facetsofblood
Edward got about two blocks from the Swan's house before the headache became so torturous he really thought he was dying. He stopped mid-stride, put his palm to his forehead, and shut his eyes. He knew this had to do with the portal, and the energy that had been released. He knew.
When he opened his eyes, everything felt different.
Edward dropped his hand and smiled, very, very slowly. The woman who was walking on the other side of the street, to her car after a late movie, never saw him cross to her side, and she certainly didn't see the bite coming. She was dead in under two minutes. She hadn't even had time to scream.
---------------------------------
After changing into a pair of jeans, black boots tucked under the pantlegs, and a black button-down shirt (the jacket was merely so that he wouldn't raise any eyebrows; it was a bit cold to be running around without one), Edward went out again. He didn't drive; he wanted to walk.
He got himself to The Bronze without incident; Edward had heard that a band he liked was playing there tonight, and if there was ever a place to go while feeling like this (God, was human blood ALWAYS that incredible?)
He didn't need to pay at the door, glaring at the guy stationed there and smirking was enough. He raised an eyebrow in thanks and went inside.
It was an ocean in here. An ocean of things he wanted. The band was setting up, and Edward wanted to talk to the musicians. To make a request. He wanted to hear every thought in this place and exploit some of them. He wanted to taste some of the blood that he could hear flowing. All of his self-control, how careful he always was.... it was gone.
He didn't care. Couldn't care. The energy from the portal had taken that, too.
Eyes that were no longer amber but instead an orange-brown looked around the room. A girl brushed against him, and turned and looked at him over one shoulder with a smile.
Wow, glad I turned around.
Edward sighed at her, bored. "Did you put your make up on in the dark?" he asked, pushing past her. As soon as he was clear of her, he headed for the stage. And once he was there, he tilted his head upward and waited for someone to come talk to him.
As exhausted as she'd felt after coming home (and falling facedown in her bed and passing out immediately), Dawn woke up two hours later, completely refreshed. Guess it was true, what they said about catnaps.
She rolled out of bed, yawning, and stretched. It was still early. And she saved the fucking world. She could think of a few things better to do in it than sleep.
After a quick shower (gross, she really needed that) she stood in front of her closet in her lacy lingerie. Red. She'd never worn it before, just brought it home from the mall under her clothes and hid it in the back of her closet. Well, fuck, if she had it, she might as well wear it. The red looked good on her. She smiled at her reflection.
She threw on a little black dress with a square neck, the red lace of her bra peeking from the top, and cinched a wide corset belt around her waist. Slipping on a pair of black pumps, she twirled in front of the mirror and laughed. Goodbye to Sandra Dee.
She called Janice while smearing on black eyeliner and blow-drying her hair into loose curls. Five minutes later, she was slipping out of the door.
Janice's mouth dropped open when Dawn walked up to the Bronze. Her friend was in line, waiting patiently. Dawn grabbed her hand without a word and pulled her forward, past the bouncer, gave him a peck on the cheek and laughed and he lifted the rope for them. Janice was speechless. Dawn just laughed.
Inside, she led them to the bar and slipped onto a stool, swiveling around on it and scanning the crowd, watching the band set up, listening to the music filtering in through the speakers.
instantly you struck me as quite a catch
luckily i left you without a scratch
you seem capable of mind control and
you've disabled my very soul
i'll take what's mine before i regret it
Her eyes landed on a familiar figure in front of the stage. Her heart skipped a beat, then accelerated. Dawn smiled. This was a good night after all.
A woman he knew was named Johnette looked down at him, eyes narrowing to slits of kohl eyeliner. She smiled, though.
Edward beckoned her with his finger.
She leaned forward, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Hi," he said, smiling amiably. "Listen, I'm a really big fan, which I'm sure you get a lot... but I was wondering, there's a song I'd love to hear..."
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, which one?"
He told her. She laughed. He said please and bit his lower lip.
Johnette's own lower lip was split and there was a slight amount of blood there. It was under the lipgloss, but he could smell it. He wanted it.
"Okay," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know why I'm agreeing to this."
Edward jumped up onto the stage, fast, and gave her a lingering peck, tongue darting out to get the blood he'd been eyeing. Then he hopped back down. "Thanks," he said.
She laughed. "Welcome. Give it ten or fifteen, okay?" The song would get one hell of an introduction for that.
Edward turned away from the stage and the amused lead singer and into the crush of people and heartbeats.
One stood out.
He shut his eyes and focused on it. The irregularity familiar and incredibly enticing. Dawn. This was what always happened when she was near him. He just never said anything because he was too nice.
Not anymore.
Janice was between him and that heartbeat. Edward cocked an eyebrow at the girl and she looked him up and down appreciatively. I don't know what it is, Janice thought, but good goddamn, they must put something in the water in Washington. He didn't say anything, just kept going past her.
Edward got to the bar and didn't sit. He stood just behind Dawn and exhaled, and it was calculated. He watched his breath make the fine hair on her shoulders and neck stand up.
And then he walked away.
Not yet. No. She would get up and come to him.
Edward turned back into the crowd and listened, for that heartbeat and for the band to actually start.
"So," Johnette said into the microphone, "we're back in Sunnydale." There were a few laughs; Edward didn't get the joke. "Alright. Someone out there wanted to hear this enough to come up here and knock me a little kiss, and I'm a sucker, so..."
The drum started first.
Then base, a walking baseline.
Edward grinned and closed his eyes.
