Unwanted Chapter 10: Gifted, a twilight fanfic

So I apologize for not posting again sooner. My laptop decided to corrupt the file in which Chapter 10 was saved twice! So I had to start over. But I finally got it done. We're gonna find out something interesting about Muse…enjoy :)

Chapter 10- Gifted

A knock at the door woke me the following morning.

"Muse?" Dean called lightly through the door. I blinked my eyes open. The room around me was still dark and outside my window the grey sky dribbled down rain. Dean knocked once more lightly before cracking open the door. "Muse?" Then smiled when he saw me. "You're up."

"Sorta," I mumbled in a croaky morning voice.

He pushed the door open all the way, letting soft fluorescent light spill across the floor and across the bottom half of my bed. Thankfully, his elbow only rested beside my light switch without actually flipping it on. "You think you're up for school yet?"

I thought about what that would entail, especially after everything I now knew. My classmates would undoubtedly hound me about what I remembered from Friday night. Teachers would look upon me with pity. Everybody at school friend, foe, or other would whisper behind my back. And worst of all, I would have to lie to everyone, even to James. "Not yet," I pleaded, grabbing a large pink pillow and shoving it over my entire face. "Can I wait and go back next week?" The question came out muffled; nonetheless, Dean understood me. I peeked out with one eye for his answer.

He gave me a soothing smile. "I think that will be okay. Dr. Cullen did tell me you should rest as much as possible while you're healing. And I know school right now would be a lot of stress."

"Yeah," I agreed faintly.

"But Muse…" Dean got a pained look on his face. "The police are going to stop by tonight to speak with you."

I cringed.

"I'm sorry." The pain on his face turned to bitterness. "They tried to come question you this weekend, but you were so out of it that they couldn't get anything from you. I kinda wanted to punch them for even trying in your state."

I tried to think back to this weekend, of what I could remember. I certainly couldn't remember ever having any visitors, much less the police. Then again, most of the time came back to me as lapses of blackness and still-frames of my room blurred by the constant veil of tears. Dean walked over to me in his dark green jumpsuit with his name embroidered on the chest and bent to give me a kiss on the forehead. He gently ran his fingers over one of the stitched up gashes on my cheek. "I'll call the school. You take it easy."

I nodded. Dean glanced over at my clock. "Welp, gotta go. Love ya sis."

"Love you too," I called out as he dashed out my door. As soon as I heard his truck start up and take off down our driveway, I threw back my covers and got out of bed. I dropped to my knees and searched under my bed then moved over and opened the doors to my minuscule closet. What am I doing? It's not like Jacob could have possibly fit in either of those places. I stepped to the middle of the room and stood there shaking my head at the ridiculousness of my actions before heading down the hall to take a shower. The bathroom filled up with steam from the shower, which I let run so hot that it almost burnt my skin; and after twenty minutes, the water turned cold. Afterwards, wrapped in a towel with my skin pink from the hot shower, I returned to my room….

"What the eff?! Edward?!"

There was Edward Cullen leaning against the window sill in MY room. His eyes widened in shock, and I quickly grabbed the towel around me making sure it was secure.

"Oh!" he gasped and fled from the room so fast that I couldn't even tell which exit he took. For the moment I didn't care. I made sure both my door and the window were locked, all the while my hair dripping and leaving dark spots on the carpet.

I quickly finished drying off and pressed my hair with the towel, so it was just damp. I threw on a black camisole, a plain forest green v-neck baby doll tee, a pair of blue jeans, and some chunky multi-colored Vans. Curious to find out why Edward had shown up in my room uninvited, I rushed through my makeup as much as I could, and threw my hair up into a quick messy bun. I paused for a moment to study myself. I hadn't truly taken the time to look in a mirror yet. I had stitches in two places on my face, on my forehead near the hairline and my left cheek, I had purple bruising in different places on my arms and neck. I lifted my shirt to find a few more visible bruises around the bandages wrapped around my torso. They were sore and the broken ribs still made breathing a chore. And in the shower I'd found a couple more sets of stitches and lots of bruises on my legs. I made my way downstairs and found Edward sitting on the worn, maroon couch . He looked up at me as I entered the room. I couldn't help but feel nervous about being alone with Edward who, by now, I had no choice but to believe was a vampire. I stopped in the doorway, not sure if I should go any closer.

