A/N: Greetings gentle readers! This chapter is my longest yet, and I am proud of the content. No lemons this time, but I have to throw some plot in somewhere to make the story coherent. :-) Please let me know what you think!

Thank you to my reviewers and to those who favored. I appreciate all who read, and it makes my day to know someone is enjoying the evolution of the characters besides me. Goldiegga I am sorry I couldn't tease you, there was no link to your profile to do it. Please forgive me and log in next time so that I can keep my word. :) I tease all reviewers with content from the next chapter, if I can contact you.

I don't own Twilight of course. I sure do like it though.

Many thanks to Nseller for her input and her beta/proofreading chops. I sure do love you!

Special request to all of you: The bachelor party is coming up in a couple of chapters. I would love to know what you think is going to happen. I have some ideas about it, but if you send me a message and give me an idea I use, I will credit you for sure! What do you think happened at Edward's bachelor party? Please let me know your opinions by this weekend. Love to all!

Jasper's POV

I had never seen the people in this house so busy, and so happy. Bella and Edward's wedding was just 5 days away, and it was shaping up very nicely, according to Esme and Alice. The finished product of all our work was still a blur of details to me. I just behaved dutifully and did what I was told to do like a good soldier.

Emmett and I were very busy picking up things that the women had ordered. I drove all over Washington state, and I feared it would only get worse as the big day approached. We had all been so busy that he had not given me the grief about Alice and my uncharacteristic public displays of affection. He wasn't mean spirited in any way, but he liked to have something to tease everyone about. Ammunition like we had given him was too rare to forget.

The closeness that Alice and I had rekindled after my trip to Seattle had not diminished, but it had been pushed behind all the things that needed to be done. I hated it, but I expected as much. I would have to wait until the newlyweds were on their honeymoon to collect the rest of my week alone with her. I would do it though. There was no way around it.

Rose tended to stay close to the house to help out with the finer details. Her resentment about the wedding seemed to be lessening. I was glad of that. Bella didn't deserve to be on her bad side. She seemed to be softening a bit, but I tried not to think too much about it. I was busy enough just keeping up with Alice. I was glad that I didn't have to consider Rose's feelings often.

Our bedroom was strewn with garment bags full of new clothes. I gathered they were for Bella, since they weren't in Alice's size. She had been working her magic again, running up credit card bills. I didn't look too closely. Getting angry with her about her spending habits was futile.

I did notice some pretty lingerie in a few of the packages. I hoped Alice had bought some for herself while she was as it. Without a doubt, she had. Maybe she would model it for me soon. That was something I could look forward to. She would have to work very hard to find something I liked better than the white corset, but she was always up for a challenge.

I grabbed my well-worn copy of "The Art of War" and decided I would try to sneak off to find a tree to read in. Maybe if I could be out of sight, nobody would send me to Seattle today.

When I opened the bedroom door my throat started to burn intensely with thirst. Bella's delicious scent all but overcame me. My mouth began to fill with venom and my stomach got the familiar dry ache. I needed to hunt.

"Hey Jasper," she said with enthusiasm and a fair bit of nervousness. "I was looking for you."

"You were looking for me? Did Alice send you?" I asked, puzzled.

"No," she said shyly, "I sent me." Her heart rate increased a noticeable amount. Her fair cheeks pooled with blood and turned a tempting shade of red. I held my breath, but the burning in my throat did not lessen.

She was as nervous as I was, and that was a sizeable thing. She must need something important. I shuddered to think of what it was.

"Let's step outside please," I said, trying to conserve my breath.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You're thirsty," she looked down uncomfortably at her feet. Her neck was exposed as her hair cascaded down. I tried to push all the predatory senses that she ignited in me down as deeply as I could. I grimaced.

I walked away from her abruptly. I went quickly down the stairs to a less confined area. I took a deep breath before she could follow me down the stairs. I cleared my lungs and tried to regroup in the seconds it took her to catch up to me.