Then there came the harder guitar. A scream should come next. He wondered if he was gonna get one.
He did. The people around him started to dance.
The song started and he wondered with serious amusement if Dawn understood why it was playing.
Drumming her fingers on the bar, Dawn turned and batted her eyelashes at the tender. Her lips curved into a smile, a predatory grin that made Janice shift back slightly, uncomfortable although she didn't know what exactly made her uncomfortable. This was her friend, after all. And, yeah, so, she had a bit of a new look, that wasn't against the law or anything. She'd always thought Dawn should raid that kickass older sister's closet.
But something was off. However, Janice couldn't put her finger on it, so she shrugged it off, turning to smile at the tender too, trying to ignore the slight knot of unease in the pit of her belly.
The bartender slid a glass in Dawn's direction, and she took a sip, shrugged and pushed it towards Janice. Boring. Although she could tell it was about to get a lot more interesting, by the way the hair on her neck rose, the way Janice's eyes widened as she stared at something over Dawn's shoulder.
Her nails drummed a staccatto beat on the counter.
She could feel Edward's breath on the back of her neck. Ironic, since he didn't need to breathe. Showing off, as usual. And then he was gone. So he wanted to play games, did he? That was fine. She'd join, of course, but eventually they'd be playing by her rules.
Kissing the air to Janice, she slid off of her stool, following Edward through the crowd, her slip hips swaying in tune to the beat, drawing a look here and there, but she didn't bother to catch anyone's eye. If she had her way - and she was damned determined to make it happen - she wouldn't need anyone else tonight.
there's a crack in the mirror and a bloodstain on the bed...
She came up behind Edward, slowly slipping her hands around his waist and up his stomach, over his chest, fingers lightly tracing every ridge and curve. Her lips almost brushed the curve between his neck and shoulder. She could've licked his skin, if she'd wanted to.
"Now," she whispered into his ear, "where's my hero's welcome?"
Of course he wanted to play games. All Edward ever DID was play things straight.
He knew Dawn was there. Her heartbeat would never, ever conceal her from something like him. Especially since it thudded the closer she got. Didn't matter about the personality-- her biology betrayed her and always would.
The vampire opened his eyes just in time to look down and see Dawn's hands slide around him, small and white and slender. In another life, one that had ended a few hours ago, he'd have bucked her off his back and ran to the other side of the room for this. Right now, though...
Edward grabbed Dawn's wrists and held them in one hand. These tables were gonna turn. Not yet, but very, very soon.
The whisper wasn't even unwelcome, but Dawn should've tread with more care. Where's my hero's welcome?
That half-smile of his, almost innocent and yet dripping with promises of things that were anything but innocent, worked across his face. Edward lowered his eyes and bit his lower lip, as if contemplating a very smart response.
Without a word, he switched their places. So fast people around him actually stared, Edward pushed Dawn forward and moved himself back, molding himself along the line of her body and holding her hands still in one of his. He took a deep breath and buried his face in her hair for a second, moving his face to the side of her neck and hovering just above her skin.
"For saving the world?" He purred, eyebrow raising. "I guess you can have one." Edward laughed. "If you really want."
I got the ways and means
To New Orleans
I'm goin' down by the river where it's warm and green
I'm gonna have a drink
And walk around
I got a lot to think about...
He didn't say anything, just let his free hand trail from her shoulder down to her thigh, pulling her tighter against him with a smirk.
Feeling the crowd's eyes on them, Dawn just laughed quietly, and eventually, people went back to watching the band, or finding their own troubles to get involved in. Despite the late hour, it was a very busy night at the Bronze. Nobody seemed to want to be at home, not while there were much, much better things to do.
People, too.
She let Edward push her forward, laughing again, tossing back her dark curls. That vampire strength really came in useful sometimes, she had to admit, if he could toss her around as easily as a doll. And it was kind of hot, the way he took control for once, instead of hiding or avoiding the subject. She found herself thinking of other ways he could manipulate her body. For a while, she'd let him.
She could feel the pressure of him in her hair, the chill that radiated, almost unnoticeably, from his skin. She knew because she was trained to notice these things. Most other people wouldn't. A killer in their midst, and they had no idea. For some reason, it made the situation all the more exciting.
oh, you were a vampire, and baby, i'm the walking dead...
Pressing back against him, hips still drawing a figure eight in the air in time to the music, she smiled, half-turning her head so she could see him out of the corner of her eye.
"I think I deserve one," she breathed, her lips parting, tongue darting out to run over her bottom lip. "Wouldn't you say?"
Edward wondered what he'd have to do to Dawn to make her walls fall. He remembered, and it was clear, that her thoughts came to him when she was close to losing it.
Oh, this had definite possibilities.
She deserved one, now? Ha.
The half-smile turned darker than Dawn would ever have seen it. It's possible that his face was completely different, in terms of expression, than anything anyone but prey had ever seen on Edward.
"All you did," Edward said, not moving away, not loosening his grip, "was bleed." He laughed, and the laugh was cruel.
I got the ways and means
To New Orleans
I'm goin' down by the river where it's warm and green...
"I can make you do that."
Edward let go of her hands and grabbed both of Dawn's hips, probably a little too roughly. He nudged hair away from her ear with his nose and whispered, feeling the hair on her neck stand up again. "And you'd like it."
She could see Edward's expression out of the corner of her eye. She liked it - it wasn't an expression she'd ever seen him wearing before. It suited him. She tossed her hair back again, moving carefully enough that the motion would only expose more of her neck.
