Good Morning, Loves!

Thank you to Pamela and Mel!

IX

BELLA

2 July 1897

London, England

"What will your family do?" I asked, gazing at Edward. He looked down at me, his legs stretching in front of him in the carriage.

"When they've discovered we've eloped?" he asked. I nodded and he tilted his head. "I imagine my father will bring a number of people in front of him to shout and curse and make himself feel important." Edward's eyebrows dipped in thought and I bit my lip. "Mother will pretend as if nothing is awry, though she will take to her salon and spend the next week or so in a liquored stupor." He let out a breath. "Rosalie may try to hunt me down herself."

Guilt lanced through me. "Edward—"

He reached out, gently taking my hand in his. He lifted the back of my fingers to his mouth, pressing a kiss over the ring he placed there. "I've made my choice, Bella," he said softly. "My family would do all those things even if I hadn't run away. They are creatures of predictable habit."

I let out a breath and nodded. It was too late into the evening to go anywhere unpredictable, and the option of a Las Vegas elopement wasn't yet possible, so we were heading to Mrs. Cope's house tonight before moving on in the morning. I didn't know what our plan was, but Edward seemed not to be worried.

"Do you think your father will disinherit you?"

Edward turned to look at me, his face considering. "I don't know," he mused. "I expect he will, but he's threatened to do so a great many times and never made any action toward the deed." He paused, his eyebrows pulling together.

"But your marriage was meant to be a political alliance," I guessed, thinking of the grand duchess.

Edward blinked, looking surprised. "It was," he agreed. "But I'm not sure it was the right political alliance," he hedged.

"What do you mean?"

Edward's gaze had traveled to some distant point, but at my question, he turned and looked at me again. I could see him hesitate, and it occurred to me that though we were running away together, he might not yet trust me.

I certainly didn't trust him yet, not fully.

Everything about this situation was so precarious.

"It's all right," I said, shaking my head. "You don't have to tell me." This relationship was starting out rocky enough without me pushing for him to share things about his family he clearly wasn't ready to divulge yet.

Edward let out a breath and reached for my hand, his fingers threading through mine. "No," he said quietly. "We are to be married. What is my life, is yours."

The words sent a cascade of conflicting emotions through me. I still couldn't believe I was taking this leap with a man who truly was more stranger than friend.

"My father has never said as much, but he's made it quite plain that he does not approve of a woman in power." Edward's brows were heavy as he confessed this to me.

"But, Queen Victoria…" I protested softly.

"Indeed," Edward whispered. "Father hoped to align our family with the Russian royal family, to draw us closer to the queen as kin and then use that position to leverage power over her. In his mind, I think my father believes he can somehow override the queen's authority through a foreign monarchy."

I frowned. "Would such a thing even be possible?"

Edward shrugged one shoulder, his fingers gently brushing against my own, our hands still clasped.

"I don't know. But my father has a mind for strategy, which has always been something I've lacked. Whatever plan he might have had, I don't doubt at least some part of it would have worked."

I tried to picture a world in which the Russian monarchy undercut the power of the British Empire. I knew that in a matter of years, there would be a revolution in Russia and that Czar Nikolai and his family would be hunted down, imprisoned, and then executed. Their ghosts haunted the minds of the western world far into the twenty-first century.

It was hard to fathom an alternate reality.

It was one thing I'd never really seen happen. In all my travel, in all the time periods I'd lived in, I'd never once seen history change. The human race was on a course, and no matter what anyone did, the hand of fate could not be moved. People lived, people died, and time marched on, as if it had all been predesigned to do so.

"Is your father a man to give up?" I asked, pulling myself out of my thoughts.

Edward considered that. "No," he said after a moment. "Though of course, he'll have to find a new path. I very much think my father's mind has been made and he will do what he can, what he deems he must, to achieve his end."

I wondered if Edward was much like him. It was hard to guess, but then, I reminded myself, I didn't really know him.

Not yet.

The carriage pulled to a stop, and I glanced out the window to see we were on Mrs. Cope's street. Edward climbed out then reached his hand in, offering me assistance. I set my palm in his, unsteady in the bulk of my gown, and let Edward help me out.

The night was dark, but the street was still reasonably busy as I collected myself on Mrs. Cope's stoop.

I felt more than one pair of eyes turn in my direction, and the attention drove me up the steps of Mrs. Cope's home.

Thankfully, Mrs. Cope had left the door unlocked, knowing I would be out late. I let Edward and myself in before I secured the door behind us.

Edward removed his top hat as he stepped into Mrs. Cope's parlor, and I considered how we'd only been here a few hours ago, having tea and flirting.

Now, we were running away together.

"I suppose," Edward said, clearing his throat. I looked at him and saw him fiddling with the brim of his hat. "That I should let Mrs. Cope know I'm here, given that we are still unmarried and I am a stranger in her house." He turned to eye the firm seats in the parlor. "I'll sleep here tonight, so we don't offend her."

