Devil Incarnate Chapter One

 3 months prior

Though the muscles in her legs burned, she continued to run. If she pushed herself that much further, she might be okay. Even a slight chance was better than nothing. Behind her, a twig snapped and sent her heart to her throat. In its holster, the weight of her gun mocked her. With him closing in on her, she'd never have time to stop and get off a shot.

Run, Bella, her mind screamed. Keep going. Don't stop.

Pulse scrambling, she kicked her speed up a notch, digging deep for what strength she had left inside her. She heard him gain the advantage, realizing he was directly behind her, and tried to dodge what she knew came next. There was no use; he was faster and always had been. Longer legs and larger muscles. Still, she pumped her arms and sucked in oxygen, trying to get away. 

When he tackled her, it sent them both spiraling to the ground. At the last second, he cushioned her head and pinned her beneath him. 

"I win." Leaning down, Edward kissed her nose. "Again."

She huffed. "Not fair."

But when he lowered his body until they were flush from hips to shoulders, she forgot the indignity of losing. Pressing her into the grass, he closed his mouth over hers and shared his triumph. 

"Losing suddenly stings less," she mumbled against his lips. 

He pulled back and grinned. "You were faster today."

"But I didn't take the chance to shoot the target." Sliding her fingers into his hair, she said, "I panicked because you caught up to me, as always."

"You can't take the time to stop and think about it. That type of maneuver has to be instinctual."

Instead of responding, Bella tugged his head forward until he kissed her. Her body filled with a different kind of warmth when his tongue found hers. 

But then he levered himself up and held a hand down. "We should get back to the house."

Squinting, she accepted his hand and let him help her up. "Or, you should take advantage of the fact that we're alone."

"You call security guards and cameras everywhere alone?"

In answer, she leaned on the nearest tree and licked her lips before biting the lower one. 

The light in his eyes changed; he stalked her as his prey. "This is what you want?"

Her breath catching, she nodded. 

"To have me take you in the woods while that camera over there records it?"

Exhaling her captured breath, she nodded again and flexed her fingers. 

Edward stepped closer. "You want me to have you against this tree?"

At his proximity, she had to squeeze her legs together. Already, she felt the slickness growing between her thighs. "Yes."

Close enough to touch, he skimmed his nose up the side of her throat. "Gonna fuck you dirty enough to make the devil blush," he whispered in her ear. 

A whimper escaped her throat. How long had it been since they'd done anything crazy? 

With one hand gripping her shoulder, Edward turned her to face the tree. She braced her hands on the bark, felt the scrape on her palms. Roughly, he jerked her yoga pants down far enough to reach around and thrust two fingers into her sopping wet pussy.

"Oh!" she cried. 

Biting her shoulder, he used his free hand to force her head to the side. With her flesh exposed, Edward bit up the side of her neck until he sank his teeth into her earlobe. His ruthless pinch to her clit caused her to cry out, her legs trembling as she neared her release. 

Just when she thought she would come, he removed his fingers. With a wailing moan, she dropped her forehead to the tree. 

Before she could register his movement, his cock bounced against her ass. 

"Yes," she groaned. Her clit throbbed, her pussy clenching in expectation. 

Edward wedged her body between his and the tree, using his forearm to hold her head in place. Bark scratched her shirt, but she didn't even notice. At first, his touch was feather light on her ass, so when he slapped her hard enough for the sound to echo through the woods, she couldn't help but shout.

"Dirty girls get spanked, don't they?" he growled in her ear.

"Yes," she panted. Half of her wanted him to do it again while the other half wished he'd fuck her already. 

The first half won; the pain of his palm turning her ass red pulsed into pleasure. 

"Fuck!" she screamed on the third strike. 

She felt the head of Edward’s cock running over her hot skin, leaving a trail of pre-cum. The whine in her throat died when he slid it between her thighs, coating his shaft in her wetness. Without warning, he gripped her hip and slammed all the way in, grinding his pelvis on her ass. 

“Damn,” he sighed. “So hot and ready.”

“Fuck me, fuck me now.”

Though she could scarcely move, the way he pounded into her had her screaming into an orgasm before she took her next breath. Rising on her toes was the only way to keep her cheek off the bruising force of the trunk; Edward did not move gently. Finally, he released her head to sink his fingers into her waist, pulling her back into an arch. Struggling to breathe, she felt the telltale signs of a second orgasm flowing through her extremities. 

“Oh god.” She squeezed her eyes closed and tried to hold on for the ride.

“I feel it, Bella. So close to milking this cock again.”

She pushed against the tree to meet his brutal thrusts. Stars burst behind her eyelids as the quaking in her legs intensified, and she called his name over and over until the remaining birds fled the forest. His movements rough and choppy, Edward pumped into her again and again. He filled her until she overflowed, then pulled out and filled her again. The sound of skin meeting skin and the scent of resin overwhelmed her senses, surrounding her and scattering her thoughts. Gathering her hair, he yanked until she was left staring at the canopy of pine needles, and then he smacked her ass again. Every muscle in her body sang with the force of his nature, with the overwhelming satisfaction of carnal fucking.

If she thought he was out of surprises, she’d underestimated him. Edward pulled out at the last second, one hand on his cock and the other shoving her until she kneeled in front of him. Three pumps later, thick ropes of cum covered her throat and chest.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

Weak limbed and sweating, she’d never been happier with her decision to provoke her husband.

“And how the fuck do we explain our state of dishevelment to the kids?”

Laughing so hard her sides hurt, Bella slumped over to the grass. “Hell if I know.”