"Don't tell me you didn't like that," she murmured, running her hands over his, feeling his fingertips begin to bruise the tender skin of her hips. She liked it a lot better now than when Glory had bruised her. Everything had its time and place, she supposed. "All that blood..."
She twisted in his arms, her hands sliding up his chest to curl around the collar of his shirt, then slipping beneath the top button and quickly, efficiently popping it off. She wondered if he'd be mad. If he'd make her pay. Ooh, now there was an idea...
i'm gonna have a drink
and walk around
i've got a lot to think about, oh, yeah...
Her lips went to the spot where his jaw met his ear, and her tongue flickered out, tasting the skin carefully. Her hips swayed gently under his hands, and her fingertips traveled a little lower down the pale skin of his chest.
"Didn't you?"
A few hours ago, this would've been absolute torture. Edward would've driven himself to distraction in any situation even close to this. He'd have been almost biting through his lip over the temptation in front of him.
Oddly, knowing that it wasn't just temptation, but something that he could have... Edward was completely fine. Almost Zen. He knew he was getting what he wanted, it was just a matter of time.
All that blood...
"And not a drop to drink," Edward finished. He laughed again, a short sound that was full of mirth and devoid of any of Edward's usual innocence. Did Dawn know about his eyes? He couldn't remember and it seemed trivial, but he figured she knew something was different here. Her body was reacting to it in more ways than one.
The more she rolled her hips...
Dawn turned into him, slid and insinuated herself into his arms, and Edward's hands closed around her waist. His head tilted again into her neck like that was where it belonged. A button popped off and he didn't even react to it's disappearance.
The things that were going through his head right now were equal parts torture (alternately for him, just thinking about them, and for Dawn) and heaven. Eyes that were too dark to be Edward's smiled down at Dawn.
She licked him. That was it. Edward's face looked deceptively innocent, leaning toward her, lips brushing the skin of her neck, a smile breaking out over his face, then trailing up to her cheek. He hovered close enough to her mouth to feel her breath, close enough that moving his lips at all would cause them to brush hers.
It was intentional. Obviously.
"Torturing myself," Edward said, lips whispering against Dawn's, "to be the nice guy..."
His eyes narrowed on the word 'nice,' as though he hated the word.
"... is not something I like."
... you were a vampire and now I am nothing at all...
Aw, you were a vampire and now I am nothing at all...
Calmly, he bit at her lower lip. It wasn't a kiss, it was a bite. Not deep enough or long enough for venom, but there wasn't anything gentle about it.
"Which is why," he said, pulling back, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her to go with him, "it's going to stop."
A few hours ago, Dawn would've been ducking her head, doing her best to avoid Edward's eyes and probably escaping the club as soon as it was passably polite to do so, leaving Janice baffled and her own desires very much unfulfilled. She could tell that there was something in the air tonight, something that was making people act less inhibited, but she didn't stop to wonder about it. Why mess with a good thing?
She didn't think much at all, actually. No tower, angry hellgod, probably equally angry older sister or other girl named Bella even crossed her mind. The only things that mattered were right in front of her. All she had to do was reach out, and...
Her heart sped up, as was to be expected, when Edward's mouth brushed her throat. She didn't get the usual sense of safety and protection that normally radiated from Edward. No, the only things coming from him now were danger and excitement. This was an improvement. And playing with fire, in the arms of a vampire who was all but unpredictable, was a new and fun thing she'd have to try out more often.
She smiled in return as his lips almost skimmed her skin, leaning closer, completely closing the distance between their bodies, swaying slowly with the music. She'd seen Edward talking to the singer earlier. Gods, the song was appropriate. She laughed, softly, the sound low in her throat, her fingers moving deftly to rid the shirt of another button.
She moaned quietly as his teeth closed around her lip, the sound escaping before she could stop it - not that she wanted to. She was done with holding back, lying about how she really felt, keeping up appearances. Why bother? Life was short. Danger was more fun.
"You know what they say about nice guys," she said with a throaty laugh as Edward pulled away. She missed having him so close already. And she planned to have him much closer as the night wore on. "Finishing last and all. Where's the fun in that?"
He'd have been lying if he'd said that moan did nothing for him. Edward's face moved into that dark half-smile again.
You know what they say about nice guys.
Another button was gone. Well, he could take it out on her, couldn't he? If he even cared all that much. He could see Dawn figuring out that he'd requested the song. Didn't take a telepath. And he nodded.
He was not a nice guy anymore, so he would not, very decidedly not, be finishing last. He pulled Dawn off the dance floor, past the stage and the band and people dancing, and to the back and side of the club. Back here, band posters and brightly colored flyers covered the walls and most of the floor, too.
"Nice," he hissed, without so much as a glance behind him. He laughed like this was funny. "Is overrated. Where has it ever gotten me?"
One of the two bathroom doors was pushed inward, and Edward shoved Dawn through it and let go of her wrist. Then he leaned on the door and watched her, halfway across the room.
"There's a window behind you," he said, pointing, eyes raising to it. "I can't promise you that if you try to run, I won't chase you. And if I chase you, I think you're done, key or not." He shrugged playfully. "That's all the warning you get."
In his mind, she was already pinned to the stall wall behind her, and he was already lifting up her skirt. There were so many ways to go about this that it was almost daunting.
Almost.