"Don't worry," Edward muttered shamefully, "Jacob is outside, nearby, making sure I don't hurt you." He glared out the window. "Although I would never hurt you Muse."

I'm not sure if a werewolf should have made me feel safer, but he did. Edward's eyes hardened. "A werewolf is much more likely to hurt you than I am."

"Whatever," I sighed, letting the comment roll on by, and decided it was safe enough for me to sit down in the brown recliner. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you would have questions. Don't you?"

To be honest, I'd been so out of it since Friday that I hadn't had a chance to think much at all about what Edward and his family had told me. Edward leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands folded, waiting for me to speak.

"I'm not sure…yeah…just…," my thoughts moved slower than my words, "where do I start?" I brought my knees up to my chin and wrapped my arms around my legs. "So you're a vampire.…well, tell me about vampires. I only know what I've read in books and seen in movies, but I can imagine that a lot of it isn't true."

Though five days ago I'd have sworn the existence of vampires and werewolves wasn't true.

Edward smiled then answered, "Yes. A lot of what you have heard is wrong. We're very strong, much stronger than anyone can imagine. Like snap a tree in half with a gentle finger tap strong. We're fast too. We can outrun any animal and most vehicles as well…

He kinda made it sound like he was superman or something.

…We do drink blood. Most vampires drink human blood, but as Carlisle told you, my family and I choose to drink animal blood instead. We don't sleep or get tired. And when we go out into the sun, the light bounces off us like there are millions of diamonds embedded in our skin."

When he said that my face broke out into a humorous grin. "Hold up…you what!? You SPARKLE in the sun?"

He nodded, his eyes more serious than my seventy year-old history teacher during the mid-term exam.

I laughed, "Vampires sparkle? That's so….stupid." From outside I heard an animal howling in broken pitches.

Undoubtedly Jacob agreeing...maybe laughing.

Edward's eyebrows pulled together, and he frowned. "Stupid?"

"I mean c'mon? Where's the danger in that? What does it accomplish?"

He folded his arms across his chest, challenging me back, "It's supposed to make us much more appealing to our prey."

My chuckles cut off abruptly. "Oh." I thought for a second. "I guess that kinda makes sense. But it's still kinda funny." I grinned again, and in return his face loosened until he was almost smiling too. Much of what he had told me answered other questions that I had previously wanted answered, even before I knew what he was. Like why his family went camping so much? Or how he always seemed to be able to beat me to class? Why he was so cold all the time? Why he hadn't eaten more than a bite or two of pizza on our date? And why he reminded me of my ex-boyfriend?

I frowned as the realization clicked in my head. "Nathan," the name escaped my lips in a whisper. He was like Edward…he was a vampire.

Edward nodded eagerly as he watched me. I drifted from my thoughts. He was looking at me as though he knew what I'd just been thinking, as though he knew I'd been thinking about Nathan being a vampire.

"I can and I do."

I gave him my best your-crazy-dude look. "You can and do what?"

"Sorry, I can tell what you're thinking. And I do know about Nathan because I've heard you think about him before…" I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, but he gently placed his finger up to deter me from speaking "…That's one other thing about vampires. We all bring something from our human lives with us, some piece of our personality or a skill which is magnified in our new life as a vampire. For some vampires, those skills are very special. They're kind of like superpowers you might say"

"You can read minds?" I was shamelessly intrigued. My feet fell to the floor and I leaned forward.

"Yes, as a vampire I can read my minds. It is my 'gift'."

"So just now, you knew I was thinking about Nathan?" My eyes widened with interest.

"Yes. And before, when you thought about him during one of our conversations at school, I saw him. I could tell that he was a vampire."

