Notes: Bella- 21 Jacob- 19 Events after Bella rescued Edward from the Volturi in New Moon never happened. Imprinting doesn't exist. And Claire isn't a toddler! Ick! You can also find the link for the banner to this on my bio page.
Bella answered her cell phone with a sad sigh. Her screen told her it was Angela and not her boyfriend who was calling her.
"Hi Angie," she said.
"Well, geez, hello to you too!" giggled Angela. "What's got you sounding all depressed?"
"Nothing really, I'm just in a strange mood I guess."
"Um hm….this doesn't have anything to do with a certain someone not talking to you right now, does it?"
Bella huffed as she sank down onto her bed. "Gawd Angela! I don't even know what to say! I've tried everything and he just isn't….getting it!"
"Hmmm, well if he's going to keep being stubborn, maybe you should just let him stew for a bit and come join us at the beach for the day."
"I dunno…" replied Bella as she picked at an invisible thread on her comforter.
"Aw, come on, Bella!" begged Angela, "It's supposed to be a rare sunny day today! Ben and Tyler are building a fire so we can sit around it when we're not swimming or playing. It'll be fun! You gotta come!"
Bella pursed her lips as she lifted her head to look out of her window. Angela was right, it was supposed to be a great day and Bella knew it would be one of the rare chances she could wear her new bikini that Alice had talked her into getting.
It was a white two piece triangle top with a tie-side bottom. The top left her back completely bare with the exception of the ties at mid-back and around her neck. The bottom backside was puckered to emphasize her behind and her hips were left almost bare with the tiny strings that tied the bottom together.
Her cheeks had heated up when she thought of her boyfriend getting to see her in it for the first time. After all, she knew he had a thing for her when she wore white. That and the fact that there was nothing but flimsy strings holding the pieces to her body was a sure guarantee that it would blow his mind. She had actually looked forward to seeing his face when she revealed the new bikini to him, but it looked like that day would never come with the way he was now acting.
Still, she wasn't about to wait around for him to stop being so stubborn anymore.
"Okay, I'll go."
"Really?" squealed Angela.
"Yes, really," she giggled.
"That's great! Okay, do you want me to pick you up or…"
"Yeah, can you?"
"No problem! Ben and I will pick you up in about an hour…is that okay?"
"That's fine, I'll be ready by then."
"Cool, okay see you then!"
As soon as Bella got off of the phone with Angela, she began rushing around, getting all of the things she would need and stuffing them into her huge beach bag that Alice had also talked her into getting. It was large enough to hold extra clothes, a towel or two as well as a few more beach necessities. Once she had it packed, she set it by the front door then went to finish getting dressed.
An hour later Angela knocked on the door to find Bella dressed in an oversized, off-the-shoulder, white sweater and white gauze drawstring pants. Her hair hung loose and she wore a pair of black and white flip-flops to complete the look. Smiling at her friend, Bella grabbed her bag from besides the door and followed Angela to where Ben was waiting for them in his car.
She was now feeling much lighter and excited as she rode in the back seat and chatted away with Angela who sat in the passenger seat while Ben drove them to First Beach. They arrived just as Tyler and his fiancée, Lauren, were pulling up in Tyler's van and all of them tumbled out, lugging bags and coolers to take down to the beach. It took them a couple of trips to get everything down there, but they managed to do it before anyone else arrived.
Ben and Tyler had dug a pit and gathered enough wood to start a small fire just as the others began to arrive. Bella sat on a log next to the one Angela and Ben were sharing as Mike, Jessica, Eric and a few other people from Forks joined them. Seeing Bella sitting alone on her log, Mike grinned at her and went to sit next to her, making Bella inwardly groan.
He just would never give up, would he? Even though they had long since graduated from high school and gone off to different colleges, Mike still seemed to gravitate towards Bella every time he was in town. She'd known he would be there for the summer, but so far she had managed to avoid him. Oh why couldn't it have worked out between him and Jessica the way it had for Angela and Ben or Tyler and Lauren?
"Hi Bella! Long time no see!" came his enthusiastic greeting.
Bella pretended to be busy digging into her bag as she answered him. "Yeah, what with college and everything, huh?"
He gave her a wide-eyed stare. "Oh? You finally decided to go off to college then?"
She shook her head. "No, I still do most of it online, like before. Got about a year left."
