Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight and the characters contained in this story – I own nothing.

Warning: This story is still rated M and as such, contains things not suitable for those under 18. Violence (death, blood - they're vamps), Language (of the vulgar & naughty variety), & Graphic sexual content (self explanatory). Please be forewarned! And if you like those things and are over 18...well then, please keep reading! ;)

Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, alerting, & fav'ing! Each one brings a huge smile to my face - cheesy, I know - but it's so true. Thank you! XOXO

I know this update was long over due and I'm so sorry! I had hoped to have it posted by Halloween at the very latest, but, yeah, I failed my own deadline. More on the status of future updates in an important AN at the end.

Now, I'll shut up so you can read...

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"Jasper, are you okay?" Bella asked, eyeing me with concern.

"Huh?" I replied, completely distracted by the thought of an eternity of sexual frustration. Perhaps I was too harsh about Edward's suicidal tendencies – maybe that's what drives him to all his self-loathing …no sex.

"You whimpered...are you okay?" she repeated, breaking me from my musings, eyeing me with even more concern now.

"Yeah, of course – I'm fine," I said, though not sounding convincing even to my own ears. I think my voice even quivered slightly. My cock just stared at his Kama Sutra book in a silent daze...oh my god, I think he's going into shock...

"If you say so," Bella mumbled, pressing a kiss to my neck. I sighed, though on the inside I was panicking. We've been through too much to give up now! We can make it through this 'time' thing – I think...just hang in there with me! He didn't move, didn't respond at all.

Oblivious to my inner turmoil, she smiled against my neck and began peppering small kisses up and down and then up the other side, stopping to nibble lightly on my earlobes. That caused slight movement from him – thank fucking god – it was like her kisses were shocks from a defibrillator, bringing him back from the brink of darkness. Head towards the light...

Kiss, nibble, lick...

Twitch!

Kiss, nibble, lick...

Twitch!

At this point he was back, fully aware and definitely ready for whatever she was willing to give him. He was beginning to think she - wisely - changed her mind and was quite happy with this sudden turn of events. I admit, I was beginning to wonder myself if she was re-thinking her whole 'time' plan. Why else would she be currently grinding her hips into me that way. Oh fuck, that feels so damn good!

I groaned and she moaned in response, not stopping her actions. Jesus, is she trying to kill us? Death by cock-blocking? I'm pretty sure it could happen at this point, vampire or not, especially considering my cock just had a very near death experience. I clutched her tightly to my body and ran one hand slowly around front – cupping her full, firm breast through her clothes and then kneading it gently. I began slightly brushing two of my fingertips across her pebbled nipple and she arched her back further into me and let out the sexiest fucking moan I've ever fucking heard.

It was at this point that my conscience began jumping up and down waving his hands in the air holding a giant, red stop sign. My cock on the other hand was ready to kill him if he didn't shut the fuck up and go away. He eyed his Kama Sutra book and I swear I could literally see him trying to decide if he threw it at my conscience, if it would be enough to knock him the fuck out.

I was so fucking torn. I knew I could very easily get her to give herself to me right now, right here. But do I really want to take her here? Do I really want our first time – her first time ever– to be like this? Ahh, fuck me! No, no I don't. I just promised I would make love to her, to make it special – and I always keep my promises. I have to stop.

My cock was now twitching with frustration and anger instead of ecstasy and I swear he was about ready to aim that book at my head instead, but I ignored him – yet again.

"Stop, darlin', we..." I gasped as she began to lick my adam's apple; the tip of her venom coated tongue tracing it sensually – my god! I forgot what I was going to say...I think it was important...

She pulled back with a questioning look before going right back to licking my neck when I just gaped at her in a daze of lust; gripping the hair at the back of my head tightly in her petite, but strong little hands. I couldn't move even if I wanted to. And I really, really didn't want to. But then I remembered...though it may have had a lot to do with my conscience finally getting a tiny corner of duct tape free from his lips to call out to me...anyway, I remembered I had to stop...or I would fuck her right here, right now. And I've already established – okay, she's already established – that we aren't ready for that.

"Not yet, Bella. You need to stop, baby," I told her firmly. Well as firm as I could be considering my cock was not on board with my plan and continued to writhe against her, completely disobeying my orders. He just wanted to rub and roll all over her - in her – he didn't think that was too much to ask.

It really wasn't, was it? Shit! I need to focus! He's distracting me again!