"Forgive my stupidity," I said uncomfortably. "I have been on the road and haven't hunted since the day we all went to the clearing. I was on my way out of the house when you stopped me. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable like that."

"It was worse for you than it was for me. I'm sure," she said with a shy smile. "Can I talk to you for a minute, or are you hurting too much?"

"I'll manage," I said, smiling wryly at her.

I opened the front door of the house to let the outside breeze in. I took a second to enjoy the fresh air. We both began to relax.

"Alice said that she had asked you to pick up Mom and Phil from the airport in Seattle tomorrow," she said.

"Those were my instructions."

"I hope you won't be offended, but I really want to go to the airport and pick them up myself. Please don't think that I don't trust you to do it. I am just looking forward to seeing them, and it will give me more time to visit with them," she confided.

"Oh no, I'm not offended in the least," I said, relieved. If the truth was told I wasn't looking forward to picking them up at all. I had been dreading it with great passion. "Is Edward going with you?"

"I can drive myself," she said proudly.

I nodded my head. "Without a doubt," I agreed. "But, I bet he goes with you all the same. You could get in a world of mischief in the day it would take you to drive to Seattle and back. Even in that monstrosity of a vehicle he has subjected you to."

We both let out a small laugh in agreement. Edward was overprotective of her. It was obvious to everyone. I didn't blame him though. He didn't want to risk her being in the slightest danger. I knew that feeling all too well.

A twinge of guilt went through me as I remembered once wanting to kill Bella because I thought she posed a threat to exposing us. It was only a short amount of time ago by our standards, and I was amazed at how her presence in our lives had changed them all for the better. I was glad Alice had stopped me.

"I need to ask you a favor," she continued, waves of nervousness washed off of her.

"Anything, don't be nervous," I reassured her.

"You say that now, but I'm not sure how to ask you this," she confided.

"You don't have to be frightened to ask me for anything Bella. You are part of our coven. I would truly do anything you asked of me, within reason," I said, afraid not to qualify my remark.

"Well, this one will make fighting an army of newborn vampires look easy, I'm afraid," she laughed. "I want you to talk to Edward as a brother… about… our wedding… night."

"Don't you think it would be better coming from Emmett?" I asked semi desperately. "He is so much easier to talk to than I am."

She looked up at me with earnest eyes. "Jasper, honestly every time I talk to you about something I can count on you to tell me the truth; and you always make me feel better, too," she said. "I want Edward to feel better. Emmett means well, but I don't want to give him anything more to tease Edward or me with. You are thoughtful and discreet. That's what Edward needs."

I was deeply moved by her words. I could feel her sincerity. I was not comfortable initiating a conversation with Edward about this sensitive subject, but I could not deny her request.

"It means a lot to me that you would trust me to do this for you," I confided. "I am touched that you felt comfortable enough to come to me. I am not sure he will want to talk to me about it, but I will try. I know you feel awkward around me after my behavior on your birthday. I am truly sorry."

"It's water under the bridge," she said. "I was never angry with you about it. You all worked so hard to protect and defend me from Victoria and her minions. I hope you know how much I appreciate what you did."

"We are family," I said. She smiled warmly at me. "Bella, just to warn you, you might not like everything I have to say to him. I am not sure that I agree with your wedding night plans, in all honesty."

"I accept that. I'm more worried about him than me at this point," she said. I felt her doubt and insecurity. I knew that she could not help but take his rejection of sexual contact with her personally.

"It is none of my business, but for the record Bella, the man burns with desire for you constantly." I laughed a little just thinking about Edward's angst. "Trust me, he wants you so badly it's hard to bare. He is careful because he loves you so much. Forgive my intrusion, but I thought you would want to know."

She wrapped her warm little arms around me so quickly I didn't have time to catch a breath. I patted her back lightly with my hand. Her delicious aroma permeated every cell of my body. The dry ache in my throat came back with a vengeance.

"Thank you Jasper," she said releasing me. "Thank you for telling me that. It helps to hear it, and thank you for talking to Edward. I knew I could count on you to help."

