13. Allure

Edith hugged herself. 'What are we doing here?'

Thomas rubbed a hand over his face. He busied himself at Lucille's fireplace, throwing logs into it. 'Did you see Deirdre? Like you saw me?'

Edith shook her head. 'No.'

'Strange. How did you see me?' He started the fire and returned to her, offering both hands, and Edith held on to them, glad for the contact.

'I suppose you wanted me to,' she said.

'I can believe that.' He tugged on her hands, bringing her close, and put his arms around her. 'Edith, this is going to be the day the horror truly ends, one way or another.'

She pushed at him, suddenly worried. 'Meaning?'

'Meaning I have to face my sister alone, once she graces us with her presence. And after that, she will be gone. With luck, I won't.'

'Thomas, no! You can't risk yourself.'

'I have to convince her to leave us alone. I do believe that I can withstand her because I don't want to be with her in life or in death. But I've proven myself weak before. I wish I was convinced enough of myself to promise you that this time, I won't succumb. I don't think I will, but at least, if I do, you can't be harmed. I will be dead and she will be gone along with me.'

Edith tightened her arms around Thomas's waist. She wanted to drag him out of the house and as far away as possible. 'No,' she said again. 'You can't. You can't die.'

'I don't plan to. And I promise you that I will do the best I can to stay alive. With you. All I want is to be with you, Edith. And I hope so much that this is enough. That I am going to be enough.'

Edith took his face into her hands. 'You are wonderful and stronger than you know. You will survive this day. Do you hear me, Thomas?'

He rubbed his nose against hers. 'I do. Now, before I can do this, I need you.'

'How?'

Thomas smiled at her, sweetly, as if they weren't standing in his sister's room, as if he hadn't just told her that he wasn't sure he would survive. 'How else? Would you kiss me, Edith?'

'Thomas …'

'Don't look where we are.' He steered her to the bed and sat them both down on it. 'Look at me. Just me.' He smiled. 'You won't find me in the past.'

Despite herself, Edith smiled at him. 'Not fair.' But she did kiss him then, unable to resist. His lips on hers were soft and warm, hands travelling over her body. 'Thomas, what are you doing?'

'I need you to do something for me,' he said softly. 'She has to see that she has lost me. She needs to see that you broke every detail of the routine she had me captured in.'

'Can't we go to our room?'

He shook his head. 'I don't know if that would be enough.'

'Is this what you want to do, Thomas? You loved her.'

Thomas made a sound between a laugh and a sob. 'Oh, Edith.' He pulled her against his chest. 'I admire you so much. Since all this happened you never said a nasty word about the woman who tried to kill you. I know you have no love for her, you couldn't possibly after all that happened, but you didn't say a thing lest you hurt me with it. And now you have a shot at the ultimate revenge and want to turn it down.'

'Do I get to do that? Turn it down?'

Thomas pulled away a bit and looked at her. 'Did I ever give you the feeling that you have no choice?' She saw on his face that this was a serious question.

'No.' She brushed her lips over his. 'Never.' Still kissing him, she nestled at his clothes. It was incredibly difficult to lose herself, to ignore where she was, what she had seen in this very room. And it wasn't the sight of the siblings together that haunted her, it was her husband on the ground, pale and cold and she had been so certain that he was dead.

And all of a sudden, it didn't matter where she was. All that counted was that Thomas was very much alive and there with her, his skin warm and no longer sheet-white but flushed with the life coursing through him. With a moan that was almost desperate, she all but ripped Thomas's clothes off.

Chuckling, he came to her aid. 'Hey, I'll still need those.'

'Really? You could stay like that, if it's up to me.' His hands on her bare skin chased the chill of the room away, suffusing her with heat.

'Oh, you'd like that, no doubt. Do you like what you see?'

She did. There was no denying that. He was a striking man, her Thomas, his face beautiful as a painting, his body slender and defined and simply perfect. Instead of an answer, Edith kissed him soundly before moving down to his collarbone.

Thomas's hands went to her head, removing the pins that held up her hair with infinite gentleness until it flowed around her face and her shoulders. Edith waited until he was done before moving on, knowing his coordination would suffer severely once she reached her destination.

The first time Thomas had done to her what she was about to do, Edith had been half scandalised. It had felt way too good for her to protest, however, and it hadn't taken long for her inquisitiveness to win over propriety. She had wanted to taste him, to know every inch of his skin. When she had first taken him into her mouth, it had seemed strange to do such a thing, but now, as she moved down his chest, leaving a trail of kisses on her way, Edith's own anticipation was almost as great as his.

