Mixing Sociopaths
by Detective Simms
Title: Mixing Sociopaths
Author: Detective Simms
Email: [email protected]
Web Site: http://glitterkitty.net/cloudy/fulldark
Date: September 29, 2002
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Anita/Edward
Summary: A morning-after story where Anita wakes up in Edward's arms.

I was pulled back into the land of the living snuggled against something warm and breathing. I am never my best at eight-o-clock in the morning, so it wasn't a concern to me at the time to find out what, or rather who, I was snuggled against. I rolled my head a bit, and found that what I'd thought was a pillow under me was actually an arm. A human, male arm; whaddya know? I say human because I didn't feel any power coming from the body against mine, so that ruled out lycanthrope, and the body was breathing at eight in the morning, so that excluded vampires. I yawned a bit and pulled the man's other arm around me, and it tightened its grip on my stomach.

It was only then that something clicked inside my drowsy mind and I realized: I don't know any human males who I'd wake up with. The second thing that clicked with me was that I could feel the full length of the guy's body against mine clearly; neither of us were wearing any clothes.

I shot up like a rocket, coming to my knees away from my rather surprised bedmate. Well, that was just fine with me; I was feeling a bit surprised myself, at how my morning was starting off. I clutched the sheet to my chest and turned to face my apparent mystery lover... And my jaw promptly fell to the floor.

Edward was halfway sitting up, one arm propped under him for support, the blanket pooled in his lap. He had one eyebrow arched as he watched me, an blankly questioning look on his face. Before he could speak, the night previous came rushing back to me with the force of a train wreck.
* * * *
"Son of a mother fucking bitch," I muttered darkly, gripping my wadded up shirt in both hands as I looked down at the ruin of my abdomen. It was sliced open from nearly one side of my rib cage to the other, just above my navel. Though it wasn't deep enough to threaten spilling my guts on the floor, it did hurt like all fiery hell. Made me testy.

I had gone to a pack lupanar as Bolverk to solve some inner disputes. Seems one of those that followed Jacob's point of view was causing a stir. I'd wanted to shoot the guy right off, after hearing that he was threatening those who remained loyal to Richard, but who weren't dominant enough to effectively defend their stand. Richard had persuaded me not to kill the traitor, though I suppose 'persuade' isn't the right term. More like threatened me if I disobeyed his specific orders to not attack the guy.

I was biding my time, and arguing out my point with Richard when the guy tackled me from behind. We rolled on the ground, people either hastily moving out of our way or trying to tear us apart. The guy's hands had elongated into razor-like claws. He was about to go for my heart when Richard ripped him away from me. He managed to get in a glancing blow, slicing my stomach up but not effectively delivering a fatal blow.

Things had degenerated from there. Richard finally had the guy drugged and bound in chains, and ordered me out of there after getting assurance from a lycanthrope doctor on the scene that I'd live. I promised Richard I'd drive straight to the hospital, and he promised that he'd deal with my attacker. Both of our promises were fairly shaky. He would deal with the werewolf, just not in the way I wanted him to. My way of dealing with people was usually quite competent, and very final.

My gun drawn and temporary bandages on, I'd headed out of the clearing and the woods and back to my Jeep... To find Edward leaning against the driver's side door, hands up and empty. When he saw my bloody shirt and the telltale lump of bandages underneath, he merely commented on my choice of companions and offered to drive.

I acquiesced, not really caring where I went; I think the blood loss was starting to get to me. At least there wasn't the worry of turning furry monthly: the vampire marks prevented that, I'd discovered. I climbed into the passenger side and let Edward drive us back to the hotel he was staying at, since it was apparently closer than my house. Heading up to his room on the third floor, I got to lean against the elevator wall and focus on breathing without pain. It wasn't an easy task, and it was taking most of my concentration. Upon reaching his room, we get to where I was now.

I was sitting in a chair next to the bed, only wearing my bra from the waist up, with Edward kneeling in between my legs. He was changing the very bloody bandages that the werewolf doctor had placed on me only an hour or so before. I saw his eyes widen a moment before he spoke.

