Chapter 7

Kildare, Ireland - Thursday.

Rae.

The next morning when I wake I am still wrapped in Edmund’s arms, he is lying behind me and I can’t tell if he is awake or not. I sit still, worried that if I move he will know I am awake and then we will have to talk about what happened between us last night and what it means today.

“Good morning.” The words make me jump out of my skin and I turn and look into the eyes of the man I was raised with, like a brother.

“Morning,” I mumble.

“Don’t do that. Don’t go shutting down on me, now, you made promises last night that I am going to hold you to, Rae.” Edmund’s voice is deep and commanding, using his Dom voice on me. Making me look him in the eye and face what I’ve done in the light of day.

“Yes, sir,” I reply, nodding.

“Good girl.” He kisses me on the nose. “Do you want breakfast? I can make coffee.”

“That sounds great.” I sigh, thinking of hot coffee and the boost from the caffeine. I know we are supposed to have breakfast with the entire family today. I’m not looking forward to the awkwardness of that, I wince at the thought of sitting across from Edmund at the table and acting like this never happened.

“Stop it. You’re overthinking again. When we go upstairs and have breakfast and you see everyone, no one is going to know unless you want them to, unless you make this awkward, Rae. Don’t do that.” He climbs from the bed and I catch a glimpse of him as he does, his cock is hard and when he slips into his pajama pants he tucks it up into the waistband, and I lick my lips.

The memory of having him in my mouth last night comes back to me and I feel a rush of heat between my legs and across my thighs. I blush at the images flashing through my mind. What was I thinking? I can’t let the thoughts go, can’t just be in the here and now.

“Come out here and have a cup of coffee,” Edmund calls to me from the kitchen. “We need to talk.”

I slip from the bed and when I look down at myself, I see the bruises and bite marks on my breasts, smiling at the memories of them. Turning I look over my shoulder at my ass and try to see if it is marked as well. I can see faint handprints still on my pale skin.

I quickly dress in one of his t-shirts and pair of shorts then head down the hall. When I get to the kitchen he is standing, still shirtless, by the counter, coffee mugs sit next to him and the coffee is brewing. A broad smile covers his face and I get lost in how cute he looks, bedhead and all.

“Are we going to talk about this?” I ask, more anger coming through in my voice than I intended because I expect him to demand we have a conversation, I’m not ready to have.

“Not if you don’t want to. Not right now. I told you everything I needed to tell you last night, Rae. You’re mine now, you’re not going to go looking for it anyplace else. I’m here any day, any time. I’ll be right here. I meant what I said.”

“Okay.” I sit on a barstool at the island and wait for the coffee to finish brewing. “What time is it?” I don’t have my phone on me and I’m not sure how much time I have to decompress before we head upstairs for breakfast with the whole family.

“We will have time. Do you want to talk about last night?” I open my mouth to protest and he holds up his hands. “Not about us, not about our relationship. About what we did last night. Are you sore? Do you need anything from me? Is there anything I can do to help you today or the next few days?” I realize what he is doing, they talked about this in their opening speeches last night, this is his extended aftercare. He is making sure I’m all right, not dropping from our time together, and not in need of anything from him. I shake my head. “Say it, Rae,” he prompts me.

“No, sir. I’m a little sore, but it’s not bad and I don’t need anything, other than coffee.” I smile at him. Happy to know he is taking care of me, and not surprised by it one bit. More surprised by how happy it makes me than anything else.

“Good.” Edmund smiles at me. When he comes around the counter and sets a coffee mug down in front of me, he kisses me on the forehead. I turn my head up to him and smile. Then kiss him gently. I think I catch him off guard, but only for a moment, then he is on me. Kissing me, hungry and hard. Hands wrap around my waist and I take it all in. In the light of the day kissing him is no different than it was the night before. I let out a long breath when he pulls away from me.

“Rae,” he breathes out my name and I smile at him again.

“Edmund,” I tell him and nod. Happy to be here with him, happy with how things are going. I don’t let the doubts creep into my mind. “I need to head upstairs and get cleaned up before anyone is up and sees me.”

