A/N This story is beginning to earn its mature rating. Keep that in mind as we move forward!

Jake had never been so happy in his whole life as he was in this moment. Bella was his. Only his and his forever. He loved her his whole life and after so much time and doubt and frustration she was finally his and no one was ever taking her away from him.

Looking down at his little imprint he breathed a deep sigh full of contentment and relief.

"Wanna go to the beach?"

"Sure." She smiled up at him.

"You two have fun, I'm going to relieve Embry." Sam stood and moved toward the dining room. He was happy to see his wolves imprinted and happy. "Welcome to the pack, Bella." He gave her the closest thing Jake had seen to a smile from him in a long time. With a nod to Jake he moved to the dining room. When he did, Paul shot up like a rocket and followed him. Jake heard him give the same welcome to his sister where she cooked in the kitchen, then leave through the back door.

Paul was still standing awkwardly in the dining room when Jake led Bella through and out the back door. From the yard he heard Rachel ask him to stay. He hoped their silly idea of friend imprints didn't end in his sister getting hurt.

Touching Bella's hand, he led her toward the bath that led down to the beach. "How are you feeling?"

"Good, I guess. It's just a lot to take in. We've been friends for so long, and I just... I don't think I ever realized how much I cared about you all this time, how important you were to me, until... until I thought I might lose you." She looked up at him with a furrowed brow. "And now..."

Jake could feel how nervous she was and he wanted badly for it to end. "You know, Paul and Rachel are doing something a little different with their imprint." God, he hoped she didn't go for this idea. "Since they don't really know each other well they are trying to be friends. It was Rach's idea, Paul is scared to death over the whole thing, "

Bella pulled her lower lip into her mouth. "What do you think about that?" She looked up at him as they stepped onto the sand of First Beach.

"Well, I don't think it'll work. That's not how the imprint is designed. Did you notice how overly protective of her he is?" She looked confused. "When Sam headed to the dining room to leave, did you notice how quickly Paul followed?"

She nodded, but was obviously still considering the implications of it. "But Sam would never hurt her. Surely he knows that."

"Of course, but he's our alpha and he... well..." He nervously ran his hand through his hair before continuing, "as leader of the pack he has... attractions..." How the hell was he going to say this about his sister, or explain it to Bella without freaking her out over what it meant for them? "He's worried someone else will claim her before he does."

"Claim her?" she asked with hesitance. "How does that happen?"

Jake cleared his throat, shifted his weight and began to move down the beach. He couldn't stand still. Bella stepped in place beside him like she was anticipating his moves. "Sex." he watched carefully for her reaction. She nodded and pulled her lip into her mouth once again. It was obvious to him that she needed more info. He couldn't withhold it. Running his fingers through is hair he soldiered on. "Sex is...an important part of the imprint. It's how wolves claim their mate. Wolves mate for life, but until they're mated-even with an imprint-she's free to take any wolf she wants. The alpha is a particular threat because of his rank. It makes him more appealing, and because she's the alpha... he can mate with anyone he wants. He isn't expected to be monogamous."

Bella was shocked. Jake quickly continued, "But that's wolves, of course. We have a lot of their instincts, but that's only a part of us. Things like that are tempered by our human side. Sam would never do that, but Paul's wolf doesn't know it."

They reached their log and sat down hip to hip.

"So Paul is going crazy because his wolf wants him to claim Rachel and he can't because they've chosen to only be friends. So where is it going? Is there a breaking point?"

"Eventually he'll have to claim her. His wolf wont let it go until he does. I think it will only get harder for him to control as time goes on. They should just get it over with, because she wont ever be with anyone else. He wont let that happen. It's going to happen, they're just torturing themselves until it does."

She wiggled her feet making a hole in the sand, then cautiously said what they were both thinking. "Well, maybe we shouldn't put it off, then."

Jake's heart and loins flared as hot as the blush on her cheeks. He smiled wide and responded, "I'm glad you feel that way. It's a pretty strong feeling, and I think things could get messy." He turned to look at her and couldn't resist putting his hand in her hair. "Bella," She looked into his eyes, "I care so much about you, I can't even say. Imprints are a life-long thing, as far as we know it's not possible to break it, so we have time. I don't want to rush you."

"No, it's OK, Jake. I understand and I don't want you to suffer. I care a lot about you, too." She placed a hand on his knee. "I never knew how much or that it was even this kind, but I don't ever want to lose you. Whatever it takes to make this work, whatever we need to do to have a strong imprint, I want to do it." Looking down at her feet once more, they both watched as the hole around them grew bigger. "It's not like it wouldn't be... nice."

Jake's chest puffed a bit as it emitted a low rumble of pleasure. Bella's wide eyes shot to meet his. He shrugged, grinning wide at her. "Sorry, he liked that."

Blushing, she seemed to fold in on herself a little. As he stroked her hair to relieve her discomfort, a cool breeze blew in off the water. Before she even had a chance to shiver, he turned to place one leg behind the log and pulled her in close against him. She rested her head on his chest and he folded his arms around her. They both breathed a deep sigh of contentment.