He took a few steps forward, not laying a hand on her, listening to her heart. Edward shut his eyes for a second and he swore the rhythm of it could get him high. Edward sort of wanted to see if he could make her heart stop, either out of fear or excitement.
Taking another few steps, he began backing her into the wall behind her, eyes moving over her appreciateively. Her bra was actually hanging out of her dress? Way to go, Dawn.
Less than a foot away from her, now, he put a hand on either side of Dawn's body, looking down at her like he wanted to eat her or make her scream or make her knees buckle (maybe all three).
"Say when," Edward said, fingers tracing the neckline of the dress and around the red lace sticking out.
"The new and improved Edward Cullen," Dawn murmured under her breath as the vampire pulled her through the crowd. She wasn't talking to him, but she knew he'd hear her anyway. She followed him, unresisting, curious to see where he was taking her and what would happen next. "What'd you do, read a self-help book?"
They slid into the bathroom like two shadows, and even though Edward pushed her a little rougher than necessary, Dawn didn't stumble, just twisted on her ankle-breaking heels and rubbed at her wrists, looking up at him through her lashes, over her half-curled fingers.
"I like it," she finished the thought, pulling her lower lip into her mouth and biting down on it lightly, a pensive look on her face.
She watched him come closer, circle her like prey. She liked this game, it thrilled her. Life was just a series of games, after all, some more dangerous than others, and infinitely more fun for it. And all you had to do was - win.
"Why would I run from you?" she purred, letting him back her into the wall, keeping the smallest breath of space between their bodies. And after a while, there was nowhere else to back into and she pressed her back into the cool tiled wall, the chill on her shoulders making her shiver. "And miss out on all this fun?" Her lips carefully punctuated the last three words.
Too much space.
Edward's fingers moved over the decolletage of her dress and she slid her arm around his shoulders, gently tugging him closer, her hand closing around the back of his neck. There was a different look in his eyes tonight. Maybe he'd finally grown up a little. Maybe they both would.
"When."
He'd heard the snide comments about the self-help book, and Edward, in his current state, could really give far less than a damn about what Dawn did and did not like.
He knew what he wanted and what he liked. After spending so much time caring what other people thought and controlling himself, he found himself unable to do either.
It was unbelieveable.
Edward didn't smile, although his eyes glinted. He could still hear the music from outside through the door. The belt around Dawn's waist was undone quickly, and the zipper on the side of her dress slid downward with that bzzz noise only zippers make.
He ran his hand from Dawn's chest, where it had been, playing with red lace, up over her neck, and back down over her collar bone. That dress had to come off. Or at least... get out of the way.
Edward started slowly pushing the fabric off her shoulders. And leaned forward, brushing his lips teasingly over hers and moving back.
Now he was smiling.
The last strains of the song drifted in, followed by cheers and excited screams - oh, you were a vampire, and I may never see the light - but that was all background noise to Dawn. Who needed the light, anyway? There was another song she remembered - girls that glitter love the dark - and from now on, she wasn't just going to glitter. She was going to fucking shine.
God, why had it taken them so long to get here? They'd had so many opportunities. The hotel room, for one, would've been a lot more comfortable... well, better late than never, she supposed, and it would make for a good story in the end. She was just glad they'd stopped dancing around the obvious.
She heard her belt hit the floor, and the hard hiss of the zipper at her side as it was pulled down, but she kept her eyes on Edward's face, watching the subtle change in expression, the dark glow in his eyes that just suited him so damn well. Her breath came a little faster as Edward's hands slid over her body, cold against her skin. Good. She felt like there was a fire inside of her, blue-green flames crackling like lightning. Not that she wanted to put out that fire - she liked it. Maybe dampen it down a little, for the moment.
She tilted her head, raising her shoulder, allowing the silky fabric to slip down, exposing more of the red lace and the pale skin of her chest. He had the right idea, she decided, clothes were too confining for the moment.
Oh, to hell with this.
Her hands grabbed his shirt and pulled viciously, scattering buttons everywhere, reaching, skimming his cold body, fluttering down his chest and up his sides before wrapping around his neck and pulling him in for a hard, bruising kiss.
What Dawn felt like fire, Edward felt under Dawn's skin as racing blood. Racing blood, to a vampire with no self control...
He shut his eyes and swore, but the smile stayed right where it was. If he lost all composure and drank her dry, what was the loss to him?
And her breathing changed... this was like pouring a bucket of blood into the water to attract a shark. Edward couldn't decide, for a second, if he'd rather drink Dawn until she died or touch her until she screamed his name. It was, momentarily, a very tough call.
But, as they say, when choosing between two evils, choose the one you've never done.
Dawn ripped his shirt open and Edward chuckled, laugh almost musical, her hands sliding down his body. He bit his lip, watching her face, watching the want build up even more. He already knew it was there. This was like watching a pot boil over. It was fucking great.
Dawn wanted a hard kiss, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Not shocked, not blinking, not even thinking about anything other than right then, Edward kissed her back, mouth opening and pushing at hers with what was probably too much ferocity, being that Dawn wasn't a vampire too.
He pushed her dress down to her waist as he kissed her, intentionally slowing down the pace, and pushing his full weight against Dawn, sliding the dress down off of her torso. There was skin here, warm skin, and he wanted to feel it against his.
The dress had to go. But his shirt was going first. Without pulling back from Dawn's mouth, Edward shrugged off his shirt and tossed it in the general direction of the sink. He pulled back, biting at her lower lip as he did, and looked Dawn levelly in the eyes, that dark smile back.
