Chapter Ten

Ember POV

We spent the whole day out there on that beach.

We went swimming, and he took me to a see a shipwreck a little ways off the coast. I was amazed by how fast and deep we could swim, and the perfect clarity I had underwater.

Romance was kept at a minimum. After all, this was new to both of us and we had no desire to rush things. In reality, we still barely new each other. After thoroughly exploring the beach and the forest and water surrounding it, we just walked and talked, hand-in-hand.

"How long are we staying here?" I asked.

"A day or two…Unless you're ready to go back sooner."

"No!…I love it here."

"You're just hoping I'll get carried away again…perv," he said playfully. I punched his arm and he laughed, running ahead of me. "Bet you're wishin' you hadn't ripped my shirt off…It's just killin' you isn't it?"

He stopped and posed, flexing his muscles. I scooped up a handful of wet sand and threw it at him, hitting him square in the center of his chest. His mouth fell open and he looked down at his chest, then back at me.

"Oh no you did not just throw mud at me," he said.

"No, I threw wet sand at you," I corrected.

"It's on now."

He reached to grab a handful of sand, but I held him in place while I got my own handful and lobbed it, cracking up when it hit his left butt cheek.

"No abilities!" he shouted.

"Oh fine, ya baby!"

I let him go and was soon dodging sand balls. It didn't take long for me to be covered in sand, he was a whole lot faster than I was.

He finally quit throwing sand, but the game wasn't over. Even at play, Jasper was absolutely menacing. His intent to capture was written all over him, from the intimidating stance of his lean body to the evil smirk of his lips…And he had me cornered.

I peeked over my shoulder, considering taking him into the forest.

"You don't want to do that, darlin'…trust me," he purred, blocking me as I feinted to the right.

Finally, I spotted an opening and bolted.

I was wrong.

I felt and arm wrap around my waste and he tackled ~yes, tackled~ me to the ground, rolling to stop on top of me. He quickly had my arms pinned, holding my wrists in his hands on either side of my head, and he was sitting on my hips.

"I win." He smiled.

"What did you expect?…You do realize you're like, twice my size, right?"

"That's irrelevant. Now the question is…Whatever shall I do with you?" He leaned down to kiss me, but I turned my head in time for his lips to connect with my cheek. He sat up a little, looking hurt. "What was that for?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to give you the wrong idea…Wouldn't want you to think that I can't control myself around you or anything."

He chuckled, then his expression changed to one of concentration as he gazed down at me. It didn't take long to figure out what he was doing when I suddenly wanted to rip the rest of his clothes off.

"Hey!…No abilities!" I shouted, mimicking his words from earlier.

He laughed and rolled to the side, propping himself on his left elbow.

"Oh I see. You want for me to admit that I'm the one intoxicated by you, and how extremely difficult it is for me to keep my hands off of you…Is that right?"

I pretended to think for a minute, then turned my head a little to look up at him.

"That would be a good start."

He leaned down and placed feather-light kisses along my jaw, from my chin to my ear.

"I admit it," he whispered in my ear. "Unashamedly."

This time there was no resisting.

Jasper POV

Ember gasped when my right hand clutched her hip and pulled her to me, but she didn't fight it.

I had forgotten what it felt like to hold someone that way…The raw passion and excitement that swirled around me, threatening to drown me as her lips danced with mine.

Oh, what a sweet death it would be!

I rolled to my back, pulling her onto my chest. Her lips ventured from mine to trail along my jaw to my neck, and I groaned under the pressure of keeping my emotions in check. But I was quickly getting lost in the haze.

Suddenly she stopped, her surprise and subsequent giggling pulling me from the haze.

"What is it?" I asked. "I really can't take any more damage to my ego, Ember."

She sat up and stuck her tongue out at me.

"You had sand in your ear." Giggle. "And I found it."

Okay…that was funny.

I sat up and gave her a sheepish grin as she tried to get rid of the sand.

"That's what you get for throwing it at me!"

She shrugged. "Still worth it." She picked at her hair and grimaced. "Ugh…I need a shower."

Uh-oh. "There is no running water out here…Sorry."

"No lakes or ponds either? I'll settle for any body of fresh water right now."

I knew of a small spring fed pond, but I needed to check it out before I took her there. It was close to a campground in one of the forest parks.

"Go get whatever you need from the cabin and meet me back here."

"Where are you going?"

I explained to her that I needed to check the area before I took her there. I doubted that there would be any humans nearby, as it was definitely not camping season, but I would rather be safe than sorry.

