For disclaimer and rating information, please refer to Chapter 1.

Thank you for reading! Enjoy.

CHAPTER 2

Jacob growled, and Edward snarled. The wolf - attacking the intruder of our house and our hearts - went for the kill, as his fangs tried to make contact with his neck. But the vampire was faster. He moved rapidly towards me, his arms wrapping under my legs and arms, and we jumped out the window like a spark, and flashed into the first lights of the morning.

I don't remember how long we ran through the city and past the mountains, but by the time I opened my eyes, Edward was laying me down on a bed, somewhere warm and bright.

I watched as he closed the thick and heavy curtains, switched the bedside lamp on, and returned from the bathroom with a plain white robe, which he gently placed beside me.

My eyes were lost somewhere between the fight and the trip. My body shivered again, and my eyes felt dry from all the tears they had shed in the last twenty-four hours.

Edward sat beside me, careful not to touch me with his cold as ice hands. But his golden eyes shone with preoccupation and fear. Not fear of the wolf, but fear for me.

I looked around us, and acknowledged he had probably taken us somewhere in a different city, a different state, because the decoration of the room clearly portrayed a little more of a beachside location.

"Where are we?" Was the first question I asked him, as my eyes finally locked with his.

"San Diego," He responded simply, daring to trace his long, hard fingers against my bare and shacking arm. "Please put this on, Bella," He pointed to the robe at my side, and gave me a tentative smile.

He stood and turned from me, wanting to give me some privacy – even though he had carried me semi-naked down the United States western coast. I knelled on the bed, and wrapped myself in the robe, as well as the down comforter at my feet. I was frozen cold, but began to feel the warmth built up quickly.

I heard Edward call room service, requesting a very large quantity of food he was planning to force me eat. I was everything but hungry, even though my stomach was currently protesting.

"How did you…" I finally asked, unable to finish my sentence.

"I was on my way to your apartment this afternoon, when Alice alerted me earlier today that your father and mother would be arriving for your funeral tomorrow." His words turned dark and deeply menacing. "If I see Jacob Black again, I will kill him Bella," He was back on the bed with me, his hands finally taking mine inside his, and his gaze warningly holding mine. "You are the only reason I let him live, because I had to get you out. But he was going to kill you today."

I shook my head hard in disbelief. "No, he would never—"

"Really? Why do you think he was transformed, then?" His voice was grave and even darker than before.

"He does that when he looses his temper. He would never hurt me," I tried to convince him, but mostly, I knew I was trying to convince myself. Thankfully he couldn't read my mind; otherwise, my attempts would have been worthless.

But Edward was no fool, and my little argument proved useless anyway. And he knew what a man with a broken heart would be capable of doing. He had almost lost it himself. So, he hugged my shoulders and kissed my forehead with his frozen lips. "Bella, your heart has too much love inside. I'm not sure any of us deserves it."

I fought free of his embrace, and only succeeded because Edward always did as I asked him, not because I could fight off his strength. "No. Edward, Jake would never, ever hurt me. Ever." My eyes darted firmly to his, protesting against his patronizing demeanor. "He transformed because he knew you'd come. Nothing more."

Edward closed his eyes, trying hard to control his own temper. I was stubborn when it came to defending Jake with Edward. And vice versa. They had hated each other the moment they had met, and rightfully so….

I had graduated magna cum laude from the University of Oregon three years ago, making my mother, and mostly my father, unbelievably proud. With a degree in Creative Writing, and a minor in English, I landed an internship at a major publishing firm in downtown Seattle, six months before I graduated. As soon as I had my diploma in hand, my boss – editor in chief and unstoppable guide, and mentor – Jeremy Richardson, immediately hired me to take over the position as associate editor in the firm, to quickly be promoted as editor. I was ecstatic.

With ridiculous excitement, I had managed to finish high school in Forks, Washington. Academically, I was beyond my age, so classes were insanely boring. I barely pushed myself through assignments, and was in no terms challenged by the workload provided. I was craving graduation day, and the only thing that made my days – and long cold lights – livable, was the presence of Jacob Black.

Jacob lived in the Quileute reservation, just some miles from where our house was in Forks. He went to school there as well, so we only got together during summer breaks, and after school. The first year, I barely noticed the guy; his father, Billy Black, was one of my father's best and closest friends. Hence, their very often get-togethers were bound to bring Jake and I together as well.

Jake was one year younger than me. So, when I moved to Forks, his sixteen years of age looked awfully bad against my full seventeen. I saw him as a child still. We began as good friends, great even. And a year later, I began to feel more deeply for him than before. Jake on the other hand, had been infatuated with me from the get go, and his persistence and perseverance, landed him our first date, exactly a year after we met. And of all the predictable ways a teenage boy can invite a teenage girl out, he took me to see a gory, failure of a scary movie. Regardless, he did impress me that night, and given that our friendship was so strong and tight, I gave into my immense feelings for him.

Was it love? Yes. Was I madly in love with Jake? Not really. He was my safe bet; my security blanket, in a world where I had no constants. My mother, recently married to her younger husband, had moved to Jacksonville. And my father, the town's sheriff, was so used to solitude, he barely managed to eat dinner with me at night, and talk to me about school and chores.

But Jake ignited a sense of comedy, stability and light in my life. He was in fact, unique in his own way. We had fun together; his dream to be a mechanic soon came true, as he began to work at a shop, to pay for his college education. We attended the same college, but did not live together until after we both left Portland, and went to work in Seattle.

