Hey guys! Thanks for your continued interest in this story. This chapter has a mature content warning (baby lemons).

Seth

By the time we leave Montana on Saturday, my mom and Katie's practically have the whole wedding planned.

Katie has a dress, Mom talked to the Elders and found a suitable space for the wedding on the reservation, and it was decided that Katie's dad would marry us. It was Katie's consolation to him for us not getting married in a church.

Our wedding will be simple, the way Katie wants it. No bridesmaids or groomsmen, no unnecessary fanfare. Just our closest friends and family. Just Seth and Katie.

Perfect.

Although it's never easy to drop Katie off for class, it does feel different this time. Maybe it's because as opposed to hearing Katie cry like I'd gotten used to, this time I hear her gushing to Ashley about the events of her spring break.

It could have gone a lot worse if I hadn't had the sense to call Katie's dad.

"Can you wait here?" I ask.

Katie's hopeful face instantly turns weary, so I'm quick to add, "Just for like, twenty minutes. I'll be right back. Promise."

Even though I still see her eyes filled with confusion, she nods, and my grin widens as I turn and run toward the direction of Forks.

My paws pound the earth frighteningly fast. I reach Mom and Charlie's in less than two minutes; I didn't even have time to register who else was phased in before I'm back on two feet.

I run to the door and give three sharp knocks. Charlie's vehicle is gone – he was probably fishing or at the station. Even Mom's car is absent. Is she on her way to Leah's already?

I hear no movement inside, and so, looking around to make sure there are no witnesses, I shove my shoulder into the door and break in with a loud crack.

When I told Mom about Katie, a whole ten minutes after I got home the day I met her, she told me I could use Grandma Charlotte's ring when the time came. I thought I'd have a little bit more notice before I needed it.

I move to the bedroom at lightning speed, slipping the ring box in my pocket safely and securely.

I'm about to head back to the beach, desperate not to keep Katie waiting too long, when I realize I should probably leave a note so Charlie doesn't think someone actually broke in. Someone dangerous, at least.

Charlie & Mom,

Sorry about the door. Needed Grandma Charlotte's ring. I'll fix it ASAP.

Seth

Good enough, right? I jam it into the broken doorframe.

The phone in the house rings. I'm definitely not going to answer it, especially when no one's supposed to be here. But it prompts me to dig my own cell phone out of my pocket and dial Katie's dad.

Katie's only been at the beach for what – three and a half minutes? I told her twenty. I have some time. And I think she'd appreciate me taking all the proper steps.

"Greg Prescott speaking," Katie's father answers sternly.

"Hi, Mr. Prescott. This is Seth Clearwater," I say, pacing back and forth in the hallway.

I hear him make a noise of recognition. "Hello, Seth. How are you this morning?"

"I'm great!" I say quickly. "I wanted to talk to you about something. Is this a good time?"

"I'm just about to tee off," he says. I feel guilty for pulling him away from his game, but then he asks, "Is this about Katie?"

"Yes, sir," I say. "I wanted to ask you—"

"If you can marry her?" He interrupts. Wow, right to the point.

I feel my ears flush with heat. Am I that easy to read? "Yes, sir," I say. "I know we're young. But I promise you that I will spend the rest of my life making sure Katie is cared for and loved in the way she deserves to be."

He sighs, and without the accompanying body language, it's hard to read the meaning behind it. "I told you on Christmas Eve that my only condition was for her to finish school. Is that still in the plan?"

My head spins. I'd apparently misconstrued that conversation. "Yes, Mr. Prescott." I leave out the part where Katie hates her major and will have to transfer schools. That can come later.

Katie's dad says, "Then yes, I give you my blessing." My heart swells, and I'm already moving toward the broken front door again. "And Seth?" he says.

"Yes, sir?" I say, freezing in the threshold.

"You can call me Greg. Mr. Prescott and Sir make me feel like I'm at work, and it's Saturday." he says, and I recognize a hint of humor in his tone.

I'm already running back to the tree line by the time he ends the call, and I'm only barely under the cover of the foliage before I'm stripping my shorts, making sure the ring is still tucked carefully inside my shorts pocket.

I wonder how that conversation would have went if I hadn't been the only thing keeping him from his game of golf.

Katie is posted up at our kitchen table two Saturdays later, Mom having just left after a late brunch. Katie's been going over all the paperwork required to transfer schools.

From my position on the couch, I hear a frustrated sigh, and Katie slams her laptop shut. When I look over, she's resting her head in her hands.