“Okay.” His forehead is still pressed to mine and he still holds me tight to him. “You can’t stay and finish your coffee? I don’t want to let you go.”

“Even if I stay, I can’t finish my coffee if you don’t let me go,” I point out and he pouts. Then purses his lips and nods at me.

“I’m not leaving. I live two flights up. You know where to find me. I’ll see you in an hour at breakfast,” I reassure him and he nods again. Kissing me on the cheek.

“Mine,” he whispers in my ear and I snag the mug from the counter and head out of the apartment.

* * *

Sneaking up the stairs toward my room, still in Edmund’s clothes, I can smell him on me. When I peek into Ciara’s room I see that she isn’t there. She was out all night with Rian. You go, girl! I whoop for her in my mind.

Crossing to the bathroom I plan to shower and get cleaned up. As I strip in front of the mirror I gently fold the t-shirt and shorts I take off and place them in a pile on the counter. I don’t want to admit it to myself, but I took them for a reason. I know what I plan to do with them, they smell of him. The smell of Edmund and his sandalwood soap, I plan to sleep in them long after that smell wears off. I smile at my reflection in the mirror. My long curls hang down to my breasts and just barely cover the bruises there. When I turn and look at my backside in the mirror I see it is bruising badly, purple and red splotches cover it, I am able to see faint handprints as well.

Edmund was right, even if I wanted to go fall into bed with someone else I couldn’t now. He has marked me as his own. Trailing my fingers over the teeth marks on my breasts, I smile.

“What the hell are we doing?” I ask the room. Not expecting anyone to answer.

“Whatever we want,” a voice says, making me scream. When I jump and turn I see Edmund standing in the doorway between the bathroom and my bedroom.

“Holy shit. What the fuck are you doing here?” I scold him, lowering my voice, already afraid my scream will have woken the whole house.

“I couldn’t let you walk away, Rae. I couldn’t. Even though you’re right up here I had to see you again.” His words are soft.

“Got a taste of something you like?” I tease him and watch as he smiles and nods at me, his lower lip caught between his teeth.

“From the looks of you, seems like you did too.”

“Oh, no. I was just surveying the damage you caused with your wild antics,” I tease him, sashaying over to him, and crooking my finger at him I coax him further into the room.

When he closes his arms around me, and his mouth falls on mine again, I moan into his mouth and grind myself against the front of his pants. I can feel his erection, hard, pinned against my belly.

“You want me,” I say and watch as he nods. “We can’t. We will be late for breakfast. They will come looking for me, for you. Then what will they say when they find us together, here, naked?”

“I don’t give a shit what they say. I don’t, Rae.” He shakes his head, still holding me tight to his body.

“I do. At least until we figure this out. Whatever this is. I’m not ready to answer questions. I don’t want to face them when I have no idea what the hell this even is yet.” I let out a long sigh. Frustration is building within me as my thoughts swirl.

“You have to go.” I push him out of the bathroom. “I have to shower.”

“I’ll wait out here for you.” He turns and stalks through my room, I follow him and watch as he then ends up sprawling out on my bed.

“Fine.” I storm back to the bathroom and close the door behind me.

* * *

After my shower, I find Edmund still sprawled out on my bed, cocky as hell, and I roll my eyes at him.

“They’re probably waiting for us,” I tell him. Dropping my towel I stroll to my dresser and pick out an outfit. I don’t care if he watches me dress. I hope he does and it gives him a hard-on that he can’t get rid of all day. The bastard came and intruded on my space. He deserves it.

“They’re not. They’re waiting on Ciara, she didn’t come home last night. Out with her new beau.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me, and I giggle. I already knew this.

“Let’s go downstairs.” I hold my hand out to him and watch as he rises from the bed and comes toward me.

“In a minute,” he says, dropping his lips to mine and kissing me gently.

“In a minute,” I agree, my lips pressed to his.