I blinked, unsure how to handle this new piece of information: that Nathan had been a vampire. Plus, now I felt like I would have to be careful with what I thought about around Edward. I redirected my attention back to the actual conversation. "What about your family? Do any of them have superpowers?"

He nodded. "Jasper can feel the emotions of everyone nearby and can manipulate their emotions as well. Alice can see the future but it's tricky because the futures she sees can change if someone changes their mind about a decision which directly affects that future."

That actually made sense and it was really cool.

I had one more question for Edward, but I wasn't sure how to start. How did you ask someone about their deceased spouse. I was curious as to whether or not she'd had gift. Edward's breath hitched, and his face froze in shock and pain. "You know about Bella." I nodded. "Stupid mutt," he grumbled to himself out loud, "always crossing lines he shouldn't."

"Edward," I whispered while reaching out and laying my right hand on his icy folded hands. He stopped his rant. "I found out about Bella on my own. I'd heard Rosalie say the name, and I was curious. I found a wedding announcement online…an old wedding announcement."

Edward's eyes grew. "You found an article with me and Bella online still."

"Yes." I tried not to look guilty, but I was sure I had failed miserably. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine Muse…not your fault," he assured me gently, "I just thought that all records of that past had been removed."

I nodded understandingly. I won't bring her up again. It must be painful. I know what it's like to lose a loved one. Subject closed.

"Thank you," Edward breathed. His breath was sweet, like a candy cane or a peppermint patty.

That was cool. I just spoke to Edward with my mind.

Edward grinned in amusement.

It would be difficult though to monitor my thoughts anytime I was around Edward. It was sort of an invasion of privacy.

"I know," he frowned now, "The whole mind-reading thing can get annoying. It definitely takes some getting used to?"

Yeah but did I really want to get used to it?

"Do you want to?" He asked the question. His thick, dark, perfect eyebrows creased with the sincerity of his question.

"I don't think I have choice."

"Of course you do.."

"No," I shook my head slowly, "I know too much. Plus, it's far to enthralling. And…" I glanced out the window.

"Jacob," Edward heard the name in my head, "You love Jacob." Edward sounded disappointed and appalled.

"Love is a strong word. But there's something there."

Edward rose from the couch gracefully and held out his hand. "Alright then, if you're involved, then we'd better get going."

"Going?" I stared at his extended palm. "Going where?"

"My house."

I hesitated for a second but then accepted his hand. After all, he is my friend right?

"I hope I'm still your friend." He caught my eyes with his. And for a moment I was drawn in. Those eyes were dazzling. The irises were rings of rich gold, and the dark rings around his eyes only made the colors stand out even more. Eventually, Edward looked away and I could breath again.

It would be so easy for a girl to fall for him..with those eyes, that face, that body, his words…he was in many ways, a perfect being. Crap! Why did I just think that.

Edward laughed and led me out the door, grabbing my jacket on the way. He assisted me in sliding it on, so that I didn't have to move so much in the process. I groaned a bit from the pain of bending over as I slid into black leather seat on the passenger side of his BMW.

Edward eyed me with apprehension. I waved away his silent concerns. "I'm fine. Let's go."

The drive to the Cullen's house only took about two minutes, though it was normally probably a five or six minute drive. I'd only glanced at the speedometer once and decided I would never ever do that again. It was really only scary to be driving 120 miles an hour if you knew you were driving 120 miles an hour.

When we arrived, Jacob and three other boys, all dressed in jeans and black t-shirts, were standing together on the porch of the Cullen's home. Jacob ran over and was at my door by the time I'd unbuckled and opened the door. He helped me out; I winced at the sharp pain in my ribs as I stood up. I would forget to take any pain pills. Maybe Carlisle has some here.

"Hey," Jacob greeted me with a concerned smile.

"Hi," I grinned back, trying my best to convey that he really didn't need to be concerned. I laced my fingers through his left hand and we started towards the house. Edward had obviously already gotten himself inside. We reached the porch and where the other very large, copper skinned boys stood. I knew Seth.

