It was supposed to be a joke, a tease to regain the upper hand in the conversation. But suddenly it wasn't. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, claim her, pleasure her until she saw stars. He watched with rapt fascination as her breathing became shallow, her eyes dilated ever so slightly, her heart stuttered and then raced. Her body temperature raised a couple of points, not evenly, but blossoming in pleasing areas he wanted to explore.
His eyes focused on her lips, damp and full and quivering. His mind was caught in a rapid circle of 'should I – shouldn't I' when Bella suddenly closed her eyes, shook her head and somehow managed to clear herself of every lusty emotion she'd had a moment ago. It hadn't been all him, had it? Was he projecting and just didn't realize it?
"Oh, please. You forget who you're talking to. Vamps have photographic memory. Just close your eyes and recall some materials you've seen before." Before he could reply, she ducked under his arm and out of his grasp.
The moment lost, Jasper adjusted himself and refocused on the task at hand. "The wolves are close, I can hear them." Excited, Bella dropped her backpack to the ground and started shuffling through it. "What are ya lookin' for?"
"My tranquilizer gun. I want to make sure I can track them remotely." Jasper thought about offering to just grab them and tag them for her – no tranquilizer gun needed – but he stopped himself. She was just far too excited. So instead he put his finger to her lips and whispered 'Shhhh', which she found very funny for some reason, and led her over a ridge. Once they were close, Jasper wrapped his arm around her waist and jumped silently into the trees where they had a bird's eye view of the pack of winter wolves, complete with three new puppies.
Bella cocked her gun by her face. She looked so cute, Jasper couldn't help but tease her. "I'm hunting wabbits," he whispered in his best Elmer Fudd impersonation. Bella scowled at him, turned her attention to the wolves, locked her arm straight in front of her, and proceeded to take 9 shots in rapid succession. She didn't miss once. It very well may have been the sexiest thing he had ever seen.
Twenty five minutes later, every wolf in the pack had been tagged, collared and photographed. She'd taken measurements and blood samples, checked their teeth, and even plucked a thorn-sized splinter from the paw of one of the puppies. She was all business, incredibly efficient, a sight to behold. They left just as the first of the wolves started to show movement.
"Yay! Snape is gonna be so proud! Weren't those puppies adorable?" Bella was so happy, her emotions making him feel warm inside.
"Oh yeah, they looked delicious."
"Not cool, Jazz. Endangered."
"Delicacy."
"Grrrr…"
"Those puppies had a more ferocious growl."
Bella conceded. "So, you said you couldn't relax at the Cullens; how come?"
"Alright, I'm only doing this under one condition. I'll answer your questions if you answer mine."
"Deal."
"Okay, think about it for a minute. First, there was emo-Edward, no offense."
"None taken. He was a whiny, bossy little bitch at times." Jasper chuckled.
"That he was. Next you have eternally horny Emmett. And then there was Esme – she was her own special sort of crazy."
"Esme?" Bella was genuinely surprised.
"Oh God, yes. She was the reason we kept having to do high school, you know. It had nothing to do with us blending in. We would have been much better able to do that as three married couples and a single young man in separate homes, but Esme has some neuroses where she feels the need to wipe the noses of hundred year old vampires, and Carlisle indulged her, creating that lame ass, cockamamie family history. Honest to God, I couldn't believe it when she told me to call her mom. I'm 51 years older than her! And it wasn't just when there were humans around. The way she would scold us like two year olds whenever we cussed or put our feet on the coffee table." Jasper scrunched his nose in irritation. "Please. Anyway, so you've got those three, add in the pixie, the psycho bitch and Doc, and the emotions in that house were a constant, swirling witch's brew for me. I was miserable. My only break from the emotions in the house was the emotions of high school. I'm not sure which was worse.
"I couldn't take it anymore. I begged Alice to go away with me, just the two of us. I mean, for years I begged, but she wouldn't do it. Not even after we left you. Edward ran off to pout, and Emmett and Rose went on holiday in Africa, so I thought maybe, just maybe, this time she'd say yes, but she didn't. She insisted on staying with Carlisle and Esme, saying they'd already lost three of their 'children'. I had to make a choice, and I made it. There was no drama, really, it had been a long time coming."
"And now you can relax?"
"Yes, I see Samuel three times a week, helping him keep his farm up and running. And once or twice a month I go into town to drop off more paintings and pick up supplies. Other than that, it's just me, Traveller, and the most peaceful vista I've ever seen."
"I hope my showing up hasn't put a kink in that."
