Chapter 10
Jacob was back twenty minutes later, chuckling when Desiree jumped, spreading the large blanket on the ground.
"Damn it you scared me!" She exclaimed, smacking him on the arm, only for Jacob to laugh in response. "That's not funny."
"You're right, it's downright hilarious." He laughed harder, kissing the top of her head, stopping her hand from connecting with his chest as he brought her wrist up to his mouth, gently nibbling on it.
"You are so evil."
"I know, but you love me anyway." Jacob retorted, wiggling his eyebrows, grinning when she started laughing.
Desiree rolled her eyes and Jacob pulled her into his arms, feeling his arms wrap around her waist, her back pressed against his strong chest. "This is so nice. It's really beautiful out here." She sighed in contentment, having pulled let her hair down, so the auburn locks reflected off of the firelight.
"It is." Jacob couldn't agree more. "I love this place."
"Why did you leave?" She asked softly, remembering Emily telling her how Jacob left La Push after Bella chose Edward.
Jacob knew what she meant, letting out a heavy sigh, and sat up a little more. "I left because I physically couldn't stand being here at the time, Des. I was so broken and beat up; I just had to get away for awhile. I stayed a wolf for a few months, just going from one set of woods to the next, trying to figure out where to go from here. I thought my shot at happiness was over, I never thought I'd find love again."
Desiree nodded, running her fingertips lightly over his forearms in a gentle caress, knowing he was afraid of losing her. "I completely understand how you feel." She took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair. "I ran away from home once."
Jacob blinked, glancing down at her, before his eyes moved back to the fire. He'd made sure to stack more wood on it so it wouldn't be going out anytime soon. "Tell me about it." He gently requested, wanting to hear everything he could about her.
"I was twelve and wanted to know who my dad was. My mom absolutely refused to tell me anything about him, besides his name. She didn't have one picture of him or anything, having destroyed all traces of him when he left when I was two." Desiree felt the tears sting her eyes, remembering how much it hurt when her mother told her that her father didn't want her. "So one night, I decided to pack a bag and go find him myself, to see if he truly did feel that way. My mom caught me at the bus station before I left and we worked it out."
"Wow…that had to be hard for you to hear." Jacob whispered, tightening his arms around her waist. "Sounds like your mother loved you very much and you were lucky to have her." He had no idea about the alcohol, which Desiree planned on taking to the grave.
"Yeah, she was pretty great." Desiree reached up, wiping a few tears away. "What about your mom?"
Jacob sucked in a sharp breath, his chest tautening slightly, swallowing hard. It'd been a long time since his mother, Sarah, had been mentioned. "My mother died in a car accident when I was little." He admitted inaudibly, the pain clear in his tone, sighing heavily. "So when I say that you're lucky to have a mom, I mean it."
"I know…and you're lucky to have a dad." She replied, looking down at her clasped hands, shoulders slumped.
"Billy's pretty cool all things considered." Jacob smiled, trying to lighten her mood a bit, but knew tonight wasn't meant for joking around. That's who Jacob was though and he wasn't changing for anyone, not even Desiree.
Desiree nodded, slowly turning to where she was facing Jacob, legs draped over his right one and drawn up, her arms wrapped around her knees. "So, you said I could ask you anything right and you'd answer me?" When Jacob nodded, Desiree took a deep breath; there was so much she wanted to know. "Okay, you said the cold ones are vampires. Is that legend true?"
Jacob sucked in a breath and nodded, his eyes locked on hers.
"What about the legend of the wolves? Is that true too?"
Jacob nodded again, pulling her against him, not wanting her to be afraid.
Desiree slowly pulled back, staring into his dark eyes, her heart breaking at how much trepidation she saw in them. "Jake, I'm not going anywhere. I just want to know the truth, is that so terrible?"
"No, it's not. I told you I would tell you anything if you asked. I'm standing by that." Jacob kissed her forehead, trembling a little.
"Why does your skin always feel like it's on fire?" She finally asked the question that had been burning on her tongue since they made this little arrangement, hoping he told her the truth.