"I can shred that," he said, softly, one hand sliding up behind Dawn's back and almost too deftly sliding the hooks of the bra apart, "or you can get it off you. There's no third choice."
His eyes lowered to the dress around her waist and went back up to Dawn's face. An eyebrow rose, as if asking her to choose.
Making a low clicking sound with her tongue, Dawn then licked her lip, reddening and swelling from Edward's forceful kiss. "That'd be a shame," she murmured, eyes flickering down to admire the lace against her skin, then back up to Edward's face. "I thought you liked me in red."
Another song keyed up in the background, a ballad with an edge. The singer, a smile in her voice, said something about it being 'for the pretty pale boy with a way for words - and kisses'. Johnette's sultry voice was breathier this time around, more girlish.
take me down, six underground, the ground beneath your feet
laid out low, nothing to go, nowhere a way to meet...
Still watching Edward through lowered lashes, Dawn reached for the red strap on her shoulder and slowly, delicately slid it off. Catching her lip lightly with her teeth, her face, the big blue eyes the picture of innocence, she did the same with the other side. Lifting the scrap of red lace away from her body with one finger, she let it swing for a moment before tossing it in the direction of Edward's discarded shirt.
Unabashedly, she reached forward to slide her hands over his chest, his stomach, wanting to cover every inch of that perfect, pale cold skin. Where had he been all of her life. "Sunnydale was so boring before you came," she breathed, a half-smile on her bitten lips before leaning to skim his collarbone with her mouth.
He let that one go. If pressed, Edward might've answered that he preferred her naked, and what made her think he liked her at all? But it didn't matter enough right now for there to be words about it.
for the pretty pale boy with a way for words - and kisses...
Edward's eyebrow danced and fell, and he grinned. Having a fan club was nice.
Nicer? Watching a teenage girl that looked like Dawn slowly remove articles of clothing while looking at him like she wanted to swallow him from the mouth down.
Sunnydale was boring? Dawn should try Forks, he thought. "Was it."
Those hands kept moving over him, and her mouth touched his collarbone, and Edward didn't make a sound, didn't move. He wasn't even breathing. He stepped back for a second, sliding the dress that had stopped at Dawn's waist down over her hips and down her legs. She'd step out of it. And it was a shame that he couldn't rip it off of her, but he didn't feature getting her out of her, assuming she was alive and able to walk when he was done with her, and having to explain her lack of clothing. To move the dress, Edward moved, sliding down Dawn's body with the fabric.
Eyes lowered, face for a second taking its normal innocent cast, Edward, almost on his knees in front of Dawn, slid his hands up to her waist and held her on either side. When he looked up at her, that innocence vanished like it had never been there at all.
He brushed his lips over her stomach, teasingly slow, moving upward with each touch that wasn't quite a kiss because he didn't want it to be a kiss. Trailing his lower lip across Dawn's abdomen, feeling the muscles under her skin jump, Edward got back to his feet.
"What," he said, voice soft and rough, all at the same time, "did you do for fun before me? Shatter windows and bleed?"
Half a smile slid over his face, and Edward dropped his eyes from hers, hands sliding upward over her chest, feeling her heart hammer beneath them. This was like a drug.
He lowered his head quickly, gracefully, and ran his mouth along the side of Dawn's bare right breast, over and over. Edward looked up at her, smirking. "Now that you're dead," he whispered, lower lip grazing her nipple, "what are you gonna do with your life?"
Carefully, not gently but not enough to hurt, and not enough to draw blood or bring venom, he bit down.
"Was it."
Dawn hummed an affirmative, her half-lidded eyes watching Edward slide down her body, admiring the way the muscles shifted under his skin. She had no sentimental delusions about being 'glad he was her first', or 'waiting', or any of that kind of crap. She was just glad he'd shown up at all. The general Sunnydale public didn't seem quite up to par.
She delicately stepped out of her dress and kicked it aside, still wearing the four-inch black pumps. Her feet didn't hurt. Nothing hurt, not even the shallow cuts on her stomach and arm. Everything sort of - buzzed pleasantly. The blood rushed to her head, coloring her cheeks, and she had a very peculiar, pleasant sensation of both floating away and being very, very aware of her surroundings.
The muscles in her stomach clenched involuntarily as Edward's mouth moved across them, and the blood rushed from her head to her body, flooded her limbs and flowed lower, to her belly. Her hands trailed over his shoulders, cupping the back of his neck, her fingers toying with the slightly dishevelled hair at the nape.
overground, watch this space
i'm open - to falling from grace...
"Lightbulbs," she whispered, watching him rise, her eyes following the graceful line of his body. Gods, she wanted it, and she could have it, it was hers. Her mind flooded with the heady intoxication of that knowledge. "And glasses. But nobody made me bleed before."
Yes, very smart - discussing blood with a chip-less vampire. But Dawn was tired of being smart. Careful. Considerate. There were better things, and one of them was standing in front of her, looking at her like he was the big bad wolf and she was the little girl who seemed to have lost her red hood.
"Guess that makes you special."
But any answer that she might've had to his next question was lost when his teeth closed around her breast. Her fingers fisted in his hair and she let her head fall back, hitting the rough wall, and moaned, soft and low. Her body arched into him, the nails of one hand scrabbling against his shoulder, leaving faint marks, urging him on.
Calm me down, bring it round
Too way high off your street
I can see like nothing else
In me you're better than I wannabe ...