"Ah, and then you thinking of leaving this place?" he sounded hopeful.
"Nope, I'm opening a business here."
"Oh…"
"Hey Mike!" called Eric, "You gonna play football with us or what?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming!" He gave Bella an apologetic smile before getting up to join the others out on the sand.
Angela moved closer to Bella and spoke with sympathy. "Sorry about that, Bella. I guess Mike thinks just because you show up alone, you're fair game."
"Yeah," she mumbled in reply as she watched the guys organizing teams for the game.
She and Angela continued to chat idly as they watched the boys run around in the sand for a while. Eventually they went through about two games before they decided it was time to go for a swim, so Angela asked if Bella was joining them.
She nodded and rummaged around in her bag for her sunblock before glancing up and freezing. In the distance she noticed another group had made their own little circle too, but as she looked more, she realized just who that group consisted of. She could see Jared, Kim, Embry, Seth, Paul, Rachel, Leah and her current boyfriend sitting around the small fire they had built.
She could also see Jacob.
He was sitting next to Embry and scowling in her direction. Choosing to ignore his look, she turned around and glared at the fire in front of her as if it was responsible for the way Jacob was acting. So, it was okay for him to hang out at the beach today, but she wasn't allowed? Yeah, right. Two could play this game!
As a thought came to her, she couldn't help but chuckle with delight. Oh yeah, let's see just how long he was going to remain over there with his friends.
Getting to her feet, she kept her back turned towards him and began lifting the oversized sweater over her head. She folded it up and then turned to the side to stuff it into her bag. She tried to be inconspicuous as she looked out of the corner of her eye to see if he was still watching, smiling to herself when she saw how he'd sat up and looked a bit slack-jawed.
Oh yeah, he was noticing her new bikini, all right.
She straightened up, turned her back once more and undid the drawstrings to her pants before shimmying out of them and placing them in the bag too. As she looked again, she noticed that this time he was staring unabashedly at her as if he were eating her up with his gaze. She couldn't help but feel satisfaction that he liked her new bikini a lot more than she had hoped.
She made a mental note to thank Alice for her help in selecting the two piece swimsuit.
Picking up the sunblock, she squeezed a little on her palm and placed a foot on the log. Bending over, she began to rub the cream into her skin, making sure to take her time thus allowing him to enjoy the view of her breasts as they dangled enticingly before his gaze. Once she was done with one leg, she did the same with the next one, again taking her time.
Then she moved on to her stomach, rubbing the cream into her abdomen and sides, making sure her fingers dipped just under the edge of the front of her bottom. One could never be too sure that the suit wouldn't shift a bit during some vigorous play in the water. Once she was done with that part, she moved on to her chest, spreading the cream over the exposed skin of her breasts, shoulders and neck.
Again she let her fingers dip beneath the edges of the bikini top, biting her bottom lip as she did so in supposed concentration. She knew what that action did to him.
Then she closed her eyes as her hand moved from her shoulders to her neck, arching it back a bit as if making sure he got the perfect view. Her fingers trailed over the slender arch of her neck, moving up to her jaw then back towards the nape. She finished up the other side before moving on to her arms, treating them the same way she had her legs.
When she was done, she turned around to look for Angela, but spied Mike sitting not to far away, obviously trying not to drool. Once again inspiration hit her as she decided to just go ahead and flirt with him despite having no feelings for him at all. She just hoped she did a good job with the flirting.
Giving him a coy smile, she held out the sunblock towards him. "Would you mind doing my back for me?"
Mike nearly tripped over his own feet scrambling to her side in his haste and excitement. Bella glimpsed Angela's stunned face as she turned to the side again, wanting to give her other spectator a good profile view of the upcoming show. She handed Mike the bottle, then waited as he put a dab on his palm then began to rub it into her back. As his hands moved over her shoulder blades, she closed her eyes in what she hoped looked like pleasure even though Mike's touch gave her anything but that.
Across the way Jacob had risen to his feet the moment that Newton kid had put his hands on his Bella. As he took in the look of undisguised lust on the idiot's face, his hands had curled into fists while his jaw grew hard. Next to him, Embry slowly rose to his own feet and set a careful hand on his Alpha's shoulder.
"Jake, man, I don't think it's what it looks like."
