Author's Note: Okay…there's got to be an epilogue because I can't leave you without a sneak peek into their future. Hope you liked the story! A big thanks to AGoodWitch for betaing this and getting it back so fast. Hope you enjoy!

Snowbound ch 3

My phone beeped and I picked it up. Two words smiled up at me. HELLO BEAUTIFUL

I smiled and responded, happy to hear from Edward. He messaged me several times a day, but was being very evasive when I asked him what he was doing. I did manage to glean that he wasn't in Chicago anymore. That worried me. I was torn between wanting to be with him, and not wanting him to give up what he wanted to make it happen. I didn't want him to resent me eventually for getting in the way of his career. To be fair, he hadn't indicated that was the case at all, but sitting back in my house in Chicago, snowed in with my kids, I had way too much time to worry and ruminate.

GOT ANY BIG PLANS FOR NEW YEAR'S?

I sighed. MIKE'S TURN WITH THE KIDS. I HAVE HUGE PLANS TO CURL UP WITH HOT CHOCOLATE AND BINGE WATCH INAPPROPRIATE SHOWS ON NETFLIX.

OH, SUCH A TEMPTATION TO COME JOIN YOU FOR A LITTLE NETFLIX AND CHILL. MAYBE I CAN MAKE THAT DEADLINE.

I sighed. AVAILABLE TO ACTUALLY TALK?

A second later my phone rang the Godfather theme song and I smiled as I answered it. "Well Hi there."

"Hello beautiful. How are you?"

"I'm okay. So what do you think the odds of your making it in time to Netflix and chill?"

"Don't know yet. I think I'm close to working it all out."

I sighed. "I wish you'd tell me what's going on. The anticipation is killing me."

"Ahhh, but anticipation makes things so much better. Besides, I want to surprise you. It won't be long now. I don't think it will be settled by tomorrow night, but soon."

I sighed again. "I miss you."

He released his own wistful sigh. "If you only knew."

The next morning I had to pack up my babies for their holiday with their Dad. It was always hard, but it was always ten times worse on holidays. And even worse on holidays when I know he doesn't really want them around, but court orders are court orders. I just pray he makes good choices while they are there.

Once the house was empty, it was way too quiet. I did some deep cleaning to distract myself before showering, sliding into my most comfortable yoga pants and tank top. It was definitely wishful thinking that had me forego the undies. If it was the quiet night I was anticipating, there was no reason not to be comfy while I binged some Game of Thrones, and if some miracle happened then there would be less between me and all of the things I'd been hoping for since I found the handsome Mr. Cullen.

I tried not to be disappointed as the hours ticked by. It was a quarter till midnight before I finally flipped off Cersei and the crew and switched over the New Year's Rockin' Eve to see the festivities in Times Square. They'd already had their midnight an hour ago, and when the kids were home, I always had us toast with New York and get to bed. Call me a cheater if you must, but until you dealt with the morning after insanity of a midnight bedtime, you don't understand why it is oh so necessary.

I always wondered what it would be like to be in Times Square on New Year's…to experience that energy. I was always a bit of a homebody. I never ventured too far for home for the festivities, but I always wondered. I sighed and plopped on the couch with my legs crossed and slowly lifted my recently filled cocoa cup to my mouth to take a careful sip. The pop star du jour was on stage singing that last song before the big countdown when the doorbell rang.

I jumped up in surprise, almost spilling my cocoa. I sat it down carefully and ran to the door, sliding in my fuzzy socks as I rounded the corner of the mudroom. I yanked the handle open hopefully and a huge smile filled my face as a smiling Edward holding the world's largest bouquet of every color of rose imaginable.

"I felt like the meanings behind every one fit you in some way, so I got you several of each. It's not much, but I really wanted to apologize for taking so long."

I shook my head with tears in my eyes and took the vase of roses from his hands, sitting them carefully on the floor next to the front door before flinging myself in his arms. He chuckled as I kissed him hard and let him lead me through the front door.

