Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight related. I just get to have fun with them. Although if I could, I'd totally own Jasper, Emmett, and Jacob.
Happy (almost) New Year! If all goes well, I will be updating this story every Saturday, but don't shoot me if I occasionally have to skip a week. I am in college after all. Enjoy!
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Chapter Two
BPOV- The Next Morning
I woke up to find a trickle of sunlight peeking in through a crack in the blinds, and I blinked a few times. A pair of strong arms were wrapped around me and I was pressed tightly up against the body attached.
I smiled as last night's events came rushing back. I rolled myself over so that I was facing Jasper and I lightly traced his face with my hand. He looked so peaceful and angelic lying there asleep I didn't want to disturb him, but I needed to see his piercing blue eyes looking back into mine.
I brushed his hair out of his face and placed feather soft kisses on his eyes, forehead, nose, cheeks, and then finally his mouth. He was starting to stir and his arms tightened around me.
"Mmm, good morning beautiful," he murmured, his voice thick and layered with sleep.
"Good morning Jasper," I said, pressing myself to him. I want to melt into him. I lie motionless, savoring the feeling of his body against mine. I'm afraid to breathe in case I break the spell.
"Is this a dream?" Jasper whispered with his eyes still closed. He ran his hands down my side, ghosting over the side of my breast and down over my hip bone, "Or maybe this is heaven, because surely I can't be experiencing something this perfect on Earth."
I pressed my lips to his neck and smiled, "I'm here honey, I'm real."
He slowly opened his eyes and gazed down at me. I was rewarded with a smile that took my breath away, "Bella…"
Jasper crushed his lips to mine and rolled us over so that he was hovering over my body, his weight balanced on his strong forearms. Our tongues were tangled together as were our legs as we kissed passionately.
He ground his hips into mine and I let out an embarrassing moan as I felt his obvious arousal.
We made out like a couple of teenagers for what seemed like hours, until we were interrupted by our obviously hungry stomachs. I felt as if I needed a cold shower constantly when I was around Jasper.
"Would you like some breakfast?" I asked him.
"You don't have to go to any trouble darlin'."
"It's no trouble at all," I assured him, giving him a quick peck before rolling out of bed. I walked over to my dresser and slipped on one of my oversized t-shirts. I turned back to the bed where Jasper was sitting up, watching my movements with a slight pout on his face. I laughed and came back to sit on the edge.
"I can't very well cook without any clothes on baby," I told him with a smile, "No pouting."
Jasper sighed adorably and got out of bed as well. I shamelessly ogled his flawless form as he rummaged around for a pair of boxers.
"Let's go whip up something to eat," Jasper told me, "Before I throw you back on this bed and ravage you all morning."
I shivered at his words, but managed to lead him into the kitchen. I immediately began pulling out ingredients for omelets, setting everything out on the countertop.
"Do you need me to do help with anything?" Jasper asked, looking positively sinful, leaning against my counter.
"Nah, I'm good, but thank you though," I smiled. I got to work and about 10 minutes later, things were pretty much prepared. Jasper poured us both glasses of orange juice and we sat and ate our food across from each other at the table, occasionally exchanging glances at the other.
"I'll wash up the dishes, if you want to go grab a shower or something," Jasper offered as I began to clear our plates when we were finished eating.
"Thanks baby," I smiled, giving him a quick kiss on the lips, "I'll be out in a sec."
I walked back into my bedroom and eyed the pile of jumbled bedding at the end of the mattress with a smile. Jasper really was an amazing lover and I know I was a complete idiot to have walked away from him all those months ago.
Grabbing a clean towel from my closet I stepped into my en suite bathroom and removed my t-shirt before turning on the water in the shower, getting it to the perfect temperature.
