SM owns Twilight

Chapter: Twenty-Four

Song: Have A Little Faith - Joe Cocker

Jasper POV

Time mattered little, especially now as I held Bella in my arms. Carlisle was going to be upset with me for not waiting, but it couldn't be helped. After everything that Bella had went through, I needed her to know that she was safe, wanted and especially loved.

Her simple and loving reaction to my scars, made me love her even more. There had been no fear, nor revulsion as she kissed the crisscrossed lines on my neck. Even now, in sleep her nose nuzzled my neck as if she was subconsciously trying to breathe me in. I knew that feeling, it was the same one I was having now.

I wondered what the change in her scent meant. She had not carried the scent of freesias since her birthday. Before she had smelled like some tasty, off-limits, morsel. Now Bella smelled of home, and my mate. Alice had never been able to obtain that smell no matter what she tried. When Carlisle and Esme returned I would ask their opinion.

Standing with Bella in my arms, I carried her to my bedroom. Esme's transformation of Bella's room was complete, but I couldn't part with her yet from my bed. Pulling back the covers, I placed my love down and pulled the covers up. In her sleep she turned and reached out toward the empty side of the bed. A small moan escaped her lips as she sought something that was not there. Buried deep in sleep her feelings were faint.

My name, barely off her lips, was all it took for me to crawl in next to her. Bella settled her tossing and turning as soon as I pulled her into my arms. Two little words, said against my chest as her head found purchase under my chin, set my heart soaring. "My Jasper."

"I am yours, my love, forever." For her I would do as she requested and take this slow. As I sat planning, I found myself feeling at peace for the first time since I was a child.

The vibration of my cell phone in my pocket disturbed my calm and I struggled with the urge not to curse out loud. Pressing the screen, I found a text from Esme. She and Carlisle would be home soon and they were bringing some surprises for Bella.

Quickly I got out of bed so I wouldn't disturb Bella. She needed all the uninterrupted sleep that she could get. Neither I, nor Carlisle would be happy until there was some color once more to her cheeks and much needed weight added to her now slight frame.

Out in the garage I grabbed a massive tool chest and hauled it inside. To give Bella the Christmas she deserved, I needed to get the electricity fixed properly. With Esme's experience in contracting, it shouldn't take too long. I was strapping on my tool belt when I heard my truck coming down the road.

As the garage door lifted I could feel both of their excitements. It had been so long since any of us had celebrated the holiday. From their feelings, all it had taken was Bella as the excuse to go all-out.

As Carlisle unloaded the laden truck of its packages, Esme helped me with the electricity. Within two hours we had more the problem solved and everything functioning properly, for now. Tomorrow I would call Charlie to get his help. As Esme and I were working, Carlisle had gone outside and brought back a humongous Christmas tree and was just finishing the lights when I sensed Bella awakening.

Handing my tool belt off to a smiling Esme, I was at Bella's side, just as she was opening her eyes. She had slept the afternoon away, and was looking better for it. For a long moment we just stared at each other. I couldn't resist the urge. My lips were on hers in a light kiss. Her response and kiss back was the best gift.

"Come on Sleeping Beauty, we have lots to do." I hauled her out of bed and over my shoulder as she giggled. Upstairs I could feel Carlisle and Esme's joy at the sound. They were happy to have their daughter back.

"Close your eyes, and no peeking." I walked slowly up the stairs. The lights were off except the firelight and twinkling tree. Letting her down, I made sure that indeed her eyes did not peek. Turning her around, I wrapped my arms around her waist, my thumbs sneaking under her sweater to the soft warm skin beneath.

"Open your eyes, Bella." I whispered in her ear, loving the way she shivered.

The gasp that came from her lips as she saw the tree, made Esme and Carlisle smile with pleasure. It had been so long since they'd been able to surprise anyone in the family. Their simple gift to Bella had her heart filled with wonder and love. Sensing her urge, I let her go as she almost ran to Esme and Carlisle as they stood by the tree.

"Thank you so much. It's wonderful. Do we have any decorations?" She wrapped them both in her arms.

Bella's enthusiasm overtook all of us, and at her words of inclusion, I found it hard not to burst forth the love I had for her. Her love for Carlisle and Esme was more than I'd ever felt before and I couldn't help but let them feel it, the way I was.

At the feeling Carlisle swooped Bella up into his arms and spun her around until both of them were laughing. Esme was laughing so hard she was holding her stomach. I don't think her or me, had ever seen Carlisle this happy. His joy was filling the room and it had nothing to do with my power.