"Edward," I said, taking a step toward him. He stopped looking around the room and turned to me. "We can't wait to consummate our bond," I whispered. "Not unless you can find a priest tonight."

I saw his eyes widen, saw the column of his neck bob as he considered my words. "But, we're not married," he said again.

I let out a breath, wondering just how much experience he had. I'd been avoiding pregnancy like the plague, so I was operating on very little hands-on knowledge myself.

"No," I murmured, stepping toward him. "But my heart has consented to this union. I am at peace with this decision, so long this is still what you want."

In answer, Edward strode toward me, his fingers letting his hat slip away as he reached up to press his fingertips to my cheeks. His kiss was bold like the confidence I'd seen him wear yesterday, and I melted under his touch.

"Isabella Swan," he whispered, his lips soft, but his voice verging on rough against my mouth. "In my heart we are already married," he murmured. "I think God would forgive me this sin."

I grinned, my fingers finding the lapel of his suit jacket, pulling him tighter against my body. There was too much fabric in the way.

"Upstairs," I gasped. "My room is upstairs."

It took us another moment to part again, both of us breathless when we finally managed it.

Edward collected his hat and followed me up the narrow staircase. I knew we had to be quiet, or we'd wake the whole house, but between my gown and the inexplicable giggles that were erupting from us every time our gazes met, we were bound to be found out.

Thankfully, we made it to my small bedroom before anyone came into the hallway to investigate.

"It's not much," I said, as Edward looked around the room.

He turned to me and smiled. "It's everything because I am here with you," he said in answer.

I let out a breath.

"You've quite a way with words, Lord Cullen," I said, shaking my head and moving away from the door.

Edward grinned. "Perhaps I've just found my muse," he said, reaching for me. I let him pull me closer and I smiled, my hands landing on his waist.

"Shall we run away and become writers?"I teased. "Spend our days and nights drinking wine, writing poetry, and making love?"

Edward let out a surprised laugh, his lips nipping at my mouth. "What perfectly tempting debauchery you offer."

I snickered, sinking against him. I felt his hands begin to move, exploring the curves of my body over the mounds of fabric that was my dress.

"I think," I whispered against his mouth. "Despite the fact that it's one of the most luxurious things I've ever worn, it is time to be rid of this," I said, one hand leaving his waist to finger the gown. In the dark of my room, I could see his eyes roam my chest before coming back to land on my face.

"Yes," he agreed.

"You'll have to help me out of it," I told him. "I'm afraid I'm quite firmly secured within it."

Edward gave me a blank look and I grinned, spinning around to show him my back. "Start with the buttons."

Edward's fingers grazed up my sides, sending chills over my skin before I felt his fingers start to work at the tiny fastenings.

"Are all dresses this tedious?" he asked after a moment.

I let out a small laugh. "Thankfully, no."

It took a while, but eventually Edward unfastened the top layer of the frock. With his help, I shed the bodice cover while I reached down to unfasten the skirt. When the red fell away, I turned to see surprise on Edward's face.

"You're wearing a birdcage."

I barked out a laugh, louder than I intended, and quickly clapped a hand over my mouth. "It's called a crinoline," I said between giggles. "It's to help the dress take shape."

Edward looked bemused as I began to unfasten the device. "Didn't you wonder about why the skirt was so large?" I asked, finally stepping out of the garment.

"I suppose I didn't think on it," he mused. "Not when you had other assets to distract the mind."

His eyes were on my chest and I snickered quietly, motioning to the corset fastened tight around my torso. "This is a corset," I told him as I began to unlace it.

"I quite like it," he said quietly, one long fingered hand coming up to run across my waist, his eyes on my chest.

"Yes, you and men everywhere." I huffed.

Edward grinned, looking sheepish, and I smiled at him. "Are you going to let me undress alone?"

Edward blinked, as if coming out of some sort of stupor before he hastened to begin unfastening his cufflinks.

This wasn't the twenty-first century, where clothes could be shed quickly. Undressing took time, but there was a surprising amount of intimacy in the act. Watching Edward carefully unpin and peel back the layers of his clothes gave me time to consider him, to appreciate his natural grace and form. In his body, Edward was confident, that was clear by the way he moved and undressed. He left little clues about himself as he went, and I picked up each one, holding them to my heart.

Finally, we were both down to our last layer, thin shifts of cotton between us.

Edward hesitated before reaching out to me, his hand finding my waist, his fingers pinching the fabric of my dress. My own hands found his arms, and I was surprised to find how fit he felt. He must have been some sort of athlete in school.

Edward's hands traveled gently up my torso, his fingers brushing the sides of my breasts through the thin material. My breath faltered, ever so slightly and his eyes widened a fraction before his fingers returned to brush the path again.

"That feels good," I said on a low moan, my eyes fluttering shut as his fingers grew more bold, cupping my breast through my shift.

"I wish to feel you," Edward murmured. "Skin to skin."

I opened my eyes and nodded. Together we shed the final barriers between us.