"I don't want to stop, Jasper...please. Touch me," she begged, all breathy and sexy and holy fuck...she was begging me to take her!

"Time...you need time," I gasped out. I can't believe I just said that. What the fuck is wrong with me? My cock was wondering the same thing, he was so not amused by my betrayal.

She stopped instantly and I could feel her embarrassment once again hit me with force. Fuck, I didn't mean to embarrass her...but we had to stop. Why was that again? Oh right...she needed time.

Yup, still hate that fucking word.

We managed to untangle ourselves, both of us looking sexually frustrated in our rumpled states. She hung her head and an awkwardness enveloped us that I really didn't like – at all. This shouldn't be so fucking hard. My cock raised a pubic eyebrow at that and informed me that yes, he indeed should be this hard and that if I would just fuck her, it would help immensely with that. Smartass.

"Bella, I..."

"Jasper, I..."

We both chuckled and the awkwardness seemed to fade away – thankfully. I motioned for her to go first.

"I'm sorry, I got a little umm...carried away. This was exactly what I was afraid would happen if I was alone with you earlier. You just...you invade my senses and...I can't seem to help myself," she admitted sheepishly.

"It's okay, darlin'...and completely understandable," I assured her calmly.

"Oh, really? Is it now?" she snapped, a slight edge to her voice that had me blinking from her sudden mood swing. What was that emotion...irritation? Not anger – no, not yet, anyway. It was then that I realized what I had said and how it might have sounded to her – cocky, arrogant. She thought that I was full of myself...I had to internally scoff at her assessment. I wasn't full of myself, I just knew what I was and what I was capable of. Once she knew what I was capable of too, she'd understand where my cockiness came from.

"That's not how I meant it," I told her. I didn't think my internal musings would go over very well, so I kept them to myself. She'd understand soon enough all on her own.

"You mean you weren't implying that it's understandable for me to throw myself at you simply because you are just far too irresistible to the opposite sex?" she asked, tilting her head to the side inquisitively. She looks so damn adorable, I just want to... No, no – don't go there – focus! If I had had this much trouble focusing when I was in Maria's army, I'd have been dead that first fucking day. What the hell is happening to me? The thought of Maria was enough to tame my cock, and he deflated rapidly while glaring angrily at me for bringing up that bitch's name.

"No, I just meant it's all part of being a newborn, Bella. Remember the tree? Your emotions are running rampant – it's understandable," I clarified, hoping that would smooth things over.

"Oh," she answered, slightly contrite.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, assessing her thirst level for the first time since we fed her on the way here. She would need to feed soon, if not now. Perhaps that was the reasoning for her rapid mood shift... that, or I was back to my perpetual PMS theory. God help me.

She raised her hand up and ran her fingertips down the pale, smooth skin of her throat. "A little?" she replied, sounding unsure.

I nodded and told her we would go hunting after checking on the others progress. I could tell that she wasn't thrilled with the thought of more hunting, but she knew that it was necessary in order to keep the humans safe from her. Not that any are around at the moment, but if she gets too hungry, she will hunt for them without even realizing that's what she's doing – not until it's too late, anyway. Our natural instincts are for human blood, not animal blood. So when hunger strikes, it's a human we seek...not a fucking deer. It's our conscience and pure willpower that has to overcome that instinct and go for the deer instead of hunting down a human.

We grabbed the left over supplies the others had left behind. There wasn't much still there, apparently they didn't plan to wait for us to start building. Not that I minded, I had no clue when it came to construction and had planned to leave it up to Peter and Emmett anyway.

Once we got closer to the waterfall we could hear the pounding of hammers and the splitting of wood. I was quite curious to see how much they had gotten done. I tried to remain optimistic that they would be able to pull this off, but honestly, I was pretty sure this was not going to turn out well. I mean, it's Emmett and Peter. A sense of dread began to coil within me.

As we reached the others, Bella and I stopped dead in our tracks and took in the scene before us...

Peter and Emmett were now standing back and staring up at what they had built so far while tilting their heads this way and that...

The thing looked...well it looked...

