(Thomas POV)
The front door of the Cullen house shut behind us with a soft click, and the forest swallowed the sound.
Edythe didn't speak as we walked to the car. She didn't need to. Her anger wasn't loud; it was controlled, compressed into posture and silence. Her face was calm in that way only she could manage, but her eyes were distant, her mind still inside that room, still replaying the conversation.
I unlocked the doors to my truck, and she slid into the passenger seat with the kind of precision that meant she was holding herself together on purpose. When I started the engine, the radio came on low, static, then soft music, and she reached over and turned it off without looking.
Message received.
We drove.
The tree edge blurred by in wet blacks and greys. The road shone under the headlights like it had been varnished. The forest leaned in close, tall and patient, as if it had already heard the story and was waiting to see what we did with it.
Edythe stared out the window. Her hands were folded in her lap. Perfectly still. Sunglasses on despite the darkness.
"You're still angry," I said finally, keeping my voice gentle.
She didn't deny it. She didn't pretend.
"Yes."
No elaboration. No softening. Just truth.
I tightened my grip on the wheel for a moment, then forced it loose again. "At him," I clarified. "Or at me for not… exploding?"
Her gaze stayed on the window. "I'm not angry at you."
That should've been comforting.
It wasn't.
Because it meant she was carrying the rest alone.
"I don't like it either," I said. "The choice. The lie. The way he decided what you were allowed to know."
The muscles in her jaw shifted, tiny, almost imperceptible.
"And?" she asked.
"And I'm trying very hard not to turn this into a war inside our family," I said. "Because Victoria is still out there, and the elders are going to circle like sharks the moment they hear anything smells like weakness."
Edythe's eyes flicked toward me for the first time since we left the house. Sharp, bright, and entirely too clear.
"I know," she said.
Of course she did.
She knew everything.
That was the problem.
Her anger wasn't about drama. It was about principle. It was about the way Edward had used her devotion to me as a lever. And she hated being used.
I pulled into our driveway, killed the engine, and sat for a beat in the hush that followed. Rain ticked lightly against the windshield. The house looked dark and quiet and safe in a way that almost made my chest ache.
Edythe didn't move right away.
Neither did I.
Then I reached over and took her hand.
Cold. Steady. Familiar.
She let me.
"I don't want you to carry that alone," I said.
Edythe's gaze dropped to our hands. "I'm not alone."
"No," I agreed. "But you're quiet."
Her lips pressed together. "Because if I speak too soon, I'll say something I can't take back."
That was honesty. That was restraint.
That was Edythe.
I lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles one by one...slow, deliberate, not playful. A promise more than a tease.
Her breath changed. Just slightly.
"You're trying to distract me," she said, and there was no accusation in it. Just recognition.
"I'm trying to bring you home," I corrected.
Edythe's eyes rose to mine, and for a moment the anger in her expression softened into something else...something older. Something hungry in a way that had nothing to do with blood.
"You do that," she murmured, "by kissing my hand?"
"It's a start," I said. "I'm not reckless."
One corner of her mouth twitched. It wasn't a smile. But it was the beginning of one.
"Stay there," I got out, walked around, opened her door. She stared at me like I'd done something unnecessary.
"I can open my own door," she said.
"I know," I replied. "Let me anyway."
A beat.
Then she stepped out, and I didn't let go of her hand.
We walked inside together.
The warmth hit us first. The quiet second. Our house didn't have the polished stillness of the Cullen's' home; it had the lived-in kind. It smelled like wood and laundry and the faint trace of whatever Edythe had been reading last time she sat on the couch and the ghost of actual meals cooked in the kitchen.
Edythe took off her sunglasses and set them on the entry table with careful precision, like she was choosing control in small things because she didn't have it in the big ones.
I moved behind her. Not touching yet, just close enough that she could feel me.
"Edythe," I said softly.
She didn't turn around. "Thomas."
I rested my hands lightly at her waist. The contact was gentle, an option, not a demand. I waited, giving her space to pull away if she wanted.
She didn't.
Her shoulders lowered by a fraction, like she'd been braced for impact and finally allowed herself to stop.
"I hate that he did that," she said quietly. The words were controlled, but the feeling behind them wasn't. "Not because it was you. Because it was… me. He made a decision about my honesty."
I leaned in, my mouth near her ear. "He was afraid you'd choose me."
Her breath hitched.
"I always choose you," she said, simple and fierce.
"I know," I murmured. "And I love you for it."
I kissed the place just below her ear...slow, warm, deliberate.
