All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, apart from the few I have added.

CHAPTER TEN

BELLA POV

I had a hell of a lot to think about. The look on Jake's face when I told him I had to take some time to think almost killed me; his expression will be forever etched into my brain. I didn't want to spend any time away from him, but it was something I needed to do.

Deep down I had known from the moment I saw him in the diner that there was something not normal about my feelings for him, they were so strong right from our first meeting. It was way too early in our relationship for me to tell Jake that I love him, but that was how I felt and to be completely honest it scared me to death.

How did I know it was real love? I had never felt this way before, but was it all supernatural? Would I feel this way if Jacob wasn't a werewolf and hadn't imprinted on me? I would never know the answers to my questions, and that was what scared me. The imprinting was pretty much the same as an arranged marriage, and I was too stubborn to be told who I should spend the rest of my life with.

But on the other hand, I did want to spend the rest of my life with Jacob. I could picture us together, years down the line, with our own house and children and then grandchildren. I would be happy to grow old with Jake, and from what Emily had told me at the bonfire he would be a perfect, faithful and loving husband for the rest of our lives together. This all seemed great, I mean who wouldn't want guaranteed happiness? But he had no choice in it, and that seemed wrong to me. Quil had told me that Jacob had feelings for me even before the imprint, but that wasn't to say he would have wanted to spend the rest of his life with me without the supernatural influences.

The hours ticked by slowly, and all I could do was think about Jacob. I got no sleep that night because I felt as though a hole had been torn through my chest, which grew with each minute that I didn't see my soul mate. When the sun came up outside and I was in bed, still in my clothes from the night before, I made my decision. How could I argue with fate? And if this pain was what awaited me if I spent any more time denying Jacob, I didn't want it.

I ran with a speed I wasn't usually capable of down the stairs, passing a shocked Charlie, and out to my truck. I slammed my foot on the pedal as soon as I had turned the key in the ignition, and sped down the street to La Push, hoping Jacob would be at home.

He wasn't.

Billy didn't know where he was, only that he had the day off work and hadn't been back all night. My stomach dropped. If I had been feeling so terrible all night, how must Jake have been feeling? I jumped back into the truck, not sure where to go. I drove around the reservation several times before stopping at the side of the road, feeling defeated that I hadn't seen any sign of Jacob or the other wolves.

As I was in La Push already, I decided to head to my happy place, First Beach. I parked the truck, wanting to take a walk along the seafront. I took just one step onto the sand when I heard a familiar voice, and my heart jumped in my chest.

"Bella?" Jacob's husky voice came from behind me. I swivelled round quickly and slipped on a stone, but before I could hit the ground two warm arms were around me, steadying me.

"Jacob" I said, smiling up into his face. He didn't say anything, just continued to look at me with pain obvious in his eyes. "I missed you." I told him, stroking his face in an attempt to distinguish the pained look in his deep brown eyes.

He let out a sigh. "I missed you too Bells, you have no idea how scared I was that I would never see you again. I thought you were going to pack up and run back to Arizona…"

I put my finger to his lips to stop him, shaking my head. "I can't leave you, Jacob. I was a bit scared last night, but I can't imagine anyone else making me as happy as you make me. I need you, Jake. I want you."

He grinned at me, showing all of his perfect white teeth, then leaned down to kiss me. This kiss was much more intense than the others, and we both gave in to our passion and longing for each other. It was amazing. I didn't even think about how carried away I was getting, I was too lost in the moment, but when Jacob pulled away we were both panting and I had my legs around his waist.

"Wow" I managed between pants.

"Yeah" he agreed, holding me tightly against his body.

I placed my cheek against his chest and caressed the back of his head with my hand, playing with his silky hair. He sighed in satisfaction so I continued, until I felt my eyelids droop and exhaustion swept over my entire body.

JACOB POV

I was ridiculously happy. Bella had accepted me, and holding her close felt so right. She was playing with my hair which felt great, and my whole body started to relax. I was lost in thoughts of Bella's hands travelling to other areas of my body, so didn't notice her body go limp in my arms for a moment. When I realised her hand had dropped from the back of my head I looked down to her face. Her eyes were closed and she looked peaceful, and I could hear her deep, heavy breathing. I smiled, but suddenly felt very sleepy myself. No doubt she hadn't got much more sleep than me last night, so I walked back to her truck and propped her up in the seat before climbing into the driver's side.

When I got home, Billy was sitting in the living room. He tore his eyes from the TV screen for a second when I entered, and his eyes widened when he saw a sleeping Bella in my arms.

"I don't think she got much sleep last night," I explained as I carried her towards my room. She would be more comfortable in my bed.

"I think you should probably take a nap with her," he told me, turning to look at me in his chair. "I doubt you got any sleep last night either."

I nodded to him, pushed my bedroom door closed with my foot, then set Bella down on my bed. I was about to take up a spot on the floor, but she shivered in her sleep so I decided to join her in bed. Something about having her asleep in my bed where I knew she was safe had a great calming effect on me. Wrapping my arms around her and smiling to myself, I was asleep in no time.

When I awoke I was very aware of the fact that I was alone. Bella's side of the bed was still warm though, so I knew she couldn't have gone far. I sniffed the air and my mouth instantly began to water at the smells coming from the kitchen. Heading down the hall to investigate, my suspicions were confirmed when I saw Bella stirring something in a pan on the stove. I walked up to her, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind.

"Smells good, honey." She jumped, splashing herself with the sauce she was stirring. "Sorry Bells, I didn't mean to scare you."

She turned to face me, and I had to laugh. She had the red sauce splashed over her face and was wearing an irritated expression. Too quick for her to react, I leaned over and licked the sauce from her face. She smacked my chest, but a second later she was giggling.

"The plan was for the sauce to go on the chicken I'm cooking, not to smother myself in it."

"You taste good." I told her, and she hit me with a wooden spoon.

"Well I'm not splashing myself in it again, you'll have to make do with the chicken."

I sighed in mock disappointment and she turned to carry on cooking, but I spun her back round to give her a kiss. "Did you sleep well?" I asked her when I pulled away after a moment. She never seemed to be able to stop herself when I kissed her.

"Really well thanks. Did you?"

"Yep, better than ever. Think cuddling my soul mate had something to do with that though."

She smiled at that and stood on her tiptoes to kiss me again. "We'll have to sleep together more often then."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, raising my eyebrows suggestively.

"You know what I meant" she muttered, turning back to the oven but not before I saw the blush spreading across her face.

"I love it when you blush" I told her, leaning around her to kiss her cheek. She went even redder, so I chuckled and backed away.

She made a delicious meal for the two of us and dad, who seemed to have really taken a liking to her. He kept looking between us happily, winking at me every now and then. Silly old man.

The three of us watched TV for a couple of hours before Bella announced that she had better be going, so she could get some sleep before work tomorrow. I didn't want her to leave, but knew I needed to get some rest too. Tomorrow was undoubtedly going to be ridiculously busy for us. We had taken too many jobs on anyway, and Quil was taking the day off to visit Claire on the Makah reservation.

After saying bye to Bella, and dodging several awkward questions about marriage and grandchildren from dad, I got back in bed. Bella's scent was still strong on my sheets, so I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep imagining that she was lying next to me.