As Carlisle and Bella began rifling through the bags of ornaments and decorations, Esme went and put on Christmas music. As I watched Bella delight at each ornament and the smile blooming in her face and eyes, I knew I would walk through hell itself to keep her this way. The thought of anyone hurting her, ever again, made the urge to go after Edward and rip him to pieces, hard to overcome.

Sensing the change in my mood, I watched Bella stop in midsentence and turn from the tree. I could feel her concern as she walked toward me. Without saying a word, she wrapped her arms around me, laying her forehead against my chest.

"Come help us with the tree." Bella's kiss to my chest, right above my heart, did not go unnoticed by Carlisle. "Just think, Jasper, we get to start the New Year, together." Her words of together, didn't go unnoticed by Carlisle or Esme. Many emotions were swirling inside her, but the biggest were contentment and happiness.

They sent me looks of questioning as Bella took my hand and brought me to the tree. Moving to stand in front of me she wrapped my arms around her waist and stared into the twinkling lights and lost herself in their contentment. I rested my chin against her head and stared with her. Inside I could feel her mind deciding, it mixed with relief and hope. After a moment she sighed and turned both of us around to face Carlisle and Esme.

"I know this will seem sudden for both of you, but I hope not difficultly. If you don't understand, or are angry with me, or Jasper, then we'll have to deal with it. Jasper and I have agreed to start seeing each other. We're going to take our time, until I'm ready for more. I want you both to know that Jasper is not in any way using his powers of persuasion on me. After everything that has happened, I'm ready to move on." Raising her head, she looked up at me with a brilliant smile on her face.

It was hard to contain the love I had for her inside me, instead of pouring it out into the room. "Are you sure, Bella? I want you to want this, but only if you're sure. I'm not asking for anything more than you're willing to give, just your friendship is enough."

I turned moving in front of her to block Carlisle and Esme from her sight. I cupped my hands around her face and bent, looking in her eyes. Her feelings of certainty were one fact, but I needed her words to prove their truth.

Her hands covered mine while her brown eyes flashed with light. "I'm sure, Jasper. When I awoke in your arms, it felt like I was coming home, for the first time ever I felt whole, safe, and loved. There was no demand on me other than to just be. In your arms, I don't doubt that I'm good enough, smart, strong, or brave enough. In your arms, I am all those things and more. I wish I could explain it more. When I woke up, alive, I put the past behind me and I'm looking forward to the future whether it's human or like you. No matter where this ride leads us, I'm for it."

Like Carlisle before me, I picked Bella up and began spinning her in my arms. She laughed and held tight as I filled the room with my love for her. Color blossomed on her cheeks and her feelings of joy were amazing. I could feel the twinges of Carlisle and Esme's concern at the quick procession of events, but their happiness was shoving it into the back of their minds.

Bella left my side and pulled Carlisle over to the decorations and soon the three of us were fitting hundreds of ornaments on the tree. Esme left to make dinner for Bella. Soon Carlisle and I were in a duel to see who could get more ornaments on the tree.

"Throwing them on the tree in hopes they stick is cheating, Jasper." Bella laughed and stood out of the way.

"Hey, it's no worse than Carlisle taking a handful and putting them in one spot." I pointed out the spot where suspiciously there hung five ornaments on one branch.

Carlisle laughed and threw a small penguin at my head. I ducked and it landed with a soft thud by Bella's feet. Gently she picked it up and hung it on a branch. Turning she hit us both, as light as she could.

"There's just one ornament left to put on darlin'. Would you like to do the honors?" I held out the crystal filigree star to Bella. Her eyes shone and I could feel her childlike excitement.

Positioning her in front of me I placed my hands on her waist and tried hard not to groan and my thumbs slid against the soft skin under her shirt. With her pressed up against me, settled between my thighs, it was heaven and hell at once. Lifting her I stifled the audible groan as the sweetness of her backside touched with my growing erection. Bella's breath hitched slightly and I was glad that Carlisle had left to join Esme in the kitchen.

Carefully Bella placed the star on top of the tree and I lifted her down slowly, her body rubbing against mine. As she placed her feet on the floor, she rubbed her back deliciously on my chest and I couldn't stop the purr that came from my lips.

Turning in my arms, Bella faced me and kissed me before wrapping her arms around my waist and lying her head over my heart.

"You're like having my own kitty cat. Do you play with balls of string too, or just catnip?" Her words made me chuckle and I couldn't resist the urge as my hands made their way under her shirt, hitting the ribs I was counting on to be ticklish, they were, extremely so.