"No, not at all. For the most part, I find your emotions highly amusing. Like a mental tickle. But enough about me, your turn. Tell me, were you alright when we left? I was worried about you."
Bella shrugged, embarrassed. "I did the melodramatic teenage girl thing for a while. Well, honestly, I was exponentially worse. But I finally snapped out of it, and I'm over him now."
"So if he showed up at the cabin tonight telling you he still loves you, would you take him back?" Jasper felt bad about the question the moment he felt her spike of panic. He wasn't even sure why he asked it.
"He's not coming here, is he? I mean, you said that…"
"Bella, calm down. It was only a hypothetical. I have no idea where he is and vice versa, and I am pretty sure we're both completely okay with that." He could practically taste her relief.
"Oh, alright. To answer your question, no, I wouldn't take him back. Rat bastard told me he didn't love me and left me in the woods. I had hypothermia when one of the pack found me hours later, although I didn't know about their genetic enhancements at the time."
"He did WHAT?" Jasper had visions of tearing him into pieces, really tiny pieces, then spreading those pieces over seven continents and dropping his head into the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. That ought to give him a couple hundred years to think about how to treat a woman.
"Cool your jets. I'm fine, and obviously I don't get lost in the woods anymore." Jasper realized she hadn't tripped once, but navigated through the bracken and briars with ease. She was no longer a clumsy little girl, but a beautiful, confident young woman.
"I went back to check on you once, right after Alice and I separated. You'd just left for college."
"Awww, that's sweet. Gotta admit, if I ever thought any of you would have come back, you'd have been last on my list, well, right above Rosalie, anyway."
"They made me stay away from you back then, Alice and Edward. Claimed it was because of my lack of control, which was bullshit really. I haven't had one issue with bloodlust since I left the Cullens. They were the ones causing my control problems, between their own bloodlust, the constant stress of their emotions and their scrutiny."
"Well, that kinda pisses me off, I gotta say. I always wanted to get to know you better."
"Well, now's your chance. Whatdya wanna know?"
"Hmmm… tell me about your human life."
They continued walking at a human pace for a while, answering each other's questions. He told her about his time in the Civil War and the Vampire Wars. She told him about her friend Jacob and how he and the shapeshifters had protected her and saved her from Victoria's twisted mind. Jasper snorted at that. Edward wasn't even the one to kill James. Jasper killed him. Edward was too busy being a pussy about letting Bella become a vampire, although in retrospect, he was really glad for that now. Bella had definitely come into her own, in both spirit and body. She had pleasing curves now, tone but soft. He would definitely be imagining them later when Bella forces him to cum in a cup.
When Bella got sleepy, he picked her up and ran the rest of the way home, but didn't know where to put her down. Last night, she'd pulled some hay out of the stable, laid her sleeping bag on it and slept under the stars, but there was a chill in the air tonight that made Jasper uncomfortable with that idea. Either that, or he was still dwelling on the hypothermia thing. Maybe he could burn Edward's fingertips and toes, simulate how that must have felt for Bella. He smiled at that idea.
Jasper took her inside the cabin, set up her sleeping bag near the wood burning stove and fired it up. He wasn't pleased with her stuck on the hard floor, but it would have to do for tonight. He wondered how long she would stay, and if she'd ever come back once she left. Perhaps he should buy her a bed, although there really wasn't enough room for one. A foldaway cot would do the trick for this trip. He would run into town in the morning. Maybe after she was gone, he would have to think about saving up and expanding the cabin a bit. He'd have to figure out a way to do it himself this time, though. He didn't think he could handle another invasion.
A/N: I'm sorry for not getting an update out the past couple of days. I am a tad under the weather at the moment. Oh, and a big shout-out to JaspersDestiny, who I heart hard and who makes me laugh until I have to pee, for her awesome blog recommendation of my silly little tale. She wants me to change the title back to Ansel Adams and the Search for the Yeti. I'll put up a poll on my profile, see what y'all think.
Someone asked me a very good question - why Ansel Adams, when Jasper paints, he doesn't take pictures, and why the Yeti, when they're looking for Bigfoot. I chose Ansel Adams for the zen-like qualities of his art, which Jasper's current state of mind resonates with, as he mentions in the first chapter. A lot of people find the same calming effect in Jasper's paintings, which is why they're so popular. I will probably go back and focus on that a little more, but just so you know. As for the yeti, everyone Bella talks to confuses the two (which frustrates her to no end) so I thought it was funny to do the same in the title.
Thank you so much for your reviews - I love them all! Next update - the search for Bigfoot begins! Since this one was all JPOV, I expect the next one will be all BPOV.