"Anytime," I said hoarsely, using my last vestige of breath. She smiled warmly and knowingly at me as she watched me step out onto the porch. I gave her a friendly wave and hurried out of the house to hunt.

I had to develop some resistance to her smell before she moved into the house or my life was going to be hell. I decided to talk to Alice about it later. I was probably going to have to hunt every day, which meant more elk and deer. The thought of that turned my stomach. Predatory animals were very sparse in the area near the compound. I imagined Bella's desire to be immortal would work in my favor in the end. My inconvenience would likely be very temporary.

I jumped across the river and scouted until I found a group of elk. I fed, but it did nothing to erase Bella's scent from my mind. My shirt smelled like her. I took it off and left it on the ground.

I was about to look for a tree I liked when I heard the dancing cadence of Alice's approach. She came up from behind me and circled me with her arms, reaching instinctively up to squeeze my bare nipples with her tiny thumbs and fingers. I shut my eyes and breathed in her sweet scent. My body tensed as she continued to softly rub and pinch me.

"Why are you stripping in the forest outside the house? Were you anticipating my arrival?" She asked seductively.

"I think you know better," I said, turning to face her. "I was kind of avoiding you, no offense."

She giggled silvery laugh, one of my favorite sounds in the whole world.

"I forgive you! You're going to make it up to me ten fold," she said slyly.

"I am not sure I like the sound of that."

"I just came out here to tell you how proud I am of what you did and what you're going to do."

"You talked to Bella?"

"No, but I saw you talking to Bella," she said, pointing to her temple. "I am so happy you agreed to talk to Edward. I have been trying to get you to do that myself. It's the right thing to do."

"I doubt he will want to discuss it truthfully. Why should he want to talk to me about something that private?"

"You're wrong! You'll see!" She smiled at me and reached out her arms to pull me into a tight hug. She felt so wonderful pressed against my bare chest. Her smell replaced the burn in my throat with a new desire. Her breath tickled my skin. I tried not to think about how badly I wanted her, but my body betrayed me. Her form tightened against mine, teasing my hardening cock. I groaned in lust.

"So, why are you walking around out here without your shirt? I didn't see that part," she enticingly quizzed me.

"You're making it hard to remember…" I said, kissing her temple and moving to trail kisses gently over her eyelids and down her nose to her parted silken lips. She sighed and her tiny beautiful body relaxed into my embrace. I smelled her arousal, the sweet scent of the honey pooling in her warm core. I felt her desire grow as our tongues twisted in each other's mouths. Her small fingers scraped with intensity down the length of my back. I moaned into her mouth.

"I'm sorry Jazz, I didn't mean to start something I couldn't finish now," she said pulling away from me.

"Tease," I shot back at her in frustration. Someone who could see the future should've seen the passion coming. I shook my head and bit my lip in vexation.

"Guilty," she said eyeing her feet. "Quit evading, what happened to your shirt?"

"It smelled too much like Bella to wear," I said sarcastically. "Now I have bloodlust and the other kind to deal with, too. Thanks Alice."

She extended her arms to hug me but I pushed her gently away. "No offense honey," I said, softening my tone. "I don't see that making me feel better at this point. And could you please talk to Bella about hugging me? I know she means well, and I don't want to hurt her feelings, but it is very hard for me to be that close to her."

"It is hard for you to be that close to anybody," she shot back at me, " with me being the happy exception, oh and possibly Esme, too."

"Just come out and say it," I challenged her.

"You have problems with intimacy. I don't think it is as much about her scent as it is about you opening yourself up to others to love. I didn't really have to say that, you are all too well aware."

"I am working on that."

"I see very clearly that you are, my love. You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you do it. It is about damn time."

"Yes ma'am."

"I'll find you when you finish with Edward. He should be headed to Bella's at about 6:30. You could catch him before he gets to her, if you wait in the woods near her house."

"Thanks for the tip," I said, unenthusiastically.

"Oh! Don't forget to mention to him that she insisted on picking up Renee and Phil. He needs to go with her, take my word for it!"