Jacob growled through his teeth. "Maybe not to her, but to that idiot it is!"
"I know, but Bella would never let him get too far."
Jacob took a step towards her as he hissed. "It's already gone far enough!"
Embry risked his hide to move in front of Jacob, blocking him from stalking across the beach to tear the Newton kid limb from limb. "C'mon Jake, just give her a second…she'll get rid of him soon."
He looked over his shoulder and prayed that he wasn't lying. Sure enough, when Newton was done spreading the cream over her back and just before his hands could get anywhere near her ass, Bella stepped away and turned to him with a smile. Embry nearly let out a huge sigh of relief at that. A few more seconds and tomorrow's news headlines would read, "Young Man Torn Apart By Monster Red Wolf on La Push Beach".
Yeah, not something any of them wanted to deal with. The world's beaches were already being terrorized by sharks from time to time, they didn't need to add giant wolves to the mix.
Turning back to Jacob, Embry gave him a hesitant smile. "See? Bella handled it."
Jacob didn't acknowledge him as he continued to glare in the direction of his stubborn girlfriend. He knew Bella didn't have any feelings whatsoever for Newton, but that didn't mean she had to flirt with the guy! Embry could sugarcoat it all he wanted…Jacob knew what flirting looked like and his girlfriend was currently flirting with a guy she had always complained about being a near-stalker.
Still, when she took the sunblock back from Newton and tossed it into her bag before going to join Angela, he did his best to uncurl his fists and take deep, calming breaths. When he felt a little calmer, he went to sit back down on a log that allowed him to keep an eye on Bella who was now splashing around in the water with Angela and a few others.
Thankfully that Newton kid was currently chatting away with a few of the other guys back at the fire.
Unfortunately, that interlude only lasted about half an hour before most of the Forks group ventured out into the water again and began playing games with each other. Jacob had to watch as his Bella dunked and got dunked by both genders, got on that Newton kid's shoulders to play chicken and chased or got chased by both genders too. Suffice it to say, Jacob's fists and jaw clenched and unclenched so many times during the entire water games that Embry's own muscles ached in sympathy.
Eventually people began returning to the fire where they began breaking out sandwiches and sodas to enjoy for lunch. It was the same for the Quileute group, except they had hot dogs instead of plain sandwiches. Leah and her boyfriend, who was a bit of a outdoorsman, knew how to roast the best dogs over a fire like the one they had going.
Bella walked over to her bag and dug out a towel to begin drying herself off a bit. She knew Jacob was still watching her even though he wasn't always looking directly at her. Plus, she could feel his gaze on her even when she wasn't looking at him. She knew she had pushed him when she'd agreed to get on Mike's shoulders for the game of chicken, but it served him right for being such a stubborn ass.
As she continued to dry herself off, she couldn't help but think back to the last time the two of them had talked before the silent treatment had begun. It had only been two days ago, but it was the longest two days of her life. It wasn't the first time they had talked about that issue, but Bella had reached her limit and had lost her temper in front of her werewolf boyfriend.
She'd told him off.
For the things he had said.
For the way he had made her feel.
He had pushed her too far and she had finally grown tired of it.
And then, when she'd finally run out of steam, he had given her that 'Alpha' look and said, "Well I guess there's nothing more to be said, huh?"
Then he'd walked out of her father's house and she hadn't heard from him since then.
Across the way, Jacob finally tore his eyes away from Bella and got to his feet. He walked towards the ocean, needing a little time to collect his thoughts. Embry remained seated where he was, yet still kept an eye on his best friend. He was soon joined by a sheepishly grinning Quil who had a whole plate piled full of hot dogs which he began scarfing down as soon as he was seated.
"Sorry I'm late," he mumbled with a mouth full of food, "Had to drop Claire off at work before I came here."
Embry simply nodded as he continued to watch Jacob. Quil, noticing Embry's silence, followed his line of sight to see Jacob standing in the sand with his arms folded over his chest, staring somberly out at the water.
He stuffed the last piece of hot dog in his mouth, chewed a bit, then asked, "What's with him?"
With a nod of his head, Embry indicated the source of Jacob's dilemma. Quil looked in the direction Embry had given him only to see Bella Swan pulling out a huge white sweater from a beach bag. However, that wasn't the first thing Quil noticed…it was those few pieces of cloth that barely covered her bare skin.