Stepping in, I relished in the way the warm water made my body feel. I stood under the spray of the shower head for a few moments letting the water cascade down my body. Finally, I grabbed my shampoo and lathered up my hair before rinsing and repeated with conditioner. Next, I shaved all areas that needed to be shaved before grabbing my loofah and body wash, washing every inch of my body. I loved how it made my skin smell and feel afterwards. Rinsing off, I turned off the water and reached for my towel on the rack outside the shower, but was shocked to realize it was no longer there. Looking around, my eyes fell on the doorway and I gasped at what I saw.
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JPOV
As Bella went back to take a shower, I gathered up our dirty dishes and deposited them in the sink to wash. Letting the sink fill up with a little soapy water, I quickly wiped down the tabletop and stovetops as well. There weren't that many dirty dishes so I was finished pretty quickly, so I walked back into Bella's bedroom to retrieve my cell phone from my pants pocket. I sighed as I heard the shower running.
I was dying to join her in the shower, but I refrained. Checking my cell, I wasn't surprised to see that I had numerous texts and missed calls from Peter and Charlotte. They were all pretty much the same; wondering where I had disappeared to and why I never came home.
Dialing Peter, the phone rang a few times before he picked up.
"Hey man," he answered.
"Hey."
"Where did you disappear to last night? Charlotte was getting worried. Did you meet someone?"
"Sort of…," I trailed off, "It's kind of complicated."
"You know it's funny, Bella disappeared right around the same time you did. Funny coincidence, huh?" he teased. The fucker. How he always seemed to pick up on things I'll never know.
"What do you know, cousin?" I asked, cautiously.
"I don't know the history man, but a blind man could see the chemistry between you two. It was just a feeling really. It seemed like you both had met before," he explained.
"Well we have met before, but it's a kind of complicated story. I'll explain everything when I see you. Speaking of, how about the four of us go out to dinner later?" I suggested.
"Sounds good to me, just text me later with the location," Peter replied, "Later man. You sound happy, Jasper. I don't know what's going on with you and Bella, but you just sound different."
"Thanks, man. See you later." I said before hanging up. It was crazy to me how Peter was able to pick up on a change in me, just by the tone of my voice. But honestly, since reuniting with Bella last night, I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Bella was one of the best surprises to stumble into my life and I'd be damned if I was going to let her go again.
Walking over and peeking into the bathroom, I immediately grew hard at the sight of Bella's naked form through the shower door. She had her back to me, and I shamelessly ogled her perfect ass and legs. Feeling a little playful, I stealthily stole her towel from the rack and partially hid by the door. Moments later, she turned the water off and reached out for her towel, only to find it missing. I leaned against the doorframe and waited her to notice me. When she did, she released a small gasp and narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Oh, you think you're funny do you?" she asked, with a gleam in her eye. I simply shrugged.
"If you want the towel, you'll have to come and get it," I taunted.
The look on her face could only be described as lustful, but she slowly stalked towards me. When she was within reach, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her tightly to me. She gasped when she felt my arousal pressed between us and pulled me down into a kiss. Our mouths immediately opened to each other and we both groaned at the contact.
I broke the contact to suckle and nibble on the skin of her neck and Bella brought her hands to my hair and sighed.
"I want to taste you darlin'," I told her, "Can I do that?"
"God, yes," Bella moaned. I began to trail open mouth kisses down her body, pausing to give attention to both of her breasts. I swiftly picked her up and sat her down on the edge of the counter in the bathroom.
Kissing all the way down her stomach and I momentarily eyed her dripping pussy. Leaning forward, I licked her entire slit and Bella's head dropped back slightly, hitting the mirror behind her.
"Oh God Jasper," she sighed. I began to lick her pussy with more fervor and her body was trembling with the need to come. I slid two fingers inside of her wet heat and Bella's hands immediately found their way to my hair, holding me to her tightly.
"You're close aren't you my sweet," I drawled out. Bella nodded her head quickly and her legs had my head in a near vice grip. I moved my hands to her thighs to hold her legs open and her movements became more frantic.
"Please Jasper…oh fuck," she panted, "I'm so close."
Smirking, I sucked her clit into my mouth and she fell apart in the most beautiful way.
