Jasper Whitlock

"Jasper," Bella called out from the couch.

"Hmm," was my reply.

"Can you come here please?"

I let out a small sigh as I came over and stood in front of her.

"What?" I asked.

"Does this cabin have a bed?" she asked.

Cabin? What the fuck?

"It's a house," I informed her.

"Oh, sorry," and she was sorry, I loved being able to feel her fully, "does this house have a bed?"

"Yes, upstairs, why?"

"I just thought maybe I could sleep in it at nights."

"I thought you liked being close to the fire." I crossed my arms against my chest.

"I do, it's just, I've been on this couch for weeks, it would be good to actually spend my nights in a real bed. It would give me some kind of routine instead of being in the one spot all the time."

Right.

"Do you want to go to bed now?" I asked.

"No," she said, "when it starts to get dark is fine."

Fine. I stepped away and stood back in the kitchen.

"Why do you always stand so far away?" Bella asked, peering at me over the back of the couch.

"I'm not used to staying in one spot for so long," I told her, "I think I'm getting restless."

"What's going to happen?" she asked. "Will we leave this house once I get better?"

She was feeling sad.

"I don't know," I said, "I haven't really thought about it. I guess so. What do you want?"

Bella looked at me surprised.

"Umm, I…" she stuttered, "I don't know. I like it here, but I guess I haven't really thought about it either."

We were on the same page it seemed.

"Jasper, what did you do during the wars to pass time?" she asked. "I'm going stir crazy."

"Depends on what war."

"Either," she said eagerly.

"In the Southern Wars we fought, fucked and killed. In the Civil War we played cards, gambled and got drunk."

"What can we do?" she asked. "Together," she added.

"I don't know, Bella, what would you suggest?" That was the second time I had asked what she wanted, what was happening to me?

"We could play two truths, one lie," she said.

"What's that?"

"You say three statements about yourself, two are true, one is a lie, and we have to guess the lie."

"I'm an empath," I reminded her, "I'll know when you're lying."

"I can work on blocking you," she said.

"I really wish you wouldn't," I told her, "I like feeling your emotions."

"Fine, I'll just guess then, it'll give me a chance to get to know you better."

But I wanted to get to know her too.

"You can go first," I said.

"Will you join me?" she asked, patting the spot next to her on the couch. I didn't move. "Come on," she said, "you're too far away."

I sat next to her and waited for her to start.

"My father is a police chief." Truth. "I used to do ballet as a kid." Truth. "I love the rain." Lie.

This was too easy.

"You hate the rain."

She smiled. "You're right." This was stupid. "Your turn."

My turn… I never talked about myself.

"I lied about my age so I could join the army sooner. The most humans I've ever killed in one hit was fifty-seven. My eyes used to be blue."

I threw the last one in because she already knew the answer and I didn't want to make it impossible for her, she now had a fifty-fifty shot.

"Can I ask you follow-up questions?" Bella was determined.

"Sure."

"How old were you when you joined the army?"

"Sixteen."

"And how old did you need to be back then?"

"Eighteen."

She was thoughtful. "The killing one is a lie."

"You're right," I said. "Why did you guess that one?"

"Because I always imagined your kill count being higher than fifty-seven, but don't tell me the exact number." She was wrong about that, it was lower, way lower. "Plus, if you were the youngest Major, you had to start earlier."

"They never found out my real age," I told her, "so even with my fake older age, I was still the youngest Major in Texas."

"Oh." She was impressed. "Let me go again," she said, "I'm going to try and block you this time, but just for the game, I promise. Is that okay?"

I grunted my acceptance. A moment later, I couldn't feel anything from her and I hated it. What she didn't realize though was that I didn't need my gift to tell when people were lying, everyone had their tells and most of them were universal across many people.

Bella listed off her statements. "I moved to Phoenix when I was six. I enjoy reading, the classics mainly. I'm a straight A student."