"This is damn near healed." His eyes flicked up to meet mine, narrowing slightly to give me a hard, questioning stare. "I was going to say that you'd need stitches for a wound of this size, but the way you're healing, I don't think you will."

"I won't," I said, shifting unconsciously in the chair. I thought it would bother Edward that I now healed at superhuman speeds. It was just another checkmark in the 'nonhuman, possible monster' category for me.

"As always, Anita, I wonder what you've given up to the monsters in exchange for such niceties," he commented darkly, rewrapping my torso in fresh gauze. I didn't reply. A few minutes later we were done, and he backed off so I could put my shirt back on.

"I hope whatever did that to you is dead now," Edward said once I'd pulled my red polo shirt over the bandaging.

Without looking up at him, I pulled my jacket on. "No. Thanks for the drive, and the bandaging." I was heading for the door when I heard his footsteps behind me, and then his hand on my arm in a tight grip. He pulled me around to face him, his blue eyes cold and angry.

"Why didn't you kill the monster, Anita? Is he a friend of yours?" His last sentence was said in a quiet, mocking tone that grated on my nerves just like it was supposed to.
"Let go of me, Edward," I said calmly, knowing that I could get a knife out of my upper thigh sheath before he could get a gun; the perks of increased speed. I was hoping I wouldn't need a knife, or any weapon, right now though.

His grip on my upper left arm squeezed tighter, and I suddenly had a knife pressed against the smooth column of his throat. Everything froze, Edward's face shutting down, going into his coldest assassin appearance. I knew without a mirror that mine looked the same, both of us revealing nothing in our faces.

"Let go of me," I repeated. "Slowly."

Edward's fingers loosened on my arm and his hand slid away to hang at his side. "You're faster now, too. What did you have to give up, Anita?"

"Just a little more of my humanity, Edward. If I put my knife away, are you going to attack me?" My voice was as cool and calculating as his.

A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth, though it was more like a baring of teeth than a true smile. "Not tonight. Tonight, I just want information." I kept the knife against his throat.

Hrmph. Brave of him, to make a demand of me when I had his life in my hands. I told him as much.

"We both know you're not going to kill me right now, Anita," was his simple reply.
Resigned, I pulled my knife back and slid it home without having to look. Practice. "Not now, Edward, but keep pushing me, and I will kill you."

He smiled again, another cold, bare curving of his lips. "I know, Anita." He backed up to sit on the bed, and I returned to my seat in the chair. Looked like I wouldn't be leaving just yet.

"What information do you want, Edward?" I should've known he hadn't been waiting by my Jeep just to shoot the breeze, or rescue me.

"Do you know a vampire named Andromeda?" Just like Edward to be so direct; no warning, off with the clothes.

I blinked. "No." For once, I wasn't lying, and I hoped he'd actually believe me. It wasn't that I cared if he believed me point-blank, but it would save some time and hassle. It bugged me when Edward brought up torturing me. I'm not sure why.

He leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on his knees. "Are you lying to me?" His eyes searched mine, and I dropped my smooth blank face, letting him see what was real. I was tired, still in slight pain, and aggravated at Richard and not being allowed to do my job as Bolverk. Apparently he believed my expressions, because he gave a short nod and sat back. "I didn't think you'd know her, but I had to ask on the off-chance that you did."

Edward let some expression creep back into his own face now. He looked tired, but somewhat eager, I suppose for the inevitable kill that he would make of this Andromeda. "Are you hunting her?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"There's a nice price on her head. Apparently she's responsible for the evisceration of several teenagers in southern Louisiana."

"Nasty. Hope you find her," I commented, my voice expressionless. I was holding in my automatic flinch at the idea of eviscerated kids.

"I will," he said in an offhand tone, as if he was dismissing the subject. He looked at me in a very direct manner then. I sat up straighter, narrowing my eyes at him. "Why didn't you kill the thing that cut you?"

