A/N: I'm having a blargh kind of day today. Let's see if we can improve it some.

Edward liked kissing his wife.

He didn't think he'd ever been this interested in kissing before. Typically, there was just enough to get him properly riled up for the main course.

It was just that Edward had never expected Bella to be so responsive. He'd always known her to be a well-brought-up, proper lady. Ladies tended to at least pretend they found outright displays of affection distasteful. They might kiss their husbands daintily on the cheek, but this was something else altogether. She certainly didn't kiss like a whore—fervent to the point of bruising. A little too enthusiastic.

Bella tilted her head up, welcoming his kiss, inviting him to linger. Her hands, which had tentatively rested at his waist at first, gradually crept up his sides. Her touch sent the most wonderful chills down his spine. There was something so precious about the way her tongue came out to meet his, so gingerly at first and then with increasing confidence.

Which was another revelation. He thought perhaps his wife liked kissing him as much as he liked kissing her.

It had been four days. Edward found time and privacy to teach his wife how to use a sword, and always, they would find themselves in this position—arms tangled, lip to lip.

The fourth night, Edward could find no time except after dinner. That wasn't a problem. The problem was that he didn't have the excuse of dinner to calm the fire in his blood. Instead, he was bathed in fire, consumed by a heavy flavor in the air as he walked Bella back to her room and, as he did every night, followed her in.

He wasn't in the mood to play cards tonight. His hands hadn't had enough of Bella's body. His mouth, his tongue, was hungry for hers. His skin was too hot—a sure sign he was wearing too many clothes. His mind was chaotic with questions he needed answers for. He needed to know how her body felt beneath his, how the skin of her belly felt under the pads of his fingers. He wanted to know if the curls that covered her sex were the same hue as her hair, if they were similarly streaked with red.

He wanted to know if the rest of her body was as responsive as her lips, if her hips would rise to meet his, if her legs would spread to welcome him or if he would push them open, his palms on her thighs.

When they entered her room, Edward pulled her into his arms again. She moaned—a tiny sound—and he was almost undone. He crushed her to him, his hands on the small of her back. He rubbed in circular motions, pushing his tongue past her lips. He ran his hand lower, over her ass. She whimpered again and wound her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair.

Edward walked her backward, sitting her down on the chaise lounge. He pushed her gently backward, holding himself up on one arm but lining up their bodies. Her kisses were making him drunk and starved all at once. He let more of his weight down on her.

Perfect. That was how she felt underneath him. Her body pushed up against him. Her hands tugged at the hair on his neck.

He thrust on her once, twice. She made a tiny noise in the back of her throat.

It took him a full minute to realize she wasn't responding as well as she had been. He pulled back, breaking their kiss. Her eyes were closed. Her hands fallen limp at the side of her head.

"Bella." He cupped her cheek. "Please look at me."

She opened her eyes slowly. "I'm sorry."

He braced his arm around her back and pulled her into a sitting position. He rubbed her back. "Where did you go?"

"I'm sorry, My Lord."

"Edward."

Her eyes found his. She looked so uncertain and scared, it broke his heart. "I'm sorry, Edward."

"Don't apologize." He brushed his knuckles against her cheek. She flinched. "Please tell me what you're thinking." He ran his fingers through her hair. "You're scared."

"I'm sorry." She closed her eyes again and shook once—a full body tremor. "I'm being silly."

"You aren't silly, my love. Not at all." He crooked a finger beneath her chin and tilted her face up. "Please tell me what you're thinking."

Her eyes were wide but cautious as she looked on him. She swallowed hard. "The king spoke of the things he would do with his wife." Her voice trembled. "My L… Edward. My mother and father were very fond of each other. Oft, I would find my mother on my father's lap. He would touch her only with love and tenderness." She wrung her hands. "But the king would tell me I didn't know what happened behind closed doors. That a man may do what he likes with his wife, and none shall come to her aid should she cry. He said my mother was simply a better woman than I could hope to be, and took what was coming to her."

Edward clenched his fists. "Bella—"

She shook her head, looking at him for a beat before she closed her eyes and pressed her lips together a moment before she spoke again. "My… My husband, you've been so good to me. And patient. I know what you've done for me, the time you've given me, isn't proper." She ducked her head. "I'm not proper."

"Bella—"

"No. I know what's expected of me." She raised a tentative hand and put it to his cheek. She opened her eyes and looked into his as though she were looking into his soul. "I don't think you'll hurt me, husband," she said in a whisper. "But there was…" She dropped her gaze, her cheeks turning pink. "There was a woman I knew to be a whore. I saw her leaving the king's chamber." She shuddered. "It seemed to me that all the king swore he would do to me when we wed, he'd done to her."

Edward grimaced. "I didn't know you knew about that."