"Shit," she sighed, as she caught her breath, "That was amazing."
I stood to full height and captured her lips with mine, keeping it relatively chaste, considering what had just happened.
"Do you need me to take care of you?"
"No, this was about you darlin," I insisted, "I'll be okay. I just couldn't restrain myself knowing you were in here naked and wet. We probably should get dressed though, I want to spend as much time as I possibly can with you."
"When do you have to go back to the ranch?" she asked, pouting a little. It was adorable.
"I need to head back sometime tomorrow afternoon," I replied, "I don't want to leave you now that I've found you again."
Bella smiled and brushed a few stray hairs out of my face, "I think we have a lot of talking to do," she said, "We need to figure out what this is between us, and where we're going to go with it."
"You're right," I sighed, "Let's go."
I picked Bella up off of the counter and threw her over my shoulder out into the bedroom. She squealed when I dropped her on the mattress and giggled. Crawling off of the bed, she walked over to her dresser and put on some panties and a bra. Bella rolled her eyes at my blatant staring, but I simply shrugged. She was a beautiful woman standing partially nude in front of me. Of course I was going to stare. I finally broke my stare and finished getting dressed in the change of clothes I had brought over last night.
When I turned around again, I saw that Bella had already finished getting dressed herself and was wearing a pair of faded boot-cut jeans with a loose t-shirt. This time she was ogling me, despite my only wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
"See something you like my sweet?" I asked her and her eyes snapped to mine.
She smiled somewhat sadly and replied, "This is the outfit you wore when I met you."
"And what a wonderful day that was," I said, throwing her a lazy grin.
"If only I hadn't screwed everything up," she muttered.
"Hey hey hey," I said softly, walking over to her, "None of that. Come on darlin', there are some things you and I have to talk about."
Bella nodded and together we walked out to the living room and sat facing each other on her couch.
"I think we both agree that you and I have an amazing connection," I began and Bella smiled, "I've never met anyone like you in my life. And at the risk of sounding completely lame, I really like you Bella."
"I like you too, Jasper," she replied, "I think it was fate that brought us together, and now that you're here I really don't want to let you go again. But you live in Mustang Ridge, and I live here, and I don't even know what we are…" she began to ramble.
"Bella, it's only about a 20 minute drive, excluding rush hour traffic," I informed her, "And as far as what we are, I think we're just two people who have an insanely great time together who want to get to know each other better. And I do. You're beautiful, smart, funny, and nothing like anyone I've ever met before. I know we kind of starting things a little backwards, but I'd like to date you if you give me the chance."
"Date me?" she repeated.
"Yeah," I answered with a smile.
"Of course I want to date you, silly man," she laughed, throwing her arms around my neck and kissing my cheek. She leaned back and suddenly looked sort of nervous.
"What's wrong darlin'?"
"Can there be one condition to our 'dating'?" she asked.
"Whatever you want baby, what is it?"
"I don't think we should sleep together again," she mumbled, before frantically rushing out, "Not that I haven't loved being with you, it's just that I think it could be good for us if we get to know each other less physically for a while. I really like you, but I don't want us to be just based on sex. I understand if you don't…"
"Honey," I interrupted, "I completely understand. I'm not some sex crazed manic. Of course I love having sex with you, but I feel the same way. I want us to really get to know each other. I'm fine."
"Okay," Bella sighed, sounding relieved, "How about we make a limit or something. Say, no sex until after the third official date?"
"Sounds good to me, sugar."
"Most guys wouldn't like going that long without sex," she pointed out with a playful smirk.
"Well, I'm not most guys."
"That you aren't," she smiled, kissing me again, this time on the lips, "What do you want to do today?"
"That reminds me, I talked to Peter while you were showering and he and Charlotte want to go out to dinner with us."
"Did you tell them about us?"
"I just told him that we had met before, but it was kind of complicated. I told him that I'd explain it later. If you want, we can leave out a few details, it's up to you. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable since you work with Peter and all."