In fact, we didn't sleep together until a couple of months after I graduated high school. He didn't pressure me, and I always had a nagging feeling I was not exactly where I had to be. And not with whom I was meant to be, either. Our first night began as a disaster, but ended up nicely. He had already grown into a tall and strong, muscular, dark-haired, and dark-skinned man. And of course, I was not immune to his undoubtedly sex appeal. Besides, he had a way with me, a gift, to make me smile regardless of how much he usually screwed things up because of his impulsive temper.

I had given into my carnal desires, knowing I would somehow break his heart eventually. He had taken care of me, as if I were a porcelain doll; which doesn't necessarily make it beautiful. I was more annoyed that anything else. I wanted him to go nuts - to ravish me with love and passion, not holding back, as if he was going to hurt me.

Still, I went back for more, and all the nights afterwards got better, and more satisfying. Jacob was a terrific lover; and once we got an apartment together in Seattle, I looked forward to the passion we gladly took from our bodies and explosive hormones.

Then one night specifically as I returned home from work, exhausted and hungry, I watched his manly figure as it was my undoing. He waited for me at the kitchen – like usual – dinner cooking in the oven, and him dressed in no more than shorts (this was December, during the coldest months in the city). The bare sight of him, all his muscles pumping and begging to be caressed, I ran to him, kissed him, and dinner was quickly forgotten.

Once in bed, after we had satisfied our sexual appetite for one another, I turned to him as we picked on the cold plate of chicken with our hands.

"Ron got fired today," I said, covering my full mouth.

"Yeah?" He said absent-mindedly. "What did he do, work?" He said with a chuckle. He knew I despised the guy; cocky, selfish and lazy. He was my senior editor, and he had no problem dumping all his work on me. On a daily basis.

I laughed, accidentally spitting some of my food onto his cheek.

"Yuk, Bella! Swallow before you laugh, why don't ya!?" He jokingly said, wiping his face with the sheets.

"Jake! I just washed those!" I whined, pulling the sheets from his hands.

"I suppose you'd have to wash them tomorrow anyway. What with all the action they got tonight and all," His suggestive tone, earned him a playful punch on the shoulder.

"He was pissed," I continued my story, ignoring his sexual innuendos, as usual. "He went apeshit on the hallway, not before he yelled at me for no good reason. I guess I was guilty of every single bad thing that ever happened to that poor bastard," I walked to the kitchen, wearing nothing but my boyshorts underwear. I returned to the bed, and blushed at how sinfully he ogled my exposed breasts.

I hit him again, causing him to pounce at me and crush my body under his. His mouth found mine again, the grease of the chicken mixing together with our tongues and sloppy kisses.

I pushed him to the side, and even though he was a good foot and a half taller than me, and was more than one hundred pounds heaver, he obeyed my request.

"This is important," I eyed him seriously then. He looked at me with sad, punished puppy eyes, coupled with a little sweet pout.

"Oh, stop it!" I decided to cover my chest, to make him concentrate on my face instead. I reached for the discarded white buttoned shirt I'd wore to work, and put it on without caring to button it all the way down.

"A new editor is starting tomorrow," I finally said.

"Lets hope it's a girl. you need a girlfriend, babe," His eyes found my suddenly menacing ones. "What?"

"First off, don't call me babe. And second… what are you talking about?" I was offended. Was I really that lonely? He apparently thought so.

"You've never said it, but you know you want it," His eyebrows rose high, waggling suggestively.

"You're a pervert, you know that, right?" I picked the empty plate from the bed, and dumped it carelessly in the sink. The dishes could wait until tomorrow. Right now, Jake was going to get a beating.

"I'll have you know, I've never needed a girlfriend. I do very well on my own, thank you very much." My defensive streak couldn't do much good with Jacob, who knew me better than anyone. He had only ever met Angela, the one and only girlfriend I'd ever had. She had moved to California after high school, happily getting away from the torturing cold and rain of the North Pacific Coast. We barely kept in touch via emails every other month. "Besides," I continue defending my initial point, and making a point to remember to email Angela the next day, "The new person will still be my boss."

"Doesn't mean you can bond, does it?"

I made a face. One of disgust. "No, but she or he, will still be my boss. There are lines that should not be crossed."

"Oh Bella, please! That is so retarded. You can be friends with your boss," Jacob said in between chuckles. "Why and how are you so fucking old school?"

"Hey! No need for profanities, buddy!" I reprimanded. But Jake ignored me.

"Look, all I'm saying is, you need a friend. Who knows? Maybe this person could your next BFF," He suggested, mockingly.

"Ass." I said with narrow eyes, and a hurt ego. So he thought I needed friends? He thought I was lonely… and desperate? I guessed he enjoyed snuggling the pillows in the couch after all. He knew that was coming.

"Thought you said no profanities, Miss Swan. Hmm, that mouth of yours…" He shook his head, and walked naked to the bathroom. When he returned – still showing off all his naked glory - he laid over me, his hand caressing my face. "You know I love all your lonely, needy self. That means, more of you for me," His kisses traveled from my face, to my neck, to my still covered chest. He trailed the path to my navel, but when he reached the top of my shorts, I pulled his face up to meet mine.

"Forget it, all your boyfriend benefits have been denied for the rest of the night. Now, put your clothes on, and let me sleep. I have to get my beauty rest to meet my new boss tomorrow," I said seriously, as I turned away from him, onto my side.

He laughed, kissed my shoulder, and wrapped his warm, powerful arm around my waist.

"What's the name?" He spoke against the back my neck.

"Hmm?" I murmured, sleep dawning on me quickly.

"The new editor, what's her name?" He repeated, his voice beginning to fade as well.

"His name is Edward Cullen."

TBC……