"Nobody," he repeated, after she said it. Both eyebrows raised. A hand found the small of Dawn's back and started a slow progression from there upward, aiming to make sensation dance up and down her back, to make the hair stand up...
Nobody made her bleed. That was a crime. Guess that makes you special.
"It makes me," Edward said, releasing her from his teeth long enough to speak, "want to do it again."
The bite turned to something gentle, almost a kiss, soft, and both hands moved slowly over the wounds Glory had left. They weren't going to bleed unless there was a blade involved. Pity. Edward took a deep breath, mouth moving up toward her throat now, moving over places where he could kill her with a very small, very quick snap of the jaw. He always forgot how the statistics went, but a bite to the jugular bled you out in minutes.
Tempting.
Then there was the rise and fall of her breasts against his chest, and the pounding of her heart... And my GOD, how had he not done this before?!
Don't think 'cos I understand,
I care, don't think 'cos I'm talking we're friends...
He bit his lip, pressing her against the wall behind her with his body, and smiled. He was betting Dawn knew he'd just thought about killing her. He was also betting that she wasn't dead below the waist and she could tell what the thoughts had done for him. Without another word, Edward slid his right hand between them, down Dawn's body, and between her legs. He wouldn't be able to tease her for long without exploding, but that wasn't going to stop it from happening.
He bit her earlobe, far too gently for the thoughts going through his head, and undid the button on his jeans.
Her own lip caught between her teeth, before any more noises escaped her throat, Dawn swallowed, hard. Slowly, she opened her eyes, raising her head until she was looking down at him again. He looked so good with her, it was a crime this didn't happen earlier.
"But aren't there so many other things you'd rather try first?"
Tilting her head to the side slightly, she smiled crookedly at him, her cheeks flushed, dark curls falling over her shoulders. A sharp breath hissed through her teeth as Edward's hands moved over the cuts. It hurt, but not enough. It just fueled the fire.
talk me down, safe and sound, too strung-up to sleep
wear me out, scream and shout, swear my time's never cheap
i faked my life like i've lived too much
i take whatever you're given, not enough...
His mouth traveled upwards, leaving a trail of cold almost-kisses, tiny chills, across her skin. She dug her nails into his shoulders, pulling him closer, wanting to close every millimeter, every tiny sliver of space between them. She could feel the rough texture of the wall against her back - rough. It felt good. Between a rock and a hard place. She laughed softly, swiveling her hips in tiny circles to the faint strains of the song.
overground, watch this space
i'm open-
Oh, to hell with it all.
She could barely keep the few coherent thoughts she had left together, but she managed to release his shoulders and slide her hands down his body, watching her nails trace faint red marks over his skin. They faded quickly. She'd leave a more permanent mark before the night was over. Her hands slid over his wrists, over his own hands, and took over from there. Another familiar 'zzzt' sound and Dawn was pushing Edward's jeans off of his hips carefully.
"'Cause I," she purred, her breath nearly catching in her throat, "can think of a few."
But aren't there so many other things you'd rather try first?
The smile, which had been dark all night, became downright cruel. Edward practically purred in her ear, the purr of something capable of decimation, something with power behind it. "Why do you think," he said, tone very sweet, almost sing-song, "you're still alive?"
The smiled faded to half and he winked at her. Dawn was safe as long as... well, as long as Edward could think of things to do to her or with her that didn't involve the not-fun type of pain.
For now. Safe as houses.
Dawn's hands slide past his wrists and moved the fabric of his jeans. It was almost laughable, the way both of them were dressed in here. That was a lot of the point though, wasn't it? The irony of it? Being entirely naked in the bathroom of the Bronze wasn't exactly a worry for Edward, somehow, though normally the thought might be enough to scare him into blushing.
Now, though, he just stepped out of his clothes, like shedding his skin. His fingers stopped moving between Dawn's legs. The little catch to her breath was all the invitation he was going to need, and all the chance Dawn was ever going to get to back out of this.
Cause I can think of a few.
She didn't. Good for her. What happened next was very quick, and almost all at once. Edward got both of them out of the remaining articles of clothing in the way (black boxers and red lace underwear, to be exact... which almost got ripped off of Dawn and was saved only because Edward did, indeed, like her in red). Then, swiftly and with far too much ease, he moved a hand under Dawn's knee, lifting it up.
"I've got more than a few," he said.
With a slight smile on his face and eyes that had pulled focus on Dawn's mouth, Edward slid himself where his hand had been moments before, slowly, so slowly, and with a movement of his hips, got himself as deep in as he could go. Edward's eyes shut and he gasped, a ragged sound, before smiling again.
...to falling from grace.
Outside the bathroom door, a crowd applauded.
Dawn's sharp cry was swallowed by the sound of the crowd outside, cheering and whistling. She bit down on her lip, hard, her eyes closing and her head falling back against the wall. She half-hoped that nobody would come into the bathroom between songs - they hadn't even bothered hiding in a stall - but didn't much care, considering they certainly weren't the first and they wouldn't be the last.
Her nails would've drawn blood on anyone who was human, but they hardly left a mark on Edward's skin. She gripped his waist just above his hips, one slim leg wrapped around his hip, allowing him better reach. Her breath came fast, her curls falling over her shoulders, and there was a faint sheen of sweat in the hollow between her breasts.
Slowly, she opened her eyes, and smiled when she saw the look on Edward's face.