"I already intended to do that, I won't forget," I said.

She reached up and kissed me on the cheek. She trailed her little finger over my bottom lip. I flicked my tongue out and took it in my mouth, sucking it lightly but seductively.

"You naughty thing, I'll make you finish what we started as a reward after you talk to Edward," she said, winking at me.

"Just don't send me on delivery errands today," I smirked at her.

"I wouldn't dream of it," she assured me. She touched my cheek with love and headed back to the house. I followed her. I wanted to put a shirt on before I went to meet Edward.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I sat under the same tree in the woods near Bella's house where I had rested the day I helped Alice deliver her box of toys. I had thought all afternoon about what I would say to Edward when I saw him. I felt very sure that I didn't have anything useful to share with him, but maybe if I just listened it would be enough to fulfill my promise to Bella. I felt sort of like I was overstepping the boundaries of my relationship with Edward to assume that he would talk to me about something so personal. He and I were not usually confidants.

I heard him running up to where I was. I stood up and turned to face him. A look of recognition crossed his face, and the corner of his mouth turned up as he slowed to walk up to me. He laughed a little under his breath. He could probably hear my thoughts a mile away.

"Hey Jasper," he said smiling. "She sent you to talk to me about our wedding night?" His tilted his head, shaking it in disbelief.

"Nobody thought it was a stranger idea than I did," I said truthfully. "But, I found that I couldn't deny her request. She was very persuasive."

He laughed as I remembered how uncomfortable I was as Bella had hugged me.

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to," I said to him. "I am sure you probably have already talked to Carlisle or Emmett." I extended my arm out awkwardly to put my hand on his shoulder, "But, I will listen if you want me to, for what it's worth." I conveyed my sincerity in my thoughts and with my gift.

He nodded his head. "Can we talk? You don't mind? I haven't talked at length about it to anybody but Carlisle, and truthfully I think he has too much faith in my self-control. I wasn't sure how to approach you about it."

He gave a heavy relieved sigh. The ice was slightly broken. The tension began to lift from my shoulders. I was able to look him in the eye.

"Talk away, or I can if you want me to start," I said.

He sat down on the ground by the tree where I had been. I sat down near him. "Start please," he said, being uncharacteristically gawky, looking my way.

"Oh great, thanks!" I said tensely. We laughed. "Well, this is apples and oranges, or course, but I can kind of see what you are facing. I faced something similar when I first met Alice."

I knew he could read the thoughts in my mind, but I didn't feel comfortable having a whole conversation with him in my mind. A sentence or two was okay, but hearing things out loud could be helpful, I reasoned.

I didn't make it a practice to think of my private time with Alice when Edward was around, but I wasn't sure if he had seen the thoughts in my mind before. His brow wrinkled in thought as I told him what I was thinking.

"Alice was a virgin when we first met. She was immortal, but… well…everything was intact, if you get my meaning. You know how tiny she is, well… you can imagine." He nodded his head. He was intently listening to me. "It had been over 50 years since I was with a woman…unless you count the ones I fed on… but, I had not been intimate sexually with a woman in all those years."

"I get it," he said, obviously uncomfortable at me remembering the blood of the women I had claimed. It made me uncomfortable, too.

"Back to Alice," I said. "I had never had to be gentle with any woman I was ever with, not even in my human life. I had never raped a woman, but I was a soldier and never had a meaningful sexual relationship with any woman. I had never been in love before."

"That changed when Alice walked into the diner and took my hand. I would've killed anyone who threatened her from that moment on. I would've laid down my life for her, and she scared the hell out of me."

I remembered vividly the overwhelming love and conflict I had felt upon the realization of how I felt about her: after knowing nothing but blood, depression, lust and strife my whole life. I didn't know at the time how to be the man she needed me to be. It was something I struggled with to this day.

"I wanted to be the person she had been looking for, all those years," I confessed. "The emotions and the hope that just flowed from her through me crushed parts of me as much as they held me up higher than I had ever been. When we left the diner, we went back to the place she was staying; my first instinct was to run as fast as I could before I hurt her. Her first instinct was something else entirely."