"You're here." I gasped between kisses. "I. Didn't. Think. You. Could. Be. Here."

"Nowhere else," he muttered before spinning me to the wall and turning the kiss from frantic and happy to deep and passionate.

The sound of the countdown on the TV went unnoticed until the cheers erupted as the ball landed at the top of Time Square the same moment the grandfather clock in the living room began its clanging song. Edward broke the kiss and captured my face in his hands, running his thumbs along my cheeks.

"We did it. We are going to be able to start this new year together."

I frowned up at him. "But how?"

His eyes twinkled as he kissed me softly before nodding over his shoulder. "Let's go sit down on the couch and I'll explain everything."

I nodded, letting him take my hand and gently tug me toward the family room. I paused for a second to bend down and rescue my beautiful roses from the mudroom floor, sitting them carefully on the bar as we passed the kitchen area. He took my hand again as he led me the rest of the way to the couch. I grabbed the remote and shut off the TV before giving him my full attention.

He just sat there smiling at me which was driving me insane. "So? Are you going to explain or just stare at me all night?"

He chuckled. "I could stare at you all night…but I won't leave you anticipating anymore. We are free and clear to do as we please."

"I gathered that part, but HOW?"

He pulled a bunch of papers from his briefcase, presenting them to me with a flourish. I scanned the tops of the pages before staring up at him in shock.

"But…how? What?!" I was dumbstruck by the new letterhead that changed everything.

"I guess I should start with the beginning. When my divorce began, my ex was angling to steal half of Cullen Communications then sell her shares to her new beau. I sold my shares to my cousin for a very low, yet not totally unfair amount. It galled me for her to get any of it, but it was better than her stealing Cullen Com. I went to the board at Volturi first, but when they refused to budge, I called Jasper and a few days later the paperwork was in process to reinstate me in Cullen Com and for Cullen Com to acquire Volturi. As the new owner of Volturi, I had the ability to make any changes I wished to the company."

I frowned down at the paper then back up at him. "But…I…how did I end up…"

He chuckled as he took the paper from me and pulled me closer on the couch, capturing my cheeks between his large palms.

"You were in contention for the position to begin with. You've put in your time and you deserve it, but if you've changed your mind."

"But what about you?"

He smirked. "Volturi, as a subsidiary of Cullen Communication, will be my Midwest base of operations as we extend further into the central states. In the meantime, you, my brilliant, beautiful, and talented Ms. Swan, will take over running Volturi. We'll be separate, yet not. I will still change the bylaws to be a little more lenient as I don't feel a company should exercise that much control over the personal lives of their employees, but we, my lovely, are above the concern."

"So you?"

He nodded.

"And I?"

He nodded again. "All you have to do is say yes, Bella."

I blinked owlishly a few times before I jumped into his arms screaming yes before planting my lips on his. He chuckled at first, but soon the tone of the kiss deepened and morphed in intensity.

"Everyone's going to think I screwed you to get the job."

He chuckled. "Well, they'd be wrong. Though, truthfully, the job change was so we were free to do whatever we wanted…including 'screwing,'" he replied with air quotes that made me roll my eyes.

"You know what I mean."

"Yes. And it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. All that matters is what we know. You are more than qualified to become CEO. The more I looked into everything, the more I knew that I never should have been offered the job to begin with; the Volturi brothers are chauvinists to their core. But I am so glad they did, or else we might never have met."

He leaned in and kissed me slowly and reverently. My heart pounded so hard, it was rushing in my ears and warming me from head to toe. He eventually pulled away, resting his forehead against mine. I smiled.

"Nobody would ever believe the series of events that brought us together. Not in a million years."

He chuckled. "It will be our family legend. The blizzard of the century that brought two strangers together, only to discover they were meant to be." He kissed my nose before pulling away to waggle his eyebrows at me. "If we make this venture as big of a success and I think we will, they'll make a movie about it someday."

I put my hand against his chest. "Whoa there, I accepted this position five minutes ago and I'm already under the gun?"

