Bella, half awake, rolled over and stretched, her back crackling back into alignment, before snuggling deeper into her warm and toasty sleeping bag. She was all set to go back to sleep when she smelled something wonderful. Something she hadn't smelled in days. Something that had her mouth watering and her eyes opening, searching desperately for it.
Coffee.
Looking over at the one overstuffed leather chair in the tiny living room, Bella saw Jasper sitting there smiling back at her, a steaming cup of coffee and a brown paper bag in his hands.
"I promise I wasn't doing the creepy watching-you-while-you-sleep thing, honest. I ran into town and got you some breakfast, and when I got back, it seemed like you were starting to stir, so I came inside. Thought you might want it before it got cold. I don't exactly have a microwave here. Sorry if I woke you."
Bella reached out both her hands, grasping for it like a baby wanting its rattle. Jasper laughed, started to hand it to her, then took it just out of her reach, making her lunge for it. He laughed even harder when she growled at him, then handed it back. She took a long pull, moaning almost obscenely, before wiping her upper lip with satisfaction.
Better than Mike's.
"How'd you know how I like my coffee? I didn't drink coffee in high school."
"Lucky guess, I suppose. I got you a muffin too."
"I think I just may love you, Jasper Whitlock." The moment Bella said it, she realized what an idiot she was. What the hell was wrong with her? Jasper cocked his head to the side and studied her inquisitively, but didn't reply. She kinda wished she could read his emotions the way he could read hers. "Oh, don't get yourself all flustered. I'm pretty sure I'm in love with the Ben and Jerry guys too."
The sun was rising and the light started to stream through the lead window, casting everything in a warm glow. Bella looked around the room for the first time, and a painting on the wall caught her attention. It was beautiful, really, all blues and browns and grays, striking against the log wall. But something had her puzzled.
"Jasper, why is there a painting of a giant 'B' in your living room?" It was cursive and slightly abstract, but to her it seemed to be glaring from the center of the painting.
"What?" He turned to look at the painting, tilting his head first from one side, then to the other. "Huh." He turned back to her and shrugged. "It wasn't intentional. Nothing about that painting was. It was my first one, and it was just kind of instinctual, I guess. It was therapeutic, in a way, just feeling and letting whatever wanted to come out, come out."
"And what came out was a big, brown, swirly B?"
"In your eyes. Everyone interprets art a different way. Although now that you mention it, it's all I can see when I look at it."
"Kind of like an ink blot?"
Jasper chuckled. "Yeah."
"Still, there's something very soothing this painting. All of them, really. I remember thinking the ones for sale in town reminded me of an Ansel Adams picture. Even in paintings, you have a calming ability."
"I don't know about all that, but thank you, and it's funny you say that about Ansel Adams. I often think he would have loved to photograph this spot."
There was just something about Jasper that made her breathe a little easier, relax and chill out a bit. Usually she was so focused, driven. Slightly crazed. But around him, here in this place, she could start to imagine a different way of life, one where time moved slower and life was tranquil.
"Did you want me to paint your wolves today, or are we hunting for Bigfoot?" Bella could tell he wasn't fully on board with the Bigfoot theory, but that was alright. He was taking her seriously enough to tag along and help, and she was looking forward to not only his assistance but his company.
"Bigfoot. I have some maps in my bag where I've marked off the areas I covered on my previous expeditions, plus tagged the sites of supposed sightings. I was thinking you should look it over, let me know where you've been while hunting, any sections we can definitely eliminate, then plot out a course. Let's try and arrange it so we can take The Princess Bride and Wilbur," Bella said, pointing out the window to the horses, who hadn't moved three steps from each other the entire time she'd been there. She couldn't tell from this distance, but it looked like Jasper had woven wildflowers into her mane.
"Wilbur?"
"You know, the talking horse? Angela has this theory he could really talk."
"His name was Mister Ed. Wilbur was the owner. And they would put sticky peanut butter in his mouth to make him 'talk'. Kinda mean when you think about it."
"Well, there's one supernatural creature I can mark off the list," Bella joked. "Angela's gonna be heartbroken."
Bella rolled her maps out onto the floor, sitting next to them on her knees with her sharpie in hand. She found it amazingly distracting to feel Jasper behind her, looking over her shoulder, his cool breath tickling her neck. Damn, did he smell good. The moment up against the tree yesterday flashed through her mind, and she felt the heat creep up her neck. It was so hard walking away from that, but she couldn't help but think it was a colossally bad idea. After all, she was leaving in a little less than a week, and one night stands were never her thing. Plus, he was a vampire, and a Cullen to boot. Okay, ex-Cullen. But, God, she wanted him, like she'd never wanted anyone before. And if he was even half the size she felt pressed up against her yesterday, she would be a lucky girl.
"Bella?" Jasper whispered to her, his voice low and husky. She knew he could feel the way it affected her, and when she got up the courage to slowly turn and look in his eyes, she was only mildly surprised to find them black.
He gave her no time to talk herself out of it today, and when he leaned in to kiss her, every excuse she had floated away into nothing. She ran her fingers in his hair and returned his kiss with gentle passion. The kiss was slow, tender, exploring without devouring. It was like a revelation, the type of kiss poets write sonnets about. She was completely lost in it, until he tried to deepen the kiss. Shocked, a little scared, and a whole lot confused, she pulled back abruptly.
"What are you doing?"
"Ummm… I thought it was obvious. I was kissing you." She knew that look. He was looking at her like she was crazy. She got that a lot.
"No, I mean with your tongue. Edward said vampires and humans couldn't French. You know, venom and all that."
"Edward was a prude. And a bit paranoid and overprotective. If you get enough venom in your mouth, it might feel a bit tingly, but that'd be about it. The only time we would have cause for concern would be if, say, your gums were bleeding or you bit your lip or something. Then it could get into your bloodstream. Other than that, no worries."
She tucked this information in the back of her head for later. The scientist part of her wanted to write it down, analyze it, edit her notes. The rest of her told the scientist to shut the hell up and kiss him.
The second kiss was even better than the first one. Jasper's arms wove around her, enveloping her in a loving embrace, pulling her onto his lap, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. It was heaven, and Bella loathed having to pull away for oxygen. She laid her head on his shoulder to catch her breath, so Jasper focused his attention on her neck, covering her with soft kisses and nuzzling his nose in her hair. Bella hummed contentedly and felt Jasper smile against her skin, then with one final kiss just behind her ear, rested his cheek atop Bella's head. They stayed like that for a while, not progressing or talking or even really thinking.
"What is this?" Jasper whispered a while later, and Bella wasn't sure if he was actually asking her or just muttering to himself.
"I'm not sure. We don't really have to put a label on it right now, do we? I mean, this is all brand spankin' new. I'm here for the week, let's just enjoy our time together for now." Bella was suddenly glad this was not an official expedition. She'd found her wolves already, and had a promise of vampire spunk to take back to her lab. If she did nothing else the rest of the week besides Jasper, it would still be a success.
A/N: It helps if you make the poll visible on your profile, doesn't it? *rolls eyes at self* Oh, and a big shout out to Fellowship of the Peen (WordyBitches) for the update tweets!