I sighed. I might as well tell him, he'd keep pressing until I did, and I didn't want to hurt him to convince him to drop it. Apparently he knew this too, since he had asked again. "It's Richard's fault. He ordered me not to kill the man, said he'd take care of it."

"And you listened to him?" Edward's voice was blank, but I knew he was somewhat surprised that I'd take orders from anyone, especially Richard.

"He's Ulfric. To disobey him on this would cause more rifts in the pack. We've got plenty already."

"What if the guy comes after you again? Apparently, he finds you a threat. He'll want to eliminate any threats possible." Practical ol' Edward.

"Said like a true psychopath. I agree, Edward, but Richard chained him up. I think he'll keep him chained for a while, and in the meantime, I'll work on getting Richard to let me kill him."

"And if the Ulfric denies your request?"

I shrugged. "We'll work something out." Maybe not what I wanted, but we'd find a happy medium. I would not go around with some right-wing werewolf out for my blood, and Richard knew this. One way or another, the threat would be eliminated.

Edward stood up suddenly, shaking his head at me. I stared up at him from the chair, surprised somewhat. "What?" I asked.

"I don't understand how you could let one werewolf assure you that another werewolf wouldn't come after you again."

"I trust Richard on this," I said slowly. Edward hated that I stayed close to the monsters. It was one his main rules that you kill the monsters, not befriend them.

He shook his head again, staring at me. "I'm not sure I trust Richard with, essentially, your life in his hands."

I raised my eyebrows. "Like you should care, Edward." I stood. "Don't worry about it. Richard and I will settle the differences with his traitorous wolf, by ourselves."

Something passed through his eyes before he replied. "More than I should, Anita, I care."
I narrowed my own eyes, inspecting him carefully. "What's the hidden meaning there, Edward? What are you trying to tell me?"

He just shook his head slightly, turning away from me to gather up the bloody bandages from the floor where we'd left them. This time, I was the one to grab his arm, as he headed into the attached bathroom to trash the bandages. He looked back at me, his expression closed off and unreadable. I shook his arm a little.

"Open up, Edward. Tell me what you're thinking." It wasn't often that I made such a request; assassins don't normally drop their shields for just anyone. But I wasn't just anyone to Edward, I was his self-declared soulmate. It ought to count for something more than an explanation of our likeness.

A small smile graced his lips, but it was humorless, and bitter. "I don't think you want to know what I'm thinking, Anita."

I stuck my chin out a little. Defiant, I know, but it's one of my habits that's hard to kick. I'll often offer myself up to challenges, just because of my stupid pride. This was proved again by my next words: "Try me."

He dropped the bandages and turned fully toward me; I dropped my grip on his arm. He grasped my upper shoulders and stared into my eyes searchingly. "I'm thinking that I don't trust Richard with your life, maybe because I'm jealous."

I blinked. Interesting curve ball there. "Jealous of what?"

His grip on my shoulders slackened a bit, so that it was just his hands resting there. Hm. He was giving me a very piercing look, as though judging my reactions. He leaned forward then, and I felt his lips brush across my forehead.

I jerked back, giving him a funny look. Alright, where did the real Edward go? "What was that, Edward?"

"Don't you see, Anita?" His voice was intense, with an undercurrent of... was that pain I heard?

"I'm drawing a blank, here," I said, watching Edward closely. He didn't usually let me hear what he was feeling. Either he'd dropped his guard, or was feeling very strongly now.
"I'll show you." Suddenly I was pulled forward, pressed tightly against Edward with his arms wrapped around my back. Before I had a chance to pull back, his mouth was pressing over mine in a fierce kiss.

I froze, though my mind was going a hundred miles a minute. Questions flew through my head as Edward's lips moved over mine, and I felt his tongue slide over my bottom lip. Numbly, I opened my mouth under his. Why was Edward kissing me? What had just happened here? The line, nay, wall that had always been between us was now lying in shambles at our feet. It had broken down the moment our lips met... And it felt like such a relief.