"I think it'll be okay. Peter is more of a little brother to me than my assistant anyway and I've really become close with Charlotte since moving here. We're all adults, so the fact that we met in a one night stand type situation shouldn't be too hard to discuss," she laughed.
"I guess you're right," I chuckled.
"What time are we meeting them?"
"It's up to us," I replied, "They said just text them with the details."
"Is there anything in particular you have in mind?" Bella asked.
"I'm up for anything," I shrugged, "What are your favorite places?"
"There's a new Mexican place a few blocks away I've been wanting to try, it's pretty casual so what you have on is fine," she suggested.
"Sounds perfect to me, sugar. How does 7:00 sound?"
"Sounds perfect," she smiled.
I quickly texted the information to Peter and he replied back that it sounded good.
"When are you heading back to the ranch?" Bella asked me, her voice giving away her sadness at the thought.
"I was originally planning on leaving on Sunday, so tomorrow, I guess," I replied.
"You wouldn't mind stay with me tonight as well would you?" she asked shyly, "I know we agreed to not do anything, but I just want to spend as much time as possible before I go back to work and you go back to the ranch."
"Of course, I'll stay with you tonight darlin'. After dinner tonight, I'll go back to Peter's and grab the rest of my stuff. That way I'll have my truck here too."
"Thank you Jasper."
"You don't have to thank me, I want to spend time with you just as much," I told her with a smile.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm kind of feeling like a lazy movie day," Bella said with a grin.
"Sounds perfect to me," I said as Bella walked over to the shelf full of DVDs.
"Any particular movie genre?"
"Would it be too cliché if I said old Westerns?" I smiled and Bella glanced at me over her shoulder.
"You would," she giggled.
"Well, I don't have any John Wayne films, but I've got the True Grit remake?"
"You do?" I asked, kind of surprised.
"I have a wide variety of tastes," she shrugged as she inserted the disk in the DVD player. When she was back within arm's reach, I reached up and pulled her down to my lap. She giggled as I situated her so that we were both laying horizontal on the couch, her body between my legs. Bella pressed play and snuggled back into me as the opening credits began to roll.
It was extremely difficult for me to focus on the movie with her so close to me, but I knew I had to control myself. Bella wasn't just some girl who was good in bed. She was special and I intended to prove to her that I was serious about us.
I held Bella securely in my arms as we both watched the movie, occasionally kissing her head or gently rubbing her arms. With each kiss or touch Bella would release a small sigh and it brought a smile to my lips, knowing that she loved it as much as I did.
Suddenly I woke up to see the DVD menu displayed on the TV screen, Bella sound asleep on my chest. Apparently we had fallen asleep, comfortably wrapped up in each other, our arms and legs tangled together. I ran my fingers through her soft hair a few times and kissed her forehead as she began to stir.
"Wake up baby," I whispered.
"I guess we fell asleep," she spoke softly, lifting her head to rest her chin on my chest. I kissed the tip of her nose and she smiled up at me. I glanced at the time and saw that we only had 45 minutes until we were to meet my cousin.
"We should probably get ready so we can meet Peter and Charlotte," I said after a few moments. Bella glanced at the clock and jumped up.
"Shit. I'll go get ready, I won't be long," she said, scurrying back to her bedroom, leaving me in the living room.
I checked my phone and saw that Peter texted me a few minutes prior so I sent him a reply letting him know that we'd be on our way soon. In the meantime I grabbed my shoes and slipped them on, settling on the couch to wait for Bella.
I didn't have to wait very long because a few minutes later she emerged from her room looking breathtaking as usual. I already sensed that Bella was a low-maintenance kind of girl, but she never ceased to look completely stunning.
Bella had changed into a pair of skinny jeans and slipped into some sexy cowboy boots. She had changed her shirt as well, donning a simple blue and white plaid shirt.
"Damn," I breathed, and Bella giggled as she walked over to me, "You look incredible."