By the time we break away from each other I am wet and ready to go back down to his apartment, back to my bed, anywhere but downstairs to breakfast with the family. He pulls me from the room and swats me on the ass as I head down the hallway in front of him.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I see both Edmund and my parents sitting at the table with our Aunt Sam and Uncle Alec. Ciara is still not here. Making my way across the great hall, I hear the front door open and look up to see Ciara come in with Rian in tow.

“Rian!” I call out his name in excitement and shock at seeing him here. Ciara’s eyes go wide, she is still in the same outfit we left her in yesterday and I know it won’t go unnoticed by her father. Ciara nods at me and I get her drift, I nod back at her and see her head for the stairs. No doubt going to change.

“Rian, these are my parents, Summer and Donnie.” I take him over and introduce him around the room. Aunt Melody excuses herself and follows Ciara up the stairs. I know I couldn’t save her from both of them. At least Uncle Finn is still seated at the table and not storming into her room behind her mother demanding answers.

When we all sit down, Edmund takes a spot next to me at the table, his hand finds my thigh under it and he steadies my bouncing leg. I turn to look at him and he winks at me. I send him a shy smile, then blush. I can feel it spreading over my face to my ears and they tingle with it.

After breakfast, we excuse ourselves and head back downstairs together. As soon as we are in his apartment, I am on him. The contact of his hand on my leg, under the table, the entire time we ate breakfast drove me mad, and I need him now. Maybe even more than I did last night, because now I know what I am missing.

Edmund picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me to his bedroom. When we reach it he tosses me back on the bed and I laugh out loud as I bounce on it. “Take your fucking pants off,” he growls at me. “You think I appreciate being brushed off earlier then watching you waltz around your room naked?”

My eyes go wide. “No, sir,” I say, unbuttoning my pants and then slipping out of them, they get caught around my ankles and he takes hold of them, pulling me to the edge of the bed. When I get to the end of it he slips them off the rest of the way as he kneels between my thighs.

“This,” he says, as he slides his fingers up my wet slit, “is mine. I thought I made that clear last night. I’ll not have you turning me down when I want what is mine.” He bends his head, closing his mouth over my clit. I feel his tongue run up my soaking slit and slip inside me.

Then he swirls it around my clit again and my hands dig into the sheets. I moan out my excitement as he laps at me, bringing me close to the edge. I don’t have to follow the same rules I was given last night, I wasn’t told I couldn’t come and I stay quiet about it now. Fingers slip inside me, two then three as he works them in and out of my center, spreading my walls for him and swirling them inside me. I smile down at him as I see him look up at me. When he finds the perfect soft spot on my inner wall and rubs it, I arch my back off the bed.

His mouth still at the apex of my sex working on my clit builds the sensations inside me. I’m nearly there, my toes curl and I cry out. I feel the rush of come coat his fingers and my body goes limp on the bed.

“Did you just come without permission?” Edmund asks, and I freeze, the moment ruined.

“You… I… You didn’t say I couldn’t,” I stammer out the words.

“I believe my exact words to you last night were that all of your orgasms belong to me now and you’re not to come without permission. Were they not?” Now that he mentions it that does sound familiar.

“I… Yes, sir,” I confess.

“Mmm, what am I going to do with you, kitten?” he asks as he stands from his position on the floor and crosses to the closet. “Come here.” He holds his arm out to me and I rise from the bed, crossing the room to him. My eyes go wide when he opens the closet door and inside is an array of floggers, paddles, leather straps, belts, cuffs, and the list goes on and on.

“How? How have you managed to keep this from everyone for so many years?” I ask him, astounded by what I see. “Have you been bringing women here? This is why you have your own apartment instead of your old room upstairs?” My words are accusing, and I realize almost instantly that it is coming from a place of jealousy.

“Don’t be that way, Rae. I’m here with you now. Only you. The same rules apply to me, if you’re not allowed to go out and find it somewhere else, than neither am I.” I smile at him and then turn back to the closet full of toys. “You pick,” he whispers in my ear. Moving behind me, he puts his hands on my shoulders and runs them down my arms. I freeze at his touch.