Crooked...really, really crooked...and scary as hell. It was the haunted house version of tree houses. There were huge fucking nails - and why the fuck are some of them rusty? - coming through the floor, ceiling and walls everywhere! I'm pretty sure when Char asked for a bed, she didn't mean a bed of nails. The wood boards were twisted unnaturally, almost as if they had been tortured - giving them a sort of eerie presence. Some were overlapping the others awkwardly while some had huge gaps between them, big enough for even Emmett to fall or fit through. To top it all off, there was even a rather large black spider already attaching a web in the far corner near the ceiling. What the fuck...

"Jasper?" Bella stage whispered to me.

"Yeah, darlin'?" I stage whispered back. The others could hear us plain as fucking day. There's no secrets among vampires - no matter how hard you tried. And we weren't trying.

"What the fuck is that?" she asked, wide-eyed and pointing to the-little-tree-house-of-horror.

"I don't know, but don't worry – I'll protect you," I told her, shielding her body from it. I swear if you moved, it followed you.

"It's not that bad," Peter grumbled in argument, tilting his head further sideways to examine it. You can look at it upside down, Peter, it's not going to look any better.

"It's a work of art, Peter...don't listen to them," Emmett consoled him. Unfucking believable.

Rose and Char stared at it in their own states of shock and horror, before looking frantically over to me for help. I'm not sure what they wanted me to fucking do. I don't know how to build it either. I don't know what the fuck I was thinking. I should have nixed this idea immediately. I'm clearly an idiot.

What the hell were we going to do now? This idea was obviously not going to work – perhaps tents really are our only option until we find a house nearby, at least those I know we can assemble. Well, as long as we keep Peter and Emmett away from them.

I was pulled from my thoughts when Bella suddenly whipped around and crouched defensively in front of me, pushing me behind her as she scanned our surroundings intently for the danger she obviously had sensed and we had not. I can honestly say, I've never had a woman try to protect me. Not that I'm sexist and don't think that one could, but none have ever tried. And frankly, the Major doesn't need defending - from anything. Though I had no doubt that Bella would be one of the very few who could rival me in combat – she already proved that, and she's still a newborn. Give her a few years, and she very well could surpass even me in skill. The prospect of a challenge was thrilling, while also a tiny bit humiliating – I'm not sure how I'll feel about her kicking my ass. Maybe if I get to fuck her afterward, it won't wound my ego so badly.

I lowered into my own crouch and placed my hand on her waist, ready to haul her ass behind me. While it was nice that she was trying to protect me and all, I was slightly upset since it was my job to protect her. She seemed to know just where my thoughts were because she scoffed and indignantly rolled her eyes at me while stepping back so that we were side by side instead. This, I could deal with – I suppose. The others mirrored our positions, each of them in their own defensive crouch – ready for whatever was coming. We still couldn't see or smell anything out of the ordinary. Christ, she is good.

I sensed him with my gift before I saw him and immediately relaxed my stance. Bella raised an eyebrow at me questioningly and I assured her it was okay. She stayed crouched even after my reassurance, however, as the others all relaxed once they caught his scent in the breeze.

Bella growled lowly as he approached and my hand on her waist became more of a restraining gesture to her than a welcomed protective one. She eyed it warily and I eyed her cautiously. Still a newborn, her instincts at encountering a strange vampire were at an all time high.

"Gary!" Char squealed, charging him as soon as he came into our view. He caught her and planted a kiss to her cheek, laughing as she just about tackled him to the ground in her enthusiasm.

Rose went over and hugged him enthusiastically in greeting as well, while Emmett and Peter each gave him a strong manly clap to the shoulder.

"Good to see you again, man. What you been up to?" Emmett asked him.

"Good to see you guys, too. I've been...," he trailed off as he caught sight of the-little-tree-house-of-horror behind us.

"What the fuck is that suppose to be? Is it Halloween and I'm not aware?" Garrett asked incredulously.

"I don't know why everyone keeps asking what it is," Emmett mumbled, frowning. "It's obviously our house, I mean what else would it be?"

"Cullens living in the trees? In that? No fucking way!" Garrett doubled over in laughter and Bella tensed. His action bringing him closer to her than she felt comfortable with. He caught her stance and straightened himself immediately, gazing at her warily.

Garrett, like all vampires, was considered attractive. He has short, light brown hair and his ruby, human-drinking eyes glinted with wisdom, kindness, and charm that didn't seem quite as threatening as others of our kind. His tall, lean frame also added to his non-threatening demeanor, though he was clearly fit and strong from his military time as a human before his change. I wasn't really worried about Bella being attracted to him physically since she's my mate and that bond is fucking unbreakable...he on the hand, started scanning her body. Fucker. I knew he wouldn't do anything, though. He wasn't as stupid as Edward...