"Jasper, stop. I can't breathe." Her laughter lit the house quicker than a lightning bolt. She wiggled in my arms and I continued with my excuse to touch her.

I was so absorbed in her laughter and the squirming of her against me that I never saw the pillow she'd picked up off the couch, until it hit me in the face. It gave her just enough time to wiggle free and make for the kitchen.

Turning I stalked her into the kitchen where she squeaked and ducked behind Carlisle. Carlisle laughed as Bella began turning him to mimic my moves, keeping herself out of my reach. Carlisle was laughing and spun deftly out of the way making Bella falter forward and into my waiting arms.

"If you are all finished fooling around, Bella needs to eat." Esme shooed Carlisle and I out of the kitchen and escorted Bella to the dining room.

In the living room Carlisle bent and stroked the fireplace's flames higher. His emotions were different places at once. I prepared myself for the conversation about to come. I knew he was upset that I didn't wait in telling Bella my feelings. I respected Carlisle's counsel enough to hear him out.

"I could give you a lecture, Jasper, but I'm not. She's happy, and looking better. Right now that's all that matter. If this is what she wants, then let her lead you until you are both on the same level. I know this is going to be hard for you to hear, but have you ever considered that she may subconsciously cling to you until Edward comes back? What if Edward comes back and their feelings for each other are still strong? What if Edward wants her back, Jasper? Could you let her go?"

The growl that formed low and deadly in my chest was unstoppable. After everything that Edward did, if he came back, I would tear him apart and dance in his ashes. I knew my eyes were black in rage as I stared at Carlisle.

"He will return eventually, Jasper, he is a member of this family. Are you prepared for that?" Carlisle was standing, facing me. His feelings were calm and I knew that he was blocking them.

"I could get into a fight with you about this, Carlisle, but not with Bella nearby to hear. I hope Edward comes back, so I can show him what he did to her, how he destroyed her, and nearly killed her. It is true. Edward is a part of your family, the first son and all of that crap. I will not let Bella hurt again, not only by Edward, but by all of you. You and Esme's leaving hurt her just as much as Edward's did. I won't have that happen again, not without tearing someone apart in the process."

"You are just as much a part of this family." Carlisle's eyes were stern as he stared, unmoving into my own. For him, his words were truth.

For me, I knew I would never allow things to go back the way they were. "Yeah, family pets always have a spot in the family, loyal, trustworthy to a point, just don't get too close. I won't go back to being the Cullen leper. I'm a Whitlock, so far family of one and I plan it staying that way. I appreciate everything you and Esme have ever done for me, but it's time to cut the apron strings. It's time for me to start my own coven."

I tried to let my anger show without crashing it into Carlisle like an overemotional teenager. Just the thought of Edward coming back and trying to win Bella's favor once again, set me on edges. I was not above playing dirty to keep my mate at my side.

"What is going on out here? Do you not both realize that we can hear you?" Esme's slap rocked my head forward and I was embarrassed. "Now she's upset and you're going to fix it, or I will swear I will do more than slap you, upside your head." Esme's eyes flashed fire and I couldn't remember seeing her, this angry.

Leaving Carlisle and Esme, I turned and walked into the dining room. Bella's dinner was uneaten on the table and she stared out the window into the dark swirling snow. She was sad, confused and worried.

From behind I wrapped my arms around her, resting my chin on her head. "I'm sorry. I was an ass. Carlisle made me angry. It had nothing to do with you, darlin'." I tried to soothe her worries, but she was blocking my powers.

"Do you think he'll come back?" The words, so softly said, nearly killed me. Was Carlisle right, would Bella open herself to me just to pass the time until Edward returned? Worry ate at her and she barely breathed, let alone moved in my arms.

"I don't know. Honestly, Bella, I hope he does. It would be better for all of our sakes, if he would come back. I want a relationship with you, Bella, but I don't want to be the one you settle for, because he's not here. Mostly, I just want him back so I can kick his ass and play baseball with that egocentric head of his.' Softly I kissed the top of her head, trying to suppress the churning of my gut at the thought of her going back to him.

'Be honest with me Bella, if he walked through that door right now, and begged to have you again, would you take him?" Before this went any farther, I had to know the truth. I would rather lose her now, than lose her once we fully mated.

Her hesitation told me everything. Kissing her once more on top of her head, I stepped away and fled. She was willing to be with me, but only as long as Edward wasn't in the picture. As long as a tiny part of Bella thought Edward was coming back, then she'd never fully be mine.