Leah takes that opportunity to mumble something about checking the mail and exits the house.

"What's the matter?" I ask, standing from my spot on the couch and walking to her.

"I don't want to major in education," she says, not bothering to lift her hands as I pull out the chair next to her.

I place a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to."

Katie looks up at me, and I can tell she's swimming in her thoughts. "If I switched majors, I'd have to start all over. It's like setting the reset button on my credits," she says softly, reaching over with her hand to pull mine off her shoulder and tangle our fingers together on the table between us.

"Not if you switched to photography," I suggest.

I wouldn't have brought it up if I hadn't already seen her considering it; somewhere among her many printed papers, there was one stapled packet detailing a major in Photomedia.

Katie opens her mouth, I'm sure, to tell me all the reasons why she can't do that, but Leah slips back through the door and heads toward us. Katie's mouth closes.

"This came for you," Leah says, holding out an envelope for Katie. I glance at the return address – The Seattle Times.

Katie's brow furrows as she pulls her hand from mine to accept the envelope. She slips a finger under the corner and yanks it open. "I forgot all about this."

I catch Leah's eye and motion for her to get out. I have a feeling this isn't going to go well. She slinks down the hall wordlessly just as Katie slides the check from the envelope.

"Oh, my God," Katie breathes, eyes growing wide. "This is a mistake," she mumbles, eyes glossing over the details of the check.

"It's not a mistake," I tell her, studying her face.

Katie finds my eyes, confusion and disbelief clouding her own deep brown ones. "Seth, this is twenty-five hundred dollars."

I nod. "I know."

Her mouth opens like she's about to say something, but then her eyes roam the details of the check again, and she doesn't say anything. She can't decide if she wants to stare at me or the check. She settles for flicking her eyes back and forth.

"What am I even going to do with this much money?" She says, eyes still wide as she holds up the check.

"You don't need to decide right now. Let's take a drive," I suggest. "Edward mentioned wanting to see us. To congratulate us."

She stares at the check still in her hands for a long moment before meeting my eyes again. I give her a smile, and she finally nods, letting the paper float to the table. "Okay, yeah. I could use a distraction," she says, standing. "And I can ask him about the music for the ceremony."

Katie is quiet for most of the ride to the Cullen's. I can only imagine her mind is racing regarding the prize money.

"Before we go in," I start as we make the turn off the main road.

"Goblins this time? Or maybe fairies?" Katie jokes with a big smile.

I chuckle, despite my racing heart. She isn't going to like this. "I'm sure you've noticed that the Cullens are… well off."

She giggles. "Yes, it's kind of hard to miss."

I glance at her out of the corner of my eye. "I'm fairly certain they're going to offer to pay for at least some part of wedding."

She freezes next to me. "Oh, no," she whispers.

"Yeah," I say, shrugging. "Just… prepare yourself, okay?"

We haven't even been in the cottage for ten minutes before Edward shifts in his seat and opens his mouth.

"Will you play the piano for our wedding ceremony?" Katie blurts out before Edward can speak.

Edward's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. I wonder what Katie had been thinking to disguise her thoughts. "Will you consider letting me pay for your wedding?" He says in the next beat.

There it is.

"Is that blackmail? You don't play if you don't pay?" Katie's tone is deadly serious.

Edward lets out a hearty laugh, and even I find myself chuckling at Katie's retort. When Katie's eyes narrow in on me, though, my laughter stops.

"Of course not," Edward says. "I'd be honored to play for the ceremony. Though my offer still stands."

"Thank you, but no thank you. My parents are more than willing," Katie says. "And it's going to be simple, so there's really not much to pay for anyway," she explains.

"What about your honeymoon?" Edward asks smoothly.

Katie shifts uncomfortably next to me. We hadn't really seriously talked about a honeymoon yet. Mom told me that was my job as the groom, but whenever I tried to broach the subject, Katie would steer us away quickly.

"I really think we have everything covered," she says softly. I wonder if her mind's floating to the check still sitting on the kitchen table. No way in hell I was going to let her use any portion of that.

Edward catches my eye, eyebrow slightly raised. "It's an open invitation, if you change your mind," he says as he stands to his feet.

"Now, about this music," he says, moving to the piano crammed into the corner. "What did you have in mind?"

Edward's fingers move gracefully, floating over the keys. "Were you wanting the traditional Bridal Chorus?" he asks as those very opening notes fill the air. "Or maybe Canon in D?" he prompts, transitioning effortlessly into that melody.