Plopping down beside her, Edward breathed like he’d just completed the Ironman Triathlon. "Think we can sneak back to the basement unseen?"

Suddenly, Bella remembered the cameras and her cheeks flamed. "Oh, God, the security feed!"

"They would never watch us; you know that, don't you?"

He was probably right, but she'd forgotten all about it in the frenzy of the moment. Their guards were more discreet than that, but the idea they could have caught even a tiny portion of the show made embarrassment flood through her.

“Ugh, and now we’re disgusting.”

“There’s always the lake.”

Though she laughed, the idea had plenty of merit. “Coming back wet from an impromptu swim is better than you waltzing in with your dick swinging out of your jogging shorts.”

“Hey, I’d put it away first.”

Her giggle turned into a snort. “There’s no alternative. I can’t explain this”—she waved at her upper half—“to a houseful of people.”

His expression suggested he was rather proud of his achievement. “I guarantee most of them would understand.”

Looking down at the crusty white lines on her skin, she shook her head. “Let’s take a swim.”

They raced there, but Edward won, of course. Neither of them hesitated to jump in fully clothed; they almost never swam in the lake, but at least the water was balmy. 

From the shore, one of their cell phones began to ring.

“Do you think I should get that?” Bella asked, sluicing water over her still-heated skin.

“We’ll check it when we get out.”

For once, Edward was the more relaxed of the two. She supposed a hot bout of outdoor sex would do that to a man.

Another peal of sound came from the grass, and Bella frowned. “If it was important, someone would come find us, right?”

Edward tilted his head as the sound stopped. “You have a point, so let’s ignore it.”

Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her tenderly. 

“I miss you lately,” she admitted.

“I know.” Tightening his arms, he said, “I’ve missed you too.”

Changing their daily business dealings didn't mean there weren't still chaotic weeks at work. Some days, they barely ate a meal together. They spent their days in the same building most of the time, but he'd been busy at the plant for more than a week.

When the phone rang again, Edward swam for the edge, Bella directly behind him. 

Dripping water landed next to the phone as he reached for it. Frowning, he said, "That's not right."

"What isn't?"

Holding up her phone, he said, "It's yours, and the caller ID says Forks PD."

Just the name of that place sent a shudder of revulsion across her back. "Why would anyone there call me?"

He handed the phone to her. "Maybe it's Charlie."

“I hope not.” Pressing the phone to her ear, she listened to the voicemail. When her jaw dropped open, Edward’s brows raised.

“Well?”

“Charlie is dead.”

“Damn.”

“That was his deputy chief. They want to know if we’re coming to the funeral.”

Edward offered his hand, and when Bella took it, he began to walk toward the house. “Is that what you want?”

Blowing out a breath, she shook her head. “I don't know.”

“Maybe we need a family meeting.”

The kids. She’d have to tell them he was dead, even though they'd never met him. And her mother needed to know. “You’re right.”

They used the basement to shower and change, then found Tyler in the kitchen. 

“Please hold dinner for about half an hour,” Edward asked.

“Sure. Everything okay?”

“I’ll let you know.”

By the time they reached the dining room, the kids were there. Bella had sent them texts from the basement, the easiest way to reach them anymore.

“What’s up?” Caitriona, the youngest, asked.

“We have some news, but we need to wait for Grandma Renee.”

Quinn, who’d grown up to be the second most handsome man Bella had ever known, kissed her on the side of the head. Taking her hand, he said, “Whatever it is, we’ll fix it, Mom.”

“I know.” She patted his hand. He was more sensitive to her needs than the other children, perhaps because he was more mature. She rarely had to ask for something because Quinn anticipated what she’d need beforehand.

“Mom, is it serious?” Maeve asked. “I have to get back to school next week.”

At nineteen, Maeve was enrolled at the University of Washington. Bella worried she was about to disrupt the upcoming fall semester of school for the girls.

Renee came into the room before Bella could answer. She and Afton were at the house for the summer, though Afton left occasionally for work. He wasn't there for the meeting, but Renee would most likely end up calling him.

“I got a call about thirty minutes ago from the Forks police department.” Everyone looked at her expectantly, and she took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “My father died, and they want us to come to the funeral.”

“But we've never met him,” Caitriona said.

“I know.” Though she spoke to her daughter, she watched her mother’s face.

“Why would we go?” Renee asked. “We have no ties to him or the community anymore.”

“Out of respect, I suppose. I thought we could take a vote.”

“I think we should go,” Quinn said quietly. “Even though he disowned us, it’s a bit of closure.”

“I don't want to miss the first day of school,” Caitriona said. “I’d be so far behind if I did.”

Edward spoke up. “Maybe your mother and grandmother and I can go, and the three of you can stay.”

“Dad,” Maeve said. “We can take care of ourselves."

He sighed. “I know, Maeve. We’ll have to see what day the funeral is and how long we’d be gone. Maybe we can just take one day out of our lives and then move on.”

"How do you feel about it, Mom?"

Renee stared at a spot over Bella’s head. "I don't want to go, but I'll stay here with the kids if you'd like to attend."

Bella looked at Edward. At his slight nod, she turned back to the family. "Okay. I'll call them back and get the date, then we can hash out the plan."

If she went, she'd have to rearrange the schedule at the bookstore. A million thoughts went through her head as Tyler served dinner. 

"Hey."

Bella glanced up at Edward, finding him watching her. 

"I'll be by your side the entire time. I'd never let anything happen to you."

Smiling, she leaned over for a kiss. "Thank you for calming my nerves."

They would figure it out, the way they always had. It would be fine.