"And who is this beauty?" he asked, all charm and smooth voice. Or maybe he was...

Bella narrowed her eyes slightly before straightening out of her crouch finally. She was sizing him up, and I gathered she found that he didn't pose her any real threat. She was right, to an extent. Garrett, with his non-threatening demeanor, was a peace loving vampire...but make no mistake, he knew how to defend himself if needed. He was every bit as lethal as Peter and myself, if the situation warranted it.

"Garrett, this is Bella...," I began introducing them, trying to ease the tension in the air between them. He repeated her name softly, caressing it with his tongue, causing me to growl my next words in response, "My mate."

His head snapped in my direction quickly. It would have been comical, if I wasn't ready to tear into him for looking at her that way. I could sense his increasing confusion...and I knew why; her scent. He pulled in a large breath, double checking her scent, and looked at me questioningly. No, I haven't marked her yet...and not for lack of trying either. My cock scoffed at my musings and laid his head down to rest on top of his Kama Sutra book before sighing heavily. I was seriously debating finding him another therapist at this point. That, or he'd be dialing Peter's suicide hot-line soon – I shuddered at that thought.

I shook my head at Garrett, silently telling him not to bring up the obvious.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bella," he greeted her, holding out his hand in offering. Thank fucking god he didn't verbally ask. That would have been one awkward conversation to have in front of everyone – I didn't think Bella would be comfortable with announcing to them that she's still a virgin. He continued to glance over at me curiously, however, and his emotions belayed his silence. He was most definitely curious as to why I had yet to mark my mate with my scent. It really was out of character for a vampire as dominant as I am, so I could understand his confusion.

Bella eyed his hand with clear distrust and made absolutely no move to take his offering.

"Newborn?" Garrett asked me, before dropping his arm and hand back down to his side while keeping his eyes glued to Bella. He knew not to trust a newborn.

I opened my mouth to respond but snapped it shut quickly as her clipped, but still sexy as hell, tone reached my ears. "Don't do that. Don't speak about me as if I'm not even here," Bella snapped at him.

Garrett's eyebrows raised in surprise. "I apologize, Isabella."

She hissed in response to him using her proper name. He was definitely not making a good first impression with her. "It's just Bella – how do you even know my full name anyway?"

Garrett shook his head in amusement. Oh, you are an idiot, Gar. She'll rip you the fuck apart if you keep it up. It was my turn to shake my head in amusement at my longtime friend. He's always been able to charm people so easily. Not for the first time, I wondered if that wasn't his gift. Bella clearly isn't affected by his charm. He doesn't know who the fuck he is messing with – he assumes because she's a newborn that she's not a real threat to him - were she to attack him - he's sorely mistaken. Bella is no typical newborn when it comes to combat. Emotions on the other hand...

"I apologize once again, I just assumed..." Garrett began.

"Yes, well...we know what they say about assuming, now don't we?" she huffed and pulled me slightly back to her – further away from Garrett. Her action didn't go unnoticed by him. He stared at her with wide eyes and a wide grin. It was ironic that she called him out on making assumptions, he was assuming much more than she realized.

"I suppose we do," he chuckled, clearly enjoying this more than he should. He continued to stare at her for a moment before he finally turned to me, "She's a spitfire, Jasper...you must have your hands full..."

And then it happened...

Bella pushed me forcefully behind her and lunged for him. No one was able to catch her in time, not that it would have done any good – she was far too strong to restrain with mere brawn. It would require my gift to subdue her, the same as always - and that required contact. Before I could reach her, she had Garrett pressed face first into the ground with his arms pinned behind his back...his mumbled expletives being swallowed up by the earth.

"Garrett, Garrett, Garrett," I reprimanded him. "What have you learned today about assuming?"

More mumbled expletives followed and I decided to defuse the situation, lest she remove his head. She was growling low and rumbling as she kept him pinned beneath her. I was slightly jealous of their positioning. My cock turned his head and gazed at her longingly from his make shift Kama Sutra pillow.

"Baby, Garrett meant no harm...he's just not used to people resisting his charms," I told her, reaching for her. She snarled as my hand neared her arm and I pulled it back quickly. "It's okay, Bella...let him go now. I promise he won't hurt you," I soothed. 'Cause if he did, he'd be torn apart in a matter of seconds, I added silently.