"Good," she breathed, lifting her head. She wasn't a sentimental girl. She had been - but not anymore. Sure, there was pain, but mostly, relief that that was now over with and they could get to the fun stuff. She knew what she wanted and how to get it, and she wasn't shy about letting him know it.
Slowly moving her hips in tiny circles to get used to the new feeling, she slid her hands up Edward's chest, nails grazing his nipples lightly before wrapping her arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer with her hands and her raised knee. She kissed the corner of his mouth lightly, then the edge of his jaw, and pulled away, her lips parted, a wild, animal look in her blue eyes.
"Show me."
Oh, that was pain. Edward knew that look. He'd seen it enough. Ten years feeding on humans, you saw that look.
Pain was beautiful. And this? This was pain he'd caused that was going to give over to something else entirely. But he saw that pain move behind Dawn's eyes. If it were possible to push deeper inside her because of it, he would have. But there was nowhere left to go.
Dawn dropped her head back and he watched the big pulse in her neck dance. Edward had to shut his eyes for a second so he could not kill her right there. It. Was. So. Tempting.
Nails scratched his skin and Edward's smile stayed where it was. He blinked down at Dawn. Good? Was she kidding?
The way her hips moved... no, no she wasn't kidding. The vampire laughed. And he bit his lower lip for a minute as she scratched over the sensitive skin of his nipples. Dawn pulled him closer, and he wanted to laugh again, but somehow, Edward was impressed.
Incredibly.
Show me.
Edward leaned his face toward hers, catching her mouth in a rough kiss that Dawn was getting just for saying the last thing that'd come out of her mouth. He would've taken what he wanted by force. He bet she knew that. This was like free reign. For free reign, there could be kisses--but they'd probably hurt like hell in the morning.
He pushed Dawn upward slightly, getting a better grip on her and a better angle at which to move, and began to move his entire body against hers, the pace of it almost painfully slow and the motions entirely teasing. He'd move himself entirely out of her, then ease back inside. But the slow pace was torture for him, too, and that wasn't the point of the exercise.
"I knew," Edward breathed, moving a little bit faster, "I had a thing for you for a reason."
A hand tangled in her hair and pulled slightly, just enough to sting.
She had to admit, this was miles better than groping with some sweaty teenager in his mom's basement, even though the rough wall of the Bronze bathroom scraped against her back and her thighs ached. Edward's skin was smooth and cold, his hands strong, holding her up, leaving another set of fingerprint bruises for her to find in the morning. When his mouth touched hers, she kissed him back hungrily, as if she wanted to crawl inside of him. Her tongue flickered at his lip, and then she bit it, none too gently. It wasn't like she could make him bleed.
For some reason, the idea of being that vulnerable really turned her on.
Another song cued up outside, and Dawn recognized it as a Depeche Mode cover. She didn't know who the band was, not really, and why they'd be doing the cover, but she didn't really care. She was kind of preoccupied at the moment.
in your room, where time stands still
or moves at your will
will you let the morning come soon?
She let Edward lift her, bracing herself against him with her leg, still taking time to adjust to his... presence. Slowly, the sharp pain dissipated, leaving behind a faint ache and a pressure that made her muscles melt and knees buckle. Still, she was lucky he was moving slowly - let things build. That's right. His hand fisted in her hair and she let him pull her head back, exposing her throat, and laughed.
or will you leave me lying here, in your favorite darkness
your favorite half-light, your favorite consciousness
your favorite slave...
She leaned forward again, kissing him softly, her lips deceptively gentle. Her nails were practically sunk into his back - not that he'd feel it. Smiling to herself, her eyes glittering with a sort of inner fire that never showed in her, she bit down gently on the curve of muscle where Edward's neck met his shoulder.
Edward grabbed Dawn's leg, the one that held her weight, and lifted. He could bench press a bus--a girl who weighed a buck-oh-something wasn't a challenge. He guided it around his waist and lifted her up, wrapped around him, pushing her against the wall, crushing her there between him and it. This wouldn't last long. The scenery would have to change.
A tingle started at the base of his spine, a tingle that had nothing whatsoever to do with the way Dawn was touching him. It was familiar, and his eyebrows furrowed for a second before Edward smirked.
... crawl inside... bleed... Dawn bit his lip. ...vulnerable, Oh my God, that's hot...
Edward smiled up at her. The way they were now, he held her up, and with every thrust of his hips or Dawn's, she moved up, back sliding against the stall wall. "I really," he whispered, ducking his head and running his lips across Dawn's ear, "got all the way inside, didn't I?"
He laughed, and the laugh wasn't that pleasant. It was nothing short of predatory. Dawn laughed, her throat pale and exposed to him, and Edward almost came just looking at her neck. All his self-control really was gone.
Soft lips pushed at his and Edward closed his eyes. He could feel Dawn's nails, actually--he just didn't mind them. Dawn's mouth grazed his neck and Edward moaned, unable to censor the sound.
She bit down.
Edward's eyes snapped open and he pushed at Dawn, at the shoulder, forcing the tops of their bodies apart, forcing her back to look at her, eyes wild and hungry for something that had nothing to do with them being quite literally joined at the hip.
He 'tsked' Dawn, and shook his head. "Don't start something you can't finish," Edward warned. He pulled her back, roughly, lifting her away from the wall and carrying her, turning and sitting her on the sink to their left. Everything he said was punctuated with hard, achingly slow thrusts.