With a start, I realized I was kissing Edward back, and with a fury to match his own. His hands slid down to grasp at my waist, my own moving from defensively pushing at his chest to resting there. Breathless, we both pulled back at the same time. I stared up at him, knowing my face showed shock and trace amounts of lust.

His face was harder to read. Determination, lust, those were both readily found and easy to translate. Surprise, I suppose at my response. I couldn't blame him there; I was surprised at my compliance myself. "You're jealous of Richard," I stated suddenly, my voice somewhat breathy.

He gave a short nod.

"What just happened here, Edward?" Now that my heartbeat was returning to normal, I could almost forget about the warm press of his hands on my lower back, and how our bodies were still pressed against each other.

"I've felt this way for the longest time now, Anita. I never wanted to act on it, because I knew you wouldn't view me the same way." His voice was infused with a burning force, his eyes darkened to match his words.

"How did you know I wouldn't respond just as I did?" Which of my actions, my words, convinced this man that I wouldn't want this, when offered? Though I had a sneaking suspicion I knew what had made him think this.

"How you responded in Santa Fe, when I told Olaf that you were my soulmate. You looked at me as though I were crazy. Later, you told me that it would've scared you, if I had meant anything romantically."

I hate being right all the time. I slid my hands up to rest at the back of his neck, watching his face while I did it. He narrowed his eyes at me slightly, wondering what my reply would be, I'm sure. "It would have been a hell of a shock at the time, Edward."

"And it's not now?"

I chuckled. "I didn't say that. This is a shock to me, to find that you do view me in a romantic sense, and that, apparently, it's mutual."

"Mutual," he said, smiling slightly. It was a real smile this time, devoid of bitterness and apprehension. "How so, Anita?" He backed up then, sitting down on the edge of the bed. I let him go, choosing instead to sit on the floor at his feet. He looked down at me expectantly.

"I wasn't lying when I told you that I'd never had a romantic thought about you in my life. You'd never offered yourself up for that before." I smiled slightly in amusement at my next words. "I suppose I'd never pictured you in an actual relationship. Seeing you with Donna-" I cut off suddenly, and he spoke before I could ask.

"I left her, Anita."

"Why?"

"I realized that I was actually feeling more toward you than toward her." I gave him a sharp, surprised look at that, but he continued on as if he hadn't noticed. "I don't think it surprised her that I left her a few months after you'd left Santa Fe. Her parting words to me were, 'I hope Anita can love you as much as I do'."

I stared at him, gaping I know, but not caring. He had left his one shot at a full-fledged family life, a woman he had come very close to marrying and had been in, what amounted to for Edward, love with... For me. Not knowing how I would react if he ever told me he felt this way, chancing that he might get to tell me without completely alienating me from him. And if I hadn't accepted him, and how he felt for me, he would've never tried again.

We would have gone back to almost-normal, but with the silences between us awkward. The times of bandaging each other, or seeing the other in partial states of dress, made uncomfortable because he would want more.

"You risked a lot, doing that," I said, my voice quiet with awe at what he had left his future open to, trusting that I wouldn't hurt him anymore than he had been already.

"It was worth it," was his simple reply, as he watched me with emotion filling his normally cold eyes. I searched his face, and found nothing in it to make me believe he was lying, in any way. Edward was an excellent actor, but not this good. The expression of trust, desire, slight apprehension... It was all real, though it was odd to see it all on Edward's face. He almost never let me see what he was feeling, and that made it all the more special when he did.

I climbed up on the bed, my eyes locked with his, and pressed my lips to his very gently. He returned the kiss just as carefully, lips moving against mine in a softer way that I would have thought possible for the hardened killer.

I sighed against his mouth, moving to climb into his lap. I pressed myself against him as if I wanted to crawl through him, melt into his body and share it. He made a soft noise in the back of his throat, sliding his hands through my hair to cup the back of my head. I pulled back enough to duck my head and slide my tongue over the hollow at the base of his throat, flicking over his pulse and making him gasp. I shrugged out of my jacket, letting it fall to the floor.