I hadn't lit a lamp when we came upstairs, so the only illumination with which to see him was the watery moonlight filtering in past the curtains. Still, even in the semi-dark, I could see Edward was beautiful. His body was long, lean, and well toned. My eyes swept over him, and I let out a breath, seeing all parts of him were in perfect proportion to his height.

"Oh, my Bella," he murmured, reaching out, one finger gently rubbing across my waist. The contact sang through my blood, and my body swayed, pulling closer to him until we were nearly flush, our fronts pressed together. The more points of contact our bodies had, the better if felt, and I let out a quiet sigh of pleasure.

Edward's hands began to explore, as did my own, sweeping, brushing, teasing, testing…

"Edward," I said slowly, licking my lips as I spoke. "Have you ever been with a woman?" I didn't know how much I was going to have to show him about my body.

"There have been dalliances," he said softly. "Though I have never lain with a woman, not completely."

I licked my lips again and nodded. "But you know what to expect of my body?"

Edward let out a breath. "Bella, your body is unlike any I have yet to see or dream of." His hands swept up, teasing the tips of my breasts, and I let out a soft moan. "Such perfection has heretofore been unimaginable."

"You're too generous," I said, shaking my head.

"No, Bella," Edward interrupted. I looked up at him and even in the dark, his eyes were burning with honesty. "You are perfect."

I pushed up onto my toes, capturing his lips with my own. His arms pulled tighter around me, and I sank against his body as our tongues met, hesitant at first before becoming curious. My tongue slid across his, slick and hot, and I felt his body stir in response.

I'd grown up in the future, but even the future had its limitations. Sex was a conversation that never stopped being somewhat taboo. My maman had explained all the anatomy and physiology that went into the act. She'd told me that my best tool to be with a partner was to know myself. It had taken me years until I learned to explore myself in that way, longer still until I was ready to try anything beyond just feeling the fleeting pleasure of rubbing with a single finger. I knew how sex worked, knew how my own body worked, but I had never had the need to use that knowledge before now.

I'd never had as much stimulus as I was getting now, and between my thighs, I was surprised to find my arousal much stronger than I'd ever found it to be before.

"Edward," I said, breaking off our kiss enough to find his hand. "I want to show you something." I brought his fingers between mine, playing with them before leading his hand low, nestling it between my thighs.

Edward let out a sharp hiss of surprise and longing as I coaxed his fingers to explore. "You're wet," he said, his voice gravel.

"Yes," I agreed. "That means I'm ready."

Edward's fingers began to move on their own accord, and I moaned, my fingers reaching out to grip his arms as my body swayed under his exploratory touch. How could a different finger than my own feel infinitely better?

My legs parted as Edward's fingers continued to move, testing out every inch of me, teasing out what brought on different reactions.

I could feel his observant eyes on my face, taking it all in.

"Do you know your own body?" I asked, reaching out to stroke the long length of him. I'd never held a cock before in my hands, and I was surprised by the warmth and smoothness of it.

"Yes," Edward said, his voice nearly a stutter as I gently pulled and tugged at him. "Bella, I…"

I looked up at him as his voice trailed off.

"I'm ready, Edward."

He blinked, seeming to come back into himself. He looked at me and nodded, leaning down to kiss me once before letting go of me.

The mattress was small, far too small for two adults, but it didn't matter. I settled down onto my back, knowing there were a million different positions out there to try one day.

Edward gently climbed over me, and the weight of his body was foreign and surprisingly comforting.

"Am I hurting you?" he asked, his voice unsure.

"No, you are perfect," I told him.

He nodded, leaning down to kiss me again. "Bella," he murmured, his lips right beside mine. "I vow to you, that though we are not married by state nor church, my heart, my body, and soul are now committed to you," he said softly, peppering kisses to my skin between words. "I will dedicate my life to protecting and cherishing you. It will be my life's work to provide for our family, to protect them from all harm."

His body shifted, and then I felt the pressure of him beginning to slide into my body.

"I vow to you to honor you, to honor our family, to be doting and faithful and true." His body slid into mine, and I gasped, my eyes squeezing shut. It was uncomfortable, but not excruciating. He stilled, reading my face, and after a few moments, the feeling of him stopped hurting and became a fullness my body didn't quite know what to do with.

My hips tilted slightly, and Edward took that as his cue, rocking gently, pumping in then out of me. The pain was back, though with each thrust it faded a little quicker, and above me, I could see growing pleasure on Edward's face.

I knew how to get myself off, had even masterbated with toys before, but it was nothing compared to sex with Edward.

I could feel his movements growing more rigid, his cock swelling in me, and I knew he wouldn't last much longer.

I wouldn't find release, but that was okay. We now had a lifetime ahead of us. A lifetime to figure out every nuance of each other's body.

I couldn't wait.

Edward's hips faltered, and he let out a groan in my ear just as I felt him come inside me.

Unexpected tears came to my eyes, and I blinked hard, trying to urge them away.

I was tied here now, to this moment in time, forever more.

"I'm yours," I whispered into Edward's shoulder. "Forever."