She knew she was a coward, but as she laid the shirt, neatly folded, down on one of his workbenches, Lili lost her nerve and darted back into the safety of the treeline. Even from here his scent was enough to drive her mad, and she felt herself becoming flushed and damp. She'd wanted to stay until he got back, to somehow apologize, introduce herself, let him know she wasn't there to hurt him, maybe find out if his skin felt as smooth as it looked, if the muscles in his arms could hold as tight as - ~DOWN, girl!~ she berated herself. Crouched where she was in a tree across from the garage door, she stopped her unconscious rubbing against the branch and shook her head to clear it. ~What the hell is wrong with you?~ she asked herself, frustrated. ~Centuries you've lived among mortals, and now - NOW - your control wavers?" Collapsing on the tree branch under the weight of her tumultuous thoughts, she stared at the leaves in front of her, not noticing how time wound its way, morning heading to noon, then beyond. It wasn't until movement from the corner of her eye distracted her from her thoughts that it dawned on her she'd been sitting in a tree for hours, and it took a moment more for her to realize that she'd been waiting. Waiting for him.
She knew as soon as he approached that he could tell something was different, but it wasn't until she got a look at his expression that she realized how little she knew about shifters in general. His eyes widened, the gorgeous dark orbs glancing around as she watched his chest expand with deep, regular breaths. ~Heavens, he can smell me!~ Why she was surprised, she couldn't have said, just that it was surprising. She watched as he immediately went into a smooth stride, and was thankful that the harsh breeze of the day and the ever-present drizzle would have made her scent nearly untraceable out in the open. Regardless of that fact, though, he walked around the trees outside the garage for a moment, never quite coming close enough to her current location to pick up her scent, but eventually he went back inside. She dropped soundlessly to a lower branch so she could watch inside the building as he moved around. She saw the shock in his bearing as he noticed the shirt laying on the workbench, watched him move ~heavens, he's graceful!~ to it, but nothing could have prepared her for the tingle that rocketed through her as his hands caressed the fabric, brought it to his nose, or the look of absolute rapture on his face as he inhaled deeply, shocking her when he began to tremble slightly. ~I didn't wash the shirt first!~ was the absurd thought that flitted through Lili's mind. Still, she kept watching.
~She was here again!~ Jake knew something was off as soon as he caught that first hint of her scent, walking home from his day of classes. Mentally cursing the weather that would make tracking her a near impossibility, he gave up after a few moments and walked back into the garage. He could smell her more strongly inside, and it didn't take long before he noticed the neatly folded shirt laying on the side bench. Walking to it, his body seemed almost on autopilot as he brought the fabric up to his nose. And felt his knees buckle as a surge of lust nearly dropped him to the ground.
~HOLY SHIT!~ he panted, his blood racing as though he'd been runnign, his breath coming in short pants. This was her scent, but it was...more...stronger...he was distantly aware of the raging hard-on jamming itself painfully against his jean shorts, but it seemed almost as though it was someone else's discomfort. He was wrapped in her, and he couldn't feel anything else. How long he stood there, Jake had no idea, but it was a long while before he wrenched himself back to the present. With shaking hands he placed the shirt back on the table and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down.
~A cold dip in the pond. That's what I need. Holy mother of god, I need it.~ Not bothering to phase, since he really didn't want the others to know what was going on in his head, he simply set off at a lope towards the waterfall on the other side of the treaty border. He was so distracted by his rampant desire that he never noticed the occasional flash of platinum hair in the trees behind him.
Alice and Bella got to the cafeteria only to find that their men had beaten them there. And to Bella's surprise and delight, Jess was at the table with them. As she and Alice walked towards them, Eric and Angela made their way to the table as well, and Bella felt her happiness grow exponentially. She set her bag down only to realize that Edward had already gotten her lunch, so all she had to do was slide into her seat.
"YAY!" said Alice, totally sincere. "I'm so glad you all decided to eat here today!"
"I've decided to take you all up on your offer of protection, if it still stands," said Jess quietly, staring at her plate. Before Bella could say a word, Edward spoke up.
"Of course it does. We won't let him hurt you if we can stop it." Angela looked from Jess to Edward, sending a grateful smile to the bronze-haired Cullen that was met with an answering nod. The humans dug into their food for a moment, conversation forgotten, but after a few minutes Bella felt the familiar sensation of a piece of paper brushing her elbow where it rested just below the table surface. Not letting her expression betray her, she made as if to dig in her backpack for something, and was glad her face was out of sight when she read what Alice had written.
We can trust Jessica with our secret, it said simply. The only indication Bella gave that she'd read it was to raise an eyebrow at Alice, who blinked twice and nodded ever so slightly. The brunette closed the note inside her bag and turned as much of her attention as she could back to her lunch companions. In the few seconds the exchange had taken, Alice had already wound Eric up into a discussion of the upcoming 'Cullen bash', as he called it.
"So you don't have any problems with the guest list?" he was asking. Alice shook her head, grinning excitedly.
"Nope! This is going to be so much fun!" Bella was crunching into her apple and letting the others talk, letting her expression show nothing even when a familiar voice poured over her mind like warm chocolate.
~Are you looking forward to the next two days as much as I am, I wonder?~ Carlisle's question could have been simple musing to himself, but she knew the elder had too much control to let a random thought slip into her mind if he didn't want it to. Polishing off her apple and taking a drink of water, she pretended to be paying attention to the conversation, all the while letting her response slip back to him.
~I'm shaking, Carlisle. I want so much to make you proud of me, but I'm worried that I'm not going to live up to your hopes.~ There. It was out. She waited for the backlash from his mind, but instead she heard a very definite chuckle.
~We will discuss that later, love. Now, I have some instructions for you.~ She listened with growing excitement and worry as she told her exactly what he wanted her to do, not noticing Jasper's eyes darkening in response to the arousal building up inside her. It wasn't until she glanced his way that she saw how difficult it was for him to hold himself in check, and she grinned sheepishly and mouthed a quiet "sorry" before attempting to tone down her emotions. He smiled back, a ghost of a promise in his butterscotch eyes, and she nearly whimpered as he shot a little of her own lust back at her. With a mock glare she returned as much attention as she could to the conversation. And prayed for the rest of the day to fly by at vampire speed.
Author's note: So...Jess can be trusted. That's going to either make things much easier or complicate it all to hell, and I'm not syre which. As soon as I decided to write as much as possible, my EPBs began to jump up and down. They stole my keyboard. And all they'll tell me is that there's a lot of stuff coming.
On that note, indulge me: how many of you, Faithful Readers, are wondering exactly what Luc and Lili are? I'd really like to hear theories and opinions as to who (or what) they are, and what anyone thinks Bella's dreams mean. So if anyone has any ideas or possibilities, hit me with it. I'm curious to find outhow much (or little) y'all have been able to glean from the scraps I've set out for you. Don't worry, Caralla's visit will clear up a lot, but first we've got a delicious weekend with Carlisle, and I'm sure no one will mind if I let Caralla wait in the wings until the Good Doctor and Bella have been let out to play. :-D