A/N: Sorry for the cliffy in the previous chapter. (Not really sorry) I just had to. Thank you guys for reading. This is going to be the last chapter before the epilogue. Like you all know, this was originally meant as a one shot. And I really don't want to drag the story out and water it down. Please enjoy.
Disclaimer: Twilight and all it's recognizable characters belong to the brilliant Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 4: A Choice
"I'm sorry, what?" Bella asked in confusion. She seriously must have misunderstood Sam. This couldn't be real, could it?
"You're my imprint." He repeated in a totally insouciant tone, like it was the most normal thing in the world for him. A small smile tugged at the corners of his beautiful lips. It caught her off guard. He looked years younger when he smiled. Even a little carefree for a moment.
"When?" Bella asked Sam. She knew he would understand what she meant by her one word question.
"Almost three years ago." He offered her this intriguing snippet of information. Three whole goddamn years! Almost three. "The first time Jake brought you to the Reservation to introduce you to us as his girlfriend."
"But how? I'm not even Quileute?" Quil's imprint is Quileute and so is Embry and Jared's. Surely Sam had made a mistake. Why would he imprint on a pale face like her?
"That's not how it works, Bella. You already know why we imprint." Sam said, frowning. "But it's not bound to race, traditions or beliefs."
Yeah. She did know, even though she wasn't supposed to. There was an incident just after Bella and Jake had started dating, where Paul had gotten angry and phased right in front of her. And just like that, Bella had found herself completely and irrevocably weaved into a life of the supernatural.
"And you never said anything? Why?" Bella wondered as she rested her head on Sam's warm shoulder, while he absently played with a lock of her hair, twirling it around his finger. Why would he let her be with Jacob when he knew she was his? That wasn't nobility. It was more like insanity. She'd heard what agony a wolf had to endure if his imprint didn't accept him - even if it was only at first. Why would Sam put himself through that for so long?
"I wanted you to have a choice, Bella." He released her hair and stroked her cheek with a gentle hand, tucking a finger under her chin to lift her gaze to his. "I wanted you to choose me on your own. The imprint takes away so much of our choices. I didn't want it to take yours away too."
"So, you didn't really want me as your imprint." She said. It was neither a question, nor an accusation. It was simply a statement. It was heartbreaking to think that a grown man could be so completely influenced by powers beyond him, that he would fall in love with someone that he had never even considered as an option. Someone he had never wanted to be with.
"Oh, I did. Believe me." He assured her. "I think I was in love with you even before I imprinted on you."
"How? You've never even seen me before the day Jake brought me home to meet the pack."
"I have. Many times." His eyes darkened. "In Jake's head. How you met. Your first date. First kiss. I saw so much of you before I'd even met you, that I found myself so intrigued. I couldn't wait for the day he brought you over to meet us, so I could see if you really were as incredible as you were in his mind. And then the imprint happened..."
And to think she'd been completely oblivious to his feelings for her, up until a few months ago. How the hell did she miss it, when it was now so clear when she looked into his eyes. Another thought occurred to her. Something that didn't quite make sense.
"How does nobody know about it?" Bella frowned. "About the imprint, I mean." What about the pack mind they shared?
"I'm very good at keeping my mind under lock and key. I mean, Christ, Bella..." He raked a hand through his already disheveled hair. "If Jacob had seen my thoughts...about you, my feelings for you, he would have lost it." Sam sighed. "In the end I had resigned myself to the fact that you weren't going to leave Jake. And all I wanted was for you to be happy. I would have walked into a burning building or jumped off a cliff if you'd asked me to. As long as you were happy." He reiterated. "And then I saw you look at me the way you did in Leah's kitchen, and I saw the way your body responded to just one look from me. I could scent your arousal and it all gave me a faint glimmer of hope that you wanted me too. I could see in Jake's mind that the spark between the two of you had faded. You guys weren't in love anymore and I knew I just had to be patient for a little while longer."
"Then we shared that night together on the beach..." Bella trailed off.
"Yes. And I knew I was screwed after that. I knew I'd never be able to let you go again. Not after I got a taste of what it would feel like to be with you. What the rest of our lives would be like if you accepted me."
"I think I've already chosen to be with you. Without knowing about the imprint. You've been on my mind ever since that night. The way I got lost in those eyes of yours, every time you looked at me...I think I wanted to be with you for a long time now. It just took me some time to realize it." A very goddamn long time.
Sam's flaccid cock was already stirring inside of her again. Rising back to life. She wanted him. Needed him on a deeper level right now. She wanted him to make love to her. But they were a sticky mess of bodily fluids sitting there on the couch in her living room.
"Let's take a shower." He whispered into her hair and shamelessly dragged in her scent. And there she went, turning into a mess of pulsing lust and aching desire again. She could get used to this feeling.
Bella pulled back. She needed to see those eyes. She stroked her hand over his cheek and raked her hand through his hair. His eyes burned with so much emotion. And for the first time, those dark eyes of Sam Uley's looked happy; content. "Okay." She nodded.
