Chapter One

My eyelids fluttered open and I flinched away from the sudden burst of heat that I felt against my forehead until I realized where the heat was resonating from. Jacob moved his hand slowly towards some loose hairs in front of my face and put them behind my ear. I shivered from his touch, hoping that he didn't notice. He grinned from the side of his mouth, "Morning."

I started to loose control of my breathing before I responded back with a, "Hey." I took his hand from behind my ear and intertwined it with my own. This had always been a source of comfort for me since I was a young child, holding onto his hand and allowing the warmth from it sooth me. I couldn't help but get swept up in the moment and when my eyes locked with his my heart began to beat erratically.

Before I said anything else, he tore his hand away from mine and I had this unexpected feeling of disappointment. But relief spread through me once I noticed what he was doing. He picked something up from the side of my bed and placed a wrapped object in front of me, "Happy birthday Ness."

I pulled my arms out from the many layers blankets he put over me the night before and wrapped them enthusiastically around his neck. His scent clouded my mind and for a split second I forgot what was going on. My nose roamed the side of his neck and once my lips reached one of his ears I whispered a simple, "Thank you." My emotions started to overwhelm me and I ripped my arms away from him unsure as to what was going on with me.

He lifted one of his eyebrows in concern, "Nessie are you okay?" He grabbed my hand in an abrupt state of panic, rubbing calming circles with one of his massive thumbs.

I glanced down at the sight of our hands and I found the strength to speak again, "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You nearly gave me a heart attack there. I thought I was doing something wrong."

My heart dropped once I realized the blame he put on himself for what happened. I looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile before saying, "You didn't do anything wrong at all. If I'm being completely honest here, I'd have the say that you're absolutely perfect."

He chuckled and punched my right arm with barely any force at all, "Yeah, right. Sucking up can only get you so far Ness. I know you're only saying that to avoid talking about whatever just happened, so I won't push you any further. But just know that I'm here if you ever want to talk about it."

I looked into his eyes again and said, "I know."

He gave me a slight smile and then he eagerly moved the present towards me. I made sure to take my time knowing that his patience was wearing thin. It was fun to tease him whenever I had the chance to. I giggled when he showed his frustration by playfully slapping my knee, "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" I responded with an enthusiastic nod. It gave me a feeling of satisfaction to know just the right buttons I could push with him.

Once I finished peeling away at the last few edges of the wrapping paper I noticed how soft the texture of the box was. It was made of velvet and my eyes widened, curious as to what this box contained. I took a deep breathe to relax my nerves and hesitantly opened it. My eyes softened a bit as I trailed my fingers along the piece of jewelry. Uncertain as to what I should say, I bit my lip as the corners of my mouth curved into a smile. "It's beautiful."

It was a simple white-gold bracelet that seemed to have my name engraved on it. I had this sudden feeling of guilt when I realized how much this gift must have cost him. I had been aware of how little money Jacob was making at his new job and I was afraid that he spent the majority of it on purchasing this present for me. But I knew that if I brought up the subject it would only start an argument and I wasn't in the mood to make him feel aggravated. So, I let it go and watched his face brighten as he snatched the elegant box from my hands. He excitedly took the bracelet out of it and he gently grabbed my wrist. After tenderly placing the bracelet around it he put a charming kiss on my hand, "I'm glad you like it. I was afraid that you were going to act irrational by not letting me spoil you just this once."

A blush began to form on my cheeks and I tried to hide my embarrassment from him by putting my head down. One of his hands crept underneath my chin and he raised my face so I was at eye level with him, "Ness, you got that from your mother. You know better than to be ashamed of it."

Jacob's face was only a few inches away from mine when I decided to show him how much his gift had meant to me. I put my hands on his chest and slowly inched them up towards his forehead. As I was transferring the image through my skin, he closed his eyes to take it all in. When I thought he had seen enough I pulled my hands away from him and placed them back on his chest. His eyes opened in shock and when he felt comfortable enough to speak again he said, "You're welcome."