"Hey Muse!" Seth waved at me cheerfully. Seth was pretty average I guess, well in comparison with the other three boys. He wasn't too tall or short; he wasn't thin or large. He was muscular with cropped black hair. Looking at him, I'd guess he was a very fit sixteen-year-old. On the camping trip I'd found that he was extremely upbeat and sweet.

"Hi Seth."

But I couldn't remember the other boys' names. One started wit think?

"Hi Muse, I'm Quil." The boy speaking offered his hand for me to shake. He was not quite as tall as Jacob, but definitely bigger. Of course, he was one big russet toned muscle from head to toe. His hair was ebony, and buzz-cut; and his eyes were a deep chocolate brown. His smile was genuine and spread across his whole face.

"And I'm Embry," the other boy introduced himself. I noticed that he was more slender than the other boys and not quite as tall, but that just made his muscles more distinctive. He also had brown eyes, and he wore his black hair cropped. He seemed a bit more reserved than Jacob and Quil, and I got the feeling he was a bit on edge here.

I shook each hand, and it was impossible not to blush in the presence of such good-looking men. "Hi. So you're Jake's pack huh?"

Quil and Seth chuckled while Embry just smiled and answered me, "That's us."

"Sweet!" I beamed at them. Before the conversation could get any further, the wind suddenly changed directions and we all took a direct hit from the rain. I ducked behind Jacob without thinking. That reaction sent all four boys into a fit of laughter; it was infectious. I continued to laugh as we all headed inside.

I hadn't really taken the time to actually look at the Cullen's house before. The room we entered into was a humongous living area with a couple of rectangular white couches, a few round red chairs, a huge flat screen television, some glass end tables and coffee table, a baby grand piano in the far left corner, and a pool table in far right corner. The walls were a soft gray, and the thick, plush carpet was midnight black. Eclectic paintings hung from the wall, and a vase full of deep red roses sat in the center of the coffee table. The room looked like it belonged in a home decorating magazine or something. Edward entered from the kitchen carrying something in a fist in his right hand, and a half-glass of water in his left. He opened his clenched hand and thrust it towards me along with the glass.

"Vicodin" he explained.

"Thanks." I took the pills and the water and swallowed them easily then handed the water glass back to him.

"You're welcome." He walked back into the kitchen, and two seconds later returned with the rest of his family.

Carlisle was the last in the room. He stood beside his wife, Esme, near the kitchen. "How are you feeling Muse?" Carlisle asked me.

I shrugged, "I hurt. But it's not unbearable."

"You should feel much better in another week or so." I smiled. I never imagined that a vampire could be a doctor, with all the blood, much less the kindest doctor I'd ever met.

Edward positioned himself on my right, while Jacob stood on my left. Both of their faces had turned serious. Then Carlisle spoke, addressing the entire room, "I wanted to get us all together to discuss the events of this past weekend. I'm assuming that everyone has heard the story in one way or another." The group nodded, myself included. I tensed anxiously hoping to learn something new. "Good then we are all on the same page. We don't know much and unfortunately, Alice can't see any future events which could provide us with answers."

"Since you wolves are around so much, I can't get any clear pictures." Alice rubbed her fingers on her temples, her face contorted in frustration. "It's so unnerving."

"Well we couldn't really fight fair if you could see every move we made beforehand could we?" Quil jibed playfully.

Obviously Rosalie didn't see the humor. A growl emanated from low in her throat and she hissed, "It will never be a fair fight with us you smelly mongrel! I could take you down with one hand blindfolded." Rosalie crouched slightly and flared her nostrils with Emmett in her wake. Even then, Rosalie was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful women I'd ever met. Quil and Embry stepped forward and glared at Rosalie and Emmett. Beside me Jacob tensed.

Are they seriously fighting about fighting?