"He's rude," she hissed into his ear, causing him to flinch from the proximity of her teeth to his neck.

"He's my friend, darlin'...please," I pleaded, truly beginning to worry for Garrett's safety. I didn't think she would actually take it that far as to hurt him...but I sure as hell wasn't going to make the same mistake Garrett made and just assume she wouldn't.

"He's your friend? You trust him?"

"Yes, I trust him and we've been friends a long time...he's a friend to all of us, not just me," I informed her. The others were nervously shifting from foot to foot. They were beginning to worry as well, yet not one of them was willing to approach her. Smart move; they'd all seen her in action previously, though.

She sprang to her feet lithely and stood over his head for a moment looking down upon him like an ant to squished beneath her feet, before stepping away from him with her back turned. I was in utter shock. That action was one I'd done thousands of times myself – though never to a newborn, the only newborn I've ever stupidly turned my back to was Bella. The action served to show your dominance over another vampire – it was dismissive. How the fuck did she know to do that?

She stepped in front of me and nuzzled herself into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her to me tightly while sending her some much needed calm. She sighed against me as the tension in her body began to dissipate. "I'm sorry," she murmured into my chest, shaking slightly.

"Shh, darlin', it's okay, you did nothing wrong," I assured her, stroking some of my fingers through her silky auburn locks. So soft.

Garrett laid still in his prone position on the ground for a moment – his emotions blank...was that shock? As if answering my silent question, he rolled over onto his back and gave me the biggest, 'What the fuck?', look. His emotions then were concern and awe as he gazed at the back of mate, who was now no longer the fierce predator she was a moment ago, but a tamed kitten cowering in the corner after being frightened.

"I think you need to feed, darlin'...how does that sound?" I asked her, pulling back slightly to look into her eyes. Feeding would help to calm her further, more so even than my gift – which honestly wasn't doing much for her. Her shield had definitely strengthened, blocking most of what I was sending her without even trying. No doubt a involuntary defensive reaction from moments ago.

"Okay," she whispered, nodding her head.

"We'll take her, Major," Peter interjected hastily. My head snapped in his direction with an incredulous look.

"I don't think..."

"It's fine, I'm fine...I'll be fine," Bella cut me off. I'm not sure who she was trying to convince, me or her?

"I'm just not sure..."

"I won't hurt them, if that's what you are worried about," she snapped back at me before sighing heavily. "I promise," she whispered more calmly and slightly apologetic. Yes, she definitely needed to feed.

I gave Peter and Char a look. The look said, "Are you sure you can fucking handle it?" - they nodded without hesitation and I knew she would be in good hands with them. She had been the calmest back in Forks with them, so it stood to reason everything would be fine. Still, I fucking worried...especially given recent events. Garrett gave me his own look. The look said, "We need to fucking chat – alone."

"Alright, darlin'," I conceded, leaning down and brushing my lips across hers once, twice, three times... four times. I pulled back slightly only to immediately go back in for time number five.

She giggled against my lips.

I didn't stop.

I was up to time number ten when she pulled away.

"I'm really hungry," she stated seriously, and that was all it took for me to finally let her go. Peter walked over to me and laid a hand on my shoulder. It was his silent reassurance that he would bring her back to me. He fucking better, and not a hair out of place. Rose and Em decided to go with them, being animal drinkers themselves they felt they could help her – which I have to say made me feel slightly more at ease. They took off and that damn rope jerked me forward a couple of steps before I steadied myself and took a deep, unnecessary breath.

Garrett stood up the moment she was gone and proceeded to dust himself off, glancing over at me every couple of seconds. I just waited for what I knew was coming. He finished dusting off his jeans, which surprisingly looked relatively new. He usually wore his clothes for months straight. Being a nomad didn't mean he had an Alice-sized wardrobe at his disposal. He usually acquired his new clothing from the recently deceased...and recently drained. I assume he fed on his way here. His eyes reaffirmed that assumption.

He stopped dusting off his pants and looked at me for a moment with a frown on his face. "Wanna explain to me what the fuck is going on?"

"She's my mate," I replied simply.

"Okay, we'll start there," he stated cryptically. I didn't know what he fucking meant by that but I didn't ask. "What happened to Alice?" he asked, not sounding like he cared even the tiniest bit. There was definitely no love lost there. Okay - he couldn't stand her was more precise.

