelation about our home arrangements threw me..

"No, I do not sleep naked." I pushed my glasses back on my nose, in frustration.

"Well, that's disappointing." His lips lifting at the side with a teasing smile as he rubbed his hand along his rough jaw.

I looked around, checking my watch hoping for a change of subject. Trying not to think about the sound of his roughened features, the scruff of one day not shaving, it was delicious. Scruff was tantalizing especially the way it tickled against the inside of your thigh when a man nuzzled there.

There was a pregnant silence between us before he finally relinquished.

"It's getting late, we should head off." He yawned, and stood with a stretch. I avoided his eyes, knowing he would make me squirm, as I straightened my skirt around my hips and tucked my pen in the binding loop of my notebook.

He ushered me ahead of him as we exited his empty office, his hand was warm on the small of my back. Although he barely brushed against me, it sent a very real shiver up my spine. Edward Cullen was my husband, and my business partner, but on top of all that, he was the most gorgeous enigma of a man I had ever met.

The cool air outside was refreshing as it flowed over my heated skin, blowing my hair lightly into my face, and I felt goose-bumps rise up my arms and legs as refreshment turned into chill.

I struggled to feed my arms through my coat, stopping short as I felt his hands deftly hold it open for me, waiting as I slid my arms into it. He lifted the collar on my coat, shielding my neck from the cool wind as I buttoned it up.

"Thank you." I stuffed my hands in my pockets and turned to walk towards his car.

The ride home was quiet, which wasn't normal. The last week we had so much to talk about, but tonight seemed different… heavier. The weight of the impending day seemed to crush my chest.

As he had done every time before, he walked me to my apartment door, ever the gentleman. Thoughtful and kind to a woman, but calculated and steadfast to business associates. My growing knowledge of him had him painted as a formidable business man—not an individual anyone would wisely disagree with. He left no quarter for discussion with his motives and so far, smugly, was yet to make a bad decision.

This alone gave me confidence in this charade succeeding, but the way in which he treated me left me confused, because I found myself getting excited just being around him. It was as though he was really courting me, and I couldn't seem to stop blurring those very important lines I had drawn, which separated my heart from this business deal.

I guess I should have considered all the other sides of pretending to be a man's wife.

Well, tomorrow all this worrying would come to naught, because I was meeting his family, and I was terrified.

AN: Okay if you were wondering, 'Poonanny', means.. cough..err, pussy.. it's just a word I heard somewhere.. sorry for any confusion..

I will put the links for the dress etc on my profile page if anyone is interested!

Oh, and I love reviews! so please..

And the next part is the 'Family' bit that has me so stuck with this story! I am really struggling with having to write 7 peoples outraged reactions and dialogue.. But reviews will really boost my confidence..

Yes, I am not afraid to beg!