His jaw almost dropped open.
Almost.
He knew better than to have that reaction when Jacob was nearby.
Puzzled, he leaned closer to Embry's side to whisper. "He let her go out dressed like that?"
"He didn't know she was going to even be here," Embry whispered back. "None of us did. She came with them."
Quil's eyes went round. "She did? Guess they're still not speaking to each other then."
He turned to watch Bella as she finished pulling on her sweater which was long enough to reach the top of her thighs. Then she pulled out a throw and wrapped it around her legs before sitting down on a nearby log. Just as she sat down, a guy joined her and Quil tensed as he recognized the guy.
Newton…the idiot.
"Yeah," said Embry, "he's been flirting with Bella since he got here. And she's been doing the same to him."
Quil's head snapped towards Embry so fast it was a wonder he didn't injure himself. "She what!? Is she trying to get him killed?"
Embry shrugged. "Beats me."
Quil glanced back in Bella's direction to see that Newton had left her side and she was now chatting amicably with her friend, Angela. He looked up at Jacob to see that his head was turned towards Newton's direction, eyes narrowed as he watched every move he made. Granted, Newton was currently horsing around with a couple of the other guys, but it was clear from Jacob's look that the guy's hours were numbered.
Quil looked back at Bella, wondering just when either one of them was going to stop being stubborn enough to be the first to apologize and stop this nonsense. And it was nonsense. Even he, happy, flirty Quil Ateara knew nonsense when he saw it.
He sighed as he thought about what Embry had said. It wasn't like Bella to flirt with anyone…ever. He remembered the times he had tried all those years ago before the advent of his wolf side. Then when she and Jacob had gotten together, it had taken a while for her to become comfortable enough to flirt with Jacob in front of anyone.
So why was she suddenly flirting with Newton? It didn't make any sense…unless…
He turned to look at his best friend and Alpha once more, taking in his mannerisms. He looked like a wolf stalking his prey…or protecting his territory. A smile began to form over his face.
Oh, now he got it. Now he understood what Bella was up to. Still, she was taking a huge risk involving a puny human like Newton. Hmm…maybe it would be a little fun to help her out…take one for the team, so to speak.
At least he had an advantage over the human Newton. If he was injured, he could heal much faster, no trip to the hospital was needed. Or a closed casket.
Yep, he nodded to himself. He was just the guy to get it done.
Quil gave Embry a pat on the shoulder before getting up to dispose of his plate and soda. When he was done, he straightened himself up then made his way across the sand towards Bella.
"Hi Bella! Fancy meeting you here!"
Bella looked up at Quil's enthusiastic greeting, to see him sporting a huge smile to match his words. Without waiting for her response, he sat himself down next to her and swung his arm over her shoulder, bringing her in closer to his side.
"Now what is this I hear from Embry about you flirting with a certain Newton kid in front of Jake? Trying to make him jealous or something?"
Bella suddenly looked sheepish. "Um, well…I..I wasn't…"
He chuckled as he leaned in to whisper into her ear. "Now, now. No need to get your teeny, tiny bikini in a twist. I'm just here to tell you that I think it's working."
"I...it is?" she stuttered.
"Yep. But I must warn you, should you push him too far, I fear Newton may lose his life…or if he's lucky…just a limb."
Bella sighed. "Yeah I know that, but…"
Quil lifted a hand to brush her hair behind her shoulder before leaning in close to her again and once more whispering in her ear. "Never fear, my dear. That's why I'm here. See, not only am I good at flirting, but I happen to enjoy flirting with you. Plus, there's also the added bonus of being able to heal quickly should Jake get his paws on me."
Bella's eyes went wide. "What? Quil…are you…"
He chuckled against her hair. "I'm willing to take one for the team Bella, if it means getting Jacob to return to your side again."
She looked up at him with a huge smile. "You'd do that…for me?"
Quil returned her smile as he stroked her cheek. "I'd do it for the both of you."
She took his hand in hers and gave it a grateful squeeze. "Thank you."
Jacob Black had had enough.
First he had to endure that Newton kid slobbering all over his girlfriend now, much to his chagrin, he had to watch one of his best friends flirting with her too. He couldn't believe Quil would be as stupid as that Newton kid had been, but there it was…clear as day! And Bella seemed to be allowing it!
What was wrong with her?