“Edmund,” sighing out his name I turn to him. “I can’t. I can’t do this with you again.” I look down at my feet.

“Rae, look at me.” He pulls my chin up so our eyes meet. “You’re not shutting me out now. I’ve waited for this for too long to have you turn away from me now after I’ve gotten a taste of you, gotten you under my skin. Take the time you need, but come back to me. I’ll be here waiting.” Kissing me on the cheek, he reaches around behind me and closes the closet door.’

I smile at him and leave his apartment. I don’t know what is driving me to leave, he is everything I have been searching for. But he is Edmund, and I can’t process this right now. As I make my way out of the keep I decide to call my brother and see if he has anything to offer.

I find a dry spot to sit on the front steps and look out into the distance, the green fields are alive with the magic of the season and I love being outdoors this time of year. I should go for a hunt, but I know if I do I won’t be satisfied, it won’t be the same as if I were hunting in the pub.

I feel sick at the thought, all of the men I have fed on, all of those that I have left feeling confused and trying to remember the night before with the woman they took home, guilt floods me and my eyes sting with tears. How can I be with Edmund when he is so light and I am so dark?

Shaking my head, I clear the thoughts and pull my phone from my pocket. It rings for a long while before he finally picks up the phone.

“Hey Gus!” I try to sound like myself and not like I have a million things weighing on my mind right now.

“Hey, Rae, what’s up? How are you?”

“Not bad. How are Stacey and the kids?” Gus is the only member of our family who is still human and he decided long ago that he wanted to stay that way. My parents offered to turn him so he could live with us for an eternity, but he wanted his own life. Wanted to follow his own path, so he got married and started having kids. They live in Dublin, not far, but we hardly see them.

“They’re doing good. But you don’t sound like you are, what has you down?”

“I did something.”

“Rae, are you feeding on humans again?” His words crush me, they feel like a smack to the face, he is the only one in the family whom I have confessed this to. I nod now, knowing he can’t see me but that my silence will tell him what he needs to know.

“Rae,” he scolds me and I feel tears running down my cheeks.

“That’s not why I’m calling. It’s Edmund.” The four of us, Ciara, Edmund, Gus, and me were raised together here at the keep. We are as close as siblings and I know he will understand.

“Did he finally tell you?”

“Tell me what?” I balk at his words. Gus knows?

“Never mind, go ahead. What’s wrong with Edmund? Did he find out about your little secret? That you’re not so good?”

“No,” I huff the word at him. “I slept with him.” The line is silent and I check to make sure the call didn’t drop. “Gus? Are you there?”

“I’m here, but you just dropped one hell of a bomb on me, sis. I wasn’t expecting that. So now what?”

“That’s why I called you. I hoped you could tell me.”

“Ha! How am I supposed to tell you what to do now? This is your shit show, sis, you got yourself into it. Do you want to get yourself out of it or keep going in that direction?” Something in his tone bothers me, he knows more than he is letting on and his comment about if Edmund finally told me rings in my ears still.

“What did you mean did he finally tell me?”

“You have to ask him, Rae. I already said too much.”

“That’s bullshit. You said something and now you refuse to elaborate. Come on, Gus. Don’t be a fucking dick about it.”

“Rae. Go talk to Edmund. Figure out how he feels about this whole thing. Then you can make the decision on what you’re going to do next. But do me a favor. Stay out of the damn pub, all right? You’re going to get yourself caught, or hurt.” I nod, again knowing he can’t see me. “Okay, Rae?”

“Okay, Gus. Tell Stacey and the kids I said hey. I want to come have dinner with you all soon.”

“Okay, I’ll see what we have planned and you can come up for the weekend, we can all hang out. But you need to kick this nasty habit of yours first.” His words hurt me, he knows I am no threat to his family, but I know where he is coming from at the same time.

“Fine.” I end the call, frustrated and pissed off at him for making me feel bad about who and what I am.