AN- Hello lovely readers, both old and new (woohoo)!

As always, a huge, ginormous thank you to you all for reading and reviewing! I will say it every single time I write a new chapter, I am grateful and humbled by your reviews and enthusiasm for my little piece of Bella and Jacob heaven.

I write this for you.

NewMoonFan, I would never ditch this story! Not with readers like you!

And aerobee…! LMAO! Sorry about the cock blocking. The time will come, when the cock will no longer be blocked ;)

Anyhoozle, I LOVE this chapter. I took some great advice from a great reader and here out came this!

Its fluffy and sweet and gives them some much needed banter! I hope you like it as much as I do! Pleaseee don't hesitate to let me know what you think!

Xoxoxo

"I think the first step is for me to get out of your lap," Bella said with a grin.

"Agreed," Jacob said and gently helped her extract herself from him.

It really was the last thing Bella wanted to do. Being so close to Jacob, every inch of her body connecting with the hard lines of his, was exactly where she wanted to be...

...forever, actually.

Alas, she knew her horny little brain and her love sick heart had to get a hold of themselves if she wanted this Jacob is mine forever thing to work. Just the fact that she had missed him, thought of him every single day, done nothing but replay memories of them together over and over in her head…seeing him (finally!) was the most surreal experience of her life!

The most amazing though, had been touching him.

Finally running her hands through that thick, jet black hair, skimming her hands along maybe a little more skin than she should have, kissing full, soft, hot lips…

…It was like having a giant, delicious slice of chocolate cake sitting in front of you and trying to force yourself not to eat it juuuusttt yet.

It was going to drive her mad.

Bella sighed heavily at the thought of temptation Jake.

"You ok Bells?" said temptation suddenly interrupted.

Bella smiled and leaned back against the arm rest of the couch. She hadn't realized it but this whole thing was exhausting. She suddenly felt everything just poof and vanish, leaving nothing but a suddenly sleepy person in its wake.

"Of course Jake," she replied, and yawned. "I just didn't know how tiring this whole coming back to Forks thing was going to be."

Jacob laughed, and pulled her to him. She half stumbled into his chest, smiling immediately at how familiar his body was becoming. Jacob smoothed her hair away from her face and grabbed her cheeks, pressing a sweet kiss to her mouth.

"It's all your fault," he said with a smile. "You knew what you were getting yourself into when you came to me. You knew I was going to let you have it Bells."

"Yea, yea, I was gone, you got mad, then we made out, blah blah blah," Bella murmured as she closed her eyes against the warmth of his body. "God, you are like a furnace Jake, it always makes me so freaking sleepy."

Jacob grabbed her shoulders, peeling Bella away from his chest. She pouted.

"Turn around," he commanded. Bella did and was greeted with an exquisite squeeze along both her shoulders. She let out a little gasp and her head fell forward immediately into her chest with a heavy whoosh of air.

So apparently, along with all the other things Jacob Black was amazing at, like kissing and groping, he was also amazing with his hands.

Could he be any more difficult to resist?

"So yea," Jacob said from behind as he kneaded her shoulder blades roughly. "In case you're wondering, I really am this good with my hands."

Bella laughed loudly.

"And so modest and humble," she said in response.

She could feel his broad, beautiful grin, no longer needing to see it to know it was there.

"You know me," he replied. "Anyway, you're all yawning and sleepy, and your shoulders are somewhere up here." He touched her ears, and then dropped down again to her upper back. "You need to relax, the worse is over…" he paused, and she knew he was grinning again. "For now."

She thought back on how he had wanted her to leave, how she had screamed I love you at him, frustrated and angry that he could be so cold. Just remembering that, how he had been able to look her in the face and show no emotion, brought the stinging sensation of unshed tears to her eyes. She never wanted to experience that again.

It was worse than being alone for the last four years.

Bella felt a little hiccup escape her before she could control it, and immediately tensed.

Jacob stopped his massaged and pulled her back into him, her head falling comfortably into his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms tightly around hers, squeezing her gently.