She had never, ever flirted with Quil! Not even back when she had first met him! Even Embry had gotten to his feet in shock as they both watched Quil sit next to Bella and put his arm around her. Then he'd pulled her into his side and she hadn't protested!
But when Quil had leaned in to whisper into her ear, Jacob's hands had curled into fists once more and Embry was nervously making his way to his side. A growl had erupted when Quil brushed her hair behind her shoulder, then leaned in to whisper into her ear once more.
At that point, Embry was bracing himself to turn wolf because he could see the way Jacob's lips had pulled back in a permanent snarl while his eyes narrowed and seemed to glow like fire.
The shaking started when Quil brushed his hand over Bella's cheek as they smiled at each other. Smiled!
The final straw was when Bella leaned in and pressed a kiss against Quil's cheek, a kiss that was dangerously close to the corner of Quil's soon-to-be bloody mouth!
"Jacob," Embry warned, in a low hush as Jacob began to stalk across the sand towards the flirtatious couple. "Jake, there are humans here."
Jacob snapped his teeth at Embry, already too far gone to waste anymore energy on his second-in-command when he had to rip his third a new one for daring to cozy up to his girlfriend. He lowered his head and continued towards Quil and Bella who were giggling with their heads too close to each others for his liking.
Bella giggled again as Quil finished telling her a little about the romantic afternoon in bed he and Claire had before having to scramble to get her to work on time. She was glad that they could talk about typical stuff while pretending to act flirtatious, plus it helped that Quil was enjoying talking about his girlfriend while they did so. As long as she knew Quil was in love with Claire, she was okay with the harmless flirting they were now doing to get a reaction out of Jacob.
Still, Bella was rather glad when she heard Jacob's voice behind her, announcing his arrival until she looked up to see just how affected he really was. Up close, she could see the way his eyes had narrowed down to slits, the dark pupils almost encompassing the irises until they looked pitch black. His nostrils flared as he bared his teeth in a territorial manner even while he was trembling all over.
It didn't escape her notice that his hands were curled into very tight fists at his sides, making the veins in his arms more pronounced.
He glowered down at her even though he was speaking to Quil in a voice low enough that only the wolves could hear. "Don't think I won't tell Claire just what you were up to, you bastard!"
Quil gave what he hoped was a nonchalant shrug even though he was feeling anything but that. It was just his nature to want to be submissive to his Alpha.
He answered Jacob in an equally low voice. "It was just a little harmless flirting, that's all. Bella's not interested in me and I was just telling her about my afternoon with Claire."
Jacob finally glanced towards Quil to see that he meant what he had said. It also helped that Quil wasn't looking at Bella and had lowered his eyes at the last moment in a submissive gesture.
He was just about to tell Quil to return to the others when Bella rose to her feet and folded her arms over her chest. "What do you think you're doing?"
Quil winced at the imperious tone of her voice. "It's okay, Bella. I should go anyway."
She reached out and grabbed Quil's arm, making Jacob growl under his breath in warning. As both she and Quil froze and glanced at Jacob, Bella slowly retracted her hand. She could tell she had finally pushed him too far.
Jacob glanced at Quil again, giving him a silent command with just his eyes. Quil nodded and spoke to Bella without turning to look at her.
"See you later, Bella."
Bella watched as Quil gave Jacob a wide berth then walked towards the others with his head down. If he'd been a wolf, his tail would have probably been between his legs. Still, Quil was silently thanking his lucky stars that Jacob hadn't done anything more than growl at him. He would live to see another day.
As soon as he reached Embry, he finally got a physical reaction as Embry smacked him upside his head.
"Ow! What the hell, Em?"
"You idiot! Did you have a death wish like Newton?" hissed Embry.
"No man, I did it for them!" He indicated Jacob and Bella with a wave of his hand.
Both he and Embry turned to watch as the staring match seemed to continue across the way.
"So," sneered Jacob, "you seem to have moved on easily."
Bella nearly gaped at him. Instead, she lifted her chin. "So what if I have?"
That was clearly the wrong thing to say as Jacob's trembling increased…Oops.
She quickly looked around to see that they were beginning to have an audience. Not only of the pack, but of the naïve bystanders from Forks. She knew they needed to have this conversation elsewhere, so she took a deep breath and let it out.
"Look," she muttered, "we need to talk."