Their eyes met when she moved below his navel. 'Kiss me, Edith,' Thomas said softly. 'Kiss me there.'

Edith did him one better. With her hands on his hips, she sucked his tip inside. Rather than moving her lips further down, she swirled her tongue around him, drawing a quiet purr from him. Thomas was very quiet during their lovemaking as far as sounds went, although he did occasionally talk a lot. His fingers tangled in her hair as she started to suck on him. She let go of him when his hips started to move, swiping her tongue over the little slit instead, capturing a drop of clear fluid. After licking up his length twice, Edith closed one hand around him and sucked at the skin of his testicles before taking one into her mouth.

Thomas was all but thrashing under her, what control he had left slipping. His sex was throbbing in her hand, his hands clutching at the sheets in desperation. A part of her felt rather debauched, but in a good way. Thomas's hair was a mess when she looked up at him, his mouth open, his breath heavy and fast. There was a flush covering his face and his chest, prominent against the ivory of his skin. He was beautiful. And he was especially beautiful when he came apart under her ministrations, his eyes never leaving her for more than a moment.

Humming around him, Edith took him back between her lips, moving up and down over the ridge until he sat up abruptly and pulled her off him. He kissed her deeply, his hands moving down her back to her buttocks. 'I want to be buried in your core when I finish,' he said softly. 'I need you all the way. Right now.'

Keeping her eyes firmly on his face, Edith moved into his lap. Their foreheads were pressed together when she sat down on him, their gazes locked. Thomas's hands encouraged her movements, kneading her flesh. 'I love this,' he said softly. 'So close. So deep. So intimate.' He ran his hands up to the back of her neck. 'Only you, Edith. I never told you that. Only you have me this way, my entire body bared to you. Not just the necessary parts.'

'I had a suspicion.' Edith buried her face in his neck, inhaling his scent before she pushed against his shoulders, collapsing him on the bed. Thomas's hair was plastered to his forehead, his entire chest covered in a sheen of sweat. Bracing herself against his chest, Edith began to ride him in earnest, his hips thrusting up into her with relish, his hands resting on her thighs. 'How could I not want to see all of you, my handsome?'

Thomas's eyes were fixed at where they were joined, a mesmerised expression on his face. 'I love watching you, too. The way you move when we make love.' He put his left hand on her waist and let it travel upwards to cup her breast, kneading it gently. 'I'm so close, Edith.'

'Then let go.'

And he did. Eyes firmly on hers, he gasped when she clenched her muscles around him, filling her with his essence. Before he had truly caught his breath, Thomas flipped them over and knelt between her legs. He curled his left arm around her thigh and pushed two fingers of his other hand into her while he put his lips to her nub. His thumb was beneath it, moving in tiny circles, while he let his tongue flick over her. He didn't seem to mind one bit that he was coating his fingers in his own seed, only caring for her pleasure. Edith's hips bucked and he laughed against her skin, taking a moment to grin up before latching on to her again, sucking and nipping and licking and then he pushed the tip of his tongue against her and wiggled it and she came, suppressing a shout that Deirdre would haven been likely to hear downstairs.

Thomas didn't let go of her at once but continued to lap at her until she had calmed. Then he travelled back up her body and kissed her. She could taste herself and him on his lips and there was nothing more wonderful in the world than this moment. 'I love you, Edith,' he said. 'I will always love you.' For a few heartbeats, she soaked in the bliss before the reality of where they were came back to her. He put his lips next to her ear. 'You need to leave. Go downstairs, grab Deirdre and go outside. I will be with you shortly.'

Thomas sat and slipped into his pants. Against his still flushed skin, the two while scars on his chest stood out prominently. Dazed, frightened, Edith dressed, the pleasure of a moment ago seeming like a dream. 'Thomas,' she said quietly.

His gaze was at the door. Edith couldn't see anything, but she knew from his expression that he did. 'You need to leave,' he said again.

As she walked past him, Edith kissed Thomas's left cheek, her lips brushing over the third scar, the most brutal of the injuries that she had thought had killed him. 'Be careful.'

Thomas tore his attention from where it was, staring into seemingly nothing, and directed it at her. He took her face into both hands. 'I will be. Don't worry about me, just take care of yourself.' He kissed her temple and brushed his thumb over her cheek and smiled. He seemed confident enough, but as Edith walked downstairs, she couldn't help feeling that he had just said farewell.