"Bells, I wasn't kidding," he said softly into her ear. "We got that whole yell at each other thing out of the way...I really did miss you, have missed you. I just, forced myself not to think about you because it hurt too damn much. I was just…not myself, and that doesn't just affect me, it affects the pack, which affects the protection of everyone Bells. So when I saw you standing there, I immediately thought you were…." He paused. "…one of them. Obviously, I was wrong, because there you were, blood still pumping through your veins, breathing so hard I could see your chest moving up and down from where I was standing. Knowing you were human Bells, it just…I can't even put into words the emotions I felt," he stopped and Bella waited patiently for the rest.

He was quiet, gathering his thoughts.

"Point is, I was relieved, and then I was pissed," Jacob finally began again. "I wanted to phase right then and there. Seeing you just made me so fucking mad!"

Bella winced, and he just grabbed her tighter.

"Sorry," he said with a small laugh. "Told you I couldn't find words for how I felt."

Bella smiled, "I am positive fuck is a word Jake."

Jacob chuckled, "Yea it is. Look its just, it made me mad for so many reasons. Like I said before, there was anger 'cause you left me in the dark, anger because you left everyone without one word, anger because you left me here alone, thinking the Bella I knew was gone forever. It just was a lot to take in, seeing you just standing there as if nothing was wrong."

Bella nodded, knowing everything he said was right.

"It infuriated me, I mean, honestly, I can't even think about how mad I was Bells, seeing you again, here, at the rez, after all this time," he continued explaining. She felt him take a deep breath, exhaling a burst of warmth over the top of her head. "Speaking of which, how in the hell did you get here anyway nomad woman?"

Bella out right laughed, clearing the dark mood. "Did you not see the piece of junk parked out front?" she asked.

"Living the,"she cleared her throat and made quotation marks, "bohemian life is NOT very lucrative Mr. Black so don't you make fun of me."

Next thing she knew, Jacob was standing up, grabbing her hand.

"Come, show it to me," he said with a smile and that twinkle in his eye.

Bella tried to pull away, still half sitting on the couch.

"Jacob, NO!" she said. "I am soooo tired, please?"

"Bells," he replied playfully. "Come on. It will be fun. We can work on it together, like old times. We have the next few days, the pack is gone for awhile." He rubbed his hands together mischievously. " I have you all to myself."

Bella felt the heat rush to her face as she thought of the one million other things they could do alone, other than work on her car. She pouted, trying to avoid what would probably end up with her having her way with him on the hood of her car and/or having to deal with him mocking her choice of transportation.

"No, I am tired," she said again and pulled her hand away, crossing her arms over her chest. Jacob got a crazy smile on his face and next thing Bella knew, she was slung over his shoulder.

"JAKKE!" she howled with laughter.

He slapped her on the butt, and Bella laughed even harder.

"Illegal touching! Kidnapping!" she screamed. "Help!"

Jacob laughed. "Hush woman, you will wake everyone up!"

He dragged her outside into the glow of a just risen full moon. It was beautiful, illuminating everything with a soft, eerie blue light. Bella knew there were worse places she could be. Heck, she had been in those places.

To be here, bouncing along on the oh so high up shoulder of Jacob Black, was something she could deal with.

Jacob placed her down finally in front of her car, a raggedy, forgettable giant black mass of a vehicle. Just like her beloved truck, Bella loved this car with all her might. It was broken, and old, and a complete mess but it still managed to get her to where she needed to be, kind of like herself. It was her companion through most of her years, and she loved her car fiercely, though she knew it truly was a piece of crap.

She turned to Jacob and rolled her eyes dramatically. "So, here it is, you happy?"

Jacob didn't reply. Instead he walked forward, running his hand slowly over the side of the car, looking into the window. He walked slowly around the back, toward the front again, and then just stepped back, shaking his head and crossing his arms.

"What? Is my little mess un-repairable Doctor?" Bella asked with a grin. Jacob turned to her slowly, and Bella realized he had a totally serious look on his face.

"God, Jake, what?" she asked.

"Bells, do you know what car this is?" he finally asked in a much higher octave than normal. Bella shrugged.

"Um, I mean, sometimes I call it a vintage car, so you know, I don't feel bad for having such a crappy looking piece of junk, but…"

Jacob cut her off, suddenly grinning.