"Yeah," answered Jacob through his teeth.
She nodded before turning to catch Angela's attention. "I'm taking a walk."
Angela glanced worriedly at Jacob, but nodded when Bella added, "It's okay, really."
Bella picked up her bag, slung the throw over her shoulder and moved around Jacob, heading towards the other group. She knew without looking that Jacob was following her. She could see it clearly in the faces of Embry and Quil who were standing just outside of their circle. She gave them a smile as she walked past them to drop her bag next to one of the logs before continuing on towards the woods.
As she passed the others, Seth and Leah glanced worriedly between her and Jacob, but Bella simply waved to them without stopping. Within moments, she reached the edge of the woods where it was much cooler than it was on the beach. Taking the throw, she wrapped it around her and briefly regretted not putting on her pants earlier.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Jacob keeping pace with her, his eyes never leaving her figure. At least he wasn't trembling so much now and the tension in his body seemed to be less than before.
She continued to walk a bit further into the woods, wanting to get enough coverage just in case Jacob lost his battle with his inner wolf. When she came to a relatively brush-free spot, she slowed down then turned to face him. He had stopped walking when she had begun to slow down, but she knew it would only take him two steps to reach her if he wanted to.
She sighed and tightened the throw around her even though she knew it would never get her legs warm enough. There was only one thing that could do that…and currently he was upset with her.
"Why did you do it?" he blurted out, cutting straight to the chase.
She blinked. "Huh?"
"Why move on? I just needed some time…I never said it was over!"
She clutched the throw tighter. "Jake, I didn't move on. It's not what you think."
"Isn't it?" he hissed. "Bella I know you! And you've never flirted with anyone before."
"I flirt with you all the time!"
"That's different! I was your boyfriend!" he snapped.
She flinched at his use of verb tense.
"Was," she whispered.
She watched as the anger seemed to deflate some more. He stood there, looking into her eyes as if searching for something.
"Are we…" Her voice caught as she forced the words through the lump in her throat. "Are we…broken up?"
Jacob swallowed before he spoke, his voice just as sad as hers was. "You tell me."
Tears welled up as she answered brokenly. "I hope not."
"Then why…why would you do this?"
She shook her head. "I was trying to get your attention! I knew you were watching me! God, Jake! You walked out of my dad's house! Then I didn't hear from you for two days! Two days, Jake! We've never gone more than a few hours without talking to each other since before we started dating!"
"I thought you needed time."
"What for?"
"To think about what you really wanted…I just wanted you to make sure it was me you wanted."
"Why would I need time for that? I already told you I loved you…doesn't that tell you I want you?"
He sighed. "You know as well as I do that you can love more than one person at a time, Bella."
She gaped at him. "What?"
He ran a hand through his hair. "I know…I know you still…talk…to him."
"Okay, now I'm confused…exactly who is it that you think I've been talking to? Mike?"
He gritted his teeth. "No Bella! Even I know Newton's not an issue! I know you still talk to Cullen!"
Again she gaped at him. "Edward?"
His jaw clenched. "What other Cullen did you date?"
She stopped herself from rolling her eyes at his biting sarcasm. "Whatever Jacob! For your information, I haven't talked to him since I broke up with him years ago!"
He didn't say a word, just lifted an eyebrow.
Bella scowled at him. "What makes you think I'm talking to him?"
"You're still friends with Alice! I know he's there when you talk to her."
She shrugged. "Doesn't mean I've talked to him."
"You could talk to him when I'm not there…I don't know."
She held up a hand. "Wait a minute! Are you saying you don't trust me? That I'm lying to you? Haven't we had this discussion before?"
He looked away again, folding his arms over his chest.
She stared at his profile for a moment, wondering why he was still so insecure when it came to her feelings for him.
"Jacob, I don't know what else to do or say to you that will make you believe me," she answered in a pleading voice. "I've done everything that I can think of. God! I tell you everyday how much I love you, only you, and you still won't believe me! What else can I do to prove it to you?"
He shrugged without looking up at her. "I don't know Bella! I don't! I just…I just feel that you're not being completely honest with yourself!"
She threw her hands in the air, forgetting about the throw she had been clinging to. "What is it that you think I'm not being honest about? I've told you everything!"
He went silent for a moment, turning his head away from her to look at the surrounding trees. When he spoke, his voice was a painful whisper.