She was trying to fool me, but she shouldn't have bothered. She looked at me expectantly.

"They're all true," I told her.

"What? How?" she asked.

"Simple," I said, "all your tells were missing. You were too confident, too calm, you spoke too clearly."

"Fine," she huffed, "your turn."

I should've given her a taste of her own medicine, but I didn't. Unlike her, I followed the rules, it was ingrained in me.

"I like to read too, history books mainly. I never went to school. Texas is my home and always will be."

I tried to mirror her facts.

"You made this too easy," she said confidently.

Had I?

"The school one is a lie," she said, "but only because you don't know if it's true or not."

How did she know? I sent her my confusion.

"You don't remember your human life," she explained, "so you wouldn't know if you went to school or not."

Right, she was too smart.

"I feel like if we keep playing this game," I said, "neither of us will win. I can read you, with or without your emotions, and you're too smart."

"Okay," she accepted as she yawned. "How long until dusk?" she asked.

I looked outside. "An hour or so."

"Hmm," she said, "what do you want to do until then?"

"Stand in the kitchen."

"Why?" she asked.

"It gives the perfect vantage point of East, South and West. If anyone approaches, I'll know."

She was feeling curious.

"Is this part of that battle-mode brain you were talking about?" she asked.

"Yes. I always have to be on alert, you never want the enemy sneaking up on you."

"And who are the enemy?"

"The Cullens, the Volturi, other vampires. I try not to make enemies, but I've been told by Garrett that the Volturi have put a bounty on my head, no one's gotten close to me yet though."

"Who are the Volturi?" she asked. "Do I need to be worried about them?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because they're no match for me."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm superior in all ways. They don't fight their own battles, they get other vampires to do it for them. It's cowardly."

"Is there anyone stronger than you?" she asked.

"Garrett," I answered, "but only because he knows so much personal information about me. He could bring me down if he wanted, but I don't think he would."

Something shifted within Bella's emotions.

"What would Garrett do if he found out about me?" Bella asked. She was feeling concerned.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"That you love me," Bella said. "Would he be okay with that?"

"I doubt it, but he doesn't know about you and he won't ever find out, so what does it matter?"

"Right."

She was hiding something.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. Do you think I can go to bed now? I'm feeling tired."

Why was she avoiding this? She was too frustrating at times.

I carefully picked her up, cradling her against me. I liked having her in my arms. She was so soft, so warm, so human, as she clung tightly to me. I walked as slow as I could towards the stairs. I wanted hold her for as long as possible, but it wasn't long enough. My house was too small. I set her down on the bed and stepped back.

She shifted and moved underneath the covers so she was comfortable.

"Why were you asking about Garrett?" I questioned her.

"Will you hold me?" she said, avoiding me yet again. "All night? Or do you have to go stand in the kitchen?"

I couldn't deny her request because it's what I wanted too. I walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed on. This reminded me of all the times I had spent with her in Phoenix. I settled beside her, ready to hold her from behind, when she turned and rested her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close. I liked having her in my arms, it just felt right.

I waited until she was almost asleep before I asked her again.

"Why are you worried about Garrett?" I whispered.

"Because he's coming here."

I tensed up, that couldn't be right, how would Bella know that? …My phone. I pulled it from my pocket and found her messages to him. He was mad, like I knew he'd be, but Bella had told him that I needed him and he was coming. I didn't need Garrett, did I? Bella seemed to think I did, but what had she done?

I didn't want Garrett here, he was my friend, but he was too unpredictable, especially when it came to me. He was protective of me, he blamed himself for my change. He was supposed to be with me that night, but he went off for a feed and I was left alone.

If he perceived Bella as a threat to me, he would kill her, I was sure of that. We needed to run, but I knew Bella wasn't up for that yet. We had no choice, we would just have to stay here and hope Garrett accepted Bella as my mate. I didn't have high hopes, but Garrett had surprised me before.