Jacob sighed heavily, knowing this was the moment to tell her. She wanted to know and he was going to tell her. He wished she wouldn't have just jumped into it right away, but there was no turning back. Jacob decided it would be best to release her, just in case Desiree decided to run for her life screaming. He honestly wouldn't blame her either.
"What are you doing?"
"Just in case you want to run for the hills."
Desiree rolled her eyes, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Very funny Jacob, will you just tell me already?"
"It's not that simple, it's not something you can just blurt out, Desiree." Jacob sighed, rubbing his temples, not sure how to do this. "I don't even know how to tell you."
"Come on, it can't be that bad." Desiree insisted, watching as Jacob stood up, still not believing how tall he was. "Jake, I love you, you can tell me anything."
Jacob's shoulders slumped, staring out at the ocean waves crashing lightly against the shore, hoping she meant what she said. "I'm a wolf, Desiree." His voice was barely above a whisper, but she could clearly hear him, refusing to meet her eyes. "The legend of the wolves is true. Turns out my great-grandfather had the gene and it passed onto me because of the bloodsuckers. My body temp is always between one oh eight or one oh nine, depending. We're known as shape shifters. Sam and the others that were here tonight are part of the pack and Sam is the alpha."
Desiree had to let that information digest, swallowing very hard, staring straight ahead with somewhat of a blank expression. It seemed like an eternity had passed before she finally spoke again. "You change into a wolf?" She managed to ask, slowly looking up at him with bewildered eyes, blinking when he nodded.
"Yeah." Jacob answered lamely, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.
"Oh wow…" She sighed heavily, scrubbing a hand down her face, looking at the fire. "Wait a minute, Sam said something about the cold ones being intruders…what does that mean?"
"How much can you handle?" Jacob asked, seeing how pale she already was, knowing better than to touch her right now.
"Everything, tell me everything." She demanded weakly, hoping her stomach could handle this.
Jacob nodded, respecting her wishes. "Well, I suppose you want to know why we exist and why this happens." When she just nodded, Jacob knew she was still taking all of this in. "Our enemies are vampires, the only thing we kill. We are protectors of these lands and do what we can to make sure the bloodsuckers don't kill humans." He knew she was listening, still not daring to reach a hand out to her. "When a bloodsucker moves into town, the fever instantly sets in and we phase into wolves. For the most part, we can control it, but…"
"Emily…" Desiree covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to tremble, but it wasn't happening. "Sam…"
"Sam got angry one night, lost it for a split second, and was standing too close to Emily. He has to live with that for the rest of his life, the guilt and regret we always hear in his thoughts from what happened." Jacob slowly lowered to his knees in front of Desiree, gently cupping her cheek, sighing with relief when she didn't flinch. "Sam didn't have anyone, Desiree. He had no one to help him through it, not like the rest of us do."
"Poor Sam…" She breathed out, biting her bottom lip, and closed her eyes as his thumb ran across her bottom one. "Emily loves him so much."
"And Sam loves her, which is why he's learned how to control himself around her." Jacob stated, settling himself beside her, just wanting to be close. "I will NEVER lose control like that with you, Desiree. I can't hurt you because I love you so much."
"I know you do, Jake." She whispered, placing her hand over his, lacing their fingers together. "I love you too."
"Even after hearing all of this? You don't care that I turn into a filthy dog?" When she shook her head without hesitation, the biggest grin broke out on Jacob's face as he yanked her against him, hugging her as close to him as possible without crushing her. "Des…"
"I told you I don't scare away easily and I meant it." Desiree hugged him back just a tightly, burying her face in his strong neck, the scent of him even more enthralling. "I love you just as you are, Jacob. I don't care if you change into a wolf, a dog, a cat, a mouse, it doesn't matter to me."
"A cat?" Jacob made a face, grunting. "Not likely sweetheart."
Desiree chuckled and smacked his chest playfully, kissing his lips. "That's not what I meant jerk."
"Oh, I'm a jerk now?" Jacob's eyes burned as he slid his hands up and down her sides, staring deep into her green eyes. "As long as I'm your jerk, that's all I care about."