"I know you still love him."
Bella didn't reply right away, but it wasn't because what he said had any truth to it. Instead, she was shocked that he still believed that. After all these years, he still believed she held a torch for her ex-boyfriend. How was that possible? She had been dating Jacob since the end of her senior year and they had even lost their virginity to each other. She had made love to him so many times over the last few years…every time they had a moment alone.
Him, not Edward…him!
And yet there he was, telling her he believed she was still in love with Edward Cullen. Ugh!
She shook her head as she moved closer to him. "I don't love him, Jake. You know this. It's you I love now."
He closed his eyes. "You left me for him once, Bella…how do I know you won't do it again?"
The way he said that…and the fact that he even considered her trip to Italy as her way of leaving him…nearly broke her heart. It made her realize, he'd been carrying that incident and fear inside of him for years. And it made her see that despite the fact that he looked like a twenty-something year old man, he was still just nineteen years old.
Sometimes he made it so easy for her to forget he was younger than her still.
"Oh Jacob!" she whispered as she stepped close to him and placed a hand on his cheek. "I didn't go to Italy to get back together with Edward. I just went to make sure he didn't kill himself. I knew what it would do to Carlisle…to Alice and the others if they lost him. I knew if he saw me, he would survive. That's all."
She griped his face in her hands, making him look at her. "I came back for you. Once he was on the plane with Alice on the way to Denali…I came back for you."
He let out the breath he'd been holding and lowered his forehead to hers. "Bells…I couldn't…if you left me…I couldn't take it."
"I know," she answered, as she curled her fingers around his neck. "I feel the same way about you."
"Do you?" he breathed.
"Yes…I'm in love with you, Jacob Black…just you. There will never be anyone else."
He gave her a heartfelt smile before leaning in to brush his lips against hers. He could feel her sigh against his lips, making him smile a little more. Her hands moved up into his hair, bringing him down even closer to her mouth, telling him with that gesture that she wanted more.
He didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss, pressing his mouth to hers in sudden urgency. She immediately parted her lips, teasing his bottom one with her tongue until he took the bait and parted his own lips allowing his own tongue to meet with hers. He followed it back into her mouth, then began voraciously sweeping it around, taking in the taste of her.
Bella moaned as he devoured her with his mouth, even as his arms swept her up and crushed her to his tall frame. She knew the kiss had crossed the tender stage…and they were now approaching unstoppable desire.
It was always like that for them…although at times she felt like it was that way more for her. Jacob's kisses were always so drugging, so all-consuming. Just like the sun she had named him, he set her on fire with his kisses. When they came together, it was always hot, always summer.
And right now it was no different.
She suddenly didn't care that they were in the woods…with some of his pack not too far away within hearing distance. Or that some of her friends from Forks could come looking for her. All she cared about was proving to him once again just how much she loved him. How much she wanted only him.
Her hands left his hair to grip his shirt…why was he even wearing a shirt?…and tugged it up and over his head. Then her lips were on his again, hungrily resuming their passionate kissing. As her hands roamed over his warm chest, she could feel his muscles ripple beneath her touch.
She continued to run her hands over the hard smoothness of his pectorals and taut abdomen, even as his own hands moved beneath her sweater to grip her bikini-clad behind so he could lift her up.
He growled when his hands came in contact with the cloth, reminding him of the sight she had presented earlier on the beach. He had noted even then how it was barely held together by a few select ties. Ties that his fingers were now quickly pulling apart.
Bella was working on his shorts when he tossed the bikini bottom to the ground and lifted her up mumbling against her neck. "Wrap your legs around me honey."
She did as he asked and he took a few steps forward, stooping over even with her wrapped around him, to retrieve the throw she'd discarded earlier. Then he pivoted and took a few more steps until he was next to a tree.
He grinned down at her before lifting one hand and slashed at the tree, leaving deep grooves high up on the sides which allowed him to hang the corners of the throw on. Bella giggled at his thoughtfulness as he leaned her back against the throw right before he began sucking on her neck and pressed his shorts-covered hardness against her bare heat.
Her giggles turned into soft moans as his tongue swirled over her collarbone while one hand lifted off her sweater, tossed it away then pushed those tiny triangles away from her pale mounds. As soon as she was exposed to the air, his head dipped down to devour one pert nipple while his hands took hold of her ass again, tilting her so he could grind his now straining erection against her heat.