She went very still.
Not tense.
Listening.
"Thomas," she warned, but her voice had changed. Less sharp. Less cold.
I kissed her again, a little lower, and felt the way her body responded despite her anger, how desire didn't care about principle, how it didn't ask permission from the mind.
"I'm not trying to erase what happened," I said against her skin. "I'm trying to make sure it doesn't stay lodged in you like a blade."
Edythe turned in my arms then, finally, and her eyes were bright with too much restraint.
"Are you trying to calm me," she asked softly, "or claim me?"
"Yes," I said honestly.
That did it.
Her mouth met mine, controlled for half a second, and then not controlled at all.
She kissed like she always did when she stopped pretending she was unshakable, like she was choosing to be human with me, messy and intense and real. It helped that she didn't have to control her strength with me any longer.
I backed her gently toward the wall, careful not to crowd, careful not to rush. She followed willingly, cold hands sliding up my chest, fingers curling into fabric as if she needed something to hold onto.
When we broke apart, her forehead rested against mine.
"Tell me you're still sure," she whispered.
"I'm still sure," I said. "About you. About us. About the wedding."
Her eyes flicked down, then back up. "And about boundaries."
"Yes," I said again, steady. "We're not changing what we promised ourselves."
A pause.
Her mouth curved, finally, an actual smile, small and sharp and gorgeous.
"Good," she murmured. "Because if you wanted all of me, I wouldn't hesitate. And then I would probably regret it in the morning."
I let out a quiet breath that could've been a laugh. "I know."
I kissed her again...slower this time, deeper, letting the tension unravel by degrees rather than snapping it.
Her hands slid under my shirt.
A chill spread across my skin where she touched, and for a moment the whole world narrowed to breath and heartbeat and the simple truth that she was here, with me, in our house, safe for a handful of hours.
When she pulled back, her eyes were calmer, still angry at the choice Edward made, but no longer trapped inside it.
"Upstairs," she said softly.
It wasn't a command.
It was an invitation.
I nodded once. "Upstairs."
We moved together, step by step, shedding the day as we went, shoes left near the door, the weight of other people's decisions loosening with every quiet footfall.
At the top of the stairs, Edythe caught my hand and tugged me into the bedroom like she'd decided she was done being controlled by anyone's choices but our own.
(Fade to Black. Or if you prefer, R18 follows.)
Not even bothering to close the door, I pulled her into an embrace from behind, my arms encircling her. I used my chin to move more of her hair off the side of her neck so I could continue to plant kisses starting just under her earlobe and down to her collarbone.
Her whole body shivered, and she arched her back, grinding both her neck into my lips and her ass into my slowly hardening crotch. Slowly I slid my hands under her shirt from behind and started to run my hands along her sides. One great perk of dating a vampire, no bra's needed. Gravity wasn't doing shit to these perfect C size breasts.
When we first started to explore each other's bodies, we were at Charlies house. But now that we had a place of our own, Edythe was much more vocal with her appreciation of my administrations. Cupping her breasts, one in each hand I felt her nipples begin to harden, I completed that by pinch both nipples between my thumb and index finger and gently pulling.
The moan this action produced was music to my ears. Nothing better than knowing your partner loves what you are doing to her. I had to pause my kissing on her shoulder as she reached to pull her shirt off. When I looked up, I noticed we had stopped in front of the large dresser mirror. I met Edythe's eyes in the mirror and added just a bit more pressure to the nipples I still held between my fingers.
The expression on her face, the sheer enjoyment in her eyes drove me wild. I pulled her into me harder as I caressed her breasts and returned to kissing her neck. Her response to this was to grind her ass into my crotch even harder, ensuring I was fully stiff and enjoying the sensations just as much as she was.
Time was uncountable as we were lost in each other, but eventually Edythe turned in my embrace and kissed me hard enough to bruise my lips. My hands slid to her ass cheeks, and I started to knead them as I saw fit.
My shirt came off next and sooner than I expected, Edythe started to work at my pants button. Once she was done with the zipper, she quickly had me in hand. Trailing kisses down my chest, she quickly fell to her knees. Holding my throbbing dick in her hand, she started to lick the head and shaft she could reach. Then with practiced ease, she placed the tip in her mouth, moved her hand and started to slide my full length in and out of her mouth. Breathing in air through her nose just so she could hum when my length entered her throat.
