Since the instant I had heard the flutter of her tiny heart I had known this moment would come. I spent every waking minute thinking of her and only of her. Was she happy? Was she safe? Oh god, she fell, it she ok? Should I kiss her boo boo? Her dad, well no her mom, would knock my lips off. It had always been that way and I never much cared that I might seem like a total fool to outsiders, and some insiders. It was just the way of things. But never before had it felt…quite…like…this.
I entered the big house quietly and tip toed across the entry way. I strained my ears for the sound of her breath, heard nothing, and then switched to looking for her heartbeat. She had to be…Ah…there she was. I could never mistake that fluttering heart beat for anyone elses. A gentle whisper carried from upstairs. "Jake?"
I hurried toward the sound of her voice, something wrenching apart inside my chest with every step. I stumbled my way up the stairs, wondering at this strange feeling. What…was this? Another whisper spurred me to break out into a run and crash into the door of her bedroom.
The room was hers year round, but she only stayed in the big house when Bella and Edward were away, as they must be now. I fumbled with the knob, crushing it in my too big hands when it became apparent that it was locked. The feeling in my chest grew heavier and made it harder to breathe. And then I saw her. For the second time in my life, every purpose for my being vanished and realigned on to the marvelous creature in front of me.
It had been six months since I had seen Renesme. Six agonizing months. I had called of course. At least once a day I spoke with her, even a few short moments put the aching tension in my chest at ease. It was the first time I had been away from her for more than eight hours, which was a rule laid out by her parents, once of which was my best of friends. Ness needed her rest. I was kicked out at ten every night on the dot and not permitted inside until six the next morning. Torture when you've imprinted on someone that's for sure. I would never be away from her again.
She was not the little girl that I remembered leaving.
That image was gone, a blur I could hardly remember when compared to the stunning vision before me. My Nessie was a woman and my god was she beautiful. I drank her in, aching to run forward and grab her in my arms and squeeze her until her eyes popped out. She smiled, obviously delighted to see me.
"My Jake." The words floated off her lips, so sweetly I could almost taste them, and her impossibly tiny, fragile body was flitting across the room and straight toward me. Her arms wrapped tightly around my neck, reminding me that she wasn't as fragile as she seemed, and as her hands clenched onto the skin of my bare back, picture flooded my brain. Images of people I recognized as her school friends. Of her family. Of the wolves. Images of me. So many of me. In minutes I was caught up on her life while I was away. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, Ness." I wrapped my arms around her small waist and held her comfortably against me. The idea of crushing her to me was still present, but I forced myself not to indulge. "I've missed you so much."
She giggled softly into my ear and then, one after the other, her legs lifted to wrap around my waist, my hands settles lower so that I could hold her in place. I saw a blush stain her cheeks, something I had never seen before on her. It was lovely. But what was….oh…my hands…they were cupping her ass. I quickly slid them lower to grasp her thighs loosely.
"What did you miss most?" Her words were coy, and I grinned, scrunching my face up pretending to think hard on the matter. "Jaaaake. Tell meeee."
"Weeeeeell…"
"Butthead." She smacked the back of my head lightly, forcing me to laugh and earn another smack. She tried to unwind her legs, but I clenched my hands tighter on her thighs and shook my head.
"Uh uh. Don't go!" Her golden eyes captured my gaze and mesmerized me. She was beautiful. So very beautiful. Something, a quick flash of colors and faces, blurred in my mind, but before I could wrap my mind around them, they vanished. The blush was in her cheeks again and I wondered desperately what she was thinking.
"Then tell me silly!"
"Well, it's hard. There is so much about you that I missed. I can't decide which I missed most!"
"Aaaawwww!" She gripped me tighter in a hug, pressing her face against my neck. I laughed, unable to deny the bubble of joy frothing through my body, mostly in my chest.
"Whoa!" I startled at the sting of her teeth biting into my neck, and the jolt of arousal that shot through my gut at the same time. "Whoa, Ness."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you, Jake?" She leaned back, her eyes genuinely wide with concern. Her lip disappeared between her teeth as her gaze flitted between my neck and my face.
"No, uh, just…just surprised me." I had to put her down. If I didn't…things could get embarrassing. This reaction was so strange to me. Feeling these things for her…I had known this day would come, but not so soon. Never so soon. And definitely not when we were alone and she was biting me and her legs were wrapped around me and her luscious ass was so close to my hands. I gently untangled her legs from around me and set her on her feet. She pressed her hand to my chest, eyes laced with confusion. "You didn't hurt me, Ness."
She pressed harder into my skin and I chuckled softly, holding her face in my hands and pressing a gently kiss to her forehead. "Yes, I promise."
She sighed into my chest and pressed closer to me. More images flooded my mind and I chuckled, wiggling my fingers against her sides and making her giggle. The sound was beautiful, as was the smile spreading across her face and quickly turning wicked.
"Catch me if you can!" She shoved me hard away from her and flitted out of the room before I could draw my next breath. I chased after her, my steps crashing into the floor and shattering the silence left behind her delicate feet. I flew down the stairs and spun around in a circle searching for her long auburn colored hair. I saw her through the south facing window, half dancing backwards across the field there, grinning ear to ear. I flew across the room and phased as I was leaping off of the porch.
I let out a gentle howl to let her know I was coming. She screamed with delight and turned her back on me, running ever faster. "No fair, Jake!"
I barked out a long stream of laughter, my paws eating up the ground beneath me as I gained on her. Her laughter was like music from the heavens. It danced through the air and met my delighted ears, mesmerizing me to the point where I barely wanted to continue the run. I just wanted to flop over in the grass and pant like dog I was. Her butt looked really cute as she ran.
"C'mon, Pup!" She yelled, dancing backward again. Her golden eyes twinkled with delight and something…more?
I growled and quickened my step. I don't know how long I chased her, but eventually her steps slowed, whether on purpose or by exhaustion, and I was able to gently pounce her into the soft grass. She laughed up at me as I licked her face again and again.
"Ew! Dog breath!" I growled and licked her even more, soaking her face with my slobber before moving back to allow her to sit up. I pressed my head against her chest and she lifted her fingers to stroke my fur. I keened gently, rubbing my snout against her tummy as she petted me. I wanted to phase back, to have her hands running through my real hair, but there was the unfortunate circumstance of lack of clothing. I couldn't sit with her naked.
"Jake." She showed me images of my human form and I couldn't help smiling. She wanted me to phase too. I caught her shirt in my teeth and tugged gently, indicating the reason why I couldn't. She nodded and spoke aloud. "Unfortunate."
She lay back in the grass and petted the space beside her. I curled up, keeping my face close to her stomach. She looped her arm around my neck and within a few short minutes she was asleep. She was always sleepy after a good run. I stayed awake for a long while, listening to her breathe, to her heart beat, filling myself up with her scent. She was lovely. My Nessie. My sweet, sweet Nessie.
Just as I was dozing off, colorful scenes began to race through my head. They were moving too fast for me to focus on them and I was too sleepy for them to be much more than a blur. But I could tell that she was dreaming of me. And that made me happier than words could describe.