Edward snorted. He'd obviously heard what I was thinking. Everyone just stood around watching the scene unfold near the center of the room, the only thing dividing the parties was a couch. The maternal side of me wanted to go stand between them to halt the argument; however, the look on Rosalie's face assured me that she was ready to throw herself at the next thing in the room that moved. But I didn't want to see a fight either, so I shouted. "Everybody just calm down!" The words came out strong, a command meant for the entire group. Though, I'm pretty sure I'd originally intended for that to come out as a request. As soon as I got the words out, every eye in the room flashed to me. What was even more disturbing, though, was that each face held the same exact expression, a mixtures of awe and confusion.

It wasn't the first time I'd seen the look, at least not on Edward or Jacob.

"Amazing!" Carlisle spoke, examining with fascination. Much like I imagined he might examine a patient who had some rare condition.

"You weren't lying Edward," Jasper mumbled. He'd turned his eyes to Edward now. Edward looked back at Jasper, his eyes questioning, eyebrows raised slightly.

"No, I don't think it's like me," Jasper said to Edward, an answer to some earlier question maybe.

Most of the group had stopped staring at me now. They'd given Edward and Jasper their full attention instead.

"What?" I looked at Edward eagerly then Jacob, who was now eyeing Jasper. Jasper glanced over at me when I spoke, a mystified look on his face, and then turned his attention back to Edward.

"She doesn't realize it." Edward spoke not to me, but again to his brother. I'd guessed that he was answering a question in Jasper's head.

I stood there like a small unknowing child in a room full of grown adults with PhDs, clueless and frustrated. In the silence, I noticed the sound of a worsening storm outside. Behind Alice and Jasper was a large set of sliding glass doors. Rain came down in sheets and a bolt of lightning flashed across the entire sky. I counted off the seconds before the sound of thunder. One-one-thousand. Two-one-thousand. Three-one-thousand. The thunder sent a vibration through the house around us. Nobody had answered my question yet, which started to infuriate me. "Answer me," I demanded of Edward in particular.

"That right there," he answered, "That's what you do."

I slapped my hands over my eyes and clenched my teeth together. I hissed, "You aren't making sense. What do I do?"

"Muse," Jacob gently tugged on my shoulders so I now faced to the left, faced him. Jacobs voice was soothing. "Honey, when you give an order or a demand it's like…well…like some force pushes us to do whatever you say."

"Huh?" That didn't make sense. I pondered for a second. Jacob was saying that I could make others do what I said. That wasn't possible was it? Then again, I am standing in a room of werewolves and vampires. "You have to do what I say?" I scanned the others in the room. Edward, Quil, Embry, Seth, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Esme, and landed on Carlisle. It was he that chose to respond., "We don't have to. But we're inclined to. It seems to cause discomfort if we don't."

"Oh." I wasn't sure what to make of this. It was a lot to swallow. And then I wondered…Shouldn't I have noticed this before?…if people always did what I say? Then again, I'd never been a very demanding person in general. I usually asked for anything I wanted or even needed, and then accepted the answer given to me whether I like it or not.

But I briefly conjured up a few times when I had put up a fight: The time my Dad wanted to keep me from going to my Freshman homecoming dance because I'd missed my curfew by two minutes. The time that Carmen had begged me to let her cheat off of one of my tests even though she knew that I would never condone the act. And the time I insisted that James should call in sick to work, so that he and Carmen and I could go to a huge concert featuring ten of our favorite bands in Minneapolis. The arguments had never lasted long, and by crazy happenstance, I'd always gotten my way.

"Muse?" Edward caught my attention now. "You see it don't you?"

"Maybe." I still wasn't completely sold on this theory.

"Enough of this," Rosalie cried out angrily, "What does it MATTER? Why is SHE even here?"

"One way or another she would have found out," Jacob snarked back as he pulled me closer to him protectively.

"And I'm pretty sure that recent events involve her somehow. Carlisle agrees," Edward said.

Rosalie sneered. "What makes you think she's got anything to do with this? Apart from her freaky gift?"