"If you do that." Thrust. "I'll have to do it, too." Thrust. Edward leaned back from her a little, a hand running down the front of Dawn's body, fingers squeezing a nipple gently and then harder. "And then." Thrust. He raised his head, smirking, and tucked it into her neck, running his lips along her skin. "I'll have to kill you." Thrust. He raised his head. There was a slight scar on her neck, where he'd bitten her before. He pulled the hair back from Dawn's neck to look at it.
"I'd rather make you shake," he said, eyes narrowing. Thrust. "Blood loss can come later." Hands ran down her thighs and back up to her waist.
And Edward stepped back. Stepped away from Dawn. He thought he might explode. But he did it. And he tilted his head at her, watching her where he'd sat her. A dark smile spread over his mouth.
"Get up," he said, eyebrow raising, "turn around, lean forward, put your hands on the sink."
There was nothing playful about the tone.
It wasn't difficult, really, holding on to Edward as he lifted her off of the ground completely. Between a rock and a hard place. And he could lift things seven times her size, at least. So she wrapped her legs around Edward's hips, dug her fingers into his back and clung to him, concentrating on feeling every little detail that she could.
If she'd cared to really look at Edward, size up the look in his eyes and his laugh, she probably would've realized that he could hear her thoughts, that the barriers on her mind slipped not only when she was upset, but at other times. She didn't give a shit if Edward could read her mind. If there was anything she wanted him to know, she'd let him know. She wasn't shy about communicating her thoughts.
But she didn't notice anything to begin with, so it wasn't a concern.
in your room
where souls disappear
only you exist here...
Edward pushed her away, her mouth leaving a streak of red from her gloss on his perfect skin. Seeing the look in his eyes, she laughed softly, throwing back her head, her hips grinding down on his in small circles.
"I'm not worried about finishing," she breathed, in between soft laughter. "You shouldn't be either."
As he moved them, Dawn bit her lip, her eyes falling closed. The rough wall at her back was gone, replaced by the cold porcelain of the sink and a faucet in the small of her back. She didn't care. Her thighs moved with his hips, and at every thrust, a small, quiet gasp escaped her lips. A low moan built a the back of her throat, the ache between her thighs melding with a sinking, burning pleasure.
She let him push back her hair, run his hands over her body. Her own hands slid over his shoulders, down his sides and up his chest, where her palms rested, feeling the place where his heart would beat. "Mmm," she sighed, drawing her lip into her mouth. The promise of blood loss didn't faze her. She'd survive the night. She always did.
i'm hanging on your words
living on your breath
feeling with your skin...
... will i always be here?
Edward stepped away and her eyelids fluttered open. Her mouth formed into something not quite as pronounced as a full pout, but it clearly signified her displeasure. At his words, she slid off of the sink, her body moving sinuously, and slowly turned, completely unashamed of being naked and wanton. Her blue eyes kept a hold on his even as her fingers found purchase on the sink, now warmed by her body. Half-lidded, bedroom eyes.
Looking back at him, she slowly leaned forward, catching the corner of her lip between her teeth.
She was almost pouting at him. That was funny. Realy, really funny. Irony was so much fun. Especially in Sunnydale. Especially right now.
Nothing clicked in the back of Edward's mind. He didn't see anything wrong with what was happening. He saw a girl he'd been attracted to, a girl he'd just now been fucking, a girl he was going to continue to touch and push and use until one of them broke.
She'd listened though. Edward could still hear the thoughts in Dawn's head. Not listening, when she was this full of want, was just not an option.
He closed the small distance between them, three feet maybe. Hands slid around her waist, and pressure in the small of her back, Edward's weight against her, would make her lean forward further. His hands rose, slowly, and one cupped each breast, sliding over smooth skin, before his right hand tangled in her hair and raised her head.
Edward saw himself reflected in the mirror, behind Dawn's shoulder. He saw his face--and hers-- as he slid back inside of her, and he gasped again, nudging her head to the side with his nose and mouth. Cold breath escaped into her ear.
He started moving again, eyes closing, and pulled Dawn back onto him by the hips.
"How," he breathed, "does it feel?"
The question wasn't meant to be nice. Edward really wanted to know, just then, and not in a touchy-feely sort of way. He wanted to hear her tell him since he already knew the answer. He wanted to see if she'd lie.
Dawn's lies always tasted the best.
Dawn's breath hissed through her clenched teeth, and she cried out as Edward pulled her back to him. She still ached, but her body was missing his, pushing past the pain to move on to the pleasure. And having him back inside of her, touching her, was exactly what she wanted. Besides, it was better with that little tinge of pain, that dangerous sharpness.
She moaned, not trying to keep quiet. It was loud enough outside, in the club, with the music and the noise of the crowd - why bother? She was done with keeping things inside.
She met his eyes in the mirror as he moved inside of her, hips pushing back at him gently, although she was content to let him manipulate her body for now. In this position, there was only so much she could do. That, admittedly, was also pretty fucking hot.
Her breath was ragged, in time with his thrusts, and she raised one of her hands to brace herself against the wall. Her fingers splayed next to the mirror, and she continued watching Edward's face after he closed his eyes, nibbling on her lip. It was just so intimate, of the sort where nothing could be hidden, and that was also a turn-on.
She laughed softly at his question. "It'd be better," she breathed, licking her lips, "if you did this." Reaching for his fingers on her hip, she covered it with her own small hand and slid their hands over her hip, towards the front. He didn't think she, a virgin, was going to get off that easily, did he?