Several trees met their demise at my hand, before Carlisle hand on my shoulder, stopped me. I didn't need his I told you so, to feel any more crappy than I did. Even if Edward came back, there was no doubt that I would never be able to leave her. I would spend the rest of my existence watching her from the shadows, continuing to love and protect her.

Bella POV

I stared at the window and tried not to look at Esme's face as we heard the conversation from the living room. Even just the mention of Edward's name still hurt and pain flared in my chest. Every part of me screamed for it to stop, but my heart had other plans.

It wasn't the mention of Edward's name that made the pain unbearable, it was Jasper telling Carlisle that he was a family of one and planned on staying that way. If that was true, then there was no room for me in his life. May be it wasn't I using him to get over Edward, but him using me to get over Alice.

I couldn't move when he put his arms around me and closed my eyes and shielded my heart from his gaze. My heart couldn't go through this again. It was better to let him go now, than fall in love and have him ripped away from me.

The words were on my tongue and slid softly from my lips. They were the words that while I knew they would hurt, was best served now than later. I hoped I was keeping my feelings inside and together enough for him not to hear the lie.

"Do you think he'll come back?" I tried to falsify a tiny measure of hope with them. Jasper had been so wonderful to me and it hurt, almost as much as Edward leaving, to hurt him this way.

I wasn't prepared for his words as he tried to comfort me. The feelings of hope and love pressed around me and I fought the urge to give into them. Jasper's words and feelings held everything I wanted to hear, and that was the point. Softly his kiss was planted on my head and coupled with the comfort of his arms, I almost gave in.

Jasper's words were so quiet and still as they whispered in my head. "Be honest with me, Bella, if he walked through the door and begged to have you back, would you take him."

I hesitated as I thought, a wave of my own feelings pulling at me like the ocean's undertow. Jasper's kiss touched my head one more time, then was gone. My whole body suddenly felt numb at this leaving and I felt my soul bare and empty without him.

The soft nick of the door told me he'd left and it was all I could do to fall into Esme's arms as my heart felt like it was breaking all again.

"God, this is such a mess. I want to be sure of him, Esme. How can we put Edward and Alice both behind us? Take me home, to Charlie's, please Esme. I can't stay here any longer. I made him leave, just like Edward." Out of all of them, I knew that Esme would understand me the most. Right now I needed to be alone and I could not do that here.

"Oh, honey. I wish I could. The roads are near impassable, and even if I ran, you'd freeze before I even got you home.' Esme's hands soothed as they ran through my hair.

'I tell you what though, you can have your Christmas present early."

With her arm around me, we made it down the stairs and were soon standing in front of a closed door almost direct across from Jasper's. Slowly Esme opened the door and flicked on a switch. The room was instantaneously lit in a soft glow. The metallic looking walls almost shimmered in light purple and blue. The queen-size bed stood in the middle, filigree wrought iron stood as a head and footboard. The covering's on the bed were a little darker in cover than the walls and an assortment of pillows took up the top part of the bed. A black chest of drawers lay under a massive wrought iron mirror that matched the bed.

Tucked into a corner was a massive bookshelf that already held an assortment of books and a huge chair that matched the bedspread. It was the kind of chair perfect for climbing in and reading the day away. Esme turned the overhead light off then turned a dimmer switch. In the ceiling nestled missions of little lights and in the darkness it turned the ceiling into a summer's night sky.

Enchanted and momentarily forgetting my woes, I followed Esme into the room. Silently she opened closet doors. Inside the closet hung an array of clothing, some I noticed from my own at Charlie's. Another door led to my own bathroom, with a Jacuzzi tub that almost rivaled the one in Jasper's room. The colors here were more darker and intimate, with a mirror above the sink matched the bedroom and made the bathroom appear bigger than it was.

"It's beautiful, Esme. Thank you." I stared at the bedroom in awe and for another instant forgot everything and let the peace of the room surround me.

"Don't thank me, sweetheart. Most of this was Jasper's doing, I just followed out his wishes. He wanted you to feel home here, Bella. Jasper wants this to be your home as well as Charlie's. "

"But you heard him, Esme, 'Whitlock, party of one'. That doesn't leave any room for me. Maybe we were both jumping into this just because we can't be with the ones that left us behind?" I sat in the chair by the bookcase and pulled my legs up and into my chest.

"How do you feel about Jasper, Bella? Look deep inside and then tell me. All of your answers lay in your heart, honey, you just have to find them." Esme started running her hands through my hair as I stared out into the night and the swirling snow.