I felt his hands move up under my shirt, stroking up and down my back and making me shiver. Our lips met again, more insistent this time, almost as forceful as our first kiss was earlier. Our tongues moved together, and I pressed my body against his. His hands slid down to cup my butt, holding me against him. I felt his hardness through our jeans, and I rubbed over it slightly, causing him to jerk and give a soft cry.

He pulled me back a bit, looking at me with lust-darkened eyes. "How far are you willing to let this go, Anita?"

I ran my hands up his chest, pausing slightly on his nipples. He sucked in a sharp breath, but still held me back from him, waiting for my answer. Self-control at its best. "How far will you let me take it, Edward?" was my only reply. His eyes widened an instant before he released me, rolling us over on the bed. He lay on top of me, pressing me into the mattress. I stared up at him with wide, calm eyes, letting him make the next move.

"Amazing," he mumbled, trailing his lips across my jaw and down to my collarbone. He got a hold of the bottom of my shirt and I was divested of it for the second time that night, though this time was proving to be a lot more fun.

"What's amazing?" I asked, arching upward to his mouth that was currently placing kisses across my upper chest.

He looked up at me, his face right above my left breast. "You are, Anita." With that, he lowered his head and mouth over my bra-covered nipple, and I didn't ask any more questions.

We moved up the bed eventually, so that we were no longer at the foot. Somehow along the way, I lost all of my clothes save my underwear, and Edward was in only his black jeans.

He kneeled in front of me, watching me as I moved up and trailed my tongue down his chest. A shuddering breath left his throat, and he steadied himself by resting his hands on my shoulders. The movement was vaguely reminiscent of earlier, when I asked him to tell me what he was thinking. I pulled at his pants, unsnapping them and pulling the zipper down. He backed off of the bed, keeping eye contact along the way, and peeled the jeans down, tossing them aside. He hadn't worn any underwear.

I looked him up and down, letting my gaze hover on the firm length of him, before reaching my hands out to him. He climbed back on the bed and pulled me tightly against him. The feel of him pressed hard against my stomach made me moan softly. He pressed his lips against mine in another soul-searing kiss, leaving us both gasping for breath.

He pushed me back against the pillows before tugging my matching black lace panties off and tossing them over his shoulder. I let my breath out in a sigh as his lips and tongue moved across my stomach, just below the bandages, dipping into my navel at one point and making me cry out. His hands stroked along my hips and upper thighs, and his tongue followed.

He pressed his hands against my inside upper thighs firmly, pushing my legs apart as he settled between them. Edward's breath ghosted over me in my most intimate spot, and I sucked in a catch of air, causing him to catch my gaze again. We were still staring into each other's eyes when he ducked his head and slid his tongue along the length of me, slowly.

I let out several cries and moans as his tongue, lips, and at times, teeth, caressed me. Something great inside me was building, and it was finally released through Edward's skilled mouth.

I lay boneless, my eyes heavy-lidded and my breath coming in short pants, when Edward slid up the length of my body to lay against me. I wrapped my arms around him, and he smiled, wiping his mouth with his hand. We kissed, slowly at first, and then with mounting heat. I flung my right leg over him, pulling his lower body closer to me, and in doing so, pressed his hardness against my opening. He made a growling noise against my mouth and shifted a little, before sliding fully into me.

All my breath exhaled in one short burst, and he buried his head in the curve of my neck, breathing ragged. He began to slide in and out of me at a slow pace, to begin with. I wrapped my arms around his upper body, though he remained propped up on his forearms, because of our height difference. We kissed: long, lingering affairs that left me feeling weak and breathing shakily. My lower abdomen clenched suddenly, and he groaned against me, increasing the pace. A rhythm built between us, of flesh against flesh, separated by cries, either of names or unintelligible things.

Soon we were slamming against each other, Edward going into me as deep as he could, my hands gripping his shoulder blades in tight clenches. As with all things related to Edward, it was a tantalizing mixture of intense pleasure and dull pain. And it left me screaming his name hoarsely, clutching at him as though he was the last sane thing in my world, and maybe, for this night, he was.