His hands gripped her thighs tightly, keeping her seated around him as he lifted them from the couch and carried her to the shower. Bella rested her head against his shoulder and relished the heat that enveloped her. She didn't think she'd ever get used to this heady feeling of being so close to him. In his arms.
With careful hands, Sam lowered her to her feet in front of the shower and opened the glass door. He turned on the faucet and took her hand. "Come."
How was it possible that a man as gentle as him could be every bit the cut-throat Alpha of a pack of wolves? A vampire slayer. Even the times he made love to her in the roughest of ways, he was still so careful. So gentle and tender.
Sam pulled her with him under the warm spray of water and Bella snaked her arms around his bulky torso, pulling him to her chest. She could exist here forever. She could feel the undulations of Sam's body as he reached for the soap, worked up a lather in those large hands of his and then brought them to her body. Slowly he washed the back of her neck, her back and smoothed his heated soapy hands over the swells of her backside. "Turn around for me, baby." He whispered the order in her ear.
Bella obeyed, turning her back to him, leaning into his chest to steady herself as his hands first found her neck and then her breasts. He kneaded and stroked over them languidly, like he wanted to keep doing this for as long as he could. He was turning her to jell-o and right now she'd do anything he asked of her.
"I'm not sure how I managed to stay away from you for so long." His silky bass drifted over her hair as his hands moved down over her stomach in circular motions and gently over her bruised hips. His thumbs stroked tenderly over the purple finger marks that bloomed on her pale skin. "I'm sorry I hurt you." He added as an afterthought. "I get so caught up in you that I lose all sense..."
"It felt so good, Sam. So good!" She assured him. Because it really did. He knew just how to magic her body into submission. How to bend it to his will and coax limitless pleasure from it. From her. And he gave it back tenfold, too. He was such a giving lover. "You have nothing to apologize for."
Sam's fingers trailed down toward her aching mound, stroking his soapy hand over her folds and dipping a single finger into her. It felt incredible...but she didn't want this right now. It was her turn to wash him first, like he'd done for her.
"Let me wash you, Sam." She said and reached for the soap. Just like he did, she soaped up her hands, put the soap back in the holder and placed two gentle hands on his chest. With slow, thoughtful strokes, she washed his front, watching him throw his head back as if it brought him immense pleasure. As if she was healing that selfless heart that had endured her being with someone else for so long; endured her taking another lover while he waited in the background for her to finally notice him. But when Bella wanted to turn him around to wash his back, he shook his head at her and mouthed, "Later."
Sam lifted Bella into his arms, pressed her back against the cold tiles and eased into her with temperate hips, like he was savoring every blissful inch of her. Bella whimperd at the sensation. It was more than she could handle. It was overwhelming. What she felt for this man with his steady arms secured delicately around her thighs, was staggering. With each roll of his hips into her, he inflamed rapturous passion and deep devotion within her. She wanted this man in every way possible. She wanted everything. She wanted his body, she wanted his keen mind, his trust. But most of all, she wanted that beautiful heart of his to love her without condition. Without limits. And as he brought her to ecstasy with him, she realized that she had fallen in love with him in the short span of a few days. She had fallen hard, despite the fact that she knew it was too soon. But not soon enough. They should have been like this years ago, already. They had missed out on so much time together, but in this moment it didn't matter anymore. They had each other now.
"Oh god, yes! Jesus Christ!" Sam roared as they both came, pressing Bella's convulsing body harder into the hood of his car as he emptied himself inside of her with jerking hips. "Fuck!" He panted and pressed his lips to her temple. "So good."
"Bella?" A voice made both Sam and her startle and pull away from each other, causing Bella to groan as Sam's now-flaccid cock slipped out of her.
"Jake!" Bella admonished, blushing furiously as she picked her jeans up from the ground, where she'd discarded it not so long ago, when her need for Sam had overrode her common sense and propriety. Not that Sam had minded in the least. He had been more than happy to fuck her on the hood of his black, 1969 Mustang. "Turn around." She commanded and pulled on her pants.
"What the fuck?" Jake growled, but did as she asked.
"What is your problem, Jacob?" Sam demanded evenly without batting an eye, as he buckled his belt and turned toward Jake.
"Oh, I don't know, Sam." Jake turned around to face Sam and sneered as he spoke his Alpha's name, words dripping with sarcasm. "Maybe it's the fact that you were fucking my girlfriend like a wild animal, in broad daylight. On top of your car!"
"Ex." Bella mumbled, though she was sure both men could hear her.
"Yeah and?" Sam questioned, obviously fishing for a better reason to justify Jacob's outburst. "You guys broke up."
"How can you treat her like that? Bella is a lady. And she deserves to be treated as such." Jake continued.
"Did you hear her complain at any point in the time that you were spying on us like a fucking pervert?" Sam shot back.
Suddenly Jake's enraged expression slipped away to be replaced by realization and shock as something clicked in his mind.
"Seriously!" Jake gaped at Bella in disbelief, before turning around and stalking away from her. "Him? Sam was the guy you slept with the other night?" He raked his hands through his hair in frustration.
"Yeah." Bella nodded, not sure what to say to appease Jake. Not that she was required to justify her actions to him anymore.