Placing my hands at the back of her head, I didn't bother controlling her actions as there was nothing I could ask her to do better. Knowing how much I liked her to show appreciation for my work, I returned the favor. My every encouraging word was followed by grunts and moans of pleasure.
I offered her my warnings when I was close to coming but she just picked up speed and tried to shove my shaft farther down her throat as her left hand started to fondle my balls. In no time at all I was grunting my release, and she was moaning her own pleasure.
When she finally finished cleaning all the liquid off my dick, I stepped out of my pants that were gathered on the floor and picked her up and placed her on the bed looking up into my eyes.
It was amusing to see her pant as I knew she didn't need to breathe, but some human habits never leave you, I guess. I kissed her lips and then continued kissing her slowly and as sensually as I possibly could as I made my way down her chest. Paying special attention to her breasts and specifically her nipples.
I knew she loved when I took her nipples into my mouth and released them with excess saliva on them and gently blew. The temperature sensations drove her nuts and always made me smile. I had her pants unbuttoned and was slowly lowering them inch by inch as I moved lower. Though her skin was tougher than a humas skin, it still gave to my pressure and my higher temperature than normal, made my touch sweet torture to my cold skinned love.
When my face arrived at her pussy, I gave a slow slopy kiss to her clit and then continued kissing down her right leg. I softly sunk my teeth into the muscle group at the inner thigh and kissed my way behind her knee. By the time I reached her calf her pants and panties had fallen to the floor. However, I did not speed up but kept the same speed as I kissed all the way to the sole of her right foot.
Then I reached for her left leg and began kissing her where I left off with her right one. I loved every moan of pleasure, every complaint to move faster and seeing her back arch off the bed when I hit a particularly sensitive spot.
In time I was again back at my prized spot. Her own juices were dripping and making her pussy lips gleam in the light. Deciding I wanted to try something I hadn't done before, I stuck my tongue out as long as I could and stiffening it, I shoved it between the folds with no warning. Even with my enhanced strength I was unable to keep her waste pinned to the bed and if we had neighbors within a mile, I was sure they would have been giving us some knowing looks the next time we saw them.
I hadn't planned it, but my nose happened to rub her clit as she bucked and that caused her to buck even more. Her hands were entangled in my hair as she moaned incoherently, I continued my ministrations and was rewarded with her continued screams. Finally, when she relaxed like her bones were made of butter and she had no more strength in her squeezing thighs, I kissed my way back up to her lips.
As I lay on my back with her head on my chest, I looked back on the day and then looked forward to the wedding that was quickly approaching. As Edythe lay, lost in her own thoughts she reached for my penis and ran her fingers along it until it was at full attention, and I was shivering in pleasure.
She turned her head to look up at me, "While we were at Renee's, I read a book that gave me an idea. Or maybe advice would be the right word."
She slung her right leg over my hip and sat on my legs, my penis (fully erect) just inches forward of where she sat. She leaned forward and the head of my penis poked into her belly as she smiled at me and inched her waist closed to the shaft.
"I can already feel the heat of your dick near my clit... It feels sooo wonderful."
She slid closer, her pussy held open by her thighs being separated because of the way she sat just barely douching my shaft. With a "Humm" of pleasure she moved forward just a bit more, enough to point the business end of my penis straight at me but I was lost in the pleasure of her pussy lips gripping the shaft of my dick.
She slowly moved forward again; it felt like she was gripping halfway down or up my shaft, a distinction I was definitely not contemplating at the moment. When she stopped and settled more of her weight on my penis and started rubbing her hips just slightly forward and back in a slow rocking motion, I let out a long low groan.
Holy shit, if she pushed for us to go all the way, I don't know if I could stop her this time.
She had lost herself in the rocking motions, one moment going back and forth, the next moving her hips in a circular motion. I reached for her tits and focused my attention on them, trying to push back the building explosion in my midsection.
Edythe seemed to approve of my activities as she started to rub faster with her waist. I could feel it getting slicker as she moved, and she started panting again as she let out high pitch moans of pleasure when she reached the end of one direction and started the next. It seemed like a long time, yet not enough when I was unable to hold back my climax any longer.
My hands left her breasts and clamped onto her hips, right at the leg joints, and I added my strength to her movement, crushing her to me as I started to pulse. She too screamed out in release at the same time as I did before she fell onto my chest once more. Spent and panting.
It took a long time to recover my thoughts, and when I did, I reached behind me, grabbing a pillow and took its case off. Using that, I cleaned both of us up as best I could then tossed it in the corner. Moments later I was asleep as I cradled Edythe in my arms.