It wasn't something he'd want anyone to know, let alone his young, frightened wife. The king had asked for a whore to whet his appetite. A bevy of beauties was paraded before him, and he'd chosen one. And though any whore had experience enough with even the oddest perversion, she had come away from the King's chambers white as a sheet and covered in bruises and blood.

Not looking at him, Bella again swallowed hard. "It wasn't a surprise. What he did to the woman, I mean. It wasn't a surprise at all. It wasn't anything less than what he promised me." She shivered. "And there were some things he said any man would want of his wife. Things that I don't believe would bring us children."

He sighed and cupped her cheek. "My sweet girl." Leaning forward, he kissed her chastely on the lips. "There are things a husband and wife may do together without begetting children. However, I think you might find many of them enjoyable."

The look on her face then was so dubious, Edward chuckled. He cupped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for another kiss. It was a gentle kiss, testing. She sighed against his mouth and tilted her head up into his kiss.

Gradually, her body relaxed again. Her arms wound back around his neck. When he pressed his hand to her back she sidled closer to him.

He kissed a line up her cheek to her ear. "Bella, will you let me touch you?" He kissed the skin right beneath her ear and let his hands crawl down her sides. "It won't hurt. I never want to hurt you."

She pulled away slightly to look in his eyes. "I believe you won't hurt me," she said in a whisper. "I don't know why I'm still scared."

He thought he knew why. Her trust had been shattered. Her parents, who'd loved her well and doted upon her, had given her away to Felix. It had been a good a match, truly, and Felix had been charming at first. She had seen Jane be a good, gentle mother to her own girls, Felix's little sisters, and had thought she would be a wise mother-in-law.

Then they had all hurt her, and she'd become a prisoner. Gilded cage or no, Bella was no fool. She knew what happened to prisoners. More directly, she knew her value as a highborn lady. These years she had lived at court, she had known there was always the chance some lesser lord would try to get a child on her. After all, her brother's life hung in the balance. Should Emmett Swan die without offspring, Bella's son would be heir of Rainfall. It was no small amount of power in question.

Bella's virtue was near about the only thing that hadn't been taken from her. Her trust was so broken, it could take years before she could let herself believe she could trust him with her body. The problem was that there were too many eyes on them.

That, and Edward was ravenous for her.

Edward stood up, bringing Bella up with him. He took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly. He pulled her close, his hands at her waist, and then he turned her around.

Instantly, she tensed. "Shhh," he murmured in her ear, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back against his chest. He kissed her neck. "My nephew is a horse's ass," he said, nipping lightly at her skin. "A man who brutalizes his wife doesn't deserve one."

He let his fingers run in light circles at her belly. "What is between a man and a wife is sacred," he said against her ear. He traced a line further up. Up, kissing her cheek, her chin, her neck as he did so. "I swore a solemn oath giving you my name and protection." He used his nose to tilt her head to the side so he could have better access to her neck. "I swore that your happiness was in my charge." He drew his fingers along the underside of her breasts and smiled at her sharp intake of breath. "Do you recall?"

"I...yes."

"Does this hurt, Bella?" He cupped his hands over her breasts.

She whimpered. "No?"

"Was that a question?" He brushed a thumb over one nipple and then the other.

"No." She was breathless.

"Kiss me." He rumbled the words at her cheek.

Bella turned her head, catching his lips. Her eyes were closed. She cupped the back of his head, her fingers in his hair as she responded to his kiss. She made tiny noises that he caught on his tongue.

Taking a taste had been a mistake. He wanted it all. Everything. "Can I see you?" His voice had become a low, gravelly thing—like he was parched, which wasn't inaccurate. "All of you?"

"I...oh. O-of course, My Lord."

Back to that again. "Bella." He teased her lips with his. "Am I going to hurt you?"

"No." She followed his lips when he pulled back a fraction.

He allowed her the barest hint of a kiss. "May I see you? All of you?"

She opened her eyes, finding his. They were dark. With lust? Was that the reason a coil tightened in his cock? "Yes," she whispered.

He pulled back from her. His fingers made quick work of the ties that held her dress to her body. From one breath to the next, her dress fell from her shoulders.

Edward didn't think he'd ever stopped to admire the shape of a woman's back, the slender and delicate curve of her shoulders before. He pushed her hair off one shoulder and dropped kisses along her back. She shivered. He wrapped his arms around her again and pressed his palm over her heart. Her heartbeat was erratic.

"You're not wearing a bodice." Her breasts were warm and soft in his hands. He took her nipples between his fingers.

"Ah-ah. Oh. I…" She licked her lips, tilting her head back against his chest. "It was hot. When I dressed."

He rested his cheek against her shoulder. "You're quite warm."