I remembered my past and Edward started laughing. "She jumped your bones!" He said in recognition of my thoughts.

"Hell yes, she did," I said. "I could feel her desire. It was a different time you know, and I didn't expect her to be on me like white on rice."

Edward cackled. I couldn't help but laugh as well. "I hardly had time to think about what to do. I picked her up, sat her down on a chair across the room from me and attempted to set her straight. She obviously did not know what I was capable of."

"I wasn't just frightened for her, I was frightened for me, too. I had never let anyone get that close to me. I would've died if I had hurt her. She had my heart, my mind and my soul before we had left the diner. Then she was after my body as well."

"You can imagine how well me sitting her across the room went over. Once Alice has her mind made up about something you might as well hang it up. I wanted the first time to be special for her. I wanted time to prepare myself, but her mind was made up. Before I could even suggest that she let me bathe, her clothes were off and I was absolutely defenseless."

Edward smiled knowingly at me. He sniggered in laughter, seeing my memories.

"I'll spare you the gory details," I said. "But, I was more gentle with her than I ever thought I was capable of being. I took my time as best as I could, and tried to be mindful about everything I did. I made every attempt to show her how much I loved and cherished her. In the end, when we made love, it hurt her. There was no way around that."

"She was chattering and laughing and giddy all the rest of the day. Her physical pain lasted only a brief amount of time, and she was over it. She was trying to jump me again before I got out of the bathtub. My own guilt wasn't as easily mended, and it was the next day before I would even let her kiss me again. The bottom line was, she was much tougher than I gave her credit for. I was the pussy all along. Forgive my wording. I bet Bella is stronger than you give her credit for being as well."

"You don't know how much I appreciate you sharing this with me," he began. "I am pretty sure I can do it without killing her; or badly hurting her, but the thought that I might harm her at all scares me to death. I can't bear it."

"I understand that, all too well," I confessed. "She is a virgin though, and her first time would hurt if she was with a human guy. I don't think there are many cases where that isn't a fact. You have had much more restraint with her than I could ever imagine having."

"It has been very difficult at times," he related. "You think I am making a mistake by consummating our relationship before she is turned."

"I couldn't do it," I confessed. "She would've been dead the day I met her in the classroom. I am not proud of it, but you have strengths I don't have."

"We have lived very different lives," he said. "But, I understand the bloodlust first hand. I am sorry that I used to judge you much more harshly than I do now. I hope you will forgive me for that. The past couple of years have made me have incredible amount of respect for you, Jasper. I understand what it means to be under the partial influence of the people around you due to the gifts we possess. I know it is far from easy for you. You do amazingly well."

"Thank you for that," I said, looking down. "It means a lot, coming from you, especially after…"

He stopped me with his hand. "There is no need to apologize. Neither you nor Alice has spoken with me about it, but I am aware of what happened between the two of you after Bella's birthday. That time was hell for me, but I know it wasn't only Bella and I who suffered. I can only imagine how difficult the separation was for you and Alice. I never saw that coming. It still shocks me."

"It's past," I said gratefully. "I am glad that we are both back where we belong, with our respective mates. These are much happier times."

He nodded at me thoughtfully in agreement. "I need to go before Bella comes out here looking for me," he said, shrugging. "I may come find you and talk to you again if it is alright. You gave me some things to consider. I appreciate your honesty very much."

"Anytime, Edward," I said. I punched his shoulder with my fist as I got up. "You might talk to Alice, too. I know she would welcome that. Take good care of Bella, but it's okay to let go a little, too. I have faith you will know when to stop. Oh, by the way, she is planning on driving to Seattle herself tomorrow to pick up Renee and Phil. I thought I'd give you a head's up."

"Thanks, it looks like I will be going with her in that case." He nodded at me, smiling and ran toward Bella's house. I turned and ran back towards the compound. That went better than I had ever even hoped it would.

I hoped Alice remembered to find me, I was looking forward to my reward.