"Well, first, because it was HER best friend who was turned. Then, her best friend chose to lure HER to the house to kill her. And because she seems to have some kind of history with a vampire, one I don't recognize." All eyes turned back to me when Edward relayed this information.

"You've come across our kind before?" Alice asked me, stunned.

"Umm…well," I stammered, "I met a guy at summer camp a couple of summers ago. We sorta dated? Kinda. He reminded me of Edward, the way he looks I mean. And he was cold too. Except his eyes were different; they weren't gold. He tried to hurt me."

"Impossible," Rosalie huffed, "He could not have been a vampire. You'd never have survived an attack." I looked to Edward for an answer to that conundrum.

He did not fail me. "I'm pretty sure her 'ability' saved her. Anyway, the point is…I think there's just too much coincidence. She's involved, maybe even centric to the situation, I'm sure."

"Wait are you saying that Carmen might have been because of me? Am I in danger?," my voice cracked, "Dean and James? Any of my friends?"

"We don't know anything Muse," Alice replied. She gazed at my sympathetically. I watched Jasper fasten his arm around her.

"Well, we do know there's another new mystery vamp in town," Seth volunteered, he looked less than cheery about this fact.

But Embry looked absolutely livid as he spoke. "Unless one of you bloodsuckers is out making more Cullens to adopt."

Esme trembled. "We wouldn't!" Her words were sharp and stained with sorrow.

"You did once," Seth pointed out casually.

They must be talking about Bella and Renesmee.

"And it was a mistake….all a mistake," Edward muttered, almost to himself, "It will never happened again."

On my left, Jacob breathed in deeply and shot a look of accusation at Edward then at all the Cullens before speaking, "All that is in the past." His voice was shaky. "Besides, the scent wasn't one I recognized; nor was it tainted with any of the Cullen's scents."

"Have you come across the scent since then?" Carlisle asked Jacob.

Jacob shook his head, "No. None of us have."

Carlisle thought for a moment, then turned toward Edward, "Then perhaps we were wrong. Perhaps Muse is not involved at all, and it was just a random attack."

"But why turn her?" Quil interjected, "Wouldn't some random attacker just kill and feed."

I shrank back into Jacob and he embraced me. It was a test on my nerves to hear them talking about Carmen that way. Edward gently placed a very chilly hand on my shoulder trying to comfort me.. "I don't know why," Edward admitted, "But we really don't have anything else, do we?"

"So what's the plan then?" Emmett asked.

Carlisle stepped to the center of the room, acting as the commander of the group at the moment. "Alice will just keep watching. She will try to focus on Muse and, probably Edward too, as much as possible. And the rest of us will just be on guard."

"We will take shifts running the town perimeter," Jacob affirmed. He still held me with one arm securely. "And, since you think that this may revolve around Muse, we'll make sure to keep close watch on her and her brother."

"And James," I added.

"Of course," Jacob nodded unsmiling.

"We will be happy to help with this as well," Carlisle offered. All of the Cullen's nodded in agreement except for Rosalie, who looked as though she'd just bitten into a lemon.

"Alright, we should go then." Jacob released me and motioned for the rest of the wolves to follow him. The filed out the door after Jake. I stared after them for a second, watching the enormous rectangular, white door click shut. Now what?

By the time, I turned back around, Edward and Alice were the only ones left standing in the room, and they were engaged in a low conversation near the glass doors. I moved my weight from my left foot to my right, only just now realizing that I'd probably spent the entire discussion that way. My left leg pounded, and my foot felt like it might be on fire from putting all my weight on it for so long. I didn't move from my current position until Edward and Alice finished talking. Edward crossed the black and white living room much faster than any normal person. The sight was breathtaking, literally. "Ready to go?"

"Sure." I turned to open the door. He was already there. Again, my breath caught, but I shook off the shocked feeling.That was going to take some getting used to.

"Hey Muse?" Alice called out to me. I twisted my head, so I could see her, "Could you try not spend so much time with the wolves? I can't get a clear picture around them."

"I'll try." Though I wasn't really sure how I was going to do that.