"You barely know each other." He accused as he flung around on his heel, fixing her with a murderous glare. Why was he so upset that it was Sam she had slept with? Maybe because he had expected to see it in the pack mind? Or maybe because his Alpha had always been so reserved where women were concerned, that he hadn't even considered him as the guy who had taken Bella's body for himself? Because, honestly, in the three years that Bella had known Sam, she had never seen him flirt with a girl, much less bring one home. And maybe it had something to do with the imprint, but either way, he had also never struck her as the 'take what I want' type of guy. And he wasn't. Except for the other night on the beach. And the multiple times he had fucked her since. It had most likely been the only impulsive thing he had ever done in his life.
"He imprinted on me, Jake." Bella explained and flicked her eyes up to look at Sam. She hoped he didn't mind that she revealed the truth. He looked back at her with a whisper of a smile on his lips.
"Bullshit!" Jake shouted at her. "Bull-fucking-shit! He's playing you, Bella."
"Three years, Jake. For three years he gave us a chance to be happy. Until we weren't anymore..."
"I would have seen it in the pack mind if he did." He focused his furious gaze to Sam. "You mean to tell me that for three fucking years you managed to stay away from her? And hide the truth from the rest of us? There is no way!"
"She was happy with you." He said simply, no trace of anger or even annoyance in his voice. Just the plain, ugly truth.
Jacob's face fell in defeat and he looked down at his feet for a moment. How could he argue with such selflessness? When he lifted his gaze back to Sam, his brows were knit together in a serious face. "If you hurt her, Sam, I swear to god I'll kill you. Alpha or not. She's an amazing woman. We just weren't meant for each other."
"I won't." Sam assured him. "I couldn't."
Bella's head felt dizzy from the constant swivel between the two men, like watching a tennis match underway.
"By the way." Sam added. "Don't ever touch Evie again!" About this he seemed angry. Very angry. His fists were clenching and unclenching at his sides.
Bella gasped. Shit! How did he know?
"You told him, Bella?" Jake stared at her with open-mouthed horror. "I explicitly asked you not to!"
"No." Bella shook her head and lifted her hands in defense, scooting closer to Sam. He pulled her into his side with a strong arm. "I swear I didn't, Jake."
"But how-"
"You aren't as good at guarding your thoughts as you thought you were." Sam interrupted him. "And even if I didn't see it slip in your thoughts, I could smell you on her." He growled. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out?" He arched a questioning brow at Jake. "Just be fucking glad Chase isn't a wolf. He would have torn you to shreds if he smelled you on her."
"You didn't tell him?" Jake frowned. "Why?"
"To protect Evie. Chase really does love her and I don't want to risk them breaking up for good. It would break my sister's heart."
Jake nodded. "Thank you Sam."
"Like I said, I did it to protect my sister." He growled.
Bella wondered what Sam would say to her once they were alone? She had hidden the truth from him, although he'd probably known before her that Jake had slept with Evie. He couldn't admonish Jake for cheating on Bella, because they'd done exactly the same thing...just for different reasons. Better reasons.
"Are you mad at me for not telling you about Jake and Evie?" She wondered later while Sam was perched on his kitchen counter, watching her cook for him. He looked so relaxed like this and Bella wondered just how tough it had really been for Sam over the last three years. Bella sprinkled a handful of spices over the whole chicken and rubbed it in over the raw flesh.
"No." He shook his head. "I'm not mad. I understand why you did what you did. But if it's not too much to ask, I'd really appreciate you being loyal to me now."
Bella nodded and turned to him. She scooted in between his open legs and slid her hands over the taut muscles of his abdomen. "Of course. Things are different now."
"Knock knock!" A female voice called from the front door.
"In the kitchen." Sam called back.
Bella arched a brow in question.
"Evie." He explained and stroked Bella's hair. "Why? Were you jealous there for a second?" His eyes crinkled with mirth, teasing her.
"I don't get jealous." She lied.
"Oh yeah?" He grinned, challenging her.
"Fine!" She relented with a huff. "Maybe just a little."
"You two? Finally!" Evie peeked into the kitchen with a massive smile.
"She knows?" Bella asked Sam.
"Yeah. Just her. She was the only one I could talk to about you." He assured her, stroking a lazy hand up and down her arm to soothe her.
"I'm just happy the two of you finally got your shit together. For quite some time I thought it wasn't going to happen." Evie fixed Bella with a pair of soft, dark chocolate eyes, much like her brother's. "How did it happen, by the way?"
Bella blushed and bit her lip, looking down at her feet in embarrassment. There was no way that she could tell Evie what really happened.
"Okay." Evie shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Just seeing the way you blush makes me regret asking the question at all. Please don't scar me for life with the details!"
Sam laughed a deep, rumbling laugh that reverberated through his whole body. "Yeah. You don't want to know."
"Are you hungry?" Bella asked, desperately trying to change the subject. She picked up the baking tray with the chicken and headed over to the stove. "There's plenty of food." She popped the chicken into the oven and closed the door.
"I'd love to join you." Evie nodded. "Thanks."
A/N: I'm madly in love with this Sam, just so you know. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. xxx MrsLMB