A moment later, he echoed my cries with his own, collapsing against me, burying his face in my hair. Before tonight, I had never thought of doing anything like this with Edward. He wouldn't have thanked me. But in the course of a few hours, from the time he picked me up at the lupanar, to getting bandaged and seeing his remorse and disgust at the cause of my injuries, to having him tell me that he, in fact, did care about me more than he usually let on... Things had changed, and it didn't matter if we wanted it to go back to normal between us, because that wouldn't happen. This changed everything. This changed us.

I hoped we would like the changes.

Edward lifted his head and stared me in the eye from inches away. I smiled and he mirrored me, and both of our smiles were genuine. "This changes things drastically, Edward," I commented, smoothing my hand through his tousled hair.

"Yes, it does," he replied simplistically.

"Where do we go from here?" I ventured to ask, my brow furrowing slightly in concern for my future, our future. Whether our futures would be a shared thing, would be left to our choices now.

He tilted his head slightly, before rolling off and out of me, to lay spooned beside me. I turned and snuggled up against him, taking comfort in the strength of his oh-so-human arms as they wrapped around me. "Whatever you like."

I gave him a slightly aggrieved look. "A bit cryptic and compliant for you, isn't it Edward?"

He grinned suddenly, and it was one of those times my heart clenched, because it showed a piece of a happier, more carefree Edward. "Cryptic? I'm often cryptic. And I can afford to be compliant with you, Anita." He punctuated his words with a final kiss on my nose, making me laugh. Well hell, I can be truthful, after having great sex: I giggled, not laughed.

His lips moved down from my nose to my mouth, and we kissed in a leisurely fashion, as though we both knew that we had the rest of the night to explore each other. Propping myself up and leaning over Edward, both of us shuddering as my bare breasts brushed his chest, I knew I was going to enjoy this opportunity immensely.
* * * *
"Anita?" Edward said, making it a question as he gave me a probing look. I smiled at him, and that seemed to reassure him. He reached for me, and I went to him across the bed, settling into his arms with a pleased sigh. "You looked shocked to see me there, for a second. Had me worried."

I laughed, kissing his bare chest. "I was dead asleep, and when I woke up, I didn't remember any of last night right off. Seeing a naked Edward in bed with me, threw me for a loop."

"You're okay now?" His voice rumbled against my cheek, as my face was pressed against his chest and neck.

"Yes..."

He must have heard the slight hesitation in my voice, because he pulled back to look at me with an intense, searching look. I'd often seen that look in his eyes, when he thought I wasn't telling him the whole truth. I decided I needed to give him the whole truth, because after last night, there was precious little we might have justifiably kept from each other. Or at least from my point of view, and I was about to find out his.

"What does last night mean to you, Edward?"

He looked at me calmly, though his face wasn't in the blank mask that I had become so accustomed to seeing, whenever I asked a deeper question of Edward. "I think I'm in love with you, Anita... Does that answer your question?"

I paused at his declaration, and couldn't help but grin a bit. New found love will do that to you, make you see the brighter side in all things. But, on to my more serious reply. "Yes, and no. It's great that you're in love with me, Edward, but are we going to pursue a relationship?"

"For me, there wasn't a question of trying to start a more concrete relationship, Anita. Just the question of would it work or not?"

"You're the one who taught me that relationships don't mix between sociopaths."

"I'm also the one who taught you not that relationships don't work with the monsters," he returned dryly.

"And look how well I listened to you there," I said with a grin, lifting my face up to meet his gaze. He kissed me gently, with a wonderment all its own that left me breathless.

"I think we could make it work, Anita," Edward said in a soft voice, his fingers cupping my face.

"I'm willing to try," I replied, gripping his hands, and kissing the inside of his wrist.
And the morning blurred into a timeless thing, made up of only us, being ourselves, being together. I still can't decide which was more fun: taking our first shower together, or making love on the bed directly afterward, still dripping wet. I remember we left a big tip to the hotel before we left. Soapy sheets and bathwater sloshed all around the tub just made the cleaning person's day, I'm sure.

HOME   FANFICTION