"She's not my mate," I replied simply.

"Enough with the simple goddamn answers. Tell me what's going on," he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

I growled a warning and he had enough sense to apologize for his demanding tone. I outranked him from a military standpoint, but I also outranked him as a vampire, my scars and combat skills were proof of that, and he knew better than to make demands or speak to me that way. After a warning glare as well, I told him everything that lead up to the here and now. He listened silently to everything. That was the best thing about Garrett, he never jumped to conclusions until he had all the fucking facts first. It was the military in him, don't plan an attack until you know your enemy first.

"He kicked you out?" he roared angrily.

I said nothing and just let him take his anger out on the nearest tree. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of the ones with the-little-tree-house-of-horror attached. Damn, so close.

"How could he do something like this?" he went on. "What he did was beyond wrong, doesn't he realize that? It doesn't even sound like something Carlisle would do in the first place...I just don't understand why he's so blindly believing them," he ranted, shaking his head in disbelief at his friend's actions.

"It is what it is, Garrett. I don't fucking care," I told him firmly.

"Bullshit. You care."

I growled.

"Why haven't you marked her?" he asked suddenly, ignoring my denying growl, his brows furrowed in confusion.

I sighed. "She's a virgin," I revealed reluctantly.

His eyebrows rose high on his forehead and a large smirk grew across his face. Fucker. "You don't say? Man, you are one lucky son-of-a-bitch," he chuckled, shaking his head.

"I am," I agreed, because I fucking am and I knew it. "She needs time to deal with her emotions and I'm giving it to her."

"How are you restraining yourself?" he questioned. "I mean, she's sexy as hell and I don't think I'd be able to do it...and add her being your mate...damn, that's just crazy."

"It's not without difficulty," I snarled at him.

He held his hands up. "Just saying. I mean...I thought her voice was sexy, but her body..."

"That's enough, Garrett!" I roared at him, taking a step forward. He bowed his head and I glared at him but didn't move further toward him. Friendship saved him from being planted face first once again.

"Sorry," he murmured.

"It's bad enough dealing with every other fucking male, don't make me have to deal with you too," I warned him.

"You know I would never do anything. But you can't blame the rest of us for admiring the scenery, man," he argued but still kept his head bowed.

I sighed heavily. It was something I was going to need to deal with. Once she was over her newborn stage, it would be even worse around human men. Fuck me.

"She took me down like I was nothing," he remarked in awe.

"That she did," I chuckled. And she looked sexy as fuck doing it, too.

"How the fuck did she do that?" he questioned incredulously. "I'll admit, I might be a little rusty, but fuck...she's just a newborn!"

"She's been like that since she woke up. Combat seems to be instinctual for her, instead of a learned skill like the rest of us. I've never seen anything like it."

"Neither have I. And I'm willing to bet most others haven't either," he said meaningfully. I didn't want to think about what he was implying. I was trying very hard not to think about that. "I assume it has to do with her being meant for you and your venom running through her?"

"It's possible. Though, Peter and Char have my venom as well and it wasn't like that for them," I mused.

"They weren't meant to be your mate either. I'd bet my left testicle that has a lot to do with it," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I wouldn't mention that bet to her," I joked, laughing loudly when he flinched visibly.

"Shut up," he groaned. "Humiliating. Taken down by a newborn – what is the world coming to," he grumbled to himself.

~O~O~O~O~

The others arrived back from Bella's hunt a little while later and she looked much calmer than before, but a little anxious as she ran into my arms. All of her anxiety left, as did my own, at having her right where she belonged once again.

"I missed you," she whispered, placing a small kiss to her bite mark on my neck. Mmm.

"I missed you, too," I told her, placing a larger kiss to my mark on her neck. "Good hunt?" I asked curiously.

"I still hate it, but I feel better...so yeah, I guess it was good," she replied with a tiny shrug before running her lips up the length of my neck and then farther up to my lips where she pressed hers firmly. Mmm. I parted my lips and her tongue didn't hesitate to invade my awaiting mouth. Moans and groans came from both of us as the kiss steadily grew in intensity. I could kiss her this way for days without stopping...

A familiar throat cleared loudly.

"What, Garrett?" I growled against her lips, causing her to moan from the vibrations it caused. Hmm, interesting.

When he didn't respond, I reluctantly pulled away to see him staring at Bella and paying me no attention whatsoever.