He grabbed my hand and pulled it up to kiss my fingers before grabbing a ring out of his pocket and sliding it onto my left right ring finger. "We…and this is my promise that if you'll have me, someday we will make it a we. I know it's too soon to ask you to marry me. Promise rings are old fashioned and some might say juvenile, but this is what I wanted to give you tonight…my vow that, if you want to, I want to build a relationship with you starting now. I want it to be a glimmering skyscraper one day, but I want to start by building a foundation of the strongest materials imaginable. Is that something you would be interested in?"

My breath hitched in my chest as I stared at the platinum band with four small heart shaped stones mounted in a vertical line between two Celtic knots. Each one was significant because it was each of our birthstones…Cameron, Reese, mine and Edward's. It was the most beautiful thing he could have ever given me and the most amazing promise he could have made. Tears blurred my vision as I placed my hands on his face and leaned in to kiss him softly.

"Yes, that would be a dream come true."

He sighed in relief as he captured my lips again. This time when things got intense, we didn't pull back. Instead, I straddled him on the couch and rocked against him as his hands moved to my sides, sliding under the edge of my shirt and inching it up as he slowly made his way to my breasts. He broke this kiss to smile seductively at my bare chest. He slid the shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor behind him before his hands came back to cup them, his thumbs slowly sliding over my already pebbled nipples earning a moan that made his eyes sparkle. He pinched both nipples between his fingers and teased them gently as he leaned up to capture my lips. Between the sensation of his fingers on me and the natural grind of our hips, I was already ramping up for my first orgasm with an actual person in over five years. I knew it wouldn't take long but oh my…the man was really good with his fingers, and the grinding was hitting all the right places.

He kissed along my neck as he continued his sensual assault, then kissed his way back to my mouth. He leaned back to stare into my eyes with such warmth and love it turned my heart into lava.

"You are so amazing. I love you so damn much, it almost hurts."

"Yes…yes…I feel that too."

He kissed me again softly before staring into my eyes again. "I can't wait to touch and taste every part of you." His eyes stayed locked on mine as he moved in, cupping my breast in his hand again and guiding it into his mouth. My heart was pounding so hard I thought I might die of a heart attack as he gazed at me while moaning against my nipple doing even more amazing things to my growing climax.

He never stopped staring at me as he released me from the suction of his mouth to tease me with his tongue and teeth. My eyes rolled in my head and my mouth dropped open in an otherworldly moan as he did things to me I'd forgotten were possible. He shifted to my other breast giving it the same treatment before pressing them together and stimulating both sensitive peaks at once. And that was it….that was the final thread that threw me over the edge. Our hips slammed together as I threw back my head and convulsed on top of my, screaming his name at the top of my lungs. It seemed to go on forever as he grabbed my hips and continued to grind them against his own while luring me back down into a long, sensuous kiss that he continued as I rode through the waves and waves of my orgasm.

When it finally stopped a slumped against his chest, my face buried in his neck as my body trembled. He kissed my shoulder and rubbed his hands up and down my back, gently. I could feel beneath me that the poor man was still in an uncomfortable position, but I was too spent to help just yet.

"I love you, Bella." He whispered in my ear while caressing my hair and moving it back over my shoulder and out of my face.

"I love you too, Edward," I managed to mumble into his neck.

Eventually I found the energy to lift my head again and began a kiss that started the next round of making out. He finally lost his clothes as I explored his body with kisses before ridding him of his pants and taking care of his very large and quite impressive problem. I felt powerful and sexy bringing his body to the edge and beyond with my mouth as I knelt between his knees. In the process, he managed to rid me of my pants so there was nothing left between us as I slithered back up his body to kiss him after I'd taken care of his little problem. He cuddled me on his chest and ran his hands up and down my back again as we just lay there in blissful peace.

Eventually, I couldn't resist showering his neck and chest with kisses again, reawakening the quickly recovered manhood that I had very much enjoyed swallowing whole. We were very close to sealing the deal when Edward stopped me with his hands on my upper arms.