Sure enough, the area was desolate. I returned to the beach and brought Ember back to the pond.

"I don't suppose that thing is fed by a hot spring is it?" she asked, eyeing the water.

"Afraid not…But it wont bother you."

She hung her clean clothes and towel up on a nearby tree branch and set her shampoo and body wash down next to the water.

I leaned against a tree and grinned at her. "Need any help?"

"Get out of here!" she said, laughing.

"Alright. I'll be over there, where the pond curves around the trees." I pointed to the spot I was referring to. "I'm going to get washed up, too."

"You want me to throw you my shampoo when I'm done?" "Pink shampoo? Probably smells girly, so no thanks."

She rolled her eyes and I left her to get cleaned up.

The spot I had pointed out wasn't far away. I walked through the trees, stopping near the edge of the water. I pulled my pants off and shook them, trying to get rid of as much sand as possible. A whistle pealed through the air and I looked over my shoulder to discover that Ember could still see me a little through the trees. I chuckled and shamelessly wiggled my hips.

"There's more where that comes from, babe!…Want me to turn around?"

I heard her laugh and slip into the water.

You just keep your little eyes right over there, mister, she thought to me.

Oh, so you get to look and I don't? That didn't seem fair.

I didn't look on purpose.

Right. You'll have to sell that to some other sucker.

It wasn't long before I caught the scent of her shampoo wafting through the air. I was right about it being girly, but that didn't stop me from filling my lungs with it. Combined with the scent that was just her…heavenly.

Once satisfied that I was sufficiently clean, I slipped out of the water and crept noiselessly to the tree where Ember had hung her towel. I slipped it off the branch and dried off, then put my jeans on, all without so much as a whisper.

I couldn't help but smile when my wandering eyes spotted Ember.

I chastised myself for being a peeping tom, but couldn't look away.

She stood waist deep in the water, her back to me, humming the tune to the song we had sung together in the car. Her wet hair stuck in an array of spikes to the nape of her neck and the moonlight shimmered on the water around her.

Just as I turned to go, the sound of a pick-up truck somewhere beyond the hill on the other side of the pond made me stop. Ember heard it, too.

"Jasper?" she called, turning to look in the direction I had gone earlier. Our eyes met and she sank into the water with a gasp. "What are you doing there?"

"Using your towel."

"Are you sure that's all?"

I opened my mouth to try and stutter out an explanation when I heard the truck stop and it's door open.

"Hold your breath!" I hissed, but the scent of fresh human blood had already reached my nostrils, causing flames to engulf my throat. I took a step toward the water, ready to dive in after Ember, knowing it would be no use.

She hadn't moved an inch, or quit breathing.

"Ember?"

"It…doesn't bother me…It smells good but…I'm in control."

Footsteps began to get louder as whoever was in the truck made their way toward the pond.

"That's really good Ember, but you have to get out. Whoever that is can't see you in the middle of this ice cold water." I held her towel open for her and turned my head so she could get out. Once I had her wrapped in the towel, I pointed to the trees behind me. "Get dressed…Something isn't right. The smell of blood is way too strong."

I walked forward a few steps, making sure that I was still hidden.

Ember came to stand next to me just as a man appeared on the other side of the pond. He carried a battered and bloody woman in his arms. She was young, maybe only in her twenties. The man looked to be in his thirties. He carried her to the edge of the water and dropped her, then turned and stalked back into the trees.

"Jasper," Ember whimpered. "She's still alive."

The man reappeared, carrying a large rock. I winced and Ember gasped when he stood beside the girl and dropped it. It landed beside her and we both breathed a sigh of relief.

"We can't…Jasper, I can't just watch~"

I turned to face her and grasped her shoulders. "Listen to me Ember…I know I can't get near that girl. I'm not going to test myself like that. I want you to get her and take her to the hospital. Just run due east." I pointed. "It wont take long to reach the city. The hospital is easy to spot…Do not stay around to answer questions. Make sure she's taken care of, then leave immediately…Understand?" She nodded. "Go. I'll take care of him."

**Chapter End Notes**

Wowee, that was a freakin rough chapter to write! I struggled with writer's block through the WHOLE thing! So anyhow, I hope you enjoy! Sorry for the cliffy, but it had to be so J

Just want to thank all who have been reading & all who have reviewed & added to faves. You guys rock!

Next chappy, would you like to see a little bit of "Darksper"? Cuz I SOOO want to write him!