Jacob wanted to be inside her so bad, he could taste it, but he knew he had to get her there first. When she began clawing at his back and whimpering, he knew he'd teased her long enough. Her breathless words only cemented it.
"J…Jake…please…I…need…you…inside…"
That's all it took for him to undo his shorts and let them fall needlessly to the ground before he plunged deep into her slick wetness. They both grunted in satisfaction at that sudden joining and Bella tossed her head back against the tree.
"Oh yes! Jacob! Yes!"
Jacob immediately began thrusting hard and fast into her body, each movement lifting her up, causing friction with the throw. While she welcomed his rough love-making, she had never been more glad that he'd thought of putting the throw up there for her. She could handle rug burns on her back more than scraped-raw wounds.
As she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hooked her legs over his hips, she heard him curse under his breath.
"Shit, honey! You feel so fucking good!"
She nearly lost it right then because it was rare that he ever used that last word around her…but God did he make it sound sexy! Her thighs gripped his hips tighter while she began to push her back into the tree in order to force her body down onto his every time he lifted his hips towards hers. In no time at all, she could feel him deeper inside of her even as he continued to pound her body into the unforgiving trunk behind her.
Jacob gritted his teeth as he let go of her ass and dug his fingers into the bark of the tree. Her body clung to his, working in tandem with his movements, thus allowing him to take a firm grip of the trunk. The more his grip found purchase, the more he was able to pull his body into hers. Their equal, frenzied pushing and pulling only served to build their crescendo up towards what was sure to be an explosive finale.
When their bodies soon became covered in a fine sheen of sweat, Bella began to find her legs slipping from Jacob's hips. She growled in frustration, not wanting to lose the incredible friction his body was creating against hers. Sensing this, Jacob grabbed hold of both sides of the throw and ripped it from the tree, taking all of them down to the ground without ever slipping out of her.
Bella had the breath knocked out of her for a moment, but soon forgot about that when Jacob resumed his urgent strokes. Now with the solid ground beneath her, he was able to slam into her unhindered until her breath became nothing but raspy gasps.
With nails digging into his back, Bella turned her head to stare at the sky as her body went up in flames. With a final cry of release, her body erupted into a fiery explosion, gripping him from within and pulling him to his own violent release. The throwing back of his head and the almost inhuman howl only added to the intensity of it all.
It would take several long moments before either of them would be coherent enough to function normally again.
Bella was the first to begin giggling as she realized she was still clinging to Jacob while his body lay heavily over hers. She could feel him smiling against her neck before she heard his mumbled voice.
"What's so funny?"
"I think all of La Push knows what just happened."
He chuckled as he lifted his head to look down at her. "Couldn't help it…you were too tempting."
She grinned at that. "Was I now?"
He rubbed his nose against hers. "Um hm. You have to know, that bikini…it's the best thing you've ever gotten. I didn't have to tear it off of you this time…but boy did I want to."
"So you liked it?"
"Liked it?" he growled. "I loved it! I think it's now fueled my imagination for weeks…months…"
She couldn't help but laugh at his words. "I'll have to tell Alice that, she's the one who convinced me to get it."
"Really?" he asked, sounding genuinely surprised and pleased.
"Yep. She knew you'd like it."
He grinned as he pulled closer to her. "Remind me to send her a thank you note."
She mumbled an "mm hm" against his lips as he gave her a soft, but brief kiss. When he was looking down at her again, she ran a hand through his sweat-soaked hair.
Giving him a serious look, she reiterated what she had said earlier. "I love you Jacob. I need you to understand that. I've made my choice and it's you. I may still talk to Alice from time to time and see her when she visits, but that's it. He isn't a part of my life anymore and he knows it. I only want to spend my life with you."
Jacob nodded as he brushed her hair behind her ears. "I know, honey. I love you too."
She smiled at him, a sudden twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "Do you love me enough to move in with me?"
He sucked in his breath. "Bells…are you sure?"
She pressed a quick kiss on his lips. "I'm positive. I think it's time we started on our forever, don't you?"
His answer was to envelop her in one of his bone-crushing hugs…and this time, she didn't mind not being able to breathe…because she knew once they moved in together, it would be forever summer living with her sun.