"Bells, you are NUTS! This is a 1965 Mustang Fastback! ARE YOU CRAZY?" he finally squealed. He grabbed Bella and swung her around. He held her around him, and she wrapped her legs around him for leverage.

"Jake, what?" she asked, just smiling because Jacob was smiling.

"Dude, this is like the car to work on!" he said kissing her quickly. "This is like…my DREAM! Can I fix her Bells, please?"

He pressed quick kisses all over her nose, cheeks and lips.

Bella swatted him off playfully.

"Hmm, I don't know…" she said, pressing her fingertip to her chin, tapping thoughtfully. Jacob play pouted and Bella nearly melted.

"Fine, fine, stop with the puppy eyes and pouty lips," she scolded. "You can fix her, but...she still belongs to me Black!"

Jacob nodded and let out a loud whoop. He squeezed Bella tighter and began walking back into the house. Bella leaned once again into the space of his shoulder blade and closed her eyes. She loved how he still was Jacob, excitable, playful, and joyous. She felt so alive with him, so grounded, and present. It was such an amazing feeling after years of feeling like a whisper of a human. She sighed into him.

"Don't fall asleep on me, I know you drool," she heard him warn. She laughed into his chest.

"Shut up Jake," she said. He laughed and brought them back in, setting her down finally in the bathroom. She yawned and stretched and looked up at him.

He was leaning in the door frame, hands braced against either side, one ankle propped up against the other. All his arm muscles were defined, and she couldn't help but once again stare at his bare chest, the lines of his stomach creating a trail right down to the skin above his jeans.

Bella suddenly realized how small the bathroom was, and how close he really was to her and how damn sexy he looked standing there casual as all hell.

"Bells, you are staring," he said suddenly, cutting her little mental convo short. Bella grinned.

"Well, you know, I forgot that you just randomly decide not to wear clothing," she said.

"You know its not random baby," he said with a wink. "I'm Superman, minus the inconvenience of that suit and cape."

Bella laughed. "So does Superman always set his damsel in distress in the bathroom?"

"He does if she is sleepy and needs a shower," he said with a grin. "You are not getting into bed smelling like burnt tires and cheeseburgers."

Bella blushed, both at the fact that he said "getting into bed" and that she really did smell like burnt tires and her fast food lunch.

Jacob saw her blush and leaned forward, touching her chin sweetly.

"No worries Bells, I like a girl who eats," he said softly with a slow smile. " "And who knows how to burn some rubber."

Bella looked up into his face, at his perfect teeth and mouth and felt an indescribable need to just touch him, if only for a second. The space was too small, and she couldn't think with him so close.

Bella stood on her tippy toes and using the sink as leverage, lifted herself up and brushed her lips against his with a soft "mmm."

Jacob, on the other hand, was not satisfied. He let out a soft sigh and before Bella could pull back, had grabbed her around the waist, whirled her around, and pressed her against the sink, deepening what she had wanted to be a rather innocent gesture.

He gripped her waist tightly, and slanted his mouth over hers, softly running his tongue over her bottom lip, then kissing her softly, lips open, and inviting, as Bella gladly let his tongue dance over hers.

Jacob suddenly laughed and pulled back, letting her slide down to the floor again, resting his forehead against hers.

"Sorry," he whispered with a smile. Bella smiled back, biting her lip.

"Don't be," she replied. Jacob shook his head.

"You, are not a good girl," he said pointing his finger at her. Bella shrugged, feeling light as air, and woozy and sleepy and beautiful all at once.

"That, Jake, remains to be seen," she said playfully. She yawned again.

"Shower Bells, I will leave the clothing on the sink, ok?" he said. "And I promise I wont peek…too much."

Bella laughed.

"OUT!" she said, pushing him out and shutting the door behind him. She let her hand rest against it, and shook her head. The feelings washed over her finally, and she felt silent tears roll from her eyes. She felt loved, she felt safe...She felt the old Jake finally shining through and most importantly, for the first time in a very, very long time, right there in the tiny space of Jacob Black's bathroom, Bella felt at home.