She laughed—a wispy sound that trailed off as Edward pushed her dress off her hips. Her breath caught and held.

"You're exquisite," he murmured, tracing a single finger along the curve of her hip, across her ass. "My sweetling, are you at all aware of how beautiful you are?"

Before she could think to answer, he swept her into his arms. Her eyes were hooded as she clasped the back of his neck, and she bit her bottom lip.

Still scared. He laid her in her bed and leaned over her. He drew the back of his knuckle down her cheek. She flinched, but quickly corrected.

"Am I going to hurt you?" he asked, trailing his knuckle down her body.

She took a sharp breath and shook her head fractionally.

She wasn't sure. Almost, but not yet.

Edward dropped a kiss on her trembling lips. He kissed her chin. Her neck. He dotted kisses along her breasts. She rested a trembling hand on his back. He straightened up, suddenly too hot himself. He took off his shirt and returned to his task with gusto, taking her nipple in his mouth.

No. Not enough. Not even as she squirmed beneath his mouth and hands. Not even when she made those shuddering little noises that he quickly listed amongst his favorite things in the realm.

He kissed down her stomach and rested his hand on the thick thatch of tangled curls. She whimpered, and a glance showed him she was clutching the bed covering so tightly, her knuckles were bone white.

"Bella."

She released her breath in a gasp. "Yes?"

"Am I going to hurt you?"

Another head shake. The lust had faded from her eyes. She was terrified.

"Can I touch you?" He'd promised her he would only touch her if she asked. This, he knew, was cheating, but he thought perhaps a traumatized, innocent woman of her young age might need a little guidance.

As he fully expected she would, she nodded. She was a good girl, an obedient wife.

Her legs didn't open to welcome him. He pushed them open.

Then, he lowered his mouth between them.

"Oh!" Startled, Bella's body bucked up. Edward had been prepared. He pressed her back down with a gentle pressure, exploring the length of her slit with his tongue. She was wet and welcoming. "What are… What… I… I… oh, by the old gods."

Her hand was on his shoulder, in his hair. She writhed, as though trying to get away from him—a nervous response—but she kept her legs open. And as he lowered his lips to press his tongue deeper inside her, she stopped trying to get away. Her hips bucked up to meet him.

"Edward," she said on a breath. "Edward. I… I don't know… I don't know… Ah." Her hands flailed, smacking him about his back and head.

He reached up, taking her hand and threading their fingers together. He raised his head a bit and took that curious little nub between his lips, flicking his tongue against it.

Bella's body jolted, and she pressed her free arm over her mouth when she screamed.

Edward straightened up, kneeling, looking down at her. She was flushed and breathless, her tits hard as her chest heaved. Her eyes were wide with some expression that was partway between shock and boneless satisfaction. "Gods, you're perfect. Look at you."

She pressed her lips together and curled her legs up. Her cheeks flushed a different kind of red. "I… I don't know…." Her eyes found his. "Was that...proper?" she whispered.

He laughed and laid on his side beside her, propping himself up on an elbow. "I most certainly hope not." He sighed and kissed her, sharing her taste. "Did it hurt?"

Her cheeks flamed red. She bit her lip, though now she didn't look scared. She shook her head.

He kissed her again and straightened up, pulling the coverlet over her nude body. "Sleep well, darling. I'll send your lady to you."

Her brow furrowed, and she sat up, clutching the coverlet to her chest, as he stood. "Edward?"

"Yes, lovely?"

"I…" She looked so confused. "Should we not do what's right? What's expected?" Her eyes flitted down and quickly back up.

Edward smirked. His erection was obvious. "You do things to me, my beautiful wife."

"But won't it hurt you? To be like that?"

He laughed, and she ducked her head. "Oh, precious." He put one knee on her bed and leaned in to kiss her again. He stroked his fingers down her cheek. "I shall survive; I promise you. It's nothing I haven't had to take care of many times in my life."

Bella's expression was delightfully scandalized, but, ever the brave soul, she made an attempt to look serious. "But it's right for a wife to attend to her husband."

A warmth spread throughout his chest wholly different from the fire of desire. He did adore this girl. This woman. She was nervous about what she'd offered. He could see that by the way she twisted the coverlet in between her fingers. Still, she looked on him steadily so that he might know she wouldn't refuse him.

He'd already known that. The gods knew his cock was well aware he could have her anytime he wanted her. Bella knew her duty.

Leaning forward, he kissed her once more, lingering this time. "Ask me. When you're ready."

She opened her mouth, but he put a finger over it, silencing her. "When you're ready," he repeated.

He was rewarded by the smallest of smiles—a little uncertain, but soft.

Novel, he thought as he looked on her beautiful face. He was almost certain he was falling in love with his wife.

A/N: Sooooooooooo.

How goes it?