His distraction tactic seems to work, and Katie giggles lightly.

"No? Maybe something more romantic, like Bach's Arioso," he says, moving into that one.

"Show off," Katie mumbles under her breath.

Edward's grin only widens. "Or maybe Satie," he says as he switches to yet another song. "Are any of those what you had in mind?"

"I'd like the third one," Katie says, "if it were faster."

Edward obliges immediately, almost before the words are out of her mouth, and Katie grins wide. "Do you have a dress?" he asks.

Katie must think about it, because Edward nods, returning her grin as he says, "Lovely. Yes, Arioso will go well with that."

"Hey, that's cheating!" I pipe up.

Edward and Katie only laugh.

"You must know Edward well to know he would offer that," Katie says once we're nearing my house. We stopped off to eat dinner in Forks.

"He's a good friend," I say.

She nods. "It was a nice offer. We can't accept it, though."

"Why?" I ask, taking my eyes off the road briefly to glance at her face.

It's twisted into a familiar uncomfortable expression, as it usually is when money is involved. "Seth, we can't. It's too—"

"Expensive? The Cullens have more money than anyone could ever spend. They won't miss it. But what we will miss is the opportunity for a really nice honeymoon. I thought we talked about the whole money thing."

She sighs. "I know... I'm trying, but it's still hard for me to accept handouts."

"He didn't mean it as a handout. It's a gift," I return.

"So you want to take it? Accept his offer?"

"I do," I confirm. "I like the way that sounds. You should practice saying it, too. Katie, do you want to call Edward back?" I ask with a smile.

"I do not," she quips, but I can tell based on her tone that she's playful, not angry. "We can use my prize money."

"Or," I say, turning into the driveway, "You could buy the lens you'll need for a major in photography." I put the truck in park and turn to face her.

Katie's chewing on her lip. "Switch my major? It's such a risk."

I have to laugh. "Then it fits you perfectly. Don't you love a good risk? Reckless abandon or whatever?"

She doesn't respond, just continues biting her perfectly pink bottom lip as her eyes track the rain drops running down the windshield.

"I think it's riskier to willingly choose a major you know you won't be happy in," I goad.

"That's not risky. It's just depressing," she finally says with a sigh, turning her head to find my eyes. "You really think I can do this?" Her voice is timid and doubtful.

"Do what? Switch your major halfway through college and still pull it out? Yeah." I throw off my seatbelt, sliding across the bench to her. "Be a professional photographer?" I ask, reaching out to stroke her cheek. "Absolutely."

"What if I have to travel a lot?" She asks, twisting in her seat to face me. "It doesn't work out so well for us when we're apart."

I envelop more of her cheek with my palm. "I'll go with you when I can. And if not, I'll be here when you get back. But you – we – can always come back here. Back home."

She smiles, and I take the opportunity to kiss her gently, before moving to place a kiss on her nose, then her cheeks. I continue scattering kisses across her face until she erupts into giggles, cupping my neck with her hand.

When Katie pulls me forward into her lips again, I'm expecting it to be another gentle one. But she covers my lips with her own, kneading them together as her pulse races. I am quick to match her fervor, resting my hand on her waist.

Our lips work against each other with growing passion. Katie wraps her other arm around my neck too, pulling me closer to her still as she slips her tongue past my lips in search of mine. I brush my tongue against hers and try not to shudder.

I run my hand down her side and grip her leg, halfway up her thigh. She lets out a raspy breath into my mouth. She pushes her body toward me but stops abruptly and jerks her lips from mine.

I pull back to make sure she's not uncomfortable and that I haven't gone too far. Katie is looking down, fumbling in the space between us. Her seatbelt. She's still wearing her seatbelt. Satisfied with that explanation, I move my lips to her neck.

I barely register the sound of a click and the subsequent noise of the seatbelt retracting, and then I'm lifting Katie – or maybe she's lifting herself – onto my lap.

My hands grip tightly to her thighs on either side of my legs, and I exhale sharply against her throat at the way she feels in my hands. Her hands skirt across my chest and shoulders before wrapping around my neck again, fingers running through the hair there.

I flick out my tongue to taste the sweet skin of the hollow at the base of her neck.