"Wait. We are not making love for the first time on this couch. Let's move to your bed."

I smiled, kissing him softly before standing up and taking his hand to pull me with him, both of us naked as the day we were born and not even a little self conscious. He let go of my hand to hold my hips as we made it to the stairs, his hands caressing down across my backside and my thighs as we clomped together up the stairs. Nearly at the top he grabbed my hips and stopped me.

"God, Bella, you are literally weeping down your legs." He leaned forward and sucked at the flesh of the back of my thigh that the wetness from our earlier exploits had began to run down. I gasped in surprise a second before he moaned. Lapping at my inner thigh before moving to the other.

"Kneel on the steps, Bella," He groaned as he put pressure on my lower back encouraging me to do as he asked.

I didn't hesitate, the excitement of what was happening increasing the wetness at my core. He spread my thighs and without any preamble latched onto my core. His moan was so deep it about send me over the edge alone. He lapped at me greedily before sucking hard again. I fell forward, my forehead grazing the carpet of the stairs as he began using that tongue and his fingers and caress me and stretch me in ways I had never experienced before. Mike was a bit of a one...okay maybe three…trick pony. I'd never been exposed like this or even explored in this position. It made me feel wanton and worshipped all at the same time.

His skilled fingers and tongue had me climaxing again on his mouth which he continued to taste and tease me through as he had done the first. Afterward, he helped me up and guided me to the bed where he laid me out gently and crawled in beside me, wrapping me in his arms and making me feel loved and cherished.

As my strength rallied, we began to kiss again, softly and gently. We took our time exploring and caressing and we held eye contact as he slowly entered me, inch by inch. With how powerful and almost animalistic we had been to that point, I expected us to fall into a writhing animalistic fervor, but instead we found ourselves in a gentle freefall together. This was the true embodiment of making love and for the first time in my life, I felt like I became one with someone else in a true and real sense. We lay together after we climaxed and fell asleep with him still inside me.

Morning was beginning to dawn as I stirred awake at the feeling of his lips on my neck and chest. We made love again, this time with a lot more power and noise than our first coupling. I may have inadvertently left a few scratch marks on his back. The rest of the day was spent in a haze of cuddling and exploring one another, learning every little spot that brought the most reaction. We showered together as the evening began to close in, knowing the kids would be returning home soon.

He had supper ready and the house straightened up before the doorbell rang a second before the kids came running in yelling a greeting as the thundered upstairs to put their overnight bags away. Mike stood in the mudroom with a frown at the sight of Edward and I setting the last of the dinner on the table. He took in the room, the roses, and stared at me a really long time before he grunted in annoyance.

"So, I see the new boyfriend came back after all. The kids had me wondering if he didn't do a dip and run."

I rolled my eyes at his crudeness as Edward curled around me from behind hugging my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Only an idiot would let this amazing woman go. I'M not an idiot."

Mike had the nerve to look affronted for a moment, but the kids arrived before he could spout out a retort. Reese squealed as she walked into the room and saw Edward hugging me. She ran and hugged his leg.

"You came back Mr. Cullen! I'm so glad."

He chuckled as he tried to reach down and hug her little back. "Me too, Reese, and you can call me Edward, honey."

Cam walked in a minute later. He had a funny look on his face for a second, but it disappeared quickly. "Hey, Mr. C."

"Hi Cam, and it' Edward."

Cam nodded before going to sit down at the supper table behind his plate. Reese and Edward and I all did the same not paying attention to the fifth wheel that was still standing in the entryway, staring at us.

I turned and waved. "Thanks for bringing the kids home, Mike. Have a good night."

His frown deepened a second before he turned and stormed out of the house, slamming the door in his wake. I chuckled before turning back to the table. "Okay, who wants to say grace?"

Both kids pointed to Edward who shrugged and said a quick and modest prayer for the food and for the blessing of family and then we passed around and shared our first meal as a family.