"Of course." She sighed with a roll of her eyes, crawling into his lap sideways, resting her head against his shoulder. "What about that night I woke up with you in my bedroom, Jake? What really happened?"
Jacob closed his eyes, knowing she would ask that as well. "You sure you can handle more?" He didn't want to bombard her all at once, but he had to keep his word.
"Yes, I'm fine Jake. I just want to know the truth so I'm not always left in the dark. I hate feeling like that." She hoped he understood, feeling his arms encircle her waist, loving the strength that radiated from him.
"Well in order to tell you that, I have to tell you about Bella and the Cullens…"
"They're vampires aren't they?" It wasn't a question and Desiree knew it, feeling Jacob's chin rest on her shoulder. "Bella's a vampire?"
"Yes." Technically he hadn't told her anything so Jacob was off the hook as far as he was concerned. Not that he cared because his entire world revolved around Desiree now, not Bella.
"Well…that explains a lot with her eye color, features and lack of food intake." Desiree said, rubbing her temples, taking a deep breath. "That red eyed monster…that was a vampire wasn't it?"
"Yes." Jacob whispered, dark eyes focused. "The bloodsucker will never come near you again, I promise. I'll never forgive myself for letting the bloodsucker get that close to you, Desiree."
"It wasn't your fault…" Desiree placed her hand over his, wishing he would stop blaming himself for something that was out of his control. "Jake, please don't…You saved me." She looked up into his eyes, cupping his hot face in her hands, pressing his forehead to hers as she straddled his lap. "I love you so much and you have no idea how much you've helped me these last few weeks."
Jacob closed his eyes, enjoying the contact she gave him, still not believing she wasn't freaked out by any of this. Either that or she wasn't letting on how scared she was. Either way, he was grateful for it because the last thing he wanted was to lose her just because of the supernatural world.
"I love you too." He whispered, his heart pounding in his ears, especially when her lips softly touched his.
Something snapped inside Jacob as he buried his hand in her soft auburn hair, growling from deep in his chest, guiding her down on the blanket. She wasn't protesting or backing away, which astounded him; Jacob hoped this stayed the same. Sam had been right, she was just like his Emily, understanding and kind, also accepting.
Desiree instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs curling around his, completely melting. Nothing but soft moans escaped her lips as Jacob's trailed from hers to her neck, suckling gently on her skin. Her hand slid up his back, burying in his black hair, arching her body into his.
She could barely breathe, chest rising and falling rapidly, gasping when his hand slid up her top to fan his fingers against her stomach. Her flesh was soft to the touch, like silk and Jacob was even more enthralled, wanting every piece of her. Jacob felt her turn to putty in his arms, loving the effect he was having on her, his hand sliding up further as their lips met again; this time the kiss was hotter and full of fire, causing both bodies to tremble.
Jacob knew if they didn't stop now, something was going to happen and it was extremely late. He broke the kiss, staring down at her through blackened eyes, groaning at the sight of hers. They were two dark forest green orbs clouded over in a passion haze, begging for him to continue this. He knew now wasn't the time or place for that, knowing they had to take things slow.
"We have to stop." Jacob whispered regretfully, pressing his forehead against hers, keeping himself up with one elbow so he didn't crush her with his huge body.
"I-I know…" Desiree blinked several times, her mind slowly becoming clear again, and smiled up at him. "Thank you."
Jacob chuckled, standing up and extended his hand, pulling her to her feet with ease. "No need to thank me, Des. It was and always will be my pleasure." He winked, chuckling when her cheeks turned that deep crimson red again. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"
"No, I think I'm plain."
"Well you're dead wrong." He assured her, kissing her lips softly. "Come on, I'll take you home."
Nodding, Desiree allowed Jacob to guide her back to his bike, after putting out the fire, wishing he would do the same for her. Their time would come though, Desiree had to be patient. She mounted the bike, wrapping her arms around Jacob's waist, and bit back a scream when he took off in the dead of night.