"Is it wrong of me in some ways, not to want Edward to come back?" My heart clenched as I asked her.

"No, sweetheart, it's not wrong at all. Edward hurt you terribly. Even if he was trying to do right, it doesn't mean that it hurt any less. Edward made his decision and he will have to live with the consequences of those actions. If one of the consequences is you moving on and finding love with someone else, then that is his cross to bear, Bella, not yours."

Esme's hands were soothing on my head as I pondered her words. Did I want to spend the rest of my life pondering every choice on the slim chance that Edward ever came back? Did I want to give up on someone who loved me because of Edward? The answer to both of those questions rang 'no' in my ears.

"Does Jasper still love Alice, Esme? I don't think I could bear it, if she came back to him. They were married for so long, how could she just leave him like that?" Bubbles of anger rose in me at how hurt Jasper must have been when Alice left and dissolved their marriage.

"I believe Jasper and Alice, fell out of love a long time ago, little one. They haven't been the same for many years, now. It was always my belief that they were just going through the motions. With vampires, when we find our true mates, nothing can tear us apart. Alice is not Jasper's true mate, Bella. They were together in a time where they both needed each other, once they found us, that need dissipated with every year. I'm sure they will always love each other as friends and family, but that is the extent now of their relationship.'

'Jasper does and is, in love with you Bella. You have changed him, in ways that Carlisle and I could never imagine. With you he seems whole and complete. In many ways, Jasper was right. The family did have a habit of seeing him on a leash. You must know this, Bella. Jasper has slipped before and returned to human blood. We were always so fearful with you and worried that if he slipped, we would never get him back.'

'He doesn't even know that I saw him, after the party. I was cleaning up when he came back. His eyes had not returned to their full color and still held the black of his bloodlust. I watched as he crunched a piece of glass I'd forgotten under his foot and then bend. Jasper found one drop of your blood that I'd missed. Before I could stop him, he wiped his finger across it, tasting it. Your one drop of blood changed him, Bella. In that instant, Jasper, found his mate and his singer. He found you.'

'He's changed so much Bella, now he's able to do things that we'd only ever dreamed for him. Before we had to watch him in public, hoping that he'd never cross his singer. Instead he finds her in our own home, someone that was right in front of our faces the whole time. Don't doubt his love for you, Bella, or your own for him. You have both received something so precious, and that is a second chance. Did anyone ever tell you that I'm Carlisle's singer? All it took was one drop of my blood. For years he searched for me, finding me just before I died my human death. Don't let that happen to you and Jasper, you here now and together. Don't let time go to waste when you can have each other now, and trust me, he may have left the house, but he will never leave your side. Bella, right now, he's angry and hurt and more than likely, tearing up half the woods, but he will never be far away from you. Jasper loves you too much to ever live without you."

Esme pulled me into her arms and I knew she was right. The feelings I was having for Jasper were too strong. Even if Edward came back, I could never deny the love that was growing for Jasper. If Alice came back, then she would have a fight on her hands. Jasper was mine now and I wasn't planning on letting him go.

"Call him for me please, and tell him to come home." Tears ran down my cheeks and I hoped Jasper would forgive not only my doubt of me, but my doubt of him.

I watched as Esme took her phone out of her pocket and dialed too fast for me to see. "Bella says to tell you, to come home." She hung up almost as soon as she said the words. Picking me up in her arms, she sped up the stairs and to the windows overlooking the pasture.

Within minutes he was up the stairs and I was flinging open the doors and flying out onto the deck. Jumping up I wrapped my entire body around him, not caring that I had neither coat nor shoes and it was freezing. Nothing mattered except being back in his arms, where I belonged.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry that you doubted me. Even if Edward comes back, Jasper, I want you. You are my heaven and my future. Someday when the time is right, I want to be yours forever." I kissed him, kissed him with everything I had and pressed all of my feelings on him, needing him to know how much I was falling in love with him.

Jasper POV

The phone call from Esme couldn't have come soon enough. I now stood in a clearing of my own making, the trees lay around me like a row of fallen dominoes.

"Bella says to tell you, to come home." The words barely registered to my ears, but my heart heard them loud and clear. Bella was still there and she wanted me. My feet moved as on air as I ran for home. The home that I hoped to share with her for as long as she would have me.