Edward guided me out the door and to his car. I endured the pain of sliding into the passenger seat and buckled myself in. Edward waited as I moved at human speed preparing for departure. Once, we'd made it out onto the old highway I could ask Edward, "Why can't Alice see the future around the werewolves?"

He looked over at me, his face was calm now, "We can't be completely sure. Carlisle thinks it's because of the number of chromosomes they have. The werewolves think it's due to the magic of their tribe. They believe that since they are protectors against vampires, they're protected from her gift. But that doesn't really make sense because I can hear their thoughts just fine."

"Interesting." And it was, really.

I let myself become mesmerized watching the drops of rain hit the window. As the wind and air rushed past the car the drops would crawl across the window leaving a trail behind. By the third drop I'd watched do this, my house came into focus outside. Edward parked the car, and I unbuckled myself.

"Thanks." I glanced over at him as I started to open the car door and stopped suddenly, "Oh hey Edward. Are you going back to school tomorrow?"

"Yes, I suppose we all need to get back."

"Would you mind getting my assignments for me? I'm gonna take the rest of the week off."

"Yes. That's probably for the best. You look awful."

"Awww. Thanks, that's sweet," I cooed sarcastically, batting my eyelashes.

Edward laughed, "You know what I mean. You're gorgeous, but you're also a little bruised and beaten."

I laughed too. "I know. Will I see you again before next Monday?"

And Edward's eyes brightened. It was only too obvious that he was surprised that I might actually be interested in seeing him again. "Sure. I do have to bring you your assignments."

"'Kay then. I'll see ya." I paused once more. And Edward. Thanks for saving me. I twisted to face him, and he was smiling. Finally, I stepped out of the car, and raced up to the shelter of the front porch. I watched Edward pull away before heading inside. With the storm outside, the dark, empty house allowed the morning's conversation to sink in. I turned on all the lights as I made my way upstairs. Even though I was starving, nothing sounded good right now. Inside my room, I stripped my soaking coat off and threw it in a corner then collapsed on the bed. I curled myself up on one edge and closed my eyes. As I began replaying the morning in my head again for a third time, I felt warmth behind me. Jacob. His body heat radiated through the black cotton shirt he'd been wearing and through both of mine. I breathed out as the warmth seeped through me all the way to my fingers and toes. The heat distracted me for a second, and boy did I want to be distracted. I gently turned myself over, trying to cause myself a little pain as possible.

I studied his face. It was rounder than than the other wolves. Like the others, he had a perfect color of russet skin. He had very strong features and large eyes that were a deep, twinkling brown. Although his body was hot, his face was handsome. Whatever look I was giving him obviously soothed any apprehensions he'd had before then because he gave a small smile that just barely touched his eyes. I countered with a small smile of my own then moved my face closer to his so that the tips of our noses touched. It was a signal, one that he obviously understood.

His lips drew closer until they met mine. Even his big, soft lips were on fire; they made mine tingle. The kiss was slow and sweet...another one...and another one.

Stepping it up, I threw my right leg over top his waist and gripped his left shoulder to pull myself closer. The kisses deepened, and I felt his hot breath quicken. After a little while, he gently flipped me so I lay out on top of him, without ever breaking our rhythm. I slid my tongue into his mouth to find his. As we kissed, I ran my hands over his enormous biceps and over his smooth, hard chest. I continued on up to his head, tangling my fingers in his thick hair still slightly damp from the rain. I felt him brush the tips of his fingers up and down my spine and along my sides, sending shivers all over me. I couldn't be sure how long it went on. It was the perfect distraction, the perfect moment, and it needed to go on forever. But alas, I felt something vibrate in one of Jacob's pockets. I broke away. Jacob groaned in annoyance and slid the phone out of his pocket. I rested my head against Jacob's chest, listening to the vibrations as he spoke.

"Hello?" he grumbled.

I heard someone talking in the phone too quick and quiet for me to understand anything.

"Oh yeah, I hadn't thought of that. That's a good idea," his voice lightened.