"I just wanted to apologize, Bella, for my earlier behavior. I'm sorry. I was rude. I promise it won't happen again," he told her sincerely.

Her lips twitched and she nodded her head. "I'm sorry, too... for ya know...attacking you. I'm having some anger issues it seems and I took it out on you unfairly."

"It's all part of being a newborn," he reassured it. "Not that being a newborn is a bad thing. Just everyone goes through it," he hastily added.

I chuckled under my breath at his obvious fear of her. He glared at me in response.

"So you're vampire-guy?" Bella asked. Huh? When he just looked at her confused she clarified, "From the phone – you called Peter's hot-line sounding human?"

"Oh, that! Yeah, yeah, that was me," he confirmed. "And just for the record, I think Jasper's a vampire, too - even if he's in denial," he whispered conspiratorially to her in his 'human' voice, causing her to giggle. Not immune to his charms after all. Just fucking wonderful.

"Well I'm Bella, newborn-girl and anger-issue-girl...it's nice to meet you vampire-guy," she said, holding out her hand in offering.

"It's truly a pleasure," he replied, taking her hand in his with a bright smile.

"You forgot a title," I told her. "You're also my-girl," I stated, snatching her back from him...similar to how she had pulled me away from him earlier. She rolled her eyes at me but whispered, "And your-girl."

That's fucking right.

Garrett shook his head. "Lucky bastard," he murmured before walking away. Wait, walking away?

"Where the fuck are you going? You just got here," I demanded, stopping him. I know he never stays in one spot for long, but this was a bit extreme even for him.

"To visit the house of course," he replied simply.

"Garrett..." I trailed off in warning. He rolled his eyes.

"What? You don't think I can just not visit my friend Carlisle when I'm this close by, do you? Esme would have my head."

"Just stay out of it, Gar," I warned him again.

"I'll let him know you said 'hi'," he said before taking off quickly – not promising me anything. Asshole.

~O~O~O~O~

After watching Emmett and Peter continue to build the-little-tree-house-of-horror - and watching it get scarier by the second - Rose and Char approached me.

"I'm not living in that, Jasper...so figure something else out," Char informed me, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

"I'm with her...no way in hell am I living in that thing! I swear it has eyes or something! If I could sleep, I'd have nightmares!" Rose said, shuddering slightly. "Maybe we can just leave them here to live in that and we can find something else for the rest of us," Rose suggested, hopefully.

It wasn't a bad idea, actually. They did seem rather attached to their horrific creation, and it would cut down on the required amount of room we would need...but there was one flaw in that plan - they were mates, and if the pull was even half as strong as mine was with Bella, there was no way they could live separate. Damnit.

I was in the midst of contemplating my own plan to obtain a computer so that we could research the nearby area's real-estate, in hopes of finding something quickly – very fucking quickly – when I smelled her approach; she was about a half mile out yet.

Everyone paused as they too caught her scent in the air. No words were said as they immediately cast wary glances my way, even Bella. Just fucking great.

And in five, four...

...three, two..

One...

"Finally! There you all are!" she exclaimed, stepping into view.

Everyone murmured their hello's, except for me that is. I guess you could say I wasn't feeling very fucking cordial toward her at the moment. Go figure.

"Esme," I regarded her coolly.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

AN:

Now, don't be too upset with me for ending it there. I really did want (and tried - I really did) to put her visit in this chapter, but I just felt it flowed better in the next one. *Ducks under desk*

To make it up to you, if you review I'll send you a small teaser from Esme's visit to tide you over while you wait patiently (or not so patiently) for the next update. ) Please let me know what you thought! (Remember to sign in if you want the teaser)

Regarding updates: My Mom is currently in the hospital ICU. She has some pretty severe dementia that has progressed rapidly over this last year (she's 77 and my Dad is 80). She had a heart attack and has some other health issues as well - so right now we are just taking it one day at a time to see how she recovers from those. I can't even put into words what it's like talking to my Dad, who has always been so strong, and hear him sound so tired and vulnerable... They've been married for over 50 years and he just keeps telling me how lonely he is without her there. =*(

Anyway, right now, my heart is elsewhere. I'm not giving up on this story, no worries! I just can't guarantee a time frame on updates with everything going on. Very sorry, and I hope you can understand. I promise to do my very best to keep it reasonable, if I can.