"Seth," she moans, settling more of her weight against the hard ridge in my jeans. Longing for Katie floods my body, and although I'm not telling them to, my hands make their way back up her sides, gripping her around the ribs. My body must be moving of its own accord now, because my hips lift up slightly to—

There's a sharp knock on the driver's side window. I pull back from Katie's neck, and we're both struggling to breathe. The windows are totally fogged over, so I can only assume who's on the other side of the glass. But I do have a guess.

My suspicions are confirmed when I roll down the window and see Leah on the other side, arms crossed. Rain drops begin to pelt the interior of the car. Katie slides off my lap and sinks into the seat next to me. I can feel the heat of her embarrassment radiating off her.

"Just wanted to let you know before things get too hot and heavy in there that I'm going out for patrol. And you should move your little party inside the house. I don't want you getting a misdemeanor in my driveway."

Katie slumps down farther in the seat.

I struggle to find words, even as Leah turns away from us and heads to the trees. "We weren't—"

"Let me know if I need to find you two a chaperone," she calls over her shoulder.

I roll up the window to prevent more rain from coming in. When I look over at Katie, I see the corners of her mouth twisting into a grin, and we burst into laughter.

After a full minute of deep belly laughs, I take a slow, steadying breath. "I guess we should take this party inside."

Fresh color blossoms on Katie's cheeks, but she nods.

She smiles at me. "I assume you meant La Push when you mentioned home earlier," she says, throwing open the passenger door. "Because as cheery as Leah is, I don't think I'll want to live with her forever. Especially after we don't need a chaperone."

Katie's comment, along with the twinkle in her eye, has me scrambling out after her.

The rest of the evening is spent with me watching Katie fill out her transfer request forms, and when she fills out the intended major portion, she pauses only briefly before choosing Photomedia.

We also spend a significant amount of time trying to ignore the charged air between us.

We make our way to bed around midnight, and although I'm still electrified from earlier in my truck, I don't even consider sleeping on the couch — that is, away from Katie.

After we're settled in, I go to turn off the lamp, but Katie latches onto my arm. "Wait."

"What's wrong?" I ask, turning back to her.

She just barely brushes her fingers over the skin of my arm. "I've been thinking…"

"About what?"

Her fingers move from my arm to my bare chest. "We're getting married in a few months. Which means our honeymoon is in a few months."

"Does that mean you're going to accept Edward's offer?" I say, working to steady my heart rate.

She smiles, and my work is in vain. "I'm strongly considering it," she concedes.

I struggle to keep my eyes open, but her palms are stretched out over my pecs now, and it makes breathing hard. And talking about our honeymoon wasn't going to do me any favors either. "I think that'd be good," I mutter, trying to keep my voice under control.

"But that wasn't what I wanted to talk about," she says. "Wherever we do end up on our wedding night, I'd like to know at least some of what I'm doing. I haven't changed my mind all the way…" she trails off, leaning over to brush her lips against my throat as she drags her fingers across my abs. "But there are some gray areas I'd like to explore."

Oh. Maybe I hadn't been the only one left reeling from our interruption earlier. A jagged breath escapes through my gritted teeth. "Whatever you want," I rasp.

"Can I touch you?" she whispers.

The thought makes me stiffen, and I have to swallow before my words find me again. "You can do anything you want to me."

Katie bites on her bottom lip as she fights a smile, and color blossoms on her cheekbones. I'm suddenly angry at Leah for interrupting us in the truck earlier when Katie clearly had other ideas. But then Katie's hand slips lower and grazes against my erection, and I forget my own name.

The electricity I felt earlier in the truck courses through me again, and I can't help the groan that escapes me as she massages me through my shorts. I find my lips with hers, trying to control the pure lust that's rolling through my body.

Her hand inches toward the waistband of my shorts, and when she slips into them, skin on skin, I let out a sharp breath, instinctively thrusting against her hand.

Her smooth fingers are tentative as they feel my length for the first time. My body – the animalistic side of me, the part I've had to shove down and hide away out of respect for Katie – is taking over. I thrust into her hands again.

She stills her hand, and my hips surge forward again, grinding into her side. "Why'd you stop?" I choke out.

She giggles, placing a kiss on my bobbing Adam's apple. "I don't know what I'm doing," she whispers against me, resuming her movements.

A grunted laugh escapes my lips. "You sure?" I ask huskily. My breathing sounds dangerously close to panting. But thinking about it like that made me feel like, well, a dog.

Her lips find mine, and for a second we just stay there, lips barely brushing. Our heartbeats mix in the air with my labored breathing and the subtle sound of her hand slipping against me.