The lights of the tree beckoned me and I saw Bella standing at the doors to the deck. I could feel her even as I ran. No doubt lay in her as she flung herself out the door and into my waiting arms. Love, pure brilliant love, poured into me. Bella's words of forever registered not only in my heart, but my soul. Soon, very soon, I would make her my mate and nothing or no one would ever take her away from me.

"I'm sorry I doubted you, too. I guess we both have some trust issues to work through. I love you, Bella, and I will never leave you." I poured all the faith and love I had for her into her body and watched as her eyes glowed. At the end of time I would remember this exact moment and the first time I saw her love for me, shining as brightly as the sun, in her eyes.

"Come on, let's get you inside before you freeze." I carried her bridal style over the threshold, loving the way she fit perfectly in my arms and the feel of her hands as she touched my face. Even as Carlisle and Esme faced us, I knew I could survive anything as long as Bella was mine.

"We have to talk about this. Sit down, both of you." Carlisle began pacing in front of the fireplace.

"I know that your feelings right now are extremely overwhelming. Both of you must see how time is what you need. Give this time . . . " Esme interrupted Carlisle by placing her hand over his mouth.

"I'm sorry darling, but I have a different opinion. What you both have been given is miraculous. To have a mate complete you, is the greatest gift anyone in our existence can have. Grab a hold of each other and never let go. You never know where tomorrow is going to take you, especially you, Bella. God forbid something happens that would cut forever short. So grab this chance with both hands and go along for the ride. Don't wait for the perfect time, because trust me, there is no perfect time. If I had held onto Carlisle when I first found him, I wouldn't have gone through years of abuse to get where I am now. Let nothing stand in your way and love each other more each day the last. Merry Christmas, Bella. Good night, my darling and I will see you tomorrow. Oh, and eat your dinner young lady."

Esme grabbed Carlisle and tugged him out of the house so fast that I could swear, Bella's head spun.

Still carrying Bella, I walked to the dining room and placed her in the seat, she had earlier vacated. In a flash I grabbed her plate and reheated it in the microwave.

"Jasper, can I call my dad?" Bella turned in her chair and looked at me through the doorway.

"Darlin', you never have to ask me for anything around here." I took her plate from the microwave, trying hard not to wrinkle my nose in disgust and set it before her. It smelled worse hot than it did cold.

Her eyes downcast and blush filled her cheeks. Quickly she ate. Bella's feelings jumbled together as she fought with the words to say. When she finished, she walked past me in the doorway, where I had been leaning and brushed her shoulder against mine. It amazed me at how much a simple touch could send electrical sparks throughout my body.

As she washed her dish, I watched her. It was hard to understand why she had always been so clumsy around us. There was an inherent grace to her movements. Perhaps the clumsiness had nothing to do with grace and everything to do with Bella's lack of self-confidence.

She caught me watching her and blushed again. The sweet smell of her blood beckoned me forward and I did not falter in my steps as I went to her. No longer did I feel whole without her in my arms. There was more than a chunk of me missing when she was not there, half of me, was just gone.

"Do you know how beautiful you are, and how great you smell when you blush?" I nuzzled my cheek, against her, breathing in the powerful scent that was Bella.

"Did Esme mean what she told me, do you want this to be my home, as much as Charlie's?" Bella tried to reign in her anxiety at asking. Her words drifted up from my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around her waist tight.

"Yes, sweetheart. The first time I saw this place, I thought of you and hoped you would love it here, as much as I do. It's so far away from anything that people won't just happen on it, and it's surrounded by National Forest. I don't have to worry about being seen here. It's not secure enough that I wouldn't ever have to leave, but unlike Carlisle I can stay a lot longer because no one knows me around here."

Kissing her again on the top of her head, I realized that it had become my favorite thing to do. The smell of her as it rose, wafted around me. It made me feel loved, possessive and horny as hell. Concentrating hard, I tried not to think of how good her body felt wrapped around me, or how good it would be to sheath myself in her scalding heat.

"Why don't you use the phone in the office to call your father? I'm going to hunt quickly that way you'll have some privacy." I didn't want to tell her that if I didn't get away soon, I wasn't going to be responsible for my actions in taking her to the nearest bed and having my wicked way with her.

Kissing her again, I breathed deep, then ran for the door. The sooner I hunted, the sooner I could be back here with her.

Author's Note: Chapter 25 will be up tomorrow as well. I am wanting to get to Part 2 of this story as quick as possible. I'm already 75 written pages into part 2 and I think people are going to go nuts with what I have planned. Hugs to all and a huge thanks to radiate689 for being the 500th reviewer. Now lets see if we can get this baby into the 1000+ board.