"I actually bought these boots not long after our first meeting. It didn't take me long to realize I had a weakness for the cowboy look," she winked before stretching up to kiss my lips.
"You ready to go?" she asked me when we broke apart.
"Of course," she nodded, grabbing her things. Together we headed down to the parking garage where she was parked. The drive to the restaurant wasn't far so we were able get there in no time at all. I spotted Charlotte's SUV in the parking lot so we headed inside.
"Bella! Jasper! Over here," I heard Charlotte call out a moment after we stepped through the front doors. We looked to the left and spotted the two of them in a booth in the corner. The restaurant had a very laid back atmosphere and upbeat Spanish music was playing at a comfortable volume in the background. Peter and Charlotte had already ordered some queso dip to go along with the complimentary chips and salsa, and the waiter dropped it off as Bella and I slid into the booth.
"Can I get you two something to drink?" he asked us with a thick Spanish accent.
"Yes, I'll have a beer, whatever you have on tap," I told him. I wasn't picky with my beer. Bella ordered a beer as well which intrigued me even further. I didn't really peg her for a beer girl.
"So," Charlotte said, breaking the silence with a smirk, "Did ya'll have a good night?"
Bella blushed and ducked her head, but nodded.
"Well, I'm happy for you both," she said with a smile, "Honestly, I had been toying around with the idea of setting you two up at some point, so this just makes it so much better."
Our waiter came back with our drinks and we gave him our orders, handing him our menus before walked away.
"So how exactly did you two meet?" Peter piped up.
"A few months ago, Bella's truck broke down on the road in front of the ranch when she was on her way here to Austin," I began and a flicker of recognition flashed in his eyes. Why did he have to be so damn observant? I knew he was already piecing together that it was Bella that had me messed up for the last couple of months.
"Jasper being the gentleman he is, helped me out by calling the garage and cooking me dinner," Bella continued, giving me a soft smile.
"I bet he helped you out in more ways than one," Charlotte said, taking a sip of her margarita. Apparently Peter was driving them home tonight.
"Char!" Bella gasped before falling into a heap of giggles. Charlotte simply shrugged. It was obvious that they had become good friends since Peter was her TA.
"Well, Jasper and I did sleep together that night, something that I never do," she explained further, "But there was just something about him," she said, kissing my cheek.
"But you left," Peter pointed out.
"Peter…," I warned.
"I mean no disrespect Bella," he told her, "You may be my boss but I'd like to think that we've become good friends as well."
"I think of you as one of my good friends too," she replied.
"Well, Jasper is my best friend as well as my cousin. And you didn't see how he was these last few months, Bella. It was like he was here physically, but mentally and emotionally he was somewhere else entirely. He wouldn't even tell us what happened, but we knew it had to have been something pretty major to evoke that kind of depression from him."
I looked at Bella at she had unshed tears in her eyes.
"Peter, Bella and I have already talked things out, you don't have to upset her," I chastised, taking her hand in mine and kissing her temple.
"No, he's right, Jas," she said, "We can't just pretend that the last few months didn't happen. I made a mistake leaving you last night, but I also needed to hear what it was like because I did what I did. Peter, I value our friendship immensely, yours too Charlotte and I'm so glad that you were there for Jasper. I'll always regret that I acted on my fear instead of realizing that no matter how sudden it was, I was already falling for him. But I'm here now, and there's no way I'm ever letting him go again, okay? I'm seeing this through, whatever this is," she spoke, gesturing between us as our dinner was delivered to the table.
"I know you care about my cousin; even a blind man could see that," Peter replied, "I just needed to do my familial duty and make sure that you knew everything," he smiled.
"Well now that it's all straightened away, let's dig in," Charlotte spoke up with a giggle. I looked at Bella again to make sure she was okay she nodded to let me know she was. Leaning over, she placed a quick kiss on my cheek and began to eat her food. I was falling hard for this woman, and surprisingly, it didn't scare me one bit.