"Will you teach me?" she whispers against my lips. "I want to do it right."

The hesitation in her tone, the fact that she didn't know how right she was already doing it, makes me groan into her mouth, kneading our lips together. I reach down and pull her hand from my shorts.

She starts to question me, but when my lips latch on to her neck, she stops mid-sentence.

I shove my shorts down my hips and lay back, allowing her full access at a better angle.

Katie's eyes stay locked on mine for a second, and I see the hesitation make a brief reappearance before she spares a look down.

Her cheeks flush immediately, and she bites her lip to hide a smile. "Um… is it weird to say that you look… nice?" she asks quietly, her heart beating strong and rapid in her chest.

I laugh, deep and throaty. "No." My desire for her to touch me again is making me throb. To distract myself, I pull her closer to me, wrapping an arm underneath her and resting it on the small of her back. But then her scent reaches my nostrils, and it makes me pulsate again.

She's still chewing on her bottom lip when she finally returns her hand to me, and my following breath comes out shaky. When she looks up at me from under her lashes, her eyes are dark with desire. It sends another jolt of electricity straight to my core.

Katie starts to work her hand against me, slow and unsure.

I wrap my free hand around hers, applying pressure to show her how hard to grip. She wants me to teach her, and I'm more than happy to oblige. Like I could deny her anything. I drag her hand up my length and back down again, and even though right now I'm still doing most of the work, the fact that Katie's – my imprint's – hand is wrapped around me makes it even harder to breathe.

As I set a speed for us, I press my lips to Katie's neck, taking in her scent. It's the strongest along her jugular vein. I can hear her blood rushing, feel it against my lips. Her pulse is racing, but not faster than mine.

When I remove my hand from around Katie's, she loses her confidence.

"It feels good," I whisper against her skin. "Don't stop." I'm a little embarrassed at my plea, but when she starts moving her hand again, embarrassment floods away and is replaced by desire.

I fling my head into the pillows, and Katie places a kiss on my neck below my ear before sucking the skin there. I grip the sheets under us as she continues to kiss and taste the skin of my throat.

She works her hand against my entire length. I'm not sure if it's the newness of this, or if it's just Katie herself, but she's working me into a frenzy, and I bite my lip hard enough to draw blood to distract myself from all the pleasure.

Katie shifts her weight, hitching her leg up over my hip.

And then she shifts her weight into me again, in time with her hand moving against me. By the third time I'm fully aware of what she's doing, even if she's not, and it's making it much harder to distract myself. Do I want to distract myself?

"Does it feel good?" she whispers against my neck before I feel her tongue take the place of her breath.

It takes me a second to be able to find my voice. "So good, baby. I'm already close."

I feel her grin into my neck, and her enthusiasm encourages me to slip the hand on her back lower and grab the round curve of her butt.

She lets out a whimper against my throat, bucks her hips into mine, and tightens her grip on me. The combination was simultaneous, and it felt instinctive.

My lips find hers like magnets. She tightens her grip on me again, moving her hand faster, and I work my tongue against hers, reaching up with my free hand to hold her face to mine as I rapidly approach my climax.

I rip my lips from hers to choke out, "Katie, I'm—" but then I can't speak anymore. I let out a ragged grunt as I release, jerking into her hand upon instinct. Waves of pleasure crash over my body, cresting and breaking directly where she touches me.

Katie continues moving her hand against me, and I spasm under her continued touch. With a breath that nearly resembles a laugh, I reach down and wrap my hand around hers again, stilling her.

"Sorry," she mumbles, pulling her hand from underneath mine.

"No!" I say, and her eyes grow wide at my sudden outburst. "No, Katie, that was… Don't be sorry. That was great," I say finally, flashing her a cheeky grin. "Obviously," I say, gesturing down to my lower half.

She mashes her lips together, glancing down. I only just now realize I'm basically naked in front of her. I wonder if she realizes this, too. Whatever she sees must appease her, because her cheeks turn cherry red again, and she can't fight her smile any more.

Katie pulls her leg from my hip and starts to giggle. "Poor Leah. We're going to be unbearable."

I grin, rising to my feet. Katie tracks my movements only briefly before she turns her gaze to the ceiling, tongue pressed tightly into the side of her cheek.

"She already dragged me to the housing office," I say. "There's a waiting list, but we should have our own place by August."

"August, huh?" Katie asks, sparing another peek at me. I wink at her, and she returns her gaze to the ceiling. "Like I said, unbearable."