For some time Jake and Bella sat quietly, reveling in their imprint. Jake continued stroking her hair long after her breathing deepened and her body completely collapsed against him. When the sun began to go down and Bella began to shiver slightly, even in his embrace, he slid one arm beneath her knees. With the other still around her shoulders, he carried her back to her truck in front of the Black house.

Bella slept the entire drive home with her head in his lap. As Jake pulled her old truck onto the gravel in front of her house, she slowly drifted awake. Putting the truck in park, he pulled out the keys and watched her as she came around.

"You're home, Sweets." He whispered gently.

"Are you coming up?" She asked sleepily as she sat up and reached for the door.

"Of course, I'll be right up." It almost hurt to watch her walk away from him, even though he would be with her again in just a few minutes. He nervously tapped his foot as she climbed the stairs and entered the front door.

As soon as she was gone he went around the back of the house and into the woods to phase and check in. Sam was amazing for being so great about his wolves and their new imprints. Sam, Jared, Embry and Jake had been taking long patrol shifts to give Paul extra time with Rachel, now Sam, Jared and Embry were extending to take double shifts so Jake could be with Bella, too. He knew he wouldn't need as much time as Paul, but he'd enjoy every extra moment he had with her.

A steady but gentle rain began to fall as he came out of the woods. He saw that her bedroom window was already open. Though Charlie wasn't home yet, he didn't want anyone seeing him go in through the front door.

Once inside, he could hear Bella in the bathroom. He went for her candy drawer, but thought twice before picking a piece that he knew she liked the taste of. If tonight is the night he doesn't want to taste like cinnamon. She'd hate that. Popping a butterscotch piece in, he sat on the bed, then lay down across it, then moved so his head was on a pillow, his feet pointing down. Hearing the bathroom door open he lept to his feet and settled for just standing with his hands in his pockets. Shit, this was Bella. No one knew each other better than the two of them. Friends since childhood, they were the closest people he knew. Now they were about to be the closest two people could be, that made him feel nervous about her for the first time in a long time.

Bella came in wearing her typical bed time attire, a loose fitting t-shirt and cotton shorts. Jake stood in only his cutoffs with wet hair and skin. Since Bella had found out about the wolves he had been here every night at this time. They had a rhythm to their nights, but tonight everything was different. The air between them hung thick with emotion and anticipation.

"Oh, let me get you a towel. I didn't even hear the rain." She returned a moment later with what he recognized instantly as her towel. It smelled so deeply of her it was distracting. As he dried off, she sat on the bed in her usual place and folded her hands in her lap watching him towel off his hair and body.

Finishing, he crawled up the bed and sat back beside her. "Are you ready for sleep?"

"No, after that nap I think I'll be awake for a while." She leaned back onto his arm. "Are you ready for sleep?"

He looked down at her with dark eyes and soft features, "I wont be able to sleep until you're asleep."

She held his gaze and twisted her hands together. He looked between her eyes and lips for a painfully long moment. Finally, she tilted her head at just the right angle and he moved in to kiss her. God, her lips were soft. He'd waited so long for this moment, and now he was sure he couldn't get enough. Every part of it felt so right and perfect and he wanted more. He leaned in closer and buried his fingers into her hair. She leaned back, beckoning him closer.

Now fully leaning over her, he felt her lips part slightly and he gently traced them with his tongue. At her soft moan of encouragement, he slid his tongue over hers. Her hand ran up his arm and then down his side. He pulled away to look into her eyes and then began kissing along the edge of her jaw. He paused to nibble her earlobe a moment and whisper, "You taste so damn good," before continuing on. He made his way down her neck gently kissing and licking until he reached where her neck meets her collar bone. As he nibbled and licked there, her hands ran all over his back and when she shifted and her thighs rubbed together the smell of her arousal had him growling with excitement.

She giggled at his growl, "I don't know if I can get used to that."

He pulled away from her neck and held his body over her with one arm on either side of her chest. "Smelling like that you'll have to."

She smiled, "You smell really good, too. You always smell like the woods and rain and fresh dirt. If I close my eyes it's easy to think I'm in the woods." She tilted her head up, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

"Watch out, there's a wolf right in front of you," he warned playfully, then he dove into her neck biting and growling and tickling her side with his hand.

She squealed in response, trying to wiggle out of his grasp and shouting "Jake! Jake! Stop, no!"

When she could barely breathe he relented and instead kissed all over her face. Once her breathing was back to normal he pulled away to look at her again. "Bella."

"Jake."

"I love you."

She smiled and blushed, "I love you too, Jake. So much." Placing a hand on his chest she tilted her head just so. He leaned down and gave her a deep, loving, tender kiss. Then, he stilled, lips still touching and swore into her mouth.

"Charlie's home."

"Oh, I'll run interference." He laid back on the bed and tried to hide his obvious arousal while she went out into the hallway to fake a trip to the bathroom. He heard Charlie call up to her and she responded that she was tired and was just about to go to bed. They said goodnight and after she visited the bathroom she returned to find Jake lying back on the bed with his hands behind his head.

She laid down beside him and placed a hand on his stomach. "Well, I guess we should go to sleep, then. It is getting late."

He smiled and twisted to pull the covers out from beneath him to wrap around her. She slid beneath them and snuggled up to his side, resting her head on one arm. "Goodnight, Jake."

He kissed the top of her head, "Goodnight, Sweets."